BRITISH COMMISSION. 473 down, their bodies were allowed to remain till they were devoured by the birds and the beasts of prey; the very name of Bramin became an execration; the oppressor was hunted like a wild beast on the top of his mountains, and was obliged to flee into Bangalore as into a city of refuge. Determined in their resistance to despotism, the people could not be put down. The Resident at the court of the Rajah, was obliged to report to the supreme government, that the Mysore was in a state of anarchy, that the authority of the ruling prince was at an end, and that, except the British power took charge of the province, public order could not be restored. A commission was immediately appointed, and out of eight gentlemen of whom it is composed, the majority are, I believe, pious, devoted and excellent men,-who wish the spiritual, as well as the temporal welfare of the natives. In a remarkable manner, the power of the Bramins was overthrown; the whole country was opened to the gospel, and to the ambassadors of reconciliation; the city of Bangalore, which had so long withstood every attack, was now forced to capitulate to the truth; preaching-places were erected, and schools established; and while three millions of people were waiting for the bread of life, and every obstacle seemed to be overthrown, and our excellent collectors were entreating us to send them teachers and schoolmasters, that they might do some thing for the conversion of the people, the only reply we could make to them was "The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye the lord of the harvest that he would send forth more labourers into his harvest." Such is a brief and very imperfect outline of the mission to Bangalore. There is not a heathen country in the world that presents so many claims, such providential openings, and such a promising field of labour as this. The province is divided into the four districts of Bangalore, Mysore, Nagara, and Chittledroog. The first has long been in our possession; the second is now occupied, and will when it is strengthened, and well cultivated, become, I doubt not, an important mission; the third and the fourth are prepared of the Lord, and ought to become the seats of Christian settlements, as soon as possible. Many large towns might be enumerated; but where there are three millions of people, it is difficult to say what part of the field is the most necessitous, has the greatest facilities, and is most likely to yield an abundant harvest. In this province more than any other, Providence has gone before us in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; every valley has been exalted, every mountain and high hill has been brought low, crooked paths have been made straight, and rough places plain, that the glory of the Lord may be revealed, and that all the people may see it together. Let the missionary go from east to west, or from north to south, he is safe under the protection of the law; his temporal comforts are regarded as much by the kindness and urbanity of the natives, as the measures adopted for his convenience by the government; frankness and generosity, he will find, characterize the inhabitants of the province, and standing under the shade of a banyan-tree, or in the porch of a temple, he may preach to hundreds the gospel of God. Many facilities are at hand. The Europeans are kind, obliging,* and ready to give him encouragement and patronage; and if he is endowed with fervent piety and great devotedness, if he is content to labour for souls as one that must give an account, if he is earnest and frequent and importunate in prayer for the blessing and direction of the Spirit, if he is willing to be any thing and to do any thing that Christ may be exalted among the people; then he will no doubt realize his expectations; he will find his Redeemer a faithful master, and though he may have forsaken father and mother, and houses and lands for Christ's sake and the gospel, he will receive a hundred fold in this life, and enjoy the good hope that, in the world to come, he will obtain life everlasting. * From the superintending surgeons, and other medical gentlemen attached to the regiments stationed at Bangalore, the mission families received, in every hour of need, kind and prompt attendance, and as they would receive no sort of remuneration, they deserve our warmest acknowledgments for their generous conduct. CHAPTER XXIV. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT OF IDOLATRY. BRITISH POWER IN INDIA-DANGEROUS POLICY-THE MALEDIC- GING IN THE Or all the dependencies of Great Britain, our Indian empire is unquestionably the most rich, extensive, and distinguished. Nothing has resembled it in ancient, or in modern times. The conquests of Alexander, the triumphs of Rome, the prospects of the new world, and the victories of republican France, dwindle into insignificance, when compared with the extent and the magnitude of our eastern possessions. But in proportion to the greatness of the boon, is the measure of our responsibility. How often have I trembled, lest the blessing should become a curse; lest, lifted up with pride, and infatuated with our power, we should wildly rush against the thick bosses of Jehovah's buckler, forfeit our dominion, and cast this prin· cess of the earth "like a withered weed away." At BRITISH POWER. Has it been at the 477 what have I trembled? Has it been at the internal commotions with which our authority has sometimes been assailed? No. The British power in India is strong in the affections of the people generally,―strong in the order, the peace and the good government which she is endeavouring to secure to all classes of her subjects-strong in the law, the justice, and system of amelioration with which she is attempting to consolidate our empire. At what, then, have I trembled? Has it been at the power, and the number of her external enemies who are said to look at her magnificence with a jealous and an envious eye? No. Let Great Britain only be true to her own interests-true to the welfare and the prosperity of that people-true to the gracious designs for which Providence has committed this trust to her care, and to her rule, and she need not be under any apprehensions from the Great Bear of the North, though all his fury and his craft were sustained by his gigantic power, and though all the independent provinces upon our frontier, were to join him in confederacy against her. At what, then, have I trembled? I have trembled lest the dark and portentous clouds which have sometimes gathered over us above, should burst in storms of vengeance upon our heads; lest the thunders and the lightnings of the Almighty should descend and blast our power and prosperity; lest the curses and anathemas which are sure to cover, with shame and confusion, all the confederates of Satan, should fall upon us; and lest the government being once com |