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to the Caraite Jews...

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they were in possession of all the books of the Old Testament, in pure Tartar; that the translation was made by their forefathers, several centuries ago; that it was constantly read among them to the present day, together with the Hebrew Text; and that he would procure me a complete copy to purchase, before 1 left Bahchisaray. I sat down, in the midst of the Synagogue, with the Caraite Rabbies, and read several passages of the five books of Moses, and of the Psalms. I find the translation excellent and consider it as a peculiar mark of the divine favour on the labours of Bible Societies, that it has been brought to light at the very time when we are prepared to promote its circulation with the New Testament in the same language, á second edition of which is now printing at Astrachan.

After much interesting conversation with the Caraite Elders, and visiting several of them in their houses, we repaired to the grove where their dead are interred. Here we were shown an inscription in Hebrew, upon a grave-stone, 570 years old, a singular proof of the ancient residence of the Caraim in Dschoufait Kalė. We returned to Bachisaray by the same way we went; and it was not long before Aaron followed, and presented me with a most beautiful copy of all the Canonical Books of the Old Testament in the Tartar language, written on fine vellum paper, in the Hebrew character, comprised in four volumes quarto, for which I paid him 200 Rubles. I have seldom met with a more beautiful manuscript. It is elegantly bound in red goats' leather, and ornamented with gold. I shall endeavour to get it sent off in safety to St. Petersburg, where, with the assistance of one or two learned Tartars, under my own direction, should it please God to spare me to return, it may be fairly written out in the character, and carefully revised, and put to the press, with the translation of the New Testament made by the Missionaries in Karass. This will furnish us with a Tartar Bible, which will be well understood among the numerous hordes of Nogay, Kazan, Trukmen, and Bucharian Tartars. The peculiar principles of the Caraites, in rejecting the Talmud, and all the traditionary fables of the Jews, and their strict adherence to the sacred text of Scripture alone, give me great reason to hope, that we shall find this, their Tartar translation from the Hebrew, to be correct. I leave you, my dear friends, and the Members of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to make your own remarks on this new opening in Providence to extend the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures to the followers of the False Prophet!

MORAVIAN MISSIONS. Address to all who favour the propagation of Christianity among the Heathen, in behalf of the missions of the church of the United Brethren, commonly called Moravians.

In the year 1814, it is well known that the accumulated dis. tresses of the Continent affected all classes and descriptions of persons. The same calamities were likewise severely felt in all the settlements of the United Brethren in Germany, Holland, Denmark, and Russia, and considerably diminished the contribu

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tions both of the Brethren's congregations, and of friends participating in the welfare and support of their missions among the heathen. Under these circumstances, an appeal was made to the religious public by some very respectable persons in England, who became acquainted with the embarrassments under which this important concern laboured. That appeal was not undertaken in vain; and the Committee, to whom the general management of the Brethren's missions is intrusted by their synods, feel how much they owe to the kindness and liberality of the numerous well-wishers to the spread of Christianity among the heathen, who very nobly stepped forward on this occasion; and, by their generous donations, contributed in a great measure to remove the existing difficulty. In this work of charity, benefactors of various denominations were united, exhibiting a most encouraging proof of the power of that Christian love which binds together the hearts of the people of God, in supporting the cause of their Redeemer, however distinguished by various names and forms.

The present Address is occasioned by the same necessity, and encouraged by a similar call on the Society by friends out of their circle, who are acquainted with the proceedings of their missions, and with the great difficulty of maintaining them. This indeed amounts almost to an impossibility, unless it shall please the Lord to incline the hearts of those to whom he has imparted the power, again to afford their generous assistance. The effects of that dreadful war, by which the Continent was wholly impoverished, trade annihilated, and even the common necessaries of life in many instances withdrawn, are still felt by most classes, so as to render them unable, as formerly, to direct their attention to subjects heyond their own personal existence; while the settlements of the Brethren, though by God's mercy spared from total destruction by fire and sword, were so much exhausted, from being continually made the head-quarters of different armies, that they were plunged into debt, and their usual sources of income, for some time, nearly dried up. The exertions of individuals, however, and of the con-gregations collectively, have not been wanting; and though greatly reduced in means, they have done what they could to assist in preventing any relaxation in the prosecution of the work. Yet, with every exertion, it is impossible to meet the great and accumulated expenditure of the past years. The sum of about 4000l. which, by the unexpected liberality of our brethren and friends in England, was collected in 1814 and 1815, was indeed a relief for which we cannot sufficiently thank the Lord, who thus disposed the hearts of so many benefactors to favour the Brethren's missions; but as the circumstances which then occasioned the deficiency remain the same, the Committee is again under the necessity of making their case known, and expressing a hope that their petition for help will not pass unregarded.

To show how extensively the church of the United Brethren is employed in attempts to propagate the Gospel in the heathen.

in behalf of the Moravian Missions.

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world, and how long they have maintained their numerous missions in different countries, the following statement is subjoined:

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In the three Danish West India islands, St Thomas, St. Croix, and St. Jan, the Brethren's congregations amount to about 12,200 souls; in Greenland to 1100; in Antigua to 12,000; in St. Kitts to 2000. The congregations of Christian Indians in North America suffered much, both before and during the first American war. Great loss has been sustained by the burning of Fairfield in Upper Canada, the principal settlement among the Indians, which it will. cost no small sum to repair.

God has been pleased to bless the Mission at the Cape of Good Hope with much success. The forming of a third settlement is in contemplation, when means can be found to support it. About 1600 Hottentots constitute the two congregations at Gnadenthal and Gruenekloof; many more attend public worship; and in the interior there is a great desire among the heathen to receive more teachers. As the rooms used as a chapel in Gruenekloof have for some time been too small to accommodate the congregation and other hearers, and government have kindly granted permissson to build, the erection of a new chapel has been undertaken, though at present the state of the finances scarcely warrants the undertaking.*

The communication with the three settlements in Labrador, which can only be maintained by a vessel of their own annually sent to the settlements, proves a great expense; but the Lord has hitherto enabled the Brethren's Society for the furtherance of the Gospel, established in London, to persevere in their exertions, notwithstanding the smallness of their means, and the uncertainty of a return equal to the expense of the outfit. Nor would it be con

The Rev. Mr. Latrobe arrived in England in December last year, from a visit to the above settlements at the Cape, from which he has derived peculiar pleasure; and may possibly, after his return from one of the principal settlements of the Brethren in Germany, lay some interesting particulars before the public.

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Address of Rev. C. I. Latrobe.

sistent with that gratitude which we feel to God our Saviour, did we not here observe how graciously he has preserved the communication with the Brethren's Missionaries in that inhospitable region; so that since the commencement of the Mission, now fiftythree years ago, no interruption has occurred in transmitting the annual supplies. During the last year, however, 1816, the vessel was, for the first time, prevented by the ice, and by the fury of repeated storms, from touching at Hopedale, till at length, after suffering a most violent tempest, which she was not expected to survive, the captain was obliged to abandon all hopes of reaching that settlement, and to return to England, having four Missionaries on board, who were passing from Nain to Hopedale. This event has subjected the Society to great additional expense. The anx. iety which will undoubtedly fill the minds of our brethren in Labrador, respecting the fate of the vessel and of their fellow-labourers, must be keenly felt. Yet amidst all trouble, the Society has much cause to thank the Lord that he heard the prayers of those on board, delivered them from the raging of the sea, and brought them safe to shore.

May the above statement and call før help find acceptance and favour with all who consider the greatness and importance of the work, and the comparative weakness of those immediately employed in it, and who, without their aid, are wholly unable at present to support it. Even now many invitations to commence new Missions must be declined, from a full conviction that it far exceeds the power of the Committee to accept them.

And in

At the period when the former appeal was submitted to the public, the debt incurred by the Missions, owing to the circumstances already specified, was estimated, according to the accounts received, terminating December, 1812, at 40007.-In the year 1813, there was a further increase of debt, amounting to 1700l. the years 1814 and 1815, which are the latest accounts at present arrived, there was a still further addition, constituting a total debt of 60001. notwithstanding the liberal donations contributed in consequence of the first appeal. To liquidate so large a debt they feel to be utterly impossible, dependent as they principally are, for the support of their Missions, on the voluntary aid and liberality of their congregations and friends on the Continent, who are still suffering from the desolating effects of the late war.

Under these circumstances, they sincerely trust they will appear justified in again respectfully appealing to that British benevolence of which they have already experienced so generous a proof, and which is at all times so conspicuously manifested in every thing connected with the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom, that they may still be enabled to make the saving name of Jesus known to the heathen world. The assistance thus afforded will surely not be unrewarded by Him to whom the mite of the poor but cheerful giver is as acceptable as the offerings of the more opulent; for the Lord looketh on the heart." C. I. LATROBE.

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Speech of C. S. Dudley, Esq. at a late meeting of the Southampton Bible Society, (England.)

The excellent report which the Meeting have so judiciously adopted, enters so fully into the foreign operations of the Bible Society, takes such a luminous view of that moral panorama, which comprises the interest and happiness of millions; that it is unnecessary to add much to the mass of evidence collected. It will, however, be gratifying to the meeting to learn that the progress of the cause is unimpeded; that the total number of Bibles and Testaments circulated, has increased to 1,700,000, in sixtysix different languages and dialects; and that every wind of heaven wafts to the shores of this happy country some fresh expression of gratitude, some new proof of moral benefit derived, or some additional claim on our sympathy and charity.

From many distant lands the cry is still heard, “Come over, and help us ;" and it depends on the continued and increasfng zeal and co-operative spirit of our children, whether this loud and resistless appeal shall be met with that promptitude which has hitherto characterized the proceedings of the Society, and which has added to the many titles conferred by foreign gratitude on this country, that best and dearest-the land of Bibles and of charity.

In following the progress of this chariot of benevolence, it is impossible not to pause at some few stages of its course, to contemplate the moral prospect which is extended around. One of these, and not the least interesting, we find in a country which till recently we were accustomed to denominate semi-barbarous but Russia affords another proof that Christianity is the source of civilization; that education moralizes and humanizes, and that the free and open circulation of the Bible extends the atmosphere of virtue, and sheds the benign influence of religion over the nations of the earth. At Petersburg and Moscow this great work goes forward under the active patronage of the Emperor ALEXANDER. This enlightened Sovereign has recently and publicly declared, that he considered the establishment of the Russian Bible Society as the happiest event for his immense dominions; that he looked upon it as far superior to any augmentation of power or extension of territory; and that he beheld in the universal circulation of the sacred volume, and in its perusal by all his subjects, the true secret of their happiness. Not content with granting to the Society the freedom of postage, and of carriage for their correspondence and Bibles, he has lately granted them a large and commodious house in Petersburg, and has considerably augmented his liberal contributions.

Great indeed has been the degree of success with which it has pleased Divine Providence to bless the labours of the Bible Society; much has been accomplished; but let us never forget, that although it is much in comparison with what had been previously done, yet it is little in comparison with what remains to be accomplished. I have indeed been asked, since my arrival within these walls, whether, as so much had been done, the Society might now

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