country, and paid by government! A Christian native soldier is flogged; a heathen native is not subject to the lash! If a Mahometan or Hindu change his religion, he forfeits his inheritance, by their laws; those laws are enforced by Christian magistrates! Public offices are closed on native heathen festivals; but on the Christian Sabbath, native officers and servants are employed as usual! These things may well give rise to the following indignant aspirations, quoted by Mr. M. from the Oriental Christian Spectator:

66

"We trust that the time is now at hand when our rulers will cease to be the bankers and factors of the idols and their prototypes, the abortions of those who became "vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened;" when they will no longer grace heathen and Mahometan revelries by attendance, and participation in their unholy rites and ceremonies, nor rend the heavens, and provoke the thunders of Omnipotence, by firing salutes in their honor; when they will suffer no document dedicated to "the lord of devils," or profaning the name of Jehovah, to leave the public offices; when they will cease to appeal to the "vanities of the heathen," for rain and fruitful seasons; when they will neither in respect make mention of the name of heathen gods, nor cause to swear by them," nor regulate the affairs of their worship, nor settle the rank of their deluded votaries; and when they will no longer bewilder the minds of the 'twice-born' youth, by the exploded and absurd science of the Vedas and Puránas, taught in Sunscrit colleges, and qualify them for dexterously poisoning the souls of the people throughout the length and breadth of the land, by compositions prepared under the auspices of the great Destroyer. We hope, we say, that this, the most happy day which India has seen, and the prelude of one still more glorious, will speedily arrive; and we invoke the blessing of God on all, in India and Britain, who, by remonstrance with man, and prayer to God, may seek to hasten it."—Vol. II, pp. 75, 76.

As there seems just now to be a surplus amount of philanthropy among the reformers of Great Britain, we recommend them to turn their attention to the demand for the article, which exists in this portion of her majesty's possessions in India.

From Calcutta, Mr. Malcom proceeded to Madras, and thence to Singapore. Before leaving Madras, he visited Tanjore and Trechnopoly, the seats of Mr. Swartz's missions. Of these there are some interesting, though melancholy memoranda. After remaining some weeks at

* Ganesh.

† Or Hu.

Josh. 23: 7.

Singapore, he proceeded to Bankok, the capital of Siam, where his visit seems to have been of a very useful and most interesting character. Returning thence to Singapore, he sailed for Canton, and proceeded by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, to the United States. We should have been pleased to delay our readers with several extracts from our author's descriptions of manners, localities, &c., in each of these places, but our limits forbid. We must reserve all that remains for some remarks upon the fourth part of the work, which consists of dissertations, tables, &c., intended to present a summary of our author's observations on the present condition of the missionary enterprise in south-eastern Asia.

The first chapter of this part is devoted to China, the various points from which it may be reached, the comparative difficulty of the language, the books to be studied, and obstacles to be surmounted. On all these points, the information is various and select. The second chapter contains "the missionary field in and around Burmah." This is a synoptical view of the Burman and adjacent tribes. It is rather too brief to be attractive, and we cannot but wish that more had been said of some of these people, especially the Karens. There are many important questions connected with this latter tribe, which we should like to see discussed. Their religious traditions and their moral precepts all point to an ante- Mosaic origin. Take, for instance, the following:

"Various traditions prevail among them, which have a remarkable similarity to Scripture facts. The following is a specimen: 'Our race began with a married pair, who lived in happy innocence and abundance. Mo-kaw-le, or the devil, attempted to seduce them to partake of certain food which they had been commanded not to eat. They both listened and argued for some time, till the man, indignant and out of patience, would hear no more, and rising up, went away. The woman continued to listen. Mokawle assured her that if she would take his advice, she should know all things, and be endued with ability to fly in the air, or penetrate into the depth of the earth. That she might prove the truth of what he said, he begged her just to taste the least morsel, and she would know for herself. She began to hesitate, and said, "Shall we verily be able to fly?" Upon this, Mokawle redoubled his protestations of ardent good-will, and repeated the most flattering assurances, till the woman ate. Mokawle then praised and cajoled her, till she was induced to go and find her husband. He yielded reluctantly, and after much coaxing. They realized none of the promised advan

tages, but felt no difference in themselves till next day, when God came and cursed them, saying, "You shall become old; you shall be sick; you shall die."'

"The only religious teachers are a sort of prophets, called Bookhoos, who predict events, and are greatly venerated by the people. They are always bards, singing with uncommon skill, sometimes extemporaneously, verses of their own composition. The uniform burden of the prophecies is, the coming of a deliverer, who is to gather their scattered tribes, and restore them to security and independence."-Vol. II, pp. 197.

We should have been pleased to see what light Mr. Malcom had been able to throw upon these interesting inquiries. The remainder of the chapter is occupied with an account of the names, numbers, and localities of about eighty different tribes of Asiatics. These are, of course, too brief to be interesting to ordinary readers; but the mere review of their numbers, and destitution of the gospel, furnishes affecting inducement to farther exertion. Many readers will pass by this chapter, but such as examine it cannot fail to be impressed with the inadequacy of our present force, in this important and inviting missionary field.

The two following chapters contain a large amount of matter, which, we think, must be invaluable to all those who are engaged, either in actual missionary labor abroad, or those who, at home, are charged with the direction of that labor. The first of these treats of the "measure of success which has attended modern missions." Our author here meets the objection, that very little has, thus far, been accomplished, by showing, that the number of laborers is small, in proportion to the magnitude of the work; that much of their labor has been, from necessity, preparatory; that the present missionaries encounter special difficulties from poverty of language, state of society, degraded condition of the natives, presence of nominal Christians, &c., and lastly, that much of the labor, of necessity, falls short of the field. He then turns to the good effected; and shows what has been done towards removing obstacles, translating Bibles and tracts, and preparing grammars and dictionaries; and closes with a striking view of the blessings which the missionary cause has conferred on our own churches. We commend this chapter to the profound consideration of the friends and enemies of missions. Rarely have we seen any thing more candid, judicious, or conclusive. How striking is

the following exhibition of the difficulties which must arise to a translator of the word of God into a heathen tongue :

"For terms, which are of primary importance in religious discourse, words must often be used, which are either unmeaning, or foreign to the purpose, or inaccurate. It is not easy to exhibit this difficulty in its true magnitude, to such as have not mixed with heathen. A few examples may, however, make the argument intelligible. Words equivalent to God, Lord, &c., must, in various languages, be those which the heathen apply to their idols; for there are no others. In Tamul, the word pavum (sin) signifies only 'exposure to evil; or simply 'evil' whether natural or moral; and may be applied to a beast, as well as a man. The word padesuttam (holiness) means 'clearness.' Regeneration is understood by a Hindu or Boodhist to mean 'another birth' in this world, or 'transmigration.' The purposes of God, they understand to be 'fate.' The word used in Bengalee for holy (d'harma), sometimes means 'merit' acquired by acts of religious worship, and sometimes that which is agreeable to rule or custom." When the compound word Holy Ghost is translated, it becomes 'Spirit of rule,' or some phrase not more intelligible. In the Episcopal Liturgy in Bengalee, it is rendered Spirit of existence,' (sadatma); and Mr. Yates, in his new version of the Scriptures, uses the word pabitru, 'clean.' This last, while it avoids the hazard of conveying a wrong idea, and seems to be the best rendering, is yet evidently imperfect. In Siamese, the word most used for sin (tot) means either guilt,' or the 'punishment of guilt,' or simply 'exposure to punishment.' The best word the missionaries can get for holy, is boresut, 'purified,' when people are spoken of; and saksit, 'or Spirit having power because of sanctity, when the Holy Ghost is meant. There is no Siamese word equivalent to repent; and a phrase is used signifying 'to establish the mind anew,' or 'make new resolves.' In Burman, there is no term equivalent to our heaven, and a word meaning 'sky,' or more properly space,' is used; nor any word for angel, and the rendering of that term has to be 'sky-messenger; nor any word for condemn, except the circumlocution decide according to demerit, or sin; nor any word for conscience, thank, &c., &c. I might add scores of such cases, given me by missionaries. There is scarcely a theological term not subject to this difficulty.

"For a multitude of our terms there is no word at all. Among these are not only theological terms, such as sanctification, gospel, evangelist, church, atonement, devil, &c., but the names of implements, animals, customs, clothing, and many other things, of which ignorant and remote tribes have never heard, and for which entire new terms are obliged to be coined."-Vol. II, pp. 223, 224.

"The depreciation of morals is as great as that of intellect. We look in vain even for Spartan or Roman virtue. Except perhaps among the Cretans, it is hardly probable that the first preachers any where encountered such a spirit of falsehood and deceit as distinguish the heathen now. Truth is utterly wanting. Man has no

confidence in man. The morality is not only defective, it is perverted. Killing a cow or an insect, is more shocking than the murder of an enemy: lying for a brahmin is a virtue; stealing for real want is no sin: a few ceremonies or offerings expiate all crimes. Transmigration abolishes identity; for, if perfectly unconscious in one state of existence, of all that transpired in previous ones, identity is virtually lost. Sin is reduced to a trifle, the conscience rendered invulnerable, generous sentiments extinguished, and the very presence and exhortations of the missionary engender a suspicion destructive to his success. His reasons for coming are not credited; and the fear of political treachery is added to a detestation of his creed. The best supposition they can make is, that he is seeking religious merit, according to his own system, and careful, not so much for their conversion, as for his personal benefit in a future state."-Vol. II, pp. 226.

The following allusion to the hostility of Christian governments to the propagation of the gospel is enough to draw a sigh from the breast of every thoughtful man. Our author speaks of it, also, we regret to say it, in the very mildest terms in which the truth could be spoken:

"Where Christian governments have borne rule, and where his own life has been most secure, he has found those very governments arrayed against his success. When Buchanan would have given forth information touching the abominations of Hinduism, not a journal in Calcutta dared publish his communications! When he made them from the pulpit, his friends were not allowed to publish the sermons. When he returned to England, and published these things, his statements were denied, and his character assailed. The East India Company long opposed the introduction of missionaries, or kept them under a surveillance which defeated their object. Had not the Danish settlement at Serampore afforded an asylum, till an experiment was made, evincive of the political harmlessness of evangelical labors among the natives, it is doubtful whether India would have been opened to this day. It is only necessary to refer to the periodical accounts, to the Calcutta newspapers, and to the occasional pamphlets of that time, to show how wilfully and effectively the messengers of mercy were hindered, for many years; and how large deductions ought to be made, on this account, from the fruits which might otherwise have been produced. Though the Indian government no longer exerts a direct opposition to missionaries, it does many things, some of which have been named in a previous chapter, to sustain paganism and Mahometanism throughout its dominions.

"The Dutch government has been even more inimical, and still maintains its hostility. When Mr. Bruckner, after many years' labor, had translated the New Testament into Javanese, he went to Serampore, and at great expense got types cast, and printed it. But he no sooner returned (in 1832), and gave away a few copies, than the government seized the whole edition, and placed it in the public