our behalf, that we may "receive grace of the Lord to be faithful" in the various departments of the work allotted to us here; and we on our part do not forget to implore that the divine bless ing, and the guidance of infinite Wisdom, may be vouchsafed to your counsels and measures for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom throughout the world. BECHUANA MISSIONS.-Extract of a Letter from the Rev. William Shepstone, dated Wil-Berg Mission-Station, near Buffalo's Vleij, October 18th, 1843. THE unsettled state of the country around us for some time past, and the jealousies manifested at all communications, may be reasons which will claim for me some indulgence for not having been punctual in writing to the Committee. But these were not my only reasons for not addressing you regularly. My chief one was something definite about which to write. I had hoped to have seen the Chief Kawa here before this, and to have been able to announce the location of him and his people in this the land of their adoption; but as the winter has detained them for a season on the road, I wait no longer, but hasten to tell you of our progress and prospects as they are before any accession by that clan. Since the 3d of March last, I have been over the spot, and have chosen a situation for our station; and since that period, although the land was destitute of inhabitants, and on that account given by the Chief Mashesh to the Chief Kawa, I have constantly been receiving accessions of natives, chiefly Tambookies, Kaffres, some Basutos, emancipated slaves, and Fingoes. The conditions on which I have received these to live at the Institution and in the neighbour hood, are, first, that they live honestly and in peace; and, secondly, that as soon as our chapel is finished and school formed, their children shall regularly attend. The attendance of these people on the means of grace is to me very encourag ing. We have now a congregation of about one hundred and fifty souls, whose decorous behaviour would not disgrace an English congregation; and this is the more remarkable, as the greater part (namely, the Tambookies) have never before been under the preaching of the Gospel, but have been wandering about for many years past, from place to place in the interior, on account of some former wars between themselves and the parent tribe: it is, therefore, the more cheering to see them coming so regularly, and from a distance of several miles, too, to the means of grace. A stronger proof of their attention was shown when I formed my first catechumen's class, on which occasion not less than fifty attended. Not wishing to be misunderstood, I did not form them into a class on the first day, but took about two hours in explaining to them the nature of the meeting, and what would be expected of them by God and his church if they became Christ's followers; and, on dismissing them, I told them that I should be glad on the following week to see as many as were determined to act upon what they had heard. The next meeting I had as large an attendance; and on examining them individually, I found, to my great gratification, that the work of grace was much deeper than I had supposed. I had thought that I should find the greater part convinced of the truth, and desirous of serving God as far as that discovery had led to the acknowledgment of Him, which is generally the first process in the mind of a native, while being brought to God, who has grown up and lived ignorant of divine truth; but many of these I found deeply convinced of sin, and crying for deliverance through the blood of Jesus Christ, expressing themselves in strong language, which was quite borne out by their half-suppressed feelings. Our progress in building on the station is also cheering. I was enabled, three months since, to leave my reedhut to occupy one-half of a good substantial Mission-house: the other half is nearly up, and, when completed, will contain seven rooms, besides a kitchen. Our chapel, sixty-four feet by twenty, is in a state of equal forwardness, but will, I believe and hope, be soon too small to contain our congregation. The buildings we occupied at Buffalo's Vleij, as a dwelling and chapel, were so arranged, that they were no expense to the Society. WEST-INDIAN MISSIONS. To our numerous friends who have recently contributed, with such prompt and generous kindness, various sums to aid in the restoration of chapels in the West Indies, destroyed or injured by the calamitous earthquakes of February, 1843, the following letter from Dominica will be interesting. It proves that while, for those islands, which absolutely need aid from home, such aid has been to a large extent placed in the hands of the Committee, the Societies and congregations on the spot have felt the obligation of meeting the case by local exertions, wherever they were able. The liberal grant of the Dominica Colonial Legislature demands the grateful acknowledgments of the Society; and the strong testimony, so kindly borne in their Resolution, (which will be found at the close of Mr. Waymouth's letter,) to the services of the Wesleyan Missionaries, is as highly gratifying, as it is, we are persuaded, just and well-deserved. DOMINICA. Extract of a Letter from the Rev. W. T. Waymouth, dated I SHOULD have sent you the intelligence of our having opened the chapel at Mount-Wallis, near Prince Rupert's, by an earlier post; but that before I could prepare it for your use, I was taken ill of fever, which was very nigh putting a period to my labours. After suffering several returns of the paroxysm, it being of the remittent kind, I thought it right to go to Antigua, where I might procure good medical advice in a climate which agreed well with me when I laboured there. By God's blessing on the means used, I was able to return to my family and station in three weeks; but I fear it will be some time before I shall be able to undertake the more laborious part of my duty in this island. Perhaps the struggle to get the new chapel in a state to be used on the 1st of August may have contributed to the dangerous character of the attack; for the circumstances were particularly trying. The journey to the place, thirty miles distant, is performed in an open boat, and the rains are almost incessant. materials must be all taken from the town; and actual superintendence of all the details of building is necessary in this country, in order to have the work well and faithfully done. I rejoice, however, that at all personal hazards the people have now a good and substantial chapel, which I hope will stand for many years. It is built of wood. The corner uprights and braces are all of the best hard wood, (bulletre,) as is all the beam-work under the floor. The rest of the frame is of good pitch-pine, well put together. The sketch I send will give you an idea of the plan adopted. Three roofs require The internal pillars, which greatly assist the sides in supporting the superincumbent weight; and the centre roof, projecting, admits of more diagonal bracing, which in a wood erection is a first consideration. I believe every precaution to insure strength, and furnish resistance to wind and earthquake, has been taken. The chapel will seat about five hundred persons; and the whole cost will be, when all is finished, about £500 sterling. I am happy to say, we have collected within the island the cheering amount of £200 and upwards; the Legislature have granted £100 sterling; and the remaining £200 sterling have been added for the present to the debts now on the Mission-property in the is land. If it please God to spare us from the greater calamities for a few years to come, we shall find means to reduce, if not remove, all these debts; when the proceeds then available may be turned to the support of the regular work. Doubtless, by God's blessing, a very few years will place Dominica among those Cir cuits that are independent of the Parent Society's funds. It may be interesting to state, that the land on which the chapel stands is identified with the first efforts of Methodism in the island. Before the generous owner of it, by whose name we have called the place, disposed of it to the Methodist Mission, it was occupied by a pious soldier, who had obtained his discharge, and who, during the many interruptions occasioned by the deaths of the Missionaries, for the frequency of which this part of the island is distinguished, kept the society together by holding meet. ings in his own little cottage on the spot. The old members often speak of "Daddy Butler," and some of them have not forgotten the floggings they have endured for finding their way through the woods to his house for religious instruction. There was indeed a burst of feeling, when, on the day of opening the chapel, a slight reference was made to the difference between that time and the present. Governor Prevost gave, in 1803, the temporary occupancy of an acre of land, which is still in the possession of the Mission, on which a chapel was built. This was razed to the ground in 1805. I believe another was built on the same spot soon afterwards; and as the society then numbered six hundred numbers, the station was considered of some importance. But the history of the place is a record of Missionaries' deaths. Mr. Dakin, in a letter written in 1816, says of this place: "Considering the length of time the people have been without a Preacher, it is a miracle that so many have kept together." It appears from this letter, also, that the second chapel was blown down in 1813, and that in 1814 Mrs. Wallis gave a very good house, with an acre of land, which house was converted into a place of worship at that time. This is the spot on which the late chapel, now demolished, was built in 1830. At what time the site of our new chapel was obtained, does not appear on any record that I can find; but from comparing the recollections of the people, it appears that it was purchased by Mr. Johnson about 1811, no doubt in consequence of the swampy character of the spot then possessed; but owing to the sickness, removal, or death of successive Missionaries, the lot was never taken legal possession of, and, from loss of boundarylines, fell into the possession of the neighbouring estate, but was cleared for cultivation. The want of this place was not much felt, and many of the Missionaries, it appears, knew nothing, or nothing distinctly, of its existence or circumstances. The stone chapel, built in 1830, stood on part of the fatal swamp, from the malaria of which fevers and agues plentifully arise. No fixed residence being established there, the Preachers visiting have gone trusting in Providence for protection, and only impelled by love of souls; and, although their visits have been generally of but few hours' duration, they have often carried away the seeds of painful, protracted, and often fatal, fevers. In the course of the last year, the estate above alluded to changed never owners, and, as if in anticipation of the earthquake, the spot on which the new chapel is erected was, in the most generous manner, transferred to the Mission by the Honourable Dugald Stewart Laidlaw, to whose kindness the Mission is laid under lasting obligation. He fully relinquished, on the part of the estate, all claims that had been made, as soon as the true situation of the lot had been ascertained. It was then sought after for a Preacher's residence, as the place is increasing in importance, and the spot in question is a fine elevation out of the way of the swamp. We little thought at that time it would be so soon wanted for the house of God; but his providence is at once minute and large ! In returning to the scene of their labours for this year, your Missionaries found the chapel entirely destroyed by the earthquake of February 8th; and as a spirit of liberality was manifested by the people, and there was reason to calculate on local help, the new chapel was begun in God's name, and the foundation laid on the 22d of March, by the Honourable D. S. Laidlaw. The people on the estates have exerted themselves nobly, working gratis in the time allowed them for marketing and rest, and giving liberally of the wages obtained for working on the estates. By God's blessing on the undertaking, it reached a state, on the 1st of August, capable of allowing the hundreds of grateful worshippers to assemble within it; and although it was not finished, the people realized the welcome of their Father's house, once more open to receive them. There are some hopes of erecting a Preacher's residence on the same spot next year. If this be accomplished, such a measure will have been secured for the temporal improvement and spiritual welfare of the people, as will redound to the glory of God and the spread of evangelical truth, and realize the anxious hopes of God's servants, of whom many are gone to their reward, and others follow hard after. I send the Resolution adopted by the Legislature on the occasion of the Grant made to the chapel : "Whereas it hath been represented to this House, that the Wesleyan-Methodist chapel, situate at the town of Portsmouth, in the parish of St. John, has, by the late calamitous earthquake of the 8th of February, been so injured as to render necessary the erection of another; and a portion of the inhabitants thereat are now deprived of the means of attend ing, with regularity and comfort, the public worship of God and the ordinances of religion, there being no other Protestant place of worship in the quarter: And whereas great advantage hath accrued to this island by the operations of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society, and it is desirable that encouragement should be afforded thereto, by means of a pecuniary grant from the public treasury, to aid in the erection of a new chapel in the aforesaid place : "Resolved, That the Treasurer be, and he is hereby, authorized to pay to the order of the Superintendent of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society in this island, the sum of one hundred pounds sterling, to be by him applied to aid in the erection of a chapel, in connexion with that Society in the town of Portsmouth." POSTSCRIPT. Wesleyan Mission-Horse, Bishopsgate-Street-Within, London, March 20th, 1844. JAMAICA.-MR. YOUNG'S SAFE RETURN TO ENGLAND:-We are thankful to be able to announce the safe return of the Rev. Robert Young from Jamaica; and that the end of his important Mission to that interesting sphere of the Society's operations has been fully accomplished. The Annual District-Meeting at which he presided, assisted by the Rev. Jonathan Edmondson, the Chairman of the District, was characterized by great harmony, and marked by the special blessing of the Great Head of the church. On inquiring into the state and prospects of the several Circuits, it was reported that prosperity generally prevailed, and that, notwithstanding the very large addition which has been made to our religious societies in the island during the few past years, the aggregate number of church-members still continues to increase. The financial state of the District was found equally encouraging; the Missionaries entered most heartily into the Committee's views, as explained by Mr. Young, on the subject of economy; and such arrangements were made as will afford considerable relief to the home-funds of the Society. Mr. Young received a most affectionate welcome from his old friends, among whom he had formerly laboured with much success; and they and his brethren, the Missionaries, unite in presenting to the Committee their warmest acknowledgments for his very seasonable and beneficial visit. THE communications from the Antigua District are also very gratifying. From the District-Minutes and Reports which have just come to hand, it appears that there has been an almost unprecedented enlargement of the work during the year, the net increase of members amounting to about two thousand, and that the financial affairs of the District are equally prosperous. RECENT letters from Cape-Coast, Western Africa, convey the gratifying intelligence, that the Rev. Messrs. Annear, Martin, and Greaves, and Mrs. Annear, arrived there safely on Tuesday, the 5th of December last, after a passage of fifty-four days. In connexion with this reference to Western Africa, we give the following letter, and leave it to make its own impression : "BARTON-UPON-HUMBER, March 14th, 1844. "DEAR SIRS,-Believing that if ever the Gospel be preached in Africa through the length and breadth of the land, it must be chiefly by a Native Ministry, I send you the enclosed order on Barclay and Co., for ten pounds, towards the expense of training such a ministry. "To the General Secretaries, &c. I remain Yours, &c., FINANCES OF THE SOCIETY FOR 1843. WE deeply regret that we are at present unable to furnish with sufficient precision our usual anticipatory outline of the balance-sheet for 1843. It must of necessity be deferred till the presentation of the Annual Report at the ensuing Anniversary, or at all events till our Number for May can be prepared for the press. All that we can now state is, that the receipts from regular and ordinary sources of income for 1843 have not fallen short of those of the preceding year; -that the Juvenile Christmas and New-Year's Offerings exhibit a large and gratifying increase, as compared with those for 1842 ;-and that the amount of special donations, to aid the ordinary income of 1843, received in answer to the appeal made in our Circular of December 22d, is truly noble, and will considerably relieve, but not prevent, the apprehended deficiency, with which the Committee are anxiously endeavouring to grapple as well as they can. It is, at all events, cheering to find that, whatever deficiency for 1843 may finally exist, it has not arisen from a diminished income, but from an augmented annual expenditure. To the removal of this cause of distressing embarassment, the Committee are directing their careful and resolute attention. ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUXILIARY SOCIETY FOR THE LONDON District. THE Annual Meeting of the Auxiliary Society for the London District will be held in the Great-Queen-Street chapel, Lincoln's Inn Fields, on Monday evening, May 13th,-and sermons will be preached in various Wesleyan chapels in London on Sunday, May 12th, in connexion with that Meeting. The particulars will be announced on the cover of our Number for May. Contributions to the Wesleyan Missionary Society, received by the General Treasurers, since our last announcement, up to the 14th of March, 1844. Moneys received at the Mission-House. H. and B., being part of a balance at their disposal for the spread of the Gospel Mr. Kettlewell, Fulford, near York Mr. William Waddington, Barton, for the Feejee Mission...... |