J. BACKHOUSE'S MISSION TO AUSTRALIA. THERE is at present in circulation among Friends a second part of" Extracts from the Letters of James Backhouse, now engaged in a religious visit to Van Diemans Land," &c. Darton and Harvey, 1837. pp. 78, 8vo.

This publication does not bring down the account of the mission to a later period than May, 1835. It leaves Mr. B. and his companion at Sydney Cove, whither they had just returned from a visit to the penal settlement of Norfolk Island, performed with the consent of Governor (Major-General) Bourke ; and which, with the voyage thither and back, had occupied them for the preceding three months.

While we rejoice in the success of every attempt to preach to sinners (and especially to such characters as these Friends have been amongst); the great doctrines of repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot but lament the mixture (in this journal) of occasional exhibitions of educational prejudice and mystical views, with much interesting information. The Friends appear to have taken much pains, during a three years' continuance, moving about, in that colony and its appendages, to render them. selves useful, not only by religious and

moral advice to the prisoners, but by reporting, at various times, to the Government, the result of their observations, with a view to an improved management of the penal rule. They have also, it appears, made many converts to Quakerism, and settled some meetings of that denomination; with what probability of a charitable agreement and Christian co-operation with such as may have preceded them in religious labour there, may be gathered from the following specimens :

"12th 4th mo. [1834.]-We crossed the Kangaroo Point in the steam-packet. We made a few calls in our way to our intended quarters, where we spent the evening pleasantly. After reading, we spent some time in silence; at length I thought it best to inform the company, that I did not apprehend it was my place, at that time, to express any thing in the way of exhortation or prayer. On my doing so, the master of the house knelt down with his family, and uttered some petitions. We thought it our place, on this occasion, to keep our seats, and thus to bear our testimony against that disposition which determines, that on such occasions something in the way of prayer shall be uttered, and which has by this means a strong tendency to draw away from in

dividual inward prayer, and to cherish a feeling as if this duty might be performed by one as praying for the rest, and as though prayer must necessarily be vocal. On this subject, and on the advantage of cultivating in silence an individual inward exercise, and not engaging vocally, except when the mind is brought under the feeling of the matter, we afterwards had some satisfactory conversation. My mind being drawn towards the prisoner-servants, we visited them, accompanied by some of the family, and had an open opportunity with them, both in testimony and in prayer."-p. 26.

"15th 4th mo.-In the evening we called on a religious character, and had a long conversation with him on various subjects. He admits that silent retirement in private is a state most favourable to devotion, but does not seem at all able to enter into the views of Friends in regard to public worship, at least as far as regards the silent part of it, and of meetings being held sometimes wholly in silence. I believe this is a mystery to many other good men ; and unless the Lord opens their understandings to see the advantage of this retirement of soul before him, I have no expectation that they will understand it by argument, notwithstanding the matter is so plain to those who have felt the benefit of it, that we rarely find they can be satisfied with any other mode of worship."-p. 27.

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This deplorable mistake (such as regards both principle and conduct) will never be rectified, while it is admitted by those who converse with Friends on the subject, that silent waiting is, in any proper or scriptural sense," worship;" or that the sitting together of a congregation in that way, (miscalled an cise,") does tend to the mutual edification of the members, or to the establishment of the body in the truth. That it does become, by education or practice, pleasant to individuals in whom a degree of pious zeal is felt, so that they afterwards distaste other modes of ap

exer

proaching unto God, is manifest from experience; but the test of any principle which may be recommended for the adoption of Christians at large is surely to be found in the fruits it brings forth, on the great scale; and these have not been such (manifestly not such) in a sound, scriptural, and religious view of the subject, in the modern Friendsreleased as they now are, in great measure, from obloquy and persecution—as would justify the adoption of the principle they assume. Let us take the following morsels of doctrine from the pen of our friend Backhouse himself, in proof of the miserable confusion of thought, incident at times to those who are in the habit of sitting at such meetings:

"31st 7th mo.-The week-day meeting was small. It was a season to be remembered to the comfort of those who are brought to wait for the revelation of Jesus, by the Spirit given to [of] the Father; so that they may feel his power raised into dominion in them, over all the powers of darkness, and know the true Shepherd to put them forth, and go before them; and thus become built up in him, members of that church of God against which the gates of hell shall not prevail; whilst all systems that are mixed up with the short-sighted views of human expediency must ultimately have the unsound mixture rooted out of them, or otherwise must become disorganised, however they may, for a season, enlarge their borders."—p. 37.

"26th 10th mo. (First day.)-In the morning meeting, a man who is drawing towards Friends, reproved some persons for whispering; and afterward remarked, that our sitting in silence might appear strange to some, who had not considered the matter, but that for his own part he could bear testimony to the benefit of the practice that before leaving England he had for some time attended a little meeting of Friends, in which often not a word was spoken; and that when these meetings had been held

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in silence, he had been more edified, as his mind was turned to the light of Christ, than ever he had been under the most learned studied discourses; and that he was convinced others would also be edified even in silence, if their minds were turned to the inward manifestation of that light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, which is given us, through Christ."*-p. 46.

"Hobarton, 30th 11th mo. (First day.)-Our meetings were largely attended, and were seasons of comfort. Daniel Wheeler and myself had to labour in them for the more full reception, practically, of the doctrine of the inward dominion of Christ, as the leader and governor of his people, without submission to whose Spirit we can never truly assure ourselves of the pardon of our sins, even through faith in the blood of Christ; as he said, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.'"-p. 51.

What a contrast to such convincements' do the following conversions present! The narration has reference to an aged man, transported for seven years, (and, as it proved, for life,) for robbing a fishpond, having been "a great poacher :"

"About four years ago, a Wesleyan tract-distributor found this man' threeparts drunk,' one First-day morning, in a room where several others were in bed, completely intoxicated: some had been fighting in the night, and the floor was smeared with their blood. Hopeless as this state of things was, the man lent them some tracts, which the individual of whom I am writing was induced to read, and which inclined him to go to hear the Wesleyans, who began about that time to preach in the neighbour

Here we have Christ," the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," given us through Christ! In John i. 9, it is clearly the person, Christ, that is intended.-EDs.

hood.

Himself and one of his compa

nions became deeply awakened to a sense of their sinful state, and groaned under its burden. In confidence in the declaration, that the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much,' his burdened friend and himself set out to Hobarton one evening, and went to a Wesleyan meeting, where they stated their object in coming, and desired the prayers of the congregation. By their own account, and that of others, it appears to have been a time of great excitement; yet the Lord, who condescends to the weakness of the upright in heart, was pleased to grant an answer of peace to their fervent and vociferous supplications; and these two pilgrims returned home under a sense of the pardoning mercy offered to mankind in and through the Saviour. Their subsequent walk has proved, that however much excitement existed on the occasion, it was not the illusion of a heated imagination which made the difference in these two men; they remain established, quiet Christians, and, through the continued labours of the Wesleyans, light has gradually diffused itself around them; so that to these first-fruits have been gathered, from the drunken and dissolute, a number of others, who form the little congregation of the Wesleyans at O'Brien's Bridge; whose influence, notwithstanding some grievous instances of backsliding, has greatly altered for the better the population of the neighbourhood."

With these guards on the doctrine of" silent waiting" and "perceptible influences," and "the leadings of the Shepherd of Israel," (to common duties!) here and there mistakenly advanced, we may now recommend this publication to the perusal of such of our readers as are interested in the success of missions-(we wish we could say, in this instance, without reserve or qualification, Christian missions) ~ those important parts of the wo

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ON THE STATE OF FEMALES IN CHINA.

(Concluded from page 64.)

MR. BRIDGEMAN, in one of his morning walks round the suburbs of Canton, stumbled over the dead body of a female infant that had been thrown out in the night and Mr. Gutzlaff, once walking along the shore, fell in with a similar object; when, on asking the by-standers about it, he was told, with a smile of contempt, that "it was only a girl."

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The writer was once conversing with a Chinese, a Penang, whom he wished to interest about better things; when, in order to engage his attention, he asked him respecting his family, and how many children he had.

“ Alas!” said he, "my fate is poor, and I have had nothing but daughters, all of whom I have put out of the way. Since my departure from China my wife had another child born, which I directed her also to destroy, should it be a female; but the foolish creature spared it." This he said with the greatest indifference and unconcern, as if he had been speaking of drowning so many puppies; and the horror of being in company with a murderer was increased by the additional horror of perceiving that he considered it no evil.

The laws of China do not denounce this practice as a capital, or even a punishable offence. Their moral writers do, indeed, dissuade their readers from the deed; and the imperial officers do sometimes condescend to reason the case with the people, and to advise them to relinquish it on the ground of propriety and expediency, but never threaten the perpetrators with punishment; nor would they think of inquiring into the commission or extent of the evil. No prosecutions are ever presented before the judicial courts in China, on the ground of this practice in that country. No person thinks of

going before a magistrate, unless to complain of some personal or relative injury; and as, in the instances now referred to, no person considers himself aggrieved, so no complaint is made, and the matter never comes into court. The poor infants who are the victims, of course, cannot tell their woes; their parents, who are the perpetrators, will not report the transaction; and the neighbours, whom it does not concern, will never trouble themselves about other people's business; and so the earth conceals their blood, and the ground covers their slain. Parents are sometimes brought before a magistrate for killing their grown-up children, when their relatives by marriage complain of a husband or son-in-law being killed; but the punishment for this offence is merely a temporary banishment, or a pecuniary fine, and the business is soon hushed up or smoothed

over.

So

Excluded as foreigners are from the interior of China, and unable and unwilling as the magistrates of the land are to furnish the world with exact accounts of the number of female infants destroyed, it is difficult for us to ascertain the extent of the evil; but if we assume that one per cent. only is the proportion of female murders to births, then we must admit that 50,000 female infants are annually smothered in that country as soon as they are born. great, indeed, has been the havoc in some of the provinces, that the proportion of females is materially decreased, and considerable difficulty is experienced by young men in obtaining partners for life. Large dowries, or rather purchase-monies, must be paid; and many, to avoid the expense and trouble, abscond with female slaves, to whom they are afterwards united in marriage.

When female infants are spared, they

are immediately subjected to the process of the feet-binding system, by which their feet are cramped, and restrained from growing, till the feet of an adult woman are no longer than those of a female infant. This inflicts great and constant pain on the dear children, who weep day and night on account of the bitter agony they endure; and who frequently, when out of sight of their mothers, tear off the bandages, and throw them away, only to be re-applied, with a good scolding and flogging, as soon as their parents discover it.

This practice prevents their moving much about for air or exercise, and consequently renders them delicate, feeble, and infirm; and though it adds to their beauty, in the estimation of the Chinese, does, by the enlargement of the ankles, and the awkwardness of gait which it occasions, only deform, as well as distress the individuals.

Wherever the writer went in China, he found the practice universal; and none, except old women, were seen without the bandages: as, therefore, the poorest classes of females came principally under his view, and as none of them were exempt from the infliction, we may assume the practice to be universal throughout the empire.

When the girls grow up to the age of ten, they are immediately immured, and shut out from the sight of men till their marriage; after which, if their friends can afford it, they are still kept in a kind of honourable captivity, and never allowed to move out, except in sedan chairs, encompassed by a sort of moveable curtain, which prevents them from being seen. Education is seldom or ever afforded to females, not on account of any prejudice, or supposition of intellectual inferiority, but simply because the Chinese imagine that learning will be of no use to women; and because the customs of the country, with regard to the seclusion of females,

render it difficult for them to avail themselves of the opportunities com

monly presented for acquiring knowledge.

While a Chinese female resides in the house of her parents, she is employed in doing the drudgery of the household. All her relatives, particularly the superior ones, require of her unreserved obedience and submission, and return her nothing but unkindness and insult.

On her marriage she is regularly sold; and, on her arrival at her husband's dwelling, she has to perform the same manual duties, and to submit to the same indignities there as in her parents' dwelling. She becomes immediately the slave, not only of her husband, but of his parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins of every degree; so that it is considered an act of filial piety for a young man to marry a wife, that he may thereby introduce a new servant into the family, who shall, in his absence, more than supply his lack of service towards his own parents. In short, it is only when a female becomes old, and lives long enough to see a large family rising up around her, that she gets above the condition of a menial.

As an exemplification of what females are subjected to in China, in addition to the common tyrannies and oppressions of the domestic circle, it may be mentioned, that they are sometimes stolen, bought, or picked up, when infants, and trained for the purpose of begging or prostitution. In order to constitute them good beggars, and to render them objects of compassion, their eyes are put out; and the poor little things, some of them not more than three years old, are made to go out into the streets, where they may be seen knocking their heads against the stones till the sound is heard to a considerable distance, while they lift up their voices in the most piteous manner, to implore the compassion of strangers. One young woman was frequently seen, by the foreigners of Canton, whose legs had both of them been cut off by ligatures bound tighter