The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-22 00:00:00

IDOLATROUS 'WORSHIP IN INDIA.

Mr. POYNDER then rose to bring to the notice of the Court
the resolutions which he had given notice of at the last Gene-
ral Meeting, and which were as follow :
" That the next Quarterly General Court do take into con-
sideration the answer of the Governor of Madras, addressed
to the Venerable the Archdeacon of Madras, bearing date the
'2sth of April, conveying the judgment of the Governor- Ge-
neral in Council, upon the memorial transmitted by the Go-
vernor of Madras to the Supreme Government, and undersigned
by the Venerable the Archdeacon of Madras, and 13 Chaplains
of the Company, 37 Missionaries„ and 152 Civil and Military
Officers of various ranks and station, complaining that the
Christian servants of the Company are compelled to serve
offices incompatible with their sacred obligations, and also
that Christianity itself is dishonoured in the eyes of the
natives by the official sanction and encouragement af-
forded to those superstitions of idolatry which are destruc-
tive to the soul and involve apostacy from the only true God ;
which memorial was forwarded to the Governor of Madras
by the late Bishop of that Presidency on the 6th of August,
1836.—And also that the same Court do take into considera-
tion a memorial to the Governor in Council of Bombay,
signed by the venerable the Archdeacon (now Bishop of Bom-
bay), the Chaplain of the Church of England, the Missionary
of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and va-
rious civil and military servants of the Honourable Company,
praying that the orders of the Company, as expressed in their
dispatch to the Supreme Government, dated the 20th of Feb.
1833, may be carried into effect, requiring that in all matters
r,Aating to their temples, their worship, their festivals, their
religious practices, and their ceremonial observations, our na-

tive subjects he left entirely to themselves." The Honourable
Proprietor adverted to memorials he had received, signed by
the Independent Ministers of Birmingham and by clergymen
of Chester, to be laid before the Court of Directors, praying
that the pilgrim tax might be immediately abolished ; that
the attendance of the Company's servants at Hindoo temples
should be prevented, &c. These memorials he (Mr.
Poynder) had submitted to Lord Melbourne, and to the
Board of Control, but he had taken no part in getting them up.
He had been charged with enthusiasm, zeal, and fanaticism
on this subject, and of being anxious to excite dissatisfaction
among the native population of India—(Hoor.) Ile was
content to bear with all these attacks, knowing that there MIS
not the slightest foundation for them ; and feeling that the
cause he advocated was that of God and religion, and ore
that might be opposed by them in power, must and would ul-
timately prevail. He should persevere in his exertions, re-
gardless of the imputations as to his motives. After some
further remarks, the Honourable Proprietor concluded by
proposing the following altered resolution That the
Court, adverting to the fact that about five years have now
elapsed since the state of the Honourable Director's dis-
patch of the 20th of February, 1833, expressly enforcing
the withdrawal of the encouragement afforded by the Com-
pany to its officers and servants to the idolatrous wor-
ship in India, and also directing the relinquishment of the
revenue derived from that source; and, further, considering
that the principal religious and missionary societies of this
country have of late strongly petitioned the Company, the
Crown, and the Parliament, against the continuance of the
system of patronage and taxation which it was the professed
object of that dispatch to abrogate, it he resolved that the
time has now fully arrived when it has become the duty of the
General Court of Proprietors to submit to the Honou'rable
Court of Directors the necessity of requiring that such a dis-
tinct and unequivocal renewal of the orders contained in the
before-mentioned dispatch, may be forthwith transmitted to
the Supreme Government of India, as shall have the effect
of carrying such dispatch into full and complete operation."
The Lion. Proprietor then sat down amidst loud cheers.
Mr. HANKEY seconded the motion.
_

The DF.PUTY CHAIRMAN moved the following amendment—
" That this Court deem the continued public discussion of
questions effecting the religious feelings of the natives of India
to be fraught with danger, and that the regulation of such mat-
ters may with more safety be left to the responsible executive."
Mr. ASTELL (a Director) seconded the amendment.
Mr. POYNDER having said a few words, the Court divided.
There a opeared—
For the motion ...
Against it
Majority against the motion
The amendment was then put and carried, after which the
Court adjourned.
• • -
MEETING OF THE MIDDLESEX