1814] to aboi Belig, Intell.-Hibernian Sunday school Society 1 on from one step to another, until Jately they have purchased premises for 500,9guineas, and have fitted them up on the best plan, and are teaching six hundred children now, imasdaily, as well as in a Sunday school this is the Fitzroy School int London. I find a great advantage nins having regular constant teachers, assam affectionate attach ment is formed between them and the children, which secures,iuda great measure, both their attend ance and their progresso w 96T Shinbuy, May, 1812-Two persons of mature age came to the school, totally ignorant, four weeks ago, and can now spell well in four or five syllables the readers com mit portions of the Scriptures to memory weekly. The poor men, whose children attend the school propose giving their labour, gratis, towards building a school house, while others propose materials: hences I expect we shall have a commodious school-house in a short time:"ozora YTOR Belfast, May, 1812. Our 'school goes on well. Every Sunday we have new applications: at pre sent we have about eight hundred scholars; and if we had regular means I am well persuaded they would increase: at the same time we endeavour to teach them to read and write, we wish to instile into their minds an ardent love for and trust in the Redeemer; thereby hoping, under Divine influence, that they may grow wise unto everlasting sal vation; and for this purpose as soon as they can read tolerably well, we put the New Testament into their hands.") dog lé degram { to Lisburn, July, 1812. You see, my dear sir, what rapid strides vedu cation is making in the North: at present above two thousand boys and girls receive gratuitous instruc tion in the town of Belfastrands nearly three hundred in this towng eighty girls being taught in our school-room, during the time wel don't occupy sity by six Quaker dla dies; and about forty more on Sun 018 847 2 to 199 do 30 days and Wednesdays, by the daugh ters of the curate of this parish 29m 1 Ballymore, Oct. 1812. I feel satisfaction in stating to the Society, that since the establishment of Sunday-schools in this parish, an almost general reform of conduct and manners has been the happy conse quence; the offer of a religious education is eagerly embraced by the poor and destitute, an important The and numerous class in society... good conduct of the child, has ob viously restrained, and in many ins stances reformed, the evil practices of the parent; a powerful earnest through the Divine blessing of the benefits that may naturally be look ed for in the rising generation. The liberal encouragement the Society has given to the schools of Acton and Demore, has already increased their number." wro pro to bui "Maryborough, March, 1813. The good accruing from this Institu tion is seen and felt throughout the whole town and parish; for the children taking home their Bibles and their premiums, and reading and getting their lessons, have caused an inquiry in the family, and given a desire to read the Scriptures in many places where they were neglected as useless and unprofitable. Further, we rejoice to be able to state to you, that we have some of the most active teachers from among the boys and girls whom we reared in the school; and from the knowledge they have of the Scriptures, and the happy effects of them in their hearts, we look forward for much good. Our school is now so much looked up to, that families on the Sabbath regulate their affairs so as not to prevent their children from regularly attending twice a day: they are fully convinced of the blessed effects of it in the lives and donduct of their children." Clogher, June 23, 1813.-I beg leave to inform you, that a Sunday school has been established here on Sunday the 13th instant, under the direction of a few young ladies, whose only mode of supporting it 97 “Cloydagh, Aug. 31, 1813. I beg leave to state, that my sisters have undertaken to form a Sundayschool (with my assistance), and have for these three months past collected and taught a number of children in the church of Cloydagh, who scarce ever were before in a place of worship, and by every mode of allurement and persuasion have induced them to attend now very regularly." "Lambeg, Dec. 29, 1813.—I take the liberty of informing you, that our school was never in a more pro. sperous state than it has been for six months past:—the children come to school neat and clean, give regular and due attendance: there seems also a spirit of emulation among them to excel each other. On Sunday last, a little girl repeated the first and second chapters of St. John's Gospel: another, one hun, dred and ninety-two verses: a little boy, the 25th chapter of St. Matthew. Some of the children take their Testaments to their work, and at every spare moment are getting their tasks. A boy of seven years old, whose parents are addicted to swearing, sitting at home a few evenings since, after school, on hearing his brother repeat those bad words, which he had been accustomed to hear, burst into tears, say ing, how could he make use of such expressions, after singing and prayer? A poor widow was so anxious to have her daughter taught to read, that she deprived herself of necessary covering, in order to procure a frock for her to attend the school in; so that when we found her rout, she was nearly perished with cold, lying on a handful of straw, without either blanket or sheet. Her neigbours told me they expected to find her dead some morning." Drogheda, dari 6, 1814. A boy who entered on the 17th of Ja nuary, 1813, and who could not then be said to have bis letters correctly, said fifteen chapters at the last examination. Some of the children have committed to memory › two of the Gospels, some of them more than two. The girl whom I mention ed in my last year's report, for hav ing excelled in a remarkable way, has gone over the Gospels and the Acts twice, the Epistles of John and Peter, the Epistles of Jude, and many select chapters of the other Epistles. Such are the ripening fruits of our little establishment, connect ed with your Society: I hope it will remain a source of information to those who perhaps, without this, would never have an opportunity of learning any portion of Scrip ture. "I trust the school is doing well, the efforts and improvement of the children, are (for the opportunities of a Sunday-school) truly astonishing. From any inquiries which I have been able to make, the child, ren's conduct at home, is much im. proved; the neatness of the cbilds ren, regularity of their behaviour in school, and many other circumstances, are highly praise-worthy.” "Belfast, April 14, 1814.-Our schools continue to be held in two large apartments in Union-street, ca. pable of accommodating three hun dred scholars each, and in a largé room in Smithfield, which contains about two hundred scholars. I bare the greatest satisfaction in mention ing to you, that a number of young ladies and gentlemen of respectable families, and distinguished for their piety, have taken the charge of instructing classes in our schools: their attention to their pupils is uns remitting and unwearied. The pros gress which our scholars have made far exceeds our most sanguine ex. pectations: numbers who have been taught the alphabet in our schools have been, in a much shorter time than we expected, able to read their Bibles, have acquired great facility 3 in spelling, and made considérable progress in writing.375n9 odwyd ne I have great satisfaction in being authorised to report to you that a remarkable amendment has taken place in the habits and the morals of the children under our care: they are generally attentive and diligent, appear to feel the interest which our teachers take in their improve ment and happiness, and seem to have a delight in committing to memory the portions of Scripture allotted them weekly.! "Of the happy effects of Sunday schools, every one employed in 'superintending them must have the fullest conviction: how pleasing to a benevolent mind must it be, to see the children of the poor, who would be spending their Sundays in idleness, and, perhaps, acquiring, among evil companions, habits of profaneness and vice, learning to read the precious Word of God, acquiring a taste for cleanliness, attention, and piety, and thus training up to become useful members of society here, and, under Divine Grace, preparing to be heirs of Glory hereafter!" MISSION TO TARTARY. A COMMUNICATION from the Missionaries, dated the 1st of May last, to the Directors of the Edinburgh Missionary Society, presented a more encouraging prospect of the success of their Mission than had been held out at any preceding period. to "Since we began to write," say they, "a letter addressed to all the Missionaries has been received from two of the principal Effendis in the Kabardian country. These two Ef. fendis profess a very great friend ship for us, and beg us to send to them an Arabic and a Turkish Testament. The following is an extract from this letter: We are friends to the saved of Jesus, and to the lovers of his glory. We wish to see the statutes of the New Testament, and to compare it with the Koran. All who keep the statutes of the New Testament, we hold as friends? We accordingly sent them four Testaments, and gave one to the bearer of these, who also wished to read it. One of these priests some time ago sent another priest to beg from us a Turkish and an Arabic Testament, which were sent to him; but the priest, who was to take them, thought proper to keep them for his own use. The letter now received contains a complaint against this priest for his treacherous conduct, and requests us to take the Testaments from him. This, however, we are not inclined to do, but rather choose to let him keep possession of them quietly; for who knows but the precious truths they contain may yet reach his heart with power ?” Two of their number, Messrs. Dickson and Galloway, had visited Astrachan with a view of forwarding the interests of Christianity in that city and its environs. They had succeeded in distributing a number of Testaments and tracts among the Mohammedans in that quarter, who manifested, however, in gene ral, a remarkable reluctance to receive them. Towards the latter part of their stay in that quarter, this reluctance appeared to diminish. They had daily opportunities of conferring with great numbers of Tartars and others, among whom they appear to have laboured with zeal and activity to make known the Gospel. ཉ ཨ་ | A farther dispatch has been received from Karass, dated June 8th and 14th, and July 27th. From this it appears that a letter from the Russian Minister of the Interior had been communicated to them by Mr. Paterson, to whom it was addressed, which contained the following pro posal for forming a new Missionary Settlement: Since my letter to you of the 23d February, his Imperial Majesty has deigned to honour me with his 850 3 of establishing missionary colonies in Tomsk, Tobolsk, or the district of Ufa, which, on account of their! great distance from the frontiers, cannot answer your purpose so well! notwithstanding all the assistance of the Edinburgh Society, or of our Co vérnment.ad avis si3 15 15 976 The to state art & Relig, Intell.-Mission to Tartary. In informing you of this, I think it necessary to explain to you my thoughts concerning the place most suitable and least dangerous to form your settlement in, without leaving entirely your present place, in which your establishment can continue by the German colonists, and where your Missionaries also can continue their labours. It is known that, of all the parts of the Russian empire, the lines of Orenberg and of Siberia are bordering on such countries of Asia where mostly Mohammedans and Heathens have their numerous settlements and hordes. Not only the people there are less savage than the mountaineers of Caucasus, but the situation of that part of the empire is entirely safe; and if the Missionaries should choose for their residence a place near the city of Orenberg, or near the fortress of Omsk, they would find it not only advantageous to be so near the fron tiers, but likewise a suitable situa. tion for having intercourse with Mohammedans and Heathens, and would be under the immediate pro tection of the chief local Govern ments of the above-mentioned places, "I cannot let pass this occasion, without taking notice of your plan e 5 Thus letting you know my thoughts concerning your choosing a proper place to fix your settlement, I propose to your to send confidential person, or commis sioner, for that purpose; and, in order that he may receive all possible assistance, I am now writing to the military governor of Orenberg, Prince Volkonsky, and to the general governor of Siberia, and likewise to the commander on the Siberian frontiers, and residing in the fortress of Omsk, in the government of Tomsk, so that your commissioner may address himself to them." -- In consequence of this communication, two of their number, Messrs. Fraser and Mitchell, agreed to undertake the proposed journey. They left Karass on the 30th of June, and were to proceed to Orenberg by Sarepta and Saratof. Orenberg is situated near the 51st degrees of north latitude and the 59th degree of east longitude, On the 17th of July, a Mr. Rath from Petersburg visited the settles ment. He was sent by the Mini-' ster of the Interior to inquire into the situation of the Missionaries, and to learn from them what they cone ceived Government could do for them, seither at Karass or in a new station. He stayed two days with them; inspected every thing con nected with the colony, and then went to Constantinogorski, where he was to remain a few weeks. He left with them a number of questions which the Minister wished. to have answered; from which it apsu pears that the Russian Government are desirous that the colony should be continued there, and willzadət every thing for its protection and” support. : The Portuguese Slave Trade had been partially restrained by the vis gilance of our cruizers, but their efforts in this line of service were materially impeded and embarrassed by the uncertainty still prevailing as to the real import of that article, in the treaty with Portugal, which Jimits the Portuguese Slave Trade to places actually under the dominion of the Crown of Portugal. A num ber of appeals involving this question are now pending before the High Court of Appeal in Prize Causes. In June 1813, Capt. Scobell, of his Majesty's Ship Thais, destroyed an extensive slave factory at Cape Mesurado, belonging to British sub. jects, and rescued 230 human beings from slavery. The slave traders, John Bostock and Thomas Macquin, men who had acquired a large properly, were taken and carried to Sierra Leone, where they were tried and convicted under the slave trade felony act, and sentenced to fourteen years transportation. They are now on board the hulks. Captain Maxwell, of his Majesty's ship Favourite, made a similar effort to destroy the slaving establishments in the Ro Pongas, in the month of Nov. 1813, but it did not prove effectual from the insufficiency of the force * A considerable slave trade ap pears still to be carried on to the Isles of France and Bourbon, which means were taking to suppress. The Government of the Cape of Good Hope had not only adopted vigorous measures for suppressing all slave trade in that quarter, but had shewn an honourable solicitude for The attempt was renewed in the month of March of this year by a detachment from the garrison of Sierra Leone, and completely succeeded. the amelioration of the state of sla very in that colony,encɔ ni probio The slave trade was continued at Java for some time after it came into our possession. Measures, however, which it was hoped would prove effectual, had at length been taken for its entire suppression* POL The Abolition Act had been amended, by extending the time allowed for commencing prosecutions® under it from one to three years. The Directors lament the failure of all the efforts that have been made to induce the Portuguese Government either to cede the island of Bissao, or to define more clearly the nature of the limitations contained in the treaty of amity. Instruc tions, however, had been issued by Government to the cruizers on the coast of Africa substantially according with the construction the Directors had put upon the treaty. The following letter of Lord Castlereagh to the Lords of the Admiralty, will shew the nature of these instructions:→ The following interesting piece of intelligence is extracted froin the Java Ga zelle : We have had the satisfaction of receiy ing, from our correspondent at Macassar, the following report of the effects produced there by the Abolition of the Slave Trade : The influence of the abolition of slavery is already felt to a great degree in this country. Murders, which were formerly so numerons here, now happen very seldom: the people of the country travel to any distance in perfect security. Those wretches, whose former employment was stealing aud selling children into slavery, are now obs liged to confine their depredations to horses and buffaloes; and the scantiness and precariousness of this mode of subsistence, com pels many to cultivate the land to procure livelihood: under these circumstances, cultivation and civilization are daily increasing and must extend rapidly over the country. The native chiefs in Celebes do not conceal that they are much poorer in consequence of the charger; but although they cannot unt present be expected to co-operate willingly in the suppression of slavery, they are per fectly conscious of the blessings it must ulti mately producerea ¿t.dci tvoNJPA/ |