The_above_Table will shew, that in seven Crown Colonies (slaves 250,900) the A's are 38 and the P's 30, with one I. The blanks are 71, two colonies not reporting any progress.-In thirteen Chartered Colonies (slaves 578,100) the A's are only 7, the P's 14, and the I's (blanks in fact) 16. The other blanks are 224, including six colonies reporting no progress whatever. Many of the P's are very partial indeed; and even of the A's most are nullified by the nonadoption of other measures essential to their operation. It may possibly be alleged, that the blank exhibited under the first head is unfair, as the recent appointment of bishops and additional clergymen invalidates the statement thus made on the subject of education and religious instruction. These appointments, however, are the work, as far they go, of the government at home; and to what a small extent they have hitherto operated, may be seen in our former Numbers. In fact, no new legislative measures whatever have been taken either by the crown or by the colonial legislatures for promoting the education and instruction of the slaves. The efforts of Methodists and Moravians are not to be ascribed to the colonial authorities, by whom indeed in Jamaica they have been impeded. And while Sunday continues to be legally desecrated by markets and labour; and while children from the age of five are kept in the field all day (see the Bishop of Jamaica's report, in our volume for 1826, p. 405,) it is vain to talk of educating the young or instructing the old. Something appears to have been done at the Cape of Good Hope alone, but what its amount is does not clearly appear. Under the other heads, it is only in five of the colonies subject to the legislation of the crown that any reforms of an effective kind have been even commenced, and even there how large are still the blanks, and how partially and how inoperatively have many of the measures apparently adopted been carried into effect! In none even of the crown colonies in the West Indies have Sunday markets been abolished, or has the religious observance of Sunday been secured, or has time been given to the slave in lieu of Sunday, to say nothing of other most essential points. In two of the crown colonies, and in six of the chartered, nothing whatever is as yet reported to have been done; and in the remaining seven chartered colonies what a mockery do their attempts at reform exhibit! The only really effective measure is that single clause of the Grenada Act which, in questions of slavery or freedom, throws the onus probandi on the claimant of the slave. The abolition of Sunday markets in Barbadoes and Tobago, however desirable a measure in itself, is rendered an act of severity to the slave by the non-allowance of time in lieu of Sunday; while all that is enacted about slave testimony, and marriage, and property, and the cartwhip, is mere evasion; the sound of reform without a particle of its substance. Rev. Mr. Harte.-We stated in our Number for September, in concluding our account of the persecution of the Rev. Mr. Harte of Barbadoes, that we should be curious to know what were the "certain charges" which it was intended to exhibit against him at the ensuing sessions. Our curiosity has been in some degree gratified by a series of documents which have reached us, and which afford another striking exhibition of the injustice and oppression which characterize every proceeding for the defence of slavery. The charges are, in substance, that Mr. Harte had held certain inflammatory conversations with the slaves; and that he had also somewhat plainly told their masters that, if discontents occurred, they ought to blame themselves. These charges were attempted to be proved, before two magistrates, by various witnessess. This court would not allow Mr. Harte's own witnesses to be heard; but had they been heard, nothing they could have said would have furnished a more triumphant refutation of the charges against him, than the statements of the very witnesses adduced to support them. The evidence, if printed as it stands, would shew, not merely the futility of the allegations against this persecuted minister, but the baneful spirit and tendency of the whole slave system. With respect to the alleged inflammatory addresses to the slaves, which took place as long back as March 1826, what does the matter turn out to be? that Mr. Harte, the rector of the parish, and also a magistrate, and thus doubly bound to maintain peace, hearing a rumour that an insurrection was apprehended, offered to the overseers of several plantations to address the slaves, and point out to them their duty and their interest; and this he did, after leave obtained, and in the presence of the overseers and other White persons. In his address, he cer tainly went much farther than we should have done in the assertion of their masters' rights, and the slaves' obligations. The men, without distinction of clime or address indeed, as given by the witnesses, colour. was no more than a running commentary on the proclamations which the governor had issued, by order of Earl Bathurst, in order to prevent the Negroes from supposing that his majesty's government, by its recent measures, intended to give them freedom; but only to make them happier by making them good Christians. It is clear the overeeers and the other White persons present saw nothing noxious in this address at the time; for it was not till twelve or eighteen months afterwards, that Mr. Harte having given the sacramental bread to some persons of Colour at one extremity of the altar, while some Whites were receiving the cup at the other, its heinousness was discovered. Indeed, one witness did not hesitate to own that the charge was now" trumped up, to his surprise, to answer a particular purpose." What now, as we understand, dwells on the minds of the Barbadians as being Mr. Harte's inexpiable offence, is, that he should have dared to say a word to the slaves, which implied that there was any power elsewhere, whether king or people, which could controul the absolute authority of the master or manager. What have these slaves to do, they ask, with the king or the parliament of England? With respect to Mr. Harte's conversations with the Whites themselves, in which he pointed out to them the dangers that might arise if they did not behave towards their slaves with a reasonable degree of indulgence, it does seem most extraordinary that any matter of crimination should be drawn from them, as they are not merely innocuous, but highly commendable. Slavery requires, it is true, strange and anomalous defences. Poor Smith of Demerara, was doomed to death for an unproved" misprision of treason" in not telling his White neighbours, as was alleged, all that he suspected of the feelings of the slaves. Poor Mr. Harte is placed at the criminal bar for having been, as is alleged, too communicative to them on the subject. If he is silent, he abets treason; if he speaks, he abets it: above all, he abets it, if he preaches the Gospel faithfully to his flock, either reproving the master for his vices, or regarding the Christianized slave, or even freeman of Colour, at the table of his Lord, as 66 a brother beloved" in him who made all men, and who died for all The evidence, which was protracted from day to day, having been gone through, the magistrates differed in opinion as to whether or not it contained any thing amounting to a charge, and agreed to refer the matter to the crown lawyers. But this course did not satisfy the vindictive feelings of the Barbadians. Three other magistrates, notoriously harsh and illiberal in their views of the slavery question, as well as of Mr. Harte's conduct, immediately formed themselves into a tribunal, and summoned him before them to answer again to the same charges, on the evidence of the same witnesses! Mr. Harte, considering this whole proceeding to be illegal, declined to plead; but the magistrates at once issued their warrant to commit him to prison, and a constable seized him and began to drag him from the justice room. Under this duress, he pleaded not guilty; and the magistrates, on rehearing the former depositions which their brother magistrates had deemed insufficient to sustain the charge, have obliged him to find bail to take his trial at the next sessions. Mr. Harte has in consequence petitioned the governor of the island, to stay the proceedings till the pleasure of his majesty's government shall be known. And here, for the present, the matter rests.-But rest it will not, and cannot. A system which tramples on every right of human nature, which is as hostile to British liberty as it is to Christianity and common humanity, cannot last long. The bishops of Jamaica and Barbadoes, and all their clergy, if they would not be maligned, and persecuted, and proscribed, must submit to become slaves themselves. They must not preach, or speak, or think as becomes freemen and the ministers of a religion which, whether in its censures or its promises, has no respect of persons. They must not tell the master his duty, or look with an eye of compassion on the miseries of the slave. They must consent either to take the popular tone of the society in which they are placed, or to suffer for conscience' sake in resisting it. Mr. Harte has honourably chosen the latter course; and whatever may be the immediate result as to his temporal fortunes, he will not regret his choice on a death-bed, or in the presence of his eternal Redeemer and his Judge. OBITUARY. THE REV. ABDOOL MESSEEH. WE have been so long accustomed, year after year, to introduce to our readers the name of that truly Christian and examplary man, Abdool Messeeh, that in recording his departure to his heavenly reward, we seem to have lost a personal friend; one whose character, whose very features we might almost say, appeared to be familiar to us; who had taught us to feel through the holy sympathies of Christian affection, that "the communion of saints," separated as they may be by distance of time or place, and unknown to each other in the flesh, is not only an article of our creed, but an actual bond of attachment formed upon earth, to be, doubtless, cemented anew in a brighter world. He was among the first fruits of Christian exertion in India; and amidst many temptations to return to the superstitions of Mohammed, he " was kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation," till he was presented by his Saviour "faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." It might be sufficient to refer our readers to the numerous notices respecting him, which abound in our volumes; but we shall also avail ourselves of a recapitulation of some of the chief details drawn up since his death by Archdeacon Corrie, and published by the Calcutta Church Missionary Committee. In our volume for 1813, p. 841, will be found an interesting account of his birth, education, and conversion to Christianity. He was born at Delhi in the year 1772. He was a Musulman descended from a respectable family, though fallen to decay, in the Doab. His family name was Sheikh Salih. His father instructed him in Arabic and Persian, in both which he made great advances. In the year 1810 he was led from domestic circumstances to visit Cawnpore. At that period the late Rev. Henry Martyn was chaplain of the station, and was accustomed to preach every Sunday to the natives who assembled on the lawn before his house. Sheikh Salih was among them, as he expressed it, "to see the sport.' Martyn was explaining the Commandments, and the duty of man to obey them, and exhibiting also the grace and mercy of the Saviour in offering himself a sacrifice for the transgressions of mankind, and his willingness to grant his Holy Spirit to incline us to love and obey them. Sheikh Salih was deeply affected, and determined to investigate the truth of Christianity. He inquired of some nativeChristian youths, then under the instruction of a friend of Mr. Martyn, respecting the nature of their lessons and catechisms; and we remember it being stated, that he particularly studied the manuscript copy of Martyn's New Testament in Hindoostanee, which had been given him to bind. The result of his conviction was, that he embraced Christianity, and was baptized, after a long probation, in the old church at Calcutta, by the late Rev. David Brown, on Whitsunday 1811, by the name of Abdool Messeeh-servant of Christ. Some friends, with whom he had become acquainted, wished him immediately to become a missionary among his countrymen. To this however he objected; saying, that as yet he was but little acquainted with the contents of the Bible as a whole, and should perhaps in ignorance assert things not in agreement with the analogy of faith. He suffered much from the persecutions of his countrymen, but was enabled to endure all with truly Christian patience: and his exemplary conduct produced a most beneficial effect on many who witnessed it. He was, after due probation, appointed a catechist under the Church Missionary Society; and Archdeacon Corrie spoke at the time of the success which had, by the blessing of God, attended his labours at Agra, as "rapid, extraordinary, and beyond all hope." Our readers will find ample extracts from his first journals, in our volume for 1814, pp. 674-678 and 736-740, and 801-806. They exhibit the same zeal, and piety, and Christian simplicity, which marked all his subsequent communications. By devout and diligent study of the Scriptures, assisted by the invaluable counsels and instructions of Mr. Corrie, he rapidly attained a considerable insight into Christian doctrine; so that, aided by unusual soundness of understanding, and a self-possession that never forsook him, he became "a workman that needed not to beashamed;" and his answers to the adversaries of the Cross of Christ appeared at all times to be dictated by "the wisdom which is from above." In the latter end of 1814, Mr. Corrie was obliged to seek recovery of his health in a cooler climate; and Abdool Messeeh was left in a great measure to his own resources. His continued prudence and meekness; his zeal, his indefatigable labours, and the increased success with which it pleased God to crown them; are too fresh in the minds of the friends of missions in India to require that we should recapitulate them. Our readers may turn to our volumes passim. His devoted affection and respect for his kind friend and instructor, Mr.Corrie, were not the least pleasing exhibitions of his character. We may refer for illustration of them to one of his letters quoted in our vol. for 1816, p. 843. it After having been employed about eight years as a catechist, it became desirable that he should receive ordination; and Bishop ddleton expressed his regret that his etters-patent did not, as he considered, allow of his conferring upon him. He was therefore admitted to Lutheran ordination, in correspondence with the practice of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge in its Indian missions. After his ordination he returned to Agra, and visited, from time to time, the chief cities in the Upper Provinces; and everywhere, by the simplicity and uprightness of his conduct, and the lively and interesting manner in which he on every occasion introduced the subject of religion, excited much attention. At Delhi, the king expressed a wish to see him; at Lucknow the king of Oude bestowed upon him particular notice; the Begum Sumroo, a professed Roman-Catholic, honoured him with a seat at her own table, and received a copy of part of the Scriptures from his hands; and some of the principal British residents at Agra, in the absence of a chaplain, attended Divine service in Hindoostanee, and received from him the Lord's Supper with the native Christians. Frequent attacks of illness prevented, however, his exerting himself as much as he wished to do, but he continued to reside at Agra, and to officiate on the church-mission premises there, till July 1825. During the previous cold season, Bishop Heber having visited Agra, and being satisfied from what he saw and heard of Abdool Messeeh, that he was a suitable subject for Episcopal Orders, and, being free from the restraints under which Bishop Middleton laboured on that head, consented to admit him to the ministry of the Established Church. The offices of the church were translated into Hindostanee for the occasion. The kindness of the bishop made a deep impression on Abdool Messeeh; and the characteristic benevolence of that excellent prelate appeared, in not formally putting the aged disciple upon an examination, but only asking him how he would answer to certain questions, ascertaining from his replies the correctness of his religious opinions. After this solemn service, Abdool Messeeh returned up the country, and it was intended that he should reside permanently at Lucknow, in the character of a minister of Christ. But his Divine Master had other designs respecting his tried and faithful servant. He became ill; and Dr. Luxmore, finding him in a dying condition from mortification, had him conveyed to his own house, where he was supplied with suitable medicine, nourishment, and attendance to the last. He expressed his deep gratitude for this change of residence; for he said, that had he died at home among his own relations, they perhaps would have interred his remains according to the ceremonies of their own erroneous faith: "But now," said he, "Christian brethren will bury me.' He expressed himself as perfectly.resigned; and said that death had no terrors for him, for that his Saviour had deprived it of its sting. He expressed to a friend who attended on him, his gratitude for the kind attention of Mr. Ricketts, the Resident, saying, “See the fruits of Christian love!" The day before. his death, he requested his friend to write his will. A house which the Resident had enabled him to purchase, he left to his mother; his books to the Bible Society; and his clothes to a nephew. After concluding these formalities, he said, "Thanks be to God, I have done with this world! and with regard to my mother," putting his hands in a supplicating posture, "I commend her to God:" then, laying his hand upon his nephew, he said to his friend, "Speak to the Resident, that no one be allowed to injure him :" then desiring his friend to come near him, and putting his hands in an attitude of prayer, he said, “O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be gracious to On one occasion he inquired after a man who had been with him for some time for religious instruction; and, being told he was at hand, desired he might be called. On his approach he questioned explained to him the Lord's Prayer him on some points of religion, and throughout: he spoke of his intention to baptize him, should he recover; and de |