Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1827-04-12

delivered two very interesting diseours-
es on Sunday last, III the Protestant T.
piscopaI Church of this city. lie de-
tailed variety of facts, showing the
civil, religious and moral Condition of
the natives at the time the missionaries
first arrived there in the spring of 1920.
Idolatry ard human sacrifices had been
previously abolished by the King and
chiefs, bet superstition still existed to
depIorabIe extent, and the grossest crimes
an vices were committed with impunity
there being no law among them to pun
ish even murder. Crime was not con-
fined to few abandoned individuals, but
was common to all classes of society,"
Mr.. Stewart describes the people, as
disgusting in their appearance, murder
ers, liars, thieves, drunlEards, and o.
therwise licentious to an extreme. 1n-
fanticiae was SO common, that few pa.
rents raised more than three or four
OF their children; the others we're buried
alive--aEd children frequently put their
aged parents to death in q similar man
ner. or by exposing them to be devour,
ed by the dogs. The King and chiefs
possessed an absolute authority over the
lives and property of the people, which
was exercised in cruel and arbitrary
manner. In such state Of society, it
was not without reason thafthe mission
aries doubted the possibility Of acting
with efect-but itappears, they have
worked wonderful reformation in The
manners, conduct and opinions Of these
islanders, According to Mr.. Stewart
twenty thousand of them attend church
regularly every Sunday, and hymns are
TOW substituted for the -lewd and cor
rupting songs of former times Order,
decency, sobriety, honesty andtruth, at
present characterize the people gene
rally, whilst a deep solicitude en- the
subject Of religion is felt by many
Schools bave been established, and the
natives are rapidly acquiring knowledge
of reading and writing, and eceive with
esgerness the various tracts distributed
by the missionaries. It's impossible to
embrace in newspaper paragraph, the
various points of degradation and sub
'eeauent improvement detailed by Mr..
Stewart-but we trust that we have sta
ted sufficient to excite lively interest
on the subject.
We have not heretofore held the ef-
forts of missionaries in high estimation;
because we have been Of The opinion
that the money and time employed in
what we considered vain endeayour to
convert the heather, could be more
bene6cialiy expended at home. The
experiment at the Sandwich Islands has
convinced as that much good has been
and may yet be done, by agudicious
selection of persons and application Of
means-but in our eagerness to chris
tianize the people of other chimes, we
should not forget, thata large portion of
our ewn countrymen are in g state
of haatkenish darkness for want of sdu.
cation.
AT the Conclusion Of Mr.. Stewards
address on Sunday evening, he read
several letters from natives, and sung a
hymn in the language of the country
He delivered an address on the same
subject, in the German Presbyterian
Church, when, as on the preceding day,
a collection was raised to assist the
mission. .-Eraminer.
Fire The grist mill of Messrs. G.
and S Robinson, at Oxford furnace, N.
j. was burnt down on the 25th ult a
large quantity of grain. and set of
carding machines were destroyed; loss
estimated at $4,000.
Among the causes tried By The last
county court at Montpelier, Vt.was enc
for breach of the marriage promise
The gay Lothsria was Mr.. David
Hatch. The breach was clearly proved,
and the jury ordered it to be mended by
awarding the fair spinster who was plain
t;ff, Ss0S "A with costs.
The following was handed !s, res
pectable shipmaster, recently arrived at
New erlz.
TURKS ISLAND, Jan. 0, 1927.
This day bottle came on shore on
the east side of the Island, containing a
letter written at sea, June i4th, 1926,
on board the brig Fortune, of Boston,
Jethro Jenney, master, in lat. IS IL,
lon IL. II was consequently at sea SIS
DAYS and having come a due course