CHRISTIAN FRIENDS THE picture which we present to you for this quarter appears to us one of the very brightest and most encouraging we have ever been able to put into your hands. Who are these that compose this cluster of dark faces? Is it a Christian Missionary surrounded by some of his converts? This would be a pleasant sight; but it is far more than this. Each one of these dark faces is the face of a native clergyman. They are some of the Native Ministers in Tinnevelly, South India; and amongst them sits our veteran Missionary, the Rev. J. Thomas-the instrument, under God, of bringing several of them to the knowledge of the One True Saviour, and of training them up as Catechists and Teachers, till they were fit to be presented to the Bishop of Madras for holy orders. What an advance does it show ina Mission, when we can begin to reckon up its Native Clergy! First of all, a foreign Missionary goes into a heathen land. He is the one Christian there. All the rest are Heathen. He sows the seed of the Word. It falls into some heart; the dew of the Spirit and the rays of the Sun of Righteousness cause it to spring up, and the tender blade appears. Some Heathen becomes a Christian. Two or three more, ten or twenty more, follow. They are still very ignorant; who is to teach them? There are now too many for the English Missionary, so he chooses out some Christian native who has more knowledge than the rest: he can read; he can write; and better still, he seems to know much of the evil of sin, and the value of a Saviour. And so he is made a teacher of the others. Gradually, the converts multiply. More Teachers are wanted, and we establish an Institution, where the most pious and promising of the Christians may be thoroughly prepared and fitted for the work of Teachers. The body of Native Teachers is by this time larger than the whole body of converts was some years before. They are sent out into the Mission, and are put in charge of small village congregations; and so we learn whether they have the gift of preaching, and can gain the respect and love of the people among whom they live. And then comes the question-Have they not, as St. Paul says, "purchased to themselves a good degree?" May not some of them be ordained, and administer, as it is needed, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord? And So, first one perhaps, and then two or three more, are presented to the Bishop for ordination to serve Christ in the sacred ministry of His Church. Now this was just the history of the work in Tinnevelly. You will see, Christian Friends, that there must have been many prayers, many years of labour, much of God's blessing on a Mission, before all this can happen. And it is because it is a visible sign of the Lord's blessing on our work, that we look with so much pleasure on this group of Native Ministers on the other side of the page. And they are far from being all the Native Ministers in South India, or even in Tinnevelly. There are now twenty-three there altogether; but the picture brings before you some of the oldest and some of the youngest of them. In a chair opposite Mr. Thomas sits the venerable John Devasagayam, now more than seventy years of age. He has been thirty years a clergyman, and he was a catechist for fourteen years before that. To the left sits his eldest son, the Rev. Jesudasen John, the second Native Minister ordained in Tinnevelly. We may call him a kind of curate to his father. He helps him in his district, Kadatchapuram, or Grace-Town, as it is called. Behind the chair of old Mr. John stands his son-in-law, who was ordained Deacon by the Bishop of Madras last Christmas, together with seven others; when five Native Deacons also were admitted to Priests' Orders. The Bishop required them all to write him an account of their conversion and previous history, and their reasons for wishing to be engaged in the holy office of the ministry. We have received copies of these papers, and most interesting they are. We will give you one or two specimens, before presenting you with an account of the ordination. The young man, whom we last mentioned, was the son of a heathen. His father was in the service of the Government, and sent his son to school to learn English, that he might be thus qualified for a situation in the course of time. For this purpose he attended our Native English School. "At first," he writes, "I was so thoroughly prejudiced against Christianity, and so determined to oppose its progress in the school, that I got all my schoolfellows to request Mr. Cruickshanks (the master) in a body not to use the Bible as a class-book, with a threat that, if he persisted, we would quit the school. But of course this request was not complied with, and I took up the study of the Scripture with no small degree of reluctance. "In course of time, however, it pleased the Lord to enlighten my understanding, and prejudices against Christianity began to wear away. I became convinced of the folly of Hinduism, and in my conversations with Mr. Cruickshanks and Perianayagam, a dear school friend of mine, and now one of the candidates for holy orders, I used to speak decidedly in favour of Christianity. But though my mind was thus satisfied as to the errors of Hinduism, and the truth of Christianity, I cannot say I had a deep sense of my own sinfulness and wretchedness, or felt the necessity of casting myself entirely upon Jesus, the only Saviour of sinners, and placing my entire reliance upon His atonement and finished work.' He still, however fought against his better mind, and left Mr. C.'s school for another, taught by a heathen. "But my father," he continues, "who had gone on a journey, returned the next day, and pressed me to go back at once to Mr. C.'s school. I did so; and though for a time I tried to stifle my convictions of truth, it was evident the Holy Spirit was working in my heart. I felt I was a sinner, exposed to the divine wrath and condemnation. All m I my sins stood before me like a mountain: I could not think of them without horror. But as it is the Holy Spirit's office to heal the heart that He has wounded, and apply the balm of consolation to the sin-sick soul, by directing the sinner to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, I was enabled by the same blessed Spirit to see Christ in all His fulness, and willingness, and ability to save me, a poor, wretched sinner, simply by laying hold of him by faith. My inward struggles still lasted nearly a year. The thought of forsaking my parents and friends, and taking a final leave of the world, and all its advantages, was overwhelming. I sometimes imagined that I might avoid making this sacrifice by being a Christian in heart; but again I thought of those texts which say, 'He that loveth father and mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me.' 'Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed., 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate.' At length I was enabled, by God's grace, fully to make up my mind to flee for refuge to Christ, and be His for ever. Accordingly, on the 31st July 1847 I left Palamcotta, in company with my friend Perianayagam, for Mengnanapuram, where Mr. Thomas received us with all affection. As might be expected, we were exposed to much trouble and trial, but the Lord supported us under it all. To His name be all the glory. After four months, I was baptized by Mr. Thomas, on the 21st November, and admitted to the Lord's table on the 9th December 1847." He afterwards entered the Mission service and has recently been ordained. We must give you the account of another. One of the Missionaries thus writes of him "Isaac is twenty-eight years of age, and belonged to the Thief Caste. Up to eight years of age, he lived in idolatry, going with his father and mother very frequently to offer to the Púlánddiar, an hideous idol, which stands on a hill near his native village. About this time the people placed themselves under Christian instruction: soon Isaac began to stray from his occupation of tending his father's cattle to sit at the school door. In this way he acquired a knowledge of his alphabet, and then taught himself to read while pursuing his occupation in the jungle. After much opposition on the part of his father, he was permitted to enter the school as a scholar. He was soon able to read the New Testament. When he was about thirteen years of age, his mind became greatly agitated by thoughts of eternity. The majesty of God, the value of the undying soul, and the approaching judgment, filled his mind with terror. He sought instruction of the Catechist, who spoke to him of God's love and of the invitations and promises of the Gospel made by Jesus Christ. One day when there was no school, he retired into the jungle. 'I went,' he says, 'like one carrying a heavy burden. I spent the day under a tree praying and reading my Testament. I prayed that God would take away the burden of sin from my soul, and make me His servant. Here I found much relief, and from this time I began to cherish the idea of becoming a teacher.' He shall give, in his own words, his reasons for wishing to be ordained 66 From my youth I have delighted in reading and meditating upon the Bible above all other books; and my desire has been not to be employed in any worldly business, but to be engaged in the Lord's work; and therefore I trust that I am moved by the Holy Ghost. Moreover, I desire to glorify the name of the Lord, my Creator and Redeemer, all the days of my life. "Can I look upon the multitude of my fellow-countrymen, kept in slavery by the prince of darkness and subject to eternal death, and not be moved? Although troubles, trials, and dangers in this life happen to those who sincerely do God's work, yet in the world to come they will enjoy a crown of life. I am stirred fames v. 20. by reading Isaiah vi. 8, Rom. x. 15, Among all kinds of work, I desire above all the service of God, and His blessings." The day of the ordination was a great day indeed. An eye-witness thus describes it the four other Native Ministers of our Society (already in full orders), then the Catechists and various Mission agents and students who had come over from Palamcotta, and beyond them the crowded congregation of Native Christians, many of whom were obliged to stand without, for want of room within. "Mr. Tucker read the Litany, and our honoured senior Missionary, Mr. Thomas, delivered an impressive sermon of an hour's length, from the very appropriate text, 'It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.' 1 Cor. iv. 2. The order and attentive earnestness of that congregation of at least some 1100 souls were very marked; and one cannot but believe that many a solemn prayer ascended up on behalf of those whose presence there gave the special interest to the occasion. Our venerable Mr. John joined with us. in laying his hands upon those who were being ordained Presbyters, and also took part in the Communion Service, which was afterwards administered to about 200 persons. It was, indeed, a day much to be remembered in Mission history. May the many prayers which were offered throughout our English, as well as our Indian dioceses, on that Ordination Sunday, bring down, what we may surely expect,. an abundant blessing from the great Head and Bishop of the Church! The contrast presented by the state of things no more than thirty years ago may well be illustrated by what occurred in the church porch while we waited the Bishop's arrival. While I was talking to old Mr. John upon the subject, an aged headman of the village came up to him, and, after making a salaam, said, Sir, do you remember what occurred here just thirty years ago? The Missionary built us a small prayer-house, which was destroyed in the night. And now look at this great church, and think of the service about to be held in it.' "We had the usual Sunday-morning service at seven; shortly after which the congregation began to throng the large church to be ready for the ordination service at eleven. The Bishop having been met by the clergy at the porch, and all the European Missionaries, with one venerable native brother, the Rev. John Devasagayam, having taken their seats, fourteen in all, within the communion rails, the service began. After the singing of a hymn, the Rev. E. Sargent, one of the examiners, presented the candidates, sixteen in number. It was a truly impressive sight: in front these interesting brethren; behind them Christian Friends, take your share in this scene of holy joy. Rejoice in this triumph of the glorious Gospel. "Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. xv. 58.) "The remark, indeed, suggested many solemn but thankful reflections. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but to Thy name be the glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." Subscribers and Collectors of one penny a week are entitled to a copy of this Paper free. CHRISTIAN FRIENDS WE usually desire to lead you Quarter by Quarter to one after another of our Mission fields; not only to give you a better idea of their extent and variety, but also to enlist your prayers on behalf of each of them in turn. We prize very highly your prayers-the prayers of those who are "the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him." These effectual fervent prayers avail much. (See James ii. 5 and v. 6.) Sixty thousand of these little quarterly messengers find their way every three months to our poorer subscribers of a penny a week; and if every one of them is read by two or three pious praying people, and calls forth their supplications on behalf of our Missionaries, oh what a mighty power of prayer goes up to the throne of grace, to help and strengthen them in fighting their hard battle against Satan and his hosts! Such prayers are the most precious of all gifts. And we now break through our usual practice of leading you to quite a different field every Quarter, and take you back once more to Tinnevelly and amongst the dear Native brethren whose portraits we presented you at Midsummer; because we can give you some tidings that show the success of believing prayer, and because those tidings are so encouraging that we cannot keep them back from our praying friends. North Tinnevelly, in South India, has been the scene of a very remarkable Revival, and some of those same Native Ministers were permitted to have a share in it. The Holy Spirit has put forth His mighty power to touch the hearts of many, both Christians and heathen, with deep conviction of sin, and to reveal to them the pardoning love of the Lamb that was slain for their sake. You have heard of the great awakenings in America, and Ireland, and Wales, and other parts. Well, the work here has been so like what we have heard of elsewhere, that we cannot help saying, This is the finger of God! And how did it begin? It is difficult to say. We know that "the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth." But we know, also, that our gracious Lord hath said, "Your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." And such prayer has been offered up in large measure. Many of you, Christian Friends, remember that some Missionaries in India invited the holy church throughout all the world' to join them during the second week of January last to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh. That week was a week of abundant prayer, both in England and in India. Many remember it as a happy week, and felt sure they were pleading with One who heard them. Now we have some tokens that He did incline His ear to their prayer. We must remember, too, that this very district of North Tinnevelly had witnessed, for at least six years, the earnest and persevering prayers of one of the most devout and holy men who ever lived. We gave you an account, in our Quarterly Paper for Lady-day, last year (No. CLXXIII.), of the labours and the death of the Rev. T. G. Ragland. For six years he, with his companions, had travelled about from place to place, preaching the word day after day, and following each preaching with diligent prayer. His sudden summons found him on his knees; but though he was called to his rest without receiving the promise, his companionsthe Rev. David Fenn, and the Native Ministers just mentioned have been spared to rejoice in many wonderful proofs that they did not pray in vain. About the middle of May last, several Native Christians in different congregations began to manifest a remarkable concern for their souls. They had deep conviction of sin. To speak of the sufferings of Christ would melt them into tears. Some of the women gave up their jewels for the relief of the poor, whilst some of the men went out of their own accord, without purse or scrip, to preach to the heathen that Gospel which had now obtained a new value in their eyes. In several per sons the work, though sudden, `did not show itself by any visible effects on the body. But in many, their trouble and distress of mind were so great that they could pay no attention to things around them. Their whole soul seemed swallowed up with the thought, What must I do to be saved? They fell on their knees, trembling violently, sobbing bitterly, crying out for help against the |