given it; and, therefore, it was not surprising, that there should be such a large native church in India. I could read you a passage from Bishop Heber, but which would detain you too long, in which he contrasts what Catholics did with what the English have done since they have had possession of the country. He observes, "With what magnificence, with what liberality they have built places of worship for the service of God; whereas," he says, "if England were to lose its dominion in India, at present, what very poor monuments we should leave to show that an European nation had had rule in it."

But, in order to examine the correctness of this view, I wish to enter into a more detailed history of one portion of the Indian church; that is, in the Island of Ceylon, because it will show how far the reasoning is correct, and the power of the two principles in contact as the groundwork of faith, and which I wish to put in comparison.

This island was first of all converted to Christianity in the following way:-The natives heard, as history relates, of what was doing by St. Francis Xavier, on the Continent of India; and the King of Candia sent a messenger to request him to come among them. He said that it was not in his power to leave the country where he then was, but he sent another clergyman; and, within two years, very considerable progress was made in the work of conversion, the king himself having embraced the faith. A persecution arose; the King of Jaffnapatam commenced war; he put to death six hundred of the new Christians, and among them his own son; so that it may be said, that the church was watered by the blood of the martyrs. A few years after, St. Francis Xavier went over, and the whole island may be said to have been converted. In 1650, the Dutch took possession of the island from the Portuguese. They instantly took two very important measures. The Dutch empowered one of the heathen kings of the island (and this is related by Dr. Davies, in his History of that Island) as all the race of the Budhist priests was extinct, to send to Siam and procure forty to be ordained of the first class, and an innumerable quantity of the second class, in order to restore Budhism, and to extirpate Catholicism from the island. The second step was, to banish all the Catholic priests, and to forbid the meeting of Catholics for any religious purpose. They built churches, as you shall see just now, in every parish throughout the island, compelled every one to attend the worship, and allowed no one to have any post, or office of any sort, unless he subscribed to the Lutheran formulary of faith. Now, therefore, we had a church, which had been established, say something less than a century, in the first instance, and had obtained a powerful footing in the island. We come now to have another religion introduced, and every thing done to counteract and to destroy what had been effected, by this double method; first, by giving those who were yet inclined to their own superstition, the means of preserving and propagating it; and, in the second place, by

proscribing the Catholic religion, and substituting the Lutheran or Calvinistic instead. Now, for one hundred and fifty years, that is, until the year 1795, when it came into the possession of the English, the Island of Ceylon remained in this state; and, during all this time, the native Catholics, had no spiritual succour but what they received from the Portuguese priests, of the order of St. Philip Neri, who landed always at the risk of their lives, and went about from house to house administering the sacraments as well as they could. We have an interesting account given by Father Pedro, a Spanish Missionary, of his landing on that Island during the time when the persecution was violent. He applied to the governor of course disguising his character as a Catholic priest-for leave to remain some time in the island at the town where he first landed. Leave was given him; but on condition that he should always have one or more persons with him, and that several soldiers should be in constant attendance, because he was suspected. He says, however, that he contrived, in the course of the night, to turn away the attention of his guards, to get rid of them for a few hours when the Catholics collected in his house, and he administered to them the comforts of their religion. Having been discovered, he was instantly sent for by the governor, who told him that he could not remain another moment, but must instantly depart. He said he had come to take his leave. He went, and landed at the other side of the island, but he found that a courier had gone over land, and put the governor on his guard. Here he was put under a still more severe guard, but even there he did contrive in the middle of the night to get some of the Christians together. They were not, however, always so successful. One Father Vaz, a very zealous Portuguese Missionary, on Christmas night, when celebrating mass to a congregation of about two hundred, was suddenly surprised by the guards who broke in upon them, and carried the whole away, with very cruel torture. Respectable persons were dragged to the prison, they were brought before the Dutch Judge, Van Rheede, who put one of them to death in a remarkably cruel and severe manner, who was a convert from the Protestant to the Catholic religion; and the others were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment, and so on, but all something severe. Such was what was done to put down this little church that had been established there; and this course was pursued for one hundred and fifty years. In 1795, the British took possession of the island, but the laws proscribing the Catholic religion were not abolished until 1806, by Sir Alexander Johnston, from whom the Catholics of that, as well as other parts in India, obtained an equality for all religions, and the free exercise of it by the Roman Catholics.

Now, just observe what has been the consequence. We have, in the first place, in Dr. Buchanan, an account of it in the dedication, I think to the fourth edition of his Memoir: for it is not in all the editions.

He speaks of the necessity of remedying the state of things, and says, "In the Island of Ceylon, in which, according to a calculation made in 1801, there were more than 342,000 Protestants, it is a well known fact that more than 50,000 have gone over to the Catholic religion.” So that within a few years after liberty was restored, 50,000 of these Protestants returned to the old faith, which was originally planted there. “The ancient Protestant churches, some of which are spacious buildings, and which, in the province of Jaffnapatam, alone amount to thirty-two, are now occupied at pleasure by the Catholic priests of the order of St. Philip Neri, who have taken, as it were, quiet possession of the island. If a remedy be not put to this, we may calculate that in a few years the Island of Ceylon will be in the same situation as Ireland, in regard to the proportion between Catholics and Protestants. I must moreover add, though it is painful for me to observe, that the apostacy to idolatry is in some districts very rapid. The idol Budha having found the house from which he had gone out empty, swept, and garnished, has returned to dwell in it again." So that here has been consequently the attempt of trying by establishments, by building churches, by doing all that could be done in the Peninsula of India, and see what has been the consequence. Efforts had been made for one hundred and fifty years by the Protestant Church, in a neighbouring island, and the moment the pressure of the law was taken off, 50,000 became Catholics, and a great many of the others have become idolaters.

I will quote you other authorities upon this subject. Bishop Heber went there also to visit this part of his diocese. During his visitation he says, "Those who are still heathen, are professedly worshippers of Budha, but by far the greater part reverence nothing but the devil, to whom they offer sacrifices by night, that he may do them no harm." This is literally true, because it is well known, as shown by the translation of native books by M. Callaway, who says that "Religion in Ceylon is directly the worshipping of evil powers, for the purpose of averting the evil which they are supposed to be exposed to." "Many of the nominal Christians are infected with the same superstition, and are therefore not acknowledged by our Missionaries; otherwise, instead of three hundred to be confirmed, I might have had several thousand candidates." So that in that island, where there had been 342,000 Protestants thirty years ago, he had only three hundred in one part to confirm. Mrs. Heber, who has continued this part of his narrative, says, The number of Christians on the coast and amongst our settlements does not fall far short of half a million; very many of these are merely nominally such, who have no objection to attend our church, and even would, if allowed, partake without scruple in her rites; and then, perhaps the same evening, offer a propitiatory sacrifice to the devil! Still the number of real Christians is very considerable; the congrega

tions in the native churches are good, and the numbers who came for confirmation were extremely gratifying. I think the bishop confirmed above three hundred:" in the whole island I believe that was. Again, she says, "After service his lordship took a view of the Mission Church, and expressed his regret at the decayed state it was in, and the distress of the Mission.

So that such are the results of precisely similar foundations made for the Protestant Church as that which the Catholics made in India. In one instance, that of the Catholic church, after her temporal dominion passed away, the people remained attached and faithful to their religion; and you will find that with the same provision made, when that dominion passed away which made the provision, and when the Catholic Church had been disenthralled, a large portion became Catholics, and a great many others have gone back to idolatry.

Now, pursuing this matter a little farther; these are the returns which we have regarding the increase of Catholicity, and these are indeed official returns recognised, if I may so say, by the government. In 1806, the number of Catholics in the island was returned as 66,830; in 1809, the return gives, instead of 66,000, 83,595; in 1820, the return is 130,000; on the 16th of August, 1826, the census given was 150,060: so that, from 1806 to 1826, that is, in twenty years, we have an increase from 66,000 to 150,000 Catholics. This surely shows, therefore, that the religion gains ground, that it makes its way without any thing more than the mere protection of government; without provision or anything: for, observe, that all this time, though there are 256 churches in the island, there are only twenty-six priests; at least, there were only that number in 1826. And it is most beautiful to read the accounts of the manner in which the system is continued: for, as they have no means of supplying themselves with clergy, there are Catechists in each of these parishes, and they take care to instruct the people and read prayers to them, and the clergy, having districts assigned to them, come at stated periods when all the faithful are prepared to meet them, and to receive from their hands those comforts which the Catholic religion affords to its members.

But I have the satisfaction also of saying that I have seen a much later return than this—a very full and detailed account of the Catholic religion in the island drawn up expressly by the present Governor, Sir William Horton, about two years ago, giving every church, every school, and the number of attendants at each, and the return shows a continued progressive increase and not only so, but it does still maintain the same zeal, the same good order, which it did some years back. Moreover, since I came to this country, I have the satisfaction of having learned that a bishop has now been sent to that island; that it is erected into an apostolic vicarage; and, consequently, provision will be made for keeping up the succession of the pastors.

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I may mention, rather incidentally, that if I had been aware before I I came to this country that I should have been called to enter on this subject, I could have produced probably far more interesting documents than I have now done; but not being provided with them, I am obliged to make what use I can of such as most easily came to my hand. But, to show you that these congregations of Catholics in this island are not merely nominal Catholics, I will read some of the addresses to the clergy made by the Governor, or Chief Justice, Sir Alexander Johnston. He observes, in addressing the Missionaries and all the clergy, "I feel it to be a duty which I owe to the priests of your Mission who reside in this settlement to state to you, that during the circuits which I have made round the whole of this island, there was not a single Catholic brought before me for trial; a circumstance which reflects equal honour upon the persons who compose the congregations, and upon the priests who have the superintendence of their morals." Again, in another place, he repeats the same observation, saying, "The records of the circuit which the Supreme Court made round the island in 1806, show that not a single individual of your religion was even accused of the smallest misdemeanour during that period." There is another passage in which he speaks of the example which they have given to the whole of the East, by the zeal with which they have made arrangements for the education of their flocks, and the liberality with which they came forward. "So," he says, "you have been able to show to the whole of the East, how you consider that the Christian should be distinguished above all others by his intelligence and superior education. In short, I will say, that it would be very difficult, perhaps, to find the history of any church more consoling, and more truly showing the blessing God hath put upon it, and upon the labours of those who watch over it, than that of this island."

Now, so far I have been engaged in a district in which other religions have also Missionaries, and I bave been able, consequently, to take them, in some respect, as my guide, at least, as my guarantee in the assertions which I have made, and they afford fair ground of comparison between what they have effected, and what we have been able to do.

But now we will go beyond these bounds, and will go into countries into which the Protestant religion has not even, I may say, made any attempt to penetrate; or, at least, what silent attempts have been made, have been perfectly without fruit. I allude, in the first place, to the Missions in China. These Missions were begun in 1583; it may be said that they really began at that time when the Jesuits were admitted into the court, and when they were allowed to preach the Catholic religion, and to build churches. Though, within a very few years after the churches were established, a partial persecution arose, which ended with the loss of life of a very considerable number of Catholics, both