supposes it is difficult to be done; but he begs you will remember the love of God, and then your compassion will still continue. He requests that you will remember the words of Jesus written by Matthew, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy;" and that you will still cause the water of the river of life to flow through the South Sea Islands; that you will still be strong, and not grow weary in welldoing.

APERAAMO (the native teacher) next addressed the assembly, also in his native language, which Mr. Heath thus interpreted: He begins, as our christian converts always do their speeches, by giving thanks to God, and thanks also to you, and says that he will relate some things which have grown up. Samoa is the name of the group; but Tutuila is the name of the island to which he belongs. The grace of God has fallen on their land in answer to your prayers-you have prayed that the Word of God may prosper, and it has prospered. The power of God has been remarkably manifested - his expression is, "Has been poured down." When they

were on one occasion assembled in the house of God, the power of God fell upon them. When they were holding a large meeting at Tutuila, they were sprinkled by the blessing of God from on high, and they all became like dead men. So great was the effect produced, so great did the desire grow to make an offering to God, (that is, to offer prayer,) that many of them retired into the bush, and they were not seen again until the following morning, when they were like persons half dead-they had been in prayer all night. The consequence was, a very general seeking for instruction from the Missionaries, and seeking from God the blessings of his salvation. They earnestly prayed and sought these things. He again gives thanks to you, because he considers this also was in answer to your prayers.

The Rev. J. J. FREEMAN then rose, and said: It has been the wish of the Directors that two or three questions should be proposed to each of the Samoans, and that they should give a brief reply. They have not been informed what these questions are, lest there should be any sort of preparation made.

The following questions were then put to Leota, through Mr Heath, and his answers are subjoined :

What reason have you for believing that you are a true Christian?-I think I may say I am a man of Jesus-one of Christ's people. 1 ascribe it to the work of the Spirit of God that I am able to say so. I think I am a man of Jesus, because I feel

inclined to trust to the death of Christ and to do his will.

What led you first to embrace the religion of Jesus Christ?-I was led to do it by the work of the Spirit of God in my heart.

Was there any particular circumstance? -The desire first grew in my heart, in consequence of the preaching of the Word of God.

Why are you anxious that the people should become Christians in Samoa?-I have a great desire that they should become so, because I am concerned that they still dwell in darkness and in sin.

Then they were not so happy before the Missionaries arrived there as they have been since? They have far greater delight now in attending to the Word of God than they had formerly in attending to their wicked practices.

The following are the questions submitted to Aperaamo, and his answers:

We hope that you love the Saviour. Can you tell us how you came to love him, and why you do so?-I love Christ, because I trust that by placing my heart on him it will end well. I am convinced that if I had continued as I was formerly, my end would

have been destruction.

What means do you use for the conversion of your countrymen ?-I earnestly pray that all my relatives and family and connexions, and all the land, may become Christian.

But what means do you use as a teacher? -I teach men their danger as sinners, and endeavour to teach them to go to Christ for salvation. I do this as a teacher, and I also preach to the same effect.

When persons wish to come to the Lord's table, what evidence of religion is required there?-The thing required is this, before they unite in the ordinance, that the heart be united to Jesus.

Do you believe that the people, who receive Christianity, are really anxious that all around them should enjoy it, and will they do all they can to extend it?-It is the desire of all that others should receive the Word of God, and the blessings of Christianity, and they are willing to help in order that it should be so.

The Rev. J. ARUNDEL said, after what we have heard of the christian experience of our beloved friends, and after what you have felt in beholding them amongst us, I am sure you will unite with sympathy and fiaternal affection, in singing a part of the 59th hymn, Missionary Collection:

"Kindred in Christ, for his dear sake, A hearty welcome here receive," &c. The hymn having been sung, The Rev. THOMAS HEATH then addressed the assembly to the following effect:-With

out further preface, I shall now proceed to give you a brief account of what the Camden has done, and then I shall go over our different Missions in the South Seas, as briefly as I can, to do anything like justice to the several Missions; after which I shall more especially call your attention to the Tahitian Mission, and to the French proceedings there, and at other islands in the Pacific. Probably you are aware, at least many are, that our Missions now extend from longitude 140 deg. west, to about 167 deg. east; that is, they extend over more than 50 deg. of longitude; and this within a belt of latitude about 10 to 21 or 22 degs. south. They include the Marquesas, Georgian, and Society Islands, with many of the smaller islands attached to them; that is, the Austral and Paumotu, and others; the Hervey group, the Samoans, the island of Rotumah, the five islands of the New Hebrides, two of the Loyalty group, and two of the New Caledonia group. This has been the ground over which the Camden has had to sail. She has also had to go and return from Sydney, which is ten days' or a fortnight's sail from the most western of our stations. Starting from Sydney, she had to sail upwards of 3,000 miles to reach the Marquesas; then taking the islands successively downwards, till she had finished, she returned to Sydney. Taking into account the annual visits to these islands, and the voyage out and home, I think I may say in round numbers, that she has sailed 80,000 miles since she left England in April 1838. Thus it appears, that besides her two voyages out and home, she has gone over some 12,000 miles per annum. In addition to visiting every year some of the older Missions, she has been instrumental in forming Missions at Rotumah, five islands of the New Hebrides, two at the Loyalty group and New Caledonia, which is nearly 500 miles in circuit, and the Isle of Pines, adjacent to that island. I have come home more especially for the purpose of endeavouring to induce the Directors to part with the Camden, and to obtain a larger vessel; not because we think the Camden, on the whole, has done ill; quite the contrary: it is the opinion of those hest competent to judge, that she has, all things considered, done well.

In proceeding to give an account of the different Missions, I shall first touch upon the Samoan Mission, (Navigators Islands,) to which I myself have had the happiness of being attached. Six of us went out in the year 1835, and arrived there in June, 1836; we found the way prepared for us, to some extent, by the visits of our brethren, Williams, Barff, Buzacott, and Platt,-so that several congregations were already

formed, and superintended by native teachers from the Society and Hervey Islands. The natives, however, had made little progress at that time in christian knowledge, and the arrival of the Dunnottar Castle, with our selves, created a very extraordinary sensation, amounting to enthusiasm, throughout the group, insomuch that when we went round our several appointed districts to visit the Chiefs and the Teachers, and to take measures for extending our operations, we found Chief after Chief, and tribe after tribe, not only willing but eager to avow that they had come to the determination to renounce heathenism, and to be brought under christian instruction. When we speak of the conversion of these Chiefs, and clans sometimes consisting of from 300 to 500 people, we allude merely to their renunciation of heathenism: we by no means wish to convey the notion that they are all Christians in the proper sense of that term; but when they give up all their old superstitions, and we see them almost to a man attending public worship every Sabbath, and observe half the population attending schools-grandfathers, fathers, and children -we think there is much for which to he thankful, although only a small number of these may actually be considered as real Christians.

I will speak of one of two instances, to show how they came over at Manono, a small island upon which I have been living, and which, with a portion of Upolu, formed my district. The father-Chief at Manono is a venerable old man of the name of Pea: he has taken the name, since his conversion, of "servant of Jesus." About a month after my arrival there, I resolved to go and visit him; and since the death of Malietoa he is decidedly the greatest Chief in the whole group. The design I had in view in visiting him was to make him a small present, and state the objects for which we had come to the group. The whole family and part of the clan were assembled in a large house, in order to discuss the matter. The Chief was at that time very unwell, and the question under discussion was, not only whether they should embrace Christianity, but whether he should apply to me for medicine. They discussed the matter for nearly an hour, and at last, becoming weary, I inquired as to his complaint, and asked him if he would allow me to administer some medicine. He waved his hand that I should go aside, and desired some of the natives to tell me that he was not yet a Christian, and that he could not hear anything from me concerning the name of Jehovah till he had decided whether he would become a Christian or not!

After half an hour's further discussion, an attendant was desired to inform me,

and some of the members of my congregation, who had been trained by a native teacher from Rarotonga, that he had resolved to become a Christian, and to add, that his family and, he supposed, many of his clan would unite with him. On the following Sabbath-day we held service in a large house that belonged to him, a house in which they had been accustomed to have their obscene dances, and to hold their public assemblies. We held christian service there the first time, and the house was crowded. I suppose there were not less than 500 persons, all seriously listening to Teava, the native teacher, while he preached to them a faithful sermon on the text, "His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." I give that as a specimen merely of the way in which Chief after Chief, and clan after clan, acted after consultation. Sometimes they held successive consultations for weeks or months, but that was the course they generally pursued. We can rarely get them to hear the Gospel till they have resolved to renounce heathenism, and come over to us. But the old Chief, although he embraced Christianity, continued for a long time his superstitious notions, and so did his family. I was called up between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, and desired to go upwards of a mile to the Chief's house, where it was said his brother was possessed of a devil. The brother had joined him in embracing Christianity. It was their decided belief, and is so still, that there is this kind of demoniacal possession. There are certain diseases which they always ascribe to influence of that description. I went and found the people in the house trembling, the man himself thinking that the god Moso, to whom he had been priest, was angry with him, and that he was about to be killed. I had taken some medicine with me, for both the Missionaries and the native teachers always adopt that plan. The medicine was administered, and I then desired Teava, the native teacher, to engage in prayer, for I had not then sufficiently acquired the language to do it myself. In about half an hour it was alleged that the demon had fled, and all was then quiet. Many things of the same kind have occurred.

On one occasion, I was sent for, a uistance of eighty miles, to go to a large island; the message being that the people were inclined to embrace Christianity. With great difficulty I got across the channel, and over the long and difficult road by land. On our arrival, we found the people engaged in a sham fight. Two districts were assembled together, and they were using clubs cut out of the thick stem of the cocoa-nut frond, equal to the ordinary clubs in size,

and nearly as hard. After several Chiefs had met, flourished their weapons, and retired again without fighting, two men began in earnest. It was not long before the arm of one was broken; but the man did not fall. A shout of victory was raised by the party of the man who struck the blow, and instantly their opponents took up stones, and rushed upon them as a body. I thought that it would be wise for me to get out of the way, and I moved off, telling the Chiefs that I had seen enough. After this was over, they held a consultation as to whether they should become Christians or not, and that very evening 300, headed by a party of Chiefs who had been at the fight, resolved that they would unite with us in Christian worship on the next day-Sunday. On the Monday morning we commenced a school, and by the time I left in the forenoon of that day, several had learned the letters of the alphabet. Time will not allow me to mention several instances of the same character; suffice it to say, that Chief after Chief, and thousands after thousands of the people throughout the island, in the course of two years, were brought under Christian instruction. Since then about 3,000 have been baptized on their profession of Christianity; there were nearly 2,000 in Christian communion when I left, in whose piety the Missionaries cherish a pleasing confidence, and numbers of candidates. About 27,000 (nearly one-half the popula tion) of Samoa have learned to read. Many of them read portions of the Scriptures which we have translated, and others elementary books. Some thousands can write upon slates; for we have neither copy. books, pens, nor ink, and indeed we have far from an adequate supply of slates.

With regard to translations, the four Gos. pels have been printed and issued; the Epistle to the Romans is ready to go to press, and the Acts nearly so; and all the Epistles are in manuscript, except a part of the Hebrews, and in a forward state as regards revision. We have also translated Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah, and parts of the other books of the Old Testament. These, however, are only in rough draft; and, supposing that we were to print them off as rapidly as we could, still it would take some years to carry them through the press. We wish, however, to be exceedingly cautious, and to take time for their correction. The people have always been delighted with the books that we have printed,-elementary books, Scripture history, and small magazines; but above all with portions of the Scriptures. If we have had anything like a stock of another book, and a Gospel has come out, the sale of the other book has been nearly suspended.

We have from the very first perceived the

importance of instructing the native teachers, of whom only twelve Missionaries have nearly 200 under their superintend ence, and we are obliged to depend very much upon them. We wish to make them still more efficient. They labour not only among the Samoans, but between twenty and thirty have already been sent as Missionaries to the islands to the westward, where we hope to have the happiness of sending scores more-at least we shall do so if the Christians of Great Britain will furnish us with the means. We do not doubt that the people will receive them: for if ever there was proof of the fiery pillar having gone before a Society in its operations, there is that proof with relation to the London Missionary Society in the South Sea Islands. The islands are prepared, the people are willing, and we are anxious to convey to them all that Christianity bestows; but we have been told to stop, because the funds are not sufficient. I shall never forget the meeting when first the question was proposed to our simple native teachers-"Who among you are ready to go with Mr. Williams to the islands to the westward ?" The call in half an hour was responded to by between thirty and forty; and I have with me Mr. Williams's manuscript list of their names.

Perhaps I ought to say a word with regard to what is called civilization and morals. Speaking of the people generally, the time has not allowed them to make very great progress. However, their clothing, and the mode in which they manage their cottages, are very much improved, and I trust will still more improve. When we went thither we found them a very clean people, notwithstanding their vices. I wish not to be misunderstood: a minority, and only a minority, we regard as true Christians; but still with respect to the general state of morals, take a certain number, or a certain district, or a certain village, and compare them with a corresponding number of the inhabitants of any part of England and Scotland, and I do not hesitate to say that we should have the advantage, One fact will illustrate this position. When the American surveying squadron went to Samoa in 1839, it called at Tutuila. Some of the young officers were anxious for amusement, and went on shore for that purpose. They visited one cottage, and found the people, for it was just sun-set, reading the Scriptures; they went to a second, and there they were singing a hymn; they visited a third, and they were engaged in prayer. They went round the whole settlement, and found all the families engaged in the same way. They then returned to the ship and told their companions that there was no gratification to be had there, and they

were obliged to go to a heathen settlement on the opposite side of the island, before they could see a native dance. I have with me several letters from the Samoan people to the churches and the chiefs of the Society, and to the friends in general in England. I may be permitted to read one of them addressed to the London Missionary Society :—

"TO THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN

BRITAIN.

"Friends! The London Missionary Society. This is the friendly letter of the church, and teachers, and deacons: their urgent letter this to you. Do you kindly regard us, and choose some Missionaries that they may come and publish the kingdom of Jesus in this group. This is the thing we earnestly entreat, brethren, that you pray earnestly to God for us and for all lands, that the work of God may prosper through the world like the Word written in the Gospel of John, that he who soweth and he who reapeth may mutually rejoice. You, the Societies, and the Missionaries, and the Government, we show to you certain things which have begun to grow up in Samoa here; these are the things, the arrow-root and the cocoa-nut oil, to assist in the work of God. Behold it was not from us, but from your kindness to these lands. That is the end of this Word. May we mutually prosper from God. This letter is written from Manono."

I shall pass over Rotumah, and just glance at the New Hebrides. You are aware that the sainted Williams placed teachers at Tanna, and fell on his visit to Erromanga on the following day. As soon as we could we followed him there, strengthened the mission at Tanna, placed teachers at Erromanga and Immer, and subsequently brother Murray placed teachers at Anatom and Erranan. The Mission at Erromanga is suspended through a mistake I believe simply a mistake; for on our arrival at Tanna, about 14 or 15 months since, we received an invitation from Erromanga to send teachers there again. At all these islands there are a few people who attend christian worship on the Sabbath and on other days. This time last year I was at Tanna, and had the happiness of spending four months with Messrs. Turner and Nisbet, to aid them in the commencement of their operations. The peo

ple differ in many respects from what have generally been called Polynesians — they are about half way between the Papuan and Polynesian, and from all appearances we may expect that the work will be far more difficult there than it has been in the Samoan Mission; nevertheless we have made a commencement, and I think a favourable

commencement. During the time I was there, we were able so far to acquire the language as to draw up short addresses and short prayers. Before that time the native teachers had been able to translate for us, and generally 300 people in Tanna heard the Word of God every week. There were schools formed for boys, and for adults, and one for girls, which was conducted by Mrs. Turner, and Mrs. Nisbet. I have received a letter from Mr. Turner, dated a few weeks after I left, stating that the schools were going on there better than when I left them, but unhappily the people were at war. The district in which we resided was at war with another only from a mile and a half to two miles distant. When I left, the war had been carried on for six weeks, and all our efforts to bring it to a termination were unavailing. The war, however, had not been very destructive; for although they had been fighting three, four, or five days a-week, there had been only three killed on each side, though vast numbers had been wounded with spears and arrows.

:

I was anxious to ascertain before I came away, how far any of them might be considered as having renounced their superstitions and idolatry for we did not consider, as in the case of the Samoans, that their attendance on public worship was any proof that they had done so. I put the question to several of the chiefs, and they assured me that they no longer worshipped their old gods, but Jehovah; and one afternoon, I had a proof that one of them at least did so. I arrived at the clan just about the time that they were taking their evening meal, and before doing so it used to be the custom to pray to their gods, but on this occasion the chief offered up a prayer to Jehovah. It was not a mere saying of grace, but a deliberate prayer of four or five minutes' duration. One petition in that prayer greatly interested me; it was, that the Word of God might be sent to other dark lands as it has been sent to Tanna. You are aware that stations have been formed at Marè and Lifu, two islands of the Loyalty group,-a group of which we scarcely know anything; but, happily, some of the Samoans who had been drifted there served as interpreters on Mr. Murray's going, and operations were soon commenced. The Mission at the Isle of Pines, adjacent to New Caledonia, has been suspended, in consequence of the conduct of white barbarians, who have gone there as sandal-wood dealers, and have irritated the people till they have determined to have no foreigners among them, and our teachers have been sent away. This is not the worst feature of the case. Notice was given that the next vessel which approached should be attacked out of revenge; and I am sorry to find that Capt. Ebrill, a kind

hearted man, who married the daughter of one of the Missionaries, together with his crew, have been cut off, and also half the crew of another vessel. They were treated most barbarously; and the people have shown that they were-as we suspectedcannibals. Since we first went there, upwards of one hundred vessels have visited the islands for sandal-wood; but they do not treat the people with justice in getting it, nor is their conduct befitting the land to which they belong.

After referring to the proceedings of the French at Tahiti, of which the leading features have been noticed in former numbers of the Missionary Magazine, Mr. Heath concluded his statements by observing:-From what you have heard from my friend Mr. Collison, you will expect before I conclude that I should give the reasons why we want a larger vessel. I cannot, however, now stop to go into details; suffice it to say, that it has been proved to the satisfaction of Committees, and of the Board of Directors, that to have a vessel twice the size of the Camden, to say nothing of other immense advantages, would be a great saving from year to year of expense; and perhaps that argument will have more weight than any other. We ought to have had two vessels, but if we have only one, it must, as I have said, be of much greater burthen; and we must therefore look to the British public to furnish the means necessary for the purpose. We have not only nearly forty Missionary families already there, but many new stations to attend to in the islands of the New Hebrides, Loyalty, and New Caledonia, together with fresh openings presented to us to the westward. I have now, therefore, to ask for your sympathies on behalf of the Tahitians, and to enable us to obtain the desired larger vessel. I appeal to you also for a further object: I ask you to erect now a monument to the memory of Williams. We have heard of cenotaphs and other things, but hitherto there has been no appropriate monument to that lamented man. In his " Enterprises," alluding to the Papuan race, he says, "To that people I shall, on my return, direct my principal attention, and I trust that British Christians, encouraged by the results of their efforts on behalf of the other races, will be still more anxious for the conversion of this, and never relax their efforts or suspend their prayers, till all the islands that stud the vast Pacific shall be enlightened and blessed with the Gospel of salvation." Such was his living, such was his dying wish. I have no doubt (if we could know it) it is still his wish, and I contend that we never shall have erected a monument befitting his character and labours till this has been realised-till we