told him, "No; because that is lie and sin." He said. "Now you are foolish." I asked him, why? He said, "Because you said there is sin in the worship." Í told him, "Yes, great sin." He said, "The Councils said that, and we must do it." I told him, "No; I cannot do like the commandment of men, but I must do what the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ said." The priest said, "Well, the Councils said like the Gospel and Jesus Christ." I told him, "No, that is lie." He said, "What lie, or what thing contrary to the commandment of God, said the Councils?" I said, "You told me for to worship to the images of the saints, and that the Councils said so." He said, "Yes." I told him, "God said, 'thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor any likeness of any thing, that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, nor that is in water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them,' and you say, we must worship them, and the Councils said for to worship them: that is lie and sin, and contrary to the words of God." I told him, "Jesus Christ said, 'thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; and you say, 'we must worship the saints." I told him, "I know indeed you say contrary to the words of God. You say, If I eat meat on Wednesday, it is sin, and 1 , go to hell." I told him, "Jesus Christ said, 'whatsoever entereth into the mouth do not defile the man."" The priest said, "Well, but the Councils judge so, and we must do it." I told him, "St. Paul said, ‘no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in new moon, nor things like this."" I asked him for to give me the Gospel of the Church. He said, "Why?" I told him, "I wish to read a chapter in John." He said, "No! because the Gospel is not for every one, but for the priests only." I told him, "The Gospel says, Search the Scriptures, and you say not." I asked him another time, "Give me the Gospel." He said, "Are you foolish, do you not understand me?" He said, "The Gospel is given to the priests only." I asked him, "Who said so?" He said, "The Councils." I told him, "If the Councils say, every one must go unto the sea, and put himself in it, for to go to heaven, put you yourself?" said, "No." I asked him, "Why?" he said, "The Councils do not say it." I told him, "If I and another ten men with me make a Council, and say, every one must cut his hand, for to go in heaven,-cut you your hand?" He said, "No." I asked him, "Why?" He said, "The Holy Spirit was with the Coun He cils?" I asked him, "Believe you this without proof?" He said, "Yes, I believe this without proof." I told him, "Why do you not believe me without proof?" Then the priest said, "I must go to feed the silk worms; now is not time." I told him "Very well, good by;" because he was angry with me; and I went from the Church. church. After three hours was the time for the prayer in the evening I went to the church because my father told me for to go. I saw the priest there in the I told him, "Excuse me.' When the prayer was finished, I came back from the church. I told the priest, "Good by." He answered to me, "Do that which I told you." I told him, "I cannot do it, because I saw it lie." He said, "You are foolish now;" and said, "God open your eyes!" I said, "Amen." I told him, "Pray for me, so that God open my eyes." He said, "God do good for us and you!" I said, "Amen;"-and I went from there. I tell you about myself. I did not know before, every thing the church said was wrong, and lie, and sin. I tell you also, some read the Gospel, and think all is lie, which the church says. Many come and read with us every evening. I thank you for to pray for those who come and read with us. Many come and read with us the Sabbath day. Some of those are Greek, and some Greek Catholic, some Maronites, some Armenians, some Jews, some Mussulmans, some Franks. I ask you for to pray for them, and remember us in your meeting. Oh! I thank you for to send for us your missionaries, because the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. In Jerusalem, and in Ramla, and Joppa, and Tyre and Sidon, and Damascus, and Aleppo, and Tripoli, and all this country, are no missionaries; only in Beyroot. Oh! I thank you to send to us your missionaries for this poor country; and I tell you I am with Mr. Goodell in his house. Mr. Goodell told me yesterday, about you give money for missionaries and books. I thank you for this poor country, and thank you for to send to me your letters. I tell you, I have learned the Italian, and the English, with Mr. Goodell, and Mr. Bird. 1 know now in Greek, and Italian, and English, and Arabic, and I write to you my name in four languages. I tell you if you were here, you would cry for this country, because all do not know the Gospel; but in Beyroot are some who know, because Mr. Goodell and Mr. Bird preach the Gospel always in Beyroot. Your unknown Arab friend, FOREIGN MISSION SCHOOL. THE suspension of the Foreign Mission School was mentioned in the preceding survey of the missions of the Board. The reasons for that measure are thus given in the Seventeenth Report of the Board. The Committee appointed by the Board, at the last annual meeting, "to take the whole subject of this school into consideration;-to visit Cornwall, and there confer with the agents of the school; to examine into all its concerns; and to report to the Prudential Committee their opinion respecting the course, which Providence shall seem to render judicious and necessary," held two meetings on the subject referred to them, and ultimately reported, as the result of their deliberations, "That the interest of the missionary cause do not require the continuance of the school; as most of the great objects, which it was designed to accomplish, can now be more easily and effectually attained by other means." The Committee therefore recommend that the school be discontinued, "at such time, and in such manner, as the Prudential Committee shall think advisable." At the earliest opportunity, after the reception of this report and recommendation, the Prudential Committee entered upon the consideration of the subject, and came to the conclusion, That the Providence of God appears to indicate, that the continuance of the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall is not expedient." Suitable measures will therefore be taken to carry this decision into effect, with as little inconvenience as possible. The Prudential Committee passed resolutions, gratefully acknowledging the assiduous and disinterested services of the gentlemen, who have composed the Board of Agents of the Foreign Mission School, and the patronage, which has been afforded to the institution by friends of missions in different parts of the country, and especially in Litchfield county. In making known this decision, the Committee think it proper to give some of the reasons which led to it;-especially those which rest on facts generally known, and upon principles of extensive application. 1. The design of giving a good education to young men of heathen birth and parentage, in order that they may aid in evangelizing their countrymen, can now be executed more favorably at several missionary stations, than at any place in a Christian country. A larger portion of the pupils, hitherto educated at the Foreign Mission School, have been natives of the Sandwich Islands, and of the Cherokee and Choctaw countries, than of any other parts of the heathen world. When the School was established, neither of the missions now under the care of the Board at these places, had been commenced; and the mission at the Sandwich Islands had its origin from the School. Yet now the young men of those islands can receive an education more suitable to the stations they are to occupy, and more likely to render them useful to the mission, without leaving their native shores, than they could possibly receive in the United States. And all this can be done not only without any expense to the Board, but with the prospect of their being afterwards directly employed in the service of the Board, (that is, so many of them as shall be needed,) at less than half the expense, which would be required to support the same number of young men, who had resided some years in the United States. So fully persuaded are the missionaries, that this is the preferable course, that Mr. Ellis, availing himself of their experience and his own, advised Sandwich Islanders now in this country to return home for an education; nor have the missionaries, at any time during their residence at the islands, advised young men to visit America, for the purpose of being instructed. In the Cherokee nation, several missionary schools have been established, where youths of both sexes receive a common education. At some of these, the children are boarded by the mission; at others they live with their parents. When boarded by the mission, the expense is less than at Cornwall, beside avoiding the cost and delay of long journies. The Cherokees have also taken measures to establish an academy for themselves. Among the Choctaws, the state of things is not materially different.Boarding schools have been in existence several years, and many youths are now enjoying the benefits of them. There is also a Choctaw Academy, in the state of Kentucky, easily accessible, and supported entirely by one of the annuities paid by government, and originally appropriated to the express purpose of maintaining a higher school. Besides, there is at present no disposition, either among the Cherokees or Choctaws, to send their young men to Cornwall. This statement shows, in the clearest manner, how proper it may be to change a course of measures, when the most material circumstances which led to that course of measures, are entirely changed. It may be proper in the incipient stages of missions, that some young men should be sent where they can enjoy, for a season, higher advantages than can be at first offered at the missionary stations. And there may be cases, in which individuals may be taken for an education from tribes where no missions are yet established. We have numerous academies throughout New England, where a few youths, in these circumstances, might be placed, at an expense not greater than the average cost of maintaining each pupil at Cornwall. It is highly probable, that several young men from Indian tribes may be selected for this purpose, though their number would not be sufficient to authorize a separate institution for their benefit; and possibly some of them may be carried even further, and be fitted for extensive usefulness, as preachers of the Gospel, and translators of the Scriptures, by receiving a thorough academical and professional education, in some of our colleges and theological seminaries. Already several Greek youths have been put upon this course; and there seems no good reason, why a similar plan should not be adopted, with reference to select and promising young men from among the Aborigines of our country. 2. There are serious difficulties in conducting an institution, composed of young men brought from the wilderness, or from distant pagan countries, and formed into a little community by themselves, while they are more or less exposed to various influences from the surrounding population. If they are very much secluded from society, they learn little of the manners, habits, and modes of thinking and acting among the whites, and derive few of those peculiar advantages, on account of which they were brought into the bosom of a Christian community. In this case, they come in contact with few cultivated minds, learn little of human nature, and, on leaving the institution, have no confidence in themselves, and feel as helpless as when they commenced their education. If, on the other hand, the school should be in a place of great public resort, or easily accessible, the interruptions from visitors, and the exposure to indiscriminate intercourse, would require uncommon skill and management. Not that it would be impossible to establish_certain rules of intercourse, and to enforce them; but the great difficulty would VOL. XXII. lie in pursuing such a medium, as should secure some acquaintance with improved and refined Christian society, and should exclude those attentions which would dissipate the mind and prevent suitable application to study. It is extremely difficult, also, to treat these children of the forest in such a manner, as not either to exalt them too high, or depress them too low. The most eligible plan would be, it is apprehended, to place them on an exact equality with youths of our own country. But it is questionable whether this can be done, so long as they are kept in a separate institution. They are objects of great curiosity; especially those of them, who possess good talents, and make commendable progress in their studies. If permitted to visit at all, and to see different parts of the country, they are apt to receive more marked attentions from persons of all ages and both sexes, than any of our own young men receive, or than we should think it safe and proper that any young persons should receive. At the same time, they are treated, in various respects, as though they were and must be inferior to ourselves. This results not merely from the difference of complexion, but from the hereditary feelings of our people in regard to the Indians. These different kinds of treatment, which result from inquisitive curiosity, mixed with Christian benevolence, on the one hand, and from established prejudices on the other, make the young men feel as though they were mere shows, a feeling which is too accurate an index of their real situation. If they have not sagacity enough to see this situation, (though most of them have,) they become spoiled children, having neither the simplicity of their former condition, nor the stability of men. But it is supposed, that the case will be different, if one, two, or three Indian youths are placed in a school, or a college, where all the rest of the learners are youths of our own country. After a short time, the peculiarity of their situation will have passed away with its novelty; and they will stand, as they ought to stand, on a perfect equality with their fellow students. There is scarcely any thing more important, in the preparatory measures with reference to Indian civilization, than that this feeling of equality should be cherished in the minds of those, who are to exert a 'prominent influence on their countrymen. To sum up the matter in a few words: The principal use of the Foreign Mis sion School, from the time of its institu 4 tion to the present day, has been sup- sion of two or three youths from the posed to consist in the means it afforded || Sandwich Islands was the occasion of of aiding missions. Now it is found, forming a seminary for the education of that the principal missions from this these youths and others in similar circountry cannot avail themselves of its cumstances. This seminary was an inaid. And, with respect to other hea- termediate cause of the mission to the then tribes, various methods can be Sandwich Islands; and had it been the adopted, by which a suitable number of cause of no other good, this would be select youths may be educated, when- matter of joy and exultation through all ever there is a prospect of such a course future ages. But it has done good in being productive of benefit to their coun- many other ways. It was, at one petrymen. The successful management riod, a strong proof to the more intelliof a school of youths born in pagan lands, gent Cherokees and Choctaws, of the and placed together in the midst of a benevolent feelings entertained by the civilized community, requires a pecu- whites toward the Indians. It had a liarly happy concurrence of circum-powerful tendency to excite kind feelstances, with a rare combination of tal-ings toward the heathen generally, in ents, which can hardly be expected. the minds of many among ourselves. There are many things which strong-It gave opportunity for the display of ly indicate, that schools, colleges, and other seminaries, should be set up as quick as possible in heathen countries, where missions are established. But Providence has not yet made great use of young men born heathens, and removed for their education to Christian countries. A large portion of those, with whom this has been attempted, have died in the progress of their education; especially of those distinguished for promising talents and hopeful piety. In Great Britain this has been remarkably the case; and there have been several instances among ourselves.* native talent, in a high degree interesting to all friends of human improvement. It attracted the attention of many to missionary exertions, who would otherwise have remained ignorant of them. And its indirect influence has been salutary in various respects. Still, it is to be remembered, that the permanently good influence of any institution must depend ultimately upon its answering the end for which it was designed; and if, through any change of circumstances, or any failure in the experiment, this end is not answered, the fact must be seen and acknowledged, and measures must be adopted accordingly. It is to be considered also, that the Foreign Mission School cannot be continued without an expenditure of several thousand dollars in the erection of buildings. This expense must be incurred Although these facts and reasonings leave no doubt upon the minds of the Committee, as to the proper course to be pursued, yet they do not furnish any occasion to regret the establishment of the school, and the continuance of it to the present time. The hopeful conver-immediately, as is thought by those, *The Church Missionary Society in England has had several young men from Africa and Polynesia under its care, in London, for the purpose of education. Mowhee from New Zealand, and Wilhelm from Africa, gave evidence of piety; but both died before leaving Great Britain. Some others, who appeared considerate and serious for a while, returned to their people without having profited by the advantages, which they had enjoyed. Shunghee, a New Zealand chief, after a considerable residence in London, has ever since been full of ambitious projects, and has kept the natives in a state of most destructive war. Five or six youths from New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands have died at Cornwall, and one very promising Cherokee youth. Others have suffered much from the climate, and have been hurried home, lest their lives should fall a sacrifice. Some of those, who have returned, have exerted a good influence, and now seem likely to prove permaTent blessings to their people; while others have most painfully disappointed the expectations of their pa trous and friends. who desire the continuance of the school; and, of course, the money would be nearly lost, in case the experiment should prove unsatisfactory. There are now seventeen pupils at the school; and should it be discontinued speedily, as is contemplated, a part of them will be returned to their friends, and a part retained among us, and placed at academies, or private schools, where they can be educated at an expense not greater than the average cost of supporting them at Cornwall. It is gratifying to add, that the behavior of the pupils, during the year past, has been orderly, and commendable, and that there is now an uncommon seriousness among them. Miscellanies. VIEW OF THE AMERICAN EDUCATION A Brief View of the American Education Society, THIS document was prepared by the Rev. Elias Cornelius, the present Secretary to the American Education Society. Some of the more important principles, statements, and arguments, which it embraces, will be embodied in the following article. The object of the Society has been too often stated in our work, and is too well known, to need specification. The plan of it, however, inasmuch as it has lately received considerable modification, will be described. A GENERAL, or PARENT SOCIETY is instituted, composed of those who were members for life at the time of the annual meeting in May 1826; and of such others as shall hereafter be elected into it by ballot. In this Society is lodged the supreme and ultimate direction of all the concerns of the institution. Its rules and regulations are conformed to by all who are patronized by its funds. Its anniversaries, though heretofore held in the metropolis of New England, it is expected will hereafter be celebrated in various places as shall be found most convenient or desirable. But for the sake of greater facility, as well as safety, in managing the concerns of the institution, BRANCH SOCIETIES are formed in different states and sections of the country. Each Branch has, by the constitution, a Board of Directors, whose business it is to superintend that part of the general interest which is entrusted to its care by the Parent Society; it has a special treasury; examines and receives, in concert with the Parent Society, beneficiaries; and appropriates the funds in its treasury to their support. If there is a deficiency of resources, application is made to the General Treasury; or, if there is a surplus, it is remitted to the General Treasury. Thus, every Branch co-operates with the General Society, and acts in subserviency to the same great object. The influence of the General Society becomes co-extensive with that of its Branches. Its funds include all which flows directly into its own treasury; and all which passes into the subordinate treasuries; while the number of its beneficiaries comprehends all those who are placed under the special care of the different Branch Societies, as well as those who are under its own iminediate supervision. pp. 4, 5. Such a system of organization furnishes strong security for the safety and right direction of funds, while it combines the advantage of concentrated energies with that of an extensive superintendence and expansive influence. In selecting candidates for the charity of the Society, the Directors are governed by a rule, the excellency of which is evinced by the results of eleven years, during which time aid has been afforded to 557 young men, of whom, with a confidence inspired by accurate inquiry, it has been affirmed, "that an equal number of Christian youth, so variously selected, and placed in circumstances so trying, cannot be found to such a degree consistent and praiseworthy." The mode of rendering assistance to the beneficiaries, has undergone several successive modifications, each of which is thought to be an improvement on the other. It was never the plan of the Society to make grants sufficient to cover all the ordinary expenses of the student; but what they did bestow, was, at first, a charity; afterwards, notes were required for one half of what was received; and hereafter, notes will be required for the whole. The loan, however, is a parental one; being made without a surety; without interest, until a istry is completed; and with the well-grounded reasonable time after preparation for the minexpectation, that it will be cancelled by the Directors, in case it should be impossible, or unsuitable, to refund it. A case of this kind may be furnished by a missionary to our destitute settlements, and still more strikingly, it may be, by a missionary to the heathen.-The advantages of a loan upon these conditions, are thus described in the pamphlet under review. 1. It exerts a salutary influence upon the character of the beneficiaries themselves. They cease to be in the strict and proper sense charity students. All those associations which belong peculiarly to ideas of charity, and which have often been observed to have an unhappy effect on the character, are in this manner avoided. Each youth is taught to look to his own efforts as the ultimate means of his education, and is permitted to cherish in some degree those feelings of independence which, when properly regulated, exert a wholesome influence on the mind. 2. The system is also fitted to promote economy. Every degree of aid which is received increases a debt for which the beneficiary is responsible Of course there is a strong inducement to take as little from the funds as possible, and to make that little go as far as possible. Self interest, the most powerful of motives, is made a continual check to extravagance. The relatives and friends of the beneficiaries experience, also for a similar reason, new inducements to contribute to their necessities, in proportion to their ability. Few parents will withhold their aid, when the smallest gift which they can bestow lessens a burden which is accumulating upon a child. ous. 3. Another advantage of the system is, that it furnishes a better test of character than can be had where the assistance is entirely gratuitA youth whose motives are questionable, or, who is greatly wanting in efficiency of character, will be less likely to apply for a loan, than for a gift: and if he should so far succeed in imposing upon the Directors as to obtain access to the funds, they would hold his obligation for all which he might receive, and be in a situation to recover it again, whenever he should have the means of repaying it. At least the encouragement which is held out by a loaning fund to persons of an improper character to seek an education, is far less than that which is afforded by a charity. 4. Another important benefit of the system is that it renders the funds more extensively and permanently useful. A single donation of a benevolent person, may afford assistance to a succession of young men; for when one has had the benefit of it, he refunds it and it is |