4^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■- IIIIIM |50 "^= 1.4 M 2.2 M 1.6 V] (^ % W ^,. °> > signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents, Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 i partir de Tangle sup6rieL*r gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 r ^0VASC0TJ4 PROVINCE HOUSE l 4^^^^^> IlvrDIA^ ITS PAST HlSTOiiY, PllKSENT POSITION, AND FUTURK PROSPECTS. f DKLIVERGO BEFORE TUB lalifejf lounj lien's €\mim ^mmtim, *''V ON TXTESDAT EVENING, JAN'Y., 19, 186«. BY REY. C. CHURCHILL. A. M. 'jf HALIFAX: rXinTHD AT TIIH WK9I.EYAN CONFERENCE 8TBAK rUBflS. 18 58. '3 ic MS Thk l)a rodolciit oi or the nan mnnt of tl and more repose for before us. th(i famed on its joui mind, — i\v Florence- Napoleon I a new ally and conqu( of Egypt- Ionian An \^i)^ the Isthnii Idolatry, J form a tab! BO wide, 111 coasts of « arrest the ( f this midsea, the sunlit coasts of Judea, with their characteristic panoramic beautiv^a arrest tiie eye, where, in its mountains and its valleys — on the .l*030m of its lakos, and on their shores — in the city or La the 4. intilBiiiiri .<«>a«)«Mtt.>^'1Uti mBL. I ficRort — He, who lived aiid ?pako, and wrought and taught, and suffered and died for man's salvation, has made the whole not merely classic but sacred giound. Here is a cliniacteric of the grand and .^ablimc — a very pinnacle for thought to fold its wings and rest, while the eye gazes over the wide ciicuinference thus spread before it on every side. But while the Meditenanean has its limits here, the East is not limited to this field. If the mention of tlie Kast vibrates through the heart like strains of distant and concealed hannony, India is like a clarion's call to arouse ou"- souls ; and at the present time the announcement of the name only, awakes associations in connexion with it of deeper |)athos and n>oni thrilling interest than have ever vibnited on the mind in bygone times. India, where AV^ellixoton first fiesheil his maiden sword, and earned a renown which culminated on the very stei)s of the throne— where there is found Delhi with mosques and palaces — Benares v/ith its pagodas — Juggernaut with its victims — whore Timour displayed his conquests and .\urungzebe his magnificence — where Ilyder rose, the Napo- leon of the East, and Tippoo fell, its Nero. India, where HEnKu, after being charmed with its landscapes of peerless beauty, including river and palmy plain, and coral strand, united in living verse two sentiments so characteristic of its history, when he sung Wliero every prospect plcascHi, And only man is vile. India, where the Churcli Uuivcrsal has a eomnionwealth in the mural tablet which onslu'ines the names of a Schwartz, a Martin, a Ward, a Cary, a Marshman and others, the pioneers of the advanced army of the Church in its affair of outposts with its hydra-headed foe. Whatever of ancient lore— written and unwritten tnulition —of mythological antiquities— of prodigies of ancient archi- tectural skill, combining fairy-Iike tracery with pormunent «_ .)»nA, ,ty n. ,te world-wMo renown-of comrasts of «.onerv "J «.r,ku,g , ,a„ any ..her in the oM world or „ew-w S loft.cr „,oun..,ns with icy peak,, «„,, orotic dimes IJ^ po.lcn held of tod «„ni,a,-od with the ,al,i„ct of a continent's ' T T°" '""''"' '•'"■ ""'"I'l "M-Ili'ms-of forest, : ~ C^ T" :■'";"-» " '"^^^ »'' "-- -he ,r I i ■'■. '"'""•''l''"^''''^-»f fi^'ld» ..nfohlin. ,„ , '"Jo ' ™lt,„.c the r,eh...st response of vi,dd-,vl,ere alter OS prcsen, overv variety of a„i,„„.ed existence hat'n^tl '""" ■;"" ''";»»-^'!'™ ull these wnd.ine in a prnfusi™ -vor yet sn„, n, al! it. variations by poet's Ivre, or p I" a , « a country, apart fron, other associations which e'' attention ; ln,t wl,™ to all this is ,dZ I "•"" °"' I- . ^ fi'ldcU the present inforoaf urroundn,.. ,t as a hat.le-tiehl, where rcbolln in tw. .oa ures . n.cettn, in the shock of martial str„.„le w h 11^- r;:: r;?;;"''' rr.f '""-'- ^ ^^ ^^^ W'. to.n., ,s assocated w,th the tenderost fcolino-s in the «dated,, earths and lacerated hearts of onr felh feo Ln u on, as Jinghslnnen, and as Christians, we need no str, no^r « ann to n,„ko , ,ea, to onr co.tntry 's welfare, ^d r 3 li Lr' " «■'""—-. i» ".-onr latest effort for I^J!.tn,ute snprenuiey and power. Nor can it be supposed fo ' an-mont that any Leetnrc Koon, presided ovcrbTrlin u.aal w,„ter sess.on, ,« affiliated branches of U»se Voung I.. 6 Mon-s Christian \8scciations, whicl, arc now the ornament and ho],o of the Christianity of the ninetecntli century, will be .iefieient in presenting the chiims or prosecuting the best inte- rests of that part of the worM, whicli wo recognise, and hope tor ages to come to recognise as liritisl: India. Our subject this evening then, accordiiig to the announce- ment, ,s lN-DiA,-(u necessarily brief review of it) It« past hist.jry, Its i)resent position, and its future prosjiects. Our stand-poi.it of observation is just one hundred year, ago ,n the past. The turn of the tide in the affairs of India at that tune occurred ostensibly through the medium of an event whieli lingers yet among the recollections of our child- hood as one of the darkest and most diabolical atrocities which had to that time disturbed the surface of social or mili- taiy life in India,— one hundred and forty-six Englishmen were thrust by a revengeful nabob of that time in the IJIack ' Holeof (^dcutta. a dungeon eighteen square. The vitiated atmosphere and intolerable thirst urged the most pitiful cries for relief, but in vain. Their struggles were useless ^h-ir appeals ineffectual : - The Nabob is asleep," was all the' reply tliat could bo obtained ; and in the morning which succeeded, when the doors were opened, tw(?nty-thrce were all that remained alive. This event, coupled with the violation of a previous treatv arou.sed the indignation of the citizens of Calcutta, and led to a succession of most important events. To use the langua-o of a late writer : - Indignation being thus aroused, a clerk In the Commissariat at Calcutta lays aside his quill, seizes bis sword, and promptly avenges the death of his countrymen." The history of Clive— the hero of this successful stiuggle, afterwards Lord Clive — is patent to ever}- student of the history of British Inditi. His efforts were crowned with brii • Vv .) Imnt „uecos,. .„d ,ho«o laid broad and docp the foundation, o. our AngI«.I„d,a„ E.npi,.. Ala» ! fi,.- tlio Instorian oZ pa< the ^,. of B,.i,a, ,,„„„,,.,„ ,.„^„,.^^ ^^ ^ »f ■an, s of , . first patriot : tho »an,o in,lividual wl,o had roa ., r d y,y , , ,„, „et_i„t<„i,„,,, ky the snccs^os of " s ort oarc.er, l,y ]„, „„„ ,,„„,, ,„ f^.„ ,^,,j ^^,_^j nito tho awful prosonce of Iii.s Jfakc.-. A seric, o.' rovoi-scs followed the doath of Clivc. A few year., later, after the dictation „f ,„,,„, „f ,,, jj,./^^ A,, at e gates of Madras, whiel, had l,een\vres.od f.™ „ ) he l.ro„el,. t,e entire de*a,eUo„ of a detaehment of ,h lintel, ar,„y under Cdonel U,,r.ur. wa. effoetod by T.,.,00 ';";;■ "^*'- ^'' ^ ™- In im, the Se,„ys in the forlrf ^ «llo,-e, who we,, favorable to Tippoo, roi in the ni.ht nd r: :r,f'""^ «- ""■™^'> "--"J'- i„to .hec,:::^^ "»"*'• of th^ .hole of the Eu,v,pean offieers and their fandiies : tho leadin. o„sp„.ators were blown fron. the eannon's n.outh. In 184"" nxently eaptured an,l annexed to the British Power a sudden ."" de.x,d, thtrteen thousand troops v...re desfoyed. and the ►nudi renrnants of the liritish foree driven V.ond tho mountains. , vi mu Wo have presented these general features in the history ot the past, not as a summary of the striking events of tho t^Uies; nor have we exhibited, on the other hand, the serio. ^^im^iis^ i I 8 ^f conquests al„,ost unoquallci wl.iol, n.arkod the pro.re^ „f Kun.pe„„ iK,wor a,,,! influence; !,ut .,,s „ very few fact to J leKarded, u, ,m,mn,en, feutu,-e... „n!y, ,,,„„eeled with <,ur occupa ,„„ „f that ,,.uu.,v. We feel, at the .ame titne tha an a,,oI„j;y ,. h„e duo to tin., andionoe for Imvin. .stated i„ the a„n„unec,„e„t of thi.s leeturc that >M. pasl history of J„,iia would ,0 a ,,o,.t,„« of our ,daM. S„eh was. in faet, U,c inten- ta, ; hut the „n,,os.-ihility 0^ i,.s ,,e,f.,rn,ance wa.s coincident _» h the ve,y hr.^ „t,en,„t ,., f,.„,„, „,„ ,„„.,„ he p. h,.story „f India has never yet been written n,u- can It iwasddy „e co„,,,nsc,l withi,; the I ,s „f a sin.^le Iceture ■ wo must e,t er ^au.se here. „r he involved in a .Lss o Its winch would at enee en.harrass tho leeturer and prostrate ho patenco of our audienee. IVe ,.re content to hesitate, from the co,,s,deration-tl,o knowledge of which has -«,cn conn„,„neated .s„,eo the intention to deliver tins lecture wa.s fonnod-that ot!.er „,.nds, „,ore eon,pet,.nt than oars, are to clatm your attention in the course of these J.ectures in the present se.ss,o„ ■ .„„1 ,„ ,;,„,„ ,-, ,.,,,,^,.f„ ^ ground over wh.ch we should have I,ec„ dehVhtetl with vou Irowovcr cursorily, to travel. ' It would l,e diffieult. ,U, within the li.nits allotted to this oet„,^., to g,ve any welLlofined view of our East Indian l>o.sses,s,o,,s; yet that ,son,c such atten.pt ou«h; to be made all wdl admu. Ii„, 1„.„ shall it he done V The sl,™e and P~porti„nsof that play-thi,,,, a hoyV kite. pen,.. pLn, oT Hind ': ""V ""!""■ ""'"™'"'" "f "■" s' "K-l""-' fo- ot II ndo, tan : The lower p„;„t of the kite is Cape (^omorin off winch ,s the tslaud of Ceyh,„, whieh lies within* six degre"; of the equator; o„ the West side of the lower an^le is the B^,m ay Pre. eney, and „„ „,„ ,.ig„t .sid„ „„t „? jfadras. T la tcr d,s nets have hitherto been free ft™, the pt^va- fc .0 of tho Widespread tnutiny whieh has prevailed in the Northern part of thi» empire. If we draw a line across tho wiilost part of the body of the kite, we have on the Eastern filde the moutJis of the Gim<;es ; on the other, or Western side, the mouths of the Indus— not I(^ss than fifteen Imndrod miles apart. Then take the arc of the upiK'r part, and this includes all tliat is of interest to us in the l^engal Presidency, towards whlcli oar attention most particularly turns, and wlion-. at iliis juncf uve, our solicitude chiefly centre:;. On the P:astoni side of the an;, on the North of the empire, a ran-e of moim- tai-' peaks rise one above the other, in lofty sumnuts looking down in pride upon all the othc. -ounfains of the earth ; presenting this most singular featu-^o, their tops arc covered with parpotual ice and snow twenty-five tlioust^nd fwi above the level of the sea, wliilo the alleys at ihoir very base are weltering under the heatvS of an almost vertical sun. Er.- throned as they are in isolated gi-andeur, crowned with a diadem of virgin snow, they have hitherto been inaccessible in their remotest magnificence from the foot of science, .and from the pioneers of civilization. The Sancrit word, /rma—^m^v —has baptized their nomenclature, and from those un'niown and coHipi'ratively unoxpk.red Himalayas nse those two grand rivers of which we have spoken — the one running to the Western extremity, from which the whole coimtry t'^'ke> it ^ name, the other debouching into the Bay of Bengal. The former receives the tributary streams of' the Punjaub. after which it divides and falls into the sea by seven mouths. Th- latter, known in its rise as the Burrampooter, f:>dls into the i ranges, in whidi it is lo.st ; at Allahabad it is joined with the Junuia ; two hundred miles from tlio sea it fa -nis a Delta r aiid at length loses itself in tl'.e waters of the Indian Oe(^nn.' Then upon the Ganges thus described, place Calcutta at its mouth, one hundred miles from the sea, and Delhi one thou- sand m.ies up its winding Ktream distant from Calcutta, and you have the limit of that field of action just now so i.iter esting to Europeans— Meerut, Allahabad. Cawnpore, Agra, '\. . ■ 11 A if i.i Id iiucknow : thepo all lie at no nrreat di.stanco from its istroairr, ui- arc imnic'.ately upon its l)anks. We have thus endeavored to give a familiar illustration of the geographical jmsition of our Indian Empire!; but its vast area and its teeming population are almost l.eyond the povvc-r of figures to express, or imagination to conceive;. Neither can we hojw to give an adeqiiate idea of its woalth or resources. AVhen the Western continent of America w;ls luUrod hy the foot of the white man, peopled only hy the red sons of the forest, the district of which w;i spoak ' revelled in^ the pride of power and the wealth of barbaric gold. When Eurf)pc was struggling in the tln-oes of tint revolution cf which Martin 1/jther was, under (Ion, the instrument, and when its nations many of them were in the very infancy of arts, science and civilization, — dyi)asty afVer dynasty in Indin liad successively left magnififimt mementos of thcnr wealth and arc-hitectural skill, the remains of which are the wonder of the student, as they are the pride of tho nation to this veiy hour. Nearly tlu-eo centui-ies ago. f„r inst^mce— and this is but one out of many— an Kmiieww SiiAir Jkhan. at, Agra built a mausoleum for a f^ivorite wife. It is composed of white mai-ble, reared on an elevated terrace of white and yellow marble. Its inner and central hall is entirely inlaid with precious gems, a)id here repose the ashes of the dead. The structure is computed to have cost £750,000. To add to this pi(5tare of magnificence an 1 wealth, go back to the times of Jami.:^ I. of England, and ta,ke the folh.win.r description of the State display on occasion of the Emperor's birth-day, as given })y the ambassador sent by our monarch, who was an eye-witness of the scene. He Kays " the ceremony connnenced by },lacing his J'-ijeHty in one scale, and in another an equal weight of jewels, gold silver, and stufis of gold, silver and silk. Then appeared u 11 •procossion of elephants, led hy one beast of wonderful bulk and beaut;y — his head and breast covered with phites of gold and silver studded with rubies and emeralds. On this lord- el-phant waited eight or ten others, clothed in gold, silk and silver. Twelve similar lord-elepiiants, eacli with its retinuo, followed — each shewing its training as it passed bj, making u lowly obeisance to its lord and master. After this the whole court went out in procession. For the ladies came fifty elephants richly adorned, each bearing a turret cajiopied with tiilver cloth, with gratings of gold wire to look through. Then came the Emperor, wearing a turban with a plume of heron feathers, a ruby as big as a walnut, a diamond as large, and an emerald nim-li larger. Upon his neck were three chains of most excellent pearls — above his elbows arndets set with diamonds — three bracelets on each wrist— rings on almost every finger— a coat of cloth of gold— slippers set with pearls — belts of gold, and a sword and buckler, set all over with diamonds. He rode in a coacij drawn by four horses trapped in gold and velvets. Before him went dnims, trumpets and ioud music — canopies, umbrellas and ensigns glittering with rubies — and nine ied horses caparisoned with precious stones. Behind him followed superb palanquins, and then the Empress NouRMAiiAL — the prodigy of i-omance, beauty and power — riding in a coach, tiie present of the English king. After- wards came twenty royal elephants, so rich in gems and furniture that tliey glittered like the sun. This was the royal procession, which was preceded and followed by elephants riclily decked, amounting to six hundred ; and all the way tha i'o;ul was guarded by elepliants, each with a turret, four biinners, and a swivel gun. Half a mile behind the Emperor cnrue his wives on eh'pliants. The procession inarched to a superb camp wliere wore glittering tents, a mother of pearl throne, and such a, display of grandeur that the whole vale shewed like a beautiful citv." 4 I 'f 1*' ni w'"';T ""f '• ''' ^-^^'^P^-^i- of such mag. he nee, and tins one description must suffice to show what »va.s the wealth and snlendour r»f fho i^ . • lu . jjitnuoui ot the Eastern enin re bofi.rp it ca.„e a,o„-ol in the B.itisl, Crow„,-„„r ,„„i ;„ t "„ .0 on l,,e „,„,.„ ,, „,„(^,j ^^ ^1 .^,^^_^ _^.|j. __^^ r y «l.,cl. ,hovp„j,,„ ,„,„i,,^ One,- and for whid, tho 8,1:^1^ of Ihe ,ubiort of V ^"''"'^ 'o S'™ some general idea 01 uie subject of Came. It ,s traceable to the remotest -t.,,u„, ,t i, the subtle yet di^ct antagonist of clristi ^.y, and some of the greatest mistakes .hfeh have cecu^ed the government of that country have had their orig n f"m II. « source. There are four degrees of caste in India wX -" gmng you the native titles, which convey (exeent in b„ e.^ of the Brahmin, the highest class) ve,y L e mean " o . f .1 • ^ clitticult to convey a iust idoi Y'- »n>oriance of Caste in their estimation. To them n„ ■ Me. The following u, ,he language of Abbe Dubois • •• He lo has lost caste is a n,an dead, as it we.., to the" word "o longer n. the socio,, of men ; ho is bereft at ol'f .J,s and reh,„ou., often of wife an,! children, who wil -tner .or.suKe bun than share his miserable lot. 1 fe,,„ 1 oiieu m Her Majcty's Aru,y to offer him a cup of tea but . '"' 'r-'r'-'*-^ "" """ <'-o» 'o eat with him, „ „J ^'I "'. outcast ; and when he sinks under tho c„,-se there .s no I -54 f-'SSSimmnmssmtfkjftin n one; but an outcast dare bury him. There oau be no ohanov of calling from generation to generation — no rising into a bettor })o.sition in social life. The lower class cannot even take domestic service in the house of his higher cla.ss neigh- hour. No ca.ste can maiTy except in its own class ; yet let tho |)inirl of caste be lo.st, a Hhudra or common labourer, little s*t.'' F„ «.hi..h tto pre.™ «,l,joet „„.„». W of caste i n,o.t Lli^'rilv - «r>oe .,, b,.ou,l,t a.,o„t by «.,•„, „.. ,,„,,,,^ :^;",X'- A^h s k.e„ prepare.! I,y „„,kan han,l.,,_that is. i th: ..t.ng fo,.„,I,leu tluugs; and by o.nitting certain rites- -nd by en>bn,ei„g any „o,v religion. Tbere T, a ,X If ' . ™ee to be mentioned bere TI,o , 1 1/ 1 "'" " .«e„ to eat^or ta.e a„v.,,„g. „,eept fi;h. that his b I. « ,-.u,J why .' They n,o.t rigidly believe in the doctrine ;•' '™-'»'«»«on of -uk The souk of their a cJ on" ..^ presumed, n.ay enter the bodies of „nv e,^at„ J™,! uiKJcr these cireu.nstaiK'cs of belief is vtv.v.flxr f T-^ i Al'invof f).n „ -1 ,. ' ^"ictly forbiddon. ^Ma of the anunals, o„ tins account, are worship,»ef ;! .\ , """"'•'• "' " '^»""' "long tbe ^^e eet s venerated and adn.ired; hospitals are built for thc^ A few words n,„.st ,„ffi,,„ „„ ,,,„ j,^, „f ,^^ „„,; J1..S .s generally Hindoo and JIahon.edan The Sikl" 1 e t Jbs net race : they accept and reject peculiarities b:.^' , t both the o her sects, bt,t themselves are tolerant of ndthe. 11.0 hook of all l«oks to the Mussulman is the Koran T t sacred ,vr,tn,gs of the Hindoos arc the Yedas a.,d Si J' Ih former ,s to them what the liible is to „s, and the Klra,' Ve : *'"^: "-'-"«■• «'r*™ - a co„m,e„t^ ot ' cdas. .N , two forces could 1« „,oro antagonistic than the «o aces we have namcl, which emnprise „:ar|y „„ 1 two "... r.. ,n,l ,o„s of India. At the same ti„,e, if i ™ th" .1.0 .Mabomedans have a caste of their own-a rival eastc Id MMi t ftlt^ct as much punctil!or..-ncKS as tho Hinilno, (although such is Kaid not to bo taught in the Koran) so that his food must bo propaml, nay, whatever he puts in his mouth, must be pro- pared l)j persons of his own class. Wo come liero to a pohit ni which wc inig!it eater at once upon tlio presont position of our Indian pos>;>.vsions, \.m\{ shew what has been jiroperly term - c Hindoo and the Mussulman — gave I'lem, in tho only one point where their prejudices a]>proximated, a plea for opposing tlieir united strength to rightful authoriiy, and led to the disastrv)us results which followed ; the plea itself beinp; r.trengtl-cncd ly anotlier singular coincidence in the relig.ous ifr^tructiou (jf each pnrty by t'u/ir own priests, that the Koran of the Mahoi..iModan and the A\:das of the Hindoo aliki indi- cate that this year, the hundredth ot English rule, was tt» be the last. The Mussulman burned with ambition to regain that terrestrial paradi^■o. Delhi, a. his own; tho iJrahmin yearne.l to put his foot upon the neclc of tho teacliers of a new religion. There was one po:nt where isf no might join — then; it was joined, and the re, ulls are known to all I agiiiu state then, that if it ukiv be thought, in promising to speak of the past history of India, [ have failed bi.'cause \ have iiot traced the [jrogress of its power and wealtli from tho tunc when, vn Dec, ?A, 1501), Qv-ecn Elizabeth first fi.xed hev sign manual to a deed incorj)orating the Ciovei-nors and Com- ])any of tho Merchants of Jiondju trading to tho East Indies, \n which, by the bye, a singular clause was inserted, that no gentleuKui was allowed to enter, up tu the. time when the hito annexation of the kingdom of Oude marked tho culminatiksg t>o:nt of its progress, up to its presciit proud position, prior to the pro-olishod after tlic similitude o? a palace, its fair proportions shall overtop the temples of idolatry; its shrine shall be that of a pure and peerless faith . Its top.stono shall bo brought on amidst the acclaims of earth' and heaven, shouting, Grace, Grace be unto and upn it ; its banners shall unfold to the breeze tho si)otless Lamb ;' its inscription shall be the magic name Immanuel, God with' us, from its threshold shall flow a healing stream, un the banks of which Ministers of every name shall stand and cry, " Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,"' and whoever Will may come and take of the water of Life freely. During tho last twenty years the Missionaries have rapidly increased in nund>er, and multiplied to a greater extent tiian many have been aware of. 1 take the following statement Iroiu the Calcutta Review of more thuji fo ir ve:irs ago, when I Mm j:^-j^-.-i7aj-.-.. -a^...^--iiar;j-.;i;\-v-,.;.ir^:ii.,^. j^-^-.j:aigaa-,-..j-, : ^Ta^ IT from " revised atatistics " of missions, it appears that there ^erc of Missionaries, - - - * - 443 Native Catechists, - - - . - 0118 Native Christians, rs ■above £33,000 arc annually raised in India alone, I take tfee following beautiful passage fii>m a writer well qualified for his task. He savs, "*" Oae hundred thousand souls detached from rieatlienism is feutt as a single stone from a vast citadel, ibut it is the first stone after a breachin"; tire, and tells that those lu'oiuid are loosened, and tlvat in time a way will Ik? <1 riven into the heart of the fastness. The Hindoos caiuiot for t;ver worship stocks and stones, jund apes, and kites. The M)n, on the banks of the fair Ganges, will not for ever bear his father, old and weak, to di-own kim in its tide, — the streets •of Madras will not tor ever witness men swinging by hooks in their flesh, and multitudes making holiday to see the sacrifice. He that imagines that such things are not to pass away has a pitiful notion oi" human destinies. That they will perish is a?; vertain as that they are wrong. The IJrahmins feel that they flre in danger. The law })erniitting persons to retain property irrespective of religion, was viewed by them with great alarm. In Older to stay the defections they passed a resolution in Calcutta that nj>ostates might regain their caste position by presenting certain costly offerings — thuH, itt fact, reducing the jKJualty of breaking caste to a mere fine. The Missionaries are but in the beginning of their work, but at this moment m «w:in iji \\iv\r rawks, capiible of huge and g«Mie.ral views. doul*ti •akMNwaMMMliliiPiii u f(ir mi iiwtant that, slowly and silently, but with gathering inii)etu8, the mind of India is rising a])ove the suiX-Tstitions of the ]?rahnrmH, and will before many decades of years, emerge into Cliri.stion Light." 1 shall close this part of the subject by noticing two other paragraphs from another writer. He is writing under the shadow of recent calamities, but he is looking back at what has been done, and is rejoicing that Bel boweth down, and that Ncix) stoopeth under the onward mairh of Gospel truth. He says : '• Since the fn>t dark clouds of difficulty passed from tlw Indian skies anet o h<"el>u\l>e mountains who brought glad tidings. Ancen um^'stU^^o' s and venerable systems of error were slowly but '.Ziblv expiring. Idols, neglected by their deN;otees, m)W ; u iblin.^ I du^t ; and the temples of J5rahma, A ishnu, and S e V^-rre being gradually assimilated with the mouldermg leb i of other days. The lo..g, long n,ght ot error was Ir ing to a .•lose/ar.d the dawn and pvonnse ot go.pel day t s .ilduKv the mountain peaks, the day star was rising with oalini^ inliis win.s. AVhere the riithless arm ot war once ' pre d' devastation and horror, behold were peace, py, and . ve J^weet villages end,owered in all the protusiou ot orien- luvuriance were scattered tar and wide, trom which arose e nunnir of industry and the music of pleasant voices. S'liols and seminaries gathere.l their thousands of bnght- .-ed children. The chnrch spire pointed silently up to the . ue vault, the pastor moved about among Ins flock directing^ e enquirer to lieaven and leading the way. (^i-eat cities and Ls were rapidly filling with industrious and prosperous ■itzms the milts c.f commerce, the seats ot magnificence^, he a ;des of art and civilization. Serene contentment cover- 'i a the sword was beaten into the plowshare and the spear nto the prunino-hook. The wilderness and the sohtai-y p.uee wc^e^aS^^ desert rejuued and blossomed as tl,c r^. ^ IMMMwaHM>:-i!^K . IIIMI The promise of a rich harvest waa there. The diisky oriental nnd the fair Kuropean gi-a^^ped the ardent hand of trust and friendship. Every spicy gale from the palmy plain wafted to our oars the sweet tidings of peace and prosperity ; evei7 wave that rolled toward the coral strand brought to them tho message of love, and hojje, and congratulation. " Sudi were the encouraging aspects that India presented ; such were the pleasant scenes and cheering realities that sus- tained tho fainting friends of humanity on the very banks of tiie Indus and of "the Ganges, along tlie torrid shores of tho ( loromandel, and among the gloomy defiles of the Himalayas. In confirmation of this allow me to quote a passage from a rewnt iiddress of the bishop of Calcutta to the t -tIc of England: 'What can exceed,' says the venerable bishv.^j, 'the invhing pi-ospcct which India presents? The ^elds white for harvest, and awaiting the hand of the reaper! Nations bursting the intellectual sleep of thirty centuries! Super- stitions no longer in the giant strength of youth, but doting to their fall I Britain pkecd at the head of the most exten- i^\\Q empire ever consigned to a western sceptre : tljat is, th(5 only great power of Europe, professhig the Protestant faith, intruSed with the thronging nations of Asia, whooi she alono could teacli ! A paternal government employing every yeai of trar.quility in elevating and blessing the people, unexpect- edly thrown upon its protection. No devastating plague, aa in Eg\'pt' "^^ intestine wars ; no despotic heathen or Moham- medmi dominion prowling for its prey. But legislation going forth with her laws, science lighting her lamp, education scat- tering the seeds of knowledge, conmierce widening her means of intercourse, the British power ever ready to throw her segb* of protection around the pious and discreet missionary.' " SucIj were the sentiments of holy men actually engaged iii- the work ; which sacred work has been so fearfully interrupted and disturbed. * We feel disposed to linger here, the scene i* BO calm and peacefid, the atmosphere so still. Ahta it is tho very stillness preceding the storm ; the cloud like a man's hand has risen out of the sea, the heavens gather blacknetw, the time of trial iy at hand. ^ 20 1 purpose to give you a concise account of the riw? att4 progress of the present rebellion, in as brief a compass as pos- eiblc ; and to do this it is necessary to retrace our steps, and look at some of the causes for dissatisfaction -vhich had slum- bered for some time, alas, to wake with a giant strength. There can Ije no doubt but that at the foundation of what may be termed the incidental causes of the Revolt in India, was a deep and widely spread idea that there was a detenu ina^ tion to force upon the natives the Christianity of their nders 5 and that instead of this idea being ctMnbated and overthrown by those who had the power, a s;erie8 ol unfortunate coinci- dences combined to awaken their suspicions aiul excite their fears. Mysterious meanings were attached to the scicntitico operations in hand for the benefit of tht country. Among these the Electric Tcle- Kitisf^u^ion and , d.('lureyere forl)-.dden to appear ofi i)arade with ear-rn.o.. or the coloured nuirks on the forehead iodicative o^' sec-tanal d^s tinction.: they w.re couuuaaded to shave their k-ards. :m.l trim th'«ir mou4ac!ie. according to a stau;lard urKbl. < Klier innovati<== The«o had occa^lmied wldo-spread dissiiti^tUcMon ; and the last drop of the cup wa. poured forth when a tiew patt^-rn tor a turbau was devised. whi(.h, in the apprehetision ot the S.poy.. resend.led a ha^ This ..utinned the'r tV-ars. and ia.ubonlhiatiou was the result. It was then as ;t .s now : m-n were found who cliargcd the .vhole blan.e upon tue M.s- sionaries,-but was it the caseV No! emphattcally no . Was there one Missi-mar)- in Vellore when this ttK.k place . -N'ot one. -Was there one near'^-Xo. Was tlieiv one then in the whole Presidency of Madras 'i There wa< not then a sin-rle English M's nonary. Tin the present rebellion^ off>rt« have been made to h.ld up Col. Wheeler as a cause ot th ' Mutiny, becaus,' he had been engagcnl in exhortmg ai..l ui^tructin^ the Naives. Is ihl^ charge sustained ? No! ft •^''jitmmmm ff I II — — Mm* is almitted that ho did not act the part of a ,<;oxl soldlrt- irt tho hour o'' trial — and wo may U^ave liini to wliatcver military censure Km domorits may call forth — but wlion the disnff ctiort broke out in lii.s re;,';iuiont tlio Adjutant, wlioni no on;' C!iar;rer4 -with preachini^, was shot d(»\vn and ('(»1. WiieelfM*, who wan m zealous, on this occasion escaped un'.iurt. Nor has there licen any special desi^^n manifested in any disaff'etod rec^'oa a'minst the Missionaries. Even in tlie siicred citv of J:?enaros thcv escaped, wli'i • many ;in otlic t av!io was far enough from ofil'iice on the score of Ciii-*.>-t'anity lias ]i"::n la'd low. In- deed, there the autlioritiv-s have son;j;'nt t'le a'd (»f the personal influenee of th; ^Missionary in f!;''ttin'^ irtnres. No solitary MisHion station, :• < sueli. lias l>een attacked; ai-.d oidy at three Mission Stations have wj yt li«.'ard of ^lifsif i:ar!es be'ng killed; at-d that, we liuiy venture to ;-ay. was w,: from spec'al enmity to tlieiu, but because notliing Ivimp-an was to b? spared. Thj di;^ a*.isi'a(;:."o:i was a ehr:)a'c di.'.vv.'^ — an in!l:irnni'ir,ory notion was tho real cau.w.' of i]\r outbn!;ik. L:)!; Vv\iat vve havo :dready statfMl be borne in mind, iivery one knows that to Vlindoos and ."Mahonnnedans td'ke the idea of tasting the flesh of the swine in any form is horribly ilisgusting; and tinit no native regiment would ri'scnt an order to diet on sn.'ils or carrion so much as would these an attempt to make them ea*: the flesh of a pig. Again, of all living things the most saenid to the Hindoo is the cow - -slij is on(! of the divinities most "•eneraily worshipped. .Vmi ijg 11 tlie crime.-: oii their caler der, scarcely one ranks ,-o lugh as ' cow murder ; ' yet the Military Secretary for India, Col. 13irch, ii-sucd cartridge,* L-omposeil of greased papfu- ; and the ppular opinion nuiin- tained that these were greased with the flesh of tho pig and the cow, and (o be used they nuist bo bitten by the teeth of the Hindf.H) and the ^Mussulman. Again, when we remember that, from tlieiv no;ious of caste, the Braluuias will shrieic MMWAUMMMMhIL^mmi"*-^ '- ! Nvif\ t^'iror if a drop of pure ^N-ater from a gl.HS m the hanA. of an Euronoan should fall nr^ him only by acculenc, we „,ay he thus prepared for the faring of the train which took place in January last. Tace wore the immcdmte circum- t^tunces which led to the fatal t);itWcak. , ^. , , J.]arly in Januar. last a low cas^o Hindoo a.ks a h.gh caste Sepoy to give him drink out of hi« vessel, and l-is «urpn.. is h.rdly greater than that of the woman, in reply to our Lord at the well of Samaria, - How is it that tln^u, being a Jew^ a^k- eA drink of me v.ho am a woman of Samaria. ^ Ihe 15rah- ,nin Sepoy indignantly refuse Tele"-raph Office at Barrrekpore was destroyed by an m- be di.^janded, fell m ,>• \ the openly rebellious 34th. These propose \o the IJth to murder their officers, and, joined by others, to go ."..nd sack Calcutta. The 19th refuse (his; but the 34ih are left, notr withstanding their guard had struck the English officers. By ] 24 this time the evil had broken out at Lucknow, ostensibly lipoause a doctor had tasted his patient's medicine; Avhilo hitters froi.i the mutinous 34th have hy this time reached the ■J'unjaub. Notwithstanding all this, the leaders of the muti- ny, wlieji it has broken out, are simply dismissed ; while the i^dpoys liave heard that the Kings of Oude and Delhi (who jft(!eive more pay from the British Government than many a i^uropean Sovereign) will give them more pay than the Eng- 1 sii. The former was taken and imprisoned at Calcutta — the f ite of the latter and his sons has already been decided in the sucf.'es.Hful seige of Delhi. At Meerut eighty-five of the iM ( 'avalry refuse to take pi-oper cartridges — they are imprisoned and guarded by native soldiers. At last comes Sunday, 10th of May, when, at 5 o'clock in the evening, the announce- imrnt was made, "The Bengal anny has revolted." Vmr <'ol. Fiuuis was shot in the discharge of his duty; the 11th, idlowing their officers, to escape, joined the 20th, and 31eerut \fi\B in a blaze. On the 3rd of May Sir Henry LawTcnco disarms mutineer at Luckuow, takes into custody the ciiief n«bcb, and stanjps out the sparks of mutiny with the courage of a British Lion. General Hewitt at Meerut has a regiment of English Rifles, one of English Horse, and a troop of English Artillery, yet the enemy all get away. The disiis- trous news is forwarded to Delhi, and the English are requeet- (»d to repair to the Flag tower for safety ; but the inutinouH Sepoys arc in sight of Delhi. Brigadier Graves' troops are «.'xpeeted to relieve those who are waiting him at Delhi : wlien he arrives his troops are all natives. He addresses them , it is true, the response is a hollow, hypocritical ch«^or, and all join the mutinous garrison at Delhi. The mutiny at Meerut appears to have bi-oken out promatuivly ; and bvfc for this ii is likely that within a fortnight most of the Europeans in Nortlicni India would have been simultaneously luurdered. But who shall tell all the horrors that rush upon us iu ...:km 1' irnfirt UMI 25 rapid succcsBlon - Lieutenant WiUoughby firing the small arms' magazine at Delhi, and blowing up between 2000 and ^>000 men —Sir II. Lawrence at Oude, foiling at the head of hi. brave 500 men,-Cawnpore, with Sir H. Wheeler sacn- ticed, attacked by that fiend Nena Sahib. We draw a ^-e, over a scene that follows, which you have all hoard of, but which I cannot describe. Long had the nation mourned over these painful subjects, and dense and dark were the shades w' ich huno- over us before the first ray of light dawned, as n.ail after mail brought us no tidings of success. At length the heart of the nation bounded with exultation at the exploits of a comparatively small force before the city of Dclln The bold generalship of Sir xVrchdale WiLSON-the terrible can- ,,ona.lc-the storm-the Cashmere Gate, with the heroism of a SYLKELD-the suburbs-the fighting step by step, till the city was in possession once more of British arms-- the capture of its rufiian King, and the slauglU^r of his sons by Captain Hoi.soN,-these are now matters of permanent history ; and vorc it not for many a desolated hearth, many a rumcd hope, many a widowed heart, might be the subject of universal joy. We live too near in time to the scenes which h-ive so lately transpired for taem to become the subjects of history m al its calm authenticated details: we can but make them as hey ,Ku.. the sul^ccts of a lias^y review. In this light, then, eomes bel\>ro us a name tbviuoriy unknown to lame, yet one ..w never to bo fbvgotten-Sir IIknuv Ha^e.ock or whoin it may be said, " He was a good man, and one that tared tl,o W abov. many." Hi^ fi;^l^t after l^ht with alimist unnumbered foes, yet successful in every conihct- Ins emitting luH way to Lucknow, nnd his investment there ^ur to.vn^ man, tJie gallant Colonel I.OLis. after unparalleled eflort. to .ecure the pc. sons and property under his charge, meets .m equally bralecoiupaaiou. hi arms. An Outram joins them 1 26 tlicrc— a trio of heroes whose names will never die while the revolt in India lives in the page of history. The eye of the world is centred on that not— on the tiptoe of expectation the world waits the tardy arrival of the reinforcements sent from the mother country and its colonies— the ear aches for the de- layed announcement of the relief of this heroic hand. What can our feelings he, compared to tlicivs ! yet not the skirl of the Highland pipers playing the well known strams of ' 1 he Camphells are coming" fell more joyfully on the ears of the besieo-ed force in Lucknow, than has the mighty heart of the Chris'tian world rejoiced on receiving the subsequent and re- cent intelligence that Lucknow had succumbed to the irresist- able valour of British arms— that our beloved countrymen nnd their families arc relieved ; and that the brave Sir Oolm, the intrepid Inglis, the gallant Outram, and the victorums Havelock* still live to push the battle to the gave, and unite their energies, however painful the means, in restoring peace- to the mighty Empire of the East. After this hasty, and to me most unsatisfactory outline ot our present position, we retrace our steps to enquire Avhat has been the effect this severe chastisement hps had upon us aa a nation ; and what reflections arise from the consideration of this subject. In the first place, the answer has been seen, not only in tiie mournings of those immediately bereaved— not merely in the throbbing pulsations which have been felt through the entire heart of this mighty nations, but m the response of the nation to the call of its sov^ereign to nrostrate itself i.efoie the footstool of Ahnighty God in fasting, humilia- tion ' Mi-ayer, imploring Heaven to pardon our national sins, nnd to rest.>re peace to India, riio reflections which ariK- from the consideration of this subj-^ot i-rc now to be presented c Tho tld.ngs of tho Inmontcd death of the gallant General had not been recdvcd at the lime this lecture was ddlvcred. ^, I I A . m 27 to your notlco. There arc two topics wliich present tliem- selvos before us. I. GROUNDS OF HUMILIATION. II. GUOUNDS OF IIOPK. The first is necessarily a painful suhjcct, yet not to be summarily dismissed. Nor is it merely ^vhat Wt. have not done, it is what we, as a nation, have actually done. 1 The Government from the first has refused to recognise tho "element of Christianity in its management of the affairs „f India. Seventy years ago, a Caroy-a name tliat the rhurch will never permit to die-was forbidden to exercise his vocation as a Christian Mhiistcr in British Indja, and was oblio-cd to turn aside to th.o Dutch Settlement of Serampore. V Judsou wa,^ discovere.1 iii a British vessel, as having come to India as a Christian Missionary from America, and was forbidden to land at Calcutta-indeed ordered to return ; an. only by tho intervention of Divine Providence, was permited to pnx^eod to Burinah whore he established a name that wdl live for ever in the memory of the Church. Years ago, a native Sepov, an officer, was dismissed from the Bengal army tor the crime of seeking Christian Baptism, wlnle m every other r.-poct he was declared to bo an excellent and puus- ■ worthw nr.u. And whore did this take place 'i At .leemt. the verv place where the flamo of nuitlny broke out with a n.\ and'fierv glare ihat lighted t1ie world witli constornatu.n. \.raln,the practice is .till continued, or was until V(M-y UaI of firing salutes from our ramparts in honour ot uhdu- trou^ festivals. Kuaetm.nts still remain unrepealed ^.r r,ff,rl.rrs to idols, and grants to propitiate Hindoo deities tor v,in '"^Vmlii, in a recent proclamaticm agahist immoral prints mid plctv^Jes, issued by the authorities in India, an exemption is admitted in favor of sucli as arc exhibited in conn.'xion with idolatrous rite.. The traffic in opium belongs to this part o our subje-'t, but is a l)ranch of it we must bo compelled but Bj iK H8* "I 28 to name ani leave. It is true that Siittoelsm has been abol- ished, and tlie pilgrim tax discmtinuod, though not -ntil year after year it ^yas presented by Mr. Poynder to the Court of Directors ; and only reluctantly and tardily yielded under the increasing pressure of public opinion. Yet even now the connexion is not at an end. In many cases the idol temples have lands; and these lands are taken by the government on the understandi.ig that an annual payment of money would bo made In Madras, £80,000 a year, and in Bombay £ i 0,000 are paid in these two ways to temples. The total ni Benga i. uot known, but Juggernaut after all that has been Buid, is still r.^ceivm- £'^M^ per annum. It is true that the Govern- ment have founded Colleges and Schools, in one of which the miscreant Nena Sahib received his education, but at brst from these all Christian teaching was excluded, while the Koran was uot only admitted but enjoined ; presenting the spectacle of a nominally Christian government ousting Christianity from its schools, and for rally patting Mohammedanism ni its place. To this day it cone les the observance of every religious tos- tival U) the iium) a- of some thirty or forty, making them holidays in all public oflic.:. ; and thus placing th.in on a par ^^vith our Good Friday, and Christmas day. and Sunday. ^»^Mlis list mi-ht b(^ cnlarge.1 to almost any extent, but 1 clu-e '^'^^t by some cutting remarks from t'v' London Morning I'ust, the organ of Lord ralincrstou, lately published : " The pixsent insurrection very naturally gives rise toques- tionsas to how this worldly-wise policy is seen ungly or consis- tent with the position and prerogtitives ot ^f^'^F;^^ \ ^ doalin.rs witl thcs(. llastcrn savages have doubtless been d... t ^ I by tlu« most praiseworthy motives. By torbearance and ^ £iion ti.- keir ancient traditions, and hy selectuig them t.> fuliil important positio. trust, it was ^^^^ elevate the native character, to engender a recproc.tv ot - in. an.l an identity of interest. But m this we have .u e i^ The rc'^uU shows that the native character w lowered, and 29 vcpoct for Europeans has gi'catly dimmished. In our extreme ) c«ptLi lu \ c-.„Q relif'ioiis latitude we worse than ob- tS;5 h ^-owrt 0? ;:oa pri„e-,ple, tor wo actaally aided trlpa'atSn of heathenism. Had i.e marched sword m >d' JcTmstiamzc the empire, we eould ;;«;re« J have ^ «.;Horl a (rvpiter error. The undeiiiablo fact that the g ana "re?of ^t ^b oody rebellion was the re-establishment of the i^^dZs^^^^^^ re-establishment of the stern, intolerant I S eJiSly notorious for making converts by m.spaiM.g mrs^c'ution-is a direct contradiction to any charge of Briti>h r eM^n^ but it is a contradiction that indicates clear y nou. h tha the idea of enforchig conversion is not m itselt Vlhomnt the Indian mind, and deprives them, on heir ^r^c^es, of a complaint against -J ^^-^^^^^ trvlno to direct their conversion, even had it tried to do so. ■' All reasonable men must repudiate any attempts at com- pul.ry conversion of heathen ; but we must, for the future e ludiv determined not to encourage or countenance customs rX nt to our ideas of right or wrong and tommg no ait of d?e essentials of a good Hindu or Mohammedan. Know- t t ' W' <>^ our oi^inions, they cannot understand why ^v. ^ ^' n lluL tluMu in reference to the moral law of Lnglaml, rt t W --!^er a ^eer iboting ta Knglishincn^ cm- the r cLtempt of us. Let them feel tho power of i 1 aiurs moral lai by its establishment amongst them. ^ and thcv will be-:u to have some respect for our rebgion Let us >lvuUavow° ourselves Christian rulers, tolerating all religions f-t arthey do not violate the laws of the country, and u ,; down with a high h.md all that Is contrary to or ex- ^s This pnnciple. By wholly withdrawing its support fnm •dl Hindu or Mohammt^dan shrines, as unbecoming the roprc- lL!t e^of a Christian people, the Government would assume ;^m stent posits which the Hindu would soon learn o 'rei ct «Kl,^ut of the soil which has been savagely drench- .d^vkh he blood of unoffending English men and wome will yet spring the stateliestinonument ot a glorious and t'un.soVulated British dominion." Let it not be supposed that this is an overcharged picture, Dr. IHiff, in one of his letters, gives an extract from '- mtr>'' ■ 'wmmmmtamm^ 1 30 t^cnuon preached by the venerahle bishop of Calcutta, now in hia 80th year, on the 24th of July last, in which he uses the I'ullowino; langiiagc : "It has long appeared to thoughtful persons that one of tlie chief sins°of India is tho close connexion with the vices and idolatry of Brahminism, and the detestable licentiousness and ])itter Imtrcd to Christianity of the followers of the lalsc Vrov.het. In this opinion I concur. . . • We haye u liuuilred years of offences to ansAVcr for, those of Lord Chvc and Mr. Warren Hastings, as well as our rulers since. I fear we have too much continued in the spirit, if not in the arts of our fathers. Even in our own times I remember well the struggle of twenty long years, inuler the great and emment M'ilbcrfrvce, that was necessary to secure the free admission of our Mi.^sioiiaries into India. I remember the cruel treat- ment of Dr. and Mrs. Judson, whom I knew at Moulmem— tho forced retreat of Dr. Carey and Ip.s pious companions to tiie Danish settlement of Seramporc— the prohibition of Dr. Hucuanan to publish his sermons on the Prcphecies— the (lis- oraceful delay in disconnecting Government with the pdgrim- ages to Juggernauth— and the salutes of idols and other ciM-emonies at Madras, wliich compelled the brave and noble cf^rine Maitland to resign. Even my friend and bro- Sir Perc ther, IJisliop Corric, was rebuked by the Madras Go-eniment in I'sniifor tho mildest exercise of what ho considered his approiiriate duty in expressing his sympathy with Sir Dere- .rrme on tliat occasion. . . • Another subject ot deep anxiety to the Christian mind is the connexion of our Govern- ment with the opium traffic. We seem to have been gradually t'litaivded in a system of measures by which we are adminis- terin-r'^this drug to the i^o-orant heathen of China m a manner directly contributing to destroy their bodies and souls by tliousaud.^ and tens of thousands. No doubt I^er Majesty s (ioveniment at home has a large share in this guilt. . . Anotlier sin weighing on the neck of Imlia is the lavor shown to the anti-social and anti-Christian civil system of caste. It is as much a degradation of a large part of tlie human species us the old exploded theory of the natural inferiority ot the necrro race. I conceive it is contrary to tho whole spirit ot ji.- 31 British jurisprudence as well as to the laws of God to recog- uiso such a theory." Nor is this the whole view of the subject, the entire ground of humiliation under tlie.se national calamities. We have been verily guilty concerning our brethren : the Christian church lias slumbered when it ought to have been active. There has been too little self-denial, too little real Missionary enter- prise, too little of the uplifted eye of faith, citpocting and waiting for the descent of tiie Holy Gliost upon the means employed, too little effort for the multiplying of those means. Two hundred millions of immortal souls, subjects of the same gracious Queen, with their three hundred and thirty millions of Idol Gods. Surely we ought to catch Ileber's fire and Ileber's zeal when we sing a song written on Indiaii ground : Shall we whose souls arc lifrhtcd With wisdom from on high ; Shall wc to souls benighted The lamp of life deny ? Salvation ! O Salvation ! The joyful sound proclaim, Till earth's remote>3t nation Has learnt Messiah's name. I leave this very painful part of the subject to take a more plca.sing topic : The Guf^UNDS of Hope.-^-Wc have mourned under thi.':} lieavy cloud ; but the ai-ched bow of Hope already spans the finnamcut. Truly, we are where the prophet has placed us : " It shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark, but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night ; and it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light." We gather these ho]:)es together thus : 1. Frotn the incongruity of the united elements. — Like Nebuchadnezzar's inuige. Its feet and toes are of iron and 1 82 ('lay. Two forces, most antagonistic in themselves hitlierto, have united together; but they never can amalgamate,— both will come to ruin. The stone cut out of the mountain with- out hands will destroy them both. Already we see the coiu- mencement of a reaction which shall hasten this consununation. We hear the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, and ere long we shall see them foil the one before the other. The following quotation from a moral drama pub- lished seventy years ago has been put into my hands by :i friend, and the language may be regarded as almost pronhetic of present times. These are the woi'ds : "At length thy Sun, Hhidostan ! is set, And like yon blushing orb, v/hosc evening beam Sheds its deep crimson o'er the western hills, It set in blood ! but not like that to rise AVith brighter glory and rekindled ray ! The very temples arc no longer sacred — The ancient venerable tombs that hold The ashes cf our fathers are defiled, And undistinguished by one common sword The priests of Brahma and Mohammed bleed. AVoHicu of noblest rank are ruthless dragged To instant massacre ! Thousands, to shun The fierce barbarian tyrant':^ crael rage. Plunge in devouring flames — a milder foe ! Or do'vn the dark abyss of yawning pit.s Or wells, unfathomably deep, descend Headlong, to 'scape a more detested doom ! " ihiT next Ground of Hope is found in the general interest manifested in this rtmggk.—ThG world has never before witnessed such interest manifested in a martial struggle as in this. It has carried its vibrations far beyond the cin;lc of its own immediate sympathies— extending beyond the (;ir(;uni- ferenoe of its wide-spread Colonial possessions, it has indeed been that "one touch of nature" which " makes the whole I 33 world kin." To confine our attention to our own nation, how simultaneous the response to the Sovereign's call to prayer 1 The millions of uplifted arms to Heaven will never relax their onerj^ies until India exchanges the Crescent for the Cross. Nor let me omit to record here— perhaps its first public announcement ; a fact certainly not patent till the arrival of the mail tliree days ogo— that the very day when liavelock relieved Inglis— the very day when the two heroes met at Lucauow, was the same day as that on wlueh o-ir noble Queen, acknowledging the chastisements of God, pul)- libhed to her people a call to General Humiliation. The remainder of my lecture must be the mere outlines of thought, for time would fail in any attempt to expand. The third Ground of Hope in the future is the change which must take place in the future Government of India, —The double Government of India has received its deatli- blow ; its knell has been rung in St. Stephens, and has rever- l^rated in Leadenhall-street. No temiwrising policy with the impurities and idolatries of Ilindooisra— no truckling to Mahomedan predjudices, to the repudiation of our glorious (.'hristiauity. Let the management be neither distinguished by t\ivoritism or by proselytism. AMiatever may be the form of its administration, whether gubernatorial or vice-regal— whatever class of state diresition may surround the Council Board of Calcutta — let the Parliament of Britain be the Executive ; and as we boast the StatMl^book of our country to be based on the Sacred Word, so let the Christianity of our country be boldly proclaimed as the policy of our Govern- ment. While toleration is accorded to all opinions, let there be no mistake in the principles by which we are influenced. Let tL .-e be morality iu its revenue— integrity in its dealing-s —energy in developing it,s resources— place the Bible in its .chools— let caste succumb to Christianity, and a brighter day lriHMK«| i u win dawn on India than India has ever seen. Brighter still will its lustre and radiance shine, when England's Queen shall add a moral Koh-i-Noor to her diadem, in permitting herself to be hailed by its millions and recognised by the world as TriE EMPRE8S OF HlNDOSTAN< The fourth Ground of Hope lies in the action which wi^ immediately follow on the part of the Christian Church.— ^Memorial Churches arc already projected over the place of the martyi<^d ones. Every Christian Society points io India and demands— aye, demimds— a large reinforcement ot Christian Missionaries. A mighty impetus has been given Ur the whole machinery of the Church. A new altar has been reared, on which offerings of Cliristian liberality will be sanc- tified. -The blood of the martyrs" will agahi prove '• the seed of the Churcli," mid India will yield a plentiful harvest of fniit to Christ. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad ; the desert shall bud and blossom as the rose ; the alor- of Lebanon shall be added unto it ; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. There is still another Ground of Hope to notice, and it is the last for which I shall claim your attention. St ;.' Img as T do on the platform of the Young 3Ien's Christuu. tis' cia- tion, recreant should I be to my trust as your lecturer and as a Minister of Christ, did I withhoH the blessed hope ..t the future of India in the glorious view given us in the wrUmgs ofprophenj.—ThG Crimean war has unfolded a glowing page hi the history of the East. The declension of 31ohannncdan power, and the perfect toleration of Christianity has been Tcceptod and meognised by the Church as the drying up of the River Euphrates. The subsequent eruption of the three unclean spirits like frogs from out of the mouth of the Bragon, and the mouth of the Beast, and the mouth of the lalse I m- phet, may tax the patience of the Churdu crying, How long. ( \ 35 Lord ! but tholr doom and destruction is foretold. The way of the Kings of the East is being prepare.l, and tl;^ Orient is bright with coming splendour. God's ancient people shall yet°be restored to their own land, and with them the fulness of the Gentiles. Then shall the loud acclaim of ransomed millions celebrate the paeans of Messiah's triumphs in one .rlorious Hallelujah ^-the waves shall lift up their voices, 1-the earth sound loud its song. " The Lord God Omnipotent reit'neth ! The kingdoms of this world are become the King- doms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever!" IVIy duty has been very imperfectly discharged; but my task is done.- Let me add a word in conclusion. The Past with its humiliations has been mourned over ; we have rejoiced in the anticipations of the Future ; but there is a Present duty with us still : let us arm ourselves for effort, in faith m God s Word, and in earnest prayer for His blessing ; and let us sing as we have never yet sung, in Heber's glowing verse : Waft, waft ye winds Hi:? story. And you, ye waters, roll, Till, like a sea Ksf glory, It spreads from pole to pole; Till o'er oar ransomed nature The Lamb for sinners slain, Redeemer, King, Creator, In bliss returns to reign. WESLEYAN V.ONFERENCE STEAM PRESS, ISO lEOTLE BTBEET, HALIFAX, N. 6. rsr r