IV. MISSIONS IN INDIA AND CEYLON.

"From India even unto Ethiopia."—Esther i. 1.

"And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols......pourtrayed upon the wall round about.”—Ezekiel viii. 9, 10.

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Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."—2 Cor. x. 5.

1. Ir has been truly said, that "India is the noblest trust ever committed to a Christian nation." A population of two hundred and sixty millions, consisting of twenty-one distinct races, speaking fifty-one languages and dialects, have been providentially placed under the Government of Great Britain. We are especially entrusted as "executors" with the treasure of the Gospel in their behalf. While our rulers are endeavouring to give to India the blessings of a good and wise administration, the Churches not only of England, but of Protestant Europe and America, are now vying with each other in Missionary efforts for the spread of Christianity in this land of idols. The first Protestant Mission was commenced in 1705 by the Danish Missionaries Ziegenbalg and Plutsho, sent out by King Frederick IV. to Tranquebar. This Mission was subsequently patronized by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The name of the venerable Schwartz is associated with this Mission from 1758 for nearly forty years. In 1793, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed, and its first Missionaries, Carey and Thomas, were sent to the Danish settlement of Serampore, in Bengal, as the East India Company was opposed to the introduction of Christian Missions into India. In 1815, through the persistent zeal of Charles Grant, Henry Thornton, William Wilberforce, Claudius Buchanan, John Venn, and Lord Teignmouth, the friends of Missions were successful in obtaining toleration for Missions in India from the British Parliament. In the years' which have since elapsed the opinions of the Indian authorities have undergone a remarkable change. Government connexion with idolatrous worship finally ceased in 1845-9.

2. There are, however, some who, inheriting the prejudices

of the past generation, are willingly ignorant of what is going on around them. To this class of residents and travellers we may oppose the testimony of a Parliamentary Blue-book, called, "A Statement exhibiting the Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India during the Years 1871-2, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, April 28th, 1873;" from which we make the following extract :—

NUMBER OF SOCIETIES AND MISSIONARIES-STATIONS.

The Protestant Missions of India, Burmah, and Ceylon, are carried on by 35 Missionary Societies, in addition to local agencies, and now employ the services of 606 foreign Missionaries, of whom 551 are ordained. They are widely and rather evenly distributed over the different presidencies, and they occupy at the present time 522 principal stations, and 2,500 subordinate stations. The entire presidency of Bengal, from Calcutta to Peshawar, is well supplied with Missionaries, and they are numerous in the southern portion of the Madras presidency. The various Missions in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, are strong in labourers, and almost all the principal towns of the empire have at least one Missionary. A great impulse was given to the efforts of these Societies by the changes in public policy inaugurated by the Charter of 1833, and since that period the number of Missionaries, and the outlay on their Missions, have continued steadily to increase. In 1852 there were 459 Missionaries in India at 320 stations, and in 1872 the number of Missionaries was increased to 606, and of stations to 522.

CO-OPERATION OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.

This large body of European and American Missionaries settled in India, bring their various moral influences to bear upon the country with the greater force, because they act together with a compactness which is but little understood. Though belonging to various denominations of Christians, yet from the nature of their work, their isolated position, and their long experience, they have been led to think rather of the numerous questions on which they agree, than of those on which they differ; and they co-operate heartily together. Localities are divided among them by friendly arrangements, and, with few exceptions, it is a fixed rule among them, that they will not interfere with each other's converts and each other's spheres of duty. School books, translations of the Scriptures and religious works, prepared by various Missions, are used in common; and helps and improvements secured by one Mission, are freely placed at the command of all. The large body of Missionaries resident in each of the presidency towns, form Missionary Conferences, hold periodic meetings, and act together on public matters. They have frequently addressed the Indian Government on important social questions involving the welfare of the native community, and have suggested valuable improvements

in existing laws. During the past twenty years, on five occasions, general conferences have been held for mutual consultation respecting their Missionary work; and in January last, at the latest of these gatherings, at Allahabad, one hundred and twenty-one Missionaries met together, belonging to twenty different Societies, and including several men of long experience who have been forty years in India. The railway system rendered such a gathering easy, and brought the members of the Conference from all parts of the empire.

VARIOUS FORMS OF LABOURS.

The labours of the foreign Missionaries in India assume many forms. Apart from their special duties as public preachers and pastors, they constitute a valuable body of educators: they contribute greatly to the cultivation of the native languages and literature, and all who are resident in rural districts are appealed to for medical help to the sick.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGES.

No body of men pays greater attention to the study of the native languages than the Indian Missionaries. With several Missionary Societies (as with the Indian Government) it is a rule that the younger Missionaries shall pass a series of examinations in the vernacular of the district in which they reside; and the general practice has been, that all who have to deal with natives who do not know English, shall seek a high proficiency in these vernaculars. The result is too remarkable to be overlooked. The Missionaries, as a body, know the natives of India well: they have prepared hundreds of works, suited both for schools and for general circulation, in the fifteen most prominent languages of India, and in several other dialects. They are the compilers of several dictionaries and grammars; they have written important works on the native classics and the system of philosophy; and they have largely stimulated the great increase of the native literature prepared in recent years by educated native gentlemen.

MISSION PRESSES AND PUBLICATIONS.

The Mission presses in India are twenty-five in number. During the ten years between 1852 and 1862, they issued 1,634,940 copies of the Scriptures, chiefly single books; and 8,604,038 tracts, school books, and books for general circulation. During the ten years between 1862 and 1872, they issued 3,410 new works in thirty languages; and circulated 1,315,503 copies of books of Scripture, 2,375,040 school-books, and 8,750,129 Christian books and tracts. Last year two valuable works were brought to completion,—the revision of the Bengali Bible, and the first publication of the entire Bible in Sanskrit. Both were the work of the Rev. Dr. Wenger, of the Baptist Mission in Calcutta.

MISSIONARY SCHOOLS-ANGLO-VERNACULAR SCHOOLS.

The Missionary Schools in India are chiefly of two kinds, purely vernacular and Anglo-vernacular schools. The former are maintained chiefly, but not exclusively, in country districts and small towns; the education given in them is confined pretty much to reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, and instruction in simple religious works, such as the "Peep of Day." In the Anglo-vernacular schools a much higher education is given, not only in those subjects which are taught in English, but in those in which the vernacular is employed; a higher knowledge even of the vernacular languages is imparted in these schools than is usually given in purely native schools. These schools are most in demand in country towns, in the presidency cities, and in the districts immediately around them. Bengal has long been celebrated for its English schools; and the Missionary Institutions in Calcutta still hold a conspicuous place in the system and means of education generally available to the young Hindus of that city. All the principal Missionary Institutions teach up to the high standard of the entrance examination in the three Universities of India; and many among them have a College department in which students can be led on through the two examinations for B.A., even up to the M.A. degree. A table showing the number

and range of these schools will be found in the Appendix.

TRAINING COLLEGES-ZENANA SCHOOLS.

In addition to the work of these schools it should be noted that several Missions maintain Training Colleges for their Native Ministers and Clergy, and Training Institutions for Teachers. These Colleges and Institutions are eighty-five in number, and contain 1,618 students. The Training Institutions for girls are twenty-eight in number, with 567 students. An important addition to the efforts made on behalf of female education is seen in the Zenana schools and classes which are maintained and instructed in the houses of Hindu gentlemen. These schools have been established during the last sixteen years, and now number 1,300 classes, with 1,997 scholars, most of whom are adults. Of these, 938 classes, with 1,523 scholars, are in Bengal and the North-West Provinces. The effort has not yet much affected the other provinces of India.

INCREASE IN THE SCHOOLS.

The great progress made in these Missionary schools, and the area which they occupy, will be seen from the following fact. They now contain 60,000 scholars more than they did twenty years ago. The figures are as follows :-In 1852 the scholars numbered 81,850 ; and in 1872 the number was 142,952.

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS.

The high character of the general education given in the College department of these institutions may be gathered from the following facts. Between 1862 and 1872, 1,621 students passed the entrance examination in one or other of the three Indian Universities; 513 students passed the first examination in arts; 154 took the degree of B.A. ; 18 took the degree of M.A. ; and 6 that of B.L. A considerable proportion of the amount expended upon education by the Missionaries in India is provided by school fees, which, in recent years, have been much increased. The statistical tables, however, do not give the exact amount, neither do they state the amount received from the Government grants-in-aid. In the higher education it is believed that little expenditure falls upon the Missionary Societies beyond the salaries of the superintending Missionaries.

PROTESTANT CONVERTS-RATE OF INCREASE.

The statistical returns now referred to state very clearly and completely the number of the converts who have been gathered in the various Indian Missions, and the localities in which they may be found. They show also that a great increase has taken place in the numbers of these converts during the last twenty years; as might be expected from the lapse of time, the effects of earlier instruction, and the increased number of Missionaries employed. In 1852 the entire number of Protestant native converts in India, Burmah, and Ceylon, amounted to 22,400 communicants, in a community of 128,000 native Christians of all ages. In 1862 the communicants were 49,688, and the native Christians were 213,182. In 1872, the communicants were 78,494, and the converts, young and old, numbered 318,363.

NUMBER OF SMALL CONGREGATIONS.

A very large number of the Christian communities scattered over India are small, especially in the country towns; and they contain fewer than a hundred communicants and three hundred converts of all ages. At the same time some of these small congregations consist of educated men, have considerable resources, and are able to provide for themselves. From them have sprung a large number of the native Clergy and Ministers in different Churches, who have received a high education in English Institutions, and who are now taking a prominent place in the instruction and management of an indigenous Christian Church. The Native Ministry contains also men who have been well trained through the medium of the vernacular languages; but this important body of men are encouraged to master the English language also, that they may secure access to the vast store of Biblical literature which it contains, and which will give them direct aid in their duties.