ww to libel any body of men, is most aston- | the pawnbroker's for greater safety; ishing, and cannot fail to lower you where it is taken in as an article of in the opinion of every person ac- furniture or clothing, and charged as quainted with the subject; inasmuch such with interest: yet in a day or two, as it must be a severe reflection on the | perhaps, a few shillings are drawn Editor of the Imperial Magazine, to from the deposite, at the expense of a notice, that he knew nothing of a sub-new ticket and a month's interest; and ject which he voluntarily undertook to write upon. ONE OF THE LIBELLED. TO THE EDITOR OF THE IMPERIAL SIR, Liverpool, April 14, 1819. YOUR note, in page 45 of the Magazine, on the demoralizing tendency of Pawnbroking, as it respects the persons who follow that vocation, I believe to be very correct: but its evil effects, as it respects the lower orders of the community, you have failed to notice. I sincerely wish some pawnbroker, not blinded by the profits derived from the trade, had taken upon him the task of communicating to you his ideas on this subject, if such a one could be found. I will, however, present a few statements to your view, and give my opinion as to what would, in a great measure, rectify the growing evil; which is mostly to be ascribed to the mismanagement and bad economy of the wives of the working class, who, to supply present necessities, take no proper thought for the future. It is quite a common practice, on the Monday morning to pawn the clothing, and on Saturday night to redeem it. Some go further than this; pledging every morning, and redeeming every night; thus paying three hundred months interest in a year. I knew one, who regularly pawned part of the bedding in the morning, and released it at night, as often as the day revolved; and another, who, to raise three shillings, pledged and redeemed so often in the week, and this for several weeks, that she paid one shilling regularly for tickets and interest. Some constant weekly customers, in order to "raise the wind," will pay to the pawnbroker double interest, on condition of receiving their usual sum without the deposit of goods, that they may pawn them elsewhere. But what perhaps will most astonish you is, that I have heard of several, who, after having saved a pound note towards their quarter's rent, have taken it to No. 2.-VOL I. by the time the rent becomes due, it is reduced to little or nothing. Thus, Sir, have I given you a short sample of what is, at least in this place, quite common, and greatly on the increase. It is this practice which makes the trade so lucrative, and by which an independence is obtained in a few years. The remedy is, I think, very easy: a legislative measure is only wanted, to prevent the receiving of pledges under a certain sum; say, ten shillings: this you will suppose small enough. I am sure it would have a most beneficial effect; but if restricted to one pound, it would be better still. If you think this worth a place in your work, I shall be glad to see it there: perhaps it may meet the eye of some Member of Parliament, who would not think it beneath his notice, and lead him to an inquiry, which might end in an enactment such as I have proposed. BARBAROUS EFFECTS OF SUPER- IN 1732, the conspiring elements con- Ꮮ In no ACCOUNT OF TWO CINGALESE PRIESTS. [Concluded from Col. 62.] “Of the sincerity and purity of these men's motives, I have the most satisfactory evidence: they have sacrificed much in order to come and seek the Christian's God in a Christian land. They have lost, for ever lost, their temple and its revenues; and that high honour and reverence which they had, as high-priests, and highly learned among the highest orders among their Countrymen: and although they doubtless have suffered many buffetings on this account, yet there is not the most distant wish remaining to trace back their steps. "Dherma Rama is a young man of very high integrity, of an ardent and strong mind, wishing to sift every thing to the bottom; and never to take a stand any where till he is fully satisfied the ground will bear him. What he gets, he keeps. Munhi Rat'hana has a fine mind; truly spiritual, meek, and affectionate: seeks God, I believe, with his whole heart; and enjoys many consolations from his Spirit. All that are acquainted with them, esteem Dherma, and love Munhi. "Were I hasty to catch at many tokens of gracious influence which I see, and draw those conclusions from them which many others in my place would do, I might make up a good story, and perhaps as true as good. But I have always felt it my duty to be cautious; and not to draw any conclusions from evidences that appear to be at all equivocal, or that may be reasonably disputed. I believe God is at work on their understanding and hearts; and have never for a moment doubted the propriety of their adoption by the Wesleyan Missionary Society; but, on the contrary, believe we should have sinned against God if we had hesitated to receive them. The expense, it is true, must fall upon the Missionary Fund; for except their sacerdotal robes, their books, and seven rupees, (about 14s. English,) they have brought with them no earthly treasure. Their expense, however, will be only their food and raiment; as to their education, the cares, anxieties, &c. of myself and family, as no earthly good could induce me to undergo them, so no earthly good shall ever be received for them. My labour is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God. "If they be spared to get back to Ceylon, I believe they will carry the pure light of the gospel to their benighted countrymen; and should they never see the land of their nativity, it will be still clear gain; for they will have their own souls for a prey. Their expenses, I am satisfied, will never encumber the other parts of the Missionary work; for all who hear their story will rejoice to have the opportunity, by a little extra exertion, to cover every thing of this kind. And they will, I trust, do what will be of greater consequence, send up their heartiest prayers to God for these interesting strangers, and for him to whom their instruction has been confided. "Through the mercy of God we have been enabled to bring them thus far, through our winter's cold; indeed it has been remarkably mild; and when they have heard us expressing our surprise that we have had so little cold, frost, snow, &c. they have said, "God has sent this good weather on our account, that we might not die." Indeed I often feared for their lives; and my wife was frequently without hope; our cares and anxieties were multiplied on their account; and we were obliged to deal with them as with children born before their due time. I endeavoured to maintain the natural temperature of their bodies, as the cold increased, by a proper and gradual application of calico, flannel, and the warmth of the room. This attention was found to be indispensable. In their articles of food we were obliged to be equally attentive, and to provide them with the most easily digestible and nutritive things. I trust we have succeeded. Munhi Rat'hana appears to have completely weathered the climate. He has acquired even a stout hardiness. Dherma Rama, who grew very thin, and had profuse nightsweats, and a bad cough, appears also to have doubled the cape. He is gaining flesh, has entirely lost his cough, and does not feel the impressions of cold as he formerly did. He requires great care: for his constitution is, and I am persuaded ever was, weak and delicate. often heard of, but could hardly credit; water in a solid form. I wrapped them well up, and took them out to the pond, about sixty or seventy yards from the house, that they might see this (to them) strange phenomenon. It had frozen keenly in the night; and they were struck with astonishment, to see that the water had become solid, and to see my nephew skaiting upon it. They said, "It will be of no use to tell this either to the Cingalese or Candians, for they can never believe it." They seem to view this as a farther evidence of the being of a God. My large copper sun-dial was covered over with hoar frost, that had shot in crystallizations, representing the most beautiful foliage. At this they were beyond measure astonished; and after admiring it for some time, Dherma Rama took out his pencil, and with the blunt end wrote on the icy incrustation, the following words, in Cingalese: These leaves have been made by the Supreme God. All such effusions, which, to say the least of them, are the offspring of spontaneous impressions, I take care to improve, and thus the impressions become a solid maxim. Perhaps these things may appear to the Committee, too trifling to be noted: but you will not think so when you reflect, that they spring from minds that have been deeply and philosophically schooled in the opinion, that there is no Supreme God; no Creator, no Governor of the universe: and you will at once perceive that it required much teaching, both from God and man, to bring them to the reason of these doctrines. It is comparatively easy to deal with our common sinners: you begin with them on their own concessions, on their own convictions. They acknowledge God and his word; and on this account threefourths of your work is done. But widely different must the mode of procedure be with an atheistical and philosophical heathen, deeply learned in all the subtilties of a refined, imposing, and apparently sublime system of Metaphysical Ethics: this consideration should cause us to feel much for our brethren among the heathen; and especially among the philosophical heathen, such as the Budhoo and Brahminical priests; and we should be very choice in the persons whom we appoint to go into such regions. Deep piety, and soundness in the faith, though essentially necessary, are not the only requisites: they should be men of learning, clear heads, and sound judgments. What could the Baptist missionaries have done in India, with all their zeal and piety, had they not been men of first-rate talents and abilities? It is gross enthusiasm, that expects God to work without means: He requires them; and he will ever use the choicest in preference to the meanest: means are his creatures, and he will use them. What had we been as a people, had we not, under God, had as our founder a man who for various learning, soundness of judgment, unquenchable zeal, extensive benevolence, deep piety, and vastness of mind, had few equals, perhaps no superior, in the universe? "Our schools in Ceylon will be, if properly encouraged, a very powerful means of correcting, and indeed destroying, these evil and destructive systems; and planting in their stead not only the pure and holy principles of the religion of Christ, but eventually, of a sound philosophy. By this means the natives will learn English; and from this language every thing pure in divinity, and sound in philosophy, is to be learned; and before these, idolatry, superstition, and illusions of every kind will vanish. It is impossible to over-rate the importance of these schools, in whatever light they may be viewed:--they should be strongly recommended to the attention and patronage of all our congregations; and encouraged and extended by every possible means. Let the public know that we have such; and when their importance is once known, we shall find many to assist: and those who were backward to help us in our missions, not being entirely of our creed, such as the humane and benevolent Quakers, will find pleasure in lending their hand to the support of a system of education among heathen people, at once so holy and so necessary. The priests rejoice to hear of these establishments; and are very inquisitive to know the number of Cingalese children under the instruction of the missionaries. When I told them, some time ago, that we had nearly 4,000 in the schools; though they appeared to be glad that there were so many, yet they could not help regretting that these were very few in comparison of the many thousands ACCOUNT OF TWO CINGALESE PRIESTS. [Concluded from Col. 62.] "Of the sincerity and purity of these men's motives, I have the most satisfactory evidence: they have sacrificed much in order to come and seek the Christian's God in a Christian land. They have lost, for ever lost, their temple and its revenues; and that high honour and reverence which they had, as high-priests, and highly learned among the highest orders among their countrymen: and although they doubtless have suffered many buffetings on this account, yet there is not the most distant wish remaining to trace back their steps. "Dherma Rama is a young man of very high integrity, of an ardent and strong mind, wishing to sift every thing to the bottom; and never to take a stand any where till he is fully satisfied the ground will bear him. What he gets, he keeps. Munhi Rathana has a fine mind; truly spiritual, meek, and affectionate: seeks God, I believe, with his whole heart; and enjoys many consolations from his Spirit. All that are acquainted with them, esteem Dherma, and love Munhi. "Were I hasty to catch at many tokens of gracious influence which I see, and draw those conclusions from them which many others in my place would do, I might make up a good story, and perhaps as true as good. But I have always felt it my duty to be cautious; and not to draw any conclusions from evidences that appear to be at all equivocal, or that may be reasonably disputed. "I believe God is at work on their understanding and hearts; and have never for a moment doubted the propriety of their adoption by the Wesleyan Missionary Society; but, on the contrary, believe we should have sinned against God if we had hesitated to receive them. The expense, it is true, must fall upon the Missionary Fund; for except their sacerdotal robes, their books, and seven rupees, (about 14s. English,) they have brought with them no earthly treasure. Their expense, however, will be only their food and raiment; as to their education, the cares, anxieties, &c. of myself ar family, as no earthly good could duce me to undergo them, earthly good shall ever be for them. My labour is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God. "If they be spared to get back to Ceylon, I believe they will carry the pure light of the gospel to their benighted countrymen; and should they never see the land of their nativity, it will be still clear gain; for they will have their own souls for a prey. Their expenses, I am satisfied, will never encumber the other parts of the Missionary work; for all who hear their story will rejoice to have the opportunity, by a little extra exertion, to cover every thing of this kind. And they will, I trust, do what will be of greater consequence, send up their heartiest prayers to God for these interesting strangers, and for him to whom their instruction has been confided. "Through the mercy of God we have been enabled to bring them thus far, through our winter's cold; indeed it has been remarkably mild; and when they have heard us expressing our surprise that we have had so little cold, frost, snow, &c. they have said, "God has sent this good weather on our account, that we might not die." Indeed I often feared for their lives; and my wife was frequently without hope; our cares and anxieties were multiplied on their account; and we were obliged to deal with them as with children born before their due time. I endeavoured to maintain the natural temperature of their bodies, as the cold increased, by a proper and gradual application of calico, flannel, and the warmth of the room. This attention was found to be indispensable. In their articles of food we were obliged to be equally attentive, and to provide them with the most easily digestible and nutritive things. I trust we have succeeded. Munhi Rat'hana appears to have completely weathered the climate. He has acquired even a stout hardiness. Dherma Rama, who grew very thin, and had profuse nightsweats, and a bad cough, appears also to have doubled the cape. He is gaining flesh, has and which, to say the least of them, are though essentially necessary are no often heard of, but could hardly credit; water in a solid form. I wrapped them well up, and took them out to the pond, about sixty or seventy yards from the house, that they might see this (to them) strange phenomenon. It had frozen keenly in the night; and they were struck with astonishment, to see that the water had become solid, and to see my nephew skaiting upon it. They said, "It will be of no use to tell this either to the Cingalese or Candians, for they can never believe it." They seem to view this as a farther evidence of the being of a God. My large copper sun-dial was covered over with hoar frost, that had shot in crystallizations, representing the most beautiful foliage. At this they were beyond measure astonished; and after admiring it for some time, Dherma "Our schools in Ceylon will be, if Rama took out his pencil, and with properly encouraged, a vers powerful the blunt end wrote on the icy incrus- means of correcting, and 125eed detation, the following words, in Cinga- stroying, these evil and destructive lese: These leaves have been made by systems; and planting in their stead the Supreme God. All such effusions, not only the pure and holy principles the offspring of spontaneous impres- ally, of a sound philosophy. By this of the religion of Christ, but eventu the impressions become a solid max- and from this language every thing sions, I take care to improve, and thus means the natives will learn English; im. Perhaps these things may appear pure in divinity, and sound in philosoto the Committee, too trifling to be phy, is to be learned; and before noted: but you will not think so when these, idolatry, superstition, and illuyou reflect, that they spring from sions of every kind will vanish. It is minds that have been deeply and phi- impossible to over-rate the i losophically schooled in the opinion, ance of these schools, in what that there is no Supreme God; no Cre- light they may be viewed:-they should you will at once perceive that it re- tion and patronage of all our coator, no Governor of the universe: and be strongly recommended to the atte and man, to bring them to the reason ed by every possible means. Let the quired much teaching, both from God gations; and encouraged and extendof these doctrines. It is compara- public know that we have such; and tively easy to deal with our common when their importance is once known, sinners: you begin with them on their we shall find many to assist: and tions. They acknowledge God and his in our missions, not being entire of concessions, on their own convic- those who were backward to help fourths of your work is done. But benevolent Quakers, will find pleasure word; and on this account three- our creed, such as the mane and widely different must the mode of in lending their hand to the sport procedure be with an atheistical and of a system of education among the in all the subtilties of a refined, impos- sary. The priests rejoice to hear of philosophical heathen, deeply learned people, at once so holy and s ing, and apparently sublime system of these establishments; and are ver Metaphysical Ethin this considera- quisitive to know the under of Cinc much for lese children under the instruction of and the missionaries. When I told t |
