Him!

continues to express his most sanguine May this poor man be brought nigh to wish for becoming united with me. He has renewed his efforts to obtain the establishment of his office. I felt, more and more, that his anxiety for obtaining an office which rests on idolatry, and must cease when idolatry ceases, cannot be reconciled with his profession of adhering to the Gospel; and I accordingly expressed these sentiments still more strongly to him.

When speaking of the Saviour, he said, "I seek his grace-daily think on him-and pray to him."

Feb. 24, 1817. I had to-day a conversation with a Native Christian, who frequently attends the Gooroo. He had no doubt, but that the intentions of the Gooroo are to become a Christian. Several years ago, he had already left off many of their foolish ceremonies; but, since his acquaintance with me, he has done this still more.

After he left me on the 18th, he went to some of his acquaintance, who immediately addressed him, "You have At the close of our conversation, been again with the Padre-a Priest, seeing the difficulties with which he has who blasphemes our Gods." The Gooroo to combat, I felt myself inclined to replied "What Gods?-Bramha!— pray with him. He had no objection. Vishnoo!--Siva!-these are no Gods. We then kneeled down, and I prayed They were Lords in the World.” the Lord Jesus for him in particular, you say so," they replied, "then our and for the whole body of the Heathen. Sect will be extinguished.'

"If

On the singular and affecting case detailed in the preceding extracts, a Member of the Corresponding Committee wrote, as follows, in September, 1816:"I cannot divest my mind of suspicions of the Gooroo's objects, and of his sincerity but if Mr. Rhenius should fail in his endeavours to make a proselyte of him, the Society at home, and all who read the Journal, will see that they have no mean difficulties to overcome; and that here Satan's kingdom is not only founded on ignorance, but upheld by dissimulation and cunning. It will equally manifest to those who argue on the prejudices of the Natives as insurmountable, that they can hear and talk on these things; and even put on the appearence of Christian Humility; and that now, as of old, it is the love of the world alone that blinds them to their spiritual interests. Those who talk of native prejudices, have themselves prejudged the question: they have neither tried to decrease them, nor have they enquired how they may be decreased. Should our suspicions of the Gooroo be confirined, this cannot injure the great cause in which we are engaged. That is in the hand of the Most High."

Another Member of the Committee wrote thus, on the same subject, in March, 1817:

"Of the Gooroo, I am sorry to say, our hopes are nearly all gone. The story which he tells, of his being the regular and lawful descendent of the late Chief of the Pandarams, may be very true; and it may be true also, that the person who seems now to bear the sway at Combaconum, which has been considered as a sort of Head Quarters of the Sect, is an Usurper: with this we have nothing to do. But, alas! there appears very great reason to fear, that his chief aim, in pretending to attach him himself to Mr. Rhenius, was only, through Mr. Rhenius's friends, to dispossess the Usurper, and to get the whole power into his own hands. He seems to have been acting a deep part, for a mere worldly and ambitious purpose; and has carried himself, certainly, with a very great measure of the cunning and dexterous address of the Natives of India. He is still about Mr. Rhenius occasionally; but the pretence of being firmly a Christian appears almost utterly gone. Artifices and disappointments of this sort, we must be prepared for; and not be greatly mortified or discouraged when they occur."

APPENDIX XV.

(See Page 165.)

Extracts of the Correspondence of the Rev. J. C. Schnarre, on the SchoolEstablishments at Tranquebar.

To Mr. Schnarrè's Report of the Tranquebar and Country Schools before formed, is here added an account of the establishment and progress of some New Schools, with a statement of his plan in training his Young Seminarists for future service as Schoolmasters and Catechists.

Visit to the Tranquebar Schools.

The first School to which I came was that at Kareical. It was so full of Children, that one Class was obliged to go out, while I was examining the others.

was as good as could be expected. Their progress in learning

In the afternoon I examined the School in Tirunallaru; and was very much pleased with the diligence of all the Children; but especially with two Brahmin Boys, about fourteen years of age; one of whom had learned by heart the first ten Chapters of Proverbs, and the other four "hapters: a part of which they repeated to me with such

When I first saw this populous place, in the beginning of last year, and heard that all its inhabitants were Heathens, I desired very much to establish a Tamul Free School among them; chiefly for the poorer class of people, who are not able to pay a Schoolmaster. In the evening, I arrived at Naga But the Heathen, in this part, being pattanam: and examined our Free very much prejudiced against the School there, on the 12th. The greater Christian Religion and Books, thinking part of these Children are Heathen that they shall be forced to become Youths, from fourteen to twenty-four Christians as soon as any thing of this years of age, and learn English and kind is attempted, it is not advisable to Tamul, with Arithmetic. The first Class press such a thing upon them. About read the Third Chapter of Genesis in two months after, however, I told our English: after they had translated English Schoolmasters stationed here, some parts of it into Tamul, I made to enquire of some of the respectable some observations on the Chapter; Heathens whether they wished to have shewing them, how sin had entered

into the world, and how much every time of plowing, sowing, and reaping, one of us also is inclined to eat of the the Children are kept at home to assist forbidden fruit, to do those things which them. But this is not all; as they are God has forbidden us to do: they were of the low caste, they say, "Our Chilvery attentive, every one of them having his eyes fixed upon me. The Second Class read the Third Chapter of St. John; from which I shewed them the love of God, in delivering mankind from Sin and Satan, by the meritorious sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On Sunday, the 14th, I preached twice in the Dutch Church: in the forenoon, in English, from John iii. 16; and, in the afternoon, in Tamul, from Mark ii. 17, on which occasion several Heathen attended, standing in the entrance of the Church. The next day I returned to Tranquebar.

Visit to the Country Schools.

On the 5th of January, 1818, I went out in order to examine our Country Free Schools, to the West of Tranqucbar.

dren will never get any other employment than that of tilling the ground, feeding cattle, or such other hard labour as nobody else will do: of what use, therefore, will any learning be to them? All this they may do very well, without reading and writing." This shews too plainly, that, though these people are baptized and therefore called Christians, yet they are almost as void of true Christian Principles as the Heathen themselves.

The late Dr. John was, I am told, so much burt at the irregular attendance of the Children in these Villages, that he had resolved on giving them up altogether. When I stated this to the Committee in Madras, asking their advice whether I should give them up or not, they were of the same opinion with myself-that, as most of these Children are in name at least Christian Children, and would grow up as Heathen among the Heathen if we take from them the present opportunity of being instructed, it would be well to bear with them a little longer. May God bless the means used, bring them to the knowledge of himself, and enlighten their minds by his Spirit!

New School at Sheally.

These Schools are seven in number, each in a small village of from ten to fifteen families, most of whom are Christians. In each village a small house is built, somewhat superior to the huts of the Natives, which is intended for a Church; and a Catechist is stationed at each, to perform Divine Service every Sunday. The administration of the Lord's Supper, the Baptisms, and the Marriages, are performed by the Mis- Having been invited by the Comsionaries; either when these people come mittee in the end of the last year, to to Tranquebar on the Holy-days of Pen- visit Madras for a week or two, in order tecost every year, or when the Mission- to become personally acquainted with aries go to visit them. All these small congregations belong to the Tranquebar Mission; and, as this has become somewhat poor by the late war in Europe, the Rajah of Tanjore has been so kind as to pay twenty star-pagodas, or £8, per month, in order to defray the expence of them.

Our Schools in these places are in very low circumstances. In some I found five, in others three, and in some only two Children who could read a little, and that very imperfectly; though they have been on our School List for three or four years. Their slow progress arises, chiefly from their parents being all cultivators of the ground: at the

the two Missionary Brethren Schmids, and to see again my old Companion Mr. Rhenius, I set out on the 16th of February; and arrived, about ten o'clock in the evening, at Sheally, ten miles north of Tranquebar.

The next morning, at six o'clock, I examined our New Tamul Free School, which was established there in the beginning of December. Mr. Strachan, the Treasurer of the Corresponding Committee at Madras, passed through this town, on a journey to the South; and had some conversation with two of the principal persons of the place, who were desirous of having such a School among them, Mr, Strachan wrote to me,

desiring that a School might be estab- force whatever would be used at any lished as soon as possible. I sent, there- time, they were satisfied; and said, fore, John Dewasagayam, to inquire "As we never received such instructions into the sentiments of the Natives, re- before, we shall be happy to receive specting a Christian Schoolmaster and them now."

our School-Books; for I knew that they A few days after this, two of the were not very acceptable to them. They Chillambaram People came to me, with consented, however, to the use of our a Petition; and a School was, in conBooks in their Schools, though reluct- sequence, erected in one of the princiantly; but they entirely refused a pal streets in the town. This School Christian Schoolmaster, and appointed will contain about 200 Children. It a man of their own, fit enough for that was opened on the 13th of April; and, office, desiring that I would employ by the end of that month, 80 Children him. I called the man to Tranquebar, had been admitted.

in order to teach him our School Plan.

New School at Kottuppaleyam.

There were now 44 Children collected; and no doubt there would have been 70 or 30 before this time, if the Shortly after my return to Tranqueinhabitants had not been so much pre- bar, some of the principal inhabitants judiced but, having told them, again of Kot/uppaleyam, about a mile and a half and again, that it is against our Reli- from the Fort, came to me with a Pegion to force any one to receive it, and tition for a Free School. As this is a that it is our sole desire that their Chil- pretty large village, and near to our dren should learn to know the only true other Schools, their request was immeGod, who has created and preserved diately granted. The School was opened them, and to receive such instruction on the 1st of April; and, at the end as may fit them for some business in of that month, 40 Children were althis life, they seem to become more ready collected. reconciled; and I hope their prejudices will, in a great degree, soon vanish. Since my visit, indeed, there has been an addition of 30 Children; so that there are now above 70.

Thus have our Schools increased. The number of Children, at the end of the last year, was 958; but, at the end of April in this year, the number was 1155. There are thirty-five Schoolmasters employed in our Free Schools.

Seminaries for training Schoolmasters.

I left Madras on the 3d of March, on my return to Tranquebar, and passed through Chillambaram. There I saw almost every part of the renowned Pagoda, attended by a crowd of people, chiefly Brahmins. They had heard of In the beginning of July, I opened, our Free Schools at Tranquebar, and in addition to the Seminary for Tamul desired me to establish one in their town Schoolmasters, a School for some youths also. They did not appear to have so of the low caste, in order to train them great a prejudice against the Christian up for Schoolmasters and Catechists. Religion and Books, as some other As we need some Teachers of this caste, Heathen. I told them, that if, accord- I proposed to the Committee to erect a ing to their wish, we should establish separate School for them, close to the a Free School among them, I would by building where the Tamul Seminarists no means allow that any of their Hea- are instructed; and, at the same time, then Doctrines, their morals excepted, stated the necessity of allowing to each should be taught in that School; but of the Seminarists a small sum of money the knowledge of the only true God, per month, for his subsistence. The and the way in which men must be Committee approved of this measure, saved, should be the principal instruction and granted the requisite sum. to be given to their Children. I per- By this monthly allowance, I intended ceived, on this, that some of them were to bind, as it were, such Youths to our apprehensive, that their children would, future service; and therefore drew up a at last, be compelled to become Chris- Regulation in Tamul, which every one tians; but, on being assured, that no who is admitted into this School has to