creased within these few years, we have no manner of doubt; and we confess we cannot see what is likely to impede its progress. The party which it has formed in the Legislature; and the artful neutrality with which they give respectability to their small number, the talents of some of this party, and the unimpeached excellence of their characters, all make it probable that fanaticism will increase rather than diminish. The Methodists have made an alarming inroad into the Church, and they are attacking the army and navy. The principality of Wales, and the East India Company they have already acquired. All mines and subterraneous places belong to them; they creep into hospitals and small schools, and so work their way upwards. It is the custom of the religious neutrals to beg all the little livings, particularly in the north of England, from the minister for the time being; and from these fixed points they make incursions upon the happiness and common sense of the vicinage. We most sincerely deprecate such an event; but it will excite in us no manner of surprise, if a period arrives when the churches of the sober and orthodox part of the English clergy are completely deserted by the middling and lower classes of the community. We do not prophesy any such event; but we contend that it is not impossible, hardly improbable. If such, in future, should be the situation of this country, it is impossible to say what political animosities may not be ingrafted upon this marked and dangerous division of mankind into the godly and the ungodly. At all events, we are quite sure that happiness will be destroyed, reason degraded, sound religion banished from the world; and that when fanaticism becomes too foolish and too prurient to be endured (as is at last sure to be the case), it will be suc ceeded by a long period of the grossest immorality, atheism, and debauchery. as to tamper with the Toleration Act, or to attempt to put down these follies by the intervention of the law. If experience has taught us anything, it is the absurdity of controlling men's notions of eternity by acts of Parliament. Something may perhaps be done, in the way of ridicule, towards turning the popular opinion. It may be as well to extend the privileges of the dissenters to the members of the Church of England; for, as the law now stands, any man who dissents from the Established Church may open a place of worship where he pleases. No orthodox clergyman can do so, without the consent of the parson of the parish, who always refuses, because he does not choose to have his monopoly disturbed; and refuses, in parishes where there are not accommodations for one half of the persons who wish to frequent the Church of England, and in instances where he knows that the chapels from which he excludes the established worship will be immediately occupied by sectaries. It may be as well to encourage in the early education of the clergy, as Mr. Ingram recommends, a better and more animated method of preaching; and it may be necessary, hereafter, if the evil gets to a great height, to relax the articles of the English Church, and to admit a greater variety of Christians within the pale. The greatest and best of all remedies, is perhaps the education of the poor; ; nor we are astonished, that the Established Church in England is not awake to this mean of arresting the progress of Methodism. Of course, none of these things will be done is it clear, if they were done, that they would do much good. Whatever happens, we are for common sense and orthodoxy. Insolence, servile politics, and the spirit of persecution, we condemn and attack, whenever we observe them; but to the learning, the moderation, and the rational piety of the Establishment, we most earnestly wish a decided victory over the nonsense, the melancholy, and the madness of the Tabernacle.* We are not sure that this evil admits of any cure, or of any considerable palliation. We most sincerely hope that the government of this country will never be guilty of such indiscretion have neglected to advert in the proper *There is one circumstance to which we God send that our wishes be not in | European companies, about 164, bevain, sides officers; and many British officers of the native troops were murdered by the insurgents. Subsequent to this explosion, there was a mutiny at Nundydroog; and, in one day, 450 Mahomedan Sepoys were disarmed, and turned out of the fort, on the ground of an intended massacre. It appeared, also, from the information of the commanding officer at Tritchinopoly, that, at that period, a spirit of disaffection had manifested itself at Bangalore, and other places; and seemed to gain ground in every direction. On the 3rd of December, 1806, the government of Madras issued the following proclamation : "A PROCLAMATION. "The Right Hon. the Governor in Council, having observed that, in some late instances, an extraordinary degree of agitation has prevailed among several corps of Cunningham's Christianity in India. Lon- the native army of this coast, it has been don. Hatchard. his Lordship's particular endeavour to Answer to Major Scott Waring. Extracted ascertain the motives which may have led from the Christian Observer. Observations on the present State of the East India Company. By Major Scott Waring. Ridgeway. London. AT two o'clock in the morning, July the 10th, 1806, the European barracks, at Vellore, containing then four complete companies of the 69th regiment, were surrounded by two battalions of Sepoys in the Company's service, who poured in a heavy fire of musketry, at every door and window, upon the soldiers; at the same time the European sentries, the soldiers at the main-guard, and the sick in the hospital, were put to death; the officers' houses were ransacked, and everybody found in them murdered. Upon the arrival of the 19th Light Dragoons under Colonel Gillespie, the Sepoys were immediately attacked; 600 cut down upon the spot ; and 200 taken from their hiding-places, and shot. There perished, of the four place, the dreadful pillage of the earnings of the poor which is made by the Methodists. A case is mentioned in one of the numbers of these two magazines for 1807, of a poor man with a family, earning only twenty-eight shillings a week, who has made two donations of ten guineas each to the missionary fund! to conduct so different from that which formerly distinguished the native army. From this inquiry it has appeared that many persons of evil intention have endeavoured, for malicious purposes, to impress upon the native troops a belief that it is the wish of the British government to convert them by forcible means to Christianity; and his Lordship in Council has observed with concern, that such malicious reports have been believed by many of the native troops. The Right Hon. the Governor in Council, therefore, deems it proper, in this public manner, to repeat to the native troops his assurance, that the same respect which has been invariably shown by the British government for their religion and for their customs will be always continued; and that no interruption will be given to any native, whether Hindoo or Mussulman, in the practice of his religious ceremonies. "His Lordship in Council desires that the native troops will not give belief to the idle rumours which are circulated by enemies of their happiness, who endeavour, with the basest designs, to weaken the confidence of the troops in the British government. His Lordship in Council desires that the native troops will remember the constant attention and humanity which have been shown by the British government in providing for their comfort, by augmenting the pay of the native officers, characteristic of their various castes. and Sepoys; by allowing liberal pensions to The sons of the late Tippoo, with many those who have done their duty faithfully; noble Mussulmans deprived of office at by making ample provision for the families that time, resided in the fortress of of those who may have died in battle; and by receiving their children into the service Vellore, and in all probability contriof the Honourable Company, to be treated buted very materially to excite or to with the same care and bounty as their inflame those suspicions of designs fathers had experienced. against their religion, which are mentioned in the proclamation of the Madras Government, and generally known to have been a principal cause of the insurrection at Vellore. It was this insurrection which first gave birth to the question upon missions to India; and before we deliver any opinion upon the subject itself, it will be necessary to state what had been done in former periods towards disseminating the truths of the Gospel in India, and what new exertions had been made about the period at which this event took place. "The Right Hon. the Governor in Council trusts, that the native troops, remembering these circumstances, will be sensible of the happiness of their situation, which is greater than what the troops of any other part of the world enjoy; and that they will continue to observe the same good conduct for which they were distinguished in the days of Gen. Lawrence, of Sir Eyre Coote, and of other renowned heroes. "The native troops must, at the same time, be sensible, that if they should fail in the duties of their allegiance, and should show themselves disobedient to their officers, their conduct will not fail to receive merited punishment, as the British government is not less prepared to punish the guilty, than to protect and distinguish those who are deserving of its favour. "It is directed that this paper be translated with care into the Tamul, Telinga, and Hindoostany languages; and that copies of it be circulated to each native battalion, of which the European officers are enjoined and ordered to be careful in making it known to every native officer and Sepoy under his command. "It is also directed, that copies of the paper be circulated to all the magistrates and collectors under this government, for the purpose of being fully understood in all parts of the country. "Published by order of the Right Hon. the Governor in Council. "G. BUCHAN, "Chief Secretary to Government. "Dated in Fort St. George, 3rd Dec. 1806. More than a century has elapsed since the first Protestant missionaries appeared in India. Two young divines, selected by the University of Halle, were sent out in this capacity by the King of Denmark, and arrived at the Danish settlement of Tranquebar in 1706. The mission thus begun, has been ever since continued, and has been assisted by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge established in this country. The same Society has, for many years, employed German missionaries, of the Lutheran persuasion, for propagating the doctrines of Christianity amongst the natives of India. In 1799, their number was six; it is now reduced to five. The Scriptures translated into the Tamulic language, which is vernacular in the southern parts of the peninsula, have, for more than half a century, been printed at the Tranquebar press, for the use of Danish missionaries and their converts. A printing press, in Scott Waring's Preface, iii.—v. So late as March, 1807, three months after the date of this proclamation, so universal was the dread of a general revolt among the native troops, that the British officers attached to the na-deed, was established at that place by tive troops constantly slept with loaded pistols under their pillows. It appears that an attempt had been made by the military men at Madras, to change the shape of the Sepoy turban into something resembling the helmet of the light infantry of Europe, and to prevent the native troops from wearing on their foreheads the marks the two first Danish missionaries; and, in 1714, the Gospel of St. Matthew, translated into the dialect of Malabar, was printed there. Not a line of the Scriptures, in any of the languages current on the coast, had issued from the Bengal press on September 13, 1806. It does appear, however, about the period of the mutiny at Vellore, and a few years previous to it, that the number of the missionaries on the coast had been increased. In 1804, the Missionary Society, a recent institution, sent a new mission to the coast of Coromandel; from whose papers, we think it right to lay before our readers the following extracts : * March 31st, 1805. Waited on A.B. He says, Government seems to be very willing to forward our views. We may stay at Madras as long as we please; and when we intend to go into the country, on our application to the governor by letter, he would issue orders for granting us pass ports, which would supersede the necessity of a public petition.-Lord's Day."-Trans. of Miss. Society, Vol. II. p. 365. In a letter from Brother Ringletaube to Brother Cran, he thus expresses himself: "The passports Government has promised you are so valuable, that I should not think a journey too troublesome to obtain one for myself, if I could not get it through your interference. In hopes that your application will suffice to obtain one for me, I enclose you my Gravesend passport, that will give you the particulars concerning my person." -Trans. of Miss. Society, Vol. II. p. 369. They obtain their passports from Government; and the plan and objects of their mission are printed, free of expense, at the Government press. Government press free of expense. On his return, we consulted with our two brethren on the subject, and resolved to accept the Doctor's favour. We have begun to prepare it for the press." - Trans. of Miss. Society, Vol. II. p. 394. In page 89. of the 18th Number, Vol. III., the missionaries write thus to the Society in London, about a fortnight before the massacre at Vellore: "Every encouragement is offered us by Hitherto they have granted us every rethe established government of the country. quest, whether solicited by ourselves or others. Their permission to come to this place; their allowing us an acknowledgment for preaching in the fort, which sanctions us in our work, together with the grant which they have lately given us to hold a large spot of ground every way suited for missionary labours, are objects of the last importance, and remove every impediment which might be apprehended from this source. We trust not to an arm of flesh; but when we reflect on these things, we cannot but behold the loving-kindness of the Lord." In a letter of the same date, we learn, from Brother Ringletaube, the following fact: "The Dewan of Travancore sent me word, that if I despatched one of our Christians to him, he would give me leave to build a church at Magilandy. Accordingly, I shall send in a short time. For this important service, our Society is indebted alone to Colonel without whose determined and fearless interposition, none of their missionaries would have been able to set a foot in that country." In page 381. Vol. II., Dr. Kerr, one of the chaplains on the Madras establishment, baptizes a Mussulman who had applied to him for that purpose: upon the first application, it appears that Dr. Kerr hesitated; but upon the Mussulman threatening to rise against him on the day of judgment, Dr. Kerr complies. It appears that in the Tinevelly district, about a year before the massacre of Vellore, not only riots, but very serious persecutions of the converted natives had taken place, from the jealousy evinced by the Hindoos and Mussulmen at the progress of the Gospel. "Rev. Sir, I thought you sufficiently | rapatuam has informed me, that the above acquainted with the late vexations of the Manikar has forced a Christian, of the VillChristians in those parts, arising from the ally caste, who attends at our church, to blind zeal of the Heathen and Mahometans; sweep the temple of the Idol. A severe the latter viewing with a jealous eye the flogging was given on this occasion.'-From progress of the gospel, and trying to destroy, such facts, the postscript continues, 'You or at least to clog it, by all the crafty means may guess at the deplorable situation of our in their power. I therefore did not choose fellow-believers, as long as every Manikar to trouble you; but as no stop has been put thinks he has a right to do them what vioto those grievances, things go on from bad lence he pleases.' to worse, as you will see from what has happened at Hickadoe. The Catechist has providentially escaped from that outrageous attempt, by the assistance of ten or twelve of our Christians, and has made good his flight to Palamcotta; whilst the exasperated mob, coming from Padeckepalloe, hovered round the village, plundering the houses of the Christians, and illtreating their families, by kicking, flogging, and other bad usage; these monsters not even forbearing to attack, strip, rob, and miserably beat the Catechist Jesuadian, who, partly from illness and partly through fear, had shut himself up in his house. have heard various accounts of this sad event; but yesterday the Catechist himself called on me, and told me the truth of it. From what he says, it is plain that the Manikar of Wayrom (a black peace-officer of that place) has contrived the whole affair, with a view to vex the Christians. I doubt not that these facts have been reported to the Rev. Mr. K. by the countrypriest; and if I mention them to you, it is with a view to show in what a forlorn state the poor Christians hereabout are, and how desirable a thing it would be, if the Rev. Mr. Ringletaube were to come hither as soon as possible; then tranquillity would be restored, and future molestations prevented. I request you to communicate this letter to him with my compliments. I am, Sir, &c. Manapaar, June 8, 1805.' "It must be observed, to the glory of that Saviour who is strong in weakness, that many of the Neophytes in that district have withstood all these fiery trials with firmness. Many also, it is to be lamented, have fallen off in the evil day, and at least so far yielded to the importunity of their persecutors, as again to daub their faces and bodies with paint and ashes, after the manner of the Heathen. How great this falling off has been, I am not yet able to judge. But I am happy to add, that the Board of Revenue has issued the strictest orders against all unprovoked persecution." I-Trans. of Miss. Society, Vol. II. pp. 431— 433. "This letter left a deep impression on my mind, especially when I received a fuller account of the troubles of the Christians. By the Black underlings of the collectors, they are frequently driven from their homes, put in the stocks, and exposed for a fortnight together to the heat of the raging sun, and the chilling dews of the night, all because there is no European Missionary to bring their complaints to the ear of Government, who, I am happy to add, have never been deficient in their duty of procuring redress, where the Christians have had to complain of real injuries. One of the most trying cases mentioned in a postscript of the above letter, is that of Christians being flogged till they consent to hold the torches to the Heathen Idols. The letter says, 'The Catechist of Collesig The following quotations evince how far from indifferent the natives are to the progress of the Christian religion in the East: "1805. Oct. 10. A respectable Brahman in the Company's employ called on us. We endeavoured to point out to him the important object of our coming to India, and mentioned some of the great and glorious truths of the gospel, which we wished to impart in the native language. He seemed much hurt, and told us the Gentoo religion was of a divine origin, as well as the Christian;-that heaven was like a palace which has many doors, at which people may enter;-that variety is pleasing to God, &c.-and a number of other arguments which we hear every day. On taking leave, he said, 'The Company has got the country (for the English are very clever), and perhaps, they may succeed in depriving the Brahmans of their power, and let you have it.' "November 16th. Received a letter from the Rev. Dr. Taylor; we are happy to find he is safely arrived at Calcutta, and that our Baptist brethren are labouring with increasing success. The natives around us are astonished to hear this news. It is bad news to the Brahmans, who seem unable to account for it. They say the world is going to ruin.". - Trans. of Miss. Society, Vol. II. pp. 442 and 446. "While living in the town, our house was watched by the natives from morning to night, to see if any persons came to converse |