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THE CHRISTIAN INDEX, JESSE MERCER, Editor. Terms of'the Christian Index. Two Dollars and a half will be re quired for a single subscriber, per annum in advance. For fire, in a company, of which one will act as agent for the rest, $lO will be received, per annum, in ad vance—or what the Editor thinks prefera ble, and solicits ; let Ministers, or other prominent persons, become agents, and procure and forward the pay for 4 or more subscribers,at $2,50 each, and receive each lor himself a copy free , as the reward of his trouble and expence. It is requested of all the agents of the former, to continue so, for the present Ed itor. All the subscribers at the various post offices, are requested to class them selves under one, or more, who will act as agents for them, to w hom subscriptions and payments may be made and forward ed. Those in arrears are requested to transmit 4110 sums due at $3 00 ]>er annum (according to terms) to the present Edi tor, to whom they are transferred. This is to the benefit and happiness of the for mer Editor. All monies for the Index may be trans mitted by mail, post paid, at the risk of the Editor ; provided the money is mailed in the presence of the l’ost Master; so that his certificate may be obtained-in case of a failure. Note. —After the present year is clo sed, those, who neglect t* pay within their subscription year, will lx; charged at the discretion of the Editor, and their papers discontinued. • The Christian Index and Baptist Miscellany is permitted at last, to address its Patrons from its now home. It comes among them “as an old friend with new credentials;” and ardent ly hopes to cultivate an increasing acquain tance of pleasure and profit with them. It f desires ttPeXfend its usefulness by engaging new and lasting connections. Having lost, by its remove, the familiar attention of ma ny of its valued northern friends, it asks a remedy in the extension of its intercourse to the south ; and most earnestly solicits its present Patrons, to introduce it to the kind and familiar acquaintance of as many of their friends as practicable. It has sus tained losses and incured expenses, by changing its location, which it will never be able to endure, unless it is permitted the pleasure to prattle its weekly tales of love, and discourse freely on the interesting oc currences of the eventful times in which we live, in a great many families. Its sole object is to inform, edify and comfort those, who will listen to its voice; in or der that the Creator of all may be exalted, and the Saviovr of men crowned with glo ry and honor. Its Editor has nothing of which ho can boast, as though he did not receive it. But, as of the ability which God gircth, he is willing to minister the manifold grace of God, to the building up of the Godly in Christ Jesus on their most holy faith ; and to the convincing of the ungod ly oftheir danger in sin, and leading them to the acknowledging of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and to faith, wnich is in him, that they may be saved. lie is rather of the Old, than of the new school; and inclines to the old fashioned doctrine of free grace, as preached among the Bap tists, near half a century ago: Though he docs not mean to quibble, or criticise on mere modes of expression, or shades of difference, where the truth is not compro mised. He does not fully receive all Mr. Fuller’s views of the methods of divine nier- Cy, yet is satisfied with his scheme (as now generally preached when kept within its own bounds) as leading to, and finally securing the same great and glorious re sults, as those of the most approved and (to use a common epithet) calvinistic wri ters of his age. lie will depend mostly on his talented Brethren to write for the co lumns of the Index. And their produc tions shall always be received with thank fulness. Yet they must leave him free, in the unquestionable right to judge of, re strain, or comment on what may be seni him for publication. He hopes to be ever liberal & courteous towards all; and as he will feci no ill-will to any, he hopes none vill feel so to ards him. And finally he AMD BAPTIST XIKC KI.I.tVV. begs an interest in the prayers of all, who long, and pray, and strive for the coining of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord. Interesting Intelligence. We draw very largely this week on the American Baptist Magazine for this month.— Professor Chase's letter on the Religious state of France, is full of important Religious infor mation am! Missionary matter. From it and its Appendix, we make the following extracts. “The Papal priesthood have not, indeed, that plei.titu.lo ot* power rhA iurtueuce which they enjoyed after the restoration of the Bourbons, and before the late revolution. But they are far from being disheartened. They are ex ceedingly numerous; and they,as well as the comparatively insignificant numbers of the Protestant clergy and of the Jewish Rabbies, are salaried by the government. They have the religious prejudices and the habits of the great body of the people in favor of their sys tem. And most commonly they have the plea sure of at least christening the infants, even of the most sceptical and irreligious. They are not idle. But amidst the scoffs of infidels and the general neglect and contempt of reli gion that prevail in many places, they seem to be patiently ami prudently endeavoring to make the best oftheir situation, strengthening their influence where they can, relinquishing it where they must, and lidding themselves in readiness to profit by any event, and especi ally any political change that may occur. Some of them have raised their voices in favor of such an ecclesiastical reform as would, in cer tain respects, harmonize with the more liberal and popular institutions of the present period, and leave the church unsalaried and unfetter ed by the government For several years, the eloquent Abbe Lc Mannais, through the medium of the press, has excited much inter est and made a deep impression by his power ful appals. But ho has been strenuously op posed by the archbishop of Paris and others.— Last autumn, he visited Rome for the purpose of having an interview with the Pope. His Holiness insisted on its being his own prero gative to suggest and introduce changes. In this view the Abbe and his friends Lave, it seems, thought it wise to acquiesce; and all again is quiet. * In the mean time, ‘the Missionaries of France,’ though not authorized nor encourag ed by the present government, ure incessant in their labors. This is an order of priests that was organized soon after the restoration of the Bourbons. The object is, by sending gifted and zealous preachers into the various sections of France, to aWaken the religious sense of the people, and attach them to the faith oftheir ancos ors. Since tiie late revolution, the head off is order, who, with much skiff, directs their operations, resides at Rome. The Jesuits, as such, are not recognized nor openly visible in France ; but they arc there in reality anil in effect. In their magnificent and venerable establishment at Rome, they can act without disguise; and the influence is incalculable which they must exert upon the Gallatian church, and upon a large and interesting part of the French people. Within a few years, many ingenious and able books have been published; such as re futations of infidelity in its various forms; defences of religion in general, and of the Roman Catholic in particular; treatises in tended to promote devotion and practical piety, and others for the religious and moral instruc tion of the young. But most of these, being identified or at. least confounded with the sup port of the manifest errors of the Papal sys em, have little weight with millions of the people. Stiff a large portion of the priesthood attribute their want of success to the over throw of Charles X. They identify the cause of the old dynasty with the cause of religion, and they fondly cherish the hope of a now revolution. Before proceeding to speak of the Protes tants, it may not be uninteresting to mention a society which lias existed at Paris eight or ten years. It consists of liberally minded men, whether Papist or Protestants. I allude to the Society of Christian Morals. Many of its former active members are now occupying eminent stations in the government. Several years ago, it awarded a prize for the best Es say on the Freedom of Religious Worship.— Tiie successful essay, making a respectable octavo volume, was published by the society; and it has doubtless contributed much to es tablish in France the great principles of re ligious liberty. More recently the society has awarded a prize for a Refutation of St. Simonianism. It has not, however, published the refutation; and perhaps it will not. There is some reason to fear that this society has seen its best days. But it is an encouraging fact, and it ought to be known, that, at one of its late meetings, after mature deliberation, it adopted a worthy and important resolution, the substance of which had been proposed by our missionary, Mr. Rostan, who, from the first, has been a member. I allude to its resolving to offer a premium for the best essay in reply to the question, Is it every man's duty to en deavor Inform settled prinaiplcs in matters of religion, and always to conform to them in his words and actions! The Protestants of the two confessions (the Geneva and the Augsburg that is, the Calvin ists and the Lutherans, ure recognized by the government; and their ministers, as well as the Papal priests, receive a salary from the national treasury. Either the one or the oth er of those two confessions may he adopted, but neither*of them must be varied at all, with out the approbation of the civil authority. — The ministers are required, at least for the most part, to be educated in France, either at Montaban or at Strasburg. The dominant influence of the Theological Faculty at each of these places is understood to be, and for many years, to have been latitudinarian, and far from the scriptural standard. Under this influence most of the pastors have been train ed. And the churches, from the’ nature of their organization, and from their connexion WASHINGTON, SATIRMI, SEPTEMBER SI, 1833 with the civil government, exhibit too often the sad characteristics of all national churches. At the same time, there is a considerable and increasing party that answers to the Evan gelical in the English Establishment, and very nearly to the ‘Orthodox’ in the congre gational churches of Massachusetts, before the bate separation. The party is not large; hut it endeavors to make up in diligence what it wants in numbers. At leasttwoor three able and worthy men are specially occupied in spreading its influ ence. Persons of this class have been the projectors or the prominent supporters of most of the societies in the capital of France, in tended to caff forth the Christian efforts of Protestants. They have a school in which eight hundred children are instructed. They have a Protestant Book-store. They have brought into circulation several good religious books, and a few for the use of children. They are now publishing, in French, Scott’s Com mentary on the Bible, and Milner’s Church History. They also publish the periodical entitled Archives of Christianity (Archives du Christianisine,) and a religious paper, The Sower, (Le Semeur;) while their ingenious opponents publish another religious paper, entitled The Protestant. They sustain a small blit very efficient missionary school at Paris, under the direction of a most worthy minister, who also edits a Missionary Maga zine; and they have planted a promising mis sion in the interior of Africa. .Respecting another matter, too, they have, at least in one instance, set a laudable and ]>olitic example ; they have recently been building up a church on the principle of its supporting the ministry of the gosi>el without a salary from the gov eminent. And they are vigilantly striving to bring into close connexion with the Protestant or Reformed churches ‘as by law established,’ the small independent, evangelical churches, which, here and there, in different parts of the kingdom have been organized separately, be cause the members could not live in the Es tablishment. In the class of Christians of which I have been speaking, embracing, as it does, some of ‘the excellent of the earth,’ it was natural to look for men who, under their deep impres sion of the spiritual wants of France, would welcome the aid which could he extended by the American Baptists. With this hope, many were waited on, in a respectful and af fectionate manner. They were assured that it was the wish of the Board to co-operate, as far as practicable, with other Christians in making common cause against the common enemy; and I liar, alter having gone as far to gether as we could, without a seeming sacri fice of truth and duty, we should ask only to bo permitted to pursue, according: to our con victions, tne path in winch the Saviour would have us go. A consultation was held; and, very soon I was given to understand, in a manner that could not bo mistaken, that per sonally I should rccoivc a friendly welcome, but not as connected with a Baptist Board; that, as such, no one could be encouraged there; that any effort from such a source was to be regretted, as being likely to divert the atten tion of French Christians from the Gospel, and to make known in France another sectarian division; and, finally, that in order to secure any countenance to the mission, we ought to merge entirely the subject of baptism, and keep it carefully out of sight. Thus some of the best men in Paris have verily thought that they were following the dictate of an ‘expansive charity’ in assuming their present attitude; an attitude which, •while it caffs us to the exercise of faith and patience, will, I trust, induce us to proceed meekly and conscientiously, yet firmly, as the apostles did when Peter and John made the impressive appeal, ‘Whether it be right in the sight of Gori to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.’ Gladly would 1 have passed over this matter in silence. But it isofso grave and important a character that I have felt constrained to make, as I now have done, with much grief, this simple statement of facts. * * * * But I must now proceed to make some re marks on the State of the French Baptist Churches. Os these there are three classes. 1. The feeble remnants of the Petrobrusians and ancient Baptists of the Southern valleys. These are very few. Their number has been diminished by various causes. Many oftheni, in times of persecution, were destroyed by fire and sword. Some removed to Flanders, nnd doubtless to other regions, in hope of an un molested retreat. Others, aftoi the Protes tant Reformation, it is easy to believe, became connected and at length amalgamated with neighboring Protestant Pedobaptist churches that enjoyed an able and active ministry. The rest seem to have thought it expedient and right to yield an external conformity to the Roman Catholic church,and content themselves with maintaining their own meetings privately, and promoting only in secret, and, as it were, by stealth, what they considered to he impor tant religious truth and duty. Akin to this, and somewhat illustrating it, is the case of a venerable old man with whom 1 met in the South of France. Ho was in the midst of a Roman Catholic population: and, through their good opinion, he was occupying a situa tion on which he was entirely dependent for the maintenance of his family. I visited him several times, and gained his confidence. At length, in one of our interviews, he spoke freely of the corruptions of the Romish church, and then in substance added, “ I do all 1 can by means of my situation, to promote the funda mental principles of the pure gospel, as con tained in the. scriptures. By reading these, too, I became convinced of the duty of belie vers’ baptism. But in rny religious views I was alone. What could 1 do! 1 went to a river ; and, with none present but God, 1 bap tized myself.” After this statement, ho laid liis finger on his lips in token of secrecy, and charged me not to betray him. Besides the causes which I have mentioned as tending to diminish the first class of Bap tists, there is another, which must have had a deadening and destructive influence. It is their bavin* been led, by an erroneous inter pretation of certain prophecies, to wait for a new revelation or some miraculous dispensa tion of heavenly light ns being yet necessary to precede the general prevalence of pure Christianity. Theyliave been inclined to think that there is at present no church upon the earth; and they cull their little communities, not chur ches, but families. Upon the approach of win ter, many of them, with their flocks and herds, pass beyond the southern boundary of France into Spain, for the advantage of a milder cli mate, and return in the spring. My limited time and the unfavorable season of the year made it impracticable for me to search them out ill their remote and secluded dwellings, anJascertain all that it is desirable to ascer tain respecting their circumstances. It is cer tain, however, that tfiey arc in a feeble and un promising state; that they need instruction; and that, like frighted sheep that have wander ed, long, and fir away, they need to be called by’thc voice of some kind shepherd, and to be gathered from the wilderness in which they wqre scattered in the dark and cloudy day. 2. The few, chiefly on the northern border of France, who have been publicly known as Mcnnonists, or as they have often been oppro brieusly called,. Anabaptists. Many of this class, it is well known, are to he found in Hol land and some parts of Switzerland, in Prussia and various other German states, in Prussian Poland, and in at least one part ofßussia. So far ns my information extends, those in France, generally speaking, are similar to these, with some of whom I became acquainted when in Holland and Germany, in the year 1824, and whose religious state I am not expected here to^xhibit. 3. The Baptists of more recent origin.— These ase not numerous; but, on several ac counts, they are the most directly accessible to our fraternal aid; and if suitably cherished and instructed, there is much to be hoped from their co-operation in the great work which, we trust, is to be accomplished on the continent of Europe. At present, owing to various circum stances and influences, their views of church organization, of administering baptism and the Lord’s supper, of supporting the gospel minis try, and of a few other matters, more or less intimately connected with the usefulness and prosperity of a church, are, in too many in stances, very indistinct. Os this they are be ginning in some measure to be sensible, and there is much truth in what one of them re marked in a conversation on tho subject,— “ We are,” he said “ like persons coming sud denly out of thick darkness into tho light—you must not wonder if we do not at first see clearly.” Most of t’.ieso RaptusU arc in tho department oft)!'North, tdn Nnrrl.} Thorp are some in the neighboring departments, and a few in Belgium. Respecting those in thedepartment of the North, besides verbal communications from various sources, I have received a written statement from an intelligent and zealous French brother, intimately acquainted with the condition of the churches. Os his statement, the following, with a little abridgement, is a translation. At Waterloo there is a congregation of about fifty persons. It is visited by M. Dus sart, who is employed by the Continental So ciety. The whole congregation are Baptists in sentiment; and several have been baptized. At Roubaix there is an unusual attention to religion. Some have already been converted. M. Dussart has visited there. But the meet ings have boon occasional, not stated. At I .annoy there is a church consisting of about sixty members. M. Dussart preaches there, and is one of the pastors. All this church is Baptist; yet there are some mem bers that partake of the Lord’s supper, who have not been baptized, though they are Bap tists in sentiment, and do not have their infants baptized. At Sally a meeting is Held. All have the Baptist sentiments. None any longer have their infants baptized. But they are not or ganized into a church. They are about twen ty-five in number; eight or ten of whom are decided Christians. At Baisieux a church is organized. The assembly amounts to about forty. All are not members of the church; but all have the Bap tist sentiments; and a considerable number have been baptized. At Nomain there is an organized church, composed of about forty-five members. Tiie whole assembly amounts to about one hundred and twenty-five persons. All ure Baptist.— This is the first church; and it was founded by Mr. Pyt, in 1820. All the places of which 1 have siwken, and those which I am about to mention, were awakened by the ministry of Mr. Pyt. The meetings at Waterloo and Baisieux have been established since that time, by the visits of colporteurs, that is, as tho word is- here intended to signify, men em ployed in currying about and selling, or otherwise distributing Bibles and .tracts, and conversing on religion. All the persons who compose the assembly at Nomain, as well as all tiie other assemblies that I have mentioned, have come from tiie Papal church. All of them have the Baptist sentiments, even those who are not yet church members. At Aix also there is an organized church.— It has about fifteen members. At Orchies, Mr. Barbcy, employed by the continental society, is now laboring to estab lish a meeting. He is not a Baptist. There are in that town eleven Christians that have been baptized. They were formerly of the Romish church. All these churches, and the others that I shall mention, have their pastors chosen from among themselves by tho .church. None of the pastors are educated men, except .Mr. Barbey. They ate all men of the country, who labor daily for their living, that they may give broad to their children; For they receive nothing from the churches, which are general ly poor. At Saulzoir there is an organized church, of which Mr. Joseph Thieftry, employed by the Baptist society of England, has the charge.— He has care also of the meeting at St. Wuast, and of another at Quicvy. These meetings are small. At Saulzoir the number is about thirty; at St. Waast, about twelve; at Quie vy, about fifty. Here are two instances, where a meeting has been made up of persons from the national Protestant church, for at Saul zoir and at Quievy there are large Protestant congregations. But, except in these two in stances, the meetings have been composed of individuals that have left the Romish church. At Reumont there is a meeting of about one hundred persons, without there being at pre sent any organized church. All of them have the Baptist sentiments; and many of them have been baptized. They have, as at No main, a baptistery in their chapel. At Bertry, M. Poulain the father, employed also by the Baptist continental society of Eng land, takes care of the church in that place, and visits four other small meetings that are held in the neighboring villages. ******* Such is the statement in regard to our brethren in the department of the North; and it is confirmed by the various verbal accounts that I have received. I the department of Aisne, there are some Baptist members at Hargicourt, but the pastor, M. Ilosea Gainbier is a Pedobaptist. The congregation amounts to about one hundred and twenty. At St. Quentin there is a con gregation of about fifty, to which M. Poulain, tho son, preaches, lie is the only Baptist; and he is sustained and directed by Pedobap tists. At Parfondeval there is a congregation consisting of perhaps forty. M. Beujart, the father, a Baptist, is the preacher. In the department of Seine and Oise, at Versailles, M. John Bap. Ladam, a Baptist, is employed as a colporteur by the Continental Society. In the department of Seine at Paris, M. Henry Pyt, a Baptist, is employed as pastor of a Pedobaptist church by the continental socie ty. Himself and his wife, with two others, are the only Baptist members. Ilis church amounts perhaps to sixty or seventy, and the whole congregation to about one hundred and fifty. lie has thought it expedient to waive the subject of baptism. “ For if I hail not done so,” he reasons, “ I should not have been per mitted to enter the promising field of useful ness that I now occupy.” In the department of Euee and Loire, at Gaubert, near Orleans, M. Anthony Porchat, a Baptist, is also employed as pastor of a l’edo paptist church by the Continental Society.— Himself and his wife are tho only Baptist mem bers. Since this connexion, he lias not ad ministered baptism at all; and he has taken care that the infant sprinkling be performed by other hands. Ilis whole congregation amounts toubouttwohundred. These brethren have been placed in trying Oiteo** niufiOHuoa I f iu to Lw *Jt nt OS well asotiiers, will yet see clearly the path of their duty, and each have the wisdom to walk in it, encouraged by tho heavenly voice, As tliy day, so shall thy strength be. On the eastern frontier adjoining Switzer land, there is, at Montebeliard, in the depart ment of Doubs, a church consisting of about fifty members, most of whom are Baptists.— It lias two pastors. One of them, M. Vierne, a Baptist; and the other, M. Vivien, is a Pe dobaptist. At Geneva, in Switzerland, there is a church of about four hundred membors, a majority of whom are thought to be Baptists. It has three pastors. Two of these are l’edobaptists; and the other, M. Guers, is a Baptist. At Carogtle, near Geneva, there is a church of about fifty members. Most of these are Baptists; and M. Bost, a Baptist, is the pastor. At Nyon, also near Geneva, there is another church of ahout forty or fifty members. Tiie pastor, M. Duplessis, it is reported, has very recently de clared himself a Baptist; and it is thought probable that most of the church will follow him. But in France and Switzerland, the word Baptist does not always mean all tliat it does in America. To illustrate this, and to show the mixed and chaotic state of the churches, I would mention the following incident: A young man from Switzerland, who had been a theological student at Geneva, was in troduced to me at M. l’yt’s, in Paris, as a Bap tist. In the course of his studies he liar! be come convinced of the nullity of what had been done to him ns baptism in his infancy; and, amidst much opposition and great sacrifices, he had lately, I was informed, been baptizsd by a Baptist minister tliat was under the patronage of the Baptist continental society. I invited him to breakfast with me at Mr. llostan’s. In conversation after breakfast, we perceived tliat instead of having been immersed by the Baptist minister, lie had only had a little wa ter poured upon him or sprinkled on His face. When we endeavored to expound to him the way of God more perfectly, it was evidentthat the facts which we exhibited relative to the act of baptism had never particularly arrested liis attention. lie had duly considered who should be baptized; hut lie had scarcely thought of the question, What is baptism, truly and properly speaking, and according to tho scrip tures ! It ought to be added that he manifes ted an amiable docility, and. promised to exam ine the subject 1 had several interviews with him afterwards; nnd I took my final leave of him in London, where, I have reason to trust, he has, before this tune, been baptized and or dained.* It is his intention now to repair to his father’s house in Berne, and, at his own charges, to devote himself entirely to the min istry of the Gospel. He is about twenty-seven years ofage, and, considering his youth, lie lias already had an uncommon share of experience, both in the world and in religion. Some years ago, for following the dictates of his conscience in connecting himself with a church of more purity and spiritual life than the one establish ed by law, he was threatened with the loss of the honorable place which ho held in tho go vernment. lie held fast his integrity, and lost his place with all his worldly prospects; and, still holding fast his integrity, he was imprisoned, and banished. All this he seems to have borne with the unaffected dignity and meekness of a primitive Christian. He writes and speaks the French,as well as tho German, which is hip native language; and there is Vol. 1 # No* 11. much to encourage the hope that he is ed for signal usefulness. His name is Carl von Rodt, or, as coming, through the French* it would be expressed in English, Charlen de Rodt. .. . Connected with the church at Montebeliard, that has already been mentioned,, there is & zealous brother, Peter Roth, who formerly be longed to an ancient Baptist, or Alennonist church, m which he was a preacher. Though a plain, unlettered man, he is highly esteemed by his religious acquaintances; and he is ar dently desirous of laboring to resuscitate the piety and Christian vigor of the Mennonists, considerably numerous conimunities of whom are to be found in the neighboring regioni of Switzerland. , Here it may not be improper just to remark that in Tuscany, one of the Italian States, I found residing at Leghorn some exemplary and active Christians connected with the church of England, and heard some sponta neous avowals of an impressiou in favor of our distinguishing sentiments ; and that, m Rome itself, I had the .unexpected pleasure of ad ministering baptism, though it was in circum stances that reminded me, impressively, of the first baptism at Rangoon, under the frowning brow of Gaudama. - After this brief survey of the Baptists in France and its vicinity, it remains for me only to say a few words in reply to the questions, “ Can we by any means be serviceable Ut them, and to the general cause of pure and iindc- Jiled religion ; and if so, in what way!” The first question, it is.certain, must be an swered in the affirmative. , . , , , The present charter or constitution of the French government proclaims religious free dom to all; and whatever temporary vexations the malice of individuals, here and there, may produce, it is unquestionably the settled policy of the present administration not to molest any person of decent moral principles in the free and constitutional exercise of liis religion. In deed, whoever may hereafter occupy the throne, he will probably find it expedient not to trample under foot so precionsa right of the, people. But whatever may occur hereafter, we have at present nothing to fear from tho government. We may even expect Its pro tection in doing all that we wish to do., Certainly we have resources at. home suffi-- cient to enable us, with tiie blessing of God to he serviceable in some degree to our brethren, and to the cause of pure and undefiled religion in France. , •••.. ; That country, with its busy, intelligent,- spirited, immense population, is accessible to us. We have regular, monthly, and almost weekly communication with it by the packets plying between New York ana Havre, to say nornmg or otner ships and other ports; and we can have correspondence and intercourse witli our friends at Paris, about as easily aa with our friends in some parts of our own country. , Our French Baptist brethren are willing and desirous to receive our aid. They ear nestly implore it. And the peculiarly favora ble predisposition of the great mass of the people towards us as Americans, ought to givo us peculiar encouragement ill our efforts for their spiritual welfare. . . .. Difficulties we must expect to encounter. But He that said to his disciples, ‘Go ye into all the world,’ was aware of every difficulty that would oppose the progress of the gospel. Our hope is in his power and his grace. Re lying on his power and his grace, wa have contributed freely of our silver and gold, and sent forth from among us some of our dearest brethren and sisters to the far distant heathen, to regions distinguished above oilier heathen and idolatrous regions, for cruelty, superstition, and perverse disputing, to a land where no toleration was promised, but where, every step the missionaries proceeded, they proceed ed at their peril. And yet all are now becom ing convinced that, through our instrumental ity, something could lie done evervin.that land, remote from us as was the held of labor, — quite on the other side or the globe,—and un favorable as were the circumstances in which it was approached. Yoe; the Saviour has ful filled his promise. He is.now fulfilling it—• And He, surely, can help us as easily in France as in’ Burinah. • • i But when I recollect whom I am addres sing, I trust it is unnecessary for me to expa tiate. The considerations which I have men tioned will, l am confident, be deemed suffi cient to show that the question must be an swered, most decidedly, in the affirmative.— We can do something for France, ‘And if so, in what way! 1 . , * By strengthening the mission at Paris; and by providing for the suitable instruction of such brethren, of ‘lie continental churches, as may desire to receive it and increase their useful ness, in the ministry. Our mission at Paris must be strengthened, in order to secure the advantages of what wa have already done. All the great, impressive considerations in view of which it was begun, exist stiff in all their force. And now, what it* was important for us to begin, that, as in duty bound, we might be useful, it must be still more important for us to sustain with vigor, tiff tho grand object be attained. We have entered the field. Our Izrrd in his providence has given ns peculiar facilities for cultivating it. We have only to make a discreet and faithful use of them, and all will be well. Our station, too, besides its .other advantages, will, if pro perly manned, enable us eflon to socond and greatly facilitate the efforts of our English brethren, so as most effectually to co-operato with them in the great work that is to be ac complished in France and throughout the con tinent of Europe. To give suitable instruction to such breth ren of the continental churches, as desire to receive it and increase their usefulness in tha ministry, is, under God, the surest, the most beneficial, and the most economical way of supplying France and the adjoining countries * While this Letter is in the press, intelli gence lias been received tliat he was baptized on the 2d of June, and ordained thenext day. (See 4th page.)