Observations on the Hindoo and Moohummudan laws of inheritance, as affecting converts to Christianity in India.Calcutta, the Baptist mission press, 1831. 8vo. Blue paper wrappers, faded to brownish/grey around the spine and edges of the wrappers.

VIII, 19, [1 blank] pp.A very rare missionary pamphlet published in India by Alexander Duff (1806-1878), a Scottish missionary who sought to improve education in India, and William Pearce (1794-1840), the owner of the Baptist mission press. During their missionary work, Duff and Pearce had noticed that Hindus and Muslims who converted to Christianity were disqualified from holding or inheriting their family's property, according to the laws of their previous faiths. In this pamphlet, they explain why they think these laws are unjust and offer potential solutions to circumvent them.The Baptist mission press was established by Pearce in 1817 and only closed in the early 1970s. Pearce was a British missionary who had trained at the Clarendon press in Oxford. His company published works from various genres in over 30 different Indian languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu and Pushtu. The press was also one of the first to use moveable type for a publication in Chinese. The colour of the paper wrappers has faded around the spine and the edges, the spine is slightly damaged around the head and foot, slightly toned throughout. Otherwise in very good condition.l Worldcat 150260208 (4 copies); cf. Bingham, G. The Baptist mission press of Calcutta. In: Baptist quarterly, 1951, vol.14 (3), p.100-108; George Smith, the life of Alexander Duff, D.D, LL.D., 1879.