For the convenience of the readers of the Missionary Herald who may not have ready access to the Annual Report, this number will be principally occupied with a brief view of the organization of the Board, and of its proceedings during the past year, together with the present condition of the missions under its care and their prospects. ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS OF SAMUEL HUBBARD, LL. D., Rev. RICHARD C. HAND, at Concord, N. H., for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Rev. HORATIO BARDWELL, at Oxford, Mass., for Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, and Connecticut. Rev. CHAUNCEY EDDY, at Saratoga Springs, and Rev. FREDERIC E. CANNON, at Geneva, N. Y., for the State of New York. Rev. DAVID MAGIE, at Elizabethtown, N. J., for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Rev. HARVEY COE, at Hudson, Ohio, for the Western Reserve and Michigan Territory. Rev. ARTEMAS BULLARD, at Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Western States. Rev. JACOB D. MITCHELL, Richmond, Va., for Virginia, North Carolina, and District of Columbia. for South Carolina, Georgia, and East Tennessee. ABRIDGMENT OF THE ANNUAL REPORT. ONE corporate member of the Board, Rev. William Nevins, D. D., and one male and seven female assistant missionaries, have deceased during the past year. DOMESTIC OPERATIONS. AGENCIES.-The Rev. Mr. Bardwell, who has filled the agency for the southern district of New England with much acceptance for some years, made a communication to the Committee in March last, in which he expressed his belief that the churches in his agency, and their pastors, were prepared to sustain the cause of foreign missions without the constant labors of an agent. At the same time, he proposed to take the pastoral care of a church in the central part of the district, where he might still retain his agency, correspond with ministers, attend the annual meetings of auxiliary societies, and exercise a general supervision of the work in the churches among which he has been accustomed to travel for the promotion of that object. As it has ever been the purpose of the Committee to dispense with the labors of agents so soon as the state of missionary feeling and effort in the churches will permit; and as the churches in the southern district of New England, having|| been organized for this work more fully and at an earlier period, are probably better prepared to do their duty in it, without the labors of an agent, than any other body of churches connected with the Board, the Committee approved of Mr. Bardwell's plan, and consented to the proposed arrangement. In the northern district of New England, the Rev. R. C. Hand has prosecuted the labors of his agency as heretofore. He states, in a late communication, that he has every where been kindly received by the churches; that in most cases they have cheerfully contributed a greater amount this year than the last; and that the spirit of inquiry as to the duty of personal consecration to the work of foreign missions, is aroused and extended among the churches, more than he has ever known it to be before. In the State of New York, the Rev. Chauncey Eddy, general agent of the Board, and his associate, the Rev. F. E. Cannon, have pursued their work during the year with diligence and success. The amount paid into the treasury of the Board from that agency has been great er, by several thousand dollars, than in any former year. It was stated in the last report, that the Rev. D. Magie had consented to act as the permanent agent of the Board in the field embracing the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, retaining his pastoral charge and devoting three months in each year exclusively to the duties of his agency. Subsequently to the meeting of the Board, Mr. M. was able to give but a small portion of his time to the agency, and early in the spring he signified to the Committee his purpose to resign, expressing at the same time his readiness to let his name stand on the list of agents, and to do such service for the cause as he might find consistent with other duties, until a successor could be obtained. Since that time the Committee have diligently sought a suitable person to fill that important agency. At the annual meeting of the Central Board of Foreign Missions at Prince Edward co., Va., in October last, the Rev. J. D. Mitchell was elected corresponding secretary of that Board. Soon after, he was appointed general agent of this Board for the States of Virginia and North Carolina and the District of Columbia, in conformity with a provision in the constitution of the Central Board, by which it co-operates with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Mr. Mitchell has found much encouragement in the arduous duties of his office. As a pleasing illustration of the missionary feeling in that quarter, at the meeting just referred to, nearly three thousand dollars were contributed, in sums of fifty and one hundred dollars each, by a spontaneous and wholly unlooked for movement of individuals present at the meeting. The Rev. Edwin Holt, who, at the date of the last Report, filled the office of secretary of the Southern Board of Foreign Missions, and general agent of this Board for South Carolina, Georgia, and East Tennessee, resigned these appointments in May last, having accepted a call to a pastoral charge. Though the post of secretary and agent has been va cant so many months, the amount of con- many more will offer their services to the tributions from that Board during the Board, during the ensuing year, than year, has been twice as great as during have in that which has just closed; unboth the previous years of its existence. less, indeed, the failure of the churches The Foreign Missionary Society of to furnish the funds necessary to send the Valley of the Mississippi has pur- out those already appointed, should dissued its work during the year with zeal courage those who are looking forward and success. Its secretary, who is also with fond anticipations to the hour when the general agent of the Board for that they shall be prepared to say to the field, the Rev. A. Bullard, has been very Committee, ‘Here are we, send us.' Such successful in exciting an interest in for- a failure would be disastrous indeed. eign missions in the principal semina- But, when the friends of this cause have ries of learning of different grades, and so long mourned over the fewness of the for both sexes, throughout that wide re- laborers, and besought the Lord of the gion. In many of these institutions so- harvest that He would thrust them forth, cieties for inquiry on the subject of mis- can we believe there will be tedious and sions have been happily organized, and embarrassing delay in providing means valuable missionary libraries have been to send out those whom the Lord has obtained for them. During the last win-thrust forth, and who are waiting to go ter and spring, Mr. B. made an exten- "far hence to the Gentiles." sive tour through the south and southwest. Every where he was kindly received. In many places liberal contributions were made to the cause. The same increasing interest in the cause of missions, and readiness to contribute to its support, have been evinced in the synod of the Western Reserve, and in the Territory of Michigan, where the Rev. Harvey Coe has been associated with Mr. Bullard, and in Illinois and Missouri, where he has been aided by Rev. Mr. Kimball. From all our agents, in every part of the country from which the resources of the Board are derived, we continue to receive assurances of the readiness of the churches to contribute far more to this cause than they have done. It will be seen from the sequel of this report, that the time has come when the soundness of these views, and the correctness of such anticipations, must be put to the test. Our fellow laborers of the Board of Missions of the Reformed Dutch Church have co-operated with us during the year with greatly increased energy and zeal. They have furnished nine of the laborers who have gone out to the work, and have contributed almost nine thousand dollars to the treasury of the Board. CANDIDATES.--The past year has given increasing evidence that there are in the churches, and especially among the young men preparing for the ministry, a rapidly augmenting number who have consecrated themselves to the Lord as missionaries to the heathen. The number now under appointment is nearly twice as great as it was at the last meeting of the Board; and information already obtained, warrants the belief that PUBLICATIONS.-In diffusing information on the subject of missions, through the press, during the year, about 21,000 copies of the Missionary Herald have been put into circulation. Three thousand five hundred copies of the last Annual Report of the Board, together with the Annual Sermon, have been published. In addition to these, 20,000 copies of the Quarterly Papers, with engravings, and 30,000 of the Missionary Papers have been printed, and a much larger number of both widely distributed. TREASURY.-The receipts of the Board during the year ending July 31st, from the ordinary sources of revenue, have amounted to $176,232 15, exceeding those of the preceding year by $12,891 96. It ought, however, to be remarked here, that the financial year which closed July 31, 1835, comprised but eleven months, so that in fact it cannot be said with propriety that there is any increase of the receipts of the Board during the year. The expenditures during the same period have amounted to $210,407 54, exceeding those of the last year by more than $47,000, and leaving a deficit against the treasury, including the debt of last year, of $38,866 57. Where this large increase of expenditure has occurred, and whence it has arisen, will be distinctly seen in the sequel of this report. For the printing and distribution of the Scriptures in foreign languages, under the direction of the missionaries of the Board, the treasurer has received the following appropriations from various socie ties: And for the printing and distribution || tions, to be sent out during the coming of tracts in like manner, the following sums have been received: Since the last Report, the Committee have dismissed at their own request from the service of the Board on account of health, changes in the missions, and other causes, three ordained missionaries, and four male and nine female assistant missionaries, in all sixteen. To these add one male and seven female assistant missionaries removed by death during the year, and it appears that twenty-four laborers who were in the service of the Board at the close of the last year, have since been withdrawn from it. Within the same period, the Committee have appointed twenty-seven missionaries, of whom one is also a physician, three other physicians, and fifteen male and thirty-three married and unmarried female assistant missionaries; in all seventy-eight. And they have sent out to the several fields of labor enumerated, the following persons, viz: Rev. Robert O. Dwight and wife, Mrs. Catharine Winslow, wife of Tamul Mission. Rev. William C. Jackson and wife, Trebizond. Rev. Henry Spaulding and wife, Rev. John F. Lanneau, Rev. tory Hebard, and Syria. Miss Betsey Tilden, year, twenty-four missionaries, of whom one is a physician; three other physicians, fourteen male and twenty-three female assistant missionaries; in all sixty-foura number twice as great as have ever been waiting to embark, at any previous meeting of the Board.* Missions. WEST AFRICA. MISSION AT CAPE PALMAS. FAIR HOPE.-John Leighton Wilson, Missionary, and wife. (1 station, 1 missionary, and 1 female assistant missionary.) Mr. and Mrs. Wilson enjoy good health. A boarding-school, which it is hoped may grow into a seminary for native teachers and preachers, has been commenced with fifteen boys and four girls. Mrs. Wilson has also opened a school. Common elementary schools, however, cannot be multiplied until native teachers are provided. The preaching of the gospel will of course be commenced as soon as the language of the natives is acquired. Mr. Wilson has made progress enough in it to prepare a small elementary school-book, which was printed at Monrovia during a visit made by himself and Mrs. Wilson in December. For the purpose of introducing the gospel into the kingdom of the Ashantees, the greatest of the west African States, the Committee, at the suggestion of Mr. Wilson, have resolved upon sending a mission to Cape Coast Castle, with the leave of Providence, as soon as they can obtain suitable men for the purpose. The late voyage of Doct. Hall up the Cavally river, which pours into the sea about fifteen or twenty miles eastward of Cape Palmas, has given increased interest to our present mission. He found that river navigable for fifty miles, into a mountainous and populous region of country.f In December, having an opportunity to go to Port Natal in the Dove, a vessel which plies between Algoa Bay and that port, Messrs. Grout, Champion, and Adams determined on a visit to the country of Dingaan, leaving their wives under the kind care of their missionary friends at Bethelsdorp and Port Elizabeth. They reached Port Natal on the 20th, after a tedious struggle with currents and head winds, and remained in the country till the 5th of February. Their arrival was at the close of the rainy season; and the month of January, which they spent in travelling, is esteemed the hottest in the year. The country appears to be blessed with a salubrious climate. A fortnight brought them to Dingaan, who gave them a hospitable reception, and treated them with much attention and respect. The chief consented to their coming into his country, but influenced by that jealousy and apprehension of white men which with too much reason is prevalent in South Africa, he proposed that at first they should build their house and make their home at Port Natal, until he had time to see the effect of a school they were at liberty to open at his place of residence. It was determined to leave Mr. Champion behind, to take care of the wagon, etc., and that he might erect a house for their families and make other necessary arrangements at Port Natal, while the other two brethren returned for their families and effects. At the latest date, which was March 22d, the brethren having made arrangements for sending their stores and heavier effects to Port Natal by water, were on Daniel Lindley, Alexander E. Wilson, M. D., and Henry J. Venable, Missionaries, and their wives. (3 missionaries,-one a physician,-and 3 female assistant missionaries.) These brethren reached Griqua Town on the 16th of May, fifty-eight days after leaving Cape Town. In the hospitable families of the two resident missionaries at this place, Messrs. Wright and Hughes, they remained five months, and then proceeded onward to Kuruman, another station of the London Missionary Society, 110 miles northward of Griqua Town. Our brethren were strongly advised by Messrs. Wright and Hughes to remain at Griqua Town till they had gained some acquaintance with the Sichuana, that they might not be wholly at the mercy of their interpreter, and might the sooner commence the direct, While here, they prepared a small spelindependent preaching of the gospel. ling-book of Sitebeli words, which they resolved to print at Kuruman in the form of cards. Mosalekatsi's residence is about two degrees south of the tropic of Capricorn. The latest date from this mission is Feb. 28th. Messrs. Lindley and Venable were then on the point of commencing a journey to Mosalekatsi, to make themselves and their object known to him. Doct. Wilson and their wives would meanwhile remain at Kuruman. They expected to be four months on this tour, and confidently anticipating the presence of the Lord and Savior at whose comwilds, they cherished no fears of an unmand they were traversing those African civil reception from the barbarian chief. EUROPE. MISSION TO GREECE. ATHENS.-Jonas King, D. D., Missionary, and wife. ARGOS.-Elias Riggs, Missionary, and wife. Nathan Benjamin, Missionary, and wife; on their way to the mission. (2 stations, 3 missionaries, and 3 female assistant missionaries.) Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin sailed from Boston, July 16th, destined either to Athens or Argos. The prospects of substantial usefulness in this mission were perhaps never |