spent as in preaching to the adult heathen population.. It is a fact, however, that the guardianship of 80 many children—a guardianship which involves not only their education, but their marriage, settlement in life, and, to some extent, their temporal affairs afterwards-has made a great demand on the time and energy of the missionary, and has necessarily tended to draw him away from his great work of preaching among the heathen the unsearchable riches of Christ. Moreover, for some years to come, or till such time as those now in the orphanages are settled, the missionaries in charge must be involved in secular affairs-affairs which are often a source of great anxiety, great expense, and great annoyance. Now, however, that christianity has attained a local habitation and a name, and our native community has become so large, it does seem that, if we are not to become more and more secularized, we shall be compelled gradually to withdraw ourselves from responsibility in connection with the secular affairs of our native christians, and to throw the burden upon themselves. As regards the past I do not see how, on the whole, we could have done differently from what we have done; and as regards the future we shall endeavour, like Issachar of old, to have understanding of the times, to know what we ought to do. What we now seem particularly to require is a reinforcement of vigourous, intelligent, earnest, devoted young men-men who from love to Christ shall count it their joy, their honour, and their life, to proclaim to the Oreahs, in their own tongue, the gospel of God's grace. So few have been the labourers in the field, and so great the demand upon their time and strength, that the missionaries have not been able to devote themselves as they could wish to evangelistic labours among the heathen. Moreover, having been exposed for many years to the debilitating effects of an Indian climate, it is not surprising that they should feel less vigourous than they did in the early part of their missionary life. If, therefore, the glorious work of evangelizing Orissa-the work which our fathers undertook, and to which we are pledged-is to be completed, let this jubilee of the arrival of the first missionaries in the province be cele

brated, not simply by dead speeches and resolutions, but by sending men, REAL LIVING MEN, into this chosen field of labour.

SPECIAL LEGISLATION FOR POOREE.

BY THE REV. W. BAILEY.

THE pages of the Observer and Annual Report of the Mission have contained, for more than forty years, graphic descriptions of the appalling wretchedness and misery of the pilgrims who visit the shrine at Pooree. Some of these descriptions, especially those written by Charles Lacey, can never be forgotten. But the most graphic pen has never fully described the awful scenes that are witnessed at the annual car festival. In no city under heaven has human life been so wantonly and wickedly sacrificed; and at no shrine in this land of temples have the sorrows of those who hasten after another god been so terribly multiplied. No chronicle contains the names of those who have died in the city, and on their weary way to and from the shrine, and no sanitary report contains a record of the pestilence that the pilgrims have carried on the lines of road right even to the very limits of the empire. Could such a revelation be made for the past eight hundred years, there would be nothing in the annals of human misery that could possibly compare with it!

The fact of a few devotees throwing themselves beneath the wheels of the car excited the horror of the whole civilized world; but the victims of cholera, of which there have often been several hundreds in a single night, have died under far more revolting circumstances. As soon as ever they were seized with the deadly plague, no matter whether old or young, they were cast out into the streets reeking with filth; and without an atom of sympathy from the wretched creatures that had enticed them from their homes, they were left to die. As soon as death had put an end to their suffering the scavengers stripped them of their clothing, and with rope and pole carried them to the nearest golgotha, and there left them, without shroud or grave, to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey.

The Thugs, who were not more in

fatuated than the pilgrim hunters, were tracked with such vigilance that every one was captured, and this atrocious crime completely stamped out. The fires of the suttee were put out in the days of Lord William Bentinck; and to put an end to human sacrifices on the hill tracts of Orissa a costly agency was established, and when its work was done, the magistrate and the police officer were sent to the very heart of the country to prevent the practice ever more being revived. But until the year of grace, 1871, no really effective steps have been taken by the Government of Bengal to improve the sanitary state of Pooree, and to stop this wholesale slaughter of human life! Nearly all the large cities and towns are under municipal laws, but the Sanitary Commnissioners found Pooree such a scene of continued abomination that it has been found necessary to pass a Special Act in this case. cannot for very shame describe the revelations which were made by eyewitnesses in the Council Chamber on the introduction of the Bill. But it makes one feel sad that England should ever have patronized a system so prolific of misery and crime; and our sadness is not lessened by the reasons now assigned for legislation, as the evils sought to be removed were as palpable fifty years ago as they are to-day! Though the past cannot be atoned for, we rejoice that the Special Act, which appears in the Calcutta Gazette of the 25th January, will soon become law.

I

A Health Officer is to be appointed to control and direct the sanitation and conservancy of the town of Pooree and of the main lines leading thereto. The Magistrate is authorized to issue licenses to lodging-house keepers; but before such licenses can be granted it will be necessary for the Health Officer to state the nature and extent of the accommodation of such lodging-house, whether it is sufficiently ventilated, and has within reasonable distance a sufficient supply of water fit for human consumption. If any infectious or contagious disease should be prevalent in the vicinity of such lodging-house the Magistrate will have power either to revoke, or for a time to suspend the license. Every lodging-house will be under the inspection of the Magistrate and Health Officer; and even without the consent of the owner or occupier of

the house will have the right to examine the compartments. Every owner of any honse who shall take a lodger without a license will be fined two rupees for every lodger for each night. Every keeper of a lodging-house will have to make a report to the person in charge of the nearest police station of each birth, death, or grave accident, or sudden and serious sickness, as early as possible; and every day, at such seasons of the year as the Magistrate may appoint, will have to report in writing the names of all persons who have been inmates on the previous night. Any violation of the sanitary laws in this bill will meet with a heavy punishment. The town is to be thoroughly cleansed; and no one, under any pretence, will be allowed to violate the laws of health. In fact the Act is so complete that it will effect a complete revolution in the manners and customs of the people. It is supposed that about 19,000 rupees will be realized annually from the licenses and fines, and the whole of this sum will be appropriated to the building of hospitals on the lines of road, in procuring a sufficient supply of water, and other sanitary improvements. We cannot, however, but regret that there is not some provision made to check the infamous practices of the pilgrim hunters, as they, after all, are the chief cause of the misery and crime. The native members of council warmly approve of the measure; but what impression has been made on the priests and pundahs of Pooree we have not been able to ascertain. Our own conviction is that it will lessen the number of pilgrims, as Hindooism cannot flourish amid cleanliness, order, and decency.

posed, which met with hearty approval; and it was suggested that it should be held in our school-room. The men were requested to bring their wives and all their children; and such a gathering in this small station is not often seen. The sepoys were sent to decorate the room. There was only one motto, which was tastefully arranged by one of the officers; but this included all that could be desired"And ye are all one in Christ Jesus.' The table was liberally provided, and was free to all the guests.

and others in the regiment had made for their spiritual welfare; and in touching strains it spoke of the deep regret that was felt by all at his departure. The reply of the veteran soldier will not soon be forgotten. With tearful earnestness he besought them all to hold fast to the truth. One who had been accustomed to meet with us had been suddenly called away by cholera. He was with us in the sanctuary on the previous Sunday evening, and the next day but one he had finished his course. His end was peace. There was no mistake about the estimation in which the late commandant was held by the men of his regiment, and the natives of the town. Godly men, whether in the military or civil service of this country, exercise an influence which is peculiar to themselves, and these are indisputable facts to prove that the saints are the saviours of the nation. W. BAILEY.

CUTTACK-W. Miller, May 14.

THE last evening of our Lord's life was come; in less than twenty-four hours He would accomplish His decease at Jerusalem. Events followed each other in rapid succession. During the first part of that memorable night our Lord met His twelve disciples in the upper chamber, set them an example of humility and brotherly kindness by washing their feet, foretold the betrayal of Judas and the three denials of Peter, ate the Hebrew Passover, and instituted His own memorial supper. Immediately preceding the scenes of Gethsemane, and those before Annas and Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate, He delivered that comforting discourse recorded in the three preceding chapters, which, in in connection with this chapter, have been called the Holy of Holies of the evangelic history; after which He lifted up His eyes to heaven and offered an intercessory prayer, the

matter of which, happily, we are not left to conjecture.

In the first five verses our Lord makes reference to Himself. "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son." Sustain Him through the conflict, accept His sacrifice, raise Him up from the dead, exalt Him to Thy own right hand to be a Prince and Saviour, "that Thy Son," by the mission of the Comforter and the salvation of souls, "may glorify Thee." Thus would the covenant be fulfilled by which the Father had committed all things into His hand, and given Him power over all flesh, with the gracious intent, that He should give eternal life to as many as were given Him. So resolved is He to pass through His baptism of suffering, and so confident is He of the issue, that in anticipation of His triumph He says, "I have glorified Thee on the earth : I have finished the work which Thou

VOL. LXXIV.-NEW SERIES, No. 32.

gavest me to do." And then He prays-though not in the terms of a suppliant-that in addition to His mediatorial glory which then He was about first to assume, to be re-invested with the glory which He had laid aside, "Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self"-as Thy fellow and equal-" with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."

In the next fourteen verses our Lord makes special reference to His twelve disciples. As a man's heart is never so fully and freely opened as when in secret he communes with the God he loves, so in this prayer the depths of our Lord's inner life are opened up, and the intense desires of His loving heart on behalf of the twelve are fully revealed. What proof is here supplied of His words,

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." Touching the spiritual status and attainments of His disciples, His expressions again anticipate and are meant to be understood in all their fulness after His resurrection and the mission of the Comforter; for the Spirit completed their education and matured their piety.

With this in view our Lord says, I have manifested Thy name unto them; I have given them the words which Thou gavest me; in that name, in the knowledge and love of Thy revealed character, I have kept them; "The men that Thou gavest me out of the world," I have tutored and sanctified, so that "they are not of the world even as I am not of the world;" they are a compact and holy brotherhood, are convinced of my mission, and agreed in their testimony; "As Thou hast sent me into the world even so have I sent them into the world;" "I pray for them," that they may be kept in Thy name, preserved on the one hand from outward evil, and on the other sanctified by the indwelling of the truth. He prays for them, not primarily for their success and well-being, for to Him and His cause their character

was everything; His last loving prayer was for their piety, and for their sakes He sanctified Himself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

In the four verses which follow those referred to, and which contain the subject of our present meditation, our Lord's sympathies extend to present and subsequent time. He prays for all who shall believe on Him through their word; that the oneness which existed among the twelve may exist in the church when its numbers increase, that they all may be one; further He prays that the unity of the church may convince the world of His mission, and of His people's sonship; in other words, in the unity of the church are the credentials of Christ.

"Neither pray I," &c.

I. THE NATURE OF THE UNITY OUR LORD PRAYED FOR.

II. THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS SECURED.

III. THE END TO BE REALIZED THEREBY.

I.-The nature of the unity our Lord prayed for. Four times the expression is repeated in the text, and three times with suggestive additions. "That they all may be one.' "That they also may be one in us.' "That they may be one even as we are one." And, "That they may be made perfect in one." These additional terms help to the understanding of the unity, inasmuch as they speak of a divine pattern-" one as we are one;" of the degree it is to reach-" that they may be made perfect in one;" and of all the persons who are to participate therein-" that they also may be one in us."

Here is a divine pattern-“ As Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee." And again-" Even as we are one." What meaneth this? There is a oneness between the Father and His only, His own, His only begotten Son, which is infinitely above the