After leaving the bay, we concluded there was little prospect of being received at any other port; and our men declared that their lives would be in jeopardy, if they should be received at any other port, or if they should attempt to steal ashore under cover of night. The risk of detection in the latter case was greatly increased by the minuteness of the deposition given at Miabara, which they said government would send both to Yedo and to their homes. Their disappointment was great, for their expectations had been raised to the highest pitch; and three of them now shaved their heads like Buddhist priests, in order that the hair might grow equably, thereby showing their determination to live among foreigners. All agreed that there was no other way but quietly going back, and becoming perpetual exiles!

After a pleasant passage down the coast of China, we reached Macao on the 29th of August, in the enjoyment of excellent health, and thankful that we had been preserved from all dangers.

SIRS,

VI.-Influence of Mahommedanism.

To the Editors of the Calcutta Christian Observer.

Having in a former communication, proposed a plan for assailing the Mahommedan faith throughout India, by a thorough exposure of the Qurán, I shall now suggest the means by which I conclude it may most easily be brought into operation.

A faint and desultory warfare has been for years going on between both parties; and however ineffective it may have been in favor of Christianity, from the causes I have pointed out, still our ministers and others, who have given attention to the subject, have collected much information and experience, which, by a properly organized system of co-operation, may now be turned to good account.

Every friend of the good cause may take part in the interesting work now proposed, and thus by a distribution of labor it will be accomplished with comparative ease. Let each begin with a plain statement of what has fallen under his own observation; noticing on the one hand, the most important objections that have been proposed to him, and the replies he has found most successful; and on the other the arguments he has employed against Mahommedanism, and the replies by which they have been parried; and let him state his views of how the work should be carried on. We shall then at once have, in a consolidated form, the total experience and the whole intellect of the Christian community of India, brought to bear on the subject.

To obtain this information and to arrange other necessary points, the ministers and the pious laymen of Calcutta should be invited to meet and consider the plan of proceeding, and to appoint a general committee. I presume not to dictate what should be done by the committee; that is for themselves, and for those who elect them, to decide; but I hope I may, without offence, sketch an outline, in order that each individual may, by having a tangible proposition before him, decide whether it is, or is not, or what is, in his own view, rather to be desired.

The committee, I beg to suggest, should be composed of seven individuals; who shall, in the first place, draw up a Report of what they deem the best plan of proceeding, and publish it for general information. Subscriptions should at the same time be solicited, and books for signatures be printed, and a supply sent to each station in the interior and to the other presidencies for circulation. With these lists, a circular address would have to be forwarded, asking for information of the nature above pointed out, and for aid in collecting funds*. No great length of time would be requisite to carry measures thus far, and then the committee would, from the returns, be enabled to decide which of the writers would be best employed on separate portions of the Christian commentary. few copies in sheets of the Quran in print having been obtained, those subjects which are best suited to the talents and experience of those who had supplied the previous information should be assigned to them for comment, the parts being interleaved with plain paper, and then bound for the purpose. These selections should be accompanied by a letter of instructions, a copy of Sale's translation, and, if need be, such other publication on the particular subject as can be obtained. Ten writers, having no more than nearly a dozen chapters each, would complete the annotations on the whole volume.

A

There would doubtless, in some cases, be needless repetition in the writings of men pursuing their tasks at a distance from each other without direct communication; but such redundancies would be expunged by the general committee.

The printing of the work requires some consideration; a small edition will not suffice. A mere tract might answer its purpose in an edition of 3,000 or 5,000 copies; but, for a work of such extensive application, any number short of 20,000 would not supply the wants of any large portion of the country. A small edition, too, causes each copy to be comparatively dear, while the cost of labor spread over an extensive supply becomes so trifling, that the charge on each copy would amount to little more than the price of paper and the disbursement for stitching or binding†. The greater number should be struck off on durable country paper and stitched in strong paper covers, while a portion might be printed on fine paper and bound for private sale. It would not however be necessary to put the whole edition through the press at once; but just as indents come in from the various stations, supplies should be prepared; and in this way the loss sustained in this country to some publications by damp and vermin would be avoided. It must however be borne in mind, that no printing establishment could afford to have such a large quantity of type standing for one work, and therefore it would be very desirable to have the pages stereotyped; which would also be a cheap method. I am not aware that there is any thing to prevent this being done, (though it has never yet been tried in India ;) for the process is simple. There is however another resource noticed by Mr. Babbage, which is to print with the proper ink on transfer paper, and take the impression of each form on a lithographic stone, the printing from which will have all the regularity of type with greater smoothness. The work might thus, at a small cost, be put in progress at every station where there is a lithographic establishment, to the extent required for the surrounding country. Either of these methods will

If, as I hope the plan (however modified) should be adopted, you have my authority to put down "*" for two hundred rupees-a sum by no means commensurate with my wishes,-but I am limited in my means.

I have a printing estimate before me for editions of a work graduating from 100 to 500 copies; in which the rate per cent. for 500 copies amounts to less than a moiety of that for one hundred.

allow of such alterations being made as experience may suggest ; both the stereotype plates and the lithographic stones admitting of corrections of press; and as a work may thus be perpetuated, it may gradu ally undergo such emendation as will, in the course of time, render it as nearly perfect as possible.

Considering the quality of the paper-the reduced cost at which a large contract for its supply might be obtained,-the substitution of stitched covers for the usual costly leather bindings,-and the lessened charge of printing for a great edition, I should suppose that the total cost would not exceed Rs. 35,000, or about one rupee twelve anas a copy. But with charges for correspondence, transit and other requisite disbursements, it may be necessary to have a fund amounting to not less than Rs. 40,000.

Were it necessary to depend upon the Indian community alone, for subscriptions to this amount, there would be little prospect of success :but be it remembered that the object is one in which Christians of every denomination might unite without dissension, as easily as they unite in the support of your periodical. It is not only Bengal and Hindustan that are interested, but the whole Christian world; and every friend of the Missionary cause in Great Britain, America, Germany, Sweden and Prussia, as well as the colonies of Australia, the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon, might be invited, through the press and the societies already established, to contribute. Once let the work spread through Hindustan and it may, by translation, extend over the rest of the Peninsula, through Persia, Egypt, Arabia, and Turkey, and ultimately be distributed among the Mahommedans of Burmah, Siam, Sumatra, the Straits, Manilla and the Cape, indeed wherever Mahommedanism exists. This of course must be the work of time; but by the blessing of God the nucleus of a vast system may now be organized, that not all the power that Satan may raise to defend his favoured volume of falsehood, shall be able to counteract.

I would here pause, and ask whether fifty times the amount of my estimate would be any thing beyond what might, by proper effort, be collected from the Christian world, or any thing commensurate with the importance of the object? Let us all unite in prayer to the Almighty, that he will direct us in this undertaking, that he will give us the aid of the Holy Spirit to indite what is in accordance with his will; and that he will now begin to call this people into the inheritance of our Almighty Saviour!

I fervently hope that much more than my estimate will be obtained; for be it remembered that we shall have to answer the objections of the Mahommedans; that the publication of several pamphlets may be necessary, that it is a part of my original suggestion to keep up a brisk attack by means of numerous tracts. We are not to calculate too much on the sale of copies of the leading work; at any rate, not so much will this way be obtained as will repay the actual outlay. The books however will be bought by the Mahommedans, from various motives; and I strongly recommend that a great portion of the edition should be sold at auctions as they occur at the principal stations of the mofussil. The people always buy the Testament when thus sold, sometimes for the purpose of perusal, at other times to keep it out of the hands of those they think might be influenced by it. Gratuitous distribution would be dangerous; copies might be taken to be destroyed; but when a price has been given, however small, the work will generally be secure. The money returns will also come in speedily and so help the continuation of the printing ;-and there will be little risk of ill-will towards those whose agency is employed in the distribution.

Perhaps it may be useful here to annex Mr. Babbage's remark on the lithographic transfer alluded to above.

"There is one application of lithographic printing which does not appear to have received sufficient attention, and perhaps further experiments are necessary to bring it to perfection-it is the reprinting of works which have just arrived from other countries. A few years ago one of the Paris newspapers was reprinted at Brussels as soon as it arrived, by means of lithography. Whilst the ink is yet fresh this may easily be accomplished: it is only necessary to place one copy of the newspaper on a lithographic stone; and by means of great pressure applied to it in a rolling press, a sufficient quantity of the printing ink will be transferred to the stone. By similar means, the other side of the newspaper may be copied on another, and these stones will then furnish impressions in the usual way. If printing from stone could be reduced to the same price per thousand as that from moveable types, this process might be adopted with great advantage for the supply of works for the use of distant countries possessing the same language. For a single copy of the work might be printed off with transfer ink, which is better adapted to this purpose; and thus an English work, for example, might be published in America from stone, whilst the original, printed from moveable types, made its appearance on the same day in England."

Thus the extra of the Englishman, instead of being printed as proposed in England, might be composed there and a few copies struck off for transfer at Bombay and Calcutta, or at any other places deemed convenient, instead of sending out a huge packet. In the same way the commentary struck off at Calcutta for transfer, might be printed to any extent at a small charge in any part of the country.

I have observed that now is the time for making this great effort. The groundless fears of Government no longer stand in the way of such effort. Christians may now, openly and without constraint, disseminate their opi nions. The people know that it is our design as well as our duty to do so; and more wonder at our silence than they will at the increase of our efforts. The press is unshackled, and no authority, as in times past, can prevent such a publication. The time is ripe, and with all the means at our command, used meekly and in a Christian spirit, we have every reason to hope for success. Prophecy encourages us, the commands of God are on our consciences, and every requisite is at our disposal. The temporal power of Mahommedanism is nearly at an end. Every where it is either encountered or subjected by nations of Christian name. Throughout India it has yielded to British sway; in the colonies it is subjected to or combated by various European powers, Egypt has the burden of prophecy on her neck; which, with all the efforts of her ruler, she will never be able to shake off. The right hand of Persia is paralyzed in the grasp of the Russian eagle, while her beak is laid to the throat of Turkish power, from which she is year by year drawing its best energies*. Christians! arouse yourselves, and do your duty; Providence appears to have reserved this great conquest for you. Spare not now your talents or your exertions. Spare not now your treasure, but lay up for yourselves treasure for all eternity. You are the stewards of the treasure of the visible church ;-you are the watchmen of the dawn; see that the blood of this people be not required at your hands. God grant that we may soon have to embrace them as brethren in Christ Jesus, Amen!

* The Mahammadans say that their faith will remain firm as long as Turkey preserves independence. This is their last hope.

REVIEW.

Sermons by the Right Rev. Daniel Corrie, L. L. D. Late Bishop of Madras. 1837.

Scarcely had we concluded our notice of the late Bishop Corrie's Charge, published in the Observer of November last, when this volume of his Sermons reached us, by the favour of a friend to whom we stand indebted for the loan. We are glad to be thus enabled to add to our Memoir of Bishop Corrie, in the number for April, and the Review of his Charge already named, a somewhat extended series of extracts from the present volume, by which our readers will be able to compare his life and what he enjoined on his clergy, with his own ministerial teachings. The Editor, (whom we take to be the Bishop's eldest daughter,) in a short preface states the twenty-six Sermons now given to the world to have been selected from among all that he had "left behind him after a ministry of 30 years in India." The selection has been determined by the probable estimate of the deceased prelate himself, as shewn by his own MS. notation of the number of times each Sermon had been delivered by him; and the criterion was seemingly a just one.

In reading the published discourses of one with whose personal ministrations we have been familiar, it is next to an impossibility not to bring his appearance, manner, gesture, intonation, and all his most distinguishing peculiarities before the mind's eye; and much indeed of the effect, to those who are in such a predicament, will usually depend on these associations. We love to recal the person and address, the peculiar phraseology, the features, now clouded with a movement of pity or of disapproval or of sympathy, now animated with the earnestness of zeal, satisfaction and delight,-of him whose living voice we can no longer hear. This real, though illusive, pleasure we have experienced in going over the present volume.

The second Sermon we preached in India, some 15 years back, was at Corrie's request, in his own church (temporarily such) at Dum-Dum. It was on that vital doctrine of the Gospel of Christ, the converting influence of the Spirit of God; and it was a high satisfaction to be assured on descending from the pulpit by such a man as Corrie, that the doctrine then delivered was just the sort of teaching that was required in India." We would not be deemed to say this in a spirit of selfcomplacency, but it might surely be well allowed to any man, especially to a young minister, anxious to do the work of an evangelist, to have secured the favourable judgment of a Corrie on his