ily. Four days before his death, he sent for me, and shewed me the child, saying, 'this boy is not my, but your, son. You are to be guardian; you I appoint to take care of him.' I replied, You know, Sir, my willingness to serve you, as far as I am able; but this your last desire is far beyond my strength. You have adopted the child; but you know that there are competitors. This will of course endanger the life of the child, and also create parties and confusion in the government of the country. I may perhaps see the child once, or twice, in a month. I may admonish him to behave well. - More I can hardly do. What poor guardianship will this be! You will be pleased to choose another method.' 'What method?" said he. I answered: 'Deliver the child to the care of your brother: charge him to perform the duty of a father to the child: let your brother govern the country; and when the child groweth up, and shews wisdom and ability, then let your brother do what a father would do in the like case. Well,' said the Rajah, I will consider what you have said.' After 10 hours, he called for his brother, delivered the child to his care, and admonished him to obey his brother. The next day the Rajah called for the English resident, [Mr. Huddlestone] and me; and declared, in the presence of all his servants, that he had delivered the care of the adopted child, and of the country, to his brother, Amer Sing, who, at the same time, was sitting under a pavilion, with the child; that he hoped the honorable Company would confirm this his last will, according to the agreement, and bestow upon his brother, and the adopted son, the same kindness they had done to him; wishing also that all might be faithfully transmitted to England. And when Mr. Huddlestone promised to send a faithful account to Government, the Rajah said, 'This your assurance comforts me in my last hours.' "At present Amer Sing governs, in conjunction with four persons, who were principal officers of the late Rajah. "Amer Sing promiseth to be a father to the country, to alleviate their burdens, and to inspect the country, without leaving the whole administration to his servants. He hopes to be confirmed, by the Governor-General, according to the last will of his brother. If so, certainly he will not hinder the progress of the Christian Religion, but, at least, externally, further it." Extract from the Report for the Year 1794. In the year 1793, when the bill was depending for the last renewal of the Company's charter, certain clauses were proposed in favor of Free Schools and Christian Missionaries. In the Courier of Friday, May 24th, of that year, the following paragraph was inserted. "Mr. Montgomery Campbell gave his decided vote against the clause, and reprobated the idea of converting the Gentoos. It is true, missionaries have made proselytes of the Parriars, but they were the lowest order of people, and had even degraded the religion they professed to embrace. Mr. Swartz, whose character was held so deservedly high, could not have any reason to boast of the purity of his fol. In the British House of Commons. lowers: they were proverbial for their profligacy. An instance occurred to his recollection, perfectly in point; he [Mr. Swartz] had been preaching for many hours to this cast of proselytes on the heinousness of theft, and, in the heat of his discourse, taken off his stock, when that and his gold buckle were stolen by one of his virtuous and enlightened congregation. In such a description of natives, did the doctrine of the missionaries operate: men of high cast would spurn at the idea of changing the religion of their ancestors." "Lower Grosvenor Street, February 10, 1795. "Dear Brother, I have received the letter which was inclosed to me from Dr. Vincent, requesting, at the desire of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, my testimony of Mr. Swartz's veracity and integrity. From the personal knowledge which I had of Mr. Swartz, and what I heard of him whilst in India, I have every reason to believe him a man of very respectable character. "I am your most affectionate brother, CORNWALLIS." Then follows the letter itself. "REVEREND AND DEAR SIR, This newspaper reached In-Hon, and Right Rev. Bish-2 dia, and was put into the hands op of Litchfield, &c. of Mr. Swartz. An answer was drawn up by that distinguished Missionary, and sent in a letter, addressed to the Secretary of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. The Society judging it to be "particularly interesting," gave it at full length in their Report of 1795, prefixing to it their own testimony, and that of Marquis Cornwallis, to Mr. Swartz's character. "As the Society," they say, "after forty years experience, have had constant reason to approve of Mr. Swartz's integrity and veracity as a correspondent, his zeal as a promoter of Christian Knowledge, and his labors as a Missionary, they take this opportunity of acknowledging his faithful services, and recommending his letter to the consideration of the public, as containing a just statement of facts relating to the mission, believing that Mr. Swartz is incapable of departing from the truth in the minutest particular." Copy of a Letter from Marquis Cornwallis to the Lord Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry. "As his majesty's seventyfourth regiment is partly staedat Tanjore, and partly at Vallam, six English miles distant from Tanjore, we commonly go once in a week to Vallain, to perform Divine service to four companies of that regiment. When I lately went to that place the 210th number of a newspaper called the Courier, Friday evening, May 24, 1793, was communicated to me. In that paper I found a paragraph, delivered by Mr. Montgomery Campbell, (who came to India with Sir Archibald Campbell, in the station of a private secretary) wherein my name was mentioned." Here Mr. Swartz recites the paragraph; and then adds as follows. "As this paragraph is found in a public paper, I thought it would not displease the Honor. able Society to make a few observations on it; not to boast, (which I detest) but to declare the plain truth, and to defend my brethren and myself. "About seventeen years ago, when I resided at Trichinopoly, I visited the congregation at Tanjore. In my road I arrived very early at a village which is inhabited by Collaries, (a set of people who are infamous for stealing:) even the name of a Collary, (or better Kaller) signifieth a thief. These Collaries make nightly excursions in order to rob. They drive away bullocks and sheep, and whatever they can find; for which outrage they annually pay 1500 chakr, or 750 pagodas to the rajah. Of this cast of people many live in the Tanjore country, still more in Tondamans country, and likewise in the Nabob's country. "When I arrived at one of those villages, called Puddaloor, I took off my stock, putting it upon a sand bank. Advancing a little to look out for the man who carried my linen clothes, I was regardless of the stock, at which time some thievish boys took it away. Not one grown person was present. When the inhabitants heard of the theft, they desired me to confine all those boys, and to punish them as severely as I pleased. But I refused to do that, not thinking that the trifle which I had lost was worth so much trouble. "That such boys, whose fathers are professed thieves, should commit a theft can be no matter of wonder. All the inhabitants of that village were Heathens. not one Christian family was found therein. Many our gentlemen travelling through that village, have been robbed. The trifle of a buckle I did therefore not lose by a of Christian, as Mr. Montgomery Campbell will have it, but by Heathen boys. Neither did I preach at that time. Mr. Campbell says that I preached two hours. I did not so much as converse with any man. "This poor story, totally misrepresented, is alleged by Mr. M. Campbell to prove the profligacy of Christians, whom he called with a sneer, virtuous and enlightened people. If Mr. M. Campbell has no better proof, his conclusion is built upon a bad foundation, and I shall not admire his logic: truth is against him. ars. "Neither is it true, that the best part of those people who have been instructed are ParriHad Mr. M. Campbell visited, even once, our church, he would have observed that more than two thirds were of the higher cast; and so it is at Tranquebar and Vepery. "Our intention is not to boast: but this I may safely say, that many of those people who have been instructed, have left this world with comfort, and with'a well-grounded hope of everlast ing life. That some of those who have been instructed and baptised, have abused the benefit of instruction, is certain. But all sincere servants of God, nay even the apostles, have experi eneed this grief. "It is asserted, that a missionary is a disgrace to any country. Lord Macartney, and the late General Coote, would have en tertained a very different opinion. They, and many other gen tlemen know and acknowledge that the Missionaries bave been beneficial to government, and a comfort to the country. This I te am able to prove in the strongest b: manner. Many gentlemen who live now in England, and in this country, would corroborate my assertion. شت 13 A ما "That the Rev. Mr. Gericke has been of eminent service to Cuddalore, every gentleman who יה was at Cuddalore at the time when the war broke out, knows. He was the instrument in the hands of Providence, by which Cuddalore was saved from plunder and bloodshed. He saved many gentlemen from becoming prisoners to Hyder, which lord Macartney kindly acknowleged. "When Negapatnam, that rich and populous city, fell into the deepest poverty, by the unavoidable consequences of war, Mr. Gericke behaved like a father to the distressed people of that city. He forgot that he had a family to provide for. Many impover: ed families were supported by him; so that when I, a few months ago, preached and administered the sacrament in that place, I saw many who owed theirs and their children's lives to his disinterested care. Surely this, my friend, could not be called a disgrace to that place. When the Honorable Society ordered him to attend the congregation at Madras, all lamented his departure. And at Madras he is esteemed by the governor, and many other gentlemen to this day. 1 "It is a most disagreeable task to speak of one's self. However, I hope that the Honorable Society will not look upon some observations which I am to make, as a vain and sinful boasting, but rather as a necessary selfdefence. Neither the missionaries, nor any of the Christians, have hurt the welfare of the country. "In the time of war, the fort of Tanjore was in a distressed condition. A powerful enemy was near; the people in the fort numerous; and not provision even for the garrison. There was grain enough in the country, but we had no bullocks to bring it into the fort. When the country people formerly brought paddy into the fort, the rapacious Dubashes deprived them of their due pay. Hence all confidence was lost; so that the inhabitants drove away their cattle, refusing to assist the fort. The late Rajah ordered, nay, intreated the people, by his managers, to come and help us: but all was in vain. "At last the Rajah said to one of our principal gentlemen, We all, you and I, have lost our credit: let us try whether the inhabitants will trust Mr. Swartz. Accordingly he sent me a blank paper, empowering me to make a proper agreement with the people. Here was no time for hesitation. The Seapoys fell down as dead people, being emaciated with hunger. Our streets were lined with dead corpses every morning. Our condition was deplorable. I sent, therefore, letters every where round about, promising to pay any one, with my own hands; and to pay them for any bullock which might be taken by the enemy. In one or two days I got above a thousand bullocks, and sent one of our catechists, and other Christians into the country. They went at the risk of their lives, made all possible haste, and brought into the fort, in a very short time, 80,000 kalams. By this means the fort was saved. When all was over, I paid the people, (even with some money which belonged to others) made them a small present, and sent them home. "The next year when colonel Braithwaite, with his whole detachment, was taken prisoner, major Alcock commanded this fort, and behaved very kindly to the poor starving people. We were then the second time in the same miserable condition. The enemy always invaded the country when the harvest was nigh at hand. I was again desired to try my former expedient, and succeeded. The people knew that they were not to be deprived of their pay: they therefore came with their cattle. But now the danger was greater, as the enemy was very near. The Christians conducted the inhabitants to proper places, surely with no small danger of losing their lives. Accordingly they wept, and went, and supplied the fort with grain. When the inhabitants were paid, I strictly inquired whether any of the Christians had taken from them a present. They all said, "No, no; as we were so regularly paid, we offered to your catechist a cloth of small value, but he absolutely refused it." "But Mr.M.Campbell says, that the Christians are profligate to a proverb. If Mr.M. Campbell was near me, I would explain to him, who are the profligate people who drain the country. When a Dubash in the space of ten or fifteen years, scrapes together two, three, or four lacks of pagodas, is not this extortion a high degree of profligacy? Nay, government was A pagoda on the Coromandel coast is equivalent to two dollars; of course a lack [100,000] of pagodas is $200,000. obliged to send an order that three of those Gentoo Dubashes should quit the Tanjore country. The enormous crimes conimitted by them, filled the country with complaints; but I have no mind to enumerate them. "It is asserted that the inhabitants of the country would suffer by missionaries. If the missionaries are sincere Christians, it is impossible that the inhabitants should suffer any damage by them: if they are not what they profess to be, they ought to be dismissed. "When Sir Archibald Campbell was governor, and Mr. M. Campbell his private secretary, the inhabitants of the Tanjore country were so miserably oppressed by the manager, and the Madras Dubashes, that they quitted the country. Of course all cultivation ceased. In the month of June the cultivation should commence, but nothing was done, even at the beginning of Sep tember. Every one dreaded the calamity of a famine. I intreated the Rajah, to remove that shameful oppression, and to recall the inhabitants. He sent them word that justice should be done to them, but they disbelieved his promises. He then desired me to write to them, and to assure them that he at my intercession would shew kindness to them. I did so. All immediately returned; and first of all the Kallers, or as they are commonly called Collaries, believed my word, so that 7000 men came back on one day. The rest of the inhabitants followed their example. When I exhorted them to exert themselves to the utmost, because the time for cultivation was almost lost, they re |