The native contributions arising from the offertory amount to $50 per annum.

The expenses

of the mission are $3,400 per annum.

From Mr. Hutchinson we learn that there is one School with 76 scholars, connected with the Church Missionary Society.

There are also-one Diocesan School, with 40 scholars; four Baxter Vernacular girls' schools, with 170 scholars; and two schools connected with St. Paul's College, containing 46 scholars;-all connected with the Church of England.

The expenses of the Baxter Vernacular girls' schools are $2,000 per annum.

THE general language of Hongkong is about the same as that of Canton; and we have nothing to add to what we gave in our last volume, pp. 202, 203, unless it be,—

The Psalms of David. Rev. A. B. Hutchinson. 8vo. 149 leaves. Hongkong, 1876. Xylography.

There is a large proportion of the Hongkong population also of the Hakka race; and as we have seen above, it is to this tribe especially that the Basel Mission devotes its energies in various parts of the province. We do not think there is any work written on the Hakka dialect; and the only source we know of, to turn to for information on the subject, is a short article by the Rev. E. J. Eitel, in Notes and Queries on China and Japan, vol. i, pp. 65-67. The writer describes it as "the crystalized relic of one of the different phases through which the [Chinese] language passed in developing itself from Punti, which is the oldest relic of the original form of the Chinese language, to Mandarin, which represents the latest phase." According to this then it is an intermediate form between the Canton local, and the general Mandarin or court language of the empire; but much nearer the latter than the former. It has now been studied for near thirty years, and many of the missionaries must have made considerable proficiency in it. Probably much material of a philological character bearing on this subject may be in manuscript among those using the dialect; and we think,-for the sake of science as well as the benefit of missionaries, -it is a pity that the attainments that have been made, should not be rendered more extensively useful, by giving the results to the public in a printed form. We are told that the Rev. T. Hamberg, at his death in 1854, left a MS. dictionary of the Hakka dialect; and we imagine there must be some very much more complete treatises by this time.

The following is a list of the works that have come to our knowledge, written in the Hakka dialect. The number of words unrepresented by any Chinese characters is so great, that the Roman character has been used by those who have reduced the language to writing.

Das Evangelium des Lucas im volkesdialekte der Hakka Chinesen. "Luke's Gospel." Basel Mission. 8vo. 54 leaves. Hongkong, 1865.

The New Testament in the Colloquial of the Hakka Dialect. The Gospel of Matthew. Rev. R. Lechler. 8vo. 55 leaves. Basel, 1866.

The Gospel of Luke. Rev. E. J. Eitel. 8vo. 58 leaves. Basel, 1866. Sin' kin, tsi, sz' tshok wun, Hak-ka, syuk-wà. "Bible Stories." Rev. H. Bender. 8vo. 44 leaves. Basel, 1868.

Sin' fui khyon thyaù. Melodienbuch zum Gesangbuch, &c. "Hymns with Tunes." Rev. G. Reusch. 8vo. 40 leaves. Basel, 1868. Ka, tshu, 'sin' fun, tsho, hok. "The four first Rules of Arithmetic." Rev. G. Reusch. 12mo. 6 leaves. Basel, 1868.

"First Lessons in Reading and Writing

Hak, ka, syuk, wà phò hok. the Hakka." Rev. J. G. Loercher. 12mo. 30 leaves. Basel, 1869. Ya, sz, kaù fui' yù hok. "Short Catechism of the Christian Religion." Rev. C. P. Piton. 12mo. 10 leaves. Basel, 1871. The New Testament in the Colloquial of the Hakka Dialect. The Gospel of Mark. Rev. J. G. Loercher. 8vo. 53 leaves. Basel, 1874. The Acts. Rev. C. P. Piton. 8vo. 53 leaves. Basel, 1874.

STATISTICS OF THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSION TO THE CHINESE AT BANGKOK IN SIAM.

The Chinese residents at Bangkok being mostly from the prefecture of Chaouchow in Kwangtung province, and speaking the dialect of that region, the following particulars, received from the Rev. Dr. Dean in 1875, would have been appropriately introduced in connection with the account of the Swatow Mission. Having omitted it there, we give it here, as having a bond of connection with the Hongkong mission.

The mission of the society was commenced at Bangkok in 1835, by the Rev. W. Dean, who still labours there, aided by Mrs. Dean. There are six chapels.

There are four out-stations.

There are five organized churches.

There are seven native preachers, two of whom are ordained and in pastoral charge.

One of the preachers is supported by the native church, and two others partly so.

There are three students preparing for the ministry.

There have been 400 baptisms from the commencement. The numbers at present in church fellowship are 282 males and 7 females, or 289 in all.

The contributions from the natives during the past year have been $618; and the total including previous contributions, probably about $3,000

The following are the names of the out-stations:

Lengkia-chu,-1 day's journey south-west from Bangkok.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE BASEL MISSION STATION AT LILONG, In the South of the Province of Kwangtung.

BY REV. R. LECHLER.

THIS station owed its origin to the labours of a native evangelist, as

did the stations in Chonglok. The man who was the instrument in God's hand to carry the glad tidings of the Gospel to Lilong, had also been in connection with Dr. Gutzlaff, like Chong-hin the evangelist of Chonglok, and likewise subsequently connected himself with Mr. Hamberg. When the Spirit of God awakened his heart, he came one day to Mr. Hamberg with a cane hidden under his coat. He took it out and asked Mr. Hamberg to inflict a corporeal punishment on him, with a hope that the stings of his conscience might be alleviated thereby. Mr. Hamberg showed him a better way, even how to attain to peace with God; and when he had experienced forgiving grace, he felt constrained to bear testimony to his own friends of what Jesus had done for him. The man's name was Kong-yin, and he was a native of Lilong.

Thither he went, and posting himself under a big tree, he called the villagers together, and warmly and earnestly spoke to them of sin and salvation, according to his own experience. His words were not very palatable to the villagers, and his own brother suggested that the intercourse with the foreign devils in Hongkong must have made him crazy. However the man was not to be disconcerted, and argued with his brother thus: "Have we not been all our life long united in brotherly love? Have I ever persuaded you to do anything hurtful to yourself? Can you fancy I would do so now? Thus gradually this brother listened more seriously to the preaching of the Gospel, and the consequence was, that he and the mother and a cousin with some others in the village began to believe what Kong-yin preached. The brother and

cousin afterwards came to Hongkong, and were instructed by Mr. Hamberg, and baptized; after which they returned to their home, joyfully bearing witness to the truth as it is in Jesus. There were however more souls in Lilong anxious about their salvation; and it was in May, 1852, that Mr. Hamberg went there for the first time, and stayed three weeks; at the end of which he baptized twenty individuals. This was the nucleus of the church in Lilong. Mr. Hamberg was then endeavouring, to settle down in the country; and the fact of there being such an opening in Lilong seemed very inviting to establish a station there. No house however could be procured in the village; and at that time to build a house for a foreigner to live in the country, was out of the question. But there was a market town in the neighbourhood, called Pukak, and there Mr. Hamberg succeeded in renting a row of shops, which were at the expense of a few hundred dollarsconverted into a dwelling-house, a chapel and a school.

In March, 1853, Mr. and Mrs. Hamberg moved over to Pukak, and stayed there till November, when they returned to Hongkong. During these nine months, the number of inquirers had fairly increased, and many additions were made to the church. But it had been hard work for a foreign family to stay in the country. Mrs. Hamberg was obliged to confine herself closely to the house, to avoid any excitement of the mob. There had unfortunately been a feud between Pukak and a neighbouring village, during which the missionary's house was exposed to the fire of the belligerent parties. Many a ball from their cannon struck the house, and often necessitated a retreat from the rooms upstairs to the ground floor. Some of the newly-opened windows of the house were objected to by the people, on account of there being an idol temple opposite, and the Chinese contended, that the bright light which the foreigner used to burn in his room was disagreeable to their idols. But the highest pitch of anxiety was reached, when a band of robbers conspired to carry off Mrs. Hamberg, in order to exact a high sum of money as ransom from her husband. The abduction of women was a very common thing at that time in the country about Pukak, and the robbers were said to have calculated, that as foreigners loved their wives so much more than the Chinese did, the foreigner would be sure to pay a handsome sum of money to ransom his wife. By the vigilance of Mr. Hamberg and the Christians about the premises, the robbers were foiled in their plan. But these various excitements left their traces in the physical constitution of Mr. Hamberg, who felt that a heart disease had commenced with him. Still he had no idea, when leaving Pukak temporarily, as he thought, that he should never again be privileged to return to this sphere of labour.

In March, 1854, Mrs. Lechler arrived in Hongkong, but died at the

end of April. Mr. Hamberg also was called to his rest in the month of May, and his death was a great loss to the mission. He was peculiarly gifted for the work,-spoke the language fluently, and was of such an amiable disposition, that the Chinese admired and loved him. The congregation felt that they had lost a faithful pastor and mourned for him sincerely.

Mr. Winnes had come out in May, 1852, and was with the Hambergs in Pukak. I now joined him in the work, and the Lord blessed our labours, so that we did not lose courage under those sad circumstances, but went on, sustained by His power. In the month of October of 1854, I had the privilege on three consecutive Sundays, of baptizing thirty-six individuals. The people got gradually used to the sight of foreigners staying in their midst, and were less troublesome; so that we even thought of opening a place of worship in Lilong. The ground was obtained from a Christian family; the Christians all helped to carry building material to the spot, and assisted in the erection of a house, in which divine service was intended to be conducted. The building was completed without any let or hindrance, and in March, 1855, the place was formally opened with thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, who had thus far blessed this infant church, which now numbered eighty-seven members. But a sifting process came over the congregation, in consequence of the T'ai-p'ing rebellion, which at that time caused so much excitement in the minds of the Chinese. A letter had come from the neighbourhood of Canton, which stated that the rebels were all worshippers of God, and that they were much in want of some assistance, to teach the multitudes; would not the Christians from Lilong come and help in such a virtuous task? I had heard however, that the bearer of this letter was at the same time commissioned to purchase five hundred muskets in Hongkong. I therefore pointed out to the Christians, that this was not the opportunity for advancing Christ's kingdom, when those people were in open rebellion against the lawful authorities; and that I should not approve of any of them joining the movement. There was an elderly man in another village, who on account of persecution from his own relations for embracing the Christian religion, had found it necessary to leave home; and he and another of the congregation disregarded my warnings, and even persuaded a few more of the young men to join the rebels with them. The consequences were very sad. This same man and his eldest son both fell in a battle which was fought between the rebels and imperialists to the west of Canton. The others had joined a company of rebels quite near to Lilong, which was also beaten by the imperialists, and they had to run for their lives. Of course church discipline had to be used against them, and