468 CHURCH REGISTER. DEARDEN, REV. JAMES, has been compelled, owing to failing health, to resign the pastorate of Lydgate Church, Todmorden, after over twenty-two most useful years. The retiring pastor preached to a large congregation his farewell sermon, and gave a short retrospect of his pastorate, Oct. 28; and on Nov. 17, Mr. Thos. Greenwood, senior deacon, presided at a farewell gathering, and presented, on behalf of the members, a mark of respect and esteem in the form of a purse of £25. Addresses were given by the Revs. H. Briggs, W. Gray, J. K. Chappelle, W. March, and W. Stone. TAYLOR, W. BAMPTON.-Services in connection with the settlement of Mr. W. Bampton Taylor (son of the Rev. George Taylor, of Norwich) as pastor of the General Baptist church at Chesham, were held on the 30th of October. J. Clifford delivered the charge to the pastor. The Rev. Edward Stevenson offered the ordination prayer. In the afternoon tea was provided in the schoolroom, at which more than three hundred *This sum has secured to Mr. Hester an income of £50 4s. per annum for life; and he desires hereby to express to all contributors his grateful appreciation of this benefit, and of the many assurances of personal sympathy that have reached him from time to time. W. J. AVERY, Secretary. By JOSEPH THE GENERAL BAPTIST ALMANACK, 1884. FLETCHER. Winks & Son. Marlborough & Co. OUR Almanack for the New Year has a beautiful motto on its title-page, followed, on the next, by the Editor's cordial greeting and statement of contents. Ruskin denounced wood engravings the other day with Herculean energy; but the portrait of Dr. Burns certainly forms a capital "image" of a valued friend. The texts illustrate the "fruits of the Spirit ;" and the pictures are of sea and land, praying-mills, and singing birds. Here, at least, one may adopt and adapt the reviewer's all-inclusive phrase "No General Baptist home is complete without it." THE MISSIONARY OBSERVER. DECEMBER, 1883. New Year's Sacramental Collections. We DEAR BRETHREN,-We beg to remind you that the first Sabbath of the New Year is the usual time for making simultaneously SACRAMENTAL COLLECTIONS for the Widows and Orphans of our Missionaries. hope it will be convenient for you to continue your usual contribution, and, if possible, by a little extra effort to increase the amount. Several churches, by having the collection previously announced, and by forwarding the whole amount collected, instead of a part, have more than doubled their former contributions. The sum required to pay the several Insurance Premiums, together with the allowance to an invalid missionary, is about £220, and it is most desirable that this should be raised apart from the ordinary income of the Society. The amount received, however, last year, was only £123 5s. 7d. Should the first Sabbath of the year be found an inconvenient time to you, we would suggest that the collection might be made on the first Sabbath of February or March. It will prevent confusion in the accounts, and ensure the correct appropriation of the Sacramental Collections, if they are sent direct, and separate from the ordinary contributions of your church to the Society. We remain, yours faithfully, W. B. BEMBRIDGE, Ripley, near Derby, Treasurer. WM. HILL, Mission House, 60, Wilson Street, Derby, Secretary. Post Office Orders should be made payable to W. HILL, at the General Post Office, Derby. The Annual Report. We trust that long ere this, the ANNUAL REPORT has been received and read by the friends of the Mission. The Secretary will be happy to send a copy to any address where it is thought the interests of the Mission will be served thereby. Several encouraging notices of the 470 MISSIONARY OBSERVER. Report have appeared in public prints from which we furnish one or two extracts. The Illustrated Missionary News for October says : Reading the Annual Reports of Missionary Societies is not always the most pleasant occupation, owing to the amount of statistics necessarily introduced. When, however, figures are carefully mingled with a large amount of interesting and valuable information the case is otherwise; the reader is led on from fact to fact until he finds that he has reached the close of that which, at first sight, may have been designated "A dry Report." Some of our societies issue a large amount of really valuable information, upon which great care is taken, but we think there is room for improvement in many ways. The plan that most commends itself to our mind is the one adopted by the General Baptist Mission. Brief sketches of the districts occupied, precede the accounts given by the Missionaries. Under the heading is placed the name of the Missionary and the lay or native preachers as the case may be; this is followed by a small table showing the number of communicants, &c., in connexion with that particular district. At the close of the report these are collected in one general table, showing total results, which is followed by lists of contributions, balance-sheets, &c. Thus the general reader, as well as the practical student of the Mission, can at once become fully acquainted with the position and work of the Society. We subjoin a few extracts from the report above mentioned. The Freeman, of September 28th, in a long leading article, says: We have received and read the Indian Report of this interesting Baptist Mission. It is one of those suggestive records of success and disappointment, of sighs and hopes, so commonly issued in connection with our foreign enterprizes. It points to the endurance of brave hearts and unwearied piety, of faithful diligence and uncomplaining service, examples of which in Christian life have been innumerable, and of which the field in India has wit nessed so many. If Christian work abroad had done no more than furnish a sphere for the development and manifestation of high character and devoted consecration, it would have to no small extent served the cause of our Divine Master. Patience under privations, zeal unabated by discouragement, confidence incapable of being daunted, and love impossible to be quenched, have won and deserve honour, not in India alone, but throughout our wide mission sphere. The work that is carried on in the large Orissa territory is one which, if not startling in surprises, yet shows steady progress and hopeful augury. Fifty-five years ago there was but one native Christian in the district of Cuttack, and but one in Berhampore, Ganjamonly two in all Orissa. To-day the number of communicants at the different mission stations is 1,176; those baptized during the year, 57; total of native Christian communicants, 3,163. On the whole most interesting progress is being made, and the devotedness of earnest labourers loudly calls for the sympathy and prayers of all Christians who desire the advancement and final establishment of the Kingdom of our Lord. It was a very touching remark that was made to Mr. Heberlet, "I doubt these 'glad tidings' because you have been so long in bringing them to us." What a rebuke to slowheartedness and the grudging spirit. "Christ lifted up" is truth intended and calculated to bless the world, and yet with what sluggish steps, comparatively, has the church advanced to her duty. The report pleads with us by its mingled encouragements and depressions for increased interest and enlarged gifts. Gopalpore in Ganjam. GOPALPORE, or Gopaulpore, is a town in the Ganjam district in the Presidency of Madras, and is six miles east of Berhampore, as will be seen in the map of Orissa inserted in the Annual Report. It forms the principal sea-port of the district, and is a place of rapidly increasing importance. It has a considerable export trade to Europe in grain, hemp, horns, hides, and seeds. English and French vessels load there, GOPALPORE IN GANJAM. 471 and the British India Company's steamers to Bombay and Calcutta call there every week. The port light (fixed white) is displayed at an elevation of eighty feet, and is visible from eight to ten miles at sea. There is a good anchorage of sand and mud about a mile and a half off the shore, but sometimes the surf is so high that for weeks together shipping cargo is impracticable. Here the missionaries from Berhampore have been accustomed to resort in the hot season, and though the distance between the two places is so small, the thermometer is often ten degrees lower, there being a pleasant sea breeze instead of a scorching land wind. Had we the men and the means Gopalpore should be occupied as a mission station. It is said that the Roman Catholics, who are wise in their generation, are about to erect a church and convent there. Respecting Gopalpore Mr. Bailey writes : After an interval of seventeen years I have had the pleasure of revisiting Gopalpore. Its short distance from Berhampore, refreshing sea breezes, and the complete change of air and scene it affords. make it a very desirable resort in the trying heat of the summer; and the importance to the mission of possessing suitable premises here for the accommodation of its agents can scarcely be overrated. The relief is greater even than I supposed, and I fervently trust there will be no failure on the part of the committee to purchase the house now in the market. It is admirably situated and sufficiently commodious, and to allow it to slip through our hands would be very injurious to the interests of the mission, and might involve very serious consequences. I arrived here on the 22nd inst., in company with the three native brethren, Niladri, Balunki, and Makunda Sahu. The native town has increased considerably since I was here, but the improvement is even more marked in the European quarters, and in the public offices and buildings. The Police, Postal, and Telegraph offices are conveniently situated and efficiently served. There is a good Charitable Dispensary with a competent medical staff. The shipping and mercantile agencies have large offices and warehouses near the beach; and 120 cargo boats in charge of the masterattendant, are constantly employed in conveying merchandise to and from the ships. During the time I have been here, steamers have been coming and going nearly every day; there are also seven sailing vessels lying in the roads loading with rice and other goods. The port-master, Captain Taylor, full of kindness and hospitality, has now for some years been a steady and faithful friend to the mission, liberally promoting its interests both here and at Berhampore, providing employment for a number of the native Christians, and active in every good word and work. A large market is held on the Friday, and the traffic of the port with the interior, together with the increasing resident population, have found us good and sufficient work to do. Our congregations in the bazaar have been large and attentive, and on Sunday we held an English service at which no less than 25 Europeans and Eurasians were present. The case of "JACK," THE AFRICAN, is interesting. He is one of two hundred and fifty young Africans rescued from a slaver off Mozambique by a British manof-war, now some years ago. The slaver was taken to Muscat and the slaves re-embarked there for Bombay, where several were taken charge of by Captain Taylor, and among these was Jack, who has continued in his service ever since. He is now diligently reading his bible and anxious to be baptized. His sincerity is undoubted, but his information is small, and he needs both instruction and experience before he can intelligently take the all-important step. His face and figure are singularly true to the African type, and his broad flat nose, thick lips, frizzled hair, and almost jet black complexion make him stand out in striking contrast to the finer physiognomy of the native Hindoos around. He has married a nominally Christian wife, and will, I trust, become a consistent and useful member of the Christian community. I have much enjoyed my visit here; Mr. Scott has joined me for two days from Berhampore, and in addition to those I have mentioned, Daniel, Paul, and a number of other native friends have spent part of the time with us. We are arranging to return to Berhampore on Saturday. 472 MISSIONARY OBSERVER. In a subsequent letter. from Berhampore, Mr. Bailey observes: HEAVY RAINS. Almost immediately after my return from Gopalpore the rains commenced, and have been unusually copious, as much as seven inches having been registered in the interior in 36 hours; and as the hills in Ganjam are very near the coast the rivers are peculiarly liable to sudden floods. Both the Rooshikooliar and Mahanadi rivers which join at Aska have overflowed their banks, submerging the town and factory there and a large part of the surrounding country. The district suffers so frequently from drought that the attention of the Government has for a long time been directed to the subject, and in future this vast surplusage of water is to be utilized for purposes of irrigation. A gigantic project has been sanctioned by the Government which has for its object the impounding of the waters of the Mahanadi and Rooshikooliar rivers, and comprises a large anicut across the Mahanadi and an immense reservoir with the needful distributories. The amount sanctioned for the undertaking is 2,860,000 rupees, and the work is to be completed in five years. DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES. On Saturday evening the 7th, I attended the annual distribution of prizes at the Berhampore Government College. This institution, which is presided over by our friend Mr. Scott, is evidently in a flourishing condition. The pupils number 189, and during the year reported upon, four have successfully passed the F.A. examination, and seventeen have matriculated. The facilities for a good secular education are very great, but religion is carefully excluded. PADRI POLLI. I was at Padri Polli on Sunday and Monday. Two candidates were proposed, and Monday was enlivened by a marriage in the morning and the subsequent election by ballot of a new punchayet, as well as various other matters of business. The fruitful showers have made the country look very beautiful, and the people are confidently expecting a good harvest. The village school is working well, and now numbers nearly thirty children. From the first of the current month we have amalgamated with our school here a small neighbouring village school, which increases our numbers and income, and enables us to retain two masters, and also to raise the status of the school. The sub-inspector has been this morning, and speaks well of the progress of the higher classes. The distinctively Christian character of the school is retained. Notes from Rome. BY REV. N. H. SHAW. THE LUTHER CELEBRATIONS. ALSO in Italy we are celebrating the fourth century of the birth of Luther. I preached last night, endeavouring to give the people some of the principal facts in Luther's life, and the principles that underlay them. In the afternoon there was a meeting in the Scotch Church, outside the Porta del Popolo, at which I assisted. To-night, Monday, there is to be a united meeting in the Wesleyan Church, and three or four Italian preachers will speak. The Catholic papers have not been silent. One of them published an article the other day full of falsehoods, setting forth that Luther was everything that was vile, and quoting his own words in which he describes his feelings previous to his conversion. The journal, without the least shame, proceeds to show from these expressions that Luther was a bad man. Just as if we might take the expression of Paul in which he says he was the chief of sinners as a proof of Paul's special wickedness. The words of Luther are taken and stripped of their connection and qualification, and thus held up as giving a picture of the man. The result of this misrepresentation is that the prevalent, almost the universal idea, of Luther among the people around us is, that he was a kind of incarnation of Satan. If these celebrations of the fourth century of the Reformer's birth call attention to the facts of his life, and the principles which he held, they will be useful in no small degree. |