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BAPTISMS.

LEICESTER, Carley-street.-On the first Sabbath in September, Mr Winks baptized two young females, both of them had been scholars, and are now teachers in the Sabbath school. One is the youngest daughter of the late minister, Mr Thomas Gamble. Mr Sarjant, of the General Baptist Academy, preached on the occasion.

SEVEN OAKS.- On Lord's-day, Sep. 28th, the ordinance of believers' baptism was administered in the General Baptist chapel, to six persons; one male, and five females. The former had been a member of the Wes

leyans for several years. On Lord's-day, October the 5th, they were received into church fellowship.

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COVENTRY. On Lord's-day, Oct. 5th, 1845, eleven persons were added to our number by baptism, four males, and seven females; on which occasion Mr Lewitt preached from What mean ye by this service ?' In the afternoon, suitable addresses were delivered to the newly-baptized; after which they were received into the Church, and the Lord's - supper was administered. It was good to be there. The chapel was crowded.

EAST LEAKE.-On Lord's-day, Oct. 19th, after a sermon preached by our beloved pastor, five persons submitted to the ordinance of baptism.

MARKET HARBOROUGH.-On Lord's-day, Sep. 21st, the ordinance of believers' baptism was administered in the General Baptist chapel, in this place, to six persons, four males, and two females; three were teachers in the Sabbath school. The Rev. J. Wallis, tutor of the General Baptist college, Leices ter, preached a very delightful and appropriate sermon, from Acts viii. 29, to a very numerous and attentive congregation.

S. S. F.

CRADELEY HEATH.-On Lord's day, Oct. 5th, 1845, three were added to our number by baptism, on which occasion brother J. Billingham preached to a numerous and attentive congregation, from John i. 33, after which, brother J. Fellows administered the sacred rite.

BARTON-IN-THE-BEANS.-On Lord's day,
Sep. 21st, four persons were baptized in this
place.
J. C.

MISCELLANEOUS.

BOSTON. Proposed extinction of the Chapel Debt. The friends at Boston are attempting the removal, by a united and vigorous effort, the whole remaining debt (£670.) on their new chapel, incurred in its erection, the adlition of side galleries, new staircase, and other improvements. At

the anniversary tea-meeting, held August 19th, Mr. Wigner, of Lynn, intimated that a friend had authorized him to state, that he would give £100 towards the liquidation of the debt, provided the whole were raised by that day twelvemonth. A proposal, at once so unexpected and munificent, gave a peculiar and interesting turn to the meeting, and the result has been, £100. by a second friend; and various other sums, amounting in all to about half the debt. Cards, circulars, &c. are in circulation; and the sisters of the church and congregation, are busily engaged in working, giving, and begging, all sorts of articles for a Bazaar, to be opened in May next; in aid of which they hereby most earnestly, and affectionately intreat the kind aid of all who love the cause of Christ, and desire to see chapels out of debt. As an encouragement to assist this case, it may be stated that the church have resolved to meet its expenses without touching the endowment, which, when out of debt, they intend to devote to the diffusion of the gospel, and support of christian institutions. Mrs. Stennett is treasurer, and Mrs. Noble, and Miss Mathews, are secretaries for the Bazaar.

SUTTERTON. Mr. Goldsworthy, the pastor of the church here, we are informed, is about to reside in this village. He has hitherto resided at Boston, six miles distant from his charge.

LEEDS. Our congregations have very much improved of late, and every thing in connection with our little cause has a very cheering aspect.

CLAYTON.-The General Baptist chapel in Clayton, has been closed for several weeks, in consequence of the south wall having to be taken down to the top of the pulpit: it has however been rebuilt, and the chapel cleaned and painted; the pews, pulpit, and front of the gallery improved, and a baptistry constructed, the whole of the cost being about £61 10s. It was re-opened Sep. 14th, by Mr. Butler, of Heptonstall Slack. In the morning he preached from Psalm 1xvi. 16, and in the evening, from Acts ix. 6,; in the afternoon Mr. Hogg, preached from Lam. iv. 2, The precious sons of Zion;' and on the Tuesday evening, Mr. Tunnicliffe preached from 1 Cor. xv. 58. The sermons were appropriate, and the collections amounted to £20 8s. 6d. At the close of the morning service, Mr. Butler gave a short address, and Mr. Hogg baptized two candidates, one a respectable local preacher, lately amongst the Primitive Methodists, but now connected with us.

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SEVEN OAKS.-Our friends here having considered that their little place of worship was incomplete without a time-piece, resolved if possible to obtain one; to raise

money for this object, twelve of our sabbathscholars were appointed to solicit donations; and we are happy to state, that in one week they collected the sum of £5. 5s.; by which we have been enabled to procure a very neat, and handsome dial.

NOTTINGHAM. Home Missionary Tea meeting, &c.-In consequence of arrangements made by the Home Mission committee for this district, a united tea meeting of the two churches in Nottingham was held in Broad-street school rooms, Oct. 21st, which was afterwards adjourned to the chapel. The following ministers were present, and took part in the proceedings:-Revds. H. Hunter, J. Ferneyhough, E. Stevenson, of Loughborough, and R. Stocks, of Broughton; and Mr. T. Horsefield, who is now stationed at Sheffield, gave a very interesting account of the state and prospects of our rising cause there. About a fortnight ago, the church and friends at Sheffield had entered into a subscription towards reducing the debt of £1070., and amongst themselves, though few and poor, had subscribed nearly £80 towards this object. After tea, it was determined to make a spirited effort to second the wishes of our friends, and the result was, that, by the close of the meeting, the noble sum of £124. was subscribed, and as several friends were absent who are expected to contribute, it is expected that £150. or £160. will be obtained in Nottingham. It is intended to hold similar meetings in the leading churches throughout the district, and afterwards to solicit the aid of the Connexion generally. The friends at Nottingham trust that their example will be followed cheerfully by other towns, so that instead of this new interest becoming a burden to the district and Connexion, it may soon rise up into an important and useful church. T. H.

MANCHESTER.-We learn that a division has taken place in the General Baptist church, Oak-street, Manchester. About twenty have removed, and were formed into a separate church, on Lord's-day, Oct. 12th. It is thought the Oak-street church has still some encouraging prospects. Their present minister, Mr. J. F. Farrant, we regret to learn, has resigned his office.

MR. J. C. JONES.-With much satisfac tion we inform our readers, that, to our young friend, Mr, John C. Jones, whose term of study at our Academy terminated last midsummer, the trustees of the late Dr. Williams, after examination, have assigned one of their vacant scholarships in the university of Glasgow.

MR. R. PIKE, of the General Baptist Academy, has received a unanimous invitation to serve the church at Beeston, near Nottingham. Our esteemed young friend enters on his labours there at the beginning of the next month.

THE MOVEMENT IN GERMANY.-There are already nearly eighty congregations of the German catholics supplied with pastors, and about 100 formed, which are waiting for regular ministers.

GENERAL BAPTIST ACADEMY.-A circular, containing the following resolution, passed at the last Association, has been forwarded the churches by the secretary, in accordance with the directions of that meeting: - That it is highly expedient that every church in the Connexion, however small, should consider it to be an important duty to make an annual collection, and obtain subscriptions yearly for the funds of the institution: and that this resolution be forwarded to every church, at the request of the Association."

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OBSERVER.

are Telogoos; but I apprehend the Oriyas are somewhat more numerous. The Mus. selmen are probably about a thousand; they are as bitter in their opposition to the gospel as the Hindoos. There are about thirty temples, some of which are devoted to Juggernaut, but the far greater number to Seva, the destroyer, commonly called Mahadeb, which signifies the great god. There are abominations connected with his history and his worship which can never see the light. Seva is represented as a silver coloured man, wearing a tiger skin garment, having a 'half-moon on his forehead, with ear rings of snakes, a collar of skulls, and riding on a white bull. It is stated that the

worshippers of this god are far more numerous than those of all the other gods put together. Poor human nature! how art thou fallen! Thy history is truly a sad story! You will see that the truths of the holy gospel can have no charm for hearts in love with such an idol. We are sometimes ready, with feelings approaching to despondency, to say, And can these dry bones live? Assuredly, no power but that which called the universe into being, can conquer the repugnance they feel to the only doctrine that can save them; and that power, we fully believe, will be exerted in connection with the preaching of the cross, and the prayers of the faithful; and India will witness some of its noblest victories. But I was talking of Berhampore, and must add, that, though the town receives its name from Brumha, [pore signifies town or city] yet there is not a single temple to his honour in any part of the country. The shastres account for this in a childish manner.

As to the distribution of my time, the history of one day will serve for most. Ι have always found it conducive to improve ment to have an allotted time for every duty. My plan, then, is as follows: rise at five; after dressing, take exercise; attend to the private reading of the scriptures and prayer; usually devote an hour, or an hour and a a half, to the language; then bathe. At nine o'clock breakfast is on the table: when this is finished, family worship is attended to. We act on Philip Henry's maxim. Those who prayed together,' he said, 'did well; those who read the scriptures and prayed, did better; but those who sang the praises of God, read the scriptures, and prayed, did best of all.' Often, too, I expound a little at these times, and though I have but one hearer she is sufficiently attentive, and the exercise is to me improving. By the time worship is over my pundit has made his appearance. With him I am employed in the study of the language till five o'clock P. M., the interval for dinner excepted. At present I am reading that part of the Bagà bat which describes the marvellous circumstances attending the birth of Krishnoo, and his exploits in infancy and childhood. No pious person could take any pleasure in poring over such rubbish for its own sake, but experienced missionaries regard it as the best medium of acquiring the language. It is also important, as giving an insight into the Hindoo system, with which a missionary should be thoroughly acquainted. The acquisition of a foreign language requires persevering application. It is not difficult to pick up a few words and sentences when you are almost constantly hearing the language; but, to speak it with propriety and fluency, especially to convey divine truth clearly and fully, in a language, which, till re

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cently, had not expressed even one christian idea, is not an easy matter.. When we speak of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, heaven, hell, holiness, repentance, faith, the new birth, &c., &c., we are under the necessity of using words which have always expressed idolatrous ideas, and can only make ourselves understood by explaining the sense in which we use them. Tell a Hindoo that he is a sinner, and he supposes you to mean, that, for the wickedness committed in a former birth, fate has doomed him to endure poverty or suffering, and to display evil dispositions in this. Make known the blessed truth, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,' and the name of Jesus unexplained suggests to his mind the idea of some new and unknown god. Urge him to seek the forgiveness of sin, and the idea of obtaining pardon is going on a pilgrimage to Pooree, or some other sacred shrine, giving largely to brah. mins, or performing some other meritorious act. In regard, however, to those who are under regular christian instruction, the difficulty that I am describing daily becomes less. But all this shows that no one can be an efficient missionary till he has acquired a thorough command of the language. The maxim father Goadby gave me when I went to Wisbech is often a spur to diligence: 'Nulla dies sine linea. Any man who acts on this will get a long way in any pursuit in a few years. So much for the language.

Well, about five o'clock ride to the bazar. Occasionally we go to some adjacent village. What is the bazar? you will perhaps say. It is the place where various articles are daily exposed for sale. Saturday is the principal day, as many of the villagers then come to make their purchases. We usually begin by singing a portion of the tract, The Jewel of Salvation;' it has been more extensively circulated than any of the tracts: it commences with, 'Oh! ye people of the earth, hear and consider; how can salvation from sin be obtained?' At this stage of proceedings we are often in the predicament of the unfortunate minister, who commenced an open air service without a congregation, by singing the hundredth Psalm. All people that on earth do dwell.' Soon however the people gather round us, and one of the native brethren begins to preach. Three short addresses are generally delivered: Objections are usually made; sometimes they are foolish and ridiculous, at other times the objectors will talk rationally; sometimes the attention paid to what is spoken is very pleasing; on other occasions their levity and hostility are most affecting, and deeply impress us with the necessity of the influences of the Spirit to render the word effectual. We generally stay in the bazaar till it becomes dark. Returning, we

pass by several temples which at this time are lighted up, and the priests are waking the gods to have their suppers. It is delightful to think of the time when this horrid music shall be exchanged for the song of Moses and the Lamb. On reaching home, have tea, which is our last meal; attend to evening worship. Spend the residue of the evening in conversation, or reading, or, as I am now doing, in writing. Retire at ten o'clock. My dear wife is generally with her beloved charge from half-past six A. M. till breakfast time, from ten o'clock till one P. M., and again, from three till seven P. M. The servants we are obliged to keep are at once our greatest expense and our greatest annoyance. It is difficult for friends in England to judge of the propriety of some of the expenses which a missionary must incur, but the testimony of conscientious men ought to be confided in. For myself, I hope never to forget that the altar from which I live is one on which the offerings of the poor are laid.

You request me to say something on the manners and customs of the people. Per. haps I may sometime entertain, and if it may be, instruct some of my friends by des. cribing various customs which elucidate Scripture. At present I have only time for the following:-I remember when a little boy being amazingly perplexed with our Lord's telling the sick of the palsy to take up his bed and walk. That a man should be told to carry his bed, and to be able to do it, was to me an appalling difficulty. I got over the difficulty, however, by supposing that the ability to carry the bed was a part of the miracle. When I was a child I thought as a child.' The Hindoo sleeps on his mat. It is the easiest thing in the world for him to carry his bed.

Viewed in the light of that invisible state to which every moment brings us nearer, it appears a small matter whether England or India, Barrowden or Berhampore, be the scene of our labour. The great matter is to be in that sphere for which we are best fitted, and where we may most extensively promote the kingdom of our Lord.

Your affectionate brother,
J. BUCKLEY,

LETTER FROM DOYTARI.

Cuttack, October 15th, 1844.

My very dear brother Hunter,-I have such a heap of letters to prepare and dispatch, that I can do no more than just translate the letter of Doytari, and send it with the rest; referring you to the general account by brother Lacey, and to my own brief statement to Mr. Wood. wrote this letter on the palm leaf, which I Doytari

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Letter from Doytari and his wife.

To the dearly beloved brother Hunter, Doytari, a believer in Christ, sends many, many salutations.

The letter which you sent from England, and also the accompanying articles, I have received from our revered pastors; and the receipt of them has put joy into my soul. I have never seen you according to the flesh, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, both you and I pray to the same God as our Father.

Yes, my beloved brother, my hope is, that through the Lord Jesus Christ, we, clothed in white raiment, shall meet at the last great day. In this hope I rejoice.

O my brother, I was a miserable idolater; but from your country the missionaries came with the holy book, and by their instructions have made known to us the gospel; and now, through the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, I make known that gospel to my fellow countrymen. From God do I supplicate the Holy Spirit. Will you not also pray for me and for my country?

All that you wrote has been made known to me: but what can I write more particu. larly? To your lady also, my wife sends ber loving salutations,* saying the present you sent me I have received from the hands of our missionary brethren, and was delighted. You are holy, but I am unworthy; yet by the influence of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ I have received this expression of your kindness. I have also a hope of obtaining eternal life in the future world; not by my own works, but by the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. My dear sister, we have been made acquainted with all that you wrote; and hope to meet you at the last day. Pray for us. What further can I write!

P. S. Our native friends are wholly unused to writing letters, and especially on such occasions; I must therefore bespeak your indulgence for their short and simple epistles.

The last proof of Malachi lies before me. Rejoice with me. A. SUTTON.

ABOLITION OF INFANTICIDE IN INDIA.

MY DEAR FRIEND.-I am very thankful to be the bearer to you, and, through your pages, to the numerous friends of our

* This expression conveys the idea of thanks, just as boys or girls in England make a bow or curtsey on receiving a present,

Mission, of 'glad tidings from a far country.' The Calcutta Christian Advocate, of so recent a date as July 26th, 1845, contained the following important information:- At the annual Meriah festival, numbers of children are sacrificed to propitiate the god of the fruits of the earth. The British government have for some time past been endeavouring to suppress this revolting practice, hitherto, we fear, with but little success. We now rejoice to learn that a legislative remedy is about to be applied to the evil. From the draft act now published, we gather that no time is to be lost in carrying the measure into effect; another proof this of the humane character of the government of Sir H. Hardinge.'

That we may appreciate the importance of these measures of the British government for the suppression of infanticide among the Khunds of Goomsur, permit me to give an extract from a recent number of the Friend of India, which describes the atrocities of this abominable rite:-'Meria Pooja, or human sacrifices, takes place once a year in one or other of the confederate Mootas in succession. The victims are stolen from the low country, or are brought from some other distant part, and sold to those Mootas where the sacrifices are performed. If children, they are kept till they attain a proper age. The cruel ceremony is thus performed. When the appointed day arrives, the Khunds assemble from all parts of the country, dressed in their finery, some with bear skins thrown over their shoulders, others with tails of peacocks flowing behind them, and the long winding feathers of the jungle cock waving on their heads. Thus decked out, they dance, leap, and rejoice, beating drums, and playing on an instrument not unlike in sound to the Highland pipe. Soon after noon, the jani, or priest, with the aid of his assistants, fastens the unhappy victim to a strong post, which has been firmly fixed into the ground, and there standing erect, he suffers the cruel torture of having his flesh cut from his bones, in small pieces, by the knives of the savage crowd, who rush on him, and contend with each other for a portion. Great value is atached to the first morsel cut from the victim's body; for it is supposed to possess greater virtue; and a proportionate eagerness is evinced to obtain it; but considerable danger to the person of the operator attends the feat, for it happens, also, that equal virtues are attributed to the flesh of the lucky holder of the first slice. To guard against such an appropriation, a village will generally depute one of its number to endeavour to secure the much-desired object; and they accordingly arm him with a mereri, or knife, tie cloths around him, and holding on by the ends, at the appointed signal rush, with

three or four thousand others, at the miserable sacrifice. If their man should be successful in his aim, they exert their utmost efforts to drag him from the crowd. Should he escape unhurt, the whole turn their faces to their houses, for, in order to secure its fields, before the day has gone, the charm full efficacy, they must deposit in their they have so cruelly won! The intent of this human sacrifice is to propitiate the goddess Ceres.'

It becomes our country, our religion, and our age, to suppress every inhuman and murderous practice, in the whole extent of the British empire. Montesquieu says, 'The Romans deserved well of human nature, for making it an article in their treaty with the Carthaginians, that they should abstain from sacrificing their children to their gods.' Alas! that human sacrifices should be found in the nineteenth century of the christian era, and in a part of the British dominions. May the best influences of christianity be seen in our national character, and the sentiment of Cowper be responded to

'Spread it. then;

And let it circulate through every vein
Of all your empire; that, where Britain's power
Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.'
Your helper in Christ,
JAMES PEGGS.

Ilkeston.

MISSIONARY ANNIVERSARIES. WARSOP.-On Tuesday, Oct. 14th, Mr. Wood, of Mansfield, preached in this village, on behalf of the Mission, from Isa. xi. 9, 'The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' Mr. Peggs also preached in the open air about six o'clock, from Zech. ii. 3, 'Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? crowded meeting was held in the evening, which was addressed by brethren Seaton, Wood, and Peggs. Collections and subscriptions, £5. How desirable that in all our village congregations vigorous efforts were made for our missions in India and China.

A

LONGFORD, Union place. The annual missionary services were held at this place, on Tuesday, Sep. 30th, 1845. The pastor of the church read the hymns, the Rev. W. Chapman read the scriptures and prayed, and the Rev. J. G. Pike preached in the afternoon, from Luke x. 42. The missionary meeting commenced at half-past six in the evening with singing, after which the Rev. F. Franklin offered prayer. J. Shaw, operations of the society during the year, who presided, gave a short statement of the and of the object of the meeting, and then called on the Rev. Mr. Reed to move the first resolution, who was succeeded by the

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