CANADA.

DEATH OF THE REV. JOHN EDWARDS.

Many Christians in Britain, who have become acquainted with this worthy man during his visits to this country on behalf of the best interests of Canada, will peruse with regret the following account of the termination of his useful life, which we find in The Register, published by our friends at Montreal.

"With very mournful emotions we have to record the death of our endeared and venerable friend, Mr. John Edwards of Clarence. On the 29th of last month he was suddenly called away after one week's illness, occasioned by a cold he took while preaching at Lochaber, which brought on a fatal erysipelas. Many will mourn the departure of one so devoted; for his praise is in the churches at home as well as among the fraternity in Canada. Knowing the value of the services he rendered to the cause of Christ, we cannot but deplore his removal and honour his memory. A suitable notice of his life will soon be furnished, we trust, by a competent and filial pen. But we do not hesitate, considering his services and his age, to sum up his worth, by calling him the father of the Canada Baptist Missionary Society. My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.'"

"Since the above was written, a letter of very mournful import has been received, which, though private, we are permitted to publish. Who will not sympathize with those who have thus been broken with breach upon breach ?' "

"Clarence, May 5, 1842. "DEAR BROTHER GIRDWOOD,-Both my dear parents have passed from time into eternity. My dear mother, aged seventy-three, died last night at nine o'clock, after an illness of six days, and my dear father, aged sixtythree, died last Friday morning at two, having been only seven days ill. His disease was erysipelas. On the day before the disorder seized him, he attended a meeting on the opposite side of the river, where he preached on the great doctrines of forgiveness and justification, much to the satisfaction of those who heard him. Several of his friends who were with him remarked that they had never seen him in better health and spirits for many years. Exposed, however, to the draft of air which came in at several broken panes of glass in the window of the house in which he preached, he took cold. Next morning he complained of being unwell, but went out

and engaged in manual labour for a short time. About noon he came into the house very ill, was taken with great shivering, which was succeeded by strong fever, sore throat, and difficulty of speaking. Saturday he appeared better, sat up, read most of the day, and even walked out a short distance. Sunday, though evidently labouring under disease, he rose, dressed himself, and spent the day reading his Bible and the life of Felix Neff. He spoke with great admiration of the devoted character of Neff, and expressed an ardent wish to visit the scene of his labours. At five p. m. he was bled. On being asked, some time afterward, how he felt, he replied, he thought himself somewhat better. Next morning (Monday) he was worse, and grew more so during the day, his face became discoloured and swollen, his throat extremely sore, and the fever high, his thirst was great, and he suffered much pain in attempting to swallow. Medical aid was sought for, but could not be obtained. His disease from this time gained strength upon him, the unfavourable symptoms became more apparent, and he continued to struggle with it until Friday morning, the 29th of April, when he gently and calmly breathed his last. His end was peace. He knew he was dying, attempted to say much to those around him, but could not be understood. They caught the expression, 'I am going home.' On another occasion he said to William,' How vain and trifling are the things of time compared with the glorious righteousness of the adorable Redeemer." When my dear mother saw, the evening before my dear father's death, that it was probable he would not recover, having done every thing in her power for his comfort, she was seized with sickness herself, which confined her to bed. When she was told that he was very near his end, she remarked, 'I have lost children, I have lost friends, but this is the heaviest stroke of all.' I did not hear of my father's illness until after his death, owing to some mistake in the post office. On Saturday I received word of his death, and set off for Clarence. I arrived about ten, Sunday morning. It was indeed a house of mourning. In a room in one end was the corpse of my departed father; in a room in the other lay my dying mother. She was glad to see me, and inquired for the welfare of my wife. A short time before, she had requested to see the body of her dear husband, ere it was carried to the silent grave. Some friends brought in the coffin, the lid was partly removed, and I raised her up to take the last look. Ah,' said she,' he looks like

himself; that will do. But I cannot cry; if I could cry it would afford me relief; but I cannot; I cried more for little Annie than I did for your father.' She complained of great pains in her breast and side. She observed, that the pain at her heart made her feel as if it were likely to break:' and again, Nature is fast sinking and cannot last long.' Brother Tucker and myself spoke freely to her of death, and of her hopes for eternity. She intimated that she expected it soon to take place, and that her hope rested on the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. She had a deep view of her own sinfulness, and also great confidence in the power and grace of the Saviour.

"Monday and Tuesday she was getting weaker. The latter day she suffered a good deal of pain. Yesterday she was more easy; towards evening it became evident she was dying. I again learned from her, in view of death, that her trust was in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We then all bade her farewell, and committed her soul to God in prayer. She had laboured for breath through the day, now it became less difficult, breathing fainter and fainter, until a gentle gasp.and a dropping of the head to one side told us all was over. Yes, that faithful, anxious spirit that never wished the absence of her dear companion, now gladly joined him where no sin, no sorrow, no separation is known. They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided."

"My dear father was buried last Sunday, my mother will be buried on Saturday. Thus, dear brother, in the short space of twenty-one days, the Lord has taken from me my only much beloved child, and dear honoured parents; but he gave all at first, and now he takes away. I desire unfeignedly to say, Blessed be his holy name.' Pray for us, that these afflictions may not be lost upon us, but be abundantly sanctified.

FORMATION OF A BAPTIST CHURCH AMONG THE TUSCARORA INDIANS.

A letter from Mr. Read of Brantford to the editor of The Register, dated April 6, 1842, contains the following pleasing intelligence.

"DEAR SIR,-As all information respecting the extension of Messiah's kingdom will always be received with joy by all true Christians, it is with much pleasure that I have it in my power to make known to you the particulars respecting the formation of a baptist church among the Tuscarora Indians. These Indians are one of the Six Nation tribes, and reside on their lands situated on the Grand

River, in the Gore District, about nine miles below Brantford. A part of this tribe is in the state of New York, near Lewiston; and in consequence of several families having relatives there, a constant communication is kept up between them. To this circumstance may be traced the origin of the baptist church of which I am now about to speak. A few who were baptists in the state of New York, came to reside among their friends in this country a few years since, and, as is natural to suppose, were not backward to avow their sentiments to all with whom they had conversation. An inquiry into the scriptural mode of baptism was thus commenced, and the result is, that the greatest portion of those who were previously members of the church of England have now embraced believers' baptism, and are accordingly baptized on the profession of their faith. Previous to their taking this step, they in a public manner made known their intentions to the English clergyman who resides among them, and, notwithstanding all the arguments he could make use of to induce them to desist, they persisted in their intentions to obey the command of their Lord and Master. Six of their number were deputed to wait upon the Rev. J. Miner, and request him to come and preach to them. On their first visit to his house they found him not at home. Soon after, however, they again sent one of their number on the same errand, and were more fortunate. He immediately obeyed the summons, and on his first interview with them baptized eight: eight others united with these by letter, and, at one of their meetings, resolved to form themselves into a regular baptist church. Notice being sent to surrounding churches, a goodly number of ministers and members assembled on the 30th ult., and recognised them as a church of Christ in fellowship with themselves. During the services eight more were added to their number by baptism. Since that time four others have also been baptized, and the work of the Lord is still progressing. It is to be hoped that our friends in Canada, as well as the friends of the needy in England, will not permit these Red Men' to suffer through neglect. A wide field is here opened for them to cultivate, and the peculiar situation of it requires immediate attention."

PERSECUTION OF THE TUSCARORA BAPTISTS.

A second letter from the pen to which we are indebted for the preceding article contains the following lamentable intelligence. It is dated Brantford, May 3, 1842.

"DEAR SIR,-As all accounts respecting the baptist church which was lately formed among the Tuscarora Indians will be read with interest by all the friends of Zion, a space is requested in The Register for the

following facts; with the hope that those who are friends to the destitute and afflicted, will act as reason, conscience, humanity, and the Christian religion will dictate.

"It will not be necessary here to remark particularly as to the origin of the cause among the Indians, for that has already been done, and your readers have doubtless perused the accounts thus given with as much satisfaction as the writer possessed when he penned them for their information. It may be proper, however, to state more definitely, that the work commenced wholly among themselves, without the agency of any of our ministers or members. It was not so much as known to any of our churches around until after a deputation was sent to the Rev. J. Miner, to request him to come among them. He, having received such a request, was perfectly justifiable in acceding to their wishes without any hesitation. Nor was it supposed that his doing so would have caused any unreasonable opposition from any one calling himself a Christian. But the fact is the contrary, as this communication will abundantly show. It will be borne in mind, that a church of England clergyman has been residing among them for several years, and he derives his support from the funds of the Hon. New England Company, long since established 'for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians in New England and parts adjacent.' Having such a teacher, and he being thus established among them, they had no opportunity to know any thing about the baptists, except what could be gained from a few individuals of their own tribe, who had come among them to reside, from the states. As soon as it was known to this clergyman that some of his members began to be dissatisfied with regard to their baptism, he laboured to convince them that their being sprinkled in their infancy was sufficient, and that those who had received baptism in this way, whether it was while they were infants or adults, should be content therewith. Had he continued to use arguments to support his principles there could be no reason to complain; but since he began to use unreasonable opposition, we conceive that those Indians and their friends have good reason to remonstrate. "When it was perceived that arguments were insufficient to prevent those Indians from becoming baptists, and that the cause was continuing to spread farther and farther, the unreasonable opposition, of which a true account is now attempted to be given, was manifested. This was begun, in the first place, by denouncing the baptists as being a disloyal body of people, Yankees, &c.; and asserting that there are only a few, if any, baptists in England. Thus it was tried to make them believe that to become baptists was nothing better than to turn against the government. But, as pains were taken by

VOL. V.-FOURTH SERIES.

the writer to inform them differently, and convince them that our friends in England were numerous, and did much for the spread of the gospel in destitute regions, the effects designed to be produced by thus slandering us were completely counteracted; and the cause continued to progress with greater rapidity than ever. Six were baptized on the sabbath subsequent to the formation of the church, and eleven more two weeks afterwards; so that there are now forty-one united in fellowship.

"Thus prosperity seemed to crown the means made use of, notwithstanding all the opposition which they had experienced. And doubtless it was quite evident to the English clergyman and his friends, that if things were suffered to go on as they had done, it would not be long before his congregation would be completely broken up; therefore some more effectual means must be planned and put in execution in order to put a final stop, if possible, to any farther growth of what was considered by them a great and dangerous evil. It was not sufficient to denounce the baptists as disloyal, &c.; and that they were not apostolical, therefore the ordinances as administered by them were not valid; and that uniting with them was sinful, and would be considered nothing better than uniting to oppose the government; but they must stir up the chiefs of the surrounding nations to convene a general council, and take into consideration the conduct of the chiefs of the Tuscarora nation in respect to their becoming baptists!

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"On Friday, the 22nd of April, the chiefs of different tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, residing on the Grand River, met in their council-house,' and, as we have every reason to believe, were instigated by the church of England clergymen residing among them, and those too who are deriving their support from the Hon. New England Company, to depose from office those chiefs who had left the episcopal church and united themselves with the baptist church. Other indignities were also threatened them, as we have been informed; and, as may be naturally expected, they have produced a wonderful effect. These things were done in council, when one or more of the clergymen above referred to were present, and must have been cognizant of what was transacting at the time, and had it in their power, if they would, to disabuse the minds of the chiefs and Indians on the subject of deposing those other chiefs from their office for no other reason than for being baptists. But it is quite evident they did not choose to do this, as it would not suit their purpose quite so well. What the Company will say to those gentlemen for this act of theirs, when it comes to their knowledge, is not for the writer to predict; but of this much he is confident, from the knowledge he

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