Spot on the Sun.-Some of our readers may be interested in knowing that there is a large spot on the sun's disc, nearly ten thousand miles in diameter. On Saturday, November 3d, it was quite distinctly marked, and appeared nearly circular; in the morning, it was to be seen directly above the sun's centre, nearly half way towards his western limb, (edge.) Spots are almost constantly to be seen by the aid of the telescope, though ordinarily not many times in the year so large as this one. It is well known that the time of the sun's revolution on his axis was de termined by means of these spots; the opinions of philosophers, in regard to their cause and nature, are various. Dr. Herschell supposed them to be ruptures or openings in the luminous medium surrounding the sun, and that through these openings we discover either a less luminous stratum of clouds, or the opaque body of the sun lying beyond, and, with respect to the sun, underneath the luminous medium. It may be observed that it is not necessary to consider these spots as perfectly black; they indeed become so by comparison with the rest of the sun's disc; but these same portions of the disc, if detached from the rest, and viewed without the intervention of the dark glasses, through which we are obliged to view the sun, might appear very bright, and it is highly probable that they often would. Dr. H.'s opinion receives strong confirmation from the different shapes of the spots, as they are presented to us in different relative parts of the sun's dise by his revolution. Their appearance changes often and nearly always in a few days, when examined with the telescope. tum while rapidly revolving.-Springfield Gazette. Silk. The Northamptom (Mass.) Courier, in noticing the Fair of the Hampshire Agricultural Society, says, "There may be seen at the Town Hall to-day, among the articles of American Manufacture, silk, in all its various stages of preparation, from the looms of Mr. Shaw in Belchertown. There are 1200 skeins of sewing silk, of all colours and beauty; 350 sticks of silk braid; 66 skeins of silk from the floss or tow as it is called; 10 hanks of silk reeled upon the Italian reel, and many bundles reeled upon the American one; the difference is striking. There are also silk hose made from raw silk and the tow also, a very firm and neat article. Mr. Starkweather, of Northampton, also has some beautiful specimens of silk hose, wove in this town, and bundles of raw silk, for exhibition. The Cocoons in their various stages may be seen there also. We rejoice to see public attention turning to this practically useful branch of business." Importations of Ardent Spirits. We have prepared the following schedule from official returns in different years. It will be seen that a material decline in the annual amount imported has taken place since the commencement of the Temperance Reformation, though we regret to see the returns for 1831 (the years in every case end on the 30th of September,) show a considerable increase, as compared with those of 1830. Except in 1828, so much of the quantity imported as was afterwards exported, is deducted from the amount here given; and of course the amount here given, except in 1828, was actually consumed in this country. The quantity exported in 1828 was probably from 700,000 to 1,000,000 gallons. YEARS. Centrifugal Force. A few weeks since, we mentioned an instance of the bursting of a grindstone used in the U. S. Armory, in this town, by which one of the work men was seriously injured, and that a death was occasioned at Danforth's works, in Suffield, by a similar accident. Another accident of the same character recently occurred at Pomeroy's gun factory, in Pittsfield, by the bursting of a large grindstone, weighing 21,000 pounds, which was carried from this town a few weeks GALLONS. since. When the stone was hung for use, it was, as was supposed, thoroughly tested, by being made to revolve with great rapidity, and it was supposed, from the experiment made, to be safe. But while one of the workmen was engaged in grinding a bayonet upon it week before last, the stone flew into two parts, one of which, weighing about 1000 pounds, went up through the floor over head, fell upon the man at work, and crushed him instantly. These cases of the immense power of the centrifugal force, show that great caution is necessary in using such large stones, which acquire a most tremendous momen The gross imports of rum, brandy, and gin, at this port, during the first eight months of 1830, amounted to 5,832 gallons; do do 1831, 12,412; do do 1832, 12,771.-N. Y. Jour. of Commerce. Shoe Blacking.-Large sums are every year expended by our economical fellow citizens for the article of shoe blacking, a considerable portion of which goes to encourage foreigners. In confirmation of this assertion, it is stated, on good authority, that there is annually imported into this country, from England, shoe blacking to the amount of more than one hundred thousand dollars, the chief part of which is made by Day & Martin, of London. This large sum might easily be kept in the country, and even in the pockets of those who have hitherto been in the habit of paying their portion of it, by each family making its own, which can be done with very little trouble, and at a very trifling expense; or by encouraging some of the worthy manufacturers of it in our own country, who furnish as good an article at a much less price. If any, however, pre fer Day & Martin to all others, very well; only let others make it themselves, and save their money. Here is a correct recipe: To one pound of ivory black, in which has been mixed half an ounce of oil of vitriol, and an ounce of sweet oil, add one pound of pulverized loaf sugar; mix the whole with a gallon of vinegar, and let it stand three days, when it is fit for use. It should be stirred often, and kept from the air, to prevent evaporation. The cost of a gallon of this blacking is about 75 cents; and it is retailed at the stores for four dollars. Religious Intelligence. THE TRUTH TOLD. We devote the entire space Religious Intelligence, to the following important article. Those which we can this month allot to who take interest in the concerns of Foreign Missions, and read much on the subject, must have heard, and heard with pain, of the alleged defection and apostacy in the island of Tahiti, or Otaheiti, among those who had once made a profession, and exhibited the ap ber last. In reading it we could not help reflecting how unreasonable it would be to expect that a people, lately immersed in heathenish ignorance, and who were proverbially licentious, should be more moral, and, as a permanency, exhibit more of the influence of the truths and institutions of the gospel, than those who have been nurtured in these truths and institutions, for generations in succession. Yet this seems to have been We doubt if pearance of zealous piety. Men expected by some. who would have rejoiced, if the whole population of this and the other Christianized islands of the South Sea could have been thrown back into its former state of heathenism and pollution, and who have actually done all they could to produce this effect, have made representations and circulated reports, going to show that what they wished was likely to be real ized; or at least that the religious appearances which were so remarkable a few years since, were fast vanishing, and that many of the professors of religion were as vicious as they were before their conversion. It was, indeed, high time that the real state of facts should be correctly stated to the world. This has been done by the London Missionary Society, in the subjoined article, published in the Missionary Chronicle of SeptemCh. Adv. VOL, X. there is a sea port town in Britain, or in the United States, in which there is not as much licentiousness as in any sea port of the Christianized Islands of the South Sea. It is greatly to be lamented that such should be the fact; and that the influence of religion should not have removed this evil. But hitherto it has not; and nothing can be more unreasonable than to expect that Christian principle should effect more among semi-barbarians, recently gospel. ized, than among those who have been born and educated amidst Christian institutions, and Christian instruction, and who enjoy all the privileges and advantages of civilized life. SOUTH SEA MISSION. The interest which continues to be ma nifested by the Christian public, in the advancement of the Redeemer's Kingdom 3 T 4 in this quarter of the world, renders it desirable to furnish, from time to time, so far as the communications from the missionaries supply the necessary information, a brief notice of the circumstances of the churches connected with the stations and out-stations, and of the general aspect of the whole mission. This appears to be the more requisite, at the present time, as a number of charges, though repeatedly refuted, have been recently mixed up with new grounds of accusation, and again put into circulation. The great object which, from their first arrival in the islands until the present time, the missionaries have sought to accomplish, has been the spiritual benefit of the inhabitants-their conversion to Christianity-progressive sanctification and meetness for the purity and enjoyment of the heavenly state. In subordination to this, a number of minor objects have engaged their attention. Their endeavours to improve the temporal circumstances of the people, to communicate the blessings of education, and to promote the increase of knowledge, have been pursued in conjunction with the more sacred duties of their vocation; but on account of the formidable difficulties with which they have had to contend, the progress of the people has been less rapid than their friends have expected and desired, and the missionaries themselves have aimed to secure. They have, notwithstanding, solid and cheering grounds of encouragement. of civilized countries, so essential to the improvement of the people, having been in proportion to the returns they were able to make, has been exceedingly limited. Another fertile source of difficulty has been found in their previous irregular and indolent habits of life. A state of society more dissolute and opposed to steady application and industry than that which prevailed among them prior to their renunciation of idolatry cannot well be imagined; and although the general and outward operation of those propensities, which heathenism had nurtured and matured, was restrained, almost universally, when the Islanders first professed Christianity, numbers were influenced only by the excitement of feeling, in favour of the new religion, which then appeared to pervade all classes, and have remained destitute of every thing connected with Christianity, excepting its name. These afterwards found, as might be expected, their former inclinations too strong to be restrained by the feeble resistance which public opinion interposed; and though they did not revive the worship of the idols or the cruelties of human sacrifice, they returned, in a great degree, to their former indolence and vices. To enable a people, whose resources scarcely ever exceeded the demand for the supply of their daily wants, to obtain the means of realizing the con'veniences and comforts of comparatively civilized life-to induce them to substitute kindness for the most relentless cruelty Though the most partial view of the pro-integrity and virtue for the practice of gress of the mission must convince every individual, of ordinary discernment and candour, that the disadvantages under which the work has advanced have been of no ordinary kind. One great impediment to the outward prosperity of the people has been the difficulty of supplying those wants which a more regular and comfortable mode of life has introduced, and in this respect they are placed in circumstances less favourable than those of the New Zealanders and Sandwich Islanders. The adaptation of the soil and climate of the former to the growth of the potato, the valuable timber, and the native flax, which are both indigenous, furnish to them the means of advantageous commerce, which the latter find in the sandal-wood, growing without culture, in great abundance, on their native mountains. But neither of these, nor any equivalents, are possessed by the inhabitants of Tahiti and the adjacent islands. The spontaneous productions of their country yield to them, with the exception of a few vegetables and the means of raising live-stock for the supply of shipping, no articles of profitable barter with foreigners. The introduction of implements of iron, and of other manufactures 1 every degree of iniquity and fraud-and habits of persevering application and industry, for a life of perpetual idleness and change-was part of the work which the missionaries attempted, and in which, though, as already noticed, in very many instances they have met with bitter disappointment, they have, in others, been cheered with the most encouraging success. That a number of the natives are still ignorant and improvident, vicious and indolent, and consequently destitute of the means of personal and domestic comfort, and that some exhibit all the deformity of iniquity which European profligacy has ingrafted on their aboriginal vices, is not denied; and the fearful extent to which this would have prevailed, but for the conservative influence of Christianity, cannot well be imagined. Yet the entire community is not composed of such individuals as some, who, in their claims to veracity, draw largely on the credulity of their readers, would have us believe; nor do they form the majority, any more than the most abandoned and profane may be said fairly to represent other communities in which Christianity is professed. Indolence, from the force of habit, and the warmth of the climate, &c., is still one of the greatest barriers to the rapid improvement of their temporal circumstances; but it is not too much to affirm that the average amount of labour is double, and, in many instances, four times greater, than it was while they were heathens. More land is cultivated, and a number of articles, useful to the natives, and valuable in barter with foreigners, have been added to those formerly grown in the islands. Among these may be mentioned-without enumerating several kinds of edible roots, vegetables, and fruits -a superior sort of cotton, coffee, indigo, and Indian corn. The latter, it is true, has not been cultivated to any great extent, but is now to be found among the productions of the islands. f The attempts to introduce the manufacture of cotton have not succeeded so well as was anticipated; neither have they en tirely failed. A number of the natives, it is stated by the missionaries, are capable of spinning the cotton grown in the islands, and weaving it into cloth. The people at some of the stations have also been taught to make soap and salt, to prepare tobacco, and to manufacture sugar. Though these articles have as yet been produced only in small quantities, it is probable that, as the population increases, and their habits become more industrious, they will hereafter be furnished in far greater abundance, and may become valuable commodities of trade for articles of apparel, or other European manufactures. Besides a knowledge of rope-making, turnery, carpentering, and the art of working in iron, in which a number have made a creditable proficiency and some have been employed by European traders, and at regular monthly wages, as smiths-the preparation of lime, and the construction of more neat and comfortable dwellings, they have been instructed in the art of boat and ship-building, after the European manner. This, being a species of occupation peculiarly suited to their circum. stances and taste, has been followed with great avidity; and, though attended with some failures, as was to be apprehended from the paucity of materials for their construction and scanty means of keeping them in profitable employ, the natives have exhibited a degree of improvement that has excited the admiration of many, and convinced all, who have compared their present vessels with those which they formerly used that they possess abilities, and are capable of a measure of perseverance, which warrant the anticipation of very respectable attainments in this valuable branch of practical knowledge. The missionaries were the first to teach them this art, and to their enterprise, and the labours of those whom they have employed, they are chiefly, if not entirely, indebted for their means of subsequent improvement. In order to increase their resources, useful animals have been taken to the islands, and some of them thrive well, especially goats and cattle. The latter were introduced and preserved by the missionaries, and for some time belonged exclusively to them, or those immediately connected with them; but they are now possessed by the greater part, if not all, of the chiefs, and many of the people, who appear exceedingly fond of them, and render them remarkably tame. They are now so numerous, that it is stated ships may be supplied with fresh meat at the moderate price of three pence per pound. This, while it will prove prove a great benefit to the natives, will be peculiarly advantageous to the masters of vessels visiting their ports for refreshments, on the obtaining of which the health of their crews, and the consequent success or failure of the voyage, so greatly depend. Horses have also been taken to the islands, and, though not numerous, are possessed by a number of the chiefs. The difficulties that attended their improvement, by means of education, have been equal to those which have retarded their outward prosperity. The same natural indolence and restlessness of disposition which rendered them so averse to steady labour, with the spade, the saw, or the hammer, made the confinement and application requisite to acquire even the first rudiments of education equally irksome. These difficulties, the patience and perseverance of the missionaries have, in a great measure, overcome; and, without entering into details, it may be confidently stated, that throughout the Georgian and Society Islands, with the exception of those who are in the early stages of childhood, and those who were far advanced in years when Christianity was generally professed, and perhaps even without these exceptions, the majority of the inhabitants are able to read all the books that exist in their language. That language, it will be remembered, the missionaries had first to acquire, to construct its frame-work from the very foundation, arrange it in a regular order, and present it in a written form to the people, with scarcely any aid besides what they derived from the frequently uncertain and perplexing oral explanations of the natives, to whom, at the time, the design and use of letters was utterly incomprehensible. The books in the Tahitian language do not afford much variety of subject, but they include some that contain the foundations of all profitable wisdom-viz., the whole of the New, and some parts of the Old Testament; and though many, who formerly sought these with apparent eagerness, now neglect them, by multitudes they are highly prized. The labours of the printing-presses in the islands are increased, and become every year more important. They are superintended by the missionaries at the stations in which they are established, but worked by native printers, who have been taught to perform, with credit and dispatch, the mechanical part of the operation. By these means the demand of the original mission is supplied; and books are also furnished, with comparative facility, for the use of the inhabitants of the numerous and populous islands among which the native teachers are labouring. The extent to which this is done will appear from the circumstance that Mr. Darling, during a recent voyage to the islands in the south and east of Tahiti, distributed books to upwards of a thousand applicants in three islands only. And Mr. Barff observes, in communications recently received, that before commencing his voyage to the west he had printed 8000 copies of a small book in the Rarotoa dialect, a series of arithmetical tables for the use of the schools, and an edition of 13,000 copies of an elementary work for the use of the out-stations connected with the Leeward Islands. These had been completed during the year ending December, 1831. It now only remains to notice the state of religion in the several churches and among the people generally. To undermine and destroy religion, the preservation of which, in its purity and efficacy, has been attended with the greatest difficulties, the enemies of the mission have put forth their most determined efforts. Hence the misrepresentations, tending to invalidate the evidence of its reality and effects, have been most frequently and industriously circulated. That attention to the observances of religion and a regard to its precepts, in the ordinary affairs of life, are not so general and conspicuous as they were immediately after the first reception of the gospel by the people, has been repeatedly stated. The profession of religion-endeavours to learn to readand the possession of a copy of such portions of the Scriptures as were printed in their language, were, at that time, with a few solitary exceptions, universal. Theft, licentiousness, drunkenness, and other crimes, were, for a time, either discontinued or carefully concealed. The habit of private prayer and domestic worship was uniform and generally maintained. On the Sabbath there was a total cessation from all kinds of secular employment, and an appropriation of the hours of the day to reading and religious services. Society appeared at the time in a state in which it is presumed it had seldom been seen, even in communities where far greater advantages have been enjoyed; but it would have been folly to suppose that all was what it appeared to be. Many, undoubtedly, from a variety of considerations and others without considering the subject at all, declared themselves Christians; numbers wore the mask of religion, professed what they did not feel, publicly abstained from vices, a desire for the gratification of which they still cherished, and practised observances, in which inwardly they felt no pleasure. But this state of things, to whatsoever anticipations it might give birth, could not last. Some hastily threw off the disguise; others retained it for a longer time; until numbers have shown that their Christianity was nothing more than empty form. But, though all this has occurred, there were from the first a goodly number who acted from the firm conviction of their judgment, and the strong bias of their affections, who were moved by pure and scriptural motives, and who, from the influence of that divine benediction to which they ascribe the first change in their minds, have, notwithstanding all the contempt and reproach that has been heaped upon them by the malice of ungodly men, and all the violence of temptation by which they have been assailed, and all the natural imperfections of character, * Extract from a letter to Mr. Ellis, remained steadfast in the ways of religion, dated June 1, 1831. Schools are still maintained, and regularly attended both by adults and children, though not so punctually as at first, especially by the latter. On the part of the adults, and many of the children, this arises from the necessity they now find of devoting a greater portion of their time to the cultivation of their lands, or from their natural opposition to the moral principles inculcated in the instructions they receive. The irregular attendance of the latter is sometimes occasioned by their accompanying their parents to their plantations, but chiefly by their impatience of continuance at one occupation for any length of time, their love of rambling, their native indolence, fostered by the warmth of the climate, the facility with which the bare means of subsistence may be obtained, and the inclination numbers of them manifest towards the habits of dissipation which so many efforts have recently been made to revive in the islands. In allusion to this subject, Mr. Davies, in one of his recent letters, observes, "The schools and different meetings are well at tended, though few of the youth seem seriously inclined, which is a source of grief both to their parents and myself; but means for their improvement are not neglected, and many prayers are offered in their behalf."* |