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choose of their own free will to learn it, but no fairer than that of all other religions and ancient creeds of the country.

"Among the many sorrows of earlier founders of this mission was not only violent persecution, but also slander and calumny, which must have been peculiarly painful to noble minds like theirs. With the Principal's permission, I should like to read to you a passage bearing upon that point."

His Honour then read some passages from the Life and Times of Carey, Marshman, and Ward,' and from other works.

After dwelling at considerable length on the struggles of the famous Serampore missionaries, His Honour continued -"I am happy to learn from the report handed to me to-day by your excellent Principal, that there is sufficient money available to carry on the institution with its wonted efficiency.

"Having so far adverted to the history of the institution, I should like to draw your attention to certain passages in the prospectus of the original founders.

"First of all, I shall allude to the Sanskrit language. The prospectus from which I am about to quote was written in 1818, and subscribed by the venerable signatures of Carey, Marshman, and Ward.

"This is what the prospectus says regarding Sanskrit :

"A college, therefore, in which native Christian youth, while instructed in the Scriptures, shall also be effectually instructed in the Sanskrit language, and made fully acquainted with those tenets and principles on which is founded the religion of so many nations.'

"Further on the prospectus goes on to state :

"This institution should impart, first, a thorough and efficient knowledge of

the Sanskrit language, chiefly as opening the way to an acquaintance with the principles and doctrines on which the Puranic and the Boodhist systems are founded.'

"Now, I draw your attention to that passage, because in these days it is most important that, while you study -as I have no doubt you do study most efficiently that English language in which I am endeavouring imperfectly to address yon-there is danger that you may neglect the acquirement of those Oriental languages which have made the name of the Hindu nation famous both in history and tradition. It is impossible that you should have a scholar-like knowledge of the Bengali language unless you learn something of Sanskrit also; you must know too, that, with regard to Hindustani, no man can be a Hindustani scholar unless he knows Persian; no man can be a Persian scholar unless he knows Arabic; and, just in the same way, no man can be a good English scholar unless he knows Latin and Greek. So, by analogy, no one can be a good Bengali scholar unless he is acquainted with Sanskrit.

"Whether Sanskrit classes are flourishing in this institution or not, I cannot say, but if they are, you may derive encouragement from the fact that the study of Sanskrit was one of the first objects which was contemplated by the venerable founders of this institution.

"The next point to which I will draw your attention is that of science. The prospectus of 1818 (from which I have just been quoting) said-' In addition to this' (ie., to Oriental learning), 'their minds should at the same time be imbued with European science and information. In doing this, we must of course begin with elementary ideas, and gradually advance as the minds of youth expand. Select but accurate views of general history and geography

(the best calculated to enlarge the mind), will of course succeed elementary reading. These may be followed by views of the solar system, the principles of attraction and gravitation, the laws of motion, the nature of the mechanic powers, zoology, mineralogy, botany, &c.'

"In carrying out that design, you may remember that Dr. Carey was himself a distinguished botanist, and that he had the very best garden and botanical collection of that time.

"I believe that the garden has since been carried away by this ruthless and destructive river, but still the fact remains that one of the founders of this institution has himself been one of the greatest botanists of his day. Further, to show how much Dr. Carey considered that science might be associated with religious and other instruction, I will read the following passage from the life and times of Carey and Marshman-It is difficult to account for the fatuity which led so eminent a divine of the American Church to rebuke a man of Dr. Carey's scientific tastes for encouraging the study of science in the college. Dr. Carey stated in his reply-'As to that, money not being expended in teaching science, I must confess I never heard anything more illiberal. Pray, can youth be trained up for the Christian ministry without science? Do you in America train up youths for it without any knowledge of science?'" There, again, this has eminently a practical bearing upon questions which are now agitating the natives of Bengal, and the Educational Department in particular. You are well aware that, for some time past, we have been anxious to direct your minds more to technical training, to practical science rather than to pursuits connected with abstract philosophy. You will observe

that this idea-the study of practical science is nothing new; on the contrary, it was advocated in the very first prospectus of this institution, published under no less an authority than Carey and Marshman.

I am very anxious to impress upon you that passing the Entrance Examination must be regarded, not as an end in itself, or as a goal which has been actually gained, but simply as a means to an end, and as a probationary step in view to the ultimate attainment of a particular object. That object is a degree. Remember that the University is for the attainment of degrees. Until you, who have passed the Entrance Examination, shall take your degree, you can only be considered as probationary. To use your own familiar expression, you are not "pucka" University men, until you take your degrees. This, I am, afraid, is sometimes forgotten, and therefore, we must lose no opportunity of pointing out to you all that by the act of incorporation of the Calcutta University, the object is set forth in the first section to be this:

"It has been determined to establish an University at Calcutta for the purpose of ascertaining, by means of examination, the persons who have acquired proficiency in different branches of Literature, Science, and Art, and of rewarding them by academical degrees, as evidence of their respective attainments;' and further, the sections 11 and 12, which regulate examinations, do not at all allude to the Entrance Examinations, but simply relate to the power of conferring degrees, and the qualification for the admission of candidates for degrees. So I am extremely desirous that you should all thoroughly understand that you will not be considered by Government, or by your English fellow

subjects, as having done all that is required after you pass the Entrance Examination, and matriculate for the University. We hope and expect something more of you, namely, that you should go on and study and take degrees, for the real test of your being worthy of the Calcutta University is the taking of a degree.

"I believe that I have the authority · of the Registrar of the University in this connection for informing you that at the last examination, out of eleven candidates who went up, no less than eight have passed. The Registrar adds that, considering that this is the first occasion on which questions in English literature and language have been put, not in reference to specified text-books, but to general knowledge, there may be considerable anxiety among both teachers and students regarding results, and that perhaps this result, that eight out of eleven should have been successful, may be as satisfactory as the Principal could have expected.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, and young men, I am afraid that I have detained you for a long time, but I have endeavoured in the remarks that I have made, to induce you to feel proud of the institution to which you belong, to create some impression on your minds as to the greatness of the men to whose beneficence, benevolence, and exertion, you owe your education in everything that ought to be most precious to you, in the hope

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that such an impression may be useful to you in your career in active life. presume that many of you, whom I am now addressing, will, in due course, leave this institution and betake yourselves to various professions and pursuits.

"I have been glad to hear the names which the Principal read out to you of those students of this College who have distinguished themselves in other spheres, and have proved themselves worthy alumni of the institution. I have been particularly glad to hear that so many of them have substantially recognised and gratefully remembered the blessings which they enjoyed here. I hope that you also will strive to prove yourselves worthy of the institution in which you are being educated; that you will follow the noble, the bright, the elevating examples set you by the great men whose names I have recalled to your grateful remembrance; that you will ever remember the heritage of virtue left to you by such men as Carey, Marshman and Ward; that you will continue to make use of that most precious legacy of a good example which they have bequeathed to you, and that in all you may do hereafter you will prove yourselves fit to have gone forth from these walls as students of the Serampore College under the auspices of the Baptist Missionary Society."

OUR

A Sonthal Welcome.

UR readers will be pleased to read from the pen of the Rev. H. P. Boerresen an account of the welcome given to the Rev. L. O. Skreferud and his party, on their arrival at the station of Ebenezer. His letter is dated January 7th, 1875. After referring to the kindness of friends during Mrs. Boerresen's stay in this country, he proceeds :

"You will gather from this that she is once more in our midst. She and her party all arrived safely at dawn on Wednesday, the 23rd ult., some few hours earlier than I had expected, and so upset my plans for giving them a more formal and grand reception than actually occurred. However, at ten o'clock we all went to the entrance to the compound, where a triumphal arch had been erected, and we, the boys and girls of our training schools, and a considerable number of the Christians from the neighbouring villages, sang a hymn of welcome to the new arrivals, composed specially for the occasion, and set to a Danish air. Mr. Skreforud then addressed a few words in reply, and, after prayer, we separated.

"On Christmas-eve we had service in church, and, after dinner service, the distribution of presents took place. Not having space for all the children at once, the girls had their turn then, and the boys next day. Each of the girls got something-clothes, books, pencils, oranges, sweets, &c.-and all were as happy as they could be, it being late ere we could separate for the night. Early on Christmas morning we were joined by Mr. Andrew Campbell, at present in charge of the Free Church of Scotland Mission to the Sonthals at Pachumba. About ten o'clock we had divine service in the frail church of which you have heard, Mr. Skrefsrud preaching, and I presiding at the distribution of the Lord's Supper. was a time of much spiritual joy, for our hearts were full to overflowing with love and gratitude to our beloved Saviour for all His tender mercies and bounteous dealings towards us. This being the busy and important season of the rice harvest, our congregation was smaller than usual; but still the communicants must have numbered about 1,000. By next day the number

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of Christians coming in to Ebenezer, however, had considerably swelled.

"Please to thank Mrs. Underhill most warmly and heartily from me for the beautiful baptismal gown she was so very kind as to send me. I am sure it would have amused her to see me in my old one, grown brown with age, and fastened at the wrists and waist with any stray bits of string I could pick up. You shall now hear the way in which Mrs. Underhill's new one was first put in use. On Saturday, about 1 P.M., after a short preliminary service and examination of the candidates, we all proceeded to the large tank adjoining, and there I baptized seven Sonthal men and women in the presence of the hundreds of Christians assembled. As soon as I could change my clothes I had another and very long service to hold, namely, the marriage of no less than thirteen couples of our Christians. As we had no building large enough to hold the numbers present-not even the '14shilling cathedral' would do-we were obliged to celebrate the nuptials on the steps of our bungalow, the congregation occupying the garden walks in front. As soon as the service was at an end, about 5 P.M., we all adjourned to another part of the compound, where, in honour of the new comers, we had prepared a large Sonthal feast, to which we had invited all our Christians. We had killed twelve he-goats and cooked twenty maunds of rice, and a proportionate quantity of dall, and still a good many were obliged to be content with rice only, as the other things ran short, so you can form some conception of the large number of our guests. On Sunday morning our colleague, Mr. Hae. gert, returned to his camp, about ten miles to the north of us, and on Monday Mr. Campbell and Mr. Skrefsrud also went away, the former to return to

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"Home at last!' Yes; I feel something now of what we must feel when we shall come to our final home. Now I am in my element again: now I feel happy-real happiness, again. I cannot describe to you the feeling which came over me by seeing Sonthalistan and all its Christians and fields for harvest again. It was an overwhelming feeling, and my mind was again at rest.

"We hope that, by the blessing of the Lord, neither you in England will feel you have thrown away your liberal contributions, nor we here see that we have laboured in vain; that we, as the Sonthal traditions run, when the Sonthals should cross a large forest, and none of them dared

Year's-day morning. We had divine service again then, as well as the evening before."

from the pen of the Rev. L. O.

to head them, they cried, None shall go in front; all will go hand-in-hand through the forest;' also we may feel we are going hand-in-hand to sweep the Sonthal forests of all heathendom, and raise the standard of Christ everywhere here.

"There are now over 1,600 grownup Sonthals who have this year been baptized upon profession of faith in Christ; and there is great likelihood that numbers will follow them this year. But now we are more missionaries, and the expenses are considerably heavier; and Boerresen has not been able to out this year. I believe he has about 100 rupees in the treasury."

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We shall be happy to be the medium of forwarding any contributions to our esteemed brethren, whose labours are so abundant in the Lord.

Mortonville Station, Cameroons River.

THE

THE information contained in the following letter from the Rev. J. J. Fuller will gratify our friends, and illustrate both the workings of Divine grace and the extent of the labours of our brethren in uncivilised lands :

"Mortonville Station, Cameroons River, Western Africa. "Nov. 30th, 1874. "DEAR DOCTOR,-The past month has been one of special cause for gratitude to our Heavenly Father. You will remember that, in one of my previous letters, I expressed a hope of better days for us here, and that we believed the Master's presence was with us.

"It is with deep-felt gratitude I tell you that, during this month, we have had no less than fifteen souls added to our inquirers' class, making a total of twenty; also baptized two on a profession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. One who had been separated has returned, and three have again applied for baptism. One of these is the next man in power to the

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