THE

MISSIONARY MAGAZINE

AND

CHRONICLE,

RELATING CHIEFLY TO THE MISSIONS OF

The London Missionary Society.

SUBSCRIPTIONS and DONATIONS in aid of the Funds of this Society will be thankfully received by the Treasurer or Secretaries, at the Mission House, Blomfield-street, Finsbury, and by Messrs. Hankeys, the Society's Bankers, 7. Fenchurch-street, London; in Edinburgh, by Mr. George Yule, Broughton Hall; in Glasgow, by Mr. Risk, 9, Cochranestreet; and in Dublin, by Messrs. J. D. La Touche and Co., or at 7, Lower Abbey-street.

DEPARTURE OF THE MISSIONARY SHIP CAMDEN FOR THE SOUTH SEAS.

An important result of the eminent success which, under the Divine blessing, has long attended the labours of our brethren in the South Sea Islands, is the decided encouragement which it offers, and the strong additional obligation it imposes to extended efforts in that part of the world. Within a circle of many hundred miles, of which Tahiti may be regarded as the centre, the idolatry of the natives has been annihilated, human sacrifices and infant murder have ceased, the use of letters has been introduced, and education advanced, churches have been gathered, and from them the knowledge of the truth has spread to the regions round about. The inhabitants are rising in the scale of nations; order,

VOL. XVI.

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industry, and comfort, abound in their settlements; commerce and navigation are increasing on their shores; and they number among their temporal blessings a written language, a free press, a representative government, courts of justice, written laws, and useful arts; all these are the fruits of Missionary labour; they have followed the introduction of the Gospel; and they stand inseparably connected with the fact, that multitudes have received the truth in love, and that the truth has made them free. No individual, whose heart beats with the love of Christ and of his fellow-man, can contemplate these delightful results without earnestly desiring that the inhabitants of the unnumbered islands and groups in the Pacific, still heathens, should enjoy the same invaluable blessings, and be added to the dominion of Him whose right it is to reign.

It will be remembered that, in October last, the friends of the Society assembled in Exeter Hall to take leave of our brother the Rev. John Williams, and the Missionaries who were to accompany him on his return to the South Seas.* In a statement which was read upon that occasion, respecting the progress of the South Sea Mission and the objects contemplated by Mr. Williams in returning to the field of his labours, it was mentioned, that after aiding in reinforcing the Missionary Stations which have long been destitute in the Society Islands, and rendering the assistance required in the Navigators, Mr. Williams purposed to undertake an extensive exploratory voyage among the groups of islands to the north-west, lying between the Navigators Group and New Guinea, with the view of ascertaining the state and disposition of their inhabitants, and settling among them a number of native converts from the original Mission Stations. On subsequent consideration it appeared to the Directors, in conjunction with Mr. Williams, that the accomplishment of this object, as well as the interests of the existing Missions in the South Seas, would be essentially promoted by the use of a ship exclusively devoted to these purposes; and an appeal was consequently made to the friends of Missions for special aid towards the purchase of a suitable vessel. This appeal was speedily responded to in a most generous manner. Mr. Williams visited several parts of the kingdom to afford to all interested in the undertaking an opportunity of contributing to its furtherance; and at every place where he invited attention to the subject the plan was cordially approved of, and liberally assisted. By his personal representations in the Metropolis, Mr. Williams also received many large contributions, among which may be mentioned, as a circumstance equally auspicious and unprecedented in connexion with the Missionary cause, a donation of £500 from the Hon. the Court of Common Council of the City of London. To this distinguished Corporate Body, Mr. Williams made a personal and special application; and so convincing were his statements of the advantages of Missionary labour to British commerce, (on which ground only the Common Council could in their Corporate capacity entertain such an application,) that the grant was made with scarcely a dissentient voice.

We have not the means of furnishing a minute detail of all the circumstances connected with the progress of this interesting measure, or of separately noticing the numerous instances of Christian liberality which it elicited, nor do we believe it necessary, for few events have occupied so large a portion of the attention of the friends of Missions. Abundant resources were supplied, including contributions from quarters the most various, from the friends of commerce and of science, of religion and humanity; and of all ranks and classes, from some of the most illustrious peers of the realm to the humblest mechanic who labours for his daily bread; and out of the fund thus formed, the Directors purchased the Camden, a vessel of 200 tons burden.†

The subsequent embarkation of the Rev. Dr. Philip, and the Rev. Charles Mead, (with Missionary companies for Africa and the East,) who were present on that occasion, has been already communicated. In the Annual Report for 1838, a complete account will be rendered of the receipts and expenditure.

On the purchase being concluded, every requisite arrangement for the safety of the vessel and the comfort of the passengers was made as speedily as circumstances would permit. The control of the ship is vested in Mr. Williams on behalf of the Society. Captain Morgan, a gentleman of approved character, both as a mariner and a Christian, is engaged to navigate the vessel; with a mate and crew, of whose steadiness and sobriety satisfactory assurances were received previous to their acceptance. Some of them, it is believed, are truly pious men. After being thoroughly repaired and fitted for the voyage, the vessel was moved on the 9th of April from the West India Dock, where she had been visited during the preceding week by vast multitudes of friends of Missions, and distinguished individuals interested in the important enterprise in which she was to be employed. On the same day the Camden sailed to Gravesend, there to receive the Missionaries on board, and thence to take her final departure.

The movements, of which a brief outline has now been presented, will sufficiently account for the protracted stay of Mr. Williams in England, after the meeting in Exeter Hall. On the latter occasion, only a part of the brethren accompanying Mr. Williams on his return, were present. In accordance with the desire of numerous friends, another meeting, at which Mr. and Mrs. Williams and the whole of the Missionaries and their wives assembled, was held in the Tabernacle on the 4th of April. The spacious building was crowded to excess, and the services of the evening were marked with more than ordinary interest and solemnity. W. Bateman, Esq., presided; the Rev. Dr. J. P. Smith, Messrs Ellis, John Clayton, Campbell, Williams, George Clayton, Mannering, and Jones, engaged in the services. The church and congregation assembling in that place of worship embraced the opportunity of presenting to Mr. Williams a number of valuable books, as a testimony of their Christian affection.

On Sabbath evening, April 8, a Missionary service was held at Barbican chapel, and was closed by the Missionaries and friends present uniting around the table of the Lord in commemoration of his dying love. Another meeting, for special purposes, was held at the Mission-house on the following day, at the conclusion of which the Missionaries were once more commended in earnest supplication to the guidance, protection, and blessing of Him who ever liveth to intercede.

On the 11th of April, as previously arranged, Mr. and Mrs. Williams and their companions, accompanied by the Directors and friends of the Society, to the number of about four hundred, proceeded to Gravesend in the City of Canterbury steam-vessel, engaged expressly for that purpose. The steam-vessel left London Bridge at 10 o'clock. At that hour the wharfs and the adjacent side of the Bridge were crowded with the members of the Society and friends of the Missionaries; and when our brother, Mr. Williams, waved his hand to bid them farewell, as the vessel started from the wharf, the Missionaries were cordially cheered by the multitudes who had assembled to witness their departure, and to testify their interest in the important enterprise. The period occupied in passing down the river was one of strong and mingled feelings to the brethren and sisters who were thus commencing their voyage, as well as to those who were accompanying them to the ship. The day was remarkably fine, and the appearance of surrounding objects such as, on ordinary occasions, would have attracted attention and imparted pleasure; but they were comparatively unheeded, and on the objects of deep solicitude on board, all thought and feeling seemed to be concentrated. As the vessel approached Gravesend, the Missionaries and their wives assembled on the after-part of the deck, and the friends on board took leave of them individually, sharing with them most affectionately the solemn feelings of the trying hour. On joining the Camden, the following farewell hymn, prepared

for the occasion, was sung by the friends assembled on the deck of the steamvessel :

BOUND for the Southern Seas,

A bark is leaving home;

Her canvas swells upon the breeze,
Her prow divides the foam,
Impatient of delay;

And weeping friends are there,
A long, a last farewell to say,
To breathe the parting prayer.

Go, "Messenger of Peace!"
Richer than argosies,
Thou bearest tidings of release
To lands of other skies.

Sad is the parting word,

Though duty reconciles;

Yet go, thou Servant of the Lord,
For, in those sun-lit isles,

Hearts for thy coming burn,

Their father and their friend :

Their prayers, and ours, for thy return,
Shall to ONE THRONE Ascend.
And if thy last look fall

Sad, on thy native shore,

If friends that see thee part, like Paul, "Shall see thy face no more,"

Yet shall thy spirit be

Strong, trusting in the Lord. "Who leaveth home or friends for me, Is not without reward."

Servant of God, farewell!

Long be thy course, and bright!

Till friends who here must parted dwell,
All in one fold unite.

E. R. C.

An appropriate prayer unto Him who rules the winds and the sea was offered by the Rev. Thomas Jackson; after which our brethren and sisters proceeded to the Camden.

The final separation was intensely affecting. Few were able to restrain tears of sympathy and affection on behalf of those on whose faces many, doubtless, looked for the last time on earth. The manly feeling and Christian fortitude of our honoured brother, Mr. Williams, were evidently exercised to the utmost; and in severing from a dear child, whom he has left in England, his parental sensibilities, and those of his devoted partner, underwent a most painful trial, which it was impossible to witness without the deepest commiseration. Some of the younger Missionaries and their beloved companions, called to endure a trial totally new in their experience, were powerfully affected; but the greater number sustained it apparently with comparative firmness and serenity. But all stood deeply in need of the reviving considerations identified with the object for which they were going forth, and of the consolations afforded by the Divine promise, “Lo, I am with you always." To these, many sympathising friends endeavoured to lead their minds, and not without a visibly cheering, grateful, and tranquillising effect. In a few moments the vessels parted company-the Camden, having weighed anchor, gave her canvas to the wind, and proceeded on her voyage. For a few miles she was accompanied by the City of Canterbury, sometimes close enough to hail or speak. Farewell words and blessings, or parting salutations, were thus repeatedly exchanged, much to the comfort of the Missionaries, until the Canterbury directed her course back towards London, when the ship conveying our beloved brethren and sisters to the distant islands of the Pacific, followed by many a heartfelt prayer and fervent benediction, was quickly out of sight. The names and destinations of the brethren who have sailed in the Camden, are as follow:

The Rev. John Williams and Mrs. Williams; the Rev. George Charter, with Mrs. Charter, appointed to Raiatea. The Rev. Charles Green Stevens, with Mrs. Stevens; Rev. Thomas Joseph, with Mrs. Joseph; and Mr. Joseph Johnston, Normal Teacher, appointed to Tahiti. The Rev. William Gill and Mrs. Gill; Rev. Henry Royle and Mrs. Royle, to Rarotonga. Rev. William Day and Mrs. Day; Mr. John Bettridge Stair, Missionary-printer, and Mrs. Stair, to the Navigators Islands; and Rev. Robert Thomson to the Marquesas. Mr. John Williams, Jun., and Mrs. Williams, have also embarked in the Camden,

No one, who cherishes an attachment to the sacred cause of Missions to the heathen, can contemplate the departure of our beloved brethren without the most lively, grateful, and hallowed interest. England stands pre-eminent among the nations of the earth as a maritime power. Her ships of war have made the sea her own, while her ships of commerce go forth and return laden with the produce of every clime. But never, since the departure of the Duff, has a vessel left our shores under circumstances and for objects entirely similar to those which have marked the departure of the Camden. Not one has ever before departed from our coasts as an offering wholly consecrated unto the Lord, and designed alone as an instrument for the promotion of his glory, and the extension of his kingdom on the earth, a messenger of peace from the Churches, bearing tidings which shall issue in "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men." The augmented supplies which the operations of the Society, extended to a degree unprecedented during any former period of its history, now require, will, we feel persuaded, be cheerfully provided by those to whom the Lord has given the ability to contribute towards the furtherance of this holy enterprise; and fervent and persevering will be the prayer from many a holy band, from many a domestic circle, and many in hallowed retirement, that the winds and the waves may have charge of our brethren, that they may reach their destined port safely, that the way may be prepared before them among the heathen, and the multitudes of the isles, through their instrumentality, be converted unto God.

On behalf of the Rev. John Williams, and the Missionaries who have sailed in the Camden, the Directors offer their grateful thanks for the numerous and valuable articles presented to their brethren by the friends of the Society throughout the kingdom. These pleasing instances of Christian kindness, and of a disposition to promote the sacred cause of Missions, cannot be separately noticed here, but will be found under the usual head of acknowledgments.*

*

MISSION TO THE NAVIGATORS ISLANDS.

THE Commencement of the operations of the Mission to these Islands, in June, 1836, together with a statement of the peculiarly favourable circumstances under which, in Divine Providence, that deeply interesting event took place, was communicated to the friends of the Society in the Missionary Magazine for August last. In a subsequent number, that for January of the present year, the opening of the Mission in the Island of Tutuila (one of the three principal Stations) was separately noticed, in connexion with a slight survey of the pleasing changes which, through the blessing of God on Missionary exertion, have been effected in that Island since the period at which it was visited by the French navigator, La Perouse. We are now happy in being enabled to furnish a series of extracts from the letters of the brethren, embracing details of their progressive arrangements and labours in the three sections of the Mission, from June 1836, to the dates at which their several communications were forwarded from the Islands.

MANONO AND UPOLU.

THESE two Islands, which are connected by a reef three miles in length, have been apportioned to Messrs. Heath and Mills. Mr. Heath has taken under his care the Island of Manono, in which he resides, and about one-third of Upolu,

• Our honoured brother, Mr. Williams, and his beloved companions in the Missionary Ship, after leaving Gravesend on the 11th ult., proceeded towards Herne Bay, off which they anchored on the evening of that day. On the following morning they resumed their voyage, and proceeded safely and comfortably on their way till the Sabbath, when contrary winds obliged them to put into Dartmouth, and our brethren went on shore, preached and held a public meeting, received every possible attention and kindness from the esteemed ministers and Christian friends of the place, and expected to proceed on the voyage on the 19th ult.