The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-07-05

gion of Jesus Christ, that they and their
children might be preserved from the abound
ings of iniquity in their midst There are
living among them two ministers of our own
church, Messrs Baird and Emerson; also
one Methodist and one Baptist minister.
None of these brethren are actively engaged
in the work of preaching, but all maintain
religious services in their respective neigh
borhoods In connection with these breth-
ren, your missionaries have done all that
their limited time and means would permit.
We found them very destitute of books Our
Committee of Publication in Richmond hearth
ly responded to arequest we made, and liberal
supplies of their publications were forwarded,
and were distributed through those settle.
ments. In every house the Shorter Catech
ism is to be found, with some other good
book. Where the Scriptures were lacking,
they were supplied. Two Sabbath Schools
have been formed and furnished with libra
ries. About forty copies of the Childrea's 8
Friend are subscribed for, and are sent
monthly from Richmond to that far off land.
All the denominations usually found in our
country, are there. AS no single denomina-
ton is able to sustain church, theyChaye
agreed to build house of worship to be
used by all the evangelical denominations
They have subscribed the necessary amount,
and it is hoped that the building is now
going on. 1t will be the first Protestant
Church ever erected in that province. What
God intends to do with these people l know
not; but there is one important fact which
we must remember, that "His ways are past
finding out" and that the descendants of
these people in very few years will be to
all intents and purposes Brazilians, and we
may therefore reasonably expect that from
their descendants will be raised up not few
faithful and earnest preachers of the gospel,
who will be native preachers.
Another branch of our work has been to
pay some attention to the German popula-
ton who are very numerous, and found in
every town and village. 1t is estimated that
there are twelve or fourteen thousand in the
province of Sac Paulo alone. Our great
commission is to preach the Gospel to every
creature; therefore we could not overlook
the countrymen of Luther and Melancthon.
While this population are mainly in sympa-
thy with Professionalism, they are as truly
without the Gospel as the natives. 1t be-
came therefore a matter of great Importance
to obtain, if possible, an earnest and faith
full man who could act as colporteur to these
several nationalities. God raised up the
man for the work. A pious German who
emigrated seven years ago from Texas, and
was shipwrecked on the island of Cuba,
found his way finally into the province of
Sac Paulo. We found him in one of our
missionary journeys, and set before him this
work. He was willing to undertake it, and
bear it's hardships and dangers. For many
months he has now been engaged in distrib
uting the Word of God in these several Ian
guages, Portuguese, English and German.
He speaks all these sufficiently we'll to rem
der important service, to pray with those
who will let him; to read to those who can
not read; and thus to go in advance of the
herelds of the Cross 4---
One other work in contemplation by this
mission is the establishment of school.
The reasons for it are peculiar and pressing.
Time will not permit me to go into detail,
but let me call your attention to these facts:
The first reason for the establishment of
this school is that all the institutions of
learning in the Empire are under the control
of the Jesuits. The Brazilian people hate
the Jesuits. There is large and growing
element that demands different order of edu-
cation. 1t is very important that we should
not overlook this fact, because the upper
classes are mainly infdels, or if not out.and-
out infdels, are Indifferent to all religion.
And this is the logical result of the training
of the Jesuit schools. They behold the
wicked lives of their priests, and the moral
sense of the people, as far as it is possible
for any human agency to destroy it, has al
ready been overthrown. In addition to this
there are two or three hundred thousand
foreigners in the Empire, land this number
is rapidly increasing, whose children soon
lose the language of their fathers, and know
only the Portuguese. Here is an element
from which the Church of Christ may in
the course of one generation raise up no.
bic band of native ministers. To meet these
wants there is not one Protestant school in
the whole Empire, and the entire moral
foundation of the country is overthrown. l
would impress it upon this audience that the
Romanism of Brazil, of which you have the
root here, is the tree developed, of which
the fruit is ripened and is rotten mass upon
the body polite. What is to be done for
that country in the next generation is not
only to preach the Gospel to them, but to
create literature, to teach them the prin-
cipes of moral science. We will have to
reach the upper classes, which are mainly
beyond the pale of the Gospel simply from
the fact that they are infdels. The Jesuit
schools turn out year after year crop of
infdels. And now, my Christian hearers, it
is proposed to plant there school, This
school will sustain itself. 1t is not designed
to be burden on the Church, for We be-
lieve, after the most mature investigation,
that it will be supported BY Brazilians and
foreigners alike. We want to have in the
Empire at least one school where the Gospel
of Jesus Christ will be taught. AS the ven
erable father who presides over this Assem-
bly, remarked to me some months sgo--to
change the figure in connection with this
school-"plant little vine in faith, nourish
it in prayer, and do all for the glory of Je-
sus Christ; and may we not reasonably ex-
pect that in due time it will yield rich clus
ters of living men thoroughly indoctrinated
in the Gospel Of Christ, many of whom
shall 60 forth as native preachers to pro-