:

garden, or the jungle of humanity that he owned the field, and that he only could raise up, qualify, and send forth men of the right stamp. The Queen, it was observed, could establish schools, and qualify men for various departments of her service, but that not even the great Queen could raise up labourers for the spiritual harvest field. (2.) That the purport of these prayers must be for labourers-real men and womenlabourers, not loiterers-labourers, who, notwithstanding sun, and rain, and cold, would pursue their toil-labourers, who were bold and fearless in the face of opposition-labourers, who were well skilled in the science of spiritual husbandry, who knew how to cut down and up-root the weeds, tares, and jungle of human soulsto prepare those souls for the seeds of the gospel-to watch and care for them till they should bring forth the fruits of righteousness and flourish as the garden of the Lord.

(3.) That these prayers must be presented in humility, in faith, and in hope.

One of the hymns seemed to be selected on account of its agreement with the introductory parts of the sermon. To purely English understandings the ideas may seem excessively strange, but to those who have been nurtured in heathenism they are appropriate and telling. It has occurred to me that a translation may not be without interest-a translation which I will give literally, without any attempt at either poetry or beauty, though there are both in the original. The chorus with which the hymn begins (and nearly every hymn in Oriya begins with a chorus) is as follows: Jesus Christ is the only true incarnation; Apart from Him sinners have no salvation: Such incarnations as the fish,* the tortoise,* the boar,* and the dwarf,* are all false and worthless.

Then the hymn proceeds:

Jesus Christ was the essential God, but He assumed the form of man;

To bestow upon sinners His great salvation, He entered this world incarnate.

As evidences of His being the true incarnation,
He performed various wonderful works:
To the blind He gave sight, to the dead life, and
did miracles without number.

And in the end, for the sake of sinners, He gave
His own life.

The punishment of sinners He endured; what an ocean of mercy is here!

But as regards Rama,* and Krishnu,* and the man-lion,*

Among these there is no true incarnation, not one to save sinners.

For their own crimes they all suffered, and none for sinners gave his life.

From the way of salvation they all wandered and perished,

And by their own wickedness they were all destroyed.

Then, as to the incarnations of the tortoise,* the fish, and the boar,*

They are incredible and hateful, and not able to afford salvation.

*Said to be incarnations of Vishnoo.

239

In the afternoon, at 4.30, (which would be about the time of your morning service), we had a special meeting for prayer. Portions of scripture suitable to the occasion were read, and four of the brethren led the prayers of the congregation. Prayer was offered that the Lord would raise up suitable menthat He would enable them to leave the comforts of England, and strengthen them to endure the heat and debilitating effects of an Indian climate. "And, O Lord," said one, "if on account of any unworthiness on our part labourers have been kept out of the field, do Thou help us to examine ourselves, and make us more worthy of Thy servants." Altogether it was felt that it was good to be there. May the Lord answer the prayers of His servants, whether in England or this country, and send us speedily an increase of labourers to carry on His cause in Orissa.

You will be grieved to hear that our fears respecting Mr. W. Bailey have been realized, and that after trying changes and rest in vain, he has been compelled to leave the country. Piplee and the Pooree district are thus left without a single missionary brother, and Miss Packer is left in charge of the Famine Orphanages. For carrying the work on, therefore, at Piplee, we are indebted to the Ladies' Society for Promoting Female Education in the East. As regards the Gangam Zillah-with a population as large as the united counties of Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, and Lincoln-Mrs. H. and myself are the only missionaries. Moreover, in the hill tracts of Orissa, extending over hundreds of miles, there is not a single missionary Our nearest associates are at Cuttack, and we are separated from each other by a three days' journey. Let these facts be duly pondered: and let it be remembered how inimical the climate is to English constitutions, and the need of young vigorous labourers will surely be admitted.

Your letter informing us of the death of Mr. R. Wherry and of Dr. Haycroft took us by surprise; "How many fall as sudden, not as safe." In the death of the former our Mission loses one of its earliest and best friends. Moreover, his deeds of kindness displayed towards the missionaries and their wives-deeds which have no records in the reports of the society-will not be forgotten in the great day of account. As the Lord is thus calling first one and then another of His servants home, may there not be wanting those on whom the habit of their life, and mantle of their love, shall fall.

By degrees, I am happy to say, the wrongs of the Oriyas in the Gangam Zillah are being redressed. Though they constitute, perhaps, two-thirds of the population of the district, their language has to a great

extent been ignored by government in the schools, the courts, and also in the Madras University. In all government offices the Telegoo people and Telegoo language were supreme. Even when the Oriyas were put upon trial for their lives the proceedings were conducted in an unknown tongue to the end of the trial; when, by a bungling translation, the poor wretches were made to understand, in mongrel Oriya, that they were to be hanged. To any alteration, however, in favour of the Oriya language and people, European officers (with some few honourable exceptions) magisterial, judical-and educational-have been alike opposed. "Let the Oriyas," they have said, "learn the Telegoo language." That your missionaries have felt it incumbent upon them to protest against such unjust pro

ceedings I need scarcely inform you, and I am thankful to say that, with the aid of a few unselfish officials, the desired object has been gained. By the Madras government it has been decided that the trials of Oriyas are to be conducted in the Oriya language; and that as regards education and examinations, the Telegoos and Oriyas are to be placed on the same level. As the Telegoo intorlopers have a monopoly of nearly all the government offices and pay, the Oriyas will have, for years to come, an unequal struggle; but as their prospects of success are now better than they have ever been since they came under British rule, it is hoped they will rise equal to the occasion. Yours affectionately,

W. HILL.

THERE is a very general impression that the number of pilgrims to the shrine at Pooree is considerably declining. I confess to have shared in this belief. The attendance at the Car Festival is unquestionably smaller, but from personal observation during the last fortnight, I am disposed to think that at other seasons the number cannot be much less. The readers of the Observer will, no doubt, remember that Piplee is midway between Cuttack and Pooree, and that the Mission house is close to the great Juggernath road. Here is the junction where all the pilgrims meet from Bengal, Oude, Northern and Western India, the Punjaub, and the Central Provinces. There is no point on the whole line of route where so correct an estimate could be formed, at least with the exception of Pooree itself. For a fortnight I have been staying at Piplee; and as the room I occupy commands a full view of the road, I have watched the crowds that every day have passed on to the shrine. The different nationalities cannot fail to attract the observer. They are all, it is true, devotees of Hindooism; but in language, physique, and attire, there is as much difference as there would be between the French and Poles, and the English and Neapolitans. Their homes are hundreds of miles apart, and there is no social bond of sympathy between them. One comes from the high land of Central India, where wheat, and barley, and oats, form the staple produce of the country; another comes from the great rice swamp where wheat is never grown. One from the sultry plains of Bengal is clad in thinnest cotton; another from beneath the shadow of the Himalayan range, where frost and snow come with every winter, is clothed with thick padded gar

ments. But whatever distinction there may be in their nationalities, habits, and customs, and language too, there is an unmistakeable oneness of feeling in their devotion to Juggernath; this overrides all peculiarities, and makes all feel that their hopes and aspirations are the same. They have never seen each other before, will never meet again, but they greet each other as the worshippers of the same God, and by adoration and song inspire each other on their long and wearisome journeys. Since my arrival here I have spoken to many groups, and have been more than ever impressed with the devotion of the people. If the zeal of former days for missions is dead, the zeal for Hindooism is not. That seems as fervent to-day as it did a century ago! It has been thought that the civilizing influence of the rail and steam would tend to the decrease of pilgrimages, but facts prove the contrary. Nearly all the up-country pilgrims have told me that they came by rail as far as Raneegunge, and the Bengallees came by the cheap and easy sea route that has just been opened to the Orissa coast. Two steamers packed with natives leave Calcutta every week. It has been said that a desire to see strange lands may influence some to visit the shrine; but any one acquainted with the Hindoos knows that very few of them ever leave their homes except for gain or purposes of devotion. It is not the young and athlete only that come, but old men and women bending with years; not the rich only, but those who have to beg their way. The merchant, greedy of gain, can leave his store to see Juggernath, even though the journey takes him months to accomplish, and absorbs the earnings of several years! The native prince, so fond of ease and luxury, will

leave his palace, will endure fatigue to which hitherto he has been an entire stranger, to eat of the sacred food, and see the glories of the shrine! Last week a poor creature was seen entering the temple who had been measuring his way for fifteen months a distance of a hundred and twenty miles! Neither heat, nor cold, nor rain, nor pestilence, checks the daily and hourly stream. Long before break of day, on-on -on the crowd presses along, and the shout of "Victory to Juggernath passes along from one group to another like an electric current, and scarcely ever dies away.

The scenes witnessed during the past few days have more than ever impressed me with the importance of our work, and the facilities we have for the wide diffusion of the gospel by the help of tracts and scriptures. The states and kingdoms from which pilgrims come contain a population, according to the last census, nearly equal to the entire population of Europe, and from every part of this immense area of country pilgrims come every year, and pass within two minutes' walk of the mission premises at this station. Last year during my wanderings in the central. provinces, I was most anxious to go to "Paddampore," several miles west of Sumbulpore; but this morning I came in contact with a crowd of pilgrims from this very place, and gave them books which they were most delighted to

THE CENSUS

We have now, for the first time, a substantially accurate statement touching the population of Orissa, or rather that part of Orissa which is under the rule of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. In the course of a few weeks it is hoped that official documents will be forthcoming, showing the number of Oriya-speaking people in northern Madras and the central provinces, i. e., Orissa in its ancient and missionary sense, and we shall be greatly surprised if, in these latter districts-districts which have been lopped off from Orissa proper and placed under different local governmentsthere are not from two to three millions of people, bringing up the total population of Orissa to between six and seven millions.

In the meantime, thinking they may prove interesting to the friends and supporters of the Orissa Mission, I will furnish a few of the results gleaned from the census taken in the early part of last year. According to the official report, in modern Orissa, or that part of Orissa subject to the control of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, there are Males Females

...

...

241

receive. To get books into the state of Nepal would be a most difficult task; but a day or two since I met with pilgrims from this state who would have been delighted to receive books in their own language had I been able to supply them. Whatever may be done in planting churches, the wide diffusion of God's truth is of the first importance. It is the "holy shastre" to which the brahmins ever appeal, that has from time immemorial been the strength and stay of Hindooism; and it is in God's "Holy Book " that our hopes rest for the evangelization of this great continent. God's written word will find an entrance where the missionary cannot, and will abide when the voice of the preacher is silent in death. I know of no single spot on the whole line of country where Bibles in many languages could be more advantageously given away than at Piplee. The end of translation and printing is the dissemination of the Word, and for this purpose we know of no spot equal to this. Would that we had a man located here whose whole life should be given to this special work! He would find enough to absorb his whole time and energy, and in the end every Missionary Society would reap the advantage. Such an effort would seem to speed the flight of the angel which John saw in vision carrying the everlasting gospel "to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people." W. BAILEY.

2,140,061 2,177,938

Total, 4,317,999

Total, 1,326,295

Labourers not classed as Agricultural Miscellaneous

2,057

Total...

...

6,887

4,830 As previously stated, the statistics above given refer simply to that part of Orissa under the control of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, i. e., to the districts of Balasore, Cuttack, Pooree, and a portion of the tributary hill states. They do not include the Oriya-speaking people of Sumbulpore and other parts of the central provinces; nor do they include those of Gangam, Vizagapatam, and other parts of the Madras presidency. Originally all these people were included in the kingdom of Orissa; and, by splitting up the kingdom into several parts and placing the population under the control of officials ignorant of the language, no doubt the country and people have laboured under great disadvantages. In some of the courts, surrounded by tens

of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, the Oriya has been barely recognised. Alterations for the better have taken place during the last few years, but if the whole Oriya country were placed under one responsible head-if the court language were Oriya-and if all the officials were compelled to pass in the language, the province would have a far better chance of improvement than it has yet had.

As regards the native christians-returned as 3,213-it may be observed that those in Gangam are not included; though the above return includes those belonging the Northern Orissa Mission in the Balasore district as well as the Roman Catholics.

It will be noticed that the numbers of the two sexes are nearly equal; while of those having infirmities the number of men is more than double that of women. Query: Is it because imbecile female infants are destroyed?

With more than a million of people (scattered over immense districts) to each missionary we may emphatically say, "the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few." W. HILL.

No. VII.

"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."Exodus iii. 5.

same

THE Hindoos would never presume to enter a temple or sacred enclosure without first putting off their shoes or sandals. Nor would they think of entering the house of another person, or even their own house, without observing the same custom. That Europeans should enter churches or chapels, and that ministers should enter pulpits, read, and preach, and pray, without first taking off their shoes, appears to the heathen very irreverent and disrespectful. Even native christians entertained the opinions in the first instance, and though their views have been modified, they generally leave their sandals at the door of the sanctuary before entering. A few weeks ago a native preacher was asked to engage in prayer, but I noticed that before doing so he put off his shoes. Thus to remove the shoes is considered an act of respect, reverence, and submission among the Hindoos. Moreover, leather, or skins of dead animals, is considered ceremonially unclean, and on this account no respectable native would take shoes, or allow them to be taken, into certain parts of his house. Moses was commanded to take off his shoes because the place whereon he stood was holy ground. If any leather or skin were

used in their manufacture, and if it were regarded unclean, as among the Hindoos, the reason for the selection of the shoes would be obvious. That the skin was regarded as unclean in connection with the sacrifice of consecrating priests is, I think, plain from the fact that it was not to be laid upon the altar, but to be burnt with fire without the camp.-Ex. xxix. 13, 14.

In entering the sanctuary and approaching the presence of God, how important that we should endeavour to divest ourselves of everything that is unholy and unclean; and that our external conduct as well as internal reverence should become the Lord's presence, His house, and His worship.

No. VIII.

"Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit."-John xiii. 10.

"THIS," says Barnes, "is a difficult passage, and interpreters have been divided about its meaning." To the Oriyas, however, it is perfectly plain, and needs no expositior whatever, beyond their daily manners and customs. The almost invariable practice of the people is to bathe once a day, and that before partaking of their morning meal. It often happens, however, that the tank or river where they bathe is some distance from their house, so that on