THE following letter has been received by the Rev. John R. Mackay, M.A., Inverness:—
C/O NATIVE COMMISSIONER, BEMBESI,
MATABELELAND, SOUTH AFRICA, 30th July, 1908.
MY DEAR MR. MACKAY,—I was very glad to receive your kind letter of the 24th of June. It’s a good long while since I heard from you last, and I was just beginning to think that perhaps you did not get my last letter. I know how busy you are always, and that you have not much time to write often, but you may be sure I shall always be glad to hear from you whenever you can find time to write. I always get encouraged whenever I get a letter from one of our ministers. I was glad to hear that Mr. Donald Macleod had finished his Course of Study and that he had been ordained and sent as a missionary to our people in Canada. May the Lord go with him, and greatly bless his work there! I think that our people in Canada will be very pleased to have a minister of their own now.
I received the very interesting little book you sent—”Summary of Christian doctrine.” I am still reading it with great interest. I shall be very glad if you will also send me the other book you spoke of when you write again.
We have now got Shorter Catechisms in Kaffir. It is a great pity that the whole of the Psalms were never put in metre; it would be so very nice if we could get one to do it. I think Mr. Cameron spoke to some Bible Society people in London to see if they could not get someone to put all the Psalms in metre, and I hope that he will be successful. Pray for me that I may get grace to keep near to God, and to live by the faith of the Son of God, and that the Lord might hasten the time when Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God.
Mrs. Radasi and the baby girl are still well. I do not know when she will be baptized yet, or whether it will be possible for one of our ministers to come or not, as the expense of coming is so great. . . . . . With kindest regards to you all, Mrs. Radasi joining.—Yours faithfully,
J. B. RADASI.
Address to His Majesty King Edward VII., ANENT ROMISH AGGRESSION AND THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS.
THE following Address was drawn up during the past month by a Committee of the Southern Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church, and forwarded to the Secretary of State for Scotland, for presentation to His Majesty King Edward VII.:—
“May it please your Majesty:
“The Southern Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland would most humbly and loyally, but very seriously, remind your Majesty that the policy of pandering to the intrigues of the Roman Catholic Church, and refusing to listen to the remonstrances of true, loyal Protestants, expelled the House of Stuart from the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, and that, if the present attitude of your Majesty and the Royal family be continued towards the Papacy, and if the expostulations of your Majesty’s Protestant subjects be persistently ignored, a bloody struggle of a Third Reformation may have to be fought, with consequences disastrous to your Majesty’s family, and most grievous to your Majesty’s loyal Protestant subjects.
“The Presbytery would humbly submit the following reasons for this their remonstrance and protest against any connivance on your Majesty’s part with this intriguing conclave—’The Roman Catholic Congress’—which forms part of a general attempt, in the name of religion, to undo, if possible, the whole work of the Reformation in your Majesty’s dominions, religiously, civilly, and politically.
“(1) The nations which emancipated themselves from the spiritual and civil thraldom of the Papacy at the Reformation became the homes of freedom, enlightened, powerful, and prosperous, whereas the nations which continued under the yoke of the Papacy are to-day weak, and for the most part poor, ignorant, and superstitious—full of anarchy and lawlessness.
“(2) The Papacy boasts of being always the same. This implies that the same intolerant and persecuting principles which, according to true history, produced in the past, by means of Jesuitical and diabolical intrigues, the most horrible acts of cruelty and massacre on innocent men, women, and children, who suffered for conscience’ sake, are still alive, and that if the Papacy gets ascendancy again, the same deeds of horror shall be perpetrated anew.
“(3) The Papacy aims at political supremacy over kings and their subjects. France has had such a bitter experience of this fact that she was recently compelled to expel the Jesuits, who tampered with her army to the extreme danger of the French nation, and to take strong measures to curb the power of the Papacy. Spain made an effort in the same direction, but failed to
free herself. But it is lamentable to observe that our country has opened her doors widely to these plotters and intriguers, and it is certain that our public press, army, and public offices will soon be filled with men disloyal to your Majesty’s throne, and a menace to the peace of this nation.
“(4) The ‘Eucharistic Congress,’ which is to be held in London this month by Roman Catholics, is to be presided over by a legate from the Pope. This Presbytery consider this a bold step against the laws of this realm still on the statute-book. The very name chosen for this Congress—’Eucharistic’—offers an insult to your Majesty, who, upon oath, declared the Mass a blasphemous fable and deceit, and also to your Majesty’s most loyal Protestant subjects, but, above all, it is a dishonour to Christ our Lord. Notwithstanding this, if reports be true, your Majesty intends to give these representatives of Papal Rome a grand reception, which your petitioners hope will not take place.
“For the above reasons, and others not stated, the members of this Presbytery, in their own name and in the name of many of your Majesty’s obedient and loyal subjects, protest against any reception being accorded these emissaries of a foreign power hostile to the best interests of this country, by your Majesty, the Royal family, or the members of the Government.”