period in human history when the dan- the abandonment of their faith! Far be ger to the world from Mohammedanism was at the greatest, the Moslems were at one and the same time fighting their way through Asia to the confines of India, and forcing a passage westward and northward, so as to threaten every European kingdom; and what stopped their progress was not so much the active and passive resistance of the unnumbered millions of Asia, as the heroic efforts of the less populous but more warlike European states. In short, when the Mohammedans had the cup of triumph almost at their lips, it was dashed out of their hands, not by Asiatic pagans, but by European Christians; and the difference between the Mohammedan position in the world as it now is, and as, but for Christian warriors, it might have been, is the meaning of the hatred which ambitious Mohammedans bear to Christians of every name. It was not merely the first collisions which left hostile feeling behind: the crusades traced deep lines in the Mohammedan memory; and when the time for these had passed away, other struggles had the same effect. It has been stated that, even if war had been conducted on the most honorable principles, it would still have stirred up animosity in the hearts of those with whom the struggle took place; but it must be added that hostilities were often carried on in a barbarous or half-barbarous fashion. For instance: it is stated, though it may be trusted with some exaggeration, that no fewer than 70,000 Mohammedans were slain in Jerusalem, when it was captured in the year A.D. 1099, during the first crusade. How vast, again, the misery that must have been inflicted on Mohammedans by Ferdinand and Isabella in their efforts forcibly to convert the Mohammedans of Spain, and how lasting the sting left behind, when, in large measure failing in that endeavor, they ultimately expelled from the peninsula those more sincere Mohammedans whom they could in no way compel to it from us to assert that no provocation was given. We believe that if ever a people in the world gave provocation to Christians, it was the Mohammedans; and in that very peninsula of Spain now spoken of, the Moslems had done the most indefensible deeds in the day of their domination. Thus, speaking of an: early Mohammedan victor in Spain, the celebrated Muza, a historian says: "The horrors which he perpetrated in his ca-reer of conquest, or rather of extermina-tion, have been compared to those of Troy and Jerusalem, and to the worst atrocities of the persecuting heathen emperors. There may be exaggeration in the declamatory statements of those historians (i. e., the old Spanish), but the very exaggeration must be admitted to prove the melancholy fact." Speaking of a later period, a Spanish Archbishop says: "Children are dashed on the ground; young men beheaded; their fathers fall in battle; the old men massacred, the women reserved for greater misfortune." It is evident that the controversy between Christians and Mohammedans can scarcely be viewed in the abstract, or decided simply on the merits of the case. The feud of many long centuries cannot be forgotten, but will affect the reasoning, do one what he may to avoid it. A case closely connected with ourselves claims special consideration, the relations between ourselves and the Mohammedans of India. India contains a greater number of Mohammedans than Turkey itself; and when, some years ago, the Times newspaper, wishing to say something startling, came forth one morning with the statement that Britain was the first Mohammedan power in the world, it in a certain sense spoke the truth. There are more Mohammedans under the British sceptre than under that of any other sovereignty in the world. But, unhappily for our endeavors for their conversion, they have a certain political feud against us in India, which makes them listen to our admonitions blood will be shed. Meanwhile, it is with less candor than might otherwise consoling to think that He who presides be the case. When we first made our en- over this world and the universe at trance into the East as a political power, large habitually makes the wrath of man most of India was in Mohammedan to praise Him, at the same time keeping hands, the empire of the Great Mogul, the remainder of that wrath under rethough really at the time rotten to the straint. We wait, with perfect faith in core, figuring largely in the imagination his providence, to see events gradually of Europeans and Asiatics as the very evolve themselves in Eastern Europe, astype of strength and of splendor. That sured that He will direct them, and will, Empire we took the leading part in over- though possibly in a strange, mysterious throwing, and the fragmentary provinces way, compel them to execute his will and or kingdoms into which it was at last beneficent designs, and be helpful instead broken, we partially or entirely con- of injurious to the best interests of man. quered, and to this day hold in thrall. Christian Work. Yet more unhappily for the relations be tween them and us, the situations offered under our rule are not those for which the Mohammedans are specially qualified. The civil offices demand, in those who would properly fill them, some acquaint ance with the ideas, and, if possible, even with the language, of the conquerors; and to acquire these implies such a freedom from bigotry as is not common among Mussulmans in any country. Most of them have tendencies towards the army, and when all who are required for the department of the public service have been obtained, there still remain multitudes of respectable descent for whom no career is open, unless they first obtain certain kinds of knowledge to which they are now averse; while it remained true, as at present, that mission, and even government, schools in India are very partially attended by Mussulman children, while thronged with Hindoo boys. Mohammedans will suffer severely from the existing system of government, and will tend to sink in society, till, from being the Indian aristocracy, they become the lapsed masses of the land. We fear that the day is yet distant when Mohammedans in numbers will consent to enter the Christian Church. In Turkey, consequently, and in other lands similarly situated, irreconcilable religious strife will continue to prevail, and at intervals there will be appeals to arms, and Christian or Mohammedan The New Zealand Mission. THE kingdom of God progresses amidst difficulties. With these it has to contend. In doing so, there are times and seasons when the resistance it meets with is so violent that it retrocedes; but only for a brief period, until it gathers strength for a new effort, not only recovering the ground which had been lost, but winning new attainments. It is as the influx of the tide. There is advance and retreat; but each receding wave is met by a new force, and, rallying from its apparent discomfiture, is borne onward to new victories. It is not as though the Gospel of Christ was advancing to take possession of unoccupied territory; it is one preoccupied throughout its whole extent by the kingdom of darkness, and with this it has to wrestle. The final issue is no uncertainty. When the seventh angel sounds, great voices shall be heard in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." Until that moment of triumph come, we must be prepared to endure hardness, and, by an unconquerable persistence, to prevail. He who yields to discouragement foregoes the crown. Whether it be in the conflict of individual Christian life, or in the prosecution of some good work, which has for its object the spread of true religion amongst men, we must expect dif ficulties. When they arise, we must grapple with them; and, as we do so, each reverse that we meet with must arouse us to new energy, and make us the more resolved, by God's help, to conquer. That Our Missionary work in New Zealand has met with a great reverse. It seemed a goodly structure; and if men doubted as to the power of Christianity, in these latter days, to ameliorate the condition of savage tribes, New Zealand afforded a prompt and convincing reference. The storm came; it was one of no ordinary violence, and the structure fell. Our fair Mission lies prostrate in the dust. which had served so long as a powerful argument in favor of missionary work is now used as an argument against us, and men point to the wreck, and exclaimBehold the failure! But this judgment is premature. Is the work so utterly ruined that it cannot be revived? The fair structure, which reared itself on high above the waves, has disappeared; but have the foundations been uprooted? We are persuaded that they remain uninjured, and await us, if, with a courage which only deserves to be regarded as Christian, because it never despairs, we address ourselves to a renewal of the enterprise. There is no use now in falling back on old complications-on questions of land, of what measures were reprehensible, and what administration was to be blamed. There has been war between the races, native and colonial, and that war has yielded its issues. No argument as to the past can change these issues. They are stern facts; and in the presence of these we find ourselves. What is to be done? We must go to work promptly and energetically. The sheep have wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; yea, the Lord's flock has been scattered upon all the face of the earth; but let it not be said that "none did search or seek after them." All our Missionaries agree in this, that the fire is not extinguished; that in the embers there is life; and that the work, with God's blessing, may be revived. This is the answer given by the Rev. C. Baker, an aged Missionary of forty years' standing-"I certainly think that we should not relax in our efforts in gathering in the scattered portion of our native.church as opportunity offers, but, on the contrary, put forth all our energies to repair damages." See how busy the crew of that large Indiaman appears to be. She has been in a cyclone off the Mauritius. Her masts went overboard, and, thrown on her beam-ends, she threatened to founder. The broken masts, hanging by chains, driving to and fro, crushed the boats to pieces. At this crisis some dauntless men imperilled their lives, if so be they might save the lives of all. The fastenings were severed. As the cumbersome top-gear fell away, the vessel righted. And now the hurricane has passed, and the men, full of hope, are repairing damages. Let it be so with us in this the dismasted state of our New Zealand Mission. Such, we thank God, is the determination of our Missionaries. The Bishop of Waiapu observes "You may have noticed a letter in the Record,' written in consequence of an article in Good Words.' It is, 'Two years' experience of the Maoris, by an Army Chaplain.' It says 'Some of the best men (Missionaries) have given up the struggle in despair, and have left the colony in search of more promising fields of labor. It is only recently that one of these men, in preaching his farewell sermon, declared, with manly candor and singular honesty, that the bitterest reflection on his mind was the knowledge that, after laboring twenty-five years in New Zealand, he left it with the Maori no more Christianized than he was when he first landed. I pity the poor man who could be the author of this. I should fear that he was very deficient in a knowledge of what Christianity is. Your old Missionaries have none of them given up the struggle in despair. Some it has pleased God to take to Himself, as King, Davis, Hamlin, Morgan, and Volkner. Others are infirm in health, as my brother and Baker. The rest you will find at their posts, not giving up in despair, but fighting on, sword in hand, and confident of victory. We are preparing for renewed operations at Te Aute. We do not see cause to abandon even this part of our work. If one expedient fail we try another. If our houses are burnt we build again. If we do not obtain our money from the Government, we will build without. When we were consult ing the other day at Te Aute, the Bishop of Wellington said to Mr. Williams-What do you propose to do if your father does not get any money from the Government?' The answer was, Still put up the buildings.' So, too, in regard to our working staff-if one man fail we look for another. God will not allow the work to stand. It is true there has been a great falling away among our professed Christians, and it is equally true that most astonishing events are taking place in our church at home." 6 So speaks a good soldier of Jesus Christ. At home, as the Bishop justly observes, we have our difficulties. But they who know and love the truth do not mean to surrender the Protestantism of the Church of England. At the cost of life itself, they are resolved to defend it. The cry throughout the country, and that increasingly, is, "No surrender." In the difficulties which they have to meet, we rejoice to find that our brethren in New Zealand are of the same mind; and for our own and their encouragement we would remember the promise-" When the enemy cometh in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Our Missionaries are the more resolved because they are persuaded that, amidst wide-spread declension, "there are many who hold fast to the truth."-Church Missionary Intelligencer. Ordination of Mr. Baba Padmanji. THE Free Church Presbytery of Bombay met at Puna, on the 7th of August, for the ordination to the pastorate of the native congregation there of Mr. Baba Padmanji, so well known as a Christian convert and vernacular author in the west of India. The Rev. Dr. Wilson, who presided on the occasion, preached in English, and conducted the ordination services in Marathi; and the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri delivered an address to the congregation in Marathi. With the members of the Presbytery present— in addition to the two now mentioned, the Rev. Messrs. Stothert and Angus, and Mr. John Small, elder-the Rev. Messrs. Ross and Macpherson, chaplains of the Established Church of Scotland, united in giving the right hand of fellowship to Mr. Padmanji. The attendance both of natives and Europeans was large; and the services, which extended to two hours, were felt to be of a very solemn and impressive character. Many prayers will, doubtless, continue to be offered up for the newly-ordained pastor. -Bombay Guardian. Decline of Juggernath. SECOND in sanctity and popularity only to the Juggernath festival at Pooree, in Orissa, is the same idol's worship at Serampore. The Poojah was likely to close last Thursday without the moving of one of the two great cars-an omen of evil import in the eyes of the people, and still more to the pockets of the priests. It was pitiable, and sometimes ludicrous, to see the vain attempts of the latter to incite the crowds to drag the ponderous erection. At last, desperate, the chief priest addressed this petition to the magistrate: "On account of the heavy rain and the small gathering of the people on the first day of the Ruth Festival, the car could not be moved. To-morrow will be Sunday, and there will be a large concourse of people. Unless your honor looks with favor it will be difficult to move the car. So I pray that the cost may be received from me, and that orders may be given by beat of drum, and the police may be deputed to the spot to have the car moved." This is a striking illustration of the extent to which the popular superstitions are losing their hold on the people. The crowds at the festival, often rendering some two miles of the broad trunk road impassable, are much less than they used to be. The number of men is especially small. The idol competes with the booths, merry-go-rounds, and peepshows which give the fair an almost English aspect.-Friend of India. MISSION HOUSE, NEW YORK: DECEMBER 20, 1867. LATEST NEWS FROM THE MISSIONS. SOUTH AMERICA.-Bogota. We trust our readers will note the appeal on page 185, for a chapel in this city. For years has come the cry, "When can you aid us to purchase a building where we can meet the people, and preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ?" Mr. Wallace, says in a recent letter: "One of the young native converts, whose father is an artisan, and who only within the last year or two has been able to make a livelihood without assistance from his father, offers to give $50 toward our church. If Christians at home would come up to this rule of giving, we should not have to wait long for a church." In Brazil, the brethren continue to write encouragingly of their work, and of the smiles of Providence upon it. INDIA.-Rev. A. Henry, writes Oct. 22, of the educational institutions at Lahor: "You are aware that these have been growing up here little by little, until now; to keep the work going with any sort of satisfaction, requires a strong force, combining experience and energy. Our schools and college call for a good deal of time and attention; especially the latter, as the school needs only our superintendence, whereas, the college needs our teaching as well." In these are gathered about 1,400 youth, who are brought more or less daily under Christian influences and instruction. In the college, the two best scholars are Christians. Rev. S. H. Kellogg alludes in his letter of Oct. 6, to some instances of disorderly walk among some of the native Christians. SIAM.--Rev. N. A. McDonald says, under date of September 30: "We have still some interesting inquirers at Bangkok, and expect to have the privilege of admitting a few more at our next quarterly communion." CHINA.—Rev. J. M. A. Farnham speaks in his letter of September 20, of the baptism of three of the pupils in the boys' school, at Shanghai: "Others from both schools were applicants." Mr. Gamble, in his excellent report of the press at Shanghai, says, that "there are forty-five persons employed in the establishment. The workmen are a very intelligent and industrious class of men; none of them, however, profess Christianity, except Mr. Tsiang, the foreman, a very worthy man, who has been over twenty years in the press. He conducts prayers every evening with the men. There is also a service conducted by the native catechist every Sabbath morning." JAPAN.-Dr. Hepburn, in referring to changes going on in this country, says that the Imperial edict against Christianity is a dead letter. The government have failed to enforce it against the persons arrested at Nagasaki. Foreigners have secured a firm position in the country, and are feared. |