regret to say, that, whatever exertions have been made by this Society, and by many kindred institutions, there is still a very great and lamentable want of education in the kingdom. This is apparent from the Reports which have been presented to Parliament in bulky volumes. In the first place, I will mention the Reports of the state of the gaols. You will find, that, in instance after instance, the Chaplain of the prison declares, that, out of one hundred persons, he has found sixty or seventy who are ignorant of the name of God, or of Jesus Christ. One wonders really that such profound ignorance should exist in this country. But we should not confine ourselves to wonder: we ought to endeavour, and it is our bounden duty, especially now that we have a laudable ambition to carry the light of Christianity into the most distant lands, where it has never yet penetrated, not to allow this heathenish ignorance so long to continue in our own country. If you look at other papers which have more recently come to light,-I allude to the Reports which have been made by Commissioners appointed to inquire into the treatment of children in the mines of this country, -you will find that there is the most barbarous and inhuman usage, as affects the health and comfort of these children, accompanied by a total want of instruction in the most common, the most simple, what we should hope ought to be the most universal, rudiments of Christian education. This, again, is an object to which both the voluntary exertions of Societies, and, I should hope, the attention of Parliament, will be directed, for the purpose of procuring a remedy for

such evils.

H. DUNN, Esq., then read the Report; which stated, that, during the year, 55 new schools had been established, and 24 new Auxiliaries to the Society had been formed. 109 grants had been made to country schools. A very great reduction had also been effected in the price of school materials. The subscriptions to the Normal School, including the Government grant, now amount to £15,620, and £5,000 is still needed to complete the work. In the Model Schools, 682 boys and 450 girls have been received, making the total number on the books 52,828. In the Normal Schools, 221 Teachers have been under training. Of these, 72 have been appointed to boys' schools, and 62 to girls' schools; 18 have sailed for foreign parts. The general state of the finances is encouraging; an increase having taken

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place in every branch of income. receipts and payments of the year have been £7,080. 13s. 4d.; balance due to the Treasurer, £808. 15s. 9d.

H. LABOUCHERE, ESQ., M. P., said, -I am old enough to recollect that it was long a mooted question in this country, whether education was, in itself, a good; that there were many persons holding high situations,-persons whose opinions carried weight with them in the country, who seriously doubted the safety or the advisability of promoting education generally amongst all classes of the people. I firmly believe that that erroneous opinion is now completely dispelled; at any rate, it is nowhere publicly avowed; but, on the contrary, there is, in this country, a general feeling, that we are bound, not only as Englishmen, but as patriots and as Christians, to promote the education of the poorer classes; and this, not only with a view to the moral and religious benefits of the community, but even to the safety and stability of society, and of the institutions of the country, that it is our bounden duty, as Christians and as patriots, to grapple with that frightful evil which notoriously exists among us. Many public documents have been alluded to. I am sure it is impossible for any one of us, in whatever direction he may look, whether to those Reports which are the result of legislative inquiry, or to his own circle, or to the experience of his own neighbourhood, whether it be a crowded town, or an agricultural district, in whatever direction we may look, I believe it is impossible not to feel that there is, at this moment, a mass of ignorance in this country, which it is truly frightful to contemplate.

The BISHOP of NORWICH said,-I was glad to find you, in the early part of your speech, striking on the right key,the great key which ought to move every friend to real education. You spoke of our education as founded upon the Scriptures; and those who have opposed the British and Foreign School Society on the ground that we exclude religion and the Bible from the system, deserve our pity for the ignorance under which they labour. No, my Lord; I think I am speaking no state secret when I say, that, in the judgment of the founders and supporters of this Society, education, to be profitable, must be founded upon the Bible. But, my Lord, there are those who have opposed, and who still oppose, us. I can recollect the time, when we, who are the advocates of general edu

cation, were in a minority. Every one who supports a good cause, or who would introduce a beneficial innovation, must expect at first to encounter a majority, and almost to stand alone. They tell us, that the British and Foreign School Society is hostile to the Church. I differ from that opinion. I will boldly and unhesitatingly say, in the face of every Dissenter present, that the British and Foreign Schools are fighting the battle of the Church of England. Do I speak without my book? Allow me to introduce an argument in support of my assertion. What is it upon which the Church of England is founded? The doctrines which came into operation at the Reformation. Is it not so, my Dissenting brethren? What are the doctrines taught in the British and Foreign Schools? Let me tell those who are ignorant of the fact, that the doctrines taught in the British and Foreign Schools, are doctrines deduced from the Bible, and the Bible alone; those are the peculiar doctrines which I have invariably seen taught and pressed upon in every British and Foreign School with which I have been conversant. What are those doctrines? The salvation of man through the mediation of the Saviour; faith, and not human merit, the ground of his salvation; the divinity of Christ, supported by every argument which the Scriptures urge. Are not these, my friends, Church-of-England doctrines? And ought not I, as a Churchman, to glory in every means by which they are disseminated in any and every quarter of the world? But it may be said, that the advocates of the British and Foreign Schools are not the advo

cates of certain Church principles? It may be so. But, after all, what Church principles can come into competition, or bear comparison, with the dissemination of the great truths of Scripture?

The REV. G. PRITCHARD said,-I had the honour, some years ago, of presenting a school in the South Sea Islands to a brother of your Lordship's, when on board the "Acteon." After examining the children, he expressed himself highly gratified with their attainments, especially in Scripture truth. Several Commanders of Her Majesty's vessels have visited us, and they have not only expressed their high satisfaction at the correct and suitable answers of the children, but have gone on board afterwards, and sent presents to the children and Teachers. What is the beneficial effect arising from the instructions communicated to the rising race ? The absence of crime. The nations generally, before they were favoured with instruction, were cruel in the extreme, were sunk in every species of vice; but no sooner did they receive the instruction communicated by the Missionaries, than crimes gradually disappeared. I have had many questions proposed to me relative to the civil state of the island. It has been asked whether we have a prison there. I was obliged to answer in the affirmative; but it was built by the Consul, for the purpose of confining foreigners. We have never had a native in it. I have visited many of the ships that come to anchor in our Bay; and especially have I conversed with those who have been taken prisoners; and I have found, that seamen are generally destitute of education.

The RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE GREY, BART., M. P., said,-I will not dwell on the different points which have been adverted to in the Report; but there are one or two suggestions which occur to myself, and on which I will briefly address a few words to this Meeting. One is, the contrast which exists between the position in which this and other kindred Societies stand at the present day; and that which many may remember, and which they must look back upon, with painful feelings, deploring the circumstances under which they began the work, but, at the same time, indulging heartfelt gratitude to God, for the change since accomplished. This Society has lived to see the opposition of Governments fade away,

suspicions unworthily entertained of dangerous political results from Missionary enterprise scattered to the wind; and, thank God, we live in a day in which no man is bold enough, be the sphere of labour in the East or the West Indies, to say, that the Missionary is a dangerous character. All men are now willing, more or less, to recognise the beneficial results of Missionary enterprise, even when they cannot fully appreciate the holy influence and high objects which Missionaries have in view. They recognise these beneficial results, as this Resolution states, in the increasing civilization and social happiness of those millions of our fellow-creatures who have been brought under the influence of British rule, and who now are brought under the influence of the Gospel, preached as it is by the British Missionary, who, wherever he goes, will be sure of obtaining British protection. There is now no part of the world where the British flag flies, in which a Missionary may not meet with a cordial reception, and look to the functionaries of his own Government for cordial support. We have heard, that there are Missionaries now fully armed with the Gospel, and prepared, by an intimate knowledge of the language, acquired through many years of discouragement and darkness, to enter upon the vast field of China; and, following the guidance of God's providence, are ready to plant the standard of the Gospel wherever the British standard flies. If we look to the West Indies, I must say, that, connected as I was from official duties, for a considerable period, with that part of the empire, I am happy publicly to confirm the testimony borne by your Report to the inexpressible benefits derived from the labours of Missionaries, under circumstances of the greatest trial, the greatest discouragement, and even of bitter persecution; to the immense benefits derived from those labours to that long-neglected, degraded, and oppressed race, whom, thank God, we have lived to see raised from slavery, and restored to the honour of men.

I do not hesitate to say, that the successful result of that great Act by which this nation struck off the fetters of the slave, has, under God, been due to those preparations which were made by the Missionaries, while labouring under the circumstances I have stated; and it is to the continued labours of those Missionaries that we must look for the future prosperity, the increasing civilization, and all those happy results which I, for one, do not hesitate to anticipate,

amongst that vast portion of our fellowsubjects who are rising so rapidly in everything to a level with ourselves. These are circumstances which cannot but be most sincerely gratifying to those who, having felt and appreciated the blessings of the Gospel themselves, are anxious to see that happy time arrive when, we know from the sure word of prophecy, the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.

The REV. DR. BYRTH said,-I bless myself, not that I am a Churchman, but I bless myself that I am a Christian; and really it appears to me, even if one's own heart had never been touched by divine grace, a most strange thing, that, contemplating the triumphant achievements of Christianity, our homage, the homage of our intellects, the homage of our best feelings, should not be surrendered to these triumphs. I will not attempt to make this Resolution the foundation of an elaborate address; but it really appears to me, that there are many things besides the conversion of the Heathen, which should call forth the acclamations, yea, should win the suffrages, of all who feel themselves to be men, and cause them to sing, with the Latin poet, that, because within them beats the blood of humanity, nothing belonging to their species is to be regarded as alien to them. Why, is it nothing, that we can speak in terms which could not be gainsaid of the progress of social happiness, and of civilization ? Whatever had been the instrument by which such a mighty change had been achieved, ought not the philosopher himself to have said?" There have been sown the seeds of good for future times; and, although I do not understand exactly the instrumentality, yet there is an element working in the kingdom of nature, in whose results I rejoice; and I stand in humble admiration, although I am altogether unable to analyze the nature of the element itself, or to perceive the way in which it has worked." And I hesitate not to say, that, if it were not Christianity which was producing these results, this is the very way in which we should be met. Were it anything but the cross of Christ, which was lifted up to shed this benign influence on the world, we should have philosophers, as well as Christians, crowding our Meetings. But, blessed be God, we can do without them. It shall be the province of future historians, -not of those who call themselves the exclusive successors of the Apostles,

but it shall be the province of future historians of the progress of the human mind, to tell what was done by the simple experiment of bringing the great truths of the Gospel to bear upon all that was degraded, and upon all that was destitute of light and truth, and to show what this simple experiment had done for its renovation. I repeat, then, my belief, that my denunciation of Puseyism will not be less acceptable to this audience, because it proceeds from the lips of one who is, most conscientiously, an Episcopalian. A system, so contrary to the spirit, if not altogether inconsistent with the letter, of the New Testament; so groundless, as far as it would seek a foundation, even in ecclesiastical history; so withering to the best sympathies and charities of Christianity; so contradicted by fact, even in the face of day; I believe was never yet attempted to be palmed upon the Christian church; and I trust that the proceedings of this day will but add to the vigorous opposition which almost every Meeting that I have attended has displayed to this monstrous perversion of the truth. I feel it, indeed, to be a privilege to say, that, all Churchman as I am, and fond of Episcopacy as I have avowed myself to be, and attached to the Church of which I am a Minister, yet there is a bond still holier than that, a feeling which triumphs even over that affection, a principle which is mightier than that which unites me to the section of the Church to which I belong : it is the love of our common Christianity. Christ has not declared, that his flock should be distinguished by a flat uniformity. Uniformity is no equivalent for union. heard something of uniformity at a Missionary Meeting held abroad not long ago, which strongly reminded me of what some men at home think upon the subject. The Gospel, it appeared, had been preached by a Missionary in an Indian village. The Brahminical owner of the village called the inhabitants together, and said to them, "Some of you, I understand, have been listening to the Christian Preacher. Now, I have no objection to that; but I have an objec tion to everything like dissension. cannot bear that this little community should be disturbed by difference of opinion; so I give you your choice: You shall either all be Christians, or you shall all be Hindoos." There are many persons in this country who so value uniformity, that, like the sapient head of this village, they would give to all the name of Christians, however di

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verse their general character. I contend, that uniformity of this kind is not union. But there is a union of a far different character. It is the union which connects all the members of Christ's mystical body; it is the union in which they are bound together in that charity which is the bond of perfectness; it is the union which shows, in the remotest extremity, that the Spirit of the Lord is there; it is the union which enables us to speak one common language, because we are under the influence of one common affection. By this do "all men know that we are his disciples, because we love one another."

The REV. A. F. LACROIX said,-It is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, that Paul and Barnabas, on their return from the Missionary tour which they had undertaken at the request of their brethren of Antioch, gathered the church together to rehearse the things which God had done for them, and how he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles. I wish, on my return from India, after a sojourn there of upwards of twenty years, that it were in my power to relate to you similar success in that far-distant land. But though I may not be able to do this to the same extent, I am sure it will not be uninteresting to you to hear what is the actual state of things, and what are the present prospects of India. Since my arrival in England, from various conversations which I have had with the friends of Missions, I have been led to conclude that rather more is thought of the progress of the Gospel in India than facts will warrant. I feel it, therefore, my duty to place before you things as they are, and to show the dark as well as the bright side of the picture. It is when India is viewed generally, that we see the dark side. Viewing India in general, I grieve to say that it is still the domain of the Prince of darkness, and its myriads of inhabitants are still living "without God and without hope in the world." Idolatry, with all its superstitions and all its revolting practices, is still the religion of the land; Pantheists are still insulting the Deity by ascribing to him almost every evil action that can be committed; the example of the gods is still polluting the minds of the people, and giving them most erroneous and pernicious notions of sin; Brahminical tyranny is still enslaving the native minds; and, what I am sure will excite a deep and painful interest in a very large portion of this audience, the entire female population (one-half, that is, of the whole number) is still sunk in the

deepest ignorance, and kept in the most degrading bondage. Caste is still exercising its most baneful influence in restraining charity, in preventing incentives to personal exertion, and in engendering pride; the practice of exposing the sick on the banks of the Ganges, is still murdering its thousands, and increasing the agonies of death in its tens of thousands; falsehood, perjury, and every species of crime, are still heaping guilt on the heads of the people, and crying for vengeance to Heaven. It is true that some individuals have embraced Christianity; but how few compared with those who have not! In the whole of the Bengal and Agra Presidencies, containing eighty millions of inhabitants, perhaps not more than thirteen thousand have become professing Christians; while the real Christians, taking as such all who are members of a Christian church, do not amount, it is to be feared, to one thousand; that is, one Christian to eighty thousand Heathen. I do not state these things with a view to discourage you, God forbid; but to excite you to greater exertions, and especially to more fervent prayers for India. It is to be feared, that, in proportion to the supposed success in that land, the prayers of the people of God for it have been fewer and less frequent, it being generally, not prosperity, but adversity and need that drive men to prayer; and of these latter causes you have now heard enough to call forth the most earnest supplications of the people of God. I must here state, however, that the comparatively unfavourable state of things in India is not to be wondered at, when you consider the scantiness of the means and the paucity of the labourers employed. In Bengal and Agra, there is only one efficient Missionary to one million and a half of idolaters. What, I would ask, could be accomplished with such instrumentality in this large metropolis, which contains, I believe, about the same amount of population? Suppose that, in this metropolis, where there are thousands of people liv ing in the fear of God, and delighting in holiness, instead of hundreds of Ministers there were but one, labouring amongst the whole population from Paddington to Blackwall, and from Holloway to Camberwell, Would not the whole of this city soon be filled with infidelity, and be overlaid with every superstition and vice which is found in heathen countries? If this holds good of London, with a professing Christian population, what might be expected to

occur in India, with the same inadequate instrumentality, a land of idolaters, imbued with the strongest and the most deep-rooted prejudices, and enslaved by a corrupt and interested priesthood? But, while duty compels me to state the dark side of things in India, I would not wish you to infer that nothing has been done there, much less that it is a barren soil from which no promising harvest for the Lord can be expected. O no! far from it. On the contrary, I am very happy to state, that wherever a sufficient quantity of labour has been employed for a sufficient time, a most pleasing process of renovation has been witnessed, and many beneficial results have been produced; leading to the certain conclusion, that, if the same means which have locally proved so successful, were more extensively used, the most happy effects throughout the whole country might be confidently anticipated. And, while I state, that, wherever Missionary labour has been extended, the most pleasing results have been produced, candour requires me to say, that Missionary labours have not entirely, and alone, produced such results. In the intercourse of Europeans with the natives, in the progress of the press, and the general information which, under the providence of God, it is the means of circulating, and in various other ways, do we see its instrumentality producing the happiest effects. Amongst the happy results which have been produced, I would mention the less degree of veneration which is now shown to idolatrous Priests and to idolatry; the falling offand it is very considerable-in the pomp and in the expenses connected with the religious festivals; the less obscene character of the figures carved on the temples, on the cars of Juggernaut, and on the engines of idolatry; the fact that very few new temples are now being built, whilst many of the old ones are permitted to fall into decay; the partial, and, in some instances, total, desertion of native theological colleges; the reluctance of many Brahmins to temple employments, owing to the gains of idolatry being no longer sufficient to support them; the fetters of caste gradually loosening; the extraordinary anxiety of numbers to obtain a liberal education; the far better attendance of the people on the preaching of the Gospel, and especially where it is preached most frequently; the far fewer objections made to it, and the giving up, in despair, by many of the advocates of idolatry, of all attempts to support it by means of pub