Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/28

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thousand pounds. The Wesleyan missionary has but just arrived, and at present has no congregation.

The diiiiculties attendant on imparting religious instruction to the negroes are very great. Their language is a mixture of creole French and broken English, and it is not easy to understand their meaning; while their mental indolence is so excessive, as to lead them freely to assent to every thing, whether understood or not.

The present condition of many of our missionary stations, proves how greatly their committees have erred in taking upon themselves the expense of permanent establishments, without first deputing some well qualified individual to visit the point they had fixed upon, and to make himself well acquainted with the moral character and peculiar circumstances, both of the native population and European residents. This species of information (as needful, under such circumstances, as a knowledge of its consumption is to a merchant who establishes a commercial house) would enable them not only to choose peculiar men for peculiar stations, but in some degree to judge of the prudence of the plans their agent may be pursuing.

Connected with the established church is a free school, conducted on Dr. Bell's system, in which the Scriptures are read, but it is in a wretched