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mit this great sin. Many ages since, a nation which knew not the true God, but which worshipped evil spirits, was guilty of this cruel practice on which account, God sent heavy judgments on that nation, till they were entirely destroy. ed. The other great evil is the murder of men for sacrifice. This also is an exceeding great sin, and is peculiarly offensive to God, who is a being full of mercy, pity, and goodness to man; and this evil is also done from the impulse of that wicked spirit before mentioned, who is full of rage and cruelty, and who is the object of worship and of fear among the Heathen nations: -but he ought not to be feared, for he can do no harm to those who worship the true God, and who are delivered from his power.

As you are the Chief of Otaheite, it is in your power to put an end to these practices, which, if continued in, will very fast unpeople your island. You wish yours to be a strong nation, able to defend itself against foreign invaders; but if you permit the sacrifice of your men, and the killing of your children, you will become a very weak nation, and not able to defend your island against foreign enemies. There have been many nations on the earth, where great ignorance and wickedness prevailed, because they were not acquainted with the true God; to these, good men have been sent to instruct them. In some of them, the chief men were prudent, and took the Missionaries to be their counsellors and instructors; and, by these means, the nation was well governed; the people were contented; became acquainted with many useful arts; and, in time, were wealthy and prosperous; and this was owing to the Chief of the nation having wise and good meu about him, and attending to their advice and instruction.

Otoo, we again speak as your friends; if you abolish the practice of human sacrifices and the murder of infants; and if you promote the improvement of your countrymen, by attending on the instructions of our Missionaries, then you will live to a very useful purpose; and,

for many generations after your death, you will be spoken of as the friend of your country, and the author of its prosperity and hap piness.

We now give you our advice on two other points, which will do you good, and your people also: ·

Spend an hour or two, as often as you can make convenient, in con. versing with our brethren on the great subjects contained in the word of God; attend every seventh day, which Christians call the Lord's Day, on their preaching; and encourage the natives to attend also: they will speak in your own lan. guage; and let good order be kept during this service.

Recommend to the natives to send their children to the school of the Missionaries, who will teach them the great truths of God, and instruct them also in reading and writing, which will lead to their improvement in many other things; and, when they become men and women, they will be much wiser and happier than those who lived before them. We will now give you information about our own island, which is surrounded by the sea, like yours; but is much larger:

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A long time ago, our forefathers; who dwelt in England, were in the state in which you are now: they were ignorant of the true God; and paid their worship to evil spirits, whom they improperly con sidered to be God: they were un able to read in a book, or to write: they had no schools for their children, who grew up, therefore, in ignorance, idleness, and wickedness, like their fathers. Their manner of living was poor and wretched; they had no clothes but the skins of beasts; they had no houses, but slept in miserable huts. good and wise men, who lived at a great distance, heard of the ignorance and misery of our fathers; and were so kind as to leave their fathers, mothers, and country, and to come over and teach them out of the Book of God. The Chiefs of our islands, who were not so stupid and brutish as some of the people, but were prudent men, and

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wished to improve their countrymen, gladly received these Missionaries, and kindly entertained them, and would not suffer them to be hurt; they learnt from them the true religion, and promoted the knowledge of it among their Countrymen; they sent their own children to the schools of the Missionaries, and encouraged the people to do the same: so that in a few years the nation began to improve in useful knowledge; they soon learnt to cultivate the land, to produce corn for their food, and to raise cattle; so that they were no longer exposed to famine : – . instead of going almost naked, they

learned to make themselves warm and comfortable clothing: instead of dwelling in miserable huts, they built for themselves commodious houses. All this was owing to their attending at first to the instructions of the Missionaries, and sending their children to schools; and now this island is chief among the nations; excelling in all the useful arts, great in power, and extensive in dominion.

Otoo, if you follow the example of the Chiefs of our forefathers, the same advantages will attend it: Otaheite will become the greatest, most improved, and most powerful of all the islands; and posterity will bless your remembrance. Divine Providence has sent into your country faithful men, bringing the word of God. You are the first of the numerous islands in the South Seas to whom this great privilege is sent: if you are wise, you will thankfully receive it, and promote, with all your influence, the views of our Missionaries in the instruction of your countrymen. They have lived with you several years; you know them to be your friends, who have no motive for living with you but to do you good. If you neglect them, if your countrymen neglect them, their hearts will be grieved; they will mourn over you; they will, perhaps, leave you; and return home, cr visit some other place, very distant from yours, which may be better disposed to re

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P. S. Our brethren and goed friends the Missionaries will present to you a picture, containing the likeness of the King of England and two of his sons: they will also give you some smaller ones, which will convey to you some information

of the great improvements which have been made in this country; and if the young people, of both sexes, in your island, were properly educated and trained up in habits of decency and industry, and instructed in the worship of the true God, you would find, in the course of ten years, a very great altera tion for the better, in the island of which you are Chief.

A Letter from the Missionaries, who accompany Mr. Kicherer to Africa, written to the Directors of the Netherland Society, immedi ately before their departure.

Texel Road, Oct. 6, 1804. Most worthy and heartily beloved Brethren,

WE should have written to you before, but that we were occupied for some days in bringing our af fairs in order; and therefore could not do it. We trust, that the worthy brother Hoek, will have related to you, verbally, that we came safe on board. The Lord is very good, that he has ordered every thing thus. We cannot sufficiently thank you, that you have so ordered it, that brother Hoek accompanied us till we got on board. He was exactly fitted for it; for if he had not been with us, we should not have continued our journey so happily. The Lord be praised for all

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that this worthy brother has done for us on our journey; and though we must lie here some days longer than we expected, we are glad that we have been able, in the meantime, to get our things and beds in proper order; so that we are today somewhat more comfortable. The Lord has so ordered it, that our esteemed brother Kicherer procured the room of the mate; for which he must pay something extra: by thus doing, it is good for us all, as the place was far too small. My brother Syden Faden, and I, were obliged to lie in the hold of the ship, where some sailors have their hammocks; but now we lie in bedsteads; and we have managed every thing so, that each of us can read and write without being disturbed. The captain says, that he will do every thing in his power, to render us as comfortable as possible. We were all, through. out our journey, under the merciful direction of our beloved Saviour; and each of us must stand ashamed, when we consider God's providence. I, miserable man, must confess, that I am not worthy of that which the Lord Jesus has done for me to this present time. He has likewise, dear brethren, employed you as the means of shewing usmuch kindness for more than two years past, while we have been with you at Rotterdam. — Never shall I forget you, my dearly beloved brethren; and I am con. vinced, that the brethren with me, will as little forget you as myself: we shall esteem you from the bottom of our hearts; and shall be thankful to you, for all that we have received from your hands. We all wish from our hearts, that we may be able, with the blessing of the Lord, to satisfy, in some measure, your desires. Our hearts are warmed with the idea of bringing the ignorant Heathen to the knowledge of the truth. To effect this purpose, you have done every thing in your power; and as we told you, when we took leave of you, we say again, Look not upon our abilities: should you trust to them, you would hardly have ventured to employ us in such an im

portant undertaking.' Worthy brethren, you have been willing to make trial, and see what our dear Lord will effect by us poor men; and although we see that we are sinful and wretched, and in learn. ing and sciences far inferior to many other Missionaries, we, nevertheless, undertake this voyage cheerfully; and resign ourselves to the hands of our Lord and Master, who hath called us to this important work. He is faithful, and will not forsake nor fail us: he has promised us this; and we can rely, with confidence, on his promises, for he is faithful; and what he promises, that he gives.

We have for more than two years since left our country, our fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, and have found in you, worthy Brethren, and other Members of the Missionary Society, our fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, who not only received us for the Lord's sake, but have done us much good, whether we were sick or well; and if it is so, that the deceased in the Lord witness in Heaven what we do to each other, then has our deceased brother, Mathews, already been a witness. Should it not be so, yet we know to a certainty, that the Lord will one time say to you, "Ye have done that to me."

The worthy brother Hoek will have informed you, that our jour. ney was prosperous; and we can truly say, 'Yes, brethren, every thing went well.' On the road from Rotterdam to the Hague, we enjoyed, with the worthy brothers and directors, Hoek and Vanden bosch, much pleasant conversa. tion respecting the practice of a hearty belief in God, and the administration of his angels: so doing, the departure from our friends at Rotterdam became much easier; and we arrived at the Hague sooner than we expected: and although brother Kicherer and his friends at parting shed abundance of tears, we did not however wait long for him, as the dear brother Heck insisted upon it that we should hasten our departure; and so we went as men somewhat sad: but keeping in view the important end of our

journey, we travelled 'cheerfully; and, on the way, sung Psalms and Hymns.

The 29th, in the evening, com ing to the inn, we were rejoiced at God's goodness and mercy, which he had shewn to us that day; for which likewise the worthy brother Kicherer thanked God with us.

The 30th, in the morning, we proceeded again on our way, rejoicing in the Lord, that he had made our way so prosperous. On leaving the place where we had rested over night, we sung the "Morning Hymn," &c. During the singing, we felt God's goodness so in our hearts, that we had not words sufficient to make known to each other the love of the Lord. Then we sung again the following High German verse, being much affected and satisfied with the ways of the Lord : —

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He has been travelling through the back parts of Pensylvania. His tour has been extensive. He has fixed on the spot, and purchased lands for a settlement; and, in this view, he looks on the prospect as encouraging in a high degree.

On Mr. Hey's arrival at Philadelphia, he was honoured by the calls of judges, general officers, physicians, ministers, and a multitude of respectable gentlemen, to congratulate and welcome him to America. At this time, the Assembly of the Presbyterians was held; and Mr. Hey had an opportunity of hearing some of their mi-. nisters; and, being strongly importuned, he preached before the whole Assembly of their divines. Mr. Hey was much solicited to phia. take up his residence in PhiladelAt length a deputation. waited on him, to beg his taking the pastoral care of a church of the Independent description, into which they designed to form themselves; and he has partially consented, and is to preach to them during the winter season. In the summer, he designs being in the interior. They have begun to build a place of worship for him, about twice as large as our Bristol Tabernacle. Mr. Hey is highly pleased with America; and says his prospects of useready hopes he has his spiritual fulness are large. He, indeed, al

children in America. He wants an assistant; and says a hundred ministers might be very usefully employed in Pensylvania. He has preached to remarkably crowded auditories. He blesses God for having conducted him to America. You will, perhaps, be surprized at it; but there is not a single Independent church in Philadelphia; nor in all Pensylvania. - Oh, may he be made an extensive blessing where he now is!

Yours, &c.

The Military Grants, so called, included in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, are a tract of country about seventy miles in length and fifty in breadth; and contain about 30,000 inhabitants, who have set

tled there during the last twelve years. This solitary wilderness has become a fruitful field, in which the yell of beasts and savage men is succeeded by the praises of God and the Lamb! Three Presbyterian and fourteen congregational churches are already formed in this tract. To view societies established, ministers settled, and all conducted with religious order, peace, and love, must present an animating and grateful object to the distant spectator. "It certainly warms the hearts of those of us," says the American writer," who have been eye witnesses of these things. "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad †."

By a Letter from Philadelphia we learn, with pleasure, that the new edition of Mr. Scott's Bible, with his latest improvements, is now printing in that city, with great encouragement; and is likely to obtain a very extensive circula

tion in the United States.

An American Correspondent requests us to mention that, on April 28th, Mr B. M. Palmer was or dained Minister of the congregational church at Beaufort, by the Association of South Carolina. The ministers chiefly engaged were Dr. Keith, Mr. Floyd, and Dr. Hollingshead.

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Price of Murder in the
West Indies.

In a letter from Lord Seaforth, Governor of Barbadoes, to Lord Hobart, dated March 18, 1802, his lordship says, "You will observe in the last day's proceedings of the Assembly, that the majority of the house had taken considerable of fence at a message of mine, recommending an act to be passed to make the murder of a slave felony. At present, the fine for the crime is only 151. *”

A Committee of the whole house was hereupon appointed to prepare an answer to the Governor's message, which should be "moderate and respectful, but calculated to repel insult, evince that the house understands its interests, and asserts its rights."

"Whoso that sheddeth man's

blood, by man shall his blood be shed," saith the law of God, in Gen. ix. 6.-'Whoso sheddeth the blood of a negro,' saith the law of Barbadoes, shall pay 151.' — and the humane legislators resent the proposal of rendering murder felony they understand their interest and their rights too well to conform to the law of God!!!

+ Extracted from a Letter written by the Rev. D. Higgins, at Aurelius, State of New York; and sent, by order of the Ecclesiastical Council at Homer, Feb, 2, 1803, to the Editor of the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine.

*This was among the Papers laid before the House of Commons last sessions, when the abolition of the slave trade was proposed.

HOME INTELLIGENCE.

On Monday, Nov. 19, the Directors of the Missionary Society met. to take leave of Messrs. Taylor, M'Donald, and Loveless, Missionaries intended for Surat; when the Rev. Mr. Waugh gave a valedictory address, in a very affectionate manner. The Rev. Mess. Hill and Wilks engaged in prayer. The ship (the Alleghany) is exd to sail Nov. 24.

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Extract of a Letter from a Minister in Yorkshire, to his Friend in London.

"Notwithstanding all this (referring to some pleasing appearance of success) the morals of the inhabit ants of this town, through the number of the military quartered among us, are awfully degenerated. Most of the officers are depraved to an

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