22

Speech of the Rev. George Clayton at the

men, it is not precisely in these views, that the Institution strikes my mind most forcibly-it is the characteristic spirit which it breathes; it is the evangelical aspect which it wears, it is the moral power it exerts, which render it the wonder of the world. In illustration of this, I hope I may be allowed to allude, though allusions have been well made already to the same topic-to the delightful harmony it has established and maintained among its friends. Those, as you all know, are composed of persons widely differing in minor points; they have been called a heterogeneous mass, a collection of discordant elements, a rope of sand; but here, at least, I must contend, all is congeniality and co-operation, and the most delightful harmony. There is no breach in the spirit of union, nor has the demon of discord yet stolen within the precincts of this earthly paradise. If it had been the wording of a particular creed, the constitution of a particular church, the increase and enlargement of a particular denomination, which had brought us here this day, we should have remained far enough apart, we should have been repelled from the centre which now attracts us, and driven and scattered as far as the east is from the west. here we have one heart and soul: no sooner do we place our feet on the boards of the Bible Society, than we get within an enchanted ring; but it is a safe and salubrious enchantment: no sooner do we come within the reach of the white wands of your Committee men, than we feel the magic steal over us, and we lose the recollection of every thing but the Bible. I have heard this Society compared, (and I love the comparison,) to Joseph," a fruitful bough, whose branches run over the wall," that wall of prejudice and separation which has too long divided us; and though on one side we see the rich and florid clusters of episcopal growth, and on the other, the less conspicuous productions of various denominations, yet when the combined juices are expressed, and when they are mingled in the entire produce of the vintage, every taste of peculiarity is lost; the wine is the wine of the kingdom, and it exhilarates the heart both of God and of man.

But

"And it is surely matter of joy, that this same spirit runs through all the descending gradations of this Institution. You, my Lord, and Gentlemen, have certainly clothed the Society from head to foot in the garment of charity-you have discovered the true seamless vest, and have, in this room, beaten out and composed that fragrant unguent which goes down even to the skirts of the garment.

"But I am not more struck with the harmony which is maintain, ed among the friends of the Institution, than with the forbearance shown to her enemies. All have not come into her measures; she has certainly not conciliated, as some minds anticipated, the smile of universal complacency. On some occasions, she has been called on to vindicate her principles, and exonerate her innocence from charges founded in prejudice and misapprehension; but what, I ask, has been the spirit of the Society when she has been reluc tantly dragged into the arena of controversy ? It has been a spirit

13th Anniversary of the Br. & For. Bible Society. 23

of forbearance, conciliation, and forgiveness; it has been the meekness and the gentleness of Christ. I will not undertake to say, that in some of the subordinate parts of the machine, there may not have been too much friction; some of the under workmen may have been a little pettish and over-heated; some of the inferior Secretaries, like myself, may have betrayed much of the irritation of zeal; but when we have appealed to the Parent, and said, My Father, shall we smite them? shall we smite them?' the answer has uniformly been,Smite them not: wherefore shouldest thou smite those who have been taken captives by our sword and our bow ?' It is a wise maxim never to lose a friend, never to provoke an enemy; but the height of wisdom is to transform an enemy into a friend. And this is the hourly policy and practice of this Society. If, therefore, an angry movement has at any time been made, and we have been tempted to call down fire from Heaven, because of unprovoked aggression, your admirable Secretaries have put an extinguisher on it, and said, in the temper of mild rebuke, 'Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.' So that your Institution, Gentlemen, though it bears the marks and scars of the wounds it has received, imitates the spirit of him it serves, and says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' It holds out the olive branch of peace, and tenders the hand of reconciliation; and in this its magnanimity is transcendently apparent.

"In the scale of worldly greatness, he is the hero who says, ' I. will not brook an injury-I will resent it :' in Christianity, he is most truly great, who can say, I will forgive it.'

"I wish to beg your Lordship's attention to one more feature conspicuous in this Institution, which is the picture of disinterestedness it presents to the view of society, and of mankind at large; and I think this particular feature has not had a due portion of notice on some former occasions. It is very obvious, that men may make costly sacrifices for the acquisition of great compensating advantages, and may devote their time and property to receive a recompense of abundant gain; but I ask what gain do the numerous agents employed in this Society, obtain from coming into contact with it? I do not, of course, speak of those who have real occupation in the secular affairs of the Society, and are specifically called to offices where pecuniary recompense is necessary and just, but I speak of those renowned and admirable men, your Secretaries, and of all those, who follow with humbler footsteps in their train; and I contend, that in connecting themselves with this Society, they are out of pocket; they are often thrown out of the way of preferment, and have to wade through dishonour as well as honour through evil report as well as good report. No sordid, selfish blot cleaves to the unsullied hand of this Christian Institution; our Institution spends, and is spent solely, for the glory of God, and the good of the human race, irrespective of the meaner objects of ease, or wealth, or fame. A picture this of religious disinterestedness, worthy the service of Him, who, though he was

24 Speech of the Rev. George Clayton, & Sir Geo. Grey.

rich, for our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich.

"will not trespass longer on your time, but merely to mention one other feature of excellence, which has often struck me, and with which I shall close; namely, that this Institution does unequivocally ascribe all the glory of what it has designed and achieved, to the only wise God. In proof of this, I refer to what fell from the lips of your admirable President. The Alpha and Omega of that Report which he has read, has been to annihilate human instrumentality, and to exalt divine agency; this was the tendency of its concluding strains, in which it did homage to the Lord God of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things, and prayed that the whole earth might be filled with his glory. Never does this Society charm so much, as when it humbles itself and its achievements, and says, 'Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but to thy name be all the glory.' It was, my fellow-subjects, a gratifying circumstance, which is reported to have occurred at the coronation of our beloved Sovereign, (whom may God long preserve, and speedily restore!) When the youthful Monarch passed through that ceremony, he is reported to have inquired, whether it was customary to receive the memorials of our Saviour's death with the crown upon the head; to which the officiating Archbishop replied, there was no established law on the occasion; upon which the Sovereign immediately put off the crown, and deposited it at the foot of the altar, while he prostrated himself in a posture of profound humiliation. It is precisely what this Society has done. to-day, and will continue to do, as I hope, till the latest day of its existence. Let it not be forgotten, that it was when Nebuchadnezzar swelled on the lofty turrets of that city which he had raised as a monument of his glory, that a watcher, and an holy one from heaven, was sent to rebuke his pride, and to terminate his dominion. It was when Herod, on a set day, arrayed in gorgeous apparel, made an oration unto the people, and they cried, the voice of a god, and not of a man,' that the angel of the Lord smote him, and he was eaten of worms, because he gave not toGod the glory. And so soon as the worm of pride shall eat into the heart of this Society, so soon as this canker shall corrode that spreading tree, under whose shade the nations are reposing, so soon may we bid farewell to the prosperity of our Institution. But while harmony prevails, and forbearance is exemplified, while disinterestedness reigns, and the glory of all that is accomplished, is unreservedly ascribed to the King of Heaven, so long this Institution will realize, what I am sure is the wish of its warmest admirers and best friends, Esto perpetua! May it flourish for ever!"

It is

The Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart., in moving the thanks of the Society to their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge, and to His Highness the Duke of Gloucester, for their continued patronage of the object of the Society, stated:-" I have had repeated com munications with ships of foreign nations, most of which have gladly received the Scriptures; through your Institution, they have been able to obtain them in their own languages. The captains and officers of His Majesty's ships show a readiness to receive them from the Admiralty, the Naval and Military Bible Society, and other sources.

23d Report of the London Missionary Society. 25

23d Report of the London Missionary Society, (continued from p. 11.) INSULAR INDIA.

JAVA.

Mr. Supper, besides his former labours in the Dutch Church, in which he is now succeeded by a minister from Holland, holds meetings, twice a week, for prayer and expounding the Scriptures, as well as a monthly Missionary exercise, attended chiefly by the. Portuguese and Malays. An auxiliary Missionary Society has been formed, in aid of the Netherland Missionary Society. Mr. Supper's activity, in distributing the Chinese Scriptures, has proved very beneficial. He has conversed with individuals, who, having read them, were induced to tear down from the walls of their houses those painted paper idols to which they had been accustomed to pay religious honours Mr. Supper's sphere of usefulness is enlarged by his being appointed minister of the Malay Church; so that he has not only an opportunity of preaching to a great number of much-neglected nominal Christians, Malay and Portuguese, but to Chinese and Mahomedans.

SAMARANG.

Of Mr. Bruckner's services the Society is deprived, by his transferring them to the Baptist Missionary Society; to whom he offered them before he had apprised the Directors of any change in his sentiments.

AMBOYNA.

Mr. Kam's stated congregation is nearly doubled; and when he preaches in the Malay language, the people are so anxious to hear him, that they come to church an hour or more before the time of service, to secure places; and, at the Missionary prayer meeting, the church, which will contain 1000 persons, is full. The attention of the people to religious instruction appears to have been increased by very alarming earthquakes; and an obstacle to his usefulness has been removed by the readiness with which many of the masters now permit their slaves to attend worship-a privilege formerly much restricted; "but now," says Mr. Kam, 66 many of the masters request me to instruct their slaves. having found, by experience, that the instructed are more faithful and diligent than the ignorant."

Mr. Kam has paid a visit to the island of Banda, about 125 miles S. E. of Amboyna. He preached repeatedly, and there was a general disposition to hear. We trust that the Dutch Missionary Society will use its best endeavours to supply all their colonies of the East with faithful ministers of the Gospel; for it is said that there are twenty or thirty thousand natives bearing the Christian name, who are as sheep without a shepherd.

Mr. Kam is obliged to procure, with much labour and expense, written copies of his Sermons and Tracts, for distribution; but the Directors have just sent him a printing-press and types: they have also printed in London several thousands of Extracts from the Scriptures, in the Malay tongue, for Java, Amboyna, and other

26 23d Report of the London Missionary Society.

countries in the east; and they rejoice in the prospect of a large supply of the whole New Testament in that language, now printing by the British and Foreign Bible Society, being soon forwarded to Amboyna and other of the Molucca Islands: for such is the desire of many of their inhabitants for the Scriptures, that they would part with any thing they possess to obtain a single copy. Mr. Kam reports, that the Auxiliary Bible Society in Amboyna is in a flourishing state, and that their subscriptions amounted to 4000 dollars.

CEYLON.

Mr. Ehrhart has been removed by Government from Matura to Cultura; where he preaches, alternately, in the Dutch and Cingalese languages. He has also established a School, in which, by the help of under-masters, children are instructed in the English, Dutch, and Cingalese tongues. Mr. Read preaches twice a week in Dutch, and keeps a day-school.

CONTINENTAL INDIA.

The Brethren who sailed in the Moira, about a year ago. to strengthen the several stations in India, arrived safely at Madras on the 26th of August, 1816. Mr. Townley and Mr. Keith proceeded immediately, in the same vessel, to Calcutta, where they arrived on the 7th of September, in perfect health.

CHINSURAH.

Mr. May, in his last letter, states that the number of Schools under his care amounted to THIRTY, in which there are more than 2600 children under instruction.

Mr. Pearson has been sent out to Mr. May's assistance; and he has been joined by an European, approved by Mr. Townley and himself.

GANJAM.

The proceedings of Mr. Lee at Ganjam have been much interrupted by the ravages of a fatal fever, which prevailed there for a considerable time; by which the Schools were broken up, the congregation dispersed, and many of the native inquirers removed by death. In the course of a month, about 700 persons fell victims to its rage.

Mr. Lee, by the advice of his medical friends, embarked for Madras, from whence he wrote in September last, when both Mrs. Lee and himself were seriously ill; so that it was feared a voyage to England must be tried, as the last resource for the recovery of their bealth.

Mr. Lee, however, unwilling to quit the scene of his labours, resolved to proceed to Berhampore, about twenty miles from Ganjam; and there abide, if his health would permit, in order to form Schools among the natives, and to render it a branch of the Ganjam Mission.

Mr. Lee, being at Madras when the Moira arrived, had an opportunity of meeting with Mr. Mead and Mr. Render, whose in- tention was to settle in Travancore, as successors to Mr. Ringles