dividual is not prepared to affirm that his proposed partner is a decided Christian. Now if it be reckoned improper for me to proceed with the marriage of parties who avow a fact which I believe to constitute, according to the law of England, "a lawful impediment" to such marriage, is it less plainly my duty to take no part in the celebration of a marriage which a fact, confessed or not disavowed by one of the parties, renders unlawful in the sight of God! The human law cannot be entitled to a more exact obedience than the divine law. The only answer which I have heard made to this is, that the mere presenting of devotional services on the occasion of a marriage does not necessarily imply the sanction of it. This opinion partly arises from a misapprehension of the position of a minister in relation to marriages. The registrar and the clergyman are officers of government required to perform the ceremony whenever requested to do so in consistency with the law. They have no discretion. Their responsibility is limited by the terms of their office. No one, therefore, now thinks of attributing to them moral approval or disapproval in those matters. But the pastors of our churches act freely. They are under no obligation to perform such acts, and it is therefore naturally understood that when they do so they express their good-will to the parties, and their general approval of the union. But if it be denied that there is any positive sanction, I ask whether there be not, at least, a somewhat dangerous appearance of it? Supposing the pastor of a baptist church is invited to be present on the occasion of an infant being submitted to a certain ceremony, and that for the mere purpose of offering prayer and praise. Would it be advisable for him to comply? He might not intend either his presence or his prayers to be expressive of an approval of the service; but would not his conduct be equivocal and liable to be construed in such a manner as to be highly injurious in its consequences? Yet in this case the ceremony might be one arising out of solemn convictions of duty, while in the one under our attention, there would be an admitted departure from implicit divine injunctions. In the one instance he would be present at the commission of an error, in the other at the perpetration of a sin. If it is inexpedient to countenance the one, it is, in my humble judgment, something more to countenance the other. It must frequently be painful, doubtless, to a pastor, to act out these views. His refusal will often grieve his dearest friends at a time when they are peculiarly sensitive to public opinion. These consequences may be mitigated by having his views of duty clearly made known to his congregation before hand, but as Dr. Gutzlaff said the other day to our Mission Committee, "He who enlists as a harsh "un soldier makes no condition not to be wounded." Misapprehension and judgments must be borne for a time, and cheerfully borne too, where interests tremendous are at stake. I have reason to believe, from some enquiries on the subject, that at least one half of all the marriages contracted by members of our churches are equal," and that not one in a hundred of those who were non-professors at that time ever afterwards take their place at the Lord's table with their believing partners; while, on the contrary, the instances of abandonment of religious profession are distressingly numerous. It is surely demanded of every pastor to ascertain whether he is innocent in this matter. Your's most truly, Liverpool. C. M. B. EDITORIAL POSTSCRIPT. In a village about fifty miles from London, within a mile from a railway station, there is a place of worship free from debt in which a small congregation assembles, which desires a pastor, but is unable to do much towards his support. Mr. Carey Tyso of Wallingford will feel pleasure in affording the requisite information to any respectable baptist minister possessing independent resources, whose desire to do good may incline him to make inquiry respecting the sphere of usefulness which the locality affords. The Rev. James Smith, acting under medical advice, has resigned his pastorate at New Park Street. He has no other sphere of labour in view, but it is thought that the air of the metropolis does not suit his lungs. Midsummer is the time that he has fixed for the cessation of his public duties. The friends of the Rev. Owen Clarke, and of the church under his care at Vernon Chapel, Pentonville, will be glad to hear of the restoration of his sight. Having been deprived of it partially the last three or four years and totally for many months, he underwent the distressing operation for cataract a few weeks ago, and is now so far recovered as to be able to walk out alone and see the faces of his old acquaintance. His constitution is rallying and his eyes are rapidly regaining their power. To A Correspondent who asks "Where is the scripture warranty for pews and pulpit? What passage in the New Testament mentions such things ?" we beg to say that we have too many questions under discussion just now to admit his letter and the answers which it would draw forth, but that if he will accept our own opinion it is this: That in the New Testament there is no mention of either pew, pulpit, stove, ventilator, scraper, door-mat, or glass window, and that a church that is so minded is at perfect liberty to dispense with any or all of them. INDIA. CALCUTTA. The news from the mission field by the last mail is on the whole most cheering. The gospel is not only making progress, but evidently leavening with its influence all the social relations of Hindooism. The proposed measure of government, releasing converts from the intolerant operation of the laws of the Shaster and Koran, by which on making a confession of Christ they lose every earthly possession and break every earthly tie, naturally arouses the wrath of the rigid devotees of Vishnu, Siva, and Mahomet. But the time is at last come when the authorities in India no longer regard the prejudices of the Hindoo as their standard of duty, and the legislation of Menu as the basis of their own. The following extracts from the Friend of India will give a just view of the importance of the act. It is not for us, as Englishmen, to censure the votaries of the Hindoo Shasters for clinging with such tenacity to their penal and persecuting enactments. We were once under the influence of the same spirit of illiberality. If Menu has ordered that melted lead should be poured down the throat of the man who spoke disrespectfully of a brahmin, it must not be forgotten that our code has also been disfigured by equally barbarous laws. We have had our act "de heretico comburendo." This is the great charter of religious liberty | They have no idea of liberty of conscience; now about to be established for the first time they have been trained up in the notion that throughout the British dominions in India. the profession of their ancestral creed was to The new law will establish the rights of con- be enforced by pains and penalties, and that science in India, and enable any man to heresy was to be repressed by the forfeiture profess the creed he prefers, without the fear of property. of being thereby deprived of all the property to which he would otherwise have been entitled. It was idle to talk of the existence of any thing like liberty of conscience in India while the provisions of the Hindoo law which were designed to extinguish it, formed part and parcel of our code. The present act is, of course, a complete abrogation of that portion of the Shaster which was intended to keep the land of India for ever bound to the support of Hindooism, by ordaining that no one should enjoy the fruits of the soil who did not manifest his adherence to the Hindoo religion, by the type of offering the funeral cake to the manes of his diseased parent. But the legislation of Menu belonged to the age of Hindoo conservatism, when the rights of conscience were as little understood as in the days of St. Dominick, and it would be preposterous to suppose that it should continue in force in the present age, when India has come into the possession of those who pride themselves on honouring those rights. We perceive that the Hindoos of Calcutta have expressed their disapprobation of the new law. This was fully to have been expected, and we shall be the last to censure them for the free expression of their opinion. We are fully aware that the feeling of abhorrence towards all who embrace Christianity is almost incredibly intense in the Hindoo community, and that it burns with equal vehemence in the breast of the orthodox and liberal; of the man who lives according to the ritual of the Hindoo shasters, and of him who eats beefsteaks and drinks champagne at Wilson's; of those who believe thefable of the earth resting on a tortoise, and of those who have gone through the whole circle of European sciences; and we can easily account for the feelings of indignation which the new law will, for a time, engender. But it is a law of essential justice and equity, and no effort which the Hindoos can make will turn government from its purpose. But even under the oppressive laws of Menu, the gospel has been making progress, as the following interesting communication from our brother WENGER will testify. His letter is dated December 8th. Referring to the state of the native mind in certain parts of Bengal, he says, Barisal and Jessore. I feel that the Society ought to strike the iron whilst it is hot, and unquestionably the minds of the people in some parts of the Barisal and Jessore districts are now in a state which, if proper advantage be taken of it, will in all human probability result in the embracing of Christianity (at least outwardly but nevertheless sincerely) by hundreds, if not thousands of poor villagers. Good News. Our association meetings were held last week, and very pleasant they have been. Only brother Page came from a distance, but he was as good as twenty, for he brought good news. He has now 177 members in communion, and has long since seen sufficient reasons for adopting (contrary to his first impressions) the same view of the movement that was taken by brother Pearce and myself. We had about seventy native brethren (few of them from any great distance), who attended the association. These, in addition to our native brethren living at Calcutta, formed a pleasing gathering. A spirit of seriousness and love prevailed-remarkably so; all seemed to enjoy the meetings, and were greatly encouraged to go on serving the Lord. Including the General Baptist churches in Orissa (except Berhampore), the churches connected with the association were found to contain about 1330 members, of whom say 1000 are bona fide natives. The baptisms were 117; the clear increase 162, which is owing to numerous instances of restoration, especially in the Barisal churches, where many baptized persons whose character had appeared doubtful, have been admitted to fellowship. The following anecdote interested me very much when I heard it from brother Page: Christian Heroism. In the early part of the year some native Christians near Barisal were seized and imprisoned (illegally) by the agent of a hostile zemindar, who kept them for several days locked up, with their hands and feet tied, for the purpose of inducing them to renounce Christianity, on which condition they were told they might have their liberty and favourable treatment in other respects. They remained firm. When the sabbath came, they resolved to keep it, and to have worship, notwithstanding their sad condition. They prayed and sang hymns together. Upon hearing of this, the zemindar's agent lost all hope of reclaiming them. "These people have the heart to sing even when kept in durance, and with their hands and feet tied. It is no use to think of their forsaking Christianity." Reasoning in this way, he thought it the wisest plan to give them their liberty. Unfortunately some of their friends, not true converts of course, hearing of the treatment they had received, had taken reprisals, and seized some of the zemindar's people. This spoiled the case so far as the law might have remedied it. A new thing in Colinga. In the Colinga church, which is under my pastoral care, we last month elected three brethren to be deacons, and immediately before the celebration of the Lord's supper, last sabbath, they were set apart for their work by prayer and by the laying on of hands by myself and Sujaat Ali, my co-pastor. The measure had been hitherto deferred by me because the brethren most fit for the office were too young either as to their natural or their spiritual age. But after waiting nearly six years, I felt that there was no further occasion for delay. I trust that the arrangement will work well; and I have made up my mind to it that the brethren shall have the responsibilities and duties as well as the name of the office. None of them are paid by the Society; they all have secular employment. Their election was made by what would, I suppose, be called secret ballot in England, so as to ensure the absence of all appearance of personal influence. Recently the Bishop's College clergy, who are generally supposed-and so far as I can see quite correctly--to be inclined to tractarianism, have in an underhand way got up an agitation against our translation of the New Testament in Bengali, with the intention, stated in so many words, "to make out a strong case to lay before the Bishop" (so as to induce him to sanction the making of another version by themselves). I have therefore been obliged to defend our version, and send you separately a copy of the first article published on that subject, which will be followed by a "second" next month. Two will be sufficient. The missionaries of the Church Missionary Society have formally declined acting with the Bishop's College people in this matter. We learn from the Oriental Baptist that a Mahommedan has been baptized at Intally; also three believers, a young man and two elderly females, at Bow Bazar, and a European gentleman, who had long been a candidate, at Circular Road. The following remarks we take from a letter by the Rev. J. THOMAS, dated Dec. 8th. Our readers were informed in the last Herald of the expected return of Mr. MAKEPEACE. A station vacant. We have just had our association meetings, which were pleasant and I hope profitable. The increase in the churches has been very cheering, and the prospects of further enlargement are encouraging, but their realiza tion must to a considerable extent depend on means and agency being available for the prosecution of those labours which God has so evidently begun to bless. The present mail, however, will bring you heavy tidings of the death of Mr. Davies of Ceylon, of which we have received information through the papers, and the illness of brother Makepeace at Sagor, who has been ordered home immediately. He appears to have had repeated attacks of a serious character, but hoped to get over them, and labour on. It is not a month since he wrote me to ascertain if I could assist him in building a house to reside in, as his present, or rather late, abode was required by the military. He had scarcely finished the letter when he was taken very ill, and for some days his life was considered to be in imminent danger; he, however, survived, but the physicians who were called in decided that he ought to leave the station immediately, and with as little delay as possible embark for England. He is now on his way down, and has written saying he expects to reach Calcutta in the course of this month, and would like his passage to be taken in some vessel which will be likely to leave about the end of the month. Our friend Mr. Rae, who has so generously contributed fifty rupees a month during the time brother Makepeace has been at Sagor, has sent me the doctors' certificates. This appears a very remarkable dispensation. Our brother has been favoured with a very unusual amount of success; a goodly number of converts have been baptized, several candidates were waiting for baptism, and others were inquiring. Every thing, in short, appeared to say that he was in the place where God wished him to be, and where his labours would be crowned with increasing success, but in the midst of all he is suddenly arrested and sent away! and who is to supply his place? Alas, who? Perhaps Mr. Williams or Phillips will pay a visit to the station; but how it is to be provided for during Mr. Makepeace's absence I cannot conjecture. CHITOURA. At Chitoura, our missionary brother, Mr. SMITH, is labouring with a most encouraging degree of success. In the following extract of a letter to Mr. TнoMAS he earnestly presses the wants and claims of the district in which he labours. Greatly would it rejoice the hearts of the Committee could these importunate appeals be responded to. I have just got a letter from that worthy brother, Mr. Smith of Chitoura, near Agra. He urges the claims-strong claims-of his own station, one of the most prosperous, or rather I believe the most prosperous in Upper India; also the claims of Agra and of Cawnpore. I cannot do better than introduce an extract from his letter. "Re disheartened by the appearance of our missions generally. Brother Makepeace is gone to England, brother Phillips is bent on the same course, brother Thompson is old, and there is no prospect of a successor, and thus we appear to be on the eve of relinquishing Upper India altogether. As to Agra and Chitoura, the Society have I fear long since "I regret much that nothing can be done relinquished both places so far as interest for Cawnpore. I believe they have never goes. May the Lord once more shine upon had a sermon since I was there. Never us, and support us by his presence. were such brilliant prospects sacrificed, I think, in a station before. A beautiful chapel, and an income larger than most missionary societies give to their agents, the congregation and church continually increasing, but alas the demon intemperance has marred all, scattered all. The church would even now raise 100 rupees per month for a good pastor, and within one year they might support him altogether. In connexion with the church a mission would be established, and the heathen would thus be benefitted without any permanent expense to the Society. Can nothing be done? The longer the station is neglected the weaker our cause must become, and it appears to me that if our mission is kept up in India, it must be by taking advantage of such stations. We are almost turn, O Lord, how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants." I fear we must discharge some of our native labourers in January, as there appears no possibility of increasing our subscription list, and I understand the allowance for native agents is to cease. We should never have to trouble the Committee for money for local purposes under any emergency if my salary was not partly to be paid from local subscriptions. Brother Williams's salary, with fifty rupees for myself, is more than can be procured independently of buildings and native catechist and teachers' salaries. An inspection. "Dr. Duff was here last week, accompanied by William Muir, Esq. He catechised our |