press his New Version of the Psalms. In the Hindostani, an improved version of the New Testament was proceeding. In the Sanscrit, also, a version is advancing on the basis of the Bengali. Additions have been made to the churches at Cutwa. In Ceylon, the schools attached to the mission have been eminently blessed of God. In Jamaica, the number of churches are thirty, with thirty-three minor stations attached to them. Schools have been established on sixteen estates; the number of scholars is 10,903. Forty-two male and female teachers are employed in this good work; besides 200 or 300 leaders," as they are called, who aid in those general labours adapted to the state of the West Indies. The delightful fact was announced of re-union between the society and the Serampore brethren. The receipts of the society have increased to the amount of more than 3,0007. They have swelled to 14,3327., exclusive of 3,5647. received specially for India.

The meeting was interestingly addressed by the Rev. B. Godwin, the Rev. C. M. Birrell, the Rev. Dr. Hoby, the Rev. J. H. Hinton, the Rev. J. Leifchild, the Rev. John Leechman, W. B. Burney, Esq., the Rev. Joseph Burton, the Rev. Eustace Carey, and the Rev. W. Harris, a missionary.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY.

Thirty-third Anniversary-May 7th. At the meeting of this most valuable society, which has spread so many blessings at home and abroad, Lord John Russell presided. His Lordship spoke with much perspicuity and energy; and justly observed, that the two great principles upon which the society had been formed, viz., that lessons from the Bible should form a great part of the occupation of the schools, and that the catechisms and formularies of particular religious communities should be excluded, were such as to entitle it to the highest commendation. "I, at least," observed his Lordship, "must declare, that nothing which has been stated or written, that nothing which the experience of thirty years of practical operation has brought to light, has in the least altered my opinion, that they are principles conformable to sound reasoning, conformable to the opinions of the majority of the people of this Christian land, and conformable to those great lessons of religious freedom which are contained in every part of our Lord's word, and inculcated by every principle of the British constitution."

Mr. Dunn, the secretary, read the Report, which was replete with interesting intelligence. It stated that her Majesty had become patroness of the society, and had

VOL. XVI,

announced her intention of subscribing 1007. per annum. The model schools, and the schools generally, were never in a higher state of efficiency. 752 boys and 450 girls have been admitted into the Borough-road Schools during the year, making the total number received into that establishment from it commencement, 48,244. The Earl of Chichester had presided at the examination of the girls' school, which had given high satisfaction. The committee have introduced into the higher classes what may be called the philosophy of common things. Great attention has been paid to the training of young persons for teachers; a longer education is proposed, if the funds should permit. Since last year 196 individuals have been admitted, with a view to qualify them for the work of instruction. Of these 83 have been appointed to boys' schools, and 68 to girls' schools; 21 have been agents of the London Missionary Society, or the London Society for Promoting Education in the East; 26 have withdrawn, either for ill-health or unsuitableness; and 42 are now in training. Applications have been made from 47 places for schools, by which provision had been made for the education of 12,510 children. The erection of school-houses for this object has cost 18,5197.; the amount granted from the treasury has been 6,0907. Memorials for 51 additional schools remained undecided. The annual receipts of the society, irrespective of auxiliary associations, amounted only to 7007., while the training alone cost 1,280.; the total receipts of the year amounted only to 5,7437. 48. 5d., and the expenditure to 5,7287. 148. 6d.

The meeting was addressed by the Bishop of Norwich, E. Baines, Esq., M. P., Slaney, Esq., M. P., the Rev. J. Leifchild, Mr. Ebenezer Mason, from New York, the Rev. W. H. Medhurst, Choo Tih Lang, Sir C. E. Smith, Bart., Mr. J. W. Childers, M.P., and the noble Chairman.

What are the Evangelical Dissenters about, that they do not more encourage British schools in connexion with their places of worship?

RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.

The Thirty-ninth Anniversary of this institution was held at Exeter Hall, on Friday evening, the 4th of May, Samuel Hoare, Esq., in the chair. The Report was read by the Rev. Mr. Monro, one of the secretaries, which contained many pleasing statements respecting the progress and happy effects of the society's labours. Grants have been voted to aid in the publication of Tracts in China, Malacca, Penang, and Java. In Burmah, the demand for religious tracts

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is far beyond all the means of meeting it. 1,0007. have been voted to aid in the publication of religious books for the natives of India; in addition to which 1,6787. have been voted to different societies labouring in that deeply interesting country. 116,000 publications have been sent to Australia; and the missions in New Zealand have been supplied with paper. The Rev. J.

Williams has received from the society 24,000 copies of works for young people, in the Tahitian and Rarotongan districts. 80,000 tracts have been sent to the West Indies, and 216,632 to the British American Colonies. In France, a variety of useful works are in progress, particularly a Commentary upon the Scriptures, and translations of Dr. Wardlaw's Lectures on the Socinian Controversy, the Life of the Rev. H. Venn, and the Reformed Pastor. In Spain, a considerable number of tracts have been circulated, and the societies in Germany and Russia are actively engaged in the diffusion of scriptural truth.

The grants of tracts made to Scotland, Ireland, and other home objects, amount to 2,375,168, in addition to 513 libraries. The tracts and publications circulated throughout the year amount to 15,939,567. The total benevolent income of the society is 5,7217. 188. 10d.; its grants to 8,1487. 98. 9d., being 2,4627. 10s. 11d. beyond the amount received. The sales in the year have amounted to 49,2847. 98.; the total receipts to 62,0541. 98. 2d.

The meeting was addressed by the Rev. J. H. Stewart, the Rev. Dr. Steinkopff, the Rev. M. D'Aubigné, the Rev. J. Woodwark, the Rev. W. H. Medhurst, Choo Tih Lang, the Rev. H. Vachell, from Canada, the Syrian Christian, the Rev. R. Ainslie, the Rev. R. Newstead, and the Rev. W. F. Vance.

COLONIAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

The second annual meeting of this institution was held at Finsbury Chapel, on Friday, the 11th of May, J. R. Mills, Esq., the treasurer, in the chair.

The Rev. Mr. Aston opened the meeting with prayer, after which the Chairman briefly stated the object of the society; viz., to send the Gospel to the British Colonies and congratulated the friends of the cause upon its hopeful progress, considering the brief period of its exist

ence.

The Rev. A. Wells, the secretary, read the Report; which exhibited marked symptoms of coming from his own very able and enlightened pen. The details which it contained respecting the society's operations in the Canadas, were of a most interesting and encouraging character. All the mis

sionaries sent out by the society are labouring with marked success; and notwithstanding the difficulties thrown in their way by the late insurrection, they have been enabled to proceed in their work without identifying themselves with the political contests which have unhappily prevailed. Numerous instances of conversion have taken place during the past year. Thirteen missionaries are labouring in the Canadas under the auspices of the society; three have gone out to Australia, and have been well received at the scene of their future labours. From the commencement of the society to March 1838, the total receipts of the society have been 2,5747. 108. 8d. The expenditure has been 2,521. 3s. 2d., leaving a balance in hand of 531. 78. 6d. But the treasurer is under engagements to the amount of 3831. 38.; and the current expenditure of the year is estimated at 1,5007., in addition to which, 1,000l. will be needed to send out the missionaries required for new stations which have opened upon the attention of the committee. The society deserves all possible encouragement from the Christian public, and will doubtless realise it.

The meeting was addressed by W. A. Hankey, Esq., the Rev. T. O. Dobbin, the Rev. J. A. James, the Rev. T. Adkins, the Rev. Thomas Smith, the Rev. Thomas Stratten, the Rev. Dr. Fletcher, the Rev. J. Sibree, the Rev. Thomas Binney, and the secretary.

LONDON CITY MISSION.

This great society held its Annual Meeting at Exeter Hall, on Monday, the 14th of May, T. F. Buxton, Esq., in the chair. The meeting was opened with prayer by the Rev. J. Garwood, one of the secretaries. The Chairman commended the habit of opening the meeting with prayer, and made some touching references to the state of this vast metropolis. He referred to 600,000 human beings unprovided with any stated means of religious or moral instruction, and urged the claims of the society by this awful consideration.

The Report was read by Mr. Ainslie, one of the secretaries. It stated, that the society had been better supported than in any former year; that the committee had been preserved in perfect unanimity; and that, from careful statistics taken during the year, it had been proved that the church and chapel accommodation for the metropolis did not provide for more than 273,613 for a population of 909,417. The present number of the missionaries, after some necessary reductions, is 42. The visits paid by the agents during the year have been 205,987, of which 23,771 have been to the sick and the dying, making a total since the

formation of the society, of 471,718, of which 58,203 have been paid to the sick and the dying. The Report stated, that there are 50,000 families in London without a page of the Bible; 959 copies have been distributed by the agents, making a total from the formation of the society of 2,074. The number of meetings held by the agents for expounding the Scriptures have been 5,475, making a total from the commencement of the society of 10,999. The religious tracts distributed have been 229,809, making a total from the beginning of 596,154. The income of the society, during the past year, amounted to 3,8871. 168. 4 d.

We do trust the public will continue to support with vigour an institution which is conveying innumerable spiritual blessings to the dense and neglected population of this vast and guilty metropolis.

The meeting was powerfully addressed by the Rev. Dr. Vale, the Rev. Edward Hoare, of Richmond, Captain Vernon Harcourt, R. N., the Rev. G. Cubit, the Hon. and Rev. W. B. Noel, the Rev. T. Haynes, C. Hindlay, Esq., M. P., the Rev. S. Green, T. G. Williams, Esq., the Rev. Peter Lorimer, of the Scotch Church, the Rev. R. Ainslie, and the Rev. J. Garwood.

HOMERTON COLLEGE.

(Too late for insertion in its proper place.)

In consequence of the Coronation of our Most Gracious Sovereign being fixed to take place on Thursday, the 28th of June, which is the day on which the General Meeting of Homerton College Society is usually holden, it is respectfully announced, to the supporters and friends of this excellent institution, that the General Meeting I will be held on Wednesday, the 27th of June. The chair will be taken at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. The committee trust that a numerous attendance of friends will evince an unceasing interest in this institution, which all circumstances concur in rendering increasingly important.

FOREIGN.

BELGIUM.

A short Account of the present Religious Situation of Belgium, communicated by one of the Members of the Committee of the Belgian Evangelical Society.

The Lord has opened a wide door in Belgium for the distribution of his word, and for the evangelisation of the country; and those who are engaged in this work

have felt it their duty to make known this joyful intelligence to their brethren in Great Britain, in order that they may rejoice with them, and that they may be induced to co-operate with them by their prayers, and by giving them all the aid in their power.

Ever since the time when the rage of persecution succeeded in suppressing the Reformation in Belgium, this country has been in a most deplorable state as it regards religion. Popery has exercised its tyrannical dominion, and the consequence has been, that the great and vital doctrines of Christianity have been entirely forgotten. But the mercy of God has of late been manifested amongst us, and the Lord has begun to dissipate the darkness by means of the dissemination of the holy Scriptures and the preaching of the Gospel.

In September, 1835, the British and Foreign Bible Society sent a special agent to Belgium, for the purpose of offering Bibles and Testaments for sale, from house to house, in all the towns and villages of the country. This work has been remarkably blessed of God, and about 30,000 copies of the Scriptures have been disposed of, partly by the agent just mentioned, and partly by the different branch Bible societies established in Belgium. By means of the diligent reading of the word of God, many Roman Catholics have been convinced of the errors of Popery, and have manifested a great hungering and thirsting for the truth as it is in Jesus; and the Christians in different parts of Belgium have felt themselves called upon to engage to the utmost of their power in the work, which the Lord was evidently carrying on.

With this view, they established, a few months ago, a society, called "The Belgian Evangelical Society," which proposes, with the Divine assistance, the three following objects :

1. To send forth evangelists.

2. To establish and support schools; and, 3. The publication and distribution of tracts, and the formation of religious libraries.

Already three evangelists have been sent to different places, where their labours were most urgently called for. One of them is at Mons, the capital of Hainaut; another is at Bouverie, a populous village in the same province; and the third is preaching the Gospel at Sa Hulpe, Genval, Waterloo, and some other villages in that neighbourhood.

With regard to Christian schools, the want of them is in many places very strongly felt, and the committee propose in a short time to open several; they are at present engaged in seeking the necessary accommodations for the purpose.

The centre of action for the work of evangelisation in Belgium, is the city of Brussels, and here the committee hold their meetings every fortnight. In this city, also, there was founded, in the month of May, 1837, an Evangelical chapel, in which the society feel the deepest interest, on account of the abundant blessing which the Lord has bestowed upon it, and because he has been pleased to make use of it as one of the chief means of making known the Gospel in the city of Brussels. At present the only place of worship is a large room, which is capable of holding 150 to 160 persons; and it appears very desirable to obtain, if possible, some other place more spacious, and in a more convenient situation. public services are held every Lord's-day in this chapel. There is also a Sunday-school twice every Lord's-day. Another service is held on Wednesday evening; and on Thursday evening there is a meeting in the chapel for a kind of conference, in which any person is at liberty to bring forward any difficulty, or propose any question upon religious subjects or upon any text of Scripture, and to request an answer or an explanation. .

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We are very anxiously longing for the time when we shall be enabled to establish a school in connexion with this church. The want of it we feel daily more and more; and our work cannot be finally established, nor can it take deep root without the formation of this school, to which pious families may send their children with confidence. The committee are also very desirous of founding an asylum, and they hope to be enabled to accomplish it.

A religious library will be a necessary auxiliary to our other institutions; for there is nothing more wanted in Brussels, and in all the other towns in Belgium, than religious books.

But not only is there a great religious awakening amongst the Roman Catholic population of Belgium, the Evangelical Society desires also to come to the aid of many Protestants who are scattered through the country, and who have been for a long time destitute of public worship, and of any means of religious instruction. At Leige and the neighbourhood, the soil is prepared, as it were, for the reception of the Gospel, and only waits for a labourer to be sent. Charleroi also calls for the particular attention of the friends of the Gospel. There are in that town and the neighbourhood nearly a thousand Protestants, having neither minister nor school; so that they and their children

are destitute of any means of instruction. In the neighbourhood of Tournay there are fourteen villages, in which there are a number of Protestants, and where religious services might be held; there are also other Protestants, who never hear the preaching of the Gospel. All these wants press heavily upon the minds of the Christians in Belgium; and they deeply lament their inability to supply them. But their trust is in God; and they turn towards those upon whom the Lord shall be pleased to bestow the honour of making them the spiritual benefactors of this country.

The ground upon which we tread is watered by the blood of a multitude of martyrs, whose prayers have been pleading before the throne of God ever since the days of the blessed Reformation; and now the time seems come when the Lord is pleased to hear those prayers. We have before us a people whose eyes are already freed from a multitude of prejudices—a nation disposed to listen to the truth. It is a field ripe for the harvest. Already our

first attempts, wherever they have been made, have been crowned with the most encouraging success. We only want a sufficient number of labourers, and the means of maintaining them. From the great extent of these wants, it is evident that to supply them, means upon a large scale must be furnished. The number of Christians in the country who take part in this work is but small, and their resources are very limited, so that they are quite unable to furnish the pecuniary means that will be necessary. Christian brethren, the appeal we make to you is not an ordinary one-it is an extraordinary appeal; and we trust you will feel that it deserves an extraordinary answer-an answer in the spirit of that which the Israelites gave, of which we read in Exod. xxxv. 20-29. Do not forget in your prayers the work of the Lord in Belgium, and open widely your hearts and your hands, that, under the blessing of God, the knowledge of the Saviour's name may be extended over the whole length and breadth of the land, and that soon from the lips of all its inhabitants songs of praise and thanksgiving may ascend to the glory of our God and Saviour, from whom, and by whom, and through whom are all things. Those who desire to contribute to this work will have the goodness to send their donations either to the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine, or to the Office of the European Missionary Society, No. 10, Exeter Hall, where the List of Subscribers lies.