them have in writing; and whoever shall presume, without permission, to read or possess such Bibles, may not receive the absolution of his sins till he has returned them to the Ordinary." (De Lib. prohibit. Regula IV. Concil. Trid.) Can any man who acknowledges the authority of the Council of Trent, (and the decisions of that Council are the supreme law in the Papal Church,) entertain any doubt respecting the accuracy of the charge which Protestants prefer against the Papists for prohibiting the reading of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue? It was the Council of Trent which determined, that "it belongs to the Church (of Rome) to judge of the sense of Scripture, and no one may presume to interpret the Scripture contrary to the sense which mother Church hath held and doth hold." (Sess. 4. Decret. de Edit. et Usu Script.) This is an explicit interdict of the exercise of private judg

-ment.

To complete the picture, it is only necessary to advert to the contemptible and scandalous impositions which were designedly practised upon the people by the exhibition of relics. Eleven houses exhibited a girdle, which was said to have belonged to the Virgin : in eight places it was pretended some of her milk was to be seen. For the cure of the tooth-ache, wealthy dupes were invited to pay their devotions at convents that reverently treasured up the bell of St. Guthlac. St. Thomas of Canterbury had left, among his many valuable legacies to the Monks, a pen-knife, boots, and tattered shirt, all of established -efficacy to procure the visits of pregnant women, and to send them home confident of a safe delivery. One monastery possessed

some

coals, saved, it was said, from the -remains of that fire which had blazed under the gridiron of St. Lawrence. Nothing was beneath the notice

of these relic-mongers; even the parings of some men's nails were carefully preserved in one place, and duly venerated as the personal spoils of St. Edward.

Such is but a faint outline of that picture of fraud and folly, arrogance and profligacy, which the Papal Church exhibited during the time whieh intervened between the rise of Popery and the Reformation, comprehending a period of nearly one thousand years. This was the state, not of a small portion, but of the entire dominion of the Pontiffs. Dark and dismal as is the picture, the voice of history, uttered from within the Papal sanctuary, demonstrates its identity, and verifies the facts. This mass of clerical ignorance, arrogance, and profligacy, combined with the mental, moral, and spiritual degradation of the -laity, and which was not the result of temporary causes, but the accumulation of centuries, appeared to present an insurmountable barrier against any efforts merely human to effect the emancipation of men, who had been nurtured in ignorance, and whose feelings, prejudices, passions, and principles, were in favour of a system which had become venerable by its antiquity. In the various features of Popery which have been exhibited, are found those moral causes demonstrating the necessity which existed for that mighty change constituting the glorious Reformation. In what manner this spiritual revolution was effected, and what were its character and results, shall be the subject of subsequent communications. "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." (Psalm xc. 16, 17.) Bramley.

W. V.

D

safe, and lasting improvement, but that they are just such as India at present wants. In fact, so it must be, unless the Gospel itself be a cunningly-devised fable. If it be true, what is it? Let that question be pushed home,-If the Gospel be true, what is it? It is the revealed record of that government of God which has, for its direct object, the spiritual and moral redemption of man. It is either nothing but falsehood, or it is God's remedy for the maladies of man and mankind. India, therefore, is given to us in trust. If we be faithful, that bright gem shall never be torn from the British diadem; but, on the contrary, shall shine there with continually-increasing lustre, as its dimming incrustations are removed, and the clouds are dispersed, which now intercept that light of heaven which it shall rejoice to reflect. If we be disobedient, the gracious designs of an almighty Providence shall still be accomplished, but other instruments shall be chosen, and they shall bear away the reward.

India, we have said, is under a Christian Government; but India is not Christian, even in name. If idolatry, and its unfailing results, be sin, and the Bible settles no question, if it does not settle that,then, with the chain of her sins, is India fast tied and bound. Till that chain be broken, the career of positive improvement cannot be said even to have begun. The question is,-By what means shall this be effected? None who understand the Gospel will dream, for a moment, of the employment of secular force." If my kingdom were of this world," said Jesus to Pilate, "then would my servants fight; but now is my kingdom not from hence." Whatever aid may be rendered by the secular powers to the spiritual kingdom of Christ,-and that such aid not only lawfully may be rendered, but that to render it is imperative on every State seeking to enjoy the divine favour and blessing, the Scripture explicitly declares, -but whatever aid may thus be afforded, must be in subserviency to the direct instrumentality which

66

Christ himself has instituted. And of these St. Paul says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal." Such as they are, however, they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." And of " strongholds" India is full; and only by the weapons of the Christian warfare can they be successfully assailed.

But the assault must be made, the remedy applied, with befitting wisdom. The circumstances of the case must be well understood; and for this, they must be carefully considered. India requires a much more efficient application of the remedy; the particular characters, the depth and extent of the evil, must be well understood. We are willing to regard as a favourable omen for India, the fact, that various occurrences seem of late to have combined to direct attention to Indian subjects. And, just now, that this increased degree of attention is calling for more extensive information, that information is communicated by the publication of two exceedingly valuable works on Indian affairs, religiously considered. are both of them by men who have studied the question on the spot, and who have studied it thoroughly. Dr. Duff's volume, especially, deserves a very extended circulation, as containing one of the best summaries of Hindooism ever given to the public. The admirable volume of Mr. Ward, on the "Literature, Mythology," &c., of the Hindoos, contained a more copious collection of extracts, and is by no means superseded by Dr. Duff's volume. But Dr. Duff has aimed at presenting the just idea of Hindooism, in its principles, and in their operation; and in this he has been eminently successful.

They

Many of the readers of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine, though deeply interested in all subjcets connected with the operation of Christian Missions in India, will not have the opportunity of consulting either of these excellent volumes. Besides, in both works there is a large quantity of matter, not directly bearing on that single aspect of the case,

to which reference has just been made. Dr. Duff, for instance, devotes a large portion of his work to the question," What is the particular nature of the instrumentality which Christian Mission-establishments should employ in India, under existing circumstances?" The discussion is exceedingly important throughout; but far less interesting to the general reader than the details which go to make the fearful idea of Hindooism, as a religious system. We believe that the readers of the Magazine, generally, will be glad to have the subject brought distinctly before them; and, as we believe that, at the same time, additional interest may thus be excited both for the Wesleyan Indian Mission in particular, and for all Christian Missions there in general, we propose to devote two or three papers to it. By means of extracts, abridgments, and suggestions, gathered from the two volumes, and combined, as far as possible, into one consecutive statement, we hope to enable the reader, who may not have the opportunity of reading all that Dr. Duff and Mr. Campbell have said, to form, on the whole, an accurate conception of the nature, influence, and power, of that particular form of false religion, by means of which, we fear, we must say, Satan maintains his cruel tyranny of darkness over so large a portion of the human race.

As the present paper is intended to be chiefly of an introductory cha racter, some quotations from Dr. Duff's volume, on the importance of the Indian question, may fitly be introduced. His first chapter is thus headed:-" India. The paramount influence which India has successively exerted on the prosperity of the leading cities and nations of the West.-The remarkable series of providential events by which India has been opened up as the largest and most promising field for Christian Missions now in the world. And the consequent obligation that devolves on British Christians in particular, to avail themselves of the precious opportunity for spreading the knowledge

of the Gospel among the millions of our fellow-subjects in that benighted land." The work opens by referring to a remarkable fact:-" For the last three thousand years has India, unexhausted and inexhaustible, been pouring an uninterrupted stream of opulence upon the western world. During that long period, measuring half the duration of the globe, the intermediate points of communication between the East and the West have changed with the rise and fall of mighty cities and empires. Connected, however, with all such changes, there is one fact that stands out in singular prominence, challenging the attention of the patriot, the statesman, and the Christian philanthropist. It is a fact, too, so uniform and characteristic, that it may well be entitled to rank as an historic law. The fact is this: that whatever city or nation has, in the lapse of past ages, held in its hands the keys of Indian commerce and Indian influence, that city or nation has, for the time being, stood forth in the van of the civilized world, as the richest and most flourishing. Indeed, the temporary monopoly of Indian trade has rescued even petty states from obscurity; and raised them to a height of greatness, and wealth, and power, vastly incommensurate with their natural resources. Some of the most famous cities of antiquity it may be said to have literally created. With the first possession of it, they suddenly sprang to their meridian of glory; and with its departure, they as rapidly sunk into the dark night of oblivion."

The influence of India upon European civilization is well put. In the "middle ages," the nations of western Europe were "too rude to be sensible of the wants so heavily felt in refined society," and "too ignorant to comprehend the advantages of an international exchange of the products of different climes." Under such circumstances as these, the progress of civilization could not be otherwise than extremely slow. But "from this torpor they were at length awakened by the trumpet-peal of fanaticism. In the

eleventh and twelfth centuries, the crusading armies, bent on the famous project of recovering the holy sepulchre from the hands of the infidel hosts, scoured the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. These representatives of transalpine barbarism were thus brought into immediate contact with the comparative civilization of the Saracenic empire. And while the balmy clime of Asia mellowed their rough and hardy temperament, they insensibly acquired a taste for luxuries and enjoyments previously unknown. The jewels, the silks, and the spiceries of India and the East, soon became objects of the most intense attraction. Accordingly, when driven from their short-lived conquests, they carried back with them their newlyacquired tastes, as well as the means of partial gratification. The exhibition of sundry articles of Indian and other oriental produce, at once aroused the curiosity, and inflamed the covetous desires, of their fellowcountrymen. But how could foreign commodities be obtained, without having something equivalent to barter in exchange? To create such an exchangeable equivalent, labour must be expended beyond what is required merely to secure the bare necessaries of life. To this additional labour, the people of the West were now greatly stimulated. The growing ambition to possess some share of the envied riches and luxuries of the East, infused the spirit of improvement into the varied operations of agriculture and manufactures: And thus, to use the words of a modern historian, Dations hitherto sunk in listless indolence, or only roused from it when hunger urged them to the chase, or their Chiefs led them to the battle, acquired industry, the only efficient and legitimate source of all other acquisitions, and of national prosperity.' Singular subject for reflection! That distant India, under the overruling providence of God, should thus have proved one of the most direct and leading instruments in communicating the first decided impulse to modern civilization in western Europe!

But, stranger still! that distant India should ever since have continued to prove one of the most potent causes in accelerating the march of western civilization, till that civilization immensely outstripped its own! and thus helped in raising Europe to undisputed pre-eminence over all other quarters of the globe." (Duff, page 8.)

For many years the great routes for the transportation of India produce lay along the Red Sea, the Euphrates, or the Caspian. Over the principal intervening marts, Venice had acquired an almost unlimited power; and, in consequence, she out-peered all her rivals." At length, the perseverance of the Monarch of Portugal effected a mighty and complete revolution. In 1486 Diaz reached the southernmost extremity of Africa; and in1498 Vasco De Gama doubled the Cape, proceeded to India," and made good his landing at Calicut, the principal city on the Malabar or western shore of the Indian peninsula."

For a long while, England sought to effect a passage to India by the north of Europe, or by the north of America; but in May, 1601, the first fleet of the East India Company set sail for India, direct by the Cape of Good Hope. Passing by all intermediate events, we use Dr. Duff's language in describing the consequence :-" As the result of a series of vicissitudes unexampled in the history of the world, not only did the commerce but the territory of India, fall into the hands of British merchants. And has not the historic law, by which prosperity has been ever found coincident with the exclusive possession of the resources of India, been eminently verified and realized in the case of Britain? O that British rulers and British subjects felt the responsibility which the briefest re, trospect of the past must attach to our uncontrolled supremacy over Indian territory and Indian commerce!"

And to what does this responsibility bind us? Dr. Duff shall answer :"Whatever the views and the con