or in one of the public school-houses, which is in general well attended. The work of teaching goes on pleasingly, though nor so rapidly as we could wish. The king's mother and her husband are chiefs of considerable influence, and are very friendly. We receive almost daily applications for books. The climate is, I think, more congenial to our constitutions than that of the Society Islands. The village in the vicinity of which we live is verypopulous,containing probably between five and six thousand inhabitants, besides foreigners, of which at times there are considerable numbers. There are about sixteen merchants, including the American consul, who resides here constantly, to transact business with the natives and with the shipping that are continually arriving. A considerable reinforcement of missionaries is almost daily expected from America, among whom there will be perhaps five preachers. The population is stated at 150,000 in all the islands, probably it exceeds a hundred thousand, to all of whom a preacher has now free access. May God in mercy stir up the churches both of England and America, to united, - fervent, special prayer, not only for this nation, but for every groupe and every solitary island upon the bosom of the vast Pacific, till they shall all become evangelized! I have, since our arrival here, had several interviews with a native of the Marquesas, with whom I could converse intelligibly. He informed me several Tahitians had occasionally visited them; that the chiefs and people were desirous missionaries should be sent to them, and that they would not molest them. It has long been a matter of deep regret to us all, that they should remain so long in the neighbourhood of the Society Islands, unvisited, degraded by idolatry and wretchedness, without a friendly guide to conduct them to the temporal and spiritual enjoyment of all those inestimable blessings which Christianity is calculated to impart." COCHIN JEWS. The following information has been recently obtained respecting the Cochin Jews. They consist of the White and those usually termed Black Jews, and their freed and household servants respectively. It seems that the merchandize in Hebrews among them is done away. The rules therefore laid down by Moses, which restricted them in this respect, do not now apply. (See Exod. xxi. 2-4; Levit xxv. 39-41, &c.) Indeed, neither the sabbatical year nor the year of jubilee has been kept since the dispersion, having reference only to the holy land. The household servants now in their possession were originally purchased, as were those they have freed, from amongst the five lowest casts of the natives; namely, carpenters, workers in brass, gold and silver smiths, iron smiths, and palayen or pullee-casts; and to make proselytes from these was 'one of the privileges granted by Chesam Permaul, the Malabaric king, and recorded on the brass plate they now possess. Part of the ordinances of Moses, respecting the purchase of bond-servants, will be found in Levit. xxv. 44-46. This passage has likewise reference to the strangers that sojourned in the Holy Land, and the heathen, which then surrounded it. Since these Jews have been under the British government, they have not purchased bond-men or bond-women; they have, however, established various customs amongst themselves, in regard to the emancipation of their household sevants. The rite of circumcision (common to all Jews) was performed on the bond-servant by the master of the family, or one of the elders properly qualified, and thus they imitated the patriarchal institution as enjoined by the Almighty upon Abraham. (Gen. xvii. 12.) It does not appear that they employ circumcised people in their service. After circumcision, the servant was taken to a place where there was much water, wherein he was dipped or baptised, they using the following prayer: "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, and king of the universe, (or everlasting king,) who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast enjoined us concerning the dipping of servants." After this, the Jews say, the servant becomes, in every respect, as Eliezer. (Gen. xv. 2.) The steward of Abraham's house." Ver. 3, one born in his house;" and ver. 34, "his servant." A female servant was dipped or baptized, they using the same prayer as above. With proselytes being natives, like ceremonies are observed as with the servant purchased for money; the only difference as concerns the baptism is a change in the prayer, to "the dipping of proselytes," instead of "the dipping of servants." There are three men of this description now at Cochin, who were originally heathens. They are termed Geerim, "strangers." Deut. x. 18: "God loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment."Ver. 19: "Love ye,therefore, the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." They are, however, looked upon by the Cochin Jews in no better light than household servants, though some Jews allow they should be considered as superior to freed servants. To make a bond-servant free, the master pays to the synagogue forty-one rupees for every man-servant, and sixty-one for each maid-servant. A certificate of freedom, termed "a bill of liberty," is made out; and after the servant has fasted the whole day, when the evening service is They receive no more than they did before; LADIES HIBERNIAN FEMALE SCHOOL SOCIETY. The object of the Ladies' Hibernian Female School Society, is the education of the Female Children of the lower classes in Ireland, in reading, needlework, knitting, spinning, and the knowCHRIST. OBSERV. No. 2641 ledge of the holy Scriptures, by the formation of schools, conducted by approved mistresses, under an efficient and vigilant superintendence. The Society originated at a meeting of Ladies, held in London, July 2d, 1823. The encouragement which it has already received, shews that a strong feeling exists in its favour, and affords the liveliest hope to those who' take an interest in its progress. With the. melancholy details of the ignorance, poverty, and insubordination of the Irish' peasantry, the public is, alas! but too well' acquainted. But, among the recent plans of benevolence, exerting itself in various and most laudable efforts, what, it is asked by the Committee of this Society, has been done for the Female Children of the Irish poor? " Nothing directly; nothing on system; nothing which recognises it as a great and national object, to unfold their minds; to plant in them the seeds of religious truth without party bias or passion; and to teach them those domestic arts which at once afford useful employment, and create a feeling of decency, order, and character. For it is not in a school for boys that the proper instruction for girls can be efficiently communicated; nor, as experience has shown, does the advantage of reading alone offer a sufficient inducement to their attendance." It is to the female children of Ireland that this institution directs its sole care. and the diffusion of morals and happiness the way of the free intercourse of the prisoners with their legal advisers, and which might haveinpeced the preparation of their defence. It is truly gratifying to witness the strict justice tempered with patience and mercy which so honourably distinguishes British courts of judicature. In a subsequent trial of a man of the name of Pallett, for the murder of a Mr. Mumford, the prisoner's petition for the postponement of the trial was refused, there being no substantial grounds for the application. In this case, the evidence left not a shadow of doubt of the guilt of the prisoner, who, before his execution, fully confessed it; but on reading the reply of the learned judge to the motion for the postponement of the trial, we felt appalled with the statement that hundreds of prisoners are often tried even within a few hours of their commitment. We venture to suggest, whether some specific regulation is not desirable and necessary as regards this point. This very month two innocent men, charged with highway robbery, under circumstances the most improbable, have, through the exertions of one of the sheriff's of London, most providentially escaped being executed. The man who professed to have been robbed, swore most unblenchingly to the crime and to their identity; and there being only one day between their commitment and trial for the preparation of their defence, it was impracticable to bring before the jury the mass of countervailing testimony which has since been collected, and has ended in their receiving his Majesty's full pardon. A fair, adequate, and specified space of time ought to be claimable as a matter of right by a pri soner between his commitment and his trial. It may happen that he is ignorant, and knows not how at first to proceed; or that he is poor, and cannot instantly raise money for his defence; or that his friends and witnesses are at a distance; or that prima facie probabilities are so strong against him, that there requires considerable time and research to elicit the evidence that tends to his acquittal; or that his legal advisers themselves, in the hurry of business, do not instantly perceive the strong points of his defence. In all such cases, there is danger of hastily: condemning an innocent man, as has actually happened in the instances just alluded to; and who knows but other such instances may have occur red in the course of years? If the assizes arrive before the time allowed has expired, it should be optional with the prisoner whether to take his trial › at once, or to wait till the next jaildelivery. It is a more doubtful point, whether it would be adviseable that counsel should be allowed to plead in all cases. Their strong appeals to the feelings of a jury might sometimes in. terfere with the strict exécution of jus-:? tice, and, in case of a verdict of guilty, leave painful sensations in the minds of the jurors, which the strongest feelings of integrity could not always heal. But, doubtless, they ought to be allowed a suitable time for preparing the defence; and where this is granted, the cross-examination of the witnesses against the prisoner, the depositions of those in his favour, his own deliberate statement, the comments of an impar- ! tial judge, and the calm judgment of twelve honest men, will leave scarcely a possibility of an unjust decision. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Y. M.; The copy of verses sent by A. Z. shall be inserted, if our correspondent will guarantee that they are from the pen of Mr. Hayley, and have been hitherto unpublished. A CONSTANT READER will find notices of Mr. Erskire's two Essays in our Vol. for .. 1820, p. 720; for 1822, p. 503; and for 1823, p. 502.. It does not accord with our plan to enter into the arrangement W. M. proposes. We assure a late "NAVY CHAPLAIN" that we most earnestly partake with him in thewish that the ministrations of the Established Church were brought to bear in every port of the kingdom and throughout the navy, upon the religious necessities of our seamen. He will see by one of our late Numbers that a favourable beginning has been made in the port of Dublin. A. Z. informs us, that the typographical error complained of by B. in the small-pica Cambridge Bible does not exist in the recent editions. The stereotype plate which contained the error was corrected four years ago at least, and some thousands have been subsequently printed. B.'s copy, therefore, could not have recently issued, as he supposes, from the Cambridge warehouse. |