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1825.] Fance; Netherlands; Spain; Russia; Greece; United States: 643

He is to be represented as preaching, leaning a little forward, his left leg advanced, and holding in his right hand a small pocket Bible. In the energy of speaking he has grasped and raised up the left side of the Geneva cloak, and is pointing with the forefinger of his left hand to the Bible in his right.

Mr. Wayland, in his missionary sermon reviewed in our present Number, estimates the number of " spiritual" as distinguished from merely nominal Christians at perhaps only one hundred out of the eight hundred millions of which the globe consists. We must leave to the omniscient Searcher of hearts alone to determine this point; but with regard to nominal Christianity, the following is the current estimate. If the inhabitants of the world amount to 800,000,000, its Christian population will be 200 millions, namely, the Greek and Eastern Churches, 30 millions; the Papists, 100 millions; and the Protestants, 70 millions. The pagans are estimated at 461 millions; the Mohammedans at 130 millions; and the Jews at nine millions.

FRANCE.

A French journal has furnished an estimate of the number of children in the several countries of Europe, who are educated at public schools, compared with the whole population. According to this table, the pupils of the public schools in the circle of Gratz, is one in nine of the whole population-in Bohemia, one in eleven-in Moravia and Silesia, one in twelve-in Austria, one in thirteen-in Prussia, one in eighteen-in Scotland, one in ten-in England, one in sixteen-in Ireland, one in eighteen-in France, one in thirty-in Poland, one in seventy-eight-in Portugal, one in eighty-and in Russia, one in nine hundred and fifty-four.

There are born at Paris about 22,000 children annually: about two-thirds of these are sent out to nurse in the country: of these, the mortality, during the first year, is three out of five; while of the 7,000 to 8,000 nursed in Paris, more than half die within the year. In populous quarters of Paris, the mortality is about nine in ten in the first year. In the country, when good air, cleanliness, and comfort are united, as in Normandy, the mortality during the first year is only one in eight. At the Foundling Hospital at Paris, it is stated, that of the immense numbers received annually, there only remain 180 at the age of ten. The Academy, considering the importance of these facts, has communicated them to the Société Maternelle, and similar institutions. Hitherto these societies have

invariably recommended mothers to nurse their children; but in consequence of the mortality, bad air, and other circumstances, it is now urged to be more charitable to into the country. As a general plan, howaid them to send their children to nurse ever, we much doubt either the wisdom or benevolence of this scheme.

NETHERLANDS.

The Dutch papers contain an account of a new discovery in lithography, for reprinting foreign journals, by which it is calculated that the postage and stamp will be saved. The reprint will be executed by a chemical process. It is to appear two hours after the arrival of the mail.

ed at Brussels; and the Government A Philosophical College has been foundspare no expense, that it may be answerable to its destination. All the courses of lectures are gratuitous; the expense of board is only 200 florins; and stipends will be granted to promising pupils who are not able to pay even so moderate a sum. SPAIN.

The Pope has lately pronounced the beatification of a Spanish Franciscan, named attributed to this monk, is one of having Jubein. Among the numberless miracles resuscitated several couple of half-roasted fowls, which at his command took wing from the spit and flew away with miraculous velocity. This ignorant and wretched country teems with pretended miracles at the present moment.

RUSSIA.

ject of a Technological Institution at MosThe emperor has sanctioned the procow, for the propagation of the arts recondition may be admitted from sixteen to lative to manufactures. Youths of free twenty-four years of age, and their instruction is afforded gratis.

GREECE.

declared that public instruction shall be The National Assembly at Argos has under the immediate superintendance of decreed, that a central school of arts shall the legislative body; by whom it has been be established at Argos, and the minister of the interior be entrusted with the exeis named, who is to inform the Governcution. An inspector-general of instruction established, to propose the establishment ment of the state of the schools already of others, to examine the capabilities of the instructors, and to superintend the institution of libraries and museums.

UNITED STATES.

A city law has been passed in Charlespublic worship on the Sabbath, at any ton against riding or driving by places of gait faster than a walk.

Proposals are in circulation for making a carriage road from the top of the bank on the Niagara river, below the falls, down to the water's edge, on both sides of the river. If this undertaking should be carried into effect, the traveller may pass the tremendous chasm below the cataract in safety, sitting in a carriage.

As an illustration of the progress, both of population and of education, in the United States, it may be mentioned that the Boston Free Schools, which contained in the year 1758 only eight hundred and fifty-six pupils, have now five thousand six hundred and fifty-one.

From the following curious address issued by one of the candidates for the shrievalty of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, we may judge that the violation of the boasted freedom and purity of election is not confined to our own "worn-out monarchial section of the globe."

"In making this application I wish it to be understood that it is not my intention to take the rounds of the county, -to go from house to house with a view to corrupt your morals by what may be termed a liberal course of bribery,shaking those hands I never shook before, andwhich I do not intend again to shake after the election, handing round a capacious snuff-box well filled with scented snuff,carrying with me a pair of saddlebags stuffed with chewing tobacco cut to convenient lengths to distribute in all directions,-treating to whisky on all occasions,―swearing white is black, and

black is white, and making promises I never intend to perform; and by some fabricated story to excite your sympathy and extort promises of votes and favour which you would be base to fulfil. I leave this course to other candidates. If you think me worthy of your support and confidence, elect me.

A gentleman, having occasion to pass through some parts of the State of NewYork most destitute of religious instruction, purchased about 15,000 tracts, in assorted packages. These packages he committed to the care of benevolent individuals in as many different towns, with a request that every head of a family might have one tract, provided he would agree, after reading it, to exchange with his neighbours for theirs. It is the purpose of the donor to continue these deposits.

CANADA, &c.

There are now not less than thirty-nine provincial publications in the British NorthAmerican provinces, whereas fifty years since there were only two newspapers in the whole of that vast territory.

SOCIETY ISLANDS.

A sugar manufactory has been established at Otaheite, where sugar is made from the native cane; and a building designed for a cotton manufactory has been erected at Eimeo; the machinery for spinning and weaving has been imported from England, and is to be put in motion by water power. Cotton grows spontaneously in great abundance.

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THEOLOGY.

The Gospel of St. John, in German, with an analytical and interlineary Translation. By George Hamilton. 4s. 6d.

Jesus Christ the True God and Eternal Life. By T. F. Churchill, M. D. 8vo. 6s.

A Course of Catechetical Instruction. By the Rev. Harvey Marriott.

The Protestant Reformation Vindicated from the Misrepresentations of William Cobbett. By the Author of "The Protestant."

The Parish Church, or Religion in Britain. By Thomas Wood. 10s. 6d. Affectionate Advice to Apprentices and other Young Persons. By the Rev. H. G. Watkins. 6d.

Tolley's Paraphrase of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, with Notes. 1 vol. 8vo. Williamson's Reflections. 2 vols. 8vo. 1. ls.

Evangelical Rambler. Vol. III. 3s. 6d.

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British Senate during that most interesting
Period. 8vo. 16s.

The Fruits of Faith, a Poem. By Hugh
Campbell. 1 vol. 6s.

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RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGA

TION OF THE GOSPEL. FROM an interesting appeal lately issued in behalf of this earliest of our missionary institutions, we copy the following passages. The whole of the appeal is drawn up in a truly excellent spirit.

"The duty of endeavouring to spread the light of that Gospel under which it is our highest happiness to live, among those who are strangers to it, must be acknowledged by all who have any reverence for the commands of their Lord and Saviour. Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature,' was his last solemn injunction to his Apostles: and it is painful to reflect how imperfectly, from the supineness of Christians, that Divine command has as yet been obeyed.

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"From such inexcusable indifference to the spiritual welfare and eternal salvation of their fellow-creatures, it is high time that Christians should awake: and, blessed be God! there are many who have long been labouring to wipe away so foul a reproach upon the Christian name.

"It was under a strong sense of this obligation, and for this noble and truly benevolent purpose, that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was originally instituted and it is with the same views, and for the same end, that it now earnestly calls for the support of all the friends of religion-all indeed who name the name of Christ-especially those who worship him in the communion of the Church of England. Acting in strict accordance with the principles, and under the regular and chartered superintendence of the heads of that church, the Society has for its object nothing less than the universal diffusion of Christianity in its purest form, and in its most perfect conformity with the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

"The Society's general designs are far from being confined to one portion of the globe: they embrace every part of it, to which British power and British benevolence have access; and nothing but the want of adequate means stands in the way CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 286.

of their more extended accomplishment and more beneficial effects. Unwilling to reject the pressing applications which have been made for its assistance, the Society has enlarged its bounty to the impoverishment of its funds, and the material diminution of its capital: but the increased exertions of its friends, and the inexhaustible liberality of the public, when the claims of the Society shall have become as extensively known as they deserve, are resources which are looked to with the most sanguine confidence.

"Let not, then, this appeal to a Christian nation be made in vain. Let not those who partake of the bread of life in abundance, withhold that charitable aid which is absolutely necessary for the communication of the same spiritual food to the multitudes who are perishing with hunger. 'Freely they have received, freely let them give.' They pray constantly that the kingdom of God may come-let them prove the sincerity of their prayers, by contributing, according to their several abilities, to the maintenance of those missionaries, the business of whose lives it is to extend that kingdom upon earth. Let the members of the Church of England, in particular, come forward to support, by all the means in their power, a society which is engaged in disseminating the Gospel, according to their firm persuasion, as the truth is in Jesus.' "

"The operations of the Society extend over the vast provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland, and the Bermudas.

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Of late years, the population in those colonies has increased to such an extent, that the Society has deemed it necessary greatly to increase the number of its missionaries. The spiritual wants of those countries cannot be adequately supplied without such an addition to the ministers of religion as would triple the number that was employed, even at so late a period as the year 1816. The actual number of missionaries now in the service of the Society, in the North-American colonies 40

alone, is one hundred and three; and, in addition to these, more than one hundred schoolmasters are partially supported from its funds.

"With a view to the formation of a body of native clergy for the service of the colonies, the Society has contributed largely toward the support of King's Col lege, Windsor, Nova Scotia, by an annual grant, and by the endowment of divinity scholarships and exhibitions. The Society is also called upon to make frequent grants, in aid of the erection of churches in the infant settlements; and has been the great instrument of introducing the National System of Education in the capitals of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and of extending it through every part of the North-American colo

nies.

"Another source of expenditure has been opened to the Society, by the extended colonization of the southern parts of Africa and the interior of New Holland; where it will form an object of great and important interest, to carry forward the same plan of religious instruction and general education, which has been found so effectual in the NorthAmerican colonies, so soon as the funds of the Society will admit of such an extension of their operations.

"To meet these great and increasing demands the resources of the Society are found to be utterly inadequate, notwithstanding the liberal aid which they have obtained from parliamentary grants. The average annual expenditure of the Society has, for the last four years, exceeded its income, to the amount of 6000l. ; an excess which, if continued for a few years more, must bring inevitable ruin on the Society's funds.

"The collections under the authority of the royal letter, granted in 1819, have been appropriated to the exclusive uses of Bishop's College, Calcutta, and the establishments connected with it; and will be found unequal to answer the increasing demands from that quarter. The buildings there, though not yet completed, are so far advanced as to admit of the residence of the principal, two professors, a limited number of students, and the Society's missionaries on their first arrival in India. "The lamented death of the late Bishop of Calcutta could not fail to check, for a time, the progress of the Society's operations in the eastern peninsula; but they look forward to the happiest results, from the co-operation of the present diocesan, and the zealous exertions of their

missionaries, who are diligently engaged under the direction of the principal of the college, in those studies which will enable them to carry on with effect the ultimate designs of the Society. In the mean time, and in addition to the main object of their present occupations, the attainment of the native languages and the acquisition of a general knowledge of Indian rites and customs, the missionaries are actively employed in superintending several institutions for the education of the native youth.

"The formation of a college library has been commenced at a considerable expense: it will, however, require many additions to render it efficient. At the meeting of the Board, in March 1822, it was resolved to endow twenty theological scholarships for the purpose of forming a body of missionaries, catechists, and schoolmasters.

"The Society has recently been enabled to make an important addition to its establishment in the East. In order to extend its operations in that quarter, and give union and strength to the missionaries, it has undertaken the superintendance and management of the missions in Southern India, which have been hitherto maintained by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge; and which that Society consented to resign, in consideration of the benefits which the missionaries must derive from an intimate connexion with Bishop's College, Calcutta.

"Five European missionaries, and six native teachers, devoted to the instruction of the native congregations in the neighbourhood of Madras, have thus been added to the Society's establishment, and there is an urgent demand for more labourers in the same field.

"Under these circumstances the Society feels justified in expressing a conviction that the British public will not fail to aid its labours. Its friends are therefore entreated both to form themselves into committees for this purpose, in concurrence with the ecclesiastical authorities, and to circulate authentic details of the nature and extent of the Society's operations, which will be furnished to them from time to time."

SOCIETY FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS.

The following is an abstract of the Seventeenth Report of this Society, read at the last annual meeting.

The Committee state, that the cause

of the Society is gaining ground, and obtaining increased attention from the Christian world. Various new auxiliary societies have been formed. Ireland had contributed to the Society the sum of 1150. since the former anniversary. The whole contributions of the year amounted to 13,715., exceeding those of the preceding one by the sum of 12891. It is stated, that there are some symptoms of an increasing attention to religion, and of a less hostile feeling than formerly towards the Society, among the Jews of this country. The continued attendance of Jews and Jewesses at the lectures on the Old-Testament types, is adduced in confirmation of this statement.

Two rabbies have, during the past year, been frequent writers in the Jewish Expositor, and have proposed their objections, and stated their arguments, in a manner until lately altogether unknown in the annals of this controversy. During the same period a Jew has published a history of his own nation, in English, avowedly with a view to call the attention of his brethren to the Scriptures.

The number of copies of the holy Scriptures issued by the Society, has not been more than about 1200. This has, in some degree, arisen from a more rigid economy in the distribution of them, but is chiefly to be attributed to the various stations having been so abundantly supplied. Of Hebrew and foreign tracts about 12,000 have been issued.

The Committee have ventured to undertake the printing of an edition of the whole Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in Hebrew.

Respecting the schools of the Society, the Committee present a favourable report. The number of children in them is thirty-six boys and forty-seven girls.

Six missionary students have been admitted into the Society's seminary in the course of the last year: four of them (of whom one is a converted Jew) are foreigners; the other two are members of the university of Cambridge. Six missionaries have gone forth from the seminary since the last meeting; Messrs. Wermelskirk and Reichardt to Poland, Mr. Stockfeld to Holland, Mr. Banga to Basle, Mr. Bergfeldt to Posen, and Mr. Nicolayson to visit his friends in Denmark, previously to his proceeding to Palestine; whither also Dr. Dalton, an Irish medical gentleman, has proceeded as a missionary agent from the Society. The number of students now in the seminary is six, and

the number of the missionaries in actual employment is twenty-five.

The Committee next proceed to give some account of the Foreign Operations of the Society. Beginning with France, they state, that even in that country some anxiety is manifested, and some exertion used to promote Christianity amongst the Jews. A large chapel has been opened at Paris, under the sanction of the British Ambassador, for the use of the English residents and visitors, by the Rev. Lewis Way, of which he himself is the minister, and where the cause of the Jews is not likely to be forgotten. After two sermons by the Rev. Mr. Simeon and Mr. Way, above sixty pounds were collected.

With respect to Holland, the Committee state, that a Ladies' Association had been formed in aid of the Society at Amsterdam. The Rev. A. S. Thelwall still continues his labours at that place. He writes: "I have seen four Jews baptized; all of whom, I have good reason to hope, are truly converted, and have passed from death unto life. We have one family, and those of superior rank, in which there are six Jews and Jewesses, over whom we may rejoice and bless the God of all grace."

The Second Report of the Frankfort Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, states, that the cause is prospering in that place. The better informed Jews are described as ready to receive any thing that can enlighten their understandings, and as eager to read the Society's tracts and New Testaments. Nine baptisms are reported to have taken place. The Committee, having heard that into an institution at Dusselthal, under the direction of Count Von der Recke, twenty Jews have been received, have agreed to contribute towards the maintenance of a minister in the institution. Two similar institutions were about to be established; the one at Weimar, and the other at Berlin. From Detmold Baron Blomberg, states, that several young Jewish teachers in that neighbourhood were examining into the truth of Christianity, and that one of considerable talents and hopeful piety had been baptised, and has begun to preach Christ crucified to his brethren. At Dresden, fourteen have been baptized.

Prussia. An account was given in the last Report, of two young Jews of Berditchef, who had travelled 1300 miles to Berlin, for the purpose of obtaining Christian instruction; and that, after a due course of religious instruction, they had been there baptized. Having for more

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