The Missionary Review of the World — February 1893
OUR WORLD
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XVI. No. 2.-0ld &riu.–FEBRUARY. –VOL. VI. No. 2.-New Series.
OUR WORLD.-II.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIE;F.
As the true warrior counts the cost of the war and the true builder reckons the resources for his structure, so God's soldiers and servants look at both sides of their work; they study what is to be done and to be undone, to be accomplished and to be antagonized ; and then calmly survey the whole range of resources and encouragements, helps and hindrances. Having looked already at the world field and the giant foes, it behooves us now to look with equal care and candor at our available sources of success and the imperial claims of duty.
1. OUR' HELPs.-What are they ~ First of all, our help is in God. Any and every work don!' for Him is work done with Him. It is His work rather than ours, or ours only because it is first His. This is not a distinction without a difference. If we are doing a work of our own and ask Him to come to our help, then the primary responsibility is OUTS, and we may, well be anxious for the issue. If He is doing His eternal work, and summons us to His help as co-workers with Him, then the original, primary, ultimate responsibility is His, and all anxiety and worry become an impertinence, as thol'gh God were not able to take care of His own work! As though His ark were mounted on one of man's carts and needed to be stayed by our venturesome hands !
The work of world-wide missions is THE WORK of our Master throughout this whole dispensation; and we are called to be His servants. He does this work not in person but through us, and hence, while the privilege is ours of working for and with Him, the responsibility is His from first to last, and we are therefore to be" careful for nothing" save to be in league with Him.
He has given us the great weapon of our warfare, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God ;" this supplies also the great implement of our work-both sword and trowel at the Bame time-as good for building as for battling. And about His Word He has said what He never said of any word of man, however wise or eloquent: " My Word, that goeth forth out of My mouth, shall not return unto Me void" (Isa. 55 : 11). So far as we rp.ally make use of that Word, omnipotence is with us, pledged to our success. As surely as the rain and snow that fall from heaven return not in vapor to the skies until they have watered the earth and made it to bring forth and bud, yielding seed for sower and bread for eater, so surely shall God's Word, heavenly in origin, not return to Him without results. All we have to do is to insure contact between that Word and the souls of men, and we may leave the issue with Him. We may no more trace that vVord in its mysterious mission than we can follow every drop of rain or flake of snow as it falls to the earth, percolates through the soil, comes up in springs, flows in rills and rivers to the sea, and is evapo· rated beneath the sun and returus to cloudland; but every word of God will fulfil its mission. All we have to do is to help to send it on its mission.
Would that all men would learn this great truth! The world and the Church are full of human resorts and resources, all of which are impotent to do the work to which the Word is appointed in God's eternal councils. When the Word of God seems to be accomplishing but little, men venture to substitute something else. Poetic essays, political harangues, literary dissertations, ethical lectures-something more popular is put in place of God's pure WOl'd in hope to draw the people and fan the dying embers on the altars of neglected worship. But it is all stupendous folly, akin to blasphemy. The only help for lost souls, the one almighty weapon, the one sufficient working-tool for fighting foes and building up the Church is the WORD of God. Give men the Gospel pure, simple, persistently preached, lovingly and graciously exemplified, and there is not one form of error in doctrine or practice that will not ultimately give way. And, if God's Word is powerless, where Omnipotence fails man's impotence must prove doubly and disastrously inadequate. The first help of all is a revival of apostolic preaching if we are to have a new era of apostolic missions.
Our next hope and help is the Spirit of God, who alone can help us to use the Word effectively. If the Word is the sword, the Spirit is the force that wields it. The sword is to be held by a human hand, but the grip that holds it and the power that hews and smites and thrusts with it is a Divine power. Paul's dependence was not on the logic of argument or demonstration by logical processes, but on the " demonstration of the Holy Spirit, " the Rhort logic that brings instantaneous conviction by rending asunder the veil and suddenly disclosing facts and truths. The Spirit demonstrates by lightning flashes. So Saul was convinced, convicted, converted ; and so have multitudes who had opposed and blasphemed been brought to instant surrender to the truth and immediate obedience to a new Master. How much do we depend on the Holy Spirit ~ How fervently do we seek His anointing, enduring, imbuing power g The one " lost art" seems to be that of commanding spiritual energy. So important is this that we should absolutely tarry until so endu~d. No amount of time is wasted in such prayerful, expectant waiting. Ten days of prayer, forty days of delay are nothing if the one pentecostal day but comes that marks the outpouring from on high.
Closely linked with the Word and the Spirit is that prayer in Jesus' name and for the glory of God which makes possible the power of both the Word and Spirit as a reality. To lay hold upon God, to make Him our dependence and confidence, and actually get His power, that is the secret of a mighty use of the Gospel message and a true obtaining of Divine enduement-nay, is not that itself the enduement ~ Such prayer in Jesus' name is the prayer, not of the human suppliant, but of the great Intercessor in whose name he pleads ; just as any request presented by authority and in the name of another is in effect the petition of another, only through a third party. Such prayer makes the weakest man strong, because Almighty Strength is behind his weakness. And in order to all this there must be a higher standard ofpiety, a holiness which makes possible new knowledge of God, access to God, and conformity to His image.
When we have thus learned the help there is in God we shall not be slow both to learn and use all the resources and facilities found in ourselves or at our disposal. The proper employment of all that God has given us by nature or culture is made sure only when we are in close bonds with Him. This gives the clear vision to see and the wise mind and ready heart to use every faculty and opportunity. Sanctified enterprise and energy, impelled by holy enthusiasm for God and passion for the truth and for the souls of men, become natural and necessary. The Church under such baptism of power would be a giant working miracles among men. We should have sanctified homes, and children not only trained for God, but conceived and begotten, born and bred as the offspring of prayer. Parental piety would reach back to the very sources of pre-natal life, and parental character would salt the springs whence flow family habits.
We must learn to lay proper stress on a sanctified individualism. There is an unsanctified individualism, but it tends to the undue assertion of individual opinion and rights, leads to " free thinking" and" free love" and rebellion against the supreme will of God and even the social order. But there is a right and righteous individualism that teaches every believer to grow to his full stature in knowledge, capacity, and activity, and trains him to service; and that shows us the meaning of that pregnant word " salvation," which includes far more than forgiveness and justificationnamely, the confession of Christ, the sanctification of character, co-operation with all other believers, aud individual service to God and to souls.
2. OUR DUTY.-This can be understood only as both our work and our resources are clearly apprehended, for these constitute the basis of responsibility, determine what is due.
The one great duty which we here seek to emphasize is to " go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." A world-wide evangelization is first and foremost, holding absolutely the front rank. In a sense it stands alone as the one and only command ever given to the Church of Christ by the Master Himself, whICh covers active duty. He did indeed give two other commands: "This do in remembrance of Me," and" Love one another." But obviously both of these belong to a ,different category. One refers to the great memorial ordinance and sacrament which keeps His atoning death in perpetual remembrance; the other has to do with an abiding principle of heart life. But there is one and a solitary injunction, having to do with aggressive wor1{ for His kingdom. No other command stands beside it. It is itself the whole Decalogue of the new life. But though alone it is all-inclusive. If this be fulfilled, every other law and duty of a serviceable life is embraced and performed.
Evangelization, then-carrying the good news from land to land until every human soul is reached-is the one all-inclusive work of the Church. This is no small work, nor one to be easily done. After nineteen centuries, it has never yet been actually done, so that no one generation has fully heard even once the message of the Gospel, and no doubt there are larger masses of mankind absolutely unreached by the good tidings to-day than ever before.
It is so much the more imperative that this work should be immediately undertaken and with all possible promptness accomplished, because even when done, it is but the beginning, not the end of evangelism. Had every human being to-day heard the Gospel, with every pendulum stroke one dies and another is born; and so, within thirty years a new generation must be taught, or we have again earth peopled by the unevangelized ; so that, unless the Church of Christ keeps up her holy activity and reaches one new soul every second this work will not remain done, though once accomplished. Moreover, evangelization is not convel'Eion, but only the first step in preparation for it. And so God means that, like the poor, the unsaved shall be always with us that their condition may be a perpetual appeal and incentive to. evangelistic activity. For the Church to have no more need to preach the Gospel to lost sinners would be such a calamity and curse that, at any point this side of perfection, it would imply rapid decline and awful decay. Scarcely less for our sake than for the sake of unpardoned sinners do we need to act as God's messengers; for a stream that stagnates becomes putrid, and where growth ~tops death begins.
We must, therefore, undertake in God's name as never before to get the Gospel into contact with every living soul. Our work in thus witnessing to all lays the basis for the fuller and more permanent work of repeating and confirming this witness by establishing the Christian home, and chmch, and school, and college, the sanctified press, and all those educational, philanthropic, and benevolent institutions which are God's trees of life on either side of the banks of the river of life. Such evangelization would be followed by the gathering of converts into churches, which is organization; then the fuller training in knowledge, piety, and service, which is education and edification ; and so all true blessings attendant upon the highest and truest Christian civilization would follow, and prepare for that universal enduement of the Spirit which marks the last great epoch and era of human history.
Our limited space forbids, within these pages, to expand this great theme as it ought to be; but we venture to indicate two grand lines upon which onr cords must be lengthened and our stakes strengthened.
First there mnst be a more equal, adequate, proportionate distribution of laborers. The field is the world, and it is not even nominally occupied as yet. Its full occupation is the first condition of evangelization. This disproportionate distribution of missionary laborers throughout the world furnishes some of the most suggestive and instructive facts which we have been able to gather and classify; and these facts are vocal with both remonstrance and appeal.
From the latest and best available reports-reports at best sadly defective and incomplete-the following approximate tables have been carefully compiled. In 1889 there were reported 6589 foreign laborers, ordained and lay, including women; and 34,345 native evangelists, teachers, and helpers; a total of 40,934. More recently the Free Church of Scotland Monthly and the Baptist .ilfi88ionary Herald of Britain undertook to compile missionary statistics; and though carefully made, even these estimates differ. But the number of missionary societies is reckoned by the former authority at 280 ; of stations and out-stations at 11,388 ; of missionaries of all grades from foreign lands at 7700; of native workers at 36,000 (4250 of whom are ordained) ; and the number of communicants at 800,000, with 2,200,000 adherents.
The Herald computes missionaries at 7921 (of whom 4693 are males, 3228 females) ; native workers at 40,083 ; communicants at 726,883.
Dean Vahl, President of the Danish Missionary Society, an admitted authority in statistics, estimates for 1890-91 : Missionary organizations, 264; .contributions, £2,229,759, or about $11,150,000; 6557 missionaries, with native force of 46,244 (of whom 3374 are native ministers) ; 885,116 communicants, representing a total of 3,540,464 native members of Christian communities.
Now, in all the tables there are figures not supplied and blanks unfilled; nor are any reports yet at hand which embrace the year 1892. It will be entirely safe to take from each of these three reports the highest estimates given, and even then we shall be rather below than above the mark. Thus combining, we get the following round numbers as very safe guides: Missionary organizations, 280; stations and out-stations, 11,400; foreign laborers, 8000 (about two fifths of whom are women) ; native workers, 47,000 (of whom nearly one tenth are ordained) ; making a total working force of 55,000, with about 900,000 communicants and four times as many adherents; and a total contribution to missions of about $12,000,000. The most careful investigation satisfies the writer that these figures are as near as may be ascertained to the actual facts, and furnish a proper working basis. These laborers are dIstributed very nearly as follows: Foreign. Native. Total., India and Ceylon ••••.•……………. 2,360 21,500 23,860 14,030 Africa, Madagascar, etc……………. 1,530 12,500 3,930 China, etc.,-Mongolia …………….• 1,430 2,500 1,235 North America and Greenland .. __ ….. .. 635 600 480 1,170 Jews-scattered .. __ .. _…. _…. _. . . . . . 440 40 3,470 2,340 Japan ……….••••…. _. . .. . … :.. 420 750 1,040 Australia, Polynesia, etc.. . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 270 3,200 930 575 South America, West Indies, etc . . . . . . . , . 240 . 2,100 900 365 Burmah, etc…. . • . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . 140 900 440 80 Turkey, Greece, etc… ……………. 130 800 70 15 Palestine, Syria, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . 75 500 70 Continent of Europe ….•….••. ' ….. " 70 830 Persia, etc .•…•.• , …. ' • . . . •• . • . . . . • . 65 300 Assam, etc………… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 400 Siam and Laos.. . . .••• . . . . .. .. . . .• .•. . 35 45 Egypt, Arabia, etc, . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . 35 35 Thibet…………………………. 15 Scattered-various parts Papal Europe, etc. 70 8,000 47,000 55,000 Of course these estimates are only an approach to the truth, and we shall welcome any corrections or additions that we may as far as possible ascertain, and record exact facts.
But, looking at these tables, with every possible allowance for incompleteness and inaccuracy, it is very obvious that there is no realdistribution at all, even of the actual available working force. While no field is oversupplied, in most fields there is an appalling undersupply. The policy of concentration rather than of diffusion has thus far been the practical policy of missions, and this is directly contrary to the express command of our Lord. India leads the way with more than one fourth of the foreign laborers among a population of 280,000,000. This would give about one missionary worker to every 110,000. Africa comes next, which, including Egypt and Madagascar, has about one to 140,000. China comes next, with about one to 270,000. Siam has about the same average supply; Japan one to about 100,000.
One very marked encouragem(;lnt is suggested by these tables. The Church of Christ sends out less than 8000 workers; but on heathen soil have been raised up, mostly in our own generation, a total force nearly six times as large, so that to-day six sevenths of the entire evangelizing force in the foreign field is the self-sown crop of missions. Christ's laborers have scattered the seed of the kingdom; and within this century behold the results! At this rate of multiplication, in another century these lands will be able to care for their own evangelization; and foreign missions may everywhere give place to home missions.
Our already extended paper allows but a word about the other grave matter which demands attention-viz., sanctified liberality. For a body of over 40,000,000 Protestant believers, with a total wealth of not less than $20,000,000,000, to give of that vast sum less than $12,000,000 annually for foreign missions, or less than one sixteen hundredth part, or one sixteenth of one per cent! is parsimony and penuriousness for which there can be no apology or extenuation.Ve shall never have an adequate supply of laborers, nor shall we· ever adequately support the laborers if they were on the field, until our giving is reconstructed from the very base. Of this we are fully persuaded, yet we also know that nothing but the new pentecost can break down the present selfish policy of hoarding and,spend- ing.
Among our duties, the proper, scriptural standard of giving comes into front rank, and its corner-stone is found in a conception of our divine stewardship. Our possessions are in trust for God, and to be used as trustees. We have giving, but not of a godly sort. There are at least ten ways of contributing to benevolent purposes, some of which are 11 reproach and a shame : 1. The h.eedless way; giving something to any object presented, without inquiry into its claims or merits or needs, or proportionate demands as to other causes.
2. The impulsive way; giving as the caprice of the moment leads, as often c.r as much or little as feeling may prompt.
3. The lazy way; shirking all self denial, and resorting to fairs, festivals, and various panderings to the carnal nature to raise money " for the Lord's cause."
4. The calculating way; giving with reference to some expected returns i~ pecuniary prosperity or indirect self-emolument.
5. The selfish way; giving from desire and expectation of the reward of human praise and glory, or personal prominence al'ld reputation as a giver.
6. The systematic way; laying aside as an offering to God a definite proportion of income-one tenth or one fifth or more, as conscience indicates. This is adapted to both rich and poor, and insures large aggregates.
7. The intelligent way; giving to each object after a personal investigation into its comparative merits and claims, and without dependence on the happy appeal of its representative or agent.
8. The self-denying way; saving what luxurious taste or careless outlay would squander, and sacredly applying it to purposes of piety and charity.
9. The equal way; giving to the Lord's needy ones as mueh as is spent on self, balancing personal expenditures and benevolent outlay as a corrective to all extravagance.
10. The heroic way; limiting outlay to a certain sum, and giving away the entire remainder. This is stewardship in exercise. It was John Wesley'S way, who never exceeded his fixed sum of personal outlay. It
OUR MISSIONARY HEROINES-" BY FAITH."
is Hudson Taylor's w~y. It makes a habitual, conscientious, proportionate, prayerful, liberal, unselfish, consecrated giver. Adopted as a rule, it would turn God's people into a body of givers whose unceasing contributions would be a river of water of life to a dying world. Such giving, would insure praying, and be the handmaid of holy living. With such giving of money, giving of self would inevitably follow, if it did not precede; and with a rapidity now incredible a world's evangelization would move toward its consummation and the coronation of the coming King I OUR MISSIONARY HEROINES-" BY FAITH."
BY J. T. GRACEY, D.D., ROCHESTER, N. Y.
The human race is composed of about an equal number of mal€; and female persop.s. Loosely speaking, there are, therefore, on the earth seven hundred millions of women and girl-children, and within each century some two thousand millions of these fill up each a lifetime and pass away. The thought is a stupendous one.
The world has grown familiar with the sad story of the degradation, the wrongs, and the sufferings of this portion of the human race over large portions of the world. The illustrations of their misery are multitudinous and monotonous. The relation of marriage, which under the ennobling influences of Christianity has been exalted well.nigh to a sacrament, presents throughout the history of non-Christian peoples a lamentable record of violence and sin. The old Maroons of Jamaica and the present Thibetans of Asia, furnish examples of peoples without a substitute for marriage in the one case, or any judicial sanction of it in the other. The Hassaniyeh Arab recognizes a "three-quarter" marriage-of legal obligation only three days out of four-while in Mocha all marriages are temporary. In Thibet wives are pawned, and in parts of China hired to other men. The communal marriage, wherein all the men are married to all the women, as recommended in the Platonic Republic, is by no means unknown to history, though it shocks every sense of decency and graduates men as beasts in an agricultural pen. "Wife-capture," whereby women have been clubbed, speared, or otherwise half killed in the process, has been and still is, too widespread to enumerate the nations that have practised it. Polygamy and polyandry, whether in Thibet, Ceylon, New Zealand, the Aleutian Islands, among the Cossacks or the Orinocos, afford little relief to these wretched chapters of human life. Girl life among half the population of the globe seems the cheapest thing in the dust-bin of human possessions. We close our eyes to a record of debasement and oppression, which compels us to pity where we cannot relieve.
When Jesus Christ came into this world, He came, the truest friend of woman, and formulated principles which, like leaven, must exert its influ. ence through all measures of meal to give her a social resurrection. Born of a woman, He blessed the woman that bore Him. He showed favor to classes which had for ages been shut out from recognition. One woman, " a sinner," is told to " sin no more," and the charity of all centuries is summoned to condone her shame till a sinless one is found among men. Another woman breaks perfume over His person, and the fragrance floats in fulfilment of His prophecy through all ages in the kindliest expressions of pity and the gentlest ministries of love.
The benefit that comes to society from the patronage which Christianity has extended in so unexampled a degree to this half of the race, is not far to seek. It were to write a volume so much as to enumerate the intellectual development of women under the benign influences born of the Gospel. Barbara Uttman rescued Saxony by the invention of pillow lace; Betsy Metcalf originated the straw industry of the United States by her manufacture of straw bonnets, from which Massachusetts alone reaps millions every year ; the cotton-gin, which leads the list of the sixteen remarkable inventions adopted by the world, was the invention of Mrs. General Green; the" Burden" horse-shoe machine, which turns out a horseshoe etery three seconds and saves millions to the land, was the invention of a woman; when Mr. Roebling, engineer of the great Brooklyn bridge, was stricken down with overwork, his wife assumed his duties as chief-engineer, and sat down with manufacturers to teach them to make patterns which no mill was then making; Miss Maria Mitchell, astronomer of Vassar College, received a gold medal from the King of Den?lark for discovering a comet in 1847, besides which she discovered seven others, and was the honored guest of famous astronomers in Europe. Woman, under the inspiration and freedom which the religion of Christ has created, has been set loose as at a bound, for lofty achievement in the department of charity and social reform-witness the noble and the gifted Elizabeth Fry and Florence Nightingale, or our American, Clara Barton, or Dorothea L. D"ix, " who," as her biographer well says, "in a less practical age would have been canonized, and her halo-crowned figure placed on the altar-pieces of churches to shine like those of Catherine of Siena or Santa Barbara."
But it is of the expression of this genius of charity and endurance in noble achievement, as found on the foreign mission field in our own times, that we write. Even in t.his we are bewildered with the richness of the illustrations that thrust themselves on our view. The tact, talent, and industry of missionary women, their rich resources in expediency, their loftiness of soul-power, combined with the abandon of their faith, suggest an addendum to the eleventh chapter of Paul's letter to the Hebrews. Shall we venture to be the scribe 1 Then here is what might be added as samples of others of which" time would faii" us to tell.
" By FAITH."
" By faith" Miss Whately, daughter of an archbishop, went to Cairo, Egypt, and for more than thirty years spent her strength in helping Mos-
0 outt )ll~~IONARY HEUOINES—" ny ~'AI'1'll.·· [l<'ebruary
icm WOltlcn and girls, and finally was presBcd to develop a boy~' school, which is one of the prominent educational factors of that land to-day.
" By faith" Mrs. Osborn fonnded the Soldiers' Home in South Africa and the Railway Mission of Cape Colony and Natal, and travelled over the country thirteen hundred miles, sometimes with icicles hanging from her carriage, and at other times under a broiling African sun. A Jew, seeing her devotion, said: "I do not believe in their Christ; but if He enables them to endure this, I will never mock His name again."
" By faith" Sarah Boardman for three years after her husband's death contInued his work, pointing the way of life to the Karen inquirers who came in from the jungle, conducting schools with such tact and ability that when afterward she obtained a large grant from the English Government for schools throughout the province, it was specially stipulated that they should be " conducted on the plan of Mrs. Boardman's schools." "By faith" she made long mission tours in the Karen jungles, climbed mountains, traversed marshes, forded streams, and threaded forests. In conversation, prayer, and writing in the Burmese language she acquired an uncommon degree of fluency and power. She conducted prayer-meetings with the women every week, and a meeting for a study of the Scriptures ; translated into model Burmese the "Pilgrim's Progress," edited the chapel hymn-book, composing twenty of its best hymns; published four volumes of Scripture questions-since in constant use in the Sundayschools; acquired a knowledge of Pequan, and superintended the translation of the New Testament into that tongue, and frequently met the exigency of lack of ministerial force by conducting the worship herself in the Karen assemblies.
" By faith" Miss Fay, of Albany, went in the early days of mission work to Shanghai, and commenced work among boys because she could get no girls, and by patient toil developed that school into a theological seminary from which have gone out hundreds of native pastors, and then in failing health handed the work over to her own Protestant Episcopal board and came home to die.
" By faith" the spiritually minded Miss Fidelia Fiske, the first nnmarried missionary to Persia, established a female seminary, the educational and spiritual influence of which has possibly done as much as any other, if not of all others, to reach and revolutionize the homes of Persia.
" By faith" Miss Matilda Rankin, the first Protestant missionary to enter Mexico and establish work there, suffered all things for twenty years that she might make known the Gospel to the Mexicans. She came home at last broken in health, and handed her work over to the American Board.
" By faith" Eliza Agnew, studying geography at school at eight years of age, resolved that when she" grew up" she would be a missionary, and at thirty years of age went to Ceylon, took charge of a boarding-school, and for forty-three years, during which she never visited her native land,
OUIt MISSION.UV llEROINES-"BY FAITH,"
exerted her influence on the women of that country, and had under her training more than II thousand girls, teaching the children and grandchildren of her first pupils, not one pupil taking the entire course coming out of the school without being a Christian. When she died they called her the " mother of a thousand daughters. "
" By faith" Mrs. Dr. Hill taught three generations of Greek women, and the institution at Athens has a daily attendance of fifteen hundred pupils.
" By faith" Miss Isabel Nassau, of West Africa, took charge of a theological seminary for African young men, has translated books, printing them with her own hands on her own little printing-press, and sailed up and down African rivers in her own little boat, the Evangeline, to visit the stations under her care.
" By faith" some fifteen years ago a New England woman went to Burma with her husband. Soon after arrival on the field he died, and was buried while on a Gospel tour in the Shan States. The brave woman toiled on alone till failing health compelled her to return to the United States. Later, she took a course of medical study and a course in theology, and then returned to labor far in the interior among the Shan people, worked for nine years without vacation, gathered a native church about her, trained her own preachers, built her own bungalow, schoolhouse and chapel, and works still with that love which will bring the world to Christ.
" By faith" Miss Mary Graybill went to India, representing the church known as the" Christians" or the" Disciples of Christ," the Sunday-schools of which raised $4000, and then sent it to her for the purpose of erecting a church for her mission. " By faith" she served as architect, master builder, and general" boss mechanic." First she bought four yoke of buffalos to do the teaming, then a few big trees, and employed nearly a hundred natives to quarry the stone, which had to be hauled several miles, and to makIJ brick, first tramping the clay, fashioning it into bricks and burning them, using the spare portions of the trees for fuel. The trunks of the trees were laboriously sawed by hand into boards for the floors and roof. A stone foundation was laid three feet below the ground and as much above to keep out the white ants. Evidently she made a good job of it, for an English visitor, asking who had engineered the building, was amazed to find she had filled that position herself.
" By faith" Miss Clara Cushman bought a property for a school with fine buildings in North China, arranged with the carpenter to finish the buildings for a school· room, but finding the men putting in one window three inches lower than the other, and laying the bricks wrong side up, stood over them directing the work till it was done correctly.
" By faith" a young missionary woman at Tetela, Mexico, conducted mission work for one year entirely alone, so far as any English-speaking companionship went, the work being entirely among the native Indian population. She had to ride on horseback and ford several rivers in reaching her stations, and the testimony of the superintendent was that " no more self-denying and heroic missionary work" was done anywhere than by this woman.
" By faith" Miss Phrebe Rowe, an Eurasian lady, sent to a central station in North India, took entire charge of the work for a year till a pastor could be appointed.
" By faith" many of these noble Christian women have wrought greatly in the department of literature in the vernaculars of the field where their fortunes were cast. Mrs. Mix, of the Baptist Mission, in Burma, acquired such proficiency in the Shan language that she became an able coadjutor of Dr. Cushing in the preparation of the Shan 'Bible, carefully reading his manuscript, and at times taking charge of the printing in his absence, and taking large parts of it through the press. Miss Oclad translated a hymn-book for Chinese; Mrs. Humphrey did the same for the Methodists in North India, and Mrs. J. E. Scott issued a book of harmonized native music, in wide use in that mission; Miss Holbrook published a work on the education of Japanese girls; Miss Spencer, of Tokyo, translated the life of Susanna Wesley into Japanese; Miss Bodly, of Lucknow, wrote in Hindustani a life of Queen Victoria, which has had a large circulation; Miss Hall, of Rome, has established a Sunday-school paper, and issues it in connection with the International Sunday-school leaflets in the Italian language. "A. L. O. E." has for years, at her own charges, worked in a native viIIage in North India, translating and writing and superintending schools, and now, past seventy years of age, is respected and loved by the whole community.
" By faith," when cholera broke out in one of the mountain stations in the interior of the Himalayas, Miss Annie Budden faced and fought it alone, so far as human help went, for two months. She was obliged to remove her girls and women to a hill eight thousand feet high and twelve miles away, and to go, Jeaving her farm and cattle and store-room, the grain ('ut and ungathered, and facing the problem how she should feed all these people. The children had to be carried on the shoulders of men, because too young to walk the distance. It was no small matter to thus move eighty-five women and girls to occupy tents. The doctor left with his family; he was not well, and could not stand the strain. Miss Budden was alone; every servant vanished. The native Christians had wives and children, and were terror-stricken. "One day," she says, "I was called to see one of my women some distance away. I could not get a coolie, for everyone had gone, so I got a pony and rode on a man's saddle, spent hours in working over the sick, then got another horse for my homeward journey; but I had no saddle-only a cloth; the horse became restive and unmanageable and threw me off, and I walked twelve miles in an Indian sun on a hot July day. Several of my women and girls died, and the question came how to get them buried, for no one would come near me, and there was no one to dig a grave. All had left me but a few native Christian women. I called one of them and asked her if she would go with me to dig the grave. She said, ' Yes,' and brought others with her; and six of us went with spades and hoes, a sad procession. 'Ve tied up the body in blankets, carried it ourselves, dug the grave and buried it, and I offered a short prayer. That was six o'clock in the morning; at six in the evening we did the same thing for another. During this time my wheat was lying on the floor unthreshed, my cattle were suffering because there was no one to give them water. It was a time of agony and of dependence on God."
One must cease these selections somewhere. The portfolio we have overhauled and appropriated at our pleasure, sometimes even to the phraseology which we found, is full of similar incidents. We cannot forbear adding one or two other references.
" By faith" Miss Reed, of the Methodist Mission in India, toiled on till obliged to return to America in ill health, and after spending some time here, consulted a physician, and then a series of physicians, only to learn the startling information that beyond doubt she had in some way contracted leprosy. The brave girl kept her knowledge to herself, told not even her mother, but prepared to return to India, that "by faith" she might live with and work for lepers! She is near Miss Budden, banished to the social relations of that disease-stricken community, but cheerful and triumphant, a living martyr to the salvation of the people of India. She is engaged in literary work at present, and will doubtless do a grand work for God. Heaven help the heroine !
What is the secret of all this endurance with delight, this triumph in trial, this quickened genius, this developed scholarship, this doubling of capacity, moral, physical, and spiritual? We have purposely left all reference to Miss Field until now, that she may tell the secret of power and peace in isolation and toil and danger and disaster_ " By faith" Miss Adele Field went to China, and has accomplished work which has made her name known in many lands. She has travelled among the country villages, trained numerous Bible women, translated books, indexed Williams's" Dictionary of the Chinese Language," and, among other doings, has made a " Dictionary of the Swatow Dialect."
But it was not for all this that we reserved reference to her to this point in our article. It was the rather that we might let her tell " in her own way and well" the secret of power, the hidings of God, the" unknown quantity" without which no solution of the heroism of these devoted women can be got. Four years after Miss Field had opened her evangelistic work at Swatow she wrote a letter to a friend from a distant Chinese village where she was laboring, in which, after describing the " floorless, windowless, and comfortless houses" of the natives, she said of her life: " It is a solitary sort of one; but while I am obeying Chnst's behest. , Go and teach,' He fulfils to me most wondrously His promise, ' Lo, I am with you always.' In no other occupation could I be so sure of such good company. The promise is explicit. It is not limited to the fitness of him who goes, nor to the success of his teaching. Just as I am I go, just as I am I teach, and in all His glory, all His sweetness, all His power to bless and comfort He is with me. There if: nothing in me to make Jesus wish to stay with me j the filth and horror of the place must be far greater in His sight than in mine j but the mission insures His presence with the ambassador. I have the Royal Guest who calls me 'no more servant,' but' friend,' and whose tender love will not leave me one moment lonely. His greatness never seems so great as when He reduces it to the need of my littleness. He never seemed so much a King to me as since I see how regally He can· dwell in this small drear house, and what a palace He makes it to me. He makes me realize that a Saviour is for the commonest and most practical needs as well as the most spiritual. I know of no human friend whom I should be willing to bring with me to such an uncheery place. But Jesus of Nazareth gives me no anxious thoughts for His entertainment. I can sit on Mary's footstool unreproached by any Martha; and my social joy is greater than if I had the company of visible angels without Him."
We have no space for the other part of this divine philosophy of content and toil-that of witnessing the development of souls who have never had the light, when they receive its divine rays. In some cases the eagerness to learn of the truth is an inspiration.
" One holds my hands and another my feet," says one of these workers, "as I begin to tell them of Jesus." An old woman was standing on the outskirts of a crowd at a bathing place on the banks of the Ganges River near Cawnpore, where Nana Sahib massacred four hundred Christians. A foreign lady-evangelist was talking to two hundred heathen women and singing to them of Christ. " Your singing is drawing my heart this way," said the little old woman on the outer edge of the company. "I have been standing here a long time and cannot go away. Every night as I go to sleep I hear you singing, " Yisu Masih mero prana bachaiya," (Jesus Christ has saved my soul), and I sing it too all day long in my heart as I do my work." " We are still birds in a cage," said another, "but you have taught us to sing."
One old Brahman woman, hearing for the first time the blessed words in St. John's Gospel, 3 : 16, said, with much earnestness, "Put my finger on that and read it again, and read it slowly." Then added, " Oh, bring me a book like that, and teach me how to read it! 'God so loved! ' Oh, I will say it all the time till you come again." Others say, "Why haven't we been told of Jesus before? you must tell us more about Him before we can worship Him." A dying Hindn girl in a zenana, where no ordained minister could enter, gave up her habe, asked for water, and when it was brought crowned herself, laying her open Bible across her head, baptized herself-and died. Multitudes uncounted and often unknown are thus longing for light. The secret of the apostle is the secret of these heroines, who" count all things loss" that they may make known this Gospel to these.
Doing often the work appointed for the stronger arm and rougher nature of man; reading ritual at the grave's mouth or in the church, because no minister is present or procurable for months or years; "expected to know how to treat a sick horse, to decide the accurate amount of grain bullocks ought to eat in a month, to judge the length of time and number of men required to whitewash a given number of rooms, or to check the almost fabulous amount of salt which the khansaman strives to make one believe is neces- sary for the food of the girls"-these women are doing all without disturb- ing our sense of the delicacy of woman, lessening the aroma of the loving names by which we address her, or dissolving the spell of her personal charms. '
The results are beyond computation. They are lifting the heathen world off its hinges, by lifting the world's girlhood and womanhood and, wifehood, its motherhood and widowhood up to the realization of God's ideal woman, clothed with the sunlight of sanctity, pure with the utmost approach to purity, sweet with unselfish attributes, and strong for the quickstep of an onward progress which must sometimes recognize weariness, but is certain to know neither permanent arrest nor decline.
These women are threading intricate lanes in Oriental cities, wandering by the banks of the Yangtse and the silver La Platte, sitting under the sunny skies of Italy and on the fertile plains of Mexico, scaling the Bal- kans, sailing the seas of the Mikado's empire, and entering the gates of " the hermit nation," fulfilling the prophecy that" the women that pub- lish the tidings are a great host."
These women have gone from homes of culture, halls of learning, amI the enchantments of Christian society-gone to isolation and to the dreari- ness and monotony of heathen misery; gone into public melas, private hovels, and lofty mansions in India and China; camped among wild Koords, crept on hands and kaees amid smoke and vermin in a Zulu's kraal, sung Christian hymns to cannibal crowds, slept quietly on the Infinite Arm in the habitations.of cruelty and the abodes of lust, " scribbled" the seas with the" centric and eccentric" of their journeyings, risked health in ways named and unknown, bound up offensive wounds, sympathized with the fallen, trained children, given to mothers a loftier ideal of mother- hood, addressed themselves to national reforms in the interests of their sex, and been" living epistles" of the everlasting Gospel. And all this have they done, not under the impulse of mere temporary sentiment, but with patience that could plod, with ingenuity that could create, and with a practical wisdom that could conserve. They have prosecuted their work in a way and with results which may challenge comparison with that of
CONFUCIANISM
their sisters, or even of their brethren, of any century, of any country, and of any clime.
Into the magnificent .compamonship of these heroines we are sending other women who will not always be equal to these, nor always equal to themselves, perhaps, for all find times of exhaustion and disenchantment. The dew will be on Hermon and the enveloping cloud on Tabor, while they go to Carmel or to Calvary. But to. all who shall enter these lists of the enduring ones, we have to say, You shall be girt with the same grace, guided by the same pillar, and your work may glow with the oriole of the same saintliness. "By faith" the eleventh chapter of Hebrews will be an amending book to the end of time.
CONFUCIANISM.
BY REV. A. P. HAPPER, D.D., GLENSHAW, PA.
Confucianism is a very extensive subject. It will be impossible to treat it fully in a short paper. All that I can do will be to present an outline of the important points. Confucianism comprehends three separate and distinct subjects. They are designated by the name of China's great sage, not because he originated the doctrines and worship pertaining to these systems, but because he edited the books in which they are transmItted-systematized them and taught them to his disciples, who accepted and disseminated his teachings.
The three separate systems comprehended uuder the term Confucianism are these: 1. A political system which is embodied in the form of government that has existed so long in China. 2. A system of ethics which explains and enforces the nature and duties of the five human relationships, and teaches the nature and obligation of the five cardinal virtues. The third system presents the native religion of China, which is established by statute, and is the State religion of the empire. These several parts of what is comprised under the term Confucianism have existed since the earliest existence of the Chinese nation. I will give a succinct statement of each system separately.
The Chinese system of government assumes that the government in China is established by an overruling power, designated Heaven. Whatever may have been referred to by the term Heaven in the early ages of the people, ever since the time of Confucius it has referred to the material heavens regarded as a god. Heaven establishes the government, appoints the rulers, confers blessings upon rulers and people, sends judgments upon transgressors, displaces unworthy kings, and gives the throne to a sue·· cessor. The government is a paternal monarchy. Government was established for the happiness and protection of the people, and not for the honor or aggrandizement of the rulers. If the rulers oppress the people, ,md will not heed the remonstrance of men or the warnings of Heaven, it is the right of the people to remove such rulers by revolution and install others in their place. The success of a rebellion which has been excited by injustice and oppression is the proof that Heaven, the patron god of the empire, has appointed the insurgent leader to be the ruler, and the people submit to him as the Heaven-appointed emperor. When an insurgent chief obtains the power and makes proclamation to the people of his ascending the throne, he also makes a public declaration to Heaven of the reasons for the insurrection, and states that, as he has now obtained the decree of Heaven in his favor, he enters upon the duties of the Heavengiven appointment with a deep sense of his own unworthiness, and announces his purpose to administer the government according to the principles of justice and for the happiness of the people.
The principles of the government, as presented in their classics and established by statute, are just and good; they are moderately well carried out in the administration of the government, and afford in a good degree protection to life and property and the pursuit of happiness. In the time of general calamity, as when drouth or widespread floods or famine occurs, it is usual for the emperor, after a period of fasting, to repair to the altar of Heaven and, with the outward appearance of humiliation and distress, to confess his sins and errors of administration, and entreat compassionate Heaven not to send calamities upon the people for his sins, but to show favor and remove the distress.
The emperor, as the Vicegerent of Heaven, is the source of all honor and appointment to office. He appoints all the officers, supervises their administration, promotes the efficient, and removes or degrades the useless. The emperor rules according to accepted and well-known principles of government. There are six boards of administration. The emperor has two councils and special ministers of State. One council consists of a few of the highest officers. The other is much larger, and all the high officers of the empire are members of it. To this large council all important questions of national policy are referred for consideration and advice. In 1839 the question of the legalization of the opium trade was referred to it; and in 1884 the terms of peace which were proposed by France were referred to it. There is nothing in the government to which the missionaries have occasion to object. except to cases of local and incidental administration. They should rejoice that there is a stable government, securing peace and • good order in the country. They should pray for the rulers, and should inculcate reverence for them and obedience to the laws.
The Confucian system of ethics comprises the five human relationships and the five cardinal virtues. The relationships are these-viz., prince and minister, parent and child, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, friend and friend. The duties inculcated as growing out of these relationships are mainly in accord with the teachings of the sacred Scriptures on the same matters. There is, however, an exaggeration of the power belonging to the parent and of the obedience required of the child… There is also some exaltation of the power of the superior party in all the relationships, and a correspondent debasement of the subordinates. Each relationship includes a class of them, of which the specified one is the type. The prince comprises all who are in authority; and minister comprehends all classes of subordinates in society. The teachings of Confucius contain clear and explicit statements of the duties pertaining to the several parties in these relationships. The missionary can very properly give the sanction of the sacred Scriptures to the teachings of the Chinese sages on these relationships except when they inculcate the form and acts of worship to ancestors, and in regard to the other points referred to above. In all ordi- nary times, when presenting and enforcing the parental.and filial duties, the missionary can present the scriptural view of these duties without antagonizing the Chinese exaggeration, and show how, in the nature of things and according to reason, there is a proper limitation to them in such a way as to convince the judgment of Chinese hearers of the right.
The parental relationship, as acknowledged by the Chinese, affords a very excellent basis on which the relationship of God to men, as the Supreme Father of all, may be explained. The presentation of the character and relations of God as the Creator and Supreme Ruler enables the missionary to present God's claim to the obedience of men to Him and His law in such a way as to set aside, without giving offence, the claim of parents to the absolute obedience of children. Parents and children alike owe obedience to a common Father and Ruler.
The teachings of Confucius in regard to the eonjllgal relation afford accepted principles for the inculcation of purity in all the relations of life. In the other relations these same teachings furnish the ground for the inculcation of honesty, integrity, and truthfulness between man and man in all things. The Chinese conscience is prepared to respond to all the teachings of the divine law in reference to human dllties, including love to all, flowing from the universal brotherhood of men and the form of the golden 'rule in its negative form-of not doing to others what we do not wish to be done to us. The positive form of the golden rule, as given by our Divine Saviour, is very easily enforced, after the negative form is recognized as higher and better. The universal brotherhood of men is supported by this sentence from the classics: " All within the four seas are brethren."
The five cardi.nal virtues of the Chinese sage are benevolence, righteousness, filial pity, ceremony, and faithfulness. While this is not a complete list of the virtues, the list comprises the most essential virtues of human society. The meaning of the Chinese words translated by these English words is more full and comprehensive than the English equivalent. Benevolence comprehlmds all the kind and friendly feelings and acts due from man to man in all the relations of life. Filial piety is not restricted to the duties pertaining to parents, but extends to the respect and obedience due to all superiors in age, station, and position. Righteousness comprises everything in human life and conduct which is requislte to consti· tute a perfect man. Ceremony includes the observance of all the kind and gentle acts and ceremonies which manifest the proper deportment of dignity, complaisance, and conciliation, suited to and proper to all the relations of life. Faithfulness is equally as extensive as the other terms in its signification, and teaches the observance of good faith in our intercourse with men in all things. The Confucian teachings in regard to the duties of the five relationships and the nature and obligatiou of the five cardinal virtues have formed a moral nature and conscience in the Chinese to which the missionary may address himself on all human duties and obligations from the very first commencement of his intercourse with them. There is an acknowledgeq standard of human obligation to which he can always appeal with assurance that its requirements will be admitted as obligatory.
These virtues, though in the Chinese system limited to duties belonging to human society, can very easily be so explained and extended as to include the duties owed to the Creator and Ruler of all men. As his own conscience shows to the Chinese that in his intercourse with his fellow-men he comes far short of his accepted standard of duty, there is easily brought home to him a sense of sin and shortcomings; with the ,proper extension of human duties to God and our relations to Him, we have a wonderful preparation for preaching a gospel of righteousness, benevolence, and doing good to others, and a provision for forgiveness of sins as taught by Him who taught as man never taught.
The native religion of the Chinese people is the third system which is comprised in the term Confucianism. It is commonly stated in books on China that there are three religious systcms among the Chinese, and they are designated Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Buddhism was brought into China from India in the first century of the Christian era. It has many adherents in China, having found entrance by accepting many of the idolatries of the native worship into the system of Buddha. Taoism is the modification of the native idolatries which was introduced by the Chinese sage, Laou-tsze, who lived at the same time as Confucius. Confucianism, as a religion, comprises the early native idolatries as they have come down from the earliest period of the nation, and as they were received and transmitted by Confucius. It is established by imperial statute as the State religion of China, with a liturgy and an official enrolment of all the objects and things and persons that must be worshipped. It is the recognized worship of the government, and the other two are spoken of and regarded as heretical. Heaven, Earth, and Man are spoken of as the three original divinities. All the objects of worship are classified as belohging to one or these three powers. Heaven, earth, sun., moon, stars, wind, clouds, lightning, rain, seas, mountains, rivers, hills, etc., are enrolled in the list of gods. Of men, the persons to whom worship is to be paid, as directed in the imperial statlttes, are the imperial ancestors, the emperors of former dynasties, the great teacher Confucius, the patron of agriculture, the patron of the manufactare of silk, the first physician, deceased philallthropists, statesmen, scholars, martyrs, etc. There are three grades of worship-the highest, the middle, and the lower" In the imperial ntual the highest worship is to be paid to Heaven, Earth, the Imperial Ancestors, and the gods of the land and of the grains. The several parts of heaven and earth, Confucius, and the patrons of agriculture, silk manufacture, and the healing art, all receive the medium worship, and all other persons and things receive the lesser worship. The emperor himself is the high-priest of the people, and he only can perform the annual worship at the imperial altars to Heaven, Earth, Imperial Ancestors, and the gods of the land and the grains. It thus appears that the native worship of China is a worship of created objects-of the creature and not the Creator. The material universe as a whole and in detail is worshipped.
Each family has its own household gods. The special Confucian household gods are these: Heaven, Rnler, Parent and Teacher. But that part of this idolatry which has the strongest hold upon the Chinese is the worship of ancestors. The tablets of deceased parents are in every family. Incense is burned to them every morning and evening, and more formally upon the first and fifteenth of every month and on all feast days. Every family connection has an ancestral temple, in which the tablets of the suc· cessive generation of ancestors, from the foundation of the family, are preserved. Some families have tablets of successive generations, the oldest dating for one thousand years before the year A. D. The ancestral temple serves as a school-room for the children of the connection. It is the place for family reunions on feast days, marriages, and rejoicings, when any one of the connection has obtained a degree.
The tablet of Confucius is in every school-room, academy, and college. Every pupil bows before it every morning when he comes into the room. The god of the office is in every officer's residence. The first duty of every official on entering upon any appointment is to worship the office god. Idolatrons worship is required of every officer in every department of the government. The emperor, attended by a large retinue of high officers, all dressed in State robes, worship at the altar of Heaven on December 21st of each year, and at the altar to Earth on June 21st. Thus it is seen that idolatrous worship, according to Confucian rites, forms part of the daily life of all classes of people, whether in private or official stations. The Confucian religion is, therefore, the greatest hindrance to the progress of Christianity. There is special antagonism to Christianity in all classes. But the literati of China are special opposers of Christ. The title of Confucius is " the Teacher of all Ages." Devotion to the sage is the bond of union between all the scholars and officers of the empire. They consider that the prevalence of Christianity necessarily displaces their sage, and changes their most sacrcd and universal usage, the worship of ancestors.
These considerations will explain to c'ery one the opposition to Christianity in China which has bccn so OpCII and manifest the last two years.
FORERUNNERS OF CAREY
It may be expected that this opposition will increase more and more as Christianity extends in the country. It is in this matter that missionaries need" the wisdom which comes from above, and which is profitable in all things to direct." In the obvious and necessary clashing there is between Christianity and Confucianism, the missionary should avoid discussion in public as far as possible. State the nature and purpose of the Gospel as a provision for lost sinners, the blessings for this life and the life to come, and urge its acceptance without reference to the points in which it clashes with other views and doctrines. If the truth is accepted in the love of it, and the blessings of salvation are experienced, the opposition will soon be forgotten in each renewed heart. And when the death struggle between the two systems comes, as come it must, the followers of Jesus must be willing to suffer, and, if need be, to die for the truth as it is in Jesus.
The great majority of the people of China are Confucianists j hence of religions in the world, the Confucianists are next in number to Christians. They have no professional priests. The head of the family is the priest of his own household. They have n9 temples other than the ancestral templcs of the several families. Buddhists and Taoists have professional priests, and temples, in which all may worship the idols. Confucianists worship in the temples of the other religions freely, as they are all tolerant of each other. But the worship of idols is no such hindrance to Christianity as is the worship of ancestors. But to the name of Jesus every knee shall bow to the glory of God the Father. May the Lord hasten it in His time!
FORERUNNERS OF CAREY.-Ill.
BY REV. A. J. GORDON, D.D.
It is a significant Chinese proverb : "Towers are measured by their shadows, and great men by the envy of their fellows." It amazes us to see how true this is even in the history of the Church, how often Christian leaders of the purest motives and the most heroic consecration have been overwhelmed by an opprobrium which it has taken generations to lift from their memory. Carey's apostolic zeal for giving the Gospel to the heathen was ridiculed as "miserable enthusiasm," and he himself pilloried with the epithet of " consecrated cobbler." His predecessors in missionary effort suffered the same fatc at the hand of the highest dignitaries in the Church.
" .An invitation for a society of Jesus to promote Ohristianity and the conversion of heathendom.' , Such an appeal as this, issued at a time when the Church of God had forgotten the great commission and allowed the work of preaching the Gospel to the heathen to fall into utter neglect, ought to have been received with gratitude j but instead, it was met with the most unsparing ridicule. Baron Justinian Ernst Von Welz was the author of this manifesto, it being onc of two which he issued about 16Ad. in Germany, and addressed to German Protestant Christians. The other bore this title: "A (Jhristian and true-hearted exhm·tation to all rigltt.be- lieving Ohristians of the Augsburg Oonfession respecting a special associa- tion by means of which, with God's help, our evangelical religion might be extended." This last appeal contained, among other things, such search- ing questions as these: 1. "Is it right that we evangelical Christians hold the Gospel for ourselves alone, and do not seek to spread it?" 2." Is it right that in all places we have so many studioS08 theologiw, and do not induce them to labor elsewhere in the vineyard of the Lord?" 3." Is it right that we evangelical Christians expend so much on all sorts of dress, delicacies in eating and drinking, etc., but have hitherto thought of no means for the spread of the Gospel g"
Here was a genuine missionary voice crying in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord," the like of which had never been heard before in the Reformed Church. It met with no favor, however, but with the most unsparing opposition ; and so its author soon sent forth another manifesto, in which he used more searching language. It was addressed " to the high and very reverend court preachers, the very honorable superintendents, and very learned professors." It calls on them to institute a collegium de propaganda fide for teaching Eastern languages, for instructing students in these branches: (1) In Oriental lauguages; (2) in all sorts of means and ways whereby unbelieving nations may be converted; (3) in geography, history, and the lives of the early missionaries.
"At the same time," adds the author, "it would be creditable if evangelical magistrates, princes, lords, and people of rank would maintain some stndents and enable them to learn foreign languages whereby they might be made useful in every case." Surely here was a Carey before Carey; one not a whit behind his illustrious successor in missionary statesmauship, in heroic determination, in irrepressible zeal. But instead of rousing a slumbering church to action, his appeal provoked the bitterest hostility. The famous Doctor of Ratisbon, John Heinrich Ursinus, denounced Von Welz as a dreamer; characterized his appeal as " blasphemy against Moses and Aaron," and rebuked its" self-willed piety, its hypocrisy, and its Anabaptist spirit." As for his proposed missionary college, " Protect us from it, good Lord 1" was his only answer to the suggestion. "With respect to the heathen,:' adds Ursinus, "they brought their fall upon themselves; the holy things of God's Word must not be cast before such swine ; any conversion that was ever meant for them was accomplished long ago in the days of the apostles."
One Christian gentleman of conSIderable note, Gichtel of Ratisbon, did fall in with Von Welz's views, and gave him his ear. But his adherence only added scandal to scandal, for when the two put their heads together they formulated this plan of procedure: "If men trained in the universities could not ~e enlisted, then let us send out artisans and laymen to tell the Gospel to the heathen." If tIlt' proposal to employ this grade of laborers hrought down severe criticism upon Pastor Gassner and Pastor Harms in our own day, what must it not have provoked in those anti.mission times of which we are speaking?
The outcome of the whole agitation was that Von Welz turned sadly away from his own country and countrymen with an " Oh, that thou had known in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace" in his heart, and went to Holland, where he found a despised pietist who was willing to lay hands on him and ordain him as " an apostle to the Gentiles." He then formally abandoned his baronial title, laid his wealth on the altar for carrying on the work so dear to his heart, and sailed as a missionary to Dutch Guiana, where he soon found a lonely grave. .
Noble pioneer of modern missions, but one" born out of due time" !
Wonderful fervor and overmasteryof missionary love in his heart; but his enthusiasm and his pity alike unheeded by his generation! "I have piped unto you and ye have not danced; I have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented!" If Carey's famous" Inquiry into the obligations of Ohris- tians to use means for the conversion of the heathen" has been deemed worthy of republication and redistribntion in this last decade of the nine- teenth century, surely we may lay before our readers this noble appeal of Von Welz, addressed to the clergy of Germany, and issued nearly a hun- dred and fifty years earlier. Let it search our hearts as we read it : "I sist you before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, that righteous judge who cares not whether you are called high and very reverend court preachers, most venerable superintendents, very learned professors. Before that awful tribunal you must answer me the following questions of conscience: I ask you, who has given you the power to give a false explanation of the command of Christ in Matt. 28? I ask you, is it right that you would abolish the apostolic office, which Christ instituted, and without which the body of Christ is incomplete (1 Cor. 12 ; Eph. 4)? I ask you, from Matt. 5, why you do not shew yourselves as lights of the world, and do not let your light so shine that Turks and heathens may see your good works, and do not even endeavor that young students may shine as lights of the world? I ask you, from 1 Pet. 2 : ] 2, whether you are following Peter's injunction, and exhorting young people to follow it, that they maintain a good conversation among the heathen, whereby they shall see your good works and praise God? I ask you, from 1 Thess. 1 : 8, whether you have taken steps to cause the word of the Lord to be sounded more widely than in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, which Paul commended so strongly in his Thessalonians, that their faith in God was spoken of in all places? I ask you, dare you answer for it that you have neither consulted nor will consult with your princes and churches how the Gospel shall be preached to the unbelievers, as the primitive Church did, and set you so fair an example? I ask you, clergy, whether you are not acting against your consciences, inasmuch as you pray in the public worship that God's holy name may be more and more extended and become known to other peoples, while yet you make no effort to this end ~ Tell me, ye learned men, whether the papists do you any wrong when they charge you with doing no work of Christian love, while you do not seek to convert the heathen ~ Say before the impartial judgment of God, ye learned men who suffer yourselves to be called clerics, is it right never to have in any wise attempted a matter, and yet to say that it is not practical? ·Why do you persuade the princes and lords that the conversion of the heathen is impractical at this time, which you have never tried in any land, nor even allow to be tried? Tell me, ye hypocrites, where do you tind the word impracticable in the Bible? Did the disciples and apostles, when Christ sent them forth, answer Him thus: 'Master, this work is at this time impracticable' ? Were not the disciples required to preach even to those who would not receive them? Oh, the perverted world! Oh, woe to you, clergy, who are acting in opposition to God's word and to your own conscience! Oh, woe to you, and more indeed, that you will not give your help for the spread of God's kingdom in the world! I will not indeed condemn you; but I hereby exhort you earnestly to do more in the future in the work of the conversion of the unbelieving nations than you have done hitherto. . .. If now you clergy, through courtliness, or conceit of great wisdom, or disregard of all well-intended exhortations, will shew no compassion to the heathen, then, I tell you, though for the sake of your voluptuous life you will not think of enlarging the kingdom of Christ and repenting, there shall come upon you and your children, and your children's children, all the curse set forth in Ps. 109."
Did Von W elz speak as a prophet in citing this imprecatory psalm?
We need not say, only we may be reminded of the danger of resisting the Holy Ghost, when through some chosen agent lie speaks to the Church of Goll and calls it to its neglected duty. Who can say that if the Lutheran Church had heard the voice of God in the appeal of Von Welz, the era of modern missions might not have been ushered in a hundred years earlier than it was j and that the high honor of being the missionary army of the world which belongs so largely to the English-speaking people, might not have been won by the countrymen of Luther and Melanchthon? More than this, might not an age of fervent evangelicalism have intervened in Germany instead of the era of dreary rationalism which followed the rejected appeal of Von Welz? Some German writers of our day, realizing the colossal blunder which the opponents of Von Welz made, have proposed as a qualified apology that, though his appeal was a worthy one, he himself was " a missionary fanatic. " We are glad that the most eminent living Ger- man historian of missions, Dr. Warneck, repels this charge, and pays to Von Welz this noble tribute: " The indisputable purity of hi.~ motives, the noble inspiration of his heart j the sacrifice of station, of property, and of life for the hitherto misconceived mission task of the Ohurch, secure for him a permanent place of honor in the history of missions."
Protestant missions in Tinnevelly date back more than one hundred years. The first trace of them is found in the Somnali· of Schwartz in 1771. The first convert was a Brahman widow, who erected, in Palamcotta, a little church, the remains of which are still extant. From that time the work grew till, at the beginning of the present century, the number of native Protestants had reached the total of four thousand. But it is from 1820 that we must date a larger development of missionary operations. The number of adherents was in 1851, 36,000 j 1871, 50,000; 1881, 82,000, and ill 1889, 96,000.
THE TRAINING m' NATIVE AGENTS
TIlE TRAINING OF NATIVE AGENTS.
BY REV. EDWARD STORROW, BRIGHTON, ENGLAND.
Few questions relating to missionary economics are so important as this one. The world being open, as it has never been before, to the preaching of the Gospel, and a large amount of preparatory work having been accomplished in the translation of the Scriptures, the preparation of Christian literature, the awakening of interest in Christian opinion and life, and the formation of a multitude of small Christian societies, the question presses, How can these splendid openings and fine opportunities be turned to most advantage? Principally by obtaining an adequate supply of well-equipped -spiritually, morally, and intellectually-native ministers and evangelists; for, essential as foreign missionaries are to begin missions, and for a time at least to direct them, native agents, through their number, gift of vernacular speech, knowledge of native opinion and character, power to live and labor in their own country and at a comparatively small cost, have great advantages over the foreign missionary, and may indefinitely augment his power.
There is remarkable diversity in the number aud efficiency of the native agents found in various mission spheres, and the consideration of this diversity and its causes will assist us to understand where they may be looked for in the future, and to suggest how best they may be trained.
Madagascar, India, and Polynesia now produce by far the largest num. ber of native evangelists and ministers; China, Africa, and the West Indies the fewest.
The causes of this diversity are various, some of them being natural, others accidental.
Mental power and force ; a genius for intellectual and spiritual pursuits; zeal for the overthrow of superstition and the spread of Christian truth; the gift of ready utterance and pleasure in its exercise, distinguish some races far more than others. The two last of these characteristics, combined with the great want of European missionaries during the dark years of persecution in Madagascar and immediately after, when thousands were pressing into the Christian fold, explain how the number of native auxiliaries there have come to be so great; while zeal, a willingness to serve under trusted leaders, and ability for subordinate duty explains how many islands in Polynesia can be left with fewer missionaries than formerly, and the extended New Guinea Mission of the London Missionary Society be conducted by no more than seven Europeans, while the native preachers number sixty.eight. Then, the number and the rank of native auxiliaries depends much on missionaries.
The readiness or the reluctance of ministers at home to encourage young men to enter the ministry reappears in the foreign field, and is perceptible in various countries, mission stations, and even the grades of service which native agents are eucouraged to enter. Much that is instructive and amusing might be written on t.his subject. It is enough here to state that the early missionaries in every great sphere paid little attention to the training of native agents; that tl]eir successors have come but slowly to realize its importance; that more systematic attention re'quires to be paid to their training in almost every sphere of missions; and that in their training it should be assumed that some of them may be qualified to rise above subordinate positions, to stand on an equality with adequately trained ministers at home and the ablest missionaries abroad; nay, that there may be expected to arise among them great thinkers and leaders of religious movements, who may be principal agents in the overthrow of heathenism throughout a province or a kingdom, and win triumphs for the cause of Christ in conversions, territory, and influence great as those of Columba, St. Patrick, Columbanus, Boniface, Winfrid, Raymond Lull, and other great missionaries of the past. * How to obtain and then how to train suitable men for mission service are the two questions now to be considered.
The first method to suggest itself is one in which the humblest Christian at home may share equally with the most eminent missionary. All can pray, as our Saviour bids us, t~ the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest, and that they may be endued with power from on high, the power of the Spirit of God.
And should we not be justified in praying specifically for certain kinds of men ~-for great leaders, for instance, and great preachers, and men who have marvelous power in influencing other men. God can create such. He has again and again in great crises of the Church's history raised up such, and the times are ripening for them in every kingdom and empire throughout Asia.
Usually the overtures for service proceed from the native convert; but it is advisable that the initiative should often be taken by the missionary. The most suitable men are not always the readiest to offer themselves at home or abroad. A high ideal and diffidence will restrain not a few of the most gifted and qualified from offering their services. Such should be sought out and advised, care being taken not only to state faithfully the duty, responsibility and honor of all forms of Christian work, and the selfdenying, disinterested spirit in which it should be discharged, but to guard against making promises and offering inducements which may in the future cause embarrassment on the one side and disappointment on the other.
* "There is a kind of Christian perfection possible to the East which is not possible to the West, and there is, therefore, a kin:) of Divine knowledge accessible to the East which the West will never discover for itself. The ear of the East is sensitive to Divine voices that have been speaking through Christ for eighteen centnries, but which our ellr has not recognized. And when our missions begin to achieve their great triumphs, the saints and theologians of India and of China will tell us truths concerning the revelation of God in Christ which we hove never learned. To them, whole provinces of wonder and glory will be revealed, of which the churches of the West know nothing. Christ revealed God; we are in fellowship with Christ, and through the success of Christian missions the revelation itself will become richer and more wonde.rful" (" Fellowship with Christ," p.16, by the Rev. Dr. R. W, Dale, BirIninlI;hIun). But III seeking out and receiving nativc students a missionary should consult the judgment of others. Native character is difficult to understand; the most experienced and sagacious missionaries are often mistaken, and an indolent, weak, designing native agent of whatever position is not only worthless, but may do irreparable mischief; therefore it is advisable not only to seek for information relative to a candidate's antecedents, character, and habits from other missionaries when it can be obtained, but from native sources. They have often a marvelous insight into character, and know their fellow-countrymen far better than the most sagacious foreigners. The acceptance even of a native as a student should be treated as a solemn and important event. It should be associated with prayer and instruction in the presence of other missionaries, of students, of native catechists and ministers, and the converts generally, when practicable. Such formal service is beneficial to all concerned, and especially to thc student himself.
Certain qualifications should be required of all candidates for mission service. Among these should be placed the natural gifts of good health, good sense, energy, courage, power of speech, and thoughtfulness.
The desirable spiritual gifts are evidence of conversion, holiness and goodness of life, zeal for God and truth, self-sacrifice, and a desire for service not as a livelihood or profession; but a sphere of usefulness. All this is obvious, but in too many instances, where native agents are found, the ideal is far from being realized.
Obviously the material out of which our native helpers must be drawn is the population of which they are members. Hindus for Hindus; though it is a fine and promising feature that the first and most successful evangelist to the Karens was a Burman, and that scores of Polynesian converts have aided the missionaries in the conversion of islands far from their own. There are three native Christian sources from whence agents are drawn-the newly converted; the sons of native Christians living in their houses; the mixed classes brought up in boarding-schools. The former class may be expected to produce the most promising agents, the latter the least promising. Their past is disappointing; and unless the system is so modified as to develop more independence, self-reliance, and manhood, the agents it yields will seldom rise above mediocrity.
Training should have relation to the country and the people to which students belong, and therefore it should vary considerably, adaptation being a principle ever to be kept in mind.
Oolleges or training institutions such as exist at Malua in the Samoan Islands, in Burmah, and Antananarivo are advisable wherever an adequate number of students can be depended on ; for then the advantages may be secured of suitable dwellings, the most efficient missionary tutors, wellprepared class books, and the discipline and stimulus of student life.
The training should aim at making the students useful and successful rather than learned. To such students high education is very difficult of attainment, not of great use, and with it comes-and surprisingly soon-conceit, ambition, and inefficiency. Therefore the curriculum should not be a copy of English and American college life. Latin, Greek and Hebrew are best left alone. Even English in many instances is a doubtful advantage. Some knowledge of geography, history, and elemental science are important j but mental discipline, the training of the heart and life in holiness and goodness, much knowledge of the Bible, the great outlines of theology, the art of preaching and teaching, how to win souls, to guide Christians, to build up a Christian society, to deal with the disputatious, the inquiring and the indifferent, to be faithful servants of God and good ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ are of the first importance.
Study in all instances should be associated with Christian work, and in some with manual labor. The study cannot be continuous, even with Hindus and Chinese, and if it could, would not be wise j while with other races less intellectually trained, the preservation of the health and efficienc· in Christian service demand change and variety of labor.
Students who wholly or partially support themselves by manual labor will have better health, and learn the much-needed lessons that the mission should only be required to do for them what they cannot do for themselves j and in all cases some Christian work should be required· of every student. To teach two or three hours daily in a school j to take a subordinate part in bazaar preaching j and to conduct one or more services each Sabbath is not a distraction or a hindrance, but a help to a student as well as to the mission.
But in most instances the students are too few in number to justify the establishment of a college, and then a method of ·training may be adopted less pretentious, more free, and not without its special advantages.
Let the missionary resolve to train from one to half a dozen of the best and most promising converts, and if he cannot give them what he regards as an ideal training, let him give the best he can, for if he does his b-ost it is sure to prove better than he anticipated. The fact that we can do only that which is imperfect is no reason for making no attempt. Let the missionary resolve to give the best instruction he can: 1. In the Bible. 2. The leading doctrines of the Christian faith. 3. Practical work in preaching, teaching, and the administration of affairs j or, if he has colleagues, let each take his share of such work. But this should be associated with much personal and direct contact. From the commencement of the student's life let the missionary see him daily; make him a frequent companicn and general assistant j advise him what to read j take him when he examines schools, when he preftches to Christian or heathen, when he itinerates j hear him preach and speak every week, imd hesitate not to point out his defects, and to praise his best efforts. Especially is it important to assist him in the training and discipline of his own nature in the best manner of dealing with various classes and conditions of men, and the fitting spirit of one who is an ambassador of Christ and a spiritual teacher of others. All this would not occupy a great amount of time; but if it did, it would be time well spent, for its results would be great and various. The missionary himself would be benefited by the example he was constrained to set. In such a relation he would find a happy incentive to diligence, zeal, and elevation of character and work. He would accomplish not less, but far more. The student would learn much which neither books nor lectures teach. He might be expected to excel in affection, fidelity, and respect to his leader ; to attain to his utmost capacity to do good work ; to learn how best to preach, to teach, to bear himself toward others, to rise toward the ideal of character found in the Lord Jesus Christ., and the ideal of Christian service found in the Apostle Paul. This is not mere theory. It is on the lines of the schools of the prophets, established in Israel in the times of its judges and kings; on the method of our Saviour in the training of the twelve, and of Paul with Timothy and Titus; and not a few of the most efficient and successful of the native preachers of modern times, especially in Polynesia and India, have thus been trained.
A question of considerable difficulty and importance remains to be consider,ed.
Seeing that the rank and status of native agents varies greatly, should they be .trained separately and specifically as Scripture readers, evangelists, pastors or ministers? The time has not come for the introduction of these distinctions into student life. The best training for general usefulness should be given, and the sphere and status of each one should depend partly on the qualities of the student, but yet more on subsequent service and character. Certai~ly ordination and ministerial rank should not follow student life as a matter of course, nor should they in any case follow it immediately. They should be reserved as honors for good service, high character, and superior attainments.
Native agents usually are trained so that they may work in subordination to the missionary. Usually this is their proper position; but. such training is attended with the disadvantage that it hinders and discourages freedom, represses the energies, and fails to develop and strengthen the character.
The time has come when we should expect to find some men of the highest capabilities, and they should be aided, not hindered, in their development. Happy is'that missionary who has an open eye to discern such, and the grace and nobleness to aid them to realize their high calling in Christ Jesus !
There is another kind of training, the highest of all, we cannot give, but toward which we can and should direct-the training which comes from close fellowship and sympathy with Christ, and from the working of the glorious power of the Divine Spirit in the hearts and lives of those who yield themselves to Christ for service. We cannot give this training or the state of soul which is the true preparation for it, but we should pray that He who alonc can give the necessary qualifications would be pleased thus to bless His work.
A NEW "JESUS HALL" IN MID-CIUNA
A NEW "JESUS HALL" IN MID-CHINA.
BY S. FRANK WHITEHOUSE, CHINKIANG, CHINA.
Chinkiang is a large and important port about a day's steam up the great river Yang-tsze. The native city is a Fu-i.e., a prefectural city, and one of no little commercial and strategetical value, as its history and present importance prove. The population is estimated at about 135,000.
Missionary work has been carried on here for many years by various mISSIOns. Members of the Presbyterian Mission (South) have been here for nine years. Until recently they have had no suitable hall inside the city, but now we are thankful to be able to report the opening of a chapel inside the walled city.
It is no easy thing to buy land or to build in China. Some four years ago money was set apart by the board of the S. P. M. for a chapel here, and those concerned have been talking three years and a half over this piece of land. The Chinaman is a very slow-thinking individual, and, even when spurred on by an energetic American, he won't go faster than a certain-or very uncertain-rate. The land was obtained in this way: a purchasable piece of ground was found; the Presbyterian missionaries went and sold tracts near, and, without exciting any suspicion, had a peep or two at the site. Deeming it suitable, they engaged a Chinaman who had had a little experience with foreigners to purchase it, which he did in his own name. The deeds were drawn up and then resold to the Presbyterian Mission. The original owner would not have dared to sell, neither would the Mandarin have admitted that the deeds were good, in all probability, had the transaction been made direct. Of course a double set of wearisome details had to be gone through in connection with the Y(lmen (i.e., magistrate's office), and their commission (say ten per cent), with the various" squeezes" of runners, etc., had to be submitted to. When you can't do what you would, it is perhaps best to do what you can.
Various vexatious but unavoidable delays, chiefly in official hands, hindered the commencement of building operations some three years or more; but the" Jesus Hall" was finished two or three weeks ago. We are most grateful that there was no interruption or trouble whatever from the time we started to build. The total cost of the land, covering some 20 feet X 100 feet, and of the chapel, is somewhere about $1200 (gold). The hall is well and substantially built, and will seat over one hundred people; there is a fair-sized court-yard at the back, with five small semiforeign rooms. Over the entrance to the chapel are the three characters "IE-SU T'ANG," chiselled into a stone slab. "T'ang" means a hall, while" Ie-su" will of course be recognized as The Name. Near the rear of the hall is a wall almost as high as the top of the upstair windows. " What is that for ?" you ask. Why, to prevent the members of the gentler (Chinese) sex imagining that we spend half our time admiring their painted beauty! When the chapel was opened the missionary in charge, Rev. James E.
Bear, gave a feast. This was quite according to Chinese custom, and was a very wise move. Nearly a score of the immediate neighbors were invit- ed in, and all who were invited came. You send around a red piece of paper asking for the light of their countenance at an unworthy little enter- tainment, and then give them a spread such as they won't forget for a long time.
I was at that feast. . I remember my surprise, as an Englishman, when in the United States, particularly out West, at the very large num- ber of different dishes supplied at a meal, especially of vegetables and fruits. But the Chinese far outdo anything I have ever seen in America.
We had some eight courses, with between twenty and thirty different dishes, all of them very palatable. The natives eat dogs in Chinkiang- we didn't have any dog. They eat rats and cats and lots of other deli- cacies down south, -but we didn't have any rat or cat. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about Chinese food. I know one young man, now out in the west of China, who was very nearly frightened from coming t~ China by the term used at his college-" rice and grease"-for the description of Chinese food in general. I recollect a lady-shall I call her g-at one of the up-river ports asking me, with an ill-concealed look of disgust, "You don't mean to say you eat the nasty, filthy cabbages sold by those dirty wretches I" It is very unjust to speak thus, for a Chinaman is, proportionately speaking, quite particular as to the cleanliness of his food. Then as to the mode of eating. How many hund~eds of intelligent friends have I met in different quarters of the globe who always imagined that what we (somewhat vulgarly) called the "chopsticks" were taken one in each hand, and the rice, etc., conveyed to the lips as well as could be under the circumstances; whereas both the sticks are taken in one hand, the basin in the other, and an elegant and dexterous single move- ment contrives to land the mouthful at its destination.
Well, these neighbors all came, and a big fuss we had to get them seated. There is a highest seat and a lowest seat at an Eastern feast (vide Scripture), and the trouble is to get the Chinaman to "go up higher," each apparently desiring to yield in preference to another, though everyone probably knows his proper seat; nobody is supposed to sit down until the host, who occupies the lowest place, is first seated. After un- limited bowing, declining, gentle pushing, and urgent requisitioning, with a small library of euphemistic nothings, we finally were seated.
Then came a new thing-the asking a blessing. This the Chinese could not make out. However, they were fairly quiet, while a somewhat long-winded native brother, who has" the grace of continuance," as Spur- geon terms it, discharged this duty. Then we all set to. It is customary at a feast to wait f.or one another in eating, and it is quite proper to help one another to the various items. The formalities may be made almost endless ; but we facilitated matters by requesting thc guests to " Sui pien ch''ih''-follow their own comenience in eating. After a good solid hour and a half's exertions we finished, and the meeting broke up, each member doubtless having a kind of inward satisfaction, a feeling of " Something accomplished, something done, To earn a night's repose . . ."
Needless to say, the usual wine, distilled from rice, was substituted by tea. Several opportunities for preaching the Gospel occurred, and were used.
The main object, how~ver, was to promote harmony with the neighbors, and this was effected. A pleasing feature was the repeated assurance that the guests were most happy to have us for neighbors; and a still more pleas.. ing feature is the presentation since of a pair of scrolls, written thus : " Your beautiful and spacious hall is well founded on a rock. Great is the holy doctrine, satisfying the wants of all men. . . . Congratulations on the completion of the preaching hall by Mr. Bear, from all the neighbors."
These scrolls, hung up in the chapel, will be very valuable as tending to inspire confidence in visitors generally. One needs to be here to appreciate the local and peculiar difficulties of mission work in an open port, where the people are certainly none of the quietest. There was a very serious and disastrous riot here some three years ago, and it is not so many years since the English had to teach the natives of Chinkiang a severe lesson. The presence of a number of Tartars is a disagreeable feature, and it is scarcely safe to walk through a certain part of the city; so that we are specially grateful that so much friendliness has been evoked and evinced.
Mr. Bear being ill, I preached in the new chapel on the second Sabbath after opening. The hall, which is on the busy main street, was filled at once. The people were moderately quiet, but of course unused to our services. There is much going in and out, and it is sometimes necessary to inform visitors that this is not the piace for vending eatables. Perhaps one of the strangest things to a Chinaman is our closing our eyes and praying. By the bye, I always take care that anything of a valuable and portable nature shall be in a fairly safe place before venturing to close my eyes-in fact, one is rather wondering whether a compromise could not be effe,'ted by wholly closiug one eye and half closing the other; for though the Chinese have substitutes for the Decalogue, their memory is so unreliahle that things that are worth taking are very apt to " walk. " However, if the Chinese wcre perfect we shouldn't be sent out here to evangelize them.
Some will want to know what results wc have to show for the work done in Chinkiang. Very few-very few-to show. Four have been baptized in this city, and one received by transference in connection with the S. P. M. We show on paper about four times the result of faithful Adoniram Judson's work after double the timc spent in Burmah. And,
'THE SEVENTH CONVENTION OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS
like him, we show, on a register more durable than paper, a record of faithful Rervice done, and of much Gospel leavening of the whole district. And with us, as with him, the prospects are as bright as the promiRes of God, and that is all !
How would it be for some of you good friends who are" specially called to stay at home," a~d are always longing for" cheering results"- numerous baptisms, schools filled, hospitals packed, and the like-to make it your business to pray defiuitely jor results? Would this not be a good way of holding up Moses' arms q My dear brother, Mr. Bear, for instance, isn't a particularly strong Moses, especially in a sweltering Chinese summer. Of course, many of " the Lord's remembrancers" do this, we gratefully acknowledge; and the spirit of prayer is growing as the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of missions is more heard and obeyed. But I am persuaded that with more earuest, faithful remembrance at home -men and women really wrestling with God till their importunity prevails -we out here would do a vast deal more than we can effect now. Here is a little matter for special mention-our new " Jesus Hall." Brethren, do pray for us !
THE SEVENTH CONVENTION OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS, HELD AT TREMONT TEMPLE, BOSTON, NOVEMBER 10-16, 1892.
BY REV. c. M. SOUTHGATE, WORCESTER, MASS.
Bnng together a missionary conference, a Gospel meeting in the slums, a revival service and experience meeting, and the gathering in the upper chamber on the day of Pentecost; assemble believers by the thousand from many lands, thronging the great temple with frequent overflow meetings ; sustain the interest and intensify the power for three sessions daily through a fnll week, and you have the externals of a convention of Christian Workers. Tremont Temple is glowing with colors, the American ensign being most conspicuous, the British often interwoven, flags of other nations in groups, and rainbows of bunting festooning the double balconies. Central upon the front of the great organ is enwreathed the motto, " Christ alone cau save the world, but Christ can't save the world alone." Scripture texts preach from gallery fronts: "Him that cometh unto Me I will in nowise cast out," logically followed by " For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world;" then, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord," the series fitly closing with the text, " And there was great joy in that city." The chairman in the centre of the platform is Rev. R. A. Torrey, substantial in body, " not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;" the head of that remarkable group of agencies Mr. Moody has yoked under the name of the Chicago Evangelization Society. By him is the secretary, Rev. John C. Collins, of New Haven, the unresting marshal of forces. These, with ex-Mayor Howland, of Toronto, a sunshine saint, and a few others, form the executive committee of the association and guide its work through the year. Close by is the cabinet organ, blazoned in front with " Loyalty to Christ" in purple and gold, surrounded by a group of anointed singers, Mr. Sankey in the centre.
This great gathering is an evolution from the first convention, when a few score Christians engaged in aggressive work met in Chicago to compare methods and stir up each other's hearts. Simplicity still rules. No business is transacted except" business with God;" no committees are appointed or report save as one and another tell what God has done for them or through them; no " wings" except those of the Dove of Peace and the angel flying abroad with the everlasting Gospel. The so-called discussions are merely keen questions and clear answers as to methods of work, or glowing testimonies to its efficiency. The convention is unique in the massing of Christian workers and in the closeness with which they kept to the plain work in hand. With more than threescore topics announced and a hundred and fifty speaking, of course not even a summary of addresses can be given here. The whole can be had in the verbatim report, a mine of information and inspiration, to be obtained for a dollar fro~ the Bureau of Supplies, Blair Building, New Haven, Conn. This article can only group the forms of work and present principles suggested, to supply in part to the reader the impressions of an eye-witness.
The organized Ohu1'ch is set at the front. One might look for the opposite where so many forms of independent work are gathered and denominational lines wholly ignored. But the fact is made clear that all these are not supplementary to the Church; they are the Church in various activities. The Outline Statement of Christian Work in Boston, by Rev. A. P. Foster, D.D., almost surprised those at home there by the disclosures of its completeness. Laying down the principle that a church fulfils its mission which reaches the vicinage without shutting out the poor, he dwelt especially upon four kinds-the Family Church, the People's Church, the Institutional Chu1'ch, the Evangelistic Church. Tremont Temple itself shelters a People's Church, a down-town" Strangers' Home," with an afternoon song service in which thirty-five hundred crowd the auditorium. Berkeley Temple, with its classes for instruction, reading and debating societies, clubs of working girls, entertainment courses, and ever·ready pastoral attention, stands for the Institutional Church. The Evangelistic Church needs no better example than the Clarendon Street Baptist, with its thousand members, most of them engaged in active work, its choir of Christians-not paid, but giving $450 a year for its own missionary; the Chinese school, with its three missionaries in China ; the missionary training school sending its graduates to the ends of the earth. Clustering about these churches, Dr. Foster named almost every known form of mission, rescue, and philanthropic endeavor. Of course we heard from remarkable churches elsewhere. Most impressive is the account given by Dr. Conwell, of Grace Temple, Philadelphia. Its multiform lines of work have all been assumed naturally as one need after another disclosed itself. Here are five reading rooms, seven Christian Endeavor societies, a missionary training department, a day college and a night college, both self.supporting and each with over three thousand students, hospital, benevolent associations with sick and death benefits, and, most wonderful of all, a church fair in which more souls are converted than in a protracted meeting. This last miracle is accomplished by using the fair as a means to get in strangers, sending two hundred trained workers among the crowds, and not suffering one to go away without receiving some direct word for Christ. Or, we hear the story of a little 'country church which determined to reach its outside desolations, and bought a gospel wagon. "There will not be many new bonnets in that congregation this winter, and men will wear their old overcoats, but they have got their wagon." Or it is a little church in the" Black Hole" of Chicago, sixty members and each a missionary, with the outcasts thronging to their doors. Rev. A. C. Hodges, of Buckland, tells how a church in one of the back hill towns of Massachusetts has made itself the social, literary, and spiritual centre of its whole region. Special methods of work are studied, great emphasis being laid upon making the musical service of God's house itself spiritual and in the hands of Christians. Two boys' brigades are brought, one from New Haven, the other from Clinton, Mass., to display by their fascinating drill and religious exercises how the spirit of Christian chivalry can be used to hold the lads for Christ and the Church. A scholarly paper vindicates the use of the stereopticon in church services and outside on the streets, as is done for advertisements. Through the whole the organized Church is set in honor, and its works and ways studied and advanced.
Individual workers contribute much. Father Bone tells quaintly of his gracious and useful work among the sailors on the WeIland Canal and such churchless haunts. Elder Rufus Smith, fiery soul and witty tongue, describes labor among the 19nely camps of miners and lumbermen, going about at his own charges to " beat the devil on his own ground." Rev. J. H. Hector, a white man with very black skin, stirs us at will to roa1'8 of laughter or tears of sympathy or enthusiasm of zeal. Mr. George McLeish brings the solemn and tender story of twenty years itinerating in faith among established churches to call believers to a richer spiritual life. Striking testimonies are presented of the good done by tracts, and wise words instruct how to use them. His lordship the Bishop of Hnron makes an evening memorable through the convention sermon on the" Meaning of the Word Christian." Cultured young women thrill us with accounts of visiting among factory girls, of nursing among the poor and miserable homes of cities, of great institutions of help which have grown from small beginnings of personal labor. Jail chaplains show how Christ is still visiting those in prison, and the Prison Correspondence Soci~ty reinforces its work by telling how convicts whom it has helped, learning of a Western penitentiary where there is no chaplain, write letters of Christian help from their own cells. Lovely accounts come to our ears and illustrations to our eyes of evangelistic work among children as most easily and most permanently won to Christ in early years, and one evangelist goes out to suburban cities and holds meetings in which scores of little ones come to Jesus, and other scores testify of faithful Christian life begun years ago in such meetings. It seems as if all po~sible needs were reached; for when one enthusiastic woman begins by charging that workers have told of good done among cabmen, street·car men, policemen, omnibus drivers, everybody el!'e, no one has said a thing about the firemen, she herself g()es on with the story of the welcome given her in engine. houses by these heroes who wait in momentary expectation of being called to lay down even life for our service.
Organized and united effort is conspicuous. So great is the harvest, and so eager the response to the invitations of the Gospel, that the individual is soon drawn to seek companionship, and work which was done in the leisure after a day's toil comes to fill the time. We see how the mustard seed grows to a great tree, and the single worker becomes the centre of a devoted company. Here may be classed the tent work in the large cities, which has transformed districts infested by anarchists and criminals. We ~ot only hear accounts of Gospel wagon work, but have separate illus· trations in the Gospel wagon, a stately vehicle rigged with platform and pulpit, carrying thirty, and drawn by four horses to different parts of the city. Then the Gospel carriage, a sort of Pullman car, in which several men have room to cook and live and sleep while going about the country as Gospel gypsies. Brother J. C. Davis gives account of such a trip, starting from New Haven in summer and bringing up at Boston for the convention, with multitudes reached by song and word in lonely villages and city squares, the journey being full of profit to all, even to the four-footed faithful yoke-fellows, Paul and Silas, who draw it. Here, too, is the Gospel push-cart, a sort of pocket edition of these others, small enough to thread back alleys, to be drawn by a single horse or by a man. Incandescent lights supplied by storage batteries add to its effectiveness. All of these are on the spot and put to use daily in the city, not merely for illustrating the method, but actually doing the blessed work of saving souls on Boston Common. And at one of the railroad stations is the palatial car of the Anti-gambling Association, in which John P. Quinn, a converted gambler, with the looks of a doctor of divinity, shows all by actual implements of the gambler how completely the player is at the mercy of the professional, but refusing to disclose the methods by which the tricks are played, for he is not giving lessons in vice. These are only the more unique forms of union work. The Lay College at Revere, the School for Christian Workers, the Medical Missionary Society, which sends its graduates to Africa and China to heal and preach the Gospel, Toynbee Hall, University Settlements, the striking Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Association of Liverpool, with many another, new or old, recall that the principle of co-operation in service is from the Master Himself.
Rescue missions deserve a title by themselves, so prominent is their work made. Established in the vilest regions of many a great city, their benches see on every night of the year degraded and lost creatures on their knees praying for mercy. If you ask whether these professed conversions prove genuine, the hour on Friday evening in which a group of men from the Jerry McAuley Mission tell of their own salvation and the results that have followed their service of years is enough to make the most sceptical confess that the Gospel which cast out demons of old has the same power to-day for the drunkard, and libertine and criminal. Several of the missions reporting are children of the convention, having been established by its members going out at night, after the sessions of the day, and starting work in desperate localities. Wherever this gathering goes, it illustrates its own doctrines and leaves some fruitful token of its presence. These men are not here for show; their title, "workers," is not complimentary, but descriptive. Here in Boston different rescue missions in the city are manned by them at night, and many a visitor gets his first glimpse of how simple Gospel song and appeal draw in hundreds of the ragged and sinful.
Sweeping the thought over the sessions as a whole, one of the most impressive lessons is their breadth and balance. Not only do we have all forms of work, from great organizations that belt the globe to the single humble visitor in tenements or remote camps, but yet more striking is the variety and seeming antagonism of their methods. As there is nowhere in the world another such gathering as this, so nowhere is there such an illustration of the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians: ' , Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all." vVe learn of ,missions supported by the wealthy churches of New York; of others maintained by a single individual, as the Pacific Garden work of Colonel Clarke of blessed memory, so missed from this gathering; others still depending wholly on freewill offerings. And these last vary. 'When we heal' Mrs. W'hittemore tell how the Lord has given her first Himself, then the souls of hundreds of lost girls of New York, we do not wonder to .hear also that He has sent thousands of dollars to open her " Door of Hope" without her ever telling anybody Lut Himself what she needs. So too has the Burnham Farm saved its boys by drafts honored by the Lord's treasury. But here again is the Goodwill Farm, with its new cottage 01' shop dedicated each year, never a dollar asked, but every means used to tell the world of its work and its needs. And yet other forms of labor as apostolic in spirit and fruits are maintained by the most careful business management and pledged support. It is impossible to doubt that the King smiles upon all alike, the Spirit dividing to every man severally as He wiII. Is there danger of having the attention settled upon home work? Then we see the saved girls in the" Door of Hope" sewing certain hours each week to support a missionary abroad, or Miss Helen Richardson draws back just a corner of the veil that hides the shames of India. Accounts of wonderful cures in an- swer to prayer do not lessen our faith in the value of the free dispensaries in which Dr. Dowkonnt preaches Christ while he heals, or of the necessity of the elaborate medical training he gives to medical missionaries. The cultured and illiterate sit side by side in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Most true is the remark of Secretary Collins, that while efforts to bring about Christian union through uniformity in doctrine or ritual often seem to do little but emphasize differences, practical work for Christ brings unconstrained and blessed unity.
The commanding truths and forces fit Ohristian service are disclosed.
Foremost, a living God and Father, a present Redeemer, as vividly known and loved as before the ascension, the Spirit of grace as mighty as with the apostles. The Holy Scriptures are honored as giving the very truth of God, the food, the lamp, the sword of the believer. The prayer of a righteous man availeth as much in its working as in the days of Elijah. " Probably there ne"er was a convention so dependent as this upon prayer for its success," said the moderator. Every session is a prayer-meeting, full of intercessions for those speaking and hearing, and for each work and worker. Sacred song by consecrated singers is Gospel power. Some have testified that the richest blessing of the convention came to them in this way, through the blind singers Mr. and Mrs. Baker, Rev. F. M. Lamb, the male quartette from the Chicago training school, and Mr. Sankey, as always, with the mighty chorus of the great congregation. Appalling pictures of sin, with living proofs that graee can conquer hardest hearts, made impressions at once realistic and optimistic. Redemption is master of the situation, equals the needs of a lost world. An aggressive Christianity will never be an apologetic Christiauity. The Church has in it latent power enough to shake the world. Individual usefulness for Christ must be rooted in deep personal experience; start not so much with meetings and committees as by some one doing a work close at hand; advance from small heginnings, often against severe discouragements, with marked divine leadings, perhaps against the wish and will of the worker; and though blessed with fruit seen, always remain a work of faith. Genius, education, wealth, " personal magnetism"–all count, but the vital force is the Spirit of God in a consecrated heart.
The meetings naturally culminated in the closing address of the president on " The Baptism of the Holy Spirit for Service." Not till long past midnight did the final consecration meeting in the vestry of ParI, Street Church break up. A supplementary convention of two days was held at Worcester. The next convention goes to Atlanta, in spite of an invitation from the Mayor and City Council of Toronto, which came through the reading of the report of a previous year. It must not be supposed that mistakes are never made and no signs of human frailty appear, but wher- ('vel' the convention goes the word comes true, " And there was great joy i:! that city."
ROBERT M01ffilSON, PIONEER IN CHINA
ROBERT MORRISON, PIONEER IN CHINA.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF; If any man deserves to be known as the pioneer in China, it is the last· maker of Morpeth, who reminds us constantly of William Carey, who was twenty-one years before him. As Carey wrought on boots, Robert Morri· son wrought on boot-trees. Like Carey, he had but an elementary educa- tion, and, like. him, was so eager to acquire knowledge that he had his book open before him as he wrought at his trade, and filled his spare hours and even his night hours with study. At fifteen he joined the Scotch Church, and at nineteen, again like Carey twenty years before him, was deep in the study of Latin, Hebrew, and theology. He decided on foreign missions while yet studying at Hoxton, and in 1804 was accepted by the L. M. S. and designated for China. He gave two years to special preparation, studying the Chinese under a native teacher and copy- ing Chinese manuscript in the British Museum. In 1807, at the age of twenty-five, he sailed for China as an ordained missionary, but on account of Chinese hostility to the British had to go via New York, receiving from our Secretary of State, James Madison, a letter to our consul at Canton.
He reached that city in September, lodged in the humblest quarters, and for a time adopted native habits of dress and diet. Being forbidden to preach, Morrison set himself to work on renewed study of the difficult tongue, and in 1810, three years after he landed, printed the first Chinese Scriptures ever issued by a Protestant missionary j and in four years more the whole New Testament was completed; four years more sufficed with Mr. Milne's aid to supply the entire Word of God, which in 1821 was published entire.
The herculean nature of this task we find it hard to appreciate. During these eleven years Morrison had also published a Chinese grammar of 300 pages, quarto, and a " View of China for Philological Purposes," and as pioaeer had confronted and surmounted enormous obstacles. His version, as a first attempt, and with no adequate linguistic aids, was an undertaking which would have dismayed any man but Morrison or Carey. The Old Testament alone formed 21 vols., 12mo; but even this labor was eclipsed by the preparation of his famous Chinese dictionary, published in the same year with the full Bible-1821-and which cost the East India Company $15,000..
Morrison died in 1834, at Canton, after twenty-seven years of devotion to Chinese evangelization. He was a missionary teacher, translator, and distributer of Christian literature. He baptized the first Chinese convert to Protestant Christianity, Tsai-A-Ko, in the same year as the New Testament was printed, who for four years and until his death continued to adorn the doctrine. He founded the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca, in 1818 j afterward removed to Hong-Kong, and himself gave in all £2200 toward its buildings and support. To his intellectual worth the University of Glasgow paid him the tribute or a D.D., when as yet but -:'hirty-five
TlIE STORY OF BLIND CHIN MOOIE
years old, and eight years later he was made an F.R.S. George IV. qranted him a special audience, when he presented the king with the Word of God in the Chinese tongue.
THE STORY OF BLIND CHIN MOOIE.
BY MRS. CHARLOTTE O. VAN CLEVE, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN'.
I am constrained to tell the story of a dear blind Christian Chinese child, whom I first saw in the Mission House, San Francisco, just before the happy Christmastide of 1878.
My husband and I were then in San Francisco on our way to the Hawaiian Islands, and visited the Mission House with a view to selecting a " special object" for the Woman's Foreign Missionary Auxiliary of the Andrew Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis. On naming our errand to Miss Culbertson, the faithful missionary in charge of the work there, she was much affected, and said: "This is what we have been praying for j last night the police brought to us a poor little five-year-old girl, who had been cruelly beaten by a wicked woman who had obtained possession of her, and we took her in, bathed her poor little body, bound up her wounds, and soothed her to sleep. But, realizing our limited means, and knowing well the bitter feeling of this community against the Chinese, we did not see our way clear to assume her support, and we asked God to raise up some friend or friends who should help us in our need, and 10 ! you are here in answer." The little one, at our request, was brous-ht in, and I then and there took her into my very heart. She was a sweet-looking child, and the older Chinese girls were so drawn to her by her very help- lessness and suffering that they named her" Chun Fah" (Spring Flower).
Through an interpreter I told her that she was to be our little girl, and that we should pray to God to make her one of the lambs in the fold of the tender Shepherd, who loved little children and took them up in His arms and blessed them j and with a motherly kiss I gave her to the nurse, and at Miss Culbertson's invitation we went over the house to see the girls at their studies and at work.
We were especially interested in a little blind girl, apparently eight or nine years old, who was studying her spelling lesson with her fingers, and repeating the letters and combinations audibly. – She was perfectly blind ; her pretty brown eyes were in constant mo- tion, but the light had gone out of them; yet she seemed happy and bright, and was pleased to have us notice her and speak tenderly to her. She had been kept by a wicked, vile woman in the Chinese quarter, who sent her on to the streets to beg. On one occasion she came back empty-handed, which so excited the rage of the heartless virago that, after beating her severely, she shut her in a dark place under a heavily weighted box so small that she could not move, and kept her there without food for twenty- four hours. When at last she removed her from her prison she was found to he perfectly blind-the optic nerve was paralyzed, and no ray of light could enter her poor eyes. Being thus rendered entirely useless to her inhuman keeper, she was turned into the streets, a little helpless blind child; and as she cried and groped about, not knowing where to go or what to do, hungry and forlorn, a policeman found her and brought her to the Home on Sacramento Street, where she found love and tenderness, which she had never known or heard of before. As soon as she heard the sweet story of Jesus and His love she became a most loving, trusting fol. lower of Him who can" heal the sick and lead the blind," and her joy in her newly found Saviour was so great and deep that she could not keep it to herself, but talked of it and sang of it from morn till night.
Her voice is very musical, and on being asked one time, " Chin Mooie, why do you sing so much?" she raised her sightless eyes and said, with a joyous smile, " I don't know; but I think it is because I love everybody so." She has made herself very useful in caring for the younger chilo dren, and took especial pleasure in talking to them of Jesus when she prepared them for bed, and in teaching them their prayers. Her faith and trust in Christ are perfect; and there are few if any happier, more loving Christians to be found anywhere than dear, blind Chin Mooie.
It may be that in her new " Home for the Adult Blind" in Oakland she will be prepared for wider usefulness, and in time become a Bible reader for the blind in China.
After six months spent most happily in beautiful Honolulu, we reo turned to San Francisco, and calling to see our little girl, Chun Fah, were astonished at )ler improved appearance and her rapid progress in learning. She proved very bright, and could already read well in easy lessons; she seemed delighted to see us, and when Miss Culbertson said to her in English, " Chun Fah, can you repeat some text to ' Mamma Van Cleve q , " she came forward, and folding her little taper fingers together, said, most rever~ntly: "When my favver and my muvver forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."
She united with the Church as soon as she was old enough, and has been ever since a consistent Christian. She and Chin Mooie are much attached to each other, and it has been a real pleasure to write to them and receive from her loving answers for both during the past years. Her handwriting is beautiful, and her letters are very precious to me. She has grown now to be a young woman, is an earnest, Joving Christian, and has been very helpful at the Home. A short time ago she was set apart for the work of interpreter and helper to the missionaries, in which capacity she proves very efficient.
The story of these two dear girls needs no comment. Taken from a degradation whose depth we cannot fathom, where they were to be brought up for the worst purposes, they were led by loving hearts and hands to Christ, who had compassion on them and healed them, and who now accepts their willing service. Only in eternity shall we learn the full results of the work of the consecrated women who are laboring in that Home on our Western coast in the name and for the sake of Christ .Tesus onr Lord.
1,22 INTERNA.TIONAL DEPARTMENT
n.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
EDITED AND CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
Bulgaria and the Bnlgarians. But so Bulgaria fell into the hands of two powerful enemies, the Greeks BY CYRUS lLUILIN, D.D., LEXINGTON, MASS. and Turks. By the united plans of the two she was gradually deprived of My object is to give chiefly my per. her language and priesthood, the Greek sonal knowledge of the Bulgarians, and liturgy was forced upon the churches, I shall therefore enter into no extended and G.-eek bishops and priests fleeced notice of their history. the flocks. The people lost entirely their warlike spirit. Resistance was Their name is derived from the river vain. Tbey became industrious, and Volga, Volgarians, becoming easily to a certain extent comfortable, as com_ Bulgarians. But while the name is pared with other subject races. plain enough, the race has long been a matter of dispute. The Encyclopcedia But I will pass to personal observa- Britannica declares them to be of Fin- tions. My first Eaater holidays in Connish origin. The Bulgarians declare stantinople were in April, 1839. Walkthemselves to be Slavs. They have a ing one day with my associate, Dr. purer Slavonic dialect than any other Goodell, we met a very strange-looking of the many tribes into which the great set of men who excited my curiosity Slavonic race was divided. The occa- beyond anything I had seen. sional high cheek·bones has led some to pronounce them of Tartar origin, They were :roughly dressed in sheeplike the Turks, which, however, is met skin jackets and caps. One of them by the often pure, light complexion of was playing on a shrill bagpipe, and Bulgarian women. the rest were singing an Easter song, in their own language, with immense en- It is considered probable that a race, ergy. At its close they dashed their now unknown, crossed the Danube and caps upon the ground, and snatching conqnered the Slavic inhabitants, but them up presented them for backsheesh. melted into them and lost their Ian· In that polyethnic city I was jnst beguage and their race. ginning to study races and national physiognomies. They interested me At all events, the Bulgarians sifted intensely. I was told they were Bulinto Europe as agriculturists. They garian hostlers from the stables of came without observation into lands Pashas or rich men. Everybody who along the Danube, made desolate by had fine horses had Bulgarian hostlers, wars and famines and pestilences, as and they were all allowed time at the early as the third or fourth century. Easter festival to gather money in this way for a great feast. They weI'e home_ In the sixth they had become so nu- less, honest men, it was said, but promerous, and as time advanced so war- foundly ignorant. When spoken to like and ambitious, that they were tbere was a kindliness of expression in sometimes a terror to the empe:rors at the countenance indicative of a thor- Constantinople. and were sometimes oughly good nature. Why should they allied with them to repel the Saracens. be regarded as heathen ./ After a brave and warlike history they I often inquired about these Bulwere subdued by Murad I. (Amucath) garians. 1 had made the acqnaintance in 1389, more than sixty years before of a Greek friend whom I highly es- Constantinople fell. teemed, and he told me all about them from his point of view. After that event and the organil!ation of the conquered Greek Church under These men we:re of the lowest and a Patriarch at Constantinople, the Bul- most hopeless ch~ss, not worth count· garians were governed as a branch of that Church, but with its own language and its own Slavic clergy. jng. The Bulgarians as a people had homes. It was only the southernmost ceased to be of any value. All the best fringe of the people gradually pushing of them were Hellenized-that is, had southward. I went west and north become Greeks. Count Cima of Austria, three days from Thessalonica. They who had given a million of francs to seemed to me a very quiet, laborious found a girls' school in Athens, was by people under great oppression, yet Sill'· birth a Bulgarian, but was known ~nly rounding themselves with an abundance as a Greek; and two Greek merchants of the rude comforts of life. They of Odessa had likewise given magnifi. complained of nothing but taxation.
cent donations for Greek education. The Turks took nearly everything, and They were by race Bulgarians. We the bishop took what the Turks left.
count t.hem all as Greeks, and when we They seemed absolutely stupid.
regain Constantinople there will be no They wanted no schools and no books.
Bulgarians, but all Greeks. Their lan- What I saw seemed to justify the asser· guage, their schools, their liturgy, their tion that all progressive Bulgarians had clergy are all Greek. become Greeks, and the rest were These were potent facts capable of hopeless.
another interpretation. The spirit of But I saw one thing that pleased me : race may slumber; it never dies. a vast wheatfield was being harvested.
Some time after I was- in the garden On one part a dozen or more of strong of a wealthy Turk on the Bosphorus. Eulgarians were doing effective work I had seen in America (1836) " Pratt's with the cradle.
Garden" in Philadelphia, then consid· Near by a much larger force of Turk.
ered the finest garden which American ish, or at least Moslem men and women, home travellers could find, but, with doing not one half the effective work the exception of the statuary, which the with sickles. Stopped and asked them Turks abhor; it could not enter into why they did not do their work with comparison with this Moslem garden. cradles, like the Bulgarians. "That is It might well be called" the garden their way. This is ours," was all the of delight. " I inquired of the proprie. answer I could get.
tor if he had an Italian or French gar. I ought to say, however, that I only dener. He replied that he had six Bul. saw the outer range or detached colony garians, and added the surprising reo of this people. So far as it went they mark that whoever wanted a good gar. were in hopeless darkness and torpidity.
den must employ Bulgarians. r Six years later, in 1853, the Crimean I asked if six men did all the work of War aroused the Bulgarians as nothing that garden. Oh, no, but when more before had done for centuries. They hands are needed, they call in their own regarded Russia as their friend over countrymen and then things go well. against the Turks. They also regarded I liked the kind, rich old Turk; but England as their friend, Whichever here was another fact about the Bulga. party should prevail, Russia or Eng.
rians: if they could be the best hostlers land, they would be free. No more and the best gardeners, and if, when taxes, DO more forced and unpaid labor.
Hellenized, they could be the most gen. Every man will own his land and enjoy erous patrons of learning, there must the fruits of his labor. A great deal of be something in the race. the wild and the impossible was mingled Our work among the Armenians so with the hopes of the common people, occupied our time and strength that knowing as they did nothing of letters nothing could be. done for them-the and having no reliable sources of infor.
Bulgarians. mation ; but there was new life in it, In 1847 I had an opportunity, though there was expectation,. and there was travelling for another object, to see the readiness to throw off the old and ac- Bulgarians of Macedonia in their own cept the new. The Crimean War came to a sudden sent and was likewise imprisoned. and somewhat disgraceful: end at the Then the people rose as one man and fall of Sebastopol. Just when the Eng- declared they would all go to the capi- lish were ready to advance and drive tal, and the government would not find Russia out of the Crimea and ensure prisons enough to hold them. the future peace of Europe, Louis Napo- leon refused to move. It is now known Then the government (Grand Vizier) that he had betrayed his ally-England replied that a great commission would -by a secret bargain with Russia, an be sent to examine and arrange all things act so base that one sees retributive jus- according to the imperial will. This tice in his miserable end. plainly meant that nothing would be done. In Turkey the way to stifle a In the Peace of Paris the celebrated thing is to appoint a commission to see paper called the Hatti Humayun was to it. issued by the Sultan, pledging to all the signatory powers the new principles It so happened that I 'ras sent on a that were to govern his administration. tour of inquiry among the southern This very able paper was really one of Bulgarians at the time this commission the grandest efforts of Lord Stratford was there. The people were intensely De Redcliffe, and his plan was to have excited. There was a firm determina. the Powers 'guarantee its execution by tion everywhere to obtain what the sovleaving a portion of the allied army to ereign had granted. There was, persee to it; but through combined French haps, an equal determination on the and Russian craft that grand charter of part of the Moslem landowners that freedom was made nearly inoperative there should be no change. by the article enacting that the signatory powers shall not interfere, either When I went to the Pasha's konak at collectively or singly, in the execution Philippopolis to have my travelling per· of the reform. mit vised the commission was there.
Of course, "left to herself Turkey Qnite a number were smoking and would make no reforms, and the Cri- talking in the anteroom. I saw one mean War was made a miserable and gentleman who was unmistakably a disgraceful failure. Greek, and I addressed him as such. H. replied, " I am a Greek by race, but The fifteenth article of the charter a Mussulman." "What is to be the honestly carried out would abolish all result of this commission?" I asked. the serfdom of European Turkey, but He replied by strange and significant the Sultan issued a special firman de- contortions of face which I cannot imicla':ing its abolition. It was generally tate. understood, it was taken for granted, that this was obtained through the per- " Do you mean to intimate that this sonal influence of the great ambassador is all a farce? The people are all deterwith the Sultan. He did not appear in mined to a man that there' shall be no any way; but that the movement WIIS more unpaid servitude." After a mofrom him and was sharply followed up ment's silence he added in Turkish, by him, there can be no doubt. .. Belki, azajik, azajik" (" Perhaps lit- tle by little.)" But the firman did not execute itself. The Bulgars hailed it with great joy, The Bulgarian serfs wE!re told the and after waiting awhile sent a delega- Sultan had made them free, and the tion to the capital to thank the Sultan, great English Elchi would see to it. and to tell him the lords of the land had There is no historic evidence that De paid no attention to his royal command. Redcliffe had anything to do with it, The delegatio,n was thrown into prison but at the time no one doubted that he and had no chance to deliver the mes- was the power behind the throne; and aage. Another larger delegation was it should be one of the greatest glories that surround his name.
When a Bulgarian has made up his mind to a thing you may imprison or Islamized to save their lands and social bastinado him, but you will gain noth- position. I was surprised to find many ing. He doesn't feel it. What became of the so-called Turks unable to use the of that commission I know not, but Turkish language with vernaculal· readi- serfdom absolutely ceased, not" little ness, speaking Bulgarian instead. They by little," and my Greco-Moslem com- have less of Mohammedan bigotry than panion had to screw his mouth up the the Turks; they yielded more readily other way. to the new order of freedom.
What may have contributed consider- This freeing of the serfs, which oc- ably to the quick solution of serfdom curred in 1857-58, was the visible start- was the position of Bosnia. This bold, ing·point of the regeneration of Bul- fierce, mountainous state treated the garia. It is one of the immortal results firman with the utmost coolness, and of the Crimean War. Politicians, diplo- declared that Bosnia would allow of no mats, statesmen may have met defeat in interference with her ancient rights. their plans, the great contest may be The tone was too insolent to be par- pronounced a failure, or even a curse, doned. The Sultan ordered his great but Bulgaria was born and Constanti- general, Orner Pasha, who, unaided by nople was saved from the clutches of the allies, drove the Russian invading the Czar! These two results cannot be army back across the Danube, to take questioned.
all the force he wanted and secure obe- The new life of Bulgaria took the dience to the firman. form immediately of the universal de- When the Bosnians found he was sire of education. At Adrianople, at coming with only ten thousand, they Philippopolis, and at Haskeni, a large boasted that three times that number intermediate village of 8000 to 10,000 in.
would be eaten up by their mountains; habitants, was the same desire for Bul- but Orner did !lot act as they thought he garian books, Bulgarian schools, and would. and he quickly made them cry the restoration of the Slavic language for mercy; and serfdom disappeared to the churches with Bulgarian bishops from European Turkey full five years and priests. The Turkish Government before it was abolished in Russia. It had lent itself to the policy of the Greek was a milder and more limited serfdom, patriarchate to Hellenize the Bulgarian and attracted little or no attention in Church and people. It had been reo Europe, although great events and in- sisted by inertia simply. The people :fiuences have resulted from it. had never accepted it heartily. They One element in this interesting his- were driven into it by ecclesiastical tory has never been noticed by the tyranny supported ':ly the Turks; but European press. now (1857) the determination to throw The so-called Turks in European off the Hellenic yoke was strong and Turkey were in general not Turks at all. general. It led to fierce contests in the They were Moslems, but not Turks by churches and in the schools. I arrived race. They are of the original inhabit- Saturday evening in the above-men- ants of the soil, who became Moslems tioned village of Haskeni. On the Sab. at the tim~ of the Moslem conquest in bath I was invited to the church by the order to save their lands and property. Ephoroi, chief men, and after church If the whole Moslem population of to their school, which they had j~st es- European Turkey be taken at 3,000,000 tablished. They wanted Bulgarian at that time, we venture the assertion books and teachers. Their Slavonic that outside of the army and officials books from Bussia were enormously there were not 70,000 Turks in the dear. I found why It was that the Bul- whole country, and not 20,000 in all garian New Testament, edited by Dr.
Bulgaria. The Moslems are descend- Riggs, had met with such a rapid and ants of the original inhabitants who __1!n~xampled sale as had surprised the mission. The language was pure Bul. among the Bulgarians, but would avoid garian. Thousands purchased it who an open rupture with the Greek Patri· did not know how to read, hoping their arch. She did not succeed. The Patrichildren would learn. arch issued his bull of excommunica- tion against the Bulgarian Exarch and This tour led directly to the forma. his church and the Bulgarians likfid tion of the two missions in Bulgaria. it all and laughed. Every year the Bul- On my return I made a full verbal reo garians gained something of freedom port from my notes to the annual meet· from the Greek Church. The ZO'l'nitsa ing of the mission at Constantinople, did much to moderate and guide the and the subject was fully discussed. patriots in their course, but it is to be Dr. Sohauiller, who was one of the confessed that the constant political ex. warmest advocates of cpening mission. citement and discussion, while it has ary work immediately, and who had been a great eduoation of the people in made an eloquent argument at the meet· all the true principles of freedom, has ing, was appointed with me to draw up been unfavorable to the spiritual work a written report for the American Board which, however, has by no means been and the Turkish Missionary Aid Soci· in vain. ety. We met and agreed to write each of us a full report, as though nothing The fierce opposition of the Greeks more need be said, and then compare was entirely political. They had aland consolidate. We were both sur· ways numbered the Bulgarians as poprised to find that each had valuable litioally Greeks by virtues of the Church. portions which the other had not, and Twelve millions of Greeks will one day also portions which seemed amazingly repossess Constantinople, restore the alike. I think Dr. Schauiller took upon Greek liturgy to St. Sophia; but if this himself the work of consolidation, for spirit of race is to disintegrate the his chirography was clear and convinc- Church that golden political dream must ing and mine obscure and confusing. vanish; and it has vanished. Every year the Bulgarians gained something. Eng. The Earl of Shaftesbnry, President lish influence was on their side, their of the Turkish Missions Aid Society, be. opponents often were divided in coun. stowed unbounded praise upon the reo cil ; France aided them, hoping to estabports, and promised all his influence in lish the Roman Catholic Church among aid of the mission. Eventually two them, in which she notoriously failed. missions were formed, one by the Meth. odist Episcopal Church and one by the The Abbe Bore gained over about American Board. For the part I had thirty thousand by his false promises of in persuading the Methodist Episcopal freedom and of French protection, but Church I was made a life director, and so soon as they found out how he had am consequently half Methodist and deceived them they went back like a half Board. flock of sheep over a stone wall with dogs behind them. The proud abbe From 1858-77 there followed nineteen suffered no end of ridicule from his years of the most persevering conflict thirty thousand converts. for the freedom of the Bulgarian Church and education from what they called The missions in Bulgaria and Robert Greek oppression. It was a weary, College at Constantinople, and the Bulmixed,' unending contest. Foreign garian newspaper, the ZO'l'nitsa, edited diplomacy entered warmly into it-the for a time by Dr. Long, and afterward Abbe Bore, chief of the Jesuit mission in by Dr. Byington, and other missionaries, one direction, Russian influence in an. were all guiding lights to the Bulgarians other, and English influence against in their tempestuous voyage. They them both. mfl,nifested more prudence, firmness, and sense than could have been hoped Russia was in a very tight place. She for under the circumstances. wished to cultivate the panslavic spirit Every issue from the missionary press try would be governed by these Ameri. in Bulgaria, whether school· book, can principles. The expression of any tract, or Scriptures, was eagerly bought such hope would have been scouted as and introduced into their schools. They absurd. were greatly embarrassed by the want of well.trained teachers-a want which The lives of the Bulgarian graduates the mission schools and Robert College of the college were largely devoted to began soon to supply. teaching. It was their most useful em. ployment. They communicated their In 1864 the first Bulgarian student own enthusiasm to thousands until the entered Robert College. We did not watchword, "Every Bulgarian boy and then look in that direction for aspirants girl must know how to read and write," after a college education. The awaken. became general amongthe people. Some ing of Bulgaria had been too recent. of the college graduates went into com. Her state had been one of the deepest merce, somestudied medicine, and a few illiteracy. Her people had been reo have distinguished themselves in law. garded by other nationalities as con· tented "rayahs," subjects of their Thus before the events of 1877 the Turkish masters, and a sudden strike college and the missions of the Ameri. for the higher education was not ex. can Board and of the Methodist Episco. pected ; but from this beginning there pal Society had diffused a widespread was a constant increase in the numher influence for education, for freedom, of Bulgarian students, so that in a few for right and truth. years they equalled the number of the Armenian students and surpassed the The war between Russia and Turkey, Greeks. in 1877, was ostensibly for freeing the Christians,already enjoying greater free. They were intensely patriotic. Bul. dom than the peasants of Russia. The garia for the Bulgarians was the feeling real object was to obtain possession of of everyone, but there was no sympa· Constantinople, and the dream of Rusthy with Socialism or Nihilism or with sia for the last four centuries would be any revolutionary measures. In that realized. respect Russia did not find them plastic material at all. They eschewed her Her object was near its accomplish. despotism. ment. She had 300,000 of her best troops in Bulgaria, and the way to As students they were earnest, indus· Stamboul was open, when Europe trious, and exceedingly clannish in a stepped in and spoiled the game. very good sense. If one of their num. ber became careless, indolent, or irregu. The 300,000 troops were marched lar, the great majority would take him back to Russia by order of the great in hand and tell him emphatically that Berlin Conference, and Bulgaria was he must reform or they would cease to erected into a principality. acknowledge him. This discipline was wonderfully effective. Europe was determined to give the principality a chance at self.govern- As I now look back .upon their favor. ment as the best and safest way to ex· ite stUdies, there seems to be lIome. clude Russian domination. This was thing akin to a prophetic spirit that giving to Bulgaria just what Russia governed them. American history, proclaimed to the world was the sole the Constitution of the United States object of the war. of America, and international law were subjects of living interest to them. Delegates to form a constitution were They went into them as though their chosen according to the plan of the future as Bulgarians depended upon congress. Among these delegates were them. They doubtless cherished an twelve graduates of Robert College. inward hope that some day their coun. They knew at once why they had stud. ied American history and the United States Constitution with such profound interest. They became the leading spirits of dom can lay and execute counterplots the convention. Russia still had her with equal skill and greater secrecy. A party claiming that she had been the graduate of Robert College, who in col. deliverer of Bulgaria, at vast cost, and lege was considered a sort of madcap, her wishes should be paramount in all laid and executed with consummate things relating to the constitution of secrecy, skill, daring, and energy a the government. scheme for revolutionizing Eastern Rou.' melia, the department lying south of On every important point in the con- the Balkans, and of joining it to the stitution she was defeated. The Rus. principality. sian party wanted a censorship of the press, but the press was made free. So At midnight a powerful party of amawas religion against the Russian prin- zons, led by modem Bulgaria in mythociple of a national church. logical costume, surprised the govern- ing Pasha, awoke him from profound Universal manhood suffrage was also sleep, made him dress in haste, placed established against elections by certain him in a carriage, and conducted him classes. beyond the confines, and advised him to continue his jonrney to Constantino- The constitution displeased the Czar ple. In the morning Eastern Roumelia as much as it pleased the Bulgarians. was declared united to the principality. Its character was openly attributed to Robert College. The Prince Alexander, If it was a grand surprise, it was a a young and inexperienced German of greater joy. The whole people north a thorough military education, seemed and south sanctioned it with universal at first quite out of place, but he grad_ acclaim. Prince Alexander could do ually apprehended the condition of nothing bnt accept it. He had the wis. things. was delighted to find such young dom and adroitness to send an envoy men to help him, and he soon bEcame to the Sultan, to show him that the deservedly popular. He caught the change was as much for Turkish as Bul- Bulgarian enthusiasm. garian interests against the power of Russia. Turkey only growled and thun- Then Russia struck an astounding dered. Russia, in her rage and chagrin, and most exasperating blow in ordering threatened immediate intervention. Prince Alexander to set aside the con- European diplomacy advised her that if stitution and substitute a council, which Russian soldiers should enter Bulgaria, meant Russian principles of govern. Europe would have forces there to meet ment. His fear of Russia and his knowl- them. edge of her overwhelming power were such that he became party to the So the brave and rash principality change. It demanded all his skill to was again delivered, and Russia was restrain the people from a revolution. defeated.
At length he arranged for a personal But she would accomplish her object interview with Alexander II. He plead in another way. She stirred up Servia so earnestly the cause of Bulgaria as to to claim Sophia, her ancient capital. detain the Czar half an hour from din- Besides, Bulgaria was becoming too ner, in which time the dining hall was powerful fo' the safety of Servia; and dynamited and all in it killed. Prince King Milan boldly annonnced to the Alexander had saved the Czar's life. world that he would march upon So- This natu<"ally softened his anger, and phia, take possession, and celebrate his the prince obtained some modifications, birthday there. although not enough to satisfy the people. He put his army in motion in three columns, and in jovial humor, not be- In the mean time Russia was busy lieving the unwarlike Bulgars would do with her gold and her plots in all the more than to llJake some distant shlJlD of affairs of the principality, but she was resistance destined to learn that the party of free- Russia, in order to paralyze Bulgaria entered Bulgaria there was not a Ser- and lay her helpless and bleeding at the vian foot upon Bulgarian soil, unless it feet of Senia, so that she-Russia-might were the foot of a prisoner of war (No- come in and settle matters on her own vember 14th to 22d, 1885). King Milan terms, had suddenly withdrawn all the forgot all about his birthday in Sophia, Russian officers from the young Bul- and was glad to celebrate it anywhere, garian army, where they held all the and indeed to have a birthday to cele- important posts. It worked the other brate. Alexander crossed the boundary way. Young Bulgarian soldiers filled and took Pirot, and was marching tri- the vacant places with boundless en- umphantly upon Nisch when the Em.
thusiasm. peror of Austria interfered and threat- Prince Alexander issued II noble pro- ened intervention. Europe, and espe.
test against the war as unprovoked, un- cially Ruesia, was overwhelmed with just, and fratricidal, but called upon amazement. The military genius 6f young Bulgaria to rise and repel the in- A).exander was easily recognized, but vader. Everyone who could obtain a that Bulgarian peasants should charge gun and a bayonet would be enrolled with the bayonet, and that the old pea- as fully armed, and he would lead them sants should pour out freewill offerings in person to meet the foe. that made a commissariat needless, was The furor that seized the people was incredible.
unexampled. In cold weather, many Ruesia had prepared the whole affair.
without arms, without suitable clothes, The Czar had not only withdrawn all without a commissariat, rushed to the Russian officers teaching the Bulgarians front. Twenty students of Robert Col- the art of war, he had also sent to King lege ran away to the war. Six hundred Milan able officers who were in the volunteers died of cold, hunger, and ex- Servian army when the Bulgarian cy- posure. clone struck it, and they were glad to The prince formed his" minute men" flee with the rest.
as well as he could, and told them to The loud applause of Europe was in- rely wholly upon the bayonet. If the tolerable to Russia. Another humiliat- Servian fire should decimate their ranks, ing fact was notorious. The young and they must close up and move right on. able-bodied Turks rushed to the prince's They were heavier men than the Ser- standard, and the Turkish farmers sent vians, and could sweep them off the in their offerings for the army by every field. He would lead them; he only possible mode of transportation – by asked that they would follow. Never donkeys and pack-horses and by mules did Napoleon more grandly inspire his and ox and buffalo-wagons. This re- troops than did the Prince Alexander buked the stories about the unmitigated his raw recruits. hate of the races and the universal flight All the friends of Bulgaria held their of the Moslems.
breath. They feared an awful disaster On every point Russia was humili- and a terrible slaughter of the Bul. ated, the patriotism and spirit of free- garian patriots. Nobody supposed they dom in Bulgaria raised to the whitest could meet and repel the disciplined heat; but Russian policy never changes.
and warlike Servians. When she fails in one scheme she tries The public sentiment of Europe and another. There followed in 1886 a the East was strongly convulsed at the most remarkable year of attempts to result. Some were wild with exulta- control Bulgaria by Russian consuls tion, others were filled with rage and and envoys. A Russian Colonel Caul- disappointment. bars made himself notorious and well Young Bulgaria did what the prince hated by the Bulgarians. A small, well· proposed-swept the Stlrvian columns paid revolutionary party was formed, before them. In eight days after Milan the prince was seized and carried off in the night, a provisional government In this experience Prince Ferdinand was announced, and everything· was has gained in character and general changed. A forced abdication by the reputation.
prince was announced and a call for .In the four or five years of his admin- another election; but the people rose istration France and Russia have em- as one man against it. The provisional barrassed the Bulgarian Government in government fled. Many of them found different ways. The French by a con- the horse not a vain thing for safety. stant flood of misrepresentations and The whole affair became a farce for the misstatements, until finally a French neighbors to laugh at. correspondent was seized by govern- Russia suddenly found the prince an ment order and sent out of the country.
elephant upon her hands. She was in France immediately made demands of danger of serious diplomatic complica. reparation and threats of vengeance so tions, and she set him at liberty. He excessive that Stambouloff felt quite went back to Sophia with the intention secure and stood his ground firmly on of packing up and going home. the admitted principles of international The people received him with su~h law. The affair was settled by a com- enthusiasm and universal joy that he promise, and French influence suffered had to resume the reins of government from the event.
again. Russia has labored unremittingly, and This was the culminating point of his still is laboring to raise a powerful Rus- history. He lacked the element of sian party that shall finally overthrow faith, and he weakened just when he the government. Her emissaries have should have been strong. He wrote a sometimes been detected in treasonable very weak letter to the Czar, offering to plots, and have been tried, condemned, resign if he insisted upon it, and thus and executed. This has made the plot- to the great grief of Bulgaria he stepped ters more wary. They like Russian down from this high position into a gold, but the vision of Bulgarian hemp vain and aimless life. with a traitor dangling at the end is In 1887 the present Prince Ferdinand horrible and disheartening.
was chosen with fierce opposition from The Russian course has been thus far Russia. His choice has never been a disappointing one. It has gained no duly ratified, and yet he remains, and firm footing among the people. It has the Bulgarians don't care a fig whether accomplished none of Russia's designs.
any power ratifies it or not. He will Her only satisfaction can be in this not be disturbed in his place unless he that the constant political contest, the should marry undiplomatically. He unending conflict with foreign plots, has little force of character, but he has done much to retard education and yields to the stronger mind and will of the industrial development or the coun- Stambouloff, the premier of the little try.
kingdom. The latest Russian 'atrocity is the as- He has been the subject of immense sassination of Dr. Vulcomtin, the Bul- ridicule by the Russian and French par- garian agent at the Sublime Porte. He ties, but. the Bulgarians have had the counteracted so successfully all the good sense to know that any change Russian plans for getting up bad blood would be for the worse and would give between Bulgaria and the Porte that his a dangerous chance to Russia. They presence became intolerable. He was have stood faithfully by him, have sup- a warm friend of Robert College and a ported him, have controlled him, and welcome and frequent visitor there.
have manifested the wisdom, firmness, Two of the assassins fled to Russia, who prudence and foresight that usually be- refuses to give them up, but Turkey has long to old and experienced govern· given up one of the accused. The place mentsonly. of the murdered man is filled by a ~raquate of Robert College, knowing that yourselves together to the supper of the the faithful performance of his duties great God, that ye may eat the flesh will entitle him also to a Russian dag- of kings and the ftesh of captains and g·er. the flesh of mighty men and the flesh The government has not been slow to of horses and the flesh of them that sit – acknowledge its debt to Robert College. on them and the flesh of all men, both A decoration was given to President free and bond, both small and great."
Washburn and another to Dr. Long, But He that sitteth in the heavens who is everywhere known as a wise, shall laugh, the Lord shall have them prudent, and faithful friend of Bulgaria. in derision. Not the purposes of the We must leave little Bulgaria right Czar, not the purposes of France or here in hot water. There is nothing in Germany or England will be accom- modern history to compare with her. plished, but the purposes of Him to A few years ago unknown to the whom all power is given in heaven and world, or despised by a statesman like in earth. His kingdom, however fee- Bismarck as unworthy of the least con- ble to human view, is established in Bul- sideration-a little state of three or four garia, and the gates of hell shall not millions just emerging from a long and prevail against it ; for He hath chosen disastrous night of darkness and op- the weak things of this world to con- pression, without the resources that found the mighty, and base things of constitute national importance, she still this world and things that are despised calmly faces her great enemy of one hath God chosen; yea, and things that hundred and ten millions with an army are not, to bring to naught things that and navy that can pound Bulgaria to are, that no flesh should glory in His dust. She is neither moved by her presence. Amen.
threats nor won by her gold. She re- gards her promised friendship as the fatal hug of the polar bear. Book Mention.
She understands well that she holds (BY J. T. G.) Russia's path to her glittering prize- Constantinople-and that Europe will -The Story of Uganda, by Sarah Gernot allow her to march over it without aldina Stock (fifteen illustrations, same the bloodiest contest this modern world publishers as The Ainu), is a clearly has knolVIl. If Russia has a million put, succinct history of Uganda and its bayonets gathering on her western bor. missionary operations from the days of ders, Europe has a million ready to meet Krapf to the most recent date. There them. is no end to the interest attaching to this part of the Dark Continent and its All the navies of the world will hover young martyr.church. round the contest and add their thun- ders. -Missionary Maps of China and Japan ButBulgaria stands between, calm and with Korea (cloth, 36 x 49 inches, price firm, entrenched within the sacred lines $1.25), showing the stations of all mis- of acknowledged international law, sionary societies in those countries, trusting in right, in God, in humanity, with a great amount of statistical and and resolved to be true to the interest historical information printed in large of freedom. The mere human pros- letters on the margin, have been pre- pect is dark. The long-gathering clouds pared by Miss M. Burt, Springfield, O.
must burst and deluge Europe and the Every missionary from China or Japan Orient. who has seen either of these maps is We can almost see the angel standing enthusiastic in admiration of their ac- in the sun and crying with a loud voice curacy and adaptability for missionary saying to all the fowls that fly in the purposes. In these days one " needs lit mids~ of heaven! "Come and gather map to pray by,"
DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR
III.-DEPAPTMENT OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR.
CONDUCTED BY PROFESSOR AMOS R. WELLS.
Here is Dr. Clark's account of an church. There were, at the start, two Australian consecration meeting. It active members and two associate, and reads like a description of one of our these conducted also the Wednesday great conventions: "I have attended evening meeting. Then a minister was many consecration services in my life, drawn into the meetings. Then came but very few that have exceeded in genu- regular preaching. Then a chapel was ine spiritual power this meeting in the built. Then a young men's meeting Centenary Wesleyan Church. The great was started, and the Endeavor society audience.room, with its two galleries, grew to have thirty-one members. AI.
was crowded; the singing was magnifi- together there is the promising founda- cent. With one or two exceptions, every tion of a strong church, and all because society in the whole colony was repre- that earnest woman made that little sented ; sometimes, in the case of the beginning.
more distant, by only two or three mem- Quite in line with this story is that bers ; often by a large company. As of a little church lately organized in the roll of societies was called, each re- Ohio. It had twenty-eight members, sponded by a passage of Scripture or a and an Endeavor society of twenty- verse of a hymn, and the consecration seven. These twenty.seven Endeavor- was so genuine and spontaneous, the ers at once subscribed enough money expression so hearty and vigorous, that to pay the pastor's salary and provide I am sure the meeting will not soon be for all the weekly expenses of the forgotten in the religious circles of Syd. church.
ney. Even after the Mizpah benedic- Several churches have lately formed , tion had been pronounced, the young Senior Societies of Christian Endeavor, people could not refrain from singing; made up of the older people and the but all the way home through the dark graduates from the young people's so- streets, at the railway station, and at ciety. The idea is also spreading in every suburban place, where the train Australia.
left its contingent of Christian Endeav- Endeavorers of the German Evangeli- orers, the Endeavor songs were heard." cal Synod met at Detroit this year. All A Baltimore Endeavor society has a the exercises were in German. It was capital idea. It has organized a " Sur- an enthusiastic gathering, and many a prise Committee," whose duty it is to pastor was won to zealous admiration play what might be termed Christian for the Christian Endeavor movement.
practical jokes. They do the little The general conference of the things that nobody would think of, but Friends, which met this year at Indian- that please and astonish everybody apolis, formally gave its approval to the when they are done. They make pleas- Christian Endeavor work, and urged ant surprise calls on old ladies, they their young people to participate in it.
unexpectedly get out an edition of their This action of the highest authority pastor's last sermon, they astonish the among the Friends makes it certain church prayer-meeting with a sudden that no sectarian society will rise among flood of young faces. Surely an agree· them to weaken the interdenomination- able and ingenious committee. al fellowship of their young people.
A genuine missionary enterprise was A worker who has had much experi- that of a woman in Maine who found- ence declares that the Christian En.
ed, not long ago, a Christian Endeavor deavor society is precisely the right I?Qciety in a place whero there WitS no &gent fOf worl; amollg the Mormolls. A church organization, no matter of Church seem to have entered upon a what name, cannot find entrance into church-building era. The, first church many a Mormon town; but a Christian constructed with their money is at Ed· Endeavor society is welcomed unsus· gerton, Minn.; but it will by no means piciously. The first and second soci· be the last. eties organized in Utah were largely recruited from Mormon families, and Rev_ A. A. Fulton, of China, whose grew till they united to form a regular "two.cents.a.week" pledge plan has church, of the Congregational denomi. resulted in the addition to the treas· nation. From one of these societies a uries of the missionary boards of tens converted Mormon girl has come East, of thousands of dollars-one hundred to get training for missionary work thousand a year, he thinks-points out among the Mormons. that Presbyterian Endeavorers alone, each giving only two cents a week, could In addition to the French Christian support the entire mission and educa. tional work of Presbyterians in China, Endeavor societies already known, news and have $75,000 a year remaining for has recently come of nine more, in Paris the extension of missionary opera· and its vicinity. The Christian En. tions_ deavor movement is of slow growth in France, on account of the numerical in· The Presbyterian churches in Indiana feriol·ity of the Protestants,. because think so highly of the possibilities of these families are scattered, because the Christian Endeavor work in the line of workshops close so late, alld because missions, that they have appointed a young people are seldom permitted to Christian Endeavor missionary secre· go out at night by themselves. tary for that State.
Canada has a gritty little Endeavor The large Metropolitan Church of society, that, failing to find suitable Toronto has an Epworth League of quarters for its meetings, has built a Christian Endeavor that has been ex· neat little Christian Endeavor hall, for ceedingly successful in holding cottage its own use, for church socials, etc. prayer.meetings. These are held free Many a society could in this way greatly quently in the homes of drunkards and benefit both itself and its church, espe· non-churchgoers, and with very grati. cially if the church building is without fying results. Besides, these zealous modern improvements, for Sunday. young people are vigorous in invitation. school, prayer.meetings, and socials. work among the hotels, and scour the strelts every Sunday afternoon for mao The pastor of a Disciples church in terial for the mission schools. Washington was much surprised reo cently to find, on questioning his Junior Mr. and Mrs. Chain, of Denver, who Endeavorers without warning, that they were making the tour of the world partly could give almost the entire outline of in the interests of missions, were sadly his morning's sermon. We believe, lost on the ill.fated steamer Bokhara too, that many Junior societies could last October. Now the Endeavorers of siinilarly surprise many pastors. Denver have formed a stock company, 'The Chain Missionary Boat Com. An Australian speaker said that pany," and are selling ten thousand "C. E." stands for" Christian Endeav. shares of stock at ten cents a share. It or" as well as for" Church of England," is their design soon to send a mission. and with his young people it stands for ary boat to the West Coast of Africa. both. The Church of England in Aus· tralia is friendly to the new movement Every month largely increases the among the young. number of Endeavor societies that are assuming each the support of a mis· Iowa Endeavorers gave last year $3500 sionary. Many societies support more to missions, and to their home churches than one. an equal sum. In response to a long.felt need and The Endeavorers of the Reformed after careful planning, a "Travellers' Protestant 485, the Methodist of Canada Christian Endeavor Union" has been 150, the Methodist Episcopal Soath 120. formed, whose president is Mr. F. D. the African Methodist Episcopal 74, the Wing, of New Jersey, and secretary, Primitive Methodist 41. The Chris- Mr. J. Howard Breed, of Pennsylvania. tians and Disciples of Christ have 1858 The purpose of this new movement is societies, or only one society less than to bring into Christian Endeavor work the Methodist Episcopal. The Lutherall who heretofore have been parted ans have 366 societies, and the Evanfrom it on account of absence from gelical Lutherans 314. There are 561 home and frequent changes of abode, societies belonging to the Reformed such as commercial travellers, nurses, Church in America and the Reformed attendants of schools, and many others. Church in the United States, 366 among The travellers' pledge is like the ordi- the Friends, 201 among the United nary Christian Endeavor pledge, save Brethren, 49 in the Church of God. that it calls for attendance on some En- The Moravians have 44, the Reformed deavor society of the town where the Episcopalians 38, the Protestant Epismember is temporarily staying, prefer- copalians 33, the Mennonites 9. There ence being always shown for the de- are 2098 union societies in small places, nomination to which the member be- 339 whose denominations are unknown, longs, and for weekly reports to the 59 in public institutions and schools, home society, or, in default of that, to 3 in the United States Army, and 3 in the secretary of the union. The thou- the Navy. Besides, there are many sosands of young men and young women cieties that have united the Christian whom it is thus proposed to bring into Endeavor name and fundamental prin_ organized Christian work are among ciples to the name of some denominathe most vigorous, intelligent, and re- tional society, and so are genuine Chrisspected young people of the world, and tian Endeavor societies. There are 285 this new movement is absolutely the Epworth Leagues of Christian Endeav. first definite and comprehensive at- or, 20 Keystone Leagues of Christian tempt ever made to care for their re- Endeavor, 2 Westminster Leagues of ligious interests. A zealous Christian Christian Endeavor, 6 Advocates of commercial traveller has unique and Fidelity in Christian Endeavor, and 8 manifold opportunities for religious Baptist Unions of Christian Endeavor. work, and he is just the man to do it. Altogether there are 23,163 societies en- Christian nurses. organized with a defi- rolled, 845 of these being in foreign nite missionary purpose, have invalua- lands, 1546 in Canada. There are 2859 ble chances for Christian service. What Junior societies. Undoubtedly many a noble opening is here for Christian En- more societies exist, but these are those deavor! on record in Boston, those actually re- ported, after deducting all that may The semi-annual footing np of En- have disbanded or become purely dedeavor statistics gives some interesting nominational, dropping the interdefigures. The Presbyterians still lead. nominational fellowship. Surely this with 5363 societies, while the Cumber- is a marvellous growth, to come from land Presbyterians have 549, the United so small a seed, in so short a time; Presbyterians 276, the Reformed, Pres- and, best of all, it seems to be a thorbyterians 43, and the Scotch Presbyte- oughly permanent and healthy growth. rians 24. Next come the Congregation- Everything seems to indicate that the alists. with 4368 societies. The Bap- Christia.n Endeavor Society has taken tists follow, with 2945 societies, to which its well-earned and well-merited place must be added Free Baptists, 155, and as a permanent factor in modern relig- Seventh-Day Baptists, 49. Next follow ious life, and in all evangelical denomithe Methodists, the Methodist Episco- nations. pal having 1859 societies, the Methodist
181)3.] ll:D1TOR1At. DEPARTMENT
IV.-EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.
The British and Foreign Bible Society The Bishop of Exeter has proposed have issued a circular proposing an in- that every subscriber shall increase the crease in their annual income by £25,- annual subscription by hdf as much 000, or $125,000. The excess of expen- again. Certainly this Society, which diture over income during the previous constitutes ODe of the great cathedral four years has amounted to a total of structures of Britain, should be assisted no less than £67,000, and during the in the work, which for grandeur and last year alone it was nearly £24,000. effectiveness is exceeded by no other This has come from the great extension whatever.
of the Society's operations, to meet The Railway and Its Mission, fresh openings and growing demands for the circulation of the Scriptures in The very interesting and instructive almost all parts of the world. account of the Trans-Caspian Railway, made by Dr. O. Heyfeldir, Councillor, During the ten years past fifty-three St. Petersburg, shows that, apart from new translations have been made, and the military aDd strategical reasons the Scriptures are now available, at which led to its conception and conleast in part, in three hundred lan- guages and dialects. For years past the struction, the line has in its onward Society's average circulation has been progress to completion singularly fulabout four million copies per year. filled the prophetic forecast of Prince There is a popular misapprehension Gortschakoff contained in his circular that large profits accrue to the Society dispatch of December, 1864. The con- by the sale of these vast issues of the struction of the line has been the means Word of God, but the f!lOt is that the of protecting millions from the raids small profit arising from the sale of the and annoyances of their savage or semi- limited number of the more expensive barbarous neighbors; of showering the copies is much more than absorbed by blessings of peace and prosperity on the large loss on the much greater pro- the tribes under the Russian sway; of portion sold below cost to make them raising villages in wild wastes; of form- available to poorer purchasers. The ing provinces of places under perpetual great increase of missionary labor and rivalry of arms as to their limits, and missionflry laborers augments the de- of giving security to person ana: prop- mands upon the Society's resources, but erty.
the contributions do not keep pace with the d~mands; and either a great addi- Errors of Romanism, tion must be made to the income of the Our impressions of Romanism, both Society or its work must be seriously in Great Britain and on the Continent, restricted and curtailed. Three hun- have not been improved by recent trav- dred and sixty-four Bible women now el. On one Roman Catholic church in having access to their heathen sisters Dublin we read the bold Latin inscrip- in the Orient ask for grants for Bibles. tion, " Marice pecca/orum Refugio" (" To Mohammedan lands are now ready to Mary the refuge of sinners"). In Flor- receive them; and in India the native ence we saw the picture of the Virgin mind is opening to the Scriptures as Mary, and the seed of the woman brnis- never before. ing the head of the serpent. The devil Wide fields in Central· Asia, Persia, was represented as a gigantic monster Chin&, Milesia., not to say the vast con- with the head and·shoulders of a giant: tinent of Africa, demand the Word of but the hind parts of a serpent. It was God. significant that the infant Saviour was held in the arms of the Virgin, and that ceased Cardinal Lavigerie. The notice her foot was on the prostrate head and ends thus: form of Satan, and the foot of the Child rested upon her foot; and the thought "It is a grand· figure that has just occurred to me, in looking at this mag- passed away. Cardinal Lavigerie exnificent picture, that Romanism puts erted himself incessantly with the the Virgin between Christ and the soul, double object of extending at the same between Christ and the Church, be- time both the Christian influence and tween Christ and God, as here between the French influence in Africa; and for Christ and Satan, and virtually makes this posterity will hold him in grateful Mary, and not Christ, mediator. remembrance.' , There is a vast amount of ignorance It is sad to think of this mixture of and superstition in Catholic countries, motives in Cardinal Lavigerie, and especially conspicuous in Ireland, equally sad that a highly respeotable Spain, and Italy. Whatever truth Ro- paper should commend him for so serimanism conserves is sadly buried ous a fault. beneath an immense mass of rubbish and mediooval sacerdotalism. The French Mission in Basutoland. leaven of rationalism and ritualism has sadly perverted the churches of Great A drawing-room meeting was held at Britain. The leaven of the Pharisee, the house of our beloved friend and which is formalism and hypocrisy; the contributor, James E. Mathieson, Esq., leaven of the Sadducees, which is scepti- of London, on Monday P.M" December cism and rationalism; the leaven of 5th last, to welcome and hear Rev. F_ Herod, which is secularism and worldli- H. Kruger from Paris, formerly in the. ness, are to be found througbout Chris- Basutoland Mission, who gave a most tendom. interesting account of French mission work in British Basutoland. We were greatly charmed, in visiting the Vaudois valleys, to read the inscrip- The Paris Missionary Society was tion in the Synod Hall, "Mallei terun- founded in 1822 by the most prominent tur remanet inc'lls" (" The hammers are men of the French Protestant churches, broken, but the anvil remains"). And among whom were: Admiral Count we were equally charmed to see the Ver-Huell, a member of the House of self-denying life which these Walden- Peers. M. Jean Monod, his son, M. sian pastors lead among their flocks. Frederic Monod, M. Stapfer, M. Deles- Their little churches are scattered over sert, M. d'Ounous, M. Lutteroth, the the mountains and valleys, but still Baron de Stael.Holstein, the Rev. Mark maintain the integrity and vitality of Wilks. The evangelical churches of their witness of Christ. France, so recently delivered from perse- cution and from the revolutionary tem- Rome has been to these Vaudois an pest, thus asserted their determination Olympus for its gods, a Sinai for its to obey, in spite of their weakp.ess, the thunders, and a Calvary for its blood. Master's oommand, and to take a part Long may the witness of these simple in the conquest of the world by the gospeople to the Lord and His faith be pel of J eSUl! Christ. God blessed their continued. Any of the Lord's people act of faith and obedience, so that the who are disposed to make a donation mission undertaken by the Society in to missions could scarcely do more South Africa among the Basutos prowisely than to send it to Pastor J. P. gressed rapidly; it has not ceased to ad- Pons, at Torre Pellice, Italy_ vance, and numbers at the present date 17 stations, 128 out-stations, 5 superior A French paper has just come in schools, about 129 primary schools, 243 which speaks at some length of the de- native workers, 7900 members of the church, 4543 candidates for member- ship. These figures give a very inadequate Society has also taken charge, at the reo idea of the importance of the mission quellt of the London Missionary Soci· and of the influence it exerts over the ety, of Mare, one of the Loyalty Islands; Basuto nation; the warmest testi· and has also agreed to replace that So· monies to that effect have come from ciety in the Society Islands and other the Government of the Cape Colony. islands. from which we quote only the following sentence of a letter from Sir Marshall In spite of the increasing efforts it Clark, the Resident Commissioner of has been obliged to make on behalf of Basutoland : the French colonies, the Paris Society has no thought of withdrawing from its " I can assure you of my continued most ancient field of labor, Basutoland, . interest in the work which is being nor of handing over to others the Zam. done by the missionaries of your Soci- bezi Mission. It is proposed to conety, to whose example and -precept is tinue those enterprises, although no undoubtedly due to a great extent the national tie connects with them; the advance made by the Basuto tribe dur- cause of the kingdom of Christ is that ing the last fifty years-example land of all mankind, and. is limited by no precept which, as you indicate, carry political frontier. In order to fulfil all the more weight from being inde· these enlarged duties, the French pendent of politics or gain. ~ , churches have increased in a large measure their support. In the last The mission has in the last years year they contributed not less than brought forth the mission undertaken £19,080, a large sum when compared upon the higher Zambezi by Rev. F. to their small number. Coillard and his fellow·workers. The Zambezi Mission is yet in its. infancy, Nevertheless the resources of French but we trust that it will walk in the Protestantism are not sufficient to ac· footsteps of the Basutoland Mission. complish the whole of the 'Work. It is It has already 4 married missionaries, needful, therefore, to ask for the co- 1 unmarried, 1 single lady, 1 European operation of British and American helper, and 3 stations. Christians, particularly on behalf of Basutoland, and to obtain regular co· During the last years the mission had operation in view of the evangelization very heavy difficulties to overcome. of the land by native catechists and The wife of the venerated founder of pastors. the mission died in October, 1891; but, before closing her eyes, she was Mr. KrUger states that there is a able to witness the first ripe ears of the population in Basutoland of about harvest. 218,000, and they have about 11,000 : For many years the work in Southern adult converts. If the adult males only Africa was enough to fill the hands of be counted, they have about one in ten the Society; but toward 1860 the com- of all adult males in churches. mittee was led to take the place of the London Missionary Society at Tahiti. Books Notioed. Nearly at the same time a mission was began in Senegambia. These fields of [J. T. G.] labor were, so to speak, forced upon the Society by the fact that none but -An American:Mlssionary in'Japan, by French Protestants could freely spread Rev. M. L. Gordon, M.D. (Houghton, the Gospel in those countries. More Mifflin & Co., Boston and New York), recently, for the Bame reasons, the So· is very valuable for its reliable history, ciety has extended its action to Kabylia, its discussions of live topics, and the and to the French part of the Congo, experience detailed. where three married missionaries are now at work on the Ogowe River. The -The Ainu of Japan, by Rev. John Batchelor (eighty illustrations, Flem·
J.'ebrUMY
ing H. Revell Co., Chicago and New we can hereafter find room for a criti· York), is an important contribution to cal examination of it in these pages we our very meagre knowledge of the reo cannot now say. ligion, superstitions, and general history of the hairy aborigines of Japan. -The .Divine Art of Preach.ing, by Ar. Ethnologists as well as the general thur T. Pierson, D.D. (Baker & Taylor reader will find herein a great deal of Co., New York), is not a 'missionary information. The author had admira- book surely, but it is difficult to see ble opportunity by long residence how any missionary would not profit among them to gather the material for by it. The last chapter on preaching this volume. as •• communing with the Spirit" is worth much more than the small price -The Child of the Ganges, by Rev. (75 cents) of the volume. Robert N. Barrett, is a new putting of the experiences of Dr. Judson and —c others in the marvel of missions by the American Baptists in Burma. The British Notes. story-form keeps close to the history, and is attractive. [Rev. James Douglas, of London, has been asked to assist the Editor.in·chief -Everybody interested in mISSIOns as British correspondent for the REVIEW, of course wants The American Board and his notes will appear in the Editori. Almanac for 1893 (10 cents). It is full al Department, signed. with the initials to the brim with reliable statements of missionary facts admirably edited. J. D.J -India and Malaysia, by Bishop Uganda must be retained. So speak, James M. Thoburn, D.D., of Calcutta, with unanimous voice, the Church of who has been a third of a century en- England papers and bishops. There gaged in missionary work in Southern is not the ssme accent of conviction or Asia, is too important a contribution consensus of feeling on the part of Eng. to missionary literature to be dismissed lish nonconformity. The Presbyterians with mere mention, but our space will of Scotland, however, are at one WIth permit nothing more just now. Cran- the Episcopal Church in voting the ston & Curts, Cincinnati, and Hunt & matter urgent. Eaton, New York, will furnish it at $2, or subscription copy, more handsomely The battle for the suppression of the bound, for $2.50. It seems difficult to opium trade must go on. Lord Kim. decide whether the author is most litter· berley, ignoring the resolution passed ateur, missionary or statesman. toward the close of the Conservative regime, declares ., that the export of – The Genesis and Growth of Religion, Indian opium to China must continue." by Rev. S. H. Kellogg, D.D. (Macmillan There are two "musts" in the case: & Co., New York and London), is the the "must" of Indian finance, seen body of the Stone lectures for 1892 at through the lens of expediency, and Princeton Seminary.' Dr. Kellogg is a the" must" of the British conscience, genius as well as a great scholar. The tardily but surely awaking to the sense evolution of religion has rarely had of responsibility. May the time Boon more candid and scholarly handling at come when "England's greate~t nathe hands of an expert. Dr. Kellogg tional sin" may be brought home to the is now in India, engaged with other heart of the nation! Sanskritists in the revision of the Hindi translation of the Old Testament. This In the Church M'lSsionary Intelligencer is a work for review, not for notice. It (December, 1892) there is an elaborately is clearly within our line, but 'whether defensive article on the subject of "Missions and Misconceptions," in which Sir Edwin Arnold's shoring up
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
of Buddhism at the expense of Chris- enty-two persons have beell baptized, tiallity is hotly combatted. Why waste and on Kan River three new stations powder and shell on the utterances of a have been opened. dreamer? or seriously essay the task of refuting fallacies that can no more hide In the province of Cheh-Kiang the the light than gossamer? The cry, pulse of progress has also been quick- "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" ened. Mr. Meadows, the superintend. needs no cOlmter·shout from the fol- ent, says, " The Lord is indeed bless- lower of the Nazarene. ing Cheh-Kiang, the work" is more en- couraging than in any previous year, "Personal Consecration and Almsgiv- and the outlook is most cheering." In in~" is the theme of an effective paper, other southern provinces there is a rec- ,by Mr. J. McCormick, in this month's ord of patient sowing in the face of Church MissiOnrlry Intelligencer (Decem- much discouragement, save in Hu-nan ber, 1892). Among other things the and Kwang-si, provinces for which ex- importance is urged upon all the Lord's perienced workers are urgently re- brethren of giving some portion of their quired. time to a medit"tion upon the condi- tion of the heathen, in order that the Mr. Cecil Polhill Turner, together absolute necessity of aiding them to with his wife and family, has had to the very best of their ability might be suffer much of late for the Gospel's burnt into their very soul, and that sake through the superstitions of the their deepest sympathies might be Chinese, who hold the Christians ac· drawn out toward them. countable for the drought; but, like the apostles, they have accounted it all joy Dr. Oameron's decease is a grievous " to fall into diverse afliictions." " We loss, not only to the China Inland Mis- are full of praise to the Lord," writes sion, but China itself. He explored Mr. Turner; "first, for giving us the the land in a series of remarkable honor of some little fellowship in His journeyings, his object being twofold, own blessed sufferings; and, secondly, to scatter far and wide the Word of for gracious deliverance in time of God, and to get such information as need." would serve as the basis of future evan- gelization. Though he knew from time Thomas Macoun, a devoted helper in to time what it was to be straitened, he connection with the China Inland Miswas never forsaken. 'r Not one thing," sion, is with the Lord. One brief word, he could say, "hath failed of all the flashed from the far East, has brought good things whic11- the Lord your God the tidings home to many that mourn. spake concerning you." Mr. Cameron In the autumn of 1891 this brother rewas "a pioneer in the truest sense of ceived a marked accession of power the term, " and" the greatest European through the visit of some fellow-mis· traveller in China of modern times." sionaries. Soon after his soul was Seized with Asiatic cholera, in the stirred with concern for those on board midst of his toils, he fell asleep on Au- H. M. S. Caroline, then lying near in gust 14th, 1892. His promotion leaves the river. A wonderful ingathering of a gap. Who will seek to :fill the vacant souls was the consequence of his loving post? zeal, and· some of the most ungodly of that ship's company were impresiled, Despite present-year disturbances, awakened, and brought in. How unencouraging progress is reported in expectedly the Bun of Time sets with Ohina's Millions from Kiang.si. Sev. many! Dr. Johnson had the words or 1'v; yap lpxerat" (" For the night cometh") engraven on the dial-plate of his watch. May the Holy Spirit im- press them on the sensitive plate of every blood-cleansed conscience. We understand that the Centenary gatherings, including 'daily mid-day services in two city churches and daily Thanksgiving Fund, in connection with mid-day prayer-meetings at the Church Missionary House. The plan, too, has the Baptist Missionary Society, is not in view a series of addresses for specific classes, such as students, nurses, Scripto close when the sum, now nearly ture readers, etc. The campaign will be opened by an address to the metroreached, of £100,000 is obtained. It is politan clergy by the Bishop of Lon- don. proposed to keep this fund open till The sixth anniversary of the Glean- March 31st, 1893, in order to meet, if ers' Union of the C. M. S., recently held in London, seems to have been a possible, the deficiencies of the last two live occasion. Many burning words were spoken. Mr. Grubb's address on financial years which amount in the ag- "The Fire of the Lord" was white·heat in its intensity. His plea for union in gregate to over £15,000. The aim is to the love of the Spirit was about as strong as soul and language could well devote the entire £100,000 to the ex- make it. Ecclesiastical stand-offishness must have had a bad quarter of an hour tension of the Society's operations in listep.ing to this oration. .. Now," he said, "the Holy Ghost ill so dealing throughout the world. J. D. with the hearts of God's own children in all denominations, that a Church of It is gratifying to find that, as the re- England brother can shake hands with a Baptist brother, or even with a Plymsult of the earnest labors of Baptist outh brother; and the ecclesiastical walls that have been 80 high, people missionaries in bygone years, the Lord's are beginning to 8ay to them, 'By the help of my God I will leap over that work in the Cameroons continues to wall.' And I trust that all of you will go in for spiritual athletics like thatprosper. "We spent," says the Rev. to leap over those ecclesiastical:walls that have been built up so high by the George Cameron, of Wathen Station, ingenuity of man. God never built them, and the sooner they tumble down "the Lord's day in Cameroons. We the better for them and for us. 0 God, teach us how to manifest such love went to the Baptist chapel and found toward one another that the world may believe that the Father sent the Son." an audience of seven or eight hundred. Statistics.-The Times of (Jeylon gives Mr. Dibundu, native pastor, preached. some interesting figures from the cen. sus for 1891. In Colombo there is a . . . The impression left on my mind larger number of Christians than of people of any other religion. The figby what I saw and heard is that the ures are: Ghristians, 43,174; Bud- dhists, 31,518; Hindus, 12,490; Momission church will go on increasing by hammedans, 29,503; others, 150. Ro- man Catholics, however, are the greatest the efforts of the native members them- numerical factor in the enumeration.
selves." J. D.
The Indian Decennial Missionary Conference was held at Bombay. at the close of last year and the beginning of this. Ten yeari! ago it was held at Calcutta, and twenty years ago at Allahabad. Worked on a large scale by a representative committee, it brought together missionaries representing the whole field of missions, and furnished a broad platform for the discussion of missionary problems from various points of view. At the Calcutta Conference 475 missionaries, male and female, were present. The spiritual as· pect of missionary work occupied the foreground.
London.-Arrangements for a missionary campaign in the metropolis early:in February, 1893, by the C. M. S. are nearly completed. The vast area is being worked in different districts, the intention being to hold simultaneous meetings. There will also be central
THE MONTHLY CONCERT Ol!' MISSIONS
V.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
CHINA, THIBET, CONFUCIANISM.
BY BEV. S. L. BALDWIN, D.D.
Ohina..* every principle and precept of the Chris· tian religion. This great heathen empire still reo mains the largest and most populous of Yet, notwithstanding all these drawthe lands to be conquered for our Re. backs, and many more which might be deemer. No Christian, remembering named, the indications for the speedy the" great commission," can look with- progress of the Gospel are better to-day out profound emotion upon an empire than ever before. The attitude of the containing over five million square people is increasingly favorable. Th& miles, one half larger than our own riots in the valley of the Yang-tse durcountry, unequalled by any other na- ing the past year, and lesser demon· tion with the single exception of Rus- strations in other portions of the emsia. pire, are ebullitions of a comparatively small portion of the people, led by de- Its great resources, which are only signing persons who are enemies of the just beginning to be developed; its vast government, and wish to embroil it with agricultural productions; its immense foreign nations, so that they may the popUlation, constituting over one fourth more readily carry out their purpose of of the human race; its unparalleled ex- overthrowing it. The missions located istence as a nation; its wonderful litera- at the very centre of these disturbances ture ; the skill and ingenuity of its peo- testify that the people in general are ple in many useful arts; their inde- more friendly than at any previous time, pendent and enterprising character-aU and report more converts than have combine to make China an attractive been reported in any former year. and promising field for missionary en· terprise. In many places where missionaries were hooted at and pelted with missiles While every country where there are twenty years ago, there is now the most people to be saved is an important field, marked good-will on the part of the peo- China stands out pre-eminently as a ple. field of the highest possible importance on account of the great masses of its The great advance made in woman's people, and the mighty influence they work is one of the most hopeful signs are destined to exert upon the future of of the times. Both boarding and day the world. schools are crowded with pupils, who not only commit to memory whole gos- It is not by any means to be taken pels, but in many cases show by their for granted that the Gospel work is to lives that their hearts have been touched be speedily and without difficulty ac- by the Spirit of Christ. Thousands of complished in such a land as this. Its women have been visited by either forhoary systems of idolatry, stupid as they eign or native Bible women at their may seem to us, are not easily to be homes; and the good seed thus sown is overthrown from the position they have already yielding a harvest-partly in held through more than forty centuries actual conversions, and more largely in in one shape or another. Nor is it easy increased friendliness among the peoto overcome the prejudices excited by ple, and opening doors of usefulthe presence of many ungodly persons ness. from Christian countries, who live before the heathen in utter defiance of The medical work is also doing its share toward removing prejudices and * See also pages 5, 63, 76 (January) aud 110, helping the evangelistic efforts of the missionaries. The hospitals have al- 119, 145, 158 (February.) ready acquired an enviable reputation The man who took the Rev. Dr. F. J.
among the people, and the good·will Masters aside in San Francisco and gave shown toward the doctors extends to all him $100 that he had sll.ved to build a the members of the missions. chapel in his native village in China While all this is true, it is also to be shames many an American Christian by noted that the government is unusually his consecration of money to his Mas· favorable in its attitude. Take the fol. ter's service.
lowing items in corroboration of this The genuine character of the Chris.
statement: tianityof Chinese converts in California 1. The proclamation of the emperor is shown in contributions for benevo- favorable to Christianity and its pro· lences averaging $30 a year from each fessors issued at the time of the riots. convert.
2. The desire expressed by the gov. Weare also encouraged by the knowl.
ernment for a medical missionary for edge that there are nearly or quite fifty the neV{ port of Chungking, in West thousand communicants, where thirty China, with the promise to pay his years ago there were scarcely one thou- salary in return for his attendance on sand; and that these converts have an the staff of the custom house. earnest, aggressive spirit to go on and 3. The request to the Methodist Epis. possess the whole land for Christ.
copal Mission at Peking for graduates from its college to take positions in the WHAT IS NEEDED. new railway service, coupled with the promise that their work should be so 1. We need more laborers.
arranged as to require no labor from All the missionaries are overworked.
them on the Sabbath. There is hardly a man in any mission 4. The request sent to the same mis. that is not undertaking to do the work sion for a primer for the use of His 1m· of at least two; and there are many who perial Majesty in commencing the study are trying to carry what would properly of the English language. occupy the time and demand the Many other items might be named strength of three or four. This is showing that there never was a time true also of the godly women who are when the attitude of the government carrying burdens far too heavy for was more friendly toward Christian mis. them. Earnest prayer ought to be sions than just now. offered that the right .sort of men and There is also great encouragement to women may be led to offer themselves be derived from the character of. the in large numbers for this great field.
Christian converts. The readers of the There are many regions" white already REVIEW will remember the account of to the harvest." It is the worst sort of Ling Ching Ting, the converted opium policy to allow valuable men and worn· smoker, published in these columns en to be stricken down in the field,· be.
some months ago. The Baptist rice cause we do not send them adequate merchant at Shanghai, who resolutely help.
kept his store closed on Sunday, al. There is every reason to believe, at though assured that his business would the same time, that there are most ex· be ruined by so doing, is another in· cellent candidates ready to go to the stance of strong Christian principle. field. It is not everyone who offers to The young man who wheeled his aged go under the impulse of the Student mother two hundred miles on a wheel. Volunteer Movement who is really a barrow to Peking, that she might hear well-qualified candidate, nor is it to be the Gospel, manifested a devotion not expected that everyone without excep- often equalled in Christian lands ; and tion will be found ready te go when the we do not wonder that he has become a time c~mes. NevertheleslI, it remains faithful and efficient preacher of the true tbat large numbers of earnest, con· (,tosfet ~ecrated, educated ~oung people of both sexes are ready to go, and are waiting to government certificate of their right to be sent. be here, may be repealed. The Chris- tian sentiment of the nation ought to CONSECRATED MONEY NEEDED. make itself felt on this subject ; and it would not be without effect if the effort It follows, then, that the next great were general and persistent. need is the more general consecration of money to the Lord's service. His Let this wide-extended empire be in people have the means in abundance to the thoughts and upon the hearts of our supply the great empire of China with people. Who can estimate the result of all the missionaries needed. The earnest prayer and earnest labor by all Monthly Concert ought to resound who gather in the monthly concerts of with earnest prayers that the money prayer and send up their petitions to of Christians may be laid upon the the Lord of the harvest? altar; and these monthly concerts ought to be the scenes of noble exam- THIBET_* ples in this respect. What a wonderful stimulus it would be to the faith and I have Dot at hand the necessary hope of Christians if offerings of money sources of information to enable me to for the conversion of the Chinese should write intelligently in regard to this field. be made at the monthly concerts, rang- I will not, therefore, attempt to give any ing from one dollar to a thousand, ac statistics, but will simply call attention cording to the ability of those who make to the fact that here is still a large and the offering! Why may it not be so ? important country which has scarcely been touched a8 yet by the Gospel. Its AMERICAN LEGISLATION. people are idolaters, and bound down by many superstitions. No promise of There ought also to be earnest prayer protection is gi ven to any Chrisian misand earnest action that the unjustly op- sionary who enters the land, yet there pressive legislation of this country have not been lacking those who were against the Chinese, which is increas- willing to undertake it; and some are ingly an obstacle to Christian missions now laboring quietly there in the in that empire, may be repealed. midst of many dangers. There should be earnest prayer that this long-shut If ever our national Congress made land may be opened to the influences of void the law of God by its enactments, the Gospel. it has done so in this matter. In contemptuous violation of solemn treaties t CONFUCIANISM. made at our own instance, without II shadow of just reason, we have put The Confucian classics are the Chiupon our statute book legislation of the nese Scriptures. Their ethics are almost intolerant and oppressive char- most as lofty as those of the Christian acter. The Psalmist cried: " It is time Scriptures. "They have all the coldfor Thee, Lord, to work ; for they have ness of Proverbs, but none of the glories made void Thy law." So ought all of Isaiah." Consequently, there is Christians to cry mightily to God; aDd nothing in them to inspire or move the there is no better time or place than in heart. When shall the Hebrew Scripthe monthly concert of prayer, when tures, animated with the breath of the China is the topic. Then, that fitting living God, he substituted for the beauworks may follow earnest prayers, let tiful but immobile Confucian classics? petitions be numerously signed aDd for- When, as a Church, we understand the warded to Congress, praying that the meaning of the Saviour's words: most unjust features of the last enact- " Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, ment, requiring the Chinese to be regis- that will I do."-Spurgeon. ~ered and carry about with tMm the * See pages 385 (May) and 640 (August) 18J',1, t See page 96 of this issue,
GENERA], MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
VI.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
EDITED BY BEV. D. L. LEONARD.
Extracts a.nd Translations from Foreign women's auxiliaries much of the inter. est in the work is confessedly due. Periodicals. Simple as this organization is, its suc.
BY REV. C. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, MASS. cess is most marked, better evidence of NORWAY. which could not be desired than that furnished by the presence and character -" From Saturday, July 9th, 1892, to of the' deputies' assembled at the jubi.
Wednesday, July 13th, the picturesque lee. They came from all parts of Nor.
Norwegian port of Stavanger was en way, and they belonged to all sections jete. Flags werll flying, the streets were of the community. About two hundred crowded with strangers, and there :was of them were ministers. They were general stir and excitement. The Nor. university professors, shipowners, mer· wegian Missionary Society, or, to give chants, and representatives of the com.
the Society its proper name, Det Norske mercial classes; but the great majority Mlssionsselskab, a voluntary organiza- were farmers, crofters, fishermen, and tion nurtured and developed in a Lu- plain country folk.
theran State Church, was celebrating its "Stavanger was the Society's birth.
fiftieth birthday, and, in honor of the place, and is still its headquarters.
event, had invited 'deputies '-nine Prior to its formation numerous mis.
hundred in number-from all parts of sionary associations had sprung into ex· Norway, and special visitors from Fin- istence in Norway as the result of are· land, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Eng- ligious awakening, brought about by the land, and the United States of America. earnest ministry of a famous lay preach.
From beginning to end the jubilee was er, Hans Nilsen Hauge by name. But a great success, thanks partly to the these associations had no missionary of beautiful weather, thanks yet more to their own; they contented themselves the admirable arrangements made by with sending contributions to Lutheran the secretary (the Rev. L. Dahle) and societies in Germany. In 1842, at a the Central Committee, but thanks most meeting held in Stavanger, the repre.
of all to a widespread interest in the sentatives of sixty.five of these 10cala8- Society's work. sociations determined to join hands, "For missionary purposes Norway and as a distinct organization begin to has been divided into eight' circles,' train, equip, and send out mission.
each containing many associations. aries.
Each circle elects its own board of man- "The new Society commenced opera.
agement and treasurer, and is responsi. tions in Zululand, to which, in 1843, ble both for the collection of funds and it despatched a young man of great for the maintenance and development strength and energy of character, after.
of interest in the Society's missions. ward known as Bishop Schreuder. Zu.
Once a year there is a united gathering luiand proved a hard and trying field, of all the associations affiliated with the but by patient, plodding toil a few hun· , circle,' and once in three years a gen. dred converts have been gathered to.
eral assembly of the eight circles com· gether. The Society still maintains bined. This latter is, as it were, the eleven missionaries in Natal; but in Missionary Parliament, to which ques· 1866 it entered upon a much more fruit· tions of policy and constitution and all ful field. After first securing the con· matters other than routine have to be currence of the London Missionary So.
submitted. In connection with most ciety, it began work in Madagascar, and of the local associations there is, in ad. it is in that large island that most of dition, a women's auxilia;ry, and to the its missionaries are stationed. They
EXTRACTS AND TRANSLATIONS
already number thirty, and will shortly are to be found. Two of their number be reinforced by eight or ten others. are already in the field as missionaries They are scattered over an extensive of the Norwegian Society, and are to be area in twenty-three chief stations, and reinforced direct from Minnesota, where have thirty-two thousand church-mem- Norwegian emigrants to the great re- bers under their care, besides many public mostly settle.
thousand adherents and a correspond. "Personal acquaintance with Norwe- ing number of children under Christian gian missionaries familiar with their instruction in schools. The Society's Madagascar work, and the additional income for 1891 was £25,295, and duro insight into the Society's methods which ing the fifty years of its history it has attending the jubiJee afforded, alike raised £341,477, which, when we reflect constrain one to bid the Society God- that the popUlation of Norway is less speed, and to express the fervent hope than two millions, and that most of its that the se~ond fifty years of its career people find the struggle for existence may furnish as worthy a record as the severe and constant, seems to be a very first fifty have done."-Rev. GECRGE creditable amount. COUSINS, in The Chronicle.
"The share which the Norwegian So- ciety takes in the evangelization and CWNA.
Christianization of Madagascar is al- -" During the many years which ready large. and promises to be yet have passed since the world of fresh larger. Its first field of labor was in ideas and fresh facts, secular and sathe district called North Betsileo, which, cred, human and divine, began to enter starting from about fifty miles to the China from the West, the officials as a south of Antananarivo, stretches away class have not only signally failed to southward. To this were subsequently act the part of moderators between the added South Betsileo (in which our own old and the new, but they have obsti- Society also has missions), the Sakalava natelY,sulkily, and blindly acted in ways Coast, the North Bara country, and, that have tended to excite the anti·forsubsequently, the extreme southeast eign suspicions of the people. But and southwest coasts of the island. In what more can one expect? With rulers the South Betsileo country there has of men and Ieaders of thought destitute, been an unfortunate overlapping of as a rule, of high cnltuxe, broad views, work as the result of a former misun- and public spirit, the votaries of a rigid, derstanding ; but in all the other fields narrow, ancient learning, the slaves of referred to the Norwegians are alone. an illiberal propriety and etiquette, it Great credit is due to the earnestness is not much wonder that so many of with which they have taken up the China's points of contact with Christenwork. As regards the southern part of dom are points of irritation and bitter Madagascar, indeed, we are much in- conflict."-Rev. W. BRERETON, Mis8ion debted to the Rev. Nilsen Lund for our Field. knowledge. His journeys have taken him over ground almost unknown to -" The world is coming to see that the civilized world, and have issued in missionaries are in earnest and are mak- a project for stationing missionaries ing progress; that their work is genuine among the wild, lawless tribes which and a real benefit to the heathen. In people the southern end of the island. the writer's own knowledge the tone of By an amicable arrangement made with the leading English paper in Shanghai the American delegates present at the has changed completely in the last jubilee celebration, ihis region is to be eight years from sneering incredulity placed under the care of the American and disparagement to generous, em- Norwegians, among whom some of the phatic commendation."-The Missionarv warmest friends of the parent Society (S. Pres.),
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
-The Missionary Recm'd, speaking of of many friends who have witnessed Mr. Michie's book on missions in China, the fidelity of these converts. During says: "Through nine tenths of the some of the late riots the leaders of the book the argument is conducted as if secret sects said to the Christians, the animosity of the Chinese were purely 'Sacrifice to the spirit of Confucius, anti-Christian; and only in a somewhat and you shall go.' But they would not oblique foot·note toward the end does sacrifice, though painful and violent the truth emerge, that the animosity is deaths awaited them. Many who have really anti.foreign, although mission. been sceptical hitherto as to the chararies, as pioneers, have to bear the acter of the converts in China, confess brunt of it. We have a similar misrep- that they have not understood the resentation in the formal charge that strength of their convictions and the 'the propaganda has, over the whole genuineness of their faith. "-Missionary country, aroused the hatred of the peo- Herald. pie.' So far as Protestant missionaries are concerned, the evidence places it -" In all their heathenism the Chibeyond a doubt that, as a rule, instead nese never deify vice and lust. Dwell of arousing hatred they have disarmed on that fact. The Greeks and the Rodistrust and won the confidence of the mans and the Hindus have deified lust, people. It is only where their influ- and placed courtesans and debauched ence has been exerted that the anti-for- females in their pantheon of gods. The eign antipathy has been transformed Chinese have never done that. They into relations of friendship; and while have debauched plays in their theatres, Mr. Michie is evidently aware that Hu- but they never introduce women on nan is the focus and head-centre of the the stage, nor have Nautch girls as a anti.foreign distl1rbances from which part of their troupe. They have no . missionaries have sl1ffered so severely, caste among them. They profess a reche keeps out of view the fact that it is ognition of merit and moral worth only the one province in China where the as the standard of the true man. missionary is unknown. "-Missionary Granted that they fall immeasurably Record (U. P.). short in practice, but though they have not lived up to the standard, they have -"Looking at some mlsslonary pic- not changed the standard; The same tures lately with a friend who knew high and lofty rule of procedure which Chinese ways, we were puzzled by the obtained before the days of Confucius quick remark, 'Those are Christians.' is the only one recognized as valid to- We looked closely at the grol1p. There day. They do not say, 'Evil, be thou was a Chinese father with a quaint my good.' They lie, but they denounce Chinese baby in his arms, and a"Chinese lying. They smoke opium, but they woman sitting beside him. 'How do reprobate opium-smoking. They gamyou know?' we asked, failing to see any- ble, but they censure gambling. They thing in the picture to guide us as to have not tried to sear their own mo:ral the religion of the family. 'Don't you sense, and their moral sense is not see the father has the baby in his arms? seared. They are guilty of immorality, No heathen Chinaman would think of but public opinion does not allow them that!' was the reply. Yes, Christianity to glory in it. They are not shameless. is at the bottom of the sacred joys of Some regard for fair dealing, some sense home."-Awake (C. M. S.). of honor, some manliness, some faith between man and man, some sense of -" The steadfastness of many of the gratitude, some sense of Inutual obliga- Christian converts in China during the tion, some recognition of the equality recent persecutions has called forth the of human brotherhood-some of these IIdmiration, no~ only- of th e natives, but things and other things of lofty mould
EXTRACTS ill) TRANSLATIONS
are there still. They have sunken to forty millions of people, is the real low levels, but they are not stalilped heart of Central Asia. Humanly speakout. Indeed, they claim far more than ing, as goes Szchuan, so will go Ran Su, we usually give them credit for, and on the north, and Yunnan, on the south, they have a deal to present in support and Tibet, on the west; and as they go, of the claim. so along with them will go scores of outlying clans and trihes and kindreds. "Now, salvation is not built on mo- We hesitate not to say it-the key to rality, but morality of a new, lofty, and great Central Asia is Szchuan, and intensified kind is one of the fruits of Szchuan only. The key is not to be salvation. It is a vast deal, though, to sought for through the medium of any find here so many correct ideas, so much one, or any dozen, or any dozen dozen conscience already developed under the of petty tribes and families and clans law of nature, so much recognition of around the border and up and down the the second table of the law, so many re- hills. It is therefore of inestimable immains of the p~imitive knowledge of portance that Christian missions should one Supreme God, so much in the moral hold Szchuan in force, and should do it consciousness of the people which sup- speedily. The battle for religious asports our assertions, so much basis on cendency in Central Asia will not be which to build an appeal,to their sense fought and won among any of the hills of ill-desert, so much that bears wit- and spurs of the Himalayas, but in rich ness to the Scripture doctrine that the and fertile Szchuan; not among wild wrath of God is revealed from heaven and wandering tribes, disintegrated and against all ungodlinefIB and unright. disconnected, but among that well-oreousness of men who hold the truth in ganized and well·governed forty millunrighteousness."-Rev. WILLIAM ASH- ions, of one civilization and one speech, MORE, D.D., in Baptist Missionary Maga- who are established in the valleys of zine. Szchuan, up toward the headwaters and along the tributaries of the upper Yang- -Whether China is the "land of tse." Sinim," as Dr. Ashmore seems to suppose, we leave to the authorities to de- -" It is hardly by accident that Shancide. We are inclined to think it is; tung, being one of the provinces most but we take decided exception to Dr. free from the opium vice, should also Ashmore's statement, that "Persia is be one of the most receptive of Gospel dead." Persia, which showed kindness testimony, and Shansi, being one of to the people of God, and which is so the worst for that vice, should be one favorably regarded in the Scriptures, of the least receptive." – Missionary has never lost its national continuity Herald (Eng, Baptist). for a day, even when temporarily overlaid by Macedonian, Parthian, and Arab -" It is not the view, which in our ilomination. It has emerged from un- day is spreading in the Christian Church der all, the same people, with the same like a veritable epidemic, and which bent of character, and the same remem- divests the death of Christ of its exbrances, though decidedly below the piatory value, nor yet Unitarianism and original level of Zoroastrianism. Even rellted tendencies which are being imits language, though profoundly modi. ported into Japan, and which do not fied by Arab admixtures, still rests on rise essentially above the monotheistic the old Iranian foundations. Professor teaching of Confucianism-it is not Whitney says that the conquests of either, from which the Chinese can Alexander hardly touched more than find help. If we are successfully to the fringe of the national life. dispute precedence with Buddhism, if we are meaning to offer to the Chinese Dr. Ashmore says also: "The great province of Szchuan, with its thirty or
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENOE
what they have sought of it and have "3. Any concealment of the fact that not found, we must bring to them just our express object is to make Chris- that thing which Buddhism has not tianity the religion of the nation, and been able to offer to them, and that is so put an end to the old faiths, and the Christian doctrine of atonement. place the name of Christ' above every 'Christ, the crucified, to the Jews a name that is named.'
stumbling-block and to the Greeks fool- "But it does imply: ishness,' it is this, and naught else, " (a) That we shall freely recognize which Paul determined to know among the common instinct of worship, the the Corinthians. 'Be ye reconciled to consciousness of spiritual realities, and God,' this is his compendium of apos- the dependence on the invisible, which tolic preaching ; and this his message have given birth to the false religions, of atonement was based by the Apostle as sacred things to be reverenced, not of the Gentiles on the saving fact that to be condemned.
'God was in Christ, reconciling the " (b) That the great ethieal value of world unto Himself, not imputing their these systems shall be justly allowed, trespasses unto them.' "-CIIAlILES PI- and a moral maxim be held as worthy, TON, in Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrijt. the maxim itself being identical, when it is in their classICS, as when in our -" Our right attitude toward Chinese Bible.
heathenism is one of vigilant concilia- " (c) That the virtuous lives of their tion. I use the phrase in distinct and founders shall be duly honored, and intentional opposition to any possible their religions be fully admitted to have idea of compromise, which is, in real- had their origin in the upward strivings ity, an absurdity; but I hold that, of the human mind, and not from its while sacrificing to expediency no ves- debasing tendencies.
tige of our Christian faith, we are yet " (d) The true catholicity that tells the loyally and fearlessly to admit' the soul heathen that all the good, the truth, all of good in things evil,' which does un- that is worthy and pure in his system, questionably exist. There is no ques- will be included in and conserved by tion, as lance heard a man express it, Christianity. Christianity put away of mixing up Christianity with Bud- Judaism, and yet the spirit in whioh dhism, but of recognizing the common onr Divine Master introduced it was, gronnd that lies between them, so far 'I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.'
as there is any. A writer in 'China's Millions' tells us "This does not imply: that he had much ado to prevail upon "1. Any restraint in preaching against a convert to 'give up Confucius.' I idolatry. Where sincere, idol worship should think so, indeed; but why must is mistaken zeal; where insincere, it is Confucius be 'given up'? The Jew sin against light; in both cases, en- did not give up Moses when he beoame slaving. a Christian. Jesus is a Saviour, the "2. Any emasculation of our Chris- only Saviour. This is a blessed truth.
tian faith, or modifying of any peculiar- Confucius never made the slightest pre- ities of doctrine, which may be sup- tension to be such, but is he therefore posed to be distasteful to the heatllen. not a sage ?"-Rev. G. T. CANDLIN, in Christianity should be presented to Chinese Recorder.
them as a new religion; sin, salvation, pardon, the working of the Holy Spirit, -Confucius, of course, may lawfully conversion and regeneration, with the continue to be to an Eastern Christian hope of everlasting life-as new truths, what Plato or Aristotle often is to a which their own religions neither affirm Western Christian, an instructor in nor deny, because they have no inkling wisdom, but not a Redeemer. Mr.
of them. Candlin's distinction seems very just. THE WORLD AT LARGE. his indignation was stirred to the depths over the enormities committed by the -Facts from the great mission field Arab slave·stealers. It was to end their which are fresh, pungently put in a few most horrible doings that he formed the lines. and of general interest. are eager- Armed Brothers of the Sahara, and was ly desired and diligently sought for use so active in organizing the Brussels in this department of the REVIEW. Anti.Slavery Conference. Besides, for Sometimes the suggestion comes that general missionary work he founded the some denomination, society, or mission Order of tho White Fathers. Livinghas not received its fair share of notice; stone and Lavigerie are names which in but the editorial person is not omni- history may well be linked together. present, neither (alas) is the editorial eye omniscient, and the editorial pen -It is proof of good results already can only give forth what has first been achieved, as well as prophecy of far received. So, forward the items, and larger achievements in days to come, thus confer a favor upon all concerned. that we can read of a Christian Hindoo, John Williams by name, going as an -It was the saying of Voltaire that evangelist to distant Fiji to minister to Christianity would not survive the nine. some hundreds of the poorest, lowest, teenth century. But what has the nine. and most degraded of his own country. teenth century not done for Christian- men, and others to be found there in a ity ? It has sent the Gospel anew into condition of semi·slavery. all the world. It has gathered in the islands of the South and shaken the -It is possible for a negro to play mighty pagan faiths of India, China, the hero; for to Tuskegee Normal and' and Japan! It has stirred up its mis- Industrial Institute came recently one sionaries from the far West to preach (what's in a name?) Julius Cresar Alexthe old faith in Egypt and in Palestine ander, having walked 175 miles to get and where the disciples first received there. The people along the way gave the Christian name! It has devoted its him free board and lodging. He is very noblest children to face death for Christ black, twenty-three years of age, has in depths of Africa which Voltaire never taught school for seven years, and comes heard of, and has even employed the to the Institute to graduate, because press in Ferney that printed his own " the people wants better teachers." He works-and it may be this very proph. will work his way through. ecy .against the Gospel-to publish in new tongues the true oracles of God.- -It is an English missionary who Dr. Cairns. suggests, "If there were more abiding in Christ, there would be less abiding -When the telegraph carried far and in Great Britain." wide the message that November 26th the great French Cardinal Lavigerie -The puzzling question, why so died in Algiers, deep sorrow was felt many Christians have so little interest far beyond the bounds of the Roman in missions, never received a better an. Catholic Church. He was Archbishop swer than this: because they have never of Carthage, Metropolitan of Algeria, invested any principal in them. and Primate of North Africa; but, much more, ·he was one of the foremost of -Preaching and prayer are not the missionaries in the Dark Continent. only means for diffusing abroad the For five.and-twenty years no heart in gospel of salvation. All the appliances Christendom has been more aflame than of civilization, great and small, may be his with zeal to mitigate the measure- made t.o bear a part. Even such a less woes of the millions dwelling in the purely material matter as good roads Soudan, the Congo Basin, and the re- are to be classed among missionary in. gion of the Great Lakes. In particular strumentalities, -Culture alonc will not Christianize. sugar-planters, while others are take,n Selfishness-that is, sin-may coexist to New Caledonia or made to work in with any degree of enlightenment; and the pearl shell fisheries in Torres Straits.
yet it is probably true, as Professor -This item is commended to the con- Samuel Harris says, that" idolatry can- sideration of those who are sceptical as not live by the side of steam-engines to the value of missions, and whether and telegraphs." they be in or out of the Church. It i!l -The close relation existing between true beyond a peradventure that there cleanliness and godliness appears afresh are more heathen in India to-day by up in Alaska, where in the schools several millions than there would have "pencils, paper, pictures, hard-bread, been if civilization and Christianity had combs and soap have been given as prizes never touched that vast peninsula!!!
for punctuality and diligence." This strange result, however, comes to -It is said that one out of every 100 pass only because of good government, heathen converts becomes a missionary, absence of war, relief in times of famine, but only one out of every 5000 Chris- hospitals,' and, in general, better methtians born and reared in Christian ods of living.
lands, except in the Moravian Church, -In forecasting the future of Islam, which has one missionary to every 65 and asking what chance there is for the members at home. redemption of the hosts held fast in its -In some things th~ children of this fetters of iron, we are not to think of world are wiser in their generation than them as all dwelling under the mercithe children of light, to the shame of less tyranny of Mohammedan civil rule, the latter, and yet not in all ; for be- so that to abjure their faith would be hold the prodigious armaments of Eu- at the cost of life., On the contrary, rope. Some 16,000,000 kept under con- more than two thirds, or 100,000,000, tinual drill in preparation for possible live in lands ruled by Christian Powwar. During the last twenty years Ger- ers. In India are 54,000,000, in the many has 'expended $3,000,000,000 upon Dutch East Indies 25,000,000, while the her army, and France a larger sum. rest are subject to Russia, France, etc..
Such is the wisdom of this world. The AMERICA. Emperor may be a stanch Protestant, but were he a hetter Christian he would United States.-Foreign missions in have more faith in gospel forces. this land almost had a beginning as far back as 1774. For in that year Drs.
-Opium forced upon China. Yes, Ezra Stiles and Samuel Hopkins, New by Britain. Africa desolated by Slavery, England Congregationalists, laid before and later deluged with rum, Yes, all the Presbyterian Synod of New York a Christendom being united in the sin proposition to send two natives of Afri.
and shame, but America easily first; ca, who had been converted and were aud now Dr. John G. Paton must needs now in the College of New Jersey, "on cross the sea and visit Washington to .a mission to propagate Christianity in petition the Christian powers that be their native country," and requesting to help stop the Kanaka labor traffic approval and assistance; and the Synod between Polynesi,a and Queensland. replied, "We are ready to concur and The New Hebrides, according to Dr. do all that is proper, since many cir- Paton, form at the present time the cumstances intimate it is the will of great slave mart of the world. Natives God." The Presbyterians of Scotland exchange their boys and girls for fire- were similarly appealed to; but this arms or liquor offered by the traders, promising undertaking to carry Gospel who carry away tha children and dis- light to the IDark Continent, in which pose of many of them to QueenRland three divisions of the Christian Church were about to unite, was prevented by with that sum 15,267 children were sent the breaking out of the American Revo- to the country for two weeks, and 25,. lution. 560 men, women, and children were carried on day.excursions-a grand to· -It is said that His Serene Highness tal of 40,827 beneficiaries. Abdul Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, has himself subscribed the funds necessary -It was not long since that Rev. Elias for the erection of a mosque upon the Riggs passed' the sixtieth anniversary grounds of the Columbus Exposition, of his ordination as a missionary to and in order that all good Mohamme· Constantinople, and is now about the dans while there may have a place of oldest, if not the oldest missionary worship; that plans are now completed, from America. The most of these and the building will stand on the Mid- sixty years has been spent aiding in way Plaisance in connection with the translating the Scriptures into three Turkish exhibit, under the management different languages, thus giving the of Samuel Levy. of Constantinople. Bible to many millions to read in their own tongue. He is still able to labor -Chicago has upward of 70 distinct on, chiefly in correcting the proof. charitable organizations. sheets of a Christian literature for the Bulgarian Christians. -In Chicago alone 26 papers are published in the various Scandinavian -John Duby, a Zulu, and a son of tongues, and in Minneapolis 16 more. one of the first native preachers among that people, aIter studying some time -The Massachusetts Home Mission- in Oberlin, has returned to Zululand to ary Society is supplying the Gospel to labor as an independent missionary in the representatives of 8 nationalities, behalf of his countrymen. French Canadians, Russian Jews, Armenians, Germans, Swedes, Norwe. -The annual report of the Foreign gians, Finns, and Italians. Of the lat- Sunday-School Association makes apter the Bay State contains 40,000. propriate mention of its honored found- er, the late Albert Woodruff, who for 80 -A report of Captain' R. H. Pratt, many years gave so lavishly of his time, Superintendent of the United States his strength, and his means as well_ Indian School at Carlisle, Pa., shows Its work consists in aiding Sundaythat the pupils number 779. Their total schools in foreign lands, and in disearnings in 1891 outside the school were tributing literature. In particular its $21,869. The dormitories have bf'en quickening influence has been felt in enlarged and improved, so that there France, Belgium, Germany, Bohemia, are now accommodations for 1000 stu. Austria, Italy, Russia, and Turkey; and dents. its annual income amounts to but $5000 ! -The twentieth annual report of the Jerry McAuley Mission saysthat the at- -The Lutheran Church General tendance on the meetings during the Council reports $14,474 received for past year has been 34,957, larger than foreign missions during the year ending ever before. Of this number 2475 have September 30th, 1892. The India Mis, knelt and asked for prayers. Five sion embraces 4 principal stations and thousand lodgings have been given at 149 out-stationR, with 4 male Rnd 6 15 cents a night, 10,000 meals have female missionaries, 2 native pastors been provided, and 500 men have ob- and 91 teachers, evangelists, etc. The tained employment from the mission. number of communicants is 1205, and of adherents 3388. During six months -The Fresh-Air Fund raised and ex- of last year 97 adults and 118 children pended each year by the New York were baptized, and 29 were confirmed. 1ribune is a noble philanthropy_ Last summer $32,415 were contributed, and In the 840 schools, 1!l65 pupils are receiv· published a neat little pamphlet full of ing instruction. facts and appeals in behalf of this ob- ject. Last year the receipts were $931 -The Free Methodist Mission Board from the South and $1720 from the reports that last year the contributions North, or $2985 in all. The Southern amounted to more than 30 cents per Christian Institute, with almost 100 stu· member. In foreign fields 18 mission- dents, is sustained at Mount Beulah, aries are laboring, of whom 2 are in Miss., and a Bible school has been India and 12 in Africa. opened in Louisville, Ky.
-This from the great and enthusias· -The families of four bishops of the tic Methodist Episcopal Church is stim- Methodist Episcopal Church, South, are ulating reading. Both home and for- represented in the mission field, by eign missions are included: Laura Haygood in China, Augusta Wil- son in Mexico, Ella Tucker and Marcus The cash receipts of the Missionary Marvin in Brazil. Society for the year ending October 31st, 1892, amounted to $1,257,373 -It is often a ground for wonder that the Liberals are so much less liberal The total receipts last year (with their cash, e.g.) than the illiberal were. . . .. . . . .•. . • • . . .. 1,228,888 orthodox. The Unitarians are asked to raise the modest sum of $2800 to build Increase for the year, $28,4085 a theological hall for the Unitarian mis- sionaries and students in Japan, and the The amount came from the following money is not forthcoming. Whereupon sources: the Christian Register, Unitarian, re- marks: "When the orthodox minis- Conference collections…. $1,119,896 ters in Japan say they must have a col.· lege for the teaching of science one man Increase…………. 41,355 subscribes $100,000. When the Union Theological S~minary of New York gets Legacies…….. …•…• 122,678 into trouble four men step forward with a gift of $175,000, made without con- Increase. . .. .••. . . . . 5,163 ditions." And he is sore perplexed to find a sufficient reason for the back- Lapsed annuities…….. 1,500 wardness of his brethren.
Sundry receipts………. 13,298 Canada.-The Presbyterian popula. tion has increased since the century be- In addition to the above figures the gan from 20,000, with 22 ministers, to treasurer has received, as authorized by over 750,000, with more than 1000 min. the General Committee at its last ses· isters in active service, and supporting sion, for" contingent appropriations," not only active operations in the terri- $3855.68, and" special gifts," $8254.44 ; tories of the Dominion, but also misin all $12,110.12. sions in the New Hebrides, Trinidad, Demerara, Central India, China, and Scanning these large figures, the among the Jews. This same Church Congregationalist moralizes: " $1,257,373 sent out last year 11 new missionaries. is a large sum,. but not quite as large as Four young women, two of whom are the sum which the United States reo M.D.'s, went to India; two others left ceived for internal revenue from cigar- for Honan and Formosa, and this ettes during 1891. However, it repre- Church's first missionary to Palestine sents the voluntary offerings of the set forth for Jerusalem. Upward of Methodist Episcopal Church for mis- $8000 was on hand to commence operaliIions during the last fiscal year. Well tions among the Jews in the Holy Land. may the denomination be proud, and sister churches emulate its zeal and generosity."
-The second Sunday in January was set apart by the General Christian (Disciple) Missionary Convention for a contribution to the Board of Negro Education and Evangelization. The corresponding secretary, C. C. Smith, has -Bishop Bompas, of the Church trea, certainly the future never before Missionary Society, has a vast diocese, has looked so bright. Among the most of which a large portion lies within the cheering signs of the times we may note Arctic Circle. At Rampart House he the recent dedication of a church in has his headquarters. From there he Chihuahua, of which Rev. James D. takes long journeys by canoe in sum· Eaton, missionary of the American mer and by dog·sledge or on snow· Board, writes to the Independent. It shoes in winter, visiting the scattered is the largest Protestant house of wor· tribes in the most northerly diocese in ship in Northern Mexico, being 75 by the world. At Rampart House, in the 55 feet, with a massive octagonal tower middle of April it is still as cold as in at the corner. The printed invitations our January, and the snow will not dis· to the dedication exercises were signed appear till June, when for about three by citizens of Mexico. the United States, months the earth will be clothed in her England, and Germany. A great crOWd, mantle of green. Last summer he had composed mainly of Catholics, was crossed the Rocky Mountains for the present, together with 7 Protestant min. twelfth time. Writing then, he said isters, and among the speakers were 2 that letters had just reached him for prominent Mexican gentlemen. All the first time in ten months, but no which, at the end of ten years of great newspapers. trial and endurance, with services held in small rooms in private houses, con- -The Toronto Evangelical (Jhurchman stituted an event full of significance for publishes the following summary of the Christianity in that RepUblic. results of mission work in Moosonee, Canada: .. Out of the population of EUROPE. 10,000 about 6000 are baptized members of the Church, while one in every six Great Britain.-Who says that the nominal Christians is a communicant. old days were the best days, and that There are 6 posts occupied on the Hud· there has been no advance in knowlson Bay and 2 inland posts. Eight mis· edge of Divine things and practice of sionaries are working under the bishop; the Gospel? In the Bodleian Library of these !l are white men, 2 are half: in Oxford is a manuscript record kept breeds, and 2 are pure.blooded Indians. by John Fox, containing these most There are the bishop's church at Moose suggestive entries, yellow and faded and 11 others. Last year 386 were con· with age: firmed. At every mission there is a school, and Sunday.schools exist at all s. d. the stations. Bishop Horden has trans· Four loads of furze fagots to lated into the Cree language all the Old 'Testament lessons of the Church, the burn Ridley and Latimer…. 12 0 Prayer.Book and hymnal, 'Pilgrim's Carriages of these loads. . • … .. 2 0 Progress,' a short catechism, and a Two chains, two staples, four Bible and Gospel history. He has just finished what he regards as the crown- laborers. . • … ….. .. . .. .. .. 5 10 ing work of his life-the complete trans· lation of the whole Bible into the lan- 19 10 guage of the Crees." -A great and increasing enterprise Mexico.-Better days for this long. is being carried on by the English Misbenighted land of the Aztecs seem to sion to Deep.sea Fishermen. It is esti. be about to dawn. With a government mated that about 20,000 men and boys unprecedentedly stable, as well as pro- are regularly engaged in the North Sea gressive, and with a purer Gospel mak· fishing fleets, and many thousands also ing steady progress from scores of cen· in other seas frequented by British fish. ing bO,ats. On the 11 mission ships last year 8130 medical and surgical patients were received and treated. The social and religious work carried on is highly [THEBE tables are meant to include only Missions in cOUlltrieB either heal hen or Roman Catholic. most probable estimates obtainable bave been given. Mainly in order that tbese two page. m1gbt hold od .; c:i ~ .~ '.5", g .; f'"o .~ SOCIETIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND ,; :'S" ..~, S z~" UPON T1l1il CONTINENT. … S ::ii S 0 0 "."'", J: ~ S'" ''0."i.l. 0… Q "..0<.>. . .S=".. .. "."§'" '''.'S"" os 0 .'.'~".". ~" ~" S '0 21 ):rl p" <5 A"
————– —————— Church Missionary Society………………. 1799 $1,346,885 $60,000 316 71 242 107 297 Sooiety for Propagation of Gospel .. '" ….. , 1701 582,600 ……… . 510 30 430 85 162 Baptist Society……….•••.••.•. " .,. . . . . . . . 1792 345,625 38,000 128 …… 108 …… 53 London Society. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. …… 1795 748,125 76,250 169 …… 140 46 1261 Wesleyan Methodist….. ….•.. ………… 1816 625,645 21,615 137 35 108 ,… .. 195 Australasian Methodist…………………. 1856 79,330 to,610 20 …. .. 17 …. .. 79 Metbodist New Connection………… ….. 1859 21,800 …….. .. 18 ….. . 12 …. .. 3l United MethOdist Free Churches.. … 18:37 58,765 8790 76 801 68 ….. . 8 Welsb Calvinistic …………………… , 1841 32,345 2000 11 3 6 6 4 Primitive Methodist………. …. ………… 1869 18,350 540 7 …… 5 2 Presbyterian Chnrch of England. ………. 1847 92,930 2745 20 13 22 17 10 Universities Mission to Central Africa…… 1860 93,910 21 27 1 22 3 Strict Baptist. . . . .. .. . .. ……………….. 1861 4000 259 4 …… 4 …… 4 China Inland Mission. … ………………. 186~ 182,920 38,500 60 142 92 130 17 20 15 13 The Friends……… ' ………………….. 1867 52,005 1020 Presbyterian Church of Ireland………….. 1840 83,155 10,335 12 8 11 10 2 Church of Scotland……………………. " 1829 230,620 45,907 22 13 18 …… 4 Free Church……… ' ………………….. 1843 392,900 100,405 54 51 36 48 13 United Presbyterian…………………….. 1847 194,865 ~6,OOO 69 20 53 29 20 Reformed Presbyterian … ' ….. -. ……… 1842 3665 .. 1 1 Twenty-five other British Societies ……… . 840,725 ………….. .. 143 85 843 18 Moravian Church….. …………………. 1732 109,865 120,000 151 10 132 14 23 Basle Society …………………….. , …. , 1815 249,200 34,600 132 4! 120 5 30 Berlin Society. ………………………… 1824 87,500 37,500 64 GossDer's Society……………………… 1836 39,915 7 60 2 4 HermanDsbnrg Society.. ……………….. 1849 69,442 1847 23 Leipsic SOClety…………………. …….. 1836 6250 59 2/) 18 17 North German Society……. ,. _.. .. .. .. .. …. 1836 28,8111 1418 29 Rhenish Society……………………….. ' 1828 105,645 4 50 … 22 5 16,600 84 2 :to 2 17 II 3 4 1 " 78 .4 16 Breklmn Society……………. ,….. ….. 1877 17,770 .. _ 11 …. .. 6 ……
Ten Other German SoCieties……………. . 00,900 …….. 35 ….. . 25 83 2 Paris Society….. … ………………. …. 1822 95,428 13,846 ~7 5 28 8 ~o Thirteen NetherIar•.ds Societies….. '" ….. . 132,062 …….. .. 88 …… 72 …… 47 Fifteen Scandinavian Societies………… ., 226,159 …….. .. 114 42 89 50 26 :rotal, 91 Societies in Europe….. ………… $7,214,885 $680,113 2477 990 2175 1030 2386 1tI6 1216 Total, 42 Societies in United States………. , …… $5.006,283 $469,419 1239 222 775 Total for Europe aud America……….. , – – 12,221:168. $i:'1~' 271612i2 328i 1805 300i Accuracy has been aimed at, and also completeness. Where the official figures were not at hand, the Statistics, a large number of Societies have been grouped together.] -i .~" , …,,; -i .;:: oJ ."S "0 ~ ~ .~ ..: .Q ~""'" 0 'i? .I ~"'" 0 Ii< ii; ."~ ~ .~ 2 ".~ . Countries in which t' 0 >-1 Mi.sions lire Sustained. z"..'. § ::: 0; :;; ."'~" ""o"S I;" ~"'" ~ ''0" '0 '0"" "'" .0g i'i"i j'"" S ;a 00 .Q ::: rt2 S rt2 ]..""'Q.". ."q" ."".<Q..i '"rt2 '"S 0 0 .".q" Eo< "0 0 —— ———— …… 4207 5240 327 50,197 3000 200,665 1793 70,645 Turkey, China, Japan, India, 2300 2972 475 …… 40,000 …… 250,000 850 New Zealand,N. W. Am""ica. 40,600 India, China, Japan, Africa, S.
America, WestIndies.
281 570 795 …… 27,067 2754 135,000 850 13,650 India, China, Syria, Africa, 5134 6650 Ig29 …… 73,454 5857 301,438 2016 West Indies. 110,292 China, India, Africa, Madagas- car. Polynesia.
2090 2565 2054 1661 36,235 1~00 108,000 828 48,164 India, China, Africa, West In- dies. ….. 3697 :'3813 1481 …… 32,860 …… ….1.1.4.,.8.0.7 2074 40,767 Fiji, Samoa, New Britain. 58 114 2247 ………. 8 220 China (Tien Tsin). 93 56 …… 283 736 10,485 …… ………. China, Australia, Africa. 130 160 62 145 37 52 2199 277 9939 143 4729 N. E. India, Brittany. 110 192 198 85 84 158 59 760 150 ………. 8 210 South Africa. Fernando Po. 37 49 272 806 138 44 3770 87, ………. 30 800 India, China. 419 467 20 12 1071 30 3000 Zanzibar and Lake Nya!sa. 124 162 ….. . …… 24 737 India (Madras, Ceylon), 213 260 24 ….. ~32 660 868 193 99 …… . …… 492 673 180 145 3158 417 ………. 28 307 China (ten Provinces). 24 18 261 33 3196 212 20,000 158 12,088 India, China, Madagascar. 242 42 590 25 ……… 52 8533 China, India (Kathiawar). 96 …… 985 125 6000 105 7393 India, China, Africa.
7232 153 20,000 318 30,658 India, Melanesia, Syria, Africa, 11,494 730 25,000 122 11,983 India, China, Japan, Africa, West Indies.
8 11 ……3 1 40 …… … …… 3 210 Syria (Antioch, etc.). 1212 1801 21,170 …… 2231 .., ………… 845 20,481 Asia, Africa, Anstralia, North 1072 1402 139 139 31,380 524 90,544 243 and South America.
621 950 352 …… 12,301 1224 ~4,662 290 10,984 India, China, West Africa. 469 606 145 …… 12,000 2012 U,537 55 4179 China, South Africa. 11,472 1208 85,008 80 1700 India (Chota Nagpoor). 235 293 18 …… 10,837 1712 18,284 55 8440 Africa, India, Australia. 13,841 380 14,192 186 4819 South India, Burmah. 220 333 59 …… 459 Africa, New Zealand. 398 467 179 147 482 40 800 12 7006 Africa, China, Sumatra, New 11,907 351 39,442 150 Guinea. 31 46 14 … …
626 812 65 118 12 29 6 1 3 … .. 96 3 108 India (Telugus).
52 197 30 …… 540 ….. 1!22 20 646 11,694 116 8806 Africa (S. and Senegal), Tahiti. 210 308 275 19 8947 390 6901 …… 136,000 171 860 567 117 103 3500 427 …… 21,419 …… 64,000 391 31.75( — 518,984 — – – – – – – – – – – 1213 1532 27 ,562 35,859 10,426 287.7 451,323 22,928i1:651,325 11,638 9822 "14,524 5346 2525256.649 30,600'~~ 5882 182.205 36,384 50,383 15,762 5402 707.972 53,528'1~= 17,520 -wi.189 appreciated by the fishermen, lighten- The Continent.-The number of ing, as it does most effectually, the Protestant pastors of all denominations dreary isolation of their six or eight in France is thus given by Pastor Deweeks' fishing cruise. Whenever the coppet in his preliminary sketch of a ships are sighted on their ocean pil- project for the Federation of French grimages they are greeted with cheers. Pro t est ant C h u r c h e s : Reformed Churches (established Presbyterian), -Rev. James Spurrell, recently de- 900 ; Lutheran, 100 ; Free (Presbytericeased, left a lAgacy of £50,000 to the an), 60; Methodist, 40; Baptist, 15; Church Missionary Society; and a strict- scattering, independent, and evangely anonymous donation of $1000 was lists of the Evangelical societies of Gensent a few weeks ago by a missionary of eva and France, 45. The grana total is another society, who had seen something 1160. of Church Missionary Society work in the foreign field, and had long wished -For twenty years Dr. McAlI has carto further it. ried on with wonderful fervor, energy, skill, and success the work of evangeli- -Among the outgoing missionaries zation in France, and at length finds of last year from England were three the management of its details too exsisters designated for the same field in hausting for his strength, and so feels East Africa, a widowed mother's gift to constrained to transfer a part of the God, and two sisters from an Irish rec· burden to other shoulders, and from tory, whose love and zeal will be be- henceforth will pass th,. greater portion stowed upon China. of his time in comparative rest in Lon- don. But, of course, while he lives, -The Baptists with good reason are and to the utmost of his ability, brain, heartily rejoicing and giving thanks heart, and hand will be busied seeking over their success in raising the large the best things for France. Centennial Fund. December 1st, £105,- 625 were in hand or pledged, and, full -The Swedish Missionary Society is of courage and enthusiasm, the propo- actively at work among the Laplanders. sition now is to continue the" forward An orphanage is sustained at Ange and movement" until £125,000 are secured; 6 schools in other portions of the counand further, the appeal goes out for more try, at which 173 children receive inmissionaries, in order that within two struction. The king made a grant of years at least 100 men may be added to 2000 crowns last year, but the expenses the force in the field. exceeded the income by 1500 crowns.
-Two years ago the children of the -The police of Vienna are attempt- Free Church of Scotland were asked to ing to suppress Methodism in that city. send from Aden to Lovedale 64 Galla When the English Methodists appealed girls and boys, rescued from slave ships to the courts, it was held that their by the Queen's men-of-war. It was an meeting!! were too large to be tolerated expensive and difficult work to transfer under the laws regulating private worso many from South Arabia to Zanzi- ship in Austria. Then they appealed bar, then to Mauritius Island, then to to the Minister of Education and Wor- ])ast London port, and then to the ship, who answered that their sect was Kafirland of Southeast Africa. But the too small for imperial protection. And work was done, and the Scottish Sun- the Wesleyan Society says: "Although day-schools did it. Most of these 22 we have not yet received the official girls and 42 boys have been" adopted" answer to our application for State recby Sunday-schools, classes, or generous ognition and right of public worship, friends, who pay on the average about we have been informally made aware half the cost of maintaining them, which that our application has been refused. amounts to $50 a year for each one. In other words, it is in Vienna'a punish. able offence for the little flock of Meth- of 500,000 square miles, and comprises odists-loyal, God-fearing people, good three ancient kingdoms-Babylonia, subjects and citizens-to meet ~gether Edom, and Persia, the whole of the for the wortlhip of God and the preach- Persian Gulf, and the northern half of ing of the Gospel. The Middle Ages Arabia. are not so distant after all-only thirty. six hours from London! -The revised Syriac Bible, long in process of preparation, is now going ASIA. through the press under the superin- tendence of Dr. Labaree, at the expense Turkey.-This is heaping coals of of the- American Bible Society in New fire on the head of the foe. Mr. Bart- York. It is said to be the most labori. lett, whose house in Bourdour was ous and difficult job which the Society burned last summer by those who were has ever undertaken. But no expense hostile to his work, and to whom the is spared to make it liS perfect as possi. Turkish Government paid an indem- ble. The book is eagerly waited for by nity, while the work of rebuilding goes Syriac readers in Persia, Turkey, and on is in Afiou Kara Hissa, about 70 miles Russia. north, bestowing aid and comfort upon a little body of Protestants suffering India.-On an average in this vast severe persecutions; and soon after ar- peninsula there is one Christian (nonriving the hou~e was stoned in which heathen) to every 126 persons, and in Mr. Bartlett and his daughter were certain districts of the Madras Presistaying. But, far from being discour- dency as many as one to every 5 ; and yet aged, however, he is planning to use there are multitudes, millions, to whom most of the money paid him personally the Gospel has never been preached. by the Turkish Government to help purchase a site and build a place of -The Church Missionary In1elligencer worship. He has good hopes of so es- contains a report of the conversion of tablishing the work that the persecutors the number of Mohammedans who some will become disheartened. months since were baptized at Poona. Among them was a Maulvi, who was -The Presbyterian mission at Beyrut said not to have his equal in Poona. reports a steady and serious loss of He has lived in Arabia eighteen years, strength through emigration to America made sixteen pilgrimages to Mecca, and and Australia; and in large part it is was for a time interpreter for the Engthe best-educated young men and wom- lish Consul at Jedda. He has been a en who take their departure, seeking great student of the Koran, knows Arabetter opportunities for themselves, the bic well, and is an eloquent speaker. most useful church-members, teachers He has come to abhor Islam, and reof the native schools, prospective pas- joices in the light of the Gospel. He tors, etc. has about him in Poona 200 or 300 dis- ciples whom he is seeking to bring to -Mr. and Mrs. Lethaby, says the Christ. Scottish Leader, carryon their educative operations in that out-of-the-way land -The proud Brahmans are not what which lies between Palestine and Arabia they used to be, and instead of receiventirely at their own risk. And the ing honor and worship, are often com- : risk is no small matter, for, on several pelled to work for their living like other, occasions, they have been waylaid and people, and to perform offices in busirobbed and placed in peril of their lives ness establishments or under governby the lawless Arabs. ment with salaries ranging from $6 to $25 a month. Persia.-The field which the missionaries of the Persian Mission are at- -In Southern India these six socitempting to evangelize embraces an area eties have been especially successful in their work: The American Board, Basle, When I was thrown down a second and Church Missionary Society, Leipsic, a third time, I was dragged to a large London, and the Propagation Society; filthy pit, and they tried to pitch me and this table will present to the eye a in. After being thrown down once or portion of their remarkable achieve- twice more, I got free and ran along the ment. road away from these horrible pits."
Commu- Adhe- Scbol- -How little we know of economy! A Chinese farm-laborer may be hired nicants. rents. arB. by the year for from about $8 to $20, with food, clothing, head-shaving, and American Board 3,7U7 13,067 4,820 tobacco. Those who work by the day Basle_. __ … . . . 5,493 10,365 6,453 receive from 6 to 8 cents, with a noon- Church M. S… 22,627 94,716 22,459 day meal. At the planting and harvest- Leipsic. . . •. . . . 6,898 14,504 4,819 ing of rice, wages are from 8 to 15 cents London … _…. 7,977 61,449 22,347 a day, with five meals, or 25 cents a S. P. G … _…. 15.979 49,150 17,120 day without food. Food averages little more than $1 a month for each member Total. ….. 62,68l 243,247 78;oTIl of a farmer's family. One who buys, cooks, and eats hi!! meals alone spends 1 from 12 to 25 cents a month upon the raw material and fuel. Two pounds of -Among the 17,000,000 of Telugus rice, costing 3 cents, with relishes of 14 societies are at work, with a force of salt fish, pickled cabbage, cheap vegenearly 100 male missionaries ahd about table and fruits, costing one cent and a 750 native assistants. After 90 years half, is the ordinary allowance to each from the beginning of effort there are laborer for each day. some 53,000 communicants, of whom 40,000 are found in Baptist churches, -In Canton there are missions of the The American Lutherans (General Syn- Scandinavians, .Berlin Missionary Sood) have gathered upward of 6000, ciety. Wesleyans, American Board, Lon. The Propagation Society has 10,632 ad. don Missionary Society, Southern Bap. herents and 3805 communicants. tist Convention, and Presbyterian Church, North. These report 3503 -Says Mr. Holt S. Hallett, in Black•. communicants, and the baptism of.356 wood: "The great want of Burma, the during 1891. Shan States and Siam is popUlation. The frequent wars of the last century Korea.-A medical missionary, tellnearly exterminated the people, and ing of a tour which brought fine opporlarge fertile tracts, formerly cultivated, tunities for preaching the Gospel, adds: are left without an inhabitant. . . . "We were able to live nearly entirely The Chinese are beyond question the upon native food. It consists of rice, finest popUlation in Asia. They are himche highly seasoned with cayenne akin to Burmese and Shana in religion pepper; fish, often spoil~d; soup, and tastes, and amalgamate happily beans, and sometimes pork and beef. with them, improving the qualities of If we did not see them preparing our each race. A Burmese woman prefers meals or know what we were getting an industrious Chinaman to a happy- they would be much more palatable. go-lucky Burman as a husband. He is At one hotel we saw nine dog-skins more thrifty, and will keep her in greater spread on the straw roof. We asked afHuence. " what they did with the dogs; the reply was, 'We make soup of them.' I had China.-Medical missionaries in Chi- quite enjoyed the soup previollsto this, nahave their share of trouble. Dr. Rigg, but left it untouched the rest of the in hill pioneering work in the Fuh.kien journey. I also gave up the meat, as province, has just escaped death: "I was I did not know whether I wag getting closely followed and pressed upon, struck, and my clothes torn off me, my watch and chain were torn away, my hat went and everything in my pockets taken, and r was thrown on the ground. beef or dog. My bill of fare had now Portal, who has been appointed British narrowed down to rice and himche Commissioner to Uganda, disclose the (made from a vegetable almost like to thoroughness of the plans of the govour cabbage and raw turnip, prepared ernment for the occupation of that ter. somewhat similar to sauerkraut) three ritory. Beside taking a strong contino times a day, 'With, occasionally, fish, gent of Ghoorkas, drawn from the army chicken, or eggs." of India, Mr. Portal has been authorized to engage for the Queen's service Nu- Japan.-There are now 92 Christian bian soldiers in the service of the Brit· churches in the city of Tokio. ish East Africa Company. English offi- cers, commissioned and non-commis- -The Methodist Episcopal Church, sioned, will lead. His guard, consist- South, has a prosperous mission in and ing of 400 well·armed natives, were to about Kobe. Six years ago it was start for Mombasa on December 16th. opened by three men who went from China. Now there is a membership of -From that same region, toward 505, with 87 names on probation; a which so many anxious eyes haTe been conference of 12 missionaries and 5 no.· turning, Bishop Tucker writes: "Ex· tive preachers; 5 church buildings, aggeration about the eagerness of the worth $5200 ; 2 institutions of learning people here to be taught there has been owning property valued at $40,000, be· none. No words can describe the emo· sides numerous day schools. There are tion which filled my heart as on Sunday also 38 Sabbath schools, with 1535 scholars and 71 teachers. J stood up to speak to fully 1000 men AFRICA. and women who crowded the church of Uganda. It was a wonderful sight! -How vast are the spaces contained There, close beside me, was Katikiro, within the boundaries of this colossal the second man in the kingdom. There continent, and spiritually how deso. on every hand were chiefs of various late! All Europe could be put into an degrees, all Christian men and all in area in Central Africa that has not a their demeanor devout and earnest. single missionary! A thousand men scattered over those 12,000,000 square -The Bishop of Mashonaland names miles are equal to about 18 men for the three portions of South Africa where whole of France, 10 for Great Britain, prohibition actually prohibits. They 4 for England, about the same number are, first, Bechuanaland, under Khama, each for New York and Ohio, and 1 only a noble Christian native chief; second, for Massachusetts and Connecticut to· Basutoland, where Sir Marshall Clarke gether! ! holds jurisdiction; and, third, the Orange Free State. -Africa is now the centre of the world'..s enterprise. The report with -A cable dispatch from the Congo reference to Johannesburg, a town in announces that the railroad has been the Transvaal, seems incredible for completed from Matadi to Palaballa, ten Africa. It has grown up entirely with· miles. After the track layers reached in the last ten years, is called the Gold. that point, a mile and a half of the road en City, and stands on a gold reef upon was completed in ten days, though which 50 companies are now working, nearly two years were taken to build employing 3370 white men and over the first ten miles. The road has been 32,000 natives. The city has a popula- carried beyond obstacles that long made tion of over 40,000, and has all the mod- rapid progress impossible; and now ern appliances of light, cars, etc. the great enterprise will be easily pushed forward until the upper river, -According to a telegram from Lon· at Stanley Pool, is connected with navi· don, the preparations that are being gation on the Lower Congo. made for the expedition of Mr. Gerald -In Liberia are American missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Meth- solicitude relate to the spiritual crude- odist Episcopal Church, Presbyterian ness of many of the genuine converts; Church, American Baptist Missionary the persistent efforts of Romish priests Union, Evangelical Lutheran Synod, to beguile the people, though thus far and the African Methodist Episcopal without much success; and, above all, Church. the decline of the population, the deaths ISLANDS OF THE SEA. continually outnumbering the births.
-Rev_ A. W. Murray, of Samoa, died -The future of Hawaii is far from some months since. For years he was bright, either upon the financial, the the honored father of Presbyterian political, or the religious side. The missions. He was the trusted friend sugar industry is paralyzed, there is of Geddie. He was eighty-one years trouble between rulers and peoJlle, old. Of Scottish birth, he was ordained while the old-time heathenism, and in 1835, and reached Samoa in 1836, other forces which make for unrightwhere he prosecuted t.he glorious enter- eousness, are unpleasantly active. It prise begun by John Williams. For is said that in a population of 90,000 forty years he labored in the isles of the there are 55,000 foreigners.
Pacific. -The wife of the Rev. J. G. Paton, -The Australasian Methodist Confer- the missionary to the New Hebrides, ence has charge of the Fiji, Tonga, Sa- once wrote homEl that the wonderful moa, New Britain, and New Guinea mis- transfiguration of a New Hebridean sions. It is a striking fact that the savage, even in the expression of his number of church-members in Fiji, 30,- face, after he has become a Christian, 264, is about thrice as many as the num- is worth laboring a lifetime to witness.
ber connected with the same body in -The Presbyterian missionaries in New South Wales and Queensland. The the New Hebrides have dedded to for- Fiji Christians have not only paid the ward a protest to Lord Knutsford, Colostipends of 300 village teachers, but nial Secretary in London, against the have given more than $5000 during the proposed renewal of the importation of year to the cause of foreign missions. Kanaka labor into Queensland. Three teachers from Rewa in Fiji have volunteered to become missionaries to -Concerning the recent miss~on of New Guinea_ Dr. Paton to Washington, to endeavor -Let us look at the figures for Fiji to induce our Government to help in more in detail, for there is nothing to suppressing the traffic in fire-arms, in- match them in the entire range of mis- toxicating liquors, and opium in the sionary history; and the high honor New Hebrides and other Pacific islands, was conferred upon the English Wes- good Dr. Cuyler overflows in righteous loyans of transforming these vilest and wrath in the New York Evangelist in moat brutal of all savages upon the face this fashion: "Just think 0f it! A lot of the earth. On those islands are of converted cannibals begging a 'Jhris- found 969 churches (buildings) and 354 tian government not to sond them .my other preaching-plaoes, 11 English mis- more muskets and rum! Verily, the sionaries,71 native ministers,197510cal Christianity of our own land does need preachers, 3315 class-leaders, 30,264 Christianizing at the very core. Ships full members, and 5351 on trial; 1724 sail from American ports with mission- Sunday-schools, with 2724 teachers und aries as passengers to Africa, and with 38,918 scholars, 1976 day schools with thousands of gallons of rum in their 39,364 pupils, and attendants upon cargo ; heaven goes in the cabin, and hell public worship 102,451, which number goes in the ship's hold! How long will includes almost the entire population of it take us to con vert the heathen in this the islands! The chief grounds for style ?"
The Missionary Review of the World — September 1888
THE CENTENARY CONFERENCE OF MISSIONS
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XI. No. n.-Old Series._ _SEPTEMBER, _ _VOL. I. No. 9.-New Series.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE OENTENARY OONFERENOE OF MISSIONS. SECOND EDITORIAL LETTER FROM REV. A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
LONDON, June 26, 1888. My DEAR DR. SHERWOOD :-This great World Oouncil impresses me as, so far in history, the climax of a series of astounding developments, which, like a pyramidal structure, have been rising from the broad base laid a century ago in the recognition of duty and debt to this lost world. 'These developments may especially be noted in seven directions or successive stages. First, there came the opening of doors till the whole world is now practically open. Then the organization of Missionary Societies and Boards now numbering over two hundred. Then the revival of the doctrine of divine stewardship and the consequent consecration of money; then the multiplication of laborers until the church knows not how to send those that offer. Then the development of the woman's agency in direct mission work. Then the bestowment of a new spirit of united prayer, and now the exhibition of the essential unity of all true disciples in what seems to me the most important and thoroughly ecumenical council that has ever yet assembled. The greatness of this gathering grows upon us all. Babel's miracle was reversed at Pentecost-the confusion of tongues that divided and dispersed mankind was offset by the tongues of fire uttering in every language the wonderful works of God. But here we have an advance even on Pentecost. Then and there, disciples could do nothing more than utter the gospel message, each in his own tongue. Here, from the east, west, north, south, the scarred veter~ns from a thousand fields have come up to the metropolis of the world, to translate into our one English tongue the stupendous triumphs of this gospel as wrought under their own eyes, in the isles of the sea, in India and Ohina, Japan and Burmah, Turkey and Syria, Africa and Papal lands. But though we have reached a climax of development, the topstone and capstone have yet to be laid before the pyramid of wonders is complete. The 1JJhole world must now be taken possession of and occupied for Ohrist. Without this grandest result, all else is comparatively not only unfinished, but is failure. To this end all elsc points and tends. For this God led His people to see and feel their debt to a dying world. For this He opened wide the doors, led to the organization of societies whose network of effort should encompass the globe; for this He led disciples to give money and offer themselves; for this ·He brought woman to the front, gave a spirit of prayer and manifested the essential unity of all true disciples. And if now, with all these encouragements and helps, we do not go up and possess the land and drive out the sons of Anak, it will be the most faithless and cowardlyapostacy of the ages! Never came the words of the inspired apostle with more force to the church: "See then that ye walk circllmspectly, not as fools, but as wise, buying up opportunity, because the days are evil! Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, and be not drunk with wine, wherein; is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." Eph. v. 15-18.
Another impression most profoundly made by this Oonference is the necessity for a positive, aggressive type of Ohristian faith and life. The gospel needs no defense-if it does, the best apologetics are found in ener·getics. ;, To use the spade and throw up defenses may be well enough for those whose principal thought is to put up a barrier and a rampart between themselves and the foe. But whenever an enemy can put the opposing army on the defensive an immense advantage is gained. The only hope of successful warfare is to carry the war into the enemy's country-give him all he can do to take care of himself, press him to the wall, divide his forces, giving him no chance to combine and concentrate; compel him to garrison every imperiled point, not knowing where next you are about to strike. God never meant that His troops should busy themselves throwing up intrenchments and hiding behind defenses. To attempt to defend the Bible is a confession or concession of its weakness, or rather our own. Ohristian missions have shown that the gospel needs no defense. It is the power of God unto salvation, and the wisdom of God, too. All we have to do is to let philosophy, speculation, doubtful hypotheses alone, and simply, persistently, faithfully, lovingly, positively preach Ohrist, and the gospel will assert its own authority and vindicate its own divinity. There is such a thing as obscuring its glory even by the smoke of the incense of our own praises. There was one paper read on the work in the Fiji Islands; it occupied but twenty minutes, yet that twenty minutes, packed full of simple facts, carried conviction not to be produced by a half a day's subtle reasoning. The logic of events is the demonstration of the Spirit. The world may dispute the conclusions of argument: the keen edge of the metaphysician's sword often only whets the edge of his antagonists. But there are wonders of God's power that compel even Oharles Darwin to say, with Pharaoh's magicians, "This 1:S the finger of God." Those facts, modern missions must multiply and spread before the people. We nc:cd not yoke our arguments to God's chariot: only gather out the stones and give it free course and it will be glorified.
Another profound impression left by this World Oouncil is that of the. marvelous celerity of movement in this march of the ages. Truly God is marching on, and he who would keep pace with God must not lag behind or lack for energy and enthusiasm.': This is an age of steam and telegraph. There has been an amazing development of human invention and discovery. The march of humanity has been so rapid as to leave every other age far behind in rate of advance. Within a quarter of a century changes have taken place which have revolutionized human society. The spectroscope has been added to the telescope and microscope. The telegraph has yoked the lightning to its chariot, and now outstrips even the wings of the wind. We have devised photometers so delicate that stars which the greatest telescope cannot reveal are detected by the delicate instruments that betray the presence of the faintest light.. 'The deaf are almost made to hear and the blind to see. The most terrible surgical operations are performed while the patient is wholly unconscious through the beneficent action of anmsthetics. But if the march of man is rapid, how much more so is the march of God. He never falls behind. ~'The faster man moves the faster God moves. The celerity of His march is always in proportion to the preparation and capacity of His people to follow. And hence we may expect Him as leader to move onward and forward with more and more astounding rapidity as He gives us facility and opportunity for a corresponding rapidity of advance.
The unthinking man and even disciple may sometimes become discouraged and complain that it is impossible to meet the growing demands of the constantly advancing and enlarging work of missions. But such forget two things. First, this is the comincing proof that it is God's work and He is in it. No human power could have opened doors as He has done it, or swept away obstacles such as He has removed, or insured such miraculous swiftness of movement. In every part of the world-field God is manifestly working, and because He is working, His church finds new developments perpetually challenging her attention and response. While hurrying to occupy one new point and post of advantage another and another invite immediate occupation. While going up to possess some fair land that has suddenly been thrown open, fresh territory on every side commands and demands our prompt entrance, lest the enemy go in before us. While we are hurling back one wing of the enemy, the other gives way and the very center reels and staggers, and God sounds the trumpet call for fresh battalions to come to His help and complete the route of the foe. All healthy work and successful war makes constantly increasing demands on our resources, our sacrifices, our energies, our endeavors. A healthy boy will outgrow and outwear his old clothes, in fact they never get old, for while yet comparatively new, he gets too big for them, or his very activity quickly wears them through or tears them through. But no sensible mother ever complains because her boy is growing. A poor sickly cripple may wear the same pants till they rot from mere age, but the cripple does not grow. Because missions represents the healthy offspring of the church in her best type of life, the work of missions will always astonish us by rapidity of development. The more rapid~ the more normal and healthy and hopeful.
Secondly, let us not forget that it is the salvation of the church to be il'l, stra£ts. Laodiceanism is always already developed whenever and wherever disciples become rich in goods and easy in mind, as those that have need of nothing, or are sufficient unto themselves. Emergencies drive us to God for new help and strength, as they drove Moses and Joshua and Hezekiah to the throne of grace. To feel deeply our own inadequacy to the task; to be consciously in the minority; to be humbled by our own weakness, poverty, jgnorance, infirmity-this is the first condition of real power. If our trust in God be only as great as our distrust of ourselves, there are no triumphs impossible.
It is an indisputable historic fact that the eras and epochs of the greatest power in the church have been those when the exigencies and emergencies have been the most trying and desperate. The very fires which, by a seven-fold t"rial in the furnace, kept the Huguenots and Waldensian churches pure and true, were the fires of persecution. The most startling supernatural deliveranccs were wrought when every human hope had been crushed by apparent and overwhelming disaster. The church of God will never be in easy circumstances. Whenever J eshurun waxes fat he always kicks. Whenever God's people get in comfortable and especially luxurious circumstances, then evangelism declines, worldliness creeps subtly in, devotion dies, and the church has but a name to live. But to see a host of foes in our very front, which we cannot meet in our own strength; to behold a work whose very opportunities far overtax our available resources of men and means; to find God's chariot hastening on at such a rate that at our utmost speed we can barely keep it in sight-ah, this deepens the spirit of prayer, evokes consecration, and compels close fellowship with each other and with God.
Another impression left by this conference is the necessity of closer and more acUve fell01lJsMp among disciples.
Much has been said of our un'ity as expressed and developed in this great conference. Let us not forget that the very emergency of the church compels unity. Our opportunity and our peril alike make unity absolutely necessary. Before a united, determined, malignant, desperate foe, marshaling all his hosts and concentrating all his force against the Bible, the Ohrist and the instItutions of the gospel, we cannot afford to be divided. We unconsciously and involuntarily draw together in presence of a common danger. When the ark is in danger, we forget our tribal standards and close up our ranks about the tabernacle of God, until we touch shoulder to shoulder and forget our tribal allegiance in our anxiety for the treasures of our faith and hope. Macaulay says that in presence of men that worship a cow, the differences between evangelical disciples become positively insignificant. We add that to magnify and emphasize them till they become separating barriers and dividing lines, in the presence of foes that, like Herod and Pilate, become friends for the sake of crushing Ohristianity, is positively criminal. I take no merit or credit to myself that in this great conference I have forgotten my own country and my father's house, and almost lost my own identity and denominational connection. In the presence of issues so vast, and perils so tremendous, and work so herculean, and foes so colossal, all has been driven from my mind save the fact that I am a servant of God, and am standing with other servants of God, watching the imperative signals of His hand in the crisis of the opportunity of the church and the destiny of the world. And if, in- presence of such an enemy on the one hand and the Jehovah of the covenant on the other, I could not forget all else but this, that we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one common cause, hope, and home, I should doubt whether, after all, I am a disciple. A man who, in such a presence, magnifies his denomination is only a fossilized ecclesiastic-a mere mummy.
In connection with this necessity of closer fellowship, one other impression this conference has graven on my heart, and that of many others, as with the pen of iron and the point of adamant: The voice of God to-day commands active co-operation among disdples in mission qoork. Here for ten days we have met from every quarter and every evangelical branch of the great Ohurch Oatholic, and not a discordant note has been sounded. Brethren may dwell together in unity, may talk freely and frankly of things in which there is wide difference of opinion, and yet feel one heart-beat of responsive sympathy. This harmony of feeling and concert of action would continue if the contact and fellowship could continue. But there is danger that when we separate, diversities of sphere, denominational view and practical working may leave the way open for misapprehension and possible conflict. Oan we not perpetuate this contact and preserve this fellowship? The conference has bound itself by wholesome restraints not to open the door to resolutions. But even wholesome restrictions must not become a yoke of bondage.
I am fully persuaded that there is at least one way in which we may preserve certain links of contact and co-operation. We have spent hours upon the discussion of missionary comity, and in it we were touching the very core of practical mission problems. Now the only hope of permanent adjustment of missionary comity is by a missionary committee. Change the emphasis of your accent and you have the remedy suggested. This blessed contact which has developed such overflowing charity it would be a disaster to have broken and lost. Could there not be a committee, not legislative but advisory, representing different denominations and societies, to whom might be referred any questions pertaining to the adjustment of our common and co-operative missionary work? What if such representative men as Sir John Kenneway and Eugene Stock, Wardlaw Thompson and A. C. Thompson, Ellenwood and Gordon, Hudson Taylor and Wm. M. Taylor, Bishop Wilson and Ninde, could be organized into an interdenominational and international missionary committee, to keep up this blessed contact and counsel with each other by correspondence or converse as new exigencies arise I Let me mention one direction especially in which such a committee would be pre-eminently helpful: the occupation of fields for Ghrist. First, as to fields already fairly preoccupied, it could be determined to leave them to those now working in them, unless too large. So has the Nile Valley been practically left to the United Presbyterians, Turkey to American Congregationalists, Palestine to English Churchmen, and Siam to American Presbyterians.
Second, as to fields now open but unoccupied, whose very vastness demands division of labor, such a committee might aid in securing prompt and united occupancy without overlapping and interference.
Third, as to fields not yet opened fully but just about to be-like Korea and Thibet-preparations might be made by which both delay and waste of material might be prevented. So important does this matter seem to me that I can think of no other work more important, and for the sake of doing this any man might feel honored if he were called of God, to lay down any other and separate himself unto this. I am painfully conscious that the occupation of the world-field, vast as it is, is not a matter of numbers. There is an enthusiasm of mere numbers that is often misleading and mistaken. God can work by a few humble faithful consecrated souls better than by a vast host of nominal disciples. Quality is far more important than quantity. But the fewer the heroic souls ready to dare the self-denying work the greater the need of preventing waste. We shall need all the men and women and all the money and means which can be obtained for the Lord's work. Let us have wise and holy counsellors, who act for the church and the Lord Christ, in mapping out the world-field and distributing the workmen widely and wisely.
But above !}ll our eyes need to be turned to the Lord. In the year-1863, in the midst of the great war for the Union, the ordinarily rainless summer in Nevada was suddenly interrupted by a
THB TRAINING OF WORKMEN
densely dark and threatening sky of storm-clouds. So heavy the pall that rested over Virginia City that Mount Davidson could scarcely be distinguished in the distance from the black masses behind it.
A remarkable phenomenen then appeared. Upon the very summit a little tongue of golden flame swayed to and fro like some weird supernatural signal; strange flame, indeed! for it neither waxed nor waned, but steadily burned on. It was the flag of the republic. There chanced to be a rift in the dense clouds, and the setting sun through that unseen rift flung its radiant beam upon that nation's standard and transfigured it to golden flame, an(l for an hour that burning bauner held the charmed gaze of the multitude. And, stranger still, that very day marked the fall of Vicksburg and the victory of Gettysburg!
Darkness that may be felt overspreads the earth, and gross darkness the people. The black clouds of skepticism and infidelity, irreligion and idolatry gather their awful masses in our sky and threaten a destructive storm. But on the very summits of Pagandom, in the midst of the death-shade, waves God's own signal. '1'he flag of the Cross burns in the ray of the Sun of Righteousness, the glory of God transfigures it. Even while we gaze upon it Satan's strongholds are giving way before the onset of God's missionary hosts, and the very tide of battle is turning. We have only to keep our eyes fixed on that banner, . and by that sign we shall conquer!
THE TRAINING OF WORKMEN.
• BY HENRY GRATTAN GUINNESS, LONDON.
[Dr. Pierson writes, concerning this paper, read at the London Conference and furnished 08 by the author for publication: "Clear, practical, pungent and powerful, it captivated the Rssembly. "-EDS.1 WE have in thiJ'l year 1888 reached an important crisis in missions. A hundred years of missionary labor lie behind us, and we gather at this International convention from east, west, north, and south, to study its records, and to learn its lessons, that we may start with the fresh knowledge and renewed energy for our still unreached goal-the evangelization of the world.
The century has been a glorious one in gospel work. After ages of apostacy-followed by stormy times of Reformation-the church awoke a hundred years ago to its duty to publish the gospel to all mankind. During the century, thousands of devoted laborers have gone forth; hundreds of heathen languages have been learned; the Scriptures translated into them; the Wora of God widely proclaimed, and some three millions of heathen converted to Christianity. Among all people the gospel has proved its soultransforming power. A co-operative providence has opened the world. Railways and steamers traverse it in every direction. Meanwhile Protestant Great Britain, America and Germany have largely increased their Ipopulation and their wealth. England alone, after spending freely on necessaries and luxuries, hoards annually now no less than 240 millions of money (1,200 millions of dollars). The means to accomplish our God-given work are increased and increasing. What we want now, and what we seek, is full purpose and resolution to use the powers we possess. God grant that this conference may be, as it ought to be, a tUrning-point in missions-a stage from which the church will make a fresh start, and push on her glorious warfare against sin and Satan with tenfold courage and energy, l'esolvingby divine help to evangelize the world before the present generation has passed away!
If this is to be done it is clear that there must be an enormous increase in the missionary army. The non-Christian nations number over a thousand millions. To give no more than one missionary to every ten thousand of these we should need a hundred thousand missionaries. There are at present only six thousand-in the entire field-men and women, all told. A new era, however, seems dawning-witness the hundred missionaries added to the China Inland Mission in 1887, and the thousands of undergraduates in England and America who have recently pledged themselves to missionary work.
God is evidently answering prayer, and thrusting forth laborers into His harvest.
We gather here to-day at the outset of this convention, to consider the qualifications and training necessary for missionaries. Four points al'e raised for discussion-the first as to mental and spiritual qualifications; the second a as to special training at home; a third as to training in the field; and fourth as to the advisability of establishing missionary lectureships in our colleges. I take up here the first two of these points-the testing of candidates to ascertain their suitability for the work, and their training after acceptance, and before being sent out.
And firstly as to the qualifications required. A missionary is an ambassador for Christ to the heathen-or to any non-Christian people. It is of necessity, therefore, that he be a true Christian-an anointed man, one called of God to the ministry of the gospel, and sent forth by Him. The church cannot create such laborers; only He who made the world can make a true missionary. No training can manufacture him; no human ordination can fit him for his work. The best musical education cannot make a musician of one who has no ear, nor the ablest instruction an artist of one who has no taste. It is clear that we cannot create even genius, how much less grace. A true missionary, like a true minister, is a supernatural gift to the church and to the world from the ascended Saviour. He ascended np far above all heavens, and gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. He alone gave them then, He alone can give them now, In considering the application of a candidate, therefore, the question to be settled is not, Can he be made into a missionary? but, Has God called him to be such? Have the necessary qualifications been bestowed? Only where this is the case can the training be of any use. If a man or woman is to become a true and useful missionary, there must first be not only genuine convel'sion and sincere personal piety, but whole-hearted self-consecration to the work of God, and a call to His holy service; including a strong inward sense of vocation, together with providential indications and adaptations. There must be mental and physical fitness for foreign service, and abQve all the spirit of Christ, for no matter what other qualifications So mah may have, he will never be a missionary unless he is filled with Christ-like compassion for the lost, and with a burning desire to seek and save them. This should be the ruling feature of his character. With this almost any special talents may be utilized in missionary service; without it, even the most brilliant are useless, If the heart be intensely set on the salvation of the perishing, love will teach ingenuity, and lead to painstaking and perseverance. Love will overcome all obstacles, and accomplish its object. The love of souls, the longing for llalvation, is one of the leading qualifications that should be looked for. But even the presence of this does not make testing needless, for there may co-exist with it physical, mental or moral disqualifications. Delicate or unsound health, a nervous irritabitity or desponding temperament, a lack of vitality or vigor, personal defects of a serious character, hereditary or acquired tendency to any dangerous malady or bad habit-these are so many physical disqualifications. So again, a prevailing mental obtuse~ess, the absence of general intelligence and common sense, the want of good memory, of the power of attention and observation, of ability to distinguish between thin~ which differ-to reason correctly and to reach right conclusions-any conspicuous defect in these mental requisites should create grave hesitation as to a candidate's fitness for missionary work.
And there are moral dejects also which would hinder usefulness even if body and mind were all right. Pride, obstinacy, want of docility, of meekness, of sympathy; habits of exaggeration, misrepresentation, or mischiefmaking; indolence, selfishness, rashness, levity of character, lack of patience and perseverance, of faith and courage, of self-denial and prayerfulness; all these are prohibitory defects, and the candidate in whom any of these are observed should be recommended at least to wait till he has grown in needful grace.
On the other hand, it should be noted that there are defects of a different character, which constitute no real disqualification, because training may, to a great extent, remedy them. Ignorance, lack of habits of study, or of experience, narrow-mindedness arising from want of intercourse with various classes of men, awkwardness of manner, and many and similar faults, indicate only a candidate's need of education and training, and should not stamp him as ineligible.
2. We turn now to the subject of the TRAINING of accepted candidates. The question stands in the prospectus, "Should there be special training for the missionary service in addition .to general education?" The answer is, ttndoubtedly. God always trains His instruments. Every true missionary must be specially trained for his work, though not all in our schools. God has His own schools. They are very various, and some of them strange and severe. Moses was trained to be the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel in the courts and schools of Egypt, and in the mountain solitudes of Midian, for eighty years. David was trained to be king over Israel by years of spiritual experience, and by many dangers and toils. Daniel was trained for his wonderful prophetic office by his education and career in Babylon. Any training that we can give to a volunteer for missionary work will form at best but a small part of a greater and more effectual training which God himself bestows. We can do something to help, though not much. Let us see to it that what we do be done in harmony with that which is done by the'great Master. Our Lord himself carefully trained His apostles for the great work He committed to them-;-the evangelization of the world. His example is full of instruction for us.
Christgave His disciples a threefold training-theoretical, moral andpractical. This was one of the principal works which He accomplished in the world. He prepared the instruments, He trained the men who should afterwards evangelize it. He chose them, called them, kept them, taught them, prayed with them and for them, impressed Hisspirit upon them, breatheditinto them : He corrected them, expanded their minds, exalted their conceptions, and purified their motives and purposes. Before He sent them forth into the world He kept them for over three years with himself, during which He set before them His own glorious and sacred example. What a development of soul! What a training for service! "Follow me," He said, "and I will make you to become fishers of men." "Take up your cross and follow me." "Learn of me." " Abide in me."
Besides this He imparted to them priceless instructions. He tanght them the nature of His divine kingdom, His own personal character and claims, the nature of true holiness, the simplicity, spirituality and power of prayer, the excellence of humility, the essential duty and blessed results of self-sacrifice, the sin of hypocrisy and formality, the spirituality of worship, and the supremacy of the Word of God over all human tradition,;. He revealed to them also the future, unfolding the prospects which lay before the church the Jewish people and the Gentile world. He revealed the advent and th~ work of the Comforter, to whom they were in future ,to look for guidance and help. It was by these instructions and influences that He fitted His disciples to be the promulgoators of a pure, spiritual, universal religion, with charity as wide as the world, with consciences sensitive about sin, yet free from superstitious scruples; with habits of obedience to the divine law, though emancipated from bondage to human customs, and with characters cured of pride and passion, impatience, selfishness and self-will. Christ employed as His first ambassadors God-given, God-taught and God-sent messengers, and even these He had both sifted and trained.
Hence it is evident that the development of spiritualli!e is the great thing to be aimed at in missionary training. Woe to the church if she neglects this, or gives it a secondary place! Her messengers will be of little use, for un_ spiritual agents can never accomplish spiritual work. Are we not building up a spiritual temple? Must not each stone of it be a living stone, seeing the house is to be the habitation of God through the Spirit? If, then, the end in view be spiritual, so must the means and methods be-we must follow the example of Christ.
The effect of this training was to transform the men who received it. They became a wonder in the world. Men marvelled at these Galilean fishermen -ignorant and unlearned as they were in earthly things-that they should possess such spil"itual light and love, such wisdom and boldness as they evinced. Men took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Yes, they had been with Jesus. That was the secret of their power; that was the method of their training. The society of Christ was the school of their apostleship, the college in which they graduated. They had been with Jesus, and as the Father had sent Him so He sent them into the world, promising himself to be with them, and with their faithful successors even to the end of the age.
The calling, qualifying and directing of the laborers thus commenced by our Lord was afterwards continued by the Holy Ghost througoh the church. He sent forth missionaries unto the Gentiles. The Apostolic Church acted directly under the Spirit's guidance. " As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Then the church fasted, prayed, laid their hands on those men and sent them away. That is, they set apart and sent out those whom God had qualified and called. The Lord was with these missionaries and wrought glorious things through their instrumentality.
We cannot improve on this example of the primitive church. The Acts of the Apostles form the best guide-book for missionary societies and missionaries. The impulse and the energy must always come from heaven. Successful missionaries are God-appointed men. We must pray for such; watch and wait for them; welcome them and utilize them as they are given. Yes, for the thousands of workers still needed in the mission-.!ield we must first of all pray-pray as Elijah prayed for the rain, fervently, effectually, incessantly tIll the prayer is answered; pray as the church prayed for the promised Spirit before Pentecost. Such prayer would bring another Pentecost, and we need such a season to-day. We want the world to be evangelized, but we must remember that He who redeemed it and commanded His apostles to evangelize it, forbade them to leave Jerusalem on their glorious mission till they were endued with power from on high. They obeyed Him; the power came, and thousands were converted by it. But there never was and never will be any substitute for this spIritual power, this holy anointing. Without it evangelistic or missionary work must be in the deepest sense a failure.
With these sacred examples before us we cannot but ask the question whether our mode of testing missionary candidates is sufficiently careful and thorough, and whether our plan of training them aims, as it should do, at the development of the moral and spiritual naturH even more than at the invigoration of the mental powers, and the impartation of mere knowledge. Do we seek and select in the first place, and cultivate in the second, the type of character which Christ cultivated? Are we guided in our selection mainly by the spiritual stature of the candidate-by his humility, patience, prayerfulness, and faith-by his possession of the Spirit of Christ? In our training, again, is our aim the right one? We educate abundantly, and education is undoubtedly a good thing, but it is a poor substitute for grace exercised and spiritual gifts strengthened by use, for habits of practical devotion and self-denying labor formed and established. Collegiate study and examinations are not enough. Degrees are no criterion. Men of high scholastic attainments have been sent out in our own day to convert the heathen, who have been converted by the heathen, or rather perverted by them from the truth. As Gideon tested his three hundred, so do we need to test and sift our missionary volunteers, and the testing should include the Oross. "Master," said one of old, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests," was the answer, "but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." That is, Christ intimated to the would-be disciple that to follow Him, he must be prepared to share His lot." No training that misses this element is worth nluch.
'fhe reality of the missionary's devotedness is best proved and developed by hard a.nd humble work among the ignorant, the prejudiced, the poor, the degraded at home. If a man objects to, or slurs labor among them, as beneath his dignity or disagreeable to his tastes, it is useless to send him forth as a missionary. Selfishness may make a good student, natural ability an acceptable speaker, but only distasteful service puts to the proof a man's grace, his sense of duty and strength of principle. Fifteen years' experience in the training of young men, and personal dealing with more than three thousand volunteers for missionary service, leads me to urge the importance of this test. Next, perhaps, in value to spirituality may be ranked evangelistic gift and ability. How is this to be developed? In the same way that skill in any other line is imparted-by instruction and practice. The preparation for all ordinary work consists in the actual doing of it, not merely in gaining a theoretical knowledge of how it ought to be done. No one would employ a mechanic who had never worked at his trade, nor an architect who had never erected a building. No one would employ a doctor who had not treated the sick, nor should we ever send out missionaries-preachers and teachers for the heathen-who have not done teaching and preaching work, and been blessed to the conversion of souls at home. If a man is not a successful soul-winner in his native land, he is not likely to become such in China or Africa. It is surely unwise in a high degree to commit to unproved men one of the most difficult of tasks. Unless a man has succeeded in turning others to righteousness in these lands where it is comparatively easy, what reason have we to conelude that he will do so in heathendom where it is much more difficult? There are home heathen enough in our crowded cities to afford practical training for missionary students. Just as medical students walk the hospitals, so should om' missionary students learn their future work in our courts and alleys-in the centers where sin-sick and perishing souls needing the gospel remedy congregate. East London, for instance, with its vast and varied population, is an admirable training ground for missionary students. It was this fact which led uS,many years ago, to plant there our Institute for Home and Foreign Missions, from which, during the last fifteen years many hundreds of missionaries have gone forth. We have more than a million of the working classes in this quarter. We have infidels, Romanists, English and foreign Jews, French, Germans, and Italians; Africans and Asiatics, including Chinese, Hindoos, and other nationalities. We nave drunkards and paupers, and multitudes who are heathen in their habits, if not in their creed. Among these the evangelist can prove his gifts; he can either deal singly with indiVIduals, or preach to companies gathered in rooms, mission-halls, lodging houses, or on board ships; and above all, he can address crowds in the open air.
The value of open-air preaching as a preparatIOn for missionary work is exceedingly great. It cultivates aggressiveness, boldness, simplicity, directness, and earnestness of style, an extemporaneous delivery, and an interesting and striking manner of presenting divine truths. The open-air preacher 'must first gather his congrq'ation, and then hold it in spite of surrounding distractions, with nothing but the simple power of his words. He must suit his style to the roughest and shrewdest of his auditors. He must promptly meet objections, answer questions, and quiet disturbances, as he seeks to win an entrance to unwelcome truths in the hearts and minds of neglecters and rejecters of the Word of God. He has to face opposition, and enaure at times contempt and shame for the Master's sake. It is not easy work, and there is nothing in it to foster conceit or gratify self-esteem. It is really hard, self-denying service, more analogous to that which would be required of a missionary in the streets of India or China than almost any other form of gospel labor.
To preach from a pulpit to orderly congregations, prepared to listen re- spectfully and sympathetically, is no preparation for labor among the heathen. There is no trouble in gathering the people under such circumstances. Everything in their surroundings helps religious impression, and intelligent attention is bestowed on the preacher.. But there is nothing of this sort in heathendom lOne who is only up to work of this conventional type might almost as well stay at home. The missionary has to press his message on mim who have no notion of its importance, no disposition even to listen to it, no substratum of religiOUS knowledge on which to work, no enlightened conscience to which to appeal, no habits of reverence or decorum, no sym- pathy with the preacher's mode of thought, and but an imperfect compr~hen sion of his language. Like the open-air preacher, the missionary must not expect either to be sought, appreciated, or thanked for his service, nor to find in it any other gratification than that of serving Christ and saving men. In this and in other similar efforts to raise and transform degraded and sunken populations at home, the missionary candidate is not the best trained for his future work, but best tested, best proved fit for it.
In addition to such experiences a missionary needs, of cours'e, knowledge of various kinds. Education of the mind has its place, though it be not the first place. The higher the mental qualifications of a man or woman (other things being equal) the better. But here it should be clearly stated that the nature of the case indicates that only a certain proportion of missionary workers require what we call a thorough education. Do we not limit too narrowly the class of men from which we select missionary agents? Do we sufficiently remember that the first missionaries were mostly poor and uninfluential in worldly position, ignoran t and unlearned as regards mental attainments, not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble were called. For one learned Paul of Tarsus there were elev.en plain men of no special erudition, fishermen and men of that class whose principal education was that which they received from Christ himself. The army requires more privates than officers; and one architect can plan a building which will need many hands to erect. Some highly-cultured men are of course needed in a mission, and are essential to its highest prosperity; they are needed to do literary work, reduce unwritten tongues, and translate the-Scriptures; to train and teach native evangelists, to lead and organize, to direct and to originate. But are they the only men needed? Did any army consisting of officers only ever march to victory? Are not rank and file required as well? and does not the mission army need hundreds and thousands of privates? Is it essential that all, or even the great majority of missionaries, should be scholarly gen- tlemen who have studied from boyhood to maturity at heavy expense of time and money? Do the ninety per cent. of thc population of China who cannot even read, 01' the savages of Central Africa or the New Hebrides, de- mand teachers of a higher stamp than do the working classes in these coun- tries? Should we not elSteem it a great waste of rQsources to insist that all home and city missionaries should be classical scholars? And are not work- ers of all classes required among the heathen as much as at home? May not many men without either the leisure or the means, or perhaps even the incli- nation for a long and elaborate course of study-intelligent artisans, young clerks in banks, in offices, assistants in shops, the sons of farmers, mates of vessels and skilled mechanics, tradesmen, teachers and others-be well suited to serve Christ among the heathen, to preach the simple gospel to the masses of the people?
On the other hand, to send out ignorant and untrained men to undertake missionary work were clearly folly. "Let such first be proved," is a dictate of common sense as well as a precept of Scripture. Paul said to Timothy as regards the truths of the gospel which he had taught him, "The same com- mit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Of all men a missionary should be a man of general intelligence and fertIle resources. Without a measure of cultivation it is impossible that he should be this. Knowledge is power, and missionaries as a class should know something of everything. A missionary has to travel, and should understand geography. He may perhaps have to build his house, to make his own furniture, to till or direct the tillage of his garden, the cooking of his food, to work the printing- press. Knowledge even on such matters will therefore be valuable to him. He may be situated far from any skilled physician, and ought there- fore to have at least some elementary knowledge of anatomy and physiology and of the use of simple surgIcal and medical aids; The more grammaticaJ, knowledge he has the better, for he will have to learn and use a foreign tongue, and possibly to translate into it the Word of God. He ought to know enough of nature to appreciate the works of God, and enough of history to perceive the background of Bible facts. As he has to teach Christianity, he should know something about the history of its planting, its early sufferings and triumphs, the origin and progress of existing apostacies, and the story of the Reformation. He should also be acquainted to some extent with the history of modern missions, including the lives of eminent missionaries. But above all, he ought to be well acquainted with the Bible. That Book will have to be the companion of his loneliness, the guide of his perplexity, the support of his life, the instrument of his labors. It should be the chief subject of his study. His mind should be familiarized with the sacred text, with the evidences of its lDspiration, and with the varied doctrinal and practical truths which it reveals. He needs to be rooted and built up in Christ, and established in the faith, and the aim should be to give him afirm grasp of the teachings of Scripture, and instruction; as far as possible, in the whole counsel of God.
It is a serious question whether in our training of missionaries we give the Word of God the place which it deserves. Is not Bible study in our colleges apt to be too cramped, and too merely critical? We teach our stu- dents to dissect the Scriptures, but are they taught to dissect their own hearts, to understand themselves? We teach them the letter of Scripture, but do we lay due stress upon the posession of its spirit? We teach them to judge the Book, but they should he taught to let it judge them, and by its light to judge of all things. Is not God's Word a fire and a hammer? Woe to us if by our processes we strip it of its sacredness and strength. Let us give the Word of God its propel' place, and own its supreme authority, pre-eminence. and power.
It is the desire of this conference that those who take part should contribute to the general stock the,results of their experience, suggesting for the con- sideration of their brethren the chief practical conclusions to which they have been led. I may mention, then, that guided by the principles indicated in this paper, we founded, fifteen years ago. in East London, an institution for training' and helping into the foreign field young men who desired to be mis- sionaries. We subsequently added a country branch of the Institute, and later on a Training Home for Deaconesses. During these fifteen years we have dealt with more than three thousand volunteers for missionary work, have re- ceived on probation between eight and nine hundred, have trained and sent out five hundred missionaries, and have now about a hundred students in the Institute. Our plan is to give the students, where they require it, preiimi- nary secular instruction in the country branch, and then practical training in East London, including missionary, evangelistic, linguistic and medical de- partments. All our students receive from a qualified medicaJ man the train- ing of the ambulance corps, the results being tested by a public examina- tion. The deaconesses, in certain instances, are sent for three months to live in hospitals where the maternity cases are treated. Students going to Africa receive instruction in the treatment of tropical fevel's, and where there has been special fitness we have given students the advantage of a four years' medical course in the London Hospital. In almost every case these have be- come qualified medical men, and are now in the mission-field. The time spent by students in the Institute has varied according to their age and needs. Our system has been an elastic one. We have tried to give to each the help he or she was capable of receiving, and to introduce each to the sphere in which we saw they could best do good gospel service.
The results have not disappointed us. We have received men of all nationalities and all classes, as well as of all evangelical denominations. We have trained them for all countries, and former students are now working in connection with between twenty and thirty societies and organizations, while many of them have founded new and independent missions. As a rule they had done well, and given much satisfaction in the missions they have joined. There are exceptions. Every rule has such, but we thank God on remembrance of the majority of them. They have gone into every country in Europe. They have gone to the roughest and most westerly parts of North America, to the negroes in Jamaica, and to the Roman Catholics and English settlers in South America. They have evangelized in Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Egypt, in North Africa; have established missions in Cape Colony, Natal and Kaffir-Iand; and have penetrated the heart of equatorial Africa, founding fresh stations, reducing the languages of the people to writing, translating the Scriptures, and turning hundreds from heathenism to the knowledge of God. They have suffered, literally, thousands of attacks of fevers, and many of them have laid down their lives in the service of Christ and for the gospel. They have founded medical missions in Constantinople, Syria, and Armenia ; have evangelized in the wildest parts of the HaUl'an, have preached in the crowded cities and mountain wilds of India, and opened many mission-stations in the most distant provinces in China. They have scattered the Word of God in every province in that vast empire, and have traversed in their missionary labors almost every country in the world. Our experience has shown us that there are thousands of devoted young men and women suited for missionary work, and desirous to give themselves to it, that they are capable of rapid improvement under Christian training, and willing to go anywhere for the sake of the gospel, that there are open doors in all lands, and fields waiting for reapers, white to the harvest, and that the Christian Church may increase with appropriate effort the number of its missionary laborers to an almost indefinite extent.
Allow me, in conclusion, to summarize what I have said, and to emphasize certain points.
First, we agree most thoroughly with our highly esteemed and respected friend, Dr. Pierson, in his published opinion that "if we would largely increase the missionary force we must in some way lessen the time and cost of preparing the average workman.. . A most formidable barrier to the work of evangelization is that even where both men and money may be obtained it takes too long a time and too costly a culture to train the average workman; and this one obstacle often overtops all others, and is practically insurmountable. •• There ought to be a change in our ecclesiastical tactics; our system of training for the mission-field must be more flexible and more economical of. time and money, or we cannot send workmen mto the great world-field in adequate numbers." Without any rigidly uniform system.of training, we must encourage every willing soul to do the work for which he 01' she is best fitted, and endeavor further to fit eaeh for their proposed sphere of labor, and we must shorten and simplify the course of training.
Secondly, no candidates whatever should be accepted for training save spiritually-minded men and women, possessed of good health, good common sense, devotedness to God's service, and a divinely indicated call to the work.
Thirdly, such persons should be thoroughly tested, and carefully trained.
THE WORK AMONG THE FIJI ISLA.NDS. [SlU"f
Their training should be adapted to develop the unworldly spiritual character which missionary work requires. It should always be adapted to the individual case. All missionary students should be trained in laborious and self-denying habits, and exercised in evangelistic work among our own lapsed masses, especially open-air preaching.
Lastly, every missionary student should be furnished with the practical instructions of the ambulance corps, as to how to deal with accident cases; while those who are prepaung for labor in Central Africa and other parts of the world where no qualified medical aid is to be had should receive, in addition to other teaching, special medical instruction of an elementary and practical nature, and in those instances where there is marked aptitude and desire for it, the missionary student should have the advantage of a full medical course.
THE WORK AMONG THE FIJI ISLANDS.
[A Paper read before the London Conference by Rev. John Calvert.1 [The facts concerning the missionary life of this remarkable man, stated in a note to Dr. Pierson which we give below, will add interest to bis paper.-J. M. S.
.. DEAR DR. PIERSON: .. SEVENOAKS, KXN'!', June 19, 1888.
"IN 1838 I went to Fiji with John Hunt. 1n 1856 I came home with the printed New Testament and MS. of the complete Bible, and was four years in England. In 1860 I went again to Fiji with several younl!; missionaries newly married. Iu 18721 went to South Africa for nine years. In May, 1886, I went on a visit to Fiji and returned through America, and I am now settled down here as supernumerary. 1 have lately supplied twenty cases of Bibles and Testaments, from the Bible SOCiety, and four cases hemispheres iu ziuc cylinders to keep them safe, when not used, from the cockroaches, And I am now putting to press Hunt's Theology, Hymns. Catechism and Book oC Offices. .. Affectionately yours, "JAMES CALVERT."] OF all the many Oceanic missions in the Pacific, I am here to represent but one, in which a. great part of my life has been spent-the Mission to Fiji. This large and beautiful group, which lies 1,800 miles northeast from Sydney, and 1,200 north of New Zealand, consists of some 200 islands and islets, eighty of which are inhabited; and the two largest are ninety miles in length. The islanders are a fine race, of fair intelligence, and, according to the measure of their own simple wants, very industrious. Having been left to themselves and to the undisturbed control of bad influences in all the past, they became extremely vile and degraded. Cannibalism was a recognized institution among them and practiced to a frightful extent. Infanticide was a general custom, and the burial of sick persons before death was common. Cruelty of all·kinds abounded; and polygamy, with its inseparable consequences of evil, was established throughout the group.
The condition and claims of Fiji were brought urgently before the Chris- tian people of England, and particularly before the Wesleyan Methodist Churches, about fifty years ago. Already two white missionaries were doing noble work in the Islands. They were re-enforced from time to time. They never exceeded thirteen at anyone time-now they are only nine; and this number will probably be still further reduced, the work being carried on chiefly and successfully by agents raised up among the people themselves. Happily we have always been heartily one, so that our prayers and. labors . have not been hindered, but greatly helped. Regular weekly English wor- ship and the class-meeting among the mission families were of the utmost value in keeping our own souls alive. God chose the men employed; none of them extraordinary or great, but suitable, well adapted, ready to rough it and go on heartily with every branch of the work that had to be done, making little of difficulties, dangers and affiictions, but the best of everything and everyone. And all our work personally, and in the training of native agents, has always been done in the Fijian language, and interpreters not employed. On a recent visit to Fiji, my heart was gladdened at finding the same stamp of men supplied by Australia, carrying on the work successfully. A very great help to our progress was, as I believe, that we had the whole field to ourselves, and our laborers were not interfered with, by the presence of any other Protestants. The Romanists came too late, arriving after we had got a good footing, and supplied the Scriptures. They avowed themselves as our opponents, and relieved us of a few troublesome persons. They have never succeeded. to a large extent, and are now losing ground, though they have zeal and self-denial worthy of any cause.
The vital, experimental and practical truths of God's Word were explained, applied and enforced. Christ, the living Saviour of all, especially of them that believe to the saving of the soul, was shown to be all in all, able and willing to save to the uttermost all who came to Him. The divine personal Spirit, in all His glorious energy and saving power, was prominently set forth, and He was ever present, convicting of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Great numbers from the beginning of our work, and, thank God, to the present time, were thoroughly awakened by the truth and by the Spirit. They sorrowed after a godly sort, turned from sin, and turned fully to God through Christ alone. And such penitents in very large numbers have, throughout the whole history of the mission, found peace with God through believing, and have shown to all men the evidences of life renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Old things passed away: behold all things became new. On several occasions, on many of the islands, there have been special outpourings of the Divine Spirit, when considerable numbers were saved, and all ~ere quickened into life and prosperity.
The spirit in which they endured trials, persecution and loss, and their steadfast aim with all kindness to do good to anyone by any effort or sacrifice, proved the truth, depth and excellence of the religion they experienced, enjoyed and practiced.
Many of these new creatures in Christ Jesus, quickened and raised into newness of life, began to speak, and testify and entreat as the Spirit gave them utterance. It was more than meat and drink to them to spread among their relatives and countrymen the religion that was such a reality and boon to themselves.· Thus the truth and saving grace of God spread from one to another, from village to village, from tribe to tribe, from island to island. None could gainsay or resist their testimony in holding- forth the Word of life. The missionaries and our mission needed no better or stronger commendation. These real converts have been and are" manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written with the Spirit of the living God," "an epistle known and read of all men." And by their agency a most substan- tial, most blessed and extensive work of God has been wrought in all direc- tions throughout Fiji.
On my last visit I was d4llighted with the grand sight I witnessed at the District Training Institution. There I found 109 fully-devoted men, selected from the institutions in each circuit, under training as preachers of the gospel: fine, strong, whole-hearted men, who 'cheerfully surrender them- selves to the cause of Christ in Fiji or elsewhere. To the oversight of this vastly-important branch of our work are devoted a missionary and his assist- ant, a native minister, who are specially qualified and adapted. Since my return an appeal was made to these students to hazard their health and lives among the dangerous people and in the unhealthy climate of New Guinea, where Fijian teachers have already been sacrificed. Fifteen were asked for: forty volunteered! eighteen were chosen, and sent forth.
Mission work in every-conntry must mainly be done by the converts them- selves. The foreigner is an expensive agent, with the many real and im- aginary wants of himself and his family. His continuance is often inter– rupted, and his stay shortened. And he can never manage the climate and customs, or find out and adapt himself to the native character, so well as one of themselves. The native agent was well-known before the glorious change that has renewed him on the spot before their eyes: and he is a liv- ing specimen-well studied-of the power of the gospel to transform. He is already there without any expense, can be employed at small cost, and that raised mainly by those for whose benefit he labors: and mission funds are not required for his removal and sustenance should he fail. With only 9 white missionaries, we have 3,505 native preachers: 56 ordain{>d, who take full part in the work of the ministry with the English missionary, 47 catechists, 983 head preachers, with 1,919 ordinary local or lay preachers. There are 1,268 chapels and other preaching places; 28 English church members, 27,097 full native church membQrs. These are well cared for by 3,480 devoted class-leaders. There are 40,718 scholars in our 1,735 day and Sunday-schools, taught by 2,526 teachers; and 101,150 attendants on public worship. The jubilee of the mission was lately held. Fifty years previously there was not a Christian in all Fiji; then not an avowed heathen left! Canibalism has, for some years past, been wholly extinct, and other immemorial customs of horrible cruelty and barbarism have tiisappeared.
Behold! what hath God wrought! A nation has been born at once!
"Instead of the thorn the fir tree came up: and instead of the brier came up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for aname, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." "The wilderness has become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted for a forest." "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel [and of all nations, great and small], who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen."
Though poor, the people are most liberal in contributions for carrying on their own work, building all the schools and chapels and teachers'
houses; and they give generously, at much personal sacrifice, to the general mission funds. Had it not been for the business calamities that have come upon Fiji, as upon most parts of the world, the mission promised well ere this to have been self-supporting. Their deep poverty is borne well: and the riches of their liberality abound. I was delighted now to find them thoroughly good and fully devoted to God and His cause. Their religion is a grand , and powerful reality in very trying circumstances.
When this mission began, the Fijian language had never been written; the missionaries, therefore, had to supply it with an alphabet, and reduce it to a written form, and then to set to work to explore its grammatical structure, so as to give the people in their own tongue the Word of God, and furnish them with a useful literature. Very early in the history of the mis- sion the printing-press was brought into use.
When our printer failed in that far-off and out-of-the-way place we were in great difficulty, as a new edition of the New Testament and other books were urgently required. We ordered a man from London who would rough it, be content with the poor fare and small pay and hard work we were ac- ';:l!stomed to, but slch a man was not found. Then it came to pass that il! French count, an infidel, who was wrecked from an American beche de mer vessel, was thoroughly awakened, and sought and found mercy and saving grace. He was completely reformed and wished for employment with us. I taught him printing and book-binding, which he quickly learned; and just then, when we were in deepest need, he became a most efficient laborer wIth us. He could make sails, splice a rope, pull an oar, sail a schooner, floor a house, put in windows, make a door and fit it in. He became a teacher in our schools, and a good local preacher. The people felt that he loved them, and the best of our converts from any part of Fiji were cheerfulJy ready to settle down and work with him, so that we had a good staff of earnest and cheap workers in our printing and book-binding establishment. A new edition of the New Testament and all the books we required were well done and quickly supplied, helping on the work amazingly: A wh'ole-hearted man like that was beyond all price. Had one been made to order on purpose for our needs and work, he could not have been better adapted. And the case proved to us the all-sufficiency of God's resources; and just at the right, the very best time on the spot the demand was supplied, and without any cost. Oh, that we looked more to God for all we need I Then we printed innumerable portions of the Scriptures, catechisms (one especially, consisting o~ passages of Scripture only, which was invaluable), reading, and other books, as well as an excellent and immensely valuable system of theology, prepared by the eminent John Hunt when his heart and mind were in their best state, and when he had gained an excellent knowledge of the language; also an invaluable dictionary and grammar, provided by David Hazlewood, a man not known to fame, but whose record is on high, who did service of immense value in the language and translation department.
Since 1856 large supplies of Bibles and New Testaments in good bold type and strong and some elegant binding are constantly forwarded by the British and Foreign Bible Societies, on which many missionary societies are largely dependent, and from which all are cheerfully and promptly supplied with all they require. These Scriptures are highly l)rized, eagerly purchased and diligently read, the natives in many instances depriving themselves of the conveniences of life that they may secure and possess God's Word. The proceeds of these books are returned to the Bible House. They have supplied two editions of the completed Scriptures and fifty-six thousand of the New Testament in six editions. Other books in large quantities are also supplied fl'om England, better and at less cost than they can be printed and bound in Fiji, or obtained from the colonies.
Though Fiji is small when compared with the great nations, yet it affords a specimen and example of what can be done by the Word and Spirit and Providence of God, and it enheartens and encom'ages all to attempt and expect great things for all the nations of this sin-stricken, redeemed world. Ample provision for all our race has been made in the grand atonement and all-prevalent intercession of our great and loving Redeemer, who by the grace of God tasted death for every man, and wills that all should be saved in the gift of the life-giving Spirit who works mightily and can renew every depraved heart; and in the glollious gospel which saves all who believe, God intends to save our fallen race, and will do it. His glory shall be revealed antl all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. He hath said it, and He will assuredly bring it to pass. Christ must reign over all. Let us then go fOJ;'th in faith and preach the gospel to every creaturel feeUng sur~ tbat we have strongest ground for ille utmost hopes iu Him who has said: "And I, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." And again: "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth; go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and 10, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
SEVENOAKS, KENT, June 1,1888. JAMES CALVERT.
THE KARENS.
[Paper read belore the Conference by Mrs. W. F. Armstrong. It made 8 deep impression.-Ens.J THE only apology for my appearance here this evening is that I am the only Karen missionary attending this Conference, and so noble a people should not be passed by unnoticed. Thousands of them are praying for us, and it is right that we should remember them.
The Karens were once the hill tribes of Burmah, treated by the Burmese with the greatest injustice and cruelty. While they were under the Burmese Government they hid themselves in the jungle on the mountain sides, con- cealing the paths to their bamboo homes, and constantly moving from one place to another to avoid detection. They were content to live on the pro- duce of their gardens, to weave their own clothing, and to be as independent in the forest as the birds or the bees.
Their religion was peculiar to themselves. They lived pure, honest, truthfullives-I speak advisedly-they were unbounded in their hospitality, had no idols; but made offerings to propitiate the demons whom they feared.
They had no books, but they had carefully preserved traditions of a book they once possessed to which they were disobedient, and it was taken from them. Some day-so their legends ran-their white brethren would come across the sea in ships and bring back the book which told of the Great Father. They retained much of the moral and historical parts of the Old Testament in sayings of theil' old men, and it seems probable that tpey had at some time had access to its sacred pages.
No wonder such a people should receive the gospel when it came. No peo- ple have ever been discovered who were so prepared for it or whose very prejudices were on its side. When missionaries came among them their old men said, This is what our fathers told us of, it is this for which we have so long waited; and they flocked by hundreds to receive it. Not without change of heart. Their simple faith took Christ at ilis word; the Spirit accom- ied that word. Though they were ignorant and untaught in schools, they came forward eagerly to learn, believing with all their hearts, and re- ceiving the promise of God" to everyone that believeth."
An entire change has been wrought among them in the last fifty years.
Now there are over 450 Karen parishes, each one of which supports its own native pastor and lts own village school, and many subscribe largely to send the gospel farther on. !
There are about 30.000 baptized communicants, and fully 100,000 nominal Christians, about one-sixth of the whole tribe in Burmah.
A marked characteristic of their Christianity is that th.ey are earnest for- eign missionaries. They have their own foreign missionary society and send out their own young men to distant countries and other languages, support- ing them there and re-enforcing them as the need arises. These have opened up new fields of labor where other missionaries could not reach; they have tuken educated <Lnd devoted Karen wb'esto assist them, and have undergone
HOME WORK FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS
much hardship and privation with a true spirit of heroism worthy of any Christian nation. One instance, which I was personally cognizant of, and I have done.
I loved the people dearly; I looked upon them as brothers and sisters indeed, but when my husband went to the Telugus I went too. One of my teachers, who had traveled with me in many a jungle tour, and who loved souls as well as I did, who had risked her life over and over again for Christ's sake, was moved to go wIth me. This Karen girl went to India and learned the Telugu, both written and spoken, and this more rapidly than any missionary I have ever known. She started a girl's school among them, teaching them in Telugu more efficiently than any of their own people could do on account of her previous training. Of course I speak of work in a new station where mission work had to begin from the foundations. She won many women and children to listen to the gospel, and was everywhere treated with respect. The natives giving her the same title they applied to myself. Indeed, she proved herself in all respects a genuine foreign missionary.
She is now living in Rangoon, where she is married, and works among Burmese, Telugus and Karens, as she has opportunity. She is Secretary of the Karen Women's Foreign Missionary Society, which supports and directs its own Bible women. She is not in mission employ, but is supported by hel" merchant husband, who also is an educated Christian Karen, speaking daily for his Master during business hours and giving nobly to the cause of Christ, as you in this country do.
I always felt that work among Karens was only half way to heathenism. Among the Telugus I saw many debasing influences of idolatry which I did not find among Karens. In the estimation of those who know them best they are the most remarkable of all Eastern tribes. God has surely some wonderful purpose for them in the future, and we see a forecast of this in their eagerness and ability to work as evangelists among other nations.
Another conference, I trust, may see some of them in your midst to speak for themselves.
HOME WORK FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
BY REV. A. T. PIERSON, D.D. [A paper read at the World's Missionary Conference on Monday. June 18.] WHAT the source is to the supply, the motor to the machine, the home church is to the foreign field. The vigor of the heart's beat determines the ' pulse beat at the extremities. It is of first importance that, at home, work for missions abroad be continuous and constant, healthy in !one and spiritual in type.
How shall the churches be raised to the degree of consecration required for the evangelization of the world? Sheldon Dibble used to say that two conversions are needful: first, to Christ as a Saviour from sin; and then to missions as the corrective antidote to selfishness. A century ago William Carey felt the thrust of the keen lance of Sydney Smith, who, by his unsanctified wit, proposed to "rout out thai nest of consecrated cobblers"; and Carey had to fight for fifteen years the apathy even of his own Baptist brethren. Dr. Judson's hand was nearly shaken off, and his hair shorn off, by those who, in the crisis which can be met only by self-sacrifice would, to save themselves, willingly let missions die.
Foremost among the means by which deeper devotion to the work of eV'an~ gelization is to be secured, I would put the education of the chu1'ch in the' very principle of missions. Where the hearty acceptance of this is lacking, the impulse and impetus of missions are wanting. The church of God exists, not only as a rallying, but as a radiating, center. It is indeed a home, but also a school; a place for worship, but not less for work. For a society of disciples to be engrossed even in self-culture is fatal to service, and even to true sanctity. The church is no gymnasium where exercise is the law and self-development the end. The- field is the world, and each sower and reaper. while at work for a harvest, gets in his exertion the very exercise which is needful to growth.
So important and so fundamental is this principle of missions, that any church which dj!nies or practically neglects it, deserves to be served with a writ of quo warranto. This law of church life must be constantly kept before believers, enforced and emphasized by repetition-that upon every believer is laid the duty of personal labor for the lost. This conviction must be beaten in and burned in, till it becomes a part of the very consciousness of every disciple, until the goal is seen to be not salvation or even sanctification, but service to God and man in saving souls.
In the educatiop of a church in foreign missions, nothing is more essential than that the missionary spirit burn in the pastor. A stream rises no higher than its source; and, ordinarily, the measure of the pastor's interest In the world-field determines the level of his people's earnestness and enthusiasm. He ought to be a student of missions, an authority on missions, and a leader in missions. He is not the driver of a herd, but the leader of a flock: he must therefore go before. His contagious enthusiasm and example must inspire in others the spirit of consecration. The personal character of the man gives tone to his preaching, and is perhaps itself the best kind of preaching. That must be a frozen church in which a man, alive with intelligence and zeal for the work of God, could not warm into life and action under such a pastor as the late W. Fleming Stevenson.
The rudiments of a true education being laid, we must go on unto perfection; and among all the means of this higher training we put, first and foremost, a knowledge of the facts of missionary history and biography. Information is a necessary part of all university training in missions; not a partial, superficial impression, but information-a knowledge of missions complete enough and thorough enough to crystallize into symmetrical form in the :mind and heart. Facts are the fingers of God. To a devout student of His will they become signs of the times, and signals of His march through the ages. Like the gnomon of a sun dial, even their shadow may mark the hour in God's day. Prince Albert used to say to the young men of Britain: " Find out God's plan in your generation and never cross it, but fall into your own place in it." There is a pillar of providence, the perpetual pillar of cloud and fire, whereby we may be led. That pillal'is built up of facts, oftentimes mysterious and dark, like a cloud, yet hiding the presence and power of Him who dwelt in the cloud and made it luminous.
To a true disciple missions need no argument, since the chm'ch has what the Iron Duke called her" mat'ching orders." But duty becomes delight, and responsibility is transfigured into privilege, when it is clearly seen that to move with the missionary band is to take up march with God. The apathy and lethargy prevailing among believers upon the subject of missions is to me unaccountable in view of the multitude and magnificence of the facts which demonstrate that in the movements of modern missions, more <han in any other of the ages, there has been a demonstration and a revelation of God.
We are observing the centenary of modern missions. But the most amazing results of this century have been wrought during its last third, or ihe lifetime of the generation now living. This World's Conference is simply the church coming together at the Antioch of the Occident to hear those whom the Holy Ghost has chosen and the church has separated unto this work, rehearse all that God has done with them, and how He has opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Who dares to say, in the light of modern missions, that the days of supernatural working are passed? So far, as in primitive days, the disciples have gone forth and preached everywhere, it has still been true that the Lord has wrought with and confirmed the Word with signs following-signs unmistakable and unmistakably supernatm-aJ. Doors have been opened, within fifty years, that no human power could have unbarred. The mighty moving of God can be traced back through the centuries, long since g'iving Protestant England a foothold in the very critical; pivotal center of Oriental empires and religions. The necessity of protecting her Indian possessions, of keeping open the line of communications between London and Calcutta, determined the attitude of every nation along the water highway. Then from beyond the Pacific another mighty, puissant people, the offspring of Protestant Britain, moved forward thirty years ago to turn the extreme eastern wing of the enemy while Britain was piercing and holding the center. Commodore Perry knocked at the sea gates of Japan, and in the name of a Christian Republic demanded entrance. Rusty bolts that had not been drawn for more than two centuries were flung back and the two-leaved doors of brass were opened to the commerce of the world. Rapid has been the progress of the march of God. Japan unsealed her gates in 1854. From that time not a year has passed without some mighty onward movement or stupendous development. In 1856 the g-reat breach was made in the Chinese wall, and by the treaty of Tientsin one-third of the human race were made accessible to Christian nations, and, as Dr. Gracey says, that wide door was opened, not by the vermilion pencils of the Emperor, but by the decree of the Eternal. The same year, 1856, also saw signed and sealed the Hatti Sherif in Turkey, by which the Sultan, at least in form, announced the era of toleration. The next year the mutiny in India changed the whole attitude of the East India Company towards missions, and prepared the way for the surrender of its charter to the Crown of England.
Let us leap the chasm of twenty years and nole the progress of eventR on the Dark Continent. In 1871 Stanley pierced the jungle to find the heroic Livingstone. In 1873 Livingstone died near Lake Bangweolo; in 1874 Stanley undertook to explore equatorial Africa; in 1877, after a thousand days, he emerged at the mouth of the Congo. At once England took up the work of following the steps of the explorer with the march of the missionary, and now, ten years later, the missions of the great lakes in the east, and those of the Congo basin at the west, are stretching hands to link east and west together. Give us ten years more and Krapf's prophecy will be fulfilled: "A chain of missions will cross the continent." In 1884, fifteen nations, called together by King Leopold and presided over by Bismarck, met in Berlin to lay the basis of the Congo Free State; and in that council not only Protestant, but Greek, Papal, and Moslem powers joined I Such are some of the great providential signs of a supernatural presence and power. What shall be said of the gracious transformations that have displaced cannibal ovens by a thousand Christian churches in Polynesia; that reared Metlakahtla in British Columbia; that made Madagascar the crown of the London Missionary Society; that turned SielTa Leone into a Christian state; that wrought mightily with Hans Egede in Greenland, Morrison and Burns in China, Perkins and Grant in Persia, Carey and Wilson and Duff in India, McAll in Paris, ,and a host of other missionaries!
If disciples are indifferent to missions it is because they are ignorant 'of missions. A fh'e needs first of all to be kindled, then to be fed, then to have vent. The only power that can kindle the flame of missionary zeal is the Holy Spirit. The coal must be a live coal from God's altar. But, having that coal and a breath from above, all that is needed is fuel to feed the flame, and that fuel is supplied by a knowledge of facts. Too much care cannot be taken to supply these facts in an attractive, available form, at the lowest cost. The women's boards and societies have done no greater service than in providing and distributing a cheap literature of missions. The printed facts that are to do this work of education must be put in the briefest and most pointed form. This is an age of steam and telegraph. While Methusaleh turned round, we have gone around the globe. Men need now what they can catch at a glance. Ponderous volumes may do for ponderous men, who have leisure for prolonged study and research, but the bulk of people must get their knowledge of facts in a condensed form. Our bulletins must be bullet-ins. Some of us must skim the great pan and serve up the cream in a little pitcher, rich and sweet; we must boil down the great roots and give others the sweet liquorice in the stick, so that a bite will give a taste and make the mouth water for more. Students of missions will read with avidity the Ely Volume, and" the Middle Kingdom,"and kindred books that are the authorities on missions; but students of missions are not made by this process. We must feed first with milk, and not with strong meat-and by the spoonful, until both capacity and appetite are formed.
The value of simultaneous meetings, missional:y conventions, and other special services consists perhaps mainly in the wide, rapid, and attractive and effective dissemination of intelligence. Truths and facts are brought before the mind with all the help of the enthusiasm of a public assembly. The eye helps the ear in producing and fastening impression. The hearer comforts the living men or women who have come from the field, perhaps with the very idols of the heathen in their hands, or the relics of their superstitious practices; sometimes the native convert, or preacher, himself pleads for his benighted fellow countrymen. And so the most apathetic soul, III whom grace has kindled the fire of love, finds the fire burning, spreading, consuming selfishness, and demanding a proper vent in Christian effort! This is the way that missionaries are made.
In 1885 there assembled at Mr. Moody's boys' school at Mount Hermon, in Massachusetts, about 300 student." from the various colleges for a few weeks of study of the Word of God. A few who had in view the foreign field greatly desired a missionary meeting, and all the students were invited. There was not even a missionary map to assist in impressing the facts; the speaker drew on the blackboard a rude outline of the continents, and then proceeded to trace the great facts of missions, and so deep was the interest awakened, that meeting after meeting followed; from about a score, the number who chose the mission field rose to a hundred; then certain chosen men resolved to go and visit the colleges and carry the sacred fire; they went, met their fellow-students, and brought out the leading facts of missions; and to-day, in America and England, a band of probably no less than 3,000 young men and women stand ready to go to the foreign field if the door shall open before them. If disciples do not wish to flame with missionary zeal, ~hey must avoid contact and converse with the facts and the heroic souls who are the living factors of missions. It is dangerous business to trifle with the combustible material, unless you are quite sure there is not even", spark of life or love in your soul!
Among the means of education we mention last what in the order of time and of importance belongs first: the influence of Christian women in the home life. If God has shut out the ordinary woman from much participation in public life, and shut her in the home, iii is because her sphere makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity. Here are life's arcana, veiled from the common eye; the home is the matrix of character. The faith of the grand- mother Lois and mother Eunice still descends to Timothy. Anthusa and Monica still give the church her golden-mouthed Johns and her giant Augustines. To one woman may be traced the rise of the seven kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy. At evet'y stream there isa point where a human hand might turn its current, and at that point in human lives the wife and mother presides. The heathen rhetorician Libanius exclaimed: "What women these Christians have!" And, if the secret things were brought to light, it might be found that many, beside Morrison and Burns and Lindley and Pat- teson, have owed their saintly character and missionary career to the sanct- ity of a mothet'. Even before birth, maternal character leaves its impress upon the unborn, and at the mother's breast and knee the earliest lessons are learned in piety and prayer and personal consecration.
The nursery may be the garden where the precious germs are first nourished from which develop pillars of cedar and olive for the temple of God. The Earl of Shaftesbury learned of humble Maria Millis the first lessons in living,which made his influence capable of being measured only by parallels of latitude and meridians oflongitude, and its results only-to be computed by the :eons of eternity! My sisters in Cht'ist, do not hesitate to break on your Master's feet your alabaster flask; though it may seem but as waste to some, the house shall be filled with the odor of your consecration, and you shaH at least create in the home a mighty mould of chat'acter from which shall go forth men and women whose words and deeds shall shake the world: Here, in the home, if prevailing selfishness and extravagant self-indulgence are to be correctea, must be taught first lessons in giving, the divine doctrine of stewardship, and the responsibilities both of wealth and poverty. Munificent legacies cannot atone for parsimonious gifts. It is not God or His poor who need our gifts, so much as we ourselves need to give. Giving is the sovereign secret of serving, but also of getting and growing. To deny self and help others is God's antidote to that monstl'ouS sin of selfishness w,hich is the root of all others; and soit is more blessed to give than to receive. And if there ever was an altar that sanctified, magnified, glorified the gift, it is the altar of missions. Let the ethics, the economics, the :esthetics of giving be taught at the mother's knee, and we shall have a new generation of givers.
Too much emphasis cannot be laid on placing at the center of the family a consecrated woman. She is like Goethe's mythical lamp, which, set in the humblest hut of the fisherman, changed all within it to silver. She pours on the root of the cocoanut-tree the water, which comes back, by and by, sweetened and enriched, in the milk of the cocoanut which falls from the top. A selfish, sordid woman, presiding in the home, perverts child-life; in such a household there is a malign influence, which, like the mirrors in the temples of Smyrna, represents the fairest images distorted and deformed, and makes even piety seem repellant. The more I see of woman's influence on the whole structure of society the more I feel the stress of the apostolic injunction that the believer should marry only in the Lord.
The responsibilities of wealth are to be discussed by another in a separate paper.' BlIt I must add, to complete my own thought, that, among other necessary reforms in our church life, we must cease to depend upon the donations of the rich. It is alike harmful to them and to the church. God never meant that with such wealth of divine promises we should appeal to the rich, and especially the worldly wealthy, for money for the kingdom. Such appeals discount our faith, dishonor our Lord, and humiliate the church, while they inflate the rich with self-righteous conceit and complacence as patrons of the cause of God. Let there be a Bible type of systematic and proportionate giving by every disciple, and the treasuries of the church would overflow with voluntary gifts of disciples.
Above all other spiritual agencies affecting missions from the home side, we place earnest and habitual prayer. This is a supernatural gospel and demands a supernatural power, for conversion is a supernatural work. Not even a knowledge of facts can make a missionary or inspire a missionary spirit. The coal must be there, and the breath of God, before even the best fuel will take fire. A thermometer may be held in the direct line of the sun's rays and show but little rise in temperature, because the radiant heat is reflected from the bright, glassy bulb, like light from a mirror. Heat rays from the sun may pass through a lens of ice, and concentrated to a sufficient deeree to ignite, at the focus, combustible material, and yet those rays may not melt the ice of which the lens is formed. It is only when knowledge is sanctified by prayer that it becomes a power.
For one, I regard the increased-or rather the revived-observance of the monthly concert as a necessity to true home work for missions. It is now comparatively a thing of the past. Once it was a regular observance of the first Monday of each month; then merged into the first Sunday evening; then the first mid-week service; and in many cases, divided between home and foreign missions, it lost its original special character, and has now only a name to live, and is practically dead. I know a church member who thought the monthly concert meant a musical entertainment. To allow so valuable a help to the culture of intelligent interest in missions to he dropped from our church economy and become an arclu.eological curiosity is a fundamental mistake. It may be made both interesting and stimulating. I have found the most successful way of conducting it to be to divide the world-field among the church membership, so that every man and woman, willing to help, may have a special field from which to report from time to time, changing the fields once a. year, in order to broaden both intelligence and interest, Then have maps, and, best of all, maps made by the church members themselves. A man or woman who draws a map of any mission field will never lose the image of that field from the mind's eye. I have had a full set of fine maps made for me without a penny's cost, by members of my own congregation.
The lack of earnest, believing, united prayer for missions is both lamentable and fatal to success. Prayer has always marked and turned the crises of the kingdom. No sooner do devout souls begin to unite in definite supplication than stupendous results begin to develop. Fifty years ago the burden of prayer was for the opening of doors, and one after another the iron gates opened as of their own accord. Then the plea went up for larger gifts of money; and at a critical period, when the whole onward march of missions was threatened, God gave a spirit of liberality; in 1878, that annusmirabilis, some twenty persons gave about four millions of dollars. Woman came to the front, and showed how, by gathering the mites systematically, the aggregate of gifts may grow steadily year by year, and rapidly. Then devout dis-
1888.J THE HEROIC MISSIONARY SOCIETY
ciples were led to pray for more laborers, and especially for the consecration of our foremost youth; and now from the universities of Britain and America a host of three thousand young men and women are knocking at the doors of the church, saying, "Here we are; send us;" and even the church that has been praying for this very result can scarce believe that they stand before the gate.
Brethren, we shall have learned little at this Conference if we shall nothave learned new lessons of the power of prayer. Themistocles delayed the naval engagement at Salamis until the land-breeze blew which swept his vessels toward the foe, and left every oarsman free to use the bow and the spear. How much wasted time and strength might be saved if the church of God but waited for the breath of the Holy Spirit to provide the impulse and momentum which we vainly seek to supply by our own energy and endeavor! When He breathes and blows upon us, how tbey who have toiled in rowing are left free to wield the weapons of the Lord's warfare, to exchange secular anxieties for spiritual successes!
Zoroaster bade his followers let the fires go out periodically upon their hearthstones, that they might be compelled to rekindle them at the sacred altars of the sun. What mean the smouldering en;bers on our hearths and altars, but that we have forgotten whence come the live coals, and the breath which alone can fan them into an undying flame!
THE HEROIC MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
BY ROBERT N. CUST, J.L.D., LONDON.
(Ooncluded from page 603, August number.) I NOW pass to the Heroic Missionary Society. I take as my type "the Moravian, 01' the Church of the United Brethren;" for the church and society are identical. It was the offspring of a bitter persecution by the Roman Catholics in Moravia: a small remnant fled across the boundary of hated Austria into Lusatia, and settled on the estate of Count Zinzendorf, and founded their city of Herrnhut. I have lately visited it, sat in the councilroom, conferred with the leaders of the community, visited their widows and worn-out missionaries in their humble homes, and knelt in their great Freidhof: they were first in the Protestant mission field, they are one ot the few associations that have obtained a footing in everyone of the five portions of the world: and they deliberately chose the most debased and degraded tribes as the object of their love, because such as they seemed to need the gospel most; their agents in truth wore the garb of poverty, and were poor in spirit also; in the countries, where they worked among slaves, they became slaves also, even as our Lord took upon himself the form of a slave, "p.6p</>1JV dOVAOV Aaf3wv." With the poor Hottentot they were not ashamed to suffer hardship and persecution, and to maintain that these poor outcasts had souls for which Christ had died: with the Eskimo they lived as brethren, and won them to themselves, content with the poorest and most unsavory fare, laboring with their own hands, trying not to be a burden to their church, which was so poor that it has still to be sustained by the alms of universal Christendom, for they were doing work which no other society could do; they literally went about as the disciples of Jesus, without scrip 01' change of garment, and their examples of self-denial carried the hearts of their people by storm: in these last days they have opened an asylum for lepers at Jerusalem. Their doctrmes were as simple as their practice, "Nothing but Christ crucified"; they had a courage which no danger could daunt, and a love which no harsh treatment could efface; who ever heard of a Moravian appealing to public meetings, or a public press, to organize armed relieC-e:fpeditions, or avenge their slaughtered brethren? They took death and the spoiling of their goods joyfully; they had a quiet constancy which no hardship could exhaust; there were, and are, no Exeter Halls to trumpet their praise; in their church there are no rich men to sub- scribe annual thousands, and yet they have left a mark on the world which no time can efface. Their types were, ,singleness of pm'pose, simplicity of bearing, self-consecration, and contentment with a little. If I wished to praise a missionary, I should say that he is worthy of being a Moravian. Many societies have done well, but this has excelled them all, for it has most nearly approached to the ideal church, formed after the pattern of the Founder-first and foremost in the great battle-field, yet seeking the last and lowest among the ranks of men. "I was a stranger, and ye took me in; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." The blessings of those ready to perish have accompanied, and still accompany, the gentle footfall of the Moravian brethren, as they tread the soil of distant and inhospitable climes, unknown, unpraised, but not unrewarded, The mode of conducting missions must be heroic also. We have but one _.life to keep or lose: how can we spend it in the best way? If souls are to be won to Christ, it must be by men or women whose souls are overflowing with lo'e to Christ. We ask not for ascetics, nor adopters of the native dress, nor the turner of the formal prayer-wheel, nor the daily celebrant, but such an expression of character on the countenance, such a mode of utterance, such a voice, thoughts that move, words that burn, as display earnestness and that the soul of the missionary is on fire. All human talents are only so far profitably employed, as they are used to save souls; all human knowledge is of no avail, unless it conduces directly or indirectly to the extension of our Master's king- dam: the simple gospel outweighs it all, so simple that all can understand, so profound that no one can get beyond, ,The great he- roes of whom I have spoken, and the great missionary band of Moravian heroes, differed from each other essentially, but they had formed the same conception of Christ, and of their duty; they looked over the human fences of churches, and saw the awful vision of the face of Christ only; they had a burning desire to carry His message face to face, mouth to mouth, in i{s naked simplicity; they thought nothing of chapels, and altar-cloths, stoles, m.usic, painted glass and decoration; they took the living Word to dying souls, teaching the poor heathen to live decent, holy lives in this transitory world, and through faith to inherit eternal life hereafter. There was no necessity for hair shirts or flagellations, for long ceremonies or retreats; theirs was the daily round of holy duty, whether steering the mission-ship, building the mission-school, or preaching the mission-sermon, until the very hour that they are called away, which is the best proof that their allotted task was done. I would have you realize the dignity, the greatness of the office: it is not a romantic or sentimental employment, such as discoursing witb Brahmins under a tree, or gathering sweet little children in a school; there is much that is distasteful, and humbling, and sometimes a feeling of despair.
The hero must not be cast down, must not be diverted from his purpose, must not change his ground. We can admire the perseverance of a bad man in a bad cause, how much more 01 a good man in a good cause I The famous Las Oasas had a fixed purpose to protect the poor natives of America, and he IS reported to have done,something every day of his life to advance the one great idea which dominated his existence. Hudson Taylor has put it well, "GO· in glad obedience; in fullest confidence, without anxiety, to do a definite work." Such is the high type, s,uch the practice of those hero-missionaries, * * * whom I have noticed. (See our !August number.) Let me look at the subject from another point of view. How much do we read, in missionary letters and reports, of theirfamilies, birth of children,death of children, illness of wife, and domestic cares, while the reader is anxious to know how the gospel warfare goes on, what progress has been made. Only imagine the public dispatch of a general or governor in which such details were even alluded to! In private letters to friends such things might be noticed, but not in the documents placed before the dommittee. Nothing strikes a committeeman more than the preponderate proportion of the corre- spondence which is occupied with notices of the wives and children of mis- sionaries, as if the committee were a board of guardians of the poor. How often a missionary comes home in full health and vigor, leaving for a time, or forever, a field of work for which he is suited, and in which, after some years of pupilage, he has learned to be useful, because his wife is ill ! Would the general commanding an expedition, or the governor of a province, have done so? How often the Indian official, or soldier, has to ship off a sick wife and cannot accompany her! We have not far to look to find out what St.
Paul would have said, and what our Lord did say (Mark x : 29). Even in the life of John Williams we find mention of the illness of his wife brought much too prominently forward: he was !1lways anticipating the necessity of an early return to England for her sake: but he clung on for eighteen years, and she arrived home in excellent health, and outlived him some years. It is against this exaggeration of human affections that the servant of Christ should struggle valiantly and prayerfully.' * * * * There are giants amidst the body of missionaries, for whom nothing is too good, for they would in secular professions have risen to distinction and wealth, but to a very large proportion this would not have happened. The praise of the good, self-denying, consecrated missionary is in the heart of all who care for such things, and many, unknown to him personally, talk lovingly of him when he is absent, and sadly when he is dead; but the great missionary is thinking always of his own infirmity, of how much he has left undone, and how much he could have done better, and rejoicing that it is given to him to spend and be spent. There is in modern times a far wider spread of missionary spirit than in past years, but it is not so deep; it has become a fashion, not a revelation, in a man's mind.
We find no idle calls on the part of the heroic missionary society, or the survivors and relatives of hero-missionaries, for vengeance on the murderers of the slain; this is one of the features of the gradual degeneracy of the age and the overweening self-assertion of a certain section of the British middle classes. It is well to have a giant's strength, but it is not well to use it as a bully. Nothing would have been easier than to have swept the islands of Erromanga and Nikapu from sea to sea clean of all their inhabitants to re- venge the deaths of Williams and Pattison; but the missionary societies pro- tested against the very idea of retaliation, nor would tl:J.e British responsible authorities have tolerated it. The relations of the deceased did not gather excited meetings in British towns, and pass resolutions, as in later cases, to petition the Government to send expeditions of rescue or intimidation. Such weakness of faith, such want of sound judgment, such incomprehensibleruis- 1 We do not indorse all the strictures and criticisms of the writer in this paper, and think he is at times unduly severe and sweeping. Still, what he writes on mi.sionary subjects-and few write more-deserves careful reading and candid consideration. Missions and missiOnaries have not IL warmer friend thllIl he.-EDs. understanding of the duty of a Christian man, were reserved to a later age. On the platform the missionary proudly, yet humbly, professes that he C.al'- ries his life in his hand, ready to live, God willing, and ready to die: if this were not the case, how low the British missionary would rank after the Swede, the Norwegian, and the Swiss, who have no ships to send, and whose countrymen still are ready to give up their lives, and fill up all that remains of the sufferings of Christ. If a misdionary has not stomach for such warfare, he had better retire into the safe refuge of a London curacy, or a Lancashire manufactory, where he will find heathen to minister to, without risk to his life, or causing alarm to his over-anxious relations.
The hel'o-missionary remembers that his service is a life-sel'vice, not the pastime of youth, or the employment of manhood, until a good living and a pleasant home is provided for him in his native country. Nothing is so disheartening as to !;lee so many instances of this forgetfulness of their first love, and of the words of our Lord (Luke ix : 62), "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 'l'here should be no discharge in this warfare save death or certified ill-health of the missionary himself, not of his wife and his children. It is a matter of congratu- – lation that we have aged bishops content to occupy their posts until death, that we have missionaries who have not preferred tbe ties of blood or the claims of family to the work which has been the desire of their youth, the joy of their manhood, and the solace of their old age. The hero-missionary is tender in heart, gentle in words, slow to anger, and easy pacified. He is not insensible of the heinousness of sin, but his heart melts in pity towards the sinner. He does not strike with his hl),ud or stick the bodies of the poor natives whose souls he has come out to try to save; he does not usurp an authority over them because his face is white and he is one of a strong nation, as he remembers that he is their minister, the servant of servants, as was his Master, who washed the feet of His disciples; he doe~ not tie them up to trees to be flogged, and kept in durance for whole nights, but he .attaches them to himself by the silken cords of love.
He may be the son of a noble in his own country, and he is not puffed up, or he may be the son of a country shopkeeper, and he is not abashed, nor does he strive in his new profession to be coventionally treated as a gentleman, for in his humility he takes in either case the standpoint of being a Christian, occupying the same position that was occupied by Paul the great scholar and Roman citizen, and by Peter the humble fisherman : he seeks not high places, nor great companies, nor first-class accommodation in steamers or railways; he is economic of the funds of the good society which is his nursing mother; he is not always calling out for grants for his wife or his children; he does not dwell in a fine, comfortable house, for he minds not high things, and is content with men of low estate; his door is ever open to the people, whom he came to win to Christ; his attire is simple, and he seeks not the company of this world, though indirectly the type of the holy, upright man, which he presents to their eyes, has a reflex blessing on their souls; though silent, his life is a sermon to them. He acts up to the ideal of the Christian soldier which he had conceived in his youth when the message came to him, when the Holy Spirit overshadowed him; to be brave and strong, yet loving and tender; full of holy ardor yet self-controlled and free from spurious excitement; firm in convictions, yet tolerant; firm of purpose, yet merciful and considerate; meek and lowly, yet proud of his calling; fearing God, and fearing no one else.
~y friends, you must lJe thorou~hly equipfled for th«;l cQmbilot with something more than the surface teaching of the ordinary theological college. One of my fellow-students, forty years ago, at the East IndIa Cl>Uege, was a Jew, a believing Jew and a clever Jew, and he took the highest marks in PalPy's Evidences. I asked him whether he were not entirely convinced, and he re- plieu that it had not the least effect upon him. Such must often be the teach, ing of the oruinary missionary to a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Mahometan, and, to a certain degree, to the Pagan. It is always easy to speak with contempt of the Indian Fakir, smeared with ashes, and sneer at the pJ'ayer-wheel of the Buddhist (something very like which in kind is found ill many a Christian church) and point out the blots in the Mahometan scheme of salvation; it seems casy to show up the utter abomination of pagan human sacrfiices; but the missionary will find that behind these exoteric symbols there is a rad- ical misconception of the problem of human nature in the minds of the pro- fessors of a false religion, and behind the poor ignorant devotee he will flnd men with minds much more l;ubtle than his own, gifted with a power of argu- ment far .exceeding his own, appealing to authorities, of which the ITltssion- ary is ignorant. The idol is something more to the believer than a bit of wood and stone; the believers are not men of the nineteenth century, and with the impress of European training. To miracles and prophecies quoted by the missionary the teachers and believers of the false faith will quote prophecies and miracles of their own; to the words of the Bible and the claim of inspil'ation they will oppose the words of their own sacred books, and claim equal supernatural authority; the sequence of historical events and the facts of geography are unknown to them; it becomes at last a struggle for life upon the first principles of human existence, and the contest must take place upon an arena, of which the poor theological student of England never dreamt, behind the altar, out of sight of the church, in scorn of the Bible or any Christian authority, and nothing but the outpoUl'ing of the ,Holy Spirit can bring the unbeliever to see, and know, and bow to the truth.
The Hindu in his prolific literature works out his great metaphysical ques- tion, "What am I? whence came I? whither dol go?" , lIov yev6f1a1; 1f60ev ripl; rivo, XaplV i;')JJov, a1fij')JJov; and it ends in nothingness; his successor the Buddhist makes this nothing- ness the object, aim, and end of existence; the Mahometan boldly pillages the Old and New Testaments to fashion a system which can never respond to the yearnings of the human heart or satisfy its aspirations; the pOOl'
pagan in his blindness is so far ahead of the modern educated atheist, that he feels and admits the presence of the Deity and His omnipotence, and tries to appease Him by sacrifices; he is ready, however, to listen to some- thing better, and welcomes the teacher, who .comes with a semblance of greater knowledge of the great Unknown. We read how, when the first missionary arrived from Rome in Northumbria, and a council was summoned to discuss how be should be received, a wise old baron remarked, that the life of man seemed to them in their heathen ignorance, like the flight of a bird outo[ the dark winter outside into the warm and lighted chamber, and then out at a window into another world of dark winter at the opposite side; the passage of a moment from a long unknown past into a long and unknown future; the contemplation of this was crushing; and, if the stranger from Rome could tell them something a little more certain, he should be wel- comed. Such is the spirit, with which a teacher is welcomed in many a pagan community. But is the ordinary missionary equal to this occasion?
Bred up in an atmosphere permeated by Darwinism and atheism, in a church whel'!~ more value is plac~d on the human surroundings, the ritual and th~ externals than the eternal truth, can it be hoped that he will mount up to the level of the religion of religions, the object and aim of human existence, and with the Bible in his hand aRd in his heart, and nothing else, grapple with the Hindu, Buddhist, Mahometan, or Pagan on the common ground of right and wrong, truth and -falsehood, judgment and mercy, sin and repentance, pardon and peace, opening out new worlds of thought to his astonished hearers? The hero-missionary can do this. He exhibits his principles, and his doctrines in his Christ-like life and words, and challenges his hearers to show him a better way than the way of self-sacrifice, self-control, and selfconsecration, to procure a higher conception than that of the fatherhood of God, of faith in a Redeemer, of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit leading poor weak men to personal holiness.
There are plenty of men who will volunteer to go out and dwell a season amidst the polished Persian, the civilized Arabized races, the Indian, who, with all his faults, is gentle and reasonable, the intelligent Chinese, and the progressive Japanese. They represent nations on the highest roupds of the ladder of civilization, our superiors in many arts and graces, with their monuments of literature, and architecture, and their time-honored customs: they have centuries ago got beyond the epoch of human sacrifices or cannibalism; they have had in their midst great sages who felt after God, if haply they could find Him, men standing on the same platform as Socrates, and Aristotle, and Pythagoras. There is very little discomfort in such service, and no danger; mere worldlings dwell among such races for the purpose of commerce and the service of the state. We do not wish to undervalue such services, for such were the missionary operations of St. Paul among the Greeks and Romans. The process of sapping and mining has long been going on. Education has brought with it a contempt for idolatory, but civilization has brought with it a contempt for all religions, and a disbelief in the supernatural, a doubt as to the reality of a future state.
But this is not the higher order of service; it does not mean the same self-sacrifice; it does not approach so near the services rendered to man by our Saviour; our Lord abased himself when He took the form of a slave and became man for our redemption. He thought it not vile to dwell in the tents of men, and associate with the poor, erring children of men. Patteson and John Williams, and the whole army of Moravian missionaries, learnt to look over the-wall of partition that separates race from race, and to call no one common and unclean; there have been missionaries who have had the fortune given to them to go in and dwell among lepers, and have succumbed to the disease themselves; there are those who have found a grace vouchsafed to them to dwell among the POOl', dirty savage outcasts of the human family, to submit to insult, hardship and perils; to die in spirit every day, and at length breathe out their last breath in some round straw hut, looking to Jesus, yet still thinking of friends and home.
U Dulces moriens reminiscitur Argos."
But there was no murmuring, for they knew how to be humbled but not ashamed, to be cast down but not disheartened, bearing about them the marks of the spear in their sides, and the print of the nails on their hands and feet. The service of such was great and noble; the heart of the worlding beats high when he hears of such achievements. Surely there must be joy in heaven w/len one of the miserable savages, to the outward eye nearer the beast than the man, is brought into the fold, and his body becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost, for Chris~ in very deed died for him also. The seU-sacrificing missionary teaches the men to lJe br(l.ve, yet not cruel, and the women to be sweet and affectionate, yet not unchaste; out of the stores of his acquired experience he teaches them humble arts, and the very rudiments of knowledge, the very fundamental of human graces, to be decent in act and word, to respect human life, to recognize property, to be sober and chaste, to love God as a father and cease to fear Him like a slave, to bow in gratitude to the free offer of pardon. And yet all this is possible: it has been done, it may be done again; it must be done by some of you who stand here and hear me this day: "EV 'TOV'Tr,J VlK(L."
It will be nothing wonderful, if in due time we convert the people of India, China, and the extreme Orient. They are not wiser and stronger than were the Greeks and Romans in the day of their greatness, and we know that the cross proved sufficient for their conversion. And experience has shown that the same cross is sufficient for races whom Cmsar never knew, of whose existence the Greek philosophers, and even St. Paul, had not the faintest idea. We thus begin to realize the full meaning of the prophecies of Isaiah, "The isles!lhaU wait for his law," and the words of our Lord, "They shall gather his elect from the uttermost parts of the earth," and again, in the Revelation, "Behold a great number, whom no man can number, out of every nation, and all tribes, and peoples and tongues."
There are three classes, in one or other of which you must, as Christian men, range yourselves : I. Whatever secular station you occupy, whether at home or abroad, you -must place the duty of assisting the evangelizing of mankind in the very first rank of duties, for nothing can approach it in impdrtance; if your lot takes you to non-Christian countries, you will find plenty of opportunities to serve the cause, and bitterly you will regret in your old age, if you neglect your opportunities.
II. If you have a call to go forth as a missionary to the civilized non-Chris- tian nations, if you find yourself in possession of special gifts, consecrate them; do not take a worldly view of the subject, and mix up a mission to a dying world with visions of early matrimony, social advantage, and a pleas- ant career. Mere worldlings act thus. Many a soldier, many a student of nature, ml:ny a ruler of men has risen far above such a low level of human aspirations. The athlete and the mechanic give you a lesson. Show to the heathen that you come among them unjerstanding the law of self-sacrifice, and that you come not, as the haughty Briton, one who lords it over, and sometimes strikes or ill-uses the lower races, but as then' brother and their servant for Christ's sake.
III. But Jet me show a more excellent way to those who are strong in body, strong in spirit, and also have worked out the sublime idea of self-sacrifice and self-consecration. The call will come to some of you, as it has come to others, in your dreams by night, in your visions by day, as you walk alone, or are in prayer, or in the midnight watches. It will gradually overpower you and make you captive, and at length you will call out with a loud voice, "Send me, Lord, for I am ready." For still many a sunny island of the South Seas, many a retired valley of the great central plateau of Asia, many a dark, forest-clad savannah of ,the great valley ot the Congo, many a wild tribe of South America, and, alas! our own fellow-subjects, the neglected, ill-treated Australian aborigines, and the poor Bushmen of the Cape Colony, are waiting, waiting for the moving of the waters of the fountain of life, and for some one to help them down; lifting up their eyes for the sight of the blessed feet of those who bring the gospel message; calling for their man, the Allen Gardiner, and Patteson, and Williams of this generation; they are standing in your midst, though not as yet revealed to the eyes of men. In the long course of centuries no prophet or evangelist has ever come near these poor heathen; they have laid out of the course of the revolution of the gospel; they are waiting for one who, in his life as well as his words, will illustrate to them the life and passion of our Lord and their Lord; they ask not for the refinement, nor the fantasies of modern religious thought and practice, but with dumb voices they ask the men of the nineteenth century and civilized Europe to teach them to clothe their nakedness, to dwell in decent dwellings, to cluster in villages, to live with one consort, and to respect human life, to do all things in a Christian way, and to realize the presence of the risen Saviour. In the last desperate struggling of heathendom it may be .:that the man of God, who thus appears like an angel among them, will be killed and devoured; but his death will prove the dawn of the new life; over the martyr-tomb will spring up the new chapel, and the younger generation, who witnessed the slaughter and partook of the ter~ible feast, will, by the grace of God, be converted and made new men, and, like St. Paul, become evangelists. When their day of grace comes, and they understand the matter, like the Jews at Jerusalem a few days after the crucifixion, they will be pricked to the heart. History is always repeating itself; but on this generation, the men of your age and country, rests the duty of completing the work, till the gospel cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. At the present moment there are regions still unevangelized, sufferings for Christ's sake not yet suffered, and crowns of martyrs and confessors not yet won.
Finally, my dear friends, suffer me to say to you one word more, and this word applies not only to the missionary, whose vocation is the highest of earthly vocations, but to each one of us, however humble and prosaic our special vocation may be. What were we created for? Why are we kept alive, except to do some special work which is marked out for us by the inexorable teaching of circumstances, circumstances wqich are controlled by the omniscience of God I How can we succeed in any work if our attempts are not sanctified by prayer! "Labora et Ora," for true prayer is somethmg done in the service of the Master, followed by praise for being selected to do it; not the empty litany or the conventional prayer-meeting. Say what we like, we are all day-laborers, and he serves his God best who does his day's work in the best manner and in the best spirit. None miss so entirely the mainspring of human action as those who strive to dissociate religion from the simple round, the common task of the most prosaic, the mostunroniantic, the most depressing lot in life.
It is not success that sanctifies the work, fot many of the best of us in our noblest undertakings do not succeed. We are thwarted by some narrowminded obstructers standing on the next round of the ladder above us; we are baflled at every turn, and at length laid aside by poverty, sickness or death. It is not striving that wins; the race is n()t to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. We must not look for the selfish satisfaction of thinking that we have done something; we must not hope for the applause of bystanders, for the foolish multitude generally praise the wrong person, or praise the right person for the wrong thing. We must find our reward in the work itself; something each day accomplished; something done; some kindly word spoken; some cup of water offered to the suffering; some noble thought cherished, some achievement, which the world ought not willingly to let die, shadowed forth, thought out, conceived, If not actually brought forth. Good work, earnest work, prayerful work, can never be without a
A TRINITY OF MONSTROUS EVILS DENOUNCED. 6'75
blessing to the worker, which will follow him after life's endless toil and endeavor to his rest, and what greater work than the saving of a soul I I once stood at the mouth of the great Panjab Salt Mine on the river Jhilam, and watched the long procession of women, children and men, of young and old, slowly advancing towards me, toiling up the steep incline, each with his head bent and back curved under the burden of rock-salt, which they brought from !he bowels to the surface of the earth. This was their hard and palpable day's labor. To the strength of each the burden was adjusted ; the young daily grew into capacity to bear heavier, the old daily felt their strength less equal to their diminishing load, but all rested night after night wearied with their daily round, and all each morning rose to the consciousness of a day's sweating and straining, and a risk of accidents and disease, and the dark river to be crossed at last. Tears started in my eyes as I thought of the sad procession of my contemporaries, whom dut'ing my own life I had seen toiling and striving, lifting their heavy burdens, or sinking by the way under them. I thought of the strong and enthusiastic, too eager for the strife, who fell years ago; the patient and uncomplaining, who toiled on till within the last few years; the yearly diminishing group of fellow-laborers, with yearly diminishing force, and the dark unknown future before me.
But there is no prison so deep that its depths are not reached by some ray of God's interminablfl day, and, as I looked into the faces of the salt-bearers, I became aware that one ray of light reached to the lowest slope of their dungeon, and, as they advanced upwards, it ever became brighter and brighter, shining hopefully in their uplifted eyes, and gladdening their hearts with the thought of home, and rest, and of labor, sanctified for the sake of the little ones, the old ones, the sick ones, to whose cOljJlforts their earnings ministered. The hero-missionary places the heathen, to whom he goes as Christ's ambassador, in that corner of his heart where other men place their families. Nay, more; God's greatlessons are taught in His works and in His creatures. As each laborer reached the outer world, and flung ((own his burden, his eyes insensibly turned up with a look of thankfulness and acknowledgment to the kindly light which had led him, and then each unconsciously shrouded his eyes with his hands, as if unable to bear the full glow of unutterable gladness, which the grace of Gcd sends to testify to the sanctity and dignity of labor, however humble and contracted the sphere: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things. 'Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
A TRINITY OF MONSTROUS EVILS DENOUNqED.
[A popular meeting of an extraordinary character was held on Wednesday evening, the twelfth dl>y of the session for the express purpose of giving public and indignant expression to the intensified feeling of the Conference in relation to three stupendous evils which had been brought to its notice during the meeting. It was not down on the programme, but the Loudon papers speak of it as a "magnificent dembnstration," and the most .. enthusiastic as well as the largest meeting of the series. Several of the speakers were Americaus-Dr. William M. Taylor of New York, Dr. A. J. Gordon of Boston, Dr. G. E. Post of our Syrian Mission, and our associate, Dr. Pierson of Philadelphia. We have full reports of the meeting in various English papers, aud proceed to give our readers a bird's-eye view of the great meeting, that they may feel the pulse of the world's missionary representatives in regard to such giant social, commercial and national sins as those here unauimously denounced by the largest and grandest popular council ever held. We follow chiefly the report in The Christian of London.-J. M. S,1 THE final meeting of the great Missionary Conference will not soon be fo.rgotten by those who were present. It was the largest of the series, and by far the most enthusiastic. The subjects under consideration-the Opium Traffic, the Drink Traffic, and Licensing Sin-naturally lent themselves to the expression of strong feeling; both speakers and hearers fully took advantage of the opportunity. The opinion was expressed during the evening that in the matter of the opium trade the Christian conscience of Great Britain has of late gone to sleep. The proceedings of Wednesday evening ought to do something in waki:e.g it up and keeping it wide awake till the cause for such wakefulness has disappeared. The outstanding features of the evening were the powerfully explosive utterance of Dr. Taylor, of New York, the remarkable reception given Mr. Alfred Dyer, on his return from India, and the heartiness of feeling shown towards our two eloquent American brethren, Dr. Gordon and Dr. Pierson.
"The chair was taken by Sir Arthur Blackwood, who was supported on either side by an array of gentlemen well known for their active interest in questions of national morality. In the opening prayer, Dr. Parsons, of Toronto, struck an appropriate keynote by his reference to the foes that oppose the kingdom of Christ and prevent the salvation of men.
SIR ARTHUR BLACKWOOD'S ADDRESS.
" After some remarks on the wisdom of the decision to hold such a meeting in connection with the Conference, the Chairman said: 'Not as part of a cutand-dried plan prepared beforehand, not as an outburst of hasty enthusiasm, but as the deliberate, solemn conviction of men and women qualified to judge, you have decided to speak out and denounce certain deeds and practices, and to deplore their terrible results. I a!ll sure I am right in saying that we do this in sorrowful confession of the blameworthiness of the churches, as well as in solemn condemnation of these practices. Were it not for lack of faithful testimony, watchful attention, earnest prayerfulness, courageous utterance, these things could never have attained their present magnitude. Surely the standard of morals in so-called Christian nations and governments must be low ir..deed, when practices like those cannot only continue unchecked, but be defended; and that not merely ou the ground of expediency, but of actual necessity. Where have the churches of Christ been in their testimony against these things? We must confess om' own guilt. We are not met for discussion; that time has gone by. Denunciation is our object to night-unanimous, I hope, and vehement if need be. What cause can demand it more? It is to be the denunciation of deedsdone contrary to every pre- cept of the gospel, contrary to the whole spirit of the Christian dispensation, and even protested against by the very heathen themselves. We are indeed deeply thankful that no sooner has one of those practices in its clear and ter- rible character been fully exposed and recognized than the British House of Commons resolved unanimously (for the few defenders of the practice dared not record their votes against the resolution) that this system should be abolished root and branch.* That proves, thank God, that the moral sense oC this nation is still alive with regard to such matters. But doomed systems often live long, and your denunciation and your protest to-night are none the less needful because, so far as that judgment has been uttered, this thing is doomed in all its horrible enormity and atrocity.
We are not only here to denounce, but to deplore the results, direct and in- direct, of these deeds and practices. The direct results, alas! who can esti- *This reference is to the formal licensing of harlotry by the British Government for the gratifiea- tion of the army in India. A fierce fight has been going on against the awful and scandalous in- Iqnity for months past, led on by Mr. Alfred S. Dyer, who in return has been assailed with as mnch bitterness as the Pall Malt Gazette once received for uncovering similar, though unlicensed, in- iquities in Lonaon. The British Parliament was finally forced by the terrible revebtlons made and the protests nttered to repeal the act, just as the Conference came together.-EDs. mate? Eternity alone will disclose the ruin to the thousands and thousands of bodies and souls of those amongst whom these practices have been carried on by members of so-called Christian nations-carried on by those who ought to have been the protectors and the friends and the saviors of the heathen to whom they went. The indirect results have been no less fatal. What might not the progress of the gospel of Christ have been among the nations of the earth had that gospel been commended and enforced by the lives of those who profess to be Christians? What can more effectually have barred its advance and have stayed its progress? I must allude here, for one mo- ment, to a challenge thrown down to you by the world. It is not often need- ful nor wise to pay much heed to what the world says about Christian work. Yet at times it is necessary, and I wish to draw your attention to the utter- ances of The Time8, which, in a leading article dealing with your Conference, spoke the other day in these words :- .. , Criticism cannot express itself aR altogether contented with the amoont of groond which has been annexed. • . • Before the promoters of missionary work can expect to have greater resources confided to them they will have to render a satisfactory acconnt of their trnst in the past. Their pro- gress, it is to be hoped, is sure; indisputably it is slow. A Congress like the present would be better employed in tracing the reasons for the deficiency in quantity of success than in glorifying the modi- com which has been attained. • • • The cause marches at a pace which, unless it is registered by the enthusiasm of Exeter Hall, appears little more than funereal. • • • For eyes not endowed with the second sight of the platform, the principal citadels of heathendom continue to 1lannt their banners as before. If some people profess to believe that they hear too much of foreign missions, the explanation is that they see too little of their results.'
"I think that demand is a fait- one, and that we are right in answering the challange. The world asks, Why have you not accomplished more? It says: 'Traae the reasons for your want of success, instead of talking about what you have done.' We have come together for that purpose to-night. Whilst . in the spirit of self-judgment and true humility before God for our well- known shortcomings in enthusiasm, in zeal, in self-denial, in prayerfulness, in effort, we declare before the world that, foremost, perhaps, amongst the causes which have hindered the progress of the gospel of Christ in heathen lands, have been the three practices which we desire to hear denounced to- night. How could it have been otherwise, when wherever the missionary has pitched his tent the rum merchant has sent his barrels, so that we have gone to the heathen in certain lands with the Bible in one hand and the rum-keg in another. What can those people have thought of the character of the Chris- tianity which thus presented itself to them? How can we wonder that the gospel makes small progress? With our cannon balls and bayonets we have forced the introduction of opium into China, and, alas! taught the popula- tion to grow the drug itself in order to oust our Indian products, thereby inflicting upon them irretrievable injury. What can that people think of the Christianity that came to them in that guise? And, again, when upon the defenseless, uneducated female population of India, a Christian government has fastened the horrible diabolical system to which allusion must be made to-night, and enforced it with all the tremendous weight of its authority; when side by side with the chaplain and the church has been the Govern- ment brothel, how can we wonder that there, in India, they have laughed at our Christianity, and cast contempt upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? If the world taunts the missionary enterprise with its little progress, and says, 'Find out the reasons for your lack of success,' we can indeed say, with all self-judgment as regards our own shortcomings, 'These practices, carried out by Christian nations, and authorized and enforced by so-called Christian governments, have much to bear of the blame for our want of success.' It is our business to-night to lift up our voices, and that with no bated breath; a.nd in no indistinct manner, to declare, in the name of the Lord, and on the ground of every obligation that we owe to Him who has redeemed-us by His blood, that, so far as lies in our power, so far as our protests and prayers can effect it, these deadly evils shall be stayed, and, by God's help, be impossible for the future."
THE CHINA OPIUM TRADE.
Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, moved the following resolution: .. That this Conference, representing most of the Protestant Missionary Societies of the Christian world, desires to put on record its sense of the incalculable evils, physical, moral, and social, which continue to be wrought in China through the opium trade-a trade which has strongly prejudiced the people of China against all missionary eftort; that it deeply deplores the position occupied by Great Britain through its Indian administration in the mauufacture of the product, and in the pr'Qmotion of the trade which is one huge ministry to vice; that it recoguizes clearly that uothing short of the entire suppression of the trade, so far as it is iu the power of the Government to suppress it, cau meet the claims of the case, and it now makes its earnest appeal to the Christians of Great Britain and Irelaud to plead earnestly with God, and to give themselves no rest until this great evil is entirelv removed; and further, that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for India.'
"Mr. Taylor observed that the fact that the opium traffic is a huge ministry to vice, and an obstacle to the evangelization of China, is surely sufficient reason why the subject should be brought forward and protested against by this Missionary Conference. He then said: 'I made the statement at a previous meeting, which I will repeat, that while the result of eighty years of evangelistic effort in China has brought us to rejoice in 32,000 converts to Christianity, about 150,000,000 of the Chinese have been either turned into opium smokers or have come to suffer from the opium vice, as husband, wife, father, or mothe)'. If the evil is so rampant, and it is most difficult to help the smoker or his unfortunate family, surely it is high time that our protest was raised against it, and that we did our utmost to bring the evil to an end.'
"Proceeding to quote from official documents and the writings of wellknown men, Mr. Taylor showed the iniquitous character of the traffic. Rev. Griffith John condemned it unsparingly, and appealed to 'the great heart of England' to remove the curse. Rev. Howard Malcolm, of the United States, remarked that' the proud escutcheon of the nation which declares against the slave trade bears in this trade a blot still broader and darker.' Mr. C. Aitchison, chief commissioner of British Burmah, in a memorandum addressed to the Government of India, speaks of the' demoralization, misery, and ruin produced among the Burmese by opium smoking.' After quoting other testimonials, Mr. Taylor contended that England is directly responsible for every acre of Chinese soil engaged in the cultivation of opium. We introduced the drug, and then the people of China raised it themselves. The Chinese appealed in vain to England's kindly feeling and sense of.rectitude; they appealed to every sentiment which was likely to move a professedly Christian people: but in vain. Then they came to the conclusion that Eng- land has no moral sense, no conscience, but only a pocket, and that the only way to move England was to prevent the money from reaching her revenue by China producing the drug at home, until the pressure of England is removed. , "The government of India is to a large extent the producer of the drug. More than half the drug manufactured in India is produced and sold directly by the government of India. It is said that we need the revenue. Remem- ber the well-known words of Mr. Henry Richard in the House of Commons. He said he had a firm conviction that no nation had ever been engaged in any business so absolutely indefensible on all grounds as the opium traffic: … It might be true that the power of England was forcing it upon the Chinese, and was spreading among them demoralization. disease and death-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that the tralllc created an enormous amount of ill-will and heart-burning towards England on the part or the Chinese Government and the Chinese people, which had led to one war and might lead to another-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that the traffic constituted the most formidable of obstacles to Christiauity among the Chinese-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that it interfered with the development of every kind of legitimate commerce-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that it dishonored the character of England in the eyes or other nations, and prevented her from protesting against similar practices elsewhere-bnt there was the Indian Revenue.'
"To put it plainly, as Mr. T. A. Denny had well put it, this plea amounts to this, that' the English nation cannot afford to do right.' I sincerely trust that this meeting will make it very plain that in its estimation the English nation cannot afford to do wrong. In conclusion, Mr. Taylor expressed a hope that the wrong may be put right while there is opportunity, and before the wrong-doer is visited by divine judgment.
Dr. James L. Maxwell, formerly missionary to Formosa, seconded the resolution. It is quite true, he said, that the Indian Government is the chief party to the evil. But before that there is a BritIsh House of Commons to be reached, and still before that there is the conscience of England to be reached, and, yet again, before that, there is the heart of the Christian church in England to be touched. The question is absolutely beyond discussion. We deliberately cultivate the poppy and minister to the vice of a heathen people; more than that, we fatten upon that vice, in spite of the fact that the rulers of the Chinese have again and again remonstrated with us, and in spite of the fact that our action is leading to the physical, moral and social ruin of the people. Of late years there has crept over the Christians of this country a very strange apathy in dealing with this opium trade. Intellectually we have acknowledged that it is wrong, and we have signed memorials against the traffic; but we have not kept it in our hearts as a burden upon our souls before God. Why do we not arouse ourselves? In this hall to-night, there is a constituency large enough, if set on fire on this subject, to begin to move England from end to end. Who dares to measure what the progress of speed in dealing with this would be, if each of us pledged himself before God not to forget the matter; but in private and in public so to move that this blot shall be removed from the nation? Only let us get to faithful handling of the evil, looking to God for help, and absolute suppression will in due course be reached." The resolution was carried unanimously.
NATIVE RACES AND THE DRINK.
Dr. W. M. Taylor, of New York, submitted the following resolution, which he supported, by a tremendous earnest and rousing- speech :'- " That the International Conference, compristng delegates from most of the Protestant Missionary Societies in the world, is of opinion that the traffic in strong drink, as now carried on by merchants belonging to Christian nations among native races, especially in Africa, has become a soarce of terrible and of wholesale demoralization and ruin, and is proving a most serions stumbling-block to the progress of the gospel. The Conference is of opinion that all Christian nations should take 8teps to suppress the traffic in all territories under their influence or government, especially in those under International control, and that a mutnal agreement shonld be made to this effect without delay, as the evil, already gigantic, is rapidly growing.
" After stating that he had received several pressing mandates on this topic, to be delivered to the Conference from Presbyterian bodies in the United States, Dr. Taylor said: 'We who look back to this as our dear old home-land have a very tender regard for her reputation, and we feel sad to have to hang our heads in shame over her when the opium traffic is brouglit up against her. But our hands in America are as deep in this drink traffic~ yours are, and we come here to beseech you a!ongwiih us that the Christian Church of Europe and America as a whole shall advertise itself out of this business, and shall declare that whosoever hereafter is responsible for its continuance, that responsibility, by the help of God, shall no longer lie at our doors. I protest against this traffic because of the demoralizing effect it has on the native races. We know something of what it does at home, but these effects are far more tremendous abroad. These native races are in the position of minors or infants. If we insist, and rightly insist, that those who sell liquor to children and minot'S shall be punished, shall we force this traffic on those nations that are composed of minors altogether? I protest against the traffic, also, because it is destructive of legitimate commerce. The expenditure of resources for the gratification of the drink appetite renders it impossible for the natives to deal in more wholesome articles of trade. I ask you, in the name of common sense and righteousness, if you are going to allow this one deadly traffic to deprive you of honest gain in those countries which in so wonderful a way have been opened up to trade in modern times? If you force rum upon them, you cannot give them cotton, because they have nothing to buy cotton with. But stay, there is one trade that may be Improved by the rum trade. I saw in one of your morning papers this week a paragraph with reference to King Quamin Fori, and a visit paid to him by Sir Brandford Griffith, Governor of the Gold Coast: 'All that King Quainin Fori asks is that Her Majesty's l'epresentive will instruct the merchants of Addah to pay for palm-oU in cash instead of gin.' The Governor, III answer to this appeal, said he could not interfere with the course of trade. The last sentence in the paragraph is to the following effect : of .. The prevalence of the habit among Christian traders in that region paying the heathen for his goods • in gin,' may possibly have something to do with the curious circumstance that king after king with whom the governor held a palaver, during his official progress, appears to have asked for a supply of handcull's,"
"Yes, the trade in handcuffs is one that is stimulated by the gin traffic. Here is a trade-mark for the gin bottle. Handcuffs! Handcuffs ! Yes, handcuffs that enslave, handcuffs that degrade; 0, yes, put it on the gin bottle everywhere.
"I protest against this traffic because of the retribution wbich it is sure to bring on the nations who protect it. I rejoice in the ringing words quoted by Mr. Hudson Taylor from Mr. Henry Richard: 'The government of God is real; the government of God is moral; the government of God is retribu- tive.' Has Great Britain forgotten to read the lesson of the Indian mutiny? Has America forgotten to read the lesson of the civil war? Shall we allow ourselves to go to sleep agamover an eVil like this, folding our arms and saying : ' Let it alone; it will take care of itself'? The Governor of the Gold Coast said, 'We cannot interfere with the course of trade.' This has been said again and again in history. It reminds me of the passage: 'Yet a little more sleep, a little more slumber . . . so shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man.' Oh, that armed man! We saw him in America twenty years ago, and Gettysburg was the retribution of letting it alone. You saw it in the Indian mutiny away back among the fifties, and that fearful time was the retribution of letting it alone. Are we to let it alone again, and bring down still greater retribution upon our heads in America and upon you here?
" Once more I protest against this detestable traffic because of its neutral- izing effect upon the efforts of our Chrlstian missionaries. Why should we go to the heathen handicapped and hampered by men who have no care but to make money, and who have yoked the motive-power of appetite to the car of Mammon, that they may ride the more surely over men? Oh, brethren, as the representatives of the Missionary Societies of the world, let us rise in our might and say: 'It is time that we should be unlimbered and unhampered and delivered from this terrible evil.' If the churches of England were united, and in earnest, and right, no government would be able to resist them. If the churches of England, of Europe, and America were united, and in earnest, and right, no evil in the world could stand before them. Let there be no pessimism among us in regard to this. PessimIsm is lor those who have no Christ; courage is the characteristic of those who know they have Him with them and in the midst of them. But we must ourselves have clean hands. Let us labor, and pray, and determine in the might of God to lay low everything in the shape of demoralizing traffic with these native races. Let us knock it on the head, and sweep its kennel clean out. The resolution was carried by acclamation.
KING LEOPOLD AND THE TRAFFIC.
" A third resolution, recognizing the benefits that have already accrued to Africa in connection with the founding of the Congo Free State by the King of the Belgians, invoking his aid in suppressing the drink traffic, and appointing a committee to proceed to Brussels and lay this important matter before his Majesty, was submitted to the meeting by the Rev. Dr. J. Murdock, of Boston. In doing so he mentioned an incident told in New York by Mr. H. M. Stanley. When that explorer met the King in Uganda, the King asked him many questions about Queen Victoria, the Emperor of Germany, and others i then he said, •What tidings can you bring me from above?' Mr. Stanley, unhappily, was not an expert in these matters, but he gave the King a New Testament, which he declared contained the only answer which man could ever receive to that most momentous inquiry. After a long passage across the continent, Stanley came at last to meet with the colored people of the Western Coast, and the first question they asked of him was, 'Have you any gin?' That, said Dr. Murdock, is the difference between heathendom pure and simple and heathendom as touched by the curse of Western civilization. It was in order to touch this evil at its very core that the matter would be laid before the King of the Belgians. The resolution was seconded by Mr. H. Grattan Guinness in a paper full of startling facts, most eloquently and impressively stated. The resolution was heartily agreed to i the gentlemen appointed to carry out its provisions being Dr. Murdock, Mr. Grattan Guinness, Mr. J. Bevan Braithwaite, and Mr• .Alfred Baynes.
L!OENSED VICE IN INDIA.
"The fourth and last resolution was moved by MI'. Alfred S. Dyer, who, as the Chairman remarked, had only a few days before returned from India. On rising, MI'. Dyer was greeted with oft-repeated rounds of cheering, and it was some time before he was able to speak. He read the resolution as follows: " That this Conference has heard with shame and sorrow of the extensive system of State·licensed vice carried on throughout India by authority of the Indian government; that at the same time it desires to place on record its deep sense of the great service rendered to the canse of morality and religion by the House of Commons determining the repeal of all legislation which anthorizes and en· courages vice; and it confidently expects that Her Majesty's government will now take Immediate measures to abolish what constitutes a social degradation, and so remove a stnmbling-block to religion, and the dishonor to the name of Great Britain which have resulted from this system; and further. that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime :Minister and the Secretary of State for Indis.
"The time being far spent, Mr. Dyer had proposed simply to read the resolution, leaving it to speak for itself without any advocacy of his own. In response, however, to the calls of the audience, he said: The uppermost feeling in my heart is one of unbounded thanksgiving to God for the great victory which has been gained in the House of Commons in this cause of social purity. I honor the noble men in that House who have stood faithful to this cause amid so much ridicule. I honor them in that they have been • faithful to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I look upon this victory entirely as an answer to the prayers that have been offered up. We have been praying about it in India. Not a day passed that I did not pray for it, so that I feel, as I have said, unbounded thankfulness to God, while I thank those members of Parliament. After seven or eight months' patient investi- gation in India, and coming into contact also with the drink traffic, I have come to the conclusion that the two great obstacles to the success of mission- ary work in India are the systems of licensed vice and of licensed drink. I would only add that we must see that the resolution of the House of Com- mons is carried out in India. I hope in a few weeks to go back there; and I intend to stay there, to act as your representative, to exercise a due vigil- ance, and to see that the system of licensed Ivice is abolished. While I am there, I shall also make it my business to investigate further these questions of the drink traffic and the Chinese opium traffic, and to see if I can help you to get rid of them.
"Rev. G. E. Post, M.D., seconded the resolution. He said: 'It was with extreme repugnance that I undertook to speak. My repugnance arose from the fact that I felt myself to be a citizen of another land, and that this was a question which primarily concerned Britain. But in presence of such a ques- tion you are not Eng-lishmen, and I am not an American, but we are all of us citizens of the commonwealth of man, and endowed from heaven with the freedom of the city of God. I take that freedom to protest against the worst form of outrage that has ever been perpetrated against a defenseless people, Anglo-Saxon fathers, hang your heads with shame for the cause that brings us here to-night. Anglo-Saxon mothers, turn your hearts away from your husbands and your sons; you cannot look them in the face as you discuss a question like this. Anglo-Saxon daughters, draw your veils over your eyes lest you put me to silence by ihe mantling blushes on your cheeks. Twelve years ago the civilized world was stirred to its depths by the story of the Bulgarian atrocities. A few undisciplined Bashi Bazouks, elated by victory, were guilty of atrocities which brought down upon their country a desolating war, which dismembered it, and which drew from one of your statesmen that famous utterance that the Turks must be driven, 'bag and baggage,' out of Europe. We have been guilty of an atrocity which surely might justify the statement that we ought to be driven, 'bag and baggage,' out of Asia. This, moreover, is not an atrocity by a few guerilla soldiers, but by a Christian Government, with its two estab- lished religions and its numerous churches and chaplains. We have gone into India in an official capacity, to degrade, first our own sons, and then the daughters of the weak subject races. It is with shame that we confess that our race has sunk to such a degradation as that. Turn to a lIlore cheerful aspect, and reJoice at the action of the House of Commons. All honor to those noble men who have stood up and vindicated the right. I repudiate, and never will believe, the accusation, that the medical profession stands behind these acts. I have been a member of that profession for twentyseven years. I say that when you press this matter on your legislative bodies, you may rely upon the medical profession being with you. And let us press forward in the consciousness that God is with us." The resolution was carried unanimously.
CLOSING WORDS.
The evening was now far advanced, but the Chairman called out Drs. Gordon and Pierson for brief addresses.
Dr. A. J. Gordon said: "It has been said, and I think truly, that there is enough sentiment, and conscience, and enthusiasm, and spiritual power in this audience to move our governments to the abolition of these terrible iniquities. Let it be remembered for our encouragement that in England, when the slave trade was to be abolished, agitation began with only two or three men, who carried it to a successful issue. I remind you also that our great conflict in America began with two or three men, who for years stood alone. Again, remember that the leader of that movement placed on his banner the motto, 'Immediate, Unconditional Emancipation,' and in spite of all ridicule and all abuse, and all dissuasion, he never would take that motto off his banner, but carried it forward until at last the whole nation followed him, and we swept the curse of slavery from our land. I suppose it will be admitted by our American brethren that the most eloquent man America has produced in modern times was Wendell PhiUips. He stood side by side with Lloyd Garrison-the two stood alone for years. I remember the time when they could not rally twenty men in a city to listen to them, eloquent as they were. This, however, is what I am going to say: Dh, English women! oh, American women! do you know what you can do? Just before Wendell Phillips died, I had a memorable conversation with him. Knowing that he had sacrificed social position, and much besides, I had the curiosity to ascertain what led him into the agitation. He had an invalid wife, who for years never left the house. I asked, 'What first led you to espouse the cause of the slave and to stand by him? ' He replied, 'My whole career is due to my wife. She said to me before the thought had ever touched my conscience, 'Wendell, you must take up the cause of the slave,' and I did it at her request, and I fought it out because she stood behind me.' There is a lesson for Christian women! And now let us remember that if two leaders can. finally bring a whole vast nation to follow them in deIpanding the abolition' of such an evil, we are more than two, and we have had as eloquent men leading us to-night as either of those I have named. Let us follow them. There is nothing that ca'n stand against iteration and reiteration. Suppose you suspended a piece of iron .weighing a hundred pounds In the midst of this hall, and, when it was perfectly poised, you brought a schoolboy to pelt it with pieces of cork. At first there would be no impression, but if the boy kept at it long enough and directed the pieces of cork at one point, the time would come when the whole mass would begin to mo,'e. In like manner, our testimony may in itself be very weak and unworthy, but let us bring it to bear long enough-testimony after testimony, protest after protest, demand after demand, abhorrence after abhorrence, expressed in the intensest terms against these evils; and by and by the great mass will begin to move, and it will be swept out of the way. Let us not be disheartened. Let us take courage from the assurance that God will bruise Satan under our feet shortly."
Dr. A. T. Pierson, lD the course of a stirring address, said: "If I had time I would like to take up the challenge thrown down in that secular news-
MISSIONARY MONTHLY
paper. For I reckon that it knows a good deal more about the kingdom of Britain and other kingdoms than it does about the kingdom of God. We stood this afternoon in the London Missionary Society's premises, and had rehearsed to us in brief outline the wonderful story of the progress of the gospel in Tahiti and the neighboring groups of islands. The missionaries labored in Tahiti for years without any apparent results, but then within a very short time the people became so thoroughly Christianized that they sent to the otqer groups, and within forty-four years the regeneration of Polynesia was accomplished. And yet this newspaper thinks that the progress of foreign missions has been funereal! Having told of wonders wrought in China, Dr. Pierson said :We have spoken much in this Conference about the union which has been exhibited. I want to say that I take not the slightest credit to America or to myself for this unity. If in the presence of the gigantic foe that unites all its forces and masses all its hosts against the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, I did not forget that I am an American, and also forget the denomination to which I belong, I should consider myself a fossilized ecclesiastic, and not a disciple at all. When Herod and Pilate are made friends in order to crush Christ and Christianity, it behooves all true disciples to stand shoulder to shoulder, and to close about the ark of God. The fact is, our unity is largely the involuntary unity of those who in the presence of the adversary have come together because they cannot help it ; and I think that the methods and manner adopted by our foes make it clear that we can pursue no successful policy of warfare but an aggressive one. We had better stop throwing up defenses, and carry war into the enemy's camp. A positive, aggressive gospel is surely the one that is going to win the day."
THE MISSIONARY MONTHLY CONCERT.
BY DR. JAMES L. PHILLIPS, CHAPLAIN TO STATE INSTITUTIONS, R. I. ALMOST a century ago a few earnest Christians in England founded the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions. To this day it is faithfully observed in many churches of the mother country. More than twenty years ago, when I was a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, this monthly concert was regularly held in many of the New England and New York churches; and while visiting friends in the Western States, before embarking for India, I found it in some of the churches there. On coming back to America I have been making many inquiries, and regret to learn that there seems to be a marked falling off in the observance of this missionary service. The history of this meeting for nearly a hundred years affords ample proof of its importance. Its real value cannot be estimated, for facts and figures can neither detect nor determine the full benefit it has brought to the church of Christ at home and abroad. The journals of missionaries in foreign fields, and records found in our best periodical missionary literature, and in the memoirs of men who have been valiant pioneers in extending the triumphs of the kingdom of God on earth, yield abundant and remarkable testimony to the benefit and blessing that this monthly concert has been to Christian toilers in many lands. It is very cheering to find THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD calling attention regularly every month to the Concert of Prayer, and the following incidents may serve to illustrate and impress the importance of this service. Ten years ago, when at home on furlough before, one of the last things I had to do was the raising of an endowment fund for our Bible School in India. While engaged in this work, which occupied several months, I was traveling much and met with many very Ct9nvincing proofs of the educating power of the Missionary Concert. One of these I wish to cite, because it illnstrates how the regular observance of this monthly meeting tends to plant the habit of cheerful giving, one of the hardest habits, so the pastors tell us, for Christian disciples to acquire.
The committee sent me to some strange spots for money. Everyone who has done such deputation work among the churches on either side of the Atlantic knows wh~t surprises, pleasant and otherwise, drop into this line of service, and some of these become the salient points of the scene as you look back upon it in after years. One week day evening I had an fLppoint- men t in a village of Central Ohio. On stepping off the train, and looking over the place from the railway station, and there learning that the church to which I was sent was without a pastor, I wondered how this appointment came to be made. The outlook was anything but bright.
The hour for the missionary lecture found about seventy people seated in a plain house, the women on one side and the men on the other. They listened admirably to what was said about gospel work in India, and the demand for. trained native helpers. A stranger minister had offered the opening prayer, and no one volunteering to take pledges or the collection for my endowment, I asked my brother to wait upon one side of the house, while I did on the other. Catching up paper and pencil, he straightway went for the men, fancying no doubt that the pocket-books belonged on that side of the house. For once it wasn't so, for in cash and pledges together moire . than ten times as much came in from the women's sIde as from the men's side of that small congregation. I shall never forget the very first woman whom I asked for money that evening. Her quick answer to my question, "Would you like to help our Bible School?" was significant and cheered me so. Looking up through her glasses squarely into my face, she said :- "Indeed, I should, sir," and she gave me fifty dollars. Anotherlittle woman gave me twenty-five dollars, and still another ten. On reaching my lodg- ings I learned from my kind hostess that these three women were sisters, and naturally I was curious to know their history. One of them lived close by, so the next morning on my way to the railway station, I called upon her and thanked her and her sisters for the good cheer they had given me at the meeting. And from this humble Christian woman I learned these facts. Their childhood home was in Western New York, and they used to attend a Presbyterian church. Their pastor never failed to observe the monthly concel·t of prayer for missions, at which service he regularly brought be- fore his people the conditions and claims of the pagan nations, the freshest news from the front ranks of Christ's advancing army in all lands, and also the duty and the privilege of helping on this grand movement for the world's evangelization by earnest prayers and cheerful offerings. That faithful pastor had reached his rest and reward in heaven, and I, a stranger from the opposite side of the earth, had been permitted to reap' some of the golden harvest for which through years of patient toil he had sown the seed.
Another incident of more recent date illustrates the other side of the ben- efit that accrues from thIS missionary concert, that is the cheer it carries to our brethren across the seas. On the 6th of March, 1887, the concert topic in quite a number of churches was New Fields, and particular men,tion was made in the addresses and prayers of a little station recently opened on the Orissa coast. The young missionary planting this station had met with serious obstacles. A cyclone had blown down his first buildings, there had
ISLAM AND CIVILIZATION
been lack of funds for pushing on the work of rebuildhtg, and other discouragement. He did not know that on the first Sabbath of March we were to offer up special prayer lor him in our monthly concert. But the blessing came just the same.
In a private letter this missionary writes: "On the 6th and 7th of March I received a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Such courage I have never felt in my work, and all the native Christians felt more or less the same spirit of consecration. The following Sabbath I baptized six, and there are a number among the Hindus and Telugus here who, are seeking Christ. Wherever we go, the Spirit of the Lord seems to be going before to open up the way. It has been surprising to me, and the native workers have remarked a number of times, how wonderfully the people accept the gospel."
By the slow course of an ocean mail, our brother on that Ori!'sa coast learned on the 3d of April, from a Boston newspaper dated February 24th, that the missionary concert of March 6th was to make him and his field the special subject of prayer. Whereupon he writes: "Then it flashed upon me like light from heaven that my wonderful blessing on the 6th and 7th of March was a direct answer to your prayers, and I went into the service and told the Brethren. Instead of preaching, we had a consecration meeting, in which the power of the Spirit was wonderfully manifest. It was a blessed day. I believe the prayers offered there for this special field were answered. Today the hardest man in this place sent to buy a New Testament. God's Word will make its way, and His kingdom prevail."
These words from a lone man on a far-off shore speak volumes to every pastor in America and Europe. Would that all pastors, in city and country alike, could be of one mind in observing this Monthly Concert of prayer for Missions. How the church at home needs the quickening and refreshing it would surely bring! One of the most interesting sessions of the Convention of the International Missionary Union, held at the Thousand Island Park in 1887, was devoted to discussing ways and means for stirring up our home chnrches to persevering prayer and systematic beneficence in behalf of the millions still in pagan darkness. Over and again during this discussion, it came out that wherever the monthly concert was regularly kept up, the interest i,missions was intelligent and aggressive. Beloved pastors of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout all lands, will you revive and sustain this MONTHLY CONCERT, and so teach your people to obey His great command to disciple the nations?
ISLAM AND CIVILIZATION. "THE recent controversy as to the comparative merits of Islam and Christianity raises issues deeper and wider than the so-called' religious world.' It is not Christianity alone, but civilization, which is involved in the issue. I believe that under Christianity alone can man reach the perfect development of his nature. • . • Islam can raise to its own level tri,bes lower than itself in the scale of humanity; but this it does at the terrible cost of petrifying them at that level forever-the level, that is, of the barbarous Arabs of Mahomed's day. For, except in the matter of idolatry and infanticide, Islam, as we find it in Mecca, its metropolis, is not in advance of the social and intellectual condition of the Arabs of that time; and inasmuch as the Koran claims to be the last declaration of the divine will to man, it follows that any progreiis beyond the Koran is not only superfluous, but impious in addition. And the history of Islam all ovel' the world proves to demonstration that what was antecedently to be e~pe~ted has in fact occurred. • • • The Koran, in Islamic belief, was written by the finger of God in the highest heaven before all time, every word and letter of it, in the Arab tongue; was· then, at the predestined time, taken down to the third heaven by the angel Gabriel, and there recited, word for word, to Mahomed in an audible voice in 'suras' or chapters, as occasion required, and was by him miraculously re- produced from memory. This is an article of faith throughout the world of Islam; and as the Koran professes to be the last revelation of the divine will to man, it follows, of course, that nothing which is sanctioned in the Koran, explicitly or implicitly, can· ever be abrogated, altered, or become obsolete.
Nobody who realizes this fact will believe that the Koran can possibly be a preparatory discipline, like Greek philosophy, for Christianity.
There is no living voice in the church of Islam to reconcile the past with the present and make provision for the future. It claims an infallibility more sweeping and more rigid than that of the Vatican decrees, but it is the in- fallibIlity of a dead pontiff, an ignorant and immoral Bedouin, who died twelve centuries ago. . . . As a spirtiual force, in so far as it ever was one, Islam is not advancing, but retrograding. The Musulman world contains no longer a single center from which radiates any intellectual light 01' any sign of material progress. There is not one Mussulman state in the world which wields independent sway-which, in fact, does not exist solely by the suffer- ance of Christendom. A creeping paralysis has fastened upon Islam, and the shadow of the devouring eagles may even now be descried on its horizon.
How stands the case of Christianity in comparison? Its Pattern Man is not only to the Christian, but to the great mass of intelligent and educated un- believeJ's, the highest and noblest ideal of humanity that history records or the human mind can conceive. His teaching and example are the most per- fect exhibition of human virtue that the world has seen. . • . As to the comparatively slow progress of Christianity and its imperfect success, even within the frontiers of Christendom, we must distinguish between the essence of a system and its separable accidents. Islam, at its best, bears within it the incurable germ of inevitable decay and dissolution. The hin- drances to the spread of Christianity, on the other hand, are but parasites whioh cling to it and which it may shake off. They may be summarized as follows: "1. The divisions of Christendom. Islam, too, has its sects, and many of them; but they close their ranks and present a united front to the 'unbe- lievers.' 2. Faulty methods of propagandism, such as neglect of rearing in foreign lands a native ministry, while importing European habits, customs and dress among native converts. 3. The discredit cast upon the Christian name by the lives and demoralizing traffic of professing Christians. 4. To which may be added, as regards India, the active discouragement and even resistance which, until a recent period, a professedly Christian government offered to the propagation of Christianity. . It is a superficial view which would confine the comparison between Christianity and Islam to the numerical proportions of their respective adherents, though even on that score Christianity has no reason to blush, as I have already shown, and as Sir William Hunter has explained with respect to India. At the time of Christ's dea.th, 'the number of names together,' who owned themselves His disciples, 'were about an hundred and twenty.' Was that a fair test of the success of his ministry? The apparently signal failures of Christianity have generally been the preludes to fresh victories. So it may be now. The suc- cess of Christianity at any given time is not to be measured by visible r~sults.
In India, in Japan, in China, in Africa, throughout the Turkish empire, it is
ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK
silently sapping the foundations of rival religions. Its ideas and principles are in the air, like those minute yet potent germs of which physical science tells us. Only they are germs of health inoculating diseased organisms with the seeds of a. regenerate life. Christianity is impregnating Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Paganism, with hopes, aspirations, ideals, principles, which are gradually but surely disintegrating the old order of things, and preparing the way for the reception of Christianity."-Malcolm MacOoll, in Oontemporary Review.
n.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK.
Established Ohuroh of Scotland. crease in the membership of the church to the number of 7,973_ The total number of commu- AT its recent session the Foreign nicants is 579,002. In 1873 the membership was Mission Committee reported to the 460,464, so that there Is an increase of 118,538 in General Assembly 827 baptisms as fifteen years. the fruits of the labors of their missionaries during 1887. Of these The Free Ohuroh of Scotland. 676 were in the Punjab, around Sialkot; 120 in the threefold Darjeeling GEN1IRAL abstract, showing the sums raised Mission; 13 in Madras, and 13 in Ar- for the various objects of the church for tbe konam; 4 in Calcutta, and 1 in Bom- year, from 31st March, 1887. to 31st March, 1888: bay. To these add 1 at Calcutta and 2 at Madras, in connection with the I. Sustentation fund ………… £167,37474 Ladies' Association. There are at II. Local building fund. . . . . . . . . . 65.689 8 IIJ-ii present about 3,000 baptized persons III. Congrega- In the Church of Scotland's missions to the heathen in India, Africa and tional fund. £16:>,005 8 5J-ii China. Congrega- RECEIPTS. tional mis- cellaneous The Foreign Mission Revenue from all sources objects …. 43,123 12 6 in 1887 was £43,399. This sum inclndes income – – – – 208,129 0 llJ-ii IV. Missions and education.. . . •. 117.916 5 1 at home, £24,481; income abroad, £10,799; in- V. Miscellaneous ………….. 33,746 3 2 terest on J1lvested funds, £1,267; income of Total……………………£592.855 5 1 Ladies' Association for Foreign Missions, £6,8,;2. The missionary receipts were as follows: Revenue at Home…………………. £50,295 As regards income, results, and additions to the Revenue Abroad………………….. 33,5UI For tho Conversion of the Jews…….. 8.682 sta1l', 1887 has been the most prosperous year ill Making the whole missionary revenue the history of the Foreign Mission. of the Free Church of Scotland for – – 1887-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £100,756 The total contributions to the various schemes of the church for the year amounted to £151,805, an Increase on the previous year of £9,293.
DUring the past year there bas been an in- United Presbyterians of Sootland.
SUMMARY FOR 1887.
Annual Income, '£43,430 13s.• Including a Small Expenditure in Spain.
No. of Com- Native Fields of Labor. Sta- Foreign Workers. Native Workers. muni- Schools. Schol- Contri- – – – – – – – – tions. cants. ars. butions. ——— —— — — — Or- Fe- Or- !~~. dained. Lay. male. dained. Lay.
Jamaica ………… 46 19 . …. …… 13 82 ………… 8,796 68 £ Trinidad ……….. 3 2 "2" 1 ··42" 359 2 5,967 6,000 Old Calabar. 6 6 7a 4 "iil' 269 ]6 Kaft'raria ……….. 11 11 3 76 1,426 India…………… 10 15 10 ….2· .. 65 2,180 3'~ 517 194 195 1,482 1,266 .. ..2.. 15 2 445 92 5,029 . 217 ..2… …1… 499 5 – – – -13- – – – – – – – – – – – China ………….. 43 -3-90 Japan ………….. 4 –** – ** 80 – -ll!2- Totals………… 84 61 7 21 22 389 44 12,938 210 13,071 £9.325 *Not reported.
The Income as given above IS over 1886 gaye, and 161 more native com- .£3,800 more than our report for municants. Irish Presbyterians. Total home receipts .. " ……•.. £124,581 19 fa FORTY-SIXTH annual report on FOREIGN RECEIPTS.
Foreign Missions, presented to the Mission districts auxiliaL·'ls…… 5,803 0 6 General Assembly in Belfast, June, Total ordinary receipts. . •. . •. . 130,337 19 8 1888. EXTRAORDINABY RECEIPTS. The report is encouraging. The Contributions for special missions year 1887 has been a notable one in the Indian Mission. There were 147 in UpperBurmah, Central Atrica, baptisms, and an increase of communicants, and two natives were China, India, etc…………… 1,508 18 6 ordained over congregations of conveds from heathenism. The outlook Ditto, for St. Vincent Hurricane in China to.day is more hopeful than it has been for many years. The in- Di5tress Fund…. …………. 20 4 4 come of the Society is also steadily, though not rapidly, increasing, as Total Income ..•…………. £131,867 2 6" the figures below will show: PAYlIlENTS. Total sum raised 1884-5, £11,130 5s.; 1885-6, £12,032 lOs.; 1886-7, £12,728 18s.; 1887-8, General expenditure …………. £136,124 8 0 On account of Special Missions, £13,054 16s. If we add to last year's sum the £2,000 raised etc ……………………… . 1,529 210 Ditto,Ladies'AnxiliaryCommittee 313 19 5 for the Stevenson Memorial Fund, it would Total expenditnre ……….. £131,967 10 3 make the sum total above £15,000. From which deduct ordinary and Presbyterian Ohuroh in Oanada. extraordinary receipts for the year.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. …. . 131,867 2 '> THE report made to the General Leaving a deficiency on 1887 Assembly, which met in June, is account of……………. . 6,100 7 9 highly interesting and inspIrIng. To which add the debt of 1886.. . 10,768 19 11 Decided pl'ogress is reported in all Leaving a total deficiency of. £16,869 7 8 the Missions under the Assembly's GENERAL SUMMARY.
care. Missions nnder the immediate direction of the Wesleyan Missionary Committee and British According to the returus the Canadian Pres- Conference, in Europe, India, China, West byterian Church now embraces 1831 churches 4(rica, the Transvaal, B,"itish Hondura8, and stations, with 793 ministers. The active and the Bahamas. membership aggregates 76,226 families, 13,261 single members, while the church-goers number Central or Principal Stations called Cirahout 400,000. There are 112,940 Sabbath cuits ……………………………. 336 scholars, and 12,976 teachers, having the privilege of libraries containing 183,471 volumes. Chapels and other Preaching Places in The income of the Church last year was $1,772,- connection with the above-mentioned 000, against $1,215,000 in 1881. Last year Central or Principal Stations, as far as $738,000 was paid in stipends, or an average of ascertained.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . 1,338 $943 to each minister. $112,000 was also subscribed last year towards Home and Foreign Missionaries and ASSistant-Missionaries, missions; $86,866 for foreign missions, as including Supernumeraries.. . . . . . . . . . . 333 against $69,000 last year. Knox and Queen's College each have sent out and support a mis- Other paid AgentR, as Catechists, Inter- sionary to China. The Women's Foreign Mis- preters, Day-school Teachershetc…… 2,000 sionary Society contributed over $23,000, as against $18,500 last year. Unpaid Agents, as Local Preac ers, Sab- bath-school Teachers, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,859 Wesleyan Missionary Sooiety. Full and accredited Chnrch Members…. 32,lt?O THE seventy-fourth annual meet- On trial for Chnrch-Membership…….. _ 4,1114 ing of this society was held in Exeter Scholars attending either the Sabbath or Hall, London; April 30. The abstract of the report shows that the Day·schools… . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. .. .. . … 59,388 Society's debt has been increased by £6,100, and is now £16,869. Unless Ohurch Missionary Society. there is an increase of income this year it will not be possible to main- THIS society, which has the largest tain the existing missions of the income of any missionary society in society. the world, held its eighty-ninth an- niversary in Exeter Hallin June. Its income for the year was £221,331 ($1,106,655). We give an abstract of the financial report: Last year the committee reported the larg- est ordinary income on record, viz., 207,7931., the advance being mainly due to an exceptional amount of legacies. This year the total is only 191,557l., the lowest in the past five years; but this again is due to a falling-off of nearly 14,- ODOl. in legacies. The receipts from all sources except legacies, viz. 173,7561., are the highest in the past five years. The committee therefore feel constrained to utter a note of heartiest thanksgiving. Moreover, some of the most im- surplns of one year and being charged with the portant gifts of the year do not come nnder deficit of another, is entirely exhausted for the ordinary income. The Extension Fund has re- first time since it was formed, in 1880. Judged, ceived, 8,6791., including a benefaction of 5,5OOl., therefore, from a business point of view, the po- specially allocated to Japan and the Punjab. sition is a seriOlls one. Yet the committee dare More than 4,0001. has been received for the Ny- not send back the candidates for missionary ser- anza Mission. The contributions for the Winter vice who are coming forward in increasing Mission to India amounted to 1,700l.; and 700/. numbers, and who are plainly brought by the has beeu given towards the proposed Hanning- Lord of the harvest to be thrnst forth into His ton Memorial Church at Frere Town. The total harvest. Nor do they believe it is necessary to receipts from all sources amount to 221,3311. do so. If only there is faith to roll upon Him the whole burden, and to follow in simple obedience Nevertheless, the facts remain that the defi- the clear indications of His will, there is no ciency in legacies has diminished the resources cause for fear. But the committee are bound to at the committee's disposal for carrying on the state the case to their friends exactly as it stands. work by Over 13,0001. ; that the expenditure of Put in one sentence, it is this: to replace the the year is more by 2,333l. than that of last year, Contingency Fund, and to cover the estimated and though considerably under the estimate, expenditure of the current year, will require a sum exceeding the income of the past year by I has exceeded the receipts by 12,oool. ; and that 3'.ooOl. the Contingency Fund, which is always the bar- ometer of the Society's position, receiving the Fields of Labor. – – ——– — – – ——– – – No. of Com- Schol- Native Sta- Foreign Workers. ars. Contri- tions. IDuni- Native Workers. Schools – butio-ns. cants.
Or- Lay. Fe- 01'- J..ay. Fe- £ dained. male. dained. male. West Africa…….. 42 10 14 49 151 75 9,598 96 6,995 7,875 East&Central Africa 11 14 11 1 Egypt aud Arabia .. 2 2 14 ..7 281 .. 8 528 95 Palestiue ……….. 9 6 13 1 1 '5 2 140 9 11 45 1,875 266 48 12 885 Persia and Bagdad. 2 4 1 .. 1 11 11 93 8 309 Poenrslyia } 343 India…………… 91 Ceylon………….. 12 109 1..2 12 137 1,724 421 24,531 1,314 47,089 6..,8..73 Mauritius ………. 6 12 250 93 2,009 192 9,793 …… China ………….. 20 18 1 ..1 29 1,470 Japan ………….. 5 3 52 4 16 3 421 115 2,007 New Zealaud……. 42 10 5 N. W. America ….. 31 23 3 I .. 242 16 2,570 129 North Pacific……. 7 8 '43 11 ~17 ~415 is 336 1;211 15 I .. 122 2,562 1,115 227 2 .. 92 201 7 268 Totals………. 280 247 40 22 265 2,881 653 4i,115 1,859 71,814 £15,452 The London Missionary Sooiety. and kindred societies to preach the The ninety-fourth annual meeting gospel to the heathen." The plea of this society was held in Exeter Hall, May 10, under the presidency of Lord Brassey made for the extension the renowned traveler, Lord Brassey, K.C.B. The testimony of the chair- of the work was very effective. man, who has had such exceptional opportunities for witnessing the " Iu the report reference is made to the splenwork of missionaries in different did success which has attended the work of lands, haviug, as he himself indi- your Society under those illustrious missioncated, seen the work in Labrador, aries, Lawes aud Chalmers, iu New Guinea. We Terra-deI-Fuego, in Turkey, India, have very interesting details with reference to Tahiti and elsewhere, is very valua- the progress of the work iu Iudia and in China; ble. He admits that there have been and as a most remarkable instance of the sucindiscretions in some cases, but he cess of our work, let me refer once more to that adds: "I venture to say that few in- devoted zeal which is shown by the native misdeed are those instances of indiscre- sionaries who are recruited from the South tion in comparison with the mass of Seas. I do not know any evidence more imnoble work which has been done for pressive of the good results of the work which generations by those who have been is done by this Society than this most telling sent forth under the auspices of this fact, that the work which is being carried on by those 160 devoted men and women, who have gone forth from this country, is being supple- mented and carried forward by no less than 1,000 native ordained ministers, and 6,000 native preachers. Aud looking to another and per- haps a less impressive circumstauce, is it not ex- ceedingly grat!(ying to observe that the statement of income which this society has at its dis- tary (Dr. Green), set forth that: posal for its good work contains an item of nO less than £17,000, which Is subscribed by the The receipts from !Ill sources during the year, native people from theIr limited aud narrow re- ncluding the balance at commencement,. were sources,to carry forward the missionary work?" £211,108. There was a net increase on the year of £9,098. The total expenditure had been The total income of the society Cor 1887 £208,662. The number of new publications isamounted to £157,000. But uo less than £27,000 sued during the year amounted to 757, of which of this sum came from legacies, which is £16,000 214 were tracts and leafiet.. The circulation above the yearly average, necessitating mnch had reached 61.061,050, including 24.590,600 more liberal giving the current year to avoid a tracts. To this number must be added that of heavy debt. the Issues from foreign depots, estinlated at 15,- 000,000; the total amount being 76,061,050, a Religious Traot Sooiety. slight diminutiou upon the whole as compared with the issues of the previous year, although EXETER was crowded on the occa- the circulation of the tracts has shown an insion of the eighty-ninth annual meet- crease of 870,300. In the year 1887 no fewer than ing of the Religious Tract Society. 222,000 of the London Board School children Lord Balfour, of Burleigh, presided. were presenled for examinalion in Scripture, of The annual report, read by the secre- whom 5,555 received prizes and certificates.
Methodist New Oonnenon Missionary Sooiety.
Annual Income, £7,106.* No. of Ad- Com- Native Sta· herents. Contribu- tions. muni- cants. tions. Fields ofEntered Foreign Native Schools. Schol- Workers. Workers. arB. —- —- I ;LaY'1 – – — – – – – Labor.A.D.
— £ daOiure-rl. Lay. • mFaele-.
Ohina …. 1859 50 6 1 47 3 2,436 1,218 6 162 388 *Iucluding the sums spent in Ireland, Canada and Australia. The Missiou in Canada 1D 1874 united with the various other Methodist bodies in the Dominion, and thus was formed '.' The Metho- dist Church of Canada."
United Methodist Free Ohurch Missions.
Annual Income, £21,876 178. 9d. * No. of Foreign Native Com- Schol- Native Sta- Workers. Workers. muni- ars. Contribu- tions. cants. tions. — – – – —- – – – – – —- —- Entered A.D. Fields of Labor. Schools.
'– Ordained. Lay. £ China ……………… 1864 3 3 11 306 4 77 34 East Africa ………… ]861 5 4 9 180 5 241 24 West Africa………… 1859 6 5 92 2,894 11 1,122 641 J-am-aic-a .- – ……. – – ……..- -1838- -10- – -9 – – -48 – – – 3,342 -31- -1,-924- -1,-188- – Totals ………………… 24 21 160 7.622 51 5,864 1,893 * This total includes the sums expended in the colonies of Australla and New Zealand, as well as in heathen lands and in Jamaica.
The Southern Baptist Oonvention Maryland. . •.. . . •. . •.. . •••. •.. . . . .. .. •.. .. 2 M!ss?u~i…………………………….. held its forty-third anniversary in 4 MISSISSIPPI. .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . .. . .. • 3 . ~r::i~i~· …………….:.:::.::::::::::: 1~ Richmond, May 11-15.
Total income from April, 1887 to Western Arkansas and Iudian Territory.. 15 Western North Carolina……………… 18 April,1888 $86,385,66 West Virginia………………………. 1 Total expenses 84,848,34 Total………………………… ~ Actual balance for the new ••• WORK DONE. MISSIonarIes ………………….. '" year – $1,748,60 287 Churches and stations …………… . 1,114 The number of missionaries in the employ of Baptisms ……………………… .. 4,857 the Board during the past year has been as fol- Reeeived by letter……………… .. 2,63n Total additions . . . . . . . . . . . " ……… _ '1,4H6 lows: S. S. organized ………………….. _ 431 Arkansas ……………….. ~………… 22 Cuba………………………………. 17 Teachers and pupils ……………… . 17,240 District ocColumbia……… …. …….. 1 Churches constituted……………. . Houses of worship built………… ,_ 306 FlOrida…………………………….. 37 Georgia…………………….. …….. 5 64 Iodi!,,! Territory. . .. .. . … .. . . .. . .. .. .. . . . 15 Cost of bouses of worship ………..• $54.068 LOulSlana………………….. ……… 21 Pages of tracts distributed……….. . 442,852 Bibles and Testaments …………… . 1.769 Total Snnday-school publications…. . 4,754,000
CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
III.-CORRESPON DENCE and GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Jews of Morocco. or forced outside the city walls and there m~ dered in cold blood. Their hodies were then cat By Rev. E. F. Baldwin, our Ed- into pieces, and their clothes as well. The money itorial Correspondent at Tangiers. that each one had was put into hi. hands, which MOGADOn, MOROCCO, May 25, 1888. were severed from the bodies. Their headlcss DEAR EDITons.-Although I am working as trunks, their heads themselves, their hands and a missionary among the Moors aud Arabic- feet were laid in order in a long ghostly row.
speaking Berber races of this great empire, yet The scene of lamentation and woe the next morn- I feel great ,interest iu the Jews which are found ing, when the entire Jewish population poured crowded tcgether in all its many cities. A few out to behold the harrowing sight, was inde- notes respecting them will doubtless interest scribable. The heads only conld be recognized.
your readers. It was impossible to know to which of the mur- Large numbers of these ancient people of dered men the severed members belonged.
God are supposed to have been settled in Moroc- Doubtless the Jews often exasperate the co from the earlier centuries of the Christian era. Moors beyond endurance by their nsurious if They were greatly increased by the influx from not dishonest extortions. The following incident Spain about the end of the fifteenth centnry. was just told me by a credible witness. In an When Columbus was sailing westward to dis- inland Morocco city a Moor died, leaving a wid- cover a new continent many scores of thousands ow and three little children. Before there had of wretched Israelites were sorrowfully making time elapsed to bury him, a Jew appeared, de· their way out of Spain and Portugal, where they manding from the widow the sum of $600, which had been enslaved and persecuted, and from he clainaed was dne him from the deceased. The which they were now finally banished. Spain had widow protested that it could not be so or she long afforded them an asylum. To them is would have known of it. She had nothing to largely due the attainment in arts and letters pay. He was one of the protected Jews referred that marked the period of Moslem conquest and to. At his demand the body of the dead man rule in Spain, and which has been so vaunted by was brought out of the house which had bethe admirers of Islam, which in itself is incapa- longed to him, and his widow and her children ble of aught but blight and ruiu. The descend- were also ejected. She buried her husband and ants of these forlorn Jews are now found then made her way to the house of the chief throughout Morocco. They densely fill the sep- rabbi of the Jewish community. She was ad- arately walled off portions assigned to them in mitted, her children being with her to add force the Moorish cities. These Jewish quarters are to her appeal. She tcld hina her piteous tale.
called the Mellahs or places of damnation. Into He was an upright man. He sent her away to these they are shut from sunset to sunrise. They return after three days. That night he called are downtrodden and despised. They formerly together the leading Jews of the place, the of- were compelled to wear only black garments. fending Jew among them. The rabbi, when Also when outside their Mellaha in many towns the Jew persisted in its being an honest debt, they must go in their bare feet. Neither may counted out before him the $600 in gold from his they ride through the Moorish part of the town. own store, and, placing their Scriptures before They are in constant dread of the Moors, who him, demanded of him that he shonld swear tc oppress and maltreat them. The Jew never the righteousness of his claim and then take his makes the least resistance. The fear of the na- money and restore the widow her house. He tions among whom they dwell is indeed upon refused to swear, from which his gnilt was evi- them as foretold. dent. The next morning the rabbi sent for I recently heard from an eye witness of an mules, and began lading them with his goods, appalling circumstance that occurred in Fez, the saying he would leave such an iniquitous people northern capital of Morocco, now less than a year before it was smitten with the wrath of God.
ago. ·Several Moors, it is asserted, had been The Jews gathered about hina and entreatedhina thrown into prison on false claims for debts and entreated him to stay, but without avail. brought against them by Jews who had the ben- Then they insisted on the offending Jew leaving efit of foreign protection, that is under the pro- the town, hanishing him from their midst. Upon tection of one of the foreign consuls. Such pro- this the old rabbi consented to remain. The tected natives, whether Jews or Moors,cannot be Moorish authorities were appealed to, and the called to account for their actions by the Moorish addule, or Moorish officer who conspired with authorities, being only answerable to the minis- the Jew and gave him a false paper on which he ter or consul who gives them protectIOn. The made his claina, was arrested, and on confessing friends of the agrieved Moors took summary his gnilt was thrown in prison, where he still re- and dreadful vengeance by waylaying nine of mains. the chief men of the Jewish community, includ- On the Jewish Sabbath just passed I accoming some of the offenders. They were on their way from the business part of Fez to the Mellak, panied a missionary of the Jews who is laboring In the gathering dusk, when they were enti~ed here to the Jewish synagogues, and there saw much the saml) scene as was witnessed when the Lord and IDs apostles were on the earth. sible tiDle; and to this end it is the duty of There was the venerable rnier of the synagogne. Christians to give personal effort and money. Then, too, after their reading of the law and Besides. this there are some things that need prayers it was virtually said to the friend I was special attention. One is to sonnd out a strong with, "If ye have any word of exhortation for voice against the Drink Tramc in the Free Congo tile people, say on." Whereupon he preached State. Such a protest will be concurred in by Christ to them from their own law, much in the the leading inlluence of the Established Churches same way that Paul did in Antioch, in Pisidia. of England and Scotland. At the same time, The place, the faces, the dress, the manners, the however, the arts of the opium trade aud use in service were all Oriental, Jewish and full of China and India, and of the free still system of Scriptnre suggestions. I noticed also that" when India'ought to be noticed as great hindrances to they heard that he spake in the Hebrew ton!(ue the evangelization of the 600 millions in these to them, they kept the more silence." The two lands. brother I speak of was a converted Persian Jew who is the assistant of Mr. Zerbib, the mission- Another question in relation to which the ary of the London Jewish Society for Promoting Conference should give expression is this, viz.: the Gospel among the Jews_ He succeeded Mr. What shall be done with converts who have, in Guinsburg, who was long here, but has now accordance with the laws and us~ges which prebeen removed to Constantinople. He was much vail in China and India 'from the days of Abrabeloved in this field. ham, and before them, two or more wives. The present prevailing usages of different mission- I have no space to speak of my own work, ary societies is to require them to put away aU which is among the Moors and other Arabic- wives but one. I think this contrary to aposspeaking races of this vast and almost entirely tolic usage. I think they should be permitted til unevangelized empire. I have recently come to retain their wives till separated by death. I Mogador in the sonthern part of Morocco, from seud you a printed copy of my views. Tangier, where I have been working for several years. The outlook is full of promise. We are The estimated number of Buddhists. EdwlJ: hoping soon to be joined by others. Perhaps I Arnold, in his .. Light of Asia," states the num ought to mention that I am an independent missionary, unconnected with any society, and ber to be 470 millions-the greatest number or therefore looking to the Lord alone for needed direction and supplies. But we find it true that religionists of one sect in the world_ Others, al "He is faithful that promised." Mr. Eugene Rev. James Freeman Clarke, in his" Ten Great Levering, 2 Commerce street,Baltimore, receives Religions," states the number to be 300 millions, and forwards funds for me, Dr. John Peddie, and others at 250 millions, and so on_ These pastor of the Fifth Baptist Church, Philadel- statements are made with a view to discredit phia, and Rev. A. C. Dixou, pastor of the 1m· our holy religion. I regard these statements as manuel Baptist Church, Baltimore, know me entirely unwa'/"1"anted and uiuJUpported by facts well. The church of the first licensed me to and principles which guide in classifying re preach, and in the church of the second I was ligionists. I inclose a pamphlet in which I dis- ordained. My father was formerly a pastor in cuss the subject and give my reasons for fixing New York city. the number of Buddhists at 8eventy·two millions. Prof. Monier Williams, who is a very much Ohina. more reliable man than EdWin Arnold or Dr. Freeman Clarke, states, as his opinion, that 100 LETTER from Dr. A. P. Happer: millions would be a large estimate of the Bud- [This lp.tter was written before the dhists in the world. It is too bad that Christian writers should accept and publish the opinion of meeting of the London Conference, skeptics and infidels on this point when there is and contains several important sug- positive testimony. If the Conference should appoint a committee on this point who would gestions in relation to its action, most publish a report, accepting Prof. Monier Will- iams's estimate of the number of Buddhists in of which received due attention.- the world, viz., 100 millions, it would be ac- cepted by Christiau writers as a reliaQle state- EDS.] ment, and do away with this infidel reproach to Christianity. For, with Protestant, Greek and CANTON, April 30, 1888. Roman Catholic followers, Christianity has the My DEAR DR. PIERSON.-THE MISSIONARY most numerous following lin the world, and au REVIEW OF THE WORLD for April has just ever increasing multitude. I include a pamph- reached me. I suppose you expect to be in Lon- let on this subject that may go into the hands of don from Juue !l-19th at the World's Missionary such" committee. Conference. I pray that the Spirit of God may be poured out upon the members with great Iu this day of multiplying the number of mis- power. sionaries, I think it specially importaut that There are some things that should have con- sideration of the Conference. First, and above some arrangements should b'e adopted to give all, it will seek to deepen the conviction in the whole Christian church that it is its duty to them some distinct and practical instruction aud evangelize the whole world in the shortest pos- training regarding the work to be done, and the best way to do it, by missionaries, men and women. :Many men and women come out with In what lis God glorified t 1110 being kTI(JWn. the most indefinite idea of what they are to do, A biographer. in making people adniire his hero, or how to do it. I inclose a pamphlet on this does a great deal of "touching-up," cutting paint. I do emphasize !uno it may best be none. down faults and expanding virtues. A homan I favor a professorship in existing institntions, character suft'ers by being perfectly known. But though a distinct institute for that purpose may the glory Of God is in being known. Our busibe best. ness is simply to cry with Isaiah, "Behold your God! " One cannot look at the sun without Some of these papers may be of use to you, if Beeing ItB brightness. One cannot look on Jethese pOints come up in the Conference, and I hovah without beholding His glory. noticethat several ofthem are on the programme. The drink trade in Africa, and the opium trade If, then, we would be God-gloriften, we in India :and China, I observe, are not down, must be God-revealers. Isa. ii : 9-" The earth but I think they ought to be acted upon. The shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." number of Buddhists is a matter of fact, and it Hab. Ii : 14-" The earth shall be filled with the somewhat concerns the honor of our Lord, and knowledge of the glory of the Lord." The two it is easy to vindicate that point from the taunts are one. To know Him is to know His glory. of infidels by Btating the fact. . When His glory is known, then He is glorified. The end of creation and redemptionis attained. With best wishes, and praying that a special In both passages it is written that this knowlblessing may rest upon the Conference and the edge is to fill the earth "as the waters wver the Spirit of God direct all their counsels. sea." God has set the limits of the sea, and from limit to limit the waters sweep. The Yours in Christian work, limits of the gospeJ.sea are uothing short of the A. P. HAPl'ER. limits of "the earth." "As the Waters Cover the Sea." Here, in India, we have tracts nearly equal to FROM Rev. John M. Forman. London in population, which are unoccupied. FATERGARR, N. W. P. INDIA, May 26, 1888. In China there are a thousand counties, averag- .. What i8 the chief end of man!" "To ing in population about the same as English glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." counties, unoccupied. The Soudan, with about To ENJOY GOD. 1. The Christian is sure of 70,000,000, occupied by two young men I If all heaven, and the JOY of heaven is God. So, as this extent is to be filled with the knowledge of to future enjoyment of God, he is certain. Let the King of Glory, we must be at work. him, then, be glad of what he has, and go on to " As THE WATERS COVER TI'IE SEA."-The the next point. waters fill every crack and crevice. How differ- 2. The present enjoyment of God. Any child ent from the knowledge of God thus far. Look at London, Boston, New York, Chicltgo and the knows that when he takes candy into his mouth he need not try to enjoy it. The enjoyment is Great West. The number of unfilled corners is iuevitable. A man who tries to be happy is un- allpalling. Then look at our nominallyoccupud happy. But even an atllicted and sorrowful fields in India, China, etc. Here in the district soul, when once occupied in seeking to make of Fauakhabad (one of our oldest mission-fields) others happy, is itself happy. When the enjoy- we have yet some half million practically unment of God is our aim, we fail to eUJoy Him. touched. If this world is really to be filled with Simply because the aim is selfish, and selfishness the knowledge of Jehovah we must be up and is sin, and sin hides God from us. doing. "Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion." A man who carries the name of Christ The way to enjoy God is so to live that He and does not try to fill the earth with the gospel enjoy us, i. e., to please Him. There is no ques- is a clog to the wheels. He is a destroyer… He tion as to Enoch's having a keen enjoyment of also that is slack in his work is brother to him God, as he walked with God; for in that walk- that is a destroyer." ing he had "witness borne to him that he had been well-pleasing unto God." But wbat an inspiration in this prophecy I It will be fulfilled. The sea bed with all its rough- The way to enjoy God is to please God. The nesses,ups and downs, is covered by one great way to please God is to fall in with His plans. ocean. So this earth, scarred and furrowed and The consummate plan of God is God's glory. valleyed by sin, is to be covered by the glory of Then, though man has two ends, he must have but one aim. That one conscious aim or pur- the Lord. And when we look we Bee His glory, pose Is TO GLORIFY GOD. glory; nothing but a sea of glory I Praise the Lord I "Let us fall in line with God's plan, not :Many Christians think this savors of tran- with theories but with work, giving first of all . scendentalism. But Paul, by the Holy Ghost, makes it a plain, business·like. every-day prin- our own selves unto the Lord. " ciple. "Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, ·do all to the glory of God." "Now concerning the collection," give cheer- Our first petition must be, "Hallowed be Thy folly, give liberally, give to the last cent. What uame." Christ's loftiest prayer is "Father, is holding the wealth of a million millionaires glorify Thy name. And there came a voice from compared with knowing that we have" fellowheaven saying, 'I have both glorified it, and I ship with God" in His glorions purpose! When will glorify it again.' " Alexander Duff was a yonng man he locked his closet door and said," Silver and gold have I years, at last will throw open the doors to none, but such as I have give I thee; I give thee missionary efforts over the length and breadth myself." Young man, young woman, go and of Dutch India. Being thus challenged to send do thou likewise. And let the mother teach her out more missionaries it is to be confidently ex- child from infancy that the only thing worth liv- pected that the Christians of Holland w!ll, in the ing for is to fill the earth with the knowledge of name of God, accept the challenge. So be It.
God. Japan . .. What Beest thou 1 And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree (shaked). Then said the Lord LETTER from Rev. C. S. Eby: unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch (shaked) over my word to perform it." As TOKIO, June 23, '88. sure as God is sure, this earth is to be filled DEAR BRETHREN.-I "m not sure whether I with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as have not already sent you a copy of my " Appeal the waters cover the sea. Brother, if you are for Japan," at all events I send you a copy each not striving for foreign missions, you are miss- by the present mail, and also a copy of the ing the purpose of your creation. course oflectnres delivered in the Meiji Kwaido in 1583, English edi!ion.
LETTER from Rev. F. Leon Cachet: I am delighted with tl:.e MISSIONARY BEVIEW OF THE WORLD, and wish it godspeed ; it will [Foreign Secretary of the Dutch do much to stimulate the missionary zeal of the Reformed Missionary Society, Rot- churches and to promote the missionary revival terdam, Holland. The news it con- almost upon us. God grant that the real misveys will carry joy to the missionary sionary age may soon dawn when the efforts of world.-EDS.] the churches will be commensurate with their AlIlLITY and with the OPPORTUNITIES of the DEAR EDITORS.-Will you allow me room in hour.
your highly valued REVIEW to state that the Rev. The " Appeal " will speak for itself. I do feel Mr. Cook's' powerful appeal,' which you give in that the imperial opportunity in Japan is not your June number (p. 448), respecting the want being fully met by ordinary methods, arid tre- of missionaries in Dutch India, and which ap _ mendous forces of prejudice and unbelief and peared at length iu The Straits Times, is bearing imported misbelief run rampant and almost un- good fruit alre!,dy. You must know that there rebuked, except in a small way. A large and was a change of government in the Netherlands bold movement" takes" with the Japanese as a few weeks since, and one of the first official well as with any people, and through the central acts of the new Secretary of State for the col- institution piIrpose we shall be able to speak so onies, Mr. Reuchenius, was to send a circular as to be heard by an empire.
to all the Protestant mission society in the Neth- Will you give the aid of your powerful advo- erlands, of which the following is a translation: cacy? Surely there are devoted men of wealth "COLONIAL OFFICE, No. 46. who would invest. May our common Master THE HAGUE, May 8, 1888. guide.
In an article, 'Netherland's India: An Ap- Spain. peal,' appearing In The Straits Times, a Singa- pore newspaper of March 6th, attention is drawn ~ur readers will recall the brief to what Dr. Schreiber, Secretary of the Rheney appeal we made in our July issue in Mission at Basmey, had pointed out ten years behalf of these heroic missionaries. ago, that the number of missionaries in Dutch The Lord gl'antedspeedy help, and we India should be greatly increased, in order to rejoice with His sel'vants.-EDS.] counteract the growing influence of Islam there: and it is further shown how great the need FIGUERAS, SPAIN, June 30, 1888.
yet is that the number of missionaries should he DEAR EDlTORs.-The pastor nnites with me increased. It appears to me that this article de- in thanking you very warmly for so kindly in- serves, in every respect, yonr attention, and I serting my last letter in your valuabie MISSION- therefore do myself the pleasure to offer you a ARY REVIEW. If you remember, it was there copy thereof. stated that we were anxious to build a Gospel I need hardly state that the government Hall in this dark Spanish town, and that £400 would valne it highly if the mission societies in was needed for a site. A friend, then traveling the Netherlands would put forth their utmost in Italy, most kindly wrote telling us to buy the efforts to increase the number of missionaries in land at once, adding, 'I will cover the cost.' The butch India, and to counteract the increasing pastor lost not a moment in trying to secure it, influenee of Islam among the heathen in the but the lawyer would not credit the assurance Indian Archipelago. that the money would shortly he sent from Eng- The Minister for the Colonies, land, and refused to draw up the legal document.
(Signed) " REUCHENlUS." The landlady, however, agreed to wait a couple This is a most important docnment, as it of week•.
shows that the Dntch Government, after having The Romanists at once seized their opportu- more than favored the Mohammedans for many nity. Deputations from the Societies of St. Yin·
INTERNATIONAL DEPAtfT:M:E~'t'. [SEP'l'
cont de Paul and the Holy CroBS, beaded by tbe returniug home iill after midnight. Will your rector of tbe largest church here, called on the readers praythat his precious life,and thoseofhis landlady and urged that she on no account be fellow workers, may be preserved. Our comfort gnilty of selling land for a Protestant capilla. At and conlldence is that .. not a shot cau hit till the same time they laid down the money (£400) the God of love sees lit." For the angel of the for·the site, and also £1,400 to purchase a house Lord eilcampeth ronnd them tbat fear Him, aud "nd garden adjoining, thus effectually shutting delivereth them. From month to month our the Protestants out on each side. All we could do little party give a hearty welcome to your valuwas to unite in prayer that God would undertake able and most interesting M,SSIONARY REVIEW for US and for the honor ofilis cause. The triumph OF THE WORLD. Wishing it increased blessing of the enemies of the trnth seemed complete. and a yet wider circulation, But, contrary to all expectations, a far better Yours faithfully, site was immediately offered for sale. It is EMILY LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ. situated in the principal street, in a central part of the town, having also the great advantage Afrioa. that it commands a back street by which many who, like Nicodemus, lack courage, may be LETTER from Rev. Jos. Clark: able to enter the hall unobserved. Our only dilllculty was that the price, including govern- CONGO, PACAVALA STATION, May 9,1888. ment payments and legal costs, came to £250 Rev. J. H. Weeks and Mrs. Weeks, also more than we had in hand. This we laid Rev. A. D. Slade, all of B. M. S. (English), arbefore the Lord in prayer, and He graciously rived safely at Bauana ou the 24th of April. Mr. answered by inclining the hearts of two of His and Mrs. Weeks spent some considerable time servants to come to the rescue. In addition to at San Salvador, Congo, and have beeu to Enga former donation of £100, a friend in Surrey land for rest and change. sent us £200 more, and another in Scotland Receut reports from Bishop Taylor's party £50. Thus the e:JJact sum needed arrived just state that M,.,.. Walker has been ill and delayed in time to make the purchase I Truly the in journey to Stanley Pool. When taken ill she Lord has made what seemed so evil to • work was fortunately able to be taken on to our Lu- together for good,' kunga Station. Messrs. Waiker and Burr are also there. About 600 loads of their steamer are What would not the Romanists give if they now at Isangila; none beyond. could take from us that precious site I But it French, State and trading steamers refuse to is legally secured. .. If God be for us, who can take Mr. Brooks and his companion to the falls be against us f" All that now remains for us to of the Mobangi, where he desires to be placed so do is to build the first permanent Gospel Hall as to work his way to the Soudan. They refuse in the province of Gorona. Being for the to leave him in any place except where there is Mastor's glory, we believe that through His a station with white men. servants He will provide the means. Recent news from Stanley's Aruwimi camp report the whites there all well, bnt a good deal Since writing the above we have heard, on of sickness among the Zanzibaris. No news of reliable authority, that a priest belonging to a Stauley. church quite near to our new site, said, 'I All well at various missiou stations. would gladly have given $5,000 to have 'Jre- May, 12, '88.-Mr. J. S. Cutler of Ohio, who vented the Protestants bnying that plot of land.' joined himself to Bishop Taylor's mission here, Last Sunday night, while we were returning died at Vivi on the 3d May of gastritis. He was home from the service, a man was seen hanging about 65 years of age. about our house armed with two long knives, and At Vivi aud Isangila the bishop's people are was arrested by the civil guards. We thank God working hard at getting the steamer up country, for what we have reason to believe was a narrow but they are hampered for trade goods (cloth escape. Of Rome our Lord's words still hold etc.,) wherewith to pay carriers. Those that good, .. The time cometh that whosoever killeth are left are not at all dismayed, though their you will think that he doeth God service." In numbers have been greatly reduced. If the preaching among the villages the pastor has to Methodist Church "Would only take up the work, drive along very lonely country roads, often not they have a grand opening before them.
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D., OF THE "INTERNATIONAL MIS- SIONARY UNION."
The Medioal Work in Missions.* sityof urging the importance of the BY REV. EDWARD CHESTER, M.D., medical, in connection with other forms of mission work. And more INDIA. than ever before, most missions are feelIng that the medical work THE time has passed for the neces- must be cared for and }'alued, just *Read before International Missionary Union, Bridgton, N. J., 1888. as are the educational, the evan- Fourth, and lastly, the exigency of gelistic and the congregation and the times demands a much larger church work, and that for women force of medical men and women and girls. upon mission fields.
There will be cases where the par- 1. The medical work should be ticular circumstances of location, given a place in every well organized custom, a deficiency of funds, or a mission. I do not mean the having paucity of laborers may render it one or even more men in a mission almost impossible to carryon every who know a little about medicine, or form of mission work. But in a mis- even have a degree,. providing they sion with a sufficient force, not confine their medical work to the lim- cramped for funds, and with ability o its of their own family and servants, to undertake the various forms of or even the families of the catechists mission work, the medical work and teachers living at headquarters.
should be conducted with the same Nor do I mean an occasional taking care and energy as the educational up of the medical work for a week or or other form of labor. two, and then giving it up for months The statement that the medical at a time. With the same expecta.- work is very expensive, almost as tion of permanency as you would much so as the educational, will not commence a high school or boarding be found true in all cases. And it is school at headquarters, with the a question whether it may not al- same use of recognized appliances, ways be almost self – supporting. the same amount of energy and sys- Certain it is, that the medical man tem in carrying on the work, and the himself in each locality may do same generosity in the use of funds very much to make this work in a for necessary expenses, thus only, is mission inexpensive, and it depends it of any real use to conduct the greatly upon him whether it is pop- medical work in missions. One or ular with the people and a success more dispensaries at important cen- or not. tel's; a hospital, if the funds will I would start with the proposition allow, and accommodation in this for "that in organizing any new mission at least a dozen in-patients, a good in a locality where none had existed supply of inexpensive medicine, so before, the medical work should be. that all the out-patients as well, who given a place, as much as the educa- attend the dispensary, may receive a tional or the WOJ:k of preachmg. supply of medicme; a sufficient staff And even in missions of long stand- of native trained assistants to pre- ing, if the medical work has not been scribe, compound, and look after entertained, I would' urge a trial of surgical cases, with a sufficient stock it, with an eye to the great gain it of surgical instruments for all mi- would be to the mission. nor operations. All these are neces- My second point would be that the sary for a successful medical work in medical work in a mission must be a mission.
eminently evangelistic, and In har- I have for years, m my mission mony with all the other work of the work in India, found it wise, as en- mission. abling me to save myself for more A third consideration is that if the important work, to do nothing my- medical work is taken up at all in a self which could be about as well mission, it must be a thorough and done by a native. It is on this line efficient work-one which will com- that I have always had, in my work ..land the respect and regard of all in the Dindigal Dispensary, such a classes. staff of native assistants that I could trust the work to them for a few the relief of suffering and saving of days at a time, when obliged to be life. myself out in the villages. In short, I think that in the medical work 2. But I pass to the second point: in missions, as in the educational that the medical work in a mission work, those steps must be taken which must be eminently evangelistic and will insure success. The natives of in harmony with all the other work India are clever enough to know of the mission. The more skilful the which are the best schools, the gov- medical missionary as a physician, ernment or the mission schools, and the more clever as a surgeon, the choose the best, which are, as a rule, better for the work and for making the latter, even though they know it a success, so far as popularity goes. they will have to give an hour a day, But it will not be a success as a for five days of the week, to the study mission work unless the saving of of the Bible. And just so is it with souls is ever brought to the front as dispensaries in India. As a rule, the the main object to be accomplished, mission dispensary is the most popu- and unless the medical missionary is lar and has the largest attendance. eminently a spiritual man with much And it is good policy for any mission of the mind of Jesus. As in New to make its schools and its dispensa- England of old, the church and the ries the best in the market. schoolhouse were side by side, and each helping the other, so should the Tothe work of the dispensary and church and the schoolhouse and the the hospital already noted, I would dispensary, on mission ground, work add, to be attended to, if possible, into one another's hands and be emiby the medical missionary, the train- nently fellow-workers. In a mission ing of good native men and women dispensary, among out-patients and for the work of hospital assistants Ill-patients, there is ample opporand nurses. Then native Christians tunity for making known the goscould be selected, and a choice made pel. And oftentimes the patients among these, so as to secure those are in such a state of mind that they who would add evangelistic to their may truly be said to hear the Word medical work:. gladly. In every part of our mission work we turn to the Lord Jesus as I would give the medical work a our great example. But eminently place in every well organized mission, in the medical work must we follow because I believe that, in a very His example in striving to reach the specialdegree, it adds to the efficiency heart and save the soul by showing of every branch of mission work, and our desire to relieve suffering, to heal makes the work, as a whole, more the sick, to give sight to the blind, successful. and hearing to the deaf. The medical work in missions is nothing, save as I would do so, also, because I think it helps to show to the heathen that that it furnishes, in the course of a the divine Christ is the center, the year, a very large number of most at- soul anltthe life of Christianity, and tentive and mterested hearers of the that we are His disciples and followgospel, not to say scholars. I would ers. do so because I think it gives us an entrance into many houses, 3. Our third consideration is that and an intimacy and friendship If the medIcal work is taken up at all with many of the more intelli- in a mission, it must be a thorough gent, respectable and influential na- and efficient work, one which will tives, such as could be secured in no command the respect and regard of other WilY. And all this quite aside all classes. In all cases with which from the positivegoodresulting from I am acquainted in India, the medical form of medical disease and surgical, missionary has become proficient in of which our best American medithe vernacular, so that he speaks cal text books inform us. And a with his native patients without the medical missionary has seldom the help of an interpreter. 'I'his is sel- opportunity of holding a consultadom the case with the civil or govern- tion with a brothel' doctor, even in ment dispensaries. But this greatly a dangerous case, requiring, perhaps, pleases the natives, especially the a most difficult surgical operation. women. Then, with hardly an ex- The nearest European doctor, as in ception, the rule in a mission dis- the case of the writer, may be 38 pensary is one of kindness. Not only miles away, and the medical missionis the medical missionary very care- ary may have to treat all his medical ful to gain the affection of the native cases and decide upon all his surgIcal patients by his invariable krndness, operations entirely by himself. If a but he insists upon his native assist- mission would have the medical ants in the dispensary following his work a Slccess, it must be willing to example. And here the natives are take pains to secure a really efficient not slow to mark the difference be- workman and grudge no expenditure tween the mission and other dispen- which is necessary to secure him a saries. competent corps of native assistants and a fair supply of surgical instru- But, important as it is to let the ments and medicine. law of the dispensary be a law of love, other things must be added. The medical mission work has been The work of the dispensary must be found to pay, and to pay well, in all carried on with the greatest regular- cases where it has been conducted ity, precision and care. It must be properly and in a liberal spirit. Indecidedly first-class work. There is stances to prove this could be given no place here for half-way work, by the hour. Thorough work and skimping 01' sham. He who is not the best, carried on in love to Christ willing to give his whole time, his and souls, and for Christ's sake, this whole heart, and his whole love to must be the motto and life of all sucthe medical mission work, had better cessful medical mission work. leave it alone altogether. The loathesome leper must have our best care 4. Fourth, and lastly, the exigency as well as the simple cases of fever. of the times demands a much larger Case;; of cholera and small-pox can force of medical men and women in no more be avoided or neglected than mission fields. I can speak of India the farmer neglect to feed his horses from what I know of the state of 01' cattle. The best results, which mission work there, after an experionly follow the best service, must ence of twenty-eight years. But gain for a mission dispensary a good what I note of India, I think, I may, name. Let no one imagine that a with equal force and truth, say of mere smattering of medical matters, China, Japan, Turkey, Persia and the knowledge of medicine which Syria. Never before has there been would be picked up in reading a few such an interest felt in medical mis- pages here and there of the books sion work; never before such an denominated" Medicine for the Fam-' opportunity afforded for reaching the ily" would suffice to enable a man people through the dispensary. In to have charge of a dispensary in India the Lady Duiferin scheme has India, Japan, China 01' Africa, where, excited an intense interest through- in the course of a month, there may out the whole of India in the medical present themselves almost every work for women, and though more lady physicians have come out to India in connection with the various pensaries. Even for this purely evangelical missions during the past evangelistic work we need more medten years than in all previous years, ical missionaries. And I can speak yet it seems to-day as if there were from personal experience when I say places for scores more. And in the that with an efficient corps of trainmedical mission work for women, in ed native assistants in his dispensaall the countries noted above, there ries the medical missionary can do is, perhaps, the strongest argument a great d('al of evangelistic work. for the importance of the medical For 24 years I have been compelled, mission work, the strongest ground from th£' smallness of our mission of its great necessity as a part of force, to have charge of a large and mission work, than can possibly be important station, with its churches given. I need not take fl'om any and congregations and schools of table of statistics the proportion of various grades, and the work of the women to men in the population of itineracy, or preaching in heathen the prominent countries of, the East. villages, while carrying on all my Their number is immense. And with medical work. An English service all this countless number of women every Sunday evening, with an Engand girls there is no possible way of lish sermon, has been thrown in as a reaching them and influencing them, matter of simple recreation. It has and blessing them, which will com- truly, however, been a great pleaspare with that in the power of the ure. Christian lady physician. To ev('ry lady physlCian now on the ground, That my Dindigal dispensary has in the countries noted above, if there been of the greatest help to me in were ten, yes, a score, it would not my general mission work, I have had be one too many for the great and many proofs. I have gained the good impol·tant work the Lord is giving to will of the people; our native pastors just this class of Christian laborel's. and catechists can preach and sell Scripture portions and tracts in any And the number of male medical part of the station without any fear missionaries should be greatly in- of insult or opposition. They are creased. We can do much of our listened to with the greatest interest. work through our native Christians, I would receive a welcome in the but they require to be trained for house of any man in the whole of the special work. We can never, in any Dindigal district. I find it more easy, heathen or Mohammedan country, on this very account, to establish expect to have all the European or schools in the villages, and I receive American laborers required for the more money from the people for evangelization of these countries. their support. And the Dindigal dis- We must call to our aid the natives pensary and hospital, with about of the different countries. But for 9,000 new cases every year, and 20.- aid in Christian work the missionary 000 old cases, or those coming more must train them for each specific than once to the dispensary, and form of mission work. For the med- patients coming in the same period ical work, both among men and from 500 and more different villages, women, many more native men and have cost the mission nothing these women need to be carefully trained, 24 years, from the first year they and this is an important work de- were established. For my services, volving on the medical missionary. which I am only too glad to give gratuitously, the English Govern- I have already alluded to the large ment gives me the whole cost of the and appreciative audiences which the dispensary establishment, all the medical missionary has in his dismedicines required each year, and all about doing good to all. A mission the surgical instruments and hospital dIspensary on heathen ground is a. appliances. The American Board of beautiful and strikmg object lesson. Foreign Missions kindly gave me the It is ever educating the heathen in money for the hospital and dispen- the first principles of the gospel. Its sary buildings, which secures these golden word is "Love," its motto, permanently to the mission. " Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do And I see no reason why the Eng- ye even so to them." lish Government would not grant International Missionary Union, Fifth this favor in any part 0/ India, if Annual Meeting.
satisfied that a medical work in a As the International Missionary given locality is needed, and will be Union IS a unique institution, not yet carried on efficiently. fully understood in many quarters, and unheard of in some others, we After these twenty-eight years in may once more introduce it to our India, watchillg with intense interest readers as a permanent organization the work in various missions and va- seeking to accomplish in its measure, rious localities, I have been forced to the same general ends aImed to be the conviction that it is not best to reached by the great missionary undertake anyone form of mission conferences in bringing together the work at the expense of the others, missionaries of all societies, from all but rather have them all carried on fields, that they may annually comwith as much skill and energy as pare views on current developments possible, letting each help and sup- of Christ's kingdom in the several port the other. I would not, there- parts of the globe. The Union was fore, exalt the medical work beyond organized at Niagara Falls, Canada, others, which for many veal'S have in the summer of 1884, met there been found worthy of trial. I would, again in 1885, and at Thousand Island however, strive to have this work Park in the River St. Lawrence in given the place it deserves, and fairly 1886 and 1887. It is composed of re- turned foreign missionaries of all tried. branches of the Evangelical Protest- W hen we see m England and ant Church, temporarily or perma- nently in America. Its international America the splendid building's which character has thus far embraced are being erected for hospitals, when representatives of the British Empire we know what large amounts are and the United States of America. necessary to carry them on success- The constitution names as the object fully, we cannot believe that this of the Union "to promote the gen- medical work is being tried, and the eral cause of Missions in all possible large expenditure made without care- ways, chiefly by the diffusion of mis- ful consIderation. More costly hos- sionary mtelligence, the discussion pitals are being built and a larger of missionary topics, and the increas- expenditure incurred, because it is ing of mutual acquaintance among known that the work appeals to the missionaries of different churches interest and sympathy of the whole and countries." people. And none the less is this medical work needed in heathen The Union holds one meeting a. lands. We cannot conduct it on such year, as near August as possible, on a magnificent scale as in this country. invitation of such community as may It is not necessary. But we can show proffer entertainment to its members the heathen, in a much less expen- sive manner, the same lesson of the gospel, and how our Lord and Master cared for His fellow men, and went a.nd be easily accessible.Thetotal num- fifth annual meeting, held in Bridgel>er of missionaries now enrolled is 134. ton, New Jersey (1888), are found On the roll of attendance at the the following names: Years of NAME. Field. Denomination. Service.
1858–…•. Rev. H. N. Barnum. D.D ..•.•••………••.•…•. Turkey•••••.. American Board. 186(}-'64….. Rev. A. Bates …………•…•••.••…..••.•….• Ceylon.••…… American Board. 1879-·81. •.•. Rev. W. H. Belden…………………………. Bulgaria.•.•••. AmericanBoard. " ….. Mrs. " …………………………. Bulgaria..•…. American Board. 1861-·69•…. Mrs. M. H. Bixby………………………….. Burmah .•.•…. Baptist. 1S6{}–•…. Rev. E. Chester. M.D ..••••…•…•••••.•.•…… India ….••..•.. American Board. 1867-·74•…. Rev. M. B. Comfort ……………•.. , ..•••…… Assam•…•….. Baptist. 1878-'84•..•• Miss C. H. Daniells, M.D ……………………. India ……….. Baptist. 1869-'70….. Rev. J. A. Davis …………………………… China………. Reformed " ., … Mrs. " …………………………… China………. Reformed. 1834-'84•…. Itev. William Dean, D.D ……………………. China……… Baptist. 1883- – ….. Rev. N. H. Demarest……………………….. Japan .••……. Reformed. 1846- – ….. Rev. S. B. Fairbank……………………….. Iudia……….. American Board. Rev. L. A. Gould…………………………… China………. Baptist. Mrs. " …………………………… China………. Baptist. 1861-'68•••• Rev. J. T. Gracey. D.D ……………………… India ……….. MethodistEpiscopal 1856- – ….. Rev. R. H. Graves. M.D .•……………•……• China………. Southern Baptist. 1837-·77….. Rev. Cyrus Hamlin. D.D.• LL.D ……………… Turkey ……… American Board. 1885- – •…. Ira Harris. M.D.. . .. .. . . . . ••• .. . …………… Syria ……….. Presbyterian. 1884- – .•… Mrs. " ……………………………. Syria•…•…… Presbyterian. 1846-·72••••. Rev. Allen Hazen ………•••.•••…………•… India…..•….. AmericanBoard. M. B. Kirkpatrick. M.D …………………….. Burmah …….. Baptist. Rev. R. M. Luther. D.D. (Secretary) ………….. Burmah…….. Baptist. 1878-'83….. Rev. James Mudge ………………………… India ………. Methodist Episcopal 1870-'78….. Rev. R.E. Neighbor ………………………… India……….. Baptist. 1861-'82….. Mrs. S. E. Newton ………………. , ……….. India……….. Presbyterian. 1866- – ••••. Rev. H. V. Noyes ………………………….. China………. Presbyterian. 1872- -…. Mrs. " ………………………….. China………. Presbyterian. 1873- – ….. Rev. G. W. Painter………………………… China………. Sonthern Pres. 1570-'81. …. Rev. C. W. Park ………………………….. India ……….. AmericanBoard. 1885- – ….. Rev. J. L. Philli~s. M.D., D.D ………………. India ……….. Free Baptist. " ….. Mrs. ' ……………….. India ……….. Free Baptist. Regillald Radr.lilfe. Esq ..••.••..••…•.•…••…. Russia ..•••…. Church of England. 1877- – ….. Rev. J. H. Roberts …………………………. lJhina………. American Board. 1880-'86….. Rev. W. Royall ……………………………. China………. SouthernM.E. 1682- – ….. Rev. E. C. Scudder. Jr ……………………… India……….. Reformed. 1854- – ….. Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, M.R.C.S.• F.R.G.S ……. China………. Inland Mi,sion, 1848-·56….. Rev. Geor~e Thompson …………………….. Africa………. Am. Miss'y Society. 188()…'87….. Miss Jeume S. Vail ………………………… Japan ………. MethodistEpiscopal 1846-·64….. Rev. Edward Webb ………………………… India ……….. American Board. 1872-·82….. Miss Lula Whilden …………………………. China………. Southern Baptist.
To this group of missionaries was heartily sustained the Executive added Rev. Dr. Wm. Kincaid, one Committee in the experiment of apof the Secretaries of the American pointing the meeting aw&y from pop- Board, who made a handsome ad- ular summer resorts, and though the dress, in which he recognized the spe- smaller number was doubtle·<s in part cial benefits of such a union, not only attributable to this "new departto the missionaries, but to missionarv ure," yet the meeting was acknowlsecretaries and other prominenthome edged as equal to any of the precedworkers for missions. Rev. Dr. ing meetings in all other respects, Luther, a member of the Union by and superior to them in some features. virtue of service in Burmah, is also Bridgeton, through its churches, Di&;trict Secretary of the American represented by their Ministerial Un- Baptist Missionary Union. Miss ion, became the host of the Union McIntosh was the only lady secretary from July 5 to July 12 inclusive. It is this year, and she represented the a beautiful, thriving city, with glass, young organization .of the Woman's nail and iron manufactures and ex- Board of the Southern Baptist Con- tensive canning interests, seminaries vention. No one was discouraged by of learning, a personally highly rethe small number in attendance, as spected mayor and council, and not a compared with previous years, but 8aloon! The hospitality was cordial, and the guests found themselves af- annual meetings are usually inaugu- fected with "enlargement of the rated served to stir the finest relig- heart" ; the local newspapers gave ious emotions. This "Recognition daily reports of the meetings; fast meeting," in which each missionary friendships were made, and we trust introduces himself or herself, stating both entertainers and entertained field, form and years of service, call were made mutually helpful to each to the work, special difficulties, trials other in spiritual things. It will not and triumphs, or other personalfacts, be surprising if a gracious revival of tends at once, and at the beginning, religion shall follow on this sweet to blend souls that have hitherto only season of the "communion of saints." known each other through remoter The devotional meetings which agencies in purest fellowship. Cloud- occupied the first hour of each day's pillar and fire-pillar, springs in the exercises sustained the character of desert, manna that "tasted to every those of previous sessions. Dr.Dean man like that which he liked best,"
pronounced them amongst the most dew on Hermon, vision, miracle, par- precious· of his experience, and de- able and prophecy-all were recalled clared that of Tuesday morning to or realized in this mosaic of Chris- be the best meeting he had beep in tian narrative. One becomes confi- since he returned from China. Of dent that neither the Acts of the course, it was with depth of tender- Apostles nor the eleventh chapter of ness that these members prayed for Hebrews is yet finished, as he listens missionaries' children. The session to these "testimomes." God does devoted to interchange of thought on "in very deed yet dwell upon earth the specific power of the Holy Ghost and among men.
was not only one of earnest self- Turning from this feature of the searching, but of discrimination be- week to the free" round table" con- tween even the most highly analyzed versations on practical problems, one moral character and power and the finds in these meetings What Dr.
supernatural c~:;erations of the adora- Chester would call "sanctified com- ble Spirit. mon sense." The hour given to the If ever, since Pentecost, a company consideration of the subject of re- of Christians realized more fully the production of western ecclesiastical unity of the Spirit, it wDuld be diffi- forms on foreign mission fields was cult for any who enjoyed these hours the most remarkable of its kind the to name the place or time. The writer ever knew.
deeply spiritual character of the de- It was much more remarkable than votional hours of the Union through any participating in it had planned its five annual meetings suggests that or could have anticipated. The frank- that they be placed in the list of ness and freedom, the manifest intent "movable feasts." It were worth· to lay aside as far as possible the bias traveling across the continent to ex- of education, association or other perience the indwelling, the abiding preference, that each might contrib- presence of the Holy One as it· was ute his quota to the honestest pos- realized at Bridgeton. One may go in sible inlook to the real needs of the the strength of such meat more than foreign churches; earnest Chris- forty days. Some of the addresses, tian rivalry in making concessions, eminently those of Rev. J. Hudson without yielding or expecting any to Taylor and his associate, Reginald yield what he was supposed honor- RadclIffe, Esq., only served, if possi- ably to maintain-all made this ble, to deepen the divine impressions company of ten denominations ap- of the devotional hours. Even the pear a charmed circle. The equal of peculiar service with which these it has seldom been experienced. If the spirit that pervaded that com- American Indian vernaculars by pany could become the spirit of the Rev. E. _Arnold, of the St. Regis churches everywhere it would make Reservation, caused considerable dis.
but a mite of difference what forms cussion and showed wide diversity of of church government and polity ob- view. The question whether it was tained. Herfil was a Congregationalist desirable to bring natives from the brother saying that in his district the foreign fields to give them an educa- churches would in his judgment soon tion in Europe or America developed form into a modified episcopacy, as a the existence of only one set of opin- form of government most suitable to ions. All declared against the course, the native mind ; and another, a Pres- as leading to most unsatisfactory re- byterian, declared to be, in fact, a sults.
bishop over the churches under his A paper from Rev. Dr. Cunnyng- care; and others, not Presbyterians, ham, formerly of China, now Secre- conceding that the Japanese would taryof the Sunday-School Union of probably prefer and possibly come to the M. E. Church, South, was read, demand a Presbyterian form of gov- and followed by healthy discussion ernment, and yet another declaring on the development of this and other that the Anglican Church in China agencies for increasing-the interest of did not aim to strictly reproduce the the home churches in missions. Rev.
Episcopal polity, but to recognize in Dr. Barnum of Persia, who contrib- it such modifications as might nat- uted much of wisdom and interest to urally grow out of its new relations. several of the leading discussions, Some oC the discussions were much read an able pap{'r on" Some points more formal than others, and were of comparison between the mission- introduced by able papers. One of ary work of to-day and the early these was by Rev. Edward Chester, planting of Christianity."
M.D., on "Medical Missions," to Women's work for -heathen women which we have given the position of was considered during one session, leading article in this department, and the missionary ladies took part and which it is possible may be in the discussion, rendering there, as printed hereafter in other form for they did at the evening platform general circulation. meetingsand specialafternoon ladies'
Dr. Cyrus, Hamlin's paper on services, the most helpful interest to "Five Hundred Years of Islam" the whole annual session. Their con- was a terrible impeachment of Is- tribution to the spiritual directness lamic civilization. We hope to be and power of the devotional exercises able to favor the readers of the RE- was of great worth.
VIEW with this paper, and some others The papers and addresses cannot also hereafter. The wide range oC be all recounted, though none were experience and observation, and the below the merit that would entitle intimate personal acquaintance with them to speCIal mention. The even- Islam in Turkey, Persia, Bulgaria, ing platform meetings were devoted Africa, India, China, Ceylon, and to countries or to subjects, as other quarters of the globe, by the "India," or "Medical Missions."
members present, made the discus- One whole evening was occupied by sion of the subject of "Islam as a Civ- Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, founder and ilizer" one of rare value a.nd interest. present Superintendent of the cele- A paper presented by the writer of brated China Inland Mission, in these lines on Bible and other trans- narrating his personal experiences lations in' the Mexican vernaculars, and the development of his peculiar and another paper on the narrow- work which challenges solargeatten- ness and the limitations of the North tion. The spiritual effects of the simpIe story were not the least of the Several missionaries not present results of the evening with this sent their congratulations, and made brother, who was admitted to mem- suggestions of value for the future bership in the Union. The Union usefulness of the Union. We furhad been represented at the World's nish herewith the personal letter of Missionary Conference in London by the venerable Dr. Wood to the meettwo of its members, Rev. W. H. Bel- ing at Bridgeton. den and Mrs. Belden, and an hour was profitably and entertainly spent LETTTR from Rev. George W. in listening to their report of the Wood, D.D., to the Secretary of the great meeting from the personal and International Missionary Union: social, as well as the more official side. They evidently absorbed much, Unable myself to attend yonr meeting last and were able happily to reproduce it year, I was glad that the missions in Turkey for the delight of others. It was to Mr. and Mrs. Belden that the Union were so well represented by Drs. Hamlin and was primarily indebted for the courtesy of entertainment in. the city Barnum; and I hope tbat they and others from where they reside. that field may be with you also at Bridgeton dur- The address by R. Radcliffe, Esq., before the Union, on his personal ex- ing the present week. It would gratify me highperiences as an evangelist in several countries in Europe, eminently ly to be with you in bodily presence, as I shall Italy and Russia, was instructive and practically suggestive. It was a be in spirit and fullest sympathy; but the ordersurprise to most of those present, surely, to be told that Russia is pEn'- ing of the Divine Will, ever wise and good, defectly free for any number of evangelists who may go from person to nies me this privilege. From my late temporary person, and do effectivework through interpreters. sojourn in Summit, N. J., I have come with my The officers of the Union were, in wife for a little visiting among relatives and the main, re-elected, but Dr. Dean was added to the list of Vice-Presidents, friends in Livingston County, N. Y., on our way a class which Dr. Hamlin already. graced. to Dakota and Montana, to spend the summer, if The Rev. Mr. Mudge says; the Lord will, with children whom we have in .. Notes can give but ltttle idea of the rich those Territories. feast that was spread before us for each of the seven days, enlarging our stores of information, The death of our brother, Dr. Byington, has qnickenlng our sympathies, broadening Our view, deepening our consecration, and intensi- brought a great a1lliction upon the missions in fying our love for the work of saving the nations. We lloated ou a stream 01 keen enjoyment where Bulgaria and Turkey. Cut off in mid career of the pOints of beauty .ucceeded each other with almost bewildering rapidity. The people of a most useful life, he speaks to us impreSSively Bridgeton, who opened their doors to us with most cordial and abundant hospitality, showed of the supreme importance of spiritual and eteralso by their attendance a high degree of appreciation of the great privileges thus brought nal realities as a motive power in all Christian withiu their reach. Their pulpits were nearly alllll1ed on Sunday by the ·misslonaries, and the activity, and in the spirit of a true consecration, testimony of the pastors was that an entirely new era of interest in lllissions among their of a wise husbanding of physical energy in order people would date from this Convention. The members of the Union will certaiuly hold in to continuance of service in a world where the grateful remembrance their unstinted kindness. " most that we can do in the longest period that may be allowed to any of God's servants, is so greatly needed. '
May I exprees in a word the joy which I feel in the multiplying evidences of a new uprising of a zeal, not blind or tranSitory, for the conquest of the whole world to the dominion of Imman- uel, our Saviour and Lord 1 The trend of divine providences over our entire globe and the work of the Spirit in its measure and fruits in the hearts of Christ's true disciples, while accom- panied with much that is painful, bring to the church an appeal which it becomes us to wel- come with cheer and thauksgiving, and glad re- sponse in the line of individual and organized efforts to which we are called. :May you con- sultations be stimulating and productive of richer results for good than in years past, when occasion for congratulation was so great. In the might of the forces of evll in our Own country and in other lands, let ns see no ground of dis- couragement; for greater is He that is with ns than can be all they who are against us. What- ever drawbacks or defeats may occur, these are permitted for benellcent ends to which they are noedful or may be made subservient. What we may not now understand, we shall see hereafter
70ti THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS
With adoring admiration of the wisdom that Is Dege of carrying it forward to new triumphll higher than oura, May the, be wise, faithful and happy, lind ui As I look forward, knowing that my con their turn be succeeded by a generation who nection With present Corms of service Is com- Ing to Its termination, I desire, with penitent 'shall be more honored and blessed even than confession and supplication in respect to my own relations to the cause I love, to give the hand of they, as workers together with God for the fulfellowship, with words only of encouragement, to the young and vigorous who have the prv- filment of all that He has promised to do for men, With fraternal affection and regard, youra most sincerely, GEO. W. WOOD.
V.-THE- MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
BY A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
JAPAN. of fellowship." What a scene was that to betoken the change that ABOUT twenty-five years ago a twenty-five years had brought I native of Japan, not known by name to modern history, conceived the The whole nation is awake and adidea that for his country to open her vancing. In 1872 the name of Chrisgates to Occidental civilization would tian was odious in Japan; now there be a benefit and blessing, and with are 16,000 who are loyal to Christ, a the prophetic foresight of a practical multitude of students there are waitpatriot and statesman, he dared pub- ing to learn of this new religion; and licly to advocate the abandonmen~ thousands are on the very pivotal of the exclusive policy hitherto pur- point of destiny, the question must sued by his nation. For such advo- speedily be determined whether they cacy he became so obnoxious to his become Ohristians or agnostics and countrymen that it was resolved to atheists. Years ago a school for put an end to his influence by put- boys and girls began in Yokohama; ting an end to his life. On a great now 'the boys' school is moved to festival day, when Japanese came Tokio, and becomes the Union Colfrom all quarters to do honor to the lege, with 300 students, under presigods of the kingdom, three bands dency of Dr. Hepburn; and the girls' prepared to waylay him: he escaped school remains at Yokohama as the the first, but fell into the hands of Isaac M. Ferris Seminary. Christhe second and perished. tianity is penetrating to the very borders of the land of the Rising A few months ago, a native pastor Sun. The Government itself offers was celebrating the Lord's Supper in to aid teachers while they are studyone of the Christian churches of the ing the Japanese tongue, and the island empire. He was a relative of door is wide open to Christian misthat murdered man who was the sions. Five denominations are united first modern martyr to his country's in the Union church, which is repreadvancement. In the congregation sented in the Union College. Young an old man arose and begged to be men are so anxious to get an educaheard. He said, "I am one of those tion and be fitted to preach to their who murdered that man, twenty-five countrymen that they resign lucrayears ago, and I want to confess my tive positions, or refuse tempting part in that crime. " The young pas- offers for secular positions, in order tor said, "By all the ancient customs to fit themselves for Christian serof Japan, I am bound to avenge that vice. Who shall guide these inquirblood-feud by plunging my dagger ing, intelligent minds and encourage into the throat of the man who was these young disciples, unless the the murderer of my relative. But church in this land supplies men and Christ's blood reconciles all blood- means? Was there ever such opporfeuds, and in Christ's name I wish to tunity offered by God 'for the evan~ extend to this brother the right hand g'elization of an empire containing on a persecution, and the Catholic thirty-eight millions of people I How converts recanted or fled to China, slow we are to go in and possess the or endured torture and martyrdom. 131nd I With a proper, prompt, ener- In 1835 Roman Catholic missions getic occupation of these wonderful again found a way into Korea by way fields of Christian labor, we might of China and Mantchuria, and the turn the whole future of the Sunrise Jesuits claimed 15,000 converts even Kingdom in the direction of the as late all 1857. cross: Not only is all antagonism abated, but Japan actually invites But we are especially concerned Christian teaching and missionary with the late opening for Protestant labor. The plowman may overtake missions. Japan in 1876 made the the reaper, and the treader of grapes first complete treaty with her neighhim that soweth the seed. The sower bor across the channel; six years' must carry the sickle. later, partly through the aid of the great Chinaman, Li Hung Chang, a KOREA. similar treaty was made with the United States. In 1884 the Presby- AFTER a strict isolation of centuries terian Board, at the solicitation of this hermit nation is open to the Rijutei, a Korean of rank, who was gospel. Its territory is partly penin- converted while representing his sular and partly insular; the penin- government in Japan, established a sula is about 400 miles long and 150 station at Seoul, H. N. Allen, M. D., miles broad, and is shaped like Italy. a medical miSSionary in China going Numerous adjacent islands constitute there. The American resident minthe Korean archipelago, chiefly of ister, General Foote, gave him an granite rock, some rising 2,000 feet appointment as physician to the above sea-level. The population legation. Dr. Allen was simply numbers from 8,000,000 to 12,000,000. tolerated at first by the Koreans; but during a revolt 10 Seoul, he skilfully The predominant religion is Bud- treated several persons of rank who dhism; though there are some follow- had been wounded, and saved the life ers of Confucius, as in China, and of the king's nephew, Min Yong Ik. some of a religion similar to that of He found the native doctors and sur- the Sin-tu in Japan. Indeed, Korea geons trying" to staunch the wounds seems, in some respects, a cross be- with wax, and his own scientific tween these two immediate neigh- treatment won the admiration of the bors. In 1882 Korea was, by treaty, Koreans. The king's nephew de- opened to American commerce, the clared they that believed him" sent key used by God to unlock this em- from heaven to cure the wounded." pire to the gospel was the medical His medical services to the royal m~88ton. Somewhere between the family led the king to build a gov- sixteenth and eighteenth centuries ernment hospital, which he named Romanism was carried into this Hay Min Lo, House of Civilized country by papal converts from Virtue, and which he placed under Japan and China. About one hun- the care of the Presbyterian mission dred years ago, Senghuni, a distin- and the supervision of Dr. Allen. guished official, professed conversion The mission finds in Rijutei a true and was baptized under the name of helper who has devoted his energies Peter; the missionaries were popu- to giving the Koreans the New lar, and the more educated classes Testament in their own tongue. Mr. saw that even this corrupted form of Arthington, of Leeds, gave the money Christianity was an improvement to pay for printing 3,000 copies of the upon "paganism. The government Irospels of Luke and John; and so became alarmed; the priesthood led the last door is opened by this her- change in public opinion, we would emphBSlm mit nation for the admission of the this fact, which very much simplifles the probgosPIlI. The working force has been lem : that you are not now asked to build and increased by the addition of Rev. Mr. furnish school-houses, supply native teachers, Underwood and Dr. Herron and his pay annual detlciencies, etc., but simply to fur- nish and support lady teachers to work witla wife; and some are so sanguine as to sympathetic Japanese in giving the girls ot Jwhope that God is going to work a pan .. Christian education. The ripe opportlD" greater and more rapid change here ity consists in this-that not only Christian than in Japan. Fragments of evan- clmrches, but non-Christian philanthropists, are gelical truth, brought by stealth from looking to Christianity as to the ouly force they the· Sunrise Kingdom, found their know of that will lift woman ont of her Ignoway to the heart of Rijutei. Years rance and degradation, and enable her to exert passed by, and the crisis came. such an Influence in the home as do the womell Rijutei was the means of saving the ot Christian lands." life of the queen, and so earned favor with the king. At once he went to Dr. Wm. Fleming Stevenson, while Japan, where he learned the way to Christ more perfectly, and so was an enthusiast in Missions, said to his led to undertake, like Luther, to give brethren: his own countrymen the Word of God in their own tongue. Here is .. We must not be over sanguine as to the rll' another pruof of God's seal on the ception given to the gospel in heathen communiwork of missions. A few years ago ties, as in Japan. It is partly of an Athenian type, born of cnrioslty and love of novelty; and we were just beginning missionary partly the result of proverbial politeness, giving teaching in Japan, and now Japanese courteons audience to a foreigner; and partly converts are proposing to go to the fruit of a Progressive, aggressive spirit, Korea as evangelists I which, especlaily in educated people, takes to Occidental civilization; and partly the movement SUGGESTIVE PARAGRAPHS. of governmental policy. From motives of State, neutrality is exercised. The Sabbath is ob- Desire of Japanese Philanthro- served in Japan only in government omces pists.-The Rev. J. H. De Forrest, a where are many foreiguers. The edict against missionary in Japan of the American Christianity Is not repealed, and much real Board, says in a recent letter: hostility hides behind the veil of indifference."
"Thoughtful Japanese have long been watch- The Mildmay meetings and all the ing missionaries and their methods of work; and when they compare the gifted women en- great religious societies' anniversagaged in school and evangelistic work with the better classes of women here, tbey see tbat ries held in England and America, in something-either that Christianity or civilization-has given tbe women of the west a posi- the month of May, have already their tion that excites their admiration and earnest longing to bave the women of Japan gain a sim- counterpart in Japan. This year the ilar place of influence. They also see that unless some way of elevating woman is systematically tide of these has been at its flood for uudertaken, Japan cannot push forward into the position of a truly civilized country. Hence it nearly the entire month in Tokio and happens that woman's work is now attracting tbe thought of philanthropists, who are asking vicinity. The meetings may be said in pnblic and in private that we aid them, espe- cially in the establishment of Christian girls' to have commenced with the fourth schools. We have already at hand importnnate calls for lady teachers from TokiO, Okayama, biennial meeting of the General As- Takahashi, Matsuyama, and other large cities; and what &11all we do in the face of these re- sembly of the United Church in qnests? Professor Toyama vehemently says, •It is an opportunity that missionaries cannot Japan, when fifty-seven churches, afford to lose.' In asking you to do all you an to take advantage of this unexampled represented by their delegates and a nearly equal number of natives and foreigner ministers met in Tokio, and a large number of clergymen of other churches were invited to sit as corre- spo n ding me m be-rs-. – .
. Mistaken Devotion.-In one of the great temples in Japan the devotion of the worshipers consists in running around the sacred building one hun- dred times, and dropping a piece of wood into a box at each round, when, the wearisome exertion being ended, the worshiper goes home tired and 000, about that of the United States very happy at the thought of having in 1845. done his god such worthy service. Are there not some Christians whose How the Gospel was first Planted activity is very similar to this, and of in Korea.-This incident is related about as much value? They are on by Mrs. Fannie Roper Feudge, Balthe street, running to all sorts of timore, Md. : meetings, and ever bustling from place to place. They feel and talk as .. Among many efforts made during the presif they were rendering most valuable ent century to carry the gospel into Korea, and service, and solace themselves in their weariness with the comfort that with little apparent success, one seed ot sacred they are doing great good and will have a rich reward. Yet really they truth was planted by a little Chinese lad shortly are accomplishing nothing. Their before Korea was opened to missionary effort ; exhausting labor is really only run- and this, so far as we know, was the first in nil ning round and round the temple; the hermit kingdom to spring up and bring forth no cause is advanced by it; God's fruit to the glory of God. This little boy's name name is not honored by it. was Ah Fung. He had been taught at one of the mission schools at Ningpo to read the Bible, Every indication goes to show that and to go to Jesus iu prayer whenever he was the Hermit Nation, as Korea is called, in need of help. When he was about nine years is rapidly leaving the hermitage and of age, his father took Ah Fung with him on one coming to the fore. The United of his trading expeditions to the Korean capital. States steamship Omaha has just By some mishap, while there, the boy was stolen arrived at Yokohama from Korea, and sold to the governor, who presented him to and Captain McNair reports his ob- his wife. She made him her page, and he would servations from a visit to that coun- often attempt to tell hili young mistress of the try, at whose capital, opened up to Saviour he loved and trusted, but withont avail, Americans by the treaty of 1882, he until one day the reaper Death took away her met the American Consul. For baby girl ; and then, in her great loneliness and miles, in the journey to Sevul, the sorrow, she recalled the words of her little page capital, the country looks like one about Jesus and His love, and asked him to teU vast cemetery, with its thousands of her the story agalu. Day after day did this green mounds on hillsides where Christian child talk of the Saviour, until she, too, sleeps the dust of more than ninety came to love this same Friend." generations. The crops are grown, the trades flourish as they do here. TEXTS AND THEMES. They have crime and criminals just as we do, but unlike our own courts, Zech. iv : 6-" Not by might (num- Korea punishes thieving with decap- bers), nor by power, but by my itation, consequently a great many Spirit." heads roll about wanting bodies to fit them. Remington and Martine rifles, Zechariah is encouraging Zerubbawith Gatling guns, the telegraph and bel,who was disheartened in attemptelectric lighting abound in parts of ing to build the second Temple by Korea, so rapid is the march of civil- paucity and poverty of the returned ization. Mission work is just begin- captives, who must be his human dening to occupy the ground, and no pendence. God assured him that not doubt there it will meet with great by a host of people, nor by human' opportunity for spreading the gospel, resources, but by His Spirit, all although at flrst the work will have work for <Sod is to be accomplished. to be limited to the youth. Korea When His Spirit moves, the most now contains a population of 20,000,- colossal mountain of obstacles be- comes a plain.
To enforce and illustrate this, the vision of this chapter is portrayed.
The candelabrum represents the church of God-God's golden light- bearer. The reservoir of prophecy supplies the lamps with oil. _ But the reservoir itself must be supplied by golden pipes, and these must connect with the living trees, which are per-
PROGRESS AND RESULTS 01' MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
ennial oil-producers. These trees, personal influence more obviously represent Jesus Christ in His royal appear. This compels us to shout and priestly offices as Mediator, in " grace! grace!" all the way from which offices He was typified in Ze- cornerstone to capstone. rubbabel and Joshua. Exodus xxxviii: 8-" And he made The way to build and nourish the laver of brass . . . of the churches is to depend on the Holy looking glasses of the women assem- Spirit. The foundation must be laid bling." in Jesus, and then the structure carried from corner to capstone as a The banished metal mirrors of ~he work of grace. Let us not despise women were contributed to be melted the day of small things. If the seven and cast into a laver for God's tabereyes of omniscience are supervising nacle. What a sacrifice of vanity! our work, and the seven hands of and what a lesson for us on the way omnipotence are building for us, to furnish God's house with needed even the feeblest, faintest body-a supplies! mere remnant-can build the temple of God in a strange land. This has 1. We ought to sacrifice our luxbeen the hope of missions always. uries. Not one step has ever heen taken successfully in d~pendence on num- 2. Common things may be put to bers or wealth or social patronage. uncommon uses-a brazen mirroJ' In no work does the Holy Spirit's becomes a brazen laver.
2. The instruments of vanity unto the sacred vessels of the tabernacle.
VI.-PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS: MONTHLY BULLETIN.
Africa•…,..Mr. Moil', of the African The native church among the Hydahs, Rev. J. Lake Company, states that at least Loomis Gould, missionary, has 42 communiten thousand slaves cross Lake Ny- cants. At the communion of the Thllngit Presassa every year. "I once looked into byterian Church, Sitka, on May 5th, Rev. A. E. the hold of a slave-dhow," he says, Austin received six adults and baptized four "and saw eighty or ninety little chil- infants. dren there. Oh, friends, if you had seen those eyes gazing up into yours, Austria.-The British and Foreign you would pray earnestly that this Bible Society distributed by sale and 'open sore,' as Livingstone called it, gift 20,597 Bibles, 102,01l Testaments might be healed."-Spirit of Mis- and 45,391 portions, making a total sions. of 167,959 volumes. The largest number was in the German language, -The first Christian church in the the next in Hungarian, then Bohe· Congo Free State was organized in mian, Hebrew, Roumanian, Servian, November of last year, and there are Polish, etc. now 1,062 converts in the Congo Mission. Burmah.-Sir Charles Bernard, wbo has two sisters working as missionaries of the Alaska.-The reports of the churches in South- Church of Scotland in India, has recently stated some interesting facts a.bout the east Alaska are f8ll of encouragement. Rev. S. Christian Karens of Burmah. He says they number about 200,000, that is, about one- Hall Young reports from Fort Wrangel47 com- third of the Karen people. There are from 500 to 600 congregations practically if not municants ; 7 added on examination and one by entirely self-supporting. It is their practice to set apart as much produce of their land certificate; adult baptisms, 7 ; Infant baptisms, as will support their native pastors,and this they do before appropriating any of the har- 4; enrollment of Sabbath-school, 50 ; collections vest for themselves. They also sen4 mig. sionaries into Siam, and support them fully. Corall purposes, $277. Rev. Eugene S. Willard -The annual meeting ofthe Bassein reports from the native church, Jnneau, com- Sgau Karen Churches was held remunicants, 'rI ; 'added on examination, 14, and by cently. During the year, 562 have certficate,13 ; adults baptized,14, and Infants, 1 ; enrollment of Sabbath-school, 80. Rev. Alonzo E. Austin reports from the native church, Sitka, communicants, 222. Added on examina- tion, Ill, and by certificate, 1. Adults baptized, 108, and Infants, 75. Enrollment of Sabbath- school, 175. Collections for all pnrposes. $70. been baptized on profession of faith, given away, the rest sold. The of whom an unusually large number American Bible Society has also have come from the heathen. The made a grant of $1,500 to the Evantotal contributions of th(l churches of gelical Society of France to aid in its work of Bible distribution. That the association for the year amount society has had in its service durto Rs. 41,000. The pupils in the town ing the year 42 colporteurs, and high school have increased to 400, the distributed 28,745 volumes of the largest number ever known in the Scriptures. history of the Bassein Sgau Karen Mission. Besides the Sgau Karen Germany.-Fifty years ago seven Association, there is a Pgho Karen Association having about 1,500 com- shoemakei's in a shop in the city of municants. The Henthada Karen Mission numbers 2,000 communi- Hamburg said, "By the grace of cants. These Christians have taxed God we will help io send the gospel to our destitute fellow-men." In themselves voluntarily to raise Rs. 5 twenty-five years they had estabper member toward new school buildings in the town of Henthada. Al- lished fifty self-supporting churches, ready Rs. 7,000 have been paid in, and the rest ,will be forthcoming had gathered out '10,000 converts, soon. It must be remembered that the great body of the Karens are had distributed 400,000 Bibles and small rice cultivators, yet they are willing to bear heavy burdens in or- 8,000,000 tracts, and had carried the der that their children may receive gospel to 50,000,000 of the race. It would take only 150 such men to carry the gospel to the whole world in twenty-five years. • -Pastor Rohrbach, of Berlin, said that he an education.. . gaioed his first ideas of evangelistic work from China.-The news from Central Mr. Moody, and when he read of the work of China, received by the China Inland Robert Moffat in Buchuanaland, he asked, Mission, is very cncoura.ging. Mr. " Cannot the same power be' brought to bear Stanley Smith reports 210 baptisms upon Germany Y" He was glad to say that the at one time, and as many inquirers. initiatory work of Dr. Schluembach, Dr. Somer- The Rev, G. Clark tells of preaching ville, Dr. Ziemann, and others, had done a great deal for the caose of evangelization. to immense audiences, sometimes as Hawaiian Islands.-Seventy years many as 4,000. It is stated that "a ago the inhabitants were depraved few as influential men as the empire has produced have embraced Christi- heathen, and human sacrifices formed anity, others are ready to do so, or a part of their religion. In 1820 the wish to reap the benefit of its civiliz- American Board sent the first mis- ing influences." Nine men have been sionaries there. From that time baptized and admitted to the Lord's Supper by the China Inland Mission there was steady progress; at one at Honan. This is stated to be the first Christian church founded in time, during a great awakening, 1,700 this province of 15,000,000 souls. The only other society at work in persons being received into the the province IS the Baptist Mission- church in one day. The time came ary Society, and there are but three when the islands could be called European agents in all this vast Christianized, and in 1863 the Amerpopulation.-O. M. Intelligencer. ican Board closed the evangelizing agE:ncy, continuing only the educa- China Inland Mission.-Ohina's Millions for tional, and an independent self-sus- taining native church was formed July says of last year's labors: "Looking on under the name of "The Hawaiian the work of the whole year, we have to praise Evangelical Association." From a report of the Association made in God for the addition of between five and six 1886 we gather the following: There are fifty-eight Hawaiian churches hundred members to the churches-a larger ac- connected with the Association re- porting 5,387 members, who paid cession than we have ever yet had to report. $8,463 for pastor's su~port; $9,829 for church building; $3,655 to send We look for yet greater results this year. All the gospel to others; $5,593 for misthe stations and oot-stations can be better cellaneous purposes; a total in one year of $28,142. worked by our augmented numbers."
France.-By the aid 01 the Ameri- Holland.-The Ministerof Colonies, can Bible Society the Bible Society of France has printed 10,000 copies of the New Testament, and distributed by sale and gift 13,938 volumes, of which 196 were Bibles, 9,486 Testa- Mr. Keuchenius, has sent a missive ments andS,487 portions. About one third of the entire number were to the various Missionary Societies in the Netherlands, declaring in it, that 8,523 probationers and 10,180 Chris- tians. This is Bishop Thoburn's the Dutch Government should like to " diocese."
see if the societies 01' unions afore- At the Conference on Foreign Mis- sions in London, Sir W. W. Hunter said could contribute largely to in- saId that while the ordinary increase of the population of India had been crease the number of missionaries in 10~ per cent. the increase of Chris- tians had been 64 pel' cent. in the last the Dutch East Indian Archipelago ten years.
and to stop the progressing influence -The Indian census shows that the native Christians are increasing of Islam among the heathen popula- fifteen times as fast as the general population. tion of these islands. -The Maharajah of Darbhauga, of N. D. SCHUUMANS. Bengal, has given $25,000 for a hos- HAARLEM, July 5. pital and dispensary in connection with Lady Dufferin's medical work. -The evangelical population founded a union His gifts for benevolent purposes the last eight years reach fully $1,- for the purpose of establishing schools independ- 700,000.
ent of the State becanse of the law forbidding Italy.-In this stronghold of Ro- man Catholicism the work of the the reading of the Bible and Christian teaching British and Foreign Bible Society has met with marked success during In olllcial schools. These independent schools the past year, the distribution being 83,349 copies in advance of the year are prospering; at the end of 1886 there were preceding. The figures are: Bibles, 7,322, Testaments, 18,885, and por- 441, In which 71,000 children receive a good ed- tions, 102,821; total, 129,028.
ucation.-JOIIN1Cil Reli{lieux. -A Japanese correspondent writes India.-The Hindus are not disposed to the Christian Union: to allow Christianity to win a victory " Sunday, March 25, was another rad·letter in India without a struggle. Publica- day in Kyoto. Twenty-five yonng men and tions in defense of Brahminism are eight young ladies, students in· onr Doshisha scattered widely over the country. schools, publicly confessed Christ as their Just now we hear of a Hindu Tract Society started in Madras, which is Savionr. This, with six young ladies baptized issuing large editions of handbills monthly, in which the Christian re- in January, and forty-three young men baptized ligion is furiously attacked. The English missionaries report that all In December, makes eighty-two accessions from this is working for good, and that "the Tamil country is being stirred the school during the current school year. Ten as never before." These conflicts are rousing men from their indifference, were received Into one of the city churches on and will lead to decision, either for Christ or against him. the same day. One of the young men joini~ -A Parsee Student. A Parseegirl in from the school is a son of one of the most fa- India named Sorabji has become mous men in Japan. The Osaka Church will quite distinguished for her intellec- dedicate a very large and commodious chnrch tual ability. In her University course April 5."
she has gained scholarships each Jews.-The number of Jews in the world is estimated by the Hebrew year, and has kept at the head of the .Annual at 6,500,000; of these 800,000 list of competitors in English. She are in Palestine. The largest disperhas recently graduated in the first sions are in Russia, which contains class. Only six students in all, of 2,550,000, of whom 766,000 are inRuswhom the remaining five were men, sian Poland; in Austria-Hungary, succeeded in obtaining this degree. 1,645,000; Turkish Empire, 800,000; Miss Sorabji is the only" girl gradu- Roumania, 265,000;· United States, ate" in the Bombay Presidency. 230000, and Abyssinia, 200,000. Best of all, she is a Christian, and the child of Christian parents, one of -Alexandria Reports for 1887. The seven sisters, all of whom have been Rev. William Kean, the head of the well educated and are doing good station, givesa frank statementof the service as educationists. Her mother difficulties of work among adult Jews. has established a successful high Miss Kirkpatrick reports continued .chool in Poonah. success in the two schools under her charge, the fees of the girls' school -calcutta has 200,000 Mohammedans and one not only paying:aU expenses, but with ordained missionary to them.-Indian Witness. £25 from the Glasgow Ladies' Associ- -The Methodist Episcopal Church has in India foreign, native and zenana missonaries, 4,450 members, ation, meeting all the requirements rents, $32,986, and the remainder ~m mis_ of the pOOl' school in the Jewish cellaneous sources. The appropriations already quarter of the town. Mr. Douglas pledged by the Board for foreign work during Dunlop, the head of the boys' school, the coming year amounted to $183,076. To reports 251 pupils (124 being Jews) translate, publish and distribute 500,000 volumes enrolled in the boys' schools, 190 be- of the Scriptures In foreign lands, $143,570 was ing in attendance at St. Andrew's paid. school. Of the 190 there were 63 Jews, 42 Roman Catholics, 31 Protestants, -The address ofthe Methodist bishops 24 Moslems, 23 Greek Church, and at the Geueral Confereuce shows that In the 7 Copts; 01', with regard to nat:ion- past few years 450,000 souls have been brought ality, 51 Egyptian, 45 British, 25 into the church, and the membership Increased Greek, 25 Italian, 20 German, 11 from 1,769,534 to 2,093,935. Receipts for mis- French, 8 Austrian, 3 Spanish and sionary work last year upwards of $1,000,000; 2 Swedish pupils. The ages of the approprlatlons for next year, $1,200,000. The pupils were remarkable. Of the 190 church claims 12 theological semi)laries, 54 colenrolled in St. Andrew's school 6 leges and 120 seminaries, with a property valua were over 20 years of age, or 21 over tion of $25,000,000. seventeen, or 42 over fifteen, or 78 in all over thirteen. The New Testa- -'l'he General Assembly of the United ment is carefully read and explained Presbyterian Church of North America recently in various languages every day, and held its sessions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ten all the Jewish boys without exception Synods and 61 Presbyteries belong to the Assemtake full part in the devotional exer- bly, with 753 ministers, 3,580 elders and 9S,992 cises and religious instruction. At members. The contributions of Sunday-schools the Sunday-school there is a good at- and missionary societies frp: the past year tendance of Jewish boys-sometimes amounted to $1,019,937. a dozen of them senior pupils. The basis of the success of the school is -The foreign missions of the Protestant the solid and high-class commercial Episcopal Church report communicants as foleducation provided, for which £347 lows: Liberia, 472; China, 374; Japan, 429; were realized in fees in 1887.-0hurch Haiti, 855; total,1,730. The income was $175,- of Scotland Record. 84S.46, including a balance of $20,739.51 from last year. There is a balance of $44,974.3Sln the -The Mission work among the treasury. 6,400,000 Jews of the world has been developed with especial rapidity -The English Wesleyan MisBiona.ry since 1881. An investigation made Society expended last year $700,000, and reports then showed that there were engaged statistics as follows: Stations, 339; preaching- in it 20 societies, employing 270 mis- places, 1,224; missionaries and assistant mis- sionaries. Statistics recently pub- sionaries, 324; other paid agents, 1,825; unpaid lished report the existence of 47 so- agents,3,651; cburchmembers,31,26S; scholars, cieties, with 377 missionaries. The 58,10S. increase in contributions has not been proportionally large, being only -During the six years, 1881-7, the North- about $96,000. Of the $432,000 which ern Baptists expended for Home Mission work, constituted last year's income, $363,- as shown by the receipts of the "American 163 were given in the British Isles. Baptist Home Missionary Society," $2,256,656. The missionaries make their head- For the same period they expended for foreign quarters at those cities where the missions, as shown by the receipts of the Jews chiefly congregate. Fifty-eight "Baptist Missionary Union," $2,327,289. The work in London; 14 in Buda-Pesth; Southern Baptists duriug the same six years 33 in Constantinople, and 28 in Jeru- contributed for Home Missions $455,399, and for salem. A proportionally smaller Foreign, $472,411. number of wQrkers are stationed at the less important cities. -The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, reports a total of members and preachers MISSIONARY SOCIETIES' RECEIPTS FOR of 1,107,456, an increase of 41,079. It has 11,364 churches, valued at $15,204,883. 1887-8. -The United Presbyterian Church of -The seventy-second annual meeting Scotland reports 565 congregations, an increase of 1, aud 182,170 members, an Increase of 107. olthe American Bible Society, New York, was The total congregational Income the past year held May 10. The cash receipts for general pur- was $1.603,500. -The German Evangelical Luthera.n poses amounted to $557,340, and disbursements, Church Synod embraces 246 ministers, 387 con- $506,443. The receipts from legacies for gen- gregations and 38,000 members, 219 parochial schools, and an average yearly attendance of eral purposes amounted to $113,778; from 6,427. churches, individuals aud auxiliary donations, Russia. – Rabinowitz. The Free $85,405 ; from books and the purchase account Church of Scotland Monthly contains $296,540 ; from trust funds, etc., $23,944; from a letter-written by Rabinowitz tp Dr. ary who came to this country to ob- Wilson of Edinburgh, dated March tain funds for the erl'!"ction of a Chris- 12. Dr. Somerville, who will be re- tian high school in Bangkok, has remembered as the Scotch minister turned to his field of labor. He sewho has preached in Constantinople cured $15,000 in this country, to and in various parts of the world with which the King 01 Siam will add such good effect, had visited Rabinowitz at Kischineff, which is the capi- $5,000. The erection of the school is tal of Bessabaria, some eighty-five thus made possible. miles northwest of Odessa. Dr. Somerville stayed with this Christian Sweden.-The Swedish Magazine, Israelite a few days, preaching, as Lunds-Missions Tidring, gives the Rabinowitz says, "to a house crowd- present number of baptized converts ed to overflowing by children of of the Berlin society as 16,539 at 47 Israel coming to see the eminent and stations. The last year's contriburespectable doctor." And he adds: "Dr. Somerville was 'moved to his tions of these amounted to $3,780. very heart, seeing how here the Jews, Syria.-The Quaker women have a with God's Word in the hand, are seeking the Lord their God, and "Syria-Ramalleh Home." They pro- David their King, Jesus Christ." pose to build a girls' training-school there, for which ,3,000 is raised, twice -Lord Radstock gave some interesting in- that amount being needed. Sybil Jones was the first woman to preach stances which had come under his notice. Two the gospel in the land since the apos- tles' day. They have a school at prominent workers had heen banished; one had Mansnrieh, near the Svrian Mission, on Mount Lebanon. The Philadelto walk 1,000 miles in chains to Siberia, bnt his phia Society supports a Bible woman in this mission. joy was that he would" now have the privilege -The Mission at Brumana on the of preaching the gospel to the prisoners," who heights of Mount Lebanon. overlook- ing Beirut, is under the joint mancould not otherwise be reached. In St. Peters- agement of the Society of Friends in Great Britain, Ireland and the burg the" open meeting" principle works ad United States. There is a training home for boys, with 30 inmates, and mirably, hecause when the gatherings are broken for girls with 20, and a well-ordered hospital with 15 beds, besides disup by the police-as is invariably the case when pensary, open five days a week. The mission has the charge of various discovered-the converts are each competent to day-schools for both sexes in several surrounding villages, in which more minister the Word to others, and thns, as in the than 300 children are under instruc- tion ;, it also employs a colporteur early days of the church, the scattering of the and several Bible-women. There are people secures the scattering of the seed. In also two mothers' meetings, which in earlier days had sometimes to be fact, on one occasion a number of imprisoned shortened becaulile of fights among the women, but which now are comconverts were released, hecause by their testi- posed of large numbers who delight to learn texts of Scripture, and be mony " they did more harm in prison than out." read to, rather than give vent to evil passion.-Presbyterian. Scotland.-,At the first meeting of the National Bible Society directors -The Pilgrims to Mecca this year for the new year, held in Glasgow, the from Syria are very few. The steamtotal income for 1887 was reported to ers offer great inducements, but as be £33,432 7s., being only £335 Is. less the pilgrimage takes place in June than the income of 1886, which in- and July the people dread the intense cluded £4,875 ofa fund raised in heat of Mecca and stay at home. A honor of the society's semi-jUbilee. Moslem of Beirut was asked, "Are The expenditure had been £30,992 6s. The issues in 1887 were 6a2,073 copies many of the Beirut Moslems going or parts of Scripture, including to Mecca this year?" "No," said he ; 164,729 Bibles, 180,662 Testaments, "only about ten." " Are those who and 286,682 portions. Though some- go generally made better men by the what less than the exceptional circulation of the last two years, these fig- pilgrimage?" " Better I They are uresare considerably beyondany form_ worse. Mecca is the wickedest place er record. The issues at home were in thQ East; full of robbers, thieves 220,754 copies, and abroad 411,319. and pickpockets, and everything vile.
Siam.-At a meeting of the Pres- Hardly a man goes but is robbed." bytery of Siam, it was reported that an addition of 48 members by confession, and five by certificate, makes the Whole number of communicants in connection with this Presbytery now 881. One new church was organized and one student licenl:!ed to preach the gospel.
-The Rev. Mr. Eakin, the mlssion~ Swltzerland.-The Basle Mission native Bible readers, and more'than has 111 missionaries and European 150 schools. teachers in its three fields, and 489 native pa.stOl'S, catechists, evangelists -The Woman's Foreign Missionand teachers. In 1884 there were ary Society of the M. E. Church just made to the quadrennial conference, baptized in Africa, India and China is full of encouragement. The re- 531 adult heathen,204 heathen chil- port covers the past four years. dren and 773 Christian children. The Basle Mission Church numbers to:day The society now nUlllbers 4,888 auxiliaries. with an annual membership of 115,228. The 17,053 members. German work had fnlly justified the expectations Turkey.-We are beginning to hear of the originators and had grown constantly. The last report gave a total of 104 auxiliaries, of spiritual result'i following the ad- with 2,694 annnal members and 19 life members. ministration of relief to the famine The aggregate recelpte of the last four years sufferers in Turkey. In some places have been $658,898.77, an increase over the pre· portions of the Scriptures have been vlous fonr years of $154,314.23. distributed with needed bread for the body. Mr. Gates of Mardin reports -The Woman's Society of theAmerican Bapthat in one village a man said, after tist Missionary Society received, East, $55,880 ; an earnest discussion: "It is nothing West, $25,882. other than the words of this book -Reports of the Five Women's Foreign which have sent us this aid." A Mos- Missionary SOCieties of the Presbyterian Chnrch lem at one village affirmed: "I know Cor the year ending May 1, 1888, namely: that the Protestants are the best of all the sects." " How do you know Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the that?" said a bystander. .. You are Presbyterian Chnrch, Philadelphia: Receipts, a Moslem. What do you know of the $149,640, a gain of $19,821; Anxullarie., 2,000, teachings of the Protestants?" The gain, 221; Missionaries, 133; Native Teachers and Bible Women, 91. Moslem replied: "I know by one sign. If I go to a priest, he says to Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions or me, Give. If I go to a Moolah, he the Northwest; Receipts, $132,472, gam, $15,412; says to me, Give. If I go to an offi- Auxiliaries, 1522; Missionaries, 6~; Native cial or a friend, they say to me, Give. Teachers and Bible Women, 49, All;ay, Give. The Protestants alone say, Take. Theil' schools say, Take; Women's Board of Foreign Missions of the their teachings say, Take; their Presbyterian Chnrch, New York: Receipts, charities say, Take. By this I know $62,544, gain, $12,407 ; AUxiliaries, 900, gain, 76 ; that they are the· best." Mr. Gates Missionaries, 41; Native Teachers and Bible reports that villages are asking for Women,3D. teachers, and that the evangelical Woman's Presbyterian Foreign Missionary helpers are honored wherever they go Society of Northern New York: Receipts, $10among the mountains.-Mi88ionary 418 ; Auxiliaries, 118, gain, 14; MiSSionaries, 5 ; Herald. Native Teachers and Bible Women, 13.
Women's Missionary Work.-The Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions of Women's Foreign Missionary So- the Sonthwest: Receipts, $7,217, gain, 503; ciety of the Presbyterian Church in Auxiliaries, 47, gain, 8; Missionaries, 7.
Canada reports $10,058 as the amount Total receipts, $812,286, gain dnring the year. of last year's receipts. Its foreign 848,143; Auxiliaries, 4,587, galu, 319; Missionwork is thus summarized: Three aries, 254; Native Teachers and Bible Women, schools for our Own Indians in the 83. Northwest, one girls' school in Formosa, six schools under the care of -The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Woour ladies in Central India, six native man's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presteachers assisting in these schools, byterian Church of the Pacific Cocst Is an ex- ceedingly Interesting one. The receipts from two Bible women, general mission- all sources were $10,700.4Q. ary work in the hospital, villages and zenanas, three missionary teachers, -The Woman's Union Missiouary SOCiety of one medical missionary, one lady America has In Calcutta and the villages south ready for the work, one lady in of It 22 schools with 1,178 girls, and 114 zenanas Canada receiving medical education, in which are 130 regular pupUs. A Bible lesson donation for Trinidad. Is given every day in the schools and at every visit in the zenanas. -The money given by the women of the Presbyterian Church in the -At the recent annual meetIng ofthe Chnrch United States during the past sixteen of England Zenana Missionary Society It was years amounts to $2,150,000, repre- stated that there had been good success at al- senting the entire support of more most every station. The receipts for the year were $133,000. There are now at home nearly than 200 women missionaries, 200 900 ass,ociations, and upward of 600 working parties in support of the mission.
'716 STA.TISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS
VlI.-STATISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS.
WORLD – WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF THE The issues of the Hibernian Bible So- 59,105 ciety for the same year were as fol- BIBLE. lows: Bibles, 20,897; New Testa- ments, 25,862 : Portions, 12.846. To- [Rev. John Wilkinson (London) has tal…. ….. ….. ………. …. …..• published a powerful tract with the Portions reduoed to Bibles, 402, which 46,661 above caption. We avail ourselves with Bibles and New Testaments of his statistics relating to Bible dis- make a total of Bibles, New Testa- ments and Portions reduced to Bitribution.-EDs. ] bles, of…………..••…..•……• REv. JAMES JOHNSTON, in his" Centnry of The Issues of the American Bible So- ciety, as given in the report for the Christian Missions," puts the population of the same year, were as follows : Bibles, world at about 1,470.000,000: Protestants, 135,- 369,714; New Testaments, 598.515; 000,000; Greeks, 85,000,000; Papists, 195,000,- PortiOns, 469,211. Total……….. 1,437,440 000; Jews, 8,000,000; Mohammedans, 173,000,- 000 ; heathen, 874,000,000; altogether about Total Bibles, New Testaments and 1,473,000.000 as the world's population at present. Portions reduced to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . 982,892 The Mohammedans and the heathen together The report states that "there are at least make 1,047,000,000, besides about 11,000,000 of .Tews. These 1,058,000,000 are unevangelized. twenty-five German Bible SOCieties. Some of Besides, there are millions of Greek Catholics them are very small." Only four or five-occupy and Roman Catholics as destitute of the Bible as a prominent position. These are: (1) the Prus- 8re the Mohammedans and the heathen. sian Chief Bible Society, for the eight original provinces of Prussia; (2) the Wllrtemberg It is esthnated that there are yet more than Bible Institute, for the kingdom of Wiirtem- 3,000 langnages and dialects into which the Holy berg; (3) the Saxon Chief Bible Society, Cor the Scriptures have never been translated. kingdom of Saxony; (4) the Nuremberg Bible Association, for the kingdom of Bavaria; and A.t the head of the list of agencies for the dis- (5) the Berg Bible SOCiety, on the Rhine. The tribution of the Bible is the British and Foreign circulation of the Prussian Chief Bible Society Bible Society. According to the report of 1886 for 1885 reached 97,400 copies; SO,694 of them the issues of the Society were as follows: Bibles. None of these were issued by the From the Bible Honse, London: Bi- British and FOreign Bible Society, but were ad- ditional. " The other four Societies mentioned bles, 636,411 ; New Testaments, with put into circulation, in 1881–39,539,20,731, 6.752 or without Psahns, 1,100,891 ; Por- and 17,477 copies respectively. About one-half tions,365,517. TotaL………… ..• 2,192,819 of these books were supplied by the British and From depots abroad: Bibles, 195,102 ; Foreign Bible Society. The work of the re- New Testaments, with or without maining twenty Societies was limited in extent, Psalms, 625,295 ; Portions, 1,110,688. and comprised but few of the British aud For- TotaL…………… …………… 1,931,085 eign Bible SOCiety's books. "
Total for the Jear, of Bibles, New Now let us gather the sum total of Bible cir- Testaments and Portions. . . . . .•. . . .. 4,123,904 culation by these German Bible Societies: First we have the Prussian Society… 97,400 Total portions, 1,476,205, divided by 82, Then we have the Wilrtemberg,Saxon, and thus reducing them to whole Bi- bles, make 46,181 ; which brings out Nuremberg, and Berg SOCieties, al- the following total of Bibles, New together 84,499; from these we must Testaments and Portions reduced to deduct half, as reckoned to the Bibles: Bibles, 831,513; New Testa- British and Foreign Bible SOCiety's me nts,l,816,186; Portions, reduced issues-so these four Societies cir- to Bibles, 46,131. TotaL…. •. . . . .. 2,693.830 culated ………………………. . 42,250 We put down for the other twenty The issues of the National Bible Soci- 645,662 small Societies a circulation of….. . 60,350 ety of Scotland for the same year, 1886, were as follows: Bibles, 154,- 450; New Testaments, 256,507 ; Por- tions,234,705. TotaL…………..
Total portions, 234,705, divided by 32, 418,692 This will make a total for the twenty- and thus reducing them to whole Bi- five Societies of………….. …… 200,()()(1 bles, make 7,335; which brings out The Trinitarian Bible Society's report fOl the following total of Bibles, New Testaments, and Portions reduced to 1887 says: "The circulatiou of Scripture dur Bibles: Bibles, 154,450; New Test- ing the past year has been as follows, in twenty aments, 256,507; Portions reduced languages" :- to Bibles, 7,335. TotaL………… Bibles, 3,354; New Testa- ments, 11,038; Portions, 96,620…•…•••.•.••Total 111,012 Special sale or HebrewNew PRESBYTERIAN MISSION OF NORTHERN BRAZIL.-STATlSTICS FOR 1887. Testaments, 75,000; special NAlIlE OF grant oC Hebrew INew CHURCH.
Testaments, 25,000..Total 100,000 Recife ………. 1~ ~ ~'i 25 58 39 . . . . . . . . Total circulation, sales, and grants… . 211,012 Goyanna……. 11 •. 32 29 1 …. 1 8 The Portions, 00,620 rednced to Bibles, i" .. Fortaleza. . . . .. 9 .. 1 47 40 27 " .. 1 1 by being divided by 32, make, In Mossoro.. .•. . . . 5 20 21 12 ……. . Parahyba .•…. 11 3 1 1 16 ~~ <I I ….. . round numbers, 3,020; which with Maranham….. 1 1 …. 15 …. 1 ..
the Bibles, New Testaments, and Pao de Assucar. 8 7.. .. … IS 17 .. 1 .. ·. Maceio……… 8 1 …. ,.. 3 1 1 ….. . special 100,000 oC Hebrew New 8146 3 3 108 215 143 3 1 2 2 Testaments, make the total……… 117,412 Totals. Catholic and Protestant Converts.
British and Foreign Bible -DR. WARNECK, who also is a lead- Society – Bibles, Testa- ments and Portion: issued ing authority on mission matters, from the London House and from def.ots abroad.. 4,123,904 has compiled some statistics on the The same tota , with Portions reduced number of converts reported from to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. •. . .. 2,693,830 Catholic and from Protestant socie- National Bible Society ot ties. His summary is that the former Scotland-Bibles, Testa- ments and Portions. . . . . . 645,662 reports 268,700 converts in Africa, The same total, with Portions reduc- 2,000,000 in Asia, 55,000 in Oceanica, ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . • 418,692 330,000 in America, or a total of Hibernian Bible Soclety- 2,053,700. Protestant societies report Bibles, Testaments and 577,000 in Africa, 700,000 in Asia. Portions. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 59,105 280,000 in Oceanica, and 688,000 in The same total, with Portions reduc- America, or a total of 2,245,700. Dr. ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . . 56,661 American Bible Society- Warneck remarks: Bibles, Testaments and Portions ………………. 1,437,440 .. I must confess that these figures sur- The same total, with Portions reduc- prised me. Considering the grand and im- ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 92,982 posing organization of the Catholic Church. The twenty-five German Societies…. 200,000 the larger number of its missionaries, their Trinitarian Bible Society- rapid method of receiving into church com- Bibles, Testaments and munion larger numbers, and the great ad- Portions …………. , . . .• 211,012 vantage enjoyed by the fact that they have The same total, with Portions rednc- been at the work many centuries before our ed to Bibles…………….. ……• 117,412 work began. I had thought that numerically Grand total, InclndingBibles – – – their mission success would vastly exceed Testaments and Portions. 6,477,123 that of the Protestants. Leaving ont of consideration Asia, where chiefiy those who The same total, with Portions rednc- are descendants of converts of earlier cen- ed to Bibles.. ………………… 4,4.59,487 turies in China and India swell the number in the Roman Catholic reports. it must be Only frrur-and-a·1uJlj' milliOns of Bibles are seen that everywhere else the mission work being prodnced a year, while the annual increase of the world's popnlation is estimated at twelve of the Evangelical Church is far in advance mUli0n8! of that of the Roman Catholic."
BlBLE WORK IN CHINA IN 1887.
B. & F. Bible Soc. North China. …… ~~ 790 75,228 76,212 Central .. . . . . . . . 839 83,652 84,664 – – Sonth " .. . . . .. …. -. .-. . – -. . . -. 91,010 TotalB. &F….. 367 1,629 158,880 251,886 Scotch Bible Soc. -Mission work ofthe Catholic Church North China. . . . . .. …. 136 7,229 7,366 Central" ….•…… 1,952 168,859 170,31J is in the hands of the Propaganda Total N. B. S. S.. 2,088 176,088 178,176 Society, In the periodical Kathol- iscke Missionen recently this Society Amer'nBible Soc. 80 689 713 1,482 Sales-Depot …… . ]20 2,082 29,932 82,13'" makes its report for 1886. 77 2,059 :103,782 205,918 h Missionaries. 35 121 1,145 1,301 According to this France furnished about 48 899 9,837 10,784 two-thirds of the funds needed Cor the work. " Colportenrs.• namely. 4,855,658 francs; Germany contrib- Donations-Depot .. 72 1,184 1,256 uted 409,271 francs; Belgium, 358,767 ; Elsass " Missionaries. and Lorraine, 286,987 ; Italy, 382.214; Great " Colportenrs.. Britain. 166,319; Switzerland, 77,139; the Total Am. B. S . . 360 5,922 246,593 252.875 Netherlands, 112,551 ; Spain,97,522; Portugal, 47,249; Austria, 88.403; Hungary. 3,952 ; Bnl- SgacrainadainnadviRaonnmcoaunnitar,ie5s0,0;84R7u; ssAiaSlia5,288;,4t0h5e; Grand total, 1887. . . 727 9,639 581,581 682,937 Total, 1886… . . . . . .. 1,019, 14,256 493,678 583,429 Africa. 35,373; North AmerlCa.l00,928; Cen- tral America, 566; South America, 55,569 ; – Chute8e Recorder. Australia, 14.519. ' .Je'll'I.-lI'rom the HelJrsUJ Annual we learn A.merlcan Baptflt 1Illmoa&l]' tlnton• that France contains 000,000; Germany. 562.000, of whom 89,000 inhabit Alsaee and LorraIne; REOAPl'rULA'rI01I'. Austria-Hungary, 1,644,000, of whom 688,000 are in Galicia and 638,000 In Hungary; Ita!;!'l to.QOO ; The Burman Ml88ion.-51 mll!l!Ol1aries, 1ft Ns~'e!Ith~e~r,laOnOdOs, 82,000; RPooluamnda,ni7a6,8,2O6OO5~U;WTu; r~kUeIyI, men and 85 women (including wfflllJ of mis- (Russian sionaries) ; 13 Ordained and 89 nnordalned na- SloWotlutuzuerilanBde,lg7iu,0m0,0; 3,O:Kl ; Bulgaria, 10,000; tive preachers; 21 churches, 1,680 members, Denmark, .,000; Spain, 150 baptized in 1881. 1,900; Gibraltar, 1,500 i. Greece, 8,000; Servia, 3.500; Sweden, 3,000. m Asia there are 30,000 TAe Karen .Mi8rion.-47 missionaries. 15 men of the race. Turkey In Asia has 195,000, of whom and 82 women; 10 ordained and 851 unordained 115,ooo are in Palestine, 407,000 In Russian Asllr, native preachers; 494 churches, 26.008 mem- 18,000 In Persia, 14,000 In Central Asia, 111,000 In hers, 1.877 baptized In 1887. India, and 1,000 in China. In AfrIca 8,000 Jews lgievrel~In.60E,0g0y0pitn, 55 000 In Tnnisia, 35,000 in AI- TAe Shan Mi88ion.-6 miSSionaries, 2 men Morocco, 6,000 in TrIpoli, and and 4 women; 7 unordained native preachers; 2OO,uuu In Abyssinia. America connta 280,000 2 churches. 42 members, 1 baptized In 1887. i;rg~clr:; g}::n:ee~~~s ~l~em~':ts~fIa:ll:; continent, while only 12,000are scattered through TAe Kachin MiBrion.-2 missionaries, 1 man Oceanica. The entire total ~f the Hebrew race and 1 woman; 2 ordained and 1 unordained na- tive preachers; 3 churches. 39 members, 3 bapon the surface ot the globe Is estimated at tized in 1887.
6.300.000. TAe Ohin'Miasion.-5 missionaries, , meB and 3 women; 15 ordained Bnd 16 unordalned -The French Protestant mission- native preachers; 7 churches. 174 members. 62 aries among the Bassutos of south- baptized In 1887. eastern Africa report for 1886-7 as follows: The M8Gme8e .Mi8sion.-9 missionaries, 8, men and 6 women; 2 ordained and 9 unor Stations……………… . 17 (Same as previ- dained native preachers; 15 churches. 786 mem- ousyear. bers, 37 haptized In 1887.
Out-stations…………. . 89 Increase of 5 The Garo MiBrion.-4 missionaries. 2 men and 2 women; 5 ordained and 6 unordalned na- Native helpers•……….. 160 18 tive preachers; 10 churches, 986 members. 165, baptized in 1887. Marriages…………… .. 109 14 TAe Naga .Mi88ion.-8 missionaries. 4 men InCant baptisms.. . . .. . .. . 322 64 and 4 women; 6 unordalned native preachers; 8 churches. 70 members. 6 bap.tized In 111117. Catechumens.. . . . . . . . . . .. 2.245 387 The Tcl'U(fU Mi8sion.-44 missionaries, 19 men Communicants. . . . . . . . . . .. 5,525 385 and 25 women; 56 ordained and 137 unordalned native preachers; 52 churches. 68.629 members, Total number adherents… 7.770 672 2.321 baptized in 1887.
– – – Scholars….. . .. . .. . . . 4,066 982 The OAineBe MiBBiOn.-1IOmi8sionaries,12 men and 18 women; 7 ordained and 33 unordalnod Congregational Statistllll. native preachers; 19 churches, 1.568 members. 51 baptized in 1887. Chur~hes: whole nnmber………. .. 4.404 new ………………. .. 246 TAe Japan MisBion.-2/i missionaries. 8 men gain in number……… . 127 and 17 women; I) ordained and 21 unordalned Mell!.'>ers: whole number ………. . 457.584 native preachers; 11 churches, 770 members, added on conCession…. . 41,156 211 baptized in 1887. .. by letter …….. .. 26.185 total [189 not di- T1Ie Congo MilI8ion.-28 missionaries. 17 men vided] …………. .. 67,530 and 11 women; 4 churches, 248 members, 1111 removed…………… .. 38,644 baptized in 1887. apparent increase ……. . 28,886 gain [actual. comparing JiJurqpean Ml&siom.-1I72 preachers; 654 totals] ………….. . 21.200 churches. OO.14l1 members, 5,532 baptized In difference [due to Inacu- 1881. rate report<! …….. .. 7.681 BaPHsms : I!-dult………………. .. 20,123 In the missions to the heathen there are 60 mfant……………… .. 11,1166 stations and 831 out-stations. Including those Families reported.. . .. .. .. .. . .. …. . 268,775 now absent from their lI.e1d8, there are 282 mis- Sunday;~chools. me.mbers ……….. . 551.691 sionaries. including 159 single women lll!d 84 gam in members … . 29.704 wives of missionaries. " average attendance . . 324.719 united with the church In an the missions there are 262 misaionarles from……….. .. 18.399 (Including la1 evangelists), 1.798 preachers, 1.296 benevolent contribu- churches. and 127.208 members; 10.602 were tions ot…. ….. . $162,012 baptized in 1887.
BENBVOLEN'r CON'rRmU'rlON8 oJ!' 'rHIII I1IJIJ'tWUe frum laBt Slear.-14mia8Ionaries, 31 OHURCHES: churches, 8.678 members.-8eventy;fourth ~ lIual Report. For the year 1887 only………….. $2.095.485 Increase over 1885.. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. (18,275 O~,which lor ~oreign Missions. . . . . . 319.404 ~ucation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 221.287 .. .. Church BuildiIlg……. 122,590 Home Missions…. . .. . 436.577 .. A. M. A…… ………. 151,698 .. Sunday-schools……… 28.986 .. New West………….. 43.960 .. Ministerial Ald….. …. . 9.138 " •. Other ob,tects……….. 787,731 Legacies paid. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . 829,663 !lome Expenditures……………… 5.078,980 Increase. . . . . . . . . 1,100,750 U U – Congregational Year-Book JfYr 1888. " Faetl COllCemiDg the COllege Department of or more tl'&veling secretaries, and the Interna- YOlIIIg lieD'. Christian As.oelatloDs of North tional Committee's secretarial force numbers America. 14. 77 or these associations are engaged 231 college associations are In existence. specially in work among raUway men; 10- 41 have been orgallized within the year. , among German-speaking young men; 273 are in ' 179 have an aggregate membership of 9.863. colleges; 29 are colored and 18 Indian. 226 203 have an active membership of 8,699. associations report educational classes in trom 174 have an associate membership 0(2,240. one to fifteen branches of study; 287 report 177 have 2,570 members serving on committees. special attention to physical culture through 143 expend annually $6,067. gymnasiums and out-door sports; 898 Bible classes, 367 Bible training classes, and 661 4 haTe buildings; Princeton, valued at $20,000; Hanover, '$1000; Toronto University, weekly prayer-meetings are among the services $7,000, and ~"e University, $50,000. Cor young men only, which are reported.
59 have rooms devoted exclusively to their UStt. -In heathen countrie. Protestants occupy 54 have furniture valued at $20,732. 100 separate mission fields, containing 20,000 18 have libraries of 8,655 volumes, valued at mission .tations, supplied by 40,000 missionaries. In these 20,000 mission stations there are 500,000 $3,577. Sabbath-school scholars, an average or 25 to 27 had 101 lectures during the year, and 68 ha. each station. In the 20,000 Protestant mission stations there are 1,000,000 of native communi- 144 sociables. cants, or an average of 50 to each etation. There are also 2,000,000 of adherents who are friends BELIGIOUS MEETINGS. of the evangelical faith and hearers of the gospel preached from tbe Bible, an average of 100 to 87 report 98 Bible classes, with a total average each station. Including all classes, there are attendance of 1,688. now identified with Protestant Christian mis- sions 3,500,000 persons, served by 40,000 mis- 59 report 99 traiuing classes, with a total aver- sionaries. The nationalities friendly to Protest- age attendance of 1,024. tant Christianity, or nominally Christians, contain a population of about 150,000,000, or 188 report 198 prayer-meetings, 147 ofwhich have one-ninth ot tbe whole population of the earth, a total average attendance of 3 998. ' covering 14,000,000 of square miles, or one-fourth of the whole geographical surface oC the globe. 84 report gospel meetings, 50 of which have II The Greek and Roman Catholic churches cover total average attendance of 1,481. 18,000,000 square miles in nations friendly to them or dominated by them, and have 250,000,000 23 report song services, 13 of which have a to- of adherents. The Mohammedans bave a fol- tal average attendance of 394. lowing of "bout 200,000,000 nominally. Strictly pagan conntrles, therefore, have yet a popula- 80 report missionary meetings. tion of OM bution souls who are not reached by 3 report daily prayer-meetings. Mohammedan, Catholic, Greek or Protestant 19 report 21 cottage or neighborhood prayer- churches.
meetings. -Statistical tables In the Baptist Year-Book 8 report meetings In almshouses, jails and hos- show the total number of members In the 31,891 Baptist churches to be 2,917,815, indicating a pitals. gain of 184,745 members during the year. Tho 18 report 27 Sunday-schools conducted in their number of baptisms reported is 158,373, which ia 2,995 more than were reported a year bofore. members. 137 881!OCiations observed the day of prayer for -" The Presbyterian Church of the United States, ,,11 branches, have over 15,000 churches, colleges the last Thursday in January, :1886. 11,500 ministers, 1,500,000 members, and ex- 181 observed the day of prayer for young men, the second Sunday In November. 200 report 81,420 young men as studenta In their colleges. 157 report 9,956 young men, stndents of their colleges, 8S members of evangelical churches. 150 report 1,7~ professed conversions during the year. 161 report that 2,750 students in their colleges intend to enter the ministry. 48 report tbat 135 or these have been convocted since entering college. 24 report that 86 of these have been converted the past year. 19 report that 64 have been inflnenced in their , decision for the ministry by tbe work of the College Association. 59 report that 126 students in their colleges In- tend to be foreign missionaries. 4 report that 5 of these have been converted the past year. 3 report that 16 of these have been influenced in their decision for the forei!(n field by the missionary department of the College Asso- ciation.
– The International Committee of Young pends annually in her work 816,000,000 ; has also Men's Christian Associations at 40 East 23rd 46 colleges, with 5,000 students; 20 theological street, New York, bas just issued the Associa- seminaries, with 1.900 studenta ; 34 female sem- tion "Year-Book for 1888." There are now, inaries, with 4,000 pupils."-Dr. G. P. Hay,.
according to this annnal report, 1,240 associa- -The statistics preseuted at the last Interna- tions in America, aud 8,804 in the world. The tional Sunday-school Convention show that American associations bave a membership of whlle there are in the Sunday-schools oC our 170,000 ; they own buildings valued at $5,609,- country and the Dominion of Canada seven mil- WS, and have a total net property of $7,261,658 ; lion children and youth, there are more than IIIstyear they expended $1,181,888 In local work, nine million outside of the Sunday-school. Dr.
~d $104,949 In general work. 752 men are de- Worden stated that of this number 800,000 are In voting their entire time to the local, State and New York State,575,OOO In Pennsylvania. 440,000 IIlternational work as secretaries and assistants; in Ohio. 365,000 in Kentucky, 840,000 in Indiana, ~here are 23 ,Btate committees that employ one 600,000 in DlinOi8, 550,000 In Missouri, 228,000 In Kansas. In three years the gain In" Sunday- l!'aith in foreign /parts was organized in L7ona.
school membership has been nearly 500,000 ; but France, in 1822. Since that time it has received an aggregate of 220,000,000 francs, mainly in this ill small, compared"with the gain in our pop- small amounts. Its receipts during the past year were 6,648,000 francs, of which 4,850,000 ulation, which Increases more rapidly every were drawn from France.
year. -According to the Directory of the Roman Catholic Church for 1888, there are, in England -The Weilih Calvinistic Methodists embrace aud Wales,2,314 Catholic priests to 1,728 in 1876, and these preside over 1,:lO* churches, chapels 1,:e20 churches, 129,000 members, 1,012 minis- "nd stations. Scotland has 5 bishops, 324 priests and 237 churches aud chapels. The R0ters, aud 1,450 Sabbath·schools, with home and man Catholic population iu 1887 is given as 1,354,000 in England and Wales, 326,000 iu Scotforeign missionary societies. land, 3,961,000 in Ireland. Together with the colonies, the number of Catholics under British -The German Evangelical Lutheran Chureh rule is 9,682,000.
Synod embraces 246 ministers, 381 congrega- -New England Catholic statistics count up as follows: Priests, 906; seminariaus, 233; tions, and 38,000 members, 219 parochial schools, churches, 602 ; chapels and statiOns, 133; col- leges, 7 ; academies,38 j parochial schools, 205 ; and an average yearly "ttendance of 6,4'l7. pupils, 69,105 ; charitable institutions, 36; Cath- olic population, 1,185,000. This estimate is -The African Methodist Episcopal Chureh, based on the reports of the parish priests to their ordinaries. It is rather uuder thau over the fig_ whose General Conference recently in session at nres. Exceeding care is taken in making this ceusus. Estimations are generally based upou Indianapolis, reports 1 membership of 408,351, baptisms, marriages, etc., which yield a certainty on the safe side, but which exclude that host and the total of money raised for all purposes of Catholics who hold their religion loosely, who seldom attend church, who frequently neglect to during the year 1887 as 51,064,569. There are have their childreu baptized, yet who are sub- stantially Catholics, if anything, and who some- 3,394 churches and 660 parsonages, valued at times, soouer or later, return to the faith of their rathers. There are at least a million and a half $5,340,889. There are 11,009 stewards, 14,190 Catholics in New England. It has been assertsd, without contradiction, that over half the popustewardesses, and 14,778 class-leaders. lation of Boston are Catholics.- Catholtc Re- view. The statistics of the United Presbyterian – In 1881 the 1,200 members of the United Church for the present ecclesiastical year are: Presbyterian Board in Egypt-most of them very poor meu and women-raised more thau 1887. 1888. $17 each, for. the support of churches and schools. Look on this picture, then on that. Total membership… . . . . . . • 94,641 98,991 Christians in America give 50 ceuts each to mis- Total congregations" . . . . .•. . 885 1107 sions. Christians in poor Egypt give $17 each Total pastoral charges…… 618 708 for missions, and yet America is considered" Total contributions ………• $977,860 $1,019,937 Christian nation -Presb. CoUtge Journal.
-According to the Year-Book of the Disciples -The wealthof church members in the United States of America in 1880 was 8,723 m!llion dolof Christ for 1888, they have 6,437 churches, lars. Of this pne-sixteenth of one per cent. or one dollar out of $1,586 is given in a year for the 620,000 communicants, 4,500 Sunday-schools, salvation of eight hundred million heathen.
with a membership of 318,000, and a teaching – I t is difficult so learn thstatistics of J emsa- em. Probably as reliable information as can be force of 33,340 ; number of preachers 3,263. The secured is given by the Bote aus Zion, a carefwly edited German Protestant quarterly, published value of church property is $10,368,361. in the Holy City. The Mohammedans number about 9,OOJ, the Jews 18,000, and the Christians -In Germany and Switzerland there are eigh- 7,000, making a total of 34,000. The Jews genteen foreign missionary societies, with betweeu erally claim more, making the estimate as hlgil 522 and 550 missionaries in the field, and with an as 30,000.
Income of about $720,000. The particular cir- cumstances of their origin, no doubt, account for this state of things, bnt it certainly ought now to be possible to consolidate the smaller so- cieties, and thus save the expense of so many different officials.
-Mr. David McLaren has made II careful ex- amination and analysis of the home contribu- tions of four great missionary societies and of the British and Foreigu Bible Society during the ftftyyears of the present reign. The annual av- erage amount of the five societies for the last ten years was £556,631, shown as follows: Baptist Missionary Society. . . . . . . . . . . .. £57,229 Wesleyan Missionary Socie!y………. 109,433 Church Missionary Society…………. 193,670 London MisSionary Society..• , . . . . . ••• ro,742 British and Foreign Bible Society. •.•• . 109,557 The total contribntions for the IIfty years were £10,798,160, being about the amount spent on drink in this country in sixty days.
One feature bronght out by the examination is that, when al large sum has been raised for a special object, the income of sncceeding years has not suffered In consequence.
-The Roman Catholic Propaganda of the