against the British Government, a war ensued, which added this district to the British Dominions; and the Standard of England was planted near the Temple of Juggernaut. In the course of my public duties, when on a visit to this place, I well remember, that one evening an Officer returning home with his family on a large elephant, some Mahomedans were observed celebrating their grand festival of the Mohurrum. The elephant was conducted close to the spot, in order that the ceremonies might be conveniently seen. A little girl, who was expected to take a lively interest in the pomp displayed, seemed rather absorbed in meditation; and the moment she got home, she earnestly entreated her mother to allow her to offer up a prayer to her Heavenly Father, that he would have compassion on the deluded Natives, remove the gross superstition and darkness in which they were involved, and teach them that there is no other Name under heaven by which they can be saved, but that of the Lord Jesus! Such was the deep interest excited in the bosom of a little child for the spiritual welfare of the people! Some months afterward, two Missionaries, at the hazard of their lives, came to Juggernaut; and the Gospel has been faithfully preached ever since. Thus the planting the Standard of England in the Kingdom of Mysore, and the district of Cuttack, was followed, in the Providence of God, by the lifting up the Standard of the Cross!

Shortly after my arrival in Bengal, I proceeded with a regiment to the Island of Ceylon. The whole coast had recently been conquered by the British Army, but the interior belonged to the King of Kandy; a monarch so cruel, that, being offended by one of the Ministers of State, his wife was compelled to put her own child to death, in a manner too horrible to dwell upon; and the only mercy shewn her by the tyrant, was in speedily taking her own life. At last a day of retribution overtook him: the British Standard was planted at Kandy-the captive king removed from the island-faithful Missionaries soon raised the Standard of the Cross; and I was engaged yesterday in perusing the most gratifying accounts of the successful exertions of these Ministers of Peace, who are, even in Kandy, calling upon the Natives to turn from dumb idols to serve the only Living and True God.

From Ceylon the regiment went to Mocha in Arabia. There likewise the British Standard has been raised; and a credit recently established by the Church Missionary Society, for supplying the wants of a Mission in Abyssinia and some men of God are now waiting in Egypt for an opportunity of proceeding to that interesting part of Africa.

The regiment left Mocha for Egypt; and arrived there after a French Army had

landed on its shores, proclaiming to the people that they were sent by the Prophet Mahomed to assist them against Christians. The French Commander-in-Chief had publicly apostatized, and assumed the name of Abdallah Menou; he had ordered his soldiers to drive the army from England into a neighbouring lake; and one of his regiments, in the true spirit of haughty infidelity, had inscribed upon its colours the title of Invincible. But He, whose power they had contemned, laughed them to scorn; and this very flag is now, among other British Trophies, in this country. The British Standard was planted on the ramparts of Alexandria and on the citadel of Grand Caïro; and there, likewise, it has been followed by that of the Cross; and, at this very moment, Missionaries are engaged, from the celebrated Pharos of Alexandria up to the Pyramids of Socatra, in preaching free and full salvation.

I

Before I leave this interesting country, beg to observe, that I have more than once had the painful task of listening, on this platform, to statements of the evil effects produced by the bad conduct of British Sailors and Soldiers. I am sorry to say that I cannot disprove them; but it is more congenial to my feelings to exhibit my comrades in a different light: and I feel particularly called upon to do so with reference to Egypt.

It is recorded by the celebrated French Savant, Denon, that when he had occasion to examine the Pyramids, the Temple at Dendera, and other monuments of antiquity, he was obliged to have the protection of two companies of soldiers; those very men who were to support the Natives against the Christians! I visited those places when the French were still in the country-even the Bedouin Arabs in their camps; and the only protection which I had was that of the British Uniform so perfectly safe did I feel as an English Officer, that I entrusted the Arabs with my sword, pistols, and even my horse: during the whole time that I was in Egypt, I never was molested by an Arab, but, on the contrary, experienced their hospitality; which shews the impression made by the British on the inhabitants of the country. It only remains for me to state in what light they were considered by the Turkish Government: when the Grand Seignior heard of the gallantry and good conduct of the English Navy and Army manifested in a distant part of his dominions, he instituted a new Order of Knighthood, and presented the British Offi cers with its insignia: I hold in my hand the medal of the Order of the Crescent, which my Gracious Sovereign has permitted me to wear; and the gratification which I derive from this honour does not arise from the absurd vanity of considering it to be a

mark of personal merit, but as a public testimony rendered by a Foreign Power of the exemplary conduct of the British Forces.

Requesting the indulgence of the Meeting for this digression, I hope they will follow me back to India, whither we proceeded after the Peace of 1802.

I joined a regiment in the Kingdom of Oude. There, likewise, the British Standard has long been planted, and has been followed by that of the Cross: for the present Mahomedan Sovereign granted a piece of land in Lucknow, the capital, to erect a Chapel ; and a Native Soldier, converted to Christianity, and ordained a Priest according to the Rites of the Church of England by Bishop Heber, has faithfully preached to his countrymen the glad tidings of Salvation.

From Oude, the regiment marched to Muttra, a town celebrated among the Hindoos as the birth-place of one of their Gods. The same war which had added the District of Cuttack to the British Dominions gave us likewise all the territory in this remote part of Northern India; and, by the Providence of God, the blessed Gospel of Peace has likewise been faithfully preached on the banks of the Jumna: and it is not undeserving of notice, that, in the large Military Cantonment of Muttra, the principal Public Authorities have been seen commemorating the dying love of their Saviour, and receiving the sacramental elements from the hands of

a Converted Native.

On quitting the celebrated city of Muttra, the regiment proceeded to Kurnaul. The British Standard was there planted, within sight of the snowy mountains of Tibet. We had to encamp in a wilderness, which, fifty years before, had been a richly-cultivated plain; when it was covered with the whole Military Power of the Mahrattas, arrayed in battle against the Mahomedan Armies. A tremendous effort was unsuccessfully made to destroy the forces of the False Prophet; and, on that eventful day, 100,000 Hindoo Cavalry are said to have been destroyed. Little was it imagined, that, in about half a century, the same plain would be occupied as a Cantonment by the British Army; and, still less, that the Standard of the Cross would be raised, and the inhabitants be seen collecting under it. Numerous wells, which formerly supplied water to fertilize the country, were speedily cleared out for the troops: and, since that period, Missionaries have opened to the Natives wells of Salvation, and urged them to draw out thereof the pure waters of life.

From Kurnaul I went to the Imperial City of Agra, formerly the residence of the Grand Mogul, but now the principal fortress and arsenal in the Western Provinces of Bengal. In the magnificent Hall of Audience, I have

frequently read the Word of God to the British Troops: my esteemed friend, the Venerable Archdeacon of Calcutta, has made known to the Natives, in the tongue in which they were born, the wonderful works of God; and a Missionary has long resided in the very centre of the Imperial City.

I trust you are now satisfied that I used no exaggerated language, when I stated, that wherever the British Standard had been planted in India, it has almost invariably been followed by the Banner of the Cross. [Having described, in brief but awful detail, the capture of Bhurtpore, Colonel Phipps added, in conclusion -]

If this description of events at Bhurtpore has awakened feelings of excitement in the minds of those who listened to the detail, how much more deeply should they commiserate the hapless condition of their own countrymen, our Sailors and Soldiers, running heedlessly to destruction! And shall not the Christian Sympathies of the Friends of this Society be unceasingly exerted, to snatch them as brands from the burning, by presenting them with the Holy Scriptures, which will not only warn them of their danger, but point out the path of safety? And if, in answer to fervent persevering prayer, Divine Grace engraves the Sacred Word on the hearts of our Sailors and Soldiers, we may confidently hope to see them become Living Epistles of God, read and known of all men ; so that, on whatever seas the flag of England may waive, or on whatever ramparts the British Standard may be planted, her sons will be seen, individually and collectively, lifting up the Banner of the Cross, proclaiming to the most distant nations of the earth, that the Great Captain of their Salvation is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

[Col. Phipps-at the Nar, and Mil. Bible Soc. Ann.

We close our Extracts on this occasion with the

Address of the Bishop (elect) of Calcutta,

ence,

at the Bible Society's Anniversary. With peculiar satisfaction I have accepted the invitation to take a share in the business of this day for having, like my Right Rev. Brethren, been long a Member of this Society, and in private much engaged in contemplating and watching its beneficial influit is a matter of great joy to me to have this opportunity afforded of giving my public testimony to it: and I look forward with no common interest, having traced its effects at home, to that period when I shall trace its effects in a wider field; and be permitted to see, in the vast regions of India, all that the Bible Society has been enabled to effect for the good of the human race there. With a

very slight change in the expression of a Poet whom we all love, we may truly say of this Society

"It has one field; and that one field, the world."

I say, that I look forward with much interest, to trace the influence of the Society; and I well know, that to no part of that wide field, in whose spiritual concerns I am bound to take so much personal interest, to no part of it can I go, where the labours of the Bible Society have not preceded me; and I trust, by the blessing and favour of God on all these labours continued and persevered in, that I myself, and those who come after me, may still enjoy the comfort and assistance of the Bible Society, and find therein, as we shall do, every ground of confidence and success for the Christian Church in India.

But when we speak of success-and the language of the Report to-day justifies us in speaking of success-it is but right that we should call to our recollection, that, as has been forcibly brought before you, all that has hitherto been done is but a pledge of what may-I would rather say, of what must, hereafter be accomplished: for when we have made a Version of the Scriptures, and the Agents of the Society have been able to distribute a Version of the Scriptures, in the language of a barbarous or semi-barbarous people, we must call to mind, that we have only taken a first step in a course which we are bound to pursue to the end: we shall then only have led that people to the threshold of God's temple. And shall we rest there, and not rather encourage them to enter in, and possess to the full the treasures which are there disclosed to them? And by what energy can we accomplish this, but such as this Society puts in motion, and perseveres in, influenced by the sacred motives which impel its Members?

Let us take an example from our beloved native land; and learn from that the condition of others. We have long had a Version of the Scriptures, so pure and so plain, that the humblest of our people can enter fully into its merits: but was this sufficient that the Bible was attainable by all in this landwas this sufficient to induce all to attend to it? No: the existence of this Society answers, "It was not enough." All the efforts which have been made, for twenty-five years, have been too little to place the Scriptures even in the hands of thousands of our own people. Now, look at the same hindrances among the people of India, the same in nature, but twenty-thousand times increased in degree and then you will form an idea of what remains for this Society to do; and what, by the blessing of God, we may yet hope to accomplish.

June, 1829.

But I desire to say one word on the kind and measure of success to which we may reasonably look forward.

The success is not to be estimated by the favourable reports of your Treasurer at home, nor by the favourable accounts from your Agents abroad: these do not supply an adequate means of judging what are the effects which really follow upon your labours: these effects are to be traced-and I believe I may appeal to the authority of every individual who has had an opportunity of tracing them-they are to be traced in the progressive change in the public mind in India; in the preparation of heart, which is, I may say, so visibly and palpably going on, and of which the knowledge of the Revealed Word of God is the recognised agent.

In mentioning this as an indication of success, I would do so with a single cautionthat we should not make haste in our work; nor be too urgent to count our Converts by hundreds, or tens, or even by individuals: for if this process of assimilation, to which I have alluded, this process of moral and spiritual assimilation, be really going forward, it is all that, as Christian Men, we need to desire. For we should remember, it was by some such process that the mind of the world was changed, in the early period of the Christian History: it is like the progress of Revealed Truth in that age which immediately succeeded the preaching of the Apostles, in which the Word of God was first distributed in a collected form, and its influence was silently progressive: the leaven produced its effect slowly, but surely; and, in the end, the whole of Idolatrous Rome, and all its Dependencies, became Christian. So, I trust, it now is: and so, I bless God in thinking it shall be with Idolatrous India.

In expressing this strong conviction of success, I trust that I have not gone beyond what the Report which we have heard read to-day fully justifies: and I trust, that, in the labour in which we are all engaged, we shall proceed with the same spirit which has been so earnestly enforced upon us; and that, not in a spirit of pride, a spirit of exultation, but in a spirit of humility and thankfulness, we shall look with confidence for this progressive diffusion of the eternal Word of Truth. Well, indeed, may we possess our souls in patience, if we believe, and are sure, that this Word is in a progressive state: nay, more than patience-we may look with hope and joy to its increased diffusion: nay more -we may be permitted to use expressions of the deepest thankfulness, if we ourselves, in our several stations and callings, are permitted to become the Agents, by whom this noble work shall be forwarded to its completion.

2 M

TABLE OF THE MISSIONARY LABOURS OF THE CHURCH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN, Exhibiting the Numerical Result, at the Close of the Year 1827.

Of the above Gross Amount of Converts and of Heathen receiving instruction from the Missionaries of the Brethren's Church, there areSubjects of the British Crown...

.....

Negroes
Indians
Esquimaux..
Hottentots

23764

191

...........

* The exact number of the two classes of New People and Excluded, not having been separately returned from several of the Missionary Stations, it has been thought preferable to combine them, in the above Table.