In the commencement of the year, things wore a distressing appearance, and we went forward with our work under many discouragements. But in the progress of the year I do not know of any part of the time since I have been here, in which a greater degree of the Divine blessing appears to have rested on my labours, as far as the native population is concerned. Twenty-three Singalese, and one Tamil man, after subjecting them to a considerable trial, and private as well as public instruction, have been baptized and added to the church, and they appear to continue to walk according to the vows they have made. Sixteen of these live contiguous to the village called Byamvillee, which I either supply myself or some of our friends, every Sabbath-day; so that we have now a little church in that village of twenty-eight members, to whom the word of God is regularly preached, and the ordinances of His house duly administered. By the aid, too, of some of the members of our Singalese church, we have been enabled, on a Sabbath-day, to carry on a village itinerancy to a greater extent than before. So that, in addition to the Singalese, Portuguese, and English services, which are conducted in our regular places of worship in the Grand Pass, Pettah, in the Fort, and Hanwella, we have seven places around Colombo, or in the environs of it, where there is Singalese preaching, either every Sabbath or every other Sabbath-day. These are independent of many places to which, on week days, we go to make known the name of the Saviour.
In consequence of the recent removals of the 61st and 97th regiments from Colombo to other parts of the island, our English church has been almost entirely scattered; but a small number are now again collected, who have been regularly organized into a Christian society. Our schools, which at the commencement of the year were much diminished by the alarming prevalence of the small-pox, have again recovered to in general their former size; especially the female school in our own yard, conducted by my own family, which now numbers more than fifty scholars, who have made very rapid progress in reading and in needlework. I fear unless we can obtain further assistance in this school, it must for a time be renounced, as my eldest daughter appears, by a continued pain in her side, to labour under a liver complaint, which renders a relaxation of her labours indispensably necessary, even if a removal to a colder clime be not requisite to save her life. Our schools, with the exception of one, which, on account of local circumstances, has for a time been lately discontinued, are the same in number as at the conclusion of the last year—and the number of attendants nearly the same.
The inhabitants of this part of the island have been much afflicted lately by a dreadful flood, which no one living ever recollects to have been equalled. It came on suddenly and unexpectedly, at mid-night, like the judgment day. By it multitudes were roused from their slumbers, and obliged to fly for their lives. Many were killed by it; the houses of others destroyed—and being near the approach of harvest, the injury done to the rice and other crops is incalculable. Many of our members have suffered severely from it, in the loss of their little property, in the destruction of their houses, and in the bodily privations they have endured. I went on Wednesday last to preach at a village where one of our members lives, and the account he gave me of the perilous condition in which he and his family were, was most heart-rending. The water rose as high as the shoulders of a tall man in his house. His dwelling was washed away. He and his son were obliged to ascend to the outside of the roof of a bungalow, where they remained two days without food; if they called no one could hear them, they could get near no one, nor any one near to them. There, amidst the pelting of the rain—the howling of the wind—the creaking of the trees—and the fear of the place on which they were sitting falling, they were obliged to continue. The government, with the most commendable diligence, sent boats laden with rice and dried fish, as far as they were able; and a subscription has been opened to afford relief to the sufferers, which has been liberally supported. I engaged persons, whom I supplied with money, to go among the most needy in and near to Colombo, and give them food to prevent their dying with hunger. Our meeting-house at Hanwella has been entirely destroyed by the inundation; and, in the present state of things there, I do not think it expedient to build it again. A small bungalow will be erected for the accommodation of those who wish to hear the word of God; and I hope to obtain a sufficient quantity of timber from the wreck to erect a little place of worship at Byamvillee, if I can obtain sufficient subscriptions for it.
I have now my hands completely full in preparing an answer to a Catholic priest's reply to a tract I published on saint and image worship. I believe I mentioned the original tract, entitled, "St. Antonio," in my last, which has excited no small stir among the papists in this place. An abusive and crafty reply has been circulated by them, to which the Tract Society here has deemed a rejoinder requisite. As I was the person who began the assault, the burden of preparing it has fallen on me. The drift of the answer will be to disprove the authority of tradition—to destroy the claims of the Roman Catholic church—and show the vanity of the arguments by which they endeavour to support their soul-destroying idolatry. It will occupy, as far as I can judge, about 250 pages, and is now nearly ready for press. Indeed the first sheet is gone to it; but as the Wesleyan press works very slowly, and they have two or three other works in hand, it may be some time before it makes its appearance. O that it may be the means of leading some of the multitudes of the deluded people by whom we are surrounded, to consult the Bible for themselves!
SEEBPORE.
We are thankful to report that our friends Mr. and Mrs. Penney, and their companions, arrived in safety at Calcutta, about the end of September. Two months afterwards, as our readers will perceive by the following letter, Mr. and Mrs. George Pearce rejoined their missionary associates, with health mercifully recruited by their voyage.
By the good providence of God my dear partner and I arrived once more in Calcutta, in safety, about the end of November last, after a speedy and pleasant passage to the shores of India, of three months and twenty days. The voyage proved very beneficial to the health of us both, but particularly so to Mrs. Pearce, who landed here much stronger than she was when she left Bristol. We had the happiness of finding all our immediate associates well; and that Mr. Penney, with his companions (with the exception of Mrs. Anderson, of whose lamented decease you have long ere this been apprised), had arrived in safety. I mentioned in my letter to you from Madeira, that the Captain of the St. George had requested me to conduct divine service on the Lord's-day. This I continued to do till the close of the voyage, and I had the happiness to witness the regular attendance of most of the passengers, as well as the ship's company. We have to speak in the best terms of the treatment we received from the Captain and officers of the ship, and also from the passengers.
I should have written to you before this, but I was anxious to inform you at the same time of the station we are to occupy in future. That point is now settled, and Seebpore, the place I mentioned to the Committee when in England, is to be the place of my future labours. Here I have already obtained a house, situated on the bank of the river, about a mile and a half below brother Thomas's, at Howrah, and am now residing in it. The spot will prove, I hope, a very eligible one for native work, as we are in the midst of a very dense and respectable Hindoo population, with ready access to numerous villages a few miles in the interior. With the exception of one or two schools for teaching Bengalee, under the patronage of the Bishop's College, there is nothing being done here, for the instruction of the heathen in the knowledge of Christ; and I believe of late years, nothing has been done. As far as I know of Calcutta and its suburbs, there is no spot that I am aware of, that needs missionary efforts more than Seebpore, and none more eligible. May the blessing of God attend the efforts now about to be made for their spiritual benefit!
The brethren have requested me also to resume charge of the Luckyantipore station, and to take the oversight of Kharee also, as brother W. H. Pearce is desirous of relinquishing it, in consequence of his increasing work in Calcutta. This I have consented to do, not however without being in some measure sensible of the arduous nature of the work now devolving on me; especially as the number of people at the stations have considerably increased, and are greatly increasing. I would, however, humbly look to Him who giveth strength according to our day. This department of my work will occasion my leaving home for days together several times in the year. The brethren have also considered it proper to divide the Christian Boarding School; and as Mrs. Ellis was desirous of some relief, owing to the increase of the schools, her weaker state of health, and the increasing cares of her family, Mrs. Pearce has been requested to take charge of the girls' department; which she has consented to do; and in the course of a few days expects to enter again on this interesting sphere of labour. I have little more to add, excepting just to mention that, about ten days after my arrival, I accompanied brother W. H. Pearce on a journey to Luckyantipore, where we had the pleasure of baptizing eight natives. A full account of this interesting journey you may soon expect.