The Missionary Review of the World — September 1890
THE MISSION IN BASUTO LAND
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XIII. No.9.-0Id Series·–SEPTEMBER.–voL. III. No. 9.-New Series.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE MISSION IN BASUTO LAND.
BY REV. ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND.
The Christian Church owes this singularly interesting mission in South Africa to the Paris Missionary Society, which was founded in 1822 by some of the most prominent men in the French Reformed Church, whose names are yet fragrant in the memory of multitudes in other lands besides their own. Those men of God appear to have inherited much of the holy intrepidity and zeal of their Huguenot ancestors, for, in the midst of conscious weakness, one of their earliest acts after emerging from the fires of persecution and the tempests of revolution, was to unite in forming themselves into a missionary society and to claim an honorable share in that grandest of all enter- prises, the bringing about of the conquest of the world for Christ.
Basnto Land is a native territory lying between Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and Natal. The Orange river is the southern boundary, and the less important Caledon flows through its centre. It is a mountain land with deep valleys, many of which are gladdened and fertilized by refreshing streams which shed verdure and floml beauty upon their banks. In later times it has been placed under a British protectorate, which affords greater liberty and safety to the missionary, and gives to those mission churches which owe theil' birth and maintenance to French Protestants some claim upon British liberality. An eadier mission had already been established in another part of South Africa by the Paris Missionary Society, and had gatlwred its first fruits in converts and churches; but even this mission to Basnto Land dates back to a period many years before the names of Moffat and Livingstone had become household words in all the languages of Christendom and in all the churches of the saints.
The founder of the Basuto Mission was Eugene Casalis, who had associated with him from the beginning two fellow-workers of congenial spirit and of varied gifts, which greatly increased their usefulness. He who had been the honored founder of the mission has also lived to be its historian in a volume which has recently been translated into the English tongue, and which, in its picturesque descriptions, its narratives of thrilling adventures, and its style sparkling with vivacity, as well as in its more solid qualities of devout thought and burning zeal, and "common sense which is not common," tracin!; all the while the growth of one of the most successful Christian mis! sions in modern times, keeps the reader under a pleasing fascination to its close. ,,y e intend in this paper to present some notices of ):lis earlier years, prior as well as preparatory to his entering on his consecrated and greatly honored missionary life. Our facts shall, of course, be principally gathered from his own souvenirs.
Eugene Casalis was born November 21, 1812, at Orthes, a town in' the Department of the Lower Pyrenees, about thirty miles from Bayonne. His parents wet'e pious Protestants, of good social position, who could look back through generations of Huguenot ancestors, some of whom had bravely suffered for the faith. The boy thus received the priceless benefit of a godly upbringing, even those cherished ancestral traditions of faithful suffering for Christ mingling with and favorably influencing his thoughts. Weare led to conclude that there was something rather stiffened and stereotyped about the religions life of the worthy parents, and that it was in some measure deficient in warmth and joy. This made the youth welcome with keen relish the hymns of the saintly Cresar Malan, with their gladsome notes of faith and hope, which had begun to find their way from Geneva to those parts of France in which the faith of the Reformed Church prevailed. This good influence was increased by the appearance in that staid Protestant community of M. Pyt from Bayonne, a pastor and evangelist of much fervor and eloquence, who was received at the first with some suspicion by the sterner natures, but whose warmth and zeal in no long time overoome all opposition, while great numbers were attracted towards him who were passing from youth into early manhood. Eugene was among the first to sit at his feet and drink in his words of holy wisdom. It was natural that such an eager listener should soon attract the notice of the earnest evangelist, who was interested by his promising gifts and apparent buddings of grace, and at length, with the consent of his parents, he returned with the young pastor to Bayonne, where, under his daily supervisiOl" he was to receive a higher education in which the Christian element should be supreme. Gradually, under the evangelist's watchful eye, Eugene's hopeful symptoms ripened into decision; he not only embraced him. as a Christian brother, but discovered in his conversation and action qualities and desires which seemed to mark him as a missionary to the heathen. The finger of Providence had begun to point to the far off land.
This led to another important step, in the transference of Eugene to the Mission House of the Paris Missionary Society in Paris, where hopeful young men, while undergoing a period of probation, were meanwhile under systematic training for the work of a missionary to some dark region of heathendom. It was a wise and happy arrangement for youths, in whose hearts the Spirit of God had kindled a holy ·enthusiasm for the missionary enterprise, to be placed, for a series of years, under the direction and superintend~nce of such master spirits as Grandpierre and Audeber and Frederick Monod, of more than one .of whom we can write with the recollection of personal friendship, who combined, in a remarkable degree, the gift of eloquence with glowing zeal, geniality of spirit, and practical wisdom. There was labor in the mission house without weariness. Every hour had its a prescribed work. Exegetical theology held large place in the ·curriculum of study, for men such as Monod had sat at the feet of Robert Haldane at Geneva, and had learned from his instruction and example the divine art of bringing out the mind of God from a pas- sage of scripture, and to regard this as the highest function of a min- ister of Christ.
The young neophytes were also introduced to some knowledge of those sciences which might be turned to practical account on the mission field. Some of their hours were also spent outside the mis- 'sion house, in visiting the sick and the poor, in experiments in evangelism-as birds learning. the use of their wings-and in acting as hands and helps in the distribution of charity. As months and years rolled on in these congenial services, the thoughts of Eugene Casalis wandered more and more to Africa and its dark millions; he became impatient to go forth and share the toils and conflicts of the mission field. It is possible for the mower to spend too much time in sharp- ening his scythe. The unanimous voice of the directorate in the mission house at length said to him, "Go." It was a welcome sound,' as that of the trumpet to the war horse. On October 18, 1832, he was solemnly ordained by assembled presbyters to the office of a minister and missionary of Jesus Christ, his friend and pastor, M. Pyt, who had foreseen and foretold his destiny, and left on him the ·deep impress of his own noble character, fitly presiding at the laying ·on of hands.
A few weeks were spent by him in a visit to his parents in the old home at Orthes, there being a wise aITangement, however, that their intercourse should not be darkened by allusions to his departure till the hour for farewell was near at hand, for so strong was the impres- .sion in those earlier days that the separation would be for life, that the "A1( ;evoir" was usually pronounced with the finger pointed to heaven, as if there must be the next place of meeting. We give a few :sentences of the young missionary's own account of his parting, in which the self-denial and bravery of his venerable mother shines nobly out: "The horses were brought before the door of our house at four o'clock in the morning. After a prayer, mingled with sobs, there began a scene which I can only compare to that of the supreme separation at the moment of death. My father, my brother, my sisters were overwhelmed. My mother alone had power to speak. Seeing I was overcome, she cried, 'Courage, my son, it is for yonI' God. Go without regret; commit yourself to Him. I know that He will take care of you.' "
On November 11, 1832, Eugene Casalis sailed from London for South Africa, the appointed scene of his mission, having associated with him M. Arbousset, a young minister like-minded with himself in his French vivacity and spirit of perseveringendllrance, and Gosselin, a Christian artizan without culture, but to whom educated men delighted to listen because of his practical sagacity and openhearted piety, and who was to prove himself a priceless· acquisition. After a few days of sickness, these young heralds sought to increase thcir equipment for their sacred work by reading and study, mingled with much prayer and with hymn-singing, in which they remembered the example of Christian David and his two Moravian brethren, a. century before, sailing to Greenland and standing at nightfall on the stern of the vessel and singing those hymns which once had echoed on Moravian hills. But these congenial exercises were disturbed by more than rude adventure-a great deal more pleasa~t in the retro, spect than in the experience. For several days their too small and overladen schooner was visited by a tremendous storm, which swept the deck of its hencoops and bulwarks and every other movable thing, and drove thA vessel far out of its course. At a later period in their voyage, when they were away out of the usual sea-path and in unkuown waters, a pirate ship hovered near them and its ruffian crew were only at length scared away by the bustle of preparation and the signs of defiance which they saw in their coveted prize. And even when they were within sight of the harbor of Cape Town, and could hear the sonnd of the lowing of oxen and the crowing of cocks, and the vessel had begun to graze on some sunken rocks, it was only as if by a hair's-breadth they escaped shipwreck. It was with hearts overflowing with thankfulness that they trod at length on the soil of Africa, and saw the noble form and heard the cheering welcome of Dr. Philip, the superintendent of the missions of the London Missionary Society in the Cape Coiony, whose heart and home were open to missionaries of every name alld from every land, whether going forth to work or returning after years of earnest. toil to a season of wellmerited and needed r('~t.
But what was the astonishment of Casalis and his associates to be told, when the unwelcome news could no longer be withheld from them, that the misRion which they had come to reinforce and enlarge had, during the very time when they were at sea, been broken up and ruined! A period of despondency followed, in which everything seemed to be covered with mystery and gloom. Table Mountain, with its dark summit rising before them 5,000 feet high, appeared to represent the impassable barrier which rose between them and the enterprise about which they had been dreaming such fond dreams. They did not all at once see that God had another plan for them which was betttr than theirs, and that, instead of building on another man's foundation, they were destined to found a new mission in a region whose very name was yet unknown to them-where the foot of European had never trodden; and that within little more than one generation hundreds of thousands would be gathered by them and their fellow-workers into the fold of Christ. But their depression of SpIrIt was temporary. Even their youth and sanguine temperament, with the counsel and good cheer of the Christian circle which surrounded them, did much to lighten their burden, while believing prayer was the most powerful factor of all, and in no very long time they were able to say, "'Vho art thou, 0 great mountain? Before our Zerubbabel-a plain." Short visits to some of the mission stations which were within convenient reach of Cape Town strengthened their missionary impulses, and within a few weeks they were busy with preparations for a long journey into the interior, not doubting that an unseen heavenly guide would make their way plain before them, and in due time point out to them the chosen sphere of their life work. Large wagons were provided, especially one which for weeks to come was to be the habitation and conveyance of the missionaries. There were many teams of oxen which were to draw the lumbering vehicles along the desert path, with skilled teamsters and a band of Christian Hottentots for servants, and every necessary thing in the form of food and clothing, and guns and powder, and corn and flower seeds, and medicine and books, was stored in the wagons' capacious folds. We imagine them ploughing their way, sometimes through loose sand, and at other times over solid ground carpeted by the beautiful mimosa flower and heaths. The farmsteads of colonists, widely separated from each other, were at rare intervals seen in the distance; and startled flocks of antelopes and ostriches fled at their approach. There was a strong Christian element in this mingled company, so that the teamsters and Hottentot servants most willingly joined in the never-failing evening worship. M. Casalis mentions again and again the remarkable gift of singing possessed by the Hot… tentots: "The women have voices of an incomparable range of flexibility, and in the tenor or bass, which the men render in perfect harmony, there is an element of veiled emotion which profoundly moves the heart." This, no doubt, added to the attraction of the family worship in the desert with which the evenings were closed. Another custom of those dark-hued attendants greatly interested the good missionaTies: two hours before daybreak it was their uniform practice to rise and each one for himRelf to pray, and then to return to rest-all this for the purpose of securing themselves against hurry or disturbance in their simple devotions. 'Within twelve days they reached the Orange river, which at the place of crossing was a thous- and feet broad and at least five feet deep. It was with almost in- credible difficulty, and only after doubling the number of their teams of oxen, that they succeeded in crossing the great river. Here was another landmark which they had reached, for they were now outside the boundaries of civilized government, and had entered upon the region of heathenism, whose thick darkness was scarcely mitigated by one ray of Christian light.
A few hours' travel from the river's brink brought the missionar- ies and their company to Philippolis, a little embryo town which was to be prominent in their recollection ever afterwards, because it was the place where Providence would begin to unveil to them their future, and, as it were, lead them visibly by the hand to the seene of their life-ministry which he had chosen for them. The sealed letters were now to be opened. It happened in this wise. They had not been many hours in Philippolis when they were accosted by a mulatto, farmer, Adam Krotz, who eked out his regular income, and at the same time gratified his passion for adventure, by the hunting of antelopes, taking long detours over hundreds of miles. On learning who these strangers were, and what was their errand, his countenance brightened with a new interest. He told them of Basuto Land, of its king, whom he had met with not long before in one of his hunting excursions, who had a strong desire to have missionaries sent into his country, and had even drawn from Krotz a promise that if ever such men came in his way he would use all his influence and persuasion to induce them to choose his country as the scene of their sacred toils. Krotz added that he was truly glad to fulfil his engagement to the great Basuto chief, and promised that, on condition of their accompanying him on the hunting expedition on which he was about to enter, he would both be their guide and protector on the journey, and prepare their way by sending friendly messengers before them. The astonished missionaries distinctly read in all this the finger of God, and were ready to say with Eliezer of Damascus, "I being in the way,. the Lord led me," and though the time of their journeyings was ·likely to be lengthened by such an arrangement, they yielded to this. inconvenience for the sake of the greater benefit they would derive from this man's knowledge, friendship and guidance.
Certainly, if the patience of these devoted missionaries was sorely tried before their guide and counseller had secured his complement of meat, dried skins and horns, they had abundant opportunity of improving their knowledge of natural history; for, in additiop to the gentle antelope, the whole hunting ground which they were traversing abounded with baboons and panthers and lions and other beasts of prey. At length deliverance came, and at the end of four weeks of waiting they had crossed the boundaries of Basuto Land. The good men could not help smiling as they. remembered how, in the maps which they had bought in Paris, the whole of this region had been marked as sandy and level, for they had not travelled many miles inward when they found themselves standing at the foot of a moun- tain several thousand feet in height. As. they journeyed onward, a local chief having been apprised of their approach sent theIl down from his mountain fastness a present of milk and boiled maize, which they hailed as a token for good. Meanwhile, messengers were sent forward by the indefatigable Krotz, to inform the king of their movements and to bespeak his royal welcome. As they proceeded on their journey, they were struck with the unmistakable signs of recent battles which appeared in many places-in broken walls, and ruined villages, and desolated gardens, and battle-fields strewn with remnants of the dead. Already we may imagine the prayer to have ascended from their full hearts that their mission might be blessed as the messengers of the Prince of Peace.
On reaching the foot of the mountain on which stood the palace of King Moshesh,they scarcely had time to unyoke their wearied oxen and to pitch their tent, when the king's sons appeared scampering on horses at full speed to convey the salutations of their royal father. Early on the following day the missionaries ascended the mountain by a precipitous and winding path to return the monarch's s!1lutations. 'l'hey were received in a spacious court, enclosed by lofty palisades, into which Moshesh descended from his palace accompanied by his queen and their one little boy, whom they both fondly caressed. We give M. Casali's first impressions of the Basuto king in ~is own words: "The chief bent upon me a look at once majestic and benevolent. His profile, much more aquiline than that of the generality of his subjects, his well-developed forehead, the fulness and regularity of his features, his eyes a little weary, as it se~med, but full of intelligence and softness, made a deep impression on me. I felt at once that I had to do with a superior man, trained to think, to command others, and, above all, to 'command himself. After we had looked an instant at each other in sitence, he rose and said, 'Lumela, lilchoa' (Welcome, white man), and I replied by holding out my hand to him, which he took without hesitation." The king's looks expressed even more kindness than his words.
On the next day the king, attended by some of his chiefs, came down from his mountain to dine with the strangers. It must be acknowledged that the contents of their larder did not supply "a dainty dish to set before a king." But the time was 'urgent, and nothing could be done or even attempted until they knew more of the ruler's mind. With Krotz as his interpreter, the missionary explained to. the king the end of their mission, in promoting the religious as well as the material good of his people, and asked for his protection and help in
WOMAN'S WORK FOR WOMAN
their enterprise of love. The answer was, in some respects, wonderful, as coming from a heathen king who knew nothing of Christianity except what he had vaguely heard of its beneficent effects, and would have graced the lips even of a Christian monarch: "~ly heart is white with joy," replied the chief. "Your words are great ~nd good. It is enough for me to see your clothing, your arms, and the rolling houses in which you travel, to understand how much intelligence and strength you have. You see our desolation. The country was full of inhabitants. 'Val's have devastated it. Multitudes have perished; others are refugees in foreign lands. I remain almost alone on this rock. I have been told that you can help us. You promise to do it. That is enough. It is all I want to know. Remain with us. You will instruct us. 'Ve will do all you wish. The country is at your disposal. 'Ve can go through it together and you shall choose the place 'which will best suit you."
Here was the charter of their liberty and privilege given without parchment, or signature, or seal, but never violated in one iota by the king'..:; acts. A great and effectual door was opened before those men of God, and they were not slow to enter in. But we must reserve for another paper some notices of the first years of these devoted laborers, of their principles and methods of actions, and of the glorious and ever-increasing fruits which crowned their ministries of faith and love and patience during the next fifty years.
WOMAN'S 'YORK FOR WOMAN.
BY 1<'. I". ELI~I~WOOD, D.D., NE'V YORK.
The New Testament sounded the key-note of woman's emancipation from the tyranny of old custom!';, and welcomed her to a share in the active service of redemption. The old dispensation had given a promise which cheered evelT Hebrew mother's heart with hope, and llere and there, as in the sto~ies ~f Hannah and Ruth and Esther, appeared beautiful illustrations of what woman's influence might accomplish in the world. But outside of the Jewish Church, the worst elemcnt in the darkness of heathenism was the oppression of the female sex.
The very fact that woman was specially honored in the advent of the Messiah seemed to presage a new and more ample sphere for her influence. The two sisters at Bethany, instead of being hidden away like the inmates of a lHoslem harem and forbidden to share the blessings of the Saviour's visits, seem to havc had the same intimate acquaintan~e and friendship with their brother's guest that would be accorded to the wives or sisters of a modern Christian home. Dorcas was as free and as efficient iIi her Christian aetivities as any modern president of an orphan asylum or a woman's home. Priscilla taught theology when crude and uninstructed young missionaries needed further training; and of all the men and women in the church in Cenchrea, Phrebe alone was immortalized by her Chris- tian service.
It must have been a matter of disappointment to Paul, when he crossed the Hellespont and entered Philippi, that he did not receive a welcome from that "man of Macedonia" whom he had seen in his VISIOn. But the only welcome he found was in a woman's prayer- meeting by the river side, and Lydia, a woman of affairs and of ag- gressive Christian influence, became his hostess and his chief patron.
As for the men of Macedonia, his first encounter was with a sordid syndicate who were making merchandise of the wild vagaries of a de- mented girl. She had been restored ana cOllverted and their business was ruined, and in consequence Paul was mobbed. The last chapter ·of the Epistle to the Romans shows how extensive and how free was woman's work in the church at Rome.
In the days of martyrdom woman bore her part in heroic courage and in suffering unto death. In Carthage and in Rome, in far off France, and wherever the long struggle of Christianity with heathen- ism was waged, the delicate forms of women and of girls were tor- tured and mangled for their faith. In hundreds of instances also woman, who in the bloody invasions of savage tribes was spared from carnage only to be borne into slavery, became a herald of the Cross. Even in the courts of savage kings we find her the centre and source of gospel light. The conversion of Vladimir of Russia through his Byzantine wife was a case in point.
In no country has woman's early influence in the propagation of the faith been more remarkable than in France and Britain. Clovis on the eve of. battle vowed that if victory should be given him he would thereafter worship the God of his Christian wife, Clotilda. Tl~e victory was won and in pursuance of his vow he was baptized with three thousand of his court and his army. It has been truly said that not merely Clovis and his army were baptized, but a great empire and the whole civilization and destiny of Western Europe.
When the rude Saxons of Britain were to be reclaimed, and that Christianity which their savagery had well-nigh trodden out on the shores of Kent was to be restored, the way was opened by a Chris- tian princess of Burgundy, who in her marriage to the King of Kent had stipulated that she should be free to worship the true God and His Christ. Canterbury was really founded by Queen Bertha, who prepared the way for Augustine and his monks.
In the modern movement of Christian benevolence the women of the Roman Catholic Church were earlier in the field than those of the Protestant churches, but they worked under the rules and restrictions of conventual orders. It is quite to the credit of Rornanism that its ,sisterhoods have in modern times been mobilized for active service at home and abroad. Though the missionary idea in the Roman Catholic Church is that of a celibate priest, yet the Sisters of Charity go in groups to all lands, and their hospitals and orphanages rise up as- by magic wherever human suffering is found. Only praise and com- mendation can be given to the self.denying devotion with which this' noble work is done.
But a far better development of woman's work in missions and in all benevolence is that which has been shown in Protestant Christen- dom within the last quarter of a century-better, first, because it is freeer; second, because it aims at the subsidizing, not of a professional class, but of all Christian womanhood for the work of Christ; and third, because the example and influence of the married and unmar- ried women of Protestant missions are more positive than that of iso- lated sistel'hoods. 'fhey illustrate the home-of which China and India know nothing-instead of the convent, which Buddhism already has; and they give stronger emphasis to the freedom which all women should claim.
It may be said that on the home side the woman's work of Pro- testantism does not in fact subsidize all the talent and moral power of Christian womanhood in the Church. This is, indeed, too true, but its tendency is in that direction; that is its ideal and its aim, and in no other one enterprise has so large a portion of its membership, male or female, been enlisted as in woman's missionary work. We have observed the growth and operations of women's foreign missionary societies. for the last twenty years, and have been more and more impressed by their stability in organization and their advance in efficiency and power.
In all Protestant churches the impulse is one and universal. Sus- picions, doubts, and fears which conservative men entertained at the outset have disappeared. No denomination would think of dispensing with this potent auxiliary force. It were difficult ~o say whether its success abroad, great as it is, or its reflex power at home, has been the greater.
The late Dr. Mullens, of the I,ondon Missionary Society, main- tained that, as a uniform law, home charities of every kind had grown out of the broader and deeper movements that had been stirred by . the spectacle of woman's debasement in heathen lands. He traced nearly all the societies for evangelization in Great Britain to the antecedent impulse which arose about the beginning of the century to give the gospel to distant lands.
'Vhatever may have been the facts in England, it is certain that the great tide of sympathy which first sprang up in the hearts. of American women for their enslaved sisters in the zenanas of India has inured to the good of our own frontier settlements and of the freedmen in the South. The women of the churches never before so fully realized their power or were so disposed to use it in all earnest service for Christ and humanity.
The movement was timely for more reasons than one. (1.) It arose at a time when the zenana system had begun to be questioned, and teachers were demanded to instruct ignorant and neglected wives. The door opened just as the messengers arose-as in the case of Cornelius and Peter. (2.) The movement was called for at a time when the women of America had just learned something of their united strength in their efforts for the relief of our wounded soldiers. (3.) This work in foreign missions came forward at a time when there were many bereft and bleeding hearts which needed the care, and through care the solace, which the service of the Great Sympathizer so often presents. From its very beginning it has proved a resource to many a widowed soul who in deep sorrow was wondering for what object her life was still prolonged. (4.) The movement came at a time when, in the North at least, American womanhood was beginning to feel the influence of an unexampled reign of wealth and luxury. Steadily for the last twenty-five years money has been growing in social power, and more and more asserting itself as an aim in life. Old standards of estimate-knowledge, culture, characterhave lost ground before the influence of the" gold basis," and the temptation to worldliness and display has been greater than in any previous period of our history, or, perhaps, any history. The" social c,olumns" of the secular press have fed the flame of this craze for wealth, and certain classes of magftzines have made it a special aim to cater to the unwomanly ambition for money. Some months ago one of our popular montl)lies gave the public an article on "The Rich Women of America." Several portraits were given, with the names. Some were marriageable young heiresses! It is vulgar enough for men to parade their money-bags or have others do it for them, but to drag down woman from the purity and dignity of her true character and place her in the arena for such a show, and especially to advertise heiresses, is demoralizing alike to womanhood and to manhood, and seems to point already to social and national decay.
Fortunately the counter-movement in behalf of missions and other forms of Christian benevolence has in many cases interposed a wholesome check to this unhallowed ambition. Side by side with this rush of worldliness and display, and often across its current, there has gone forth an influence that was elevating and ennobling. There are multitudes, even among the wealthy, who have learned that there is something higher than empty display, and who have instilled into the minds 6f their daughters aspirations for practical sympathy with the wants and woes of the world. In many a family of wealth the counterbalancing influence of the missionary interest has been welcomed as a safeguard. With it has come a wide range of information concerning lands and peoples and institutions which would not otherwise have been gained. If nothing else had resulted from woman's work in missions, its educational influence in families, the better impulses with which it has enriched and ennobled womanhood, the widespread altru- istic spirit which now shows itself in Zenana bands, Christian Endeavor Societies, or among the Daughters of the King, would repay a hundred fold all that has been expended.
N or has its influence been confined to the female sex. The prayers which have been offered for nearly a generation in Christian homes, the increased intelligence, the glow of ennobling enthusiasm, have affected sons as well as daughters. What wonder that there are thousands of young men now rising up and offering themselves for the mission fields! Recently, when the brave and dauntless Mackay fell at his post in the Uganda lVIission, and the sudden call came to England for others to take his place, nine volunteers at once presented themselves.
On the foreign field t.he supplement of this home interest is found in hundreds and even thousands of women, married or unmarried, who in school or .zenana work, in the hospital and the dispensary, are exerting a quiet but N,tent influence which no computation can measure. It comes not" with observation." The change wrought in the surrounding community is one thing accomplished. It gradually refutes and destroys the Oriental theories of woman's sphere. The conscious dignity of woman appearing in utmost freedom in the home, in the school, or worshipping in the mixed assembly, breaks down old prejudice, and rebukes the blind cOllceit of men who, in enslaving woman, have blighted their own happiness and destroyed the welfare of their families.
But the most important factor in this regeneration is the training of thousands of the young to ideas and usages and degrees of inte1ligence which are at war with the' old customs and superstitions. The simple truth is that in countries like India and Japan the sentiment of the best classes is already revolutionized, the miraculous victory is already won. The only difficulty is that those who are convinced are loth to acknowledge the sources of the new influence. They are jealous of the foreigner and of his foreign creed. They are slow to acknowledge the defeat of their ancient faith and customs. They would like to adopt the new cult, but with their own ancient labels. But intelligence in woman they are beginning to prize.
Two or three years ago, when four Hindu girls graduated with full honors at Calcutta University, they were publicly applauded by high Goyernment officials, and the fact was pointed out that the upper strata of Hindu society were being transformed by the influence of just such events. This is precisely the meaning of the ready and eager patronage which is given by high Brahman families to the 8cho010f
1890.j THE SUPERNATURAL FACTOR IN MISSIONS
Ramabai in Bombay. And the same thing is illustrated in the female seminary with four hundred high caste girls, which is carried on under the patronage of the Maha Rani of Mysore. India, in her pride, is not yet ready to acknowledge that the new order of things has sprung from the influence of missionaries and of other Christian women, but God knoweth His own, and the benign influences which have been exerted quietly, as the falling of the raindrop and the snow-flake shall not return unto Him void, but shall accomplish' that whereunto He hath sent them.
'l'HE SUPERNATURAL FACTOR IN MISSIONS.
[EDITORIAL.-A. T. P.] Eliminate God from missions and yon have nothing left but a llUman enterprise; all the grandeur and glory are gone; for the one supreme charm and fascination of this work is that, in idea and plan, in origin and progress, it is divine.
Nothing is more noticeable than the peculiar emphasis laid upon the supernatural factor in worId-wide missions thi'oughout the scripture. We say throughout, for, in Old Testament and New 'l'estament alike, the conception of world-wide missions may be found. The idea was not novel, even at the outset of Christian history. In the prophe- Cies and prayers of holy men of old,whether in the.De Profundis and Miserere of pathetic lamentation and warning, or the In Excelsis of exultant praise and promise, like the deep undertone of mighty waters, we hear the wondrons intimation of a coming day when the kingdoms of the world shall become the one kingdom of the Messiah. As far back as the opening of Genesis, the first promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, is generic. It is a promise for the race of man as such. Satan had bruised the heel of the Adamic race and in the person of the second Adam that race was to bruise the serpent's head. Abraham was the great father of an elect family, yet, as the second great period of Messianic promise opens in his call and separation, we hear again the prophecy of a universal blessillg: "In Thee shall all the families ofthe earth be blessed." Further on, as we pass from one epoch to another, we never fail to find this world-wide blessing emphasized. The Psalmist, breathing a prayer of profounder meaning than he knew, pleads that the whole earth may be filled with God's glory, and predicts that all nations shall call Him blessed. Prophets tal{e up the strain, and foretell a day when "in every place incense shall be offered unto His name, and a pure offering;" when Messianic blessings shall be as widespread as the wings of the day, which touch, as those of the cherubim touched the walls of the Holy of Holies in the Temple, the remotest east and west, from the rising to the setting of the SUIl.
In that great Messianic and missionary Psalm (lxxii.), whose full radiance is only manifest, like a jeweled cavern, when the "Light of the World" is set in it to interpret its hidden beauties, there occurs a most significant doxology: "Blessed be Jehovah God, The God of Israel, WHO ONLY DOETH WONDROU,S TIDNGS!"
The connection associates .this doxology, by an obvious link, with the body of the Psalm, as though the inspired singer, who foretells this supernal glory of the Messiah's coming and world-wide reign, foresees that all this can be brought about only by the wonder-working God to whom nothing is impossible. The Holy Ghost, moving in the soul, inspires this outburst of adoring praise as a tribute to the grand truth and fact that no future historic development is to display God's power so unmistakably as the history of Christian missions. And so it is. Looking back now over a century of modern missions, the century of organized effort to spread the good tidings everywhere, we can only exclaim, "What hath GOD wrought !" Even sceptical disciples have been c9nstrained to say, like Pharaoh's magicians, "Truly this is the finger of God!"
It may be profitable to trace this supernaturalisn;t a little in detail. The thirteenth chapter of the Acts opens with a divine call to the laborers. As the prophets and teachers in the Antiochan Church were leading the church in holy ministrations and fasting, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." This is the first step in organized foreign missions. Let us remember that the initial foreign mission tour'was undertaken at the special command of the Holy Spirit. However the Church may have separated these two original foreign missionaries and sent them forth, they are expressly declared to have been separated and sent forth by the Holy Ghost. Here, then, is the supernatural factor as the basis of mission work. God, by the Holy Ghost, calls, appoints, anoints and thrusts forth into the harvest field His chosen workmen.
Now observe that, when from this tour which begins and ends at Antioch, they returned, they "gathered the church together," and "rehearsed all that GOD had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles" (xiv. 27). Subsequently, Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem to the first Church council. Being brought on their way by the Church, they pass through Phenicia and Samaria, "declaring the conversion of the Gentiles," magnifying the divine power and grace. Then when they are at J erusalem they declare unto the Church with the apostles and elders "all that God had done with them." Peter, in his address, magnifies God. It is He who .made choice of Peter as the apostle of the keys to open -the doors of the Kingdom to Jew and Gentile. It is He who chose disciples from among the Gentiles, granted them repentance, and put no -difference between them and Jews, purifying their hearts by faith. And when Barnabas and Paul again address the people, a deep hush of silence shuts the multitude in like a canopy, as with awe they give audience, while these missionaries deelare "what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them."
How could there be any more express, explicit, emphatic recognition of the supernatural factor of missions? Here is no parading of .church life, of organization, method, human power, gifts, learning, tact, or even devotion and self-sacrifice. God alone is put before us. He fills the whole horizon. If, in the course of this mission tour, any man has been visible or prominent, now that they have "come down from the mountain," they see "no man save Jesus only." The Holy Spirit calls, separates, sends forth the workers; God opens the door of access to the nations, and then opens the door of their hearts to faith. He bears them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, and purifying their hearts; and, in a word, the whole story of this mission tour is one of miracles and wonders which God has wrought. "They _went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following."
That short history is the perpetual type and prophecy of worldwide missions. They are to be carried on solely in dependence on God. We are to depend on Him to select and separate unto the work His chosen servants. We are to depend on Him to open the doors of access and approach to the nations. Weare to rely on Him to attend the word spoken with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. We must depend on Him to convert men. We may evangelize, but we cannot by all our ~fforts secure one convert. From fil:st to last the whole work must be of God, and only as He is in it and through it can it be saved from disastrous failure.
vVhen we open the New Testament, and read the last command of Christ, we find the commision of the Church prefaced and followed by a remarkable and significant declaration and an equally remarkable and significant promise: "All power is given unto Me In Heaven and in earth.
Go YE THEREFORE AND DISCIPLE ALL NATIONS.
And lof I am with you alway, Even unto the end of the world."
Is it any accident that this command is buttressed, front and rear, by such divine endouragements? First our Lord declares His own omnipotence; then His omnipresence; and between these He puts the great commission of the Church. What means this but that His righteousness shall go before us, and His glory shall be our rere-ward when we dare in His name to do our duty to a dying world, and march forth to subdue that world unto Him! 'fhe Acts of the Apostles is the historic illustration of the duty undertaken and of the promise enjoyed. Here the philosophy of missions teaches by examples. From first to last this book is the record of His working who only doeth wondrous things. Here is a period of history covering about thirty or forty yean;, the average lifetime of a generation, as if to show us what one generation of disciples can do toward a world's evangelization when the all-powerful captain oJ the Lord's host leads, and His "everywhere" and" alway" presence is their confidence and support.
The book opens with Pentecost-a miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit which in a moment removes the impassable barrier of unknown languages and enable!:! each man to hear in his own tongue the wonderful works of God. If Babel's confusion of tongues was a miracle, surely the reversal of Babel-the resolving of that confusion into order-is a counter miracle, and the record of that wonder working of God at the very beginning of that book is highly significant. The book of the Acts stands in the New Testament as the book of Joshua does in the Old. The latter is the account of the wars of Israel against the Canaanites; the former of the wars of the Church against the enemies of God; and in both the introduction is the record of a stupendous miracle. Jericho's walls fall without a blow struck or an engine of war employed; on the day of Pentecost the walls of strange speech instantaneously fall, and make representatives of the farthest cardinal points at once open to the message of the gospel. Can any thoughtful reader overlook the purport and purpose of that miracle? It stands at the very door of the history, like a sentinel at a gate, or a signal flag flying from a turret. It is the interpreter of the whole Book. The Acts of t,he Apostles are the acts of the Holy Ghost-of Jesus by the Holy Ghost. He is displaying that omnipotence and exhibiting that omnipresence, and the perpetuity of that power and presence is to be the warrant for the perpetuity of Christian missions and the inspiration and encouragement of them.
With profound and solemn conviction we record once more our testimony, after more than a quarter of a century of the study of missionary history and biography, that only from a divine point of view can the mystery of missions be interpreted 01' the significance of missions be appreciated. Higher up than the level of the most selfdenying heroism must we get to command this true horizon; and our constant effort with tongue and pen is to awaken and arouse sluggish believers to behold this march of God and fall into line under His leadership and take up the march with Him.
What He did in the times of the Acts He has been doing in later years. How did modern missions begin as a general movement in the Church? God separated and sent forth such men as Pluts,hau and John Eliot, Schwartz and Kiernander, Ziegenbalg and Zinzendorf~ William Carey and John Williams. Take William Carey as an example. That man can be accounted for only as a miracle of grace. No figure in missions more prominently stands out as the product of divine power. In the eighteenth century evangelical religion in America and in Europe lay dying, like a famished traveler. In France the Huguenots had been either massacred or driven out; in Germany and Holland the Reformed Church was already deformed by Rational- ism; in Britain Ritualism and Moderatism, Arianism and Socinianism, Antinomianism and hyper-Calvinism reduced religious life to a name. In some parts piety was an organized hypocrisy or an empty pretense. Just at this time, 1761, a humble weaver of Paulerspury, who with the loom united the offices of schoolmaster and parish clerk, had a son born to him. ;His boyhood was without special promise. At fourteen he was apprenticed to a Hackleton shoemaker, and entered upon the career of a simple tradesman. But God had chosen that "cobbler" to be the Paul of the new century of missions. He was converted and joined the Baptists at eighteen, and eight years later was ordained as a minister of the gospel.
There was nothing in the" environment" or " heredity" of that young shoemaker to hint his career as a missionary. That was not a mIsSIOnary age. He breathed no missionary atmosphere. The Church at that time denied her obligation to the lost race of man as well as neglected her duty. A distinguished clergyman of the Church of England chose the keenest darts in his quiver of sarcasm and wit to· shoot at the cobbler who proposed to convert the world. His own brethren treated his project with contemptuous indifference orpatronizing pity. And yet from the hour of his conversion there was lit in bis soul a strange flame of desire and purpose to preach the gospel in the regions beyond, for which we can account only by a coal from off a celestial altar.
Behold him, poor, obscure, unlearned, pegging away at a boot, while his eyes wander to an open book in which he is reading of faroff peoples, still farther off from God. See him making a rude m~p of brown paper or sole leather, drawing with cobbler's ink a rough outline of the world and filling it" in with such items of information as he can obtain about the populations and religions of the world, and, by shading the various countries, indicating the comparative degradation and destit.ution of their inhabitants. He was heaping fuel of facts on the flame of his zeal until the fire spread to a conflagration and consumed him as it consumed his Master before him. 1784 comes, and under his leadership the" monthly concert of prayer for the world's conversion" begins. Now, for the first time since the days of Pentecost, the Church organizes prayer to God for world-wide missions. From tile fires kindled in William Carey's soul God lights new flames on church altars until they spread over the whole of evangelical Christendom, and on the first Monday of the month there is a ring of prayer girdling the globe!
The next great step is the formation of a missionary society at Kettering in 1792. That same William Carey is again chosen to lead the way. It is this sanctified shoemaker who teaches a lethargic Church to "attempt great things for God and to expect great things from God." Twelve obscure Baptists withdraw to the parlor of the W allis house at Kettering on that 2d of October and draw up a com- pact to organize a society to send the gospel to the heathen. They erect a humble missionary treasury and put in it a trifling sum of thirteen pounds and a half crown sterling; and thus again William Carey is thrust forward by God to lead the Church to organize mis- sions. To-day R. M. Cust, Esq., tells us that there are approaching 250 missionary societies, belting the globe, with almost 7,000 mission- aries from Europe and America, and nearly five times as many who, from converted heathen, Moslem and pagan disciples, have joined them in the work of proclaiming a gORpel of salvation to the lost. To·day the missionary treasuries receive and disburse annually an aggregate sum of over two hundred thousand times the amount laid on the altar of missions on that day in 1792, and all this increase within less than a century!
In 1793 William Carey himself goes forth to India, leading now not in prayer and organization only, but in actual missionary activity -in self giving. He becomes England's first foreign missionary. The Lord of the harvest thrusts forth into His harvest the man of Paulerspury whom He has lleparated unto the work. For a hundred years his example has been the incentive and the inspiration to similar consecration. Thc aggregate number of foreign missionaries who have since 1792 gone into the field is known only to God. No one man has probably the data from which to give that sublime list of men and women who have fallen asleep, or are still living, and who belong to that sacred host; but we believe if that entire roll of living and of dead could be called it would be found to number not less than 25,000! Can any believer look at this missionary century and doubt that this whole work is God's work, who alone d()eth wondrous things?
We have no space, here and now, to carryon this presentation of the supernatural factor in missions. But, were there space and time at command, we should pursue the theme with enthusiasm through volumes.' For the encouragment of others who may be disposed to follow the subject into its fascinating ramifications it may be well to sketch a few of the directions into which the subject branches out, as we think of the divine presence and power in the missions of the Church.
There are two great branches of the theme. First of all, Christ's personal promise, "Lo, I am with you alway," and secondly, what He calls the" Promise of the Father," viz.: "Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you." Between these we are manifestly to distinguish. His own promise is one of His personal, perpetual presence everywhere-at the head of His missionary host, as the general-in-chief at the head of his columns. The angel of the Lord's presence is again acting as Captain of the Lord's host. Such an omni- present, omnipotent chief will of course manifest his invisible pres- ence in three ways: g~tiding, guarding and governing. We are justi- fied in expecting, if the Lord Jesus is at the head of the army of mis- sionaries, that all the movements of the host will be directed by divine wisdom. We shall expect to see a divine strategy exhibited in the whole plan of the campaign; to see movements all along the lines- piercing the enemy's centre, turning his staggering wings-now a flank movement; again a surprise in some new quarter; here a fortress taken, and there a rapid advance made into the very heart of his terri- tory. If Christ be at the head of the host we shall not be suprised to see Him exercising His protecting power as well as His directing wisdom. Especially in the crises of His kingdom He will turn the tide of battle in the very gate. When kings conspire to overthrow His Church and to burst His bands of control asunder; when around His elect band that dare for His sake the fight of the few against the many, the powers of darkness gather, He will interpose to defeat their counsels and bring their devices to naught. Has it been so in the history of missions? Look at the little band who have gone to cannibal islands, into the midst of savages, into the heart of hostile kingdoms surrounded by malignant foes. How wonderfully have they been preserved! Many have fallen because their blood was to be the seed of new churches, and their martyr testimony was needful as a witness for Christ. But who is He that sends forth His great army of locusts, who despatches famine, pestilence, drought to act as His evangelists and prepare the way of the Lord? Who is He that, when Sultan Mahmud had ordered the expulsion of all missionaries from the Turkish empire in 1839, sent death to cut off the tyrant and annul his decree; and who, when the King of Siam, twelve years later, plotted to dislodge all the missionaries from his kingdom, again sent the angel of His wrath to break the conspiring monarch as with a rod of iron and dash him in pieces like a potter's vessel!
Has the Captain of the Lord's host manifested Himself as the governing, controlling power behind missions? To answer this question we must command a wide prospect. The whole century has been full of new developments, which have been so much beyond all human devising as to present a series of surprises to the Church herself. God saw that, in order to the success of missions, there must be an awakened Church, an organized plan, a consecrated band, systematic giving, women associated, children devoted, new enterprise. a return to apostolic faith, covenant prayer and world-wide effort. And right along these lines has the Captain of the Lord's host been exercising His providential oversight. As a new emergency has. arisen a new interposition has been evident. The Church has found in every crisis a higher hand controlling. From every period of despondency or discouragement the faithful few who enter into the secret place have risen to new endeavor and in!lpiration by " beholding the works of the Lord."
But what shall we say of the Promise of the Father'! That again manifestly involves three things, for the work of the Holy Ghost is. seen in salvation, sanctification and service. If the promise of the Father has been falfiUed we shall find throughout the history of mis– sions that God has been exhibiting His grace as He has also His. proviilence. He has separated' and sent forth servants, then He has. accompanied their work with saving power, and, from the converts gathered, again sanctified and separated new workmen for His king– dom.
How has it been? Marvellous as have been the interpositions of Providence, the signs of the Captain of the Lord's h<lst, guarding, guiding, governing-still more wonderful have been the interpositions of grace-appointing and anointing workmen, subduing and saving souls, and reforming and transforming entire communities. Here our pen halts-in the very perplexity of the exuberant abundance of matter that claims at least a passing reference. Again we say, the whole story of modern missions is a new book of the Acts of the Apostles; and there was not a sign, wonder, miracle of grace in the apostolic. age of missions which in its measure is not characteristic of the moile1'n missionary age! From the time that William Carey went to India, Adoniram Judson to Burmah, Robert Morrison to China, J ustin Perkins to Persia, Robert Moffatt to Africa, Nott to Tahiti, Dober' to the West Indies, Eliot to the North American Indians, there have been, in one grand series, miracles of grace among the highest and the lowest alike. Sometimes a thousand have been born in a day;_ sometimes whole communities and even nations transformed; sometimes Christianity has become the law of the land, and idols, once in every house, have not been found even as curios and relics! Theadamant wall of caste, the iron wheel of transmigration, the brazen fetters of Moslem bigotry, the hopeless thraldom of Fetichism, have alike proved powerless to oppose the simple gospel of Christ. The investigator may follow any devoted missionary of the century intoany field of labor, however unpromising, and he will find that instead of the thorn has come up the fir tree; and instead of the brier has. come up the myrtle-tree; and this displacement of noxious and vicious growths in the soil of society by beautiful and fragrant trees and plants which show the "planting of the Lord" becomes, when
1890.J MORMON PROSELYTISM
other signs fail that had a temporary.purpose, "ttOD'S ll:VERLASTING SIGN THAT SHALL NOT BE CUT OFF."
That sign has been found and will be found wherever the gospel is faithfully proclaimed 1;0 the lost. And ~n this day the wilderness and solitary place are to be made glad and blossom as the rose. The field is the world-the seed is the Word of God; the seed is also the children of the kingdom. The Church has only to go throughout the field and sow both the seed of the Word and the seed of holy lives, and we may calmly and confidently leave the result with Him, who, whatever agencies He may employ, is, after all, the Husbandman, and the harvest will never fail. Even the apparent scarcity of the seed and the vastness of the field need not discourage us. He knows how to make the seed bring forth thirty, sixty and even a hundred fold. Missionary histor¥ both demonstrates and illustrates how the most desperately hopeless fields, with the most inadequate force of workmen and supply of material, have yielded the most amazing harvest and- often with such rapidity that the plowman is overtaken by the reaper. Are we yearning for new signs of God's presence and power in human affairs? Here is the grand sphere for such manifestations. He is ready, willing, rich in grace. All we have to do is to go everywhere-break up the fallow ground, scatter the seed of the Kingdom, in faith, in prayer, in tears, in hope; and heavenly dews and showers, with the beams of the Sun of Right~ousness, will make sure the fruits of a divine husbandry!
MORMON PROSELYTISM. BY REV. D. L. LEONARD, BELLEVUE, OHIO. To some it may seem an unwarrantable proceeding, an act bordering upon the profane, to use the pages of 'l'HE MISSIONARY REVIEW to set forth the methods and the achievements of the Mormon propaganda. And, indeed, it is setting such matters in far better company than they deserve. But facts are stubborn things, and certain facts, though unpalatable, we are in duty bound to consider. Fas est ob hoste aoce'l'i. 'fhen no feature of Mormonism is more characteristic. Not to understand its aims and modes of working in this particular is to omit from the great tragedy the part of Hamlet. Besides, taking note of the aggressive campaigns of the elders-so many, so difficult, so full of hardship and peril, we shall be persuaded that thpy are not wholly false-hearted and deceivers, but possessed of large measures of sincerity and zeal, and we can also more readily understand how this sect, so mongrel and outlandish, so fraught with folly, and so stained with serious offences agaim;t the moral law, has so marvellously spread and endured. But more than this, we are to consider one of the most startling and most forbidding religious phenomena in the civilized world in the current centu~. Beyond question the Latter-day Church has sent out more missionaries and made more converts in proportion to the number of its adherents than any other, in this respect far surpassing even the Moravian Church, whose name is a synonym for evangelizing zeal. Nothing less than world-wide dominion was in the eye of Joseph Smith from the start.
The church was organized in April of 1830, and in October four of the neophytes were commissioned to carry the infant gospel from New York to the Indians upon the extreme Western frontier, while in June following thirty took their journey towards the same remote region. In 1831 about as many more were named "by revelation" to make a preaching tour from Ohio to the Eastern, Southern and Western "countries" in part, while the rest were to "ask the Comforter" whither they should bend their steps.
. In 1837 in all 139 took the field, of whom 109 starting together were divided into eight companies, and were ordered to travel towards as many principal points of the compass. In 1844 every ·Congressional district in the Union was visited and canvassed by its share of a troop numbering in all 334. In 1852 Salt Lake witnessed the departure at one time of 109 missionaries destined to seventeen countries, and most of them in the Old World. In 1857 no less than 350 left the Great Basin, while for two decades about 200 was the annual average. For years together upwards of 400 were kept constantly abroad, and in all from the beginning not far from 5,000 American elders have been chosen and sent forth, with enough of native auxiliaries to raise the average to 100 a year.
As to results, within a few weeks of the organization of the church in Seneca County, N. Y., a branch was formed in Broome County, 100 miles away, and before the end of the year another in Ohio, and by midsummer of the year after scores of saints ate found in Western Missouri, while at the end of the year converts were abundant in several counties of the Western Reserve, and Cincinnati was blessed with a flourishing branch. Within three years Canada had heard the message, and every State from Maine to Mississippi.
In 1837 emissaries of Smith crossed the Atlantic and opened a door great and effectual in England, and a little later they pushed on to Wales, Scotland, Ireland, to the East Indies, to Australia. In 1840 two doughty crusaders set their faces towards Palestine; while in 1844 the Society Islands, lying in the Central Pacific, were invaded. The year befote his death the "prophet" declared, "I go in for preparing for a mission through the United States, and from Maine to England and to all the countries we wish. If I live I'll take the elders through and make just as big a wake as God Almighty will let me. We must send kings and governors to Nauvoo, and we will do it !"
In 1848 the tide of conquest reached France; Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and the Sandwich Islands in 1850; Germany, Norway, Iceland and Chili in 1851; the Crimea, Burmah and the Cape of Good Hope in 1853; the West Indies, Ceylon and China in 1853; and Turkey and Siam in 1.854, etc. Aggressive faith and zeal had now reached their climax, but all this had come to pass within twenty-five years from the first baptism.
At the close of the first twelvemonth the membership had risen from six to 1,000, eight years later 25,000 saints could be counted, and six years later still, Joseph claimed 150,000 adherents. In Britain for a season baptisms were by the wholesale-entire churches surrendered, preachers and all, and during a period of nearly ten years the annual average of conversions there was upwards of 7,000. After a large emigration to Utah the British church numbered 33,000 in 1852, and the sum of those led captive from first to last can hardly be placed at less than 150,000. In Scandinavian countries the baptisms rose at one time to 2,000 a year, and reach in all about 50,000. An enthusiastic Mormon historian makes the preposterous claim of a round million brought by the elders into the citizenship of Joseph's kingdom! But if his estimate is too large by one half, the results of their labor are sufficiently astounding.
And all the more when we remember that it is their business not only to capture but to deliver the prey at the church headquarters. The undertaking was a bold one when the transfer was but from the Atlantic seaboard to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois. It became tenfold greater when an ocean and a continent must needs be crossed, including the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. Thousands reached ZiQll via New Orleans and the Mississippi and the Missouri to Council Bluffs, and from thence 1,000 miles by wagon or on foot. But such was the grip of religious fear and hope (coupled with the promise of land without cost, and other material benefits) that at least 90,000 have made the long journey from Europe. rrhe high-water mark of emigration was reached in 1856, when 5,000 or more in a single season ascended the Platte and found their way through South Pass into the valley.
A variety of other features characterizing Mormon missions may be summed up in t¥ statement that from the beginning these hierarchs have affected to follow to the very letter all manner of New Testament precept and precedent, and in particular such as are found in our Lord's instructions to the Twelve and the Seventy. It is in this spiritual obedience that the church has always maintained a "quorum" of the twelve apostles, and also an ever-increasing number of seventies, constituting an order in the priesthood, and from which missionaries are commonly s~lected. The idea was reached at an early day that no saint lived for himself, that "the kingdom" had the first and supreme claim, that salvation was largply for the !'lake of service, and that all personal or family considerations must be kept in strict subordination. Every adherent is to hold himself subject to call from the church authorities, and must go wherever sent. To re- fuse is to lose caste and to make one's self an object of suspicion. And thousands have held themselves as passive in the hands of their leaders as ever did any member of the Society of Jesus. The first fashion was to call for volunteers, but little by little a system of drafting was substituted. The number desired is apportioned out among the sev- eral communities, the selection is made by the local authorities, and the names are sent on to the chiefs. If satisfactory these are read off at general conference, and "sustained" by popular vote.
"Without purse or scrip" has ever been the great commandment.
Each one goes at his own charges, and .no matter how great the dam- age to business may be. To pay salaries would be to wickedly imi- tate the ways of the false churches with their "hireling clergy." Let the elder get to his field as best he can. The first seven that crossed the ocean landed at Liverpool without a farthing. Of course they depended wholly for food and shelter upon the people among whom they labored, and in early times great hardships were often endured.
Then, seldom does a saint take a mission alone, but at least two travel and toil together, Still further as of necessity, in strict duty bound, the sick are healed with prayer and oil, and the devils are cast out as an every-day performance, and occasionally the dead are raised.
"These signs shall follow them that believe," is a prophecy whose fulfilment no good Mormon will suffer to fail. Marvels in every way to match the best of monkish legends are on record, such as healing 406 Zunis sick with small-pox by the laying on of hands, and the cast- iug out of 319 devils in Wales, all in one day and by one elder, and in lots of from three to thirty-seven at a time! Also, if their message was not received, woe was duly pronounced. As far back as 1833, one ·Whitney hurled maledictions against guilty Albany, Boston and New York, which latter city was well-ni.gh destroyed by fire only two years after. Shaking off the dust from the feet as a testimony was for a time in vogue, or sometimes it was washing the feet, but soon it was found wise to do this in secret places lest wrath be stirred up.
Mindful of the same injunction nneovtertoknreosw•t inwgiltyh being merely "harmless as -doves," the elders have cast pearls be- fore swine, or offered the strong meat of the gospel to toothless babes.
On the contrary, they have always and most carefully suppressed un- palatable, though fundamental, matters of faith and practice.
Thus was it with polygamy for more than ten years after hundreds had accepted, in very deed. On one occasion the prophet sent out 380 elders to testify far and wide that such a thing had never been heard of in the church. No Jesuit in his best estate was ever ready to lie more shamelessly and withaut limit for the advantage of his order. As an alleged further following of the New Testament, learning has never been held in high esteem as a needed part of preparation for heralding the Mormon gospel. The great business was to "give testimony" to the truth. This in the form of bold, positive assertions was all-sufficient, though proof texts are handled in a fashion fearful .and wonderful. The elders are not chosen because of any intellectual gifts. Most are unlettered, and many are also youthful. But let it not therefore be imagined that they are suffered to depart unprovided with weapons, both defensive and offensive, or untrained in their use. Every boy is a potential missionary, and is regarded as such in the Sunday-school and in the various quorums of the priesthood through which he passes. Presently he has by heart the tenets of the church, the choice texts and arguments for and against, and he is called to use them frequently in public in the presence of his friends. His piece is :not lengthy, he learns it perfectly and can produce it with vigor on short notice.
Strangest feature of all, and certainly a wide departure from even the letter of the gospel, piety is not deemed essential, the moral cha1'- .acter of the messenger is not much taken into account. So there is no .sort of scruple about appointing those whose graces are far below the average. They are called and sent to give them a chance to see the world and to test their courage and skill facing the foe, to deliver them from evil associations and habits, and even to punish them for transgression against church rule. One saint, a saloon keeper, was "'sustained" to go forth and tell of Joseph and the Book, but before the police were advised of the fact he had been arrested for selling liquor on Sunday.
It was a favorite practice with Brigham Young to take revenge upon any who were proud or stubborn, or in any way troublesome, t to break their fortunes and place them where they could do no harm, by sending them to distant and de~olate regions. That is, to remain lllltil penitent, at least until called home; for the traveling elders never go forth for life, but only for a single campaign of a few months ~r years. At first, when the distance to be gone over was not great, there was a continual going and coming. Next the fashion was to make -a summer campaign and spend the winter months studying in the Kirtland "School of the Prophets." Later still, when Salt Lake had become Zion's seat, and a broad stretch of mountain and desert must be crossed, and foreign lands were to be possessed, the rule was fixed -of choosing at the great April Conference, and for a period varying .according to circumstances from one to three years.
And it is worth noting that if this system of limited terms of service, coupled with constant change of men, results in defective work, through the crudeness and inexperienc~ of the toilers, the great advantage ensues as an offset that the tug of spreading the kingdom is distributed to a much larger number, who receive the benefit of exercise and experience, and are commonly bound closer to their faith, while deep interest in missions is easily maintained at home. Every community contains several who have been abroad; one or more have recently taken their departure and presently will return to tell the thrilling story of their adventures.
We have seen that the Mormon elder is expected not only to baptize, but also to bring home his trophies. And a few words concerning the gathering should be added. It was found soon after the Great Basin was reached that Europe was so remote and the difflculties so appalling of a journey from thence, that something potent in the way of impulse must be supplied 01' else the" valleys of the mountains" would never become the abode of the saints. And so the Perpetual Emigration Fund Society was contrived, which ever since 1849 has loaned or given pecuniary assistance to tens of thousands of the indigent. Companies of emigrants have been organized and led through all the long and perilous journey by those who had influence and knew the way. Vessels were chartered, and in later years emigrant trains. upon the railroads, and so the cheapest possible rates were secured. Fifty dollars would pay the passage from Liverpool to Council Bluffs. And then both the spiritual and the carnal were appealed to stimulate the faithful to transfer themselves to Utah. They were to press on at once, not only for heaven, but also for Salt Lake as a· very important station on the road. And success for a season was well-nigh overwhelming. So many ·would flock to Zion that the utmost of available ways and means proved insufficient. And then it was that Brigham in the plentitude of his wisdom hit upon his famous" hand-cart scheme," and announced it as of origin celestial. The saints were to dispense with wagons and almost all worldly goods, and to trudge the entire 1,000 miles from the Missouri, male and female, old and young, and, moreover, each one push before him a cart loaded down with about eighty pounds of baggage, food, etc. The storms should not harm them, their garments should not wax old,. the feeblest should renew his strength, etc. But, alas, the outcome was different. Mishap followed blunder in long succession. Frost. and hunger together beset the poor wretches in the mountains, and scores perished and their bodies became food for wolves.
Even the failures met with by :Mormon missionaries, the limitations which. beset the progress of that church, barriers to its spread found to be impassable, are full of instruction to the student of missions. As the first suggestive fact of this kind, in every case the elders have made their achievements by working up a "boom." Or, the uniform course of things was as follows: Under their preaching a tide of interest would set in, would rise presently to a flood, and then was certain to subside never to lift its front again. Examples are abundant. In Ohio the craze lasted about eight years, reaching a culmination in 1836. Throughout New England and the Middle States conversions were multitudinous from 1830 to 1844, bVt then by the scandal concerning polygamy cea~ed at once and forev'r. In Britain 1840-55 was the period of growth, for the" sealing" prac- tice was long successfully concealed from the saints over the sea, but from the day when, in Brigham's happy phrase, "the cat was let out of the bag," baptism!'! began steadily to diminish. Scandinavian coun- tries were the fruitful field from 1850 to 1870, but since have fallen off at least three-fourths. During the entire period of the operation of the Edmunds law f~wer converts have found their way to Salt Lake than formerly crossed the plains in a single year. Only a few hard-earned gleanings are now gathered in Europe, the Maories of New Zealand have not yet made discovery of the imposture, nor the illiterate mountain whites of the Southern States.
Originally it was understood that the Indians (Lamanites) were to be gathered in by the wholesale. These were the degenerate descendants of certain ancient saints who apostatised, and as a punishment their skins were changed from white to copper color, but brought back to the faith by Joseph's elders, they were again to become "a fair and delightsome people." But, alas, only an inconsiderable number have become the" battle-axes of the Lord." The conversion of the Jews was also to be a leading specialty. The Book of Mormon told of two old-time migrations from Palestine to America. It was learned by revelation that the ten tribes were not lost, but only hidden behind huge ice barriers at the North and busy amassing riches. In due season, said barriers melting, they were to migrate to the Missouri Zion and share their wealth with their brethren. For also it had been ascertained that in the veins of wellnigh every elder of note flowed the pure blood of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, or other of- the sons of Jacob, while every bishop was" a literal descendant of Aaron!" Therefore several expectant delegations were sent to the Holy Land to reconsecrate it and to make ready fo.r the return. Proclamations were sent out to the Hebrews that the set time had come, but for some reason, to this day and to a man, they have remained unbelieving, stiff-necked and uncircumcised _in heart and ears.
The assault upon the ramparts of heathendom was withheld to a date unaccountably and culpably late. Not much was attempted until the fifties were well advanced. But then, as if expecting that polygamy would supply an excellent point d'appui, and to make up for lost time, a cloud of elders went abroad and great things were planned. It was expected that the gift of tongues would give immediate command of every language, and by the ten thousand pagans would bow the knee to Brigham. But not so; the French authorities soon drove his recruiting officers from the Society Islands. In China the Tai-Ping rebellion engrossed the entire attention of the Celes- tials. From Hindostan went home most lamentable accounts of the measureless and unutterable stupidity and depravity of the natives. No' 'honest in heart" could be found. Even the Turks could not be woed and won by the principle of "celestial marriage." And so it was everywhere. As for the 200,000,000 of Africa, and the represen- tatives of the same race in the United States, Mormonism has no mission to them. The negro may be baptized if he seeks such salva- tion, but may not under any considerations be admitted to the pri~st hood, or receive the "endowment." For it appears that all black bodies are inhabited by spirits who, in that great war in heaven, took sides neither for nor against Jehovah but were neutral in the strife. So the curse is on them, and the church is bound to see that it is not removed.
Attempts to make converts in Catholic countries have been uni- formly and everywhere as discouraging. In Ireland the preachers have never had more than their labor for their pains. A Latter-day son of St. Patrick is as rare as a white blackbird or a dodo.
Once upon a time a little company just from Salt Lake, and with an apostle at their head, climbed a high mountain in Italy, named it Mount Brigham, formed a branch and consecrated the land to the gospel, but nothing came of it. In France, a paper, "Etoile du IJe8~ eret," was started, the Book of Mormon was translated, and a great public discussion was held at Boulogne-Sur-Mer, and that was all. The elders were expelled from Austria, etc., etc., etc.
After years of assiduous angling it has been settled definitively that Utah has no bait with which Papists can be caught, and the the- ocracy aceept~ the situation and wisely transfers the fishers to other waters. It is only in Protestant lands that trophies can be won, where conscience is free and the Bible is held in honor. And there only from among certain classes. The ignorant are won, the credu- lous, those ravenous for marvels, and such as by some hocus-pocus would be saved. "The Lord's queer people" likewise, and his "silly people." Religious cranks of all kinds, the uneasy and the unstable. And worse, the self-seeking and crafty, who, to serve their own lusts and eager for the spoils, scruple not to deceive and then to fleece the multitude.
The final phenomenon, and as striking as any other, relates to the infinite ease with which the :Mormon faith may be put off, or to the frequent and wholesale apostasies with which the career of the church , has been attended. A large majority of those who have received the message and been baptized, after a season of great fervor and zeal, nave sooner or later lost their enthusiasm and gone back to their for- mer state, or too often to something far worse. An experienced
THE GENERAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE HELD AT SHANGHAI, CHINA
elder of long standing declares that not one in twenty holds out to the end of life. Of the eleven witnesses to the divinity of the Book of Mormon nine denied the faith, and of the first twelve apostles all but two lifted up the heel against Joseph.
In 1838 in both Ohio and Missouri occurred a fearful sloughing- off, and another in Utah in 1869. In the Scandinavian mission 1850- 82 out of 35,489 baptized 11,620 were cut off before emigration. In Great Britain from June of 1849 to December of 1854 the baptisms were 34,592, and the excommunications were 15,587, and in the latter portion of the period the losses equaled two-thirds of the gains. Of the 150,000 claimed for the church at the date of the prophet's death less than 25,000 ever set foot in Salt Lake, while the residue, having had their fill of priesthood and revelation, and of wonders and glories in general, scattered and were heard of as saints no more..
; THE GENERAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE HELD AT SHANGHAI, CHINA, MAY 7, 1890.
BY REV. FRED S. CURTIS, HIROSHIMA, JAPAN.
To sum up in a few pages the doings of this Conference would be no easy task. Its 430 members represented not only all parts of China, including distant points in the interior, which it requires over two and a half months of constant travel to reach, but also Siam, Burmah, Korea, and Japan. We present a summary of the more prominent practical results of the meeting: I. A more comprehensive view of the work as a whole,with a mutual appreciation of the various methods employed. The most important facts in regard to the various lines of .work pursued throughout the Empire were focalized. It was possible thus to get a better view of the work as a whole than by years of travel and residence by individual missionaries. The free and harmonious comparison of views on the part of one-third of the missionaries of China brought the entire work into one grand survey. A more thorough understanding and a deeper feeling of sympathy was the result.
The purely evangelistic work was emphasized throughout-the duty of giving the gospel to the present generation. That a sufficient number of ordained men cannot be obtained for this purpose, was made the reason for an appeal for lay workers.
Great stress was also laid upon the work of teaching, and it was urged that the educational work be pushed, especially the training of native helpers. The hospital and dispensary work made a fine showing. A single fact by way of illustration: Dr. Kerr, of Canton, in the past 36 years, has treated 521,000 patients, written 27 volumes on medicine and surgery, and trained 100 medical assistants. Woman's work was also given a prominent place, one day being set apart for the consideration of the subject. The following summary of statistics was presented: Foreign missionaries.-Men, 589; wives, 390; single women, 316. Total, 1,295. Native helpers.-Ordained ministers, 209; unordained,l,260; female helpers, 180. Medical work.-Hospitals, 61' dispensaries, 43; patients (during 1889), 348,439. Churches.-Organized Churches, 520; wholly self-supporting, 94; half self-supporting, 22; quarter self-supporting, 27. Bible distribution (1889).-Bibles, 1,454; New Testaments, 22,402; portions, 642,131. Total, 665,987. Communicants, 37,287. Pupils in schools, 16,816. Contributions by native Christians, $36,884.54.
II. A second result was a more thorough understanding of the obstacles to the spread of the gospel in China. Of these, two received the most attention: "The Opium Habit" and "Ancestral Worship."
1. The Opium Habit. Such facts as the following were presented: The introduction of the d~g preceded that of Christianity by a short time, and it has become not only China's greatest curse, but one of the most serious obstacles to the gospel. It is impossible to exaggerate the evils resnlting from the smoking of opium. It causes the rapid deterioration of health, especially the 10Sd of muscular power, shortens life and undermines the whole constitution. The ease with which opium is everywhere procurable, and the facility and certainty with which it may be used for self-destruction, have largely increased the number of suicides. The Chinese, with their revengeful spirit, often for a trival cause commit suicide, regarding this as the most awful re- venge they can take, believing that the spirit of the dead person may continu- ally injure the living.
Opium smoking is spreading more and more. It is no longer looked upon with shame. Legalization has increased its consumption. At first the Chinese made a tremendous effort to stamp out the vice, and refused revenue. Their want of success must be laid to the account of Great Britain. This gigantic €vil now pervades all classes; high and low, rich and poor-Chinese, Manchus, Mongols and Koreans. The estimate for the whole empire is said to be, of the coolie class, four-tenths; of the merchant class, six-tenths; of the official class, three-tenths. The father of the present emperor has contracted the habit within the past two years. During an illness he was advised to try smoking the drug. The result is that the vice has become rooted, and although he be- wails the bad example he is showing to tIie royal family, and especially to his son, the emperor, he thinks he cannot give it up.
This habit so blunts the moral sensibilitv that the Chinese themselves will not trust a smoker and will but rarely employ him. To satisfy his craving the habitue will steal,will sell his wife and children, and even starve himself. The will becomes weakened, if not paralyzed. The government and people, smokers and non-smokers alike, regard it as a vice and a curse, their greatest plague. Not a word is ever spoken in its defence. It would be next to impossible now for the Government to eradicate the evil even if England were to cease her own importation. The poppy is now extensively cultivated in China; the officials use it, and the smokers would get it in some way.
Of course such a habit is a stupendous obstacle to the spread of the gospel in China. The only way to reach the heart of an opium smoker is first to rid him of his pipe. Hence many opium refuges have been opened by mis- sionaries, many cases have been treated in the hospitals, and the .native Christ- ians have done what they could to help. Much good has thus been accom- plished. In connection with this subject, however, one serious fact was brought to light at the conference. Many physicians, missionaries and native Christians, have been unwittingly selling and distributing so-called anti-opium pills, con- taining morphia, which have often resulted in the substitution of one form of -opium for another. This was regarded with such seriousness by the Medical Missionary Association that the matter was, at the recommendation of this Association, especially mentioned in the report of the Committee on Opium.
The entire report is.as follows: .
" }Vhereas, this Conference regards the rapid extension of the growth of native opium in addition to the use of the imported drug with profund alarm; and whereas, the consequent vast increase of the opium habit demands our most serious and unremitting consideration, therefore we resolve: "1. That we, as a Conference, re-affirm and maintain ·our attitude of unflinching opposition to the opium traffic. .
"2. That we recommend all Christians in China to use every endeavor to arouse public opinion against the spread of this evil, and to devise means to secure, as far as may be, its final suppression.
"3. That we advise the formation of a Chinese Anti-Opium Society, with branches at all mission stations.
"4. That we find this increase is largely owing to the indiscriminate sale, and consequent abuse, of so-called anti-opium medicines, and that we now, on the suggestion of the Medical Missionary Association of China, urge all missionaries to discourage, and as far as possible to prevent, the sale of such anti-opium medicines as contain opium or any of its alkaloids. "5. That we earnestly impress upon all Ohristian churches throughout the world the duty of u"iting in fervent prayer to God that He will in His wise providence direct His people to such measures as will lead to the restriction and final abolition of tbis great evil.
,. 6. That we deeply sympathize with the efforts of the societies of Great Britain and else- where for the suppression of the opium trade, and recommend them to continue and increase the agitation for the suppression of the growth and saJe of opiilm."
2. As to the question of Ancestral Worship the facts were brought out that it is a colossal system, firmly rooted. Touching this system we touch the foun- dation-stones of the Chinese empire. It is evident that the worship of ances- tors was practiced at the dawn of Chinese history, and was even then a well- developed cult. Ancestors were believed to be in existence and able to hear. The 242 emperors have each been associated with Shang-ti, or heaven. The ancestral tablet was in use as early as 1766 B. C. Every Chinaman is supposed to have three souls. At his death one of these goes to heaven, one remains in his tomb and one enters the ancestral tablet.
The question was raised in the Conference, and discussed with much warmth, whether it would not be possibl/il to tolerate such rites connected with ancestral reverence as were not idolatrous or superstitious. A very small minority- "Some four or five per cent. of the members of the Conference-were inclined to emphasize strongly the good points of the system, urging that it had incul- cated the virtue of filial piety, had consolidated and perpetuated the empire, .and had tended to keep up the purit! and morality of the family and of the classics.
On the other hand it was clearly shown that it is nine-tenths idolatry; that divine attributes are ascribed to the dead, and that the element of filial piety is in a large measure a slavish fear of ghosts. There are temples where" those spirits of ancestors who have no descendants" are propitiated by the multitudes purely out of fear.
More than this, the universal testimony of the converts is that it is impossi- "ble to practice any of the forms connected with this system without committing the sin of idolatry.
The strong and almost unanimous feeling of the Conference seemed tg be that we have no right to permit any of these forms, but should advise the con- verts to show their filial devotion by more attention to the funeral services of the Christian Church, to the care of the graves and such matters. This advice is most needful since the native Christians are apt to go to the opposite extreme of neglect.
IlL-As a third result may be named: A closer union of the entire mis- 8ionary body in Ohina. Notwithstanding the large number of representatives of different nationalities, various denominations and diverse preferences as to methods of work, a remarkable spirit of unanimity and brotherly love pervaded the Conference. In order to maintain and perpetuate the benefits of the gathering, it was resolved: 1. That members of the Conference and all other missionaries in China set apart a portion of every Satnrday evening as a time of special prayer for each other's success in bringing souls to Christ and that they may be united still more closely in the unity of the Spirit and the bonds of love.
2. That a Committee of Correspondence, consisting of seven members residing in Shanghai, be ejected by the Conference, whose duty it shall be to communicate with the missionaries on all subjects of common interest, to collect and publi~h missionary information and statistics, and to seek the views of the missionaries in all parts of the common field on any subject where they may think united action desirable.
3. That the missionaries in the various missionary centres, who have not yet done so, unite in local conferences or associations, and that each of these bodies select one of their number to correspond with the Shanghai Committee and to act in conjunction with them in carrying out the work above assigned them. 4. That the Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal and Tke Messenger be adopted as. the organs of this committee.
In regard to comity and division of the field the Conference advised: 1. The common occupation of large cities as bases of action. 2. That societies go into unoccupied districts with a view to the speedy occupation of the whole field. 3. In case of disagreement in regard to the occupation of the field that the matter be referred for arbitration to disinterested persons. A strong desire was apparent on the part of several denominations to unite their different branches organically in spite of the difficulties of distance and dialect. The various branches of the Methodist body, represented by 71 members, held a meeting and appointed a committee to consider plans for closer union. A Presbyterian gathering was also held; more than 100 were present. Seven branches of this church were represented. Of these, two, on account of the difficulties of language and travel, thought organic union impracticable; but the remaining five, which are located nearer each other, agreed to recommend steps looking to organic union between these bodies. It was agreed that a constitution be drafted, based upon the constitutions. of the Presbyterian churches of Europe and America, taking for doctrinal basis the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds and the Westminster Confession. Itwas also recommended that all Presbyteries should form one Synod, meeting, for the present, once in five years. There was also union along literary lines. In view of the lack of knowledge on the part of many missionaries of the existing Christian literature in Chinese, and the great waste of time and labor resulting from this ignorance. it was resolved to appoint a permanent committee to collect information and prepare a classified catalogue with a brief description of books and tracts, to gather and publish information in regard to books in preparation, and to secure writers who shall supply the more pressing wants in any department of Christian literature. Missionaries contemplating literary work were recommended to communicate with the committee before beginning such work. It was voted that a general depot for the storage and sale of all books in the classified catalogue be established at Shanghai, with book rooms at other important centres. IV. Perhaps the most important work of the Conference was union in regard to a new version of the JVord of God. There are in use at present some half-dozen different translations of the Bible, which causes much trouble. Before the meeting of Conference there was little hope of agreement on a standard text, owing to the preference of different missions for the texts of their own translations; alio to the difference of opinion in regard to the translation of such terms as God, spirit, and baptize. However,with the blessing of God, separate committees were able to present, reports which were unanimously adopted by the Conference. By their recommendation three committees were empowered to select three corps of revisers, one to prepare a new version of the higher classical, one of the simple classical, and one of the Mandarin.* In order to secure one B~Dle in three forms, all the revisers are to act in conjunction. That such a satisfactory plan could be agreed upon, was regarded by some who knew the difficulties in the way as a great triumph of the Spirit of God. When the united report was brought in, inspired gratitude to God for the immediate prospect of one Bible for all China, the entire Conference rose, and, led by the chairman, united in singing, "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."
In its direct bearing upon the churches at home no greater work was done .. The Mandarin is the language of the officials throughout the empire, also that of the common people of uearlyall of North, West and Central China. by the Conference than the framing of the following four appeals for help: One for ordained men, one for unordained, one for womEn, and one summing up the other three in a call for ONE THOUSAND MEN WITHIN FIVE YEARS FROM THIS TIME! God grant that the call may be heard!
I.-AN APPEAL FOR ORDAINED MISSIONARIES, ETC.
TO ALL OUR HOME CHURCHES.
GREETING:-Realizing as never before the magnitude of China and the utter inadequacy of our present numbers for the speedy carrying into execution of our Lord's command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature;" therefore, Resolved, that we, the four hundred and thirty members of the Missionary Conference now in session at Shanghai, earnestly and unanimously appeal to you to send out speedily as many hundreds as can possibly be secured oj wellqualified ordained men.
The whole of China is now open to missionary effort and needs a large number of men of prayer, of patience, endurance and of common sense-men full of the Holy Ghost and of faith in the gospel as "the power of God unto salvation."
The missionary here encounters hoary and subtle superstitions, a most difficult language, a people of vigorous intellect, with a vast literature and an elaborate educational system. There is need, therefore, of men of commanding practical and intellectual as well as spiritual endowments-men who shall be able to engage in and direct the work of evangelization, to educate, train and induct into their work a native pastorate, to fonnd and conduct educational institutions, and to provide a general theological, scientific and periodical literature.
Seeing, as we do, the utter destitution and helplessness of these millions still" having no hope and without God in the world," we appeal to young men to give themselves to t~ work. We believe that the great question with each of you should be, not" Why shouljl I go?" but" Why should I not go?"
We recommend that the men be sent under the regularly constituted missionary societies of the various denominations, and that these societies search out suitable men before they are committed to the home work.
With the highest appreciation of the claims of the home churches, we still urge young pastors to consider whether the places of some of them might not be filled by men who cannot come to the mission field, while they might bring their experience to spheres of work in China which must otherwise be left wholly unoccupied.
We call upon individual congregations to greatly increase their contributions for the support of one or more of these men.
We urge Christian men of wealth to prayerfully consider the duty and privilege of giving themselves personally to this work, or of supporting their representatives.
Finally, we shall not cease to pray the Lord of the harvest to move you mightily by His Holy Spirit in behalf of this vast and ripening field.
IT.-APPEAL FOR LAY MISSIONARIES.
This Conference, while strongly urging upon the home churches the susten- tation and continued increase of the staff of thoroughly trained and fully quali- fied ordained missionaries and the further development of native agenCIes in every branch of Christian work, is still so profoundly impressed with the mani- fold needs of this vast country, that it would present a direct appeal to the laity of the home churches for lay missionaries; and in doing so would place before them some of the departments of service in which their helpis more especially needed. .
Beginning with the highest service, and touching the deepest need of the country, they would point to the many millions of our fellow-men who have never heard the gospel of the grace of God; and to some millions more, who, though they have possessed themselves of some portion of His Word, still fail to comprehend its meaning for want of some one to guide them in their study of it; and they would urge the claimsof these unevangelized millions on the youth of the home churches, and would emphasize the nobility of the service which a Christian evangelist may thus render to the Lord in China.
The country long closed is open. The people, if not decidedly friendly, are not hostile. The work of the Bible colporteur has prepared the way. The promise of ingathering is yearly brightening, but the laborers are few; and with the abundance of Christian workers in the home lands, surely hundreds or even thousands might be found to hasten on the evangelization of this empire by their personal effort and consecration.
Passing now to the intellectual req,uirements of China, we rejoice to record the progress of missionary education LD the East during recent years; but are admonished by the fact that purely secular instruction so largely tinges the educational movements both of Christian and heathen governments; and in fact we hear a loud call to the Christian Church to supply in larger numbers Christian educationalists for China. The intellectual renaissance of the empire is just commencing, there is an incipient cry for western culture; and the re- sponse which the Christian Church may make to this cry will, to no inconsider- able extent, decide the course which the education of the country will take in the future. .
With Christian men in the chairs of the colleges of China, what may we not expect from so powerful an auxiliary in the evangelization of the empire?
University men may find here at no distant period some of the most influen- tial posts in the mission field; and we would earnestly invite all Buch Christian 'Co-workers to weigh over with all seriousness the question whether they may not more effectively serve their generation in China than in the home lands.
But besides the intellectual need of the country, there is also the chronic and otten dire necessity of phYBical distress. The masses of the people are poor. Physical Buffering meets us at every turn. Medical Bcience is almost unknown. Charitable institutions, though established both by the government and by private effort, fail to compass the need of the masses. Flood and famine slay their thousands; and yet the wealth of the world is in Christian hands, and might by judicious distribution both save the lives of thousands yearly and give completer expression to the Life we preach. On behalf of these destitute masses, therefore, we earnestly plead with the men of wealth in the home churches that they will consider the claims of these Buffering ones, and not only by their gifts and prayers will largely aid the reinforcement of the noble staff of medical missionaries already in the field, but will give them- selves in larger numbers to benevolent enterprises abroad. The blind, the aged, the orphan and the destitute mutely plead for Christian compassion, and the Lord Himelf has said, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me."
Weappeal,then, to our lay brethren in the home churches, to men of sterling piety, and of strong common sense, that they would lay to heart the needs of this vast empire-its spiritual destitution, its stunted education, its physical distress, and that they would.solemnly ask themselves whether for the greater glory of God they are not called to meet this pressing need, and to devote them- selves, their service and their wealth to this missionary enterprise in China.
We would offer to them a most hearty welcome to our ranks, and would as- sure them that, whether they come out as ordained 01' as lay workers, this welcome will be equally cordial; and in conclusion, we would earnestly pray that this appeal may be brought home to the hearts of many by the power of the Divine Spirit. (Signed) J. L. NEVIUS, } Ch . a~rmen. DAVID HILL, IlL-AN APPEAL FROM MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED LADIES, MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE.
To the Christian Women of the British Empire, the United States, Germany and all other Protestant Countries-Greeting: We, the women of the Missionary Conference now assembled in Shanghai, come to you, our sisters in Christ, with an urgent appeal in behalf of the one hundred millions of women and children of China who" sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."
The work of women in China has been prosecuted at the oldest stations for about fifty years, at first chiefly by the wives of missionaries, but in later years single ladies have largely augmented this working force. There are now ladies engaged in educational, medical and evangelistic work in China. Much has been done by them, many lives have been uplifted from the degradation of idolatry and sin, many sad hearts comforted, many darkened minds enlightened, and much solid good effected. But our hearts are burdened to-day with love and pity for the millions of women around us, our sisters for whom Christ died, still unreached by the sound of the gospel. Beloved sisters, if you could see j;heir sordid misery, their hopeless,.loveless lives, their ignorance and sinfulnesS, as we see them, mere human pity would move you to do something for their upliftin~. But there is a stronger motive that should impel you to stretch out a hel.{>mg hand, and that we plead-the .constraining love of Christ. We, who are m the midst of this darkness that -can be felt, send our voices across the ocean to you, our sisters, and beseech you by th~ grace of Christ our Saviour that you come at Olice to our help. .
Four kinds of work are open to us: 1. There is school work in connection with our various missions which in many cases the men have handed over to the women in order that they them- .selves may be free to engage more directly in evangelistic work. 2. There is a work to be done for the sick and suffering women of China, l.n hOspitals, dispensaries and homes, for which skillful physicians are needed. Most of this work can be better done by women than by men, and much of it can be done only by women. 3. There is work for us in the families of the Church. There are converted mothers and daughters who need to be taught the way of the Lord more perfectly, and to be trained in whatever is necessary for their fnIl development into lively members of the great household of faith. 4. There is a work of evangelization among women, similar to that being done by men among the people at large. It is not claimed that the evangelization of women cannot be done at all by men-but that there is more of it than men can do, there is much of it that will never be done unless women do it, and much that men cannot do as well as women can. There is nothing in this kind of work transcending the recognized scriptural sphere of women. Women received from the Lord Himself upon the very morniug of the resurrection their commission to tell the blessed story of a risen Saviour. What they did then we may continue to do now. But you will ask, " Who are needed for this work? " Knowing the conditions of life and work in China, we would answer that: 1. They should be women of sound health, of good ability and good common sense, also well educated-though not necessarily of the hignest education-apt to teach, kind and forbearing in disposition, so that they may live and work harmoniously with their associates, and win the hearts of the Chinese. Above' all, they should be women who have given themselves wholly to the 'Lord's work and are prepared to bear hardship and exercise constant self-denial for Christ's sake.
2. It is desirable that they should pursue a systematic course of Bible study before coming to China, and have some experience in Christian work at home.
Further, we would suggest that they should labor in connection with established missions in order that the good results of their work may be preserved, and that they may have, when needed, the assistance and. protection of their brother missionaries.
Open doors are all around us, and though idolatry lifts a hoary head, and ancestral worship binds the people as with chains of adamant, yet with God "all things are possible," and mountains of difficulty melt like snowflakes before the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, God is on the side of His own glorious, life-giving Word; we ask you to come in the power of consecration and faith, with sober expectations and readiness to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus, and take your share in the most glorious war that was ever waged on earth-the war against the powers ·of darkness and sin, assured that God will accomplish His own purposes of love and grace to China, and will permit you, if you listen to this call, to be His fellow-workers in "binding up the broken-hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
That the holy and loving Spirit of God may incline your hearts to respond to His call is our earnest prayer.
Signed on behalf of the two hundred and four ladies assembled in Confer- .ence at Shanghai.
Mrs. Mary Lees, London Mission SOciety. Mrs. A. Elwin, Church Mission Society. Miss C. M. Ricketts, English Presbyterian Mission. Mrs. J. R. Watson, English Baptist lIission. Miss L. S. Sugden, M.D., Wesleyan Mission. Miss I. Newcombe, Church of England Zenana Mission. Mrs. E. Tomalin, China Inland Mission.
Mrs. John Ross, U. P. Church of Scotland.
Mrs. W. E. Soothill, United Methodist Free Church. Mrs. T. C. Fulton, Irish Presbyterian Church.
DR. HA.PPER ON THE SHANGHAI CONFERENCE
Mrs. Arthur H. Smith, American Board. Mrs: J. M. Foster, Baptist Missionary Union. Mrs. C. W. Mateer, American Presbyterian Mission (North). Miss L. H. Hoag, M.D., Methodist Episcopal Mission (North). Miss E. ]'. Swinney, M.D., Seventh Day Baptist Mission. Mrs. Eliza M. Yates, Southern Baptist Mission. Miss Laura A. Haygood, Methodist Episcopal Mission (South). Miss K. M. Talmage, American Reformed Mission. Miss R. E. Reifsnyder, M.D., Woman's Union Mission. Mrs. J. L. Stuart, American Presbyterian Mission (South).
N.-AN APPEAL TO ALL PROTEST~'<'NT CHURCHES OF CHRISTIAN LANDS.
DEAR BRETHREN IN CHRIsT,-We, the General Conference of Protestant Missionaries in China, having just made a special appeal to you for a largel;}' increased force of ordained missionaries to preach the gospel throughout the length and breadth of this great land, to plant churches, to educate native ministers and helpers, to create a ChrisQan lIterature, and in general to engage in and direct the supreme work of Christian evangelization; and having also just made a special appeal to you for a largely increased force of unordained men, evangelists, teachers and physicians, to travel far and wide distributing books and preaching to the masses, to lend a strong helping hand in the great work of Christian education, and to exhibit to China the benevolent side of Christianity in the work of healing the sick: Therefore, we do' now appeal to you, the Protestant churches of Christi.an lands, to send to China in response to these calls ONE THOUSAND MEN WITHIN FIVE YEARS FROM THIS TmE.
We make this appeal in behalf of three hundred millions of unevangelized heathen; we make it with all the earnestness of our whole hearts, as men over- whelmed with the magnitude and responsibility of the work before us; we make it with unwavering faith in the power of a risen Saviour to call men into His vineyard, and to open the hearts of those who are His stewards to send out and support them, and we shall not cease to cry mightily to Him that He.
will do this thing, and that our eyes may see it. On behalf of the Conference, Chairmen J REV. J L. NEVIUS, D.D. 1REV. D. HILL. REV. J. HUDSON TAYLOR. l Permanent CommitteeREV. WM.AsHMORE, D.D. REY. H. CORBETT, D.D. REV. C. W. MATEER, D.D., LL. D. REV. C. F. REID.
DR. HAPPER ON THE SHANGHAI CONFERENCE.
[We regard this large and representative Conference of misssionaries of sufficient interest to our readers, in its character, in its harmonious action, and in its loud and thrilling appeals to the Church universal, to fully warrant us in gi~ing additional space to it. And who more worthy to fill that space than the beloved brother who w.ent to China in 1844, and is now the "oldest mis· sionary" resident in the empire, and who can appreciate the marvellous contrast then and now as we cannot, and who, from the high tower of the Presidency of the Christian College of China, is now permitted to survey the future in the light of the past? We introduce his "obser- vations and statements" respecting the Conferenct', with his private note, because of the facts stated in it, and the earnest words by which he seeks to emphasize the action and the appeals of this memorable body.-J. M. S.] Canton, China, June 2d, 1890.
My DEAR DR. SHERWOOWD,-I am fully aware that your columns will be greatly taxed with the details of the Shanghai Conference. I have thought, however, that some general remarks might find a place-some observations and statements of the "oldest missionary in China." There is not a single missionary resident in China that was here when I arrived in 1844. There are three still in China that arrived in 1847. You can easily understand what a contrast it is now to what it was when I arrived. These considerations may add some force to the call for more missionaries. The plea for the several classes of missionaries will stand on their several requirements, as the call for medical missionaries, for laymen, single ladies and ordained men. But let the bugle-call go forth for one thousand missionaries within five years. Let it ring in the ears of the Church. Help them to carry it to the throne of grace. Let them ponder it in their closets and around the family altar. Let the youth hear it in the schOOls, in the academies, in the colleges and in the universities, and in the theological seminaries: "One thousand missionaries for China in five years." Keep this line in your columns every month, till the Church is aroused with the trumpet-call, and arouses itself to good earnest work and consecration and giving; and above all, may God by His Spirit accompany this call to the hearts of those He would call to have a share in this blessed work for the Master. With much esteem and regard, A. P. HAPPER.
As you will receive the full report of the proceedings of the General Conference in Shanghai from others, I will only give some general impressions and statements in regard to it. 1 may say the Conference was a great and blessed success. It far exceeded in the number of members, in the spirit of harmony and co-operation, and in practical results arrived at, all that the most sanguine friends of holding it had hoped for. The very first meeting of the assembly left upon the minds of all in attendance the impression that the Spirit of God was in our midst. This sense of the presence and power of the Holy Ghost increased and deepened each successive day till the last.
We may remark that there has been only one conference on the foreign field where the attendance of missionaries was larger than it was in Shanghai. At the General Decennial Conference in India in 1882, there were 500 in attendence; at Shanghai there were 432 names enrolled. If we consider the fact that there was a greater number of missionaries then laboring in India than there are now in China, that the distances are not so great in India as in China, and that the facilities and cheapness of travel are greater in India than they are in China, it is a matter of special gratitude that the attendance at Shanghai was so large. It manifests that there was a very great interest felt in the Conference when, notwithstanding the distances and the expense of travel, so many assembled to spend a season in special conference and prayer for the conversion of China.
I feel that I express the feelings of all who had the privilege of attending these meetings that they consider it a matter of. very special gratitude and thanksgiving that they were privileged to attend these solemn and delightful conventions of God's people.
There are some things that may be specially considered. During the last forty years there has been a diversity of views among the missionaries, which has led to the use of different versions of the Bible. These versions have differed not only in style but to some extent in meaning. Plans were arranged and agreed upon to prepare a standard version of the Bible to be used by aU the missionaries. This version is to be prepared in three styles-the high classical style, the simple book style, and the Mandarin colloquial style-so as to be suited to all classes of the people; but the meaning is to be the same in all the styles. Thus the division of forty years is healed, to the praise of God's grace.
It has long been felt that something was needed to help the people generally to read the Christian Scriptures intelligibly. This they were not able to do because of their ignorance of the history, the manners and customs of the Jews, ·and of the geography and religion of Judea. The Conference was able, after much consulting and prayer, to adopt a plan for the preparation of an annotated Bible which will give an explanation of names of persons and places, of countries and manners and modes of worship, which are so often referred to in the sacred text. The new version will be used when these annotations are printed in a complete volume.
Thus one great work of the Conference was to arrange plans for giving the Word of God to this multitudinous people in the form which will help them to understand its precious doctrines and the way of salvation as made known in it.
It was most interesting to sit from day to day in this company of missionaries and hear their testimonies to the goodness of God and their experience in the work. There were present persons of every age and sex. The men of gray beards and the youth-men and maidens-just commencing their life- work were there. There were those who were engaged in every kind of mis- sionary work-the preachers, the teachers, the colporteurs, the students, the translators and writers of books, the medical missionaries and the visitors from house to house. They came from far in the interior and from the coast ports. They had every variety of experience-of disappointment and success, of sick- ness and health, of danger and safety, of opposition and of quiet, undisturbed work; and they all wore the same joyful and hopeful expression of counte- nance and joined in singing the same songs of thanksgiving and praise. They all said "The Lord is our helper," "The Lord is our shield and our buckler," "Rejoice and be glad in the Lord," "In the name of the Lord we lift our ban- ners." Not a despondent word or utterance was heard in all those days.
After these forty years of experience of missionary labors and trials, con- flicts and hindrances, hear them as they unite, as with one voice and·heart, in the appeal to Christendom to send forth one tlwusand missionaries in the next five years. Will the Israel of God hear this call from the men and women who. are in the forefront of the battle-who, with full knowledge of the sacrifices, labors and toils which the service demands, send forth this call to their fellow- Christians of all lands, saying, "This is a great warfare in which we are ~n gaged. Our numbers are utterly insufficient for the great work before us. Send us men; send us strong, able, mighty men. Send us medical men and women. Send us those who can 'endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christl' Send us those who will have the spirit of love and compassion to win souls for Christ. Send us men and women full of faith and the Holy Ghost."
Blood-bought followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, will you hear this call of 430 of your fellow-Christians, who represent the 1,285 Christian workers in China, saying, "Come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty!" All can have a part. All can do something. Some can furnish the means to send forth the laborers. All can pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers unto the great harvest in China, with its 350 millions of people. Parents can encourage their sons and daughters to give themselves to the blessed work of faith and toil. Young men and women in Christian homes, in our colleges and universities, will there not be one glorious response from many hearts under the constraining influence of the love of Jesus, saying, "Here are we; send us! We long to have a part in the laborsandpatienee of the kingdom of God."
As I sat in the midst of that assembly, which filled the whole house in which we assembled, and looked back over the forty-six years of my missionary experience, my heart was filled with joy and gratitude for what mine eyes have seen of God's wondrous work in this land. I had seen the day of small things. At the time of my arrival in China, in. 1844, there were some thirty missionaries rflsident at four cities and the British possession of Hong Kong. There were some six native converts and two native ·assistants. Now" the little one has become a thousand and the small one a strong nation. " Scattered abroad in all parts of this widely-extended land 1,285 missionaries are making known the glorious gospel of the blessed God. They are assisted by 209 ordained native ministers and 1,260 unordained native helpers. There are 520 organized churches, with 37,287 members gathered into them professing the gospel; 16,816 pupils are gathered into Christian schools, where they are instructed in the knowledge and love of God. How thankfully I exclaimed, "Behold what God hath wrought!"
As I cast my thoughts on the future I could only think, "What will be
TRANSLATIONS FROM .FOREIGN MISSIONARY PERIODICALS
seen by those who are privileged to see the results of another forty years of missionary work in China?" The workers continue the work with wonderful facilities and opportunities of. every kind. They may expect a yet more abundant outpouring of the Spirit of God. As I stood before that large company of brethren and sisters, and looked into their earnest faces, and saw their countenances beaming with joy and anticipated success, I could only say, "God bless you;" "The Lord be with you;" " The Lord give you to see the glorious triumphs of His grace." For" this handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon." The deep feeling of my heart was and is, " Oh, that I were young again to commence work in China with all these favoring circumstances and this strong band of workers and the mighty outpouring of God's Spirit."
In this review of the work and the results of labor in China, I could not but recall the scenes of labor and trial, the disappointed hopes and expectations, that have been met with by the many dear friends and fellow-laborers ;who have finished their toils and labors and gone to their glorious reward and to receive their crown of life and the welcome plaudit "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord." Some of them finished their course in early youth; some fell while still in the full strength of middle age: and some when they had filled up the measure of three-score years in labors for Christ. But they all have gone to their glorious reward and to unite with "that multitude which no man can number, gathered out of every nation and every people," to cast their crowns at the feet of their adorable Redeemer, and to cry" 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to be exalted thus!" While recalling those loved departed ones how blessed is the assurance that for such" to die is gain "-infinite gain-however great the loss may be to the Church on earth.
The Church may well count the cost of winning China for Christ. This populous empire will not be converted to Christ" except by much prayer and fasting." It will cost the sacrifice of many more lives and the expenditure of much labor and toil and sacrifice and money. It is a stronghold of the powers of darkness. But our encouragement is this: "Greater are they that are with us than they that are against us." " It is not by might, nor by power, but my Spirit, saith the Lord."
Let parents then rejoice to consecrate to this service the choicest of their sons and daughters. Count it all joy when you hear of conflict and trial on the high places of the field. Rejoice when any shall be honored to receive the martyr's crown. "Go forth in the strength of the Lord." "Trust in the mighty God of Jacob." Follow where the great Captain of our Salvation leads His people to the redemption of a lost world, and "Sure as God's truth shall last, To Zion shall be given The brightest glories earth can yield, And brighter bliss of heaven."
TRANSLATIONS FROM FOREIGN MISSIONARY PERIODICALS.
BY REV. CHARLES C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, MASS.
[INTRoDUCTOY NOTE.-Dear Dr. Sherwood: One of the brethren connected with the Jout"nal des Missions Evangeliques, in a very courteous and brotherly letter, has taken exception to my comparison of French Protestants with German Protestants, as less courageous in criticism of the colouial acts of their Government. He points out that, so small a minority as they are against a hostile majority, a certain degree of circumspection may well be pardoned them, and that while Saxons may charge them with Gallic arrogance, Frenchmen charge them with being sold to the Protestant England and Germany. He assures me, moreover, that various Protestant publications of France which I do not see have expressed themselves energetically concerning French aggressions upon English missions in the South Seas. I am sorry if I have given any just occasion to my Reformed brethren ir: France to complain that I do not sufficiently distinguish them from their Ultramontane and atheistic countrymen, under whom the wise providence of God permits them at present to be constrained. May en- largement come to them soon, by such a blessing on the P.rotestants and Reformed Catholics of France as shall bring this great nation into line with our noblest e/l'orts.-CHARLES C. STARBUCK.] The Dansk Missionsblad for December, 1889, speaking of the first mission- ary account rendered by Paul and Barnabas to the Church of Antioch, "how God had opened to the Gentiles a door of faith," remarks: "When we also look out over the missionary field and observe what comes to pass in east and west and south, in China and India and Africa, we, too, may say the same as Paul and Barnabas, when they returned from the first mis- sionary journey: God hath opened to the Gentiles a door of faith. This is the great alteration, which has come to pass in the last generation, that where there previously were locked doors there are now opened doors for the mes- sengers of the gospel. And we know also that missions are God's work by the fact that God is now opening the door of the world so that missions may be carried on. The work can only be done bysuch men as the Lord calls and qualifies, and in those places where God opens the door for the Word. Weare absolutely not to decide where missions are to be carried on, but to observe where the Lord points out the way. And as there is a sinful indifference to the holy work of missions, so there is also a sinful impatience that will insist on going whither the Lord has not sent His messengers, and has n0t pointed out the way by opening the door. Many noble powers have been sacrificed, many a self-sacrificing effort has been wasted. because Christians would insist on in- truding where the Lord had not opened the door.
" . . . When the first missionary who brought the pure gospel to India, Bartholomew Ziezenbalg, was sent out from Denmark, the voyage from Copen- haben to Tranquebert took up forty weeks. Now it requires forty days. Letters now go from London to Calcutta in from twenty-one to twenty-eight days. Formerly they could be sent, by sailing ship, once in a summer; and if the summer passed without an opportunity, or the ship was wrecked, two or three years might pass before the missionaries had answers to their letters. And what such difficulty of communication signified Ziegenbalg experienced when he had incurred the Danish governor's enmity. All King Frederick the Fourth's personal regard and sincere assurances of protection did not secure him from lyinf half a year in prison in the distant dependency. Nor was he released unti he had signed an agreement that he would make no complaint to the King. And if we turn to the West, as late as 1841, a missionary went from England to Canada. in order from there to reach his station in the interior of British America. But he found no opportunity in Canada and was obliged to return to England, and from there, the next summer, to go around by the glacial waters of the North Atlantic and Hudson'" Bay to York, and from there by boat, to journey up the river 170 miles to Winnipeg. At present a railway journey of two or three days from Canada to Winnipeg accomplishes what then required that long and terrible circuit. And when, three years ago, this same missionary died at his station, his death was known the next day by telegraph in England."
-The BlarI's brief statement of the Lakes missions in Africa may serve afresh to remind us that, according to the law of missionary beginnings, these have not been working fruitlessly-44 stations, 121 missionaries, 1,800 baptisms.
-India has become almost wholly British, but the missionary interests of Denmark are still confined to it. Their two fields are: the Tamils in South India; the Santals in Northeast India. Danes were the first Protestant mis- sionaries in India, and Danes received, sheltered and befriended -the first Eng- lish missionaries in India against the persecutions of their own countrymen.
All, therefore, that has been done by Englishmen and Americans for the cause of Christ in India owes a tribute of acknowledgment to our Danish kindred.
And, so far as we can call to mind, the first Protestant king who was, dis- tinctly and definitely, a nursing father of Christian missions, was the King of Denmark.
-In reference to India, however, the Blad remarks,that although the coun- try (excepting here and there some native State) has been unlocked since 1813, the home has only been unlocked since the Zenana Mission was formed, above all, among the Hindus proper, the Aryans of the northern plains. The Tamils of the south, though Hinduized, are not Hindus in race, and do not seclude their women very jealously, nor do the aboriginal hill-tribe of the Santals.
M. Coillard, whom, with all the French missionaries on the Zambesi, the heathen king Lewanika, of the Barotsis, greatly reverences, writes: " While I intercede with God for this bloodthirsty people, it is also my duty to testify publicly against a warlike undertaking which Lewanika himself had called an expedition for plunder, and so I do. No one shall be allowed to mis- understand our position in this matter. Lewanika, full of attention to his mis- sionaries. had sent to our brethren and sisters at Sherheke six head of the cattle won by the foray, and had courteously designated two of them as being ex- pressly intended for' his daughter,' Madame Jeanmairet. M. Jeanmairet, how- ever, in a letter, in which he warmly expressed his gratitude, set forth to the king, with courteous dignity, the reasons why neither he nor his fellow-laborers could accept any part of this booty. Can it be that Lewanika had expected this refusal? At all events he contented himself with the answer, 'I under- stand. But then what have the Barotsis, anyhow, which they have not ac- quired by plunder?'"
-The atheism of nominal Christians and Christian governments in heathen <countries appears to have reached its extreme in the Dutch East Indies. What the Macedonier says, however, in the following extract, is sufficientlyapplicable to other nations: "The governor of the Island of Cyprus, Sergins Paulus, an intelligent and thoughtful man, was very desirous to hear the new message of the gospel from the apostles. But there was found at his court a Jew, Barjesus by name, who also flaunted the Arabian appellation of Elymas, i.e., the Wise, the Magus, and who sought to hold back the pro-consul from the faith. Him- self unwilling to enter, he wished also to bar the entrance against others. And when our ~'eaders consider that Elymas was not a heathen but a descendant of the chosen people, who, just like Barnabas and Saul themselves, had been circumcised the eighth day, it will then be superfluous to remark, that we must look for the sin of Elymas not only among heathens and Mohammedans, but also, and indeed chiefly, among such as with us bear the name of Christ, and just like ourselves have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. " And inasmuch as we meet with the sin of Elymas in a Jew in a heathen island, I venture to express it as my conviction, that the sin of Elymas finds a far more fruitful soil in our East In~ian colonies than in a Christian society. The opposition which we missionaries experience from our countrymen in our colonies may, in form and manifestation, be somewhat different from that which the apostle Paul experienced from Elymas in heathen Cyprus, but in essence it is one. It is.the sin of Elymas-personal unwillingness to enter in and solicitude to hold others back from entering in. And as with Paul, so with us; it meets each of us at the beginning of his missionary life, and in some form or other accompanies him to its close.
. "If European colonists or officials had been Christians in truth, and had let their light shine before men, they would then have been a bridge jor, whereas now they are too often a dam against, the diffusion of Christianity. They do this, it is true, more negatively than, like Elymas, positively, but with a like temper and a like result. They poison the whole atmosphere of influence by their indifferent, ungodly and immoral lives. It is no wonder, therefore, that we missionaries, even with the most strenuous exertion, do not succeed in establishing flourishing native churches in places where there are many Euro- peans."
-It appears that in the Dutch East Indies most of the whites have actually sunk to the level of heathen superstition, making offerings to propitiate evit spirits, and avoiding anxiously the spots which the natives declare to be haunted by them. Having no faith in Christ, they, like the same class among us, easily b~ome worshippers of ghosts. "ContelTIning the miracles of the gospel, as something too childish for the enlightenment of the nineteenth century, they have fallen back into the very darkness of heathenism. If a missionary talks with a Javanese or a Chinese about the Christian religion, he may expect to be asked, 'Have the Hollanders also a religion?' Verily, the Elymas of the nine– teenth century is no less a child of the devil than the Elymas of the apostolic age."
-The despotic prohibition, by the Russian Government, of every manner of- missionary activity, abroad or at home, of the Protestant churches of Russia, cuts off about $8,000 annually from the revenues of the Leipsic Society, an important amount for a continental society. The rising missions of the Finnish Church are not smitten by this blow, as Finland is not a part of Russia, but a grand duchy of which the Czar is grand duke. It has a constitutional govern- ment and a legislature; Swedish, not Russian, is the official language; the Lutheran is the established Church. This prohibition, therefore, does not apply to Finland, but applies to all the rest of the Czar's dominions, at least throughout the Russias. The Allgemeine Missivns-Zeitschrift well !lays: "But all un– righteousness cry to God, and at last comes His hour to set them home. Mean- while, may He grant to the oppressed the courage of confessors, faithfulness to· their faith, perseverance in prayer and patience." .
Persecution along the Baltic and fiendish cruelty in Siberia-the orthodox Czar seems to be doing his best to render antichristsuperfluous by anticipating- him.
-The German Government has given a singular statement, namely, that in its East African possessions it does not undertake to protect either whites or' natives against the attacks of natives, but merely against encroachments of other Colonial Powers! The German dominion in East Africa, according to the showing of the German missionaries, appears as yet to have wrought a great deal of harm and very little good to missions. The German missionaries who are within the English" sphere of influence" express a lively satisfaction in their good fortune.
-The Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrift remarks that in the present inflamed condition of the native mind in East Africa it ought to be regarded as success enough that none of the stations have been destroyed except Pugu, German Catholic, and Dar es Salam, German Protestant. Besides the hatred borne to· these as being German, they had actually provoked q;estruction by consenting to receive great numbers of fugitive slaves without any adequate provision for their protection. "In the midst of all this tumult and battle-cry a work has been accomplished in stillness which is of the very greatest significance for the evangelization of East Africa: the translation of the whole Bible into Suahili;essentially the work of Bishop Steere and his Archdeacon Hodgson, of the Universities' Mission. "
-The BerlinSociety has in North Transvaal 11 stations, with 2,300 baptized Christians. There the recent discoveries of gold, with the rushing in of the whites~ are threatening a critical time. Pray that a new account of good destroyed may not be laid up against our race. In Transvaal the Berlin Society has in all 11,000,baptized Christians. The most important station is Botchabelo, with 2,310 baptized Christians. The law forbidding more than five native fam– ilies to reside on one estate has been suspended by the Transvaal go,ernment,. and it is to be hoped it will be repealed. It would be fatal to the missions in that Republic.
-The Hermannsburg Mission in Transvaal has in the last year baptized 1,390, raising the number of Bechuana converts to 13,969. In Zulu land the progress of the Hermannsburgers is much slower, the whole number of baptized con- verts here being now 1,618.
-The number of Basuto Christians in the French mission has lately risen from 6,000 to nearly 10,000. The station of Morija alone has received an ac- cession of 514 communicants. The scholars now number 5,314. The Industrial School has been so successful that at the Grahamstown Exposition the Basutos took the prize above all other South African tribes.
-Unhappily the Roman Catholic-we may here fairly say, the Romanist- counter-mission is more hostile than ever. "It patronizes all mannerof demor- alizing heathen customs, which the Protestant mission had 'proscribed' in its congregations, e. g., the purchase of wives. 'Weare, so to speak, assailed in our moral position.' … A continually recurring proof that Ultramontanism is ready to ally itself even with heathenism, if only it can harm the Evangelical Church. But it only harms itself and its own moral reputatiQn." This consideration makes it of vital significance whether here at home Romanism shall poison Catholicism, or Catholicism shall reduce Romanism to its lowest terms. The Baltimore archbishopric seems to stand for the latter effort; the New York archbishopric for the former.
-The Scandinavian Missionary Conference which was held in ChristiOOlia, Norway, last July, was largely attended, having 552 delegates in attendance- 105 Danish, 61 Swedish, and one Finnish, leaving, it appears, 386 for Norway. An animated description of it is given in the Dansk Missionsblad. The three Scandinavian kingdoms together send out over 100 missionaries, and contribute 1,000,000 crowns yearly, or about $250,000. The conflict of missionary effort is greatest in Sweden, where there are 9 societies, less in Denmark with 4, least in Norway with 2. As entire consolidation is not practicable, it was urged that. different Scandinavian societies, working in the same heathen country, shoul" at least strive after a common liturgy, Bible translation, etc. The next Scandinavian missionary conference is appointed to be in 1893 in Copenhagen.
-To us the name of "Hottentot" has by old habit come to signify the extreme of human degradation. But the Missions-Blatt of the Moravian Brethren for February gives a narrative which presents them, as Christians, in a very different light. It seems that in 1810, a. wealthy South African Boer, or farmer of Dutch descent, named Burgers, besides his extensive farms, bought at some distance frem them, in a mountain basin, a pasturing ground of a number of hundred acres which became his favorite resort, while his farms. were managed by his sons After nearly thirty years of pastoral contentment in this grassy and wellwatered valley, he found, in 1838, that he was likely soon to be left alone in it, as his slaves, whose hour of freedom dawned with the first of August in that year, had been so discouraged by him in their religious longings that they would be sure to leave him for some missionary station. He therefore took a great resolve. Surrendering his farms to his sons, he bequeathed his broad pasture-lands, or rather the usufruct of them, to six Hottentot slaves, on condition that they should care for him till his death. When the last of the six should be dead, the lands were to be divided among their children. They immediately established at Biirgerskloof a flourishing Moravian station named Goedvorwacht. But it was surrounded by wealthy Boers, worshippers of Mammon and enemies of Christ. These, conscious how plethoric their purses.
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
were and how lean those of the missionaries, waited grimly year after year, till the last of the six Hottentots, who had been so suddenly raised from the depths into the rank of landed proprietors, should have passed away, nothing doubting but that with their long purses they could then buy up Biirgerskloof from all competitors, and scatter all godliness to the winds. Year after year passed, and one after another of, the six dropped away, until the whole continuance of the station, as it appeared, hung on the life of one frail old Hottentot woman, fitly named Christiana. The hearts of the missionaries grew heavy. But for many years "many were engaged in building up an invisible wall of prayer around Biirgerskloof." At last, December 28, 1888, old Christiana fell asleep, 92 years old. There were now thirteen heirs, all poor Hottentots, some a good deal in debt, to whom the Boers around stood ready to pay twice, thrice, nay five times as much for the rich pasture land, with its plentiful springs, as the mission had any hope of raising. And the courts decided that if one of the thirteen insisted on it, the whole must be put up to auction, in which case the Boers were sure of the result. It must be remembered that the Moravians claim no authority over the property of their members. They can advise but they cannot control, either civilly or ecclesiastically. Not one of the thirteen, however, could be moved to sell the land to anyone ,except the mission, for the moderate sum of £750, which it could afford to give.
And thus Goedvorwacht,through Christ's providence and His humble people's faithfulness, fulfilled its name of Well-guarded, and Mammon retired discomfited. In the various transactions connected with the final settlement, involving the fate of two stations, the Brethren remark that the Hottentots have displayed a dignity, a self-restraint, a submission to Providence, a preference of spiritual to temporal interests, which places them not among the lowest but among the highest of their converts. They contrast their behavior, greatly to their advantage, with the noisy intractableness which the Eskimo Christians sometimes exhibit.
H.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions.
The following is an outline of the pledge. The pamphlet may be ob- Volunteer Pledge recently issued as tained of Walter J. Clarke, 50 East No.3 of Student Volunteer Series: 70th street, New York city, at three I.-The necessity for a pledge.-l. cents per copy; $1.50 per hundred, To secure decisions. 2. To secure de- prepaid. Mr. Robert P. Wilder has ,cisions early in the course of study. treated his subject in an exhaustive 3. To confirm those who have de- and masterful manner. His style is ·cided. 11.-What shall the pledge condensed,vigorous and pre-eminently be? IlL-The meaning of the pledge: clear. The little book is stamped by a " We are fully determined to become spirit of consecration and prayer. We foreign missionaries unless God block are reminded that "spiritual things the way." IV.-The use of the pledge. are spiritually discerned;" hence how V.-Who shall use the pledge? neccessary it is for one to be in prayer The necessity for understanding the to understand the messages which the pledge cannot be too strongly empha- Lord entrusts to some of His children.
sized. "It is the keystone to the arch The keynote of the Northfield Con- of the Student Volunteer Movement ference this year was struck early in for Foreign Missions." Volunteers the session. On Sunday, June 29, cannot be effective and successful Major Whittle preached on " Foreign .
workers, it may be fairly said, unless Missions." Scarcely a speaker during they understand an(~ hf'liE've in the the ten days which followed failed to recognize the fact that personal pernicious, and that those numbers responsibility in regard to the evan- already obtained (the 5,000) represent gelization of this blood-bought world only a small percentage of the men was the problem uppermost in the who intend actually to go into the minds of the majority of the men foreign work! Practical common present. Rev. George F. PenteCost, sense demands an estimate if our D.D., awakened interest in the pro- Lord's last command is to be obeyed posed" Siege of Bombay," an enter- in its entirety. Fellow-students, it is prise in which he will be assisted by our privilege to pray that men shall be men and women both from England faithful. We have a right, the conand America. Mr. D. L. Moody de- dition having been realized, to claim voted an hour one Sunday afternoon fulfillment of the promise:" Being to the subject of" Preparation," ad- confident of this very thing, that he dressed to missionary candidates. One which hath begun a good work in of the most vigorous and stirring ad- you will perform it until the day of dresses ever heard in Northfield was Jesus Christ." delivered on " Round Top" by Dr. A. T. Pierson. With great earnestness It is possible to evangelize the world and power he bore in upon the hearts in this generation. Let us work as of men his own deep conviction that though we believed it, absolutely sure the world can be evangelized in this that the endeavor is well pleasing to generation. our Lord and Master.
Alll)ther brief address is still ringing Foreign missionary meetings were in my ears, the substance of which held on Round Top Hill every other was as follows: "Fellows, we have no evening during the session. These record that a human being has ever meetings were conducted by Mr. Cosbeen converted save through the in- sam, who is successor to Mr. R. E. strumentality of some other individual. Speer, traveling secretary. On Wed- If this world is to have Christ preached nesday evening, July 9, a little meetto it missionaries must be, in a sense, ing of marked character was held on man-made missionaries. There are "Round Top." Mr. Dankowt was the about 85 volunteers here present and first speaker introduced-a gentleman 300 Christians on the grounds. Seize in charge of a medical school in New the opportunity! Strive by personal York city, established for the especial effort to persuade these 300 men to, benefit of men who intend to be forenter this missionary service. It is eign missionaries. He first called atnot hard to win men to this work. tention to the fact that many of the Let each volunteer' strive each day men and women who have gone into during this Conference to persuade a heathen lands have come back to study single man to enlist in foreign work." medicine. "It is barbarous," he went on to say, "that the Christian Church Has not this exhortation a possible should send out people to be removed wider application? Let us turn for a hundreds of miles, from medical assismoment from the Conference to a tance and without some knowledge of wider student body. On a conserva- surgery and medical practice." tive estimate there are 250 institutions, each one of which contains on an Mr. De Forrest, of Japan, underaverage 1() volunteers. Is it unreason- took to answer the question" What able to plead that each one of these 2,500 kind of men are wanted in Japan?" strived to secure each month (estimat- and said: "We don't want people ing nine college months in a year) a with quarrelsome dispositions; but we new volunteer: 10+250+9 recruits= do want men who can get along with 22,500 recruits. The objection is urged each other. We want men that can that this passion for mere numbers is love fellows with different color of skin. Furthermore, we want men with tact and discrimination; men held as he told about its geography who know when to talk about the and the people, "a little shorter in natural and when to talk about the stature than we are," those among .supernatural. " whom he intended to spend his life• He said: "Of the religion of these Mr. Laffin, who has already spent a people, Hinduism is like a glacier that little time in Africa, and who expects comes down the mountain and ab- to return, followed Mr. De Forrest. sorbs everything" in its way. Bud- His face was radiant and his manner dhism is beautiful externally. When touched by enthusiasm. "When men I contemplate this intricate and fasci- {)r women draw down their faces and nating system of religion I am retell me how sorry they are that I am minded of the appearance of the going to benighted Africa, I tell them beautiful wall about the city in which speedily, 'I don't want your sympa- I once lived-a wall pierced by winthy. Keep it.' No country in this dows and crowned by graceful minawide world is more receptive to the rets-and when the sunlight streamed gospel than Africa. I do not know a upon it it glowed and sparkled as village or a town where they won't re- though set with jewels; but underceive a missionary. One church of neath that wall, at its foundation, was 100 to 120 members supports six evan- rottenness, filth and decay." gelists. Can you equal that record in this country? With the native Afri- Spacewill not admitof telling about can God's Word settles any point of obstacles and triumphs of missionary dispute." life in India, nor of the crisis. No other man has been so thoroughly Mr. Griswold, who intends to go to identified with the missionary upris- Northern India, encouraged the men ing as Mr. Wilder-perhaps no other still remaining at home to shine as student in America is better known scholars, pointing to the great need, among Christians, and more deeply both in India and China, of men fitted loved. And so the personal farewell to train native teachers. words, simple and earnest, found a quick and glowing response in the When Mr. Griswold finished the hearts of men that night: "I want to twilight was deepening-it would soon see many here in India some day. be time for the eight o'clock bell to I want you to pray for me and my ring. Mr. Robert P. Wilder was an- dear India." The notes of the violin nounced"to say a few words in closing. could not have been sweeter or more " He expected to go out to India be- penetrating than these last words. fore another year had elapsed," he " Blest be the tie" . . . " Like to said. At his opening sentence every- that above." Never was the old body seemed to be listening expec- hymn sung with more spontaneity and tantly. It was very still: no sound spirit. was heard except the rising wind and the flap now and then in the breeze of MAX WOOD MOORHEAD. a map of Kolhapur which two friends Notes on India, by Rev. James Johnston, Bolton, England. -Indian Church Aid Association.- houses and engineering enterprises. This auxiliary, which aims at the The success of missionary work among Christianization of Englishmen resi- the natives depends largely on the lives dent in India, is growing in favor. It of Europeans living among them. is estimated that some 60,000 British Among the members of the Church of soldiers are stationed in different parts England in Great Britain the signifiof the empire, besictes large numbers cance of these claims is being reaof Englishmen engagep. in its civic ad- ized and enforced. One of the advoministration and in the commercial cates in Manchester Cathedral denied -that missionary propagation in India portance to the whole future of miswas a failure. It might be asserted sions." by travelers through districts where it was difficult to plant Christianity, – Female Education in India.-To -or where Englishmen congregated in read of an Indian princess enlarging large numbers, whose lives neutral- upon the advantages of education to. ,ized rather than sustained the mission- her less favored sex, is a notable sign ary's message. Upon Englishmen in of the times in Hindustan. Not long particular lay the solemn responsi- ago, in the ancient town of Gondal, in bilityof making reparation for the ne- the Bombay Presidency, at the Mongglect and failure of their fellow-coun- hiba School for Girls, her Highness trymen inpastyears to live and preach the Rani Nankooverba distributed the -Christ to India's idolatrous millions. prizes. The occasion was extra jubil- ant because an ex-student, Ladlubai, -DevelopmentofMedical Missions. a child of poverty-suffering parents, -Every year bears evidence to the ad- was first in the examination at the vance of medical missions among the Rajkote Female College, and had releading missionary societies which ceived an excellent appointment as supply an increasing number of nurses the head-mistress of the Porbandar and doctors. At the headquarters of Girls' School. This and similar matthe Zenana Medical College in London, ters gave the lady speakers some instudentsare trained, andsubsequently, spiring thoughts on the accompaniin connection with one or other of the ments and possibilities of education. great societies, proceed on service to "My sisters" were invited to let the the East. Two of the present students knowledge which they had obtained are Syrian girls, who, at the comple- teach them "how to win the husband's tion of their training, will return to heart, how to be always agreeable to their own land as the first Syrian his wishes, how to pa~ respects to the ladies to practice medicine. India, father-in-law and mother-in-law, as naturally, has most attention. The well as to the father and mother, how devoted Miss Hewlett, a fervent helper to behave towards juniors, elders, and on behalf of her Indian sisters at Am- equals, how to keep the house clean, ritsar, writes of its efficiency, and of how to acquire proficiency in cookery, Miss Bose, the first native Christian how to spend their leisure in reading, lady to be medically educated in Eng- sewing, 01' needlework." The Rani land, and now in charge of an exten- urged the benefits of higher education sive dispensary at Taran-Taran. From and the duty of parents teaching Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P., whose free their daughters, and finally closing criticism of mission work created a with the exhortation that girls should storm some mgnths ago, comes an elo- know something of the women who quent tribute. He says: "I believe in many lands were renowned "for for medical work among Indian wo- knowledge and learning and for varimen the three great essentials are a ous virtues. Some are celebrated for knowledge of nursing, of dispensing, their scholarship; some for their purand of maternity. The lady who has_ ity of conduct; some for courage, formastered these things is fit for service titude, enterprise; some, again, for in India. I may tell you that it is modesty or presence of mind; some officially stated that one of the best for devotion to their husbands; while dispensaries in the northwest provin- some have been remarkable for their ces is under the charge of one of your piety; and others for their excellence former students. In whatever aspect in household management." I view the work of the Zenana Medical College, I become the more convinced Generous sympathy is asked for that it is of the highest value and im- ~nss Cornelia Sorabji, the Indian young lady whose university career at the Deccan College, Poona, was so tion of a woman's self-denying love, distinguished. At Somerville Hall in taking the medical supervision of she is now reading literature to ob- the Ambala 1sylum, which shows. tain the place at Oxford equivalent, marked improvement in the condition in the case of a woman, to a degree. of the patients since she accepted the Unable to meet her expenses during charge. the next two years' study at Oxford, her special friend, Lady Hobhouse, -Zenana Missions-English Wes- has opened a fund on her behalf. It leyan Women's Auxiliary.-In speak- is felt that in extending support to ing of "the condition of women in Miss Sorabji a powerful impetus will India," Mrs. Sutcliffe, an earnest be given to the cause of Indian edu- lady missionary, alluded to the cation, to which this gifted scholar 120,000,000 women of the country, purposes devoting herself on return- 40,000,000 of whom were in zenanas ing to her native land. and 21,000,000 widows. Of these latter 80,000 were children between the ages -Lepers in India.-For 15 years the of six and sixteen years. Methodist Edinburgh Mission to Lepers has been Women's Mission Work in India had combating the evils which attend this achieved much success since its originterrible scourge. Along with its pri- ation in 1858, though even to-day there mary work to evangelize. the agents is only one missionary to about each of the society have alleviated the mis- million of the population. It is aperies of the lepers. A bill has been parent that the foundations of heathdrafted especially affecting the va- enism were planted in the zenanas. grant classes. "Retreats" are proposed in which the sexes will be separated. -Church of England Zenana So- The society's secretary goes to India ciety.-At the annual meeting held in to make arrangements for the erection May it was reported that at home there of asylums for adults. These are sore- has been healthy development in the ly needed for the lepers' comfort and number of workers, while in the field the protection of the natives from the there are 114 missionaries, with 62 aswandering lepers who spread the dis- sistants, and 577 native Bible-women ease. In considering the world of woe and teachers. The deathof Dr. Fanny represented by 500,000 lepers, the Butler was mourned over. It is noted most sorrowful problem is the case of that everywhere there has been dethe children. A leading authority on voted labor and a call for medical the question, Dr. Monro, states, "Lep- mission work, while in school work rosy has never been proved to be and zenana visitation there has been transmitted without contact, is not distinct encouragement. In funds constantly transmitted even when there is deficit of £1,743, although the both parents are diseased, and seldom income-£25,817-is £951, in advance affects more than one child in a fam- of the highest amount previously reily." Sir Morell Mackenzie says that ceived. The increased expenditure, hereditary contamination has scarcely it is gratifying to know, has not been any existence. Nevertheless, as early in the home but in the foreign departas possible it is important to remove ment, the fact being that, while in children from the risk of contagion, the ten years of the society's 'existence and in this direction the Edinburgh the income has barely doubled, stasociety is exerting itself. It has tions have trebled and workers have one home and branches for the lit- quadrupled. A worker of seventeen tle ones in connection with its three years' serv~ce, Mrs. Ellwood, spoke asylums. Let the name of Miss Carle- of the great subjection of the ton, M. B., an American lady doctor, Hindu women, and only could be universally honored as an illustra- their Christianization be effected by women. Latterly, zenana work has made rapid strides. Everywhere the This fam.ous field, scattered .over the Khassia Hills and s.ometimes spoken .of toilers were welc.omed with .open as the Assam missi.on, is the crown .of the society's harvest abr.oad. N.o doors. Net l.ong since the native written language existed in Assam at the- inaugurati.on .of the missi.on. w.omen shrank fr.om their missi.onary Meanwhile, the missi.onaries have translated the scriptures into the sisters. Mrs. MacDonald, fr.om South- tongue .of the people. A m.onthly periodical was issued in the native ern India, referred in gl.owing terms speech fer the services.of the churches and musical classes .opened .on the to zenana devel.opments. The sowers, tonic sol-fa system, which the natives much appreciated. The Khassian English ladies, last year increased Missi.on was being strengthened in the directi.on.of medical attendance and fr.om 100 to 117, mere than 20 .of schools fer higher educati.on. By the celebration.of the jubilee.of this miswh.om were h.on.orary missi.onaries si.on in 1889, the collecti.ons had been augmented. Preaching stati.ons numwh.o did net take a single penny fr.om bered 163, candidates fer membership, 934; day sch.olars, 4,134. Reinf.orcethe funds. In the same period the ments are wanted fer Khassia Hills, Jaintia, and als.o fer Brittany. The Bible w.omen's 1'.011 had risen fr.om 139 m.ovement to raise £20,000 in celebrat- ing the jubilee.of the Welsh Calvinto 141, the missi.on h.ouses fr.om 2,275 istic F.oreign Missi.ons, fer the mere ef- fective pursuit .of missi.on w.ork and to3,321, schools fr.om 177 t.o 183, and training .of native missi.onaries, has resulted in half the am.ount being the sch.olars fr.om 6,686 to 7,411. raised and its probable full realizati.on next year,.on behalf .of which wide- Truly the zeal.of the society's w.orkers spread interest exists.
indicated real, her.oic, c.onsecrated de- v.otion.
-Welsh Calvinistic Methodist For- eign Missions.-Meeting in Liverpool in May, this sturdy branch .of the Church .of Christ was largely c.on- cerned with its f.oreign w.ork. Pass- ing fr.om its evangelical labors in Brittany, special attenti.on was cen- tered in the Indian missi.ons. By com- paring the figures with th.ose.of 1861, the f.oll.owing results were tabulated: Churches. Communicants. Congregations.
1861, 6 158 500 lSi1, 16 514 900 1881, 36 2,600 3,326 1889, 78 6,054 8,424 Africa. between England and Germany, and we hope that when a like arrangement is concluded be- THE ANGLO-GERMAN AGREEMENT. tween England and Portugal we shall have- [This is an event of great importsnce in its matters as satisfactorily settled on the coast; bearings on the future of Africa, especially in of Lake Nyassa. the matter of missions. At ilrst English sen· tlment severely criticised some of its provis- The boundary between the English and Gerions, especially the ceding of Heligoland to man "spheres of influence" is to be what is: Germany. But reilections and a full under- known as ''the Stevenson Road," and may bestanding of the details has wrought a change, indicated by a line drawn from the mouth of and the feeling now is one of satisfaction. The the Bokura river on the western shore of Lakepoint of greatest importance is the acknowl- Nyassa, to the mouth of the Kilambo river 011 edgment of the English protectorate over the south shore of Lake Tanganyika. Ger- Zanzibar and Pemba. For Zanzibar is not many is to retain the country north of the line, only the largest city on the African shores and to the Congo Free State, and along theof the Indian Ocean, and the headquarters of ilrstdegree of south latitude, a divergence of commerce, government, and language, butthe the boundary being conceded around the west– base of extensive mission work. As England ern shore of Nyanza, so as to include Mt. has always been foremost in putting down the M'Fumbiro in the British "sphere," and makeslave trade, the practical control of the policy the frontier agree, as nearly as possible, with. of the Zanzibar Government will greatly facilitate this part of her work. Looking at it, Stanley's treaties. therefore, from the missionary and philan- The all-importsnt feature of the adjustment thropic point of view, we have every reason to feel satisfied with the settlement arrived at Is that it throws almost the entire responsi- bility of the continuance of the slave trade 011 England and Germany. Zamibar Is a great. slave mart; England will now control the being made for the suppression of the island. Droves of slaves are annually driven maritime slave trade as well as for the from the great lakes across the equatorial extirpation of slavery itself."
regions to Gondokoro and down the river to The Universities' Mission, which has Khartoum and across to the Red Sea. Eng- made Zanzibar its headquarters, has land virtually assumes the responsibility of thus a firm basis for those operations this country. The roads across from Tangan- to which Bishop Steere consecrated a yika, Nyassa and Victoria Nyanza are also life of so much learning and devoted- highways of slave trade. Forthese Germany ness, and which are still so earnestly must now be responsible. The whole area followed up by Bishop Smythies. The blighted by the slave trade is now open to an mission will now hold' in favorable exercise of authority and vigilance on the part circumstances thi& important centre of these two great Powers which ought soon for Christian education and for the to suppress the awful traffic. training of teachers, catechists and the We quote from the July Church Missionarv native clergy. It is true the great out- l'ntelligencera lucid statement of the "agree- field of their mission work will be now ment" and its relations to the work of tho chiefly in territories under German .great English and Scottish missionary societies rule, but already the report is favor- in Africa.-J. M. S.] able as "to the steady administration This agreement is an important p0- of affairs by the German Government," litical event, and will, no doubt, be much discussed in that aspect, but so that "the spiritual work of the sothere are indications already that a final settlement on the lines proposed ciety is no longer disturbed by wars will be accepted cordially by the German and British nations. Our interest and rumors of wars." Under the Brithere is non-political, although at the same time, looking at the settlement ish flag German missions have greatly in its broad aspect, apart from party, it cannot but be a source of thankful- flourished in India, and especially in ness that these two great nations, the pillars of European Protestantism, South Africa, and there is every reason have found a satisfactory S91ution of questions of territory which might to hope that when the German rule have given rise to dispute and alienation. If they proceed in friendly ac- is firmly established the mission will cord, we have one of the best guarantees that the inner African slave trade enjoy security and friendly support. is doomed, and that the time is hastening on when civilization and Christi- The Church Missionary Society and anity will win the day in the Dark Continent. the London Missionary Society have We look at the details of the agree- also their stations in German terriment, and we give the first place here to the protectorate of Zanzibar. From tories, and they may anticipate the the German Official Gazette we learn that Germany assents to the assump- same friendly support under the Gertion by England of the protectorate over the Sultanate of Zanzibar. This man protectorate. The Church Mismust be regarded as no small concession on their part. Of course France sionary Society has also its special or some other Power may still do what it can to hinder this assumption. But grounds of thankfulness as regards here it is satisfactory to find Lord Salisbury speaking out quite decidedly this settlement. Its work will be in his despatch, June 14th: "England will further assume, with the consent chiefly under the British flag, and of the Sultan of Zanzibar (which has been given), the exclusive protectorate what a wide door opens before it! But over the Sultanate, including the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba_" "The it scarcely belongs to us here to enter direct control and extensive influence,"LordSalisburyadds,"which this on so wide a field. We may only noarrangement will confer upon Great Britain, will furnish a powerful as· tice how much Lord Salisbury's words sistance to the efforts whi0h a1"(, nnw suggest. "Upon the east coast the Gerinan Government has agreed to surrender all the territory it occupies or claIms north of the British sphere of influence. The whole territory up to the Juba, with a coast line of more than 200 miles, is under the British protectorate. The elrect of this ar- rangement will be that, except so far as the Congo State is concernpd, there will be no European competitor to between the first degree of south lati- tude and the borders of Egypt, along the whole of the country which lies to the south and west of the Italian pro- tectorate in Abyssinia and Galla Land." .
Another part of this Anglo-German agreement relates to Lake ~yassa and Nyassa Land. In these regions the Scottish missions have been laboring for years, and with conspicllous suc- cess. The Church of Scot land has its mission to the south of La ~.(> Nyassa, close to the Shire. It is a country of religiously in the balance, our protecfertility and of much promise, but it torate of Zanzibar is of vastly more does not enter into the agreement, as consequence to the interests of huthe British Government has here to manity and the cause of religion. come to a settlement, not with Germany but with Portugal. The subject J. E. C. {)f keenest dispute here betwixt England and Germany has been as to what STANLEY AND THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE. is called the Stevenson Road. As to Lake Nyassa itself there has been less [We are glad to see that this intrepid exdifficulty; the eastern shore where the Universities'Missions are established plorer, who doubtless understands the present has been assigned to Germany; the westernshores, where the Free Church condition and needs of Africa better than any Missions have been successfullyestablished, are to remain British. The other living man, is in full accord with the Stevenson Road joins Lake Nyassa at its northern end to Lake Tanganyika conclusions of this important Congress, which .at its southern extremity. As to its being a road, if Mr. Johnson, Her has just closed its sessions, as to the remedy Majesty Consul's authority is to be ac- ·cepted, there can be no question. for the wholesale slaughter and devastation Some 52 miles from the northern end of Lake Nyassa have been carefully which is going on in the Dark Continent.- engineered; in fact in the construction two able engineen; were employed, J.M.S.] Christian men, and they laid down their lives in the work. Along this "There is only one remedy for these road a steamer was carried in pieces to wholesale de,astations of African ab- Lake Tanganyika and launched there origines, and that is the solemn combion its waters for the London Mission- nation of England, Germany, France, .ary Society. The Germans here ha,e Portugal, South and East Africa, and done nothing; were they to be allowed Congo State against the introduction to enter into the labors of these ener- of gunpowder intoany part of the congetic Scotchmen? It has been ar- tinent except for the use of their own ranged that it is not to be so. agents, soldiers and employes; or seiz- ing upon every tusk of ivory brought There are other parts of the agree- out, as there is nota single piece now-ament on which we can but barely days which has been gained lawfully. touch. There is undoubtedly a break Every tusk, piece and scrap in the between the territories under British possession of an Arab trader has been influence north and south, extending steeped and dyed in blood. ~very from 1 degree south latitude to Lake pound weight has cost the life of a Tanganyika. On its western extrem- man, woman, or child; for every five ity, this is so far diminished, however, pounds a hut has been burned; for the British sphere of influence extend- every two tusks a whole village has ing so far south as to include the been destroyed; every twenty tusks mountain M'Fumbiro (10,000 feet high). have been obtained at the price of a This is to make the frontier "coincide district, with all its people, villages as nearly as possible with the region and plantations. Whom, after all, covered by Mr. Stanley's treaties." It does this bloody seizure of ivory enhas been agreed that the passage here rich? Only a few dozens of half-castes, for British goods and British subjects Arab and negro, who, if due justice will be perfectly free and exempt from were dealt to them, should be made to transit duties. sweat out the remainder of their pi- raticaI.lives in the severest penal ser- There are two other points of agree- vitude. ment in the CO?1pact; Germany is to be allowed to extend its influence in "On arriving in civilization after South Africa to the 21st' degree of these terrible discoveries, I was t')ld longitude, in place of the 20th degree. of a crusade that had been preached Lord Salisbury is of opinion that Lake by Cardinal Lavigerie, and of a rising Ngami will remain still under the desire in Europe to effect a reform by British protectorate, as its longitude force of arms, in the old Crusader style, is believed to be 22 degrees. and to attack the Arabs and their fol- lowers in their strongholds in central Heligoland forms a part of this Africa. It is just such a scheme as Ang'')-German settlement. What its might have been expected from men -valuels politically, it is not our part to who applauded Gordon when he set estimate. But weighed morally and out with a white wand and six follow- ers to rescue all the garrisons of the Soudan, a task which 14,000 of his countrymen, under one of the most skillful English generals, would have found impossible at that date. The last thing I heard in connection with this mad project is that a band of one hundred Swedes, who have subscribed £25 each, are about to sail to some part of the east coast of Africa, and the fine cloth and fine beads they exproceed to Tanganyika to commence pected to receive for the food furostensibly the extirpation of the Arab nished were not forthcoming, and it slave trader, but in reality to commit seemed for a time improbable that suicide."-Scribner's Magazine. enough food could be got to send any to Nelson. By the 26th, however, "NELSON'S STARVATION CAMP." matters were arranged, and on that day Mr. Jephson,with forty Zanzibaris [The following passage from Stanley's book and thirty Manyema, set out to rescue Nelson, whose camp was reached on givesone of many vivid and thrilling pictures of the 29th. Pitiable, indeed, was the condition of things there. Of the fiftysuffering endured during this ever memorable two men left with Nelson, five only remained, of whom two were in a dyexpedition for the relief of Emin Pasha.-EDs.] ing state; all the rest had either de- serted or were dead. Nelson himself, "On the morning of October 6,.1887, having hardly left his tent on account it was evident that Captain Nelson of his badly ulcered feet during the and fifty·two of the black men were absence of Stanley, had lived chiefly wholly unable to travel further. It on fruits and fungi his two boys had was decided, therefore, to leave these brought in from day to day. Jephson in camp, while Stanley and the other found Nelson sitting near his tent, white and black men-211 in a11- worn and haggard looking, with deep went forward to try to find some food. lines about his eyes and mouth, and Nelson and his fifty·two men were left the latter could do nothing but sob and with hardly any food in a camp on a turn away and mutter somethingabout sandy terrace, encompassed by rocks being very weak. But Nelson recovered and hemmed in narrowly by dark slowly and has lived to rllturn." woods which rose from the river's edge to the height of 600 feet, on the Japan.-American visitors at the bank of the Drumiwi, there a writhing and tortuous stream, making an recent Paris Exposition were astonish. unceasing uproar, and with two cata- I'acts not far away, each rivalling the ed at the educational exhiLit from J aother's thunder. A gloomier spot for a camp could hardly have been se- pan; an exhibit which showed greater lected. Stanley, with his 211 men, started on October 7th. They made intelligence, more thorough methods, their way as well as they could at a funeral pace, marching sometimes and more progressive educational deonly four and a half miles a day, through woods with dense under- velopment in Japan than exist in this growth, living on the fungi and berries they could find, glad even to get country. The recent report of the Japnux vomica, suffering the pangs of unappeasable hunger, all frightfully anese Minister of Education, summarthin, though the whites not so much reduced as the colored men. They had ized by "the nation," is exceedingly occasionally to climb hills, which, in their enfeebled condition, causeli their interesting and significant. There are hearts to palpitate violently. Hunger, followed by despair, killed many of in the empire 10,862 school districts; the colored men. The night of the 17th was ushered in by a tempest the total population being 39,701,594, which threatened to uproot the forest and bear it to the distant west, ac- andthe children of school age numbercompanied by floods of rain and a severe cold temperature. The next day, ing 6,740,929. The empire employs however (the 18th), relief came. They reached a community of Manyema, 62,372 teachers, and there are at pres- Arabian ivory hunters, who had arrived five months before. Here, at ent enrolled in its various schools last, they had food; but alas! they had lost the power to digest it. 'Nature about 2,800,000 children. When the either furnishes a stomach and no food, or else furnishes a feast and robs great reform of Japanese institutions us of all appetite.' The party began to suffer from many illnesses, the was undertaken twenty years ago, the result of the food it had so long been unused to. The Manyema on the first principle of education was accepted day were very gracious and friendly, on the next day were less so, becllillire as the basis of all progress, and noth- ing has shQwn the capacity, intelli- gence, and adaptibilityof the Japan- ese mind more strikingly than the thoroughness, progressiveness, and fruitfulness of the educational system they adopted, and which has now be- come thoroughly seated in the respect and affection of the Japanese people. In addition to common schools in all
1890.J MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE FROM ALL PARTS
parts of the country, a seaside labora- piling an encyclopedia. Among the tory has been established on Yeddo teachers in the Japanese schools are Bay for the study of marine life. Ad- nearly two hundred Europeans; while vanced courses in art and science are among the men who have furnished text-books or have otherwise contrito be found in the university. High- buted to this remarkable educational progress are found the names of many class commercial schools, schools of Japanese who havestudied inour own fine art, schools of music, schools for schools and colleges. This record is a the deaf, dumb and blind, law courses notable one, both on account of the in German, French and English, completeness with which a very sulibraries and museums, all form a perior educational system has been part of this admirable system. The built up in Japan, and on account of Imperial University at Tokio numbers the promise for the future which it 864 students, and there is also in the contains. The Japanese are blillding same city a kind of Japanese academy, on a strong foundation. made up of eminent native scholars, who publish a magazine and are com- I1I.-MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD-FIELD.
Ohina. be full members of these. In all cases it shall be left to each individual foreign missionary PLAN OF THE UNION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN or minister to choose for himself one or other of these two relations, but during a temporary CHURCHES. sojourn at home he may resume full connec- tion with his former church court. A Conference on Union, composed of the representatives of seven Presbyterian II. The doctrinal basisof organlo union shall churches laboring in China, was convened be: (a). The Apostles' Creed. (b). The Nicene in Shanghai, China, May 12, 1890. At this Creed. (c). The Westminster Confession and Conference it was found that on account of Catechisms. the diversity of language and the difficulties of travel, the representatives of two churches m. Presbyteries sha.lJ be oomposed of the believed organic union impracticable. After the adjournment of this Conference an iu- missionaries, the pastors and the churches formal meeting of delegates, representing five occupying the same territory. These Presbydifferent Presbyterian missions, was held, at teries shall, for the present, constitute one which were present: Rev. A. P. Happer, D.D., Synod, which shall meet once in five years. Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. (North); Rev. John Ross, United Presbyterian Church of At a meeting of the full delegations. held at Scotland; Rev. T. C. Fulton, Irish Presbyteri- Shanghai, May 14th, it was resolved: an Church; Rev. John L. Stuart, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. (South); Rev. D. McGillivar- 1. "That Rev. Dr. Happer, Rev. J. Goforth, ay, Canadian Presbyterian Church (in Hon'an). Rev. J. Ross, Rev. John L. Stuart and Rev. T. C. Fulton be requested to present this basis of Dr. Rapper was called to the chair. It was union to their respective bodies for their aprecommended that steps be taken to form an proval, with a view to bringing the matter organic union between the churches here re- fully before the assemblies of 189~." presented and any others who may desire to join them. A plan of union, similar in some 2. "That these delegates intercommunicate respects to the one adopted by the Presbyteri- the action of the respective bodies as soon as an Churches in India, was proposed, and at a practicable. " subsequent meeting of the full delegations unanimously approved. Following is the plan: 3. "That these resolutions, with the whole action in the matter of organic union, be print- I. That a constitution be drafted for the ed for distribution among the delegates." Presbyterian Church in China, based upon the constitutions of the Presbyterian Churches in A. P. HAPPER, D.D., President. Europe and America. (a). That, if foreign S. I. WOODBRIDGE, Secretary. missionaries and ministers retain their connection with their home church courts, they shall Ohili, have no vote in the China church courts, but only the right to counsel and advise; but if [We give below a letter, addressed to Mrs. they sever their ecclesiastical connection with Dr. Asbury Lowrey, whose husband is one the home churchesand submit to the discipline of the vice·presidents of Bishop Taylor's Self· of the ecclesiastical courts in China, they shall Supporting Mission in South America, sent to us for publication.-Ens.] Santiago, May, 1890. Our Spanish work in Serena is progressing grandly under Dr. Canut; we have 40 probatloners and 300 In regular attendance at wor- Miss Rugg, late of the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- ship, patto (yard or court) crowded with versity, writes: "This is work to be enjoyed people anxious to hear the Word of Life. for its own sake, imparting knowledge to Plenty of persecution; but no matter, that others-a.nd this we do for His sake,Who gives don't harm. Bless God for the awakening us such blessed saving knowledge of Himself. shown amongst this people I Oh, do buy us a I constantly feelthat my stay inIquiqueis one of great pleasure and profit. Thongh never esoo, lot on which to bulld a church. There is one wishing myself back home, my thoughts are often in that direction." for saleat another at $1,000; either would suit us, and for either we would be thankful. Faithfully yours, The $1,000 lot Is much the better suited for our purpose. Surely we should have one of these MRS. A. W. LA. FETRA. at once. India. Our Spanish work in Valparaiso in- creases in interest with astonishing rapidity; YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN A.SSOCIATION WORK, its needs are very great. In Valparaiso es- pecially we need a church and one of the best While the first chapter of this history may men in the Methodist Episcopal Church to to some seem only a common place record, supply English work there. Give us the church those who understand the situation sufficient- and the pastor and Methodism will take root ly to read between the lines wili see In it a there at once and flourish. deeper significance and the earnest of untold possibilities. Because this new departure in Communion wasadministered at Concepcion Madras will no doubt be repeated In many last Sabbath;. the church was full and several other cities of the Orient, the record may well joined the society; the Spirit of God was pres- be given more in detail. ent. Thereare now 100girls in the school here. In March, 1888, the Madras Missionary Con- Rev. James Benge, pastor of the church ference listened to a statement by Rev. Jacob· at Iquique, writes May 10, 1890: ()hamberlain, D. D., telling of the magnificent movement he had recently seen in progress. "We have here a properly organized church, among the young men of the United States. consisting of a pastor, a local preacher, a class and Canada for the salvation of their fellows, leader, eight members and six probationers, and of the young men of other lands. He sugall working together in harmony. Our class gested that thoroughly trained and experimeetings, prayer and Bible readings, are true enced leaders might be sent out and supportmeans of grace. Most of our members and ed by the American associations, to organize probationers are present at every meeting." the Christian young men and set them at work to reach their tellows by means of Dr. Hoover is wonderfully quick at acquir- Young Men's Christian Associations, whereing language. He superintends the meetings upon the conference unanimously took the of the native church, which has a dozen or following action: more members and probationers, among them a lad of 17 who has been educated in the "Considering that this Conference has on school and is 1Illed with a desire to serve God. many occasions called the attention of the He gives short addresses to the people. Dr. churches to the existence of a well prepared Hoover preaches in English, and a little in field among the educated non-Christian yonng Castilian; both English and Spanish congre- men of Madras, and begged them to send a gations are good, much interest being shown special agency to work it, it regards this proin religion. posal as a Providential response to their ap- peals, and it will gratefully welcome such Every form of religious literature we offer well qualified, thoroughly trainedagents as the the people is received with avidity and care- American Yo.ung Men's Christian Associafully read. Bible agents sell their books In tions propose to send, and it will give them large numbers; the people seem to crave God's its cordial sympathy and co-operation." Word and buy liberally. This means eulightenment. Responding to that action, I reached Madras on the 9th of January last, and was A few days ago we laid in the grave the body met by Mr. L. D. Wishard, who is visiting the of a lad, of Scotch family, who had been one students of the East as a representative of the· of our pupils. Dr. Hoover, with some 50 of College Young Men's Christian Associations the school boys, went in procession to the of Europe and America. Predisposed as we cemetery, where, during service, the boys sang were to Madras, by the action of the Mission- "Beautiful Home" by the last resting-place ary Conference and other Provideutial indicaof their companion. It was an unprecedented tions, that this was the likeliest point for event in the history of Terapaca, the sweet beginuing this work, we had, nevertheless, left voices singing tremblingly, while tear drops it an open question whether or not the time coursed down the faces of many native born. was yet ripe to organize here. The very day Chillans singing in English a song of Heaven of my arrival, a conference was held with the in a Chilian grave-yard marked an epoch in missiouaries, and, notwithstanding the colher history fragrant with promise for the fu- leges were all closed for the holidays, it was ture. Soon these boys will be Chilian men, decided to take advantage of Mr. Wishard's and the lessous of the grave and the hope beyond will never depart from their memories. presence to hold a Union meeting of ChrIs- reading-room, and actually increased in the tian young men in Memorial Hall, Saturday social room_ evening, January 18th. We held four preliminary meetings, explaining our purpose The membership has grown graduallyand making acquaintances. There were 800 February, 85; March, 85; April, 110; May, 125 present at the Union meeting, and it was -until now, early in June, we number 131, evident that the time had come to fully Inau- who have paid the annual fee in adgurate our work by and for the young men of vance. This includes not more than 100 Madras. sustainiug members, who contribute not less than 10 rupees each. Of the member- A voluntary commitee of management was ship, 48 are I' active," i. e., communicant constituted, consisting of five native Chris- members of Protestant churches, having tians, four Europeans and one Eurasian, seven the right to vote and hold office in the of the ten being laymen_ 11k W. Rierson Arbuthnot was elected president and Mr. J. association; 83 are I' associate" members, so L. Duffield, of the Bank of lIIadras, treasurer. An assistant secretary being required, Mr. J. that it is evident non-Christian young men are Gnanamuthu, a native Christian of Tinnevelly, being brought within the influence of the assojust graduated from the Christian College, at ciation. 84 are natives, 29 Eurasians, and 18 once entered upon these duties. Europeans, proving that it is possible to work on SO broad a basis, ignoring race prejudices, We got immediate possession of the most despite predictions to the contrary. The fureligible building in the city, already furnished ther fact that, of the 84 native members, 34 in part for our purposes. This building, "two are Hindus (of whom 16 are Brahmins) and 2 stories high, eighty feet by sixteen, with a Mohammedans, shows that the association shaded yard in front, centrally situated on the will bear heavily against the' caste barrier. Esplanade, overlooking the sea alongside of The occupations of our members are: Stuthe Christian College, within two minutes' dents, 48; teachers, 23; in Government posiwalk of the Church of Scotland College, five tions, 19; mechants, 6; clerks,10; railway serminutes from the Hindu College, and ten vice, 3; clergymen, 7; bankers, 2; catechists, minutes from the Medical College, is within 2; secretaries, 2; barristers-at-law, 2; physieasy access of several thousand students, cian, 1; unemployed, 3; unknown, 2. many of whom daily pass our doors. Important improvements were begun, renovating The privileges offered are not great as yet. the place, and improving the' ventilation. The reading-room is well supplied with Indian Down stairs a reading room, bath-room and aud foreign publications. The social room is kitchen. Upstairs a room, seating seventy- furnished with games, such as chess and five, was devoted to meetings and social pur- draughts. We have about 100 volumes for a. poses, adorned with pictures, curtains, etc., library; a taste for healthy literature will be and furnished with chess tables and checkers. cultivated, and the reading of young men be On this fioor there is also an office, where directed, if the library is SO enlarged that it meetings of the board and of the committees can be made circulating. We expect soon to are held. secure athletic grounds and to have a compe- tent instructor in the physical department, a. The formal" opening" was on the evening class in vocal music, and probably also an of March 7. Between five and six o'clock orchestra; but for lack of room we cannot there was a musical reception; the rooms meet the demand for other classes, especially thronged with members and friends. The in technical branches. public exercises were held in the evangelistic hall near by, which was crowded with the Since the middle of March Friday evenings young men of Madras, Christian and non- have been devoted to literary and social fea- Christian, Brahmin and Sudra, native and tures alternately. The social hour is spent Eurasian. It was gratifying to find so large a informally with music, recitations, games, number of young men who, f.hough without etc. Our course of lectures on literary and the pale of the Church, had been led thither scientific 8ubjects has become so popular that by conscious or unconscious interest in on one occasion 177 crowded into a room large Christian work designed to further the true enough for only half that number. progress of India. The Lord Bishop of Madras presided, and addresses were delivered Since January Saturday evening has been deby Dr. Miller, principal of the Christian Col- voted to a Bible class, preceded by a short servlege, and others. ice of song. The average attendauce has been 48, Hindus as well as Christians attending, and The attendance in our rooms has increased most of them bringing their own Bibles and steadily from the first, the daily average note-books. During the college vacation the the first week being 15, and in successive class is converted into a young men'8 gospel weeks, 31, 47, 51, 68, 94, 106, 102, 141. Even meeting, in which the members take part. during the hottest weather, many members being absent during the college vacation, the A Bible training class, composed of six attendance has decreased but little in the young men, pledged to invariable attendance and at least three hours' study a week, is being conducted through a systematic course, to prepare workers. At the close of every evening the members ently refused to do. Alone, with no defense of the reception committee conduct a brief save the feeble protest of his brother, he finalinformal service of prayer, to which those in ly consented to have the marks put on for the roomS are invited. fear they would kill him. He is keenly consci- ous of the shame which he feels he bears, and At our first quarterly members' meeting, 71 is more pronounced than before in his purpose being present, the reports from the various to follow Christ. Indeed he assures me now committees would have done credit to any that he is quite ready to be baptized. He needs similar association in the West. Most of the instruction, however, and our hope is that active members are at work on the com- other members of his family may join him ndttees. a little later. To become a Christian here means literally the loss of all things. Those 3,000 rupees, it was estimated, would be re- words in Mark xi:29·30 never meant so much quired for the expenses of this year, inclnding to me before as when this young man and I furnishing. We have already secured 2,500 in read them together: "There is no man that membership fees and annual subscriptions of hath left house or brethren or sisters or father sustaining members. and it is believed that or mother or wife or children or lands, for My the work will become locally self-supporting, sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an apart from the salary of the general sec- hundredfold-with persecutions-and in the retary. world to come eternal life." Food and water and fire are cut off from the man who dares to The building is already too small to accom- break caste. modate the growing membership,and the management feels the pressing need of another The young Brahmin convert who led our building adapted to the peculiar requirements Young Men's Meeting last week and made a of this four-fold work, and for the funds to ringing appealfor fearless confession of Christ build the association must look to generous at any cost, is regarded by his fl'iends as dead friends in America. and his funeral obsequies have actually been performed. When another of our active mem- The Young Men of India, our eight-page bers, one of my training class, was about to monthly paper, is bearing tidings of this work be baptized, poisoned food was sent him by through the land, and we are now in corres- his own mother. and the road near my bungapondence with twenty-two other associations low was thronged with a mob of 2,000 Hindus, in India. infuriated at the missionary who was to per- form the ceremony. What far-sighted wisdom Already "first fruits" are beginning to ap- Jesus displayed in appointing baptism as the pear; success is provoking opposition-a wel- sign and seal of complete separation from the come relief from death·like indifference. For dead past! example, a Hindu member who has attended evening prayers and my Bible-dass quite regu- Dr. Chamberlain did not exaggerate when larly has shown anxiety to know the truth, at Northfield, in the su=er of 1887, he deand seemS not far from the Kingdom. On a clared that this was "the opportunity of the Saturday evening, about two weeks ago, he ages" now presenting itself to the Young was waylaid and prevented from coming to our Men's Christian Association here in India. Young Men's Gospel Meeting. After being What is being done in Madras can be done struck he escaped, and went quietly home. A throughout India. Calls for experienced genfew days after he came to get an English Bible, eral secretaries have already come from Calsupplementing his Tamil New Testament cntta and Colombo and Allahabad, and other which he has been using for some time; he cities are making similar demands. But the also attended a native church with one of our pressing need of the hour is to establish per· active members. Then a rumor was started manently in a suitable building this growing at Ihis home that he was becoming a Chris· work that has begun so well in this strongtian, and persecution commenced. Last Sun- hold of Hinduism. We are praying for the day he went with his brother, according to needed funds. "The God of Heaven, He will custom, to his native village to attend a cere- prosper us; therefore we His servants will mony for a sister who had recently died. arise and build." Are ye who read this record Sixty or seventy relatives had gathered to to "have no portion nor right nor memoriar' perform Puja for the deceased, but when the among the fifty millions of young men of Intime came to eat they refused to take food dia-so many of whom have English education with our friend, because they said he was go- but are "without Christ, having no hope and ing to become a Christian. They insisted upon without God in the world 1" his shaving his head and putting on the castemark of his god which he had abandoned. He Yours in His name and theirs, was taken to the temple. Excitement ran high. They demanded that he take an oath DAVID MCCONAUGHY, Jr. not to become a Christian, which he persist-
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. 'T. GRACEY, D.D.
Ohinese Education-Past and Present. China, when he stated that, as his victorious troops were returning to- BY REV. MARCUS L. TAFT, OF PEKING wards· the capital, they could fre- quently hear sounds from certain UNIVERSITY. buildings as of "the humming of bees." This poetical allusion would (Paper read before International Mis- be readily understood by any intelli- sionary Union, June, 1890.) gent Chinaman as meaning" students studying aloud "-a sure sign of peace " Formerly Confucius had young Hsiang Toh and prosperity. for his teacher; "Pai Chia Hsing," or "100 Sur- Even the sages of antiquity studied'with dili- names," is the title of the second book gence. which the youthful John Chinaman is required to memorize. This ex- ,Chao, a minister of State, read the Confncian plains why, although the popUlation Dialogues, of China amounts to hundreds of mil- lions, there are only 100 purely Chi- And he, too, though high in office, studied nese surnames, and, therefore, we in assiduously. this country so often see so many of the same name, as Chang, Lee and One copied lessons on reeds, another on slips Wang. of bamboo; Four other books, based upon the 'These, though without books, eagerly sought Confucian Classics, as well as the knowledge. famous " Four Books" and "Fine Classics," are, in due order, mastered (To vanquish sleep) one tied his head (by the by the patient, ambitious scholar. hair) to a beam, and another pierced his thigh with an awl; These Confucian Classics inculcate morality and teach jurisprudence. In 'Though destitute of instructors, these were comparison with the ancient writings laborious in study. of India, Greece and Rome they are remarkable in the absence of the One read by the glowworm's light, another by vulgar and obscene. Some of the reflection from snow; poetry is truly of a high order. Take an example of an ode, composed by 'These, though their families were poor, did Wan Wang, about 1,000 B. C" which not omit to study. may remind us of a more modern production on a smilar topic: .one carried faggots, and another tied his books to a cow's horn, "THE SWEET PE.AR TREE.
And, while thus engaged in labor, studied with (1.) " 0 I FeIl not that sweet pear tree I intensity. " See how its branches spread I Such are some of the inspiring senti- Spoil not its shade, ments in the" San Tzu Ching," the For Shao's chief laid universal primer, committed to memory by every Chinese lad who Beneath it his weary head, .enters upon the road of learning. Well do I remember the pardonable (2.) "0 I Clip not that sweet pear tree I pride of ;t certain Chinaman at Kiu Each twig and leaflet spare- Kiang, China, who brought his little brother before me to have me hear 'Tis sacred now him recite the" San Tzu Ching." Since the Lord of Shao, Being winter, the little urchin was clad in cumbrous, cotton-wadded When weary, rested him there.
clothing, and appeared hardly old (3.) " O! Touch not that sweet pear tree I ,enough to walk alone. Quickly facing Bend not a twig of it now; about, with his back towards me, and There, long ago, constantly swaying from side to side, As the stories show, this Chinese youngster glibly recited the entire" Trimetrical Classic." Oft haIted the Chief of Shao."
Another peculiarity in Chinese schools, besides" backing" and swaying during recitation, is stUdying aloud. It was to this universal practice that the late Viceroy, Tso, referred, a few years ago, in his report to the throne upon his repulse of the Russians from the northwest province of The familiar lines, " Woodman, These Governmental examinatione Spare that Tree," are thus, by this place a premium upon learning and Chinese poet, .anticipated by over furnish worthy incentives to every twenty-five centuries. aspiring youth to acquire an educa- Throughout China there is no sys- tion. Conceit, conservatism and cau- tem of public education. Many tion were legitimate results of this.
schools are started by wealthy parents contracted, antiquated curriculum of for their sons, and other pupils are stUdy. The ordinary Chinese scholar, allowed for a small sum to attend. with his enormous goggles and long Other schools are carried on by weH- finger-nails, indicative of leisure and to-do Chinese as meritorious deeds, for erudition, considers that he, like the which they will receive due credit in Pharisee of old, is the personification the world to come. of all wisdom. Their conceit is some- The attractive incentive.> to study thing prodigious. Nearly ten years.
are honor, office and immunity from ago, shortly after my arrival in China, corporal punishment,obtained through as I was studying with one of these> the civil servive examinations. DiS- literati as my teacher, we came to a.
trict, provincial and national exami- point where I could not comprehend nations, if successfully passed, open what he was trying to explain. Since the door to rank and office. Nearly he could speak no English and my all youths in the empire may compete knowledge of Chinese at that time> inthesepublicexaminations. Through- was very limited, he resorted to the out China there is no aristocracy of object method of instruction. He wealth, rank or caste. Only the aris- was endeavoring to explain the differ- tocracy of intellect prevails. The son ence between China and foreign coun- of a poor coolie as well as the son of tries. So he drew a large circle, and a rich mandarin may alike compete in inside wrote "Middle Kingdom"- this intellectual tournament. Who- one of the namE'S for China, and over'
ever succeeds, whether of a rich or the rim of this large circle he drew a poor lineage, may, provided he has very small circle, markingit " Outside the brains, attain a pqsition next to Countries;" His notion was that the emperor himself. This, in fact, is China, the;' Middle Kingdom," com- the ballot of the Chinese. This system prised all the best poI'tion of the· of competitiveexaminations, in opera- world, and over the bordt!r of this, tion during nearly thirteen centuries, where no one would live if he could has done more to maintain the integ- possibly help it-why, there were the rity of the ChinE'se empire than any United States, England, France, Ger- other factor, excepting, perhaps, filial many, Russia and all other foreign piety, to which God attached the first countries.
promise in the Decalouge. Conservatism is also a natural result.
Most remarkable has been the loyalty of their educational training. The of the Chinese literati. During that Chinese seem to think that whatever long and bloody Tai Ping Rebellion was good enough for their illus- " not one imperial official voluntarily trious sage, Confucius, who lived joined the Tai Pings, while hundreds about five centuries before Christ, is died resisting them" (v. Villiams' good enough for them to-day. To- "Middle Kingdom," Revised Edition, alter now what suited him then would Vol. I., p. 563). Compare such unani- be irreverence. As an instance of this.
mous loyalty of Chinese officials with look at the springless, seatless, rude some of the graduates of West Point cart of North China to-day. This and Annapolis during our late Civil conservatism especially manifests it- War, and the contrast will be more self against any innovation in morals evident. and religion. Hence the intense hostility towards the Christian religion on ous wealth, into the possession of a British Queen, who lives on a little the part of these same literati. island far away on the other side of the world. They do not at all desire Throughout the Chinese empire, these that a single square foot of Chinese soil shall be owned by any foreign literati, and not the Buddhist and Power. Therefore, eight years ago, on the introduction of the telegraph Taoist priests, have been the most via- into China, the Chinese would only em- ploy foreign experts from one of the lent opponents of Christianity. Ifany- smaller Powers of Europe, even Den- mark, so that every foreigner engaged one will take the trouble to investigate in the ereotion of the telegraph lines in China was a Dane. With reference the various riots in connection with to railroads a similar policy has been adopted. Syndicates in Great Britain, mission work which have occurred in France, Germany and the United States have sent their representatives widely separated sections of China, he to China in order obtain grantS for the construction of railroads. The will almost invariably find that these urbane Chinese mandarin received them very politely, but not the slight- Chinese literati have been the chief est concession would he grant any of them. After a brief interview, they instigators of these disturbances. They were ushered out of his presence and politely but plainly shown the way to· do not always show their hands. They their respective native lands.
usually stir up the lewd fellows of the China's enlightened statesmen want railroads, but only on the conbaser sort to perform this menial work dition that China shall control them. She may employ foreign engineers and for them, while they stand by and mechanics, but the railroad must be under her exclusive control. Such is. urge them on to their dastardly deeds.. their great caution, which, in some re- spects, rather deserves commendation Who, a few years ago, started the than condemnation.
riot in Chung-King, in West China, Notwithstanding this conceit, con- servatism, and caution, the shriek of when the Gamewells, Lewises and the locomotive and the glare of the electric light are causing these Chineseother missionaries with their families Rip Van Winkles to wake up from the slumber of centuries. Within three had their houses torn down by a mob, years modern science, mathematics, history and kindred studies have been and who, after an imprisonment of placed upon the list of examinatlOns. In the autumnal examinations of 1888 nearly two weeks, escaped at midnight in Peking, a further advance was· made. "For the first time in this exfrom the Ohinese yamen' Who, time amination a large premium was placed upon a knowledge of mathe– and again, have caused missionaries matics and Western sciences. Previ-· ous to the time for entering the lists, of the China Inland Mission to be proclamations were posted in the· driven by mobs out of their houses in Honan and Hunan? Who, in the lat- est instance of the kind, pulled that Baptist missionary out of his house in Shantung, "dragging him into the street by the hair of his head, tramp- ling him under their feet and leaving him there almost dead? Who were the instigators of all these and scores of similar riots in all parts of China?
No other auswer can be given than the Chinese literati. Such is their hostility developed out of their intense conservatism. • Again, excessive caution is another result of their educational system.
Since the influential officials have be- gun to investigate the history of for- eign nations, they are very cautious in making changes. Their leading statesmen are well posted concerning India. They know how India, after having been seized upon by Portugal and France, has at last come, with its enormous population and prodigigates, announcing that this much- ate at Edinburgh and ranked high sought-for honor would be bestowed as a physician at Canton; Hon. Yung upon five per cent. of those who Wing was the originator of the Chinshowed proficiency in these studies; ese Educational Commission to the whereas in the case of students from United States. Their headquarters the province at large, who, after the were at Hartford, Conn., but these order of the old regime, submitted to Chinese students, after a few years of examinations in the classics only, but study in New England, were sumone per cent. would receive the de- marily recalled to China. Now they gree." are filling influential positions in the Chinese army and navy, in the Since the iniquitious Opium War of telegraph offices, in the medical 1841-4.2, China, perceiving the superi- profession and in foreign consulates ority of Western science, has estab- and embassies. Tong King Sing is lished arsenals and technical schools president of the China Merchant for military and naval tactics, Steamship Company, and the leading medicine, telegraphy, and other director, withViceroy Li Hung Chang, Western sciences at Foochow, Shang- in the newly constructed railroad from hai, Nanking, and Tientsin, as well as the Kai-Ping coal mines to Tientsinthe Imperial College, Tung Wen about eighty miles in length. These Kuan, at Peking, where some 100 Chi- are some of the results of the "Morrinese students are prepared to act as son Educational Society," organized interpreters and consuls, under the before conservative China began to apefficient leadership of that eminent preciate and appropriate modern sci- American sinologue, Rev. W. A. P. ence from the West. Martin, D.D., LL.D. All of the Governmental institutions are secular, Since Morrison's day, Christian eduthe Bible and Christianity being rigor- cation in China, started by his wise ously excluded from the course of in- foresight, has made marvellous strides. .struction. Institutions, where only the vernacu- lar has been used in teaching West- Robert Morrison, the far-sighted ern learning, have been in successful and clear-headed pioneer of Protes- operation on many mission fields, tant missions in China, inaugurated notably atSwatow, Tungchowfu, and both educational and medical work, Tungcho in Chihli. Other Protestant as able auxiliaries in evangelizing that institutions oflearning have combined empire. In the light of recent events the study of English with Chinese, as the wisdom of his planning is most in the ChristianUniversity at Canton, manifest. For thorough mission-work, in the Foochow University, in the there should be an indissoluble union Shanghai College and in the Peking ·of body, mind and heart. Christianity University. must have possession of the whole man. In all these Christian schools, a great door and effectual is to- Dr. Morrison, clearly seeing this, day opportunely opened for the established both educational and medi- thinking classes of China. These cal auxiliaries for Chinese evangeliz- literati, recruited from all grades of ation many years before the Opium the Chinese population, have all along War. Also, antedating that epoch, been our most bitter opponents. Since there was organized in his honor' 'The the recent radical departure of the Morrison Educational Society," with Government in placing Western Dr. S. R. Brown as first instructor. If science upon the examination lists, Dr. Wang, Hon. Yung Wing and these ambitious scholars have ascer- Tong King Sing were the only pupils, tained that Christian Anglo-Chinese the work of that society was surely schools could provide them with the not in vain. Dr. Wang was agradueagerly desired Western science. They tainty the life beyond the grave. have loudly knocked at these Chris- Philosophers of all nations may surtian halls of learning, asking admis- mise and speculate, but, as Gibbon sion. All available room has been camlidly stated in his famous fifteenth quickly taken. At present, worthy chapter, "It was still necessary that applicants, willing to pay tuition and the doctrine of life and immortality, support themselves, especially at Pe- which had been dictated by nature, king, have had to be turned away, sim- approved by reason, and received by ply for lack of accommodation. superstition, should obtain the sanction of divine truth from the authority and Merely secular education will never example of Christ." rescue China from her heathenism and atheism. Allowing to Confucian- Clearly appreciating the present nism all the moral and political excel- educationalcrisis of missions in China, lence it deserves, there still remains contrasting the intense hostility to "an aching void." In it exists no Christian education in Turkey, and self-renunciating love, no forgive- remembering Christ's farewell comness of sin, and no hope of immor- mand, " Go, teach!" the faithful Protality. testant missionary in China to-day gladly employs Christian education as The negative maxim, "Whatsoever the right arm for evangelizing China's ye would not that men should do to millions. to you, do not do them," is sometimes called the Silver Rule of Confucius, in The Evolution of a Missionary Society. comparison with the positive law of love, the Golden Rule of Christ. One BY REV. JAMES MUDGE. is negative and passive; the other is positive and active. One is as the It has for some time seemed to me priest and Levite, who do no harm, that since the International Missionary but sympathetically pass by on the Union was also, in the most emphatic other side; the other is as the Good sense, interdenominational, it would Samaritan, who at the sight of the be highly fitting that there be presuffering traveler, at once dismounts, sented at its annual meetings a series binds up his wounds, places him upon of papers setting forth somewhat in his own beast of burden, and makes detail the internal organization of the arrangements for his comfort at the various societies, together with the inn. One is like the moonlight, sil- changes, if any, that have taken place very and clear, but cool and chilly; since their formation. Such a series The other is like the genial warm sun- would be especially timely just now shine, with its invigorating radiance in view of the fact that the oldest at noon-day. American society is casting about for the wisest method of so modifying her Once a disciple of Confucius came constitution as to bring herself more to this conservative sage and asked fully en rapport with her constituency. him concerning sin. The only conso- By way of a beginning in this direclation Confucius gave him was this: tion, and as affording in a compact " He who sins against heaven has no compass information not easily accesone to whom he can pray." At sible to all, I present the following another time a disciple of his inquired sketch of the manner in which the concerning the future life. Confu- missionary society of the Methodist cius replied, "If we know not the Episcopal Church has reached its present life how can we know the present position. future life?" Honest words, frankly spoken! No man, however wise in It has undergone what may not inthis world's wisdom, can, unaided by aptly, perhaps, be styled a process of divine revelation, describe with cer- evolution. Like Methodism itself it has gradually developed, adapting itself to circumstances and undergo- meeting. A committee from that ing a variety of changes, passing on meeting, composed of Nathan Bangs, from point to point as Providence ap- Freeborn Garrettson and Laban Clark, peared to direct and the wisdom of drew up its constitution, which was experience to dictate. It has not formally adopted at a large public probably yet attained in all respects gathering held in Forsyth street perfection's height, but in most par- church, April 5, 1819, and a full set of ticulars it affords an admirable ex- officers was elected. The ensuing ample of close approximation to the general conference sanctioned the ideal. scheme and recommended all other Previous to 1872 its membership, as Methodist missionary societies, nota- in so many other societies even at the bly the one at Philadelphia, which present day, rested on a purely finan- was of older date, to become auxiliary cial basis. The society up to that time to this at New York. But it was more consisted exclusively of life members, than twenty years before these two made such by the payment of twenty societies really united. Norw~ it till dollars. No others belonged. Twenty- 1836 that the missionary society be- five of these members constituted a came of sufficient,.importance to have quorum for the transaction of busi- a resident corresponding secretary ness. And at the annual meeting, of who should give his entire time to its such members as might choose to come service. Dr. Nathan Bangs was ap- together in the city of New York on pointed. He had from the beginning, the third Monday of November, there without salary orcompensation of any was chosen the full board of man- kind, conducted almost all its busi- agers in whom was vested the entire ness, writing every annual report but disposition of the affairs and property . one; and holding in himself the most of the society. Rather a loose arrange- of its life-blood. Dr. Bangs was ment it would seem. These managers chosen by the general conference, as consisted of thirty-two laymen, and, have been all subsequent correspond- after 1856, of no more than thirty-two ing secretaries, although, until the ministers, although before that all abolition of the old" society" in 1873, Qrdained ministers, both traveling and it went through the legal form of re- local, who were·members of the society electing them at its regular annual were also members of the board. This meeting. From 1836 to 1844 the cor- made it, by the necessities of the case, responding secretary had to be a mem- largely a local affair, and to some ex- ber of the New York Conference, tent, legally at least, independent of which was charged with his super- all church authority. Yet from the vision.
first its promoters earnestly endeavored In 1844 a very important step was to give it a connectional character, taken in the direction of generalizing and partly succeeded. They groped the management. It was in this year their way steadily toward the true that the church was divided into mis- theory and method, dropping off one sion districts, and there was formed erroneous feature after another, fol- from these the general missionary lowing the leadings of the Lord, and committee, appointed by the bishops, moving forward as fast, perhaps, as to whom was given a share in the the church in general was prepared to control, conjointly with the board.
accompany them, until they came at In 1856 the clerical managers were re- length to the fully developed system. stricted to thirty-two, and in 1872 was It is instructive and interesting to instituted the present arrangement, note the advances. whereby the general missionary com- This missionary society was clearly mittee is composed of one representa- the child of the New York preachers' tive from each of the mission districts, now fourteen, elected by the general States and foreign countries there conference, on nomination, by the shall be a missionary society, duly in- delegates of the annual conferences corporated according to law, and within each district respectively, alilo having its office in the city of New an equal number of persons selected York; said society being subject to by the board of managers from its such rules and regulations as the own sixty-four members, together general conference may from time to with the secretaries and treasurers of time prescribe." Singular as it may the society, and the whole Board of seem, this was the first issue of the Bishops. This action more than any Discipline, fifty-six years after the other gave the final death-blow to society had been endorsed by the the old society idea, and made the general conference, cOlltaining a direct missionary organization, as it ought authorization of its existence. No to be, an integral part of the work of previous Discipline has any mention the whole church. of the society, except two or three indirect references or allusions in Dr. Durbin, secretary from 1850 to paragraphs treating of other topics, 1872, had already seen the importance which shows emphatically in what a ,of emphasizing this side of the move- very miscellaneous manner the entire ment, and in the" Disciplinary Chap- legislation of the church on this ter on Missions," recast by him with a subject has been thrown together, large amount of new matter in 1852, and how fragmentarily it has arrived he had taken pains to place at the at its present excellent condition. head of all this highly significant sen- tence: "The support of missions is The most recent emendation of the committed to the churches, congrega- constitution, ordered by the General Conference of 1888, was in the same as tions and societies such." In other line with all the previous changes, and provides for the still further emwords, the cause was not to be re- phasizing of the connectional, as opgarded as the concern simply of such posed to the local, character of the separate members of the church as institution, by prescribing that the might choose to bind themselves annual meeting of the General Comtogether in local auxiliaries, which at mittee shall be hereafter no longer the first, and for a long while, were confined to New York but shall be regarded as the principal feeders held at least three times out of four in Df the society, nor of such as were other cities. able and willing to contribute twenty dollars at one time, but every church It would seem now that there is member throughout the nation or the nothing left of the society or local world was by the very fact of his idea beyond the mere name and the membership pledged to contribute restrictions imposed by the necessity and co-operate according to his ability, of having a charter from some specinor did he need to be further enrolled fic State Legislature in order to hold in any distinct way to make this property, as well as the necessity of having headquarters where certain pledge more binding. And all the matters of business can be attended pastors were, as such special agents of to. This missionary society, still so- .the cause, charged with collecting called for convenience sake, is now funds for its furtherance and in every simply and solely the whole church way advancing its interests. itself acting in its corporate capacity for the establishment and support of The missionary section of the Disci- missions. It is not an outside organizpline was again entirely recast in ation allied to the church, but distinct 1876, with a number of new para- from it. Rather is it tpe right arm of graphs, of which the following 'Stands first: "For the better prosecution of missionary work in the United
THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS
the body. holding most vital connec- and sovereignly regulates all its aftion with every other part, receiving fairs. The bishops appoint all the its full share of the life blood and con- missionaries. The general committee, tributing its full share to the welfare meeting annually, selects the mission of the whole. The missionary society fields and allots the money, and the is only one of the names of the church, board of managers, meeting monthly, and every member of the latter, from looks after the details, while the secthe senior bishop to the youngest pro- retaries conduct the correspondence bationer, is also a member of the and set in motion all possible agencies former, having some part to fill in its for filling the treasury. So there is at maintenance. The General Confer- last provided here an agency of marence, the highest authority, the one vellous completeness for the purpose body which speaks for the entire in hand-a system of wheels and pulchurch the world around, elects its lies and bands in which strength is secretaries and treasurers and presi- combined with elasticity, and which dents, appoints its managers and gen- moves with a smoothness and effieral committee, revises its constitution ciency leaving little to be desired.
V.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
BY SECRETARY F. F. ELLINWOOD, D.D.
The Situa.tion in Ja.pan and Korea. decades-the average force for that time having been small. But that I.-JAPAN.
The statistical report of Protestant which may be tabulated in figures is missions in Japan for the year 1889, but a small part of what has been ac- published by Rev. Henry Loomis, complished in Japan. The beginnings agent of the American Bible Society, which have been made point to is full of suggestions. Its general in- broader future results. Everything dications of success are remarkable. in such a work is of the nature of Only fifteen years ago the member- seeds. Forces are set in motion which ship of the churches were buta hand- will continue to act for generations.
ful. The missionary boards scarcely What if foreigners should now be took the pains to publish any statis- wholly excluded, as were the Portu- tics. It was the day of small things. guese missionaries two centuries ago? It is almost startling, therefore, to Is Christianity planted and rooted SO find now a total membership in the firmly that it would survive and Protestant mission churches of 31,181, prosper if the Japanese churches with 274 organized churches, 153 of were left to themselves? Judging which are wholly and 151 partially from the history of Protestant mis- self-supporting. Thereare 135 ordained . sions in Tahite and Madagascar, we native ministers and 409 unordained may safely conclude that the work preachers and helpers. There are 350 accomplished in Japan is a perma- Sabbath schools with 21,597 pupils, nent and enduring power in the land.
and 17 theological schools with 275 And it is from this point of view students. The contributions of the that we may perhapsgainthe strongest churches during the year 1889 amount- impression of the value of the work of ed to $53,503.13. The number of mis- twenty-five years. Over against the sionary organizations represented in work of less than a generation, there this work is 29, and the number of must be set down to the credit side foreign missionaries is—{)f men, 200; the endless development and the im- of unmarried female missionaries, 171; measurable fruitage of many genera- with a total, including wives, of 527. tions to come.
Such is the force now engaged and Of course missionary influence canthe result shown is the work of two not claim all that has been done in the transformation of Japan. Com- in place here as we contemplate the merce has done much, and "he general situation. It has been too government and people have until common, though on slight grounds, to now seemed almost eager to learn the consider Sintoism* as dead and out of ways of our Western civilization, in- the question. But intelligent Japcluding education. But the missionary anese, even some of those most work has contributed that best of all friendly to Christian progress, look elements, the ethical and the domestic. upon Sintoism as constituting a It has changed especially the whole greater obstacle to Christianity than status and outlook of Japanese woman- Buddhism, though its influence is less hood, and that includes also the out- conspicuous and obstructive. Sintolook of the future state. ism is the old national religion; it is a development of that nature worship But there is another lesson which which has been so common in the the statistics of Mr. Loomis present. early experience of many races. There has been evidently some reaction. There has not been as large a Sintoism recognizes one Supreme growth in 1889 as in other recent years. God, who is unknown to men, but We were prepared for this, for all from whom all things have sprung. sources of information have revealed From him eight subordinate divinities the fact of political jealousy connect- emanated, of whom the most impor_ ed with the question of the revision tant were Isename and Isenangi, male of treaties. There has sprung up a and female, the progenitors of manparty which is opposed to foreigners kind. and foreign influence. It embraces many of the young and vigorous ele- These related deities, standingon the mentsof Japanese society. There has ramparts of heaven, reached down to in consequence been less readiness to earth with a long spear and stirred listen to the gospel, and the religious the depths of the ocean, and as they movement generally has felt the in- withdrew the spear there dripped from fiuence. Missionaries are consequently its point a peculiar substance from filled with no little anxiety, though which grew the islands of Japan, and generally they are hoping that the re- which had in it "the prophecy and action is only temporary. potency of all life," animal and vege- table. It was Huxley's protoplasm It isa fitting opportunity, now that turned to' practical account. From the work has slackened speed, to re- the two deities sprang a beautiful view the whole situation. What is daughter, the goddess of the sun, and the religious condition of Japan to- she became the mother of the day? What remaining strength have Mikados. the old faiths? Are they likely to abide, or will the future conflict lie It is claimed tha~ there has never between Christianity and some new been a break in this royal and divine form of belief or unbelief? Really succession, and that for 2600 years it there are four religions still contend- can be clearly traced. Many imporing for supremacy – Sintoism, Bud- tant results have sprung from this dhism,Confucianism and Christiar:ity, sun myth. It has conduced greatly to say nothing of those new types of to the loyalty of the Japanese toward thought which are the result of their sovereign. Only in three unsucconflict or compromise, and which cessful instances have attempts ever generally savor of general dissent and been made to dethrone a Mikado, negation. though changes in the dynasties of the Shoguns, or temporal rulers, have SINTOISM. • Some writers use the simple term Sintoo, A moment's consideration of the bnt Sintoism is employed by some native old faiths and their present status is writers. been frequent enough. The myth of neighbor, considered the universe as the sun goddess has also had a general- eternal, subject only to development ly favorable influence on the con- by natural growth or by generation. dition of women. The chief deity Though the Japanese, unlike the Inof Sintoists is a female. The most dian faith, recognized the existence gorgeous temple in Japan is the Sin- of a supreme deity from whom the to temple, reared to the sun goddess two divine progenitors emanated, yet in the Province of Ise. She is regard- it made no practical account of him. ed as the giver of all life in nature, He was never worshipped. and therefore the goddess of spring and of harvests. In the springtime festi- The two systems appear to have exvals and processions are instituted in ercised a degree of mutual toleration, her honor. and both adm~tted the claims of Confu- cianism, which in Japan, as in China Of the long succession of sovereigns and Korea, became largely the faith nine have been women. Naturally, or cult of the intellectual classes. The therefore, the female sex escapes favorite illustration by which this the degrading estimate which obtains tolerantspirit was expressed ran thus: in most Asiatic countries. Women There are many paths which lead to are not secluded as in China or India, the top of Fusyama, each approaching and there is in Japan something from a different side, but when they which approximates to our ideas at reach the summit, they all alike home. command a view of the world.
A religion which is so strarigely In some respects Sintoism and naturalistic might be expected to be Buddhism rendered to each other a weak on its ethical side. It is not a mutual service. The former, like creed of strong moral power. There other systems of sun worship, develis less ~f "thou shalt" and "thou oped a great aversion to death and shalt not" than in most faiths. The corruption. As with the followers of sexual relations, especially among the Zoroaster, so with all Sintoists, the rural populations, are lax and the pro- contact of the dead was considered test of conscience is feeble. Yet in polluting. And there was but slight the common ethics of life in all that attention given to the hereafter. concerns mutual rights, Sintoism presents a better record than many Buddhism, on the other hand, magsystems of more rigid law. It is nified the issues of the future. It was always the sin that breaks over a more sombre in spirit and looked upon strong moral code that becomes the death as only a transition to oth&r most heinous. Sint6ism has no forms of life. But on the other hand positively corrupting doctrines or Buddhism held an awkward relation ceremonies like those of Hinduism or to marriage. Itwasessentiallyopposed the old Baal worship. It has no vile to the reproduction of life. Its celiand demoralizing promises like that bate priesthood were out of place at of the Mohammedan's heaven. It has the marriage feast, whileSinto priests, DO legends of vicious conduct in its themselves fathers of families, were in gods as have most heathen systems, full sympathy with it. ancient and modern. For a thousand years, therefore, BUDDHISM. marriages were under the direction of Sinto priests, while the Buddhist Buddhism entered Japan about 552 bonzes officiated at the funerals. The A. D., and from that time interesting arrangement was finally broken off changes occurred mutually between it through the jealousy of the Governand the Japanese faith. The two sys- ment. As with the Church of Rome, tems were alike in dispensing with a so with the· Buddhist Sangha: the Creator. Sintoism, as well as its new power over the dying and the dead and the issues of the world to come The Japanese Government from was found to be a formidable factor time to time canonizes the great men in the State. who in their lives have been public benefactors, and thenceforth they are It must be ,"mfessed that thE' line of enshrined. Every prefecture. in the cleavage between the two systems is empire has its Sinto temple. The still very difficult to trace, as the great system seems entrenched in the mass of the people are practically both national life however little of aggres- Sintoists and Buddhists. The latter siveness it may manifest as a religion. <:ult, by its stronger intellectual character, has accomplished more for Buddhism of the old stamp can education and for all the elements of scarcely retain its power, but it never an advancing civilization than the old cares to retain any particular type. faith. It has also introduced moral It has ul'l.dergone many changes in the precepts of a more positive character past centuries and is ready for many than the simpler nature worship had more. It is the most flexible and adever inculcated. Modern Japan as it justable of all systems. It is divided stood at the time of Commodore into twelve distinct sects as it nowex- Perry's expedition was greatly in- ists in Japan. What new attitude it debted to Buddhism, and it owed much will assume in the new ordeal to which also to the teachings of Confucius, the full blaze of Christian truth is which with the introduction of the subjecting it remains to be seen. Chinese language had gained a strong German philosophy, Indiantheosophy, foothold. Both of these systems are and American Unitarianism are doing :still active and aggressive in their what they can to keep it in good heart influence, though lacking the one ele- agaiust the incursion of the" Western ment of strength which Sintoism religion" which missionaries are strivenjoys in its alliance with the Govern- ing to introduce. ment. When the present Mikado assumed full power he proclaimed the What, then, is the outlook? The Sinto faith as the religion of the foes of Christianity love to dwell State. upon what they call the small and in- effectual efforts and smaller success of Well he might, for he had witnessed our Christian propagandism, and they a manifestation of its power as a sup- point in contrast to the widespread porter of his throne such as few conquests of Buddhism on the same sovereigns in the world's history have field fourteen hundred years ago. known. The voluntary surrender of But they forget that those conquests their power and their feudal estates by which we have se~n to have be~n only the daimios of all the provinces to one partial were the result of hundreds of ruler could only have been brought years of slow growth. We have been about by that reverence which the at work a quarter of a century, the sovereigns of Japan have so long re-' first decade of which showed little <:eived as the sons of the gods. fruit, and yet no other such trans- formation ever occurred even in a Moreover, the Sinto temples are century or in two centuries. The enshrined in the pride and reverence nation was never so awakened before, of the people as the resting-places of and it is not strange that some rethe national heroes. There are no action should have occurred and some idols there, but the images of the great real fear lest all trace of the past men of the past are legion. Bud- should be lost. dhism has adroitly followed this example, but the images are only bor- The fact that neither the Buddhist rowed and seem out of place. They nor the Confucian faith ever entirely properly belong to Sintoism and the won Japan after so many centuries of national system. experiment may properly raise the question whether even Christianity dynasty it has been under the ban of will take exclusive possession of the Governmental condemnation. It excountry. The idea that Japan or ists only by sufferance. Confucian- China or India will become exclusively ism has fared better among the lead- Christian in the near future seems ing classes, but its influence is greatly born rather of enthusiasm than of· a circumscribed. careful consideration of facts and indications. No _country is wholly Korea, as a country, has no religion Christian. The best are only prevail- except a crude mass of superstitionsingly Christian, and such Japan will spirit-worship or nature-worship, or be. But until the day comes in which the usual mixture of the two. Like infidel influences from so-called China and Japan, the country has had Christian countries shall cease to ob- an experience with Jesuit missions and struct the conversion of heathen races has driven them out with bloody perby positive efforts to corrupt and lead secutions-though a remnant of native astray we can only hope for a supreme Roman Catholic Christians has reand Qvermastering influence of the mained. The work of Protestant gospel. missions in Korea all lies within the last decade. It began on the North- The Government will perhaps cling west even before the seaports were to the alliance of the Sinto faith for opened by treaties with Western Powa time even after the light of civiliz- ers. Through the indefatigable labors ation has shown the absurdity of the of Rev. John Ross, a Scotch Presbyold myths. Buddhism will continue terian missionary at Moukden, North to find sympathy and support in the China, parts of the New Testament natural self-righteousness of many were translated into the Korean lanhuman hearts, and Confucianism, that guage and were borne over the borproverbially self – sufficient system der by his native helpers who pro– which has become so deeply rooted in ceeded southward even to Seoul, where all three of the great Mongolian races, they won a few converts. will perhaps be slow to yield its hold, but the sceptre of the cross will bear Then followed the medical work or supreme sway and will transform the Dr. H. W. Allen, of the American country more and more. Presbyterian Mission. He was soon followed by Dr. J. W. Heron*andRev. n.-KOREA. H. G. Underwood, of the same mis- sion, and by Messrs. Scranton, Appen- It seems natural to associate Japan zeller and others of the American with China and still more nearly with Methodist Episcopal Mission North. Korea. Both of these missions have been greatly strengthened and are realizing The Mongolian type of race renders an encouraging success. The Presthem essentially one. Between the byterian Church of Australia estabsprightliness and docility of the Japan- lished a mission a year and a half agoese and the extreme conservatism of under the direction of Mr. and Miss the Chinese the Koreans present a Davis. They gave great promise of medium character, as their country success, but the death of the brother holds a geographically intermediate and the consequent return home or position. the sister have left the mission in suspense. The Young Men's Christian Korea, in its existing religious posi- Association of Canada is about to send tion, is unlike either China or Japan. two missionaries to 'Korea during the Sintoism has never been introduced present season. there. The Taouism of China has made but a slight impression and that in a *Dr. Heron has recently died of dysentery. modified form. Buddhism was successfullyintroduced long ago, but during the whole period of the present
EDITORIAL NOTES ON CCRRENT TOPICS
VI.-EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.
A general conference of all evangeli- of this REVIEW, who has been in Brit- ~al Christians is called to meet in Florence in 1891, immediately after ain for seven months on a tour of mis- Easter. The invitation is issued by the Italian Branch of the Evangelical sions among the churches, should un- Alliance, and is exceedingly tender in tone. One can realize how changed is dertake a similar campaign in this the aspect of affairs in Italy only by a tour in this wonderful land. The country. He has given his consent to people breathe freely now, with the Pope "a prisoner in the Vatican." How this arrangement and the details only vast the changes since Dr. Marsh was ~ompelled to leave his Bible outside remain to be settled. It is probable the walls before he could himself enter the Eternal City! We remember Sig. that he will accept the invitation of Arrighi's saying that he should not be surprised if he yet had the privilege the Presbyterian Board of Foreign of inviting the Evangelical Alliance to meet in Rome, and seeing the meet- Missions to give a series of addresses ings held in St. Peter's and the delegates lodged in the Vatican! Rome in the great centres East and West, was thought of for the coming meeting, but abandoned on purely pru- between October and meeting of the dential grounds. There are now about 30 places of Protestant worship next General Assembly. We beinside the city of the PopesI A. T. P. speak for Dr. Pierson in this expected The recent outrages at Zacatecas show that the Romish spirit of intoler- campaign the prayers of the readers ance is only slumbering, and that if the Papal Church dared all the hor- of the REVIEW. His aim will be to rors of the Inquisition would be revived. Father Hecker said in the put before the people the great facts Catholic World that heresy should be puuished, and that sins of heresy which are calculated to stimulate should be taken cognizance of in the department of thought. What does missionary zeal and awaken personal that mean but that to think differently from Rome is an offense that ought consecration of self, substance and to be dealt with by law and visited with penalty? Truly we are not so far children to the work of spreading the from the days of Cardinal Bellarmine who, on the basis of two texts, "Feed good news over the wide world. We My sheep," and "Rise, Peter, kill and eat," argued that these two texts prove know no one better fitted for such a the double duty of the Church to take care of disciples and burn heretics! mission. J. M. S. Why not carry such liberalism a step further, and prove that the Church It is another significant sign of the should eat the heretics she burns! times that in both China and Japan there should be the most prominent A.T.P. and promising movement toward the union of all evangelical Christians in It is proposed that one of the editors one body. The contrast is significant, that in Christendom there should be such a multiplication of sects, and on the field of missions such a drawing together and tendency to eliminate denominationalism altogether from the body of believers I -A trained teacher is wanted by the Reformed Church for Nagasaki, Japan, to take charge of the Steele Memorial School for Young Men. Here is an opportunity for some man of balanced judgment, learning, health, piety and a missionary spirit to impress himself upon a whole generation of Japanese youth. A similar man is needed in Amoy Mis- sion, China, and neither needs to be ordained. Where are our young men who, like Micawber, are waiting for something to turn up? Here are op- portunities for investment of mental and moral capital such as no previous hedge into the playground. This was generation ever presented. Think signal for a rude assault, in which what Paul would do if he had the stones and even knives came into play.
chance which this generation supplies But for the fact that it was discovered of expending his life for Christ and by the assailants that he WQ.S a teacher souls! Here are two nations, excelled in one of the schools his life might by none in the Orient for average have been sacrificed.
capacity and culture, waiting for the Meanwhile, in Utsunomiya, the right man to take the rudder and Buddhists had organized a society, guide the coming State. A. T. P. supported by the money of citizens -The outbreaks of personal violence not worthy of the highest esteem, in missionary fields of late are very hired a theatre and employed a lectur- significant. An attempt was made to er to abuse Christianity publicly.
murder Rev. D. W. Frazier, of the When a challenge to public discussion· Presbyterian Board, in Greenville, was wisely declined by the Christians West· Africa, but baffled by the fact about 300 men came from the theatI'e that he and his boys were armed. on Sunday evening, and not only in- Rev. Mr. Newby, in Monsterrade terrupted the service of worship but County, was shot and killed for the broke the windows and some of the sake of land he had bought and im- seats, and only the police prevented proved. At the same time Mr. Frazier further violence.
himself bears witness that the mission- All these are significant signs. We ary spirit has never risen to so high a read of the devil as coming down, Hood mark! "having great wrath because he At the same time the anti-foreign re- knoweth that he hath but a short action in Japan is creating alarm. On time." It would seem that Satan April 4th two armed, masked men begins to tremble for the stability of entered the house of Rev. T. A. Large, his kingdom in this world. Were of the Canada Methodist Mission in missions the failure some would make Tokio, and in attempting to drive out us think he would not trouble himself the intruders he received deadly much about them. Evidently Satan wounds and his wife was wounded in does not agree with some modern the face and had two fingers cut off. critics of missions.
011 the 14th of May Rev. J. Summers, But more than this, we think we of the Church of England, driving out see a decided sign of God's providence with his wife met the carriage of the in permitting these outrages. Mis- Empress Dowager of Japan. Because sions have been in danger of being he did not lift his hat in salute when Invested with a false" romance." On as yet the carriage was onlyapproach- one hand one would suppose from the ing. an advance guard struck off his halo with which heathenism is sur- hat with the butt of his lance. The rounded that the " Light of Asia" is "soshi," the "young America" of quite sufficient to illumine the world.
Japanese society, followed this assault And on the other, we fear that the by rude and irritating conduct in their necessity for the martyr spirit has in ~eal to defend the honor of the royal the eye of some disappeared in the family, and Mr. Summers has resolved rapid advances of modern civilization to return to England. The insult and culture. We have heard young seems purely gratuitous and inex- men exhorted to go· to these far-off cusable. Only three days later, at a lands on the ground that no such sel/- game of foot ball between the pupils denials are now required as once of two native schools, Dr. Imbrie, of were; 1;hat they would find all the the Presbyterian Mission, to avoid a comforts and luxuries of modern civili- roundabout walk stepped over a low zation surrounding them in these Oriental lands! We protest, that when is found in the dominions of the the martyr spirit is quenched the mis- greatest Protestant empire on the sionary spirit will be found to have globe! We record our solemn belief gone out in the same dying flame. Per- after much observation, that, notwith- haps the Lord sees that if missions are standing many precious Christian to have a new and great advance it truths held by the Papal Church, it must be over paths marked with harbors and fosters idolatrous worship blood. As persecutions have tested, of the Virgin and even of the sacra- sifted and purified the Church, so mental wafer. And where idolatry have the trials and risks of missionary prevails, under whatever guise, the life purged the missionary band of the Spirit of God has never yet been pres- chaff and dross of unconsecrated and ent to convert and sanctify. If idols unworthy workmen. Let us not be in are in the courts the Shekinah is not fear. It would not be surprising if in the temple. A. T. P.
the devil should be permitted to work -Recently we attended a simplecon- out his great wrath, and God should ference of believers at Niagara-on-the- make that wrath to praise Him in Lake, where for a week a few hun- raising the level of missionary devo- dred disciples who held the truth es- tion. The man or woman who is not pecially dear, and wished to study the ready to dare death for Jesus is not Bible in company, assembled. Never ready to use life for Him. The lions have we breathed an atmosphere so in the way that send Mr. Fainthearted full of God. In the closing three and Mr. Halfhearted back only em- hours, on Thursday, July 17, we heard bolden Faithful and Christian to brave three successive addresses from Dr.
danger for the Lord. A missionary W. G. Moorhead, on the" Millell'ial life that presents only worldly attrac- Age," from Dr. Nath. West, on tions and tempts worldly indulgences " Christ in the Apocalypse," and from produces a degenerate class of mis- Dr. Brookes, of St. Louis, on the sionaries. We shall have no more "Rewards of the Believer," which we Morrisons, Moifats, Livingstones, never heard surpassed or even Lindleys, Brainerds, Bushnells, Notts, equalled for scriptural quality and Hunts, Williams, Hanningtons, Jud- spiritual power. During seven days sons, McAlls, when there is no more we heard only the Word of God ex- need of self-denial for Christ, for self- panded, expounded and applied. No sacrifice is the mould of heroic souls. ad captandum speeches, no essays or The Lord has not left the work or the orations; no attempts at drawing a workmen yet, and if there be any new crowd; not a hint of the new theology trials and tests they will only make -the old-fashioned views of plenary the product purer and more perfect. inspiration, with every cardinal doc- A. T. P. trine as our fathers held them, with- Those who think that Roman Catho- out any attempt to accommodate lic communities need no Protestant them to the demands of modern cul- missionaries should read Rev. A. B. ture and science. It was refreshing Mackay's letter about the adoration of and invigorating; it was a tonic for " Corpus Christi" in Montreal! the soul. But the most noticeable Think of compelling people not only thing about it is that when the old- to halt while the procession was mov- fashioned Bible was so deeply rever- ing but to kneel in the presence of the enced and earnestly studied, the mis- "host!" What is this but the idolatry, sionary flame burned more brightly not of sun or moon-which are at least than we have ever seen it before in noble objects of admiration-but of a such a gathering. Such a spirit of mere piece of dough! And this forcible spontaneous giving was there ex- participationin iiolatrous ceremonials hibited that a few hundred people, mostly of very moderate means, vol- results, compare favorably with any untarily offered more than $4,000! other in the whole fil<ld. A. T. P.
Year before last that same little con- We desire to call attention to the ference gave $2,500 to Hudson Taylor National Missionary Conference to be for the China Inland Mission, and held at Indianapolis on September 3d furnished him some 13 missionaries and continue till the 9th. It is ex- besides! All from that small com- pected that there will be a large at- pany of disciples met for Bible study! tendance, particularly of the volun- Last year again about thesamesumwas teers for the work of foreign missions given, unsolicited, and now again this and of those who feel especially "in- year the voluntary offerings are nearly terested in giving the gospel to the double those of the previous years. whole world as speedily as possible."
Never have we seen in any similar There has been a marvellous quicken- assembly a like devotion to the old ing and extension of the missionary Bible, a like spirit of prayer, a like spirit in Kansas and other portions of spirit of missions, or a like spirit of the West during the past few months.
giving. And we asked ourselves as A great many missionaries have been we came away, whether a. revival of raised up already as the fruit of this the simple faith in the Word of God, revival. One company, as we have in place of modern "Progressive previously chronicled, has already Theology," "Second Probation," gone forth to plant a new mission in "Higher Criticism" and "Christian the Soudan, and another company, we Science" might not be the key to a understand, will join the pioneer band new zeal for missions, and a new the coming autumn. Doubtless this Pentecost of prayer, and a new spirit Conference will intensify this move- of large and abundant self-sacrifice? nlent. which has taken such powerful The more we see of Christian life the hol~ of the Young Men's Christian As- more do we feel confident that every sociations of several of the Western step away from a full faith in the States in particular, and will origin- plenary inspiration of the Word of ate and give shape to new and impor_ God is a step away from the Cross tant developments looking to the of Christ and from all which that speedy evangelization of the world.
Cross represents in the believer's life May the Holy Spirit of God baptize of devotion to the spread of the the Conference with a special effusion kingdom. A. T. P. and guide all its deliberations and doings! J.11. S.
-We note that Rev. Dr. Gulian The Shanghai Oonference. Lansing, of the United Presbyterian Church, after forty years of mission- "ONE THOllSAND MISSIONARIES FOR ary life in the Valley of the Nile, is now in this land for a rest. He is the CHINA IN FIVE YEARS!" father of Professor J. G. Lansing of the New Brunswick Theological Semi- This is a bugle-blast from tke nary. The fires that burn in the great Conference of Missionaries in father's heart have been kindled on the China which recently closed its sesson's altar, as is evident from the fact sions at Shanghai. We have elsewhere that he is at the bottom of a special given a pretty full account of its promission to the Arabs, and not only ceedings from the pens of two of its stimulates young men to devote them- members. It was, with one exception, selves to this work but,we understand, the largest gathering of missionaries proposes to lead the columns! The work that ever took place on the foreign of Dr. Lansing and his fellow-mission- field, numbering 432 members; and its aries in Egypt will, in character and whole proceedings were character- ized by a spirit of harmony, enlight- ened wisdom, a broad and compre- hensive policy, and bold and earnest aggressiveness never excelled by a in five years! It can be done-done similar assembly. It was a grand op- easily and without neglecting any portunity, and grandly did our mis- other field. Why, the China Inland sionary brethren improve it. The Mission alone-one of the new and Church may well be proud of such comparatively feeble organizations, representatives, and thank God for with no visible resources-resolved, in the harmony, the courage and the 1888, to send out to China, within one wisdom given them. year,100 missionai'ies, and then prayed the Lord for the men and the means, The Conference has now spoken to and both the men and the money came the Church at home-'-the Church forward. If that little band could universal-and spoken in no uncer- tain way. Its voice is like the voice send out and support 100 new mis- of many thunders. It met and calmly sionaries to China in one year, what and thoughtfully and solemnly dis- are 200 a year for the great British cussed, planned, prayed, resolved, and and American missionary societies made its four-fold appeal and ad- represented in the Shanghai Confer- journed. It did its duty in a great ence? If each would do its propor- emergency, at the flood-tide of vast op- tion, the work could be done with portunities-and did it nobly, grand- ly, in the fear of God and in faith in infinite ease. Note that "lay" as well the churches that sent them forth. as ordained missionaries are called Now the responsibility is laid upon the churches, whose servants and re- for. Surely our brethren in distant presentatives they are; will they respond as the occasion demands? Will China have not sent out their loud ap- they lay to heart these masterly and burdened "Appeals" which they have peals in vain. J. M. S. sent forth and give them practical effect? We repeat here the burning " What Ought we to do for Foreign .words of Dr. Happer, our editorial Missions?" is ably shown in a leaflet correspondent at Canton, and make we have received from thepen of Rev. them our own: T. G. Field, district secretary of the American Baptist Missionary Union "Let the bugle-call go forth for one at Minneapolis. It is a plea for rethousand missionaries within five organizing the home department of years. Let it ring in the ears of the the work carried on by the Union. Church. Help them to carry it to the He contends that there is a great lack throne of grace. Let them ponder it of wise and efficient organization on in their closets and around the family the part of Baptists, and he finds in altar. Let the youth hear it in the schools, in the academies, in the col- this fact occasion for the following leges and in the universities, and in statement: the theological seminaries: 'One thousand missionaries for China in " On every hand we have been, we five years.' Keep this line in your are, outdone by Christians of other columns every month till the Church names. To look no farther, with selfis aroused with the trumpet-call, and reproaching gratitude behold the arouses itself to good earnest work Moravians, and weep. Or consider the and consecration and giving; and, enterprise and liberality of the Church above all, may God, by His Spirit, ac- of England, or of Presbyterian or company this call to the hearts of Congregational mission work. In those He would call to have a share in one thing Baptist missions do proporthis blessed work for the Master." tionately greatly excel, viz., in fruit- fulness of conversions. But is this A thousand missionaries for China ours, or is it God's gift to the obedi- ence of the few? The four leasing foreign mission societies of America spent last year over $2,500,000. Less than one-sixth of this was Baptist money. To these societies was given a report of 17,336 converts, of whom 6,093, or over one-third, were gathered intothe mission churches of ourUnion. With what feelings must we own that
ORGANIZED MISSION ARY WORK AND STATISTICS
for such blessing on such service we pansive, inadequate, outgrown system have contributed this year but twenty- five cents a member; that in a year of of administering foreign interests." the largest receipts ever known, the highest average per member, in any An over-conservative policy is not State, for the general work of the Union, is only sixty-five cents, while restricted to anyone society or church. in the lowest it is but eight cents. Nay, there is one grand exception. We deeply regret the present ten- California breaks the record with the splendid average of almost $2.16 per dency to start independent missions, member; but this is due to a noble contribution from one individual. but is it not in part the outcome and Twenty-five cents apiece and one ordained missionary abroad to 6,356 protest against a too narrow or rigid members at home, 01', counting wives and single women, about one mission- iron-cast policy not in harmony with ary to every 2,800 Baptists does not overstate the present practical guage the spirit and changed conditions of of our obedience to the parting injunction of Jesus. The fact is that the times? Secretary Field's views for several years we have made no adequate progress. We seem to be are commanding attention in his 'own nearly at a dead-point. The most of our missions are sorely taxed' to hold church, and they may do good in their own. Speedy reinforcement, requiring large increase of men and other mission circles. J. M. S. money, alone can enable them to maintain efficiency with vigor. . . . As to the prize offers of premiums Practically, we now struggle simply for articles on Prayer in connection to hold what our fathers acquired, with missions, the editors would save the Congo Mission, and thIS, too, further say that they have not thought at an hour when we, in every way, in it necessary to say that they will not numbers, intelligence, wealth, pros- consider themselves obligated to award perity, are blessed as never heretofore; any premiums if there shall not be a at an hour when" to earth's remotest sufficient 'I1,umber of competing and bound" every nation thrown wide satisfactory articles to make such open to approach is threatened with award justifiable and practicable. In the vices and atheism of the West, to such case all that we engage to do is add death unto death, instead of re- to return all such essays as cannot be ceiving the Bread of Life, and while made of use. And, secondly, the we, with all the equipment of divine articles should cover ground not algrace and modern civilization, fully ready covered by articles which have know the awful need of heathenism appeared in these columns. One letter' and our ability, under God, to minis- which we have received from a proter to it." posing competitor asks one of the editors to furnish certain details of He argues that it is not" the fault fact, which have already been pub- lished in the REVIEW. Of course we' of the Missionary Union, but rather shall insist that the instances given shall be culled by the writers from the inevitable outcome of onr denomi- material found outside our own pages., national growth constricted by an inex- A.T.P. J.M.S.
VII.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK AND STATISTICS.
Reformed Presbyterian «Jovenanter) From Contributions to missions.•••• 3,400 00 Ohurch in the United States. Synod's trustees ………. . 1,320 84'
Secretary: REV. R. M. SOMMERVILLE, D.D.,l26 Total….. .. ….. … .. ……….. $18,462 89 West 45th Street, New York. Expenditures.
REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1890. Balance from last account ………. $01,01485' For the missions…. • • …. …… . .. . 16,042 27 Receipt•. From congregations.. … ……….. $7,858 Zi' Total…………………….. $17,057 13 Balance to new account.. •.• • . . . . . . 1,405 76 .. Sabbath·scbools and mission- ary societies…………… . 2,804 07 Total.. ………………… ,_ •. $18,462 89 " Individuals and bequests .. , 4,07971 ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK AND STATISTICS.
There are no home expe~s, all the funds Amount In hand of being directly used on the field. Mission Treasurer STATISTICS. called In.. . . ….. .. 48,326 25 Deficit carried for- 3 missions (Latakiyeh, Larsees, Cyprus); missionaries, ordained, 4; lay, 1; missionaries' ward ………….. 60,2759.3 wives, 4; other ladies, 4; native ordained ministers, 4; other helpers, 34; stations and – – – – $158,602 18 out-stations, 8; organized churches, 3; total TotaL ………………….. $952,668 62 number of preaching-places, 11; communicants, 190; added during theyear, 12; schools, Expenditures. 25; pupils, 730. Amount cOl)tributed by na- Balance (Deficit) May 1, 1889 ….. $44,696 62 tive churches, $33.91. Appropriations for year ending May 1,1890: Board of Foreign Missions of the Africa…………. $31,155 02 811,245 69' Presbyterian Ohurch (North). China, Japan and 43,001 84 The Secretaries: 53 Fifth Avenue, New York, Korea ……… .. 248,57600 1,724 47 N.Y. India, Siam and. 52,000 00 REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 1, 1890. Laos ………. .. 181,723 26 Receipts. Persia . . . . . . . . . . .. 76,872 89 Syria …………. . 60,733 64 From Churches…….. $291,719 86 Guatemala and " Woman's Bo'rds 280,285 51 Mexico ……… . 92,314 00 Sunday-schools. 36,062 56 South America .. 117,180 88 Papal Europe .•… 2,690 00 Legacies…….. 112,877 68 Individuals and Chinese and Indians in United States …………………. .. miscellaneous sources … … 73,120 83 Special ………………….. . Home Department•..•••..•….. $794,066 44 Balance to New Account: TotaL …………………. $952,66862 Amount withheld on acc't of changes in !lscal y~rs in vanous miSSIOns.. . $50,000 00 STATtSTtes.
Missionar'es Na ive ~00 "r~n",S-'0~"o. ~~ o"""~~ OJ' ',"c",6"~ ——- ~~6 :~Cg.S.~- 5~~ ga ~ ~ .:;; g ~ g~.8 _:.:SI rtl 'm0 ~• ~ ~~ ~~c~6o~~ ~o ~0 ~~CD Q3 .u"; ~ ! j ~ .:;;w . .4 !":l ~~=::=:-::-:- 217 910'9 '9 24171.398156ls 57981l,3121$ 504 China………… … . …. … " 13 48 68 12 61 226 45 4,084 446/'124 2,687 6 2,969 2,809 Japan……. …. ………… 1 5 21 47 3 43… 34 4,977 672 15 1,409 17…… 6,750' Korea ………. ……….. 1 1 3 5 2 .. …… 104 39.. ……………….. .. India… ………………. 3 10 37 71 4 33 174 4(?) 1,093 81 14 8,016… 4,590 82 Siam and Laos …………. 2 5 13 21 4 6 33 12 1,114 1711 21 f541 14 fi76 804 Persia……. ……… …… 2 6 14 35 5 89 170 27 2,269 141 147 3,069 18 5,210 2,200 24 Syria………………….. 1 5 14 1 39162 20 1,619 98 142 5,853 7 4,966 7,767· 1 Guatemala…………….. 1 11 2 4 …. ••• 1 1 . 4….. 1 38 2 50 15 Mexico …… …………… 1 5 7 11 …. 50 53 90 5,165 388142 1,358 15 1,795 3,627 South America…….. " …. 3 15 2-J 25 1 15 69 46 2,993 324 22 1,263 5 947 13,602 _.2 .:.:.:.:. .:.:.:. _ 92: 24;820 24;913 92 22,~15 .Total ;Foreign Lands…. 21 $37,660 Indian Tribes…………… 3 ,03 2,986 61 190 321411345 912 297 2,516/546 320 9 5 8 … 114 21 20 1,630 198 10 Chinese & Japanese in U. S. 1 ~ _~ ~ ~ 344 _.~ _~ .2~:: ~ _~ 3,711 Total. ……………… 25 lOti 199 336 411359943 320 26,794 2,753 583 26,348106 23,935 1$44,357 Board of Foreign Missions of the Expenditures. Presbyterian Ohurch (South) in the United States. Three Brazil Missions•…•.••••••.. $ 37,433 01 SeQretary: Rev. M. H. HOUSTON, D.D., Nash- China Missions………………. .. 17,928 82 ville, Tenn. Japan 13,132 44 REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING APRIL 1, 1890. Receipts. Greek 2,722 65 Balance on Hand. . .. •• … ….. … $ 7,229 29 Italian 1,206 25· From Churches……………….. 47,459 63 Sabbath-schools.. . •. . . . . …. .. ….. 10,290 00 Indian 6,550 00- Missionary Societies.·……… ….. 25,422 03 Legacies……… …. ….. …….. 1,934 59 Mexican " 7,863 71 Individuals and Miscellaneous….. 10,948 89 Total for Missions………….. $ 86,836 92· General Expenses….. …….. ….. 7,989 42· Balance on Hand…. •.. . . . .. . . . . . . 8,457 59 Total……. .. ……. …. …… $103,283 93 Total. • .• …. ••. ………….. $103,283 93· STA.TISTICS. tions),8; other helpers-evangelists, 108; or- ganized churches, 43; other preaching places, o-g§ J 87; stations and ont-stations, 130; communi- 00 00 oll cants, 3,60'2; added during the year, 222; col- '0 leges and theological s"minaries, 4; pupils, § 41. Of other schools no accurate statistics are ~~, available.
i Sc:.e: ~ ~ o~" ~~o~j ~'"~~~~~f 'C 00 ~~ Reformed (Dutoh) Ohuroh in Amerioa. ] ,: 5 '8 -;;; iO' Secretary: REV. H. N. COBB, D.D., 26 Reade 5.; "~ ~>. •~::::s Street, New York.
'~~gOO.~~O~.O~ ~…S.. ~Iw~ ….. .~ r.tJ. w'O REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1890. §.S .S .s A JJ Receipts.
~:-8:.-s~ I:'-~s~~1:~d § .S Balance from last account. . . . . $971 69 -~ ~ ~O~ From churches ………. $54,76228 · – – – § -8§-:~[- -0 – " Sundar-schools, etc. 12,385 10 -8 – LegacIes, ."…… 8,965 64 Brazil… 30 10 10 5 10 601 100 224 165 $3,040 " Individuals……… 25,995 28 ChiRa .' 71011 .. 110 82 4' 240248 92 " lHisceIIaneous …•..• 14,981 84 Japan.. 12 7 8 5 2 567206 200 100 600 Greece. 41111 28 11 15.. . 130 – – – 117,090 14 Italy … 1 .. 2…. Mexico. 44 2 4 8 3 400 43 40 …… —- 250 150 875 Total …………………….. $118,061 83 Expenditures.
India: .Arcot Mission..••• $30,01327 China: Amoy Mission ••••……..• 21,008 46 Total Japan: North and South Missions .. 49,209 74 929 ;'03 $4,737 I Foreign. 983036 19,26 1,678 364 300 60 1,200 General mission expenses, ……… $100,231 47 Arcot Seminary Fund"……….. 105 00 IinndiIannds. Home expenses……………….. 6,276 75 Terriey Interest and loans (balance)…….. 9,422 03 (U. S.). 37 3 3 5 6 625 27 Total. 13.3 33 39 24,32 2,303 391 1,229 763 ,6,437 Balance to new account………… 2,026 58 —— 1 Total….. .. .. …… ……. …. $118,061 83 1 The work among the Indians will probably ~IHfl >'31l;'g[! be handed over to the Home Missionary ~I ~~-oo-TI~St~a~ti~o-ns-.—– Society during the current year, the Foreign Missionary Committee continuing to con- e….1 tribute somewhat towards its support for a ·term of years.
lOut – Stations and !:5!il i§l Preaching Places Presbyterian Ohuroh of England. 1~ Secretary: JOHN BELL, 13 Fenchurch Avenue, !ill 1 Ordained. ~ c£:)OHX) I I I ~ ~ eo eo Female. London, E. C., England. ~.
REPORT FOR YEAR ENDiNG DEC. 31, 1889. ~.
Receipts. I ILay. Il Balance from last account, ..•••• £4981211 ~ l':I~-q…. Congregational contributions… . 6,497 2 6 Edinburgh Committee …….. . 2,740 0 0 ~ ! dj00 …. 1 Ordained. Legacies. .. -. _.. .. .. . . . … .. 1,454 15 3 i I I ~ ~!:5~ Other Helpers, ~. Juvenile fund………………. . 1,785 3 8 Students' Missionary Society ..•. g: I !:5 oo!ill Churches. Donations, etc….. .. ……… . 348 6 6 Balance overdrawn, .•. " •••••••• 1,710 2 6 2,086 4 0 Total. ………………….. £17,070 7 4 ~8l~ 0.' to ,,"",,"' Expenditures. §ll 1 Communicants.
General mission charges…….. £15,767 1 11 ~ 1~g;:s51 Added. Home charges .. ……………. 848 17 6 Interest and amounts drawn on ac- ~ I … '" '" ·1""'S;-em—C-in-a-rI~·e-s.— count …………….. …….. 454 7 11 8 ~ ~1£ 1 Students.
Total…………….. . ….. :£17,070 7 4 e ITheological Stu- The total missionary income should in- ~eo~ dents. ·clude £2,608 15s 6d from the Woman's .Associ- 00 ~ 1 Day Schools. ,ation making (exclusive of the balances) £17,13958 11d. i : i Ii§ Scholars. Adding also the expenditures of the Woman's Association, £2,700 3s 3d, the total '" : …….. I Hospitals. ,expenditure is £19,770 lOs 7d. • ~~ .W . ~! STATISTICS. '""'I: I ~,p..: Patients Treated.
Missions, 6; ordained missionaries, 20; lay, §~ ~ Contributi~ns 13 (of whom 10 medical); miSSIOnaries' wives, from NatIve :21; other ladies, 16; native ordained ministers Ooo.~ (elltirely supported by their own congrega· djg;~ Churches.
PROGRESS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
VIII.-PROGRESS OF MISSIONS MONTHLY BULLETIN.
Africa.-The Work in Abyssinia. The nouncing their allegiance to Portugal and are strong position Italy now occupies at Massaua joining Gungunyana. on the Red Sea, its military strength, its alliance with King Menelek, its rising colony at -The report of the Mackenzie Memorial Assab-alJ inspire the hope that Abyssinia and Mission to Zululand and the tribes towards the Zambesi river begins with mourning the the Galla country may be speedily opened up loss of its head, the late Dr. D. Mackenzie, to the gospel. The pastlabors of the C. M. S., Bishop of Zululand. The mission consists (in since 1830, in these regions are well known. addition to the Bishop) of 13 clergymen (two GoOOt, Krapf, Isenberg were among its faith- of them natives) and 22 lay helpers. The total ful agents; these were, however, gradually income from free contributions received during driven out through religious intrigue and the the year was a little over £1,200. violence of King Theodore. There remain, however, valuable translations, such as those -King Mwanga, of Uganda, Central in the Amharic, Tigre and Galla tongues; the Africa, who has heen twice dethroned and driven out of the country, has returned and is last the laborious work of Dr. Krapf. There again at the head of the kingdom. In a letter are still, also, fragments of missions among written to Cardinal Lavigerie he asks that the Falashas, in the Shoa country, and there is priests be sent to teach the religion of Christ the Swedish Mission at Massaua, etc., which in all the country of Uganda. General Gordon so generously supported. -The reports of the suffering from famine The Church of Rome is availing itself of the in the Soudan are appalling. The greatest opportunity. It is said that Russia also is to sufferers are the widows and children of the establish a consulate and to send a mission. men who have been killed during the many It is to be hoped that evangelical missions will conflicts which have raged in the interior. not be slow to avail themselves of this open Reports from Suakin are that not only all door. sorts of animals are eaten, but toot cannibal- ism has actually commenced. An appeal has -In response to a telegram from Mr. been made in England for these starving Douglas Hooper of Eastern Africa, received Soudanese. on a Monday in London and announced that evening in Exeter Hall, no less than nine vol- -The number of missionary stations in unteers presented themselves in thirty-six Africa now exceeds 500. There are 400,000 hours for work in that difficult field. Four converts and the number is increasing at the men were selected, and by the following rate of about 25,000 a year. Within five years Saturday evening actually started on their more than 200 natives have suffered martyrjourney via Marseilles. " This," says the dom for their faith. Indian Witness, "is a good answer to the charge that mission interest is dying out." -Rev. A. R. Tucker wits consecrated Bishop for Eastern Equatorial Africa on April -A Steamer for Victoria Nyanza. The 21, and left for Africa the same day. He has enthusiasm in England has led to the raising charge of the missions of the English Church of a .. Stanley Fund, " and Mr. Stanley himself Missionary Society in East Africa. A telehas made the suggestion as to its disposal- gram to the London Time" says that his party that it be devoted to the placing of a steamer are to start for the Nyanza the first week in on Victoria Nyanza. This lake is as large as July with Mr. Stokes' caravan. the whole of Scotland, and he states that a steamer upon it would be of immense service, China.-A Revival.-A great and mighty both for the use of the missionaries and as a door has been opened lately for the gospel in civilizing factor. He proposes that it should the Shantung Province, China. A revival be handed over either to the Church Mission- wave is passing over that section of the counary Society or to the Imperial British East try. The Rev. Robert M. Mateer, one of the African Company.-Missiona1'1/ Herald. laborers in that province, has been so dis- tressed by the great hunger of the people for -The Gaza Country. L'A/rique reports the gospel and the small number to feed them that a Portuguese expedition has been sent to that he has taken upon himself the support of the Gaza country, the region to which, as we ten native preachers ($50 a year each), three have recently reported, Gungunyana, the son girls' schools ($175 each), and one boys' of Umzila, has removed with all his people. school ($:lOO). He wrote to the pastor of This expedition is intended, by an effective Tabor Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, occupation, to enforce the claims of Portugal Rev. Willis B. Skillman, stating the above as the protectorate of Gazaland. A more re- facts and asking for a helping hand. The cent report by way of Lisbon, June 11, states pastor laid the matter before his Bi ble-class, that Gungunyana has joined the chief Bilene, composed of 35 young men, and the class made and, with a force of 50,000 men and women, the hearty response of $50, which means the has beaten Bifoana, the leading chieftain of support of a native pastor for a year. The in Portuguese territory. Other chiefs are re- same matter was brought to the attention of the Young Men's Prayer Meeting of the church, years and has come home to raise $15,000 for numbering 125 members. The boys' generous a printing plant in Calcutta. After describing response was over $60, which will support an- the country, with its population of 310,000,000, othernativepastor for a year andtheeducation he took up the culture and religion of the for one year of a boy in the loys' school. The people. Said he: "Calcutta has a student matter was also laid before the congregation. population of 15,000, and its college men are No collection was taken but simply the state- peers of their American brethren. From this ment made. The response was over $50. Can- cultivated class you can descend until you find not some other pastor be the means of bless· whole villages where no person can read a ing his people by asking them to help in this word of any language. To these degraded great work of Christ? classes the missionaries go or send native preachers who teach the alphabet by marking . -Shanghai Union Conference.-A Confer· in the sand with their fingers. With this beence on Union, composed of representatives ginning they teach them to read the Bible. " of seven Presbyterian churches laboring in Chica, met at Shanghai, May 15th. On ac- Cannibalsthe Bishop does not regard as the count of the diversity of language and the lowest class of men. He has seen men worse difficulties of travel the representatives of two than cannibals in New York and London. In of the churches deemed organic union impos- speaking of the work of the Young Men's sible. At a later meeting it was decided to Christian Association in Calcutta, he said take steps to form an organic union between that its representatives are undenominational the five other churches, and any others who and he wished them to remain so. When he may wish to join the union. A plan of union said that $30 would support one of the lowest similar to the one used by the churches in In- class of missions, for which he had men dia was adopted. A constitution is to be trained, Mr. Moody said that he wanted one of formed for the Presbyterian churches in China those missions and would contribute $30 for based upon those of the churches in Europe that purpose. About twenty minutes was and America. Its doctrinal basis is to be "The given up to receiving similar offers. College Apostles' Creed," the "Nicene Creed," and the after college responded. The Virginia delega- "Westminster Confession and Catechisms." tion and the University of Virginia each sub- The Presbyteries are to be composed of the scribed for a mission. "We think more of Virmissionaries, the pastors and the churches ginianow than we did in '61," said Mr. Moody, occupying the same territory. These Pres- and the applause stopped the contributions byteries are to constitute one Synod, meet- for a short time. Princet<>n, the University of ing once in five years. The uniting bodies are Pennsylvania, Harvard, Yale, and Johns-Hopthe Presbyterian Church (North), U. S. A.; kins were among the twenty or thirty instituthe Presbyterian Church (South), U. S. A.; tions which will share in this new phase of the United Presbyterian of Scotland, the Irish mission work in India. Presbyterian, and the Canadian Presbyterian churches. The two declining to unite are the -A meeting was held in Exeter Hall, on English Presbyterian and the Reformed Dntch May 2, to establish a London Auxiliary of the chnrches. The snmmary of statistics given Mission to Lepers in India. The secretary reat the Conference shows, Foreignmissionaries, ported that there are about 500,000 lepers in 1,295; native helpers, 1,&:19; churches, 520; India. The society utilizes existing agencies communicants, 37,287; pupils in schools, as much as possible. Addresses were given 16,916; contributions hy native Christians, by Mr. T. A. Denny and Rev. F. E. Wigram. $36,834. Italy.-The Waldensian Church of Italy, India.-"Our work in North India continues which has recently celebrated its two hnnto prosper. Brother Bare writes that no less dredth anniversary of the return of the exiled than 2,364 persons have been baptized in the Vaudois, gives evidence of continued life and Rohilkhund district since the annual statistici vigor. It reports 44 churches, 38 pastors, Z7 were made up at the close of last October. evangelists, including colporteurs, 6 Bible This covers a space of five months. Add to readers, 4,074 communicants and 469 catethese 400 baptisms in connection with Dr. chumens. Parker's evangelistic work, and 300 by Brother Osborne and others in the Rnski district, and Japan.-Murder of a Missionary. It was we have a total of more than 3,000. This sur· at first feared that the recent assassination of passes the sanguine expectations with which Rev. T. A. Large, of the Canadian Methodist we began the year, and our brethren are very Mission in Tokio, Japan, indicated a reaction naturally filled with joy and hope."-Bishop in the popular feeling about missionaries, and resulted from hatred to the foreign religious Thoburn. teacher. But the sad event proves to have -Bishop Thobnrn on India.–At Northfield, been the crime of robbers, who entered the missionary's bedroom to find the key of his Mass., in Mr. Moody's College Conference on safe, in which a considerable sum of money Missions, July 3d, Bishop Thoburn, of the happened to be deposited. Roused suddenly Methodist Episcopal Church, jnst returned from his sleep, and wholly unarmed, Mr. Large bravely expelled the masked intruders, from India spoke. He has been In India 31 but was meantime so cut and gashed by their from posts under the Government. The en- sharp Japanese swords that he fell dead at the forcement of the edicts will result in the ex- -feet of his wife, who had also been wounded pulsion of over one million Jews from the in the struggle. Earnest sympathy has been country." universally expressed with the widow by all the organ~ of the press, and universalindigna- Sweden.-The Annual Convention of the tion is felt against the cowardly criminals, Swedish Fatherland Missioi1 Society was re- who, if they can be captured, will be severely cently held in the Blasieholm Church, Stock- punished.-Misionary Herald. holm; 245 clerical and 216 lay delegates were present. The branch societies have, during -The native churches under the care of the the year, increased from 107 to 116; 18 travel- American Board's missionaries~in Japan, says ing missionaries and 187 colporteurs are em- the Congregationalist, organized half a dozen ployed. 762,000 copies of the Bible and other years ago a home missionary society. It devotional books were printed, and somewhat has flourished so well that the demands of the more than that number sold and distributed. work now justify the appointment of a paid Since its organization the society has pub- president, who will devote all his time to es- lished 22,700,280 copies of various religious tablishing new churches and strengthening books. The net profits of the pUblishing house those already existing. for the year are 11,890 crowns. 35 mission- aries are laboring in Eastern Africa, and 35 in Korea.-In regard to the progress in India. The expenditures for foreign missions missionary work, Dr. Underwood, of the were W3,525 crowns. The balance remaining Presbyterian Mission, writes to the Occident: in the foreign mission treasury is 105,282 "In the Presbyterian Church at the end of the crowns. The home mission fund shows a bal- first year our first convert had not been seen. ance of 36,666 crowns. We had come to sow seed,and had hardly dared expect to see fruits so soon. Japan hali to Miscellaneous.-A special committee of wait six or seven years for the flrst results. the English Wesleyan Missionary Society has In July of the second year, however, the Lord investigated and reported upon certain permitted us to see the flrst convert baptized. charges published in the Methodist Times re- At the end of the third year our numbers specting the alleged extravagance of Wes- were about twenty. Steadily they increased, leyan missionaries in India. The substance their interest grew, the members were zealous, of the report of the committee is that the and at the close of the next year there was a Wesleyan missionaries in India do not live in revival, and before the year ended the little luxury, that their stipends are not excessive bsnd was almost sixty. Another year of compared with those that are given to Wesleysteady progress was granted to us, and to-day an ministers in England, and that the attend- the company numbers over a hundred baptized ance of the missionaries at the levees of the Christians, besides over half as many more Viceroy does not involve pecuniary expense who have applied for baptism and profess nor hinder their work among the native poputhemselves Christians, but have been urged to lation. The committee find that the charges- acquaint themselves more fully with God's that the missionaries live in such a manner Word." and in such places as to alienate them from the natives-are not sustained. The result is a Palestine.-Bishop Blythe of Jerusalem complete exoneration of the missionaries. says there are now in Palestine double the number of Jews that returned from the Baby- -Up to July IS the number of appoint- 10nish captivity, and that the "latter rains" ment.s for missionary service in connection which had been withheld since the times of with the American Board, since the last annual _the exile, had been granted again during the meeting, was just sixty, 22 of them men and last two years,. 88 women.
Russia.-Persecution of the Jews.-Lon- -The statistics of the Christian Endeavor don, July 3O.-The Times says: "The Russian Societies, as presented at the international Government hasordered the application of the Convention at St. Louis, shows clearly the edicts of 1882 against the Jews. These edicts great advance this society has made. These have hitherto been held in abeyance. Accord- societies exist in every English-speaking land ing to these, Jews must henceforth reside in in the world, the total number being 11,013, certsin towns only. None will be permitted to with a membership of 66O,OOO-a gain of 3,341 own land or hire it for agricnltural purposes. societies and 185,000 members in eleven The order includes within its scope towns and months. hundreds of villages that have large Jewish -Arabic tracts for Mohammedan readers. At populations. No Jew will be allowed to hold the request of General Haig the Committee of shares in or work mines. The law limiting the Religions Tract Society (London) have the residence of Jews to sixteen provinces published a series of Arabic tracts, setting will be enforced. No Hebrew will be allowed forth, in progressive order, the main doctrines to enter the army, to practice medicine or of scripture, and leading up to that of the law, to be an engineer, or to enter any of the Atonement of the 'Lord Jesus Christ. other professiollll. They will also be debarred
INDEX OF CONTENTS OF THE SEPTEMBER NUMBER
INDEX OF CONTENTS SEPTEMBER NUMBE~.
PAGE PAGE. I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS…… 641-684 CHINA.-Proceedings of Shanghai Con- n.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLI- ference, 669; The Four Appeals of the GENCE~._ …. _._ … ___ …….. 684-693 Conference to the Churches, 673; Dr. Happer's Remarks on the Conference, m.-MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE._ 6934)96 676; Edit.orial Note on do., 712; Plan of Union of Presbyterian Churches, 693; IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT… 696-704 Editorial Note on,709; Chinese Educa- tion,697; A Great Revival,717; Shang- V.-MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS 704-708 hai Union Conference……………….. 712 English Wesleyan Missionary Society, VI.-EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT Report of Investigating Committee….. 719 Field, LeafietonBaptistMissions ………. 713 TOPICS __ ………….. 00. •• 709-713 "Hottentot," A Noble Example. ……. . 683· VII.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK INDIA.-Notes on various interests, AND STATISTICS.. . . . .•.• ••..•• 714-717 (translations), 680; Indian Church Aid Association, 686; Development of Medi- VIII.-PROGRESS OF MISSIONS: MONTH- cal Missions, 687; Female Education, LY BULLETIN ……………. 717-719 687; Lepers, 688; Zenana Missions, 688; Welsh Calvinistic Foreign Missions, 689; IX.-INDEX TO CONTENTS………… 720 Young Men's Christian Association Work, 694; Work Prospering, 718; Bishop Authors. Thoburnon India, 718; LondonAwdliary of the Mission to Lepers …………… 718' EDITORS. – A. T. Pierson. The Super- natural Factor in Missions, 653; Edi- ITALY.-Missionary Conference at Flor- torial Notes, 709; J. M. Sherwood, Edi- ence in 1891 ………………………… 718 torialNotes………………………… 712 JAPAN.-Educational Exhibit at Paris Curtis, Rev. Freq.. S., Account of the Exposition,692; The Situation in, by Dr. Shanghai Missionary Conference…..••• 669 Ellinwood, 704; Murder of Mr. Large, 718; Work of Home Missions…………. 719 Ellinwood, F. F., D.D., Woman's Work for Woman, 648; The Situation in Japan KOREA.-The Present Condition of and Korea ………………. _…….. 704 Things,708; Progress in Mission work .•• 717 Gracey, J. T., D.D., International Depart- Lansing, Dr. Gulian and hisSon…•……. 712 ment ……………………………. 697 Missionary Conferences-The Conference Happer, A. P., D.D., Comments on the of Believers at Niagara, 711; The Indian- Shanghai Conference .. …………… 676 apolis National Conference ………… 712 Mormon Proselytism.. .. …. • •…. .. …… 661 Johnston, Rev. James, Notes on India…. _ 686 Outbreaks of Personal Violence ..••……• 710 Pierson, Dr. A. T., A Proposed Campaign Leonard, Rev. D. L., Mormon Proselytism 661 in behalf of Presbyterian Board of For· eign Missions………………….. … 709 McConaughy, David, Jr., Y. M. C. A. Work Prize Offers …………………………. 714 in India…….. …. ……………….. 694 RUSSIA.-Persecution of the Jews …… 719 Moorhead, Max Wood, Student Volunteer Movement…………………………. 684 Mudge, Rev. James, The Evolution of a Missionary Society.. .. …. … .. …….. 701 Starbuck, Rev. Charles C., Translations from Foreign Missionary Periodicals…• 679 Taft, Rev. Marcus L., Chinese Education .. 697 SOUTH AMERICA.-Spanish Mission work in Chili, 693; Romish outbreaks in Thompson, Rev. Andrew, D.D., The Mis- Zacatecas…… ……………………. 709 sion in Basuto Land.. .. …. … .. ……. 641 SWEDEN.-.A.nnual Convention of the Countries and Subjects. Fatherland Missionary Society,719; Scan- dinavian Missionary Conference in AFRICA.-Dr. Thomson on the Mission Christiana…………………………. 683 in Basuto Land, 641; The Anglo-German Agreement 689; Stanley and the Brus- Statistics of Foreign Missions. sels Confererence, 691 ; Nelson's Starva- tion Camp, 692; The Work in Abyssinia. Reformed Presbyterian Church in the 717; Steamer on Victoria Nyanza, 717; United States. Report for 1889·90….. 714 TheGaza Country, 717; MacKenzie Me- morial Mission, 717; King Mwanga, 717; Presbyterian Church (North) Report for Soudan Famine, 717; Number of Stations 1889-90.. .. …. .. … ………………… 715 in Africa, 717; Bishop Tucker………. 717 Presbyterian Church (South) Report for Berlin Mission in Transvaal…… .. ……. 682 1889-90 …. …. . …………………… 715 Christian Endeavor Society, Statistics of. 719 Presbyterian Church of England. Report for 1889……………. ……… .. …. 716 COrpU8 Christi, Adoration of in Montreal. 711 Reformed (Dutch) Church in America. Report for 1889-90…. …….. …. ….. • 715
The Missionary Review of the World — March 1890
MISSIONS IN OLD SCOTLAND
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XIII. No.3.-0ld Series.—MARCH.–,-VoL. m. No. S.-New Series.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS. MISSIONS IN OLD SCOTLAND. No.' II.
BY A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
The old year died in a pathetically becoming way. December 31 beheld a funeral cortege in Westminster Abbey, when an illustrious poet was laid to rest among the great dead that there find a shrine and throne. The latest of the sons was given a tomb close by the father 9f English poesy, and Ohaucer and Browning lie side by side in the" Poets' Corner."
Notwithstanding fog and frost, crowds lined the avenues along which the bier was borne, and when, at 11 :30, the doors were opened, the Abbey was at once filled, and when the tolling bell was pealing out its weird monotone at twelve, there was not a vacant place save those reserved for clergy, choir and mourners. It was a brilliant as- semblage-lords and ladies, dukes and earls, ambassadors and minis- ters, bishops, deans and canons; all were there to do honor to the pure and reverent poet, whose lines have been an honor to humanity and to God. Mrs. Browning's exquisite lyre was sung, " He giveth His beloved sleep," set to music by Dr. Bridges; and the first part of the ceremony closed with Wesley's anthem, " All go to one place." During the whole service there lay on the coffin Tennyson's floral wreath, and Miss Browning's cross and wreath of palma violets. We have said that it seemed a most fitting closing ceremony for the dying year. And those two musical selections, how they seemed to present the two sides of humanity's solemn history! The eschatology of missions! On the one hand the Christian's death and burial; "He giveth His beloved sleep ;" resting awhile until the resurrection. asleep in Jesus. And, on the other hand, unredeemed humanity, sweeping on promiscuously, a generation together, all going to one place, and that place a grave without hope-a grave of unbroken gloom. And to think how easily, if the Church would obey the Lord, and resolutely preach. the gospel among all the nations, that hopeless and indiscriminate, . sweeping of human beings into the rayless pit of sheol might be transmuted with a. peaceful, hopeful composing of saintly forms for' a sleep that looks forward to its rapturous waking! With December 31 the mission tour of Scottish churches, which has engaged my attention for more than a month, closed for the time, to be resumed in February. It is purposed to give .Tanuary to London and the great centers of population in England, and then, if God will, to give two months uninterruptedly to Scotland, until at least all the main body of the population has been overtaken.
This is a natural point of retrospect; and it may be generally said that the results every way, so far as they can be now estimated, abundantly repay all the cost in time and toil. On Monday evening, at Airdrie, I gave the fifty-seventh address on missions since the. Etruria l~nded her human cargo on the 16th of November. First, I spent between three and four days in Liverpool, of which some account was given in a previous letter. Then, on November 20th, a welcome meeting was held in the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall, in Edinburgh; and from that day the meetings were held almost daily until the year closed.
The very efficient committee at Edinburgh, with Rev. .Tohn Lowe, M.D., as chairman, supported by a committee in the west of Scotland, of which Rev. John Pagan, D D., is the energetic chairman, have arranged the entire tour, at my request, so that all I have had to <1.0 has been to go where I have been sent, thus relieving me from all needless correspondence and perplexity. The arrangements have all :been singularly complete. We have been met at trains and escorted to hospitable homes; welcomed with a genuine cordiality; we have found everywhere warm hearts and excepti<;>nally generous co-operation.. The whole tour reminds me of Paul's testimony to the Galatians, who" received him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus," "and would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him." We have met abundant hospitality and Christian generosity elsewhere; but never any experience of loving kindness that on the whole quite equals this.
A word further ought to be added as to the way in which the meetings have been planned and conducted. The resident clergy and leading laymen and laywomen, too, have been enlisted in the movement in advance, and their cordial support secured. Then their preference for the time, hour and place of meeting has as far as possible been consulted. The meetings have followed each other in so well ordered a sc~eme that there has been neither loss of time nor retracing of steps. During these past thirty days there have been large and enthusiastic gatherings at Leith, Peebles, Innerleithen, Dalkeith, Haddington, Glasgow, Port Glasgow, Dumbarton, HcIcnsbnrgh, Kilmarnock, Paisley, Irvine, Ayr, Greenock, Gourock, Stl'athaven, Bothwell, Hamilton, Wishaw, Lanark, Motherwell, Airdrie, etc., a.nd in all cases the audiences have been large and the attention earnest .and absorbed.
The plan has been connected with a. few features of marked value, which might be well imitated elsewhere. Afternoon meetings have neen held for women especially, and addressed ordinarily by some . .man and woman who have been on the foreign field and were at home on a furlough-as, for instance, Rev. Mr. Rice of India, Ross of Manchuria, Alexander of Jamaica, Christie, M. D., likewise of Manchuria, and Mrs. Edge of China, and Mrs. Armstrong of Burmah. Then in the evenings, general meetings, held in the largest available church or hall, addressed generally by one of thesQ returned missionaries and myself, and sometimes briefly by some one of the local clergy. Some man or woman has been called to preside at the respective meetings, whose name and known interest in missions gave added power to the gatherings; and the common custom of voting thanks to the speakers, which often diverts attention from the subject matter to the person bearing the message, has been happily omitted. We see no reason why similar campaigns may not be planned in our own land, so that without needless cost of time or money, such men as Dr. Gordon of Boston, Dr. Barrows of Chicago, Dr. McVickar of Montreal, Dr. Goodwin of Chicago, Dr. Chamberlain of Brooklyn, Dr. Taylor of New York, Dr. Gracey of Buffalo, and such women as Mrs. Bottome, Mrs. Gordon; Mrs. Bainbridge, Mrs. Rhea, Mrs. Douglass, Mrs. Capron, Mrs. Harvie, Mrs. Hoge, Mrs. Moses Smith and Mrs. Barakat, may be brought into living contact with large congregations throughout the United States and Canada.
Scotland is a land of martyrs and missionaries, and the two naturaIiy go together. The martyr spirit has survived the martyr fires, and so the vital energy that onco made martyrs now runs into the channels of missionary enthusiasm. We go nowhere without feeling ·ourselves to be on holy ground. Hallowed associations make every spot sacred. At Bothwell we had to walk but a few steps along the Clyde to find ourselves confronting the mills where David Living- Jltone worked, and the humble home of Blantyre, where that "adventurous laddie" first saw the light. At Strathaven we were but .seven miles from the battle-field of Drum Clog, where Douglass led a little band of Covenanters against Graham, of Claverhouse, with the royalist troopers; and from that little town where the hand looms still produce their beautiful products, wentfrom one house, William and Gavin Martin to India, and James Martin to Jamaica, and James Martin's son to India, and now Miss Martin, the sister, to Jamaica. What an outcome of one consecrated home! Five missionaries almost from one cradle! No marvel Scotland is interested in missions! With a view to touching as many centers as was practicable, I have generally had three services on each Lord's Day, but so aided by resident ministers as that no part of the service but the address and a short prayer just before it fell to me. The large attendance at all these services, especially those held in the evenings, has been a matter of congratulation and surprise. At Paisley, the large town hall" erected as a memorial to George Clark, Esq., of spool-cotton-thread' fame, and holding 2,500, was literally packed; and at Glasgow, St. Andrews, holding from five thousand to six thousand, was similarly crowded. Instead of coming across the sea to kindle a missionarT revival, the flame was found already burning, and needing only the fuel' of facts, and the fanning of the breath of the Spirit of God, to become a consuming fire. Could all this intelligent and aroused enthusiasm be effectually applied to action, the whole machinery of missions' would move with greatly increased rapidity and efficiency.
We think we see some signs of greatly increased giving. These meetings have not been with immediate reference to raising money" and no collections have been taken except for current local expenses. But from time to time voluntary offerings have been sent in to me, by those whose hearts the Lord has touched, and some of them have' been very significant, because the fruit of evident self-sacrifice. In some instances the facts attending such gifts have become known to me. One lady sold a bracelet and sent the proceeds to be applied to. mISSIons. One young man took off a solid gold vest chain, and another a diamond scarf-ring, and enclosed them to me. Others sent· the price of a pair of kid gloves, or a box of cigars, or a concert ticket, or a package of Christmas cards, or various other gratifications and indulgences foregone for the sake of the perishing. What· would be the result were only John Howard's maxim followed, that our "luxuries should give way to the conveniences of the poor; OUF conveniences to their necessities; and even our necessities to their extremities!" The nakedness of the indigent world might be clothed from the superfluous trimmings of the vain. That will be a new era and epoch in missions, when even our luxuries are sacrificed for the· sake of supplying the gospel to the world.
With this last day of the year we enter upon the closing decade of this century. Dr. George Smith, of Edinburgh, the accomplished biographer of Cary, Duff and Wilson, reckons the first century or modern missions from 1788. He divides the century into three periods: First, the period of preparation, when the ground was' being broken up and made ready for the seed, from 1788 to 1838. Secondly, the period of sowing, when the seed was being scattered,. from 1838 to 1858. Thirdly, the period of ingathering, when the harvest began, from 1858 till now. I have often thought of a somewhat similar division into periods of seven years each: 1. From 1788 to 1837, seven periods of seven years, the times of organization when the great missionary agencies were forming. 2. The times of aggres. sive activity, when the Church was pushing rapidly forward into new nelds, three periods of seven years, from 1837 to 1858. And 3. The times of realization of results, when both aggressive movement and great success marked missions, the plowman and reaper going side by side.
However this be, we are now in the nrst years of a second century of modern missions. Never since Christ arose from the dead has there been at once such magnificent opportunity and such inspiring encouragement. No previous generation has had suoh facilities .and applianoes for giving the gospel to mankind as have we. Divine Providence has furnished us weapons for our warfare such as men in .apostolic ages never imagined. The marvelous f:.bles of the Arabian Nights are eclipsed by the realities of printing press, steam engine, ·electric telegraph, postal system, and all the other helps which are now challenging the church to use air, earth and water in her great mission to the race of man. No man can show a sensible reason why within the next ten years the Word of God should not be published throughout the world. Thirty millions of Protestant disciples can .evangelize the world if each one will become responsible for fifty <>ther souls. If one missionary will go to the field out of every 300 Protestant church members, we shall have 100,000 missionaries in t~e foreign work, besides native helpers that now outnumber the missionary band five to one. If every such church member could be led to consecrate habitually and systematically to missions,jive cents a day, it would yield the enormous sum of about 550,000,000 dollars yearly, 01' one and a half million dollars a day! Think what could be done in evangelizing the world if there were a band of 100,000 missionaries -sent out by Christian churches, with the grand sum of $550,000,000 a year to provide for their support!
This decade ought to be the most glorious of all history in the progress of the gospel. But there must be new giving and new liv- .ing, more men and women sent t.o the front, and more money and means furnished for the work. Dr. McAll writes that for sheer laok .of money he has to close thirteen of his stations, at a time when every door is open and every demand i5 for expansion rather than retrenohment. The Churoh of God does not respond to the providence of God as she ought. The very air is vocal with the calls of God, the very horizon is blazing with signal lights. Who will come forward .and say, "Here am I, send me?" Who will bring their silver and gold with them and lay on God's altars their abundance? Who will go into that holy of holies, where wrestling Jacobs become prevailing Israels, and learn the secret of that mighty prayer which brings down ..showers of blessing upon earth's dry ,and barren wastes?
EDINBURGH, Dec. 31.
THE BOERS AND MISSIONS
THE BOERS AND MISSIONS.
BY REV. LEWIS GROUT, WEST BRATTLEBORO, VT.
Among the many new and interesting missionary developments of the present day, that which is revealing itself among the Dutch farmers, or "Boers/' as they are often called in South Africa,is oneof the most remarkable and cheering. Their two hundred years of life in that land have been years of a most unique commingling of the romantic with the real,-a life characterized for domestic simplicity,. wild adventure, independence, and a high regard for at least th~ forms and observances of a sound Christian faith. They have everhad a great love of liberty, been vigorously tenacious of their own rights; and yet have had ll- firm helief, at least many of them, that, the natives, the black people, were divinely appointed to be the servants of the white race. Out of all this have come many border' wars, repeated collisions and conflicts with the English, and sometimes a hostile feeling towards Christian Missions, all which has led many of them to a most unsettled, migratory way of living. But, now, at length, their ideas of liberty are taking on a more intelligent, scriptural aspect; their formalism giving place to spirituality, and theirfeelings and conduct towards the natives beginning to undergo a happy" beneficent change. The spirit of that true and living faith which their' pioneer fathers carried to that land, is beginning to be revived, and one of the most important reasons they originally assigned for going there and taking up their abode among or by the side of the natives -to aid them in their religious well-being-is beginning to be honored: in the mission work they have already entered upon in their behalf.. During the two centuries of their abode there, the Boers have had much to do towards developing and utilizing the secular l'~sources of the country, and in giving shape to the social and political affairs of all South Africa. Their molding influence was never greater than it is to-day, nor will it fail to increase and extend as the years go on. Their past career is fraught with instruction, if not also with admoni– tion; their present trend with encouragement to all true friends of law and religion. To all who are interested in the ever-changing fortunes of men, the different phases of social life, and especially in' knowing something of the many mighty forces now at work for thespeedy redemption of that long neglected and much wronged land of the sun, which has come to be called the- "Dark Continent," a brief sketch of the early life, general character, and present promise of the' Dutch Boers in South Africa can hardly fail to be instructive and encouraging.
When Diaz discovered the southern angle of Africa, 1486, andproposed to his royal patron, John II., of Portugal, to call it "the stormy cape," the King said: "No; call it 'the Cape of Good Hope," because of the promise it gives of my finding in it a good way to. India." So, through the moral and political storms that have raged in that region, the eye of faith sees a "Good Hope" for yet making • that cape as a stepping-stone and means of reaching a realm larger than India with the gospel of God's love. It was about the middle of the seventeenth century, 1652, that the Dutch East India Company, seeing what a good replenishing station the cape would make for ships plying between Europe and the East, sent a colony of soldiers and others there to build a fort and plant a garden, hoping, withal, as they said, that the religious interests of the aborigines might be thus promoted,-that the formation of said fort and garden may not only tend to the advantage of the East India Company, but, what is of more consequence, may also be the means of preserving many souls to the praise of God's most holy name, and for the propagation of his holy gospel,-that, by living on good terms with the natives, their children may become useful servants, and, if educated in the Christian faith, should the Almighty grant.his blessing, many souls may be brought to a knowledge of religion and saved to God. But these ends, if ever practil,lally sought in those early days, were soon forgotten, and for two centuries left virtually out of account, though they are now beginning to come to the front.
The infant colony went on to prosper. The natives brought them cattle and sheep, their gardens gave them vegetables, the plains gave them game, and the sea gave them fish, but for some years they were subject to many trials. At first, it is said, they had to ~ontend with their fears, lest the wild men by day or the wild beasts by night should attack them and their fort, and carryall by storm. They had to contend with want; and one poor soldier was sentenced to many blows from the butt of his gun for wishing the purser at the devil for, serving out penguins instead of beef and pork. They suffered from thieves, and one poor fellow was sentenced to be flogged and put in irons for stealing a cabbage. At times a Hottentot would walk off with some of the cattle, or the leopards and lions would take them for their own use. They had the scandal-monger among them, and one of them was sentenced to ask pardon on his knees, be bored through the tongue, and be banished three years for words spoken against ladies of rank. The colonists were sometimes chided by the Home Directors for want of enterprise and self-support, and told that a country which could not grow its own corn did not deserve to be called a colony_ Then the Home Company sent out fifty young farmers, and an equal number of maidens to aid them and others in their new home. Next came three hundred Huguenots, men, women and children, the salt of the earth: – – " Pilgrim fathers, noblest blood of sunny France, Broad-browed men of free-born spirit, lighted with the eagle glance."
Robbed of " freedom to worship God" in the land of their birth: " To this far nook the Christian exiles fled, Each fettering tie of earthly texture breaking; Wealth, country, kindred, cheerfully forsaking For that good cause in which their fathers bled."
To these may be traced some of the most valuable elements of the white race in South Africa; though, for a long time, the illiberal policy of the Home Company was far from giving such scope to the enterprise, industry, and influence they were prepared to exert, as the highest welfare of all parties, both immediate and future, required.
The sturdy Hollanders and Huguenots of those early days, the real Pilgrims and Puritans of South Africa, glorying, as they did, in being" free-born" and" liberty-loving," were, nevertheless, remark- ably patient under the many frivolous and discriminating laws and customs to which they were subject, touching private, social and civil life. Some of the good-hearted rulers, such as "Father Tulbagh," who lived .about :the middle of the last century, men of great simplicity of life and never lacking in rigid discipline, evidently failed to see what was really the great opportunity and object of their office, and yet were diligent enough in prescribing such laws and forms of social and official etiquette as they thought the people should observe. They had full faith in ranks and grades of society, and eschewed the doctrine that all men, even the white, were made or designed to be equal. The low vehicles of that age were admirably adapted to the fashion, made imperative by law, that every person should stop his carriage and get out when he should see the Governor approach, and should likewise give the members of the" Court of Policy" a clear pass for their carriages. The exact amount of velvet which gentlemen of different ranks might wear, the amount of ornamentation for their carriages, the number of servants each rank might boast, the particular costume of the footman, the dress of brides and their friends at weddings, the cloth and cut of dresses for the wives of men .of different ranks, as the junior merchant or the senior merchant, the wearing of diamonds, mantles, hoops, and dresses with a train, as the chronicles of thos.e days tell us, were all determined by laws made, not by the modistes of Paris, but by the Governor and his grave Council in the castle of Good Hope. And yet there was evidently much of good feeling and genuine enjoyment among that people. If they went to one extreme in the respect and deference they paid to age, rank and office, it is worth considering whether the people of this day have not gone to the other.
The religious character and observances of the Boers at that early period were not less marked and molding than their civil code and social life. Their means of education, teachers, ministers, books, except the Bible, outside of official ranks, were few. But the attachment of the scattered people to all the sacred institutions of religion was then, as now, remarkable; and evidently the guiding and re- straining influence of these simple ordinances and teachings of the gos- pel, during all the years, have done much to prevent the nomadic dasses from lapsing utterly into the heathenism of the native tribes with which they have ever been in contact. Even now, in those who lead a migratory life, rouch as the greater number of their fathers were wont to lead, " While on from plain to plain they led their flocks, In search of clearer springs and fresher field,"
-both the spirit and the forms of religion are everywhere far from rare. They hold the Calvinistic doctrines, and, in many respects, are not unlike the sturdy Scotch of three centuries ago. Rough and un- couth as the" trek Boers" (nomadic farmers) often are, they have, at least many of them, a habit of saluting their Maker at break of day with supplication and song. Nor is it any uncommon thing for the patriarch of the family to bring his household together, morning and -evening, read a chapter from the well-worn family Bible and offer prayer. They still retain tha.t resolute, republican spirit of freedom for which their ancestors were distinguished in the Netherlands many generations ago. From their religion and their politics together, it is -easy to see how they should be often thought a stubborn, sometimes a bigoted, if not also a proud race, of an independent spirit, a posi- tive purpose, and ever ready to fight and die for their rights and their liberties.
In their general appearance, domestic life and common pursuits, the Boers are tall, stout, strong, hospitable and kind, frank and cour- teous, sometimes surly and phlegmatic. Their farms and their fami- -lies are large, the former numbering from six. to ten thousand acres of land, the latter from six to a dozen children, to say nothing of serv- ants. Their wealth consists of their lands, cattle, sheep and horses. Where they have been able to settle down to live undisturbed for a few generations, they are not unlike the average New England farmer "in the general ordering of their affairs. When they are given or driven to constant change, the wide open field is their home, and the large tented wagon, usually drawn by twelve or fourteen oxen, is their house, where they sleep at night, and in which the women and chil- -dren ride by day, while the men, in their saddles, are out with their rifles for the game they need for the larder. If one thinks his stay in a place may be for a few months or years, he builds a cheap -" wattle and dab" house and covers it with thatch for himself and family, a hovel for his horses, and a pen for his cattle; encloses a few _.acres of land for a garden, and plants out a few fruit trees, and, even- .tually, if not too much annoyed by the natives, or forcibly ousted by ~the English, he comes to find he has a permanent home.
But the civil and political career and experiences of the Boers have been full of variety and trial. The original settlement went on to grow till it came to number fifty thousand souls and embrace a hundred thousand square miles of territory, when, in 1795, the English came' in and took possession, held it till 1806, then gave it back, but recov- ered it again in 1815; since which time it has continued to be an, English colony, much to the disgust and grief of the Dutch. The peculiar views of the Boers in respect to the natural rights of the na,..' tives, the frequent encroachments of the former upon the territory of the latter, and the consequent strife between the two races, all went, to make the life of each for many years one of almost constant fear' and unrest. The Boers could neVer forgive the English for taking from them what they claimed as their own country; and, being accus- tomed to take and hold many of the natives as slaves, or, a'S the Dutch said, as "apprentices," when, in 1833-7, the English abolished the system, the already disgusted Dutch became highly indignant. But the more considerate still remained in the colony and made the, best of it, while great numbers of them withdrew for good. Not less than five or six thousand of them, heads of families, gave up their big farms, gathered up their more valuable and portable effects, took, their families, cattle, sheep and horses, their Bibles and their guns, inspanned their big wagons, called the ugliest ox in the team by the opprobrious name of "England," set their faces toward the North Pole, and journeyed on till they crossed the Orange River, the northern limit of English rule, and there took up an abode wherever they could find green grass and good water. From this, in a year or two, 1837, a thousand of them inspanned their wagons again, took their families, cattle and other effects, followed up the Orange River and came down into Natal, hoping to make that beautiful country a new Netherlands, and there find rest and peace. But after two years of" war with the Zulus, and then two more of war with the English, the, land of their delight became a British colony. Again, a few of the more considerate of them remained and tried to make the best of it;, but great numbers of them withdrew, went back over the mountain, rejoined their fellows, and established the Orange River Free State and the Transvaal Republic, with an alleged promise from the English that they should not be disturbed. But, under the so-called "jingo policy" of the British Government a few years since, this promise, which the Dutch declare to have been plain' and positive,. seems to have been forgotten; and an attempt was made, or at least conceived, t.o deprive the Dutch of their independence and establish a grand Anglo-African Confedracy which should embrace all South Africa. This led to a war between the English and the Dutch, and also with the ZuIUjl. But in this the Dutch had the best of it, and are still preserving their independence.
The Free State embraces about 50,000 square miles, and has a population of about 130,000, of whom the whites number about 60,000.. The Transvaal, now called the South African Republic, embraces about 80,000 square miles and has a population of about 300,000, of whom about one-sixth are white, and of these about three-fourths are- Dutch. The eastern frontier of this State is about forty miles from Delogoa Bay. A railway to connect the capital, Pretoria, with the bay is nearly completed. Between this State and St. Lucia Bay the· Boers have formed what they call the" New Republic," of about. 16,000 square miles. This new State has already negotiated a treaty with the Transvaal, by the terms of which the two are to form them- selves into one State, to be incorporated under the name of the Dis- trict of Vryheid. Many of the English, both at home and in South Africa, especially in Natal, have been urging and hoping that British rule might be pushed northward, so as to take in Zululand, and what. was otherwise soon likely to be known as the" New Republic;" or even that the scheme of a grand Anglo-African Republic might yet be realized at an early date. But the latest utterance and phase of the Imperial policy on these points are that Mr. Gladstone emphati- cally repudiates any intention to interfere in Zulu affairs; that the Home Government is not prepared to adopt toward the Boer settlers in the New Republic district a hostil~ or aggressive attitude; and that· England especially desires to maintain friendly and cordial relations. with the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The more considerate and humane course of the Boer towards the native is taking away one considerable pretext of the British Government in former years for interfering with Dutch rule.
From interesting addresses at the World's Missionary Conference last year in London, and from other fresh and valuable sources of information, it is clear that a great change is coming over the Dutch in their feelings towards the natives and in their attitude towards mission work among them. For many reasons, probably few men are ableto give more correct; valuable testimony on this point than the Rev. John McKenrie, of the London Missionary Society. In a recent speech of his, having referred to the opposition which mission work had to· encounter from the Dutch in former years, he goes on to say that, in the course of time, such work has come not only to have their high approval, but to find their own sons and daughters engaged in it;. that the Dutch Reformed Church of Cape Colony" has its own missionary society now, and if, in any village throughout the colony, there· should be a community of black people not ministered to by a European society, there you will find the Dutch Reformed Church at. work." The superintendent of the Berlin Missionary Society, Rev•. A. Merensky, having referred to the fact that, in former years, the- Boers of the Transvaal had refused to allow any mission work to becarried on in that State, goes on to say: "Our missionaries now have· in the Transvaal alone twenty-three stations, with five thousand mem- bel's; and altogether there are now about twenty-five thousand native Christians in the 'fransvaal." The Swiss have a flourishing mission in that State. Nor is the changing of sentiment and bearing on the part .of the Dutch towards the Zulus in N atalless marked. Some two years -ago there was a religious movement of great power among both races in the upper part of that colony, in the Greytown region. Several na- tive evangelists, being employed to hold meetings among their own people, often held them, by invitation, at the houses of the Dutch, .and many of both races were hopefully converted. The pastor of the Dutch church in Greytown gave the work every possible encourage- ment. Many of the farmers not only gave it their hearty approval .and shared in it, but contributed much of their own time and personal -effort to carry it forward. Rev. James Scott, a missionary of the .scotch Free Church, was called in and" assisted at the baptizing of -about a hundred natives who had been converted by those Boers who .destroyed the station of Livingstone, and interfered with the work of .our French brethren. Having received an outpouring of the Spirit of .God two or three years ago, these Dutch farmers are now gathering . their Zulu servants together and are themselves preaching to them the .gospel of Christ."
The veteran American missionary, Rev. David Rood, for forty years a faithful laborer among the Zulus in Natal, bears similar testi- mony to the interest the Dutch are now taking in mission work among the aboriginal races in all parts of Soutlt Africa. And, as among some of the more important causes, or agencies, that have wrought .and are still working this cheering change,-a revival of religious and missionary zeal among the Dutch,-he mentions the labors and prayers ~f the many devoted teachers that have been going out, for some years, from New England, and especially from Mt. Holyoke Seminary, under the call and direction of P-astor Murray, of Wellington, superintendent .of the Dutch churches in South Africa, to establish schools of the South Hadley order and spirit among the Dutch in different parts of .all that broad field. Nor is their influence limited to the sections in which the schools are set, but" reaching Dutch families far away."
At the annual meeting of "The Natal Missionary Conference," held in Durban last July, Rev. James Turnbull, V. D., of Grey- town, read an interesting paper on "The Boer Farm Mission, or the Introduction of Christian Life into the Kraals of the Kafirs," which .serves to prove and illustrate the real practical interest the Boers .are taking in the religious well-being of the nations around them. The Boer's farm is generally large, comprising from five to ten thousand acres. On it may often be found a goodly number of Zulu Kraals; and the aim of "The Boer Farm Mission" is to fur- .nish religious instruction for these natives by providing a native
MORAVIAN MISSIONS AMONG THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 17~
evangelist from some regular mission station to labor for them~ The evangelist thus employed is to have a hut of his own on the farm, together with a field for planting and pasturage for his cows; also a small salary, part of which is to be paid by the Farm Mission and part by the farmer for whose people he labors. This evangelist is to teach and preach also on the neighboring farms, and the owners of these shall be expected to help make up the salary of the minister whose services his people may share. The enterprise promises to be attended with much success. The members of the church have increased from 45 to 96 during the last year, and some 50 candidates are now waiting for baptism.
MORAVIAN ~IISSIONS AMONG THE AMERICAN INDIANSr BY REV. D. L. LEONARD, BELLEVUE, OHIO.
It is much to the shame of American Christendom that so little is known of the character and doings in general of the Moravian Church, and in particular of her efforts to evangelize and civilize the' aborigines of this country. For not only does the story constitute one of the most thrilling and pathetic portions of our early annals~ but a number of her representatives rank high for distinguished public services among our pioneers and founders. This church was the first to cross the Atlantic upon an errand purely evangelistic. For the better part of a century she stood in the very forefront of the fearful strife with the wilderness and with savagery in New York. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Canada West. Nor did any heralds of the cross ever surpass, while few were able to equal, for patient endurance of hardships, or for length and energy of effort, such truly apostolic men as Heckewelder, for forty years a missionary among the Delawares, and Zeisberger, who for upwards of sixty years, bestowed most lavishly upon the same people the wealth of his wisdom and zeal, and died when past eighty-seven with the armor still on, and so, even more than Eliot, fairly earned the honorable title of Apostle to the Indians.
Already Dober and Nitschman had been despatched to the negroes of the West Indies, and the Stachs, with Christian David, to the Greenland Eskimos, and now in 1734, when the renewed church had been in existence scarcely more than a decade, a company of Moravians made their advent into Georgia to tell to the Creeks the story of redemption. But various troubles ensued and the mission was transferred to the more genial atmosphere of Quaker territory, and to the Forks of the Delaware. Here in 1741 a permanent settlement was made, destined to be a sort of second Herrnhut, a centre of gospel power for the New W orId, and named Bethlehem, Zinzendorf himself being present. A considerable accession soon followed of <settlers from Europe, and several tours of exploration through the forests to the north and west.
Meantime in Herrnliut Christian Henry Rauch h~d been set apart .as the first missionary to the Indians, and had landed alone and a ~tranger in New York. Only discouragements met him. But hearing that a delegation of Mohicans was in the city, he sought them out, and, sad prophecy of woe, found them in beastly intoxication. They had learned the Dutch language from their neighbors, and taking advantage of a few rational moments, he offered to return with them as a religious teacher, and in due season set out for Shekomeko, in Dutchess County, and near the Connecticut line. For a time his message was heard with interest, but when the novelty was gone his hearers fell away, rebuffs and insults became his daily portion, and he was bidden to be off' by the way he came. However, additional helpers were sent, and at the end of a year the seemingly barren soil suddenly began to whiten with a harvest. Tschoop (Job) and Shabash, the debauched wretches he had followed to their homes, through ,deepest penitence entered thoroughly into the kingdom, though one of them before had been "the greatest drunkard and most outrageous villain" in all that region. Savages came twenty and thirty .miles to listen to the" great words," a church of 70 was gathered, a ,-second station was opened further east upon the Housatonic (Pachgatgoch), and five missionaries were kept busy preaching, teaching and visiting from lodge to lodge. But those were troublous times. Evil doers found their gains from the vices of the Indians sadly les- ,1lened by the success of the Moravians, much sectarian bigotry and jealousy were abroad, and, worse, there was constant peril from the French. So from these combined sources fierce opposition arose, and their arrest followed upon the charge of being" Jesuits.in disguise," and finally in New York an act was passed which ordered" the sev- -eral Moravian and vagrant teachers to desist from further teaching .and preaching, and to depart the province." Thus expelled and the mission broken up, teachers and converts were presently transferred to Bethlehem. This was the first forced exodus in a long and lament- .able series.
In 1745 a Delaware chief and his wife were baptized, the first converts from that tribe upon which the bulk of Moravian fervor was henceforth to be expended. But just now great things were planned in behalf of the Iroquois to subdue their haughtiness by the power of the Cross, and inspire their hearts with the pity of Christ. .A mission board was formed. Young men were to be chosen and trained for the task by years of study and familiar intercourse. David Zeisberger was one of the first appointed (destin irter Heidenbote), and was sent to the Mohawk Valley to study the language. Arrested as a French .8P'!I and sent ba<?k, and little later with Bishop Spangenberg he made .a trying and most perilous trip to Onondaga to secure from the Grand Council permission for teachers to reside among the Six Nations. This was followed by several other visits of similar character, <and by two periods of residence, by which he gained such great ad- miration and affection from those redoubtable warriors that by the ·Onondagas he was with great ceremony adopted into the tribe of the "Turtle. As another means of reaching and winning the Iroquois, a mission was opened at Shamokin upon the Susquehanna, a great gathering place, with a blacksmith shop to sharpen their tools and weapons, and Zeisberger as an assistant. For some reason nothing flubstantial came of all this planning and labor. The French war <lompelled suspension, and after twenty years' continuance the attempt nnally ceased (1766).
But the work was vigorously pushed in the Wyoming Valley and <at other points. With <what heroic spirit is shown in a resolution adopted by the Mission Board " to carryon the evangelization of the Indians in an apostolic manner, and with resistless energy, to the glory of God, and to deem fit for this service such men and women only as are willing to lose their lives for Christ's sake." And, verily, it soon appeared that only such faith and fervor could meet the demands of the case. The Delawares were found comparatively docile and easy to be reached by such simple, earnest and loving presentation of the truth as the humble-hearted Moravians gave. So that by the end of 1749, 300 converts could be counted in Eastern Pennsylvania. But Braddock's defeat was the beginning of protracted disturbance and disaster. The entire frontier was exposed to bloody forays, morbid fear of tomahawk and scalping knife was universal, and the baseless suspicion spread that the Christian Indians and their teachers were in league~ith the French. Then, as if in cruel irony, a troop of Monseys, who were hostile to the English, made midnight assault with wholesale slaughter upon a Moravian settlement only a few miles from Bethlehem.
The mission came forth from the French war sadly scourged and a decimated, and then, when only a brief breathing space had been en- joyed, the Pontiac Conspiracy followed, with similar train of evils. The old charge against the converts was revived, but was proved to be a calumny by the meekness and resignation with which they endured severe and manifold trial and affliction ensuing. In part, at least out of kindness, they were ordered by the civil authorities to give up their arms and gather at Philadelphia, but, obeying, were met by a howling mob with insults and threats. In spite of all orders from their officers, the soldiers refused them a refuge in the barracks. Transported next to Province Island, a few weeks later they were packed off to New York, but on the border of the province were met ·with a command not to cross. Back then they tramped through a snow storm, and durance followed in all of sixteen months. Most of the time the missionaries were with them giving protection, council and good cheer. And the poor creatures were marvellously patient and steadfast through the whole. But during the summer smallpox and dysentery broke out, and almost half of the entire number died•. When finally released less than 100 remained, and so inveterate was– the prejudice against them that this remnant must needs at once re- move westward. So that presently we behold the afflicted flock and their loved shepherds, forsaking homes and worldly goods, plunging into the pathless forests, climbing Broad Mountain, crossing' the. Great Swamp, often able to advance but few miles a day, and, after' five weeks of hardship, fixing themselves upon the Susquehanna and. laying the foundations of a Second Friedenshutten (Tents of Peace).
This was in 1765. And now a few years of respite were vouch- safed. Comfortable homes were soon built, as well as a chapel and school-house, while a post-and-rail fence was constructed about the~ -entire cluster of cabins. The streets and yards were kept scrupu- lously clean. To every family was a garden, an orchard and a canal" while 250 acres were given to meadows and grain fields and cattle;, . hogs and poultry were abundant. To crown all a rich spiritual bless- ing also came, bringing a large increase of converts, while the gospel sounded out among the Mohawks, the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Tuscaroras, Wampanoags, Tutelas and N anticokes.
In 1767 intelligence was brought to Bethlehem that the Delawares .of the upper Allegheny desired to hear the glad tidings, and Zeisber- ger was deputed to journey thither. He found a very den of heathen- ism at Goschgoschunk, with debauchery and all manner of depraved doing rife. But, nothing daunted, he was on hand again the year following with Gottlob Senseman and three families of Christian Indians.. to begin the first Protestant mission beyond the mountains in the vast Mississippi Valley. For a while life was well nigh intolerable> so furious was the opposition. The settlement was removed a few miles. to a spot now in the midst of the oil region of Venango County, but at le~gth, by gentle bearing, coupled with zealous teaching and fervid appeal, such a turning to the Lord began that the heathen party lost control. In 1770 a call came to introduce the gospel still further west upon the Beaver, and a number of families journeyed thither iu canoes by way of the Allegheny and Ohio, and built Languntoutenunk, or Friedenstadt (City of Peace). Among the trophies of a revival,. which soon ensued, was Glikkikan, a famous chieftain and warrior,. who from henceforth threw the whole might of his influence in favor' of Christian civilization.
But serious trouble was brewing in the Susquehanna region. The bitter strife beween Yankee and Pennanite for the possession of . Wyoming was in progress. By the treaty of Fort Stanwix the territory in which Friedenshutten stood was sold to Pennsylvania, and the whites were crowding in upon the red inhabitants. Hence, re- moval, sooner or later, became necessary. And just then an invitation came from the Grand Council of the Delaware nation upon the Tus- carawas anG Walhonding, streams which unite to form the Musk- ingum, to remove, with tile promise of an aml)le tract of most fertile river bottom covered with magnificent forests full of berries, vi deer, turkeys and other game, while the stream was fairly alive with fish. And all hard by Gekelemukpechunk, the capital. Therefore, on every account it seemed best to transfer the mission from the Susquehanna. to the Muskingum, and in the spring of 1772 upwards of 200 crossed the diviaing ridge and made the long pilgrimage.
Zeisberger chose a spot upon the bluff nellr to a large rivulet which leaped forth from under ground, and called it Schonbrunn (Beautiful Spring). At a later time, to accommodate the growing numbers, he located two other settlements distant each a few miles, Gnadenhutten (Tents of Grace) and Lichtenau (Pasture of Light). These solid be- ginnings of religion and settled order were made by the Moravians, be it known, about half a generation before the Ordinance of 1787 and the founding of Marietta. And now followed in this far-off Arcadia what on the whole were the halcyon days in the career of the mISSIOn. Of material prosperity there was no lack, so that the heathen came from far to behold and wonder. Several sachems of high degree openly espoused the truth, among them Netawatwas and White Eyes. The chapel, though holding 500, could not contain the . audiences which gathered to hear the" great words." Baptisms, too, were frequent, and some of the shrewdest of the chiefs judged that a few years would suffice to give the victory to the gospel.
But, alas, sorest tribulation was in store. The Revolution was hastening on apace, with all its terrible moral strain and waste. When open collision came, it was neither from cowardice nor lack of patriotism that the missionaries decided to stand neutral. It was $ matter of conscience. They were non-combatants from principle. But this fact was the direct cause of continued embarrassment, though it is impossible to see how their case would have been bettered by choosing either for Congress or the King. But here, as also before and at a later time, upon them fell the" frequent penalty of peace- makers, the distrust of both sides." Certainly their course was ad- vantageous to the Colonies, since, though the Delawares finally went over to the British, it was not until after the surrender of Burgoyne and the alliance with France, and so for years 10,000 warriors were held back from their bloody forays by Zeisberger, Heckewelder and the rest, as in New York were many more by missionary Kirkland. The situation on the Muskingum was most trying and critical. The Christian Indians occupied the border between the English settlements and the savages of the 'Vest, and so were between two fires. War fury was rampant, and it required the utmost of sagacity and watehfulness to keep the hands of the young Delaware braves from seizing the hatchet. War parties frequently went back and fortb and all were entertained with strictest impartiality.
At length, to the British commander at Detroit, the attitude of this influential tribe became intolerable. And well k!lowing that the missionaries were tbe cbief obstacles in h.is way, be determined to strike at them a telling blow. It was when the long and weary strife was well nigh over, only four weeks before Cornwallis surrendered, that a few hundreds of Wyandots, lVlingoes, Shawanese, etc., with Elliott, an English captain, among them, suddenly appeared at Schonbrunn and the other towns, and by force compelled an exodus of the entire Christian population, Zeisberger and the four. other lVloravians included, and a long journey to Upper Sandusky, involving a wholesale destruction of property; and at the approach of winter, destitute of food and robbed of nearly all their clothing, were left by their captors in the wilderness. A little later the missionaries were ordered to Detroit to remain, and their followers to separate and find a home where they could.
But, meantime, the climax of horrors had come-the crushing (latastrophe. In a starving condition small companies had begun to return to the lVluskingum to gather some of their corll, which by the thousand bushels had been left unharvested. Toward the end of winter a larger party had gone upon the same errand. Theil' presence became known to the borderers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and an <expedition was planned to cut them off. Under the lead of one Col. Williamson, while scattered through the fields, they- were suddenly set upon and made prisoners. A few hours were given in which to prepare for death, and then they were taken to two "slaughter houses," and one by one butchered and scalped. Ninety.six victims, wholly innocent of evil, of whom some thirty were women, thirty-five children and twelve babes. And this" not in the flush of victory, but in cold blood, leisurely as animals for the shambles." After the slaughter every building was burned.· Can American history match this woful and altogether sickening narration?
The residue of the dolorous story, though extending yet over the better part of a half century, need not long detain us. Permission was soon given to Zeisberger and his white associates to remain in Detroit, or to retire to Bethlehem. But the thought of forsaking the souls they had gathered at such cost could not be cherished for an instant, and a·re-establishment of the mission was determined upon. By consent of the Chippewas, a location was selected a few miles to the west of Lake St. Clair and upon the Huron (now Clinton) River, and a call was sent to the Christian Indians to gather at New Gnadenhutten. Not strangely, the response was so meagre that a start was made with but nineteen, and fifty-three was the sum total at the end of a year. A long succession of troubles, repeated removals with great loss of property, set upon and harried alike by British and American, and fihally the ruthless and unprovoked slaughter of scores of their brethren, whom could they trust, and what ground was there for hope and courage? In the almost insanity of despair they were haunted with the suspicion that the massacre was instigated by their teachers! Though others returned later, and not a few relig- iously alone and unhelped from henceforth lived and died true dis- ciples, yet too many made utter shipwreck of faith and relapsed into paganism, counting the gospel a cheat and snare.
Nearly four years was passed in the forests of Eastern Michigan in :severest toil and with slight encouragement, and then since the Chip- pewas broadly hinted that their presence was no longer welcome, the future ownership and government of the Northwest was uncertain, ;and since Congress had taken steps towards ceding to them the lands they had occupied on the Muskingum, in 1786 their steps were turned in that direction. Crossing Lake Erie they were driven ashore by tlevere storms, and were compelled to continue their journey on foot. .At length the Cuyahoga was reached, and upon its banks, some miles :south of where Cleveland now stands, a halt was made upon the site <>f a former Ottawa village, and the work of building and planting was at once commenced. This was their Pilgerruh (Pilgrims' Rest). It soon became apparent that though Congress stood ready to bestow titles and gifts of corn, blankets, etc., yet, on account of the deter:: mined opposition of the neighboring Indian tribes to a return to the Muskingum, the project must be postponed.
A more favorable location for a settlement was sought for and found some sixty miles to the west on the Huron river, and near to the Milan of this day. New Salem 'was the name which expressed their hope, and four years followed of rest and peace, and consequent prosperity. A grateful calm it was after a protracted season of dis- astrous storms. Or, as the event proved, it was a brief period of sun- shine succeeded by the gloom of a tempestuous night, and so its beauty . was but a bright sunset glow. A thriving town sprang up as if by magic, cattle increased and large harvests were gathered. Three .schools were opened and a hundred dusky pupils filled them. The chapel was thronged with Delawares, Chippewas, Ottawas, and even Wyandots, inquiring after the better way, and an old time revival began, which, with overwhelming power, laid hold of such as Gelele- mand, a head chief, and Gegeshamind, a notorious sorcerer,' and the membership of the church rose to 212.
·But evil days were oJ?ce more at hand. An Indian war broke out and raged with fury over the Northwest, with the crushing defeat of St. Clair and the brilliant victory of Wayne as chief incidents. Again missionary work was rudely brought to a Fltl).ndstill, and~ finally, lest a second massacre befall, a flight for safety to Canada was planned and executed. Some fifty appiicants for church membership declined to go, but the residue, in thirty large canoes, crossed the lake, located upon the Thames, founded Fairfield and received from the Government a large grant of land. After six years, or in 1798, a fraction numbering thirty-three formed a colony and set out for the Muskingum to rebuild the waste places and occupy the 12,00(} acres set apart for their use. Sixteen years had wrought great changes. The ruins of the former settlement could be traced.. Heaps of bones mingled with the ashes showed where the slaughter had occurred. But the fields were again wild with briars and underbrush. For some reason no attempt to restore and rehabilitate prospered. The missionaries and early converts were aged, and one after another- ;were passing away. Zeisberger, the chief leader and inspirer from the beginning, the center and soul of every movement for fifty years,. in 1808 went to his reward. The whites were crowding in from every direction, bringing the demoralization of their vices. And, finally, the migration of the Indian tribes across the Mississippi had set in. So in 1824 the lands were receded to the United States and the work came to an end. Unsuccessful attempts were made to open missions upon the Wabash and in Georgia among the Cherokees. Fairfield was burned by Gen. Harrison after the battle of the Thames, upon the false report that the Moravian Indians had fought with the British. That mission, however, still survives, and two stations are maintained in the Indian Territory. And this is all that remains after the utmost of wise, and earnest, and consecrated endeavor continued through one hundred and fifty years.
And what shall we say to this most painful narrative of hope deferred, of toil unstinted, and in His name, but constantly beset with appalling difficulties and doomed to failure at last?· Well, this at least: The work undertaken was a sublime one, and in the truest sense Christian, Christlike-of a piece with that done by the same church for the degraded African, and Australian, and Eskimo. Preaching of the gospel to the Indians was the thing to do, and th~t regardless of results, great or small. It was in obedience to the Divine call. Nor can we accurately reckon up returns in such high matters. It is no slight thing that some 1,400 or 1,500 souls were converted and trained for glory, and that christianizing and civilizing influence~ were carried to many hundreds more. Then Moravian missions to the aborigines of this country have but shared the sad lot of all similar undertakings. What is there to show for all that Eliot did, and Edwards, and the Mayhews, and many others in later times? In every case the obstacles were overwhelming, and the tribes have
THE JEW IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
well nigh vanished from the earth. Therefore, it was not their fault that they failed. There was a true Providence in the matter. They .did all that mortals could do. " Were strenuous ~xertions, indefatigable labor, patient perseverance, constant self-denial, and devoted zeal sufficient to secure success," then no sort of failure would have resulted. Best of all, such godly doing is never to be accounted "waste." In the spectacle I have been endeavoring to portray, as in so many bright passages from the history of Moravian missions, the gospel ideal is held up to the gaze of Christendom as seldom elsewhere. How blind and reckless, how unquestioning and resolute was their faith! At the divine bidding, like others of God's heroes, they gladly and with fine enthasiasm 'dared to attempt the impossible. And so in all centuries to come, and to thousands, what such as Zeisberger, and Heckewelder, and Senseman, and Rauch, and Buttner, and J ung did and assayed to do, will prove a mighty inspiration and ' impelling force to similar heroic efforts for the redemption of lost men.
THE JEW IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
BY J. T. GRACEY, D.D., BUFFALO, N. Y.
Seven millions of people are an inconsiderable numerical proportion of the fourteen hundred millions of people on the globe. But this number of Hebrews have managed to secure a large share of attention from the rest of mankind in our time, as for centuries preceding. We say seven millions, but this is probably under rather than beyond the real number, which has been estimated as low as five millions, while Herzog reckons, on the ground of information derived from many quarters, that at the lowest they number twelve millions. If the Jewish population of Europe be correctly estimated at five millions-and the statistics are doubtless more trustworthy here than ,elsewhere-then we strongly incline to the very high figures of Herzog, rather than to the extremely low aggregate of two millions in all the world outside of Europe. But Herzog says two millions is too 10w for Europe. This would be one Jew for every forty-five of the entire population. In Amsterdam alone there are thirty-six thousand Jews; in Poland no one estimates the Jew population at less than one million; and in Russia, including Poland,> at three millions. Germany has upwards of half a million, and the United States probably three-quarters of a million of Jews; European Turkey contains about 350,000, mostly about Constantinop~e; Roumania, 250,000, and North Africa, 100,000.
We will not now classify the Jewish communities only to say, there are J ews-and Jews. The Falashas in Abyssinia, the Black J'ews on the Malabar coast, Loango Jews in Africa, and the Karaites in Russia, Crimea and Damascus, are not Jews by lineage. The last named claim to be descended from a leader of their own who lived twenty-two centuries ago. They are not Talmudists. They number about 100,000. They disclaimed being Jews to escape the Russian outbreak of the anti-Jewish riots of 1881.
Nor can we stop to say more than a word about their language. In Europe they speak J udeo-Spanish and J udeo-German. The one is the corrupted Spanish and Hebrew they carried with them when expelled from Spain; and the other has Hebrew roots and German flexions. Over Asia 'and Africa they speak a peculia~ jargon, yet generally, besides, the vernacular of the country where they live.
But the change in the position of the Jew within the last half century is one of the most remarkable character. Fifty years ago the Jew was inert and imbecile. Now he exercises a power greater than in the days of David or Solomon. The Jews to-day influence more people, control more bullion, and exercise more legislative power than they did when they had their temple, their land ati.d their scepter. They have been stationary for eighteen centuries and hunted into obscurity. To-day they attract wider attention than ever before in tbeir bistory.
They are "ministers of finance, ministers of education, peers of the realm, mayors of great cities, senators in the assembly, close counsellors of kings." Painters, philosophers, poets, professors, physicians, editors, lawyers, members of parliament, bankers,-none of them could name those who have attained eminence amongst them without naming a modern Jew. In all countries of western Europe> except Russia, they enjoy Civil Equality and all the rights of citizens. It is estimated by those who claim to see the drift of things, that in a brief period all the seats of justice will be in their bands. Out of twelve hundred students at .Jaw iu Berliu, six hundred were Jews. The Berlin and other Councils are ruled by a Jewish majority, and aU offices are in the gift of Jews. The German tradesman sinks to a. secondary position alongside his Jew competitor, the best squares are filled with Jew shops, the best estates have passed into their hands;. in Germany they have ousted the best families from their patrimonial possessions. This is true of Holland also.
One Jew at least has reached the Senate of France, and another the Chamber of Deputies. Lord Beaconsfield achieved undying notoriety as the Prime Minister of Great Britain; and M. Simon the French Premier, and Gambetta the leader of the opposition, were both descendants of Jewish families. One of the best minds of the Southern councils during the rebellion was that of Judah P. Benjamin, a Jew; and in the North, a Jew, August Belmont, was Chairman ~f the National Democratic Committee in 1878. The Jew is the world's chief banker to-day. No existing civilized nation has failed to f~el his influence in monetary matters. National loans in Europe have long been dependent on Jewish coffers, and it is doubtful if any nation would dare to declare war until they knew if Jew bankers would float the loan necessary for the conduct of the campaign. Almost the whole Cif the liberal press of Germany is in their hands. The two leading papers of Rome, Italy, were, and possibly still are, edited by Jews. The power of the Jewish press of the continent of Europe is very great in ID'ltters political, scientific and theological. The learned Rabbis publish many journals.
At the bar the Jew has achieved great eminence within thirty years of opportunity. It is fifty-six years since the Jews were admit- ted to the freedom of the city of London. The first Jew sheriff of England was elected in 1835, and a little earlier the first Jew was ad- mitted to the English bar. It was as late as 1847 that Baron Roths- child was returned for the city of London, and eleven years later (1858) the first Jew was admitted to the House of Commons. There were but twelve Jew brokers in London at the beginning of this cen- tury. ~he number was limited to twelve. The rare privilege to be- come one of these twelve brokers was conveyed by title deed, and as late' as 1826, when a vacancy occurred, over seven thousand dollars was paid by a Jew for the privilege of its occupancy.
The children of Jews are being educated in a ratio disproportioned to those of Gentiles in many countries, especially in Germany, Austria, and even Russia. This finds an illustration in the Grand Duchy of Baden, where the number of the population being a trifle over a million and a half, one million were Romanists, a half million Protestants, aud twenty-eight thousand Jews. But in the grammar schools the Romanists and Protestants counted two thousand each, and the Jews over five hundred, or the Romanists 41 per cent., the Protestants 47 per cent., and the Jews 11 per cent" or, more roughly and roundly, the Romanists had one pupil in these schools for every five hundred of their number, the Protestants one for every two hundred and sixty, and the Jews one for every fifty-seven. In what are known as the commercial schools the proportion is about the same.
The Jews in Turkey are reported as taking a great interest in education. There is said to be a class of educated Jews, liberal minded and prosperous, untiring in their efforts to develop education among the native Jews by establishing schools.
The increased prosperity and power of the Jew was a foremost occasion of the anti-Semitic riots in Russia in 1881. It was alleged that they had increased in population and wealth until they exercised an undue preponderating influence in affairs of State. It was said that their presence in such numbers and their power endangered national unity and the Christian faith; that they could never be true patriots, and as a money-lending people they exerted a corrupting influence on commerce. It is charged against the modern Jew that he carries out no mission for the good of the human family, and that he seriously interferes with brotherly unity and love. As a class, it is true, they originate no organization of their own looking to practical beneficence beyond their own race lines. But the mercantile Jew of our country has been a generous contributor towards relief of national calamities by fire, flood and pestilence. That his motive may be mixed in his subscription to the relief of sections whence he finds his patronage, even if established, would, we fear, not prove that he occupied a lower level than many Gentiles by his side.
As the Jew has entered into the civilization of the age and become a part of it, Rabbinical Judaism has necessarily undergone considerable modification.' The public schools and other educational establishments give them their curriculum of study, and the study of the Talmud has so far declined that German Jews have to imp~rt their Rabbis from among Polish and Russian youths. The catechism learned by the Jew children in Germany teaches rationalism, not Biblicism, and many have first learned the Bible through the Christian missionary. Amongst multitudes of them in Germany, the hope of a Messiah has totally disappeared. Dr. Philippson, editor of the Allgemeine Zitung des Indenthens, acknowledges that a spirit of skepticism has laid hold of the yonnger generation, so that conviction has disappeared; that there is truth, and that man can obtain it; all idealism is gone, and nothing is considered to be useful and worth while anyeffor.t but that which promises material advantage-wealth, honor, power and enjoyment. Hence this mad spirit of speculation, this ef~ fort and anxiety to get rich quickly, and at the expense of others. A writer in that same periodical said a few years ago: "I see that among the educated classes the religious indifference has so much grown that they do not take the least interest in Jewish literature. I cannot get rid of the doubt whether Judaism, which rests on an historical foundation and is built up with historical stones, can stand and continue when those stones are loosened, and that foundation is forsaken."
The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish World are full of lament that the privileges granted by the Russian government to educated Jews, and the drafts of Jewish youths fOl' ten years into the army, with other causes, are rapidly resulting in the same decline of faith among the Russian Jewish community, and the younger generation is acknowledgedly skeptical, though often secretly so at home. The Is~ raelitish Alliance of Paris is rapidly planting the same forces-schools, etc., among the Jews in Turkey, Asia and Africa. Of two thousand shops kept by Jews in the city of Paris, not over a hundred are closed on Saturday. Of the seventy thousand Jews in New York City, not over twenty-five hundred are attached to the synagogue. Rev. Theodore J. Meyer has therefore pertinently said that the " consequence of this new spirit is that the synagogal service, which for centuries had existed without any change, can no more attract and ,satisfy people whose mental horizon has been enlarged by the study of history, science and philosophy, and whose tastes and modes of living have been revolutionized by the contact and intercourse with civilized society. The disorderly, noisy service of the synagogue could not but be repulsive to such men. A reform of it was therefore generally de- manded. Under great opposition, not only from the still poweI"ful orthodox party, but in many cases also from the political authorities, a. change was at length effected. Everywhere in the principal syna- gogues of the Continent and Great Britain more order and decorum prevail, choral singing, regular or occasional sermons in the vernacu- lar were introduced, although with a very few exceptions the language ·of the prayers remaiI).ed Hebrew. For a time that succeeded in at- tracting again to the synagogues those who had turned away in dis- gust from the old unresthetic service; but it could not satisfy them for any length of time. The cold decorum of the new service left them cold, too; and moreover they discovered that the spirit of the prayers of the synagogue was more in opposition with their views than even the old form of service had been with their new 1abits and tastes.
" The writings of Zunz, Geiger, Holdheim, Furst and others had rudely shaken the belief in the authority of the Talmud and in the .institutions of the prayers and service of the synagogue by Ezra .and the great men of the Sanhedrim. These men, and the leaders of this movement generally, had been all more or less imbued with ration- alism and pantheism, which at that time prevailed in German litera- ture and society generally. What sympathy could they have with a liturgy which on every page gives expression to its hope for the com- ing of the promised Messiah, prays for his appearance, for the gather- ing of scattered Israel, and their return to their own land; for the re- building of the temple and the restoration of the sacrificial service? After the charm of novelty had worn off, the synagogue again stood :empty, notwithstanding their reformed services. Greater, more thorough-going reforms were required-reforms which introduced into the synagogue not only better decorum, music and singing, which e., did not merely lop the liturgy a little here and there, but would bring it into harmony with the spirit of the age, both internally-i. doc- trinally-and externally."
The Jewish World is a weekly penny paper, published in London, which week by week has reproduced in popular form the subtlest and boldest infidel thought of Strauss and Bauer. There is little room to ,doubt but that where Judaism has come in contact with Christian civ- ilization it has resulted in a death-blow to Rabbinical Judaism. A re- turn to simple Mosaic Judaism has proven to be an impossibility.
Even in other countries Rabbinism has been undermined.
The question of their conversion to Christianity would require a ,separate article. A few statements, however, may be presented.
Seven or eight years ago it was said the number of Hebrew Christians in Berlin alone was upwards of fifteen hundred. In 1876 the Irish . Presbyterian Mission Board estimated that there were twenty thousand converted and baptized Jews then living in the communion of Christian churches, and the Missionary News estimates that at the present day at least a thousand. Jews annually are converted to Chris- tianity, who join the churches in about the following proportion: Greek Church 450; Romish 270 ; Evangelical 250 ; and that during this century at least a htlnarea tliousana have been baptized, among whom are many eminent persons. Professor Paulus Cassell, D. D., a member of the German Parliament, is a convert from Judaism. The Irish Presbyterian Missionary report" of thirteen years ago, said that not less than three hundred and twenty converted Jews were known at that time to be occupying high and influential p08itions as ministers" theological professors, and teachers in the Christian church. The Church of England alone had one hundred and ten converted Jews ministering as priests at her altars, and amongst the most eminent di- vines of the Presbyterian and dissenting bodies were many of the chil- dren of Jacob. Christian Jews have won for themselves a world-widereputation as commentators and expounders of the Christian Scriptures,. and some of the brightest centers of Evangelical light on the continent of Europe are universities whe'reJewish Christian doctors occupy the chairs. There are indications among the Jews of Persia of a large movement'towards Christianity. Among the sixty thousand Jews of London there is said to be an increasing approximation of many J eWI> to the Christian church. Some well-to-do Jews say that many would any day become members o~ the Christian church if there was an important movement that way from the synagogues. Many Christians. found in London have Jewish names, and have had for at least one generation. Sixty Jews have applied for membership cards in our' Young Men's Christian Associations. Forty years ago there were not fifty Jewish Christian converts in Gteat Britian ; now the missions. count three thousand, and it is estimated that fifteen hundred Jews. leave the synagogue every year; whether they become Christians or infidels, we are not told. Europe has nineteen, possibly more, Jewish societfes. In this country it was thought twenty-five years ago that there was no room nor need for a mission to the Jews, but we now have several, and through them many have been brought to Christ.
An able Jewish authority says: "The majority of Jews are more familial' with the doctrines and sayings of the New Testament than they are with the Talmud and the Pentateuch." Rev. Rudolph Koenig of Pesth says of Professor Delitzch's translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, which has gone through several editions, that the J ewe are its readers, and a considerable movement among them has been the result. He also speaJ-:s of the Jewish Missionary Association formed among the theological students of Leipsic, called" Institutum Judaicum," holding prayer-meetings for the conversion of the Jews. The methods of appeal to the Jews which experience discloses,
ROMAN CATHOLIC LAY CONGRESS OF 1889
are often curious and instructive. There is, for instance, the appeal to the Jewish character of the New Testament. It is affirmed to bemore Jewish than the Old Testament, containing not a' particle of Gentile element within its pages, whereas the Old Testament containsprophecies communicated through Gentiles like Jethro and an idolatrous priest, and a pseudo-prpphet like Balaam.
We have no room so much as to outline the independent Jewish Christian movements, like that under Rabinowitz, the learned Jewish lawyer, who teaches the Jews" Jesus is our brother," and" The key to the Holy Land lieslin the hands of our brother Jesus." We forbear reference now to the oft-repeated suggestion that the conversion of the people would provide not a missionary agency but a missionary people, and an indigenous evangelistic force.
They are sleeping under all stars, trading in all marts, sailing overall seas, scaling all mountains, tracking all deserts, wearing all garbs,. speaking all tongues, familiar with all customs and codes, "the source of all the monotheism of the world," holding in their hands the prophecies of their own peeled, scorned, and scattered: condition; at once no people and the mightiest of people; steeped in prejudice and often in poverty; without prophet to inspire, or priest to rally, or' prince to rule, or standard for rendezvous; without country that they may call their own, without shekel or shield, without miracle or sacrifice, without urim and thummim or cloud pillar, they remain, defying all influences that have worked the extinction of other peoples from the days of the Czar of Egypt to those of the Czar of Russia; and they remain to accomplish so high and holy mission as witnesses to Jesus Christ in another and a better sense than in that of the terrible, "rrarry thou till I come," whIch has made the monumental through centuries of the judgment of God.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC I~AY CONGRESS OF 1889.
BY F. F. ELLINWOOD, D. D., NEW YORK.
The significance of the Roman Catholic Centennial, which was· held in Baltimore in November last, is admitted by all. A review of a hundred years of progress was presented with skill and enthusiasm. The advances made both intrinsically and relatively, and the promise which those advances give to the future of Roman Catholocism in this country, were received with manifest pride, and with an apparent assurance of faith for the time to come. This was the first of a probable series of conventions designed to represent the laity. Very apparent was the desire to show the people a little ostentatiously that the Church is not bound hand and foot by priestly authority, but in the influence of and powers of its laymen is abreast with Protestantism. The speeches and papers were presented by laymen, mostly young or in their prime, and supposed to represent the, wide-awake spirit of our country and our generation. It is under- stood, however, that all the papers had passed under the eye of the Bishops, and that the Convention as a whole was held firmly in hand.
The general plan was well conceived and executed. The whole {lase of the Roman Catholic Church in this country could scarcely have been presented, in its beginnings, progress, and attainments, more adroitly. According to programme, two days were spent at Baltimore, and a third day at Washington in the dedication of the National Catholic University.
The Convention was dignified by the presence of a special repre- sentative of the Pope, and by Cardinal Tascheraeu of Canada. Car- dinal Gibbons was supported by about a dozen American Arch- bishops, eighty Bishops, and nearly a thousand priests, .while the attendance of Catholics upon the different sessions is supposed to have numbered tens of thousands.
The address of welcome given by Cardinal Gibbons, as reported, seems rather.disappointing. Much was doubtless expected from him, {lonsidering his acknowledged ability, his progressive spirit, and ad- mirable tact. He stated that he had not at first been favorable to the idea of holding this Congress, as the time seemed too short. His reference to the fact that the business proceedings "would have to be dovetailed between the religious festivities of Baltimore and 1Vashington," and his facetious sympathy for a body thus "sandwiched," as he said, "between two other corpulent bodies, which is always so much the worse for the individual sandwiched, rendering it difficult for him to breathe, and-still more difficult to speak," would seem to lack the dignity deml.nded from so august a personage upon so great and historic an occasion. He expressed, however, a desire long felt, to see the clergy and the laity drawn more closely together, believing that while the clergy are divinely constituted channels for instruction in faith and morals, they may learn much from the laity in practical wisdom and worldly common sense. He expressed his earnest prayer that the deliberations of the Congress might be marked by the "freedom and independence which becometh patriots,' by the wisdom and discretion which becometh enlightened {litizens, and, above all, by the charity which becometh Christians, sons of the same Father, brothers of the same Christ, members of the same family, having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all."
Important papers were read by Dr. J. G. Shea of Newark, N. J., who gave a history of the Roman Catholic Church in this country, .and emphasized with much pride the fact that its growth had been achieved without any appliances of home or foreign missionary agen- {lies; and by Hon. H. T. Brownson of Detroit, who urged that "the ,Church should adopt all that is good in modern civilization, and not try to return to oldconditions,"-that more should be made of the lay element in all practical work, that "politics and religion should not be separated, if purity in politics is to be looked for," that the cause of temperance and every means of purifying the politics of the country should be encouraged.
The most eloquent speech of th~ Convention was delivered by Daniel Dougherty, Esq., of New York, who regarded the opportunity of the hour" as the great honor of his life." For peculiar glow of imagination, brilliancy of utterance, broad and rapid sweep of history, and skilful arrangement of facts for the purpose in view, the speech has rarely been excelled. The fact that America was discovered by a Catholic navigator under royal Catholic patronage, that a Roman Catholic Christian service was the first to consecrate the Western hemisphere so far as .history records, that one great aim of Catholic discovery was the establishment of the religion of Christ, that Catho- lics had been the first to stain our fair land with their martyr blood, that although" they had been spurned with suspicion, disenfranchised, hunted as criminals," yet a Catholic was among the signers of the Dec- laration of Independence, and Catholic powers of Europe aided us in our struggles against the Protestant powers that denied us liberty, that the blood of Catholic patriots was freely shed for the Colonial cause-all this was shown forth with consummate tact. He maintained that in spite of "constant abuse heaped upon Catholics in later times, in newspapers, books and periodicals, speeches and sermons, by sectarian assemblies and political conventions, and even on the .floor of Congress," yet, Catholic volunteers had been among the first to consecrate their lives to the Republic on every field of battle. He did not allude to the New York Catholic riots to resist the draft: still we would not detract from the worthy service rendered by Catholic soldiers in the support of the Government. " From 40,000" said :Mr. Dougherty, "the Roman Catholics in this country have become 10,000,000. From a despised people they are a mighty power. In every avenue of industry and intellect they are the peers of their fellow men. Their schools and colleges, libraries, asylums and hospitals are scattered far and near. In every village, a steeple or tower tipped with the cross tells where Catholics pray. In every metropolis a cathedral lifts its massive walls high above all surrounding piles, or with its stately dome crowns the city's brow. Our grand old Church," he continued, "rescued the jewels of classic lore from the ruins of the Roman Empire, and preserved them through the convulsions of a thousand years. She was the pioneer of civilization, the founder of States, the conservator of order, the champion of the people against the encroachments of tyrants."
Now, there is a large per cent. of truth in all this, but it is ereparte. The almost total destruction of civilization in Spain is not mentioned. And as to Catholic resistance to tyrants, Charles V. and Phillip II. are passed in silence, as well as the fact that Pope Paul IV. remonstrated with the Spanish Sovereign for his leniency and tardi- ness in crushing the Protestants, and even withdrew from him the >subsidies of the Church.
At the inauguration of the Catholic University at Washington, Father Fidelis, in an eloquent sermon, treated history in the same eclec- tic manner. Those events which we all admit to have been sublime he thus set forth: "She [the Church] has waited in the wilderness and 'crouched in the catacombs, and from her throne of honor she has ruled the world with more than regal sway. She met the barbarian and curbed his rage; she organized a new civilization on the wide ruin of the old; she cleared the forest, and drained the marsh, and built the town' >she covered Europe with her cathedrals and colleges; she was the foster mother of learning and the patroness of art; and all the while ,she forgot not that which was ready to perish, but in meekness and voluntary poverty she went her ceaseless rounds of mercy."
Evidently the leaders of the Church are using the immense prestige of their past history to the best possible account. The masses of the people will be made more intellige~t and more enthusiastic. They will not be carefully instructed in regard to the Inquisition or the wrongs of Albigenses, Lowlanders and Huguenots. They will know -only the brighter side: possibly we have dwelt too exclusively upon the dark side. If the late Congress has really struck a new key-note of advancement,-if, as Father Fidelis claims, "the Catholic Church is capable of infinite adaptability,"-is "constantly shaking off and casting from her that which is outwo:n and worthless,?' candid Protestants will rejoice in every slich change.
The declarations contained in the Platform are as follows: First. That there is no antagonism between the claims of the Church and those of the country, and that if the freedom of our .country should ever be in peril, its Catholic citizens will be found ready as one man to pledge anew:' their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor." Second. A regretful reference to the social and political dangers which threaten the laId in pauperism and discontent. Third. A recognitl:>ll of the importance to society as well as the individual, of Christian education, and since religion in the public schools is denied, the indispensable necessity of parochial education for the children of all Catholics. Fourth. A declaration of the sacredness of the home, coupled with a denunciation of Mormonism, and" the facility for divorce which has gained such alarming currency under the auspices of Protestant sentiment and legislation." Fifth. A warning against the danger of political or industrial guilds, and an earnest recommendation of Oatholic societies only, since in a religious basis, and not in a race or national basis, lies true safety.
. Sixth. The conflict of capital and labor, and the associational tendencies connected t4erewith ar~ looked upon with regret. Nihil- ism, socialism and communism are pointedly condemned, and equal condemnation is visited upon the heartless greed of capital.
Seventh. Strong ground is taken against intemperance and Sabbath desecration. "Without going over to the Judaic Sabbath," says the Platform, "we can bring the masses over to moderation of the Christian ::;unday, and to effect this we must set our faces sternly .against the sale of intoxicating beverages on Sunday. Let us resolve that drunkenness shall be made odious, and give practical encouragement and support to Catholic temperance societies." All Catholics are urged to join their influence, with that of other enemies of intemperance, against the corrupting influence of the saloon in politics.
Eighth. The importance of disseminating Catholic reading matter, not only in books and tracts setting forth Christian doctrines, but in acquainting the people with Catholic teaching and opinion on the important questions of the day. Circulating libraries and Catholic reading circles are recommended, but not a word is said about reading the Word of God in any version.
Perhaps the most difficult plank in this platform, yet the most crucial and important, considering the present status of the Church, is that relating to the freedom of the Pope. The Oatholic Mirror, the supposed organ of Cardinal Gibbons, published a week before the Congress, an article declaring that" American Catholics do not desire that the temporal power of the Pope shall be restored) they only demand that the independence of the Pope in spiritual matters shall be guaranteed to him by the Catholic powers of Europe." This utterance, which was not challenged by the Convention, gives a somewhat enigmatical significance to this plank in the platform, viz.: "The absolute freedom of the Holy See is necessary to the peace of the Church and the welfare of mankind. We demand in the name of humanity and justice that this freedom be scrupulously respected by all secular governments. We protest against the assumption by any such government of a right to affect the interests or control the action of our Holy Father by any form of legislation or other public act to which his full approbation has not been previously given; and we pledge to Leo XIII., the Worthy Pontiff, the loyal sympathy and unstinted aid of all his spiritual children in vindicating that perfect liberty which he justly claims as his sacred and inalienable right."
The question which it is difficult to decide is, to what particular rights does this freedom apply? This protest against the rights of any government "to affect the interest or control the action of the Holy Father by any form of legislation to which his full approbation has not previously been given" may admit of an immense latitude of interpretation. The language, if it is to hinge upon a Pope'<i own decision;;;, wodd open the way for all shades of sentiment, from the mild and patriotic utterances of Cardina! GlObons to the preposterous.
assumptions of a Hildebrand. .
Our perplexity is still furtner increased by the fact that since the- rising of the Convention, viz., on December 30th, the Pope, in con- sistory, gave his interpretation of the issue in question by declaring that his liberty required nothing short of· a recovery of temporal power.
Weare inclined to accord a real sincerity to the intelligent Catholic: laymen of this country in the avowal of their loyalty and patriotism, but they may believe that the best thing that could happen to thi~ country would be to bring it under Sl)iritual control of the Vatican.
We, on the other hand, desire a prevailing Protestantism because we are afraid of the Vatican. There need be no question of motives,-it.
is a matter of principles and of history. Protestants profess an al- legiance to this realm, and to no other. It does not meet the case to say that we also owe a supreme allegiance to God. We gladly ac- cord that to Catholics, but we protest against an earthly vice-regency which is supreme. And when we suggest possible conflicts between the Government of the United States and the Government at Rome, we are talking of no idle dreams. The history of the past is full of _ concrete and terrible realities on this subject. When we remember that only twenty-five years ago Pope and Cardinals and Bishops were in league with the French Emperor in trying to overthrow the repub- lic of Mexico; when we hear that not many months ago large sums were contributed by Catholics in this country to aid Boulanger in overthrowing the republic of France; when we learn that only a few days ago the Catholic priests of Toronto successfully resisted a free ballot in a special election of trustees of the schools,-we think we have some reason to fear the influence of a two-fold, and, perhaps, conflicting allegiance. It is just here that the chief issue with Ameri- can Catholics lies.
When we settle down into our most charitable and hopeful mood~ some ungarded utterance is sure to appear which dispels our hopes.
We are not permitted to draw our conclusions from the Centennial Congress alone. We cannot forget an encyclical of the Pope in which he distinctly says (Art. XLII.): "In case of conflict between the ecclesiastical and the civil powers, the ecclesiastical powers ought to prevail. "
We cannot forget those words of Cardinal Manning while he was Archbishop: "I acknowledge no civil power; I am the subject of no prince! I claim to be the Supreme Judge and Dictator of the con- sciences of men; of the peasant that tills the fields and of the prince that sits upon the throne; of the household that sits in the shade of privacy and the legislator that makes laws for kingdoms." We have a declaration of the late Cardinal McCloskey, that the Catholics of the ITnited States are as strongly devoted to the maintenance of the temporal power as those of any other country. We have a prophecy of Father Hecker, made in 1870, that "there will yet be a State religion in this country, and that that State religion will be Roman Catholic." It may be said that these are only the vaporings of fanati- cal Ecclesiastics, but Prince Bismarck, judging from actual experience in statesmanship, said in 1875: "This Pope, this foreigner, this Italian, is more powerful in thIS country [Germany] than any other person, not excepting the king." In view, therefore, of many conflicting indications, our Catholic friends must not think us bigoted if we receive the enthusiastic utterances of their Congress with some measure of abatements.
But what is the outlook of the Catholic Church in this country? The question is largely one of comparative numbers.
It is to be borne iI1. mind, of course, that the Roman Catholic body now claiming at least 9,000,000, is reckoned by a different principle from that which obtains among Protestants. All baptized persons are considered full members of the Church, and it is customary to count families and circles of kindred. By the same method, the total number of Protestants, whose communicants number say twelve and a half millions, would reach forty-five or forty-six millions, or about five times the number of Roman Catholics. But, in considering relative power in the State, it would not be safe to count upon such a ratio as this. There is no such political unity in the Protestant body as among Catholics, and in some matters of a social and religious nature there is a serious lack of co-operation. Were the Protestant Churches as thoroughly united as are Romanists, in demanding this or that claim from the municipal, the state, or the national, authorities, their demands would be irresistible; but politicians are accustomed to judge that from their standpoint Protestant political unity is a rope of sand, while-Romanism is a strong-stranded, hard- "twisted, agency which they cannot afford to ignore.
The members of Protestant bodies are indep!Jndent citizens, thinking for themselves, differing in their views on many questions, and voting according to their political opinions. But in the main the Roman Catholic body is a solid mass which can be hurled on either side of any political issue with great effect, and it is not so much the numbers as the compact organization which enables the Catholic in- :fIuence to tip the balance of power between parties, and thus secure: its ends. Even aside from the ratio of numbers, therefore, the· Roman Catholic Church must always possess an advantage as a mctOl" in popular government. In reference to numbers and increase, it should be said, in the first place, that the great Catholic gain in this country has been due mainly to the constant tide of immigration. This is not likely to cease so long as the populations of Europe throw off a surplus, and this alone will constantly affect the comparative ratios of Romanism in this country. In the second place, there is a greater increase of Catholic population by natural generation. The influence of wealth upon our native-born citizens of the Anglo-American stock, ·and the increased extravagance which widely prevails, operate unfavorably upon the number of marriages and the natural increase of population. This check exerts a far greater influence upon the native American element, which is largely Protestant, than upon the immigrant population which is mainly Catholic.
Some suggestive statistics are furnished by Dr. Josiah Strong, showing the comparative increase of Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches in different periods of the past. Thus, from 1800 .to 1850, the population of the country increased 9 fold; the membership of all evangelistic churches 27 fold; the Roman Catholic 63 fold. From 1850 to 1880 the population increased 116 per cent., the communicants of Protestant churches 185 per cent., and the Roman Catholics 294 per cent. Or, to take another line of comparison, in 1850 the Catholics equalled 45 per cent. of the total Protestant church membership, and in 1880, 63 per cent.
In looking forward to the future of this important question, there are various considerations, lying some OJ}. the one side, some on the other. When we consider the boldness and assurance of infidelity, I think that every true friend of the cause of Christ must rejoice in the alliance of the Roman Catholic Church in this country. That it is a Christian church in its great body of believers, and aside from its hierarchial assumptions, I, for one, have no doubt. That there are tens and hundreds of thousands of real Christians in its communion, I am confident. That its strong faith and its unflinching maintenance of its principles will help to interpose an important barrier against the flippant infidelity of the day, there is good reason to believe. Cardinal Gibbons' able book, recently published, is a strong defense of 1lhe common Christian faith.
In Italy there is danger from extravagant and infidel legislation in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as from the reactionary schemes of the Cardinals. That the temporal power of the Pope shall ever be restored, is impossible. The whole trend of sentiment among the Latin races is against it, and when Archbishop Corrigan said recently that the Catholics of this diocese "long for the day when the Sovereign Pontiff shall be restored to the fullness of his timehonored and necessary rights," he only did injury to the Papal cause at Rome. The constant utterances of this sentiment by Catholics in
A PLEA FOR ENTHUSIASM IN MISSIONS
3011 lands, and the extravagant demands which the Pope is thus encouraged to make, can only add fuel to the flame Qf indignant radicalism in Italy, and so strengthen that resistance and repression with which the Papacy cannot continue to cope. .
That the Roman Catholic Church in this country will become a. great power, we have no doubt: That it will exert a disproportionate influence in our politics, seems probable. That it will ever gain such power as to overthrow our liberties, I do not believe. The American people are long suffering under the encroachments of particular sections or classes, but when the evil is ripe for retribution, they rise up and sweep it away as with the resistless power of the tides. Meanwhile, let us hope that American Catholics themselves will become so broadened that they will lose their interest in the dead chrysalis of Italian supremacy, and will seek to enthrone here the true "Head ()ver All," who is confined to no country or hemisphere.
A PLEA FOR ENTHUSIASM IN MISSIONS.
[EDITORIAL.-A. T. P.] Among the most startlingly rapid movements of the present day are the" Societies of Christian Endeavor." Though but a few years old, already they are spreading over the earth.
" Christian endeavor" is too sacred and meaningful a phrase to be <larelessly used and applied. "Endeavor" is from the French, compounded of en and devoir, and means exertion in the line of duty, labor directed to some specific end, guided by a supreme aim. "Christian endeavor" is, therefore, the highest expression for holy €xertion along the lines of Christian duty, activity, set to the music Qf love and loyalty to Christ and souls. We must beware that it <lomes not to be a meaningless phrase or the mere motto of a formal, superficial, external, mechanical stirring about-a noisy, bustling activity that makes up for devoutness and devotion by" mouthing" and motion!
"Christian endeavor" is the soul of missions, and there are a few indispensable requisites to its exercise.
First of all, a holy enthusiasm. That word has been thought by some to be derived from the Greek .E'V and eEO~, meaning entheism, or God-indwelling. Certainly, in its highest use and application, it means nothing less than a divine passion burning in the human soul and yearning for the accomplishment of high results. And so understood, enthusiasm is the soul and source of all Christian endeavor. Without it there cannot be the heroic, self-sacrificing worker for God. Without it in any sphere there is no high achievement. All successful men in every department have been enthusiasts, and sometimes ~onsidered as fanatics.. Michael Angelo, attacking with hammer and chisel an old dingy, yellow block of marble, declaring that within it was imprisoned an angel, and as a sculptor seeking to set the angel free, was a poetic example of artistic enthusiasm. So also was Da Vinci, who wrought for ten years upon his master picture of the "Last Supper," in the refectory of the Convent of the Madonna della Grazea at Milan. Often for whole days he was so absorbed in his work that he forgot to eat. Again, for days he would only come and stand in silence before it, as if devoutly studying his great theme and criticising his own work. Again, in the heat of noon, he would leave the cathedral where he was modelling his colossal "horse," and, hurrying to the convent, add a line or a touch of color to the picture and return. Who does not remember the story of Palissy, the potter? In 1539, having seen in Italy some decorated pottery, he determined to discover the secret of enamelling. For sixteen years he tried experiment after experiment. He put his whole life into his work, regardless of cost, of toil, of hardship, from each new failure and disappointment rising to another endeavor, and rejoicing even in failures because they narrowed down the circle within which lay the secret of success. He reduced himself and his family to poverty and the verge of starvation, and, with almost insane persistency, broke up even his household furniture to feed the fires of his glazing furnace when other fuel failed!
Christopher Columbus was an enthusiast or he would never have discovered the New W orId beyond the Atlantic. There are few sublimer scenes in all history than that on which the Southern Cross shone, when, on the early morning of October 12, 1492, the great Genoese navigator sleeplessly walked the deck of the Santa Maria watching for land. His three ships had been 71 days at sea. He had met every disappointment and obstacle undismayed. He had encountered storms 150 violent that his crews insisted he was tempting Providence. The cry of " Land !" had set the ships echoing with the Gloria in Excelsis, only to have it change to the minor strain of .De Profundis, when the next day it was found that the supposed point of land was only" Cape Cloud." The crews had been not only turbulent and despondent, but mutinous, and had plotted to throw overboard the pertinacious Admiral. But Columbus never swerved or faltered. He dared everything and kept on his course. He peered into the heavens to catch sight of birds of short flight, which by their nature never wander far from land; and he watched the waters to detect drift wood, branches of shrubs and floating seaweed, .whick might indicate the proximity of shore. And now, at 2 O'clock, A. M., Rodrigo Triana, on the Pinta, first caught a glimpse of the New WorId, and Columbus was awaked from his reverie by the boom of a signal gun. The great discoverer's enthusiasm was rewarded. J ames Watt was an enthusiast. As a boy, he sat for hours ex- perimenting with the tea-ke~tle, holding a saucer over the spout, studying the expansive, expulsive and explosive force of steam, the laws of vaporization and condensation; while his aunt, Mrs. Muirhead, warned him that no lad would ever make much of a man who wasted his time on a tea-kettle. That was sublime enthusiasm that led Agassiz to turn away from the tempting offers of gain, answering, "I have no time to make money," and going on a lonely pilgrimage to the Pacific to gather new fauna and flora for the museums of science. Sir .James Young Simpson conducted experiments in amesthesia, making trial of chloroform upon himself, and nearly losing his life, a martyr to science, before he perfected his discovery. And who has ever read the story of Francis Xavier, without wishing that the example of his sacred, even though misguided, enthusiasm might move us all to simi- lar devotion! Follow him, in Bologna, preaching, visiting hospitals and prisons; embarking, in April, 1541, for the Indies, and when scurvy raged among the crew, himself cleaning the sores and cleansing their soiled clothes. At Goa, ringing his bell in the streets to call to- gether the people, eager to teach children and even slaves; going to the coast of Cormorin and the island of Ceylon; visiting Japan, and just about to enter China, when, at forty-six years of age, fever burned up his very life in its terrible furnace. During ten years this s, Apostle of the Indies" had planted his faith in 52 different king- .doms, preached the gospel over 9,000 miles of territory, and baptized over 1,000,000.of persons. Where is our enthusiasm for the truth, for Christ, for the souls of men, for the Kingdom of God? If merchants and manufacturers, discoverers and inventors, scientific men and artists exhibit such passion for their calling, how shall we account for the apathy, lethargy, listlessness, inactivity of God's children? What an example he set us, of whom it is said that the" zeal of God's House ,consumed him."
Enthusiasm comes not unsought. It has its purchase price, like every other hid treasure or precious pearl of the Kingdom. Its basis is sincerity, without which, as Carlyle says, there is no truly heroic ,character. To be genuine in spirit, and honest in conviction, to believe ()ur.ti>eliefs, and act upon them, that is the actual basis of enthusiasm. A deep experience of Christ's power and love-that is what makes disciples genuine, for it enables them to speak what they know. When Morse sought to get from Congress an appropriation of $30,000 to build the first telegraph line from Baltimore to Washington, a committee of five was appointed to consider and report. There was a tie-vote. The chairman left the room with Mr. Morse, and by and by came back and said: "Now, gentlemen, I am prepared to give the ,casting vote for the appropriation, for I have myself sent and received a message over the wires." Well may he have an enthusiasm for God who has been in personal communication by prayer with the throne ()f God, has sent and received messages from above. Such holy enthusiasm 'comes not without that intimate touch of God, that is the reward of absolute self-surrender. To find out God's plan in our generation, as Prince Albert said, and our place in it, and then fall into that place,-to take our work as from God,-a little segment of His own eternal work which lies over against us and bears our name,-to undertake for God all tpat begets a holy frenzy,-we become co-laborers with the Father, co-sufferers with the Son, co- witnesses with the Holy Spirit. Back of our feeble Chr.istian En- deavor lies the whole power of the Godhead. What wonder if such enthusiasm makes foreign missionaries mighty to the pulling down of strongholds!
Enterprise is the natural handmaid of enthusiasm. Alexander the Great, referring to his indebtedness to the teaching of the great phil- osopher, said: "Philip of Macedon, my father, gave me life; but Aristotle taught me how to make the most of life."
This is a time for enterprise, for the combination of "dash" and " push," which the word suggests. This nineteenth century easily leads all the centuries of human history. During the last fifty years more:o£ Nature's secrets have been unlocked and her resources utilized than during all the centuries preceding. Railways, ocean steamers,. telegraphs, telephones, electric lights and electric motors, spectroscopes and spectral analysis, steam presses and sewing machines, giant explQsives and anresthetics-what have not these fifty years brought forth? Now is the time, ripe in the providence of God, for the greatest of all enterprises,-a world's evangelization, to be pressed and hastened forward with every appliance of modern civilization. And this great uprising of young disciples in the" Students' Crusade," and the "Young 'Men's" -and" Young Women's Christian Associations,'~ and in the" Societies of Christian Endeavor," may yet become the signs of the dawning of the millennial morning.
I want to live long enough to see this world mapped out for God,. to see a definite o;rganized movement for the occupation of the whole world for Christ. When Christ fed the five tho~sand, he showed to. all of us the value of systematic, o.rganized methods. The mul~tude were made to sit down in ranks, by fifties. Then distribution bedame possible o.n systematic principles. In a miscellaneous crowd or mob,. some would selfishly press toward the front, and others would be pushed toward the rear, overlooked, unsupplied. But when the whole mob became reduced to the subjection of order, and classified like a military encampment, it became easy to snpervise the disbursement of supplies, so that none should be neglected.
At least a thousand millions of people are to day perishing for lack of the bread of life. We are commanded to" give them to eat. ,~ We have an ample supply, and the most wonderful thing about that supply is, that as we divide it, it multiplies; the more we distribute
NICARAGUA AS A MISSIONARY FIELD
the more we have to distribute. Let the unevangelized world be di- vided into companies, set off into definite districts, and the thirty mil- lion of Protestant church members may easily reach every living soul within the life~time of a generation. For it is obvious that a thousand million divided by thirty million leaves but thirty-three to each disciple, i. e., if each Protestant church member shall take 33 human'souls as his share, and undertake to reach one new soul every year during the average life-time of a generation, the whole world would be evangelized within that time. Or, to present again in another form the entire feasibility of doing this work in our generation, Ahasuerus may once more be referred to, who sent out his royal decree over his 127 provinces, reaching two thousand miles east and west, and twelve thousand miles north and south, within nine months, and had no help from any of those modern appliances and inventions which make possible for us a thousand-fold success. The unevangelized world covers, perhaps, thirteen times as much territory as the old Persian Empire. If he could reach all his subjects in nine months, surely we can reach all mankind in thirteen years!
The fact is that were our Christian Endeavor simply inspired by holy enthusiasm and directed by consecrated enterprise, more would be accomplished within the next quarter century than during the past thousand years toward the pervading of the world with the gospel. In this matter the Church is doing nothing worthy of herself, her Master, or the cause of missions. Satan himself puts us to blush by the promptness and eagerness with which he pours his agents inte? every open door. His pre-occupation often prevents our occupation of the field, or seriously and effectually delays all our missionary operations. "It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing." Oh, for some potent influence from above to make God's people zealous to push the occupation of a world for Christ, and to do it in our own generation!
NICARAGUA AS A MISSIONARY FIELD BY REV. S. D. FULTON, AZTEC, NEW MEXICO.
The actual commencement of work on the interoceanic ship canal across Nicaragua and bordering on Costa Rica, calls attention to that point as the most important Qentre for mission work in the world. The commerce of all nations will transit there; men of every language will be among the sailors and passengers on the vessels. The gospel message can be planted by word of mouth and printed page in the hearts, heads and hands of representatives of every people, tongue and color on the globe. Central America itself, and South America and Mexico can be reached and evangelized from this mission centre. It is evident that the coast lines of vessels running down the Pacific and Atlantic from Pana~a and Aspinwall will extend their routes to Nicaragua, or be supplanted by new lines starting from there, thus affording the most comprehensive and far-reaching medium of carrying gospel ideas in printed page, and by the simple story of the Cross, told daily, wherever passengers to or from South American ports could be reached in their transit or stay at Nicaragua.
A method of work which might grow out of this would be to have an ocean colportage on these coast lines of vessels. The writer was impressed by these thoughts from travel in South America, and from seeing the numerous passengers arriving and departing at Panama some years ago.
If consecrated Christian money could ~. e brought to bear upon this work, no greater highway for the message of the King will exist in the world than the Nicaragua route and its connections will afford.
It is not too soon to plant our mission and begin our preparatory work along these lines. A printing press ought to form part of the mission plant from the first, from which leaflets and tracts, in Spanish, of simple, striking gospel thoughts, and translations of current gospel literature, could be issued and used gratis, as in our similar work in New Mexico and Colorado. Mission schools should be planted at once, in which native Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans, both Indian and Spanish, could be educated and begin to form an evangelistic force such as we now have in the Presbytery of Santa Fe.
A glance at the map of the world will show what a marvelously .cosmopolitan centre Nicaragua will become. Lines of vessels will run to the West Indies and New Orleans; to New York, Boston and Halifax; to Liverpool, London, Hamburg and North European ports; to the Mediterranean and the nations, ancient and modern, that border on that great commercial ocean; to all the Atlantic ports of South America. and to the West Coast of Africa; while on the Pacific, side lines will run along the Mexican coast, to San Francisco, Portland, British Columbia and Alaska; to all Pacific ports in South America; to China, Japan and Korea; India, Persia, Arabia, Madagascar and the Eastern Coast of Africa; to Australia and islands of the South Pacific; with vessels passing through the canal from all these countries, bringing the world to our very doors. And when the canal is finished and people of every tongue can be reached, there should be a large depository of Scripture literature in every language, so that, as on the day of Pentecost, every man may have the gospel in the language wherein he was born.
In view of this, surely no such centre for Christian missions exists at present on earth as Nicaragua can be made-a citadel for Christ, a very Gibraltar of missions.
The Scientific American, February 16, 1889, said on this subject from a business standpoint: "The effect upon the world's commerce, and upon that of the United States in particular, of the opening of the Nicaragua Canal route, is a matter in which even the most careful calculations are almost certain to be far below the reality. The canal itself will certainly have advantages over one at Panama, in being in a healthy climate, and in the heart of the northeast trade winds, where it offers especial convenience to all sailing craft, both in the Atlantic and Pacific. . . In the 49 engineers and 150 men in the employ of the com- pany during the last survey there was not a single case of serious sickness, .although most of the members were; from the nature of their occupation, almost .daily exposed to constant wetting."
As it is now quite certain that there is to be no Panama canal, the importance of the Nicaraguan one is the greater.
The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions ought to enter the -field at once; its work is the most successful in Mexico and New Mexico, and it has the best trained force to start with; but when lately approached on the subject, though appreciating the magnitude <'If the opportunity, it responded that lack of funds prevented its as- .suming any new work, only one man being added to the force in Guatemala, and none to that in Mexico!
What an opportunity Nicaragua presents to a Christian man or woman of wealth to say to our Board of Foreign Missions: "Go ahead; I will pay all expenses of the work in Nicaragua; devise lib- ·eral things for Christ's kingdom there, and draw on me." Or, better yet, to settle a sum sufficient to prosecute the work for at least ten years in the hands of the wise, responsible Board. No amount of wealth left to heirs can afford a millionth part of the joy and eternal reward that such a step will bring to the person taking it.
Let me quote a few words from Dr. Josiah Strong's notable work, ," Our Country" (page 219): "Says a New York daily paper: A gentleman died at his residence in one of our up-town fashionable streets, leaving eleven millions of dollars. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, in excellent standing, a good husband and father, and a thrifty citizen. On his death bed he suffered great agony of mind, .and gave continual expression to his remorse for what his conscience told him had been an ill-spent life. ' Oh I' he exclaimed, ' if I could only live my years <Jver again! Oh! if I could only be spared for a few years, I would give all the wealth I have amassed in a lifetime. It is a life devoted to money-getting that I regret. It is this which weighs me down and makes me despair of the life hereafter.' "
And Dr. Strong adds: "Suppose so unfaithful a steward is permitted to enter the many mansions, when, with clarified vision, he perceives the true meaning of life, and sees that he has lost the one opportunity in an endless existence to set in motion infiu- ·ences which, by leading sinners to repentance, would cause heaven to thrill with new joy, it seems to me he would gladly give a hundred years of Paradise for a single day on earth in possession of the money once entrusted to himtime enough to turn that power into the channels of Christian work." Nicaragua affords one of the rarest, choicest opportunities in the -world to-day for the investment of large means in Christ's work. A
THE STUDE~7 VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT
most reliable medium exists in our Foreign Board. Trained men and women clfl. be placed in the field at once, who have learned theil"" calling in self-denying toil in similar work; and only the round world itself bounds the wide-reaching influence which would emanate from this great centre.
THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT.
The annual meeting of the Executive Committee and Agents.pf the Student, Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions met at Cleveland, oTrio, Dec. 21-23. There were present, Miss Nettie Dunn, representing the Y. W. C. A.; Mr. J. R. Mott, the College Y. M. C. A.; Mr. R. P. Wilder, the Theological Seminaries;, Mr. R. E. Speer, the Traveling Secretary; Messrs. W. H. Hammon and W. J .• Clark, Corresponding and Recording Secretaries, and E. W. Rand, Editorial Secretary. The entire meeting was one in which the unity of the Spirit was, manifest, and each one present was conscious that the Spirit of God was in the movement. The questions under discussion were all of importance. They consisted in a full and open discussion of what should be the financial policy of the movement, how the States can be better organized, what makes a model band, the work in theological seminaries, the volunteer pledge, how to put volunteers to work, missionary literature and periodicals, and the relation of the student movement to the press. Full reports of all de- partments of the Movement were presented. Respecting the progress of the- movement at present, the report of Mr. Speer showed that the cry is still " for- ward." He commenced speaking Sept. 6, at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since that date, he has delivered 150 addresses, an average of two a day, address-, ing 43 colleges and seminaries, 4 theological seminaries, 3 Y. M. C. A. and Y.W. C. A. conventions. 23 churches, besides other miscellaneous organizations. He has traveled about 9,000 miles, his route embracing 12 States. There were 550 new volunteers, some of whom are ready to go at once, and the entire number represents some of the finest Christian students to be found in our Western Universities; $4,000 was pledged by colleges and $1,000 by individuals" to support missionaries in the field, and '&elp to swell the fund for a Y. M. C. A. building in Tokio.
On January 11, Mr. Speer will again start out, and visit the principal colleges of New England, such as Harvard, Yale, Amherst, Williams, Brown, and then the colleges of New York; after which he will go South, stopping over Sunday at Princeton, his alma mater. Only the principal colleges of the South will be touched, after which he will go to Canada, and from thence to Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the tour will end.
Some very interesting statistics were presented by the recording secretary at this meeting. There are now 4,752 volunteers. Up to December 10, there were 4,632, of whom 194 have been sent out as missionaries, to be found principally in China, Japan, India and Africa, all scattered in 21 different fields and representing 25 different organizations; 10 volunteers are under appointment to sail, 25 deceased, and only 18 withdrawn, so far as can be known at, present. There are still remaining in this country 4,385 volunteers. In sex, 78 per cent. are males and 22 per cent. females; 35 per cent. are graduates from college, and 31 per cent. are still in college. In special training 16 per cent. are, graduates of theological seminaries, and 2~ per cent. medical graduates, 10! per cent. are in course in seminaries, and 1! per cent. in medical schools. Last June about 3,500 circulars were sent out asking confidential questions of volunteers respecting their names, age, time of going to the foreign field~
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
denomination, whether they were weaker or stronger in their determination to go. Thus far 800 have responded. On the basis of this 800 the following statistics have been prepared: Ready to go, 24 per cent.; in professional train- ing, 12 per cent.; in college, 31 per cent.; academy, 5 per cent.; out of school, 9!
per cent.; withdrawn, only 2! per cent. Denominational preferences: Pres- byterian,27! per cent.; Congregational, 18 per cent.; Methodist, 14 per cent.;.
Baptist, 11! per cent.; in all 40 denominations represented 65 per cent. are stronger in their determination, and 10 per cent. weaker.
In the r;sing of money, the movement has been very aggressive. Thus far there has been raised among churches $11,500; colleges, $17,350; seminaries, $8,500; miscellaneous, $3,011; R. E. Speers, $5,OOO,-making a total of $45,406.
REPORTS FROM THREE STATES.
Ohio.-Mr. Haskell, the corresponding member for Ohio, has been able to, give his whole time to the work, and hence shows a very cheering report. He has held 40 meetings, visiting in all 23 institutions; 100 volunteered, 63 in meet- ings, but 37 were the result of personal work; 12 colleges and seminaries give annually about $4,800. Virginia reports 54 new volunteers, making 107 the whole number of vol- unteers in the State; three can go this year. Only one volunteer has renounced his decision; $1,000 was raised. Kansas reports 13 new volunteers. There are 150 volunteers in this State, of whom 19 are young ladies ready to go at once. Four colleges contribute to the support of missionaries; three volunteers have sailed; one renounced de- cision, and $4,260 raised in money. Reports of other States will be given from time to time. E. W. R.
n.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
[The initials to this article, which we copy eration is the brightest jewel of from The Christian, London, indicate that it empire. Such is the fixed policy of' comes from a source which entitles it to the the Government of British India; and most serions attention. Its statements will manifold blessings of every kind, macause painful surprise and indignation.-Ens.] Aftica.-The Royal Niger Com- terial and spiritual, have attended it pany.-It is no longer a secret, close during the last half century. But the or open, that this newly chartered rulers of the Niger Valley, to whom company has made treaties with the the Imperial Parliment has dele– several Negro Mohammedan Powers gated their foreign powers, propose in the Soudan of Africa, east of the Ni- to do something more. They promise ger, promising that they will not only their treaty-allies to obstruct the do nothing through their own em- Christian missionary, to deny him ployees to attempt the conversion of passages in their steamers, succor the Mohammedans, but will do all that from their stores, and to erase his lies in their power to obstruct others name from the list of British sub- who come under their influence. This jects, entitled by the custom of Great amounts to open war of 8<Klalled Britain to succor in case of need, Christian men with the Gospel. rescue in case of captivity, and retri-, Let us think it out. The company bution by the nearest British authori- gives a free hand for the conversion ties in case of murder.
of the Pagans. It is very proper and The true-hearted missionary asks.
expedient that the rulers of a country not these things for himself. His.
should do nothing directly or indi- friends raise no voice in the country, rectly to influence their subjects in calling for vengeance for the slaugh- their religious views. Their king- tered Hannington. That particular- dom is of this world, and entire tol- crime has, however, been avenged by a higher Power; the assassin-sovereign were there long before this company has been deposed, and is now an exile came into existence, and will outlive from his country. Whether the Royal it. The Mohammedans of the Soudan, Niger Companylikes itornot-whether whether Fulah or Negro, are pigmies it will affect their dividends or their in strength, culture, power, and popu- {)ommerce with the Soudan or not-it lation in comparison to the fifty mil- is well that these gentlemen should lions of British India.
reflect on the policy which they are The gentlemen of the Niger Com- inaugurating, and consider what the pany talk with bated breath of the House of Commons will say, when it fanatical Mohammedan, in his turban, comes to hear of it. cloak, and trousers. The phenome- It is true that the East India Com- non is new to them, butAnglo-Indianii pany previous to the year 1815 adopted have lived all their lives in the midst this same policy. They did so in of noble, though fanatical, Mohamme- iimidity, in ignorance, and in ma- dans. Some as fair in color as our- terial weakness. They had to face selves, and many much more learned mighty empires, and armies of sol- and polished; some of gigantic stat- diers, supplied with cannon, trained by ure, and hereditary warriors. Yet the Frenchmen; they had to fight for their gospel has its free course amidst the hold of India, and regarded matters Baluchi and the Afghan, the Patan, from the point of view of a mercantile and the converted Mohammedan Raj- -company. India was too far off for put, and the Empire of the Empress its affairs to be influenced by public of India flourishes, because it is -opinion at home. Public opinion at founded upon righteousness.
home had not been formed; it was the We doubt whether treaties with day of small things; and the individ- such clauses should not be denounced ual missionaries, who appeared and as derogatory to the dignity of Great were rejected, though saints of God, Britain, as if we were ashamed of the like Carey and Judson, had not the religion which has brought us such prestige of the associated strength of blessings. The thing is doubly offen- the great middle classes of Great sive when we are kindly told that we Britain behind them. Moreover, it is are allowed full leave to convert the admitted that the East India Com- Pagan; but must not address the pany did wrong; we palliate their Negro who has got himself up with {)ffence, we do not excuse it; we can- the veneer of Mohammedanism, for it is not justify it. no more. Their knowledge of Arabic Things have changed now. The and the Koran is scant; all the bad, thoughts of men have become "wider salient features of Mohammedanism with the process of the suns." A great are asserted,-intolerance, polygamy, majority of the British people recog- slavery, unnatural crime, contempt of nize that the mighty power and vigor human life, and overweening pride- vouchsafed to them were not conceded while the better things to be found by the Most High for the purpose of in the Koran, and the learning and exporting liquor (of which sin we refinement of the polished Moham- gladly acquit the Royal Niger Com- medan of India, Persia, and Turkey, pany), or making dividends of profit; are totally absent.
but to benefit, in every possible way, At any rate, the public notice has the subject people, and to give them been dispatched, and January 1, 1890, the free opportunity of accepting fixed as the date of the new policy.
Christianity, should they see fit to do We must recollect that when a so. The Niger Valley is not far from British subject is killed or imprisoned, Great Britain. Public opinion will something more than his life and lib.
nave its sway there. The missionaries erty are lost to his country, viz., the prestige of our nation. The represen- leaf, had recalled his edict against Christians, and had welcomed the tative of the British Government in English missionaries with honors un- precedented. It is said that his over- China remarked in 1873 that there was throw last year was due to the discov- ery by his gtards of a plot he had a necessity to protect the missionary formed to destroy them. At all events, his exile was followed by Arab· sufrom actualviolence, but nothing more. premacy, the burning of the English and the French missions, and the The present foreign secretary two years flight of the missionaries. To the lat- ter, Mwanga wrote recently, predictago told a deputation of missionaries ing the triumph he has now accom- plished, and promising them welcome that the Great Powers of Europe as- should it occur; so that his restoration must be added to the stock of good serted the right to deport an alien, news which has come after so long a. story of disasters in East and Central without cause shown, from their terri- Africa.
tories, but they would shrink from the As to Bushiri, he certainly did not make war on all white men, but upon charge of ordering his death, or im- the Germans; and the native uprising which he headed was largely provoked prisonment, without the form of a by their overbearing ways. He was a. chief of great influence, and stories are regular trial. Mr. Jones, of the told of his personal protection of Brit- ish missionaries and others, during the L.M.S., was expelled by the French revolt against the indiscriminate fury of his followers. The outbreak swept Government from the Loyalty Islands; over the whole coast region, but Wiss- mann had weapons which mere force and, for the sake of argument, we of numbers could not resist, and also the money with which to enlist and may concede that the Mohammedan arm native auxiliaries. Bushiri, who would have been called a patriot had potentates of the Soudan might deport he succeeded, suffered the ignominious fate which has been meted out to many a British missionary; but, when they another unsuccessful leader, both in civilized and savage lands. hear that there is no risk, they will Now, accordingly, the way seems certainly kill him. R. N. C. open for resuming the march of civil- ization from the Zanzibar coast East ACrican Coast. – The toward the great lakes. It is evident that this will be one of the main routes hanging of Bushiri practically com- for the African commerce of the fu- ture. First, however, a clear underpletes the immediate work for which standing of British and German rights in that region would seem to be neces- Capt. Wissmann was sent to Zanzibar, sary. Up to half a dozen years ago England had matters pretty much her and clears the way for the resumption own way there, and then, the energy of Peters and his associates threatened of German schemes of conquest and to carry all before it for the Germans. colonization. The pleasure which this news creates at Berlin may have been a little qualified by the evidence that Dr. Karl Peters and his party were massacred by the Somalis; but as Dr. Peters, though the most promi- nent of the founders of German colo- rues in East Africa, had in his Tana River expedition defied Bismarck and irritated the British, his fate will be less lamented at London, and will in- crease the Chancellor's prestige at Ber- lin. Emin's progress toward recovery is a subject of universal congratula- tion, while another promising piece of news is that King Mwanga, who was driven from Uganda, his brother be- ing made ruler in his stead, has marched back in triumph. Mwanga was infamous a few years ago for his horrible persecution of the Christian converts among his subjects, and the murderof BishopHanningtoncrowned his atrocities. Yet, before his de- thronement, he had turned over a new Of late,the British have been greatly under Major Serpa Pinto, and sancstrengthening themselves, aided by tioned by the Portuguese Govern- the strained relations between the ment, against the Makololo in the high-· Germans and the Sultan. The latter lands of the Shire, a river running thinks the Germans do not pay him from Lake Nyassa to the Zambesi the revenue agreed upon, and that river. The object was to esta1;>1ish the they try to shift on him losses arising authorityof Portugal over'the territory from disturbances caused by their by force of arms. This Major Pinto, want of tact. Lately he has given to after entering those Highlands by deihe British Company the administra- ceiving the British Consul, attacked tion of the ports of Lamu, Kismayu, the unoffending Makololo, slaughter- Brava, Magadisho, and so on, so that ing hundreds of them with his Gattits government now stretches along ling guns; when, believing themselves 700 miles of coast line from Warsheikh abandoned byEngland,whoseflag they in the north to the Umba river in the carried, the poor people felt compelled south. The Germans contended for to submit to Portuguese authority; the possession of Lamu, the third port whereupon the bloody soldier avowed ()f importance in East Africa, commanding the trade of the Tana river; his intention to extend the Portuguese but it really belonged to the British, who controlled most of the trade of dominion as far northward as Nyassa, the port. Mr. Stanley, on reaching Zan- and to include the Lake shores; and zibar this time, found British interests warned all missionaries and others rematerially improved from their con- siding on the river and on the shores dition at his previous visit, when or- of the Nyassa, to submit to Portuguese ganizing his Emin relief expedition. But there is no reason to think that rule! The request was as modest as Germany and England will come into conflict in this region. Count Herbert it was just. How far he would have Bismarck recently declared that Ger- carried his victorious career, ifhe had many's policy there would go hand in not been sent to the right about by the hand with England's. " We will ne- prompt action of England, cannot be gotiate with the East Africa Com- told. pany," hesaid, " in order to arrange for further action." The next ten years These Makololo, who have suffered will be remarkable for the develop- from this cruel raid of the Portuguese, ment of that coast and its communi- are a very interesting people. We cation with the lakes.-New York were first introduced to them about Times. thirty years ago by the publication of Livingstone's narrative of his great -England and Portugal in Africa. journey across Africa. It taught us Every friend of Africa will rejoice to admire the Makololo for their simthat England has taken up the dispute plicity of character, their incorruptible with Portugal with a determined en- honesty, their loyal devotion to that ergy that has brought matters to a great explorer, their grief when he crisis; and that Portugal. has escaped left them for a season, their long and further humiliation by a prompt sur- confident waiting for his promised rerender. Nothing was ever more im- turn to lead them back to their homes, pudent than the pretensions of the and their rejoicing when at last he aplatter to the country in dispute, and peared to fulfill his promise. A large nothing more high-handed than the majority of them, however, had formcourse of her representative. It makes ed a liking for the beautiful country one's blood boil to read of the savage on the right bank of the Shire, where atrocities perpetrated by the forces they settled at the request of its peo- ple, who needed their protection, and laid the foundation for what is now a really prosperous State in Nyassaland, and one which has always refused to allow slavery 0'/' slave-trading within the same purpose, the empire has be- its bounds. It is this State which the come a republic. A century ago, be- Portuguese attacked under a disputed fore God's time, there was an attempt claim. to establish a republic in Brazil, and since that time the spirit of the repub- Other and still more important in- lic has been nourished. -terests would have suffered by this Portuguese raid upon the Makololos, A Portuguese college was founded in 'and would probably have been destroy- 1554, and around it has grown up the ed by their permanent occupation of city of San Paulo, with 50,000 inhabit- the country. We allude to the won- ants, and the largest law school on the derfully successful missions of the Es- western hemisphere. Through this -tablished and Free Churches of Scot- school Brazil has disciplined the life land. The former has for twelve Cif her people, and some of the fruits, years been at work in these beautiful of it have been seen in the last month's Shire Highlands, on the eastern shore peaceful revolution. It was not the ,of Lake Nyassa, its head station being sword that made the republic in Bra- Blantyre, a name derived from Liv- zil, but the pen. It was not the small ingstone's birthplace. At one station army that overthrew the empire. it boards eighty children, and at anoth- There was a newspaper that advocated er has a school of one hundred pupils. the republic in Rio, openly, for three It has expended $200,000 in its work; or four years. There is wonderfnl it has introduced the successful culti- ability in Brazil to carry out the re- vation of coffee, tea, wheat, and other pUblican idea. and there is little danger products, and if allowed to proSecute of faction fights. The future of Brazil its work, will soon make the Shire is in the hands of the school teacher. Highlands a civilized and prosperous ;section of Africa. Cbina.-The New York Chamber of Commerce has done itself credit by The Free Church mission has been adopting a paper urging the re-open- at work on the west shore of the Lake ing of negotiations with China for the for 14 years. It has a Medical De- friendly adjustment of all questions partment, which treats about 10,000 between the two Governments. The ])atients annually. Its headquarters New York Observer says: "This coun- are at Bandawe, where 1,300children try would do itself credit, and would are in its schools. It has a prospero~ only do what is right to China, by station among the Zulus, who rule seeking to put our relations with that the country west of the Shire; .and country upon a basis of justice and three other prosperous stations in dif- community of interest. But justice ferent parts of the country. This mis- is the more important consideration. 13ion has already expended $225,000 in Lest it should be supposed that the its work, and its annual expenses are Chamber of Commerce is acting from about $20,000. any extraordinary or sudden twinges of conscience in China's behalf, it is Br32;i1.-Rev. Dr. Chamberlain, only proper to say that it views the of the American Presbyterian Mission necessity for action from a financial m Brazil, lectured recently before the standpoint. The subject was brought American Geographical Society at to the attention of the Chamber by Chickering Hall on the condition and C. P. Huntington, who in a letter to 'prospects of Brazil, illustrating his re- its ex-President, A. A. Low, speaks of marks withstereopticonviews. Hesaid the injury to our commerce, caused that it was God's purpose that Portugal by the action of Congress and the dip- .should hold Brazil, with its 4,000 miles lomatic treatment of China. ' It ·Qf Atlantic coast, until the present seems,' writes Mr. Huntington, 'that century, until the time came for the without uttering a word or lifting a ,empire, and now, in furtherance of finger, the Chinese are enabled to re- with an endowment of Rs. 18,000 per- taliate effectively against our com- annum, contributed by the State rev- merce, so that we have not only af- enues." That idolatry is endowed by forded them a wanton affront, but the British Government in India. and also injured ourselves in a twofold that high functionaries consider it, way, by excluding a tractable and proper for the heir presumptive to the- cheap labor, which we very much throne to visit idol temples in state, is need to built up desolate places, and no doubt news for which many read- by the loss of valuable trade, which ers of the Bombay Guardian in Eng- we might have kept to the exclusion land will not be prepared.
of our rivals.' It is to be regretted -Sir William Hunter, K. C. S. I., that the trade basis should be the only who is so often quoted as the highest, one on which justice toward the Chi- authority on civil and political mat- nese can be urged with any hope of ters in India, has recently added t() success; but whichever way it comes, his testimony in reference to the work we trUst that justice may at last be of missions in the Indian Empire. In done. Hitherto We have been unjust an address before the British Baptist in our attitude towards China." Missionary Society he speaks as a lay- -According to Imperial decree the man, whose work in India has been 200 picked scholars of Hanlin College altogether of a secular sort; but he- are to revise the great " Encyclopre- affirms that the missionary work is ilia" of China, which was compiled a one of the greatest and best move- century ago, and which contains the ments which at the present moment Chinese classics, the history of China is going on in India. " It has been for 3,000 years. and embraces all rich in results in the past, and it is knowledge under heaven. New and fraught with incalculable blessings in strange doctrines have been intro- the future." In enlarging upon this duced in late years, and the whole- statement Sir William dwells upon some truths of Confucius and Mencius the fact that the Christian work in are in danger of being set aside by India has passed the stage when it Western ideas. Hence the revision. was wholly dependent upon foreign This vast work, which requires four- mlssIOnaries. "The Indian native'
teen volumes to contain its index Protestant Christians have nowgrown alone, is expected to roll back the tide llP into an Indian native Protestant of Western learning, and hold China church. They have their own pas- securely to its old traditions. This tors, numbering 575, men ordained in shows how Christianity is making it- one body or another of the ministry.
self felt in that ancient and conserva- They have also a body of 2,856 quali- tive empire.-Exchange. fied lay preachers, natives born in the India.-Govemment maintaining country, educated in the country, idolatry.-A writer in the Bombay working in the country for the wel- Guardian speaks of the visit of Prince fare of their own countrymen. The AlbertVictor in state to the idol tem- native Protestant church in India has ples of Parvati, near Poona. He was ceased to be an exotic, and if the Eng- accompanied by the Governor of Bom- lish were driven out to-morrow they bay, the Duke of Connaught, Com- would leave a Protestant native mander-in-Chief of the Bombay army, church behind them. While the and other high officials. Before en- Protestant Christians in India num- tering the temples, the Prince was bered about half a million, there were presented with an address, giving an nearly 200,000 pupils in Protestant account of the idols contained therein, mission schools. This is an immensely and stating that" the temples are at sigruficant fact; significant of mis- present ma,intained by Government, sionary zeal in the present, but still more significant of Christian influ- been lately completed from Batavia to ence in the future."-Miss'y Herald. Bekassi. Other brancfl roads are be- ing constructed. 6. In Sumatra a line Korea.-Among the members of has been built by a private company a single Congregational church in to connect several tobacco plantations, Tokio are a judge of the supreme and a branch is beinglaid to Babougan. court of Japan, a professor in the Im- And other lines of tramway are oper- perial university, three Government ated. 7. Turkey in Asia is also lay- secretaries, and members of at least ingrailroads. .The one from Ischmidt two noble families. Two influential to Angora, 375 miles, is to be laid members of the legislature of Tokio, this year by an Anglo-German-French one of them the editor of the Keizai syndicate, who have taken the job off Zasshi, the ablest financial journal in the hands of the Ottoman government~ Japan, are also members of another Congregational church. Eighty kilometers of the road run- ning into Constantinople have already Turkey.-The influence brought been constructed, and the road is in to bear by foreign ambassadors at operation. From' Ischmidt for 150 Constantinople to induce the Turkish kilometers the roadbed has been congovernment to visit upon Mousa Bey, structed but no rails have been laid, the Koordish chieftain, some punish- and then from that point on is where ment for his crimes, has resulted in the American bridges will be put in. the exile of this ruffian and his fam- The road continues to Sivas, which is ily to Syria. The Porte has agreed to in the middle of the Angoran country, increase the police force in Armenia 600 kilometers from Ischmidt. Eventwith a view to the checking of Koor- ually the whole system will take in dish outrages. Mousa Bey in Syria some 3,000 or 3,500 kilometers, runwill be about as near the site of his atrocities as he is at Constantinople, like ning to Bagdad and the Persian Gulf. yet with the sentence of exile against him representatives of foreign gov- The total cost will be something ernments will be able to see that he $75,000,000. It will be completed does not return to his old home. This within 31-2 ,ears. A branch line certainly is again.-Miss'y Herald. will be run to the Holy Land, Jerusa- lem,andSmyrna.-J. T. Gracey,D.D. -Miscellaneous. -Java has its railroads. The system of railroads -The Anti-Slavery Congress of in Netherlands, India, dates from Brussels has had its counterpart in the year 1862, when a concession was the Anti-Rum Congress at Khartoum. granted to the Netherlands India While Christians are earnestly con- Railway Co. to build a road from Sa- sidering how they can crush out slavmarang to the independent States of ery, Moslems are considering how Djokjokarta and Sourakalta, with a they can preserve slavery and crush branch line to Cembarawa or Fort Wil- out intemperance. The means sug_· liam I., which was completed in 1873. gested are curiously similar, if we 2. In 1871-87 the Government built may trust the somewhat vague rea west linefrom Djokjokartato Tjilat- ports that come from the Mahdi's jap. 3. Another runs east from Djok- camp. Europe on the one hand is jokarta to Pasarouan with several to draw a cordon of her ships of war . branches. 4. There is a railroad al!>o around Africa, and capture every from Batavia to Buitenzorg. It is in- Arab dhow that can be found, release tended that this shall be extended to its prisoners, and scuttle the ship it~ form a junction with line No. 2, so as to self. The slave traders on their part; reach the only port on the south coast· are also to draw a cordon of dhows: of Java. It is to be completed in around the continent, and capture· three years. 5. A branch line has every vessel that contains the abomin-· 8ble firewater that is eating away tha strength of the natives, and thus de- but it consecrates men and women to priving them of the material for their the cause of God. Wheresoever there trade. Boston rum, English gin, and is that spirit..of consecration which German schnapps were doubtless not says, 'I give my money, I give my represented at Brussels, as the purvey- sons and daughters,' there Christ will ers for Eastern harems were at Khar- be glorified. When that spiritof con- toum, so that the pai:all.el is not quite secration reaches the great heart of complete. There isenough of truth in humanity, then the missionary work it, however, to set us to thinking.- will go forward with a velocity that Rev. E. M. Bliss. we have never dreamed of. Thework is'in its infancy to-day. What will it -Intelligence comes this month be one hundred,-two hundred years from all our mission fields. We hear hence? The promises to women are of missionary meeting in Jamaica, vital of celestial blessing, which give and specially of one little country to them the powers that men somecongregation that by its gifts for mis- times lack. It is a woman's hand that sions puts many a larger home Church is scattering subtle poison through the to shame; of the 'arrival of Mr. Por- delicate pages of books such as ' Robteous in Old Calabar, and of a suc- ert Elsmere,' and in many other ways; cessful conflict with cruel heathen but the height of Christian purpose custom at Okoyon on the part of two can never be attained until all womanof our agents. From Kaffraria we kind have given their hearts to hear of a most cheering revival at Christ and Christian work."-Home EmgwaIi–of which Miss Hope's letter Missionary. told us something last month. No fewer thaD. 150 young persons, all pro- -The good that one woman, singlefessing conversion to God, have been handed, can do, is interestingly illus- ~urolled in the condidates' class. trated in the case of Miss Arnott, of Surely there is ground here for thanks- Edinburg, in her work in Palestine. giving and continued intercession. Some of the details of what she has We hear also of the arrival at East accomplished are given by Dr. Mutch- London of Mr. Hunter, our mission- more thus: ary to the Xesi.be country. Mr. Davidson sends us from Japan a deeply " Miss Amott went to visit the East interesting record of a recent visit to and was induced, temporarily, to take Hokkaido, with notes of the progress the place of an absent teacher. The of Christian work there. From Raj- condition of the people and their exputana Mr. Gray sends a most in- treme wretchedness awoke her pity, structive account of the history and and she conceived theidea of applying tenets of the Arya Samaj, and Mr. moral leverage where all true eleva- Bounar continues his "Notes of a tion begins, at the individual, and so Tour through Bundi and Kotah." elevating the home. She began alone, From Manchuria we have brief drawing on her own resources, obsketches of three native agents.- tained ground on moderate terms and The Mission Record Of the United began a school. She taught such poor Presb. Ohurch. girls as she could persuade to come. Her curriculum was very simple; its -Woman and Missions.-Dr. Storrs two great lessons were how to live and said in a recent address: "The intro- how to die. God stood by her, and duction of the feminine life and heart soon she had a building and as many intothis missionary work brings in the scholars as she could care for. force that fires and intensifies its onward progress. This intensity of the "Her work (by some) was looked purpose in women does not work only upon as visionary, until its manifest in the direction of filling up treasuries, success brought offers of abundant help and even management. One of
MISSIONAlI.Y CORRESPONDENCE FROM ALL PAlI.TS
the finest school properties now in the very little to begin with. Twenty-five Levant-worth, probably, $75,OOO-is years she has been in the field, during a part of the result of ~r work of which time she has had wonderful Iaith and love, and all the outcome of tokens of the divine favor in guidance, her own indomitable spirit, for she had help and results."
lII.-MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD-FIELD.
Africa. Arabs, from Morocco to TrIpoli; and, indeed, desires to include the Europeans, French, IIRIEII' LBT'l'ER PRO. REV. JAIIES SCOTT. Spanish, Italians, Maltese, as well.
Impolweire, Natal, Dec. 4, 1889. Weare.here on the fringe of this great African DEAR DR. PIERSON: We got back to our work Continent, In countries bounded on the north here In September, and, although we have by the Mediterranean Sea, now the great high- found some coldand lndi1ferent who once gave way of the East. So far from verifying the promise of better things, and Satan at work In thoughts of our chIldhood-ofvast Satldypla.lns many ways, yet we have rea.son to thank God peopled by blacks-it is here, on the contrary, .and take courage. The times of blessing have a lovely, fertile, mountainous country, and our DOt quite gone from us. In the last three Berbers and Arabs are white, and many with months I have baptized fifty-eight, and expect noble, manly traits. However, as to their reli- ;in the next three months to have as many gion, they are Mohammedans. Yon, dear breth- more, as I have not yet had time to visit all ren of the United States, have long been occu- .my out-stations, some of them being far away pied with these adherents of the false prophet, .and the season unsuitable for traveling. but here In Algeriawe have the immenseadvan- Amongst those whom I baptized last Sabbath tage of proselytizing In a landruied by equitable 'was an old woman who had first heard the laws, and where the acceptance of the religion gospel from a native evangelist sent out by my of Christ does not entail the danger, if not the predecessor-this was some thirty years ago. penalty, of death. We hear from our Brother 'The good seed, watered by the Spirit, has at Baldwin of persecution by the authorities In ;length brought forth good fruit. Another, a Morocco, and it may be so if the Truth prospers younger woman, had resided on the station of In Tripoli, still barbarous States. We circulate .my dear old friend, the Rev. C. Possett of the the Arabic Scriptures prepared by the Ameri- Berlin Society, who was called to his rest some can brethren at Beyrut, and we spread them yearsago,andshehad received herfirst impres- abroad everywhere around us. 'SIons from him; so it is, "one soweth and another reapeth," but may the glory be to the Lord Kabylia itself is a most romantic region, en- .and Master. Although we have our troubles closed by the range of the Jur-Jura mountains, with backsliders and others who have fallen from which spurs are projected enclosing ferinto sin, yet the Zulu who has once professed tile valleys, richly cultivated, and bounded on {)hristianity and been admitted to the church, the north by the hills of Beni-Djennad, where .and then gone back to heathenism, has not as two American brethren have entered a village yet been met by me; though I have heard a and run up a mud-hut and have begun their good deal of such, and read about them In work, braving all the discouraging circum· newspaper articles and books by travelers. stances connected with their position.
AiIectlonately, The people have built their villages on the JAMES SCOTT. summits of their mountains for protection against the Arabs who Invade the country, NORTH AFRICA AS A MISSION FIELD. but they cultivate their slopes In every avail- Algiers, November, 1889. able spot. Some of the tribes take their flocks In summer to the higher valleys of the moun- DEAR EnITORS: Your valuable MISSIONARY REvIEw has not hitherto dwelt on the move- are tains, which, In the winter seasons, covered ments In Northem Africa; and as I have been ,some ten years seeking, with the blessing of with snow, where they find delicious pasturage. .Qod, as an Independent Missionary Pioneer, to Its summit, the Lalla-Kadidja, is 8,000 feet 'OCCUpy myself with the spiritual Interests of high. Every village has its Djemaa, or ParJia.. its various populations, I have no doubt that a ment House, where the affairs of the village few brief notes will be acceptable' to your and the Tribe are discussed, and where every readers. We (that is, myself and my earnest man capable of carrying a rifle, or keeping the and zealous wife) first directed our attention Ramadan fast, is a member; Indeed, the Kuto the Kabyles, an interesting'people located in byles have presented what many have aimed the mountainous regions of Kabylia. 'The at-the purest and most economical Republic "North Africa Mission" has since extended its the world has ever known. It is true, before -operatiOIllr to all the Berber races and the the French invasion, the tribes were often at loggerheads, owing to their self-assertion and jealousy. Happily, that is all at an end, through poli also, the Arabic. The range of Berber in the wise and firm rule of the French regime. Algeria is. cOllsiderable, taking in the whcle Theyare a fine race, with manynoble qualities, country, from Dellys southeast to the borders. very susceptible to kindness, and systematic- of Tunis, havi~ its boundary on the east at, ally hospitable; the more they are known the the River Kebir, but extending to Constantine more they are loved. Their women are un- and the region north of the city. Many dis- veiled, and when young, many are extremely tricts to the northwest of Algeria contain handsome; but like all Mohammedan women, Berber-speaking people, but they are speedily are a subjected, if not an enslaved, class. becoming Arabized. The whole of this district. from the river Sapil, which has its embouch- As far as they know it, they observe the re- ure at Boagie right up to Tunis, is unevangel- ligious prescriptions of the Koran, though it is ized, except a few sisters at Constantine and likely that some tribes do not possess a copy. Bone. These extend to circumcision, the response to the call to prayer, fasts and feasts, etc., but Here is a sphere of missionary labor for- they do not observe its prescriptions as to in- some of your noble young men who are conse- heritance. They have no written language, crating themselves to foreigu mission work. and we have only at present the Gospel of Arabic would be the language most necessary John translated into Kabyle in Roman char- to study, and which might be partiallyacquired acters, and Mr. Mackintosh has' translated the in the United States. It opens the way to mil- Gospel of Matthew into Refllan in Arabic char- lions of Mohammedans. French also would be. acters. Happily there are now many French necessary in Algeria. We have here a most schools throughout Algeria, and an interpreter healthful climate, and have spent several may generally be found in most villages, and summers without inconvenience. The tempera- by this means we have been enabled to preach ture. Farenheit, would be about 82 in August. in various places. and 48 in winter months, December and Janu- ary. The North Africa Mission has upwards We have in most of the towns a peculiar race of forty missionaries, including ladies, and. of Berbers, known by their varied colored there are at least forty more independent, or coats, and keeping grocery and other shops- conn'!Cted with other societies; but there is the Mzabs from the Sahara. They are Mo- room for eighty more, and we want American hammedan dissenters, and very accessible, re- zeal and push to overcome, with the help of ceiving our Arabic Testaments very gladly. the Spirit of God, the tremendous difllcultie~ Our butcher here tells us he reads his Testa- of mission work among Mohammedans. ment to three or four listeners of an evening. Yours truly in the Lord, The Arabs are mostly a nomadic race, GEORGE PEARSE. though many get settled in towns, and are be- coming agriculturists. We have seen cara- Ohina. vans moving after wheat harvest down into the Sahara to reap their dates. Three hundred HIGHLY INTERESTING LETTER FROM DR. RAPPER., villages of French colonists without a single evangelist'cry:aloud for workers in that tongue. Canton, Dec. 3, 1889. The physical features of the country are ex- DEAR REVIEW: Last evening was" Mission- traordinary. We have first, the Tell, a strip of ary Concert" night-the old concert of prayer territory varying from fifty to one hundred for the conversion of the world. It has been miles, bounded by the Mediterranean on the kept up at this station from the days of north-hilly, mountainous, romantic, very di- Bridgeman and Abeel, the first Americanmis- versified. Next, the High Plateau-vast plains sionaries to China. They arrived at Canton in separated by parallel ranges of mountains and Feb. 1830. I cannot say positively whether subject to alternationsof intensecold and great Dr. Morrison held such meetings before the heat, devoid of trees and very little inhabited, arrival of their brethren or not. I infer he though affording in many parts pasturage for had not, for want of men of like mind to meet cattle. Beyond these lies the Sahara, diversi- with him ; but I feel assured that he rejoiced fied by vast plains of sand with rocky plateaus. to unite with them after their arrival, in this. The French have their military stations far concert of prayer. They were sent in answel' down in the south; and again beyond this lies to his long continued prayer to God, and after oft ;repeated and urgent requests sent by him the Soudan. to the American Board of Foreigu Missions, to The Atlas mountains commence at Agader, send men to China. The meetiug has been continued down through their successors to, near the coast, to the south of Mogador, and this pre..«ent day. It is 45 years since I first extend in a northwesterly direction through met with it. It was then attended by Drs. Morocco and Algeria, and terminating at Cape Bridgeman, Ball, Parker, Brown and Dean Bon. In Tunis there are no navigable rivers. Williams, Rev. Messrs. Sheeck, Roberts, Devan, M. D., Waltel' M. Lowrie, myself, and some With respect to the languages spoken: In others. These all have finished their course, Morocco it is a corrupt form of Arabic, but the and gone to their reward. Their places are Shelluhs and Rifi's speak Berber, and, perhaps, occupied by worthy representatives of the comprise two-thirds of the population. In ,Algeria and Tunis, and we may include Tri- 1l8JIle societies, and of other societies not then rying lighted torches. When asked why thoy represented. did so, they stated they carried the torches to frighten away the tigers. The necessity of The meeting last night was one of "/musual doing so was made clear by the statement, interest from several circumstances. There that a few days before, a woman, who was out was a very large attendanceo-in all some 35 cutting grass on the mountain, was carried missionaries were present. Of these, there away by a tiger and eaten. were new missionaries from the church of " The United Brethren in Christ" in the It has been widely known that the Chinese United States, just arrived to commence a people of this city, some 16 years ago, organ- mission at Canton. This is their first mission ized a society to counteract and hinder the in China. .All the brethren welcome their new spread of Christianity, by the use of the same brethrenand sisters to the fellowship of labors means which missionaries use to spread the for Christ among this numerous people. The gospel. That society established a large dls- Rev. E. P. Thwing, Ph. D., was also present, pensary for giving medical advice and pre- -as a visitor. The great interest of the meet- scriptions gratis to all applicants. They also ing, however, in connection with the prayers give cOWns to all the poor who apply for offered, was the information communicated of them. They also opened halls, and employed some few of the results of work done. speakers to preach Confucianism. They opened schools in which the children of all The Rev. C. Bone, of the Wesleyan Mig.. those who wished to send them should be -sion, gave some details of his recent visit to taught the Confucian classics. the stations of that mission up the north "river from this city. During this visit he had The same has been done at the manufactur- baptized some fifty persons on profession of ing town of Fatchan, 12 miles from this city. their faith. When visitmg these same stations The Wesleyan Mission commenced a mission- last spring, he had baptized about the same ary hospital there some' six years ago. It is a number, making over 100 baptisms during the town of some 600,000 inhabitants. There had year. In one case, he went 12 miles from the been Christian churches and preaching halls 13tation to baptize an old man, who could not there long before that; but after the hospital <lome to the place of worship by reason of age was opened the people took measures to preand inflrmities ; but the son, through whose vent their people being led away by it. They instruction the old man had come to the collected funds to build and maintain a dispensknowledge of the gospel, sent two horses for ary and hospital, and sustain the preaching Mr. Bone and his companion to make the of Confucianism in halls for that purpose. journey. All the other stations on the moun- They have expended about $42,000 in building tains Mr. Bone had to reach by walking; in the dispensary and hospital. The dispensary >(lne case walking 25 miles in one day, over is quite numerously attended. The hospital mountain roads. At one mountain village he has 100 rooms for the accommodation of pabaptized nine, in another seven, and in an- tients; but for some reason they have not other three. The baptism of these last three been occupied to any extent by resident pawas performed in a stable, as that was the tients. The conditions on which they can be only .place which the very few members in occupied are said to be unsatisfactory. These that village could get to meet in. We may efforts of the Chinese to counteract the efforts feel assured that He who "was born in a stable of missionaries testify to two things, Viz.: to and laid in a manger" met with those who the efficiency and wisdom of the means which met to engage in His worship, and in the cele- missionaries are using for the dissemination of bration of the ordinances of his appointment the gospel, and of the desire and purpose of in such humble surroundings. the people to adhere to and support their own system. A little company also gathered in a village where there is a large Buddhist Monastery, Other items of intelligence were communiand the inhahitants of which are largely de- cated by Dr. A. P. Happer from a letter revoted to Buddhism; hut a little company have ceived from Rev. Dr. Corbett, of the Shanprofessed Christ, and we may hope that the tung Mission, in which he gave a statement of number may increase yet more and more, for his work on a recent itinerary. He had just "the entrance of God's word giveth light." returned (Oct. 28th) from a trip of 49 days among the churches, stations, and schools un- I cannot _relate all the personal incidents der his supervision. During this time he bap. which give such special interest to "viva tized 58 persons on profession of their faith, voce" statement by one who saw and experi- making 100 baptizyd since March, 1889. He enced what he related. One may be given: says "God is greatly blessing the schools in Theyhad to cross a swollen stream by wad- the country. Not ouly teachers and pupils are ing it ; his companion had to hold his watch finding Christ; but not a few of the parents upon his hand above his head to keep it from have come out on the Lord's side. At one getting wet. Another most interesting scene place where we have three schools, 19 were redescribed: the appearance, as seen from the ceived, every one of whom said that their first chapel door, of the groups of people coming serious interest in the Truth dated from hearto the evening service, many of the men caring their children or grandchildren singhymns kind of information I want, and I wish to tell or repea.t scripture which had been learned you how much I appreciate it. .
in school. So important has this work grown At each meeting of the Society two boys are that now we have 84 schools in different cen- appointed to prepare papers for reading at the tres. A Normal school has been opened for next meeting. The countries for discussion.
the special purpose of training school teach- are appointed, and during the month follow- ers and lay preachers. We have now 15young ingthe boys come to me for their information.
men who have been in native schools from 8 They write down roughly the facts, statistics,.
to 12 years, taking & special three years' etc., whlch I have prepared for them, and then.
course. Pray for this work. Rejoice with us at their leisure go over this carefully, and pre- that Shantung Mission is to be re-inforced pare their papers, which are usually very this autumn with 17 missionaries; six have al- good, and sometimes written in such high ready arrived, and the others are on the way. .. wen Ie," or book ljmguage, that I gasp, and.
We have been praying and waiting for years wonder how they manage to change the ma- for more help." terial I have given them in such common.
These items of information adaed interest to . words and broken sentences, into such lluent, our .. monthly concert." They are communi- high sounding sentences, some of which I can- cated in the hope and belief that they willln- not underStand at all. The spoken and writ- terest many readers of your REviEw, and draw ten language of the Chinese are so different.
forth prayer from many hearts for yet more They have one good rule, which would be- abundant outpouring of the spirit in every well If followed by our home societies.
part of the world. Each boy appointed to prepare a paper, who- A. P. ILu>PEK, fails to do it without a very good excuse,' is Editorial CoITe8pondent. 1lned, and the money put in the treasury. At Tungclu:nd Fao, Sept. Zl, 1889. the close of each meeting the roll is called,. My DEAB DB. SHERWOOD: I have read with interest your article in the August number of and the members answer by stating thethe REvIEW, entitled, .. Have we too many missionary periodicals ,.. Without express- amount they have for contribution. Thirty ing an opinion of other missionary periodicals, allow me to say that I regard THE MII!SION- cash, or three cents, is a large sum for one boy ABY REVIEW OJ!' THE WORLD as excellent. to give at anyone time, and if a member says: Please give us more of it. There is a large and 1l0urishing Missionary he has four or llve cents to give, a murmur of Society here in the College. They have eft!.- cient oft!.cers chosen from the more advanced astonishment goes through the room, and th&' students and native teachers. They have excellent rules, good attendance, and 1lrst-rate smaller boys give vent to a prolonged .. Oh-h,.. order at their meetings, and all the members seem interested and wide-awake. The chief which they fondly imagine is whispered, but diftlculty in their way is in getting information on Missionary topics, 88 they can read no in that they are mistaken. How good a thing. English, and can 1lnd nothing suitable in their native books. It is necessary for one of the It is that God regardeth notthe amount given, missionaries to hunt up all avallable material, but the spirit In which it is given. With best wishes for the success of your magazine, I am, Very truly, FANNY COBBETT HAys.
P. S.-Perhaps you are acquainted with my father, Dr. Corbett, of Chefoo' He is now visiting his country stations, from which he- writes good news of addition to the church, and more interest shown by the common peo- ple. F. C. H ..
and translate it to them. While Mrs. Mateer Engla.nd. was here, she was translator, general advisor, and an .. Encyclopedia of Missions" in living A BUSINESS LAYMAN'S VIEWS. form, and the interest was largely kept up [We gladly give space to the follow- among the boys by her contributions of inter- ing letter from a leading merchant of esting and suitable material. Since she left I Liverpool. Not only is his citation have been trying to take her place as translator, and apprecIate all the diftI.~·1it from Palgrave to the point and of great; 1lnding suitable material, and of giving theSe value, but also his personal observation boys, who have no other source of informa- from fifteen years' residence in Olll tion, a real wide outlook on the Mission lleld. Calabar, West Africa, is important. I do not want to con1lne myself to our own Here ,he struggled nobly to carryon church work-what couid I ten them ot trade without dealing in liquor, but. Egypt, for instance, lf I did' I cannot incnr the expense ot taking each church's particUlar was obliged to give in and relinquish.
organ, and even if I could, would have no time business. Andhesays: "Theamazing to hunt through them all and select what is thing is that all this traffic is conductsuitable. Your bright, readable magazine is ed in the main by not over a dozen ;just what one in my position needs. You select, and arrange, and put in order, just the firms, the members of which are most; excellent men, many of them I be- whatever weakens QI' distorts them more in.
lieve sincere Christians." Mr. 'Irvine jurious. Hence, a Malay :Mohammedan is a. is a. Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian cont~ction, an anomaly, a failure, much as Church, and says: "I hope to be one a Hindoo Christian, or a European Buddhist to welcome Dr. Pierson in a. day or might be. The system does not suit him, nOl"
he the system. Not 80 the Malay of the Philip.
two."-J. M.S.] pino-Christian type. His family, as tbat of DBAB BIllS: Although somewhat late, it may his Chinese or Japanese cousins, moderate not yet be out of place in the controversy polytheists like himself, is a pleasing sight: raised by Canon Taylor regardiug the compar- much subordination and little constraint, uni. ative merits of Christianity and Islamism in so~ in gradation, liberty not license; orderly Africa, to give you a quotation which I came children, respected parents,womensubject but 8Cr01!8 lately in .. Ulysses, or Scenes and not suppressed, men ruling but not despotic Studies in Many Lands," by .the ,late ,accom. reverence with kindness, obedience in aiIe:. plished W. G. Palgrave. tion-these form a lovable picture, not byany At page 153, in an article on Malay life in the means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Philippines, Mr. Palgrave says: .. Tb&t the Isles. "
adoption of Islam may be, and,in fact is, a real It is no secret that at one time in his life the benefit and an uplifting to savage tribes, genial Gift'ord Palgrave sympathized to such amongst whom the lowest and most brutaliz- an extent with Mohammedanism tbat current ing forms of fetichism would else predominate, report, though without foundation, stated he does not admitof doubt. Anthropopbagy, hu- had actually become one, and therefore such man sacrifices, and other kindred horrors, bave testimony as tbat given in this extract carries thus heen banished by Mohammedan teach- additional weight. ing from whole tracts of Africa, and, 80 far, la I bave not seen it quoted elseWhere, and I welL But not less does experience show that trust you will consider the extract of suf/lcient sooneror later, the tribe, the nation, tbat casta importance to give it a place In your REvIEw.
in its lot ,with Islam, is strioken as by a blight; Perhaps I may also add, tbat long before Canon Taylor shocked the sense of Christian its freshness,.its plasticity,disappear first, then England, Professor Blyden of Monrovia, who has been repeatedly a guest of mine, and its vigor, then its reparative and reproductive whose writings on thla subject formed the power, and it petrifies and perishes. With the ground work of Canon Taylor's views, had dis-' abstract and theoretical merits of Monothe- cussed the matter with me, and I do not hesl· lam or Polythelam, Islam or Christianity, I tate to say tbat the Canon injected views have nothing to do; but thla much la certain, and ideas into Dr. Blyden's writings which tbat within the circle of the l'hillippine Archi- were far from those Intended to be conveyed. pelago itself-not to seek examples further away-the contrastbetween the Mohammedan That Islamlam is better than Fetichism, no viIIages of the southernmost lalands and the one will deny, nor will anyone who knows the Christian ones elsewhere, is very remarkable, country refuse to acknowledge that the follownor by any means favorable to the former. ers of the Prophet are spreading rapidly over the centre of Africa; but to plead that tbe sys· .. For a satisfactory explanation of the prob- tem is better for the Negro than Christianity, lem before us, there isno need for recurring to and to raise it for one moment to the level of a. causes, if such there be, hid in the extra-mun· favorable comparison, and that by the mouth dane and unknown. The reason is near to of a Christian minister, is sad in the extreme. seek. Family life, family ties, family aiIectiona, these form the only true, stable, and at I respect the Canon for his courage, and if the same time expansive basis for communi- he would only allowit to take him to any of the ties, states, empires even; and tbat these may, mission stations on the west coast of Africa, and actually do, co-exist after a fashion with a and witness, as I have often done there, the vigorous profession of Mohammedanism, no beauty of simple, consistent Christian life onewho has experimental knowledge of Turk- among the hundreds of native converts, he ish orArab population can possibly deny. They would, I am sure, if he lived to return, not be exist, but even when at their best and strong- slow to acknowledge that Christianity had est are always cramped, stunted, and hindered lost none of its powers. from their full growth and development by theforced demarcation between the sexes, the Yours most truly, sanctioned polygamy, the over·facility for di· J.ums mvnnll, F. R. G. S.
vorce, and the other social mistakes inter. India. woven-whether by the hand of the prophet himself, or, rather, as with Sprongel I incline [Our readers may remember that after the death of her father, the to believe, by that of ,the narrow-minded and Rev. Royal G. Wilder-the founder and editor for ten years of THE MIsascetic Omar-into the very texture of Islam. SIONARY REVIEW-his gifted daughter Nowherearefamilybondscloserdrawn,tamily aiIections more enduring, t1I#In among the Malay races, and nowhere, in consequence, is Grace, with her aged mother, re. can count! The memory of these children is turned to India, as missionaries, and remarkable. Why shouldn't we take advan- tage of this to store Christian truth in their are laboring among the same people minds? These Government schools are sending out hundreds of good readers every year. where he and they had formerly lived What are these boys to read? and wrought. Miss Grace is ~ sister of Mr. R. P. Wilder, who has done This month mother and I have made a short so gran(i a work among the students tour of thirteen towns near us. In only one of in the United States and Canada, and these we found a Cbristian home. At one tlie who expects soon to join his mother women acted wildly curious. They sat down on the temple steps, and listened eagerly. As and sister in Indian missionary work we took out our lunch, some head men of the in that vast and inviting field. This village tried in vain to drive away our audishort letter from Miss Wilder we are ence-the women especially were so anxious sure will be read with great interest, to see us eat. Even at this village-reached by a rough cart road-we found a boys'
knowing these facts.-J. M. S.] school. I distributed some leafiets, asking the Kolhapur, Dec. 4, 1889. boys to commit the Lord's Prayer. We had My DEAR DR. SHERWOOD: I fear you think driven out quite a distance from the village, I have not been very good in carrying out when across the fields, running and panting, the request you made me shortly before we came a boy to tell us one boy had failed to get sailed. I little realized then what a pressure a paper.
we find out here to do rather than to write At Miraj, a town of 24,000, we visited a Gov- about it. ernment school of over 200 pupils-one of I want to thank you for the regular coming eight similar schools. There are also private of the REVIEW. I cannot but wish that dear schools, and a girls' school, with a roll of 105, father might know how God is using it to and an average of some 75 girls. Miraj is at carry, with such zeal and rapidity, the news the junction of our new Kolhapur Railway of His workings in every part of the world. It with the. Southern Marathi Railway. It is a seems to me that the prayers of father's last trade centre, rapidly increasing in population year were prophetic of the REVIEW'S future, and importance. Yet in this large place, only and I feel that I could ask for it no greater 35 miles from us, there is no missionary or na- gift than that God will raise up hearts to pray tive preacher, no chapel or Sunday school.
for it, as dear father did. The same can be said of lnchalkarangi, with I cannot but take it for granted that you a population of 11,0001 Here I found two have a very special interest in our Kolhapur girls' schools. • field, and so would like to know of our pur- All this Government education awakens poses and needs. feelings of fear, as well as hope. All this One subject lies very much upon my heart training means power, but power which just now, and that is, our present opportunity can be used for evil. Enough miserable of reaching the children of India. Mother novels and infidel books are circulated to and I have been much together in our work, alarm us.
and in spite of other calls, our attention has We have from our mission bungalow dur- been drawn to work among children. We find ing the past few weeks, sold some 30 rupees that aiming at children is a good way to get worth of books. Mr. Seiler is now getting village audiences, so we have started Sunday from Boston, for English students, some of schools in two near villages. Our greatest op- Mr. Hastings' tracts. We hope soon to have a position comes from Government school sale room for books in our city-Christian teachers. We hear that one boy's hand was books, story books, and school books, would swollen from the beating he received because be very acceptable for this. I am now loan- he committed the Lord's Prayer. Another ing Christie's" Old Organ," as I have but one teacher burned some of the papers we had copy.
given the boys. One of our brightest boys Our great need just now is workers. One told me that the teacher refused to take him earnest Christian at a centre like Miraj could into school until he gave up the books he had carry on Sunday-school work in many large received from us. Satan is not going to let us villages. Three of the five Sunday schools infiuence these bright children if he can help which mother and I atten,! are held on week it. This is not to be wondered at, but a great days. One under a tree, one on the verandah wonder will it be if we fail to see and seize of a school house, and the third in a "chow- this, our present chance. die. " or inn.
These little ones are not all the rough, wild, Will you, Dr. Sherwood, especislly remem- ignorant creatures which we at home label as ber us, asking that God wlll raise up workers " heathen." Many have trained minds-are for this field? We are greatly rejoicing to- beautiful readers; boys who can recite the day in the thought that Dr. and Mrs. Wanless multiplication table up to thirty as fast as we and Miss Sherman are probably in Bombay;
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
yet the unoccupied stations, Pawlialla and seek subscriptions to a Vedic school, where Rutnagerri, leave little hope of our taking Pantheism is to be taught. One native judge new places unless more workers come soon. gives 50 Rs., and other prominent ·educated men are contributing! I wish friends at home might realize our present chance in India. This week men have May God richly blessyou in yourgreat work. iJome up to KolbaI!ur from Southern India, to GRACE E. WILDER.
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
'The United States and the Congo Free the President phrased it, wherewe had State. no interests or control.
From time to time a good deal of 3. The Convention of Delegates, public criticism filters through the however, drew up a formal act of the nature of an international convention, press, and emanates from platform which laid down certain obligations and pulpit, because the United States to Government does not actively inter- purporting to be binding on the signa- -fere to stay sundry wrongs and inju- tories, subject ratification within ries being inflicted on the simple one year. inhabitants of the Congo Valley, 4. Notwithstanding the reservation €minently by the introduction of rum into that region by foreign and so- of our Government on its delegates, 1:alIed Christian nations. It seems as their signatures were attached to the if the naming of the evil beingfos- general act in the same manner as -tered by the commerce which Europe those of other plenipotentiaries, makand America are cultivating in that ing the United States to appear withquarter of the globe, would be suffi- out reservation or qualification to eudent to secure the intervention of our tel' into this joint international en- Republic to stop it. We earnestly gagement. wish that our Government could do :something, but we have to judge of its 5. But the President of the United power and the propriety of its course States, in reporting the matter to Con- -of non-interference in the light of the gress in his annual message, distinctly repudiated the comp~ct, regarding the act of the delegates as in no sense -attitude it has assumed toward the impairing the original reservation Convention of Powers in the case of made in the premises by which its the Congo State, and of the funda- delegates were sent merely to take mental principle underlying its course part in a deliberative body. And so ()f procedure. profound was his personal convic- tion that the Government ought not 1. The United States Government to enter into a compact for the" consent delegates to the conference at Ber- lin held by the representatives of some servation of the territorial integrity of fifteen of the most powerful nations distant regions where we have no es- -of the world to discuss methods tablished interests or control," and so whereby the Congo Basin might be sure was he that the country would kept open to the world's trade. not support a policy of possible "ezi.- 2. The definite understanding of our tangling alliances" abroad, that he -Government was that the proceedings said to the Senate in concluding the were to be only deliberative, without traversing of the case in his message: imparting to the result any binding " I al:iJstain from asking the sanction <character so far as the United States of the Senate to that general act." were concerned. This was grounded We are not aware of any public act '<In the old policy of this Government not to share in "jurisdictional ques- of the Government or of its representa- -tions in remote foreign territories," as tives since, that has modified that position. Our Government and our people, as a people, stand wholly out- political or moral, to hold back thi~ side of that convention, and of all cup of the sorcerer from those poor other political relations, so far as the degraded races. Politically, so far as… writer now thinks of, to the so-called the powers and proceedings of the in- "Congo Free State." Of course, the ternational convention that seeks t()- action of the country's delegates was controIthe imaginary Free State go. of no effect without the sanction of our Government can no more interthe Senate, and that should have been fere than it can with Home Rule in had within a year of the date of the Ireland, or the imposition of customs. signatures. The rather mythical dutiesin Liverpool or Berlin. It would "Free State" is, therefore, the busi- be told to mind its own business if it. ness of the people and nations who did. chose to create it. Itis not a political power, nor probably soon to become What we desire is, to have our such. It will probably furnish the people see that- whatever we do 1;() occasion of disputes between the suppress the rum traffic on the Cong()- nations who entered into this danger- is to be done in our individual ca-· ous alliance; and we will rejoice that pacity, or through our churches' and. we are not involved in a broil for the other voluntary organizations. We. preservation of "territorial integrity as Christians, 88 philanthropists, or' of distant regions where we have no through our missionary evangelistic established interests or control." force, may protest, appeal, create· sentiruentin anyway, and the respon- It is fitting, therefore, to consider sibility is on us to do with our might. whether any attempt on the part of what our hands find to do. There is. our Government to interfere with that some better way for Christian rule 1;() of the signatory powers in the Congo be established in Africa than by mawould be anything short of an imper- nuring the soil with the graves of its. tinence. How could we, having re- people, first ruined and rotted witlL fused to enter into that convention, rum. 88k to be permitted to dictate its policy? The Native Languages of Mmco.
Let it be borne in mind that we are BY REV. WK. P. F. FERGUSON, B. D. no party to that contract; and, among our national sins and shortcomings, Because of its vast architectural reis not to be enumerated the sanction mains, Mexico is often called "the by our Government of the introduc- Egypt of America." In view of the· tion free of duty amongst the low great number of .languages which races of.the Congo, with their feeble have been spoken among its moun-· force of resistance, that which tains and valleys, it might also bethreatens to decimate them as surely called the India of the New W orId. and 88 speedily 88 slavery has done It may be supposed that the common the central belt of the continent. expression, "the Land of the .Aztecs," is an adequate expression of the an- We do not desire to soften the sense tiquity of Mexico; but before it cameof indignation against the signatories, under the sway of that great but uno. whose very self-interest, or whose hu- fortunate people, it.had been the land manitarianism of the lowest grade, of the Chichimecas, the Toltecs, the one would think would have induced Zapotecas, the Mayas, the Otomies, them to restrict the agency which the Xicalancas, the Quinames, and of" threatens the destructioil of the very perhaps as many other peoples, some population with which they seek to of whose very names are lost to hisbuild up a market. We do not seek tory. Nor are these the names of to excuse our Government from every mere tribes, rather of nations, and legitimate exercise of its power, some of them of races distinct in cus- toms, langua~es and blood. .. PopulOils realms in its sounds, but to the writer it d~ Swept by tbe torrent see tbeir ancient tribes not seem to be particularly so. As a. people the Otomis are of special inter- Engulfed and lost." est, from the fact that they are proba– bly the oldest race now extant in. To-day there survive of these peoples Mexico. only remnants, hiding, as it were, among the mountains that once The Mayas, in the far south and formed the ramparts of the empires southeast, number about 400,000. of their fathers. While those of them who live along' the coast have been visited by many It is the object of this article to pre- travelers, the deadly climate andtheir' sent some facts with regard to these supposed hostility have almost com- peoplesand their languages, and to of- pletely isolated those who iDhabit the' fer some suggestions as to giving them interior. These, it is generally be- the Gospel in their' own tongues. lieved, still retain almost intact their ancient civilization. Whether the be- Omitting any mention of a number lief is well founded or not, remains of minor languages, each spoken by for the explorer to show. Their lan- from a few hundred to a hundred guage was anciently one of the most thousand people, we will notice five of cultivated, and has received a consid- the most important, namely: the erable study from modem scholars. Otomi, the Maya, the Zapotaca, the The results of this study are, how- Tarasca, and 'the Nahuatl, or Mexi- cano. These must not be thought of ever, difficult of access.* as simple dialects; they are rather distinct languages, with differences The Tarasca is the language ofas great as those that exist between about 250,000, chiefly inhabitants of any of the tongues of the Aryan fam- the State of Michoacan, on the Pa- ily, if, indeed, some of them have cific coast. They are to-day all that even a remote connection. All of remains of the once powerful kingthem, with the exception of the dom of Michoacan, which success- Otomi, were expressed in picture fully resisted the Aztecs even in the writing, which was, especially among height of their power. Tradition con– the Mexicans, or Aztecs, developing nects them closely with the Mexicanos ; toward an alphabet. The use of this but their language does not seem tohas ceased, and they are now all writ- me to warrant it, bearing in its roots. ten by means of alphabets given to and formations only a very small rethem by the Spanish conquerors. semblance to the more cultured Nahuatl. It is not, however, with- In detail: The Otomis are one of the out elements of strength and force, most widely distributed of the native and must have been well suited to the· races, being found in five States of the neeas of a hardy, warlike people. Republic, and in a ward of the national capital. They seem to be The Zapoteca may be taken as the· among the most intelligent, and cer- representative of a family of dialects. tainly are among the most industri- sometimes classed as the Mixteco-Za– ous inhabitants of the country. They poteca. As a refined language, this number about 700,000, of whom many would doubtless be ranked as next to. of course have more or less knowledge the Nahuatl, though the two seem aI– of the Spanish language; but the most entirely distinct. A very consid- .greater number still retain and con- erable literature, comparatively speakstantly use their own. This is one of ing, has been formed by translations. the most complicated of the so-called Indian languages. Unlike most of • There are some excellent monographs the others, it abounds in vocals hav- worthy of study, such as Brenton's, on ing no less than sixteen vowels. It is tbe Mayas, in tbe south, and their language. usually spoken of as harsh and rude -J.T.G. and a few original compositions. This soldier and the Roman priest h.as been was the native language of Mexico's to destroy all that, in the old ciziliza- most illustrious statesman, Benito tion, was worthy of preservation, and .Juarez. to make the entrance of the tr:ue The Nahuatl, or Mexicano, was the ,Gospel ten fold harder now than it language of the Aztecs, and, as well, . would have been four hundred years of their predecessors, the Toltecs. It ago.
is the most cultured and elaborate of Protestantism has as yet attempted .all these ancient tongues, as the peoples very little toward the evangelization who used it were the most refined and of the native races. A few who are progressive. In no sense is it a bar- able!' to be reached through the Span- barous dialect, but rather a worthy ish language have been gained. In a ·compeer of any ancient classic speech, few points work is conducted among furnished with all the elements re- them by means of native workers who quired by a people great in arms, state- are able to speak the Indian languages.
craft and literature. To-day it is But I do not think there is in the Re- :spoken by about 1,750,000, dwelling in public a single American missionary .sixteen States of the Republic, and able to preach in any indigenous forming nearly one-sixth of the whole tongue, nor more than one or two even population. Its extant literature far able to converse in it.
exceeds that of any of the other native During the year 1889, the press of languages. the Methodist Episcopal Mission in the The number of people in Mexico to- City of Mexico has issued the Gospel day who still speak some one of the in- by Luke in the Nahuatl, the necessary digenous languages, is very little less funds being furnished by gentlemen than 4,000,000, out of a total popUlation in the United States. The work is a ·()fless than 12,000,000.* reprint of an older edition that had Toward the Christianization of these almost wholly been destroyed. It millions, there has been done by the seems to have been partly revised, Roman Catholic Church-not any- though a very slight knowledge of the thing. True, very few among them language shows one that it still lacks are unfamiliar with the cross and much of being a faIthful translation.
rosary, and very few have never heard This one Gospel is the only portion of the names Jesus and Maria, but these the Holy Scriptures, excepting a few .are to them only the symbols of a blind verses, as the Lord's Prayer, available fetichism. Certain branches of the in any of the native languages.* old paganism have been lopped off The Roman Church, with all her and replaced by shoots of a pseudo- boasted learning, never has attempted 'Christianity. Planted in Mexico by this first duty of missionary labor-to . men whose hands were foul with every give the Holy Scriptures to the people.
·crime of blood and lust, the Roman These, from among many facts of Church has wrought nothing other interest, must suffice. Upon them I ihan the works of its fathers. " The base the following suggestions: Mexican Church," says one, "fills no These peoples should not, alone mission of virtue, no mission of mo- among the nations of the world, be rality, no mission of mercy, no mission forbidden to hear of "the wonderful ()f charity. Virtue cannot exist in works of God" in their "own lan- its pestiferous atmosphere. The code guages." This is emphasized by the of morality; does not come within its fact that they are living and dying practice." The work of the Spanish * There is in existence a MS. copy of the * The 1lgi.res of this article are based upon Four Gospels in Nahuatl. The writer saw it several times in Mexico city. It is now somethe "Cuadro Geografico" of Sr. Antonio where in the United States. -Garcia Cubas. within a few hours of our very doors. The character of mission work But the missions already established among these peoples must be from the in Mexico have already fields de- foundation. The priest has scarce manding all that they can expend of placed a stone upon which it will be money or labor, while the unap- safe to build. The same is true with proached Spanish-speaking popula-, regard to literary work. The alpha- tion offers room for the expansion of bets given to these languages by the many years. Thus, it seems that the padres are without exception faulty, establishment of special missions to and their grammars attempt to force the Mexican indigenes offers a favor- into the moulds of the Latin and able field for some missionary society Spanish languages that have scarce not already engaged in that Republic. a trace of likeness to them. This Such a step would, of course, meet work is of value now only to the stu- the opposition of some, as did even dent who is able to detect and reject the publication of the Nahuatl Gospel. their mistakes.
It will be urged-as it has been urged The limits of this article forbid more -that the keeping alive of any sparks than the briefest suggestion of the of the old civilization, as such an ef- possible results. The indigenes are, I· fort implies, would be disintegrating believe, equal in mental and physical in its effect upon the Republic, and endowment and vastly superior in would be so looked upon by the Gov- morals to the Spanish-speaking popu- ernment. This objection is of no lation. Upon them must, in a great weight with anyone who has noticed measure, depend the solution of some the growing native-Mexican spirit in of the problems of Mexico's state and both the literature and politics of the social life. Experience, such as has country. It is also objected that any been had, shows that they are not such effort is unnecessary, as the pres- more difficult to reach than their ent generation of Indians can be neighbors. The" everlasting gospel"
reached by the employment of native does the same work in the heart of an workers in connection with Spanish Aztec that it does in the heart of a missions, while succeeding genera- Saxon. It is only a question of effort, tions will have ceased to use the native and light can at last shine in this tongues. I doubt if the history of ancient darkness, and these long op- Christian missions. furnished an ex- pressed peoples can be endowed with ample of equally great peoples evan- the" heavenly citizenship."
gelized without the direct use of their REV. DR. HAMLIN'S VIEWS.
language and the creation of a Chris- When the subject of the use of the tian literature. And I do not believe, vernaculars of Mexico for missionary judging from the history of the past purposes, and the propriety of pub- three and a half centuries, that the lishing the Gospels in one or more of Spanishcan ever supplant the stronger these tongues, was under discussion three or four of the :Mexican verna- at the International Missionary Union culars. Meeting at Bridgeton, N. J., the Rev.
The initial step of such an effort Cyrus Hamlin, D. D., gave utterance should be an exploration to determine to his views and experiences on the the dependence of the various sec- general subject, and especially on the tions of the country upon the native application of the principle advo- languages, the dialectic changes, the cated, and, as these views of the ven- customs and many other questions erable and vigorous founder of Robert concerning which there is not now College are of value, and the facts al- sufficient information. Such an ex- luded to concerning the Armenian ploration might be so conducted with- language are of force and fitness in out financial loss. this discussion, we present now a .summary of ·Dr. Hamlin's address at waYs follow every translation, sooner the time referred to. He said : or later. It reconstructs its language " I regard the subject of the trans- by bringing it into new use. It re-.
.lation of the Bible into any unevan- constructs it by reconstructing the .gelized language, as one of prime im- mind and heart, and new meanings j)Ortance. If Mexico is to be evangel- come into old words. Let the Bible ized, it will be done through the native enter among those Mexican tribes en- languages of the people, Spaniards, forced by the love of missionaries, and Aztecs, Zapotacas, or what not. We it will make all things new. They have had a somewhat parallel condi- w1ll never be evangelized through the tion of things in Turkey. The Turk- Spanish.
ish language is the language of the Missionary Education in China. Empire, as much as the Spanish is of Mexico; but there are fragments of Now that the subject of higher edu- nations conserving more or less their cation as a missionary agency is beown languages, and we have used ing debated, it is well to note the those languages as the channels of the gospel to them. The translation of angle of vision of some persons on the Bible has been life from the dead, the field, who might claim to be unnot only to the people, but to their prejudiced because outside the circle languages. Fifty or sixty years ago the modern Armenian was a gross of participants. The Ohinese Times is and vulgar language, ungrammatical, an independent secular weekly paper full of foreign idioms and words of published at Tientsin, in North China. ¥i1eness and blasphemy, and it was The Methodist Episcopal Mission has regarded by the people as a desecra- for some time past had an education to translate the Word of God into it, and it must be confessed the first tional institution at that place known translation was very imperfect. It as the "Wiley Institute," named >could not be otherwise, for the instru- for the late Bishop Wiley, once an ment itself was very imperfect; but efficient missionary of this church in the most imperfect language can express the Sermon on the Mount, and China. The Ohinese Times had a 'some of the most beautiful Psalms leading editorial a little while ago on .and the gospel narratives, with clear- the relation of this institution, which ness. The first Armenian translation was immediately attacked and ridi- has now become incorporated as -culed by Jesuit missionaries and >others. Replies were made to them; "The Peking University," to the gen- -criticisms, friendly and unfriendly, eral situation at present in China. were noticed. Altercation sprang The editorial referred to says: up. The language grew. It began to drop off incongruous elements. Af- " The prospectus of t~s institution "ter ten or fifteen years a new transla- shows it to be the natural develoption was demanded and made, greatly ment of the Methodist Episcopal improved upon the first, because the Mission in Pekin~, which grew first language was undergoing a transfor- into 'Wiley Instltute,' and is now mation. Since then a third revision about to pass into the more advanced has been made. The language has stage of the Peking University. The become a cultivated language, and ca- title is apt to strike those who hear it pable of expressing, with great clear- for the first time as ambitious, and ness, the truths, the facts, and the sen- even audacious, but when calmly timents of the Bible. This will al- considered it is scarcely out of keep- ing with the general tone which the outer nations assume towards China.
" The assumption not only of un- doubted superiority, but of the right to impose that superiority on the Chinese, has a substantial basis of fact to rest upon, and whether it can be altogether justified on the princi- ple of non-interferenpe or not makes no practical difference. Facts come before theories, and if no formula yet exists to explain the fitness of the .domination which the foreign spirit is a brief history of the present' Wiley resolved to exercise on the Chinese Institute,' and a report by the princi- mind, such a fonnula will in time be pal, Rev. L. W. Pilcher, for the year ·.discovered. Meantime the aggressive 1887-88. These well-written papers movement is in full play and the show what a very good foundation forces behind the movement are ap- has been already laid in Peking for parently too potent to be seriously the new university, and what oppor- hindered in their operation by anr tunities of teaching the future literati obstacles whatever. The Peking Um- and official class, the teaching of the versify, under the auspices of an new sciences would give them. These American Mission Board, is an apt papers are backed up by a stirring ar- expression of the whole attitude of ticle by Bishop Fowler, who is Cllan- enlightened foreigners towards the cellor of the new university." ()hiriese Empire. .As such it deserves the best consideration which we can The International 14isaionary Union. give it. The Seventh Annual Meeting of the " The idea of this university seems International Missionary Union will be to have been flashed into the mind of held at Clifton Springs, N. Y., the lat- Bishop Fowler, during a recent visit to ter part of June next. Peking, by the ImJ?6rial Edict which .allowed Western SCIence to share with The invitation from Dr. Henry Fos- Chinese learning in the honors of the ter, the founder of the famed Sani- tarium at Clifton Springs, to the Union .competitive examinations. ' Here,' to hold a session at that place, has thought the Bishop, ' is our oppor- been a standing one for three years tunity. The Chinese Government past, but not till now has it seemed provides the motive for study in the practicable to accept the generous of- reward it offers for success, but it fer. The Sanitarium is so widely <does not furnish the means of study. known as a local point of missionary We will supply the want, and with interests, that it needs no introduction the teaching of science we will mingle to missionaries. We do not know the teaching of Christianity in such a what number of hundreds of mission- way as to spread the :principles among aries have received the advantages of the literati of China. treatment and of a home in this insti- tution while invalids or semi-invalids. " The missionary spirit is as much The spiritual atmosphere of the place a. living force in the world as the has always been spiritually hygienic, greed of gain or the passion for and if it is possible for sectarianism to knowledge, and the China field is so lose caste and color more thoroughly large and attractive that we may anywhere else in the land than here, reckon on substantial and perhaps we can not name the place. The ofstartling results of its operations in ficers of the Union have never urged the course of a generation or two. It missionaries to attend the annual is probably the most potent factor of meetings. It has been enough just to the coming invasion of China, and, as announce where it was to be held, and ,such, challenges attention to its all returned missionaries-men and methods. And if by discussion and women-who could possibly command free comparison these methods could the time and money and had the be in any degree divested of error, strength, gravitated thither, like .and their success assured without the "doves to their windows." But if it drawbacks which are apt to mar all were necessary to appeal to the brethgreat enterprises, then public benefit ren and sisters to be courteous to an will be certain to result from the ven- invitation, it would not be easy to tilation of missionary work outside over-emphasize the claims of Dr. Fosthe professional sphere. It is, on this ter and the Sanitarium to the compliaccount at any rate, that we consider ment of a largeattendance. Of course, it our duty to direct attention from time to time to what the missionary body is doing, and the new Peking University marks a most important :stage in that work.
" The appeal of the Methodist Epis- ·copal Mission to the liberality of the United States is for the round sum of half a million dollars to build and endow the university, of which a copy ·of the design is given in the prospectus. The appeal is accompanied by the physical advantages and charms evangelistic work effected by the often. of Clifton Springs are second to no maligned Christian College at Madras. health resort in the land. Missionaries of which he is a professor. Soneed not feel unwelcome in a place stro~gly was it felt that missionary which for a third of a century has education is a branch of evangelisticbeen dedicated to their physical up- work, that a protest was entered building. against the proposal, now favored in. many quarters, to substitute laymen We make this early announcement for missionaries in charge of educaof the next meeting, that all returned tional institutions. This approval of missionaries in the country may be educational· work did not involve. able to make their summer plans to in- however, any undervaluing of agenclude this meeting. Also, we wish to cies more obviously evangelistic. urge upon every member of the Union Preaching to low castes and nonnow abroad, to send some communi- castes has of recent years been prosecation, longer or shorter, to this meet- cuted with increased energy in seving. They are all members of the "Out- eral of the fields occupied by the Weslook Committee," and are expected to 1eyan Society, which has thus anticireport· on the situation in their part of pated the clamor that has recently the world. Either the President, arisen for the evangelization of the Rev. J. T. Gracey, D. D., 183 Glen- masses. This work will still hold a wood Avenue, Buffalo, N. Y., or the foremost place in the policy and oper- Secretary, Rev. W. H. Belden, Bridge- ations of Wesleyan missionaries; but ton, New Jersey, will receive these at the same time they are not inclined papers. to abandon those means of presenting the Gospel to higher, yet more be- India Wesleyans on Recent Criti- nighted, classes which their educacisms.-The Fifth General Confer- tional institutions afford. ence of Wesleyan Missionaries in India assembled at Bangalore at the -The questionof the employmentof' close of 1889, and sat for eleven days. a cheaper Europeanagencythan the or- Since they held a similar meeting dinarymissionary, is one that has lately three years ago, the work in Ceylon been prominently before the Weshas so far developed as to demand a 1eyan Society, as it has been beforeseparate organization and an inde- others. Experiments have been made pendent Conference for that Island. on some of the stations of the Society There were 24 ministers present from in South India; but the results so far every part of India and Burmah. have not been very encouraging. The Conference considered the ques- The Indian Methodist Times says: tion with much carefulness and in " On the subject of higher education great detail, and while it expressed as a missionary agency, the' Confer- its willingness to give the system a. ence showed that its views had not fair trial, it did not express much been at all affected by recent noisy hope that a permanent relief forcontroversies. It affirmed the im- straitened funds or a large multipliportance of maintaUring all the exist- cation of missionary resources could ing educational institutions of the So- be looked for in this direction. The· ciety, and the desirability, in some qualifications which must be required places, of adding to them. It heartily of European lay agents, the minimum encouraged the brethren in Calcutta rates of stipend at which their health to support and co-operate in the and efficiency could be maintained, scheme for a united Christian College and the kind of service in which they in that city, and the Rev. Gao. Pat- could be most effectively employed,. terson testified, in a remarkable speech, to the powerful and extensive
THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF'MISSIONS
were all duly considered and reported ized in the removal of all hinderances on to the Home Committee. to the settlement of herself and fellow- workers among the women of Kash- -The death is announced of Dr. mir. She was thoroughly qualified Fanny J.'Butler of Srinagar Kashmir. for her work, and was a most compe- She went out in 1880 as the representa- tent physician and a most earnest tive of the Church of England Ze- and devoted missionary. "Our sisters nana Missionary Society, and was sta- have had to mourn over the removal of tioned at Jabalpur, and about a year several of their most honored workers ago was transferred to her present lo- in the last three or four years, but cation, and passed away just as the no loss is greater than this," says the great desire of her heart had been real- Missionary Intelligencer.
V.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
BY REV. F. F. ELLINWOOD, D.D.
Mexico. murder, and a slavery which was al- Before the year 1519. heathenism most worse than murder, are not edi- bore unquestioned sway in the Valley fying topics. Disgrace, rather than of Mexico. It was not without some glory, was reflected upon the Christian redeeming qualities. It was attended name. So grievous did the general by an advanced civilization; it was system of peonage become in the first presided over by a mild and humane twenty-five years, that in 1642 an op- sovereign, whose laws promoted the pressed people rose in a formidable re- general welfare of the people; yet in bellion against the Spaniards, and it its prevailing religious rites it was one proved so far successful that Charles of the bloodiest and most cruel of all V. of Spain issued an edict abolishing systems. Under the Aztec rule it the enslavement of the Indians, and had taken on cruel observances as a whatever forms of oppression tended war measure. The Aztecs, in con- to degrade them. But the planters quering the Toltecs, substituted for were not to be foiled, if "money, in- their gentle and grateful offerings of fluence, false,4ood and intrigue" could fruits and flowers, the awful rites of prevent it. A strong delegation sent human sacrifice. Cowardice dictated to Spain caused the edict to be re- this method of disposing of prisoners voked. In 1550, Velasquez, as vice- taken in war-at the same time that roy, made another effort in behalf of the fostering of a bloodthirsty spirit the peons, but Phillip II. had come to was supposed to give new valor to the the throne, and he was not a man to Aztec soldiery. appreciate humane measures. The THE SPANISH PROPAGANDA. people sank even lower into that deg- In the full noontide of this Aztec pow- radation from which three centuries er, the Spaniard appeared on the east- have not been sufficient to raise them.
ern coast, and the mysterious symbol In 1572 another and peculiar mis- of a cross was borne before his daunt- sionary agency was established in less troops. This was ostensibly a re- Mexico in the form of the Spanish In- ligious crusade-a missionary enter- quisition. If this could secure purity prise. Paganism was to be done of faith in one hemisphere, why not away, and the beneficent reign of in another? Out of its dark history Christi!l-nity was to take its place. an occasional flash of lurid light ap- But over the opening scenes of this pears, only to reveal the blackness of Spanish Propaganda de Fide it were the night. One or two illustrations.
charitable to draw a veil. Perfidy, will suffice. At a single auto-da-fe cruelty, robbery, bloodshed, wholesale in 1659, fifty persons were burned alive, the viceroy presiding on the oc- the Mexican people had a heavy score casion. .As late as 1872 or 1873, when to settle with the Papacy, and they the Methodist Missionaries were re- proceeded with the business right modeling an old mOI).astery at Pueblo earnestly. Every trace of the Em- for a church and school, they found pire was obliterated, the Jesuits were the skeletons of heretics walled into again expelled from the country, the its subterranean dungeons. In 1776 rich estates of the Church-the fruits the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico of centuries of extortion-were largely by a concerted movement of the chief confiscated; the monasteries were cities. thrown open, religious liberty was proclaimed; the Bible, hitherto ex- THE RISE OF THE REPUBLIC. cluded, was granted free course, and Protestant enlightenment was wel- In 1808 Napoleon I. usurped the comed. throne of Spain, and led on to great results in America. Two years after The First Napoleon, by his blunderthat usurpation and the crowning of a ing ambition, had sprung that move- Bonaparte in place of Ferdinand VII., ment for civil liberty which extended Guadaloupe Hidalgo, a cure of Guan- not only over Mexico, but over all the axato, raised the standard of inde- Spanish-American States in the short pendence. The cause of Liberty was space of twenty years, and now the finally won in 1821, and the Republic Second Napoleon, while also attemptwas established in 1824. A year ing to dispense thrones and sceptres, later the Mexican Congress framed becomes the unconscious instrument a constitution, which declared the in securing religious liberty. Roman Catholic religion to be the faith of the country forever, and it From 1519 till 1867, or through the forbade the exercise of any other form entire period of 348 years, the Roman ()f worship. Catholic Church of Spain had been engaged in <Jivilizing and Christianiz- In 1835 President Santa Anna abol- ing Mexico. Waiving the question, ished the State Governments, and in whether any advance had been made -consequence Texas and Yucatan de- in civilization, whether the welfare of ~lared their independence. the whole people was in any degree better cared for before the arrival of In 1846 Texas was a~mitted into the Maximillian than before the landing United States, and the Mexican war of Cortez-what had been done in the followed, which resulted two years way of spiritual enlightenment as the later in the accession of Arizona, New result of a propaganda of 300 years? Mexico, California and a part of Nevada, to the United States. A FRENCH-CATHOLIC ESTIlIIATE OF THE MEXICAN CHURCH. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. The testimony of a French-Catholic priest, who visited Mexico at the time, In 1864, Maximillian, an archduke and resided for some time in the ()f Austria, was placed on the so- country, will be accepted as unbiased. called throne of Mexico by Napoleon Emanuel Domenech was a chaplain III., and the Republic was declared to in the invading army of Napoleon be at an end. Three years later, Na- III., and he became director of the poleon III. having withdrawn his press in the Empire of Maximillian. troops through fear of the armies of His observations were published in the United States-now released from Paris in 1867, under the title, "Le duu"y by the close of the War of the Mexique Tell Qu'il Est." First he Rebellion-Maximillian was arrested speaks of the clergy, as follows : "The and shot by order of President Juarez. clergy are in general very poorly edu- At the close of this effort-in which cated. They have the most errone- Pope, Cardinals and Mexican Bishops had joined-to destroy the Republic, <Qus and absurd ideas of morals and of the devil with God, the absence of in- ternal exercises of pietr, have killed Catholic dogma. • • . They traffic the faith in Mexico. It IS vain to seek in the sacraments, make money out any good fruit from this worthless 'of every religious ceremony, undis- tree, which makes the Mexican relig- ion an assemblage of heartless devoturbed by the fact that they become tion, shameful ignorance, insane su- perstition, and hideous vice. • . In guilty of simony, and liable to the vain you seek in this country, called Catholic, houses of refuge for the aged censure of the church. If the laws and indigent, for 'penitents fallen through betrayal and misery, or for of Rome were to be enforced in Mexico, works of benevolence and mercy. • • In Mexico, faith inspires nothing, inthe majority of the Mexican clergy vents nothing; it does not even imi- tate-it is a fossil. . • • The idolwould be excommunicated. Mr. Biart atrous character of Mexican Catholi- has said that 'the priests are forcing cism is a fact well known to all trav- the people to live in Qoncubinage, by elers. The worship of saints and ma- donnas so absorbs the devotion of the -exacting from them for the marriage people that there is little time left to think of God. . . . For want of {)eremony a sum which the Mexican serious instruction, you find in the Catholicism of the Indians numerous laborer, in view of the low scale of remains of the old Aztec paganism."
wages, could not accumulate in five REASONS FOR CARRYING ON PROTEST- years of the strictest economy.' There ANT MISSIONS IN MEXICO.
is little exaggeration in this. The ac- We are often asked, "Why send {)ounts which Abbe Domenech gives missionaries to Roman Catholic coun- of the scandalous lives of the priests tries?" The above extract must sup- have never been surpassed by any ply the answer. The virtual pagan- which were published by Protestants. ism of the priests and the moral cor- As to the rapacity and the consequent ruption of the people are admitted.
wealth of the Church, the Abbe de- Last summer an intelligent American dares that three-fifths of the cities priest said: ' , We send missionaries to were in 1867 occupied by convents Mexico and South America to convert and churches. "I do not speak," he our priests." A distinguished Mexi- says, "of the fabulous riches of these can general, whom we had the honor churches. I think it right that the to meet on a steamer from New York temples of God should be better adorn- to Vera Cruz, expressed a hope that ed than the apartments of a stock- Protestant churches would be multi- broker; but is it not a lie in a man to plied in Mexico, as a means of elevat- make a profession of poverty, and ing, by their influence, the Mexican then live in possession of abundance Ohurch itself, and making it more like and comfort, as the ecclesiastics of the Oatholic Ohurch in the United Spanish America do?" States. If even the priests need con- Of the people, the Abbe says: "The verting, and if intelligent statesmen Mexican is not a Catholic. He is a Christian, simply because he has been and army officers welcome, and even baptized. I speak of the masses, and not of numerous exceptions in all desire, the influence of Protestantism, classes of society. I say that Mexico is not a Catholic country. First, be- there would surely seem to be an open cause a majority of the native population are semi-idolaters. Second, be- door. It would be a criminal indiffercause the majority of the Mexicans carry ignorance of religion to such a ence and neglect not to heed the call. point that they have no other worship than that of forms; it is materialism With regard to sending priests to without a doubt. Third, because the clergy themselves in general have lit- convert priests, they are in fact sent tle education, know very little of theology, and are ignorant of the canoni- from Spain and Italy, and not from cal laws and of the decrees of councils. . . • Mexican faith is a the United States. It is whispered in dead faith. The abuses of external ceremonies, the facility of reconciling Mexico that the real design is not so much to convert the Mexican priesthood to Christianity, as to Ultramon- the city. In 1872 the Presbyterian tanism-to overcome dangerous tend- Church (North) established missions encies toward independent republican- in Mexico City and in Zacatecas. The ism and a national spirit, and to bring Methodist Church (North) soon fol- them under the more thorough con- lowed ; also the Southern Methodists, trol of the Vatican. If this be so, the Southern Baptists; the Southern there is not less, but greater reason, Presbyterians, and the Congregation- for extending the free and enlightened alists. spirit of American Protestantism, lest the last state of the Church be worse The work of these various Christian than the first. And it must be Ameri- bodies has prospered along all the can Protestantism, if any, that shall usual lines of missionary labor. accomplish this work. Our geographi- Churches, schools of various grades, cal position is such that other Protest- printing presses and colportages have ant nations will naturally assign the been established, and many religious task to us. Weare only separated books have been translated into the from Mexico by a river. Great rail- Spanish, and several able religious road lines have already crossed the papers are now published. We shall border at different points, and the two not deal with statistics here, except to countries are bound together by a state that the membership of the thousand commercial bonds. Mexico churches now number many thous- and Central America are in sympathy ands; but there are some special feat- with our institutions. They have ures of the work which may be specadopted them, in fact, and their states- ially noticed. men have more than once expressed the desire that their countrymen may 1. It has never been free from perenjoy the same liberty of thought and secution. In one case, an American the same general enlightenment which missionary fell a victim to the hatred we possess. of the priesthood, and at least two others narrowly escaped. Of native WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. ministers and people, many have fallen, and a still larger number have Even before the collapse of the been maimed. Even within a month Maximillian Empire and the procla- stones have been thrown at the winmation of religious freedom by the re- dows of a newly dedicated church. stored Republic, good seed had been These acts of violence have invariaplanted, and was only waiting for the bly been instigated by the priesthood proper conditions for growth. With -never by the Government officials. the American army, under General It is greatly to the credit of the au- Scott, many Bibles found their way thorities, from the President down, into Mexico. Here and there little that they have, as a rule, striven to bands assembled together to read the carry out the guarantees of religious Book, which was almost as new and freedom, and to punish their violation. strange as if it had just descended out One of the most fanatical States of of heaven. Its messages were re- the Republic is Guerrero, and it is ceived with joy by many hearts, and only the determined spirit of its Govlittle churches – the "ecclesire" of ernor, Arce, that has prevented the apostolic days were formed in private extirpation of the Protestant cause. houses. Somewhere about 1870, Father Aguas and other priests in the 2. The work of the various societies capital began to proclaim a free and has in the main been well organized. blessed gospel of faith and of power. It has wisely considered permanence Aided by the Rev. Mr. (afterwards and self-reliance in the churches. It Bishop) Riley, Protestant congrega- has fostered a national spirit, and has tions were organized in and around studiously avoided all appearance of a desire to hold Mexican Protestantism_ by any American leash, or in any way not extend to the smaller States on its (as has often enough been hinted) to southern border. Nevertheless, at open the way for anriexation. Belize and along .he Mosquito Coast, Great attention has been paid to the there has been a limited missionary training ofa native ministry. In few work for several years, and there have mission fields is the work so largely been times of remarkable refreshing done by native preachers, or done so in the Wesleyan Missions of that field.
well. Whether Methodists or Pres- Altogether, the most progressive of byterians, these men are true" itin- the Central American States is Gua- erants." Mounted on Mexican ponies, temala, and yet until within the last they ride over mountain roads where six years, there was no such thing as a no vehicle could be used, and often Protestant religious service in the en- long distances, to villages where be- tire State, with its million and a half lievers from half a dozen hamlets as- inhabitants.
semble to hear the Word with glad- The history of the establishment of ness. It has been our privilege to the Mission of the Presbyterian Board hear from some of them truly elo- in its capital is full of interest. In ,quent appeals. 1884 President Barrios, of Guatemala, 3. For the most part there is an and Minister Romero, of Mexico, were admirable spirit of harmony and co- at Washington, seeking the arbitra- operation between the different Mis- tion of President Arthur in a bound- sionary Boards and Societies. Rules ary question between their respective <>f comity, which had been agreed States. Their relations personally 'upon have, with few exceptions, been seemed to be friendly, and other mat- ,observed. Rivalries in the price of- ters than the question in dispute were fered to native laborers are avoided, discussed. While President Barrios and it is rare that efforts have been and his staff were stopping for a time made to convert to the tenets of a in New York, Senor Romero wrote a particular sect those who have al- note to a gentleman in the city, inti- ready been converted to Evangelical mating that the President of Guate- truth. Conferences of a friendly char- mala would gladly welcome the estab- acter are held from time to time, and lishment of a Protestant mission steps. have been taken to economize among his countrymen, and he sugges- missionary resources by the establish- ted that the fact be communicated to ment of a Union Protestant College. some of the missionary societies. The There is great reason and great en- contents of the note were made known couragement to unite in a "Concert to a secretary of the Presbyterian of Prayer" for the one missionary Board, who sought an interview with work of Mexico as a whole. the President, which proved to be of the most cordial and satisfactory char- Guatemala. acter. Full protection and every fa- The Central American States have cility were promised, and even the not been the theatre of extended Prot- traveling expenses of the missionary estant Missions. Insalubrity of cli- to the field, though this was not ac- . mate has doubtless been one obstacle cepted. A missionary family was ,supposed, and the unsettled state of sent out promptly, and in fact they the country, as well as the general accompanied the President on the fanaticism of the people, has also had steamer from San Francisco to Gua- its influence. The impulse communi- temala. A few months later two cated to Mexico twenty-five years ago young ladies were sent to establish a by the re-establishment of the Repub- girls' school.
lic, and the general awakening of the The proInises of the President were 13pirit of liberty among its people, did generously fulfilled, and several American and British residents lent try furnishes such varying degrees of their influence to the work. Upon altitude as to secure healthful condi- the death of President Barrios, it was tions-and such is the obvious need feared that serious reaction might fol- of enlightenment that there is reason low under the administration of his to believe that the authorities every- successor; but, fortunately, the new where, in spite of the bigotry of the, President, Senor Barrillos, has also ex- priesthood, will guarantee liberty and tended full protection to the Protest- protection. Whatever may be the is- ants in all their rights. A change in sue of the schemes now discussed for- the missionary force, which left the transit from the Atlantic to the Pa- work of the little church for a time cific, the geographical position which without a head, seriously retarded these small States hold in the commu- the work; but it is again in a flour- nity of nations will rapidly increase ishing condition. Two ordained mis- their commercial importance and sionaries and two unmarried ladies bring them into contact on all sides, are at present engaged. Suitable and with the active forces of the age.
commodious buildings have been The status of the Roman Catholic purchased during the year, and the Church in Central America is that of mission is regarded as now estab- the Middle Ages. The period of Lu- lished on a solid foundation. The ther and Zwingle has not yet come.
church membership is pot large, nor but it will be hastened; the country is there a long list of pupils in the has waited long. Yet not exactly a.
schools ; but the right to exist in the Luther is needed-the times require a face of Catholic prejudice, the tried somewhat different method. An fidelity of the Government in the equal earnestness, but more of con- maintenance of every right, and the ciliation is demanded. It has been general sympathy of the foreign com- fully demonstrated in the efforts made'
munity, as well as of many natives- in Roman Catholic countries in this all these are assured. hemisphere, that not denunciation is.
The climate is salubrious, and the needed, but the 'plain, kind, and per- country beautiful. The people are sistent presentation of a more excel- impressible, and the Romish priest- lent way. The Government of Gua- hood are at least incapable of serious temala, while extending complete· harm. The Indian tribes of the in- protection, and giving every facility terior, not very firmly held by -the to Protestant missionary effort, has.
Catholic padres, are peculiarly recep- made known its want of sympathy tive. Unlike the Indians ofthe United with anything like an assailment States and Canada, whose roaming of the errors or corruptions of the ancestors have lived for generations Roman Catholic Church; and this we by the chase, the aborigines of Guate- believe to be the sentiment of those'
mala are industrious, for so warm a liberal minded statesmen in all the latitude, and for the most part thrifty. Spanish-American Republics who are They present a most promising field most ready to extend a welcome to.
for missionary labor. Protestant effort and influence. There The signfiCance of this young mis- is scarcely one of these States in which sion is much broader than the meas- instances of this enlightened spirit_ ure of its present results would show. have not been shown. If President, It is a demonstration of feasibility and Juarez was ready to welcome and success. It is an encouragement for protect Protestant missions; if the- other organizations to establish mis- noble minded General Esquibedo,_ sions in the Central American States. though a sincere Catholic, could wish The existence of mountain ranges for the organization of Protestant through the whole extent of the COUll- churches in Mexico; if Minister Ro-
EDITORIAL NOTES ON ClJRRENT TOPICS
mero could intercede for the extension and simply do the work of earnest, of the same work into Guatemala, and Christlike evangelists-simply show her own President could invite mis- the purity and beauty of a true gossionaries into his capital,-are not the pel; or to change from the standpoint sentiments of these broad minded and of statesmanship to that of the New noble men worthy of being heeded? Testament, shall they not show the Shall not missiontlries take counsel spirit of Christ at the well of Samaria, from their moderation and charity, and the tact of Paul at Athens ?
VI.-EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.
The Oonference at Brussels. into slave trade territories, the estab- At the Anti-Slavery Congress, which lishment of stronglyoccupied stations, opened in November, delegates were and the placing of efficient cruisers present from the United States, Great upon the waters of the interior. The Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Powers having territorial interests in Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Africa are to assist each other, and Italy, Norway, Sweden, the Congo may commit their work to chartered Free Statel and even from Turkey and companies, and also protect private Persia. Its task is a difficult one, and companies whose object may be to it is compelled to move slowly. It had crush the slave trade. Among these been much easier if the death of Gor- proposals there are also particular don and the fall of Khartoum had not stipulations for the punishment of extinguished the germs ot civilization slave traders and their accomplices, which had been introduced into the for the just disposal of fugitive and valley of the Upper Nile. Although liberated slaves, and for negotiations the work of the Conference progresses with such African States as have not slowly, it is none the less likely to give signed the General Act of the Confer- a decided impetus to effort for the sup- ence, with a view to obtaining their pression of the evil. The Powers have adhesion to its action. and to the in- assembled through their representa- terdiction of fire-arms and munitions tives for the purpose of entering upon of war.
a united and determined crusade The fact that these propositions are against this great outrage upon hu- said to be generally regarded with manity, and their determination will favor by the members of the Confer- be opportunely stimulated by recent ence, leads us to hope that the work occurrences in Africa. Two commit- of that body will not disappoint the tees have been appointed; one to re- earnest expectations of the civilized port upon the most available measures world. To the latter the recent cable for the suppression of the traffic by despatch from Rome makes the sur- sea, the other by land; to the former prising announcement that the Pope of which the English representatives was not invited to send a delegate to have proposed the right of searching this Congress. If this be true, the vessels over a zone comprising the managers of that Congress have openly whole East African coast, from the slighted one who has manifested more Persian Gulf to Madagascar. sympathy with the purpose for which The Belgian Plenipotentiaries have it was called-to take measures to submitted proposals providing for the break up the slavetrade-and agreater necessary action in territories ruled or willingness to promote it, than several protected by civilized nations, for the ot its members, and a good cause may construction of highways and rail- suffer from the folly of its professed roads, the discontinuance of negro friends. But if, as reported. the Pope carriers, the prohibition of the impor- has been ignored in this indecorous tation of fire-arms and ammunition way at the instigation of the Italian Gove=ent, that Government has which has for ages ravished and deso- been guilty of an act which can lated African soil. J. M. S.
scarcely be excused by any degree of provocations to which it may have A Grand Farewell Meeting.
been subjected. A great meeting was held at Exeter Portugal is not represented at the Hall, London, Monday evening, Jan. 20.
Conference, and her position and prac- It was called by the Church Missionary tical policy are hostile to its object. Society, to take leave of the Rt. Rev.
Here may be found the explanation of Bishop Crowther, D. D., and the fol- the virtual failure of the combined lowing missionaries, about to depart English and German forces on the East far the Delta and Lower Niger Mis- African coast to suppress the infamous sion: The Rev. F. N. Eden, M. A., the slave trade. That trade has not been Rev. H. H. Dobinson, B. A., and Mr.
materially diminished in extent, and P. A. Bennett; for the Soudan and its cruelties seem to have been aggra- Upper Niger Mission: Mr. Graham vated, rather ·than alleviated, by the Wilmot Brooke and Mrs. Wilmot presence and possessions of the three Brooke, Rev. Eric Lewis, B. A., and European powers. If Portugal does not Miss L. W. Lewis, and Mr. C. F. Har- openly favor the old-fashioned slave ford-Battersby, B.A., M.B., M.R.C.S., trade, she certainly manifests no real the Rev. J. A. Robinson, 11. A., having and active sympathy with any efficient sailed on Jan. 15; for the Eastern Equa- efforts for its suppression. Among torial Africa Mission: Mr. Douglas the first, if not the first, of nominally A. L. Hooper, B. A., and Mrs. Hooper, Christian nations to engage in that Mr. G. L. Pilkington, B.A., Mr. G. A.
trade, she seems determined to be the Baskerville, B. A., and Mr. J. D. 1'1.
last to abandQn it. So far as she has Cotter, B. A., and for the Yoruba been able to do so, she has persistently Mission: Rev. H. Tugwell, B. A., and thwarted such efforts as England and Miss Aimee Wright. A goodly com- Germany combined, or singly, have pany of 16-12 of them men and 4 made for its suppression; and what women-and, what is very noticeable, she has done in the past, she may be mostly college graduates, and people expected- to do in the future. Only that represent the very flower of En- upon compulsion will she co-operate glish civilization and culture. Not with England and Germany, or with often does a sight so impressive and either, or with any other nation or inspiring greet our eyes.
nations, for the suppression of the Sir John Kennaway, M. P., pre- African slave trade, so long as that sided-a man who values far more trade can be made profitable to her- than all his titles and honors, the self. privilege of being President of the In view of this fact, the civilized Church Missionary Society. With a world has reason to rejoice at the bold few well chosen words, the meeting stand which the English Government was opened. Rev. Mr. R. Lang, Sec- has just taken in reference to the ab- retary for Africa, explained the na- surd claim of Portugal to territorial ture of the work to be undertaken.
rights in Africa. Not only is the action Two of the departing missionaries are of the English Government just in it- to go to the old Yoruba Mission, and self, but it is manifestly in the interest a large band are destined for the Niger of humanity and Africa's welfare. It field, under Bishop Crowther. Mr.
is quite time Portugal was made to see Lang remarked that an important and to realize that she can no longer question has been, whether that small defy the sentiment of the whole civ- church now existing on the west coast ilized world, and, for the sake of gain, can be expected to furnish needed h~lp to sustain the accursed traffic laborers for the evangelistic work demanded. And, as it seems unjust to which to address the vast assembly, -expect it, the C. M. S. has invited and never have we heard so many ad- these qualified workmen to go and dresses where there was nothing that live in Africa beside these people, and could have been left unsaid. Wilmot Brooke referred to the new ~onditions lead in evangelism.
The Niger Mission is not only to be under which the mission band goes Teinforced, but reorganized. 1. The forth. In Mohammedan lands, the upper portion is to be the scene of missionary, ordinarily being under labors comparatively new, or at least the regis of a nation feared by the extended on a new scale, on methods people, is put in the anomalous po- that will enable the native population sition of urging converts to brave dan- to realize the purpose of Evangelizing ger which he himself is not called to Agencies, and the missionaries will face. This band goes out, claiming live, as far as may be, on the level of no such governmental protection, and the natives-identified with them. venturing to dare the same perils -There will go out with Wilmot that the converts must face. Mr.
Brooke, a doctor for Medical Mission Lewis asked that prayer may be of- work at the base of this northern mis- fered _for "spirit-taught converts,"
sion, ladies also working with them who inay become winners' of souis side by side. 2. The Lower Niger themselves. Mr. Battersby said that Mission among the pagans, southward he had often said, that he " would not of the confluence of the two rivers-a be a doctor, and would not go to Af- vicar and his curate have left their rica," but found himself doing both.
parish at home to go abroad. On the Mr. Eden, of West Hartlepool, is East African side, Douglas Hooper the vicar, and Mr. Dobinson, the cu- leads a band, and in that band go rate, who leave their parishes for the "three of his own university friends. foreign field, believing that successors The principal of Ridley Hall, Rev. may be more easily found for them -G. Hundley Moule, who had trained than substitutes for them, as intending ,several of the missionaries, suggested workers in the African field. Mr.
that.those who stay at home should at Dobinson beautifully spoke of the least promise to pray for the depart- high level of preaching the gospel ing band, and keep the promise, re- to the nations, inasmuch as in Luke membering especially how, in the xxiv:_ 46-48, Christ puts this on the _,stifling atmosphere of Mohammedan- same plane as his own sufferings and ism and paganism, they need to be di- death.
vinely kept in the fresh air of God's In course of these addresses many own presence. Reference was also stirring and suggestive thoughts were made to the "African Prayer Union," presented, that the "good done by which meets on every Thursday for leaving home is often more than by specific supplication. staying," is often illustrated in the ef- The Bishop of the Niger, Crowther, fect of such consecrated examples.
then referred to the establishment of The resignation of two curates em- the Niger Mission in 1837, and the dif- braced in this party has already im- ficulties met and the obstacles sur- pressed some of their congregation, mounted during these fifty years. hitherto seemingly uninfluenced by The pioneering stage has passed, and their preaching. The long waiting the era of development begun. Pagan time was referred to as one of especial -chiefs see the folly of idolatry, and temptation, while the missionaries are -even Moslem leaders begin to ask for getting ready to go to work.
the knowledge of Christ. The motto of this out-going band is : Then the various men of the band "AFRICA FOR CHRIST,"
-were each given a few moments in "HIMSELF FOR ME." And on the reverse side of the more dread than overstatements.
printed motto is the verse: They are sure to be found out, and " Every step of the way, Lord! then they lead to an increasing skep- Yes, every step of the way, ticism." We gladly publish this re- Thine all is Mine, mark, both in order to correct the And I am Thine, overstatements, and to show the ani- For every step of the way."
In course of the addresses, Mr. mus of such men as Mr. Stock, in Mackay's words were quoted: "We seeking to avoid any romantic rose- have stolen Africans from .Africa, and colored presentation of the facts of now a process is going forward which missions. We were misinformed as is very much like stealing Africa from to the real intention and influence of the Africans;" and again it was aptly this institution, and are glad to correct said that the "civilization and com- any wrong impression.
merce which the natives are pressing The Statistical and Comparative upon the Dark Continent are but the Tables in the December number of the names for fire-arms and fire-water." REVIEW are regarded here as of such The evening abounded in appropri- value, that at a meeting held Jan. 22, atereferences to HolyScripture, among at Rochdale, Canon McClure, in re- which two impressed me as both very ferring to them, declared his intention striking and suggestive: II. Chroni- to have a copy of them placed in the cles xiii: 12-" And, behold God him- hands of every church member in self is with us for our Captain ;" John Rochdale. And Dr. R. W. Dale, the viii: 29-" He that sent me is with eloquent preacher and WI'iter, of Bir- me; the Father hath not left me mingham, publicly, and of his own alone." impulse, called the attention of the From these indications. our readers audience the previous evening to the'
may gather how deeply devotional in MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD, character, and how stimulating to pronouncing it "incomparably the heroic endeaver and endurance for best and most stimulating and help- Christ's sake, was this whole meeting. ful periodical on Missions to be found The Church Missionary Society is do- in the world." The compliment was, ing a most noble work, and deservedly as grateful as it was unexpected.
takes rank among the noblest socie- .A. T. P.
ties in the world in its furtherance of foreign missions. How far its great Medical Missions.-The Edinburgh leading men are from any disposition Medical Missionary Society will keep· to place the work of missions in any its Jubilee year in 1891. Rev. G. D.
deceptive light, may be inferred from Cullen, the venerable vice-president, the following note from my friend, is still living, though his name ap- Eugene Stock, Esq., one of its secre- pears in the first list of Directors in taries. Referring to an erroneous 1842. It is a Home and Foreign Mis- statement, which, by some inadver- sion .Agency, and abroad has Medical tence, crept into the article on Bishop Missionary Training Institutions in In- Crowther, he says: "In one sentence dia, Medical Missions in Nazareth and about the Preparandi Institution, I Damascus, a band of 28 students fit- cannot think whence came the idea ting for foreign service, and enrolls that it' is a 'centre of light for the from 60 to 70 fully qualified Medical whole coast.' It was only intended missionaries, formerly students of the for the Upper Niger. [It ought to be a Society.
centre of light for the whole coast, but The home work is centralized at the it is not, said Mr. Stock, to me.] Cer- Livingstone Memorial Training Insti- tainly, we have never published any- tution and Dispensary. The total thing of the sort. There is nothing I number of ministries to patients during the year 1889 was 10,089, an in- necessity for an appropriate special crease of 553 over the year before. education for missionaries is almost as This number includes only patients obvious as the necessity for having registered at their first visit. Includ- them; that if the demand for Mis- ing all visits, even where repeated, the sionaries be reasonable, so is the de- number rises to about 23,000. mand for their suitable preparation." After indicating the lines upon which Evangelistic work is carried on by a new departure in the education of the students in Cowgate and else- missionaries should be inaugurated, where. The famous Magdalen Chapel, such as a less rigidly fixed Arts cur- where John Knox preached, the birth- riculum, which would provide for the place of Scotch Presbyterianism, is student making himself faIniliar with the chapel of the Institute. The at- those subjects which would be of the tendance is so crowded that enlarge- greatest service to him in his future ment of premises is imperatively work-especially anthropology, and needed. Sometimes nightly services the science and history of religions- are held, and every effort is made to departments of knowledge with which serve the people-body and soul. missionaries ought certainly be ac- quainted, and instruction in which Since 1880, 44 students have left for Universities should certainly supply, service abroad, and 11 more are pre- Professor Flint proceeded to say: paring to graduate this year. " There is still to be desired, it seems to me, the directly practical training of Medical Missions have developed a ~tficiently equipped Evangelistic with amazing rapidity. When Dr. and Missionary Institution, placed in John Lowe went to India in 1861, the midst of a suitable training only 14 medical missionaries, with ground, such as the east end of Glas- British qualifications, were in the for- gow would furnish. Our Scottish eign field. Now there are 125, and Churches would do a very useful one-tenth of .these are ladies, and thing if they were to unite in setting nearly one-half of the whole number up and supporting such an Institu- from this Edinburgh Society. Besides, tion; they have been tried, and found there are some 140 from America. highly beneficial by other Churches in This goodwork is owing to Dr. Parker, other countries." who was the pioneer in the movement, and an American; but now the Edin- Mrs. Dr. Ohristlieb. burgh school is ahead of the American. Of the 280 now in the field, about Among other great privileges of the 37 are ladies. In the Edinburgh In- mission tour in Boetain, not least has: stitution about £40, or $200 a year, been the joy of personally meeting, at pay for board of students, and but for Mrs. Watsou's in London, the widow lack of funds, the number of students of my friend and that lamented adwould be indefinitely increased. vocate of missions, Professor Theodor Christlieb, of Bonn. In course of con- A. T. P. versation I find that Mrs. Christlieb is living at No. 22 Konigstrasse, Bonn, In his opening lecture, in Divinity and is proposing to make her house a Hall of the Edinburgh University, at home for a few young men who are the commencement of the last session, proposing to sojourn abroad for pur- Professor Flint took for his subject poses of study, etc. She has issued a "Christian Missions." Speaking of little circular, as follows: the special training needed for Missionary work, he said: "We may .. Mrs. Christlieb, widow of the late Professor· now naturally pass on to consider Christlieb, D. D., of the Bonn.University, offers what is, for us here in Scotland, a comfortable Christian home to the sons of' one of the most practical of ques- gentlemen coming to Germany for education. tions. It seems to me that the 'The number of pupils received is limited to six. that great river whose COU'l'Se was Special motherly care bestowed on junior pu- first made known to the world by pils, and every attention paid to health and Livingstone. The powers and duties comfort, as well as to the studies of the pupils. of the new company seem to be dis- It is Mrs. Christlieb's special aim to train the creetly guarded for the protection and young people committed to her charge in the promotion of the best interests both fear and love of God. The language spoken in of the natives within the territorial the family is German. concession and of the supervising British Government. While its gen- "The house is situated in the best part of eral sphere of operations lies between Bonn, and has a good garden; and the beauti- the Lower and Central Zambesi on ful country around Bonn affords plentiful op- the north. the Transvaal boundary on portunity for walks and excursions, with first the south, and westward to the twen- rate Rhine swimming baths and gynmastic tieth degree of east longitude, its more .sports, if desired. special sphere will be north of British Bechuanaland, north and west of the "As a university town, Bonn offers special Transvaal Republic, and to the west ,educational advantages. The Latin schools, border of the Portuguese dominions. or the University lectures, can be attended as The more important legislative acts of soon as young gentlemen have sufficient the company are to be approved by knowledge of German. Mrs. Christlieb's son the British Secretary of State before .will act as private tutor, if desired. " they can become valid.
Parties proposing a temporary stay Among the powers granted to this ,abroad would do well to correspond new company are those of abolishing, with Mrs. Christlieb, especially intend- by degrees, any systems of the slave ing missionaries and sons of mission- trade, or of domestic servitude, that .aries who wish to fit themselves for may exist in the ceded territory, and :service. Mrs. Christlieb's home will of so regulating the traffic in intoxi- be found full of a pure, evangelical cating drinks, as to effectually pre- .and missionary atmosphere, and free vent their sale to the natives. The from the rationalistic influences found company is also required to maintain in many households of Bonn, a careful regard to the customs and laws of the natives of the country in A.T.P. all its dealings with them, so far as such customs and laws are consistent Hope for the Dark Continent. with an impartial administration of Our readers will excuse our fre- justice. That these humane injunc- 'quent reference to events occurring in tions will be followed, we have suffi- Central and Southern Africa, for they cient guarantee in the persons to are Providential heralds of a brighter whom the charter has been granted. day for Africa. The recent grant by Among these are the Dukes of Fife the British Government of a royal and of Abercorn, Lord Gifford, George charter to the new South African Cawston, and though last, not least, company is assuming large propor- Cecil John Rhodes, who is really the tions in the estimation of the English leading person in this great and prompeople. The newspapers express the ising enterprise, and whose past his- {)pinion that it may mean the estab- tory in Africa and. elsewhere is well lishment of another British Empire known. like that in India, opening up another vast area to British enterprise, coloni- To speak of this new and important zation and capital. The territory in- concession as embracing Bechuanacludes the whole region lying between land, the whole of what is known as the Transvaal and the great lakes. Khamin country, to the Zambesi, the By the organization of this company, whole of Matabeleland, and several to be known as the South African 'Company, with a liberal charter and a large concession of territory, and in the hands of trustworthy men, Great Britain has recently extended her ter- :ritory to the banks of the Zambesi,
ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK AND STATISTICS
large outstretches, is to speak of what gold, which may prove its curse until appears from the map an insignificant portion of Africa. Yet in doing this, the supply is exhausted, and for some we have included a country of 400,000 square miles-an area equal to the time afterwards. Under judicious, combined areas of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, management, this new concessionmay Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana become a grand radiating centre for' and Illinois. This large territory has far-stretching plains and high moun- the civilization and Christianization tains; it has a rich and rare 'variety of climate and soil. The country has of South Africa, if not of the entire'
continent. But if such a result is to be secured, England must avoid the serious and patent errors she has for- merly made in that quarter of the world. She is, we believe, now wise enough to do so. J. M. S.
VII.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK AND ST A TISTICS.
Methodist New Oonneotion Missionary and a Christian community of 3.634; about Sooiety. 1.700 scholars in the day and Sunday-schools.
Secretary: REV. W. J. TOWNSEND, Richmond Young Men's Association in Aid of Hill. Ashton-under-Lyne. England. the Baptist Missionary Society. REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MAY. 1889. Secretary: MR. C. HOLLIDAY. Baptist Mis- General Mission Fund ………………£4.409 sion House. Furnival St., Holborn. London. Special Foreign expenses……………. 2.751 E. C.• England. REPoRT FOR YEAR ENDING APRIL 26, 1889. A considerable portion of the General Fund is still used for the more strictly Home Mission Receipts …. .. ….. .. …. .. .. .. .. . £193 13 10 work. in the Isle of Man and in England. the Expenses ………….. ……….. 1931310 Home Mission Fund not yet being large enough to meet all wants. The only foreign work The work of the Society seems to be in the is in North China. where there are 6 ordained way of furnishing lectures and imparting gen· -1 medical. and 5 female missionaries; 25 na- eral information on Mission topics. rather than tive ordained ministers. 18 other helpers. S in the actualemploymentof Missionaries. As stations. and 48 out stations. 4 churches. with such it does good work. 1.495 members. of whom 26 were added during the year. Striot Baptist Mission.
General Baptist Missionary Sooiety. Secretary: JOSIAH BRISCO. 58 Grosvenor Road, Secretary: REv. WILLIAM HILL. Mission Highbury, New Park. London, N.. En- House. 60 Wilson St.. Derby. England. REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1889. gland. £634 Receipts. REPORT FOR YEAR 1888.
GeneralPurposes……. : ………. £4.842 10 0 Receipts…. …. .. ……………. Special Funds.. .. …. …. …. •• …. 265 7 :I In India………….. : …………. 2.61010 6 The whole of this goes to the Mission ex- In Rome………………………. 184 13 3 Balance… …………………… 20 12 11 penses, except a small sum for stationery and £7.923 14 11 printing. The Mission in Madras numbers: Expenditures. Balance….. .. •.. … .. .. …. …… £ 887 10 10 6 ordained. and 8 female missionaries (some Orissa Mission….. ….. …. …… 2.858 10 5 In India (see above)…. …. …… 2,610 10 6 of them natives). 22 helpers. It occupies 22 Rome…. …… .. •… .. … …….. 484 13 3 Annuities. expenses. etc…. …… 1,082 9 11 stations and out-stations, with 15 churches and Total…………………… £7.923 14 11 890 members, of whom 38 were added during The Orissa Mission in India numbers: 9 ordained missionaries. 7 female missionaries. 20 thayear. native helpers. There are 19 places occupied as stations or sub-stations. provided with 17 Baptist Missionary Sooiety. chapels. There are 1.401 church members, Secretary: ALFRED H. BAYNES, Baptist Mis· sion House. Furnival St.• Holborn. London, E.C. REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MARCH 31. 1889. Receipts.
Balance. Special Fund………. .. £26113 a Receipts…………………… .. 80.818 94 Balance drawn on General Fund. 2,862 3 G £83.942 61 Receipts at stations.. .. .. ….. .. 9.096 0 () TotaL. . .. .. .. …….. .. .. .. . £03.038 6 1 Expenditures. £5,859 97 Ladies' Committee……………… 40 0 0 Balance Debt …..•••••••••.. , . 73,188 19 Balance from old account. .. ……. 1 1 2 Expenses •••.•••••••••••••••••• 4,894 14 9 Balance Special Fund……… . Total. ……………………. £346 7 6 ExpenditnresinMissions………… 343 15 1 £88,942 61 Balance…. . .. . .. … ……………. 2 12 5 Expenses at stations (see above) 9,096 00 Total. … ……………….. £93,038 6 1 Total. ……………………. £346 7 6 The work, carried on by a single mission- Statistics. 118 ary and his wife, since 1877, has increased far Missionaries…. ………………. beyond the possibility of meeting its demands.
partly supported…….. 11 Pastors of self·supporting churches 62 Ohristian Vernacruar Education Society for India. Evangelists…. ……………….. 581 Secretary: REv. JAMES JOHNSTON, 7 Adam St., Stations and sub-stations. .. . . . . . . •• 496 Strand, London, W. C., England.
Baptized………… …. …… ••••••. 2,871 REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 1889. Receipt•. Members…… …………. ……… 47,133 Subscriptions, etc., England …••• £3,361 16 0 Day-school teachers .. _………… 371 Contributions, India. ………… '" 841 18 9 Scholars…… ……… ……. ……. 16,381 Sale of Publications, India.•••••• " 4,611 6 3 Sabbath·school teachers…… …… 2,225 Grants…………. … .. •……… •• 692 4 0 scholars…………. 26,870 The Missions of the Society are in India (Bengal and northwest provinces), Ceylon, China, Japan, Palestine, Europe (Brittany, Total…………………… £9,507 50 Norway and Italy), the West Indies, and Payment•. Schools, India………………… £!,968 9 6 Africa (Congo River). Publications………………….. 4,894 16 6 London Society for Promoting Christi- Colportage .. .. ……….. _…. " 75 18 9 anity among the Jews. Administrative expenses, etc., The Secretaries: LONDON SOCIETY'S HOUSE, England.. .. ……… … . …. .. .. 1,050 13 4 No. 16 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W. C., Total …………………… £8,989 18 1 Repayment to working capital. . . • 142 12 5 England. Balance ……………. ……….. 374 14 6 REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING lIlARCH 31, 1889.
Receipts……… …… ……….. £34,814 11 7 Total. … ………………. £9,507 5 0 Expenditures ….. _………….. 34,561 15 1 The Society has a working capital fund of MisSion stations …………… . • 37 £1,000, and a special fund for publications of Ordained missionaries………… 27 over £3,000.
Unordained" and lay agents. 26 Children under instruction. ………. 8,900 Colporteurs, etc………….. …. 44 Students in training institutions…… 98 School teachers. .. . . . . . . .. .. …. .. 41 Copies of publications printed……… 690,5SS Christian Israelites…………… 84 Of the stations: 6 are in England, 20 in Con· British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews. tinental Europe, 2 in Turkey, 4 in Syria and Secretary: REV. JOHN DUNLOP, 96 Great Rus· Palestine, 1 in Persia, 3 in North Africa, and 1 sel! St., Bloomsbury, W. C., London, Eng. REpoRT FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY, 1889. in Abyssinia. Receipts……………………. £8,926 0 0 Sunday-school Union Cont'l Mission. Expenditures…. ……………. 8,911 19 10 Missionaries employed…………………. 31 (Branch of the Stmday-school Union.) Voluntary workers …………………… 90 Secretary: MR. WM. H. MILLAR, 56 Old Bailey, Complaint is made of the disproportionate London, E. C., England. cost of admintstration, but it should be reo REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MARCH 30, 1889. membered that it costs no more to administer an income of £18,000 than one of £8,000. Out- Receipts . …………. ……. £1,860 13 4 side of England the work of the Society is car- Expenditures. ….. ………… 1,729 110 ried on principally in Germany and Austria, though there is a station at Jaffa, and one at The work of the Society includes cash grants, Adrianopie, in European Turkey. and grants of costs and publications to Sunday-schools in France, Germany, Hoiland, British and Foreign Sailors' Society. Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Secretary: REV. EDW. W. MATTHEWS, Sailors' Young Men's Foreign Mission Society of Institute, Shadwell, London, E., Eng. Birmingham. REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 1889. Secretary: A. H. KNOTT, Y. M. C. A., Needless Receipts. Alley, New st., Birmingham, England. REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING MARCH 31, 1889. Snbscriptions and collections … £14,138 19 9 Receipts at Missions in Natal, Africa. Legacies. . . . . . … •• .. .. ……… 348 7 4 Donations …………………….. £225 16 4 Y. M. F. M., Birmingham…. ••••••• 59 10 0 Y. M. C. A., Shrewsbury…. …. •… 20 0 0
PROGRESS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
Dividends, sales of books. etc… 488 15 3 Scripture portions distributed. .••• •••• 18,821 Balance, March 3f, 1888………. 1,811 14 6 Tracts, magazines, etc. •……. 592,394 Total………………… £16,787 16 10 Free beds (London), 6,764. Meals ..•• 39,781 Expenditures. The work of the Society covers almost the 'Chaplains, Missionaries, etc …. £3,315 12 10 whole world, and is in most cordial relations Provincial and Foreign stations. 8,879 4 11 with the American Seamen's Friend Society.
.sailors' Institute……………. . 782 9 4 German Evangelical Synod.
Deputation expenses………. .. 357 2 8 Secretary: REv.PAUL A.MENZEL,Annapolis,Md. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING HAY 31, 1839. General …………… . 788 7 4 Income. . .. •••• •…………………. £9,510 Statistics of Missions among the Sutnaml, .Special Funds…………….. .. 396 10 11 Birvampore. India: 1 station, 3 out-stations, 4 ordained missi0lli!ries, 4 teachers, 5 cathe- Total payments•••.••••••• £14,519 8 0 chists, 3 schools, 2 churches, 200 communi· Investments…………. …….. 545 2 0 cants. Balance, March 31, 1839……… 1,722 6 10 There is a printing press employing 40 men. This Society worked through the Basel and Total .. . …… £16,786 16 10 Barmen Societies for many years, but since 1883 has had the care of this.work committed Summary of work for the year: to it by the Missionary Society of New York, composed of members of several Lutheran and Meetings on board ship 1,661, on shore. 4,818 Presbyterian churches.
Attendance 91,477," 491,427 Visits to ship lodging houses, etc.. …. 51,563 .. the sick and families.. .•• ….. 8,535 Bibles and Testaments sold (English and Foreign)…. …….. …… …… 8,768 VIII.-PROGRESS OF MISSIONS: MONTHLY BULLETIN.
""f'rlca.-Lieut. Taunt, of the United Africa. The Missionary Gleaner gives tidings of the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Cole, of Mpwap• :states Navy, is the commercial agent of this wa, at Zanzibar, while Mr. Price and Mr. Wood, being bachelors, remained at their per· .country on the Congo. His experience of the ilous post. It seems that Bushiri, the Arab leader, arrived at Mpwapwa with 250 armed country dates back several years. • men on July 5. He assured Mr. Price that he had nothing to fear, but on the eighth of July Lieut. Taunt has spent a suftlcient time on the a Christian native warned the missionaries that they were in danger, and they left by Congo to know the country and people fairly moonlight for Kisokwe. six miles distant. The next morning Bushiri's men broke into the well, and we give an extract from his report mission house, and cleared out all that was of any use to them, and set fire to the place. Tecently received at Washington, given by the The natives assure Mr. Price that he shall not be disturbed, aud though the perils are great, correspondent of the Boston Journal: he and his associates will remain. Though there are said to be letters from Mr. Mackay •• The Protestant missions on the Congo are and others on the Lake Victoria, the Gleaner contains no definite tidings concerning the the American Baptist, American Methodist situation of affairs either at Msalala, or at Rubaga. (Bishop Taylor's), American Faith Cure (Dr. -The Royal Niger Co. has been so suc· Simpson's), the English Baptist, the Balolo cessful in suppressing the liquor traftlc in its territory in Africathat very little liquor is sold Mission (English), and the Swedish Mission. in the interior. Cannibalism is also declining.
'The Roman Catholic are the Belgian and the -The first convert in the Upper Congo Valley was recently baptized at Equator Sta· French Missions. The American Baptist Mis· tion. The valley contains 30,000,000 people.
sion, formerly Livingstone (English), is doing -Miss Sharp, the well·known teacher in Africa, has ten students from the Dark Con· excellent work, and is in a flourishing condi· tinent, who are prepared for a better educa· tion than her school proposes. She wants to tion. It is under the control of and supported send them to England to have them prepared for missionaries in Africa. by the Baptist Mission Board of Boston. Its five -Rev. David A. Day, a missionary stawell equipped stations extend to the Equator tioned near Monrovia, in Liberia, writes thus: "I sat on board a boat at one of the promi- 'on the upper river. Palabala, on the lower river, is the headquarters. The steam launch, Henry Reed, on the Upper Congo, belongs to this mission. The majority of the members are English, formerly of the Livingstone In· land, but now almost every steamer brings out American missionaries. The other two American missions are in anything but a lIourishing state."-Missionary Herald.
But our correspondent on the Congo, Rev.
Wm. Clark, of the A. B. M. U., writes us: .. Lieut. Taunt's published statement that the .A. B. M. U. is the only successful mission on the Congo, is not true. Both the B. M. S. and the S. M. S. have prosperous churches and 1!Chools. " J. M. S.
-English Church Missionaries in East nent African ports, and saw landed on a single Six or seven years ago, when Mr. Mozoomdar. Sunday from two steamers, about 50,000 casks of gin. Think of one missionary and 00,000 the second minis~r of the "Church of the' casks of gin coming into Africa at once I" New Dispensation," was in this country, and -The natves of Swaziland, South Africa, have agreed upon a triumvirate to govern published "The Oriental Christ," fresh hopes, their country. It will consist of two British members and one resident of the Transvaal. were raised as to what might be the grand is- The chiefs of SwazUand have also joined in a petition for the abolition of the liquor trafll.c sue of the movement. The Brahmo Soma;;, in their country. has since then suffered eclipse, and Mr. Mo- -Mr. Stanley has written a letter to Mr. Bruce, the son-in-law of Dr. Livingstone, de- zoomdar now writes sadly of it, but he adds: scribing the expulsion from his kingdom of Mwanga by a revolt of the combined native " Christ is a tremendous reality. The destiny Christians and Mohammedans, and the subse- quent conversion of Mwanga himself to Chris- of India hangs upon the solution of his nature· tianity. This Mwanga was the persecutor who murdered Bishop Hannington. Mr. Stan- and function and our relation to him. Let us. ley says that the fact that the native Chris- tians had grown strong enough to make a not hide in darkness, and rest contented with revolution in one of the most powerful of the African kingdoms, is one that if Livingstone random streaks; but place ourselves in open could have known it would have filled his dy- ing moments with content and love. The most light, and solve the problem, 'Who and what deadly persecutions-the stake, the knife, and the bullet-had failed to shake the staunch is Christ?' " fidelity of these African converts. -The Indian Witness states that secret be- -After all our explorations and discoveries, the future of Africa seems very dark. lievers in Christ are rapidly multiplying. For Our trust must be that ull;der the guidance of a divine Providence, there may soon come a every convert who openly avows his faith, league of our most powerful Christian and civilized nations, which, making the African there are hundreds who withhold such declaraslave trade more criminal than piracy, shall move promptly to its suppression at whatev.er tions for fear of their own households and cost. Such a league might conclude to begin its work by the construction and operation of caste circles. Thousands are being made' transcontinental African railways, bisecting the slave trade regions of Africa. and so ex- readyfor public avowal and loyal service when tinguishing the inhuman and infamous traffic. the break shall come. Harmah.-Sir Charles Bernard recently stated that the Christian Karens number .Japan. – In the course of his journey 200,000, or fully one-third of the Karen people. About 500 congregations are practically self- around the world, with the design of arousing supporting. They tithe the produce of their land for the support of their pastors. They interest in Christianity among the colleges of also send missionaries to Siam, and furnish all their support. the Orient, i:lecretary L. D. Wishard has Cbfna~China has 82 medical mission- reached Ceylon and India, where he is meetaries, a majority of whom are from the United States and mission hospitals and dispensaries ing with happy results. His nine months" in severa.! cities. A large part of the expenses of these hospitals is borne by the better classes stay in Japan afforded him opportunity to of Chinese, who highly appreciate the work. visit eighteen leading cities, and twenty-nine :J;;ngland.-The Church ofEngland has nearly 360,000 members in India. Government and eighteen Christian colleges -£1,334,491 is estimated as being the aggre- and schools. He conducted over 200 meetings gate amount of the year's British contributions for foreigu missions. This is $105,000 attended by thousands of students and busimore than the previous year's total. ness men. Over 140 students united with the Indta.-A few years ago Keshub Chundel' Sen and his Brahmo Somaj, in India, at- church connected with the Doshisha School at tracted wide att~ntion. The new religious movement was hailed as one full of promise. Kyoto, and large accessions to other churches followed his labors elsewhere. He writes strongly of the need and demand for special work for young men in Japan, on a basis similar to that OIl which our Y. M. C. Asso- ciations rests in this country. In his inter- views with more than 100 missionaries, he says that not one raised an objection to such an ex- tension of missionary work.
.Java.-Java is the most fertile, the most productive, and the most populous tropical island in the world. The Dutch have had pos- session of it many years, and have derived great revenues, especially from the coffee plantations, but have done little for the re- ligious elevation of the people, who are 1110- hammedans.
ltJadagascar.-The missionaries of the London Society in Madagascar affirm that their hold upon the people is as strong as it ever was, while the French influence is much less than it was feared would be the case.
Just now an event of much political import- ance is taking place. An attempt is being made to establish the authOrity of the Hovas over the Sakalavas, near Saint Augustine Bay.
A strong military expedition has been sent for this purpose, and if it succeeds, that portion of Madagascar wm be open to missionary ef- fort; it it should fail, the central government.
will be seriously Crippled. J. M. S.
The Missionary Review of the World — August 1888
562 THE BICENTENARY OF BUNY.A.N'S DEATH
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XI. No. B.-Old &ries.–A UGUST, _ _VoL."I. No. 8.-Ne1II &rlu.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE BICENTENARY OF BUNYAN'S DEATH. [EDITORIAL.-A: T. p.] NEXT to inspired writers no man is more conspicuous for both the quantity and quality of his influence than John Bunyan.
As he was born in 1628, and died in August, 1688, this year and month bring the two-hundredth anniversary of his death. The eyes of all the world will naturally turn to the author of the greatest English classic, the" Pilgrim's Progress," and the MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD gladly offers its pages for a tribute to a man whose wonderful allegory has already been translated into nearly one hundred languages and dialects, and is to-day next only to the Bible, the most useful aid to the missionary in winning souls to Christ and training believers for service.
John Bunyan was in the best sense an evangelist, a missionary, and a producer of literature, at once evangelical and evangelistic. The son of that Elstow tinker, wild and wayward in boyhood, comparatively uneducated, God had for him a career of service for which He trained him in the school of poverty and obscurity. He gave him an imagination which was both a temptation and a terror to him as an evildoer, but which after his conversion became the mighty instrument for weaving the golden tissues of the greatest of allegorical narratives.
It was perhaps a blessing that Bunyan had access to so few books, for as the Bible constituted the bulk of his library he was not tempted to dissipate his mental energies upon literary trash or even inferior products of the press. After his conversion, his simple faith accepted the Word of God in its literalness, and he read it so assiduously and reverently that it became permanently lodged in his memory; and when in Bedford jail he was left to an enforced solitude, and wrote the" Pilgrim's Progress," as a means of employment and amusement, his thoughts naturally ran in the dialect of Scripture, so that this marvelous book is little more than a vivid Scriptural dialogue.
The vivid imagery of this allegory may easily be accounted for-first, by his unusually active and creative imagination; and secondly, by his actual faith in angels and demons, heaven and hell. These. were realities and verities to him, and they were ever present to his inventive fancy. His brief experience in the army in 1645 may account for the military captains and martial adventures so abundant in the fascinating fable.
He was about twenty-one years old when the tide of his life took a turn, and its whole direction was changed. Those who would know more of his biography may find it in the guise of allegory in «Pilgrim's Progress." Every step of Christian's way the author had trod before he wrote the book. It was Bunyan himself who fell into the Slough, sought Mr. Legality, fled from the thunders of Law, found help in the Evangelist, entered the wicket gate, was taught and refreshed and equipped at the House of the .Interpreter, climbed the Hill Difficulty, fought with Apollyon, got into the Doubting Castle, and reached the Land of Beulah.
From the day when John Bunyan was baptized by Mr. Gifford in the River Ouse, he began to be an evangelist. The tinker had a tongue, and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth spake. Believing the doctrines of the Reformation, the universal sin and need of man, the reality of eternal life and death, the freeness of grace and the fullness of salvation, he was compelled to speak. In 1655 he began to preach, at first in a private way; but as he showed a genius for preaching, especially to the masses, he could not be hid, and his spreading fame caused the Bedford Church to release him from his duties as deacon, that he might follow, unhindered, his obvious divine calling. His popularity and power were immense. By some he is ranked the foremost preacher of his day. In his annual visits to London twelve hundred people have been known to gather before daylight, thronging the doors of the chapel where he was to preach at early morning.
It is worth while to remark that this remarkable success as a preacher was due to no sen3ational oddities or heretical notions. He was thoroughly evangelical. He pricked men with the sharp needle of the law, and then drew after it the thread of gospel consolation. He believed in total depravity, and he preached it. He believed in damnation, and his warning trumpet gave no uncertain sound. His theology was that of Paul, and Augustine, and Calvin, and Luther, and Knox, and Wes- . ley. Whatever books he had not read, there are three with which he was thoroughly familiar: the Word of God, the grace of Christ, and the heart of man.
A thoroughly evangelical faith begets an evangelical spirit. He was ready to preach anywhere if he could get at souls. If shut out of chapels, he would go to barns, or the woods, or the green fields, like Whitefield, and he was so much a missionary and a martyr that he would not keep his mouth shut. Even Bedford jail heard his prayers and his preaching, as the Prretorian guard were compelled to hear the gospel from the prisoner to whom they were chained. His twelve years imprisonment is not hard to account for. The Pro-. tectorate of Cromwell had passed away, and with the Restoration came the revival of the Act of Uniformity. To worship in any other than parish churches made the offender liable, first to three months in jaiL then, if persisted in, to banishment, and even to death.
Bunyan would not be silenced, nor would he consent even to evasion to escape the hand of law. When he was arrested in 1660, Bible in hand, the magistrate, Wingate, leaned to leniency, and would have discharged him from custody if he would have promised" not to call dissenters together," which might mean anything or nothing, as he pleased. But Bunyan was God's witness, too earnest to keep still when bidden to preach, too honest to hide behind an equivocation; and so he went to jail, and as the door shut upon him said: "Were I out of here to-day I would preach again to-morrow." He might have been pardoned out in 1661, but pardon could avail nothing for a man who would repeat the offense as soon as he was out of jail; and so he stayed in his prison, with but one brief respite of release about midway in his long experience of confinement.
What a blessing in dark disguise was that twelve years in jail! The talking tongue is generally the foe of the thinking brain. Here he could talk but little, and he had leisure to think. Reason and imagination had time for a new creation, and the ripest product of these years of meditation was this immortal allegory.
The popularity of "Pilgrim's Progress" probably exceeds that of any other book. Even those who do not read the Bible read this, and the charms of the book are many. First of all it is a story, a continuous narrative, full of plots and counter-plots, characters and incidents, interesting to the very close.
Again, it is robed in the dress of the marvelous. It is like a fairy tale, fascinating the reader with the superhuman and supernatural, giants and goblins, dragons and demons, good angels and fallen spirits; and withal these fictions are facts for vividness and realistic effect.
Again, the allegory charms. Under the guise of parable lies the mighty moral meaning. The very names are the keys that unlock the fable. Great Heart, Fickle Mind, Obstinate and Hateful tell their own story. The House of the Interpreter, the Valley of Humiliation, the Hill Difficulty, Beulah Land-who does not at once know what they represent! And what wit and wisdom are comprised in the allegory!
Most of all this story, marvelous, mythical, allegorical, is a mirror of the human heart. The reader sees himself, and a mirror has a strange charm even to the homeliest of us. The very ugliness of our deformity attracts us by the exactness of its reflection. Even those who are repelled by Bunyan's theology are attracted by his accurate dissection of the heart of man. The styl~ of the" Pilgrim's Progress" is enchanting. Bunyan drove his nails with the short hammer of the Saxon, and no wonder. He had studied that Saxon Bible that is the purest Engiish book in the world. The ray of light comes with great clearness through a transparent window-pane, and Bunyan's style is so translucent that his conceptions are never bedimmed in their passage through the medium of transmission. It is not to be thought strange that the "Pilgrim's Progress" is one of the first, if not the first, of all the books which missionaries at home and abroad seek to make accessible to those to whom they preach and among whom they labor. Next to the Bible, upon which it is perhaps the most popular and helpful commentary, it has been the greatest preacher of the gospel which the printing-press has ever created. What a blessing that such preachers can be made by the million! This pictorial representation of a human soul in, its spiritual progress from the first awakening consciousness of sin, guilt and peril to the full enjoyment of a conscious salvation, God has made a mighty witness to His word, and a moving witness to the heart of man. And why? Because human nature does not change. Spiritual experience in all the ages is almost as stereotyped as the customs of the Orient. Science and art and letters may change, but humanity still echoes to the humanity of antediluvian ages, and the allegory that faithfully portrays the human soul can never be antiquated or out of date.
Bunyan never dreamed how useful God would make his pen when his tongue was in fetters. It doubtless seemed to him that life's opportunities were almost lost to him behind the doors of Bedford jail, but God saw that the way to make him a missionary for the whole world, and for all the ages, was to lock him up for twelve years-another example how" God moves in a mysterious yvay, His wonders to perform." Moreover, Bunyan did not write his book for the public eye, but for his own. entertainment and profit. He was like a child that suddenly strikes a rippling rill and unconsciously follows it till it broadens into a river and loses itself in the serene sea.
How would Bunyan's heart have thrilled with joy had he foreseen that the Lord would use his humble allegory in every land beneath the sun to awaken sinners. in the city of Destruction, and guide disciples all along the pilgrim's way to the consummation beyond Death's river.
The various stages of the pilgrim's journey are unique in interest and suggestion. Does the sinner ask how to get rid of his burden of guilt? Here he is taught that it is not by the works of the flesh nor the deeds of the law. The Obstinate will of sin, the Pliable will of the half-persuaded will not get him past the Slough, and Legalism can only bring him into a greater peril. He must go through God's gate and find deliverance at the Oross.
Does the believer as~ how he shall grow in grace and knowle'dge? Let him. see in the Interprt:lter the Holy Spirit opening his eyes to the hollowness and shallowness of things worldly and temporal and the beauty and excellence of things divine and eternal. Does he seek to be a growing Ohristian aud a valiant soldier? He must climb the Hill Difficulty and not seek to evade or avoid struggles or conflicts. God's resting-places,· like the Palace Beautiful, crown the heights of hills up which we toil, and Beulah Land lies beyond the place of Apollyon's assault.
That Palace Beautiful, how. it reminds us of fellowship with God, that makes the Ohristian graces our constant companions, gives us rest in His peace, glimpses and foretastes of the coming glory, and arms us for the fight b6fore us. Everywhere the allegory is but a veil of golden tissue through which we clearly see the features of the truth.
It would not be consistent with our limited space, nor indeed our primary purpose, to follow further into detail the beauties of this allegorical prose-poem. We had designed nothing more than to pay a deserved tribute, among the thousand offerings which this bicentenary will prompt, to Bunyan's great work, as a missionary agency. The whole Ohristian world delights to read the" Prilgrim's Progress"; from childhood to old age it fascinates the reader with a charm ever new. Even Papists, with a few expurgations, are glad to use it. And when it was translated into the Japanese and Oree languages, for use among the Buddhists of the Sunrise Kingdom and the red Indians of this Occidental world, it was at least the eighty-second time that a new language had robed this versatile tale of the human heart.
He who has the missionary spirit cannot be shut out from a dying world. The cell of the prison will become the pulpit for a world-wide evangelism. 'rhe tongue will find utterance, if only to the ears of a jailer and fellow-prisoners. The pen will become a tongue to tell the story of redemption, and the press will bepome the ally of the pen in making its voice universally heard and immortally effective. What a blessing was Bedford jail, that made John Bunyan the omnipresent and undying preacher to the millions whom his voice could never have reached through the centuries during whiCih his voice is hushed in death!
If our lives are given to God, they may be safely left in His care. Not a hair of oui' head will perish. The lamp we have sought to light at His altars and then to place high up upon His lampstand, He will not put under a measure or quench in darkness. We may think our influence circumscribed and even lost, when He is but enlarging its circumference and extending its dominion. How wide is the circle of true missionaries and how enduring the period of their power! Two hundred years have passed since the tinker of Elstow breathed his last. But like the fabled grave of another beloved John, at Ephesus, the very earth heaves with his breathing. He is not dead and cannot die.
A ROMANCE OF MODERN MISSIONS
In every hamlet of Ohristendom and every center of gospel light in heathendom, Bunyan still teaches sinners how to become saints, and pilgrims how to make progress in holy living.
Such a life and such a book as Bunyan's would have been impossible had he held lax views of gospel truth. Loose notions of law and penalty, the guilt of sin and the need of Jesus, forfeit stalwarlness of Christian character and energy of endeavor. We may call evangelical doctrine illiberal and narrow, but it is the backbone of all evangelism. Somehow, on just such diet, have been nourished the most heroic men and women among the martyrs and missionaries of Ohrist. Because these" severe" truths are God's truths they give to character masculinity and muscularity, and to influence both power and permanence. It is because this great work of John Bunyan's is true to God and man, to the awful fact and guilt of sin, to the dreadful penalty of broken law and the blessed deliverance of penitent faith; it is because this allegory is true to the Bible, the Ohrist and the Holy Spirit, that God has chosen, as one of the chief commentaries upon His Holy Word, Bunyan's" PilgVm's Progress."
And is this death-what men call endless sleep? When Life's high powers in ceaseless action keep? In every land remote, in every age, The pilgrim shall peruse this charming page, And learn through wicket gate to find the Way That leads from darkness to the Land of Day; Shall at the Cross lay every burden down, And pass the river to the goal and crown. He is not dead who guides the faltering feet To where the saints in tearless triumph meet; Who, when his tongue is still, by magic pen Proclaims the gospel to his feUQw-men ; Who, by a hundred voices, loud and clear, Is still discipling nations, far a.nd near. If this be death, what is it not to die, Like stars whose deathless ray illumes the sky?
A ROMANOE OF MODERN MISSIOS.
BY REV. J. W. BASHFORD, PH.D., BUFFALO, N. Y.
[Concluded from page 487.] THE great northwest region beyond the Rocky Mountains was supposed to be practically worthless. Public men naturally believed that our western coast was as cold as the eastern on the same parallels of latitude. They were not aware of the great warm current in the Pacific which raises the temperature of the whole northwest region as far east as Dakota. In fact, many leading statesmen were opposed to the extension of the American Republic west of the ROcky Mountains. Senator Benton of Missouri, father-in-law of Gen. Fremont, and author of "ThirlyYears in Oongress," perhaps the best-informed Senator west of the Mississippi, said in 1825, "The ridge of the Rocky Mountains may be named as a convenient, natural and everlasting boundary. Along this ridge the western limits of the Republic should be drawn, and the statue of the fabled god Terminus should be erected on its highest peak, never to be thrown down." Senator Winthrop of Massachusetts quoted Benton's remark in the U. S. Senate in 1844, and heartily approved it. In 1843 another U. S. Senator declared in the Senate Chamber that he would not give a pinch of snuff for the whole territory west of the Rocky Mountains, and thanked God for His mercy in placing these mountains as our western boundary. Even in 1846 Senator Winthrop declared that we would not be straitened for elbow-room in the west for a thousand years, and that neither the west nor the country at large had any real interest in retaining Oregon. Even Gen. Jackson, a western man, held the opinion in 1825 that our safety lay in a compact territory and a dense popUlation. Webster in 1845 a.pproved Gen. Jackson's view, and said, "The Government is very likely to be endangered, in my opinion, by a farther enlargement of the territorial surface." This sentiment, combined with the opinion that a desert tract more than 700 miles wide lay east of the Rocky Mountains, that the mountains themselves were impassable, and that the western coast after it was reached was worthless save for hunting and trapping, combined to make the transfer of this territory to Great Britain a matter of light concern. In fact, it was simply due to divine Providence on the one side, and to our national pride upon the other, that this territory was not yielded to Great Britain in the Ashburton treaty of 1843. It was a second matter of divine Providence that the Methodist missionaries had entered Oregon and taken a sufficient number of settlers over to outnumber the Hudson Bay Company. It was a third matter of divine Providence that Dr. Whitman and Gen. Lovejoy should attempt the most heroic ride recorded in history, and that Dr. Whitman should be permitted to complete the journey.
A new phase is now put upon the question. A man stands face to face with Daniel Webster and President Tyler and assures them that they control a territory of boundless possibilities west of the Rocky Mountains. A personal residence of six years and the eight years' experience of the Methodist missionaries show the climate to be remarkably mild. He claims that with the poorest cultivation they have produced crops which outstrip the most careful husbandry in Virginia. The fish in the rivers almost interfere with navigation by their abundance. Mr. Tyler and Mr. Webster would as well talk of ceding to Great Britain' all New England as of yielding the northwest part of the United States. Better still, the claim that 700 miles of desert lie east of the Rocky Mountains and that it is impossible to enter Oregon from the east is a story of the Hudson Bay Company. The Doctor himself had a wagon in Oregon which he took through the mountains in 1'836.
President Tyler showed how his credulity was taxed by his reply: "Your long ride and frozen limbs bespeak your sincerity. Your missionary credentials vouch for your character." The President evidently thought his statements needed the support of his missionary credentials. Dr. Whitman simply asked that no farther action should be taken in regard to the boundary west of the Rocky Mountains until he could lead a band of emigrants .over and prove that the passage was open, the climate mild, and the soil rich.
Whether or not Webster distrusted Dr. Whitman we cannot now fully settle. From all the accounts we are inclined to think that the great Secretary believed he was in contact with a half crazy western land agent, though he knew that Whitman had no title to a foot of land in all Oregon. But Tyler gave his personal pledge that he would not sign a treaty until Dr. Whitman had time to lead a colony to Oregon. Nor was the effect of Whitman's visit lost on Mr. Webster. In a. letter to Edward Everett, then Minister to Great Britain, in 1840, Mr. Webster had said: "The ownership of the whole country is very likely to follow the greater settlement and larger amount of population." So he was in hearty sympathy with the effort Jason Lee had already made, and with Dr. Whitman's proposal to take emigrants to Oregon. In his next letter to our Minister to England, after Dr. Whitman's visit, Mr. Webster is ca.reful to claim the territory which the Doctor had described in such glowing colors: "The Government of the U. S. has never offered any line south of forty-nine, and never will. It behooves all concerned to regard this as a settled point." Again, near the close of the letter, he says: "England must not expect anything south of the forty-ninth degree." England was expecting territory south of the forty-ninth parallel larger than New England, and would probably have secured it had it not been for the missionaries. Mr. Webster leaves no doubt as to the importance of the missionaryoccupation of Oregon, in a remark which he later made to a friend: "It is safe to assert that our country owes it to Dr. Whitman and his associate missionaries that all its territory west of the Rocky Mountains and south as far as the Columbia River is not owned by Great Britain."
Meanwhile Gen, Lovejoy was not idle. He was spreading reports of the soil and climate of Oregon. Whitman had a brief circular printed in St. Louis announcing that he would lead without charge a colony to Oregon. Dr. Whitman in June 1843 met Gen. Lovejoy at a point on the Missouri, not far from the present site of Kansas City. Over two hundred families of emigrants had been collected by their joint efforts. Dr. Whitman piloted the company safely across, and when in September 1843 his long line of 200 wagons with 870 American settlers filed through the Blue Mountains into the valley of the Columbia, the Americans outnumbered the English five to one. The Americans at once organized a provisional government to counteract the influence of Gov. Simpson and the Hudson Bay Co. They elected Dr. Elijah White, who had been sent out by the Methodist Missionary Society in 1836, governor; and this government was obeyed until the United States organized the Territory five years later. The Secretary of the Interior, in a decision awarding the Methodist Missionary Society its property at the Dalles, said: "From 1834, when the American missionaries first penetrated this remote region, a contest was going on as to which nation should finally possess it; and that probably depended upon the fact as to which could first settle it with emigrants." (The Hudson Bay Company and Jesuit priests were on the one side.) "On the other were the missionaries of the American Board and the Methodist Society, who had established their stations among the Indians and who attracted the tide of American emigration that turned the scale in favor of our government, resulting in the establishment of the Territorial Government of Or.egon, wholly American in interest which exercised all the functions of government until the erection of the Territory of Oregon by Congress in August, 1848."
The inspired author of the Gospels mentioned as a token of divine favor that Peter caught a fish and found in its mouth a stater, $1.10, by which he was able to pay the temple tax of Jesus and himself. The salmon fisheries of the Columbia and its tributaries yielded last year over $15,OOO,000-about twice as much as the contributions of the entire Christian Church for missions. Would not a Paul or a John to-day find larger illustration of the divine Providence? A territory larger than all New England with finer climate, richer natural resources, and facing the most populous part of the globe saved to our government by missionary enterprise is God's way of saying to the Christians of the nineteenth century, "A hundred fold in this world and in the world to come eternal life."
But this is not the end. It took three years after the Americans began pouring into Oregon by the thousand and were outnumbering the British five to one to induce Great Britain to sign the treaty. Noone dreams that the boundaries would have been settled in 1846 had not a thousand Americans through missionary effort reached Oregon in 1843. But in less than three years after the papers were signed by Great Britain gold was discovered in California, then belonging to Mexico. When the negotiations for our western boundaries had dragged along since 1783, and Great Britain was so loth to give up her claims to that territory, do you suppose that had she waited until gold had been discovered and reports of untold wealth had spread l~ke wild-fire-do you suppose that she would then have signed away her claim?
But there is another important fact which made it necessary that the Oregon_ question should be settled not only before gold was discovered in '49, but before 1847. The south western part of th~ United States, embracing part of Texas and all of New Mexico and Oalifornia, was owned by 'Mexico in 1846. A few days before Great Britain signed the final settlement, war had broken out between Mexico and the United States. Had this information reached Great Britain in time she would at least have delayed to sign the settlement of July 18, '46. Then, in our war with Mexico of '47-'48, Mexico would have been backed by Great Britain. With this international alliance the war would have been prolonged until the discovery of gold in Oalifornia in '49. This discovery would have led Mexico and Great Britain to redouble their energies for a share of this western continent. How rapidly these events press upon each other! How certain it seems that only the missionary settlement of Oregon, which resulted in the yielding of all claims by Great Britain before she learned of the Mexican war, alone saved us from a great international contest with two powers, one of them the greatest upon the earth! You say we could have waged the war and won against both foreign powers? Possibly. But the United States could far better afford to give the Methodist Missionary Society and the American Board each a million dollars a year in peI'petuity than to have incurred the cost of this gigantic war, to say nothing of its bloodshed and desolation. These Flathead Indians were as truly messengers from God as was the vision of Macedonia which came to Paul; and Jason and Daniel Lee and Marcus Whitman were following plans as miraculous and providential as Paul in leaving Palestine and starting toward the west.
But the acquisition by the United States of territory of vast extent and boundless wealth in the West was not the end of this missionary enterprise. We sent our brothers out from our homes to bless others. They indirectly helped us win the greatest blessing for ourselves. The Oregon and Oalifornia questions were settled in our favor in 1848, only thirteen years before the Rebellion. We were then called upon to fight the great battle between freedom and slavery. You remember that east of the Mississippi river the free territory of the United States embraced a little over 400,000 square miles, and the slave territory nearly 500,000 square miles. After crosing the Mississippi river and running through Missouri the line embracing the slave popUlation fell rapIdly south. It was this western territory into which slaves had not yet been brought that restored the balance in area to the side of freedom in this contest; and Oalifornia, which had been acquired for the extension of slavery, was providentially settled by northern enterprise and poured her money and men into the Union side in that gigantic struggle. Suppose this territory had been held by foreign powers or that we had been still battling for this rich gold field against Great Britain and Mexico, and suppose that Mexico had been backed by France in the interest of absolutism and the Roman Oatholic faith, as was the case during the Rebellion, do you not see that it would have been, humanly speaking, impossible to free the slaves and preserve the Union?
The divine Providence is the key to our national history. The British lion chained at the 49th parallel of north latitude; Mexico backed by France rendered powerless by the previous conquest of her western territory; and California pouring her gold and her men into the Union side during the struggle for freedom are God's providential way of saying to a missionary age, "one hundred fold in this world and in the world to come eternal life. "
Once more, while we sometimes entertain an undue prejudice against , the Roman Catholic Church, yet no candid man can doubt that the Protestant faith is far more helpful to free institutions and to modern civilization than is the faith of Rome. But the contest in Oregon was a struggle between the Jesuit and the Protestant. Had not Jason Lee gone to Oregon in '34 and led out American missionaries and settlers, had not Marcus Whitman followed his missionary call in '35 and led over nine hundred more American settlers in '43, had not the four or five thousand American settlers organized a provincial government in '43 and elected a Methodist missionary governor, the Jesuits, backed by Great Britain in the north, and by Mexico and France in the south, would to-day hold our western coast and shape its civilization for the twentieth century. A territory larger and richer than the Atlantic seaboard saved to our government, the whole Pacific slope thrown into the balance of freedom in the greatest contest of the nineteenth century, and the civilization of the richest part of the globe started under Protestant auspices for the twentieth century is God's providential answer to the faith of Jason and Daniel Lee, and Marcus Whitman and H. H. Spaulding and the unnamed heroes and heroines who died for the Oregon mission, and whose bones rest in unknown graves in the valley of the Willamette. When the popUlation of that golden coast rises to thirty millions, will not the landing-place of the ship that sailed from Boston with Methodist missionaries in 1836 be the Plymouth Rock of the Pacific, and Whitman Institute and Willamette University be their Harvard and their Yale? Will there not arise a Longfellow or a Buchanan Read to sing of a ride more heroic than Sheridan's, and of far greater importance than that of Paul Revere? Will not a spiritual descendant of a Mrs. Hemans arise to sing of a second pilgrim band who left home and native land not for freedom to worship God themselves, but to carry light to those who sat in darkness?
572 EGYPT'S RETURN AND HEALING
EGYPT'S RETURN AND HEALING.-No. II.
BY CHARLES S. ROBINSON, D.D., NEW YORK.
WE have already contemplated one phase of prophetic announcement concerning the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs, and have seen how rapidly was fulfilled the prediction that it should become desolate, that the nation should be scattered and wasted. The princes of Zoan before long showed themselves fools, and the princes of Noph were deceived to their ruin, for the mouth of the Lord had already spoken their doom.
But now there is a second verse of equal force, and of a serener temper, far more hopeful for the depressed nation. He who smites here covenants to heal; there are certain conditions annexed to the promise He makes, but these are only the common conditions of pardon in case a penitent is forgiven. Egypt must" return," and the people must be eager in "entreaty" for the blessing engaged: "And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them."
We keep in mind what has been said concerning the loss of political integrity, the dorninance of foreigners, the changes of the atmosphere, the pestilence, the vices, and the destructive rains of heaven. The worst of this, however, is found in the debasement of the nation's feeling. Egypt has lost heart, and so is altogether gorie astray. Let us consider also that with these violent interjections of an outside and dangerous European spirit among the people, the old reverences are gone. A Mohammedan will stop in his prayers any time to ask a traveler for backshish; he is not in earnest, but is working under a mere mechanical pressure of tradition, so much to the square inch. No patriotism, no loyalty, no public spirit, no interest in anything can be found worth mentioning in all that land. Intrigue is the basis for· each form of government, and assassination is the plan of revolutions. No homes are established; the family tie is almost nothing. There can grow up no sentiment, no poetry, no imagination, under such a regimen. It would be preposterous to think of such a thing as -embalming Joseph or Jacob, or having any pomp of real feelmg over any leader or friend whatsoever. We read the romances of "Uarda" and "The Sisters," written by the historian Ebers; such scenes of venerable and youthful life, with love and fidelity and truth in them, could not be discovered there in Egypt now. It was a crime, long generations ago, to pledge the sacred mummies of one's father and his ancestors; but one might redeem an abhorrent pawn like this in three months. If he did not he fell into infamy the most scorching that could fasten itself upon an Egyptian in that'grand old age. One king, belonging to the fourth dynasty, Asychis by name, is mentioned by Herodotus as the earliest known man to put in peril his ancestor's body; and the Father of History denounces with an unusual vigor so frightful a scandal: "He who stakes such a pledge and fails to redeem the debt shall sleep, after his death, neither in his father's tomb nor in any other, and burial shall be denied to his descendants." Thus did that reverent era punish the villany of ingrates.
Now contrast this with the modern treatment of mummies. For the I last hundred years has been conducted a traffic in the contents of ancient sepulchers. Pyramids have been broken into, mausoleums have relentlessly been pillaged, bodies been used for fuel, burning the faster because of the resins and gums with which they were embalmed. Modern funerals are a mere mockery. Processions are met in the street as coarse and tumultuous as anywhere among the heathen; a singing, swinging, screaming throng, full of gesticUlation that means nothing, proceeding afterwards to the residence of the departed man for a festivity at the expense of the heirs. The dignity of the former generations is all swept away, and a shallow hypocrisy is flaunted in its place.
Add to all this the devastations and demoralizations of the wars which have been waged on the soil of Egypt. The history of the region around Cairo and Alexandria is nothing but a bulletin of siege and rapine. The Nile has run with blood more than once since the day of the ten plagues. Lately, the moral destructions have been by far more serious; for intemperance and immorality have become rampant. I have myself seen viler pictures, more indecent photographs, on public sale in the windows of Cairo than I ever saw in Paris, even during those awful days just before and after the Commune. And drunkenness is the beastliest of sins when it lays hold of those Mohammedan renegades. If one disobeys the Koran, and dares the loss of heaven, for the sake of giving himself up to intoxication, his sin will burn him soul and body.
Thus it appears that the scourge has fallen on Egypt as the prophet predicted. Does one insist, then, that still there is hope for a country so lost? The answer to that question is found in the same way as was the answer to the other we have already considered. The "smiting" and the "healing" seem to have followed the usual law of divinely ordered providences. As we did before, we must look at particulars.
Now, one of God's processes in the fulfilment of prophecy is what we call restoration. He deals invariably with remnants. Some abiding good is supposed to be left behind whenever such ruin is wrought. The old times come back again, and the ancient standards are raised afresh into prominence. There is intense significance in the expression used in this verse of Scripture that we have just now been quoting, for the declaration is made that Egypt shall "return even to the Lord." There is implication in this that Egypt has had a history of obedience heretofore, that the seed of the gospel has once flourished there. Can any facts be found to substantiate such a claim? Has this African continent an honorable record of religious life worth "returning" to now ? Not before Isaiah's time, perhaps, but in later years of ecclesiastical annals there was great service credited by the churches to Egypt.
When Herodotus, the Father of History, began his best book of Oriental annals, he said as his opening sentence: "I shall now speak at greater length of Egypt, as it contains more wonders than any other of the lands and is pre-eminent above all the countries for works that a writer can hardly describe." But Herodotus, poor heathen that he was, could not know that the greatest glory of that spot was to be found in its singular relations to the gospel of God. There the church was begun; there the dispensation of the law was fashioned; there Jesus, the Lord of Glory, was housed from the violence of Herod; there the prophecy was fulfilled, "Out of Egpyt have I called my Son." Thus this almost forgotten strip of territory naturally grew to be the earliest of the great centers of Christianity in wealth, intelligence, and doctrinal orthodoxy. For some scores of years one stronghold of the patristic faith was conspicuous along the northern shore of Africa. There a fresh hold was gained by the use of the Greek language; there the Pentateuch was transiated by the noblest scholars of the age; there council after council was held, in which the greatest errors were silenced which ever harassed the churches, and the grandest doctrines were proclaimed which ever buildcd them up. The Scripture says those good old days are to come back again, and that strip of land redeemed from the sands is yet to grow fruitful and beautiful with graces for God's glory. It may not be far away from even our time when there may be another good Augustine at a new Hippo, another Aurelius at some Christian Carthage, and another Athanasius to stand lor the truth at a more glorious Alexandria than those ages ever knew before, in the purer Egypt yet to be !
Add to this a fresh proof: the declarations of prophecy concerning Egypt are more profuse than those concerning any other nation, unless perhaps we except Assyria.. God will see what is best in the past faith, and will restore it. He will see what is best in coming histories, and will secure it. He will accept kindly and gently what Egypt herself is doing to grow wiser, holier and better, and when He fin,ds a feebleness which is open to pity, He will not break the bruised reed.
Influences are at work already. War has been like" the breaker" promised of old, and has opened strange sluices of information, and of course has awakened new interest. Prayer and effort are going steadily through the land hand-in-hand, and tokens of unmistakable prosperity are beginning to appear. Civilization is opening the path for gospel grace. To us the crescent on the Turkish flag does not seem to be the symbol of the young moon, but of the old ;' it is waning rather than waxing. The stamp of a firmer tread is felt now on the Egyptian soil. The sound of a voice sweeter than that of the muezzin from an old minaret is often heard in that desolate country; singing comes forth from some of the dwellings; prayer is offered publicly by converts in dedicated houses of God; missionary work "has been prospered marvelously in that unpromising land, and God is fulfilling His covenant rapidly. An American Sunday-school has been in progress there in Cairo for several years. The experience is almost weird, when one winds his way through a labyrinth of streets crowded with Turks and Nubians, cafes and Punch-and-Judy stands on every side, bands playing and trains marching, soon to find a sheltered room, clean and bright, in which he listens to the teachers from his own far-away country as they give the New Testament lessons, just as they would at home, to a large throng of pupils, old or youug, as it happens, from ten to seventy years of age, all devout, interested,full of zeal as they read what God is doing for their souls, and what He has covenanted to do for their troubled nation by and by.
They repeat the Lord's Prayer in the beautiful Arabic; they sing, "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," and hymns like that. And one scholar, an earnest Christian, sent this message to be delivered across the ocean: " America is a good land; everybody loves Jesus. Ask your girls to pray for our people, that we may all begin to love Him and serve Him too."
And, finally, the most practical proof of the divine covenant as to Egypt's ultimate conversion is found in the entrance of the British influence and rule there. The coming in of foreigners is not a curse, but rather a benediction to Egypt. The finances are better managed in these days than they have been for centuries before. The national indebtedness is more firmly provided for; the bonds have risen from seventy to one hundred per cent. lately; blood and treasure have not absolutely been wasted on that soil by the best intelligence of Great Britain through these years. Say what we will concerning England's domination in the East, one thing at least is true: no civilized Christian man or woman has visited the lands of the Bible, traveling along among the heterogeneous peoples, and crossing the frontiers of miscellaneous governments, without feeling at the moment when the border-line of any British possession was reached: "Here is law and order, here is truth and decency and sa.fety! Happy is the nation that hears the tread of a foreigner so beneficent, a stranger so kind, a conqueror so noble!"
MIRACLES OF MISSIONS
THE MIRACLES OF MISSIONS.-NO. VI.
[EDITORU:L.-A. T. p.] THE MCALL MISSION IN FRAN,CE.
THERE is a class of phenomena connected with modern triumphs of the gospel in unpromising fields which is so remarkable that it should be placed conspicuously by itself as an example and proof of a supernatural force at work. There are some barriers which have been removed so suddenly, so unexpectedly, so peculiarly, that tb,e hand of God has been very marked in connection with them: they have subsided even before they have been encountered by the advancing mission band. It is to one of these examples of the subsidence of obstacles that we now call attention.
The promise that "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," is not only a prophecy but an illustration of the world's evangelization. The time is coming when the good news will have spread in every direction like the omnipresent sea in its vast bed. The disciples of Christ have only to be faithful to their great trust, and. like the pulsations of great tidal waves swept onward by mighty winds like the breath of God, the knowledge of the Lord shall JI).ove onward till it touches every foreign shore, advance into every strait and bay and estuary, and "sound the roar of its surf-line" from Greenland and Siberia to the southern capes and Australia, and from Britain and Iceland to Japan and Polynesia. The gospel is destined to be all-pervasive, like the sea, the air, the light. God is giving us some hints on a vast scale how He may bring all this about.
The sea may flood the land either by the rising of the ocean Or the sinking of the shore, and the subsidence of the land is in effect the upheaval of the sea, since the comparative level is reversed. How often have disciples rejoiced to observe those mighty movements of God's grace, which, like the rapid rising of some far-reaching tidal wave; have flooded extensive districts of the world with the knowledge and the power of the gospel; and devout souls look and pray for the day when that great prophecy shall find its fulfilment, and some such wave o~ revival shall sweep over the whole habitable globe. But it behooves us not to forget that without this startling upheaval of the sea the ocean can make its bed on the continents if they sink below its level. Often in the history of missions has God gone before His people and, by the slow or sudden subsidence of opposing obstacles and barriers, prepared the way for the flooding of the land; and in many cases systems of false faith, or customs of formidable antiquity, that have stood like mountain barriers of adamant to keep out the gospel flood, have actually disappeared, as though the Himalayas had suddenly sunk out of sight, leaving China and India to flow together. In fact, the more carefully we study missions the more we shall see that the false faiths of the world are almost if not altogether without exception in a state not only of decline but of decay. An unseen work of undermining is going on, and some day we may all be startled by the general subsidence of barriers which have hitherto seemed as deep- founded and as high-reaching as the everlasting hills. We content ourselves with one example, which may be used both to demonstrate and illustrate this truth.
The eyes of the world are to-day on France, beholding with aston- ishment the wonderful work of God there. Yet this is but an instance of this subsidence. France has been the right arm of papal power for centuries, and seemed, a century since, likely to develop the antichrist.
How little we knew what preparations were going forward for the in- flowing of the gospel tides, and what a divine power was conducting this preparation !
In 1877, Paul Bouchard, ex-Mayor of Beaune, wrote an open letter to the bishop of his diocese, renouncing Romanism and transferring his adhesion to Protestantism, on grounds of consist~cy and patriot- ism. It was not the act of a man converted to a nel-ta.iih so much as disgusted with an old one. ' He forsook the State religF8~' as a patriot and political economist, denouncing Roman Oatholicism as the enemy of social and political progress, the ally of ignorance and superstition.
His act was one echo of Gambetta's declaration that the Romish Ohurch is the enemy of French republicanism-" clericalism is the foe of France." But he went beyond Gambetta, for he reproached him with atheism; Bouchard took this great step alone, and boldly wrote five tracts for the people, giving wider expression to his views.
At the same time Eugene Reveillaud, a lawyer, journalist, orator and statesman, born and bred a Romanist, a college graduate and a free- thinker, had his eyes opened to see the rottenness of Romanism, and became the champion of Protestantism, on similar grounds to those of Bouchard, and wrote a pamphlet on the "Religious Question and the Protestant Solution." Oompelled to give up the Papal Ohurch, he felt he could not be without a church and a religion, but had as yet no change of heart. The faithful Huguenot pastors boldly taught that Protestantism required more than a mere renunciation of Romanism : and in July, 1878, in the Protestant meeting-house at Troyes, Reveil- laud arose and addressed the congregation, declaring his conversion, and manifesting a remarkable baptism of the Spirit. From January, 1879, his tongue and pen have been enthusiastically given to the evan- gelization of France. He publishes a weekly paper, Le Signal, and and goes everywhere-to halls, theaters, ball-rooms and barns-to address the people, showing them the need of a new gospel of faith, repent- ance and holiness. .
Our generation has seen no religious movement to compare with this arising of a whole people. "There is Protestantism in the air." In Avignon, the old residence of the popes, Renouvier adds to his "Critique Philosophique" a "Critique Religeuse" to chronicle the Protestant movement; and in Belgium Emile de Laveleye writes on the "Future of the Catholic Nations," a warning to all peoples of the inevitable results of Romanist supremacy.
The rapid and radical change that has come over France no one can conceive who has not been there during this quiet religious revolution. Scarce a century ago Protestants were tortured and murdered, till even Voltaire's atheism vented its invective against perseccution for religious opinion, and shamed France out of her course. Then came the reaction of atheism, but no religious liberty. But under McMahon, a majority of nine ministers of the Waddington cabinet were Huguenots, though the Huguenots represented but one-twentieth of the population. November 2, 1879, Protestant worship was held at Versailles, in the palace of Louis XIV., and not far from the chamber where he died, beneath the room where Madame de Maintenon induced him to sign the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes nearly two hundred years ago.
The news. of one week ~ould fill a journal with startling itemspeople assembling in hosts everywhere, in halls, tents and open airlistening with intense interest to denunciations of Romish priestcraft, and the good news of grace: and families, fifty at a time, coming out to take their places with the Protestants. It is scarce three hundred years since the St. Bartholemew masssacre in 1572, and yet the nation is turning from Rome. The McAll Mission has developed with a rapidity unparalleled in church history, establishing new preaching stations as fast as men and money can be obtained, and finding everywhere an open door. The tides of a pure gospel that surged vainly against mountain barriers for centuries are now rushing in like a flood. But it is a case of subsidence. The tide has not risen so much as the barriers have given way, and so France is being covered with the knowledge of the Lord.
But let us not hastily dismiss this marvelous story of missions in the very citadel of the papacy. Go and study the work of McAll and his associates. See that man at the very crisis of affairs called suddenly and unexpectedly to take the lead of the most conspicuous movement of modern times. He did nothing to prepare the way; he knew nothing of the grand movements that had made the way open. He simply went to Paris on a visit, but it was God who was guiding. He had made the hole in the board, and now set the peg in it, as Sydney Smith would say. Never in the course of history has the right man, at the right time, dropped into the right place, if Robert W. McAn did not in 18711 Before, he. would have come too early; after, he would have come too late. He did not know, and could not, the ot e~ernaJ fitness thinlSs. Let us bow" and say with Pharaoh's magicians, "It is the finger of God." The steps in this history it may be worth while once more to put on record, for the encouragement of our faith that there is a supernatural factor which cannot be eliminated from the work of missions.
In the summer of 1871, Rev. Robert W. McAll and his wife, visiting Paris at the close of the terrible war with Germany, and led by a 'deep desire to reach the poor, priest-ridden workingmen with the gospel, were giving away tracts in the hotels and on the public streets, when a workingman said: "If anyone will come among us and teach us, not a gospel of priestcraft and superstition, but of truth and liberty, many of us are ready to hear."
Mr. McCall returned home, but above.the murmur of the waves and the hum of busy life he heard that voice, "If anyone will come and teach us • . • we are ready to hear." He said to himself, "Is this God's call? Shall I go?" Friends said, "No!" But a voice within said, "Yes." And he left his English parish and went back-back to Belleville, whence, in days of anarchy and violence, issued forth the desperate mobs to burn and destroy and kill.. There, in January, 1872, in the Rue Julien La Croix, he opened one little hall in a faubourg of 100,000 desperate, lawless communists; one man conducting a gospelmeeting to save millions! In the midst of men known as assassins he had no weapon but a pocket Bible-his" double-barrel revolver," and in a district worse to work in than St. Giles in Londou he began to tell the old story of Jesus. Soon the little place was crowded, and a larger room became a necessity; and sixteen years later that one gospel hall has become 112, in which, in oue year, have been held 14,000 religious meetings, with a million hearers, and 4,000 services for children, with 200,000 attendants. No such history is to be found elsewhere, and no statistics can adequately represent the results of a work so apostolic in principle and. pattern. These many services are "recruiting offices" for new volunteers for the Lord's army; no new sect or church is formed, but converts are gathered, and then fall into the neighboring churches. But the work is only at its beginning. The cry comes from all parts of Frauce for new stations, and the work needs only more men and more means to be indefinitely multiplied.
The McAlI Mission is perhaps the most remarkable movement of Providence in modern times. At the critical hour of the history of France, God raised up the right man for the place and the work. It was in the very period of transition, when, breaking with Romanism and the clericalism which Gambetta declared to be the foe of France, the uation was left without a religion, and in danger of drifting into infidelity and atheism. Mr. McAll, hearing the call of God, fell almost unconsciously into his place in the divine plan, and introduced a mode of worship without a vestige of superstition or a relic of empty formalism and hollow ceremonial. He was building more wisely than he knew; but the Architect who callea him to the work had. prepared the material for the structure, and guided in its erection. Without those very principles that underlie the work of the McAll Mission there could not have been this phenomenal success. Those very principles are a proof that God is in the work.
1.' The Gospel for the Masses.-The leader of the movement and his fellow-helpers are moved with compassion for the multitude~ that have no true knowledge of Ohrist and faint for spiritual food, scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Mr. McAll has confidence in the adaptation of the gospel to every need of every human soul, in the accessibility of the common people, and in the susceptibility even of the criminal classes to approach.
2. The Pmoer of Pass'ion for Souls.-Who dared to hope that this priest-ridden people, ignorant, superstitious, hardened and halfatheistic, would exhibit such readiness to receive the Protestant gospel? ·But love is omnipotence; and before it even the barriers of a strange language melt away, and the iron doors of distrust and hatred open as of their own accord. Simple love for souls, unmixed with self-advantage, was the moving-spring of all this work, and proved resistless. When Mr. McAll began his work he could not speak French. but he could utter two sentences in the tongue of those workingmen. One was, "God loves you," and the other, "I love you"; and upon those two, as pillars, the whole arch rests.
3. The Attraction of a Free Go.<pel.-From the first free distribution of tracts on the streets of Paris until the work reached its present grand dimensions nothing has at once surprised and drawn the workingmen more than this, that for all this ministry to their good they have not been asked a centime! The feast spread on a hundred tables has been without money and without price. They have associated all that is called religion with a tax, heavy and oppressive. The priests have fattened on the money paid for masses for the dead, and cathedral churches have been reared out of poor men's scanty wages. But all this is an unselfish labor, for which no return is asked.
3. The Simplicity of Gospel Work.-These methods are at the farthest remove from ritualistic formalism and ecclesiastical ceremony. Any place of meeting is good enough where the people can be com- fortably gathered. A Bible, a simple stand, a small reed-organ, a few' hundred chairs, a plain, earnest address, singing, prayer, hand-to-hand contact-this is all the machinery of the greatest mission movement of modern times! A bare hand reached out to the poor workingman, through which may be felt the warm throb of a loving heart, with not even a kid glove between to act as a non-conductor-that is the secret of power.
5. The Exemplification of true Ohristian Unity.-The effect is both unsectarian and undenominational. No lines of division appear between workers, and no "tribal standards" are unfurled. Christ's is the only name known. They are "all one," and hence "the world believes." The energies often expended in contests and conflic~s, or at least rivalries and jealousies among disciples, are here all turned into the channel of pure evangelistic work.
6. The Moral Eilucation of the Oommon People.-~r. McAll saw in Belleville extreme poverty and misery side by side with mental and moral degradation. He felt that material and spiritual conditions must be remedied together, and that the gospel was the lever to raise the whole man to a higher plane. Hence the prominence given to schools and class instruction.
The work has been successful along all these lines, and the more successful because projected along all these lines. In recognition and encouragement, the "Societe Nationale d'Encouragement au Bien" presented McAll with a silver medal for his devot-ion to humanity, and the" Societe Libre d'Instruction et d'Education" with another medal for services rendered to popular instruction. These public acknowledgments of McAll as a philanthropist and educator were aside from all questions of religion; while the Government also recognized his work as the best security for order and good citizenship, declaring his gospel stations the best" police measure" for the prevention of disorder and crime.
This humble man came to Paris, and removed the barriers between the "unchurched and churched," and came close to the people; gathered the multitudes into his "halls," making those halls not only nurseries of piety, but grand training-schools for future evangelism; meeting papacy and infidelity, not controversially and negatively, but experimentally and positively. And here, where it was thought there was no field for evangelization, a foreigner proved papal France to be the foremost missionary field. And so among this mercurial people, whose very blood is quicksilver, God is carrying on a work whose depth and reality are beyond all question. The gospel is God's remedy both for infidelity and instability, and so far and so fast as the gospel permeates the French nationality every noble characteristic develops.
McAll has put in motion a host of agencies, all evangelistic. Mission stations, with schools, classes, mothers' meetings, prayer-meetings, evangelists, visitors, tract-distributors.-everything thoroughly evangelical, variations of one key-note-" Christ crucified." The labors are great, of providing speakers for so many meetings, and with no free day but Saturday. The appliances are very comprehensive and complete, avoiding only open-air preaching, which conflicts with muni- cipallaw. The methods are very simple; no expensive buildings or outlay-a clean, whitewashed wine-shop or commodious room, adorned with texts and provided with platform and seats. And, withal, no mission anywhere is more economically, honestly and conscientiously
THE WORLD'S MISSIONARY OONFERENOE
conducted and administered. Every centime is accoqnted for in detail.
Here, then, even in France, long supposed to be the most hopeless field for Protestant missions, we behold another of the modern miracles which constrain us to exclaim, "What hath God wrought I"
THE WORLD'S MISSIONARY CONFERENCE.
LETTER FROM REV. A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
[Our editorial associate is present, as .. delegate-at-Iarge from the churches and societies of the United States," and an active and prominent participator in the doings ot thhl Grand Oonncil. The readers of THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD will be treated to graphic sketches of its inter· esting and important proceedings from his facile pen, as well as enjoy the reading of many of the important papers given to the Oonference, obtained by Dr. Pierson's personal presence and ac- qnaintance with many of the leading workers in the mission field. We give belOW the first Instal· ment, as an earnest of good things ~come. We have kept back the press to be able to give at this early date an acconnt of the opening of this world's council, which is sure to mark a new epoch in the religiOUS history of the world.-J. M. s.] LONDON, June 11, 1888. My DEAR DR. SHERWOOD :-Saturday, at five o'clock P.M., the great World's Conference on Missions assembled in Exeter Hall. Great as were the expectations that had gathered around the occasion, they were all surpassed by the reality. It had been the thought of the commit- tee that, before entering formally upon the business of the convention, a reception should be given to the delegates, affording an opportunity for free, familiar and social intercourse and acquaintance. Tables were set at the opposite ends of the great hall, capable of accommodating hundreds of persons, and after supper a few words of welcome were to be spoken, and a short prayer and praise service was to conclude this first general meeting. But all these arrangements proved inadequate; they were divinely displaced by the unexpected throng that crowded Exeter Hall and made locomotion almost impossible. Where thousands had gathered hundreds found but little room for freedom of movement; and so we all rejoiced to have the well-planned arrangements give way to the necessity of readjustment, and we conformed to circumstances. We were glad to stand where we hoped to sit, to fast where we expect~d to feed, and to be held as in a vise where we meant to go about and shake many loved hands. As I stood on the upper platform and looked over that augustassem- bIage, I said to myself, This is indeed the grandest ecumenical council ever assembled since the first council in Jerusalem I What a fitting commemoration with which to mark the completion of the first cen- tury of modern missions; what a fitting inauguration with which to in- troduce a new century of evangelism I The promise of our Lord is: "Where two or three are gathered to- gether in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Such a promise . and such a gathering must challenge the faith even of a very weak disciple. For when were the conditions of the promised presence more amply fulfilled! If there be such a thing as meeting "in His name,'~ surely it is to be found here. From the East and the West, from the North and the South, from every continent and the isles of the sea, representing every Ohristian denomination, missionary field and missionary agency or organization, delegates have gathered. The veteran missionary secretaries are here, the war-scarred soldiers who have fought for fifty years the battles of the Lord. They come as the maimed and scarred martyrs gathered at the council of Nicea, over 1,500 years ago. The authors of great books on missions, the editors of missionary magazines which chronicle the progress of the campaign of the ages, the eloquent pleaders by tongue and pen for the speedy evangelization of the world, the translators of Scripture into the many languages and dialects, missionaries from ,aU lands, and natives who have been converted and transformed into evangelists, pastors and teachers-these are here. Godly women, representing the legion of women's boards and auxiliary societies which have come to the front and kept at the front in the march of modern missions, are also here. Again we say, and deliberately, there never before was such a gathering" in His name." Ohrist has waited nearly 2,000 years since he gave His last command, before He has seen His whole Ohurch gathering by chosen representatives to plan a world-wide campaign for His gospel; forgetting all minor differences or divisions in rallying about the one ark of the covenant, and in obedience to providential and gracious signals, sounding the trumpet for a new onward, forward march!
It was obvious from the first that the Master of assemblies was in the midst. After a season of mutual introduction the Earl of Aberdeen-a very courteous, noble, simple, unpretending Ohristian man, yet in comparative youth-took the chair and called the great assembly to order and announced the opening psalm: "All people that on earth do dwell."
Those who would set an operatic quartette upon the stilts of high art to "perform God's praise" should have heard two thousand people sing Old Hundred then! And those who have been known to admire eloquent prayers, addressed to the audience should have heard the beloved Webb Peploe, as he led the vast audience in prayer that took hold of the very horns of the altar in importunate and earnest pleading for such a blessing as should surpass exceeding abundantly all we ask or think. It was a marvelous prayer, because it was so self-oblivious. He prayed in the Holy Ghost, and in praying with him we all draw near to the mercy-seat where God is enthroned. The blessing he asked had already come.
After a few graceful words of greeting from the Earl of Aberdeen, the Rev. Dr. Underhill, the veteran Secretary, now retired from active supervision, gave a resume of the various steps and stages by which, since the first comparatively private conference in 1854, in New York City, with Dr. Duff, the thought and plan of a world conference had grown in scope and in realization. Ten years ago a conference similar to this had been held at Mildmay, but it had no such cosmopolitan character, and was but a. herald preparing the way for this colossal gathering. To give any adequate idea of this masterly address we should be compelled to reproduce it entire, and even then the aroma of a flower is not more elusive, as to the printed page that may represent the form and even hues of a blossom, than is the ethereal atmosphere that invests such an address from such a man I Rev. Mr. Wigram of the Church Missionary Society then spoke, followed by the Rev. Dr. A. C. Thompson, the beloved representative of the American Board, who in a singularly graceful speech in behalf of the American delegations, left absolutely nothing to be added by the rest of us. Remarks were made by representatives of the German and French Societies, and by the Secretary, Rev. James Johnston. Hudson Taylor of the China Inland Mission led in prayer and the assembly adjourned. It was difficult to part. Handshakings innumerable followed, until slowly the great crowd separated, reluctant to leave a place manifestly filled with the Holy Ghost.
It was quite remarkable that in a land where aristocratic institutions prevail, there was no parading of great names, either at this opening· meeting or on the programme. We saw no man save Jesus only. As the Secretary justly said, it is a compliment and tribute to many of the men whose names are on the programme that they are not well and widely known. It is because in a self-oblivious spirit they have buried themselves among the heathen, and from these living sepulchers they have been called by the voice of this Conference to tell of what they have seen and heard amid the dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty, and to bear witness to the gospel, which, to the highest and lowest alike, is still the power of God unto salvation.
No meetings of the Conference, as such, were held on Sunday, but the delegates, scattered throughout the city, either occupied the pulpits or sat as worshippers in the churches. Neither Spurgeon nor Canon Liddon were well, and many were disappointed in not hearing them. There is on the part of the best people in London a conscientious objection to the use of the horse-cars and steam-cars on Sunday, and meetings at Exeter Hall were opposed because they would necessitate much needless travel on the Lord's day.
But Monday's meetings opened with a prayer-meeting at 9:45 in the large parlor adjoining the assembly rooms, which meeting was itself one of the richest and most Pentecostal feasts we ever attended. God poured out a spirit of grace and of supplication, which became for the whole day a fragrant anointing, and filled the entire house with its odor and atmosphere. It is now definitely ascertained that 150 delegates are present from the United States, representing 51 societies; 27 from Canada, representing 6; 22 from the Contine.nt of E~rope, representing 13; and 1,060 members, representing 52 societies in England, Scotland and Ireland. There is thus a total constituency in members and delegates of 1,259, represe:uting 122 societies.
In attempting to describe or chronicle these great gatherings, the like of which the world has never seen, we labor under two embarrassments: first, an embarrassment of riches, for thus far we have heard not one poor paper or weak speech; and, secondly, an embarrassment of limitation, for, not being ubiquitous, we find it impossible to be in two places at one and the same time, and hence cannot attend all the sectional meetings held simultaneously. At 10: 30 on Monday two meetings were held for members only, at one of which Missionary Methods were discussed, especially as to the selection and training of missionaries; and at the other, Medical Missions. At three P.M. again there were three meetings, one for discussion of Missionary Modes of Working; another, an open meeting, on the Increase of Islam, and a third, in the great hall, on China. Similarly in the evening, two meetings, one on the Jews, and the other in the large hall on the Condition of India, China, Africa, and the world at large.
This will afford a general notion of the modus operandi, and make repetition needless. And as the best way to promote brevity and interest in these editorial communications, I will henceforth simply touch on great salient features of the Conference, and refer in particular to the addresses and paperB, which, for originality of suggestion or practical value, seem to demand individual recognition.
Without invidious distinction, we may select the remarkable paper of Henry Grattan Guinness, the well-known evangelist and missionary trainer, as a representative of the papers read in the morning. Clear, practical, pungent and powerful, it captivated the assembly. And we have secured it for the pages of this REVIEW, and it may be expected entire in the next issue.
The general drift of the morning discussion was in the direction of a thorough qualification, both intellectually and spiritually, for the work of missions. It was insisted that it will not do to send abroad inferior men and women; that the strain and drain upon the faculties and resources are such as demand the best equipped and most thoroughly furnished men and workers. But we were glad to hear emphasized the pre-eminent need of spiritual anointing. The man who is not ready to preach anywhere is fit to preach nowhere. Love for souls is the highest genius-inventive, versatile, omnipotent, sagacious. During a course of training there must be constant contact with souls, to keep up vital warmth and prevent a cold intellectuality, a scholarship that is unspiritual and unconsecrated. The whole day was a feast of fat thillgs. But the great meeting of the evening was'the crown of the whole. The Earl of Aberdeen took the chair, with the Countess at his side. The' address of Prebendary Edmonds on the Condition of India was one of the brightest, keenest, sharpest and most brilliant we ever heard. It was a two-edged sword, and its edge was not keener than its point was piercing. For example, he made the Tabernacle in the wilderness a type of our duty. There were some things behind the veil which were still obscure; but before the veil were three others quite plain: the table of shew-bread, the candelabra and the altar of incense. God means that, in order to personal and national prosperity, there shall be three requisites-first, bread on the table; second, light in the house; and third, an altar of prayer. And wherever one or more of these is lacking, we are to seek to supply it.
Again, he said that the " Light of Asia" was the light of Oxford and Oxford Street; that it was Oxford thought read into Oriental systems. Again, he remarked that in India the great lack was the lack of a sense of individuality and of personality, and told a story of two learned Brahmins discussing as to whether God has or has not personal attributes. Both contestants received a prize for the conclusiveness of their respective arguments / He beautifully spoke of the 119th Psalm as stamped with the most impressive. personality in the conception both of God and of man. It contains the pronoun" I" 140 times, "thine" 180 times, "me" 100 times.
Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, of Chfua Inland Mission, then briejly, but with great power, outlined the history of missions ill China, and the present condition of the people. He referred to the numbers of the Chinese, their intelligence and industry, perseverance and resolution; succillctly referred to the great resources of the country, illstancillg the colossal coal deposits, capable of supplying fuel to the world for 2,000 years. Then he rapidly, by a few strokes, sketched the history of Chinese missions-Apostolic, Nestorian, Roman Catholic, Jesuit, the defect of all which was that they gave the people no Bible. Then came Robert Morrison, whose first work was to translate the Scriptures. Mr. Taylor arraigned the opium traffic as the sum of all wrongs and villaillies, and affirmed that when the first British ships bore to the land that fatal drug, an injury was inflicted that in one day works still more harm than the gospel can offset in a year. He calmly said, with deep emotion, that the opium habit works more damage than drink, slavery and the social evil combined.
It fell to the writer to make the closing address, a general survey, At that late hour all that could be done was rapidly and in outline to sketch the Present Position and Condition of Christian Missions. Amid all our congratulations we must not forget our humiliation, for while completing the first century of modern missions, it is only the first. Ohrist has patiently waited for nearly 1900 years to see of the travail of His soul. The evangelistic activity of the first centuries gave place to secularism and selfishness. A thousand years of the dark ages succeeded, during which Christianity scarcely survived. The Lutheran Reformation'revived apostolic doctrine, but did not revive apostolistio activity and evangelism. The church had to wait three centuries more before she recognized her duty and debt to a lost world. And even now the bulk of Christian disciples do not feel their individual responsibility for the lost. We do work by proxy. We erect great societies and boards, and by them girdle the world with a network of missionary organizations, and content ourselves with trifling gifts and sending forth some 5,000 or 6,000 men and women, while the converts from heathenism furnish five or six times as many workers as all Christendom! We give ten millions of dollars a year to foreign missions, while in London alone enough wealth is buried in ornaments, jewelry and silver plate, to carry the gospel round the world in ten years. During the nineteen centuries that haVtl pass€d away, not lesS than fifty entire generations have perished, and these have included not less than an aggregate 30,000,000,000 souls, or twenty times the present population of the globe.
The question is, Can the problem be solved, of reaching with the gospel the unsaved millions of the race? Of'course it must be solvable; for our Lord never would commit to His people an impossible task. If we study the gospels we shall find God's way of solving the problem outlined. It embraces some important factors, which we have comparatively failed to emphasize. Two of them I desire to make very prominent: first, individual call to direct labor for the unsaved; and secondly, the supernatural power of God. Had these been as prominent in the life of the church as they should be, the work of the evangelization might already have overtaken the population of our globe.
In my address at Exeter Hall I dwelt upon these two necessary requisites to the successful prosecution of mission work. We must return to the primitive conception-every believer a herald. In the 13th chapter of Matthew, our Lord gives us two parables of the kingdom : In the first He teaches us that the seed is the Word of God; in the second that the good seed are the children of the kingdom. Only as we take both together do we get the whole truth. If we would sow the world-field, we must scatter side by side with the seed of the Word the seed of Christian lives, the Word made flesh and dwelling among men, as the Master did. The world will never be brought to the knowledge of Christ by the Bible alone-but the Bible with the man and woman beside it. We must send forth colonies of disciples to plant Christian homes amid the dark places of the earth.
And, secondly, we must have hearty confidence in the supernatural factor in missions. We have had a book on "Natural Law in the Spiritual World ;" let us have another on Supernatural Law in the Natural World. In these days of naturalism we are in danger of practically denying the direct Divine hand in history. Nothing more attracted me to the study and advocacy of missions than the manifest interpositions of superhuman, supernatural power. Nothing short of God's own hand ever opened within one generation the door of all these kingdoms, shut and sealed a century ago. The children of Israel, led by the pillar of cloud, had no plainer proof of God's presence than the ordinary missionary band. The parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan, the route of Amalek, and the falling of Jericho's walls, were not more conspicnous signs of God's power than the marvels wrought in modern missions.
The Conference ought to yield two permanent results. First, it ought to revive in our hearts the sense of the supernatural, and drive us to importunate prayer. All our machiuery, our organizations and agencies, even the multiplication of money and men and means, can accomplish nothing without the providence and Spirit of God. This we must not only acknowledge, but realize anq. feel. The greatest lack in modern missions is, after all, the lack of believingprayer. All great results for the kingdom have been and will continne to be wrought in answer to the prayer of faith.
The other result should be energetic and enterprising action. We should forget that in which we differ and emphasize that in which we agree. Our tribal standards should be set up abont the Ark of God, and we should move together about that ark. The King's business requireth haste. A soldier of Queen Victoria, being asked how long it would take for the army and navy to carry a proclamation round the world and publish it everywhere, answered, "I think we could do it in about eighteen months." In the days of Esther, the decree of Ahasuerus was translated into every language spoken in the empire, and borne through the whole hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from the Bosphorus and Nile to the Indus and Ganges, in less than nine months! What might we not do with the help of the printingpress, steam navigation, the telegraph, and all the appliances of modern invention, if the church would but give herself to the glorious work! We might publish the gospel to all living peoples before the end of the present century!
Sounding the imperial clarion of advance along the whol~ line of battle, moving as one host, let us pierce the very center of the adversary, turn his staggering wings, and unfurl the flag of the Cross upon the parapet of every stronghold of the Devil.
DR. CHRISTLIEB ON MEDICAL
DR. CHRISTLIEB ON MEDICAL MISSIONS.
[The AllgtrMine Mi88ions-Zeitschriff; for 1888 contains a profoundly valuable article by Dr. Theodore Christlieb, continued through several numbers, upon Medical:Missions. The Rev. ehas. C. Starbuck has translated for us the salient passages of this article, which we give to our readers.-EDs.] "ALL genuine missionary work must be in the highest sense a healing work." So writes that vigorous missionary pioneer, Mackay, from that newest martyrland of missions, Uganda. As certainly as sin disintegrates soul and body, and these are most strictly conjoined, so certainly also must a complete redemption extend itself over the whole personal life, and therefore finally over the body. Therefore, forgiveness of sins, or preaching of the gospel, and bodily healing, are only two sides of the same comprehensive salvation, brought nigh to man in Christ, although its realization in the two spheres may be widely divergent in time. Therefore we see Christ not merely Himself preaching and healing as He goes around, but also sending forth the disciples' to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick,' giving, on the one hand, especial power to the Twelve 'to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease,' and, on the other hand, commissioning the Seventy (Luke x : 9) to heal the sick and to announce that the kingdom of God was at hand, here even giving the commission of heaHng the precedence. Nor is this power of healing given merely as a sign confirmatory of their mission, but as a manifestation of 'the universal compassion of the gospel,' which brings help for every harm.
" Though there had been now and then sporadic instances of medical skill applied by the English to missionary ends, it was the practical Americans who first gave this impulse a definite form, the first regularly trained and designated Medical Missionary having been Dr. Peter Parker, sent out by the American Board in 1834 to Canton. In a few years the London Society sent Benjamin Hobson after him, inaugurating the principle in Europe.
"It is little known that to the magnanimity of an English physician England in great part owes her influence in the East. In 1636, Dr. Gabriel Boughton, having cured a princess of the Great Mogul's court, who had been badly burned, asked, as his only reward, leave for his countrymen to trade with India. This was the beginning of English power and civilization in the East.
" The first, or at all events one of the first. missionary physicians, strictly so-called, sent out by a missionary society, was Dr. Otis R. Bacheler, sent out by the American Baptists (as I think) to Orissa in India, and still laboring there." [Dr. Christlieb has here confused the larger Baptist body with the Free Baptists, to whom Dr. Bacheler belongs, and who have long been associated with the General Baptists of England in preaching Christ" where Satan's seat is," in the very region of the temple of Juggernaut.] "Before 1861 there were not over twenty missionary physicians in all heathen countries, and before 1871 probably not more than forty at most. In 1878 there were ninety or one hundred, and by 1885 there were from one hundred and seventy to one hundred and ninety regularly graduated physicians in the work. The Edinburgh Medical Missions Society had, in 1871, an income of $6,240; in 1881, of $26,400.
"Notwithstanding that the number of missionary physicians since the beginning of the last third of our century has grown so rapidly and gratifyingly, yet in the majority of the heathen cities in which they labored half of the sick remained almost wholly excluded from this benefit-the female half. Especially in India, where the women of the upper classes regard it as / contrary to religion and propriety to show their faces before men, where, as a rule, not even the heathen physicians (hakims) are summoned to treat the cases of sickness in the zenanas, the way is completely barred to the Chris- tian male physician. Nor is this. merely true of the wealthier. ' All Hindu women,' writes Mrs. Weitbrecht, after a wide tour of inspection in 1878, 'whether rich or poor, are completely neglected in time of sickness. Preju- . dice and usage banish medical help. Fever, ophthalmia and other conta- gious ills·propagate themselves without check in the dark, filthy dwellings. From this results the enormous mortality among women and children, or chronic diseases, one of the chief hindrances of zenana missions. A female medical mission in the center of every populous district is one of the most crying necessities of India.'
"How rapidly, with growing confidence, the work increases; how rapidly the sphere of effectiveness widens out, in spite of the strange phenomenon of a female doctor, especially to the Hindu mind; nay, in spite of the great dread felt at first, especia.lly by women of the higher classes, of losing caste under Christian treatment, appears from the register of the Presbyterian Female Hospital at Lucknow. It was opened in 1883, and in that year had only thirteen patients. In 1886 it had 212, besides 2,712 outside patients and 6,930 distributions of medicine. The Church M. S. has nine ladies in service, more or less medically trained. In Travancore last year there were 4,946 patients receivin~ medicine. In Lodiana, in 1887, the Fern. Ed. Soc. supplied 4,985 patients with medicine. The Zenana Mission in Amritstar (the seat of the Sikh religion) in 1887, with a staff of six female physicians and one nurse, received 242 patients into the hospital, assisted at 454 births, visited 4,000 patients at home, and supplied some 30,000 with med- icines. Really it does seem as if Col. Higginson was authorized to concede that Christian missions accomplish something toward' making the condition of barbarians a little more comfortable.' Dr. Lowe of Travancore speaks of the disinterestedness of his native medical helpers. Though receiving only twenty-four cents a day, they have refused offers of three and four times as high wages in order to maintain the missionary work among their people. Missionary physicians, hospitals and dispensaries are indeed multiplying in In- dia, and extending their operations so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with them. And the movement has now passed beyond missionary circles, and under the patronage of Lady Dufferin, as representing the Empress, has become national. The Female Medical Aid Association in its first year en- joyed an income of $110,400. 'The cry for capable lady physicians goes through the whole land.'
" All agents of this national society are forbidden to exercise any mission- ary influence. This prohibition is remarked upon by Dr. Christlieb as fol- lows: "Doubtless this undertaking is thoroughly well meant by its found- el'll. Upon this broad basis help can be much more quickly procured for the neglected world of invalid Hindu women. To the female physician, who merely comes as a sympathizing human being with her skill for the body, the prison-doors of the zenana will swing open much more quickly than to the Christian woman who leaves out of sight neither sick body nor sick soul. This explains the enthusiasm over this new foundation, and the shower of wealthy gifts from England and India which has watered it. And yet we must inquire: Will this fruit of Christian culture be permanent, grafting itself into Indian society, without its root concealing that from which, never- theless, it is, in its deepest origin, derived? Does a right view of moral edu- cation, or even of the history of culture, warrant us in playi~ into the hands of the haughty rationalistic assumption that Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are religious equivalents, or have eyen an equal level of scientific right, viewed merely from the medical point of view? This is very nearly the same as to say that they all three signify the same; that is, signify nothing. Against whom is the edge of this anti-proselytizing principle turned? Practically against Christian physicians, and the course hitherto held by missionary practice. Hindu doctresses are not touched by it, and hardly Mohammedans, allowing that there should ever be any, and that Western science had not dulled the energy of their fanaticism.
"Imagine a Christian lady attending at the bedside of a patient mortally ill. She sees death approaching. She does her best for the relief of the bodily distress. But for the restlessness, or it may be the torpor of tbe spirit, for the deep distress of soul which often oppresses the sick one far more heavily than bodily pains, she may not offer a word of Christian truth or evangelic gospel comfort! With the saving light in her hand she yet may not venture to cast a beam into the darkness of the poor heathen soul, even when she sees it deepening into the darkness of death! Her lips for this are as good as sealed. What cruelty to the poor patient, and to the compassionate physician no less. Will the young Christian Hindu women, who are now sent by local corporations to study medicine at Agra, be able to prevail on themselves to be silent before their Hindu sisters concerning that which has become the bliss of their own life and the .rest of their own heart, concerning their faith? It is to be hoped not.
" And when, as above all in India, the use of certain medicines or other remedies clashes severely with religious prejudices, will it not often import to remove or at least to mitigate such scruples? And so far this necessity involves an interference with religious opinions. And abo¥e all: does Christ's commandment to preach the gospel, which assuredly embraces India, apply only for well women, and not also for sick? Has any person, or' any society, a right to restrain it? And must a reference to the Saviour of all the world necessarily be made in an importunate, wearisome, hea-dlong manner? Can there. not be a friendly, heartily sympathetic offer of salva.- tion, such as shall awake a living hope, and finally implant in the uneasy spirit a divine peace, a state of mind which can only react favorably upon the bodily condition? How often do humanitarians, out of mere respect of man, fall into pure cruelty! How certainly, on close examination, the Christian interpretation of love to our neighbor app~'oves itself as the only genuinely human interpretation!
"Lady Dufferin allows that the' quiet influence of Christian virtues' must be permitted the agents of the society. No doubt. No gracious permission of royalty or its representative can be required for that. It is its own authentic warrant. But to the catalogue of Christian virtues, under some circumstances, it also belongs to confess with the mouth, not merely by quiet example, as the latter can only inspire respect for the person of the physician, or at most for his religion, but cannot alone help the poor patient out of his heathen ignorance into true faith and peace. The appeal to public policy, while entirely intelligible from the Vice-Empress of India, can never justify the position in Christian eyes. For, as we judge, the more said about earlier government policy in India the worse the case turns out. Heathen customs of worship, not merely endured but for long years supported (and sometimes, it is hinted, l'upported even yet by donations to temples, etc.), have proved, not only as viewed by Christians, condemnable, but to be also a.
mere short-s~hted opportunism) contributing perhaps, for the moment, to avert popular tumults, but in the event mOl"'J.lly injurious to the government, as giving to many thinking Hindus an impression derogatory to a power which could prove itself so weak as virtually to deny its own Christian faith.
"The assumption that, however it may be with certain Indian princes. the Indian people object to female physicians who bring the gospel, is far from being of universal validity. Otherwise, how is it to be explained, that the 'General Council of Education in India' some time ago, when strongly urging a multiplication of girls' schools, acknowledged that 'the natives decidedly prefer girls' schools conducted by the missionaries to those conducted by the Government or by natives.'
"Therefore, with full acknowledgment of the noble designs of Lady Dufferin, the periodicals representing medical missions have, so far as I can see, unanimously declared this principle of silence as to religion to be unpractical and largely impracticable, indeed, unchristian, and therefore for the more earnest Christian women morally impossible of acceptance.
" In China also the medical missionary institutes are hardly less numerous than in India. They already extend from Hong Kong and Canton to Peking, and even into Mantchuria and Tartary. The number of missionary physicians, male and female, at present working there, Fomosa included, already exceeds 80. Of this whole number Continental societies at present reckon not one; 38 are British; 44 American, including Canada. Among these the heaviest representation is of the American Presbyterians, 14; next the M. E. Church, with 10; the A. B. Q. F. M. English Presbjt:erians and China Inland Mission, 8 each; London M. S., 7; English Wesleyans, 5; Church M. S., 4, etc. The most comprehensive single medical mission of China is that of the English Presbyterians in Swatow. The hospital was opened by Dr. Gauld in 1863. It can now accommodate 200 inmates, and has elsewhere in the town a lepers' department. In 1885 there were in all 3,867 patients from 1,824 localities, besides 1,770 treated at home, Of 944 operations 544 were ocular.
" Many societies can already look back upon a series of names of physicians which have become names of renown in the missionary history of Asia.: the American Board upon the consecrated zeal of a Dr. Scudder, or a Dr. Parker in Asia; upon Dr. Osgood, who died, 1880, in Foochow; who, in the hospital there, in nine years treated 51,838 sick persons, and at whose death thousandS of heathens raised a loud lament; upon Dr. Grant, who in his medical practice found twenty times more opportunity for intercourse with Mahommedans than his clerical colleague, and whose memory is to this day a power among the poor Nestorians and wild Koords, for whom he offered up his life; upon his successor, worthy of him, Dr. Wright, of whom an intelligent Nestorian said, 'his influence is that of a prince '; upon Dr. H. A. West in Sivus (Asia Minor), who by his simple method of treatment freed the natives from the terror of the measles, which were there as destructive and dreaded as the small-pox; who educated a company of most capable native physicians, and received therefor from the Turkish government a most emphatic expression of thanks; a man whom his innumerable surgical operations (one hundred and fifty simply for stone) rendered a celebrity even in Europe and America, who in cases innumerable opened the eyes of the blind; who, for services which at home would have brought him in hundreds, yes, thousands of dollars, would accept nothing, contenting himself with his simple missionary salary; who, go where he would, was surrounded by the sick, ~he lame, the palsied, so that the nativ,es often said of the simple, unpretentious man: 'He is like Je~!Us.' And so with the'Presbyterian and other missionary societies.
"It is worthy of note that two stations in Western Asia, at which missions have proved themselves peculiarly effective, Aintab and Ooroomiah, were founded by missionary physicians.
"Of late years Syria and Palestine are, of all Turkish provinces, the most abundantly supplied with medical missionaries. And here again Beirlit, already mentioned as a centre of medical missions, where the American Presbyterians have five professors and doctors of medicine, partly for instruction ani partly for missionary practice. In Tripoli (of Syria) three-fourths of Dr. Harris's patients are Turkish women, who even overcome their usual aversion to showing the foreign doctor their faces; nay, invite him into their houses for further treatment. It is, he says, a moving spectacle to see fifty or seventy-five white-clad, deeply veiled Turkish women listening reverently to the Scripture lesson which always precedes the treatment, and to hear them ratifying the prayer with a loud' Amen.' Dr. Harris is an Englishman.
"In Jaffa the London Mildmay Institute has a female medical mission. Here, in 1886, a roomy hospital for women was dedicated, for the building of which a firman had been secured from Constantinople, and which cost some $24,000. It is open every morning at 9, but the patients begin to gather by 6. Of the 231 persons received into it in one year 180 were Moslem; 11,176 received outside treatment. In the wards every evening the holy Scripture is read in Arabic, and, as the latest report says, 'the black eyes of the sick women fix themselves as eagerly upon the reader as if they would fain drink in every word she utters.'
"As a final notice of Mohammedan countries, we must not pass by the latest, singularly self-denying essay of medical missions, that of the young Scotchman of rank, the Honorable John Keith Falconer, in Arabia. This admirable Orientalist, not unknown in Germany itself, son of Lord Kintore, in 1885 went in connection with the mission of the Free Church of Scotland to Aden, and at his own expense established the mission station, Sheik Othman, at some leagues remove from the town. Having returned to England and been appointed professor of Arabic at Cambridge, he taught there a short time, but in 1886 returned to Aden with the missionary physician, established at his own expense a little hospital and free dispensary, preached the gospel to sick and well, distributed Bibles and tracts, and was about to travel throughout Arabia with one of the chief Bedouin tribes when death overtook him in May, 1887. To the service of the Lord he had given up his eminent academical position, his Oriental learning, his social rank, his ample means, the bright morning of his wedded life, and his well-proved physical vigor."
Dr. Christlieb remarks that,' in comparison with the medical missionary work of the two Anglo-Saxon nations, the three or four German medical missionaries form a rather humiliating contrast, although more of such work is done than is registered. On the other hand, the Kaiserwerth deaconesses are aecomplishing an excellent missionary work in the Orient. "If they are not academically trained doctresses, they have yet been thoroughly trained in hospitals and deaconesses' houses to the care of the sick, and, along with the teaching sisters in schools and orphanages, render uncommonly important pioneer services to Protestant missions. Theil' quiet work receives fuller and fuller recognition both from Christians and Mohammedans, especially as being,'for the most part, older than that of the English female physicians. In Alexandria, where their work began in 1857, they have a hospital With 11 deaconesses, who daily tend 66-70, yearly 1,100-1,200 patients, while the clinics are visited by nearly 3,000• .. The oldest field of labor of the sisters is Jerusalem, where, in 1851, on Mount Zion, near the Anglican Church, they opened, under the direction of Fliedner, a hospital 'for the sick, of all religions and confessions.' This hospital, after successive enlargements, now receives over 450 patientsyearlyj while 8,200 visit the clinics. Four sisters are in charge. The original aversion of the Mohammedans to the' dogs' house' was soon overcome, In 1862, of the inmates 178 were Mohammedans; in 1863, 278; in 1864, 312. At present over one-third of all treated are Moslems. They, too, 'listen gladly to the message of reconciliation,' while to many Christian patients also a clearer light rises here upon the true substance of our faith. As a traveler was telling a Mohammedan-a former patient-about the German victories, the latter replied: 'It is the Prussian sisters who have conquered us.'
"German love has of late also extended its compassionate care to the poorest of the poor and sickest of the sick, the lepers of Palestine, by means of the Lepers' Asylum in Jerusalem, erected 20 years ago by the CountE'ss von Keffenbrinck. This is conducted and served by the Unitas Fratrum, the domestic chaplain being the former German pastor at Jerusalem, and the resident physician Dr. Chaplin, of the English Mission to the Jews. The imposing new building, situated not far from the Templar Colony, and dedicated in 1886, witll room for some 30 patients, was last year occupied by 24 patients, mostly men. An Arab evangelist gives a Bible lecture twice a week, which the inmates willingly attend. The Word of God, says the latest report, often prove& to these afflicted ones a deep consolation. It moves the heart to hear a leper, with his hoarse and hollow voice, from which all the resonance is gone, uttering the words of the Psalmist: 'Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, 0 Lord!' Leprous children, so long as they yet have fingers, learn to read and write. The faithful house-parents (Tappe and now Franz MillIeI') maintain, even here in the Orient, to a surprising extent, the fame of the Herrnhuters for neatness and clea.nliness.
Dr. Christlieb, after speaking of a German-Swiss medical missionary who went to Calicut, in India, last year, and whose consultations in the first three months stood 640,950,1,332, raises the question, "How are we, in Germany, to find physicians of the true Christian and missionary spirit ?" and proceeds: " And with this question we come to the deepest ground of our altogether disproportionateinferiority in this branch of missionary activity. Itisfound in the almost universal prevalence within our medical faculties, both among teachers and students, of a naturalistic spirit, hostile to revelation, for which, indeed, the way has often been prepared, both directly and indirectly, in the Gymnasia. On the other hand, in the English-speaking world, especially in Scotland, but also in America and England, the Christian and missionary interest among young medical students is positively strengthened by not a few even of their most eminent teachers. With us, a student of medicine, though perhaps of a Christian family, has the greatest possible difficulty during his course of study even to keep hold of his Christian convictions. AmolJ.g his companions, the very thought of engaging in missions would be utterly unintelligible. It would make him a target of scorn. Who in these circles concerns himself about the extension of the kinglom of God, a phrase which, almost without exception, is for them a dead letter. Who among them so much as casts a look over missionary literature. unless, at most, now and then. to glean from it some newly-reported fact of natural history? Yet
THE DRINK TRAFFIC AMONG NATIVE
even in Germany we find medical students, here and there, in our missionary associations. Missionary societies in Germany may therefore be exhorted, when looking for missionary physicians, 'Seek, and ye shall find.'
"So much respecting the development and diffusiqn hitherto of medical missions and their auxiliary institutions in our Protestant missionary work. Considering that, independently of medical missions in Christian lands, there are to-day, of regularly graduated Protestant physicians, male and female, in Africa and Madagascar, 37; in China, Formosa and Corea, some 86 or 88; in India and Burmah, at least 76; in Siam, 3; in Japan, 14; in the Pacific, 6 ; in Mohammedan countries, some 40; and that, moreover, in Turkey, India, China and elsewhere, there are dozens of deaconesses and nurses, with no mean measure of medical knowlege, we are well entitled to declare that the branches of this great growth are already world-embracing. Weare now in a better position to give a compendious judgment respecting the necessity and the value, the methods and the present results of missionary medical practice."
THE DRINK TRAFFIC AMONG NATIVE RACES.
[The Bev. Henry Duncan, Convener of the Church of Scotland's Committee on Intemperance, contributes an important paper to the Church 0/ Scotland Home and Foreign .Mi88ion Record on the effect of the drink tramc among native races. Some months ago the same writer gave a stakling account of the" Effects of the Liquor Tramc on Native Races." Since then fresh light has been thrown upon the subject. It has been discussed in both Houses of the British Parliament, and the different churches and temperance organizations abroad are combining in an earnest effort to grapple with the evil. Nor is the voice of American Christianity and civilization silent. Protests, petitions and remonstrances have gone forlh from many of the leading Christian bodies in this country. The state of things is indescribably awful. This diabolical tramc is cursing Africa to·day far worse than ever the slave trade did. It muat be stopped, and the responsibility rests with the three great Protestant nations that are mainly responsible for the introduction of rum into and are flooding the Dark Continent with it-namely, Great Britain, Germany and the United States.-EDs.] " ONE of the minor difficulties of the problem lies in the fact that the traffic is carried on by men of different nationalities, and that no single government has the power of preventing or even controlling the traffic. All that can be done in the meantime seems to be to collect and disseminate information on the subject, in the hope that a plain narrative of facts will lead to such a rousing of the conscience of the Christian Church, and such an awakening of the European and American powers to the gravity of the question as will issue in combined and energetic action lor the suppression of a traffic that is a disgrace alike to our Christianity and our civilization.
"In dealing with the subject, it is extremely desirable that we separate the case of the native races of India from that of the native races of Africa and of other parts of the world. Not that there is no room for earnest action in regard to India, but because the cases are in many respects so widely different that what is true of the one is by no means always, or in the same sense, true of the other. Confining our attention, then, just now to Africa, what are the facts with which we are confronted? Briefly these, that British, German, French and American traders are pouring alcohol into the Dark Continent in such quantities and in such forms as to produce the most disastrous results, not only on the moral and spiritual condition of the natives, but even on their physical and commercial interests-that, in fact, as has been said by an eminent traveler, 'the great continent of Africa is being ruined by rum.' One or two facts will make the meaning of this statement clear.
" It is a well-known and admitted fact that native races cannot partake of alcohol in its European forms without sinking into a state of decay and degradation. Men sometimes speak as if the decay of the native races was a. necessary consequence of the advance of civilization. But clearly there is nothing in civilization to account for such decay. Sir John Thurston, Assistant High Commissioner in the Western Pacific, states the case tersely and truly when, repudiating such an idea as regards the natives of these islands, he says, 'Arms, gunpowder and alcohol are the solvents under which native life disappears.' And yet, in the face of this fact of the total inability of these native races to survive the introduction of this agent, there is carried on at this moment by professedly Christian men an enormous trade in alcohol in its most destructive forms. The merchants of Mauritius senttheir refuse rum, which was worthless in any other market, to the recently-converted island of Madagascar, and, despite the entreaties of rulers and people, forced upon them a trade which has done much to nullify the work of Christian mIssionaries for many years. It is the same on the West Coast of Africa. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said lately in the House of Lords, 'There is a trade rum and a trade gin which aret neither more nor less than liquid fire, mere poison, which destroy in a very short time the men and women who consume it, and they consume it without stint.' So deadly is it that among the natives, we are told, some of it goes by the name of death! And this, which ruins body and soul, imported by men who are members of our churches and subscribers to our missions I It is perhaps not to be wondered a.t that men who are destitute alike of principle and humanity should yield to the temptation to engage in so nefarious a traffic when 700 per cent. can be gained by it. But surely the Christian Church should protest in the strongest possible manner against a traffic which is a Q,isgrace to Christendoml "But the evils of the traffic consist not only in the character of the spirit that is imported, and its general effects upon the native population. It is only when certain testimony which has recently come to hand is carefully considered and weighed, that the full extent of the evil can be at all appreciated. The Rev. Horace Waller, F.R.G.S., not only says that 'the degradation of the wretched tribes of West Africa has reached a depth which is appalling,' but testifies to his having seen hundreds of native girls lying in a 'state of intoxication round the wagons of the spirit-sellers. And that his is no exceptional experience appears from the testimony of others no less trustworthy. Dr. Clarke, speaking of South Africa, saysthat he has seen thousands of girls lying drunk round the traders' wagons. And Mr. Moil', of the African Lakes Trading Company, writes, 'I have seen boys and girls of fourteen and fifteen getting their wages in rum.' In fact, there ar~ parts of the country in which there is practically no other currency. Let the church consider such .appalling facts as these, and then say whether it is possible that Christian mission work should be successful when all this shame and degradation and ruin is connected in the native mind with the Christian name. ' The time has surely come,' in the words of Mr. Joseph Thomson, the great traveler, 'when, in the interests of our national honor, more energetic efforts should be made to suppress this diabolical traffic. There can be no excuse for its continuance, and it is a blot on Christian civilization.'
"One of the most pathetic circumstances connected with the whole subject is to be found in the pitiful appeals which come to us from the natives them- selves. Sensible of their weakness, they have appealed again atld again to the Christian people of this country and the governments of Europe to pro- tect them from a temptation they feel powerless to resist. Quotations from such appeals could be given to a large extent, but space will not permit.
THB HBRO-MISSIONARY. • I!i9'l
'There has broken out, I Mr. Waller tells us, 'not only in one or two,but ';'n several densely populated tracts of Africa, an intense desire to shake off the drunkenness which has arisen as a contact with civilization.' 'Why,' asks the Rev. Mr. Johnson, the able native pastor of Lagos (into which small island, with a population of 37,000, Europe imports 1,231,302 gallons of spirits, 1,205,160 gallons of which are' trade rum' and' trade gin,' described above) -' why should European proximity to Aflica be Africa's ruin?' Archdeacon Farrar, in a powerfully written article in the Oontemporary Review (now reprinted in pamphlet form), tells us that in 1883 the natives of the diamond fields implored the Cape Parliament to have public houses removed from them for a distance of six miles, and that their petition was refused. Strange that the cry of weakness and helplessness should be so shamefully disregarded, and that nations that stand in the forefront of civilization and missionary effort should turn away from such appeals, and force upon unwilling peoples that which is working their complete destruction I "Hitherto, our own special mission field at Blantyre has escaped the blighting curse that has fallen on other parts of Africa. But we should realize the fact that if, through any of these changes which are always possible in an unsettled country, drink should be introduced among the native population there, our mission may be wrecked, and the labor of years wholly lost.
"It is earnestly to be hoped that measures will speedily be taken to deal practically with the facts now set forth. There is no lack of facts to prove the greatness of the scandal. The difficulty is to get the citizens of this country, the men in power in the State, and even the Christian people in our churches to look them in the face, I trust therefore that the Church of Scotland will take her place among the other branches of the Christian Church and throw herself heartily into a cause with which is so closely bound up the success of her missions and the progress of the cause of Christ."
THE HERO-MISSIONARY.
BY ROBERT NEEDHAM CUST, LL.D.
[We are Indebted to the distinguished anthor for an early copy of this remarkable address, delivered In Henry Martyn Hall, to nndergradnates of the University of Cambridge. The part we here present gives ns pen portraits of three heroic missionaries of world-wide fame. The latter part oCthe address sketches graphically the Heroic Missionary Society, taking as his type the MoraVian Church. We hope to give that In our next number.-EDs.] As a member of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, I am not likely to undervalue the plodding day by day, and year by year, of the simplehearted missionary, who, like Rebman and Krapf atMombasa, in East Africa, and William Smith and Leupolt at Banaras, worked on from year to year, and only left the scene of their quiet labors when failing powers compelled them to do so. Such uneventful Ii ves do not strike the imagination so much as that of the hero-missionary, whose career is short, but brilliant: it may seem unjust, but it is so always; tho bravo man who leads the forlorn hope, or gains the Victoria Cross by risL:nc hi/: life, obtains a niche, and his career is an incentive to others: the faithful old soldier has nothing but the feeling of duty done to reward him, and the thought of him will not rouse others to deeds of valor.
My subject is the Hero-Missionary and Heroic Missionary Society. It is hard that the man must die to be deemed a hero, but so it has been at all times from the days of Achilles to our own times. Death throws a halo round the departed one. Some examples have been brighter in death than in life; it is another illustration of our Lord's remark about the corn of wheat, "If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." I have selected three great characters, Allen Gardiner, .Coleridge Patteson and John Williatns, as types of the hero- missionary, and the lf:oravian Missionary Society as the type of the heroic mission.
ALLEN GARDINER-THE PIONEER MISSIONARY.
Life is such a tangled web that it is only as he a.pproaches the end of his career that the worker can see the pattern of the web at which he has been working all his days. He has had only one portion of the pattern exposed to his view, but he has been permitted to work at that faithfully and patiently, though it may be only a leaf or a flower, and he is able to do it truly, strongly and firmly; but the hero-missionary seems in his youth, or in the early part of his career, to have grasped at some purpose unseen to all but himself; he wishes to accomplish something which the world will not let die; a.nd to some few this is granted. In others the one only life which the worker had to offer is not sufficient; but the Master accepts the will for the deed, as young McCall said on his early deathbed, "If the Lord's will be to take my- self, and not the work which I would do for Him, His holy will be done." 'Ov 01 eeOI tplAoV(fl, !JvrJU/coVUIV VeOl.
Heroes, being men of marked character, are deemed by the vulgar herd to be eccentric: their very superiority prevents their being duly estimated. The circumstance of their death shakes weak faith, but the true Christian through death to life sees clearly how God of seeming evil works lasting good. To die for one's country is a great gain; to die for one's Saviour, to fill up what remains of His sufferings, is sweeter. Such was the life of AHen Gardiner: no doubt he was thought to be an enthusiast, and crazed, and a bore; butthe opinion is now changed. His story is simple: he was an officer of the navy who lost his young wife early. He thus went per crucem ad lucem, and thenceforth consecrated himself to the missionary service heart and soul, and he kept his vow: to be a pioneer missionary to the most abandoned heathen was the great object of his life. He was neither qualified for ordinary mis- sionary work nor would it have satisfied him to have reaped the harvest which others had sowed. His was a harder and more thankless task, but none the less blessed.
He tried many countries, but found no opening; his missionary spirit, like a dove let loose from home, wandered about seeking a place of rest. At length he definitely chose South America as his field; he was prevented by the Roman Catholic priests from settling among the wild tribes on the continent.
He found at length a spot where even the Spanish priests would not care to follow him, at the most southerly point of the island, separated from the mainland by the Straits of Magellan, within a small distance of the Antarctic Circle, the Island of Terra del Fuego.
The possibilities of the human family are not to be found in one single race, or at'one particular epoch, or in one region of the world. Grace is sufficient for them all, and the missionary, who brought captive to the feet of his Mas- ter the poor Eskimo, the halI-brutal Fuegian, the cannibal of Melanesia, oJ.' the short, stunted races of Australia, glorifies his Saviour by showi~g that the gospel message was designed for all, can be understood by all, that Christ died for all, and that there is no other way of salvation but through Him. The message is so divine, and yet so clothed in ulfiversal humanity, that it finds its way to the spiritual necessities of all, and satisfies the heart's cravings. The student of missionary chronicles has added this new weapon to the armory of the theologian. Darwin, one of the gentlest and wisest of heathens (for he that is least of the kingdom of heaven is greater than him), when he saw the inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, declared that their intenect~ ual improvement was beyond the efforts of man; but he lived to replace that hasty opinion by the following: "The lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand."
Both nature and man were against Gardiner: the climate rendered the country most dreary and inhospitable: the sky rarely cleared: rainy squalls in summer alternated with the snow and sleet of winter: the winds were ferocious. The people belonged to the Patagonian race, of a dark color, with long black hair: they had low foreheads, flat and thick noses, scanty clothing, wretched habitations, and they were arrant thieves, cruel, and, when brought to bay, furious wild beasts: the women possessed some traces of gentleness, but were treated as slaves. Gardiner's first attempt to land and house himself on land was a failure: the conduct of the natives was such that he had to retreat and return to England. NothingJlaunted, he determined to have a floating home, and to keep his reserve stores at the Falkland Islands. He could not collect sufficient funds to buy a suitable vessel, so he supplied himself with two decked boats: two catechists and three pious sailors accompanied him. The Ocean Queen steamer deposited the boats and men with provisions for six months at Banner Bay in Terra del Fuego: they had given up all the ties of home for Christ's sake, but they were called upon to make a greater sacrifice, even of their lives, and none of them were ever seen alive again. It reconciles us to our common humanity, that men are always found, when the cause of Christ requires it, to face the greatest danger at His bidding. These men all died of starvation, Allen Gardiner being the last survivor. When, months later, the frigate, sent out to make inquiries, arrived, their dead bodies were found, and their journals and letters: one by one they had died, but there was no despair, 110 imputation of blame to others: "Poor, weak though we are, our abode is a very Bethel to our souls, for we feel and know that God is here." " Asleep or awake, I am happy beyond the power of expression." Allen Gardiner penned a farewell letter, expressing his unclouded joy in the Lord, his perfect resignation to His holy will, but eamestly imploring that the mission should not be abandoned, and sketching out a plan for future operations, which was acted upon. In his death he antICipated the coming of this Master's kingdom. He rejoiced to see the day-dawn of the gospel: he saw it, and was glad. His last words were, "Great and marvelous are the loving-kindnesses of my gracious God unto me. He has preserved me hitherto, and for four days, although without bodily food, without any feeling of hunger or thirst!" Here the journal ends: but one letter was dated a day later: "Yet a little while, and through grace we may join that blessed throng, to sing the praises of Christ to all eternity. I neither hunger nor thirst, though five days without food: marvelous loving-kindness to me a sinner!"
I remember the news of this sad tragedy reaching India in 1852, and many a sigh was wafted from India to the South Pole. His life was not given in vain: the pioneer's work was done: and the Lone-Star Mission was estab- iished, which has worked northwards intQ the mainland of South America, and is now spreading itself among the heathens of Paraguay. Bread cast on the waters is found after many days.
'Humanly speaking, but for Allen Gardiner's determination, and the interest excited by the sad end of himself and his noble companions, this footing would never have been made good. When nations and tongues are assembled beforE. the great white throne, Allen Gardiner will be there with his savages: "Lord I behold, with the talent, which Thou gavest me, I have gatheIed these poor sheep into Thy fold I" * BISHOP COLERIDGE PATTESON.
Differing in everything-in method, in gifts, in training, in result, but with the same spirit, that of lowly and entire self-sacrifice, was the career of Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of the Islands of Melanesia, which lie 120Q to the West, and in a more northern latitude. I knew Patteson as a boy at Eton, and he had the advantage of a University education, and I well remember Bishop Selwyn the elder going out as Bishop of New Zealand. He also wal:' of the hero type, strong, brave, wise and determined: he had established. the mission in the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands, and he chose Coleridge Patteson to be his coadjutor and his successor: there is something sad and solemn in the details of the selection of the lad by the bishop, and the surrender of him by the parents: the mother, like Hannah, consecrated her son to the Lord, and the grand old father made the great sacrifice of his eldest boy, for he never saw his face again. How foolish, and even wicked, seem the efforts of parents to retain their children whea the Lord has unmistakably chosen and called them I Every act of this beautiful life stands out in the pages of his biography: whether in his solitary ~hip cabin, or lonely hut, he was a great writer of letters, and they tell us unconsciously of his exalted character. He had no settled home, but .he had a settled plan, devised by Bishop Selwyn, and worked out by himself. He had to deal with a black, woolly.ifmired Negrito race, savage, inhospitable, cannibals, not so low down in the scale of humanity as the natives of Terra del Fuego, for they possessed some arts. and they spoke numerous distinct languages. The training-school on Norfolk Island, the mission ship taking up and putting down lads at the different islands, thus accustoming the people to his presence, acquiring a knowledge of their languages, and creating a confidence in his kindness: these were his methods. As his blessed ship passed from island to island, it left a track of light, of mercy, and loving-kindness. and his plans seem to be realizing. We read in his journal: " I think of the i~lands, and see them in my dreams, and it seems as if nothing bad been done; lint, when I think of what they were a very short time ago, oh t I do feel thankful indeed, and amazed, and almost fearful."
He was so far more blessed than Allen Gardiner, for he saw some fruits of his labors: brighter prospects of more fruit: the harvest was ripening: laborers, both European and native, were gathering around him: the time for putting in the sickle was at hand.
"Hundreds of people are crowding together, naked, armed, with uncouth cries and gestures. I cannot talk to them but by signs: lmt they are my children tuno. May God enable me to do my duty by them I "
The great Controller of the lives of men had provided him fellow-laborers from an unexpected quarter: lads whom he found on Norfolk Island, descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty, who, having married native women of Tahiti, left to their offspring a legacy of the blood of Europe and Ogeania united in their veins in.a mixed stream; these lads were endowed with singular sweetness of character and ardent faith. Two were killed by poisoned arrows during the lifetime of the bishop: one died with him. It is well known that the bishop was killed at the Island of Nikapu: I need not tell the sad story: he died for the sins of others, so closely did he tread in the * Story of Allen Gardiner (7th edition), Marsh & Stirling, 1887. steps of his Master: a boat floated qut containing his body with a palm branch laid upon the five wounds: and at the age of 46 his warfare was accomplished, his hero life was ended. The poor lad, however, lingered a few days in in- tense agony under his. wounds, and made tlfe following remarks. when he saw his leader's body, showing the spirit which had been imparted to him by his contact with a hero• .. Seeing people taken away when we think that they are most necessary to do God's work on earth makes me think that we often think and talk too much about Christian work: what God requirea is Ohristian men. He does not need the work: He only gives it to form a perfect charaeof the men, whom he sends to do it."
.. It is all right now. Do not grieve about it, because they did not do this thing of themselves,for God aUowed them to do it. It is very good, because God would have it so, and because He looks after us, and He understands abont us, and now He wille to take away us two (me and the bishop), and it is well…
The poor lad's knowledge of the world was limited to Pitcairn Island and Norfolk Island. His faith had not been weakened in the schools of learning.
The bishop had by his own hero life brought Christ home vividly to his im- agination, and in his simple eloquence, with dying lips, the poor lad sought to palliate the offenses of the ignorant savages, who had killed him in re- venge for the wrongs which they had suffered at the hands of others, and to justify the ways of God to man. Who can say that Coleridge Patteson lived and died in vain? If you seek his monument, read the annals of the ever-ex- panding Melanesian Mission, spreading from tribe to tribe, and from island to island.* JOHN WILLIAMS.
John Williams belonged to an earlier generation. He had accomplished his course while Patteson was an Eton boy, before Allen Gardiner had conceived his great idea. He was indeed an ajla~ ILVopi:w, and seems to have been specially brought upon the scene by a wise Providence at a moment when his peculiar gifts were required. Oh! if we could only un- derstand, and be satisfied, that we are all of us but pots in the hands of the potter, made suitable for the work which is laid upon us! Williams' educa- tion, intellectually and even religiously, had been very defective: the hour of his call came at the appointed time: as he was going to a tavern to meet worldly companions, he was overtaken by a lady in the streets, who persua- ded him to accompany her to a place of worship, and this chance event was the commencement of his great change of life: he had energy of character, strength of faith, ardent desire to preach the gospel, and a wonderful power of conciliation: he could moreover turn his hand to anything in the smithy, or carpenter's shop: he proved his capacity to build a seaworthy vessel: he could saw timber, or teach in a school: his object was to rouse the people to the duty of introducing new arts and reasonable requirements, Such was the man who was sent out to preach the gospel in the Island of Tahiti in 1816; early in his career he wrote to his mother, that he prayed that he might be faithful unto death, and his prayer was heard, for it was so : he had a heart too large to wish to keep the duty of evangelizing the vast region of Oceania to one denomination of Christians: he invited all the churches of Protestant Christianity to take tHeir part in the holy crusade.
Early in his career he conceived the idea of evangelizing the whole region, and he lived to see great progress in carrying it out. His plans were bold and original, but always practical, and which would work. There was noth- ing in him Utopian, sentimental or illusory, and success crowned all his en- deavors, though he did not live to see it, and half a century's experience has * Life of Bishop Patteson (2 vols.), Yonge, 1875. confirmed the justice of his views. He could not rest satisfied with the tiny . populations of Raiatea and Rarotonga (of which island he was the first discoverer): the fervor of his spirit led him to desire, in spite of the inadequacy of his means, to go on from island to island, and plant a living Christianity; for he formed and carried out the bold conception of training converted heathen to become teachers and evangelists in other heathen islands, a truly divine method, and blessed beyond his utmost dreams. It seems almost fabulous, if subsequent years had not proved the reality. He came, he saw he conquered: like a giant he strode over leagues of sea, and anticipated difficulties seemed to vanish before him.
There was no steamers then, and few sailing vessels; but he built his own, the "Messenger of Peace," and he dauntlessly navigated the vast realm of Oceania, dotted with many hundred isles; in the last year of his life his exertions in England enabled him to provide a better and larger vessel, and the steam missionary ship has long superseded his slow means of progress. After his return from England in 1838, he made his first attempt to evangelize the black races in the New Hebrides: he landed with success in 1839 on the Islands of Futuna and Tanna: on the Island of Erromanga he was killed and devoured by those whom he came to save and bless. The last words in his journal before he started on this fatal voyage were, "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I finish my course with joy. and the message which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of His grace." The last sentence written by him ~m the preceding evening was, "This a memorable day," and almost his last words, "Oh, how much depends upon to-morrow! "
The darkness which for a time shrouded Erromanga was like the darkness before day, the precedeI' of an exceeding light, which has overshadowed the New Hebrides. John Williams had been unwilling to build on another's foundation, for he was a pioneer, and the settled desire of his soul was to preach the gospel in regions beyond, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to his hand; but he paved the way for others. It is a wonder that he had been spared so long from fever, shipwreck, the poisoned arrow, or accident by land and water; for 23 years he had been permitted to carryon his work, his blessed work, the beginning and continuation and end- Ing of which had been predestinated at his birth: if he died. at the age of 43 he had accomplished a work left undone since the beginning of time, the linking of these scattered islands together in one blessed chain. Love to his Saviour and the souls of men, faith in the veracity of the divine promise as to the universal diffusion of the gospel, conviction that the gospel was suited to and intended for the wants of the most debased of mankind, and the only cure of human ills: these were the great principles of this hero-missionary.
John Williams is described as having no personal interests apart from his people. A missionary who is unable to identify himself with the people among whom he labors cannot under any circumstances be an efficient laborer, and if he has any other object in view but thus to identify himself, he has mistaken his vocation. A man who never allows himself to forget that the people are not his equals according to his European notions, though in the sight of God they are in very deed his equals: who cannot ov('rlook the fact that they are rude, noisy, naked, and in some outward matters even offensive; who cannot admit them at aU times into his own simple ha.bita.- tion, but treats them as if they were servants, and confines his intercourse with them to the hours of his public duty: such a man is destitute of the one great qualification of a hero-missionary; such a man will not bring souls to
BRIEF NOTES ON BOOKS OF A MISSIONARY CHARACTER
Christ; his name will not sound stirring in the legends of the converted tribe; he will not be hailed as a father on his return, and wept for as a father when he dies; the mention of his name will not stay the attacks of wild heathen tribes, as it is reported in the biography of John Williams that they spared a village for his sake.
The Hero-Missionary, with' his supernaturally enlarged and enlightened powers of vision, looks over the barriers which limit the view of the less gifted. He admits, indeed, that segregation from the civilized world, want of opportunity, a different climate, a difference of race, an absence of culture have made men differel'lt, but not necessarily inferior; he recognizes the innate weaknesses of every son of Adam, which, if uncontrolled, turn men into devils, and the germs of innate goodness, which exist in all, and which, if developed by the touch of the Holy Spirit, can transform some, whether their skins be white, black, yellow or red, into angels. It has shocked me to hear how some missionaries speak even of their own flocks. As regards the people of North India, who are of our own Aryan bone, I can certify that they are good and loveable; and in myoId age I have learnt to love and esteem and honor men of pure negro race, who appear in some matters to be even of a higher type than my own countrymen. No doubt St. Paul was of the highest type of gentleman and scholar of his period; yet we find in his writings no assertion of a superiority over his converts, some of whom were slaves, and yet dear brothers: we find in him, though aHebrew of the Hebrews and a Roman citizen, no assertion of caste over the Galatians. Ae came in contact with all men-of Europe, Asia and Africa, Jew and Greek and Roman, bondmen and free-but none were to him common and unclean. Alas, how far below this standard many of our missionaries fall! * BRIEF NOTES ON BOOKS OF A MISSIONARY CHARACTER.
PM Life Qf William Carey, D.D. By George Smith, LL.D., author of the "Life of Duff,I, and "Life of Wilson," etc. London: John Murray. Svo, pp. 389. With portrait and illustrations.
Weare indebted to the distinguished author for this beautiful volume, which contains beyond all question the first and only complete biography of this world-renowned missionary. As we propose at an early day to pay our respects to this intensely interesting and instructive and grandly written work at considerable length, we simply now chronicle its appearance and express our unfeigned pleasure in reading it. The missionary world could afford to wait nearly sixty years to get a memoir of William Carey so complete and satisfactory in all respects as the present one is. At his death, in 1834, Dr. Marshman agreed to write the life of his great colleague, but he died too soon after Carey to begin the task. Several biographies have been written before the present one, but they are all very incomplete, and on many accounts unsatisfactory. The author of this noble volume went to Serampore less than a score of years after the great missionary's death, and there as editor of the Friend of India, came to know the work done by him for India and for Christendom, and collected there, on the very theater of Carey's long services, the materials, out of which, with those gathered from other sources, he has wrought this finished and skilfully constructed biography, which deserves to rank, and will rank, among the foremost in the annalsof the missionary world.-J. M. S.
Medical MisBiCJn8: Thdr Place 'Und Pwer. By John Lowe, F. R. C. S.E. London: F1l1her Unwin. 12mo, pp. 392.
The high value of medical missions in saving the world is rapidly growing * Life of John Williams. Prout, 1848. in the public estimate. This book contains an exhaustive account of the benefits that accrue from the use of the medical art as a Christian agency.
Mr. Lowe is eminently qualified to write on this subject, having himself been so long engaged in the same field. Some may think that medical work is too strongly insisted upon by him as a necessity to missionary success; but, bating possibly a little excess of enthusiasm for the grand work which has engaged the labor of his life, we may, on the whole, accept his conclusions as sound, and commend his book as timely and important.-J. M. S.
Ro1Jert MorrlBon. By Wllliam John Townsend, General Secretary of the Methodist New Connex- Ion Missionsry Society. London: Partridge & 00. l2lno, pp. 160.
This neat little volume gives a pleasing memoir of the first Protestant missionary to China. It is evidently prepared with care and discretion, and will be read with interest. The opening of China to Christianity and to western civilization, and the interest felt in the evangelization of that great kingdom, makes this a favorable time to issue such a work, specially adapted to interest the young in our churches and Sunday-schools.-J. M. S.
A lIlimp86 at Indian JIi88ion-lI'ielll and Leper Aqylu11I8. By Wellesley O. Bailey. London: Shsw & 00. 12mo, pp. 188.
The author of this interesting volume is Secretary to the Mission to Lepers in India, and he here gives an account of a journey made on behalf of this afflicted class in 1886-87. It is hoped that its publication will awaken a greater interest in their spiritual and temporal welfare. It is sold for the benefit of the lepers. The book is of general interest, as it touches upon the work of twenty of the leading missionary societies of the world.-J. M. S.
27Ie Life qf DaVid Livtng8fJ0n8. By Mrs. J. H. Worcester, Sr.
The Life qf Hen1'1/ Martyn. By Mrs. Sarah J. Rhea.
The Woman's Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (Chicago) has added th~se abridged memoirs to its series of "missionary annals." The series is an admirable one. Theyare gotten up well, and sold for 30 cents each in cloth; paper, 18 cents.-J. M. S.
m'mp868 qf Maori-Land. By Annie R. Butler. Price, $1.25.
Kem and 8aigiroj or, Lights and Shades of Lile in Japan. By Mrs. J. D. Oarrothers. Sl.50.
The American Tract Society publishes both these volumes. They are well written and illustrated. They are adapted to create a lively interest in missions on the part of the young. They form part of a Series.
Alden's Manifold, (Jyclopedia is a new departure in book-making. It is a small, compact duodecimo, which aims to combine the advantages of an encyc/Qpedia, a biographical dictiona1'1/ and a leIricon. Five volumes are issued and twenty·five more are to come. And Mr. Alden offers the complete set at $8.35 paid in advance, or 4() cents per volume in cloth, 55 cents in hslf morocco.
We are glad to call attention to this remarkably comprehensive, complete and unique production. It is valuable in the line of missionary biography, etc. For example, in the first volume is a short but very complete article on Abyssinia, Afghanistan, Africa, Alaska, Albigenses, America, etc., full of valuable information relative to home and foreign missions. In subsequent volumes we find other articles on Brainerd, Boer, Bogermann, Bogomili, Bohemia, Bombay, Katherina Von Bora, Boro-Buddor, Borromeo, Brahma, Brahmasomaj, Bible, Bible Society. Having had occasion frequently to consult the volumes now out, we say unhesitatingly that single articles on missionary themes have proved worth the price of the work, not to refer to the wider range of topics pertaining to generalliterature.-A. T. P.
Proceedings 01 86C(}f1,(j Convention of Christian Workers in the United 8tate8 and Canada. Held in Broadway Tabernacle, N. Y. Olty, Sept. 21~, 1887. 60 cts., two copies, SI. Rev. J. O. Collins. New Haven, Oonn.
Such is the title of a pamphlet of some 300 pages full of suggestlons for all
OORRESPONDENOE AND GENERAL
true millsionary workers at home and abroad. It Covers all great qnestions of evangelistic activity. The paper by Dr. Beard on the McAll missions is invaluable. But this is only a specimen of the careful, often exhaustive, essays and addresses which are packed into this closely printed pamphlet.-A. T. P.
The Biblical IlluBtrator. By Rev. J. S. Exell, A.M. New York: Randolph,& Co.
'Though not directly a missionary volume, this work will be found to stimulate every form of missionary work. It is a book of rich stores of analyses of Scripture, with illustrations, anecdotes, similes, emblems, gathered from a wide range of reading. We have examined it with care and delight. It will be a help to any Bible student. How far it may help in preparing missionary sermons and addresses may be seen by consulting this abundant storehouse of truth and fact, under such texts as the following: Matt. ix: 36-38; x: 1-16; xxviii: 18-20, etc. This volume is confined t~ Matthew. We hope others will follow, equally deserving to be called mines of gold.-A. T. P.
H.-CORRESPONDENCE and GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
Ohina. the college the necesSity of increased contribu- tions, in order to provide the necessary buildings LETTER from Dr. Rapper, President as soon as possible. I hope that those who have the matter under consideration will decide imof the Christian College, China: mealately and send their contributions to the treasurer of the Board of Foreign Missions of CANTON, Apri12, 1888. the Presbyterian Church, who will forward DEAR MESSRS. EDiTORS.-I am much obliged them to me. In the January REVIEW there apto you for the favorable reference vou made peared an item copied from the NO'ftk (Jhina in the Febrnary number of THE REVIEW to New., stating that some benevolent gentlemen the effort to establish a Christian College in the United States had subscribed $300,000 for in China. You and your readers will be inter- the establishment of a university at Nankin. ested to know that some classes have been This was a misstatement. Some one wrltliig annonnced in a rented building. They com- from Tientsin to the NO'ftk (Jhina New. made menced on the 28th March. I have received the mistake. He changed the fact, which was thirty pupils out of some eighty applicants. that I desired to secure $300,000 for a Christian The number of applicants would have been college, into the statement that some.one had greater, but that it was known that only a few given the $300,000. I will be very thankful inconld be received, and none under sixteen years deed if some Christian givers will make this of age. Of these six are Christian young men SUlD an accomplished subscription, and thus who have returned from the Sunday-schools for secure the establishment of a well-equipped and Chinese in America. Two of them are sons of thoroughly furnished institution. It is hard to native pastors in the Ningpo Presbytery, who conceive any other way in which such a sum of wish to get a college education. They are Chris- money would accomplish a greater Christian and tians. One has passed through the Presbyterial educational work than by establishing a Chris- Academy, and the other has nearly completed the tian college among the 300 mUlions of China. COurse in it. And five others are sons of Christian parents here in Canton. These, I trust, will Yours in Christian work, give a Christian infiuence among the students. _ A. P. HAPP:rm. The fact that only thirty could be received when there were eighty applicants shows very impres- LETTER from Rev. Gilbert Reid: sively how desirable it is that the college buildings should be erected as soon as possible. It PEKING, March 14, 1888. is very desirable that the bmlding shonld be DEAR EDITORB.-I havejust received the first ready for use in January, 1889, at which time of number of the Dew series of THE MISSIONARY year students will be making their educational REvmw. I am delighted with the whole arrangearrangements for that year. ment. Nota8ect, but the (Jhurchistoappearbe- fore us. Progress is the watchword. Good for the I am using efforts to secure suitable grounds people at home, and good also for us missionaries. as soon as possible. The asking price for desir- Some such medlUlD is needed for the growing able sites range from $500 au acre to $1,000, ac- work everywhere, and I hope that soon China cording to location near the city. As we need may appear like Japan as the land of urgency in twenty acres, the cost of the ground will take a evangelizing. To one who catches the spirit ot cousiderable out of the estimated sum of $50,- the people, and especially the government of 000 for grounds and buildings. As the sum al- China, great things are already in sight. Educaready secured is not snfilcient to purchase that tion is the opening wedge-an education in Westamount of ground, it presents to the friends of em studies, but not to iguore Chinese knowl- power. When in clistre!ls, the Mohammedan cries: "AUahu akbarn I" [AUah is great] edge; an education aa far as possible on Ohi- which means: "I have to submit, thoug" I am like a stone in the hand of a mason. AUah nese lines, but not necessarily to the separation knows it best: it is His will. What will we do against it ,,,' of Christianity. What we need for China are Now, is not such teaching antagonistic to the educated men imbued with the Christian spirit, Christian's faith' Does not the Christian love a Father, a Preserver, who is tender and carefnl r and living the Christian life, who know how to He trusts himself also to the superintendence of the Almighty; but this Almighty God is not give tkem8e1ve8 to China and educate the nation bound by fate, his law is principled in tbe love for His children, in order to give them eternal to the true paths of wisdom. Such men wonld bliss. He sent His only Son, that men might be united to this Son by faith, and by means of Him be countenanced by the government; and if obtain an eternal inheritance in heaven.
such do not appear at the call of duty. men of In a few words, the contrasts of Mohammed- anism and Christianity may be described thus: skeptical teaching will not be lacking at the Allah: a king with a heart uninfiexible, man his slave; God: a Father in heaven, man His call of interest or fame. GILBERT REID. child. Islam: the state of being subdued; Ohristianity: eternal love. As for our Lord Holland. Jesus Christ; though reckoned in Koran among the prophets which brought new laws or dis- LETTER from Rev. W. D. Schuur- pensations: i. "e., Adam, Noah," Abraham, mans: Moses, Jesus and Mohammed; only two of HAARLElIf, May 18, 1888. these prophets are held in high esteem and men- tioned with reverence, namely Abraham (or DEAR EDITORS.-As I did not receive the Ibrahim) and Mohammed. The first has founded February number of THE MISSIONARY REVIEW the trne faith, i. e., Islam, and the last has af- firmed it and propagated it with vigor and ('n- OF THE WORLD till May 11, I conld not earlier ergy everywhere. The prophet has subdued every one who wonld not accept the Islam; he take notice of what had been said by Canon is a conqueror with a sword in his hand; he has been triumphant in all places, therefore he is Isaac Taylor about" The Progress of Islam." called Mohammed * the praiseworthy. Jesus is also called a "nabi" (prophet), but he wa.s a After reading the article, I wondered how such weak person. He was revealed the .. Indjil " (gospel). but he had no power to propagate it. a lea~ned man should be so little acqnainted Only twelve persons "al Hawaryuna" (the Apos- tles) believed in Him. That the Moslems regard with Islam itself and the manner of its spreading onr Lord" as a perfect pattern of humanlty," I never heard; ou the contrary, there is a legend in the different parts of the world as to proclaim accepted as a trne narrative or statement by many Mohammedans, that relates, "When the the .. Faith of the Prophet" to be "a stepping- Jews had the intention to seize our Lord their eyes were blinded by Allah; in consequence of stone from heathenism to Christianity," and "that it they seized another person, who thus W88 crn- cified. Jesus was taken away by Aliah, who its teachings and methods might well be adopted placed him in a country and invested him with kingly power. Soon afterwards he became so by the promoters of Christianity." proud that he pronounced himself to be Allah. For this crime he was severely punished. After In consequence of the Canon's assertion, as be- receiving forgiveness he stirred up an insurrec- tion against Allah, and invited his grandson, Wa ing not in accordance with what I myself have Djudja (Dju dja wa Madjuj Gog and Magog), to join him. Now Mohammed was sent to subdue seen and read, I feel urged to write a few lines Nabi Isa (the prophet Jesus), and to be his suc- cessor." According to the opinion generally reabout" Islam and its progress," which I offer ceived Jesus stands in rank to Mohammed like a servant to his master. Even at the last day, you for your REVIEW. when every man will be rewarded or punished as his deeds were good or bad, Mohammed will For mauy years I lived in a Mohammedan *Mohammed-laudatus, a verbo hamlda -laucountry (Java), and dally had familiar inter- davit. course with Mohammedans of every rank, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, young and old.
I have studied the Koran, especially the relig- ious precepts, the religious tracts or catechisms, that are used in priest-schools, and in this way I came to the following couclusion: The Moham- medans have their Allab, the Most High, who dwells in gloom aud finstemiss, far from men.
He is a great king, who rnles by the Book of Fate,* which is the law of his kingdom. He is called the mercifnl, notwithstanding a man is judged according to his deeds; these are weighed, and when the bad deeds are more or heavier than the good ones, be it a dzarat (atom), then he is doomed to hell. The Lord Himself does not interfere with His human ,creatures; like a king, He has His messengers, His angels, that have revealed His will to His favorite Mo- hammed, who has written down this revelation in the Koran, in order to be a dahUl (guide) for all men. The Lord is great, He may do what He likes j man ought to trust himself to His *See Sale's translation of the Koran, chap xcvii. and the notes: also the French transla: tion of Kasimersky, same chapter. The Arabian word Kadr and its derivations have in most cases the meaning of Fatum. What I call the Book qf Fate is meant by Sale as "the preserved table by God'8 tl/,rone ." receive knowledge of the ultimate !'ate of men, curslons to get slaves; even anows a man to and M will command Isa to act as his servantexecutioner ; M will give to Isa the keys of make his wife his slave, whom he may buy and heaven and hell in order to bring into his place every man according to his deserts. Iss, there- get rid of at his pleasure. Islam ftatters the fore, will act as doorkeeper of Mohammed. Every Mohammedan I me~ with had the opinion convert with a paradise where he may enjoy that the Nab! Isa has made himself Allah, and though they did not dare openly accuse him of such pleasures as are desired by a sensual man. blasphemy in the presence of a," white man" (a Christian), I often heard them do so when in And last, though not least, Islam inspires hate familiar intercourse with their fellow-countrymen that embrace the same religion. against .. white men "-Christians, European How then can it be Baid that the Moslem re- and American, the conquering race. The Mogards our Lord Jesus as a perfect pattern of humanity' hammedan missionary persuades the black, Moreover, though according to Islam man's brown or yellow nations not to be Christians, blessing or eternal doom is written in the Book of Fate; notwithstanding every one is obliged lest they will be subdued in a political sense by to work out his own salvation, especially by means of prayer or spending alms. The Mos- those" Kafirs" (infidels), those" dogs," those lem has no SaviO'llr who has died for him; he cannot become a new creature because he does robbers, who come with their religion. feigning not know anything of a Spirit of Life who will work in him eternal life. He does not man's salvation, but really with the intention of have either medium or mediator, by whom he can get into commnnion with our Father in taking possession of his life and his conntry. heaven. How then can it, be said that in the Koran or in Mohammed,anism are" undeveloped The Arabians and their missionaries invite the seeds of Christian truth." The seeds in the Koran when developed cannot but separate men heathen to join the ranks of their Prophet in orfrom God, as Islam separates man from man when not having the same opinion in matters of der to form one vast standing army to fight in rellgion_ Islam is very unlike Christianity, as it preaches subjugation (literally) to all who will the Holy War to conquer the" Nazarani "(Chrisnot embrace its faith. As the gospel bids ns to love all men, even our enemies, Islam proclaims tlans)_ the holy war against the Ka1l.rs, the infidels. The follower of Mohammed subdues every These things may account for the" rapid progheathen Or Christian (when it is in his power) by the sword; the disciples of Christ use spirit- ress of Islam and the comparatively slow growth ual weapons to bring into the obedience of faith. of Christianity in Mohammedan countries and Mohammedanism is not a stepstone to Christianity, but an obstacle, a hindrance to the in heathen lands where our missionaries are spread of the gospel. All missionaries know, as I know from experience, that a heathen once confronted by the emissaries of the false Prophet. converted to Mohammedanism Is ftlled with bitter and increased animosity against the gos- I could give many examples, especially from pel and against Christians. the East-Indian Archipelago, to illustrate what A word as to .. the progress of Islam." That its progress is more rapid than that of has been said above about Islam and its prog- Christianity must be ascribed to the following facts: Islam in most cases, when seeking the con- ress_ Perhaps in the future I may write you version of a people, only requires them to utter the formula: "There is no God but Allah, and again On this important matter, that the readers Mohammed is his Apostle," and be circumcised. This done he is a Mohammedan. Islam, at least of TilE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF TilE WORLD its propagators, leaves untouched the heathen customs and habits, even the superstitions, that may know how to judge of the worth of the Mohave a very immoral character. Iolam, in followin::- the example ofits prophet, allows a man hammedan religion, and also that all Christians to have mOre than one wife, besides many con- CUbines, which is very much to the taste 01 may be convinced that all hands ougM to be put Eastern and uncivilized people_ Islam permits slavery and the slave trade, and marauding; ex- to work to remove the great bulwark of Moham- medanism and conquer the world for our Lord Jesus Christ. Yours affectionately, N_ D. SCIlUURMANS.
Brazil.
LETTERfromRev.E. Vanorden,San Paulo: We purpose to establish in the City of San Paulo, the headquarters of Protestantism in Brazil, printing and bOOk-binding workShops for the production of a sonnd evangelical literature, in order to interest the minds of children, to sat- isfy the desire for Christian knowledge on the part of adults, and to counteract the great evils which immoral and infidel publications are alarmingly producing. We cannot leave our young men and women, edncatedin our schools, withoutgood books_ Our 3,000 church members, their families, and the large number of attend- ants at our services, must and will read some- thing, and if we do not provide good books for them, they will be tempted to read the transla- tions of French novels which are being scattered all over the empire in fearfnlly increasing num- bers.• The necessity for such an effort is not only felt by ~e Brazilian native pastors and converts, who have already organized the Brazilian Evan- gelical Tract Society, but one of Brazil's most eminent scholars, Gen. Couto MagaJbaes, has developments with eager interest.- given 81,000 towards this object, and he thinks EDS.] that the friends of the mission In Brazil should follow his example. DEAR EDITOBS.-At this station we are meet.- ing a very great deal of opposition from We must have onr own printing-press, because the chiefs. The head chief has ordered the we caunot pay the high prices exacted by good people to stay away from our meetings, and workshops or be satisfied with the bad or slow few dare disobey. They fear the chief, not work done by cheap printers. The Religious for his kingly power, but because of his Tract Society of London is qulte willing to aid " fetishes," and because they know he could In this work. They will make aud have already at any time get up a charge of witchcraft made grants of paper and of money toward against them. Of course the witch doctors are evangelical publIcations. one with the chiefs in their opposition to the gos- pel, and they are glad of any" cue" to indicate In connection with this printing-Office it is proposed to open a depository of Bibles and books e., who may be "ndoki," i. in league with Sain different languages in a conspicuous place, iu order to reach the large number of Italiau and tan or " a devi!.," German emigrsnts who are constantly arriviug. Some of the converts, too, have given us a Already there are in the Province of San Paulo 80,000 Italians. 50,000 Portuguese and 25,000 Ger- good deal of sorrow. One has been accused of mans. adultery. He says he is innocent, but the peo- ple say it is trne, but the proofs we cannot well The British and Foreign Bible Society has in- get at. He, in turn, blames his own (the head) strncted their agents in Rio de Janeiro to co- chief, who is his principal accuser. Ouly about operate In establishing such a depository; the a year ago a similar charge was brought against American Tract Society has made a free grant the said chief ere he was appointed chief of the of $300 worth of books for the same purpose, place, and it was proved to be true; so it may and it Is expected that the Presbyterian Board of be the young man is not guilty. Two others Publication will also give us substantial aid. At have not shown the" true color" on one or two present we have hardly eight or ten books occasions ; but a ch811ge was arranged for them, adapted for children or young people. where amongst new associates they would have a good chance of making a new start. The property of the press will be vested In a Board of Trustees, and as soon as the BrazUlan At the same time there are some tokens of Evangelical Tract Society is incorporated, trans- good being done. From Banza Manteke I learn ferred to its Board of Directors, which is com- that the chapel sent by American friends is proposed of foreign missionaries and native pastors. gressing rapidly; Mr. Lewis, sent out from Bos- The cost will be between $7,000 or $8,000, in- ton, being an experienced builder, It is running cluding freight and duties on material, of which up very quickly. Work is deepening there 83,OOOhavebeen secured. It will be entirely self- though there are few new cases of professing supporting and be the means of scattering mil- conversion. At Lukunga station there is a relions of pages of religious matter among the cent baptism and several professing conversion. people. They are expecting "a harvest time" there soon. Congo Free Sta.te, Afrioa.. Dr. Sims has sent me, from Stauley Pool, the PACAVALA STATION, A. B. M. UNION, } tlrst chapters of John's Gospel in liltcke, which April 12, 1888. I hope to print for use at the Pool and beyond. We have recently had Mr. Harvey's translation [We allow our correspondent to of "Mark" in Kikongo, and Mr. Richard's give facts and express his views in Luke iu Kikongo is also in the printers' regard to Bishop Taylor's mission, on hauds. From the B. M. S. (Eng.) there come the principle that free discussion is reports of good health and good work. From best. The principles and methods on Bishop Taylor's party come rather discouraging which missionary work should be reports. One went to England by last mail and conducted are far from being settled. another is dying of some chronic disease. Three We have yet much to learn, and this have spoken to me against the plan and work of REVIEW will welcome light from their mission, and they have tried what could whatsoever source it comes. We be done. Only a small part of their steamer have given Bishop Taylor and his has left Vivi, and I helieve not a plate yet has mission frequent hearing in these passed Isangila, tlfty miles beyond, while the pages, and shall rejoice in his success greater part of those who came to bnild the as much as any of his friends. And steamer have gone home or left the mission. still we are far from being assured of One steamer that came out after the bishop's is the wisdom of his policy, and await by this time almost atloat.
Would it not be better for the Methodist Church to establish a mission here that would spend the Lord's money in .. cultivating souls" and "farming the Lord's kingdom," rather than proceed on what seems to us wastefal alas I not so clear. For a Turk to promw Is lines f Let them send one or more missionaries one thing, to perform is quite another. We to each of the stations, and, if wanted, also hailed the assurance that there would be no several Christian workmen along with the mis- more trouble over the school question. Our sionaries. Those set apart for the work of the work in Asia Minor and Syria lies chiefiyamong gospel could be relieved of all business and the Ansairlyeh, whom the Moslems -claint as Mohammedans. A partial account of them will seculsr duties by the Christian artisans, and the be found In a book called" The Asian Mystery," written by the Rev. Samuel Lyde, an English Lord's work would take root now and souls clergyman, who was the first missionary to these people, and worked in the mountains near Latdying In darkness would receive the light. akia. This work was begun in that region more The command to the church was not, "Go than thirty years ago, and there is now a fiour- ishing church there and a number of schools. ye forth and cultivate farms, and do what gospel In Cilicia we began work among them six years work you can find time to do"; nor does Paul ago, and already our hearts have been gladdened say, "Go and support yourselves." Let the by the baptism of several yonng men, and this church attend to the spreading of the gospel, and winter we have had large schools both for boys those who cannot "go forth" let them help and girls in Adaua. Tarsus. Merslne and two vilothers to go who can go, but lack the means; lages on the east coast of Mersine, Karadawar and let those in whose hands the Lord has and Karadash. These were mostly composed of placed In trust plenty of money to pay their Ansairiyeh and Orthodox Moslems. Sometime own expenses, also go out. Christians at home ago a number of the schools in Syria were closed think that because the Lord does not send their by order of the local authorities. Our schools money through a missionary society He has have been threatened for two years, and l8st very little claim on it-not more than a tenth at fall they were all closed except that In Mersine, the outside; but I think the Lord looks at it in which is in American premises. Orders having another light. I believe to hundreds in America been given to open the closed schools, we did and in England, He has given the needed money, so, and there was an immediate increase in the the mental talent and bodily energy. that they number of pupils, which showed how the work might go out as the Lord's agents-like Keith was regarded by the parents. Relief from the Falconer of the Scotch Missions, and like num- famine was given to all who came to our schools. bers In the China Inland Mission. The school in Karadawar, which was not at fir&! very large. after having been closed by the local Thank God for these bright examples, and authorities locking up our rented house and above all for the glorious example of Jesus taking the key, and then being re-opened had Christ, who left His Father's house in the glory 106 pupils. Seeing no other way to compass the above and took " long and trying jouruey destruction ofthe school the Governor of Mersine through the land of Judea and Samaria to the imprisoned the chiefs of the village, and under Cross of Calvary, that through His life and pain of having soldiers quartered in the village death might become kuown to those then lying compelled them to sign a declaration that they in sin, the love of God and His infinite salvation. did not want the teacher, and thus forced the villagers to remove their children. This effectuo that the churches-Methodist, Baptist and ally closed the school.
any other .. ist" or "ian" that proclaims sal- The teacher who had been at Karadash had vation fall and free thl'ough God's crucified been for a considerable time absent, but last Son-WOUld rouse themselves and send forth winter, when the order came from Constantinolaborers into this poor, degraded land I ple to allow the closed schools to be opened, we sent Daoud Saade, the former teacher, to that Yours in the Lord's work, place. All went smoothly, and there was a Jos. CLARK. fiourishing school until two weeks ago. Mr. Saade was then arrested on the charge of being Asia Minor. a Russian propagandist. After being kept under arrest for several days, he was taken to Adena, INTERESTING letter from Mrs. Mary but in a day or two he was marched back to the E. Metheny of the Reformed Pres- village under escort, and ordered to open his byterian Mission : house for search. This he refused to do, as being a Greek subject they had no right to enter MEBSINE, May 10, ] E88. his hou&e except in the presence of a Greek EDIToBs MISSIONABY REVIEW OF THE WORLD. official. He told them if they chose to search -I notice in THE REVIEW for May this state- his house they must do it on their own responment : .. The good tidings comes from Syria that sibility. This they did, seizing his books and the late attempt of the Turkish authorities to papers and taking them and him back to Adana. force uew and intolerant restrictions upon the The school-books were examined and foimd to cause of'Christian education has been earnestly bear the Imperial stamp. They then examined resisted by the diplomatic representatives of the different powers; that it has utterly failed and has finally been withdrawn." It is true that the .. diplomatic representatives," urged by Hon. Oscar Strauss, United States Minister, and Consul Bissinger of Beirut, have made strenuous efforts to have the obnoxious law prevented or repealed. Whether it has" utterly failed" is, the letters, and tlie ~vernor-general in an inter- emment would seek redress? How long must the view with Dr.Metheny, the AmerIcan missionary, declared that they proved hinI to be a very selfish/jealousies of these Ohristian nations shut bad man, and very treasonable sentiments were contained in them. Dr. M. afterwards out the light of the gospel by which they enjoy found that the paragraphs were these: "I hope the work of yonr hands will prosper, and that snch glorions privileges Y the Lord will open a wide door for the gospel. " "You say, • Send my remittauces by a faithfal Thanks for the earnest and stirring words man.' That means either that you must bring them or that I must take them." It so happened which reach us every month in the REVIEW. My that it was the Doctor himself who had written these suspicious sentences, so that Daoud was to husband, the only male missionary in our mis- be tried for letters written by another man I It seems that they concluded that there was no sion here, is so engaged in the '?ork, and espe- toundation tor the accusation as a Russian spy, so they changed the offense and charged him cially in tbis case of Daoud's, that he has not with having reviled the Sultan. The ground for this appears to have been that eight or nine days time to write abontlt, being very feeble albest. after his first arrest, and, as the villagers spon- taneously testity, nnder great provocation and Our force is very small, my husband-minister, ill-treatment, he said that as a Greek snbject he was not under the Snltan. In an interview with physician, treasurer, overseer of schools and of Mr. Dawson, U. S. Consul in this place (of whose indefatigable efforts to have justice done everything else; Miss Sterrett, pioneer in the in this matter it is impossible to speak too high- ly), the Governor-general claimed that this case work among the girls, and her assistant, Miss had nothing at ail to do with the matter of the schools. Mr. Dawson then said, .. Very well, Joseph. This is all the force for the thousands then. Shall we send down another teacher?" Thns hemmed in, the Governor-general said, of Arabic-speaking people in this region. We .. No. That could not be allowed, as Karandash was a Moslem village." Thns the true reason expect Dr. Henry J es,up to be with us next Sab- appeared. bath. Yours in the work, Now, yon will observe that this flagrant ont- rage has taken place after the snpposed settIe- M. E. METHENY. ment of the school question. Daoud is still in prison, notwithstanding the prompt and contin- Madagasoar. nons remonstrances of both the U. S. and the Greek Consnls: tbe former as representing the ANANTANARlVO. March ffl, 1888. interests of American schools in Turkey, and DEAR EDlTORS.-I have to acknowledge, with the latter In defense of Daoud's rights as a Greek many many thanks, the receipt of the first num- subject whose passport is in the Consul's hands. ber of the new series of THE MISSIONARY RE- This all goes to show that it is useless to hope VIEW, as also the numbers of the old series dnr- for any justice, unless there be force enough in ing the year 1887. I need not say that the maga- the hands of the other powers to compel the zine was to me full of interest and its pro- Turks to fulfil their express agreement in this gramme fnll ofrich promise. It is being circulated matt1lr. among the members of our social circle here, and I hope will be voted into oor Magazine Mr. Saade is an educated gentleman and a stu- Club, whicb, however, contains members ont- side the missionary band. dent of theology. Is there no remedy for such I am sending by this mail a copy of the Re- port of the L. M. S. Madagascar Mission for a state of affairs as thi~ Y 1885-6, printed in the island. The succeeding My desire to have the Christian world know one I cannot get a copy of, and we are not print- ing one this year. The L. M. S. annnal report, to what extent evangelical work is possible printed in London, will convey the latest infor- among Moslems prompts me to write the above mation. This report, however, will perhaps for your REVIEW. Liberty of conscience for enable yon to see something of the working of Moslems is a thing that does not exist. Many this mission, as it could not be seen when , Moslems freely express their belief in the New mixed np with other missions, as in a general Testament, but the knowledge of the persecu- report. tion that must certainly follow deters them Since the pnblication of the report the mis- from professing it openly. How long will the sion in the Sihfinoka country, to the north of so-called Christian powers sit by and see these Imerina, has been re-established by the Rev. E. things? Does not the Hatli Humayon give them H. Stribling and Mr. J. S. Mackay, and an en- the right to interfere? How long would Ameri- tirely new mission commenced by the Rev. G. cans engaged in mercantile bnsiness be treated A. Shaw (formerly at Tamatave) on the south- as missionaries are often treated before the gov- east coast, in the Miltit&naus District, among the Til.imClro and TaUasy and Taisilka tribes. This new enterprise has been met at the very commencement with difficulties arising trom civil war between the tribes, which the Hovas power they profess to acknowledge has not been able to quell. Teachers from the Native Mis- sionary Society in Imerina have been employed in the district for some time past, but Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are the first Europeans to settle in the district as miSSionaries, and are deserving the sympathies and prayers of all friends of missions.
The government return of schools in Imerina for 1882. which I also enclose, would ,probably fairly represent the state of the case at the pres- of the Roman Catholics and others, who offer ent time. None of the missionary societies have cheaplJ'l' alternatives to the people. any responsibility for these retnrns, as they were collected and arranged entirely by the na- Wishing every success to your undertaking, tive government. and bidding you, in the name of our common' Saviour, God·speed, I am It wonld be misleading, ,however, to snppose that becanse there is an edncational depart- Yours very truly, ment with a really trnstworthy man at the head, J AJl[ES WILLS, L. M. S. and because they are able once in a while to get np snch a statement as the enclosed, that there GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. is really any efncient governmentsystem of edu· cation In Imerina. The work and organization -A Noble Tribute. Travelers in and paymeBts are left entirely to the missionary foreign parts do not always bring societies, and the government keep their finger back with them a favorable report of on these organizations, just as they do on missions among the heathen. All everything In this paternal system of rnle. The edncational system of our societies is exerting a the more welcome was the cordial great inBnence on the people. It is questionable, however, whether the religions and spiritual testimony of Lord Brassey in his Influence of the missions keep pace with the in- capacity as chairman at the annual tellectnal. meeting of the Church Missionary From some of the statements in THE MISSION- Society in Exeter Hall last week. ARY REVIEW it is clear that, in common with the vast majority of people, you have far too His Lordship has been a great voyhigh an idea of the extent and depth to which Christianity has inBuenced this country. Imer- ager round the globe, and he has ina, the home of the Hovas, is only as a small table to a large room, in the center of which It nothing but praise for the work of stands. The remainder of the country, with gospel missions. In his excellent the partial exception of Betsilio, Is as dark and speech he said : heathen as Central Mrica, and the Christianity of the Hovas is but very superficial. The sta- "I have been on board the storm-tossed vestistics we publish are correct, and any others' sel in which a good bishop of the Anglican would be false; yet they mislead. People who Church was engaged in carrying the gospel to read the number of preachers and church mem- the distant and storm-bound and ice-bound bers apply the same standard that they would In shores of Labrador. I have been In the stormy America or England, forgetting that it is only waters of the Straits of Magellan, and have seen twenty years ago that the idols were burned and at what sacrifice and by what eBorts the gospel the people in tens of thousands pressed into the is carried to the savage people of Tierra del church suddenly, bringing all their ignorance Fuego. I have aeen the devoted missionaries and superstitions with them. It was no gradual who are'sent forth by the United States at their Infiltering, such as the missionaries conld con- work at Beyrout and Lahore. On the occasion trol (and they were fewer in number than now), of a recent journey, both at Amritsar and Agra, I but a great Inrush, like the Hoang·Ho, suddenly saw what devoted men, and not less devoted changing its channel and depositing "its silt in womeu, were doing in the great cause of the another province. It is wonderful what has education of heathen children. I have had the been accomplished, and doubtless there are privilege at the Island of Tahiti of listening to a many sincere and devout Christians, but the French Protestant pastor, a man of great cnlgreat mass are still destitute of spiritual appre- ture, a man who had formerly held the post of ciation of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. teacher to one of the most distinguished nobles Whilst we praise God for what has been done of our land, and I have heard that man deliver a by divine grace, don't let us expect too much sermon which was listened to with great attenfrom these people, and do not think of them as tion by his native audience. The last missionenlightened, self-denying Christians, burning ary station which I visited was that estabwith missionary zeal to carry the gospel to the lished by yourselves in Darnley Island,' We outlying tribes, if not to Africa Itself. had the pleasure and the privilege of taking the wife of Mr. Hunt, your missionary, In The statement that $10,000,000 have been the S'IIhIlieam from Thursday Island to Darnley raised here for Christian purposes must surely Island. At Darnley Island we met your own be a misprint. The country is very poor, and mission schooner, which had brought:Mr. Savthe people are very fond of money, and although age from Murray Island to Darnley Island to in the aggregate a good round sum is raised meet his newly arrived colleague. We spent a year by year, yet we find great dtmcnlty In get- most Interesting day with Mr. Hunt and Mr. ting their quota from the churches for educa- Savage at Darnley Island. We saw the place of tional, church building, missionary and other worship on the island-a humble but picturesque objects; and this is Intensified by the presence building; we saw much of the native teacher and his wife, persons whom it was impossible to know without feeling the greatest admiration and respect for them. We heard a most inter- esting narrative of the dtmcnlties and efforts which are involved in carrying the gospel to the Turning from 1837 to 1886 we find a savage races of New Guinea. We heard, and it remarkable advance in funds, agenwas impossible to hear the story withont a thrill cies and results. The British socieof admiration, of the devotion which is shown ties have increased from 10 to 31; the by the native teachers acting under the guidance 7 in the Umted States have risen of their English leaders in this great canse. The to 39, and the 10 of Continental greater the peril, the more imminent the pros- Europe to 30. The number of forpect even of death, the more earnest is the en- eign ordained missionaries is now thusiasm of the native teachers to go forth into 2,980; of lay missionaries, 730; of this dangerous field." lady missionaries (including wives of missionaries), 2,322; the number of Lord Brassey went on to declare nati ve Christians is 2,750,000, and the total income of all the societies is that it is England's highest mission £2,000,000. Of this sum £780,000 comes from the United States, £210,- and imperative duty to civilize, edu- 000 from Continental Europe, and £1,010,000 from British Christians." cate, and Christianize those in for- -(English) Illustrated Miss'y News.
eign lands whom her influence can -Victory Will Come. The age is reach. He made a strenuous appeal one of intense life in all departments for increased help towards the so- of activity-in commerce and indus- ciety's operations-an appeal backed trial pursuits, and the church must up by a generous donation and the be alive to keep pace with it. The promise of continued support.-The coming century will not be one of un- Ohristian. broken tranquility. There will be -In 1837 there were in Great Brit- wars and rumors of wars, internal ain 10 missionary societies; in Amer- conflicts as well as struggles between ica, 7; and on the Continent of nations, which, with the new inven- Europe, 10. The total income of the tions of weapons of war, may be more British missionary societies in that destructive than any ever waged be- fore. But whatever the passmg year was not more than £300,000; years may bring, this we know, that the Church of God will live, and will their missionaries, lay and clerical, have to do its great work in the world. For this it needs to be prepared. New about 760; their lady missionaries avenues are opening before it. The past half-century has seen an adand their native ordained ministers, vance, greater than many centuries before, in the modes of communiless than 12 each, and their converts cation between different countries, whereby distant nations are brought less than 40,000. The Continental nearer to each other. Even the Dark Continent is being piel'ced on every and American societies united had side. Explorers are ascending the Congo to the Great Lakes, and plantnot more than one half the income, ing the flags of European countries on the highlands of Central Africa. the missionaries and the converts of To the church it belongs to see that commerce does not outrun the gospel, the British societies. The heathen so that our boasted "civilization" may prove a blessing and not a curse. and Mahommedan population of the At present, rum on the Congo causes more destruction than all the misworld was estimated at one thou- sionaries can repair. These are dansand millions in 1837; and, laboring gers which the church has to conamong these vast masses of people, front at the same time that it recogthet'e were in Africa perhaps 65 Prot- nizes the splendid opportunities openestant missionaries; in India, 180; in ing before it. We are not blind to Burmah only 6. For the evangeliza- the former, and yet we have untion of the millions in China 12 mis- bounded faith in what the future will sionaries had been appointed; Japan, bring. When we think of all that Siam and Central Asia were without will take place in the century to any; most of the islands of the Pa- come, we are almost ready to pray cific were in darkness, and a thick cloud hung over the missionary work of Madagascar. On the whole continent of America, north and south, the missionaries did not exceed 25, and of these more than half were lHol'avians. The most successful and promising missions at that time were in Polynesia, where good work was being carried on by the London Missionary Society, the American Board, and the Wesleyan Missionary Society. that we may not taste of death until lives and wealth, it is, on the other hand, conwe see at least the approach, the soling to redect on the immense services which faint dawning, of millennial day. But missionary enterprise has renf.ered to Africa, to we trust we may look down upon it the world at large, and to Gr~at Britain in parfrom the heights above. For the ticular. When the history of the great African present, let every man spring to his states of the fnture comes to be written, the duty, intent to work while the day arrival of the drst missionary will, with many lasts, knowing that the night com- of these new nations, be the first historical eth in which no man can work.-The event in their annals. Almost invariably it has Evangelist. been to British missionaries that the natives of interior Africa have owed their first acquain- -A Veteran Missionary. Rev. Jas. tance with the printing-press, the steam-boat, Chalmers said recently in an address and the saw-mill. Most of the great lakes and in London: rivers of this little-known continent have been navigated, in the first instance, by the steamers "I have had twentyo()ne years' experience of British missionary societies, which may now among natives; I have seen the semi-civilized and be seen plying on Tanganyika and Nyassa, on the civilized; I have lived with the Christian the Upper Congo, the Niger Binue, and Zambenative, and I have lived, dined and slept with the si. Indirectly, and almost unintentionally, miscannihal. I have visited the islands of the New sionary enterprise has widely increased the Hebride2,which I sincerely trust will not be hand- bounds of our knowledge, and has sometimes ed over to the tender mercies of France. I have been the means of conferring benefits on science, visited the Loyalty Group; I have seen the work the value and extent of which itself was careless. of missions in the Samoan Group; I know all to compute. For missionary enterprise in the the islands of the Society Group; I have lived future I see a great spherQ of usefulness."-H. for ten years in the Hervey Group; I know a H. Johnston, Vice- Consul at CamerOO'fl8, West few of the groups close on the line, and for at Africa. least nine years of my life I have lived with the savages of New Guinea, but I have never yet -The death of the Sultan of Zanzimet with a single man or woman, or with a single people, that your civilization, without Clu·is- bar removes the most noticeable of tianity, has civilized." Testimony such as this is worth volumes of theory. all rulers in the Dark Continent, and -" In every corner of the world," one whose character has been felt in says Mr. Froude, "there are the same phenomena of the decay of es- the work of opening up Africa to the tablished religions. Among Moham- whites. He was not without some medans, Jews, Buddhists, Brahmins, of the elements of greatness. Born traditionary creeds are losing their hold. An intellectual revolution is in 1835, Bin Said was only fifty-three years of age at the time of his death, sweeping over the world, breaking down established opinious, dissolving and was not forty when this ruler of foundations on which historic faiths have been built up." This condition the Eastern Coast of Africa-with an constitutes the summons to the island and a capital c:ontaining little church of the Living God to bestir itself to the grandest opportunity less than 100,000 inhabitants -had which it has ever had to conquer the made himself felt. He represented the nations for Christ. No nation can aristocratic Arabic dynasty which long survive the decay of its religion, and the decadence which Mr. Froude for more than a century had held points out is the indication that the sway over the African negroes of the world is preparingforChrist.-Spirit territory familiarized by Dr. Livingof Missions. stone and other explorers. In 1873 Africa.-" If the immediate success of the British missionaries in sprea d Sir Bartle Frere went on a mission, ing their religion over barbarous on behalf of the British Government, Africa be doubtful, if the aver- to the ruler of Zanzibar for the pur- age type of their converts seems an unsatisfac- pose of suppressing the slave trade. tory product ofBo much labor and expenditure of The result 0 f this was an acquiescent treaty on the Sultan's part, which led to a friendly visit of the Sultan to England in 1875. He was welcomed by Under-Secretary Bourke in the name of her Majesty's Government. He also visited Paris, and before leav- ing England concluded a second treaty, and subsequently did much to suppress the slave trade, nothwithstanding the political antagonis~s invoked by him, if by Our exertions the wound and dangers resultingfrom his policy. is stanched and the sick man made whole." He protected the missions against no little opposition. The effect of his -In a single year 3,751,557 gallons death upon missions has yet to be seen, and, of course, depends wholly of spirits were imported into Africa. upon the character of Said Khalif, who becomes the dead Sultan's; suc- The sources of supply are England, cessor, and who is eleven years of age.-Christian at Work. Germany, :portugal and the United -The Liquor Traffic.-In the Brit- States.
ish House Of Gommons, April 24th, '-The Soudan in Africa is 2,000 Sir John Kennaway, on the motion miles long, 500 miles broad, and con- condemnatory of the liquor traffic tains about 60,000,000 of a population.
among native races (which was car- Mohammedans have proselytized ried in an amended form), thus re- these. The Protestant churches of ferred, in concluding, to the work of England and America have sent out the Church Missionary Society, of to this wide field two missionaries.
which he is President: One of these, "a S6udaneselad," saw "I have urged upon the House the acceptauce his father murdered before his eyes, of this motion On the grounds of morality and expediency. I think it will not be out of place was afterwards sold into slavery, was if I ask for it on behalf of the great mi6sionary societies, which have done so much to spread at last rescued, brought to England, Christianity and civilization. The Church Mis- sionary Society, in which I have the great honor educated, and is now baek to Africa to fill a position of responsibility, has always made Africa her first object. She has lavished as a herald of the cross. Surely the her treasure, she has sent forth of her best and church will speedily send at least one bravest on behalf of the negro race in Western, miSSionary for every million persons Central and Eastern Africa, and not a few of in the Soudan,-Presb, College Jour- nal. them have laid down their lives-martyrs as real and true as any to whom the church does Austro.Hungary.-Dr. Somerville . honor. We have present to-day-present in this House, a listener to Our debate-an evidence of of the Scottish Free Church has spent the labors of the society, in the person of one taken as a slave, educated by her, ordained, con- five months in evangelizing work secrated Bishop of the Niger-8amnel Crowther, who has in every sense proved himself worthy in Austro-Hungary, and has preach- , of his high calling and shown the real capabili- ties of his race. ed in about fifty towns and cities.
.. But the Church Missionary Society Is only Many obstacles were encountered,but one among many. The Society for the Propa- gation of the Gospel, the Universities' Mission, many encouragements were met with. the Scotch, the London, the Baptist, and other societies, are all working for the same end-all Among the latter was the permission find themselves thwarted and repelled by the same evil influence. Is it always to be so f Do granted by the authorities to hold we need more than to have the mischief brought hbme to us, to make a great effort to put a stop public religious meetings for Jews to it f Among England's greatest men lie very near to where we nOw sit the remains of David and Gentiles (a decided innovation), Livingstone, and engraven on· the stone which the heartiness of reception and co- covers them are words of his which remain as his undying legacy to us, the keynote of our pol- operation on the part of the ministers, icy, and stimulus to Our exertions in the present distress. In burning words he, from his grave, the thronging of the people in multi- •invokes Heaven's richest blessings upon any, tudes to hear the gospel, the readi- be he English, American or Turk, who shaH do something to remove the open sore of the ness with which the Jews came out world.' We are not dealing to·day with the to listen to a Christian Gentile, and slave trade, but with a sore, in the opinion of many, as pernicious. Ours may be the blessine: the general stirring in the towns where the mission was carried on. On one occasion Dr. Somerville ad- dressed an audience of 7,000. In many of the towns in Hungary there is but a single congregation of the Reformed Church, embracing 15,000 or 20,000 members. As to the Jews, not only dId they attend the ordinary public meetings, but, when on sever- al occasions Dr. Somerville gave a public address, specially to them- selves, they came together in crowds, both men and women, even to the number of 1.500. Instead of referring to controversial points, Dr. Somer- we are hoping for much blessing." Dr. Pruen, of the same' mission, ville adopted the plan of showing writing also from Ch'entu, says: how much Christianity owed to the "We have opened a new house for Jews, and having gained the ear and om' mission in this city near the hearts of his audience he then set Manchurian garrison, and so are forth Christ as the crucified Messiah. having crowds of visitors. The gos- pel is being preached, and I am see- Bengal.-R~v. R. Wright Hay, late ing patients twice a week."-China of the Cameroons, in a recent letter Medical Missionary Journal. from Dacca, Eastern Bengal, says: -One of the best provisions re- .. In Dacca there are sevp.ral thousands of cently made by the Chinese Governstudents resident during the greater part of ment is that which requires every the year, in attendance at different colleges, foreign missionary to hold a passport and I am thankful to say that there is the from his own government, declaring beginning of a work among these. It had been his nationality. French officials have a great joy to me to meet some twenty stu- affectp.d to assume a p'rotectorate over dents in a Bible-class every Sabbath morn- all Roman Catholic missionaries of ing, and to witness the intense interest with all nationalities and their converts. which they read and inquire into the story This has been found to have more of of Jesns. I have also lately started a week- the French flavor than the Chinese evening class for the study of questions taste requires. It is now proposed to arising out of the Sabbath lesson, and have deal with men according to nationalbeen much gratified by the devout spirit ity and to recognize them under their manifested, whilst personal intercourse with own proper colors. This is an impor- Individual students convinces me tha t many tant step in the right direction. of them are feeling after God. I have also an opportunityof reaching English-speaking -The great Island of Hainan, off natives through a service held in the mis- the south coast of China, is the newsion chapel every Sunday evening, which is est of the Presbyterian missions. For getting to be pretty well attended by Hin- the first time in the history of misdus, Brahmos, and occasiQnally Moham- sions its people hear the,gospel. medans." -Referring to the work in Shantung Brazil. – Christian people in the Dr. Arthur H. Smith of Pangkiach- United States ought not to lose sight wang writes to the Chinese Recorder: of the fact that Brazilian society is passing through a period of change, " The work of the English Baptist Mission at and that all social changes are crises Tsing Chu Fa in Central Shantung deserves to be better known that it may be much more care- -that the fate of this nation hangs fully studied. The modesty of its founders and upon the manner in which Christian their indefatigableindustry have prevented them from appearing in print; yet here is a mission people do their duty during the next composed for many years of but two missionaries and a native pastor, which, within thirteen years ten years-the forces of Rome are [rom the baptism of its first convert in this rebeing trained to meet the crisis with gion, has two elders, eight stewards, about sixty country stations (each with itsownleader), above that far-seeing, patient cunning for 1,500 members (with additions, after eighteen which Rome is noted. Shall the months' probation, at the rate of about 100 per annum), contributions averaging half-a-dollar a church of Christ in North America member, a central theological school, a central let this ripening grain fall ungather- school (or boys with numerous country schools, a respectable Christian literature ofits own creed? Young, strong men and women ation, and only fiye persons receiving foreign are wanted who can preach and teach pay-the native pastor and four evangelistsand sing of a purer, better Christian- three of whom are assigned to the regions beity than is known here.-Brazilian Missions. yond. 'No cash and no consul' has been the China.-Dr. Perry, of the China motto of this mission from Its inception; and Inland Mission, writes from Ch'entu, while it has experienced the Same obstacles as Szechuan, that he has "already found an open door to several official families in this great city, and a goodly number are attending the dispensary twice a week. There is a church of thirty members here, and all other aggressive Christian work, its results Baptist mission, sustained by the are well worth careful examination. The work Home Mission Board of the Southern of the Baptist Mission is exceptionally compact; Baptist Convention. In January, and now that the mission has received a great Dr. Tichenor, the Secretary, Mr.
number of new recruits, it is looking toward Adair, the Treasurer, and Dr. Mc- the opening out of new statious to the west." Donald, visited the mission. Mr.
-In the city of Pok-lo, on the Can- Diaz was ordained at Key West, Fla., December, 1885. In the month folton East River, a Confucian temple- lowing the first Baptist church was keeper received the Scriptures from a formed in Cuba, with him as pastor.
colporteur of the London Mission, After two years there are six Baptist became convinced of the folly of churches and twelve preaching-sta- tions inand about Havana, each havidolatry, and was baptized by Dr. Legge. He gave up his calling, and ing a Sunday-school. The churchset to work among his acquaintances members number 1,100, the scholars 2,000, and the congregations 5,000.
and friends as a self-appointed Scrip- There is also a church at Matanzas. ture reader. He would go through /The churches are all crowded, people standing at the doors and windows. the streets of the city and the coun- The people seem to have lost faith in try round with a board on his back Romanism. There is need of a meetcontaining some text of Scripture. ing-house in Havana and in other So successful was he, that in three places. Mr. Diaz and his brother, and his mother, and many of his labor years' time about 100 people were ers, seem remarkably raised up for baptized; and so mightily grew the this work. word of God and prevailed, that sur- prise and hostility were excited, and India.-A Brahmin writes to a Mada fierce persecution broke out. The ras paper on the decay of Hinduism. Christians were driven from the vil- He says, "Hinduism is a corpse, out lages, and their property was plun- dered. The colporteur was seized, of which the life has fled, and yet it and twice within forty-eight hours is a living force." The writerexplains dragged before the literati and called these seeming contradictions by upon to recant. This he refused to showing that the moribund, inex- do. He was therefore tortured by being suspended by the arms during pansive creed is still able to perform the night. The next morning he ceremonial functions. The late tour was brought forward in an enfeebled of the Madras governor was marked state, pale and trembling, for a Bec- by continued demonstrations, in which prayers for the protection of ond trial. The officials and mandarins were cowed into submission by the gentry; but this brave old man temples and the preservation of their was still firm in his resolve to cleave to his Bible and Christ, and expressed tithes formed the chief part. Tae Brahmin writer thinlrs that the a hope that his judge would some day , embrace the new doctrine. This was "cream of Hindu society" regards more than they could tolerate, and, their old faith as dead. He mentions like the judges of Stephen, they ran caste as the only saving element in upon him with one accord and killed Hinduism, and thus refers to the difhim on the spot by repeated blows of their side-arms, and threw him into ficulty felt by all friends of reform: the river. Thus perished the first "Another cause of the survival ofthe strength Protestant Christian martyr in China. and integrity of Hindnism is the Intellectual in- Cnba.-The Baptist movement in consistency and moral cowardice of the general- Cuba is wonderful, as all things are ity of the so-called reformers. Mighty as they that are begun by the Lord without are In feats of words, carried on in a foreign lan- guage-which consequently gives an exaggeratthe planning of men. Rev. A. J. ed notion to foreigners of their earnestness and Diaz, the originator of the work, the courage-they are in practice the tame follow- .. Cuban Paul," was himself convert- ers of orthodox priests and Ignoraut women.
ed by a Christian nurse who read the Bnt this state of things cannot last forever. The Bible to him while he was sick in disciples of Spencer cannot always dwell In New York. The one bright and hope- peace and amity with the followers of Shank- eracharya. The dense ignorance of the masses ful spot on the Island of Cuba is this will melt away before the spread of edUcation. The opposition to reform will daily become remark among the Hindus that the old form of weaker and weaker. The ranks of the progres- immolation by tire was preferable as a fate for a sive party will be swelling day by day. The young woman, or even for an old one, than wid- courage inspired by increasing numbers will do owhood. DistreSSing beyond our conception what constitutional courage-rather the want of must be the life to which suttee is a bleSSing; it-has failed to achieve. The fate of Hinduism and yet suicides are occurring in India almost is therefore sealed, although it will be some every week, prompted ouly by the terrible suf- time, probably a long time, before that consum- ferings incident to enforced ·widowhood. Who mation takes place."-Indian Witne88. can remedy these terrible mischiefs endured by -Discouraging Facts. An Indian women In Asia except female medical missiona- Brahmin has lately published a tract ries f They are wanted all through India. They on infanticide, in which he shows are wanted in large numbers. They are wanted for zenana work, for teaching, for all kinds of that the murder of 12,549 infants has iustruction in mission schools and secular estab- been made public during the last fif- lishments of varions kinds. An angel from heaven itself, as has often been said, would not teen years. This, we are told, repre- be welcomed in Hindu zenanas more cordially than a well-instructed female physician." 3ents only a fraction of the murders committed. J apan.-Japan is not only growing spiritually and intellectually, but is – Brahmins Searching the Scriptures. "We pushing ahead commercially at a :auld mention some twenty or thirty places in which Brahmins have formed themselves into 8abhaa (societies) for tbe sole purpose of studying rapid rate. Recent statistics show surprising results. For instance, a the Bible. No missionary has the entree to their tt'ade of $95,000,000 last year nearly doubles that of 1880, which was $51,- meetings, and their existence is not talked about outside. Yet their questions come to us, sometimes anonymously, always secretly. During the last month the writer of this has sent an- 000,000. In 1878 there were nine.
swers to more than a score of such questions- miles of railway, which have been exall of them serious, and many of them very acute. tended to 151 miles. Eleven railway They were answers, not to an individual, but to companies were started in the year varions bodies of Brahmins, and would receive due discussion. Even in the monasteries of this 1887, which also gave birth to 111 land, and by some of the high-priests of Hindu- large industrial companies in three Ism, the Sanskrit Bible Is to-day a book anxious- citie3 alone. Two important naval ly studled."-The Harvest Field. stations have been formed and are being fortified, and the first modern -The number of foreign mission- waterworks in the empire were com- , aries, European and American, labor- pleted in October last. With the exing in India, Ceylon and Burmah, is ception of these last works everyestimated at 689. Native laborers, thing has been done by native skili ordained and unordained, are counted and native capital alone. This is not by the thousands, while the number a bad record for a country where the of baptized Protestant Christians is feudal system was in lull swing reckoned at 500,000. Medicalmissions twenty-five years ago. are a powerful ally•. Zenana mission work is a godsend to millions of wo- men in India. A royal lady in India -Protestantism in Japan. According to the sent to Queen Victoria a petition in a statistics for 1887, there are at present working locket, asking for medical relief for in this empire the representatives of twentythousands of women in India. The four missionary societies. Seventeen belong to the United States, four to England, and one each Countess of Duffel'in, wife of the Vice- to Canada, Scotland, and Switzerland. Japan roy of India, learning of this appeal, has proved such an attractive and promising has established training-schools for field of labor that the number of societies Is nurses among the native ladies. greater than one would expect in view of the comparatively recent date at which the land Joseph Cook says: was thrown open to Christian etiort. Of course, " Between Cashmere and Ceylon, according to the number of workers varies greatly. Three an authentic and most recent official statement, have but one man each; while one has forty-nine there are 21,000,000 widows, and half of these male and female workers, not including the were never wives. Even under the rule of a wives of the missionaries. The 8um total of Christian empress, paganism makes the condi- foreign workers is 25.1.
tion of India yet so desolate that it Is a common Six missions have combined the results of their labors in the " United Church of Christ in I Japan." This body includes all the Presby- as an experiment the giving of Christian lectnres terian and Reformed Churches, save the Cum- for Jews exclusively twice per week in different berland Presbyterians. The Congregationalist parts of the city. Up to the time of his report Mission has decided to join this union, thus they had been increasing in interest and attendmaking it the most extensive of all the Protest- ance. ant bodies in the empire. " At one of the society's anniversaries in Bir- The total Protestant membership shows a mingham recently 400 Jews and Jewesses were – gain cif five thousand over the figures for 1886 ; present, and gave also liberally for the work of a grand gain, and yet how painfully small when the society. Dr. Cassel, who has been at work we consider the thirty-five millions still without In Berlin five years, reports 60 baptisms, 20 of the fold. These figures, however, by no means which took place last year. The HailYrai, a indicate'the limit of Christian infiuence. Japan Jewish organ, is our authority for saying that in is being permeated with Christian truth, and we I Vienna 248 Jews were converted last year to trust the time is not far distant when the em- Christianity. Recently the Rev. Canon Bell pire shall be thoroughly reached with the gos- made this statement: 'Ten days ago I was in pel. Amsterdam, and went into the Portuguese syn- agogue, which is one of the finest in the Nether- Christianity is not persecuted, and its most lands. There are in that city 50,000 Jews. And vigorous opponents, the Buddhist priests, use a few years ago there were only a few Christian infidel arguments against it in their public lec- Jews there, now they are counted by hundreds, tures, trusting more to modern 'free thought' and the work of conversion is going on rapidly.' and materialism than to the ancient Buddhist teachings for their weapons of offense against "The movement of Prof. Delitzsch of Leipzig the new way that is putting their craft in danger. Is a wonderfnl step towards the conversion of the Jews. In nine of the German universitiea HAKODATE, JAPAN. GIDEON F. DRAPEB. he is starting a movement for mission work amongst the Jews, and already over 300 students Jews.-[The Indian Evangelical of the universities have enrolled themselves as Review for April contains a valuable members of a special school for traiuing to this end. article on " The Jew." We give extracts from it which are of a mo~t " With the mention of the name of Joseph Rahope!ul character.-EDs.] binowitz, who was a lawyer and a Jew, but who has been converted to Christianity, I must close. " Have we any indications that the Christian He has given up his profession and preaches' Our religion is having any Impression upon them 1 I Brother Jesus.' It was his ind ependent study of think there is every evidence that a great work the Scripture which led to his conversion. He is being commenced in this direction. There are is exerting a wide-spread infiuence." many agencies at work to this end, and amongst the number is the London Society for the Pro- MadagasCBJ:.-" As is well known, motion of Christianity amongst the Jews. Its on the death of Radama I., one of name defines its object, and its efforts are widereaching. This society was conceived in 1809, his widows, an adopted child of his when there were but 35 believing Jews in all Engiand. In 1813, H. R. H. the late Duke of father, but by no means a chief Kent, accompanied by members of Parliament member of his seraglio, succeeded and other high Officials, in the presence of thou- in usurping the crown, which she sands ot people, laid the first stone of the Hebrew confirmed to herself by murdering Episcopal Chapel and Schools in Palestine Place, nearly or quite all her husband's London. Since then the work has gone Rteadily family. She as~umed the name of on. The late Earl of Shaftesbury was deeply interested in it, and for 39 years only once failed Ranavalona I. Radama II., her son, to take the chair at its anniversaries. The so- whose brief reign succeeded hers, is ciety employs 140 agents, consisting of 24 ordained missionaries, 25 lay and medical mission- plainly esta.blished, by the date of aries, 44 school teachers, 47 Scripture readers, his birth, to have been illegitimate. colporteurs, and other lay agents. Of this number 89 are Christian Israelites, and 17 ordained The evil woman has succeeded in esministers of the Church. tablishing her own race, though not " In very many places the Jews are anxious to her own descendants, upon the throne hear the word of God as explained by the mis- in place of the line of her husband. Sionaries. Iu a Jewish paper in London, whose But her family has become what she sole object is to oppose Christianity, the editor most hated, a Christian dynasty. tells his readers that they 'cannot afford to lose great numbers e1'ery year,' that' they (the Jews) She seized the throne in 1828 and died are being caught in the net,' they are most in 1861, having reigned just a geneanxious to attend mission halls, etc. ration. We all know what followed- .. In PariS, last March,:Mr. Mamtllch undertook the expUlsion of the English mission- aries, and the scenes of cruel and heroic martyrdom, resembling those on Lake Nyassa will be cut off from lately enacted in Uganda, under the civilization, owing to the demands young tryant Mwanga. Mr. Shaw made by the Portuguese. These sta- sums up it thus: 'Ranavalona I., tions, and a great trading establish- who has been compared by some to ment besides, were founded on the the worst of the Roman emperors, to faith of invitations from the British Nero or Caligula, and by others call- Government, and have flourished to ed the Malagasy Catherine II., whom an unusual degree. They are now she resembled in her vices, without threatened, on the one hand, by the having any of the redeeming qualities Arab slave-catchers, who are in full of that empress, commenced a relig- energy again, and on the other by th~ Portuguese, who claim the right ious crusade against Christianity. of imposing any duties they please on All kinds of inhuman cruelties were the Zambesi, and of annexing a strip practiced upon the converts, and of territory right across Africa. If many of those of the highest rank these claims are allowed, .the sta- suffered death or imprisonment for tions must be broken up; but the English Government is unwilling to their determination to serve the true disallow them, because it is essential for the progress of South Africa to God. Some were burned, others purchase Delagoa Bay, which the Government of Lisbon will not sell buried alive, others scalded to death, without territorial compensation. The position of the churches is amost some speared, and others cast from painful one, made so by the tempo- rizing policy of the English Governthe rock on which the capital is built, ment. Certainly it would be a calam- ity to concede to the Portuguese the and dashed to pieces in the valley right of closing the access of the South African colonies into the intebelow.' rior of Africa. There is trouble, if not war, in that matter in the future. " The missionaries were gone, but Turkey.-One ofthe most successful had left behind them the Word of missionaries in Oroomiah is a blind God, the blood of the martyrs, and Armenian from Harpoot, Turkey.
the presence in the furnace of Him He knows the Bible thoroughly, and, riding on a miserable little donkey, whose form was that of the Son of which is led by a one-eyed, deaf God. Therefore, as a Swedish maga- man, he goes boldly from village to zine has lately summed it up, the village preaching the gospel. His church of a few hundreds which blindness protects him, and the peowent under the cloud came out of it ple crowd to see the wonder-a blind a church of 37,000, and has now in- man reading. creased, including in the term all the -Dr. Jessup, of Beirut, writes that avowed adherents of Christianity, to "the Sultan of Turkey has set his a church of 400,000. Of these the seal Of imperial approbation upon 32 major part, that is, the Christians editions of Arabic Scriptures, allowadhering to the London Society, ing them to be sold, distributed and which first brought Madagascar the gospel, present, according to the An- shipped without let or hindrance."
nual Report for 1887, the following Of the books issued by the Beirut statistics: press,290 have passed under examina- Principal stations or districts. . ••. . 28 Out-stations. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . • 1,1:!:! tion in Damascus by the government English missionaries…….. …… Female missionaries (not inclnding .., officials, and have received authoriza- 4 wives). ………….. ……… tion.
Native ordained ministers.. . … . •• 828 Telugus.-In 1878, 2,222 Telugu Native preachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,395 converts were baptized in one day. Church members……………… 61,723 Native adherents. . . . •. ••. . •. . . . . . • 230,418. Schools……….. .•…•••. .•…… 1.043 Scbolars. . . . . . •. .. . •. . .. …….. . . 97,891 Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • ••. . . . . . • •. . . . • £589 19 5 Local contributions……….•…. £2,410 17 11 -Be'll. O. O. Starbuck in Andover Be'IIiew (June).
Scotland. – The Scotch churches are afraid their large mission-stations
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
It was done by si~ administrators, ening. The shrewdest busluess men ten me though only two baptized a.t one time. that they cannot foresee the future, but it looks dark. It is a time rather for taking in sail than -It is said that Dr. Luther F. for puttiug on more sail. This mission is, at Beecher, then pastor of the church best, but a 'lone star,' with no prospects of in which the anniversary meetings mnltiplication," etc., etc: were held, first applied the term "lone star" to the Telugu Mission. This was probably the origin of the In the debate on the question of abandoning or re-enforcing the Telugu name, caught up as it was by the ad- Mission, Dr. Beecher very earnestly advocated abandonment. He said: vocates of re-enforcement. Dr.
" The commercial horizon is dark and threat- Smith's poem was written in the evening after this speech of Dr.
Beecher, and appeared in the next morning daily. " Shine on, Lone Star, thy radiance bright."
IlL-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D., OF THE" INTERNATIONAL MIS- SIONARY UNION."
The Opium Ourae in Ohina. pany, which was abolished thirty BY THE REV. JOHN LIGGINS, ASBURY years ago amid the contempt of the PARK, N. J. ' civilized world. In many respects IN a recent speech in London, Mr. there was a great change for the John Bright referred to the opium better when Indiawas brought under war which England waged with the more direct rule of the Queen China in language of emphatic con- and Parliament, but, alas! the demnation. He said: greatest iniquity of all, the enforced "I am snre scores of times in the year, when opium traffic with China, was con- I am enjoying the beverage which we get tinued by the Indian, and sustained chiefly from Cbina, I am shocked to think of by the Home Governments, because the barbarous cruelty with which we have treated that people, who, so far as all Europe is of the large revenue derived from it. -concerned, are the most peaceful people in the The iniquitous trade has been of whole world. You know that the beginning of the war was opium, the compelling of the incalculable injury to China, and a most formidable obstacle to the Chinese to admit a drug which they did not Christianization of that empire. It 'wish to admit, which they thought hurtful to has also caused much demoralization their people, and which they bad a right to exclude, but which we forced upon them." and misery in India, as the opium vice is spreading there also. It has Remarking upon this statement, the Friend of China says: also worked much injury to India in "The whole story of the opium question is other ways. It causes, or increas~s, the periodic famines, owing to the told in these few graphic words. We hope Mr. perversion of such a vast area from Bright will co-operate with our Parliamentary food crops to crops of poison, and the friends in tbe further measures wbich it Is government traffic shocks the moral sense of the better class of Hindoos. necessary to take in order to relieve England of complicity with the odious traffic."
The abominable trade was begun by Warren Hastings and other agents The greatest and best of all the of the East India Company, and Earls of Shaftesbury, in 1881, un- England's opium wars with China, equivocally condemned "the posi- which as Dr. Arnold of Rugby, Mr. tion of a great imperial government Gladstone, the Earl of Shaftesbury manufacturing the opium, selling and other eminent Englishmen have the opium, and entering in aU the said, are among the most infamous details of retail dealers. It is," he in history, were instigated and fo- said, "a nefarious traffic, and a na- mented by this dishonorable com- tional abomination." The terrible evils of the vile traffic, .. We were listening yesterday to a description of the horrors of the slave trade-of the untold and the very formidable obstacle it is multitudes who must have perished before reaching their destination. But, having labored to the Christianization of China, con- many years in China, my solemn conyiction is that all the misery and sin and suffering caused tinue to be referred to by travelers by the slave trade are not equal to the wrongs in1licted upon China by the opium tramc. That and missionaries. The distinguished may seem a strong thing to say, but it is not at all too strong. I could not possibly describe Miss Gordon Cumming, in her the incalculable misery which I have witnessed as a result of this curse which we introduced "Wanderings in China," Vol. 11:., into China. As a medical miSSionary I have been into many homes where people were enpage 307, says: deavoring to kill themselves by taking opinm, to escape from the greater evils they had " We all know the seqnel, and the storY!Jf the brought upon themselves by the habit of opium two utterly nnjustifiable wars whereby Christian smoking. If you love your country, pray God Englaud not only forced unwilling China to le- that He will raise up a standard against this galize the import of the drug which is rnining horrible, awful curse, and that He will deliver millions of her people, but (like a schoolmaster us from the guilt of it." exacting the price of his birch-rod) compelled her to pay heavy war indemnities. In short, in The Lady Dufferin Movement. the matter of the opium trade, England has acted precisely like one of those hateful 1Iies WE have been studying with some which alight on some fat and comfortable cater- care what is known as the "Lady pillar, and despite its vain struggles, deposit in Dufferin" medical movement in Inits luckless body the eggs whence in due time hat- dia, 'and are led to caution medical ches a crop of vile maggots, to prey on its vitals. women, who desire to devote them- selves to medical missionary work, "The British ollicial conscience has lulled from entering this service without a careful study of its character and itself, Cain-like,* with the assurance of having aim, and the limitations which will be imposed upon them as evangelno responsihility in the destruction of China- ists. The movement is, so far as men, while gaining a solid advantage in the we can detect, after the uttermost revenue of about nine million pounds sterling, stretch of Christian charity, purely which has annually enriched the Indian treasury humanitarian. As such we have from this source. So year after year Britain only kind words for it, though we has turned a deaf ear to every remonstrance believe it might have been made from luckless China, or from those who seek much more than that, and we feel her weal." regret that it was not so made at outset. The objects for which" The The editor of the Missionary Her- National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women ald, in a recent number, says: of India" was formed are classified in the Third Annual Report of the " The deep resentment existing in the minds "Countess of Dufferin's Fund," pubof many Chinese against foreigners, on account lished January, 1888, as follows: of the opium-traffic. is well showu by an incident narrated by a member of the China Inland .. I. Medical, Tuition: including the teach- Missiou, who reports having found one day, in ing and training in India of women as a large house, three women sitting together, doctors, hospital assistants, nurses and midsmoking their pipes-oue an old lady in her wives. ninetieth year. As SOOn as this old lady caught the name of Jesus in the conversation she arose .. n. Medical, Relief: including (a) the esand, coming toward the missionary, said: • Do not mention that name again I I hate Jesus I tablishment, under female superintendence, I will not hear another word I You foreigners of dispensaries and college hospitals for the bring opium in one hand and Jesus in the treatment of women and children; (b) the other I' Later, takiug the book from the hand opening of female wards, under female of the missionary, she read a few sentences, but superintendence, in existing hospitals and seeing the name of Jesus, she contemptuously shut the volume, saying: • Take it away I Take it away I I do not want your opium or your Jesus I' Can anything be sadder than having our holy faith thus connected, thoagh wrongly, in the minds of the Chinese with a vile traffic 1"
The Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, M.D., the founder and principal director of the China Inland Missions, and who has traveled very extensively in China, said, at the Mildmay Confer- ence, London, in June, 1887: * .. Am I my brother's keeper r" dispensaries; (e) the provision of female religion cIau2e, so, as so<>n as I could do it medical officers and attendants for existing qnietly, I closed it np." female wards; (d) and the founding of hospitals for women where special funds or en- The Indian 'Witness says, "There dowments are forthcoming. was not the slightest use for the In- dian Association or Lady Dufferin's "III. The Supply of Trained Female Nur- committee introducing the clause ses and Midwives for women and children in they did" ; and Medical Missions at hospitals and private houses." Home and Abroad asks, "Why this never-ending fear on the part of This, practically, is a medical ser- our Indian Government to acknowlvice for women exactly the counter- edge essential Christian rights, the part of the Government's system of right of Christian missions, the medical provision for men which has right of individual Christian confesobtained all over India, and is purely sion?" "Maya Christian," it asks, a secular, though certainly a benevo- "come under any such bond? May lent enterprise. It will not hinder a Christian woman· say, 'I promise and may help medical missionary that, working among dying women, work indirectly. But if any· young my lips shall never be opened to Christian women, graduated in medi- offer them, in Christ's name, the gift cine or as nurses, zealous to do evan- of eternal life ? ' " gelistic work in connection with their profession, think of responding The greater anomaly here arises to the demand for persons skilled from the fact that this movement deand trained for medical work in the rived its initial inspiration, ensample Dufferin system, we must caution and hope of possible success, from them against so doing without care- Christian medical missions by wofully weighing the rule of that aRSO- men to women, and these had met ciation which says, "No employee of with no obstacle on account of relithe Association will be allowed to gion, but were successful to such exproselytize, or interfere in any way tent that they were not equal to the with the religious beliefs of any sec- demands made on them. Woman's tion of the people." If this does not medical work among heathen women absolutely debar them them from is distinctly and divinely Christian, speaking on religious subjects to and yet this association divorces it their patients, and practically from from its ackno.wledged source. carrying the gospel to hospitals or homes, it is not easy to discover how A Great Obstacle in India Removed. the English language can be made to inhibit such deeds. IT is with unusual gratification that we learn that the British Govern- We in nowise depreciate the coun- ment is to discontinue its relation tess' scheme for the relief of suffer- with a system of camp-regulated liing, but from the distinctively mis- centiousness in India. It is some sionary stand-point it is not an arena time siBce the moral sense of Great affording scope for the medical mis- Britain rose in its might and consionary. Dr. Sarah Seward was en- demned the Government system of gaged as a medical missionary at licensed lust that had obtained in Allahabad, India, and lent her aid the British Isles. But the State regfor awhile to the countess' associa- ulation of this iniquity was not distion, but withdrew from it, and said, continued in the army of India; and through Woman's Work for Wo- it has recently been exposed as sinmen: gularly monstrous, facts having been brought to the knowledge of the "I gave up the Dulferin work in October Christian public of England which (1887) ; they could not hamper me, as I was have exasperated them intensely. distinctly promised that I should not be fettered, but they wanted that all assistants paid by them should come under the non- Mr. Alfred S. Dryer, who became ed demand for "more and younger widely known a few years since when women," together with the fact that he exposed the continental traffic in English girls, went to India with the these women were not found to volintent of opposing the system for regulation of harlotry among British unteer to meet the military demand, soldiers, and has been revealing, as and as a consequence had to be huntfar as regard to common decency ed and procured through the exercise would allow, something of the state of direct official force, only intenof things he found. The Christian sified the righteous indignation of of London has from time to time the British Christian public. At the published diagrams to illustrate Mr. meeting in Exeter Hall, Rev. Hugh Dryer's letters, and the effect of the Price Hughes moved the following agitation has been to stir the moral resolution: and religious sentiment of Great Britain to demand, not merely a " This meeting, representIng all sections of modification, but the out-and-out the Church of Christ, learns with deep and abandonment of the connection of burning indignation that the India Office, after the State with licensed prostitution. having been forced to admit the authenticity of We have read these published letters a terrible official document known as the during several months past, and had Circular Memorandum of June 17, 1886, purposed lending the force of our issued by order of the Commander-in-Chief in utterance, and possibly of American India, giving authority to obtain attractive-lookpetition against this abomination, ing harlots, and plenty of them, to provide but are happy in the tidings that houses of ill-fame, and other abominable sugsuch action on our part has been gestions of a kiudred nature; this meeting is rendered unnecessary; at least we astounded to learn that the India Office proposes hope the cablegram means so much. simply to suspend, instead of utterly to repeal, the system under which such atrocities are per- A great public meeting to demand pretrated, and this meeting pledges itself to from Lord Cross, the Indian Secre- carry out, both in this country and in India, an tary of State, the instantaneous and agitation for repeal till repeal is gained_" unconditional abolition of the system of State-provided vice in India, was He said there was no nonsense held in Exeter Hall, on Friday even- about the resolution: ing, May 18, under the auspices of the Gospel Purity Association. Mrs. "Requisitions for the class of women referred Josephine E. Butler, and several to had been made by various commanding offimembers of Parliament were sup- cers, and one, the officer in command of the Con_ ported on the platform by mission- naught Rangers, had asked the Commander-inaries, clergy and ministers of all de- Chief to request the cantonment magistrate to nominations. The bishops of the give all possible assistance to procuring them_ Indian Empire had strongly memori- Let them imagine what that meant in a country alized the Indian Government against where there was no constitutional government_ the continuance of this iniquity, Not only so, bot in at least one part of India a and 300 missionaries joined in the sort of recruiting officer had been appointed for petition to Parliament for its aban- the purpose who was to receive a capitation donment. grant on the victims brought in_"
The specific character of the gov- It is not necessary, as we now ernmentregulations, such as that the judge, to enter more largely into the number of women should be "sllffi- subject. cient," that the women should be "sufficiently attractive," that they If the British Parliament, on June be "young women," and the repeat- 5, responded to the demand of Brit- ish moral sentiment and uncondi- tionally repealed all legislation licens- ing and regulating a great system of iniquity which the British army had inaugurated and which was spread from end to end of the Indian Em- pire, that I is something for Chris- tian gratulation, though rejoicing be still tempered with a sense of indig- nant shame that such a system was ever contemplated, much less en- stringency of its regulations against forced for an hour. This has been a the importation of liquors. In April, great obstruction to Christian work 1887, they prohibited their importa.- in India. And the horrible anomaly tion entirely into about one-third of of State-procured women to' pander their telTitories. In May, 1887, they to the base passions o.f BritiSh made a further regulation imposing soldiers in State-provided harlot's penalties on the payment of wages houses, in juxtaposition witha State- in spirits throughout the whole of provided Christian Church, is an ef- their territories. The matter of the frontery of deviltry that human his- decadence of these native races and tory has not often equaled. Thank the destruction of commerce among God! it is to be no more. Missiona- them in consequence of the introducries like those of Seetapore, who have tion of European intoxicants has at been compelled to pass such quarters last forced itself upon the British on their way to preach Christ's gos- Parliament, and on April 24, when pel to heathen women, must have Mr. McArthur moved in the House of had the courage of an infinite faith in Commons, "That this House, having the discharge of their duty. regard to the disastrous physical and moral effects of the liquor traffic Sturdy British moral sentiment has among uncivilized races, as well as again set an example that will lend the injury it inflicts on legitimate new fire and force to all who are commerce, is of opinion that Her struggling with giant iniquities. Majesty's Government should take " Men of thought and men of action" steps to suppress the traffic with will shout, "Clear the way!" An- natives in all native territories under other "brazen wrong" has" crum- its influence or control, and that bled into clay! " whenever self-governing powers are granted to crown colonies, stipula- Rum and the Native Races. tions should be made for the effectual THE General Assembly of the protection of the natives against the Presbyterian Church, held in Phila- sale of strong drink." delphia in Ma,y, spoke in the following unmistakable way about the drink In supporting this, he said that traffic on the Congo and amongst England did not alone conduct this other uncivilized nations: trade. During 1885 more than 10,- 000,000 gallons of the vilest spirits WMreas. The exportation of intoxicating were sent to Africa, of which England sent only 311,384 gallons, liquors to heathen lands has become a most Germany 7,823,042 gallons, and others alarming hindrance to the civilization and smaller quantities. Christianization of the inhabitants thereof, and as this tramc is assuming snch proportions in the He said that they at .home had great Congo Valley of Africa by virtue of an some international treaty in which our own Government is a party ; therefore "protection in the Adnlteration Acts, but in warm countries, inhabited by races unac- Re8olved, That the Assembly views with customed to such liquorR, the natives had, with shame, horror and apprehension the progress of the exception of Madagascar, no protection this tramc by civilized nations with ignorant and whatever; there was no supervision, no examheathen lands; that this Assembly nnite, as far ination, and the drink sold was so bad that it as possible, with other churches in an effort to speedily decimated and destroyed them. This induce Christian Governments to abolish and traffic was bringing abont wholesale murder in prevent the horrible practice of carrying intoxi- the islands of the Western Pacific over an extent cants into the uncivilized nations of the world, of 3,000 miles of coasts. In Africa the picture aud that a committee be appointed to lay this was almost as dark. The consnmption of strong .whole matter before his Excellency the Presi- drink was increasing and leading rapidly to the dent of the United States, with the request that demoralization and destruction of the native he would present the facts to Congress, and ask races. No doubt, in parts of South Africa the that such steps may be taken, with the least possilXe delay, as will free us, as a Christian nation, from all complicity with this ruinons tramc, especially as re!,(ards the treaty concern- ing the Free Congo State.
We do make some headway. The Royal Niger Steamship Company has for some time been increasing the Government bad not complete control, bu. In or Protestant, and the latter are otber parts they have full sway, aDd m some of quite indignant that either Grover those places the natives fared as badly as at the Cleveland or the President of the Cape Colony. Once the passion for brandy was United States should have sent a gift roused, it became msatiable, and the natives which indirectly was a recognition of were destroyed. A native king wrote begglog sovereignty. that the traftic might be stopped. If not, his people would have to abandon their town, and A correspondent writes us from go Into the desert to escape frem the white Italy as follows: man's brandy. He believed we were morall,. bound to protect the natives over whom we had " I wonder if you are inoorested in been called to govern. Even the motive of seIC- European, in Italian politics. Of interest ought to Induce us to take such a course, course we here follow them with because to a manufacturing countr,. it was of interest. From remarks that I somethe utmost importance that we should have a times see in our home papers, I nota wide range of customers, and the native races that our Italian politics are often sadwould, if protected a.gainst this evil, become ly mixed up and misunderstood. It valuable customers. He recollected hearing the is, of COurse, a difficult thing for late Dr. Moffat, who laboced so long and so sue- American journalists to have a just cessfully in Africa, state that when he first went idea of conditions here, just as it is to Bechuanaland there was not £5 worth of difficult for Italians to form a just British manllfactured goods sold in that district, conception of our ways. Of course, but before he left tens of thol1sands of pounds the Pope and his jubilee have occuworth were sold annually. And this is the case pied a prominent place in the eye of where Christian civilization extends." this public, but I think it must be conceded that it has not been the suc- Sir Edward Kenneday, in support- cess that was hoped for. It would ing the resolution, said the thought seem that the Pope hoped by its is that means to make some advance toward the regaining of the temporal power, "co.tact between Europeans and the native and he must have been .disappointed races must necessarily result in benefit to the in the very guarded tone of the comlatter. It ought to be so. If the proper intiu- munications from those monarchs ences were brought to bear and the evil infin- from whom he perhaps expected most ences were kept away, U would be so; but to a efficient aid. But he no doubt flatgreat extent we defeated our own objects by in- ters himself greatly on the attentions troducing among those races that which was not received from Protestant rulers. You for their good, but for their harm. The African will have noticed, I do not doubt, especially had a tendency to be corrupted. In that he celebrated his jubilee New addition to making large quantities of his favor- Year's morning. I wonder if the ite native drink, the African acquired a liking papers on the other side of the sea refor the rum and gin which were imported by marked the fact that the miter which European merchants in large quantities. The he wore on that occasion was the gift result was that he became careless of every- of the Emperor of Germany, and the thing else, and had no money left to purchase chalice which he used was Queen Victhe manufactures of Manchester. Mr. Joseph toris's gift. In our English prayer- Tholl¥lon and Sir Richard &rton had showed meeting during the week it was comthat Africa would even be the gainer if the mented on that two Protestant rulers country reverted to the old state of slavery and should have furnished so symbolic the importation of liquor was given up. There gifts for that occasion. Italian newswere dilllcuities in the way, but similar diffi- papers commented on the fact. But culties were overODme by. Wilberforce and Sir that which occasioned most surprise, FowellBnxtonin overthrowing the slave trade." and was perha:ps most commented on by Italian journals, and most deeply Grover Oleveland's Present to the Pope. regretted by Protestant Americans WE say "GroverCleveland," rather than His Excellency the President, because it is claimed on the occasion of his sending a gift, a very appropriate one, by the way, to the Pope on his jubilee that he acted in his individual and not in his official capacity. The distinction,.however, is quite too ltice for the Italians, eiMler Romallist resident here, was the fact of a. girt pontiff seemed to him illogical.' from the President of the United When will our Protestant nations States. They may say what they recognize that it is not only illogical, like about its not being sent by him in but that it is dangerous ?" his official capacity. that the Secretary of State knew nothing of it, and Recent Ohurch Action on Missions. as much more as they please, but that was an occasion when the man THE General Conference of the could not separate himself from his Methodist Episcopal Church, at its office, and before the eyes· of the Jast session, had some very liignifi.- world it was not Mr. Cleveland, but cant action concerning its foreign the President who sent a gift to the missions, a part of which interests Pope. the general Christian public. Two tendencies have been manifest for "In marked contrast is the action of some few years past. One looking to the preservation of the foreign misthe Italian government in regard to sion-fields in organic relation simi- lar to that which obtains in this counthe Mayor of Rome. He is a devoted try, and to the erection of a worldand bigoted Roman Catholic, and wide Ecumenical Methodist Episcopal just before the New Year went to call Church; the other looking to the ulon the Pope, expressed his salutations timate autonomy of the great diand those of the city. It was said visions of the foreign church, in althat he went in his private capacity, liance and closest sympathy with the not in his official relation. The ac- home church. The latter view obtion was not ordered by the munici- tained more fully in the action of pal council, nor the. subject consid- this General Conference, and the ered by them, and they held it was Methodist Episcopal Church of Japan distinctly his private act; but the was authorized to effect a union with government at once declared that on other branches of Methodism in that such an occasion the man could not country, and to erect the Methodist separate himself from the official, Church of Japan. A part of the acand that a government officer might tion is as follows: not perform such an act, and promptly demanded his resignation! Reaolv~d, 1. That this General Conference will not interpOfle any objection. to the Japanese "The Italian Government has sent Methodists declaring themselves independent of no gift to honor the Pope's jubilee. . the Methodist Episcopal Chnrch, provided they She knows the toe she has within her unite with one or more of the other Methodist borders. I wish our own loved Churches in Japan. America would wake up to a realiza.. tiOli of what an enemy to all her in- 2. That whenenr it shall he made evident to stitutions she harbors with a certain the Bishop in charge of Japan and to the Board calm indifference. The Pope makes of Managers of the Missionary Society that it Is a very gracious reply to the gift of the desire of the Methodists of Japan to be so the President, but to me the words declared independent, and whenever arrangeseem to contain a threat, a moral ments satisfactory to said Board of Managers purpose, which he and the Jesuits and Bishops shall have been made, securing the have never surrendered. One of the real estate in Japan of the Missionary SOciety of Italian papers had this item on it not the Methodist Episcopal Chnrch, the said Bishop long ago: 'King Oscar of Sweden is and Board shall proceed to make all the arrangethe only sovereign who has not taken menta neco.sary to the independence of said part in the festival of the papal Church and ita anion with the Canada Methodist Mi••ion or any other Methodist missions In jubilee. He replied to the committee Japan.
for the jubilee that the participation 8. That in ca.e, during the present quadrenof a Protestant prince in rendering ninm, the Methodiet Church of Japan shall be homage to the Roman Catholic created In harmony with the spirit and purpOfleB ofthi8 action, the General MissionaryCommittee and Board may coutinue, under proper regnla- tions, appropriations and payments to the work in Japau, and that onr people in this conntry be encouraged to continne to manifest th8ir interest in the eTan~elical, educational, pnblishing and other work In that country.
4. That our mi8Bion in Japan be advised, in the drat place, to earneetly seek a nnion with aU the bodies of Methodi.ts in Japan, that the,. may nnite together in laJing the foundations and eatabllshina the dl8cipllne of the new church. The same tendency was manifested served as 1 day of prayer, when all onr churches by the definition of the powers of a and Sabbath-sclIoola and Christian homes may Missionary Bishop as co-ordinate with unite in speech and song and prayer and service those of the General Superintendents to deepen interest in, and consecration to, the (the other Bishops) within his partic- work of giving the gospel to the heathen world. ular field j and by the erection of "India and Malaysia" into a Mis- "That the week following this Mission Sabsionary Episcopate, with Rev. James bath, or some other week soon succeeding, be de- M. Thoburn, D.D., as Missionary· voted to " simnltaneons meetings" at centers ot Bishop. inftnence within the bonnds ot the respective Synods, tor which Synodical or Presbyterial Anotherimportant adjustment was Committees shall make proviSion, inviting the made by providing for the organic co-operation of the Secretaries of the Board and relation of missionary work which the different missionary agencies in the respecthad developed somewhat out of the ive fields. Such an arrangement made and carusual order, under Missionary Bishop ried into effect by the Synod of New Jersey last William Taylor of Africa, and the year was greatll fruitful. "Bishop William Taylor Transit and Building Fund Society," who have " That we eDJoin upon pastors and church oMhitherto conducted what are known cers a wide dissemination of the current litaraas "self-supporting missions." The ture of missions, that the people may keep pace with the miKhty movements of our tinie and may realize the possibilities of power and vic- tory before the chnrch, assured that a snstained and large-hearted Christian liberality must be conditioned on intelligence, and that a swift step throngh God-opened doors is the only loyal answer to the order of the King.
.. That we make not less than a round million dollars as our joyfnl offering to God this coming year for laying at the gates of our beloved Zion this golden and matchless opportunity to possess much land lor Christ."
following was adopted: . -Signs of the Times in India. Rev.
R68olfwl, 1. That the Missionary Bishop for T. J. Scott, D.D., writing from Ba- Africa be and is hereby authorized to continue reilly, India, says: "The two most his efforts to extend the Methodist Episcopal notable points in India to-day are, Church in Africa on the plan of self-supporting first, a remarkable stir among Hindus miasions. to get Government to interdict the killing of cows, or rather of the cow 2. That we direct that all property acquired In kind. The movement began with the the prosecution of the self-supportln/L mission new sect of the "Arians," as they plan, be held by and for the Methodist Episcopal call themselves. A second phase of Church. the times is a growing alienation be- tween Moslems and Hindus, partly 8. That the Ji[!ssionary Board be advised to over the cow question and partly appoint a standing committee on self-snpportilli: over the National Congress movemissions conducted on this plan. ment which is very generally headed by Hindus. The National Congress 4. Tha.t. missionaries employed and chnrches meets annually and means more of organized under this plan shall be entitled to the India for the natives. Moslems fear same righta and amenable to the discipline or that it means more of India for Hinthe church the earne as missionaries and dus, hence their opposition to it. The churches in other fields. Congress is a native movement."
5. That Missionary Bishops In charge of self- -IN a missionary sermon, Rev. W. supporting missions be instructed to report an- BUally to the Missionary Board the condition or all self-supporting missions, including the number of missionaries, the number of stations and circuits, and the number of communicants in each; and a finaucial exhibit of ali receipts and expenditures.
6. That the Argentine Republic~Uruguay, the Southern province of Erilzil, raraguay and Chili be organized into an annual conference, to be called the South American Conference.
7. That the General Ji[!ssionary Committee be requested to organize the Portugnese stations in Northern Brazil into a mission.
S. That the name of the Liberia Conference be changed to Africa Conference, ita boundaries to include the whole of Africa.
The General Assembly of the Pres- L. Watkinson of England lately dealt byterian Church adopted the follow- with some considerations touching ing: missions with which we are familiar in general literature, and some of the .. That we recognize the advantages of co-oper- recommendations of critics. One of ation and union already secured In foreign fields, these was that we should attend to and approve the continuance of the same, ac- questions within our own borders and cording to the advice of preceding assemblies. let the great world of pagan"ism alone. The scientific reason assigned for this .. That in accordance with the su!!gestion oftha was, that in this world there was a Board, we recommend that a viSItation of the missions by the Secretaries be made not less frequently than once in ten years, aad not more fr~~~J:ft:'e~~a~b!r: ~Fagovember be oil- I 628 INTBBNATIONAL DKPARTlmNT. [AUGUST, Jaw permanently active, by which and yet at last it bore roses upon its degraded tribes are carried forward to the utmost civilization and refine- top. ment, and that we should stand by and let this internal 'force operate. -ANENT the criticisms that Chris- Then, little by little, debased peoples tian missionaries present a too spiritwould be lifted to the level of an accomplished and noble civilization· ual view of religion to barbarians, and Upon inquiry, however, as to whether that they would make greater prothis was an explanation of the whole question, we are told there is also gress by withholding part of the another law, not of evolution, growth and development, but a law of degra- truth, read the following: dation, by which noble organisms are carried backward to simplicity and .. But men say to·day, 'Cannot you accelerate utter debasement. Now, when we the progress of Christianity f' And they ree-' look within the circle of Christendom, ommend us to modify our doctrine. Max Miiller we find the law of development, says-and he has to a considerable extent symwe find peoples slowly approximating pathized with missions-that evangelical Christo a magnificent ideal; but outside tianity can never hope to triumph in India. that circle we see the law of degene- What Christianity do they require f A purified ration-magnificent civilizations go- Christianity-that is, a Christianity from wllich ing back, great peoples becoming you have eliminated the Incarnation, the Atonemore ignorant and corrupt. This ment, the Resurrection, and the Fnture; and law could only be arrested by bring- that purified Christianity would commend itself Ing into the midst of the race the su- to an Intellectual race, and we might count our perhuman wisdom and inspiration of converts by thousands inst~ad of tens. What Christian doctrine and faith. These must we say to this f Did we triumph in Fiji critics say the Christian church should with an emasculated Christianity? The apostle !et the pagan world alone. Do they Paul went to II most refined people, and they let it alone politically, educationally listened to him, and when he Came to the resur- or commercially? Not for a moment. rection of the dead some mocked. What did As we say, if these are good, super- the apostle do? Did he go to the, race with a natural faith is better than all. Chris- "purified Christianity" after that? No, with tianity made us what we are, and perfect consistency he continued to declare that maintains us at the dizzy height at Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip- which we stand; we cannot afford to tures, and how He rose from the dead, and will let the pagan world alone, because it come again to judge the earth in righteousness. will not let us alone. If we do not We aim not at civilization-that is a sweet acci- civilize the pagan world, it will de- dent-but we aim at the spiritualization of the . moralize us. During the last fifty race, and when we look into history we can say years there has been a revival in Eu- with Paul, only with greater emphasis, 'We are I rope of Oriental philosophy. Where not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the < do the notions of nihilism, atheism, power of God unto salvation to every one that and pessimism come from which to- believeth.' Then they say we must modify the day work so disastrously in our liter- moral standard, Christianity is too exalted, and ature and life? From the East; and if we will only accommodate the ethical claims unless we convert the East, it will of Christiauity to the weakness of mankind we convert us. Mission work is great, shall have ten thousand converts where to-day but we are on the winning side, and we have only ten. But God will not make the may remember the words of the hair's-breadth of a compromise with sin. Men Italian poet, who saw the thorn, all outside say: Briug the law down to the race; winter long, intractable and fierce, Jesus Christ says to His Church: Bring the Church up to the law, and take an eternity to do it. They also say if we want to' get on faster with Christianity we must revise the methods, begiu with an intermediate system, and so find our way little by little to the magnificent design of Christianity. But the Bible teaches us that we can take the pure truth to the most debased peoples, aud they have a faculty for its imme- diate recognition. The teaching of Christianity is that the lowest man has a faculty for the high- est, and the common people hear Him gladly who spake as never man spake. We have every reason for encouragement, and although men speak of the slowness of it, truly we may feel that its, progress is marvelous."
THE. ](O~Y CONCERT OF IIIISSIONS
IV.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF. MISSIONS.
PAPAL EUROPE. to 1875, England gained 119 per cent. ; Prussia, 72; Austria, 27; France, 12 ; IT is one of the wonders of the a.ges or, taking excess ofbirths over deaths: that changes so radical and revolu- if Fl'ance be represented by 1, Austionary should have taken place in tria will be represented by 3, Russia Europe. In the age succeeding the by 5; but Prussia by 6, and Britain Council of Trent, Papal Europe em- by 81 In 1825 Protestant population braced the oldest and grandest of was to Papal as 3 to 13; and, in 1875, monarchies: the German Empire as as 1 to 3. the political and military center; France as the intellectual and social The transformations in Italy are center; Spain and Portugal as the incredible to one who has not wit- "center of expansive force"; Italy as nessed them. Where two-thirds of the historical and ecclesiastical cen- the people could not read or write, ter of all. Papal Europe then repre- education is now compulsory. Where sented all the old, polished languages the very conscience of the people and every great historical city, an- seemed paralyzed, and the sense of cient university, and every influential personal responsibIlity and accountanucleus of letters, art and civiliza- bility dead, we have seen the church tion, except those developed after the party in Rome opening numerous Reformation. schools, issuing cheap literature in large quantities, establishing soup- In Luther's era Rome held Europe kitchens, relieving poverty, and inin her firm grasp. Great moral and forming ignorance. Where the Pope political revolutions have cut oB.: Eng- swayed with an absolute scepter, Pius land, Scotland, Holland, Denmark, IX. was a prisoner in the Vatican, Sweden, Prussia, and part of Ger- bewailing the losij of temporal power; many and Switzerland; and even the and it is obvious to the world, if not countries that have not thrown off to the College of Cardinals, that even allegiance to the Pope have under- the spiritual scepter is very loosely gone great change. Papacy has lost held, if not already broken. The beyond calculation or restoration, and Pope will never again make emperors in nQwhere more surely than in Italy bow as penitents before him, or toritself. "Papal Europe" has now a ture heretics in thedungeons of the different meaning ; Protestantism has Inquisition. been, and is, steadily gaining in numbers, wealth, prestige and in power- The ignorance which is the mother intellectually, morally, politically and of superstition is giving way before spiHtually. the intelligence that is the handmaid of faith and devotion. In fact, as to The balance of p01ver has been act- the Papacy, we mark a grand crash ually reversed since 1789. At the in the whole wall which has shut out period of the Reformation, Spain and the Bible and the pure gospel from Portugal and Austria were the domi- the people. It is like the falling of nant powers in Europe. Spain, that the ramparts of Jericho before the made England quake at the terrors of trumpet blast of joshua's hosts ; and her" Invincible Armada," had three wherever the army of God faces times, perhaps six times, the popula- Romanism, every man may march tion of England; now England, after into the breach straight before him all the millions she has sent to colo- and take the city. nize India, America and Australia, has still twice the population of We can hardly credit it that Spain. During fifty years, from 1825 Protestant churches and Protestant schools are multiplying within the The" twelvehundredandsixty " days walls of the Eternal City; that Rome of dominion seem to have expired. itself is open to the circulation of the No man can foresee the changes that Bible and the preaching of t4e Cross; within ten years may yet t8.ke place. that under the shadows of St. Peters There are many indications that there and the Vatican Protestants may not only worship unmolested, but is to be a Reformed Catholic Church, carryon the work of evangelism; that the Bible cartsroll out of Madrid, on a great scale, in which those who and in the very Spain whose name is within the Papal communion hold to the historic synonym of the Inquisi- evangelical truth shall find a refuge tion the people should so clamor for from companionship and complicity the Word of God that copies cannot with error and heresy and iniquity. be printed fast enough to meet the Rev. W. T. Bainbridge, whose demand; that in France, that right " World Tour" did so much for misarm of the Papal power for centuries, sions, met in Asia many Catholic land of the exiled Huguenots and of priests who seemed to have been inawful st. Bartholomew, both French fluenced by the accompanying evan- Chambers order elimination of priests gelical missions; and there are many and nuns from government schools signs in the British Provinces and within five years; and the greatest in our own Republic that Roman work of popular evangelization ever Catholicism, in close contact with known should now be in progress, Protestantism and remote from the and the government aid and encour- Papal centers, is being essentially a.ge the McAll stations as the best modified by such contact. The future possible police to restrain and reform may show us a great exodus from that mercurial people, whose very Rome, of those who "comeoutof her blood, like the Irishman's, is quick- that they be not partakers of her sins silver. nor receive of her plagues." Nay, even a reconstructed church, that Savonarola's dying cry was, "0 casts off the cerements of the sepul- Italy, I warn thee that only Christ cher and comes forth in a new life of can save thee! The time for the purified faith I Holy Ghost has not come, but it will !" What if that martyr of Fer- SUGGESTIVE PARAGRAPHS. rara could have seen Italy's history from 1848 until now! Where in 1866 God's Hand in Our History.-In a Protestant preacher was expelled 1588 Great Britain did not possess a for preaching, twenty years later Leo foot of land on this continent. France XIII. says to his cardinals, "With and Spain possessed all. In 1688 deep regret and profound anguish we Spain owned vast tracts of North and behold the impiety with which Pro- South America, and was in effect still testants freely and with impunity supreme. France claimed much, and propagate their heretical doctrines, her possession seemedsecure. France, and attack the most august and sa- Spain and Portugal carried out the cred doctrines of our holy religion- behests of the Pope wherever they even here at Rome, the center of the hoisted their flag. There was no tolerfaith and the zeal of the universal ation of Protestantism. It was about . and infallible teacher of the church!" two hundred years ago that France claimed the St. Lawrence and the What we may now see or have seen whole territory which it drains, and in Italy and Spain and France, is but also the Mississippi valley down to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to a type of what to a greater or less Texas. In 1788 France and Spain still held much territory, though their extent is true of all lands held under grasp upon the continent was much the nominal control of the Papacy. less secure. By this time all Acadia TEXTS .A.ND THEMES. and Canada. was lost. And now, in Darkness and the Shadow of Death. 1888, Spain does not control an acre of Continental America, and France ISAIAH ix : 2: "The people that has nut an inch of territory on the walked in darkness have seen a main-land of North America, and great light: they that dwell in the very little in South America. At land of the shadow of death, upon this moment Great Britain and the them hath the light shined." United States possess all North America, with the exception of Mexico and A divine description of the condia few small "Central" American tion of people without the gospel: States. As a result, we have free in- " WALK in DARKNESS"; •• DWBLL stitutions, free churches, a free press, in land of DEATH-SHADE." the Bible and the public schools. The thought grows intense as it Progress in India.-The progress proceeds, and the terms more emand success of modern missions is phatic: from dark~ess to deathnot only enc.()uraging, but indeed shade; from WALKING to DWELLING. marvellous. Considering the nqmbel' of persons employed in foreign Darkness is coupled with distress. missionary work, the achieved suc- (Of. chap. viii: 21,22.) Walking in cess is greater than in the home darkness is especially distressing and field. The Ohristian Guardian, in perilous. Men dread to be overtaken referring to Sir William Hunter's by a moonless, starless night in paper read before the Society of mountain passes and gaping crev- Arts, in which he bears strong testi- asses or unknown districts. The mony in regard to the rapid progress very gloom seems to be oppressive of Christianity in India, gives the and pei'ilous. following statistical facts of much interest: These people to whom the prophet refers, however, DWELL in darkness; .. In 1851 the Protestant missions In Indlllllnd they are not simply traveling Bnrmah had 222 stations; in 1881 their stations through, in which case the night ithad increased to 601, or nearly threefold. The self is transient, and the journey tonumber oC their congregations or churches had, ward light. But DWELLING in darkin the same period of thirty years, mnltiplied ness as a. permanent abode. from 267 to 4,180, or nearly fifteenfold. In the I18me way, while the number of native Protest- Death-shade implies darkness most ant Christians increased from 91,091 in 1851 to profound and unbroken. Compare 492,882 in 1881, or fivefold, the number of com- the Egyptian plague of darkness of municants increased from 14,661 to 138,254, or three days' duration. (Exodus x : 21, nearly tenfold. The progress, therefore, is not 22.) "Darkness that might be FELT," only in numbers, but also in pastoral care and as though something tangible in that internal discipline. The chief means by which pall of gloom. these eDormous increments have obtained has been the larger use of native agenc,.. A native Some idea may be formed of this Protestant Church has, in fact, grown up in In- plague, which was next to the last and dia, capable of supplying, in a large measure, its only surpassed by that in horror and 0'lVll staW. Instead of twenty-one ordained na- terror. Darkness profound and pertive ministers in 1851, there were, in 1881, 575 ; manentmeans not only no LIGHT, but and the native lay preachers had risen from 493 no heat and no life. Vegetable life to the vast total of 2,856." thrives only in light. So animal life. Shut a man in utter darkness, and This is but one field of missionary you drive him to madness or suicide. effort, yet it gives us a sample of Hence shadow of death. Literally, what is being done, and the progress death-shade, such as in the place of that is being made to win the world the dead 01' SHEOL, implies a certain to Christ.-Methodilt Recorder. fatal quality in this darkness, ten- dency to destroy all true life.
Man's condition, indepQndent of God's interposition, is one of intellect- indifferent to VICE, even to nakedness. ual, moral and spiritual NIGHT. But it is not the indifference of inno- cence, but of iniquity and abandon- 1. Darkness of ignorance. Even ment. highest culture may leave sublimest realities unknown. Athenian wisdom Atheists in Siam have no hope but went side by side with ignorance of of a higher transmigration. The God. "The unknown God." And soul may go into the white ant or red so of immortality, even Plato could ",nt, buffalo or elephant. Priests in but muse and surmise. Godlessness temples preach to Siamese in aha"'" leads to intellectual apostasy. The dee, a language none understand. most brilliant minds have crowned folly with wisdom's diadem, and said The annual license for gamblingin their heart, "There is no God." houses in Bangkok is lSeveral hundred Systems of philosophy have left God thousand dollars, and gambling saout, as Humboldt did from his" Cos- loons numbered by thousands. mos." 3. The darkness of moral estrange- 2. Darkness of idolatry. ment and alienation. "Evil, be thou Ps. cxv : 8: "They that make them my good," is the last expression of are LIKE UNTO THEM." Idols are help- iniquity. This is the very shadow of less, dumb, stupid, powerless; the death: when a man is left to coneffect of idolatry is to bring idolaters sume himself by his own vices. into similar condition. This is illustrated by the history of Polytheism. If these lost souls were in the pit Men began by worshiping grandest of perdition, it would be too late; but objects-sun, moon, fire; then silver they are not yet hopelessly, remediand gold representations of men, lessly lost. Some of them "have etc. ; then wood, stone, down even to seen a great light"; have received gree-gree and fetich. knowledge of GOD and of SELF. Idolatry opposed to religion. (See Life and immortality have been Paul on Mars Hill.) Opposed even to brought to LIGHT, and with light has REASON. It is itself consummate come warmth: LOVE, life. FOLLY. – It is not enough to see the light- Isa. xliv: 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. A mall as men have walked in darkness, manufactures a deity out of the log, they must, when they see the light, part of whieh he uses to warm his body and roast his food! walk in it. The African takes mud, mak~s an Thousands who see in the light, idol, bakes it in the sun, stands it up against a tree, and WORSHIPS mud yet strangely grope in the darkness; that would be regarded filth on one's outwardly dwelling in land of the garments. light of life, they still actually live in This is not only so among the more the death-shade! All history demon- degraded. The children of Israel strates that no mere intellectual made a golden calf at Sinai, after- progress can prevent spiritual death. ward at Bethel and Dan. The Canaa;nites seemto havebeenthe I The late King of Siam was an edu- principal inventors, yet among them wickedness appears to have conspicu- cated man, an astronomer, etc., yet ouslyabounded. The two civilizations he gilded an image of Buddha daily, moved side by side, thus early in his- made of cast-iron, the same material tory demonstrating that no intellect- from which his cooking utensils were ual activity could insure the eleva- made-the "RESIDUE A GOD." tion or prevent the degradation of the race, independent of religion. This is only a type of the inteUect- ual, mocal and spiritual degradation He who said "Let light be, and of heathen people. They become light was," and dispersed the deep darkness when as yet light was not born, repeats that grand miracle in a moral sphere. (2 Cor. iv: 6.)
PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
V.-PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS: MONTHLY BULLETIN.
– The American Board of Foreign Bacon, Mill, Darwin, HnxIey and Herbert Spen- Missions reports the death of the cer were read. Agnosticism was spreading, and Rev. J. W. Smith, M.D., a mission- the speaker asked for Christian effort to provide ary physician at Koloa, Sandwich an antidote to its inftuence. The Rev. Eynon Islands, in the seventy-seventh year Davis, who boasted that there was not one atheis- of his age, and forty-sixth of his tic book published in Welsh, a!ld the Rev.
work. Sixnewmissionaryfamiliesare Canon Fleming strongly commended the' Pres- needed for the Madura Mission in the ent Day' series of the society's publications, next six months. The mission field embraces 10,000 square miles j with a intended to meet the modern forms ofunbelief. population of about 2,000,000, divided into twelve districts. Thirty – six Sir Harry Verney also spoke and expressed a churches have been gathered with 3,000 members, and a nominal mem- warm interest in the cause."-London Times. bership of over 12,000. The dedication of a church is reported at Shuchi, Africa. – Addititional intelligence near Kyoto, Japan, and wide openings at Kumamoto. Among the In- has been reyeived concerning the condians of Mexico the doors are opening, and the calls are coming faster fiicton Lake Nyassa between the Engthan ever. Among the Zulus a great work is going on, and reinforce- lish Consuls and missionaries of the ments are earnestly asked for, as three of the laborers have been in Scotch Free Church and the Arab the field thillty-nine years. In their West Central African Mission, Mr. slave-traders. Dr. Kerr Cross wrote, Currie of Bailrudu and Mr. Sanders of Bihe, have explored the regions January 27, that both Consul Hawes north and north-east of their stations. hoping to find a favorable site for a and Consul O'Niell advised the misnew station. In the Central Turkey Mission a delegation of Armenians sionaries to leave the country for six came to the missionary at Zeitoon with a petition, signed by forty months and return with more guns heads of families, begging to be enrolled as Protestants This was in- and plenty of ammunition j others creased afterwards to sixty-five. felt that any absence would mean -Pure Literature. "Much stress was laid at the abandonment of the mission, and would encourage the Arabs, with the the eighty-ninth annual meeting of the Religious consequent discouragement of all native allies. It was finally agrMd 'rract Society, over which Lord Balfour of that the members of the African Lakes Company and Dr. Cross should Burleigh presided, at Exeter Hall, on Friday fortify themselves at Chirenje, and that the consuls should go to the livening, on the work which this great organi- coast and send to the besieged men such reinforcements as were needed. zation has accomplished in the diffusion of pure This was done. The native chiefs adhere to the mission and are bitterly and Interesting, as;well as religious, literature. hostile to the Arabs. It appearsthat it is but a small section of the Arabs The whole number of its issues last year was who have engaged in these slave- trading raids. Dr. Cross is perplexed OTer 76,000,000, and since the formation of the as to what course he shall take. Hith- erto he has taken no part in the society 2,602.390,390, which have been published fighting, offering his services to alIas a surgeon, and he hopes to maintain In 191 languages and dialects. During the twelve this position, and to show that the mission means peace. Unless the stamonths the outlay amounted to 41,7081., the tion is wttacked and defense is neces- sary, he will take no offensive meas- Chairman remarking that the profit in the trade ures. At last accounts the African Lakes Company, which is a commertransactions entirely covered the expensesoC cial and philanthropic company, en- gaged in the work of opening the management, so that all the contributions were region about Lake Nyassa, had re- ceived telegraphic information that devoted to missionary objects. The Re'v. J. Karonge, a station on the northwest coast of the lake, had been reoccu- Piper,for thirteen years a missionary in China and pied, but that the Arabs are still hos- tile, and an attack is apprehended.- Japan, gave illustrations of the value of Chris- Mis8'y Herald.
tian books and tracts among the dense popula- tions of those lands, a large proportion of whom are readers. In .Japan English was th.. vehicle of Buropean civilization, and the works ot -The Transit and Building Fund dead of Havana are buried in the ~aptist cemetery. It is stated that Society of Bishop Taylor's self-sup- eIght thousand persons have applied porting missions makes a financial report for the last four years, or from for membership in the churches though many of these are ignorant July 1, 1884, to March 24, 1888. It of the true qualifications for church shows total receipts of $153,341.24 in membership. the four years, of which $993.16 re- France.-The annual meeting of main on hand, and the rest has been ~xpended, partly for the South Amer- the Societedes Missions Evangeliques, ICan ",,:ork, but chiefiy in Africa. held in Paris, April 19, was supple- Ai giers.-On the 20th oAflNgoievresm, wbe~r mented by a second gathering at 1887, in the suburbs of their Maison des Missions, April 22.
opened the first Presbyterian church Full and delightful services are re- of Northwestern Africa. The beau- po:ted: The re~ent religious awak- ~iful edifice of freestone and marble enmg In connection with their mis- IS the gift of Sir Peter Coats to the sion among the Basutos of South Synod of the United Presbyterian A~ri.c~ furnished matter for special reJOIcmg and gratitude. The number Church of Scotland. of candidates for baptism at Morija had risen by the first of March to Arabia.-The Keith-Falconer Mis- nearly four hundred. Among the ~ebruary baptisms was that of a sion in South Arabia is at last fully sloIsntgersoinfcMe doesahde.sh,SthheeisBmasouretothkainn"O''~ hundred years old. One of the naequipped. Dr. Paterson, the new tive helpers says that he has never heard anyone speak of her love to medical missionary, is in charge, with the Saviour like this woman. Last February a large and fine industrial Mr. Lochhead as his assistant. The, school building was dedicated at Outing, which has been wholly built committee asked the Rev. W. R. by the apprentices of the school W. Gardner, who had volunteered without cost to the French Missionfor Africa, to go to Aden asan ordain- ary Society. edmissionary; and Mr. Gardner who As to the financial situation of the will be presented to the Free Church Society, says their Journal, "the Assembly, with great self-denial gave up long-formed plans to carryon Mr Keith-Falconer's work. .
Assam.-TheChristian Santals who ha:ve. settled ill: Assam have begun a miSSIon of theIr own among a native tribe, the Metsches.
Bolivia.-Bolivia, which has an area of 500,000 square miles and a report is good, but ought to be popUlation of 2,000,000, is without a better." The general expenses amounted to 288,495 francs, and the single Protestant missionary. Two deficit of the year was 5,476 francs. American teachers, encouraged by Bolivian gentlemen and recommend- Greece.-In Greece the Governed by the Presbyterian Board of Mis- ment permits the free distribution of sions, expect soon to establish a the Scriptures, and protects the colschool in La Paz, the capital. porteurs. The gospels in the origi- nal (old) Greek are used as a reading Cuba. – The Southern Baptist book in the higher classes of the Board has sustained a mission in primary schools. Gospel preaching Cuba, which it characterizes as one of the most remarkable works of is yet on a limited scale, owing to modern missions. In little more than two years since the organization of the lack of qualified preachers. the first church, 1,100 have been bap- India.-Malayalam Mission, Tratized. Nine native preachers have been engaged. Daily schools as well vancore. From the annual report Il:s Sunday-schools have been estab- for 1887 in connection with the lIshed. The interest of the people is London Missionary Society, we see that this mission, which com- menced in 1838, and is now under ,~hown by their contributing $4,610 the charge of the Rev. Samuel Ma- m one year. The report says that teer, has a district with an area of almost one-half the population of a:bout 632 square miles and a popula- H~v~na are in sympathy with the tIon of 253,280, congregations nummiSSIon, and that nearly half the bering 46 with 7,241 adherents and 1,026 church members, 55' schools , Jewesses were baptized in Christ and 1,710 scholars, and that the Church, Mount Zion, Jerusalem. native contributions during 1887 This is the largest number ever adamounted to 2,382 rupees. The gos- mitted into the church there at one pel has been proclaimed by both time. Several other candidates are European and native agency; evan- awaiting baptism. The three daughgelistic services have been held; ters of Joseph Rabinowitz, the leader Bible women have faithfully labored of the Hebrew Christian movemont among the women; the medical mis- in south Russia, have lately been sion has actively carried on its opera- baptized.-Presbyterian Journal. tions; and the services of the press -A German paper states that "at have been engaged, issuing maga- Vienna last year 363 Jews became zines, handbills, etc. Christians," and another paper says -The Marathi Mission of the Amer- that "at no period since the first ican Board has increased its list of century have conversions from Judacommunicants from 707 to 1,776 in ism to Christianity been so frequent the last thirteen years. The number as they are at present." who can read has doubled in the Madagascar.-In fourteen years same period, and there has been 700 Protestant chapels have been decided growth in spirituality and built in Madagascar, making the morals. present number 1,200. There are -The Lutheran missions among 8,000 Protestant communicants, and the Tamils of South India amount to all the churches are self-supporting. 14,000 adherents, 22 European mis- The Queen recently attended the sionaries, 12 ordained natives,.6 can- opening of two Christian churches didates, 56 catechists, 241 teachers, at Ambokinanga.
149 schools and 3,653 scholars. Japan.-The different Presbyterian -At the last Calcutta missionary and Congregational churches in Ja- conference, Mr. Ball said: pan, feeling the need of union, have "The most cheering thing in onr work to-day been in correspondence upon the subis the demand for the Scriptures. A Hindu ject,and have reported favorableprogdoctor bought 100 copies of the Gospels recently ress. A constitution has been formed to distribute among his frieuds ; and a still more by a joint committee of seven missionextraordinary fact is that a Hindu priest has aries and thirteen natives. The matbought some Bibles and given them away. The ter will now be left to the action of missionaries who have attended melas this year the churches. -The English and American Episreport au unprecedented sale of Bibles." -Dr. Baumann of the Church copalian missionaries agree to co- Missionary Society recently asked a operate, and will educate their clergy well-known Brahman in Calcutta if in one theological school. he ever read the Bible. The man -Native converts in Japan, with looked at him, and th{'n replied, "I average wages oflessthan twenty-five have read the New Testament 83 cents a day, contributed lastyear $27,- OOOto mission work. During the year, times, and the Old 27." -In the college and schools in 3,640 adults were baptized, making a connection with the Free Church of total membership of 14,815. There Scotland mission at Madras there are are now 193 organized churches, 64 about 1,800 students. of them self-supportmg, 93 native -In Ceylon many high-dass Bud- ministers and 169 theological stu- dhists have joined the SalvationArmy, dents. and two stations have been formed. Mexico. – According to statistics, -It is stated that the Maharajah of there are in Mexico, including all Darbhauga, of Bengal, has given evangelical workers and work, the $25,000 for a hospital and dispensary following elements and agents for in connection with Lady Dufferin's evangelizing this people: 86 centers medical work. His gifts for benevo- of operation, 393 congregations, 48 lent purposes the last eight years foreign missionaries, 44 unordained foreign workers, 43 missionary ladies, reach fully' 1,700, 000. Jews.–:Dr. SomerVIlle of the Free 31 ordained native preachers, 65 Church of Scotland is having extra- unordained natIve preachers, 96 ordinary success in his evangelization teachers, 49 other helpers, 12,000 mission to the Jews of Austria. His communicants, 503 pupils in graded meetings in Vienna were crowded, schools. Besides this, we have ten and a strong impression was made, Protestant papers, and several presses that are actively engaged in scatteras at Prague. -On Christmas eight Jews and iIIg religious literature over the land. Altogether, there have been issued thing like reliable estimates by Ro- 50,000,000 pages of religious literature man Catholics of their strength in in Spanish since Protestantism first pagan lands. We regard with interentered Mexico. There are 10,000,000 est therefore the following figures inhabitants in Mexico; this gives quoted from the Madrid Directory, them five pages of religious literature 1888, apparently with approval, by each. The value of mission property Les Missione Oatholique : is nearly $600,000. "There are in India and Ceylon 1,235,631 Poles.-It is estimated that there Catholics, besides 586,386 under Portnguese are over 70'0,000 Poles in the United States. They are almost universally patronage, 1,722,0.17 in all. 'Adding 1,191,935 in Romanists, are very clannish, and can be reached only by a native min- China, Indo-China, Japan and Corea, there apistry. Mission work in their behalf is but just now receiving the atten- pear to be 2,918,952 Catholics beyond the Indus." tion of Christian societies. This seems remarkable. We can Roman Catholic. – The activity believe it to be near the truth. It is important to remember that Roman and success of Roman Catholic mis- Catholics count all their adherents of sions in the East should not be under- whatever age; also, that they have rated. The total working force of been at work in Eastern lands for the papacy in China/roper, Korea, centuries. When these considera- Japan, Manchoria an Thibet (suze- tions are kept in mind, the results rainties of China), Indo-China and will strike one as proof of wonderful India, is 2,440,481 baptized per~ons, weakness. Only three millions in all 2,639 missionaries and native prIests, Eastern Asia, and they without the 7,293 churches and chapels, 4,469 col- Bible, without religious literature, leges and schools, with 112,359 schol- without a native priesthood, and ars, and 76 theological institutions, without the power to propagate their with 2,746 students. In Syria, of the own faith, but still under foreign 700,000 people accessible by mission- tutelage as much as their ancestors aries, more than one-half recognize were three centuries ago I Surely the Pope of Rome as their spiritual Romanism is not conquering the head, and Jesuits are found in full Asiatic world! force. In fact, Protestant missions in Syria closely resemble missions to -Out of a total population of Roman Catholic countries. At the same time, Protestantism there has 1,549,000 in the Province of Quebec proved strong enough to elicit the active propagandism of the Romish it is shown that there are 1,475,000 church. When the Arabic Bible of Drs. Smith and Van Dyke'lwas com- people professing the Catholic faith, pleted and scattered through Syria, directed by one cardinal, two archthe Jesuits accepted the implied bishops, seven bishops, one apostolic challenge, and, going back to the or- prefect, and 1,546 priests and reiginal Hebrew and Greek Scriptures ligious. There are 957 churches, 28 rather than to the Vulgate, they pro- seminaries and colleges, 232 convents duced an edition of the scriptures in and 69 hospitals. The different ecthree volumes, and in the choicest clesiastical districts into which the and most literarv Arabic; a strange province is divided, are peopled as proceeding Or;t the part. of ~ church follows, by Catholics: Quebec, 729,- which practlCally demes Its own 000; Montreal, 619,000; Ottawa, 137,- Douay version of the Scriptures to its 000. In the Diocese of Quebec there people, and one entirely self~defen are 666 priests, 400 churches, 108 CODsive. This edition of the SCrIptures vents, 18 seminaries and colleges, 25 has been fully circulated, and has hospitals and 1,927 schools.-St. Louis been the means of bringing many to World (Oatholic). the truth; and when Protestantism opened its school and its college at Persia.-In the old Nestorian mis- Beirut, it was closely followed by sion of the American Board, more Romanisthigh schools and the Jesuit converts have been made during the college at Beirut, which are now full last year than in any previous year of pupils, Rome evidently means of the history of the mission. During business, both in eastern and west- last winter's revival, which was conern Asia. ducted wholly by native. pastors, there were over 500 inqUIrers. Of -We are always glad to see any- the 79 students in the college at Oroomiah, 70 are Christians.
Zulu. – Two hundred and thirty- two Zulus were baptized in the Herr- mitnnsberg Mission among the Zulus last year. There are now 1,529 Zulu Christians.
EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT
VI…..:….EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT EVENTS.
Our Indian Mission Schools. teach in the vernacular only with a view of reaching those Indians who cannot have the ad- THE late General Assembly of the vantage of instrnction in English.
Presbyterian Church appointed a 5. A theological class of Indian young men, committee to confer with the Presi- supported wholly by mission fundS, may be trained in the vernaculsr at any missionary dent with reference to the order of school supported in whole or in part by missionthe government virtually prohibiting ary SOCieties, the object being to prepare them for the ministry, whose subse'luent work shall teaching in English in our mis- be confined to preaching unless they are employsion schools. The com~ittee have ed as teachers in remote settlements where Engpromptly discharged the duty as- lish schools are inaccessible. signed them. The President desired 6. These rules are not intended to prevent the to "have submitted in writing such possession or nse by any Indian of the Bible, changes as would be acceptable to the published in the vernacnlar, but such possession Assembly." This was done on a per- or use shall not interfere with the teaching of sonal visit to Washington, and the the English language to the extent and in the result is given by Dr. Thompson, manner hereinbefore directed. Moderator of the Assembly, in a letter to Dr. Field of the Evangelist. Practically this settles the matter- He writes: for the present. The President" fully " • • • He [the President] gave us full met the views of the committee." hearlug and promised an early consideration. I have to-day received the order in its new form, He could not have been expected to and it will be gratifying to our church not only, but to all the churches interested in this work, do more. But we do marvel that to know that the views of the committee have been fully met by the government. the committee wholly ignored the " The President expresses • the hope that the PRINCIPLE involved in this whole conclusion reached, as embodied in the paper herewith sent, will settle the troublesome ques- bungling and extraordinary matter. tion.' We believe it will. It conserves the policy of the goverument to give the Indians a That is the chief offense; the appliknowledge of the English language as rapidly as pOSSible, and it restores to our missionaries their cation of it is of secondary importjust right to teach and preach to the Indians in •the tongue in which they were born.' " ance. The government assumes the ORDER REGULATING THE INSTRUCTION OF IN- RIGHT to regulate mission schools, DIANS. and exercises that right in this very 1. In government schools no text·books and no oral instructiou in the vernacular will be al- " Order." (Read 3d, 4th and 5th lowed, but all text-books and instruction must be in the English language. No departnre from items.) "May be conducted," etc. this rule will be allowed, except when absolutely necessary to rudimentary instruction in Eng- " A theological class of Indian young lish. But it is permitted to read from the Bible in the vernacnlar at the daily opening of school men may be trained," etc. when English is not understood by the pupils. Do we live under the Czar or under 2. In schools where Indian children are placed under contract, or to which the government con- the stars and stripes? tributes in any manner, the same'rule shall be observed in all secular instruction. ReligiOUS The committee should have struck instruction in the vernacular may be allowed in such schools, both by the text-book and orally, at the root of the outrage, and insistprovided not more than one-fourth of the time is devoted to s'lch instruction. ed on a repudiation of the principle 3. In purely mission schools-that is, in schools on which the government has issued toward whose snpport the government contrihutes nothing-rehgious and other instruction everyone of its "Orders." The may he conducted in the manner approved by those who maintain the schools, provided that battle may have to be fought over one-half of the school hours shall be employed in instruction in Enldish. again. Mr. Atkins' place is vacant 4. Only native Indian teachers will be permit- in the Indian Bureau. It is underted to teach otherwise in any Indian vernacular, and these native teachers will only be allowed so stood that Mr. Upshaw seeks. the to teach in schools not supported in whole or in part by the government, and where there are no place, and if he gets it trouble will government or contract schools where English Is taught. These native teachers are allowed to break out afresh. Herbert Welsh, Esq., Secretary of the Indian Rights Association, says: .. The real control of the Indian Bureau since the incoming of the present administration has not been so much in the hands of Secretary La- mar, its distinguished nominal head, or Com· missioner Atkins, as in those of Assistant-Com- missioner Upshaw, a politician of the narrowest type, whose devotion to the spoilS system of ap- pointment has brought the gravest scandal upon the Indian service."
Sorry we are that when this important question was up for adjudi- many leave their fields and work to welcome cation it could not have been settled me and attend services. Don't think all such, in a way to put it forever beyond the and a thousand times as much more, will carry poyver of politician, demagogue, or President to reopen it.-J. M. S. me away. Different motives will be at work, and I claim, without any sham modesty, to know WE take the following from The something about all these things, and also to Missionary for June. We share in the feeling of the editor expressed take them into account. In one word, don't think these people will be baptized in 1887 or in the first paragraph. Certainly we 1888. At the same time it is a glorious, a grand are departing widely from the prac- opportunity. Two men came up for 300 hymntice of the first preachers of the gos- books. If any one should be disappointed at pel. Is not the condition of things results from all this, I. for one, will not be. I in Japan and China to-day quite as will see what I expect, and if God exceeds our favorable for the direct oral preach- expectations, so much the better, and, at auy rate, I will give Him all-all the praise and ing of the Word as it was in any glory, for ever and ever. This is the region part of the Roman empire in Paul's travelled most by me, barefooted, many years day? While it is necessary to lay ago, when going in amongst the savages." broad foundations for permanent fruits, let the church stick closer to WE have received from Robert N.
the letter of her divine commission Cust, LL.D., one of the ablest leadand the example of apostolio days.- ers of missionary thought and life in J.M.S. London, a "Classified Catalogue of "We have thought for some time that one of the chief dangers of mission work lies in the the Missionary Enterprises of all edncational feature, which is allowed often to displace evangelistic efforts. Mr. Du Bose states the Protestant Churches and of the that out of the hundred and more ordained missionaries in Japan, only thirty, perhaps forty, are Greek Orthodox Church in the engaged in preaching. •Little work is done in the towns, villages and hamlets. Preachers World," specially prepared for the listen to the siren voice of the native press urging them to teach school.' recent Missionary Conference at "Missionaries In Japau have spoken with ad- London. It is a work that must miration of the willingness of the Japanese to listen for hours at a time to the preaching of have cost him much and patient in- Christtan truth. This happy feature of the work is not confined to Japan. Dr. Mackay, writing vestigation. It is exhaustive in its from Formosa, says that in preaching at Tek- Cham he had to preach five consecutive sermons fulness. Its permanent value for before the people would disperse. At the end of each discourse the audience said they would reference isvery great. It is the first sit there till he spoke again. attempt to supply a catalogue of this " No missionary among the Chinese has reaped a richer harvest from his work than Dr. nature, and it deserves general recog- Mackay. It is interesting, therefore, to see the estimate he puts upon the work of sowtog. nition and circulation. The extent of • Shall I call the crowds I saw and addressed,' mission organized work, as here he says, writing of one of his evangelistic tours, • the kindness, the welcomes, the apparent in- shown-the names, respective -fields terest, etc., a great movement, an awakening, and connections of no less than 223 a revival? Not so. I have never yet seen here societies being given-will be a surwhat would be called a revival in the West. I prise even to the well-informed. mean in the common acceptation. And I have not seen fruita anywhere during all the past We have space for onlythe abstract: years without hard, hard work, and we have no business to look for fruits unless solid, real, GREAT RRITAIN AND ITS COLOl!lIES. bard, genuine work go before. Taking all in all, I never saw such willingness on the part of Undenominational………………….. f!'f 80 many Chinese as during this trip. I never Episcopal …………………………. 25 saw Buch a tremendous reception; never had so Methodist …………………………. 6 Congregationalist.. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Presbytertan……………………….. 7 Friends……………………………. % Bible Christian. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . •. . . . . . 1 Baptist……………………………. 2 Plymouth Brethren. .. . •. . . .. .. .. . .. ….. 12 Miscellaneous.. .. .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . … 5 Colonisl…………………………… 26 . ~1l3 FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Germany………………………….. 20 Switzerland……………………….. 4 France ……………………………. 1 Denmark ………………………….. 2 Sweden …………………………… 8 ~~;:r:~:::: ::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::: ~ Netherlands ……………………….. 14 United States (North America) …..•….~ 110 Grand total.. .. ….. .. . •• …. ••.. . . .. 223 God is Marohing On. ization and for Christian missions if ~ Dr. A. J. GORDON, taking Jacob as this array of women reformers and a type of Christ, says: pleaders were all enlisted under the " Our Immanuel has been serving six millen- banner of the Cross, and with singleiums for his bride, the church, and the seventh is close upon us in which I expect the marriage ness of heart were preaching the of the Lamb; and because the thne is short God evangel of spiritual redemption I leems to be iu haste to gather in the guests for Woman's organized power in human the bridal feast. society is for the first time seen and "For quick resuits and large returns there was never .uch an age before. • Man's extremity is felt. Henceforth it will be a tremen- God's opportunity,' we are wont to say. What it I tum it about and reverently say that' God's dous factor in the world's thinking extremity is man's opportunity.' It is such now. He is pushed Cor time; He is straightened and acting. Unhappily, while there for help. He will hire in at the eleventh hour it laborers have not come at the first. He will is much to rejoice in and hope for in take reformed drunkards and converted gam- it, no intelligent observer and stublel'l!, salvation armies and traveling gospelers, dent of the times can avoid grave it only His work can be done before the night fears. At least there is abundant cometh in which no man can work. It Is God's extremity, and therefore man's opportunity. Ob- reason for earnest and constant ligation presses a pound to the square inch where once it pressed an ounce. The Lord is prayer on the part the church· for in a hurry, and It becomes ns, as never before, to be in haste. We have a magnificent oppor- the descent and power of the Holy tunity on this continent, and we have magnifi- Ghost upon these countless rallying cent resources if only we will use them. Let us have done with glorying In our numbers then hosts of female agitators, thinkers and give attention to our opportunitiell. It is and actors in these stirring and not more men, but more man, that the Church of God needs for the accomplishment of His work. eventful times.-J. M. S. John Wesley, looking over the needs of a lost world, made the startling exclamation: 'Give .. The International Couneil of Women, in me a hundred men who fear nothing but God, !lession in the city of Washington Crom March hate nothing bnt sin, and Ilre determined to 25th to April 1st. makes public announcement know nothing among men but Jesns and him that fifty-three different organizations of women crncilled, and I will set the world on Jlre with have been represented on its platform by eightythem.' Therefore 1 exhort that we all, and al- seven speakers and delegates from England, together, do these three thlnga : France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, India, Cansda and the United States. Of all these " (Jqntemplate. Lift up yonr eyes round about, organizations but four are of national scope, and and behold whllt lIelds are white unto the har- three are of national valne. The subjects of vest, what wide and effectual doors are waiting education, philanthropies, temperance, industo be entered. tries, legal conditions, social purity, political conditions and religion have been discussed. "Cin8ecrate. Boast no more of numbers or While no restriction has been placed upon the resources. For' It Is not by might nor by fnJlestexpression of the most widely divergent power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' The views upon these vital questions of the age, it is meekest man among us with the Holy Ghost cause for rejoicing that the sessions, both execuresting upon him is stronger than the strongest. tive and public, have been absolutely without Therefore, through all our borders let us fall on friction. our faces and wait upou God anew for the enduement of the Spirit. .. It is the unanimous voice of the council that all Institutions of learning and of professional "~ntrate. Too long have we been using instruction, including schools of theology, lllw our wonderful prosperity as a magnifying glass and medicine, should, in the interests of hufor enlarging our own importance and so minis- manity, be as freely opened to women as to men; teriug to our self-complaceucy. Let us use It that opportunities for industrial training should henceforth as a burning glass for concentrating b. as generally and liberally provided for one our religious IBlIuence, and bringing it to be&r sex as for the other; and the representatives of upon a perishing world, kindling the love of organized womanhood in this coun~1I will stead- God where now there is only the love of sin and Ily demand that In all avocations in which men seU,80 shall we do our part towards setting the and women engage equal wages shall be paid for world on fire for Christ." equal work, and finally that an enlightened so- ciety should demand, as the only adequate ex- The Great Women's Oounoil, pression of the high civilization which it is its omce to establish and maintain, an identical WHAT a grand power for evangel- st..ndard of personal purity and morality fOl men and women. to Is Christianity a Spent Force? They would not, coul" not, be responsible for what thllY consider my idiosyncracies. What Bishop Huntington of Central New then f Why, down with the brakes I So, in- stead of freedom at the front, to be led by the York preached some time ago to the God of missions, I would be under the command of good men nine thousand miles in the rear." students of Cornell University on the "Courteously and strongly said! text," Ye are the light of the world." Maria Theresa lost Silesia and the seven years' war by thinking to man- We append :ilis closing touching par- age armies in the field from Vienna. Bishop Taylor evidently thinks a agraph: missionary army in Africa cannot be directed at New York by good men "You must be struck with dismay, as I am, at 9,000 miles in the rear. It has a look that way."-Ohristian at Work. the growth of great iniquities, the recklessness of material ambition, the rivalries of gain, the The MiSJ!ioilary Language. excess of pleasure, the terrible prevalence of in- THE rapidity with which the Engtemperance and lust, the prostitution of law, the lish tongue is becoming the com- mon language of the commercial, abuses of the press, the frightful disproportion learned and religiOUS world is note- worthy. Providence iii making it of waste and charity in wealth. Where, my apparent that, as the English-speak- ing nations are to take the lead and brother students, do we take our place? On be the chief factors in commercial supremacy and in the evangelization which side do our uncompromising will and our of the world, so the English language unfiinching courage and.our cheerful self-sacri- is to be the vehicle of thought and civilization-in other words is to befice tell? We cannot throw up the contest with come the Missionary Language of any despairing excuse that our cause has lost its this globe.-J.M.S. leader or its nerve. Test it where the night has The fact that at the recent National Conlasted longest. On the Dark Continent, within gress in India all the speeches and proceedings less time than It takes you to complete your uni- were in English is a striking illustration of the versity cOU1"fe, three pillars of holy fire have wide diffUSIOn of that tongue. There were gathered at Madras seven hundred delegates opened pathways for the feet of the Lord into the from all parts of India, Afghanistan, Nepaul, deserts. As !took my text I laid down a famous and Sclnde. They spoke nme different lanbiography-that of an intellectual English girl, guages, and the English was the only medium through which the proceedings could be satispassing in her early years with honor the most factorily conducted. Great Britain's colonial advanced mathematical examinations by the pa- enterprises have been probably the largest factor in spreading a knowledge of English. It pers of Oxford and Cambridge, rapidly master- is found also that In countries like Java, where Great Britain has no control, the knowledge of ing many sciences aud many languages ; a type English is steadily growing. Not long ago the of our eager modern culture, too, In this, that French language was the medium invariably employed in all international conferences. At the while these conquests for awhile satisfied her last Berlin conference, however, English and mind, they left her heart hungry with unbe- German, as well as French, were employed. The other leadiug languages of Europe have gradulief; yet gradually, rationally confronting all the ally been insisting on recognition on an equal footing with French in their proper domain. It problems fairly on either side, she rose to a clear was Mr. Canning who led the way when at the foreign office he ordered that certain correspondvision of the truth as it is in Christ crucified and ence, hitherto writ~n in French, should be sent in English. .. The time will come," said Bi.- risen, bronght her splendid learning an offering marck in 1863, "when I intend to have all my dispatches written in German, and when I shall at His altar, and in South Africa, with the heroic find means to make them understood even in love of a missionary to the natives, died' in the France." He kept his word, and both the Engcon1!dence of·8 certain faith. ' Far northward, fish and German tongues have profited by the a volunteer or'the Cross from Scotland, vigorous considerable decline of French as the internain every attribute of manliness, makes his solita- tional language of diplomacy and polite society. ry way into the hiding-places of that Ethiopian -New YllI'k Sun. idolatry with the burden of. its salvation on h!s conSCience, and now the kmgdom of heaven .IS THE universality of the movement pressing iu after hi1jl to seek two hundred mil- which originattld and· accomplished lion souls. Just before he died alone there, he the great London Conference is shown wrote in his journal, •My Jesus, my King, my by the fact, that, while the entil'e Life my All' Accept me, and grant that before revenue of all Protestant missions is this' year en'ds I may finish my task I' lA.'ter rather less than $12,500,000 per anstill all over England, on a week-day mortling, num, the societies taking part in the throngs of worshipers of every class, from the Conference have an aggregate anuniversity and the palace to the digger in the nual iMome of fully $10,000,000. ground, gave humble ,!nd hearty tha~ks to God for their graudest soldIer, dead, who m those far quarters of the earth fought, commanded, suffereLdo~pdroayf ehdosatsn.d made peace, in the name of the These are not sigus, my friends, of a spent force, a decaying worship, or an eclipsed faith. "
IN the address of Bishop Taylor be- fore the Methodist Conference, he says: " • Why not work under the missionary com- . mittee f' you will ask. My methods are so di- verse from theirs that the two can't be mixed up in tbe same 01lice any more than can a coal y~rd and a milliner's shop. I am informed on hlgb 01liclal authority that my method8 are wrong, and that I am deceived and deceiving the people.