estimate, that more money is expended for ardent spirits, unnecessarily and even injuriously consumed, than is expended for the support both of the ministry and of the schools. By this lamentable excess, many individuals are ruined, many families are made wretched, the public morals are corrupted, and society deeply injured. An evil so extensively destructive calls loudly for a remedy. It is well known, indeed, that vices, when prevalent and inveterate, are not easily suppressed; yet experience testifies that by suitable endeavors, they may be counteracted and checked. Particularly it has been proved by successful experiment, that, with the blessing of God, much to this effect may be done, by associations formed for this benev olent and important purpose. From such an association in this Commonwealth, calculated to act upon an extensive scale, great and lasting utility may reasonably be expected. Under these impressions, therefore, and for such an association, the following Constitution has been framed. ART. I. The name of this association shall be THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF IN TEMPERANCE. ART. II. The object of the Society shall be to discountenance and suppress the two free use of ardent spirits, and its kindred vices, profaneness and gaming, and to encourage and promote temperance and general morality. With a view to this object, the Society will recommend the institution of auxiliary societies in the different parts of the Commonwealth, upon such a plan as shall be deemed the best adapted to give system and efficiency to the whole. It will also hold correspondence, as occasion may offer, with other Societies, which may be instituted for the same general object. ART. III. No person shall be eligible as a member, who is not of a fair moral reputation; nor shall any one be admitted as a member, unless nominated in open mecting, and approved by the votes of two thirds of the members present at the time. Any person, thus nominated and approved, may become a member by subscribing this constitution, or announcing his acceptance of his election, and paying two dollars for the use of the Society, as in the case of original members. ART. IV. The Society shall meet annually at Boston, on Fri day next after the General Elec. tion, at 9 o'clock, A. M. and at other times as duly notified. The meetings of the Society, annual and special, shall be pub. licly notified in two at least of the Boston newspapers, during two weeks immediately preceding the days on which they are to be held. At each annual meeting a Sermon or Address shall be delivered before the Society, by some person elected for the purpose. The number of members shall not be less than thirty to constitute a quorum for the election of officers and members; and not less than twenty-one for other business. ART. V. The officers of the Society shall be a President, three Vice-Presidents, a Corres ponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and eight Counsellors, to be chos. en at each annual meeting, and to continue in office until others are elected. These officers shall constitute a Board of Counsel. ART. VI. It shall be the duty of the President to appoint the place of holding the annual meeting of the Society, and also to call special meetings on the request of a majority of the officers of the Society or any ten members thereof; and if the President be absent from Boston, any one of the Vice-Presidents shall have authority to appoint any meeting as aforesaid, and to direct the Secretary to notify the same. The Corresponding Secretary shall hold such correspondencies as the purposes of the Society may require, subject to the direction of the Board of Counsel. The Recording Secretary shall duly notify all the meetings, and keep a fair record of the doings of the Socie y, and of the Board of Counsel. The Treasurer shall keep the monies and the accounts of the Society, subject to the direction and superintendance of the Board of Counsel. ART. VII. It shall be the duty of the Board of Counsel to act as the Executive of the Society, to make communications to the auxiliary societies, and to receive communications from them; to collect, combine, and digest facts, and general information relating to the purposes of the Society; to devise ways and means for the furtherance of these purposes; to apply the funds agreeably to the Society's directions; and at each annual meeting to report to the Society their doings, a digest of the facts and general information which they may have collected, and such measures as they may judge suitable for the Society to adopt and pursue. They shall hold stated quarterly meetings. ART. VIII. Each member of this Society shall make it an ob ject to discountenance and prevent, as far as may be, by his own example and influence, every kind of vice and immorality. ART. IX. All Clergymen in this Commonwealth are consid. ered as members on their giv ing notice of their desire of becoming such, or subscribing the constitution, and they are exempted from the payment of two dollars as above provided respecting other members. ART. X. The constitution shall not be altered except at an annual mecting, and by two thirds of the members present. After the Constitution had been formed, a committee was appointed to wait on his Excellency the Gov. ernor, and request him to accept the office of President of the Society. This request was declined by his Exceliency, on account of the duties of his station, though he expressed to the committee his approbation of the design, and his wish to become a member. After bearing the report of this committee, the Society proceeded in the election of officers, when the ful lowing gentlemen were chosen, viz. Hon. SAMUEL DEXTER, Esq. of Boston, President. Dr. JOHN WARREN, of Boston, and Ir. Presidents. Rev. ABIEL ABBOт, of Beverly, Cor. Secretary. Rev. JOHN LATHROP, D. D. of Boston, Rev. JOHN T. KIRKLAND, D. D. LL. D. of Cambridge, Rev. JOHN PIERCE, of Brookline, Hon. NATHAN DANE, Esq. of Beverly, The Society passed a vote, directing public notice to be given, that all persons who wish to join this Society are requested to leave their names with either of the Secretaries; and such persons will be considered as Charlestown, Counsellors. original members, when admitted at the next annual meeting, which will be held on the Friday after the general election. Clergymen can at any time subscribe the Constitution by calling on the Recording Secretary. RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. BURNING OF THE BAPTIST MIS in a putrid sore throat. While reSION PRINTING OFFICE, IN IN. flecting on these providences, some DIA. THE Christian public in this country have felt a great anxiety to hear the particulars of the afflictive event, which took place in the conflagration of the Baptist Mission Printing Of fice at Serampore, on the 11th of March last. The following is a let. ter from the Rev. Dr. Marshman to the Rev. Dr. Ryland of Bristol, dated March 12, and received Sept. 9, 1812. "I closed a letter to you on the 10th, and now write anew. Another leaf of the ways of Providence has been since unfolded, which will fill you both with sorrow and gratitude, and call for the exercise of faith in Him whose word, firm as the pillars of heaven, has declared, ‘All things shall work together for the good of them that love God." Last night, about six, I was sit ting in my study musing over the dealings of God, who had that day week taken my infant son; and, (what afflicted me far more,) three weeks before, dear brother Ward's second daughter, about six years old, one exclaimed, "The printing.office is on fire!' I ran instantly thither, and beheld, at the lower end of the office, which is a room 200 feet long, a stage containing 700 reams of English paper, sent out to print the Tamul and Cingalese New Testament, enveloped in flames. Every door and window but one was fastened by a large flat bar of iron which went across it, and was secu red by a bolt on the inside. In five minutes, the room was so filled with smoke that a candle would not live. Finding it impossible to open the windows, or for any one to go in without danger of instant death, we fastened that door again, in the hope of smothering the flame, and, as cending the roof, pierced it over the fire; and by incessantly pouring down water, so kept it under for three hours, that nothing but that paper appeared to have kindled, and there the flame was greatly abated. The alarm which we gave brought all the Europeans around us to our assist. ance, besides our native servants, so that we had all the assistance we could desire. While, however, the flames were got under there, I look ed in, and suddenly saw a flame spread about twenty feet higher up. The smoke and steam increased so as to render it death to get three feet within the wall. In a few m.nutes the flames spread in every direction, and took away all hope of saving any thing from thence, and filled us with terror for Mrs. Marshman's school, about 30 feet to the north west; a bed-room for the boys, about 16 feet full north, which com. municated with brother Carey's, and the hall, library, and museum with in 12 feet of it to the north-east. The wind, however, fell, and it burn. ed as straight upward as a fire in a hearth, and communicated to nothing beside. It remained burning for six hours, and consumed the beams, five feet in circumference, the roof, the windows, and every thing but the walls. Happily no lives were lost, nor a bone broken. The loss we can. not at present estimate. It has consumed all but the 6 presses, which we rejoiced were saved being in a side room. Two thousand reams of English paper are consumed, worth at least £5000. Founts of types in 14 languages besides English; name. ly, Nagree (two founts, large and small) Bengalee, (two founts) Orissa, Mahratta, Seek, Burman, Telinga, Tamul, Cingalese, Chinese, Per. sian, Arabic, Hebrew and Greek, were burnt; besides founts of English for carrying on ten works, which we have now in the press; and the cases, stones, brass-rules, iron. chases, correspondent with all these. We have not types left for the circular letter, nor even to print a statement of the loss. The editions of the New Testament which are stopped, are nine; viz. the Hindostance, Persian, and Tamul, printing under the patronage of the Auxiliary Bibie Society, and the Hindee (second edi. tion,) Telinga, Seek, Burman, Sung skrit (second edition,) and Chinese. The editions of the Old Testament are five; the Sungskrit, Bengalee, • We should suppose the iron chases would not be materially injured; they are the iron frames, in which the types are held fast during the operation of printing. Ed. Pan (second edition) Orissa, Mahratta, and Hindee. Among the English works suspended till we get types from you, are the Sungskrit gram. mar,(second edition,) brother Ward's work on the Manners of the Hindoos, (second edition,) Confucius, (second edition,) the Dissertation on the Chinese,t (second edition,) enlarged to more than 200 pages, à Bengalee dictionary, and a Telinga grammar, both by brother. Carey. The loss cannot be less than £12,000 sterling, and all our labors are at once stopped. "Yet, amidst all, mercy evidently shines. I trembled for dear brother Ward, (as our sisters did for us both,) lest the roof should have fallen in with him, or lest he should have entered too far, and at once extinguish the spark of life. But we were all preserved, blessed be God. The flames touched nothing besides; they might have consumed every thing. The presses are preserved, and happily the matrices of all the founts of types were deposited in another place; had they been burnt it would have been years before they could have been replaced. We can now, however, begin casting types to-mor row, if we can find money; country paper can be substituted for English; and thus two or three months will put the versions of the Scriptures in motion again. But for English [types] we shall be distressed till you send us a supply; we know not even how to send you a circular let. ter. I am writing this at Calcutta, to go by the packet this evening, whither I am come to inform brother Carey, and therefore cannot tell you what types, nor how many. They must, however, be of all the sizes from the text of Confucius to the minions in the circular letter; also It dic, and every printing utensil accompanying. Perhaps some friend †This work is by Dr. Marshmas himself. Ed. Pan. The matrices are the moulds in which types are cast, and are of incom parably more importance than the founts of types themselves. § A small type. Ed. Pan. in London, in the printing line, can tell what goes to complete a printing office with English types. You must also send a fount of Greek and He. brew. I am distressed to think where you will find money; but send, if you incur a debt; the silver and the gold are the Lord's. The Christian sympathy of our friends almost overwhelms me. Mr. Brown was confined by illness; but Mr. Bird, his son-inlaw, exerted himself for us in the most strenuous manner. I fear it affects Mr. Brown's mind even more than myown; he sent off an express at midnight to acquaint Mr. Harrington, who is deeply affected. Poor Mr. Thomason wept like a child to-day on hearing of it. He begs us to make out a mi. nute statement of our loss, and he says he will use all his interest on our behalf. We shall write again tomorrow. How it arose we know not. Brother Ward and others think it must have been done by design; and that some idolater among our ser vants, turning pale with envy at the sight of the Bible printing in so ma ny languages, contrived this mode of stopping the work. This, however, is mere conjecture. Be strong in the Lord, my dear brother: He will nev er forsake the work of his own hands. "P. S. One thing will enable us to go to work the sooner; the keys of a building larger than the printing. office, which we had let for years as a warehouse, were given up to us on Saturday last. Thus we have a place to resume our labors the moment types are cast." MERRIMAC BIBLE SOCIETY. The Managers of this Society have made a report for the year 1812, by which it appears, that there was received during the year, in collections, the sum of $219,65 Interest of permanent fund 52,50 272,15 The Committee have purchased 200 Bibles and 70 Testaments during the year. There has lately been a great increase of applications to the Society for the word of life, upwards of one hundred persons in Newburyport and the vicinity having applied in the course of a few days. The report is closed by a very suitable address, which we should be glad to copy into our pages would our limits permit. ORDINATIONS AND INSTALLA TIONS. ORDAINED, at Bath, (Maine,) ori the 4th of Nov. last, the Rev. JOHN W. ELLINGWOOD, pastor of the North Church and Society in that town. Sermon by the Rev. Profes sor Woods. At Killingly, (Con.) the Rev. RosWELL WHITCOMB,Over the first Con. gregational society in that town. At Tolland (Con.) the Rev. ANSEL NASH, colleague pastor with the Rev. Dr. Williams. Sermon by the Rev. Mr. Lord of Williamsburg, (Mass) from Gal. ii, 9. At Chatham, (Con.) the Rev. EBER L. CLARK, pastor of the first church and society in that town. Sermon by the Rev. Ebenezer Jennings of Dalton. (Mass.) from Acts x, 26. At Marlborough, (Mass.) the Rev. WILLIAM T. TORREY, over the con. gregation and church at Canandaigua, (N. Y.) Sermon by the Rev. Professor Ware. At Ellsworth, (Maine,) the Rev. PETER NURSE. At Utica, (N. Y.) on the 4th inst. the Rev. HENRY DWIGHT. Installed, at Amenia, (N. Y.) the Rev. ELI HYDE. Sermon by the Rev. D. L. Perry of Sharon, (Con.) from Ezek. iii, 17. At Sandwich, (Mass.) on the 17th inst. the Rev. JONATHAN BURR, pastor of the First Congregational church of Christ in that place, over the Calvinistic Congregational Society lately formed and associated with that church. |