seceders. Did the interests of the National Church require it, there would undoubtedly be sufficient ground for the complete suppression of Dissenting worship; but the thing is not necessary, the National Church has nothing to fear from the rivalry of a Free Church; yet it would be obviously inconsistent, were the State to affix its seal to that Church by a recognition of its existence. Selfpreservation is the first law of nature; and no one can be expected to cherish destructive elements within his own bosom. Private interests must be sacrificed to those of the public; yet whatever is compatible with the latter, should be conceded. The extent of religious liberty which may be thus granted to a country depends on circumstances. depends also on the arrogance or the modesty of those who ask it; on the broad or the narrow sphere of their vision, &c. Now, with us, the moment for granting liberty has not come. We must content ourselves with toleration, It as has been done by so many other countries which pass for being highly advanced, and which embellish with the name of liberty the somewhat precarious indulgence which they extend towards Dissent...... After the measure submitted by the Council of State, toleration will be the rule; punishment will not be inflicted until toleration shall be no longer possible. This will depend, then, on those who may frequent the meetings. If they go thither simply from religious motives, modestly, without bravado or ostentation, their hearts filled with charity, without bitterness or flagrant hostility to the National Church, no one will disturb them; but, whenever there shall appear contrary sentiments, and disturbances break forth,-disturbances provoked by the insolence of the attendants on those meetings,-such persons must not be astonished if they see their meetings dissolved."-Evangelical Christendom. VARIETIES. TRAVELLING IN PERU.-The road between Viso and San Mateo, a distance of about three leagues, is exceedingly difficult and dangerous. The ravine becomes narrowed to a mere cleft, between walls of mountain rising on either side to the height of more than a thousand feet; sometimes perpendicularly, and at other times inclining inwards, so as to form gigantic arches. The path runs along the base of these mountains, washed by the foaming waves of the stream; or it winds up the side of the precipice, over huge fragments of rock, which, being loosened by the rain, afford no secure footing for the heavily-laden mules. Frequently these loosened blocks give way, and roll down into the valley. The journey from Viso to San Mateo is associated in my mind with the recollection of a most mortifying accident. A mass of rock, such as I have just described, gave way, and, rolling down the precipice, hurled one of my mules into the foaming abyss. My most valuable instruments, a portion of my collections, my papers, and to me an irreparable loss a diary carefully and conscientiously kept for the space of fourteen months, were in a moment buried in the river. Two days afterwards the current washed the dead mule ashore at Matucanas; but its load was irrecoverably lost. Every year many beasts of burden, and even travellers, perish on this road. In the Tambo de Viso I met an officer who, with two of his sons, was coming from the Sierra. He had placed the youngest before him, and the other, a boy of ten years of age, was seated on the mule's crupper. When they were within about half a league from Viso, a huge mass of rock, rolling down from the mountain, struck the elder boy, and hurled him into the river. The afflicted father was anxiously seeking to recover the body of his lost child.-Travels in Peru, during 1838-42, by Dr. J. Von Tschudi. BOORS IN SOUTH AFRICA.-We encountered on the east margin of the river a party of emigrant Boors, with their waggons: they were returning to Mahalisberg, their town in the Cashan mountains; and during their excursion, purposely a hunting one, had shot seventy-one elephants, of which they had killed nineteen shortly before our arrival. The appearance of these rude and bronzed hunters was not very prepossessing, though in some respects not dissimilar to our own. Their beards had been given a six weeks' holiday, their clothes were ragged, and their faces, hands, and feet, begrimed with dirt; an inexcusable fault when water was so abundant, They gave us a kind reception, perhaps a little embarrassed at the first by their instinctive dislike of Englishmen and one of them, a son of Potgeiter, their Commandant, recognised Bain, having seen him when on a former journey. Their complexions had not the blooming character of those of the colonial Dutchmen; but the activity of their life and simplicity of their fare had produced in them much vigour of body, and good health. Fevers are, however, more frequent and deadly in the districts inhabited by them than in the colony. Methuen's Wanderings. HEROES AT BORODINO.-Napoleon had stationed himself nearly a mile from the scene of action; and is represented as sitting, or walking slowly up and down, in front of the redoubt captured on the 5th; he is described as using no personal exertion of any kind, seeming dull, heavy, and distressed; indifferent to the progress of the action, and only making signs of melancholy resignation whenever news reached him that any of his favourite officers had fallen. Segur ascribes his apathy to illness; but the existence of such a cause is denied by other writers. Between three and four o'clock he went, according to Pelet's account, to reconnoitre the redoubt of Gorki, and became exposed to its fire; but at this time the action had almost ceased. Kutusoff, though present in the battle fought by his army, does not appear to have acted a more energetic part. Stationed in front of Gorki, he listened, says Glausewitz, "to the reports made to him, like one who did not exactly know where his head was." In reply to any information communicated, he answered, "Very good, very well:" to any measure proposed, he generally assented with the words, "Do so."Mitchell's Fall of Napoleon. THE TIARA.-The triple crown of the Pope, called the tiara, is indicative of his civil rank, as the keys are of his ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and, on the death of a Pope, his arms are represented with the tiara alone, without the keys. Pope Damasus II. first caused himself to be crowned with a tiara, A.D. 1053. John XIX. was the first who encompassed the tiara with a crown, 1276. Boniface VIII. added a second crown, 1295; and Benedict XII. formed the tiara, or triple crown, about 1334. The ancient tiara was a high round cap. WESLEYAN MISSIONS: OF THE WESSTATE AND OR, INTELLIGENCE ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE OPERATIONS 66 MISSIONARY NOTICES," AND FROM OTHER SOURCES BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARIES. PUBLISHED 66 MISSIONS IN FEEJEE. As will be seen by the following letters, our intelligence from Feejee is of the deepest interest. While our Missionaries are surrounded by wars and rumours of wars," attended with all those revolting features of cannibal ferocity which characterize the degraded people of these islands, they are cheered with signs of spiritual prosperity * Our readers are earnestly requested to avail themselves of the opportunity to procure the entire copy of the "Wesleyan Missionary Notices," published by the Secretaries of the Society, and sold at the Centenary-Hall, Bishopsgate-street, and at 66, Paternoster-row, London. Our selections from this invaluable record of the progress of the Gospel in heathen lands must, of necessity, be brief: we are therefore very desirous that the "Notices" should receive an extensive circulation among all classes of the religious public. and success in their arduous work of preaching Christ to their Heathen fellow-men. This is especially the case at Viwa, where our devoted brethren have been visited with a gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, by whose influence many of the members of our church in this part of the world have become more deeply impressed with divine things, while many others, hitherto totally indifferent respecting religion, have been brought into a state of deep penitence, and, by faith in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been made partakers of the peace and the love of God. Our readers will, we doubt not, rejoice with us in these marks of the divine favour vouchsafed to our beloved Missionaries and people, and will be encouraged to pray more earnestly and devoutly that the Lord will continue to crown the efforts of his servants with still more signal tokens of his presence and blessing. FEEJEE.-Extract of a Letter from the Rev. John Hunt, dated Viwa. IT is likely that an opportunity will soon occur for forwarding communications to you by New-Zealand: I therefore most gladly embrace it, though, on account of the shortness of the notice, I shall not be able to enter into particulars respecting the affairs of this District. It is some time since I heard from Lakemba; but the brethren at Somosomo informed us lately that the Missionaries were in good health, and the work was prospering, at the beginning of the present year. The Papists were trying their usual methods to gain converts, but without much success: they appear particularly zealous in attempting to prevent the Heathen from joining us, when they cannot persuade them to join them. In this devilish work they may certainly expect some success. It is, however, of little consequence who is against us, if God be for us; and that he is for us, we have the best of all evidence in the continued prosperity of the work, both in the island of Lakemba, and in the other parts of the Circuit. At Lakemba, a Chief of high rank, and some others of respectability, have lately embraced Christianity. We have now preaching in the chief town, Tumbou; and the professing Christians at Ono have been blessed with a most gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit; so that, while the wilderness is becoming a fruitful field, we begin to count the fruitful field for a forest. The following is an extract from a letter lately received from Somosomo :— "When we speak of the work of God in this Circuit we do it with peculiar, and often painful, feelings. For anything we can perceive to the contrary, the Somosomo people are as far from serving God now, as they ever were. This refers to the people in general. "Our little society are feeling after God some of them are earnestly desiring more of his love. Our English services continue to be means of good. look upon our circumstances as a whole, and feel that the best of all is, God is with us.' We "Our congregations continue small, but are occasionally augmented by a few strangers, influenced by a desire to see or hear some new thing. "Tuiilaila continues still to exert his influence entirely in opposition to Christianity. One of his carpenters has just renounced Heathenism, and has, in consequence, often to bear with hard rubs. Three other adults, and two or three youths from another part of the group, have also taken upon them the name of Christians, and are tolerably regular in their attendance at the services. O that they may so hear that their souls may live! We want more faith." A former communication states that they had finished a new chapel at Somosomo; a comfortable and sufficiently commodious building. Rewa has no existence. The King is killed; his family is in captivity; his brother, who remained loyal, in exile; and the town utterly destroyed, and by this time almost grown over with weeds. The Chief, Phillips, who joined Bau against his brother, is residing at Nukui, a small town not far from Rewa; but it is not certain how the affairs of Rewa will be finally settled. The taking of Rewa was a most perfect Feejeean tragedy. Some time before the event occurred, a Chief of considerable importance in Rewa had been sent to negotiate a peace with the Chiefs of Bau. This was a fatal step. Instead of negotiating peace, the Bau Chiefs engaged the messenger to enter into a plan for the destruction of Rewa. It was this: the Bau Chiefs were to besiege Rewa with a large army, and at a fixed time the Rewa Chief above mentioned was to set fire to the town, and he and his party to join the besiegers in destroying the inhabitants. The plan was completely successful. The Bau Chiefs placed their men in different positions round the town, the leading Chiefs, with Thukembau at their head, placing themselves directly opposite the King's house, that they might be able to save the Queen of Rewa, who is a Bau Princess of great rank. A Bau Chief called to the Queen to come over the river in a small canoe to her friends, and to bring her children and Bau domestics with her. She immediately obeyed the summons; and her husband, the King of Rewa, seeing her going, followed her to the river side. The Bau Chiefs, seeing the King of Rewa step into the canoe in which his family were embarked, called to him, to forbid him coming over. "Stay in your town," said one, "and make your town strong, that we may continue the contest." The King said, "No, I will accompany my family: you may do as you please with me. Some one fired a musket at him as he was passing over the river; but the ball missed him: another speared him as he was leaving the small canoe to get in the large one where the Chiefs were standing. Thukembau then ordered a Bau Chief, called his brother, to kill him; but he refused, saying, he was afraid. The King pleaded hard for life, and offered to do anything as its purchase his requests were urged by the Queen, but to no purpose. Thukembau told him that his words had been so wicked against Bau, that he must die; and, taking a club with the head of an axe made fast to the end of it, he clave his skull into several parts in the presence of his wife and children. The town was by this time in flames, the warriors were all in it, and the work of destruction was going on at a fearful rate. Three hundred were massacred in a very short time, and it is said one hundred of them were killed by the Rewa people themselves. Several of the Chiefs have been killed since; and it is not certain what has to follow before the thirst for blood is satiated. The King and his family were taken to Bau in the same canoe in which he was killed. The Queen and her children have been residing at Viwa lately, on account of her son, who is indisposed, and under my care. She appears to be treated with the respect due to her rank, in which she has, I believe, no superior in Feejee. She was, before her troubles, one of the best-looking women in the group: she was much beloved by her husband, and has a very interesting family. The King was buried, of course, and a great many others who could not be eaten while eatable. About ten of our people, I think, lost their lives during the war. But I must leave Rewa, and its tale of woe, for a brighter scene at Viwa. It is remarkable that while Satan was triumphing at Rewa, the Lord was blessing us at Viwa with a most gracious revival. I had often thought that some special means would be attended with a special blessing, and at length proposed a penitent-meeting to be held in the chapel every Saturday evening. To this the brethren agreed. We accordingly met on the following Saturday. The meeting was well attended, and a special influence was felt among us from the commencement of the meeting, which increased as the meeting proceeded until it was overwhelming. Nothing was heard but weeping and praying. Many cried aloud for mercy; and not in vain. The merciful God heard their cries, and blessed them with pardon and peace. This was the commencement of a series of meetings which were held every day, and sometimes many times a day, not only in the chapel, but in almost every house in the town. A penitent-meeting was held by almost every family night and morning : in some instances nearly the whole family were crying for mercy with one heart and with one voice. Business, sleep, and food were almost entirely laid aside. We were at length obliged almost to force some of the new converts to take something for the sustenance of the body. I think about seventy persons were converted during the first five days of the revival. Some of the cases were the most remarkable I have ever seen, heard of, or read of: yet only such as one might expect the conversion of such dreadful murderers and cannibals would be. They literally roared for hours together for the disquietude of their souls. This frequently terminated in fainting from exhaustion, which was the only respite some of them had till they found peace. They no sooner recovered their consciousness, than they prayed themselves first into an agony, and then again into a state of entire insensibility. The result has been most happy. The preaching of the word has been For a time it appeared that they would have to resist unto blood; but hitherto the Lord has delivered them. Some have been sent from Bau, and from some of the Bau towns, to Viwa, on account of their adherence to Christianity. One apostatized when threatened with death if he did not immediately renounce religion: all have been threatened; but hitherto no blood has been shed. During the whole of the persecution the persecutors have manifested the greatest possible respect to us, and have never shown the least disposition to molest us. The Chief of Bau told me distinctly that we were the only hinderance to the destruction of Viwa. In cases of sickness, or in any difficulties they may have with foreigners, we are always applied to and relied on with the greatest confidence; and, what is still more remarkable, they never talked so much about embracing Christianity, as they have done during the persecution. attended with more power than before God. O let us identify ourselves with it, and do our utmost to save souls. During the greater part of the time the revival has been going on, the Bau Chiefs have been breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Christians of Viwa, and other places connected with it, whether politically or religiously. The professed reason for this persecution is, that the Viwa people are not now found among the warriors of Bau, whereas they were formerly some of the first, and, indeed, were something like the body-guards of the Bau Chiefs. The Christians, however, declare that they cannot conscientiously go to war. They wish to be in subjection to "the powers that be," and will attend to any orders their superiors may give them; but they will not attend them in their work of wantonly destroying their fellow-creatures. They say, moreover, that they are prepared to suffer the consequences of such a course of conduct, and would rather die than sin against As an individual, I am not surprised that the Bau Chiefs are angry with the Viwa people. It is not a trifle to the Chief of Bau to lose the services of some of his best warriors just at the time he needs them most. The destruction of Rewa was to him the most important of all events. If secured, it would not only raise him higher in the scale of honour than any of his predecessors, make him the terror of the whole group, and gratify his private revenge, but also raise him in reality to the rank of King of Feejee. He is now called King of Feejee by his flatterers, and he is so in reality to a great extent. What vexed him most was the conduct of Namosemalua, whom he has all along regarded as being favourable to Rewa. Just at the time the Chief of Bau was collecting warriors to take Rewa, Namosemalua was so fully convinced of sin, that he determined at once to put away all his wives but his principal one, and to marry her, that he might be able to meet in class at once, and use every means to secure the salvation of his soul. He signified his intention to the leading men of Bau, and they advised him to wait till they returned from Rewa, intending that he should accompany them to the war as usual. He declared that he could wait no longer, and refused to go to Rewa. This was interpreted as disloyalty, and the Chiefs were very angry: Namosemalua has, however, escaped so far, and at present the rage of his enemies appears abated. I think I have now related all public news of importance; and my time is too |