1 a long manifesto to announce the fact to the whole world; but he appears to have deserted the place soon afterwards. In 1816, a company of artillery, from St. Helena, was stationed there to recruit the men's health, but it was withdrawn on the death of Napoleon, in 1821. A corporal, named Glass, was allowed to remain, with one or two companions, to take charge of the fort and landing-places. They sent for Caffir wives from the Cape. Their numbers were increased by one or two settlers from the Cape, some who had escaped from shipwreck, and one or two left behind by American whalers. There are a Scot, a Dane, a Hollander, and some English and Americans. In 1829, there were seven men, six women, and fourteen children;-in May, 1849, there were 102. They seem industrious and intelligent, and wish to have their children instructed. Governor Glass, an intelligent old man, who is loyal, and very proud of a highly-coloured portrait of the Queen and Prince Albert, acts as schoolmaster, and though educated among Presbyterians, reads the service of the Church of England twice every Sunday, and also solemnizes marriages and buries the dead according to her rites. He requested a clergyman (the Rev. John Wise) who visited them in 1849,2 to baptize forty-one children, and produced a register given him in 1835, by the clergyman who had last visited them, and who had charged him to let none but a clergyman write in it; and the request had been carefully attended to. He complained to Mr. Wise of his want of good lesson-books, and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge sent him a grant of 157. worth. The following singularly interesting document was drawn up by the inhabitants in 1834, and published in the Cape newspapers. It shows how really earnest is their desire for instruction: 66 We, the undersigned, being three of the senior principal inhabitants of the island of Tristan d'Acunha, do hereby agree to furnish any respectable middle-aged persons (as man and wife) who are willing and capable to undertake the office of schoolmaster and mistress, with house, and all necessaries for their subsistence, as well as to present them every year, at Christmas, with a tenth part of the amount of sale of our produce, so long as the schoolmaster and mistress shall conduct themselves with propriety, and choose to remain with us. we do further agree, that any person sent to us with a certificate And 1 Mr. Earle has appended to his Narrative of a Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand, an interesting account of a short stay on this island in 1824, when there were only six adults there besides himself. He speaks very highly of the many excellent qualities of Governor Glass, and of the attention paid by them all to the duties of religion, and to the instruction of their children. 2 See Colonial Church Chronicle, vol. iii. p. 79. of good conduct and necessary qualifications, signed by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, or by Admiral Warren (the naval commander-in-chief), shall be considered by us as eligible to the situation, and their passage to this island paid to the master of any merchant-vessel bringing them, immediately upon their arrival, the sum of passage-money having been agreed upon by either the Governor or Admiral before mentioned. "Signed by us, at Tristan d'Acunha, this 17th day of January, 1834, on board his Majesty's brig Forester, in the presence of Commander Booth, R.N. "W. M. GLASS, Governor, RICHARD RILEY, his x mark, They call their settlement Somerset Town. In 1829 they had seventy head of cattle, one hundred sheep, a great number of swine and goats, which roamed about wild, and a considerable quantity of poultry. They marketed their wool at the Cape. Many American whalers visit the island every year for water, which is good and abundant, and for stock; and in exchange supply them with clothes. The coast abounds with whales, both black and white, sealions and elephants, and other kinds of seals. Good fish may be caught with a hook and line. There are penguins and albatrosses. The wings of some of the latter measure ten feet from tip to tip. The coast is covered with broad sea-weed several fathoms long. As announced in our last number (page 120) the Rev. W. F. Taylor is about to proceed to this small yet interesting spot; where the people, though removed so far from their fellow-men, still cling fondly to the thought of their mother Church and country; and find, in the form of sound words contained in our Church's liturgy, a bond of union which connects even them with the holy Church universal. Correspondence and Documents. POSITION OF THE BRITISH CHURCH IN CONSTANTINOPLE. Ir gave us sincere pleasure to read in the letter of our esteemed correspondent, A. C. C. (page 74), that there is a prospect of Bishop Southgate's speedy return to Constantinople. The Christian zeal which stimulated his former labours, the sound judgment which 140 Position of the British Church in Constantinople. directed them, the faith with which he was laying foundations deep, the loving spirit of his intercourse with individual inquirers, the firmness and meekness with which he long bore discouragements painful to all true hearts to hear of, - these seemed to Christians, who were watching his work, so many unmistakeable tokens, that He who alone giveth the increase would surely bless that work with abundant fruits in His own good season. It was an honour to the American Church that she had there occupied ground which we in our faithlessness had neglected; that she, in her early years, had set up a standing witness which forced on the incredulous Mahometan the conviction, that the masters of the world really worship God and believe in a Saviour, and which awakened fallen Christian communities to a sense of the existence of a Church scarcely less ancient, and much more Scriptural, more truly Catholic than their own. This the American Church has done at Constantinople, whilst we seem to have scarcely discovered that there is any work there which we for Christ's sake might do. A correspondent of our own formerly (Vol. III. 267) drew attention (we have yet to learn with what effect) to the call which there seems to be for a mission to the Mahometans. We now wish to direct the thoughts of our readers to a more humble aim-men of weak faith will deem it more practical-the improvement of the very unsatisfactory position of our Church there. We remember seeing a reprint of the first Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in which the British factory at Constantinople was set down as an honourable exception,-being well supplied as to its spiritual wants, " by our worthy merchants that trade or live there." What is the state of the case now? Our merchants there have not decreased either in wealth or in numbers during the last 150 years. There is still a single Chaplain there; not inferior, we believe, in zeal or in ability to any who have occupied that post before him. But he is a solitary Priest; and, still worse, at present without a church to worship in. We have been favoured with a sight of some letters recently received from a resident in Constantinople, a few extracts from one of which will state the case more forcibly than any words of our own : "While the Greek, and Roman, and Armenian Churches proclaim their vitality, and retain their hold upon their members, by the regular performance of their services with all their varied ceremonies, in large, and appropriate, and substantial buildings, of which there are several belonging to each communion, the English Church has not had for some years one single building dedicated to the service of God. The small chapel which was attached to the palace of the ambassador escaped the fire by which that was destroyed, but was afterwards laid in ruins by another. The palace has now been rebuilt at a cost of already, I believe, something like 70,000l. without its furniture. The large blocks of hewn stone for the stables and outbuildings are lying there just ready to be put together, and when these are all finished, then the chapel is to be thought of. Of course you would suppose it would be in the same costly style at least as the stables, but no, not a bit of it; the old, rough, unsightly walls, which have not the least ecclesiastical character about them, and unfortunately have not yet fallen down, are here to be retained; and the whole arrangement of the interior, which will be notoriously too small, is to be left to the pleasure of the Palace architect, who being by profession, I believe, a Romanist, but in reality, I am told, attending no service at all, is not quite the person to have the fitting up of an English chapel. But it seems generally agreed here, that in any case, with so large a number of English residents, we ought to have a church altogether independent of the ambassador's private chapel." This subject should be urged upon the British Church, not only (although chiefly) for the sake of the British residents in Constantinople -others also are entitled to consideration. It is well known, that there now exists among the Greeks a very general desire to learn what the doctrines of the English Church really are. Several instances have lately occurred which fully substantiate the following general observation of the writer before quoted :— "It has been represented to me, again and again, by those who ought to know, that there is in certain communions an almost universal distrust of their present religious systems, and an extreme anxiety, among at least the educated, for something better; and that such persons have an eye especially to the Church of England. My feeling is, that it is not right to encourage such persons to forsake their own branch of the Church; but rather to urge them to agitate (if one may use such a word) for the reform of the abuses which exist among themselves; and so to look forward, if it may be, to the mutual recognition of whole branches of the Catholic Church." But to turn from these degenerate Christians to the Infidels, who constitute the large majority of the population of Constantinople. For the last 300 years our Church has been used to pray for them by name but, where the Church is brought into actual contact with them, what aspect does she wear? "I have heard that the Turks have been in the habit of saying of the English lately, that they have no Priest, no Church, no Religion. And really there are a great number of English residents who seem to have lost all interest in religion, and never to attend public worship at all. . . . Sometimes they have been for months together without even the possibility of partaking of the means of grace.' We have now laid this case before our readers. Who is there, with the heart and the means to act in the matter? who first of the thousands who are annually deriving wealth or enjoyment from this city? Is it not strange, that with such facts before us, we can offer so quietly our annual prayer on Good Friday, that all " Turks and Infidels" may be fetched home to the flock of Christ? SOME REMARKS ON MISSION LABOUR IN THE · [We subjoin the remainder of the letter on this subject, and beg to call the attention of our readers to its many practical observations on the important subject of the conduct of Missions.] IV. The difficulties which we have to encounter, and the ways and means to overcome them. The causes of them lie partly on the side of the Missionary, as a foreigner, partly on the side of the natives. 1. Difficulties of which the causes lie on the side of the Missionary. The first which presents itself is a. Difficulty to become thoroughly master of the language, and to get intimately acquainted with his field of labour. With the exception of a correct pronunciation, the Missionary may find the acquirement of the Canarese language comparatively easy, so far as grammar or dictionary is concerned; but this is only half the labour, as it were only the body of the language; the soul of it he must take from the mouth and pen of the people themselves. To be able to speak popularly, he must not only be well acquainted with the peculiarities of their life, their mode of expression; &c., but he must, as it were, deny and forget himself as an European, in order to be able to comprehend their mind, and sympathise and think with them. Without this psychical acclimatization, he never will be able to speak and write impressively, to their comprehension. For instance, their mode of arguing differs totally from the European one; we, in order to demonstrate an individual case, reduce it to a general axiom, or principle; but this abstract mode never will do with a Hindoo, for his all-convincing argument is an illustration from nature, or daily life. In this respect our Lord's manner of preaching is the most perfect example for an Indian Missionary. Besides the acquirement of a popular form of expression, it is no easy task to get thoroughly acquainted with the real spiritual wants of a people so much divided into numberless castes, creeds, and sects. Only a general knowledge of the views entertained by our hearers will not do; for, as soon as they observe the Missionary's imperfect acquaintance with their religion and secrets, they despise him. Many well-intentioned endeavours have been fruitless, and many of the Mission Tracts have been written almost in vain, chiefly on account of this defect. It is, therefore, necessary that the Missionary apply all his time and strength to this important task, by constant living among the people, conversing with them on the various subjects of their life and religion, and by much reading of their shastras. From this it appears clearly, that those Missionaries who live in European stations, and devote much of their time to Europeans, must labour under a 1 Concluded from p. 111. |