be freely entered by the stranger without offence ; in- deed, the impartial observer will hardly fail to admit that Buddhism, in the absence of a purer creed, pos- sesses considerable influence for good in the country under consideration. Reciprocal kindnesses are pro- moted, and even the system of merit and demerit — the one leading to the perfect state of nirvana, the other punishing by a degrading metempsychosis — has no doubt some moral effect. The religious edifices are of three kinds : 1. The paged) (Zadce or Tsa-dee), a mon- ument erected to the last Buddha, is a solid, bell- shaped mass of plastered brickwork, tapering to the summit, which is crowned by the tee, or umbrella, of open iron-work. 2. The temple, in which are many images of Gotama. The most remarkable specimen of Burman temple-architecture is the Anunda of Pa- gan. The ground-plan takes the form of a perfect Greek cross, and a tapering spire, with a gilded tee at the height of 1G8 feet from the foundation, crowns the whole. 3. The bjoung is generally constructed with a roof of several diminishing stages, and is often adorn- ed with elaborate carved work and gilding. Burman architecture 'differs essentially from that of India in the frequent use of the pointed arch, not only for doors and windows, but also in the vaulted coverings of passages.' The civilization of Burmah, if not retro- grade— which the ruins of Pagan would almost seem to indicate — is stationary and stereotyped, like that of China. All the wealth of the country is lavished on religious edifices, £10,000 sterling being sometimes expended on the gilding and beautifying of a single pagoda or temple, while roads, bridges, and works of public utility are neglected. The vernacular tongue of Burmah belon. s to the monosyllabic class of lan- guages, and is without inflection; the character is formed of circles and segments of circles. It is en- graved on prepared strips of palm-leaf, and a number of these form a book. Printing is unknown, except where introduced by missionaries. Pali is the lan- guage of the religious literature" (Chambers, Encyclo- pwdia, s. v.).
II. Missions. — Burmah has become in the nineteenth century the seat of one of the most flourishing Protest- ant missions. In 1813 the Rev. Adoniram Judson (q. v.), an American Baptist missionary at Rangoon, published a tract and a catechism in the Burman lan- guage, and translated the Gospel of Matthew. In 1819 he baptized and received into the mission church the first Burman convert, Moung Kan. In the winter of the same year he went to Amarapura (or Ummera- poora), the seat of the imperial government, to obtain, if possible, toleration for the Christian religion, but his petition was contemptuously rejected. The arrival of Dr. Price, a physician as well as a minister, procured to him and Dr. Price an invitation from the king to re- side at Ava. The war between Burmah and England (1824 to 1826) led to the conquest of a considerable part of Burmah by England. This part became the centre of the Burman mission, though a little church was maintained at Rangoon. In 1828 the first convert from the tribe of the Karens, who are found in great numbers in all parts of Burmah and the neighboring kingdom of Siam, was baptized. A Karen mission was thus founded, which has outgrown in extent the mission to the Burman tribe, and whose success has scarcely been equalled by any other of modern times. The Karen language at this time had not been reduced to writing, and one of the missionaries, Mr. Wade, un- dertook in 1832 to make an alphabet of its elemental sounds, to compile a spelling-book, and to translate two or three of the tracts already printed in Burman into the Karen language. In 1832 there were fourteen American missionaries in Burmah, and the reception of two additional printing-presses, with a large font of types and the materials for a type foundry, enabled them to print tracts and portions of the Scriptures in the Burman, the Karen, and the Talaing or Peguan
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languages. In 1834 Mr. Judson completed his liur- man translation of the Bible, which was carefully re- vised by him, and published as revised in U 10. 'I he successful attempt to unite the scattered Karens into compact villages greatly advanced the prosperity of the mission. In Burmah Proper a new persecution broke out against the Christian Karens in 1843, ami many of them sought refuge in the British possessions. Attempts have been repeatedly made by the mission- aries to obtain a perman< nt footing in Burmah Proper, or at least to secure toleration, but without success. In the British part of Burmah the work was very i ros- perous. Mr. Abbott, on bis return fr< m the United States in 1847, was met by thirty-three native preach- ers, who reported not less than 1200 converts in their several districts. In 1851 the missionaries received marks of the royal favor, and were allowed to com- mence a mission at Ava, which was interrupted by the war between Burmah and Great Britain in 1852. On December 20, 1852, the entire southern portion of Bur- mah, including the ancient province of Pegu, was in- corporated with British India, and thus laid open to the free influence of Christianity. 'J he missions in Burmah, till recently, were maintained I y the An er- ican Baptist Missionary Union. In 185:! a deputation from the Union visited Burmab, and eventually some differences arose respecting the measures then adopt- ed, and the reports subsequently made in America, the result of which was that some missionaries broke off their connection with the Baptist Union. They were, in 18G6, in connection with the "American Baptist Free Mission Society." In 1859 the American mis- sionaries were again invited by the king to come and live with him. Commissioner Phayre, of Pegu, in the same year stated in a report to the government of In- dia that of the Karens, whose number he estimates at about 50,000, over 20,000 souls are either professed Christians, or under Christian instruction ami influ- ence. At the 50th annual meeting of the Missionary Union, held in 18(34 in Philadelphia, a paper was read on the " Retrospective and Prospective Aspects of the Missions," in which was suggested as among the agen- cies of the future the formation of a general conven- tion for Burmab, corresponding with similar associa- tions in the United States, the body to be without disciplinary power, purely missionary in its character, to which should at once be transferred the responsibil- ity and care of many details hitherto devolved on the executive committee; the membership to he made up of the missionaries and delegates from native churches and local associations, the latter being much more nu- merous than the former, and occupying a prominent place in its transactions, the avowed object and aim being to form on the field an agency that should in time assume the sole responsibility of evangelizing the country. The proposal received the cordial indorse- ment of the Missionary Union, and the executive com- mittee accordingly addressed a circular to the mission- aries, recommending the formation of a Burmah Asso- ciation. Circumstances occurred which delayed the meeting of the missionaries and native helpers until Oct. 15, 1865, when it assembled in Rangoon. Nearly all the American missionaries (including three not connected with the Missionary Union) were present, together with seventy native preachers and "elders." The Constitution adopted for permanent organization is as follows :