and holding discussions with the people: one Brahmin stoutly maintained that God was in every thing-in the cow, in the pig, in the dog, &c. "But," said I, "if God be in the dog and you too, why do you run away from the dog when he approaches you, and consider yourself polluted when it touches you; then the dog and you cannot be one." The people smiled, and the Brahmin was silent. Some of the people received tracts. I retired to rest, and shut myself up in my palkee for that purpose, but was soon aroused by the howling of a hyena close by. Aug. 23. (Sabbath.)-I remained in-doors and met the servants for Teloogoo worship, and in the afternoon attended the market usually held here, and had a good opportunity of again pointing the heathen to Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." Leaving at ten o'clock that evening, I reached home safely at half-past six the next morning, grateful to the Giver of all good for the manifold mercies which He had vouchsafed to me in these wanderings. May the Holy Spirit be poured out on the efforts made to extend the kingdom of Christ in these villages and Amen! towns. AMOY.-SUPERSTITIONS OF THE Chinese. THE following additional statements from the correspondence of our Missionaries at Amoy, the former portion of which appeared in our number for January, bring more clearly to view the degrading conceptions of the divine character, the puerile and pernicious forms of idolatrous worship, and the inveterate attachment to ancient superstitions, prevailing among the Chinese. From these arise the peculiar and formidable obstacles with which our brethren have to contend in this country; and against which, in reliance on the Spirit of grace, they are bringing to bear the diversified weapons of the christian armoury. In subordination to the ordinance of preaching, the religious instruction of the young appears among the most probable means of preparing the way of the Lord in China; and to this it will be seen that our brethren at Amoy are paying particular attention, and have already experienced no small encouragement. Their interesting communi cation, on the several points now noticed, thus proceeds: The whole religion of a Chinaman, from beginning to end, is purely and intensely selfish: no reverence is felt for the object professedly worshipped-it is solely on account of the good he is expected to bestow, or the evil from which he is able to deliver, that any devotion is paid to him. Of course, in a great proportion of cases, the votary is disappointed in his object in approaching the idol; but this does not usually create disbelief of the system in general: it merely leads to the conviction that the particular idol invoked is not efficacious, and induces the worshipper to betake himself to another deity more powerful or more propitious. The general idea that a Chinese has of these idols is, that they are the officers and ministers of State, employed by the Supreme Ruler; without whom He could as little transact the multifarious business of this lower world as the Son of Heaven (the Emperor) could manage his vast empire without his Mandarins. For the common people always to worship God and God only, would be thought as absurd as for the inhabitants of a distant province to decline all intercourse with the Magistrates of the district, and seek constant audience only of the Emperor himself. To these deities he imputes passions and feelings exactly the same as men exhibit. The principal means, by which he propitiates their favour, are just those which he thinks would most likely weigh with his fellow-creatures. He sets before them as offerings, pork, fowls, fish, eggs, wine, to appease their hunger; burns incense before them to gratify their olfactory nerves; and the gilt paper which he burns, he believes becomes good gold and silver, and helps to defray the expense of living in the other world. Before removing the eatables, and dispatching them themselves, the worshippers throw up their divining instruments, to ascertain whether the deity has had enough; and if, after many trials, the answer is unfavourable, they conclude he has been dissatisfied with his entertainment; and, to deprecate his anger, promise him, next year, a far superior one, both in quantity and quality. It must not be supposed that so shrewd a people, as the Chinese are known to be, do not frequently recognise the absurdity of such practices. They readily admit, after argument, if not the entire inefficacy of idolatry, at least the impossibility of proving it; and multitudes of the better-informed classes go as far as we do in theoretical contempt for the whole system. But, in practical conformity to idolatrous usages, such individuals act in the same way as the most superstitious. They say they cannot help themselves; it would be absurd for one or two to oppose a whole community; what can they do against so many? But the principal difficulty, after all, in the way of the Gospel at Amoy, is, the prohibition, involved in its reception, of the worship paid to Deceased Ancestors. The Chinese stands entrenched behind what he regards as the natural feelings of the heart: how can he refuse such worship, and yet imagine himself a dutiful son or grandson? Let it be granted, he argues, that idolatry is indefensible; yet surely reverence for those who gave us birth is highly properreverence not only during life, but after death. If a father were to know that his son was determined not to pay him these honours after his death, the knowledge would embitter his remaining days on earth, and, in his view, ensure him misery in the future world. The son who refused such homage would be universally regarded as destitute of all proper feeling; and he might be led by the force of such opinion, to suspect that he was involving not only his parent, but himself also in future wretchedness, both here and hereafter. There is a mysterious influence which parents and children are regarded as mutually exercising on their future fortunes; and whether that influence be favourable or unfavourable, is supposed to depend on the manifestation by the child of all due reverence to the Manes of those to whom he owes his being. Thus hosts of influences prejudical to Christianity cluster round the parental relation-a relation which, in the system of Chinese Ethics, is regarded as holding the first rank, scarcely if at all yielding in dignity to the relation between man and heaven. It is a maxim enunciated by Chinese Sages, and inculcated on their offspring by every succeeding generation of fathers, (though, of course, where the interests of the parties clash, very little attended to in practice by the children,) that under the whole of heaven, there are no mistaken parents; none, that is, whose sentiments and authority their children have any right to oppose or censure. Often, then, is the objection urged against Christianity, that it teaches children to rebel against parental authority; and it is regarded as but a poor justification of such rebellion, that it is caused by a deference to the authority of God-that authority having, through the long-continued influence of millenniums of ignorance and forgetfulness, operating on the natural enmity of the human heart, been reduced to a literal nonentity. To one who reflects maturely on these exhibitions of the moral and religious con dition of the people, and remembers, in addition, the great gain accruing to immense multitudes from idolatry; the many trades which owe their existence to it, (such as the manufacture of idols, of gilt paper, of incense, and of ornaments used in idol-processions ;) the number of professions to which it gives rise, (such as priests, conjurers, fortune-tellers, selecters of lucky days and of auspicious sites for tombs ;) and their widely-extended influence ;-it will be very evident how much disturbance the introduction of so uncompromising an element as Christianity must introduce into the social system, and what an amount of opposition it may expect to encounter, before it can achieve an extensive triumph. We shall now briefly notice the efforts that have been made to benefit the female part of the population. It had long been a matter of regret to us that circumstances hindered the commencement of such efforts. Chinese feelings of propriety interfere to a considerable extent, if not altogether, with promiscuous meetings of the sexes; but, even if this were not the case, the comparative infrequency with which women go out in the cities, would prevent us from ever expecting them to form any considerable portion of our usual audiences-it is only occasionally they come into our chapels, and they do not stay long. It was therefore resolved, in the beginning of the year, to attempt a meeting expressly for them. Mrs. Young, having acquired some knowledge of the local Dialect, visited several females in their own houses; was by them introduced to their friends; and thus became acquainted with a considerable number of women, some of them in very comfortable circumstances. They were informed of the intended meeting, and invited to attend worship in Mr. Young's house, where Mrs. Y. would be ready to receive them, and a teacher would address them on the subject of Christianity. Upwards of twenty women, besides children, attended on the first occasion; and every week subsequently a greater or smaller number have come together, some of them from distant parts of the city. They form generally very attentive listeners; and the continued attendance of so many affords encouragement to keep up the meeting. A wide field of usefulness has been thus opened; and our only regret is, that, to take advantage of it, there is so little instrumentality of the kind most needed. Female labourers, acquainted with the language, could not desire a more interesting sphere than Amoy now presents. The women seem to have the most perfect confidence in our objects and character, and manifest a strong desire to cultivate a closer acquaintance with the Mission-families. When Mrs. Young proposed to commence a Female Boarding-school, it was feared that but few would consent to give up their children to live with foreigners; but it was soon found that there were many more children ready to be consigned to our care than there was room to receive. Mrs. Young has accordingly commenced a Boarding-school for girls from six to twelve years of age; and there are now eleven in attendance, who sleep and board in the house. We trust that gradually such an impression will be made on their young minds, that they will not in after-life be the slavish votaries of superstition as their predecessors through so many generations, but will be led to yield themselves, heart and soul, to the ennobling and sanctifying influences of Christianity. We hope the school will be supported both by local subscriptions, and funds sent from home; and we invite the attention and kind aid of those friends who take an interest in the cause of Female Education in China, in behalf of this incipient effort, in a place where absolutely nothing is done by the parents for their daughters. THE HURRICANE IN MANGAIA. THE friends of the Society are already well acquainted with the desolations of Rarotonga, from the hurricane by which it was visited in the Spring of last year; and it is now our painful duty to report the destructive fury of the same providential dispensation in Mangaia-another Island of the Hervey Group. It never enjoyed the advantages of a resident European Missionary till the arrival of the Rev. George Gill, in the month of July, 1845; but the labours of Native Evangelists, sent from Rarotonga, had been largely attended with the divine blessing; and out of a population of 3,560, on the arrival of our brother, there were upwards of 500 of the natives in church-fellowship, besides an equal number classed as inquirers. The congregations were also large; the schools well attended; and the avowed followers of heathenism were few. In February, 1846, Mr. Gill informed us, that a large and substantial new Chapel was in progress; and in the same letter he presented the following delightful picture of christian affection and enjoyment in an island where, not many years ago, the prince of darkness reigned in uncontrolled dominion. refreshing to the christian mind to contemplate such a scene as this! Formerly they lived in enmity, war, and bloodshed; but now they walk in peace and concord. I saw many grey-headed and feeble old men, who had walked more than six miles before dawn to be present; and, as their countenances were animated with delight in the service, I could have wished the Churches of England to have been spectators of their joy. On the first day of the present year, the three churches in the Island met specially at Oneroa, around the table of Communion, in remembrance of our Crucified Redeemer. Early in the morning the people assembled with great delight and propriety. I preached a short sermon from Psalm cxxii. 6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." The discourse being ended, we surrounded the table of the Lord, where the people met in this collected capacity for the first time. How calm and But these peaceful seasons and joyous expectations were soon to be over cast. Under date May 1st, the Missionary details, in most affecting terms, the awful tempest which swept Mangaia as with the besom of destruction. Commencing on the 10th of February, it was renewed at intervals, with destructive violence, until the 17th of March, when it put forth its most terrific and irresistible power: At four o'clock on Tuesday morning, 17th of March, (says Mr. Gill,) we were disturbed from sleep by the bursting open of all our windows, with great violence. The wind was roaring like thunder, and the sea was furiously dashing its billows upon the reef. The whole village was alarmed, and in great confusion. In the darkness of the hour, the foam of the billows and the waves gave us light. How dreadful was the anxiety of our suspense in watching and waiting for dawn! As dawn appeared, the wind and sea increased in violence, and every thing seemed to be doomed to destruction. The stones from the beach, carried by the wind like hail, fell upon us, and broke our windows; and the whole house itself was rocking. Mrs. Gill and our dear babe hurried outside; and, for more than an hour, were supported by Natives surrounding them, as it was impossible to stand without help, or to seek a shelter, in consequence of the violence of the wind. There we stood, in dreadful anxiety, drenched to the skin, and watching the falling of houses and trees, and the rolling of the sea. Who can describe the anxiety of that hour? Our dwelling-house was roofless; and the gable ends had fallen. The house in which we kept our stores was also shivered and rocking, and almost roofless. The rain again fell in torrents: we were without shelter, and trembling with cold. The Natives gathered around us for comfort and counsel, but I was unable to speak, either to direct or console. Just at this time there was an awful shriek, which rent the air, and seemed to be louder and higher than the roar of winds and waves. The Natives observed that the wind had changed, and had assumed the character of a whirlwind: every part of the village was caught by its violence, and the tallest trees, with more than fifty houses, fell in a moment. Still all was not done: the winds again roared, and the waters thundered; trees, as they were broken, were tossed in the air, and were seen turning rapidly like wheels. I had left the tree near to which I was standing, to take my position at another whence I could command a longer view of the village. I observed the sea again rushing upon the shore, and with it came a stronger gust than we had yet felt the very land seemed to shake. Seven large houses fell, with the school-houses and the old Chapel, which was more than 120 feet long and 36 feet wide. I was blown down and bruised by the gust; but, recovering, I seized a young tree to support myself, and, looking around me upon the beach, I could see no house standing. I looked towards the new Chapel on the top of the hill, and greatly rejoiced to see it standing, although I perceived the roof was much injured. But another moment-and another gustand it was not! the building rocked-then it was lifted up-and I saw it fall! Alas! alas! my heart was just broken. The hurricane extended around the whole Island: the two inland stations are desolated; the chapels, the schools, and the dwellings of the Natives all levelled to the ground. The plantations of food are greatly injured, and the arrow-root, which they had stored up as contributions to the Society for the year 1846, is destroyed. But He, who rides upon the wings of the wind and directs the fury of the storm, said-Peace! be still! and the tempest of the morning was followed by an evening unusually placid and serene. In our store-house, half full of dirt and water, (writes the solitary Missionary,) we laid us down to rest, though not to sleep. Throughout the night we watched the broad expanse of the starry heavens through our roofless house; and, if we did not feel as comfortable as we could have wished, we still felt peace. The sea was again calmlike a lake; the winds were gentle; the stars thickly and brightly shining; and we looked on them with gratitude and confidence, as they led our thoughts to Him "who spake the promises." In Him we have a refuge from every storm that blows, and in the security of His pavilion we will abide until these calamities be overpast. They are designed to humble us, and to teach His power and dominion; and we will humble ourselves under His mighty hand, that IIe may exalt us in due time. Amidst these awful visitations, the divine mercy was as signally manifested in Mangaia, as it was in Rarotonga, in the preservation of the people. Though surrounded by universal ruin, not one life was lost; and On the following Sabbath, (says Mr. Gill,) as we had no building in which to assemble, the people met in the inclosure before our house. There, amidst desolation, they sat down and wept, when they remembered Zion. As far as my strength and feelings would allow, I endeavoured to address them, from Matt. vii. 24, and 27 verses. In the afternoon we assembled again, when the Deacons and others gave short addresses, accompanied with prayer and singing. The season was much enjoyed by us, and the sentiments expressed by the persons who spoke, manifested great clearness and humility. "My Brethren and Sisters," said one, this is a very different assembling to what, in former seasons, we have been accustomed to enjoy. Why is it so? Who will tell me? I ask the sea and the land, and they declare it to be God! I ask the ruins of our houses, and of our houses of prayer-I ask the trees that are lying broken and dead upon our land—and they answer, this is of God! The Lord is great, and of great power-his ways are unsearchable. But why are we not dead? Why, when the tree fell, did it not fall upon me-upon you-and upon our children? Why? Because, though God is great, he is good, and very kind. Let us, therefore, rejoice that we are alive to bless God for his salvation. The following additional records of the divine foreknowledge and benevolence cannot but excite devout admiration and thankfulness. The Rev. W. Gill, of Rarotonga, writing about four months after that Island had been visited by the desolating tempest, observes : continually coming to our house to talk about the things of God, so that we have been obliged to set apart two days a week for church-members only, who visit us. I have also selected a class of candidates (twenty in number) who are giving evidence of their conversion; and we have the names of fifty others, male and female, who have lately been brought under concern for the welfare of their souls. Many of these have been constant attendants on the means of grace for years past; but, as one poor man expressed himself "His heart till now had been hard as a stone." We trust these tokens for good may be lasting, and bring forth fruit unto eternal life. The kind Providence of our Heavenly Father has been most signally manifested in an abundant and almost miraculous supply of the Pumpkin Plant. The seed had been introduced to the Island some four months before the gale; and, in three weeks after, the whole land was covered with the fruit. We were much gratified to find that the minds of the people were deeply affected with gratitude to God for this timely and abundant supply. We have reason to believe that the solemn dispensation has been greatly sanctified to all at this station. The church has been aroused to inquiry and prayer. There is a manifest anxiety to improve the awful event. Numbers are Under these solemn but instructive dispensations of Providence, the Directors sympathised with their Missionary Brethren, both in the tears of the night and the joy of the morning. They felt constrained to present a claim, so urgent and peculiar, to the special sympathy of the friends of the Society throughout the country: the appeal was met with promptitude and generosity; and, in the space of three months, contributions exceeding 3,000l. were received for the relief of the sufferers; besides large supplies of useful goods for their service. These valuable presents were quickly dispatched for their distant destination, together with a still larger amount of cotton and woollen goods, building materials, &c., purchased from the Special Fund. These means of relief were accompanied by a request to the Rev. Dr. Ross, of Sydney, to forward from the Colony a liberal quantity of flour, rice, and articles of food and comfort; and, as the case did not admit of delay, he was also commissioned to charter a small vessel to convey these stores to the Islands forthwith; so that there is ground to hope that the hearts of the sufferers are now rejoicing over this proof of love "as a sacrifice unto God for a sweet smelling savour;" while they implore blessings on their friends and benefactors. DEATH OF REV. S. FLAVEL. WE deeply regret to announce the death of the Rev. Samuel Flavel, for many years the devoted Pastor of the Tamil Church at Bellary. He died of cholera on the 17th of April, after a few hours illness, leaving a large family and many attached friends to lament his decease. "During the day on which he died," writes the Rev. William Thompson "many of the most respectable of the native population, including some Brahmins, who had known our dear brother as a member of the Mission, and respected his devotedness and consistency, came to the house, and spontaneously bore the most honourable testimony to his character. Our loss is like yours;' they said to his family, our interests were his own. He was a good man, and a friend to all.' "The next morning, at an early hour, we followed him to the grave, and soon became feelingly alive to the fact, that we had lost a friend and brother, whose advice when sought was never withheld, and whose long experience and sober judg ment gave it a peculiar value. The Native Church mourn the loss of a Pastor of extensive knowledge, and great aptness to teach;' a 'faithful minister of Christ,' abundant in labour, and of most devoted zeal; whose ardent affection for the people of his charge-most of whom were his spiritual children-found its most appropriate terms of expression in the language of the Apostle, Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.' His widow and children-three unprovided-feel themselves bereaved beyond the power of language to express, |