The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-19 00:00:00

CHESTER, JUNE 16.—We have had two meet-
ings of the Bible Society and Church Aiis-
signal'', Association which took place on the 13th
and 14th lasts., which went off Ivith unprecedent-
ed sUccess. At the latter Meeting, the Earl of
ROCKSAVAGE was in the Chair. Mr. FoLLicrT,
a very respectable inhabitant of this city, sap-
ported,both Meetings, and at the latter, deliver-
ed the•following speech, which was warmly re-
,
•
" My Lord, Ladies, and Gentlemen—Surrounded as I am
by gentlemen of superior abilities, and who are well conversant
in the business of this and similar meetings, I should probably
have chosen the more.prudent part, had -I merely neconded the
resolution' that the report new read be adopted, printed un•
der the direction of the Committee. But, anxious as lam for
the prosperity of this Institution, I must beg leave to trespass
on your indulgence for a short time. I feel Myself greatly in-
dined to enter into the politics of Ilindost'cn, at least for the
last seventy-four years, the period at winch the British irnis
commenced their operatio9 s in India in aid of the Nabob of Ar-
cot ; but, as this is a relig:ous assembly, I conceive that such ;s
chscussicn would be indecorous in roe.; yet I am free to confess
that Great Britain owes much in rectienpence to India; and how
can it be more effectually performed than by sending to that
country the Holy Scriptures ? indeed I wish it to be made a na-
tional concern, through the molluin of Parliament, not by coer-
cion and the sword, but by.reasoning,' gentleness, and by means
of missionaries. The latest accounts we have received from •
India of its population is one hundred and fifty millions,.pne
hundred Millions of which. Ore under the British sceptre. lam
greatly gratified by observing that a meeting had taken place,
about three weeks since, in London, at which my respected
friend, Mr. Wilberforce, was at the head, (and I 'consider it an
honour to have that, keettleman for my acquaintance and cor-
respondent) to form a'Society for the moral and intellectual Im-
provement of the Natives of British India, to which I very sin-
cerely wish success. At the annual Meeting, in London,-Cif this
Association, Lord Gambier declared that contributing to the
good work in Which the Society was engaged afforded him more
gratification than all the honours he had ever received, and
would be his highest glory in this world, and would not desert
him in another.' I have now to mention what I sincerely hope,
for the honour of human nature, is exaggerated ; yet Mr. Ward's
calculation of the Hindoos.who annually perish, the victims of
a blind and cruel superstition, is as follows :
Widows burnt alive on the funeral pile in Ilindostan 5000
Pilgrims perishing on the road and at sacred places - - 4000
Persons drowning themselves in the Ganges, or buried or _ _

burnt alive • bIX)
Children innnolatad, including the daughter of the Raza-

Pootas
500
Sick persons, whose death is has:cned on the banks of

the Ganges

Hon ible total of 10,690
Should the part I have taken in the me iitings of the Committee,
and my Other exertions in this cause, preserve one female from
the funeral pile, or save one infant feom destruction •in the
Ganges, I shall be ap;ply rewarded. I am happy to learn that
the. Missions in Africa and the East are prosperous, which will
be detailed to you more at length by the gentlemen present.
And I have to observe that the inhabitants of several of the
islands in the South Seas, particularly those of the Sandwich
Isles, have thrown away their idols and have embraced Chris-
tianity ; alio, that the king of Madagascar (an island some-
what 'larger than Great Britain), has recently written a letter, in-
treating that Missionaries may be sent thither from this coun-
try. In the supporti give to Bible Societies and. Church Mis-
sionary Associations, I have three powerful inducements. The
first is a beTief that it is pleasing to Almighty God, from whom
we all derive the blessings we enjoy here, and the hope of eter-
nal life. The second is, that they promote the present comfort
and future happiness of our felow creatures, to whom we
send the benefits of the Gospel. And the :hied, that it is highly
gratifying to my own feelings."