mains in an unsettled state. Thus is the Lord of Hosts giving victory to our troops-surely it is for a wise and merciful end.

*

** We are indebted to our contemporaries the Calcutta Christian Advocate, the Oriental Spectator, and the Herald for the following items of intelligence and information for which we tender our best thanks.-ED.

3.-TWENTY-SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE BENGAL AUXILIARY TO THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

On Sabbath the 15th November, Sermons were preached on behalf of the above Society. The Rev. A. F. Lacroix preached in the morning at the Union Chapel from Rom. i. 16; and the Rev. J. Macdonald in the evening at the same place from James iv. 17. The Rev. Charles Piffard preached at the Cooly Bazar Chapel on the same evening.

The 22nd Anniversary Meeting of the Society was held in the Union Chapel on the Evening of Tuesday last: there was a respectable attendance, as attendances go in India. The services commenced with devotional exercises conducted by the Rev. Mr. Gogerly, at the conclusion of which A. Beattie, Esq. took the chair, and called upon the Rev. Mr. Boaz, the Secretary of the Society, to read the Annual Report. This document will soon be before the public, and therefore we shall only state in the most general terms that it is very interesting; as bespeaking the faithful patience and noiseless perseverance with which the agents of the Society are prosecuting their work of faith and labor of love.

The Rev. Mr. Yates rose to move the first resolution as follows: "That the Report, extracts from which have just been read, be adopted and circulated by the Committee."

Mr. Yates said the Report is cheering as shewing that some good has been effected by the humble instrumentality of the few agents that are employed in the Missionary work. Compared with the great work to be achieved, all human instrumentality is weak and feeble. To go into the jungle and lay hold upon a savage tiger, to subjugate him and train him to the docile habits of a domesticated animal, seems an impossibility. Now the object of the Missionary work is to civilise men, to change their habits and modes of thinking and acting, to make those who are living in darkness and ignorance fit companions for intelligent Europeans. But this is not all; the object is still further to make them partakers of a new nature, and render them worthy associates of the pure and sinless angels. For this vast work the human agency is weak and feeble; but God works by feeble means. If you saw a man with a worm in his hand beating a mountain with it, and if he told you that he intended with the worm he held in his hand to break down the flinty mountain and level it with the plain, you would think he had lost his reason. Yet God has declared that he will thrash a mountain with a worm, and he is by the instrumentality of men, who are as worms, levelling all mountains and obstacles, and preparing a highway for the glorious advent of his Son. Sanballat and his associates derided the feeble Jews when they saw them rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with the instruments of war in one hand and the implements of masonry in the other; and so men of the world many deride the Church and call her romantic and extravagant in her expertations; but the hopes of the Church do not depend on the number of her agents, but on the infallible promises of God; if there was but one Missionary in all India, these promises would nevertheless stand for ever.

Capt. Paton seconded the resolution which was passed unanimously. The Rev. Mr. Lacroix moved the second resolution which was as follows: "That this meeting records its gratitude to the Lord for those of his favors which have appeared to this and other Missions during the last year, and at the same time

it would humble itself before God for the manifold sins which have mingled themselves with all their doings; while in the spirit of a scriptural faith and earnest believing prayer, it would commence and continue the labors of a new year."

He wished to act in the spirit of this resolution himself, and he wished all other Christians to do so. Those who have done most are most sensible of their deficiencies, and all must be sensible that they have fallen far short of their duties. Yet is there cause of warm gratitude to God. His work has been going on; and the time has been coming nearer when this whole people shall cast their idols to the moles and to the bats. It might be well, in order to give some idea of the various forms of evil with which, in our Missionary work, we have to contend, to state that the case mentioned in the Report (of a Guru proposing to embrace Christianity provided the Missionaries would lend him their aid in a suit he had pending in court), was by no means a solitary one. The natives have the idea, however often they are assured that it is a false one, that the Missionaries have great influence with European judges and magistrates. They therefore frequently ask them to use their influence in order to sway the minds of the judges in their favor when they happen to have actions is the court. A Zemindar who had uniformly resisted all Missionary operations lately offered to open his Zemindary to Missionaries, to give refuge to all native Christians, and permit his ryots to embrace the gospel, provided the Missionary would exert himself in this way. He blessed God that no countenance had ever been given by the Missionaries of this Society, nor he trusted by those of any other, to those ideas. He rejoiced at the catholic spirit in which the resolution was expressed, and he trusted we would all act in that spirit. We are called on to express our gratitude for the success that has attended the labours of other Societies as well as our own. We have heard of great success having attended the labours of the Church Mission, especially at Krishnaghur, and also the labours of the Baptist Mission, and shall we not rejoice at this? What is it if we be Episcopalians or Presbyterians or Independents; what is it if we be Baptists or Pædobaptists ? Are we not all Christians? Let us then as Christians unite against the hosts of Satan. When this battle has been fought and won it will be time enough to discuss our questions as to these lesser points. This is the spirit in which he desired to act, and he hoped it was also that of his brethren. While we ought to rejoice with our brethren over their success, we ought also to sympathize with them on account of their losses and sorrows. Our Baptist brethren especially have been severely tried dur. ing the past year. It may be that we shall soon be tried in a similar way. He had often remembered a circumstance from which our brethren may derive comfort under their bereavements. When a Missionary of the London Society, was on his death-bed, just in such a year to this Society as the last has been to the Baptist Society-a year in which they had lost many labourers. He said to Mr. Hill, who was lamenting over the fact "Do not be discouraged, remember that after the holy land was promised to Abraham and his seed, it was first occupied by his purchasing in it a grave. Yet God had not forgotten his promise, but in due time brought the seed of Abraham into the promised land." In like manner we may have to begin by making many graves, but the time will come when our Lord shall take possession of this land as part of His kingdom. Where are now the idols that the Greeks and Romans and our own ancestors the Celts and Teutones worshipped-ninety-nine out of a hundred of their descendants of the present day have never heard the names of Jupiter and Juno and Neptune, of Thor and Friga, So it will be in India: the day will come when the idols shall be cast to the moles and the bats, and the names of Shib and Durga shall be forgotten. In order to the realization of this glorious hope Christians must be alive to their duties. The de

claration of Nelson was, "England expects every man to do his duty," and our Lord expects the same of those who have entered into his service. Would our recent victories in Affghanistan ever have been achieved, had officers and men in our army, from the Commander-in-Chief down to the humblest camp-follower not been more strenuous in the discharge of their several duties than Christians generally are in the discharge of theirs?

The Rev. Mr. Smith seconded the resolution. He had at the meeting last year either moved or seconded a resolution precisely similar, but there was no impropriety in committing the same resolution to him again, for every day of the past year had shewn him renewed reason for humility and for gratitude. In reviewing the doings of the past year every one of us will find that every day, yea every hour, his short-comings and sins have been abundant, and the mercies of God equally abundant, so that our causes of humility and of gratitude may be measured by the hours that we have lived. There is no better preparation for the Missionary work than humility, an habitual temper of humility and special acts of humiliation. Till a man is divested of all fancied excellence in himself, till he finds that his talents and his acquirements are all but as dust in the balance towards the effecting the great work of the conversion of a soul, he is not fitted to enter upon Missionary work. It is only when we are weak that we are strong, for then only we can be endowed with strength from on high-for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. With humility then on account of our weakness, with special acts of humiliation on account of our manifold sins, let us go to the good work; and God will bestow his blessing on labours performed in this spirit. But in passing this resolution you also pledge yourselves to an expression of thankfulness, and if you be Christians in reality as well as in profession, you will feel gratitude as well as express it. The report which has been read affords abundant cause for humble thanksgiving. It tells of the body of Missionaries having been preserved in life and generally in health during a year of peculiar mortality. It tells of some souls added to the church of those who, so far as human knowledge can judge, shall be saved. It tells of others who have continued to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour by lives and conversations becoming the gospel. And it tells of others who have fallen asleep in Jesus and have gone to the enjoyment of eternal glory; and which of these is not cause to the Christian of abundant gratitude to God?-If you be Christians you need not be told that you ought to be grateful to learn of others being made partakers of like precious faith with yourselves. You once like the heathen around you wallowed in the deadly gulf of darkness, ignorance and sin; by the grace of God you have been rescued. Well what then? Are you to be told that you ought to rejoice when you hear of others also being rescued from the devouring flood and brought to the shores of happiness and peace? But while the report tells you of the few who have been rescued, it at least by implica tion reminds you of the many-the millions upon millions—who are yet in the same condemnation. Let the consideration of their miserable estate be before our minds when we come to consider the third part of our resolution, which has reference to your conduct for the future. We are to enter upon our work for another year. Yes our work; for you and 1 have all a work to do. We have to plunge into the tide and stem and buffet the waves, and lay hold upon the drowning wretches and drag them out. Say not it is enough for us if we be saved ourselves. What if this spirit of selfishness had been found in the breast of the Holy Jesus? Where had you been to-day? Do you say that this one and that one swims with a bold and nervous stroke, and it is possible they may of themselves reach the shore? My brethren, it cannot be. No one has ever yet of himself

come out from the gulf of heathenism to the shore of peace and happiness. They must be rescued, and rescued instrumentally by you. We are to go about our work in the spirit of scriptural faith and earnest persevering prayer, faith in the promises of God, faith in the power of God. He only can give us strength to swim. He only can give us the power to keep afloat ourselves, much more must the power to rescue others come from Him. Hence the necessity of earnest persevering prayer. Not the mere wedging in of a general, and, so far as we are concerned, an almost meaningless petition after we have prayed for all the blessings we desire for ourselves and our friends; but a spirit of earnest importunity, a spirit of determination to lay hold upon the blessing, a spirit like that of the widow who gave the unjust judge no rest day or night till he granted her request. And while we pray we are not to neglect our work; while all our success must come from God, the use of the appointed means is ours. It was the declaration of John Elliott, grounded on the experience of a long life spent in Missionary work, that " pains and prayer, by faith in Christ Jesus, will do any thing." But they must not be separated-there must neither be pains without prayer, nor prayers without pains. When men of the world have an object to accomplish, they know that it is indispensably necessary that they should devote their whole heart to it. It was thus that Nelson overcame all the obtacles that lay in his way and rose to the highest rank in his country's service and his country's esteem. Let us do likewise, and remember that we war not in a vain service. We are called to begin this year in faith, and we may be called to begin many years more in faith before we be privileged to see the full fruit of the Missionary enterprise. But we know assuredly that whether we ever see it or not, the gospel shall be preached to all for a witness to all; and from this and all other lands the chosen of God shall be gathered out to swell the train of our Lord at His coming.

The third resolution was moved by J. F. Hawkins, Esq.

"That the business of the Society for the next, be conducted by the Committee of the past year, Mr. H. Andrews being added to their number." Mr. H. said, Such a motion as this is generally reckoned a matter of mere form-but it ought not to be so. In appointing a Committee we ought at the same time to resolve to give them something to do. Both the treasurer, who has charge of the funds, and the other members of the Committee ought to have work given them. There must be an increased liberality on the part of Christians; there must be greater exertions made. Mr. H. in a very forcible but brief manner addressed the audience on the responsibilities resting upon us as God's stewards, and of the certainty that we must give an account of our stewardship at the last day, and this however we might get rid of our idea of responsibility now, would assuredly be felt then, and felt in a manner too fearful to be described and too awful to be contemplated with indifference.

The Rev. Mr. Macdouald in seconding this resolution begged to call attention to a comparatively new feature in the constitution of the committees of our religious Societies. He alluded to their containing so large a proportion of laymen. In the scriptures all Christians are called servants of God. In the primitive Church all Christians acknowledged their obligation to engage in the service of God according to their abilities and opportunities. There were diversities of gifts and diversities of calling: some were apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, but all acted in accordance with their designation as servants of God, and felt themselves bound to do whatsoever they could for the promotion of his glory. But when the Church fell from her purity an unscriptural distinction was made between clergy and laity, and gradually the

idea was formed that it was only to the former that the work belonged of carrying forward the work of spreading the gospel. Now it would appear that the Church is beginning to act on a more just and scriptural principle, and her lay members are beginning to be associated in the management of her Missionary operations. It is of great moment to laymen to be thus associated. They talk and consult in meetings of Committees, and thus their interests are joined with those of the cause. They are associated in the eyes of the world with the work, and so they become accustomed to the name of saints, and cease to consider it a reproach. The speaker concluded by cautioning the members of the Committee against the admission of a secular spirit into their deliberations. This is only to be guarded against by watchfulness and prayerfulness.

The Chairman then made some very suitable observations, remarking especially on the Catholic and Christian spirit of the second resolution, and on the signs of the times as an incitement to Missionary exertion. The success of our country's arms in the east and the west ought to stimulate us to exertion in order to carry out the designs of Providence in putting so much power into our hands. Surely the design of God in all this is not merely that we should enrich ourselves, or that we should get honor or reputation for ourselves, but rather that we should use the influence which He has given us for the promotion of his own glory.

A hynin was then sung and the meeting separated. The service was very interesting and well adapted to induce a proper state of feeling in the Christian mind. The collection we understand was very liberal.-Advocate.

4. THE SAND HEADS.

What a crowd of associations connect themselves with the Sand Heads. How many a youthful heart has beat high as it has heard the Sand Heads! Hope with uplifted foot has lit up its future career with brightest scenes, now about to be realized. How many a heart has sickened as it has approached the estuary of the Ganges; children anxious to hear of the life and health of parents not seen since childhood's days; and wives and others returning from a search after health to those they hope are living but who yet may be dead. How many a man has bid adieu to the Sand Heads with joy, having gathered amply of the barbaric gold of this land of sun. He is hasting in the "May of life" over the bosom of the deep blue sea to the shores of his native isle-with a glee and gladsome mind. He is about to enjoy the fruit of his toils in his father-land. How many with riches burdened but despoiled of health, with care-worn countenances have cast one sad lingering look at the muddy banks of Gangá ;

"Grateful yet sad and scarcely joyous to depart or stay ;" while some neither permitted to go or stay linger in search of health on the very threshold of the deep blue sea. How many a captain's heart is lightened when he sights the pilot, and how the pilot watches and toils, marking lights and buoys as he guides the noble vessel into a safe but difficult port. How like the turbid and restless waters of the Sand Heads must be the turmoil of thought of those who are ever and auon passing over the treacherous channel. How like to life in general with its anxieties and trouble. Such a mixture of sunshine and shade, tears and smiles, sorrows and joys, hopes and fears, agremens and disagremens. How like unto life in its entranceits troubled waters-its wide yet dangerous entrances-its land and sea marks-its experienced pilots and its noble and peaceful port, once entered. How like life in its close-the troubled waters of the Jordan-the really narrow though apparently wide and expansive entrance to the haven of rest -the blessed pilot, Christ-the sure marks of salvation, and the noble and delightful port of the new heaven. Reader! when at the Sand Heads 5 F

VOL. I.