that he, improving on the wisdom of Providence, has thought it better to conceal what God has openly performed? Or does he doubt whether the facts he speaks of, be the works of the spirit of God, or some other spirit, and therefore thinks it most prudent to conceal them? Or is he afraid that these things are evidently so extravagant, that if published they would bring utter discredit upon himself and his whole system of proselytism? To me the last conjecture seems most likely, but I shall leave it to himself to adopt any of them, nor envy him the choice of alternatives. But how must this grave committee have looked at each other at the time this letter was read; and they were told in plain terms, by this German apostle, that even they, his lords and masters, the directors of the whole machinery, were not thought worthy to be entrusted with the knowledge of these wonderful indications of grace !!!

5thly. Mr. Johnson was at last forced to return home from his miraculous mission, to accompany his wife, who was unwell. Hear how he laments the circumstance. It is quite edifying, and it was no doubt printed for that purpose. “To leave my people seemed insupportable-to leave my afflicted wife seemed equally so. Tears and restless nights were my portion. I saw my duty on the one hand, as a husband, to accompany my dear wife in her affliction and on the other I feared to become a careless shepherd. And as trials of this nature seldom come by themselves, doubts and fears of my own state began to prevail, and I scarcely knew whether I was a Christian." 95. What an extraordinary connection of ideas! His wife's sickness makes him doubt his own Christianity? Who after this will dare to enumerate all the evils to which we mortals are expos ed? Poor man, we thought he had come out of the Moravian chapel so perfect, as to defy all future falls. But we have all of us heard of another almost as perfect as Mr. Johnson, who some thousand years ago, also fell by a wife's infirmity.

6thly. I have said that Mr. J. would not give money to the negroes, but was ready enough to take it from them. This forces me to give one trait more in the character of this man, whom I should otherwise now have dismissed with a coup de grace, for I think I have detained both him and the reader long enough. I will give it in the words of his fellow labourer.

6

"Mr. J. and myself entered the names of subscribers, and received their mites. One moment after we were ready to receive their money and names, we were surrounded by many humble friends to missionary exertions, crying as it were with one voice, Massa, take my money; massa, take my money, eight coppers one moon.' It was indeed a pleasing sight to behold a people with cheerful and renewed hearts giving up their little substance to aid those means, which, by the blessing of God, will communicate the privilege of the gospel to their countrymen also. From these poor and despised Africans we collected that evening, 21. 7s." 93. To some people this may be a pleasing sight-to me it is most painful to see these poor creatures despoiled of pittances, which might afford them some of the comforts of life, in order to support a set of men, who feel none of the inconveniences of life, to which they are exposed. One everlasting mark, and the only one in which they have any success, attaches to these missionaries. Let them go where they will, they can always find some pretence for raising money, or something convertible into money. Money is the eternal song-the life, the spirit, the energy of the gospelwhich flourishes where there is plenty of money, and droops immediately where that is not to be found. It is amazing what a commotion is every where raised about money, and how far they have departed from our Saviour's injunction, who commanded his apostle's to go without staff or scrip.

In the foregoing remarks, the reader has seen what kind of characters the best of these missionaries are. What good can be expected from such illiterate, enthusiastic, selfish, and selfconceited characters! Much better for society had it been, if Mr. Johnson, and such-like, were never to emerge from the handicraft professions, by which they were destined to gain a livelihood. One thing is quite certain, no change for the better will ever be made in the religious world by such means. only good they will do, will be to themselves. They may escape some of the horrors of poverty, and leave the heathenish world much the same as they found it.

The

In perusing the Protestant accounts of their missions from which the foregoing extracts are taken, it frequently happened that I found mention made of the Roman Catholics. Seldom indeed

PROTESTANT MISSIONS AND MISSIONARY

SOCIETIES.

(Continued from p. 179.)

SPECIMEN OF A PROTESTANT MISSIONARY.

Ir will be observed that throughout the whole of this review I have always 'spoken contemptuously of the Missionaries employed by the Protestants. I could not do otherwise, for much perusal of their proceedings has only served to give me great contempt for the agents. But the judicious reader will perhaps expect that I should give him some reasons for my contempt. In justification therefore of myself, and to shew still more clearly what may be expected from the men who are to perform such glorious things among the heathens, I will sketch out the character of one of these missionaries. And I will take for my model one who is a particular favourite with the committee on account of his being a perfect character, and is even held up as an example for all others to imitate. His name is Johnson; his station among the liberated slaves of Africa.

241.

1. In the first place he is a German, and of course a Lutheran, or at least something different from a church-of-England man. I ought rather to say he had no religion at all, for this 'is the account he gives of himself. "I left my father's house and native country (Hanover) ignorant of real religion. In that state I came to London, and lived here in the common courses of the world till 1812. page 244. Hitherto then there was little of the apostolic or sacerdotal character about him. St. Paul was suddenly called to be an apostle; so was Mr. Johnson! Let us hear from himself how this happened.

2ndly. "It pleased God to bring me into many outward difficulties, and to overrule them for my spiritual good." These outward difficulties being interpreted in the vernacular tongue, would signify, I should suppose, that his trade, whatever it was, went not well with him; in fine, that he was poor, and could not get a living. What then? He continues his narrative thus: "Having heard that divine service was held at the German chapel in the Savoy, on Monday and Friday evenings,

I purposed to go on the following Friday. When the day came, I went thither almost in despair on account of my sins. A missionary of the united brethren gave an exhortation that evening. He explained the love of Jesus in dying for sinners, and stood with open arms exclaiming, is there a sinner here full of sin, and ready to sink under it, I bid in the name of Jesus such an one to come to him. This gracious invitation was what I stood in need of. I was enabled to cast my burthen before the Lord, and I found peace I trust through his precious blood. I went home quite another man. From that time I began to attend missionary and bible meetings," &c. Surprising indeed!! How soon the scene is changed! In the early part of the paragraph we were told something about outward difficulties, and now it is altogether changed into despair about his sins. Are these latter words meant as a comment upon the former? But then he ought rather to have called them inward difficulties. They may how ever denote an accumulation of distress; he, poor man! was probably straitened both ways. Yet fortunately for him it was not of long duration. He came out quite another man. Here Mr. Johnson surpasses St. Paul far away. The latter fasted and prayed some days, and was instructed and baptized by Ananias. Mr. Johnson stood in no need of any thing in that way. He was thrown into the crucible a lump of dross, and came out instantly the purest gold. This is a metamorpho-> sis of an extraordinary nature, proposed by this ingenious fo-> reigner. to John Bull's admiration, who simply believes all the interior workings of this fanatic to be heavenly inspirations, and now pays him well to work up the poor slaves of Africa into the same state. I will answer for it he has no outward difficul ties at present. He has lost sight of them since he attended bible and 'missionary meetings.

3dly. For in the third place, this Mr. J. is not only a fanatic himself, but wishes to make all others so. This is illustrated in the account he gives of his labours among the Africans. "When I first went among the negroes (says he) after I had armed myself with the bible, I told them why I came. If they desired to reud God's book, I would instruct them....After ser-` vice I had the great mortification of visits from some of my

Nor would any one

is honourable mention made of them. acquainted with the character of these missionaries expect it to be otherwise. Low and vulgar abuse is most congenial to vulgar minds. This will account for the epithets, which are bestowed on Catholics, by these missionaries. While they are inviting all the discordant religions on earth to join in the glorious cause, there is always one exception. In Catholic missious they have no pleasure; their success they will hinder where they can, and depreciate where they cannot hinder. In every respect they bear such hostility to the very name of a Catholic, as can only be accounted for either by the profound remark of the historian, O disti, quem læsius, "you never forgive the man you have injured," or from a still meaner motive of envy and jealousy, when they see the prosperity of those whom they cannot imitate. Perhaps also they are influenced by the spirit of darkness, who urges them on by all means and upon all occasions to oppose the light wherever they find it. Yet see how light is brought out of darkness. By the very naming of Catholics, what do these missionaries do? They proclaim a truth which they did not intend, and bear testimony to the success of our missions. I shall present the reader with a few extracts.

In China the Protestants have not been able yet to get a footing. Dr. Milne, who was sent thither, says it was the jealousy of the Roman Catholics, which forced him to retire, but the following extract from the Missionary Register, 43, will give a more satisfactory reason why he could not stay, where Catholics could. "The R. Catholic missions, which have long existed in China, are in a precarious state. Edicts are occasionally issued against the Christian religion, and both European and Chinese Christians suffer martyrdom. Yet the Catholic religion it is reported is extending itself in the midst of these persecutions." When shall we find a single extract among all their own accounts so creditable to their missionaries, as this is to ours?

Again, we are are told in the accounts from Bombay, "Popery has survived the temporal power of those who introduced it, because by the erection of churches, and the permanent succession of ecclesiastical leaders, they gave it an outward stability." This fact must appear particulurly surprising to a Protestant, whose religion is so interwoven with government