Extracts from the Letters of James Backhouse

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Stellenbosch, took tea with us; he, as well as T. L. Hodgson, hare interested themselves to obtain for us men and cattle. Among those E. Edwards has spoken to, is a man who objects to going before the 10th month; because he is a candidate for baptism in the Dutch church, which here is the church by law...
More Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Stellenbosch, took tea with us; he, as well as T. L. Hodgson, hare interested themselves to obtain for us men and cattle. Among those E. Edwards has spoken to, is a man who objects to going before the 10th month; because he is a candidate for baptism in the Dutch church, which here is the church by law established, and before admission to this right, the commission to memory of a long catechism is required. It is to be feared, that the treasuring up of this in the memory is often admitted in the place of that faith by which the heart is changed. The communicants are said to be very numerous in some of the Dutch churches, amounting even to thousands, assembled from far and near, but that faith in Christ and communion with him are not always attendant upon this communion is often proved by the drunkenness and swearing of bondservants, that often afterwards prevails, and by the general defect in regard to Christian practice. Alas for the religious establishment of the state, bearing the name of churches How like in corruption are they one to another Few coloured people are to be seen in these places of worship, in distinct parts of the building, or unless it be in attending their oppressors, to carry their books for them, and then withdrawing, as not fit to worship with those who have held them in slavery, and to whom they are still in bondage. 22nd 8th mo. We spent a short time in religious retirement in the forenoon, and were comforted with the sense of Divine overshadowing. We received from the printer, Geo. Greig, a few copies of the tract intitled, Salvation by Jesus Christ, which Leopold Marquard, a pious schoolmaster, whom we have engaged to give us Dutch lessons, is translating into Dutch. I wrote some letters to accompany copies of the Aborigines' Report, that we t...