PAST AND PRESENT. 231 



to relate, a European people were induced to assist them 

 in the persecution and attempt at extirpation. Still, 

 strange to say, although hemmed in and cut down, seem- 

 ingly almost to a man, the seed had become so rooted 

 that it sprung up again and again. Whenever and 

 wherever this occurred, extinction was the order of the 

 Government ; until our own good advice was so far 

 listened to, that the wretched native Christians, though 

 they were no longer killed, were scattered over the 

 kingdom. A family, for instance, was known to be 

 believers in the forbidden doctrine; immediately the 

 father was sent to one place, the mother to another, and 

 the children somewhere else. Strange it never struck 

 the ruling powers that this was in reality the very 

 best plan they could adopt to propagate and spread the 

 belief they so much dreaded. The times, however, are 

 changed, and liberty of conscience is now the order of 

 the day. I hardly think it is generally known that 

 when these people were simply insane after European 

 ideas a very few years ago, amongst other wonderful 

 notions and plans either at once introduced or thought of, 

 changing their religion by Government decree was one. 

 A committee of a few intelligent men were to be selected 

 to proceed to France and England to observe and report 

 which religion, Eoman Catholicism or Protestantism, 



