that the Scriptures are more read by Turks than we can possibly be aware of. A respectable Turk, accompanied by two servants, called at our depôt for a Bible which a French general in the Sultan's service had the day before selected. He spoke very good French; and, whilst he examined the Bible, the Agent entered into conversation with him, when he suddenly looked him in the face and said, abruptly though seriously, "I am a Turk; nevertheless I continually read the Bible;" he then turned round and departed. May there not be many such Turks? and are we not to hope that the word of God will be blessed for the good of their souls ?

INFLUENCE OF BIBLE TEACHING.

Our readers will be much pleased with the following few particulars of the Jewish schools here. The Revs. Messrs. Thomas and König, of the Scottish Free Church, have two such schools; the one at the village of Haskoüi on the Golden Horn, the other at Galata, the principal commercial quarter of Constantinople, each having an aggregate attendance of 100 boys and girls. They are mostly, if not entirely, of Polish and Italian Jewish parents, who are perfectly well aware that they are instructed in the tenets of the Christian faith, and read both in the Old and New Testaments; and what is still more remarkable, a Catechism is taught, in which all the objections started by the Jews against Christ being the Messiah are refuted, both from the Old and New Testaments. Some of the parents set their face against this, and took away their children from the schools, but sent them back soon after; and one of them asked a Catechism for himself. Some few days back the Revs. Messrs. Stern and Goldberg, and Mr. Cohen, of the Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, opened a school at Balat, a quarter of the city also on the Golden Horn, and opposite to Haskoüi, which

shortly after was attended by 50 children, but so many more applied to be admitted, that another room was added to the school; so that about 100 children are now accommodated, and yet more are suing for entrance. These children are taught out of the Judæo-Spanish Psalter, the school being in its infancy; and, when more advanced, they will be instructed out of the Old and New Testaments. They all belong to Spanish Jews. These are extraordinary doings for this country, and most encouraging to the good men who for years have been working despondently amongst these stiff-necked people.

ZEALOUS COLPORTEURS.

The Society has two zealous, good, and active Colporteurs in Messrs. Sellar and Costabel, and their labours of love are blessed with encouraging success. Mr. Sellar was so anxious to visit the camps at Balaclava and Sebastopol, that, finding a free passage to the former place, he left for the Crimea, with a box of New Testaments, to spend the Christmas holidays amongst his countrymen, and endeavour to do them some good. Notwithstanding the rebuffs Mr. Costabel has to endure from the Sisters of Charity, and prejudiced, jealous Popish priests, he goes always ahead, and is not without his days of rejoicing. The Romanists are not always of the same opinion relative to the circulation of the Scriptures, as our readers will perceive from what we are going to state. Mr. Costabel went on board of a French man-of-war, and requested the captain to permit him to distribute New Testaments amongst his crew. That officer thanked him for his good intentions, but he saw no necessity whatever for his men to read that book. Mr. Costabel, thinking he might object to the edition, assured him that the Testaments he offered were approved of by his church. "C'est égal," he replied; and, thanking him again, bowed him from his deck. From this vessel he went to a much larger one, where the cap

untrue;

tain gave immediate leave to distribute the Scriptures on board. In another man-of-war the commander referred him to the chaplain, who of course set his face against his pious work, and told him that the Scriptures ought not to be circulated but in the Latin tongue; as if that was of any use to the sailors. Mr. Costabel, however, insisted on visiting the Protestant crew, and giving them the Scriptures, and went down the hold for that purpose, followed by the chaplain, who was telling him all the time that there were no Protestants on board. This, however, proved for Mr. Costabel found several sailors of that persuasion, who were very glad to have Testaments. One of the sailors put out his hand for a Testament, when the chaplain opposed, saying that he was a Roman Catholic. "How do you know that?" said the sailor. "Because," replied the chaplain, "you have always been such." "That is true," answered the sailor, "but you do not know what I am now." In another ship of war the chaplain himself gave immediate permission to Mr. Costabel to distribute the Scriptures to all on board, without distinction. When Mr. Costabel related all this he had just arrived at our dépôt for a fresh supply of 300 French Testaments and some Bibles, to return again to the men-of-war.

TESTAMENTS FOR BULGARIA.

A few days ago we had a letter from the Colporteur we had sent into Bulgaria, informing us that he had reached the town of Belisari, and had sold up to that time 260 Bulgarian New Testaments, begging us to send him Servian and Greek Scriptures, which we have done. He has our orders to proceed to Rustzuk, there to meet about 1000 copies of our new edition of the Bulgarian New Testaments, forwarded by Mr. S. Mayers from Bucharest.

FACTS FROM THE MAYNOOTH REPORT.

[THE following facts are taken from the two volumes of the "Report of the Maynooth Commissioners," lately presented to Parliament. It was very unlikely that the conductors of this college should allow much to be known, but what little has been discovered forms a strong argument against Protestant Endowments of Popery.-ED.]

I. The plea of poverty urged for the endowment is unsustained. "Sir R. Peel asserts that three students were necessitated to sleep in a bed. The moment two students are found in one bed, they are ipso facto expelled. But the falsehood was suffered to run through the land uncontradicted, because it served a purpose." Students paid £2659 5s. 6d. annually for their board before the endowment. Since then "public funds are almost exclusively employed."

II. The incomes of the superiors and professors have in some cases been doubled, and in some trebled, by the endowment of 1845. Thus the president is advanced from £316 to £594 12s.; the vice-president from £112 to £326 12s. 8d.; the Dunboyne professor from £112 to £308 12s. 8d.; the senior dean from £112 to £264 12s. 8d.; and all the others have experienced a similar happy effect from the Act of 1845.

A high premium is paid to the students. Twenty students on the Dunboyne establishment receive from the endowment £40 a-year each, and two hundred and fifty students receive £20 a-year each, pocket-money.

But notwithstanding this vast increase of pay, the commissioners report the discipline of the college defective; the studies a mere system of cramming; and the text-books in many parts unsuited to this country.

III. The oath of allegiance is evaded by many of the students, some feigning sickness, some repeating

the words improperly, and others exercising a mental reservation; and all treat it lightly.

IV. By statute, which ought to be read twice ayear, the Professor of Dogmatic Theology is required

STRENUOUSLY TO EXERT HIMSELF TO IMPRESS ON HIS CLASS THAT THE ALLEGIANCE WHICH THEY OWE TO THE ROYAL MAJESTY CANNOT BE RELAXED OR ANNULLED BY ANY POWER OR AUTHORITY WHATEVER."

A student declares he never heard of this statute till it was mentioned by the commissioners; and a professor states that it was never enforced while he was a student, nor did he ever enforce it himself after he became a professor.

The money is paid, but loyalty is not taught. Even the commissioners can only make the negative statement-"We have no reason to believe that there has been any disloyalty in the teaching of the college."

V. One of the professors asserts that the priests who took a violent part in politics of late years were not educated at Maynooth. But it has been found, on examination, that almost all the priests whose violence at the last election was recorded by the public press, were Maynooth men.

VI. Priests, who are styled 66 THE OFFICERS OF THE POPE," are justified by some of the professors in employing their spiritual power or influence to compel voters at elections to follow their injunctions, under the plea that the exercise of the vote in a certain way may be sin, and it is the duty of the priest to prevent sin in his people!

VII. Maynooth, intended exclusively for Ireland, has furnished Romanist Archbishops to Calcutta, Madras, Hyderabad, Trinidad, and Adelaide; twenty-four missionary priests to Great Britain, whose numbers are constantly increasing; and many to the colonies.

VIII. The laws of the Romish church, as to persecuting heretics and keeping no faith with them, are attempted to be explained away by a definition of the