CHINA-ORDINATION OF A NATIVE.

THE most interesting fact connected with our China Mission during the past year has been the ordination of one of the native catechists belonging to the Ningpo station, which took place at Shanghae on

134

CHINA-ORDINATION OF A NATIVE.

[DEC.

Easter Sunday last. The particulars will be found in the following letter from the Bishop of Victoria, dated April 8, 1863—

It affords me much satisfaction to be able to communicate to the Church Missionary Society that on Easter Sunday I was privileged to ordain as deacon their native catechist Dzaw Tsang-lae, the first native Chinese minister of our church. The ceremony took place in the English church in this foreign settlement, the whole service being conducted in Chinese. The candidate was presented to me by the Rev. G. E. Moule, who arrived here ten days previously from Ningpo, and rendered me very effective service in examining the candidate, and translating the Ordination Service. Mr. Moule and myself read our portions of the service in the Mandarin colloquial dialect, and the Rev. W. H. Collins read the greater portion of the liturgical service in the ordinary Shanghae local dialect. Twenty-eight native Christians of our own Mission, and six members of the American Episcopal Mission, came from the city to the service, and formed a goodly spectacle of thirty-four native communicants at the celebration of the Lord's Supper afterwards. A few English friends were also present.

He was

Dzaw Tsang-lae is forty years old, and has maintained a consistent Christian profession since his baptism, thirteen years ago. originally a schoolmaster, but, during the last fours years, has been employed by the Rev. J. S. Burdon (now of Pekin) in the sole duties of a native catechist. All his family have been baptized. His general acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures is good; and he appears himself to be really under the influence of Christian doctrines. During his examination he had to write a brief sermon on 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, "For the love of Christ constraineth us, &c. ;" in which he expressed very clearly the great fundamental motives of self-devotion to Christ, and enforced them by very earnest concluding appeals. As a specimen of an address from a native preacher to a Chinese congregation, it was, on the whole, a satisfactory production. He labours under the disadvantage of not having had a course of methodical theological training; but, on the other hand, it was of the utmost advantage that the first ordained minister of the native church should be a man advanced in years, and matured in Christian character. What is of the greatest importance, he has won the esteem of the European members of our own Mission, of many other foreign Protestant Missionaries, and of all the members of the native church; in fact, the recommendation of him to me as a suitable person for advancement to the office of the Christian ministry was universal on all sides.

On Mr. Collins's approaching departure to join Mr. Burdon at Pekin, Dzaw Tsang-lae will take charge of the local native church until the Rev. T. M'Clatchie's expected arrival here in the autumn. May the divine blessing rest upon our native brother in his new position of responsibility and trust!

In connexion with Dzaw Tsang-lae's ordination, it is interesting to know that the native church at Shanghae have pledged themselves to contribute the half of his stipend.

MISSION TOUR TO A HEATHEN SWINGING FESTIVAL. THIS narrative may be useful in keeping us in remembrance of the fact that the power of heathenism is still powerful in India, and degrades the people under its sway to many cruel and revolting practices. Blessed be God, the Gospel is gathering strength, and operations are going forward which will eventually end in its overthrow. Missionaries are itinerating; the people are willing to hear; inquiry is being excited; and the little Christian flocks which have been raised up in different directions are coming forward to help in the liberation of their countrymen. But how much, oh, how much! remains to be done; and well may Missionaries abroad remind Christians at home of their especial duty-" Ye also helping together by prayer."

I left Madras on Friday, the 7th August, and went together with catechist C, of the London Mission, as far as Trivellore, and thence on foot to Tripasore, where we stopped in the London Mission house, in which catechist S was residing. The following morning Catechists C and Sand myself got up at four o'clock, and after having asked the Lord for a blessing on our journey, we got into a cooly bandy, and went on slowly towards Periapallium, which is about eighteen miles from Tripasore, and arrived there at six o'clock, and occupied a little room without a door, in a very small indigo factory. Here, after having taken some tea and committed ourselves to the Lord in prayer, we lay down on the ground to sleep. On the morning of the following day (Sunday), the chief day of the festival, we went among the crowd of people assembled, to preach the glorious tidings of the Gospel to as many of them (15,000 or 20,000) as would listen to us. We passed through the multitude, and posted ourselves opposite the small temple of the goddess Ellamma, but we got only a few people to speak to; not that there were few people near us, but they had no time or will to listen to our message : they were engaged in performing their vows to the goddess Ellamma. Many were slaughtering sheep and fowls; others, both men and women, having entirely stripped off their clothes in the river and girded themselves with branches of the holy margosa tree, were walking around the temple; while, again, others in their usual dress rolled their bodies round the same sacred spot. I observed others with horribly besmeared faces and bodies, and heard most disagreeable music. Altogether an awful scene. Oh that these poor mistaken people would give themselves up as a reasonable sacrifice to God our Saviour!

After having stood for some time opposite to the temple, we left the spot in search of some other place, where we could get more people to hear our message. We were happy enough to find several congregations, and though they were not very large, they listened with great attention, and with less gainsaying than one might expect from the visitors of such a festival.

THE number of children in our Orphanage at Sharanpur is less than last year, the reduction being from forty-two to thirty-two. The condition of the Institution appears, however, to be healthful and encouraging. One desirable improvement has been introduced: the girls are now required to cook and prepare their own food. Liberal support for the Orphanage has been received. Of one of the girls that died, aged six, the following interesting account is given—

The history of Miriam is rather remarkable, as evidently setting forth a heavenly Father's watchful care of her during her short existence on earth. She was one of three children born at the same time by the same mother, the wife of a Mahar, at Takeli, a village near Nasik. The poor woman died while giving birth to three children, two of whom were still-born. The husband, who appears to have been very fond of his wife, was so exasperated at his sudden bereavement, and at the same time so destitute of natural affection towards his little infant, as to form the dreadful resolution to kill the latter by starvation. With this view he shut up his room, where the child lay helpless, and went into another village, from which he did not return till after three days. On the fourth day he returned, expecting for certain to find the baby dead; but, to his utter astonishment, he found her still alive. Three days of cruel neglect had not been sufficient to destroy even a tender life, which was under the special protection of God: this was evident even to the child's aunt, a heathen, who soon convinced the man, and persuaded him not to destroy the child, since God had kept her alive so long, but to take the poor babe to Sharanpur. Here Mr. Price kindly received her, gave her in charge of one of our native-Christian women, and then took her into the Orphanage. By the blessing of God, she was brought through the trials of infancy and childhood, and began to learn nicely, and to become a general favourite, when it pleased God to take her to Himself. There was much that was edifying in her during her last illness, which was consumption. She liked to hear those that attended on her sing nice children's hymns, e.g. "Here we suffer grief and pain," &c., and to read to her from Scripture or other good books, and to pray with her. The Rev. Appa Bapuji once asked her whether she was afraid to die. She said "No." He asked, "Why not?" She answered, "Because Jesus is near me." "What shall I do with you" 'Pray with me." The request was, of course, gladly complied with.

66

One very interesting feature in the Sharanpur Institution is the African youths, who having been rescued from slave vessels, trafficking between the east coast of Africa and the Persian Gulf, have been placed under the care of our Missionaries. They are carefully instructed in Christianity, and prayerful efforts are thus made to win them to Christ. They are besides taught various useful trades; five are carpenters, five blacksmiths, three weavers, one a shoemaker, and one a bricklayer. The hope is entertained that, returning to the East-African coast, they will be there important aids to our

1863.]

CHRISTIANITY IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

137

Missionaries. The Rev. J. Rebmann, in his lonely Mission on that dark coast, is cheered by the hope of being joined by some of them at no distant period. May they be indeed good men, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.

CHRISTIANITY IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. THE Sandwich Islands, in the North Pacific Ocean, consist of a group of twelve volcanic islands, three or four of them being merely uninhabited rocks, standing quite by themselves. Hawaii is the largest, but Oahu the most central. Between Oahu to the northwest and Hawaii to the south-east are grouped Molokai, Maui, Lanai, and Kahoolawa: other islands lie farther to the north-west of Oahu.

The American Board sent its Missionaries to these islands in 1819, just about the time when the petty kingdoms into which the islands had been divided, and which, by their feuds, had kept all in confusion, were united under the sceptre of Kamehameha, of Hawaii. The people of the islands were in the lowest state of debasement, for upon their heathenism, bad enough in itself, had been grafted the evil practices of the whalers by whom their ports were visited.

The preaching and teaching of God's word, blessed of God, produced, however, improvements so marked, that in little more than thirty years, the profession of Christianity having superseded the old and evil heathenism, the Mission was merged in the Christian community of the islands.

These islands have been recently visited by Dr. Anderson, the Secretary of the American Board. Dr. Anderson is well known amongst us here in England. He visited, on his way to India, the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, and left behind him a pleasing remembrance, which still remains. There are many circumstances which at the present moment make friends in England anxious to know what is the character of those results which have been raised up in the Sandwich Islands by the efforts of the Missicnaries of the American Board, more especially as statements have been put forth which speak of the "frightful heathenism of the natives, their system of praying each other to death, incantations, and so forth." The testimony of Dr. Anderson, in all respects reliable, is just now very opportune. We shall therefore introduce some extracts from a narrative of a visit paid by him to the islands in April last.

The first point touched was Honolulu, the metropolis of the islands, situated in Oahu. Of this he says

Of Honolulu I may speak hereafter, when I have had more opportunity to see it. I will only say now that I was not prepared for the verdure and beauty at this season, resulting mainly from the introduction of water from the Nuuana valley, nor for the city-like appearance of its streets and houses. The valley itself, having now a street