The Missionary Review of the World — March 1891
THE REGIONS BEYOND. .[March
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XIV. No. S.-OldSeries.–MARCH.–VoL. IV. No. S.-New Seria.
THE REGIONS BEYOND.-PART II.
[EDITORIAL. ] Beside the literal ground unoccupied for Christ, there is the unclaimed, untrodden, territory of Divine promises. What did God say to Joshua in chap. i., v. 3 1 "Every place that t~e sole of your foot shall tread upon, . that have I given unto you," and then "He draws the outlines of the Land of Promise-'-all theirs, on one condition: that they shall march through the length and breadth of it, and measure it off by their own feet. They never did that to more .than one third of the property, an'd consequently they never had more than one third; they had just what they measured off, and no more. Now, if we turn to the New Testament, in the Second Epistle of Peter we read about that other" Land of Promise" that is opened up to us, " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be "partakers of the Divine nature, having es- caped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Mark the close analogy between those two passages. Here is God's true Land of Promise, "exceeding great," " exceeding precious j" and it is God's will that we should, as it were, mtlasure off that territory by the feet of obedient faith and believing obedience, thus claiming and appropriating it for our own, becoming partakers of the Divine nature, and escaping the corruption which is in the world through lust and which was typified by the Canaanites that had to be expelled before the Land of Promise could be possessed.
Now, let us look at these promises. They are marvellous I How many of us have ever imagined the wealth and the extent of that land 1 And how many of us have ever taken possession of the promises of God in the Name of Jesus Christ? It is a territory for faith to lay hold on and march through the length and breadth of, and faith has never yet done it. The faith of the Church has, thus far, taken possession only of a very small portion of this exceeding great and precious land, and the rest lies in " the regions beyond." .
We are limited by sight; sight makes a great deal of the visible and temporal, and unbelieving disciples prefer that which iil tangiblQ tQ that which is unseen and eternal. Sight emphasizes numbers. Hear what God says: "One of you shall chase a thousand, ~nd two put ten thoueand to flight." That is God's arithmetic. Twice one thousand is two thousand, but in God's arithmetic twice one thousand is ten thousand. God is sublimely indifferent to numbers. It is not quantity but quality for which God cares; He would rather have one consecrated Ulan or woman than a thousand who are halfhearted in His service; so He keeps sifting down, and down. and down, just as He did Gideon's great multitude, till He gets the choice "three hundred" with whom He can do mighty works.
Sight emphasizes power. See how'sublimely indifferent God is to power. While we are seeking the patr(mage of great, or rich, or mighty men, God is taking up the poor and the weak, and the despised and the base, and the things that are nothing, and with them bringing to nought the things that are something.
Fellow-believers, we have to take possession of this region of unclaimed promises; and, inasmuch as we are applying this truth especially in the interest of missions, let us give onrattention to a most important distinction. Christ says, in Matthew: "Go, . • . make disciples of all nations. All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age." That is His promise. Then, in Luke, He says: "Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarry yc in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high."
THE PROMISE OF CHRIST AND THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER are not the same thing. Christ's promis~ is the promise of His personal presence, and the exercise of His omnipotent power in behalf of His missionary band. The promise of the Father is 'the promise of a descending Holy Spirit to break down internal barriers in the minds and the hearts of men, and to endue His own disciples with the wondrous unction from above. Now, these are two promises–not to speak of any others. Think of them in their bearing on Christian missions.
When Joshua saw a man standing in the neighborhood of the city of Jericho, he said, challenging him, " Art thou for us or against us~" This strange personage said, " Nay, but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come;" and Joshua perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord, and took off his own shoes in reverence, and waited for His commands; and, in accordance with the precise directions that He gave, Joshua moved round that city once a day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day; and then, without a blow being struck, the walls fell, and they went into Jericho and took captive all that were within it. What is that but an historic allegory in the Old Testament illustrating the facts of the New 1 When. the Acts of the Apostles opens, which corresponds, in the New- Testament, to the book of Joshua in the Old, we have there the hosts of God on the Day of Pentecost simply surrounding the fortress of Jewish prejudice, superstition, and alienation from God, with the trumpet· blast, the preaching of the Gospel, and on that day also without a carnal blow being struck, without any human philosophy to account for it, three thousand were pricked in their hearts, and said, " What shall we do 1" and were taken captive for God. What is all this bnt. the Captain of the Lord's host going before the missionary band, and repeating the miracle of Jericho ¥ Walls fall at once that might have stood for a thousand years but for His presence. All human calculation is disappointed when the Captain of the Lord's host appears on the scene.
The promise of the Holy Ghost is one of special grace from above on teachers and preachers; and then also on those that hear the vVord j as, in the house of Cornelius, it becomes converting grace to the hearers as it has been anointing grace to those that speak.
Look at this territory of promise. Suppose that the Church should pass all that has been attained, overleap all barriers, disregard the measure· of past human attainment, and simply march over the length and breadth of these promises, claim the presence of the Captain of the Lord's host, claim His intervention, the fulfilment of His word, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age," claim the prostration of barriers that no man could prostrate without the power of His presence and influence! Suppose that the Christian Church should get down on her face before God to-day, and pray the Captain of the Lord's host to remove the obstacles that prevent our going into Thibet, that has stood there on her heights, walled about by her mountains, and thus far defied even the Moravians to obtain access to the shrine of the grand Lama worship,-what might we not see in the year 1891, if we believed that this Jericho that could not be taken by the power of man could be taken by the simple fiat of the Captain of the Lord's host I And suppose that there was this believing appropriation of the Promised Spirit in anointing power on teachers and preachers, and in converting power on audiences that hear the Word in the communities in the midst of which these men are laboring, vhat new things we might see! It is vety noticeable that Peter did not say, on the Day of Pentecost, that this was the fulfilment of what had been spoken by the prophet Joel. TiLe more minutely we study the Scriptures the more we shall believe in the inspiration of the very words of Holy Scripture. Thore is no mistaking the words Peter uses here. He does not say, "This is the fulfilment of what Joel said." He simply says, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. This is not spirituous intoxication, but spiritual exhilaration. It is not new wine, but it is the new wine of the kingdom, even as Joel foretold." This wa~ a foretaste; the fulfilment of Joel's word is yet to come. There is to be a greater Pentecost, to which that was only like the first few drops that indicate the mighty rain that is to come down on the mown grass and refresh the earth j and we ought to pray to-day for, and claim from God, a Pentecost so much greater than the first Pentecost, that it should at last begin to fill up to the full the language that Joel uses in that remarkable prophecy. III.-REGIONS BEYOND OF PRAYER.
is This suggests regions beyond even the promises that faith has not taken possession of,-namely, those regions beyond that prayer yet to tread. Faith and prayer are so intimately associated that we cannot speak of one without at least implying the other. But let us mark that there are different levels of pmyer. As we follow our blessed Lord, as He teaches His disciples, He goes from one rung in the ladder to [mother, and lifts them with Him, higher and higher, to a sublimer level of prayer.
Our Lord's first lesson on prayer was, " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." But then, as we go on in Matthew and come to chaps. xvii. and xxi., a new element is empltasized: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shan receive." Now, it is not simply asking, but asking in faith and receiving according to faith. But when we come to the Gospel of John, we read, in chap. xvi., the most marv:ellous words our Lord ever spoke on prayer, in the New Testament: «Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name He will give it you." Now, this is beyond simple asking; beyond even asking in faith. This is asking by virtue of, and because of, our identification with the Lord Jesus Ghrist. His Name is His person. To ask in His Name is to ask by virtue of our identity with Him, our individuality being merged into His personality in the sight of God, so that God does not look on us as we are, in ourselves, but looks on us as we are in Ghrist Jesus. Here is a " region beyond," in the matter of prayer, that one man or woman in a thousand has scarce dreamt of. When I go to the Father in Jesus' Name-reverently let me say it-Ghrist is the suppliant rather than myself; and because th·e Father can deny the Son nothing that He wants, it is certain that what I ask in His Name I shall receive-nay, I have already received it; and it is my privilege to believe that I have received that which I ask.
Now, suppose the Christian Church should get hold of this power of prayer, and get above the level of simply asking, or even of asking in faith, and realize her identity with her Lord and the privilege of praying in the Name of Jesus; then, keeping in fellowship with Christ, nourishing and cherishing this daily walk with Him, and therefore having, within, the motions that His Spirit creates, the groanings unutterable awakened by the Holy Ghost-.these, presented in the golden censer of Christ before the throne, shall certainly be heard and heeded by the Father. And so I believe that the greatest need of missions to-day is NEW PRAYER-prayer on the highest level of prayer.
IV.-REGIONS BEYOND OF GIVING.
There is yet another" region beyond" that has not been taken possession of, and that is the region of sanctified giving. We are coming now to a very practical matter. There is a whole world of promise and of power to be 'taken possession of in the matter of consecrated means. The Church of God is doing nothing to-day in comparison to what she might do and ought to do. We feel ashamed, however, to speak of giving as a duty, because it grows on our convictions more and more that we ought to lose sight of it as a duty, and only think of it as a transcendent privilege. There is something in love that takes off the asperities of duty. "I delight to do thy will, 0 my God." That is the atmosphere of service-not the law atmosphere-" I ought to do this thing," but the love atmosphere, " My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work." Now, in this unclaimed and untroddcn region with regard to giving, there are three or four things to which we want to call especial attention.
In the first place, individual giving is a region beyond, yet to be reached by the Church of God. "Let everyone of you lay by him in store." God's principle is not that the rich should give, nor that the poor should give, but that rich and poor should alike give j and every man, woman, and child thus have part in this consecration of substance.
Then we need systematic giving. ".Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by in store j" at stated times, with regularity, as a matter of habit, so that, just as regularly as the week comes round, there should be an account with God that is audited, corrected, adjusted, to see that there be no failure in this part of our duty. Just as we are to bring a certain portion of our time and set it entirely apart to God, so we are to bring a certain portion of our substance, statedly and habitually offering it to the Lord.
Then there must be proportionate giving. We must give, first, according to our ability, and, secondly, " as God hath prospered us." And this law of proportion must never be overlooked. The difficulty with the Church to-day is that, too often, we are calculating how little we can give to satisfy the claims of conscience, whereas we ought to ask, " How much can I give to God ¥ and how little can I reserve for myself, and yet satisfy the absolute necessities of my own reasonable wants ~" Vv'e ought to turn the rule of our giving entirely round. Give to the Lord the first portion, not the last. Give to the Lord the largest portion, not the least.
Then there ought to be self-denying giving, which lies still further beyond in this untrodden territory. A woman went round in a church to get offerings from the women of the congregation for foreign missions, and her uniform plea was, "You can give this, and you will not feel it a bl:t." That was the damaging recommendation. Here is the trouble in the Church of Christ: we give and we do not feel it j neither does the world feel it very much! 'We cannot conceive how God can take much pleasure in a gift that costs us nothing j and let us pray God never to let us use such an argument as that. Rather give until you do feel it.
Much is said from time to time about the generous giving of disciples. There are thirty millions of Protestant Church-members to-day, and twelve millions of dollars is the aggregate sum that is given to foreign missions by these Christians; whereas, if everyone of them gave one cent a day, it would amount to over one hundred millions, and if everyone of them gave three cents a day, it would give us over three hundred and twenty-fh'e millions a year! There is something wrong when, in the coffers of American and British Christians, there lie twenty-live thousand millions of dollars, and God cannot get for the whole work of foreign evangelization more than twelve millions of that immense sum!
At the same time, individual examples show us what giving is possible. There was Sarah Hosmer, of Lowell, Mass., a poor woman living in an attic, and working with her needle. She saved, on six different occasions, fifty dollars, and sent it to educate a native preacher in Oriental countries j and, when she was borne to her rest, six men were preaching in foreign lands whom she had helped into the ministry.
Travellers pass by, in Scotland, the estates formerly owned by Robert Haldane, in the neighborhood of the Bridge of Allan, and one feels a degree of reverence that inclines him to take off his shoes, for it seems that he is standing on holy ground. The fragrance of the act of that godly man who sold those estates, and offered the $175,000 that they yielded to establish in Benares, the centre of Hindu idolatry, a mission for the Lord Jesus Christ, is still shed abroad all through that country, and people pass those estates not without a reverent thought of Robert Haldane, and a grateful recognition of the power of a consecrated life.
Then, in Alloa, when the writer of these lines was delivering the closing words of one of his addresses, he saw an old man there, leaning on his staff. He was nearly ninety years of age, and the chairman whispered, " That is David Paton. He has given his entire fortune-$l,OOO,OOO-to missions, and he is living now on a little annuity which has been reserved that he may not come to absolute want." And yet, when that man heard my plea for missions, he managed to get out of the little that was left him $1250 more, which he gave the next day, and subsequently sent yet another $2000.
There was Mr. Hamilton, a mere clerk in a surveyor's office in Glasgow, and all the income that he had was perhaps $350 a year-yet he annually gave to the U. P. Church $100, nearly one third of his entire income. And when, in 1887, there was a special call made by the Synod for $100,- 000 for missions, that man furnished one-hundredth part of the amount. He sent $1000, one hal£ of the savings that he had made all through his lifetime. And after his death his cash account was found, with the Lord's offering indicated there, and it was discovered that he spent only one shilling a day on his own needs, besides the three shillings a week for lodging -ten shillings sterling a week in all-that he might give the more to the cause of the Lord J csus Christ.
Well may we feel that we have never denied ourselves anything for our Master when we read the story of such a man as that, living seventy-one years with slender income, and in that frugal fashion, that he might be one of the noblest givers in all Scotland, giving~unobtrusively and quietly" as to the Lord, and not unto men. "
God showed the church in that annus mirabilis, 1878, to which we have referred, what could be done by a few consecrated givers. In that one year there was given to the Lord, on the altar of missions, by less than twenty individuals in the United States and in Great Britain, nearly one million pounds sterling, or $5,000,000! Thus God first showed ns, in 1858, what wonders He can do in opening the way before His Church. And then, in 1878, lie showed both what wonders He can do in giving la1'ge harvests from the seed sown, and what other wonders He can do in moving His people to come forward, like Barnabas at Cyprus, to lay the proceeds of their estates on the altars of Christian missions.
V.-THE REGION BEYOND OF HOLY LIVING.
We notice one more region that lies beyond-namely, the region of holy living. That is the most important region of all. We must not measure onrselves by ourselves, or compare ourselves among ourselves, or stop where others have stopped, or where we have now attained; but we must go on, if this world is to be evangelized, to a life of which very few know much. We compress all that we would say on this point in one maxim: ".A holy life is a life in a supernatural realm-a walle with God." That is strong language, but the New Testament is stronger: "He that dwelleth in love d welleth in God, and God in him. " Notice the expression that Jude uses – " praying in the Holy Ghost"-as though the Holy Ghost were a divine atmosphere in which the praying disciple moves, which he breathes, which exhilarates him, which nerves him to duty, which vitalizes him, which strengthens him 1 And that is exactly the truth. A man that is a truly holy man is breathing the Holy Ghost as a sacred atmosphere. And that is the atmosphere of missions.
The thing that, more than anything else, has led the writer to devote hims.elf to the advocacy of missions has been that he has recognized in the working of missions the nearest approach to the repetition of all the supernatural occurrences of the Old Testament and of the period of the Acts of the Apostles. There is the Pillar of cloud and fire, going before God's people,' causing Red Seas to present a passage on dry ground, causing fortress walls to fall instantaneously without a blow being struck, causing the enemy, like Amalek, to be defeated as long as the arm of faith and prayer is extended. When Christ says, "I am with you," He means omnipotent power; He means guidance, guardianship, government. Jesus Christ is with us in even sense that is most precious, when we seek to proclaim the Gospel to a dying world.
We must learn to look for DIVINE INTERPOSITION. In Psalm ii. the kings of the earth are represented as conspiring together to break the bands of Jehovah, and cast away the cords of His dear Son. Wh~t does Godeay,to them 1 "Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion j" and He says to His King, •• Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. " That text has been preached from a great many times asa missionary text, as though it meant that the whole world is to be converted. But the next verse addR: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron: thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." This Psalm is the encouragement of the Church of God, but not in the direction of the harvests that are to come from the sowing. There are abundant such encouragements elsewhere; but here the encouragement given is that, although the kings of the earth conspire and rulers take counsel to obstruct the work of missions, to defeat the plans of the great King Himself, He who has even His enemies as His inheritance, and the hostile territories of conspiring kings with which to do as He wills, shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel, and break them with the iron rod of His just rnle.
Missionaries of the Cross have seen many such interpositions of God. We refer again to two as examples of many.
In Turkey, in 1839, at the crisis of missions, the Sultan Mahmoud said, "There shall not a representative of the Christian religion remain in the empire. " And Dr. Hamlin came into the house to Dr. Goodell, and said, " Doctor, it is all over with us-we have to leave; the American Consul and the British Ambassador both say that 1t is no use to meet, with antagonism, this violent and vindictive monarch.!' Dr. Goodell, sitting in his chair, rocked to and fro with undisturbed serenity. Dr. Hamlin said, " Well, you do not seem to give yourself much anxiety." That devout and godly man looked up to heaven and said, " Dr. Hamlin, the Sultan of the Universe, in answer to prayer, can change that decree." And they, gave themselves to prayer, and the next day the Sultan Mahmoud died, and the decree has never since been mentioned, save as a matter of history. There a ruler conspired against the King of Zion to defeat the plan of evangelizing His empire, and to expel His missionaries; but He stretched forth His rod of iron and instantly " dashed him in pieces, like a potter's vessel. "
And in Siam, in the crisis of missions, in 1851, when another hostile king would not even allow the missionaries to get premises in which to live, or ground upon which to build, and would scarcely lIuffer them to obtain a lodging; and when they were only waiting for a vessel to bear them away from the harbor of Bangkok, believing that their work was all in vain ; meanwhile they called upon Almighty God to interpose, and again the King of Zion stretched forth His rod and smote that monarch, and broke him likewise in pieces, "like a potter's vessel." And when his corpse was borne to burial, the question came up, " Who is to be his successor 1" and again God was besought to interpose. The man that was selected was the only man in the empire that had ever been trained by a Christian missionary. Though not himself a Christian, in studying language and philosophy and history and political economy with the missionaries, he had imbibed tolerant and catholic principles and impulses, and he inaugurated in the Empire of Siam the n;l.Ost aggressive and the most liberal policy in all Asia j and his successor, Chulalangkorn, is to-day the most enlightened sovereign on that continent. He and his wife are nursing father and nursing mother of Christian missions. Only two years ago they made munificent presents to our American missionaries to enlarge the borders of their hospital and dispensary work, as they have again done more recently.
Verily, A NEW STANDARD OF HOLY LIVING IS NEEDED. These" regions beyond" must be entere,d. Faith must enter the unclaimed territory of promise. Prayer must enter the unclaimed territory of divine power in the diviue presence. We must get a new standard of giving, that shall be individual, that shall be systematic, that shall be proportionate, that shall be cheerful, and that shall be self-denying. And we must get a new standard of living, that shall dare to invade the supernatural, that shall walk with God, and dwell in God, and pray in the Holy Ghost, and shall recognize the word of our Master, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," and the word of the Father that the Holy Ghost shall come down to anoint disciples, and bring the unconverted to the knowledge of Christ. Oh! we must enter this nnclaimed and untrodden territory, and then it may be permitted to some of us to see the glorious day come, when the Gospel, having been preached as a witness among all nations, the King himself shall come in His beauty, and those that have looked long for Him, with fainting desire, shall be permitted to share in the glory of His enthronement and coronation !
A very dear friend of the Editor, Miss Agnes E. Henderson, M.D., daughter of ex-Provost Henderson, of Aberdeen (for many years a director of this society), goes out to. India as a medical missionary in connection with the Free Church of Scotland. At a large and deeply interesting farewell meeting held in Aberdeen, Professor Salmond, who was in the chair, stated that Miss Henderson had with high distinction completed her curriculum as a tnedical student, obtained her degree, and dedicated herself to the service of Christ. She was about to go first to Bombay, there to stay for a year, to learn the language, and acquire a knowledge of the peculiar character of Indian diseases. After that she would proceed to Nagpore to labor as a medical missionary. Her services would cost the Church nothing, as provision had been made by the liberality of her father for carrying on the whole work of this post of which she was to be the first occupant without any charge to the Church.
That was not the only instance of It missionary going out at her own cost, because,. as Professor Salmond said, another missionary was present who occupied precisely the same position. How is it that there is not far more of this kind of thing? Many a Christian family might with ease support one of its number in foreign service, and thereby show allegiance to the Master, take a noble share in evangelizing the heathen, and bring a rich blessing upon themselves.
THE MISSION' OUTLOOK
THE MISSION OUTLOOK.-III.
BY REV. J. MURRAY MITCHELL, M.A., LL.D., NICE, FRANCE.
Let us now glance at the Asiatic countries in which Mohammedanism is the ruling religion. There has been, in varIOUS quarters, a disposition to think well of Mohammedanism. Its one merit is its discouragement of intemperance. It may raise savage races up to the Arabian civilization of the seventh century, but it fixes them there; and further progIess is attainable only by rejecti ng it. But how difficult to make it relax its grasp! Mackay of Uganda speaks of the" strange venom" in Islam which makes it almost impossible to Christianize any race that has accepted it, however imperfectly. Still, when Mackay speaks of "the universal failure of missions to Moslems," his language is much too strong. In fact, he admits so himself when, at a later date, he writes of " the work already accomplished among Mohammedans in Persia and India" as having proved "a decided success" (Memoir, p. 419).
Throughout the Turkish Empire work among Mohammedans is exceedingly difficult. After the Crimean War it seemed as if the door was opened for work among the Turks; and good Dr. Schauffier said to us in Constantinople, in October, 1859, that the prospects were most cheering. But from about 1864 Islam has wakened up as from deep lethargic sleep; and the command has evidently gone forth from high quarters that mission work among Mohammedans must be suppressed if possible, and in all cases opposed. This is what is called" the new departure of Islam." Theconcessions of the Hatti Humayoon of 1856 are ignored. Mission schools are closed, and when representatives of foreign powers are able to compel their reopening, Moslem children are forbidden to attend. Mohammedan schools and mosques are provided with a zeal formerly unknown.
In Persia the repression is not so strong. The missionaries believe that the Shah's three visits to Europe have considerably liberalized his views; and although the persecution of the Babis shows that fanaticism is not dead, yet the Bible can be circulated to some extent among Mohammedans, and religious inquiry goes on in private.
In Arabia, so far a~ it is under Turkish dominion, the public preaching of the Gospel would be at present impossible. But a majority of the Arabs do not acknowledge Turkish sway; and a definite effort ought to be made, on their behalf. Medical'missionaries at least would be safe, perhaps, even where the blighting shadow of the Turk has faUen. The Scriptures can be circulated-from Aden especially. On the whole, Arahia has been unreasonably overlooked in the distribution of the missionary force.
We come now to speak of Africa. Every portion of the field at which we have glanced has interested us deeply; but as he names Africa one feels his heart swell in his breast. The Dark Continent! Dark as Erebus it has been for generations without number. One of the latest testimonies regarding its religion is that of Mackay. He tells us that the Africans aCknowledge God, but worship only devils. They are "guilty of every form of uncleanness, and robbery, and tyranny, and murder." Yet we must not despond. The possessing demon can be cast out. Mackay de- clares it indisputable that" the African is capable of Christianization, and of rising to take his place among the foremost races of men.' , We ask anxiously, as the prophet did of old, 'What of th'e night 1 that is, how much of it is past ¥ Thank God, the midnight is gone j yes, there are streaks of light on the eastern sky.
Let us glance first at North Africa. Time was when all North Africa, from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, was Christian j and not a few of the men who stand high in the records of the Church were born and flour- ished there. But the sword of the Moslem swept the professors of the faith away, all except a small, oppressed remnant in Egypt. It is a Rolemn question why this was permitted by Him who has the hearts of all men in I1is hand j and the answer is equally solemn which good men have given- namely, that the civilized people of North Africa took little or no interest in the extension of the Gospel among the aboriginal inhabitants, and that the lamp-stand was removed because the lamp gave little or no light. Steadily Islam has advanced in all North Africa to within six or perhaps * four degrees of the equator, almost exclusively by war and conquest j and the Arabs have ruined many fair provinces to the south of the line. But we believe that the wave of devastation ,has stopped in its onward march, and in the goodness of God will henceforth steadily recede. Stanley has spoken of an early date, when he hopes that Islam will no longer be seen to the south of the equator.
But let us begin with Egypt. Much toleration prevails j conversions from Islam take place from time to time; the circulation of the Holy Scrip- tures is considerable; and more than 800 Mohammedans attend the mission schools.
Then, as to the rest of North Africa, under which designation we include Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli, and the Sahara, more than forty agents are at work exclusive of those connected with the Bible societies.t The people generally are not hostile j but the priestly and 'political authorities are strong in their opposition. Yet conversions take place. Travelling south, we come to the Soudan-a region more than three thousand miles by fifteen hundred, and containing perhaps fifty millions of people. Here reigns the Mahdi with his fixed belief in his commission to conquer the world. The Moslem in this region have set up schools for the blacks-schools which succeed in proseletyzing. Protestants are doing next to nothing. A young Englishman, Wilmot Brooke, is working his .. So said Mr. Joseph Thomson some years ago. But now that Emin Pasha's power in the equatorial parts has fallen, we must say the sway of I.lam reaches the Equator.
t Mr. C, F. Baldwin mentions that there are more than thirty in Morocco and Mogador. See MISSIONARY lbrvlBw, Oct., 1890, p. 776. way to the Soudan by the Niger. Several young men from America bad chosen this sphere of labor, but alas! they all perished on the way.
Then comes Central Africa-between the Soudan and the Zambesicontaining the mighty Congo, with its innumerable tributaries, and the region of the Tanganika, Victoria, and Nyassa lakes. The churches have not been regardless of the claims of. Central Africa; in the Congo Free Statc alone eight missionary bodies are laboring, the London Missionary Society on Tanganika among them; the C. M. S. has done admirable work at Lake Victoria; the Universities Mission and the two Scottish Missions are diligent in Nyassa land. Here, then, is an excellent beginning.
To the south of the Zambesi there are older missions, all of them doing admirable service. How eagerly the great European Powers have partitioned nearly all Africa among themselves! We trust it is well; for at least the hideous slave-trade will be retarded and gradually extinguished; but while we rejoice that Divine Providence will overrule for good the earth-hung.er that infects the European races, and while we acquiesce in this part being for Germany, and that for France, and this other for Britain, and so on, let the desire and determination of the Church be-all, God helping us, for Christ !
Our remarks are lengthening out too much ; yet we dare not' conclude without a reference to the work among Eastern Christians. Under this name we include the Nestorians, the Armenians, the Jacobite Syrians and the Syrians in South India, the Copts and Abyssinians, and the members belonging to various nationalities of the Greek or " Orthodox" Church. The work among these venerable communities is carried on-chiefly, though not solely-by the American Congregationalists and Presbyterians. It is of immense consequence for the Eastern churches themselves. It is hardly less so for the Mohammedans among whom the Christians live, inasmuch as the spiritual life of the churches has been low and languid, and their ritualistic worship appears, to the followers of the Koran, to be absolutely idolatrous. Unhappily it is believed, in many influential quarters in England, that the Americans desire to break up the constitution of the ancient churches among which they labor. This the missionaries very earnestly deny. In faet, they began by endeavoring to spread light among the clergy, and turned, only when the attempt was unsuccessful. to the ordinary members of the churches. And new communities have been formed only when those who receive scriptural truth and seek to walk in accordance with it are persecuted and excommunicated. One of the most statesman-like acts of the" great Elchee" (" the great ambassador," as the Turks called Sir Stratford Canning, afterward Lord Stratford de Redcliffe) was the securing of the recognition of the Protestant Armenians as an independent community with guaranteed rights. This was in 1846. Since then the Protestant Christians in the Turkish Empire, including Egypt, have increased to fully 70,000. Their teachings among the Nestorians in Persia and the Bulgarians in Europe have also been greatly blessed. Bulgaria has wonderfully sprung all at once into national life j but had it not been for Robert College on the Bosphorus, such an.,awaken- ing would have been impossi?le.
The influence exerted on the old churches of the East by these new communities is by no means small. In some cases the missionaries, or the pastors of the reformed churches, are invited to preach in the pulpits of the older. The priests, as a rule, oppose the reformation j but the people are often friendly to it, or at least not unfriendly.
. We dwell on these things all the more earnestly because of the scant justice that is done in certain quarters in England to these important missions.
We must now hasten to conclude. We do so, as we promised, with a few remarks suggested by the survey we have taken.
We have expressed our·admiration of the feeling which prompts the Shanghai Conference to make the demand for a thousand missionaries. Mr. Hudson Taylor asks as many for the" China Inland Mission." But these things unavoidably suggest the question, What are the claims of China as compared with those of other mission fields ~ Missionaries in India will be slow to admit that the necessities of that great continent are inferior to those of China j they .will probably maintain that, in its present sorrowful unrest, the claims of India are paramount. Then, not to speak of Japan, Korea, and Siam-each, it may be urged, in a condition that may rightly be called critical-what are we to say of Africa? As now so won- derfully revealed, its demands are overwhelming. Its hideous superstitions, its fetich-worship, its demon-worship, its human sacrifices, its cannibalism, its inter-tribal wars, its slave-trade-yes, we now see the heart of Africa, and we see that it is bleeding at every pore. Then, let us remem- 'ber what fearful mischief the Christian nations of the West have done to unhappy Africa by the drink traffic. Oh, that it were possible to be as great a blessing as we have been a curse I The population, perhaps, ex- ceeds three hundred millions. What is to be done for the vast Dark Continent' It seems to us that, when God Himself has opened a dooraye, doors-which were closed from the beginning of the world, He is distinctly calling on His people to enter. But further, there are the Mohammedan kingdoms, both in Asia and Africa, and the battle with Islam is barely begun.
The question then occurs, Is it not needful that a survey be taken of the entire heathen world, and an estimate formed of the relative claims of each portion ~ It is a difficult task, and would require the co-operation of many men to do this with any approach to accuracy. Yet the Romish Propaganda attempts a solution of the problem j and the comprehensive mind of Cromwell contemplated the formation of a similar institution.
It might, perhaps, be possible to form an international commmittee, representing all Protestant missions, to map out the great battle.field and suggest a plan Qf campaign i at present, each mission, each regiment chooses its own field and fights its own battle, with little or no reference to others.
But, in the mean time, the topic should be taken up in such magazines as the MISSIONARY REVIEw,and suggestio~s offered, out of which some orderly scheme might erelong be evolved. Unless something of this kind is done,. there will be increasing collision, however unintentional, in the foreign field. Connected with this is the question of what is called mission comity, which is of vast importance and no small complexity.
In the earnest call for European missionaries, in which we heartily rejoice, let not the Church forget that the evangelization of each land must be conducted mainly through its own believing children. When conversions take place churches must be formed and, after the example of Paul and Barnabas, elders" ordained in every church" (Acts. xiv. 23). Next, the raising up of native preachers and teachers is a matter of primary im- * portance. We say teachers-i.e., schoolmasters, as well as preachers.
At the present time a large body of Christian teachers would be of unspeakable value in India and Japan. This matter has been far too much overlooked. In recent discussions we have heard much about the necessity of self-denial. But we have not heard enough. The principle is both deeper and wider than many think. We have been told that it is binding on all missionaries-" Missions arc 80 expensive j" but is there any reason for saying that it is more binding on missionaries than on other Christians? Ministers at home j all office.bearers in the Church j all members of the Church; every man that professes himself a Christian-is not self-denial the imperative duty of all such? Yet how much luxury among multitudes who, in the judgment of charity, mnst be held to be real Christians!, Has any Christian a right to try to be a millionaire? If he has become so, has he a right to remain so? For meanwhile the outlay of the Church by no means keeps pace with the increase of the wealth of the nation or, as we believe, of the Christian portion of it j and all our missions languish for lack of funds. A trumpet-blast is needed to rouse the slumbering Church. Fields are white to the harvest j the laborers are ready to go forth; but means to send them are a-wanting. "Well," says a ~elf-complacent church, " let us have cheap or even self-supporting missionaries. " Self-support, in many places, would be easy j for example, in India a well-educated man could readily find Government employment, and have three or four times the salary of an ordinary missionary. Is that desirable, seeing that very little time would remain for evangelistic work 1 Many seem to think it is. Yes; these are enlightened days j many have got far beyond the standpoint of St. Paul, and they think it well to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.
As we have glanced over the recent history of missions, we have been greatly saddened by the many deaths that have met our eye; and the .. In a paper read before the Decennial Conference at Calcutta in 1882, the writer had occasion to dwell on this snbject at considerable length. question has repeatedly arisen, Was this a necessary sacrifice 1 We gaze with tearful admiration on the men who go forth in entire devotedness to meet, in Christ's name, almost certain death j but how awfully accountable are they that send them forth if they do not, with much prayer and forethought, take every possible precaution against danger! It is certain that, in the ardor of their souls, the young warriors, eager to. be in the high places of the field, will themselves seldom do so j it must be done for them. And we must give a word of waUling to the young warriors too. Is there no danger that sometimes they may take the suggestions, of their own fallible minds for an impulse from on high 1 do they prayerfully seek to distinguish between these things 1 We have been led into this train of thought espccially by what has happened in the case of the young American missionaries whom we referred to as having lately sought to reach the Soudan. All have perished. * Their precious lives were simply thrown away. So has it been in other cases. 0' est magnifique; mais ce n'est pas la guerre. Of old the enthusiasm of martyrdom became in many cases the fanaticism of martyrdom j and the Church had to put forth her most strenuous efforts to repress the evil. Something of the same kind may rise up in modern days. Weare aware that these remarks may be thought to savor of cold, worldly prudence. "Ve are willing to bear the imputation, if we can only help to save very precious lives which ought to be dedicated to the Master's cause on earth. Heaven, we believe, can afford to wait for these men. Earth cannot afford to lose them.
Already there are cheering examples, not a fcw, of men and women possessed of means who have dedicated themselves and their possessions to the work of God abroad. Such cases will multiply as the pulse of the Church beats higher. Let rich parents encourage their children to go forth, and supply them with sufficient means to do so. We must not rest satisfied till the noblest of the land shall count it their highest distinction to become missionaries of the Cross. So was it in former days. Columba and many of the Celtic missionaries were of noble jf not princely descent. Raymond Lull was a nobleman of Majorca. Xavier was a Portuguese of position. And in our own day Keith Falconer, so early snatched away, was an earl's son. If such examples awaken any snrprise, it only shows how deplorably defective is the conception which the modern church has formed of the" grace" of being called to "preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. "
There are not quite three hundred medical Il!issionaries, men and women, in the foreign field at present. Why should there not be as many medical missionaries, whether ordained or unoruained, as there are ordinary missionaries 1 Why not more 1 Such Mohammedan countries * See the MU8Wnary Herald, Oct., 1890, p. 394. They were three young men and the wile of one of them. They arrived at Sierra Leone at the beginning oC the rains. They were implored to wait till the dry seasou before penetrating into the interior. But they refused. .. It was the Lord's work, and He would surely protect them I" Here was beautiful zeal, but not according to knowledge. ' are Turkey and Arabia, which will hardly tolerate preaching missionaries, will pay high respect to medical men. We believe that medical ladies also 'Vould be welcome. Assuredly there is much need of them! What a glorious sphere of usefulness would be opened up to lady doctors among the inmates of the Harems, accessible only to women, throughout all Mohammedan lands! But now we really must conclude. May God grant that the heart of the Church may glow with a warmer and warmer mis- sionary spirit-not mainly the excitement aroused by passionate appeals from pulpit or platform or press, but with the deep and holy zeal which springs from a clear perception, imparted by the spirit of truth, of the supreme glory of the enterprise; yea, may we all drink more and more deeply of the missionary spirit of the great Master Himself-a spirit that combined the most perfect devotedness, the most perfect calm, and the most perfect assurance of full and final and eternal victory I [P.S.-Since the above was in type, Dr. Mitchell sends the following additional notes.-ED.] I.-MOHAMMEDANISM IN CRINA.
There is great diversity among the estimates that have been given of the number of Mohammedans in China. In the last issue of the Nordi8k Missionstidsskrijt they are reckoned as 20,000,000. In the reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society they are said to be 30,000,000. Some years ago inWestern China-especially in Yunnan and Kashgar- the Mohammedans were active in proselytizing. In these provinces, however, they were entirely crushed; the cruelty they had shown being far exceeded by the retaliations of the Chinese.
From 'the beginning of Islam efforts were made to win over the Chinese. An uncle of Mohammed visited the Chinese Emperor Tai Tsong in the year 628. In 755 about 4000 Arabs were sent to the assistance of the Emperor Song Tsong, and for centuries thereafter there was a close con- nection between the Chinese and the Arabs. * H.-SCANDINAVIAN MISSIONS.
As the readers of the MISSIONARY REVIEW are probably not so well lOformed about these missions as about many others, we may give one or two notices in addition to what we have mentioned above.
In Zululand the Norwegian missions have 9 stations. In Natal they have 3, and the Swedish Mission, 4.
In Madagascar the Norwegian missionaries, in 1888, baptized 4393 persons. The attendance at church was 49,069, being about 10,000 more than in 1887. Among the Sakalavas, on the west coast of Madagascar, they have in Morondava (which is under the Hova Government) a church of 140 souls. On the south coast there are 2 Norwegian missionaries and 7 native teachers.
In the Congo Free State there are about 20 Swedish missionaries. ~<bout two years ago Dean Vahl, writing in the Allgemeine Missions Zeitscnrijt, said : "Including teachers in Lapland, there are 57 Swedish missionaries' of these 16 are ordained, 18 are women, and 31 are native helpers.
ANSWERED PRAYERS
ANSWERED PRAYERS.
BY MISS LAURA M. LATIMER.
The 16th of September is the great day when the Mexicans celebrate their independence. I was living in the city of Guanajuato–a strange, quaint city, where the streets are veritable stairways, and the houses are so built into the rocks and the rocks so encroach into the houses that onp. can hardly tell where rocks end and dwellings begin. Because of its rich silver-mines, it is one of the first cities taken in revolutions. Its towering crags that. surround the city afford a safe hiding-place for the attacking army. This national festival was my holiday, and for a little rest I went to Silao, a city thirteen miles away. When I reached the mission house I found the portera and his wife alone, and greatly alarmed. He told me that a thousand robbers had entered the city of Guanajuato to commence a revolution, in order to sack the city. The Governor of the State had telegraphed to the President of Mexico for fresh troops, and they were just beginning to arrive. The mob was already gathering in the streets of Silao. To quiet their fears, I reminded them of the Sabbath-school lesson that week. I opened the Bible and read to them-" And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the. Lord opened the eyes of the young man i and he saw: and, behold, the moulltain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." All that day I could hear him reading aloud to his wife from the book of Kings; Sev- eral members of our little church came and stood with them all night by a little grated window, watching the street. With an earnest prayer for protection I went to bed and slept soundly all night, although the streets were filled with a mob, who broke every window in the great hotel, with yells of, "Death to the Americans." The next day the stones began to come into the mission house, but I securely locked the great street door, and the crowd passed by, and we were not molested. When I returned to Guanajuato the portera oiold me that at the time of greatest danger the surgeon of the hospital called at my house. He said that he was very tired, for he had been dressing wounds all day, but he could not rest until he knew that I was safe. He stood by the door, on the street, until all danger was passed, and his presence there was a protection. He was a Catholic, and a stranger. But I always felt that a kind Providence had in this way, in answer to prayer, protected my home. The mayor of the city sent two policemen to guard the street door. The daughter of my cook heard one policeman say to the other, " Why were we sent here ~" " To protect a lady," was the reply. " But who is the lady 1" he still questioned. "She is a Protestant i" and that satisfied him. The soldiers quelled all disturbances, and the robbers fied.
In this same city, several years before, the missionary heard the mob coming down the street with yells of " Huerte a los Protestantes /"-death , to the Protestants. He ran in haste to the street door to close it, but it was too late. He could see the flash of the knives with which they were to kill him and his family, and with an agonized prayer to God for help, he turned to face death, when suddenly peal after peal of thunder shook the house; the rain began to fall in torrents; and the terrible lightning so terrified the mob, just as they had reached the threshold, that everyone of them fled affrighted to their homes. And thus the lives of the missionaries were saved, and the mission church was not destroyed.
At the time of the last revolution in Mexico, the army marched upon Pachnea, and from the hills that overlook the city they threw their bombshells upon the defenceless inhabitants. The mission church had just been completed, and the congregation had assembled for the first time in this new chapel to worship God.· Mr. Ludlow, the pastor, knelt down to pray, and he commenced by thanking God that now they were able to worship under their own vine and fig-tree, with none to molest or make them afraid, when suddenly, without any warning, the bomb-shells came crashing into the city. He opened his eyes and discovered that everyone had left the church in haste, and he was alone. The bomb-shells fell thick and fast. First one part of t.he mission house went crashing in, then another. The pastor and,his family took refuge in a little passage-way be~ tween the school-room and house. He opened his Bible and read to them the promises of God, promises of protection in hours of peril, and they sang" Jesus, I rest in Thee," and then they knelt in prayer. When they rose from their knees the danger was over and they were safe, but their beautiful church was in ruins. There were cannon-balls everywhere in the school-rooms, fresh and hot. The doors and chairs and benches were riddled with bullets. The streets were filled with the moans of the wounded. Death and ruin was everywhere, except in the little passage-way where they prayed.
One of the most unmistakable interpositions of God in answer to prayer was the way that Mexico was opened for the Gospel. It took an army of soldiers to carry the Bible into Mexico. The Americans won every battle. They were in a strange country unknown to them. They had only a few thousand men to battle with the vast hosts of the enemy. It was not nqmbers that won the victory. It was God. Our invading army changed the future of Mexico. The Bible agents and chaplains who accompanied the United States Army scattered Bibles everywhere along their route, and the Word of God broke the power of papal Rome in that oppressed country. Those who have carefully studied the marvellous results of the Mexican War have been amazed at what God has wrought.
AFRICA.
In the depths of a dark African forest, Henry M. Stanley was obliged to wait for a company of his men who were missing. It was midnight. He was hemmed in by hostile savllges on all sides. The terrible shadowhaunted, pathless wilderness lay dark and dismal before him. All his plans had been brought to naught by une~pected obstacles. He was sick with fever. " Death and disaster, disaster and death," encompassed him. He feared that his brave followers had been massacred, and he prayed earnestly to God to protect those brave men who were in peril. Alone with God in his tent at that midnight hour, reaHzing his utter helplessness to accomplish what he had 80 bra~'ely undertaken, conscious that the issues of every effort were in other hands, he made a vow that if the lives of his heroic men were spared, and his own efforts crowned with success, he would acknowledge to the world that all the way through that perilous journey it was God who had led him and brought him safely, iu answer to prayer, when all his own plans had failed. The following day the missing ones arrived, and they soon emerged upon the plains, and the deadly, gloomy forest was behind them. The marvellous success of that expedition has given to the world one of the most inspiring examples of the power of prayer. One day Dr. Livingstone, in the heart of that Dark Continent, became disheartened. He was surrounded by the cannibals, sick with fever, and his men were about to desert him to return to their homes. He says : " The prospect of being obliged to return distressed me exceedingly, and I went into my little tent with the mind directed to Him who hears the sighing of the soul j but soon the men entered, and with the most artless simplicity of manner told me to be comforted, they would not forsake me, thcy were all my children and would die for me." Dr. Livingstone was 'greatly oppressed with the vastness of the " Dark Continent," and his constant question was, ""Vho will penetrate Africa~" The weeks that Stanley remained at Ujiji with Dr. Livingstone were a time of preparation and inspiration for future work. Was it chance, or was it God in answer to prayer, that led the most successful of all explorers of Africa through so many dangers to find Livingstone 1 During the recent cruel persecutions of the Christians in the kingdom of Uganda, the missionaries, driven from their homes, found refuge near the lake, and there they waited, praying to God to interpose and put an end to the cruelties of the brutal king l'Iwanga, for their mission was broken up, the native Christians were clubbed to death, burned alive, and torn to pieces. Their prayers were soon answered, for just as Mwanga was meditating a general massacre of all the Christians, he was dethroned, pursued, and hunted by his enemies. ,This bloodthirsty, savage king fied to the Christians for safety. One of the French missionaries took him into his house, fed him, clothed him, and King Mwanga became a Chris- tian. And he wrote this letter to Mr. Mackay : June 25, 1889.
I, Mwanga, beg of you to help me. Do not remember bygone matters. We _are now in a miserable plight; but if you, my fathers, are willing to come and help to restore me to my kingdom, you will be at liberty to do whatever you like. Formerly I did not know God, but now I know the religion of Jesus Christ. Consider how Ka1ema has killed all my brothers and sisters; he has killed my children too. Mr. Mackay, do help me; I have no strength, but if you are with me I shall be strong.
I am your friend, MWANGA.
The scattered, persecuted native Christians placed the penitent king again upon his throne, and restored to him his kingdom.
Every year the river Nile overflows its banks and floods the country. The natives go out in little boats and sow their seed by casting it upon the waters. The rice sinks down into the mud, takes root, and when the flood is over they gather a rich harvest. For many years the brave missionaries in Africa have been sowing the seed of the kingdom upon the water in floods of persecution, and now the harvest has commenced.
At Banzameteke a missionary had labored six years with no success, when suddenly he was astonished at the pentecostal answer to his prayers j for one Sabbath morning the people collected all their fetiches and gin bottles and burned them in the public square, and nine hundred men, women, and children were baptized that day.
The saddest of all stories is the story of the graves in Africa. The heroic Bishop Taylor, on foot, going from station to station, and at each mission finding new graves of his missionaries j passing on his weary way, leaving the silent dead in their lonely graves, to " wait till Jesus comes j" passing missions where the carefully built houses are vacant, the churches deserted, the school-rooms silent, and only a missionary's grave to tell the sad story.
Slavery and rum have so desolated Africa that a cry, piteous and awful, ascends from that country, " How long, 0 Lord, how long~" "Home after home is made desolate, region after region is ravished, State after State is demolished, nation after nation is mowed down like grass."
I attended the Women's National Temperance Convention which met in Chicago. I sat in Battery D, and watched the ladies as they came pouring in at the door by hundreds. There were ladies from, California, from Oregon, and from every State all the way across this continent to Maine-earnest Christian women, who had come from the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, to plan together how they could put down intemperance. They were reaching out their hands to help remove this evil from every country on the globe. .
That same month across the sea there was a remarkable conference in session at Brussels, a congress unique in history. The representatives of seve~teen great nations-Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, Congo Free State, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Persia, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, and the United States-the nations that rule the world, had come together to put down slavery in Africa, to save a land that had no claim upon them but its utter helplessness.
While the great Christian powers were convened in Europe to devise means to ,overthrow the horrible slave-trade in Africa, the slave-dealers were having a remarkable congress on the Nile-200 delegates, Moham- medan Arabs, met to suppress the traffic in liquors; for the rum-trade, which destroys so many lives, diminishes the number of their victims. The action taken by them is " to surround the entire coast of Africa with a cordon of armed dhows, and confiscate every European vessel containing liquors, and sell the crew into slavery." It seemed to me that God had rallied all the great religious forces of the world, Christian and Mohamme- dan, to help those patient, suffering, praying missionaries in Africa.
The whole history of missions is made up of remarkable answers to prayer. The beginning of the great work in Japan was traced to a little room where the missionaries met every day to pray.
In the State of New York is a little village nestling among the hills. , Near by is a river, where the high ruggeq rocks and rainbow falls have a wildness of beauty unsurpassed. In this little village a minister once lived in a parsonage which was much too small for his increasing family. His salary was hardly sufficient to feed and clothe the six little children. He had been for several years principal of one of the public schools in Brooklyn, and his oldest son, who was sixteen years of age, was ready for college. He was eager and impatient to continue his studies, and the father found it hard to control the impetuous boy, who would not brook delay. He was at work in a store, but complaints came constantly fro.m the merchant that he was more interested in his books, which he concealed behind the counter, than in selling goods; and finally the boy declared that he would run away to sea if he could not go to college. It was a time of great anxiety to the father and mother. They could never expect to feed and clothe and educate six children on a preacher's salary in those days. After much worry and planning and anxious thought they could see no way out of the perplexity, and so they dropped the burden that , they could not carry, and gave their children to the Lord for special work in His service, with earnest prayer and as careful training as the mother of Moses gave her little one, though she knew that he was no longer hers, but the king's. The children grew to realize more and more that the prayers of their par3nts followed them constantly.
In those days people knew but little about misi>ions. -A few years be- fore Lee, with one of the flat-headed Indians from Oregon, had visited them, and after t.hat there was a new interest in the cause of the heathen in the minister's family. The pastor carefully scattered the Missionary Advocate among the children Of the Sabbath-school. There was one little girl in his congregation into whose heart the preacher's words sank deeply. She eagerly listened, and stndied with intense interest the missionary paper, with its strange pictures of lands and people be- yond the sea, and always as she gazed upon those dark pictures of heathen cruelty a feeling came to her, a dim foreshadowing of the future, that sometime she herself would sit under those palm-trees in India. As the years passed by, and there seemed no way to realize the dreams of her childhood, she forgot her early resolve to. be a missionary. But one day, years afterward, just a few weeks before she graduated in the medical college, suddenly the forgotten VOWI3 of her childhood came to her. The rush of recollections came like a revelation, and in a flash she realized what all the training of years had been for, and she was so overcome that she burst into tears. She was the first lady physician sent to heathen lands from America as a medical missionary. The daughter of her early pastor said to her, "How were you led to become a missionary 1" She replied, " It was your father who did it j the result of his labor and prayers."
The faithful minister lived to see his prayers answered also in a remarkable way in his own family. His sons became ministers of the Gospel, and his youngest daughter a missionary. His eldest son was the late Dean of the Theological Seminary of the Boston University, a school which has sent scores of missionaries to foreign lands-to China, India, Japan, Mexico, South America, and to the islands of the sea.
Captain Hore, F.R.C.S., is returning to England via United States, after a successful mission tour in A~stralia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. To the regret of his co·workers and admirers, he is forbidden to return to the region of Lake Tanganyika, where he has for thirteen years done such ser- vice to missions. The doctors prohibit such return. He built a steamer there, made valuable explorations, surveyed Tanganyika, for which he re- ceived the Royal Geographical Society's Award, and for two years lived at the famous slave and ivory mart of Ujiji, where he was much in contact with Tippoo Tib. American friends who know of his journey through the States will doubtless avail themselves of his presence to get him engaged in lectures describing the Central African missions, native tribes, and customs, and the development of civilization. Mr. S. E. Bridgman, College Rook Store in Northampton, Mass., will act as his medium of communication. . Here is a rare chance for those who wish missionary lectures.
Dr. G. F. Pentecost seems to have met a cordial reception in India. He held his first meeting with the educated natives of Calcutta on December 24th, and the Albert Hall was full to overflowing. The Opera House was then engaged for a fortnight miEsion to the higher classes of residents, and 'great expectations are indulged. We hope they may not be disappointed. Nevertheless, we believe that our brother has taken on his hands what Lincoln would call a " big job," and nothing will make thiR mission a true success but the power of prayer. We know personally that many, both here and on the other side of the sea, are engaged in earnest supplication to God that this errand may prove to be guided by God's good Spirit. The Engtish residents of India are very difficult to reach. They are mostly of two classes, either very High ChurchAnglicans-mere formalists and rituaIistsor else absolutely indifferent and often infidel. Such walls are of adamant, and only the power of God can break them down.
1891·1 THE GREAT COMMISSION
THE GREAT COMMISSION [EDITORIAL. ] The four Go~pel narratives, at the close of each, and the Acts of the Apostles, which has been well called the "Fifth Gospel," has at its beginning words which are intended to instruct and guide disciples as to the great mission and commission entrusted to the Church. Each differs from the other, yet each presents something essential to the full and complete knowledge of the Lord's will and our duty. And as in a composite photograph we get various facial forms and features blended in one portrait which combines individual peculiarities in a collective result, so, if we carefully project these five forms of the commission upon one sensitive plate and get a composite picture, we shall see at a glance the mutual relations of each special word of instruction, and the completeness of the grand total. While we reverently seek to combine these five fragments, we do not mean to imply that they were all thus blended in our Lord's own teaching, nor to assume to settle either their logical or chronological order; our aim is simply to present a summary from which nothing shall be omitted which belongs to anyone narrative, and to group together words of instruction or promise which seem to belong together by closer affinity. The attempt so to arrange and combine has been attended with such profit to the writer that he hopes it may prove no less a blessing to the reader. The obvious parallelism of the thought we seek also to represent.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying: •• Peace be unto you!"
And, when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again: "Peace be unto you !"
All power is given unto Me In heaven and in earth.
As My Father hath sent Me Even so send I you."
Then opened He their understanding That they might understand the Scriptures; And said unto them, " Thus it is written, And thus it behooved Christ to suffer, And to rise from the dead the third day; And that repentance and remission of sins Should be preached in His name Among all nations, Beginning at Jerusalem: And ye are witnesses of these things.
Go ye, therefore, into all the world, Make disciples of all nations, And preach the Gospel to every creature : Baptizing them in the name of the Father And of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching them to observe all things Whatsoever I have commanded you: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; But he that believeth not shall be damned.
And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you. Depart not from Jerusalem But wait for the promise of the Father, Which ye have heard of Me.
For John truly baptized with water, But ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, Not many days hence. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem Until ye be endued with power from on high. Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost Coming upon you; And ye shall be witnesses unto Me, Both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, And in Samaria And unto the uttermost parts of the earth." And when He had said this, He brElathed on them And saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost !"
., And 10 I am with you alway Even unto the end of the age.
And these signs shall follow them that believe : In My name shall they cast out demons ; They shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; And if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them ; They shall lay hands on the sick And they shall recover. "
So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, He led them out as far as to Bethany; And He lifted up His hands and blessed them, And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them ; And while they beheld, He was taken up And a cloud received Him out of their sight And He was carried up and received up into heaven, And they worshipped him And returned to Jerusalem with great joy And were continually in the temple Praising and blessing God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, The Lord working with them And confirming the word With signs following, Amen.
1891.J JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, AS DEVELOPED BY BUDDHISM IN JAPAN.
BY HENRY C. MABIE, D.D.
Among the objects of most striking interest which the traveller sees in the ancient city of Kioto, Japan, are the temples of Hon-gwan-ji- " Eastern" and "Western," so called. One of these temples is quite new, in fact it is yet building. To those sanguine souls who are inclined to think that the force of idolatry in Japan is spent, that idolatrous shrines generally are in the last stages of decay, and that no more will be built, we commend a few facts concerning the present building of this new Hongwan-ji structure. It is built entirely from the free-will offerings of the people of the Buddhist sect which it represents, from all parts of the empire. These contributions are of costly jewels, metals, woods for the building, human hair, and money without stint.
On one of the platforms of the temple are twenty-four coils of rope from three to four inches in diameter made of this human hair. Attached to one of the coils is a placard with this inscription: " Since the thirteenth year of Meiji (1880), when the rebuilding of the two halls of the Eastern Hon-gwan-ji was 'begun, the faithful laymen and laywomen of every place have been unanimous in presenting to the principal temple, Hon-gwan-ji, strong ropes made of their own hair, to be used for the work of erection. The number of these ropes reached fiftythree. Twenty-nine of them became worthless from use. The total length of the remaining twenty-four is 4528 feet, and the total weight 11,567 pounds. "
Besides these ropes were several large coils of hair, several of them gray, the gifts of the aged, which came in too late to admit of being used. The total cost of this temple is to reach the enormous sum of $11,000,000. The offerings of devotees in Kioto, apart from gifts for erecting the temple, ' to these two shrines, during the year 1889 amounted to the sum of $367,000, Mexican. And yet most of the contributions were from people who are extremely poor. Out of Kioto's population of nearly half a million less than five hundred people pay a tax amounting to $15, so poor are they.
Magnificent, however, as the temple is, and regal as the offerings were, the peculiarities of the sect whose primal shrine is here are of far more interest to me. Specially so, on account of the characteristic worship and belief of the sect.
These people are a sect of the Buddhists, but they represent a departure from pure ancient Buddhism of rare significance. They worship Buddha, indeed, but him only in the character of Amita, or Amit,abha, whom they conceive to be the idealization and glorification of highest discipleship to the primitive Buddha; they eschew all works of merit; they depend on the absolute unconditioned mercy of Amita j they have a doctrine of justification by faith only, apart from meritorious deeds; their priests are not celibates nor ascetics; they carryon active and aggressive missionary operations, and to this end they highly educate their young priests,send- ing some of them to the Doshisha Congregational College in· Kioto, and even to Oxford, England. Three hundred of these neophytes are gathered in one school near their chief Kioto temples.
They base their doctrine on that portion of the Buddhist Scripture known as the" Sam-bu-Kio," in which is recorded the peculiar vow made by Amitabha that he would ., accept Buddhaship, but under the condition that salvation was made attainable by all who should sincerely desire to be born into Buddha's kingdom, and should signify their desire by invoking his name ten times." This vow is called the "Former, or Real V ow," and hence the name given to the two great temples in Kioto, " Hon-gwan-ji," meaning" Temple of the Real Vow," referring to their basal doctrine.
This sect is now divided really into two, the one known asthe "Jodo" sect and the other as the " Shin Shin."
Originally they were one, taking their rise in the beginning of the· twelfth century under a great teacher, known as Honen Shonin. This man was enough in earnest to break with earlier Buddhists, and to outline a doctrine far in advance of Buddha's in some respects. He taught the worship of Amita, and also the doctrine of justification by faith in Amita's boundless mercy; but he also urged the value of meritorious deeds, and insisted on the cardinal idea of Buddhism, that no help can be expected in the conquest of passions outside of one's self. It was at this point that there sprang up early in the thirteenth century a departure from the teaching of the Jodo sect. The man to inaugurate the departure was Shinran Shonin, a disciple of Honen.
This Shinran is described as a sort of Luther of his time, and presenting a striking parallel in his teachings and in his martyr-like devotion to their maintenance. He was determined enough to submit unflinchingly to banishment for conscience' sake, and to bravely maintain his school in a monastery among the mountains at Takate in Shimo-tsuke. He is buried at Otani, on the mountain-side above Kioto. To his grave myriads of his disciples make annual pilgrimages from all parts of Japan. The Shin Shin sect is the outgrowth of his influence, and the new Hon.gwan-ji temple is specially to his honor. The Shin Shin sect differs from the J odo sect in its teaching at the following points: first, it holds that salvation is due to faith only in the power and willingness of Amita to save mankind, and that the invocation implied in the Real Vow is to be used only as an act 'oj thanksgiving, and not .as an act of merit, for mercy received; secondly, that this Elalvation is received at once, and not at death, and that the believer is taken thenceforth under Amita' s merciful protection; thirdly, that morality is of equal importance with faith; fourthly, that while Nirvana, or eternal happiness, is to be attained (as all Buddhists teach) by the extinction of the passions through many deaths and re- births, yet this extinction of passions (contrary to the usual Buddhist teaching) may be reached through help from another-that is, from Amitabha, he being the chi~f of the Buddhas. The name Amitabha signifies "boundless life" or "im- measurable light."
The Shin Shins maintain that their rival sect, the Jodos, have departcd from the former and true teaching at these several points. The Shin Shins have undertaken to restore the true teaching respecting the" Former Vow." Hence they are sometimes called the Protestants of Japanese Buddhism. The proportions to which this sect of reformers has grown is remarkable. They have in all Japan 18,000 temples and shrines, and are accounted the wealthiest and most powerful of all the sects. They possess no fixed properties which might be considered endowments, but depend entirely on the offerings of the people for support and for purposes of propagandism. They actively undertake missions abroad, especially in Corea and China.
In support of these general statements respecting their belief, I quote a short creed prepared by one of their later apostles, Rennio Shonin, and given by Murray in his " Handbook of Japan. " The creed runs as follows: " Rejecting all religious austerities and other action, givi~g up all idea of self-power, we rely npon Amita Buddha with the whole heart for our salvation in the future life, which is the most important thing, believing that at the moment of putting our faith in Amita Buddha our salvation is settled. From that moment invocation of his name is observed as an expression of gratitude and thankfulness for Buddha's mercy. Moreover, being thankful for the reception of this doctrine from the founder and succeeding chief priests, whose teachings were so benevolent, and as welcome as light in a dark night, we must also keep the laws which are fixed for our duty during our whole life." A most extraordinary statement this to proceed from men presumably destitute of revelation. Substitute for Amita Buddha, here conceived of as the chief of the Buddhas, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you have substantially the New Testament doctrine of justification by faith as amplified by Paul in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians.
A still more modern statement of the belief of this remarkable sect is given by Mr. Akamatsu, a distinguished member of the sect in Kioto, and published in the April number, for 1881, of the Ohrysanthemum, now discontinued.
Says Mr. Akamatsu: " Amita Buddha always exercises his boundless mercy upon all creatures, and shows a great desire to help and influence all people who rely upon him to complete all merits, and to be re-born into Paradise. Our sect pays no attention to other Buddhas, but putting faith only in the great desire of Amita Buddha, expect to escape from the miserable world, and to enter into Paradise in the next life. From the time of putting faith in the saving power of Buddha we do not need any power of self·help, but need only to keep his mercy in heart, and invoke his name in order to remember him. These doings we call I thanksgiving for salvation.' "
I Is this an uninstructed groping for" the grace of God which bringeth salvation," which is accurately and specifically met in Paul's great exposi· tions ~ Is this an ignorant worshIp of the essential Christ under the phrase of Amita Buddha r We would not dare say that these doctrinal conceptions, purely considered, are generally entertained by the adherents of the sect, much less that they have popular power to bring spiritual rest and the sense of salvation to the mass of q,evotees! But who shall say that, where so explicit ideas of mercy, grace of some sort, justification through belief of some sort, and hence salvation, however inadequately conceived, are formulated and taught, that they have redeeming power over none ~ How shall we account for the existence of the conceptions at all in any measure, by even a single mind, except on the ground that " He hath not left himself without a witness among any nation" 1 Be all this as it may, what a prepared soil is here, in the providence of God, for such missionary endeavor as shall be able. to go in among such a people and explain to them the real way of God more perfectly! What an evangelizing oracle the Epistle of Paul to the Romans would prove in meeting this unique state of heathen mind! May God raise up and bring some man to the Kingdom of the Sunrise for such a time as this !
KIOTO, JAPAN, Oct. 15, 1890.
How MISSIONARIES ARE MADE.-Dr. Cyrus Hamlin has told in a fiveminute speech how it was he came to be a missionary. He said: "In the vast majority of cases missionaries are made by the influence of the family. My widowed mother made me a missionary. She had me read every Sunday out of the Panoplist, and then later out of the Missionary Herald. We had in those days in our town a missionary contribution box, a cent box, and we were enoouraged to earn some special cents for that box. I remember well one occasion which was, I think, a turning-point in my experience. When the fall muster came every boy had a pocketful of cents to spend. My mother gave me seven cents, saying, as she gave them, I Perhaps you will put a cent or two in the contribution box in Mrs. Farrar's porch on the common.' So I began to think as I went along, Shall I put in one or shall it be two ~ Then I thought two cents was pretty small, and I came up to three-three cents for the heathen and four cents for gingerbread ; but that did not sound right, did not satisfy me, so I turned it the other way, and said four cents shall go for the heathen. Then I thought the boys will ask me how much I have to spend, and three cents is rather too small a sum to talk about. I Hang it all,' I said, I I'll put the whole in.' So in it all went. When I told my mother some years after that I was going to be a missiollllry, she broke down and said, I I have always expected it.' "
lIIISSIONARY GEOGRAPHY
MISSIONARY GEOGRAPHY-COMPARATIVE OPENINGS FOR THE GOSPEL IN DIFFERENT SYSTEMS.
BY REV. DR. J. H. SHEDD, OROOMIAH, PERSIA.
In glancing at the fi~ld which our Lord says" is the worIel," one thing is clear now which was not so clear one hundred or even fifty years agonamely, the actual condition of the inhabitants of our world. The maps and globes have changed. Vast tracts of Asia, Africa, America, 2nd the islands of the sea, that were a terra incognita or laid down as unknown deserts, have been explored and now are delineated j and the names of lakes and riverll and nations, and their populations and resources, and their political and religious condition are known. The missionaries have usually been the pioneer explorers. In crossing China, in describing the tribes and haunts of the Himalayas and all Western Asia j in first setting foot on the cannibal islands of the sea j in penetrating the thousandll of miles of interior Africa, the constraining motive has been the same which led the great Apostle to preach the Gospel not where Ohrist was named, but carried him from Jerusalem to Philippi and Athens, to Rome and to Spain. This exploring work has been done, and few places upon the surface of our globe -from Greenland's icy mountains to India's coral strand or to Africa's sunny fountains-remain unrevealed. We know the actual state of the unevangelized world in all its terrible depravity, suffering, and need.
This vast increase of knowledge is acting and reacting on the Christian Church and Christian nations. The parable of the Good Samaritan is better understood. The question, Who is my neighbor ~ is answered from the seven hundred millions of Asia, and the two hundred millions of Africa, who are our fellow-men, fallen among thieves, wounded by sin, and robbed of their birthright by the vices and superstitions and errors of their false religions. Certainly there is a growing interest and sympathy. The dense mist of passive neglect that hung over the Protestant world has lifted. A great and happy change has taken place since Carey, the shoemaker, in England, began to plead for the heathen a century ago, and was told by the wise old fathers, "Young man, mind your own business. When God wishes to convert the heathen He will do it without your help j" or since the young men by the hay-stack at Williams College began to pray eighty years ago, and only. two or three of them dared to offer themselves to the cause lest the Church would take alarm, and refuse to have any part in so fanatical a movement. Now the volunteer missionary students in this country number nearly 5000 since the Northfield meeting in 1886., and some 200 of these have already sailed for the foreign work.
This increase of knowledge also awakens a deeper sense of responsibility for those with whom we are brought into relation and contact. The world is brought together by commerce and easy and rapid travel. The prophetic words are fulfilled, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. " Every day the telegraphic wires flash the news from distant lands-so often the echo of the woes and miseries of mankind without the Gospel. To the ear that is open, what sounds of sorrow and cruelty and suffering come from the dark places of the earth! Now it is the .horrors of Siberian prisons; next, famine, with several millions of famished and dying in.en in China; then the cholera, starting up from the hot-bed of Hindu or Mohammedan shrines, and the sacred festival and holy pilgrimage carrying the seeds of death to myriads of victims; or it is the open sore of the world in the awful slave-trade of Africa. Surely the dark places of the earth are filled with the habitations of cruelty even to the bodies and earthly life of our fellow-men, such as we, in the comfort and ease and security of this happy land, little understand. Yet here is the responsibility, not only for the temporal welfare, but for the immortal souls of onr fellowmen. Here is the fact that the world is daily growing smaller, that a young lady in seventy-three days can travel around the globe.- In no time in all the Christian centuries has the providence of God been so plainly p'ointing to momentous events and changes. The present century has cleared the way for rapid movement.
Another fact stares us in the face, that whithersoever we turn the people are fast awakening from the mental and moral apathy of centuries. The Bible and the missionary have set the world to thinkmg. The crisis is confronting us of a world awake and alert for action. The current of intellectual activity is very sluggish in Oriental and tropical lands; but there is not a nation, nor tribe, nor island but has been touched by the awakening from afar; and every year the breeze is fresher and stronger. The calico and sheeting, the sewing-machine, the telegraph or other wonders of science, :ind the missionary tract and testament are everywhere; and men are wondering what will come next. As in the host of Midian, when Gideon and his little band were encamped against them, men are telling their dreams to their fellows, and expecting conflict and change.
Another very significant fact is that in the van of this ceaseless and onward impulse of progress is the English-speaking race. Says a recent writer: " 'We stand at the dawn of a new epoch, which from the point of view of universal history is quite as momentous as that in which the Northern tribes broke in upon and destroyed the fabric of the moribund Empire of Rome. It is a revolution vaster and more rapid than that which founded the modern European world on the wreck and ruin of the Roman Empire. The world is passing into the hands of the English-speaking races. Already the English tongue is becoming the lingua franca of the planet. Already the territories over which the laws are made and justice administered, in the language of Shakespeare and Bacon, exceed in wealth, in extent, in the number of their populations and in the limitless latent possibilities of their development, all other lands ruled by all other nations of the earth. In a hundred years, unless the progress be checked, Englishspe3king people will outnumber all the men of other tongues in the world. English, ideas, English laws, English civilization are becoming as universal as English speech. The future of the world is English."
The young Greek who marched with Alexander across Asia to the waters of the Ganges and back saw a most wonderful expansion of human knowl- edge, and was filled with expanded views of human destiny. The man who could say Romanus sum considered the world his tributary, and his heart dilated at the extent and power of his empire. The young Christian soldier. who marched with Constantine under the luminous symbol of the cross to the overthrow of Paganism saw a brighter vision-Christianity ruling the world in equity and love. The young reformer who was thrilled by the religious fervor of Luther's age was lifted to a higher elevation still. The heroes of the Elizabethan era, with their legend, "Westward ho I" and the new world and new seas to be explored and delivered from the Spaniard, were inspired with a still nobler purpose and wider vision. What shall the young man to-day diseern? Have the romanee and adventure and high purpose of life all faded out? Or is there an inspiring vision} The Christian young man to-day leads the progress of a raee of exhaustless resourees and energies that is re-making the whole world. How great must be the responsibilities of living at sueh a time, at the threshold of such momentous changes I Reverently we may say: .. We are living, we are dwelling, In a grand and awful time, In an' age on ages telling- To be living is sublime."
Add one more fact : it is the rapid and great increase in the resources of the Church in connection .with the openings and changes in the world. In the century past Christian population has more than doubled, and the Protestant population has quadrupled. It is not now a little company of despised Galileans who hear the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature," but it is the mighty Christian Church of the foremost nations of the earth, with means and men and women in exhaustless abundance. It is especially to the generation noW' coming forward to whom God intrusts the great commission to take possession of all nations not for worldly gain or honor, but for Christ's kingdom and glory.
It were pertinent..to ask the question here, How far our so-called Christian nations shall yield to the spirit and law of Christ in their dealing with ignorant and heathen people ~ Vice is more easily planted than virtue. Shall drink and opium and fire-arms and social immorality go to the ends of the earth in every ship? Shall purely selfish and mereenary counsels rule in our intereourse with China ~ What profit if Africa is saved from Arab slave-traders to be ruined by European rumsellers ~ How far the nations of the earth are open to Christian influenee depends largely on the treatment they reeeive from Christians. But this broad subjeet I pass, calling attention simply to the great work yet to be done before Christian nations and rulers shall love their neighbors as themselves, doing justly and loving mercy toward the weaker and inferior races.
We turn now to the outlook in unevangelized lands. To what extent can true Christians work in faith that all other religions and systems shall yield and fall before the religion of Christ F We can see that the influence of steam, electricity, science, education, commerce, and civilization-the mingled good and evil-is permeating all lands. Row far can the true religion conquer?
Let us not overlook the difficulties. The cry, " On to Richmond," in the great Civil War was a sad illusion. There is no mistake worse than to under-estimate the stubborn resistance and mighty power of evil in the world. When we review the forces of Christianity, go about Zion and count her towers and weapons, think of Providence and truth and enlighten- ment and the Divine Spirit and grace, all on the Christian's side, it may seem easy to many missionary volunteers to go out into the heathen world, or to gather in the ignorant souls and teach them and see their conversion.
But in reality the spies who have gone and examined can truly say, "The cities are walled and very gteat, and we saw the children of Anak there. "
Let us notice some of these strongbolds that are walled and thoroughly entrenched in opposition to true Christianity. Geographically we fiud : , 1. Buddhism, and the allied systems connected with it, holds sway over a full third of the human race in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. Thibet, China, Japan, Siam, and Burmah contain nearly 500,000,000 souls.
2. Hinduism, in Southern Asia, in India with nearly 200,000,000 votaries.
3. Mohammedanism, from India westward over Asia and Northern Africa, with nearly 200,000,000 adherents.
4. The corrupt forms of the true religion, Judaism and the Russian and Roman power in so many parts of Christendom, might be mentioned.
These are the Religions of the Books, entrenched by ages of dominion and tradition, and defended by organized systems of worship, education, and priesthood. Then beyond the Religions of the Books are the outlying regions of barbaric heathenism-all Africa to the west and south, the islands of the sea, the primitive tribes of Asia and America, a mighty host of nearly 200,000,000 of lost and dying men. – A fact of great significance is that in all phases of this great conflict there are, with special difficulties, also special features of encouragement.
Let us turn our faces to the two hundred millions of heathen without sacred books. They are the lowest in the scale and the most repulsive, requiring for their redemption that the messengers of Christ follow them in patient sacrifice of comfort and of life to the habitations of cruelty and the abodes of cannibalism in the jungles of Asia, the islands of the sea, the forests of America, and the recesses of the Dark Continent. These, it might be thought, are the most hopeless and the last to be elevated; certainly they are not the races that human wisdom would select for mission work. Let us remember that our ancestors were such barbarous heathen till Christian missionaries planted their schools and stations of beneficence in the forests of Europe and Britain. The colored population of this country is but one hundred or two hundred years removed from savage ancestors. The Indians of our country and of Mexico and South America are not yet fully Christianized.
But we should notice that in the last eighty years wonderful changes have taken place through missions for these lowest heathen. We see the Hawaiian, Fijian, Samoan, and other groups of islands as truly Christian- ized as any of the higher races. Thirty years ago cannibals in Fiji were eating missionaries and their converts j now 100,000 out of a population of 110,000 are found in places of Christian worship. We see Madagascar turning from the bloody work of martyring Christians only thirty years ago, now to ask admi.ssion into the family of Christian nations. Heathen- ism is virtually ended in the islands of the Southern Ocean. The greatest island in the world, New Gui.nea, is waiting for God's law. A greater Bririn is rising in Australia and New Zealand and South Africa, and the Southern cross is fast becoming the brightest constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. .
In Africa we see changes quite as wonderful. April 29th, 1873, Liv- ingstone died. Alone, upon his knees, in the heart of Africa he died. He thought himself a defeated man, a failure! But he had travelled 29,000 miles on foot to explore that continent j and instead of .failure his life thrilled the world and converted Stanley, and his death opened the very heart j)f the Dark Continent. There is that heart of Africa to-day, throb- bing with savage humanity, and waiting for the touch of divine compassion and sympathy. Shall the disciples of Christ go and teach the savages by the slow and sure ministries and the loving words of the Gospel, or shall the cruel trade in rum and fire-arms destroy them q The King of Uganda is a case in point. He is seeking a religion-at least a change j a year or two ago accepting the Arabs and murdering native Christians and such men as Bishop Hannington j this year turning from the Arabs and begging Stanley to come and help him Christianize his whole nation.
Here is certainly in Africa an immense missionary field, among millions of men too degraded and ignorant to have any learned systems to set against the Gospel. Their very ignorance and barbarism is an encourage- . ment not for one Bishop Taylor only and his mission to strive for self- support j but a field so ripe and perishing that it will be strange indeed if the next half century does not witness laborers by the thousand, foreign and native, braving all the difficulties, and gathering in the souls by the million.
In Asia, too, this class of heathen is the most hopeful of all mission fields. The Karens are such. Among them the Baptists have hundreds of churches, and thirty thousand strong are marching on to conquest. The lnlooloos, of whom thousands were baptized in a few j1j.01).tps, ~re of the same class. In fact, according to Sir William Hunter there are fifty millions of indigenous races in the confines of India that in the near future must succumb to one or another of the stronger religions. The query is, Shall it be the holy religion of Christ ~ It is well to distinguish this most inviting and open field in all parts of the world. It is well to know that among our Indians and Africans, and among all this class in Asia aud Australasia, there is no organized obstacle to the pure and loving faith of Christ. The only obstacle is the wicked heart, full of sin and superstition, on the one hand, and the lukewarmness of the disciples of Christ on the other. It is well to know that thus far the greatest successes of missions have been gained among these ignorant and barbarous races.
But do you say that these are only the outworks, and, if captured completely, beyond them are the mightier systems rearing their walls in defiance and scorn at the soldiers of the cross?
What of Buddhism in China and the East? The answer comes back again of special difficulties and special encouragements. The difficulties certainly are great. The conquest of China will be a greater event in the Christian annals than when the religion of the Nazarene ascended the throne of the Cresars ; yet though so far off I can remember when Neander, the historian, wrote words like these: "It will be a great epoch in the history of the Church when the Gospel enters China, and Chinese converts truly accept of Christ." At that time Japan was entirely closed. There is still one isolated land from which Christian teachers are entirely "excluded. This is Thibet, the home of the high-priest of Buddhism.
But look on the other side. The barriers have given way. The Christian religion is well established to-day in China and Japan. The native brethren and the missionaries also consider that the thirty years before us will suffice to plant the Church in Japan, and to cast the mould for all future time of a natIOn of forty millions to be on the east of Asia a Christian power, as the British Isles are such a power on the west of Europe. It is not impossible, for now is the hour of opportunity for Japan. Later will follow Siam, where the prime-minister says, "My country was not opened to the West by cannon nor by fleets, but by the American missionaries."
Then also comes China, where the way is open to Christian missions on a scale never before seen. The China Inland Mission sent out over one hundred men and women in a year. The advance is clear, and America, with Christian influence and intelligence, is in the van. Every town in our land. could as well as not send a missionary to China, and support him or her in that land. It is nothing chimerical nor improper, with the cheap means of travel and the love of Christ constraining us, and the awful condition of China's millions, that we make the same efforts we would to rescue men and women from famine and death or from fire and earthquake ill our own land, Let us tum to Hindustan. The same might be said of Hinduism ih India that I have just said of Buddhism and China; except that Brahmanism is more firmly entrenched, is the very citadel of heathenism; and the key of the citadel is Ca8te. The encouragement to mis~ionary labor in India is constantly increasing. The field is completely open surely, and the' opinion of Sir John Lawrence, the wise statesman and thoughtful observer, may be taken as correct: " It seems to me that year by year and cycle by cycle the influence of these missionaries must increase, and that in God's good will the time may be expected to come when large masses of the people, having lost all faith in their own, and feeling the want of a religion which is pure and true and holy, will be converted and profess the Christian religion, and having professed it, live in accordance with its precepts."
The contest must be more difficult and longer against such a system than among the savage heathen, but the results are just as certain. Already a church of more than 150,000 members is gathered, and this church is doubled every ten years.
But what of the still more difficult system of Islam 1 I can only allude to this field and to our work in Western Asia, the Bible Lands, the lands where our Saviour lived and the Apostles preached. The centre of the enemy's camp is stm there.
There meets the missionary in those lands first a false or corrupt Christianity that blunts the conscience and hardens the heart by its selfrighteousness and formalism. Back of this confronts us the religion of the false Prophet, aspiring to rule the world, and hence the bitter supplanter and enemy of the cross of Christ. How is this stronghold of specious error and half-truth, of blind fanaticism and pride, to be pulled down 1 Where is the weak place that invites assault and promises victory? Let me answer in a word: Fifty years ago Islam would allow no Christian missionaries to labor for Mohammedans, and by its organic law will allow none to-day. Every apostate is an outlaw, and is exposed to the death penalty. But in India under the British Government this penalty cannot be executed. In Persia the government is weak and the system is divided against itself, and the rulers are not disposed to aid the ecclesiastics in religious matters. In Turkey the pressure of Christian powers is also felt, and Christian missions cannot be entirely destroyed. In Egypt the revolutions of the past few years give practical toleration to Christian work. In all North Africa there is as much toleration as existed in the Roman Empire in the days of the Apostles and early Church. This may be said of all Moslem lands, even of the Soudan and Afghanistan. Consider, also, that over against this mighty system of intolerance is another advancing power, the Englishspeaking races, pouring into every Moslem land an increasing volume of capital and commerce and influence. This is true of Egypt and the Upper Nile, Arabia, India and Afghanistan, Turkey and Persia; and we can see that the chances of Islam making head as a rival power are indeed small.
Then we should reckon another factor still more important. The old churches of the East, by their unfaithfulness, were the occasion of the great heresy or apostasy of Islam. Their revival is the pledge of its downfall. There is now an evangelical church of 2500 members in Persia, a similar church in Egypt, a similar church in Syria, and another of over 12,000 active members in other parts of Turke,y. These are bodies of living Christians in the midst of Moslem conquerors; the scattered leaven to leaven the whole lump, inwardly; the materials for the spiritual assault, outwardly. They and the missionaries are at work with the Bible, the press, the power of prayer and of the daily life. The Moslem is now on the defensive, with no hope of converting the Ohristian to this faith, while the Ohristian is on the aggressive, full of faith in the ultimate triumphs of the truth. The converted Moslems all along the line, from the Ganges to the Straits of Gibraltar, are the pledge of many more. Great events may transpire suddenly to change the face of the East, and when such events come we know they wiIl be guided by the pierced Hand that rules the world. Thus the very difficulties of the problem invite to greater achievements. There is no more inspiring work in the world than to labor for the overthrow of Islam. The conflict may. be a long one before the last Moslem yields to Jesus, but the irresistible influences are at work, the motives of the cross are sufficient, and the end is as sure as the promises of God.
I cannot pursue the subject further, and will only add: Happy is that young man of education and "Ohristian experience and consecration who shall enlist for his life work in some one or other of the divisions of the great conquest of the world for Christ!
"ON Sabbath, January lIth, 100 ministers in Edinburgh and Leith preached, by common consent, on the divine authority and permanent obligation of the Sabbath Day. The preachers included ministers of all evangelical denominations, mauy of them prominent men in the three great Presbyterian churches, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Wesleyans. The evidence of unanimity in conviction and feeling in defence of a divin(> institution which is at prtlsent the object of continual assault, it cannot be doubted made a good impression on all the churches, as well as on the general community.') So writes that prince among men, Dr. Andrew Thomson. May we not suggest that if, on the same Sabbath, at a future day, all pastors conld similarly agree to present the great facts of modern missions with especial reference to the increased obligations resting upon God's people both to occupy the whole world field and to multiply very largely their gifts, the effect would be like a thunderstorm all around the sky.
FAITH HALL, LERADO, MEXICAN BORDER MISSION
FAITH HALL, LERADO, MEXICAN BORDER MISSION.
BY MISS JENNIE BROWN, TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
Faith Hall, of Lerado, stands as a proof of Miss Holding's descent from Israel, "who as a prince had power with God, and prevailed"-a witness to the world of God's power and willingness, in answer to believing prayer, not only to open the windows of heaven in spiritual blessings, but when the material interests of His kingdom must have pecuniary aid; in proof that the gold and the silver are His, and that His stewards, solillited only by the influence of the Holy Spirit, will respond to the prayer of faith, and send their gold from afar to build the" waste places of Zion.", When the recipients of God's bounties will not give even the crumbs that fall from their children's tables for the Master's use, the disbursers of the impoverished treasuries of the house of the Lord are obliged to protest many drafts written in love, and signed by the blood of perishing souls. When this Christian heroine's petition was refused on earth, with inspiration high as heaven she turned from the limited treasuries of earth to the limitless pledges of heaven, and made request, "The heathen, thino inheritance," are in want, and "man shutteth his bowels of compassion against them. " The fixed and eternal laws of the kingdom were fulfilledknock, ask, receive.
In the year 1887 Miss Holding attended the Woman's Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which met at Catlettsburg, Ky., to requestthe society to grant her $7000 with which to build a house containing a hall that could be used as a school-room and chur~h. None who heard her will ever forget her earnest pleadings. Such words could only come from a heart where human love had touched the Divine, and gone forth reflecting the Christ-like compassion for the multitudes" in • error's chains." She drew a strong contrast between Mexican darkness, defilement, alld falsehood, and Christian light, purity, and truth. The mission buildings were so small they could not receive those who were longing to learn to read the message of life. They had no room to accommodate those who would see Jesus.
"For months they had not been able to take those who crowd their doors. None but a missionary who stands in the midst of a down-trodden and poverty-stricken people can comprehend the anguish of spirit when compelled to turn away from their pleading 100K;S and words, and leave them in their helpless misery."
"Can't you, won't you, my dear sisters, give us $7000 for this building? God's work demands it; we must have it this year. " As that saintly woman resumed her seat, she must have felt, Surely my petition will be given me.
When the Executive Committee had made the appropriations for the obligations of the society, it was found impossible to give a grant of $7000 to the Lerado Mission. None but those who have assisted in distributing missionary funds know how the heart aches as they look at the discrepancy between the demand and the supply j how the soul cries out, " 0 Lord! how long shall those who are clothed at the expense of Thy love, and called by Thy name, shut their ears to the cry of a perishing world ~"
The president sorrowfully told Miss Holding of the inability of the society to grant her request, assured her of their continued sympathy and prayers, commending her to the care of the God of Jacob; who would de- fend and" send her help out of Zion."
What seemed disappointmeut proved to be love most true. Christ would lead His chosen one into a richer experience, a broader faith j into extremity, that she might prove the exceeding greatness of His promises.
Miss Holding rose to bid the society farewell, preparatory to leaving for her mission at Lerado. With a voice full of tears, she said, "My dear sisters, we must have that building this year." With inspiration she said, " I have asked for that building j God's work demands it j we shall have it." Every heart present, touched by sympathetic faith, repeated the as- surance-" shall have it." Heaven echoed back to earth-" shall have it." A triune Deity ratified the promise of incarnate God, " according to thy faith be it unto thee."
On Miss Holding's return to Lerado she was greeted by many anxious and expectant faces j because of the tumult of hope and fear, all hesitated to ask the question so near to their hearts.
As soon as possible, Miss Holding assembled the whole household. She did not wish to give them disappointment without sharing with them her hope and expectation that" deliverance should arise from another place."
After explaining to them that it was impossible for the Woman's Mis- sionary Society to give them the building that year, she asked them if they would all join her in a day of fasting and prayer, asking the Lord to supply the means for building. All heartily joined their beloved teacher in. calling upon the Lord, who had promised to deliver in the day of trouble.
Three public prayer-meetings were appointed for the fast day. As Miss Rolding was stepping out of the door at the close of the evening prayermeeting, a little girl-the youngest pupil in the school-took her by the hand and said: " Will we commence to build to-morrow 1" Miss Holding said, " The child's faith had gone beyond mine. " I hesitated just a moment, and replied, ., No, dear, we will not commence to build to-morrow, but we will get the lot ready.' " Miss Holding requested that the pupils, and all that could help. be in the orchard at six o'clock in the morning to transplant the trees and prepare the lot for the building of the house. . Promptly at six o'clock they were on the ground to show their faith .by their works. Accounting Him faithful who had promised, they made ready the ground. As soon as the orchard was cleared the first pledge of a covenantrkeeping God arrived-a letter containing money for the buildings.
Miss Holding, surely gathering that God intended that she should com- mence to build, without gainsaying began the work, knowing that He who had begun the work would also finish it.
Miss Holding said, " I knew God had heard our prayers, and would give us the building; but I thought in my heart, surely our Heavenly Father will move on the heart of some rich man or woman to send us the $7000 ; but it came in small sums, just as it was needed. I had to pray and believe all year." .
The bountiful Giver of all kept the dire~tor of His building, the con- servator of His funds, asking at the door of mercy, tarrying at heaven'i!
gates with thanksgiving; not that he would weary His beloved, but that in the audience chamber of heaven, beholding His glory, she might" be changed into the same image from glory to glory," and become to this people a living expression of the graces of thc Holy Spirit.
This sanctuary, which is of the Lord's own right hand planting, is an inspiration to the faith of the donors from almost every State in the Union, and those which hear of it will rejoice to know that justification by faith alone will be preached to a people" where superstition usurps the place of the Gospel, and priestly absolution supplants a divine forgiveness; where baptism is synonymous wit~ regeneration, lying wonders of relics are put in the place of the work of the Holy Spirit."
At the next meeting of the Woman's Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1888, at Nashville, Tenn., Miss Holding presented the fOllowing report : " , This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.' As I come to my fourth annual report, I find in my heart only a feeling of praise and thanksgiving. So manifestly hath the Lord been with us our cup runneth over; prosperity in every part of the work, health and happiness maketh the soul glad. We would not rejoice so much in these outward things if we did not look upon them as the manifestation of , the good hand of our God upon us.'
"Last year we realized the necessity of enlarging our buildings. We asked for an appropriation for that p,urpose. / You did not have it in your power to grant our request j we remember how sorrowfully you refused us j we turned to Him 'who holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands,' and whose spirit' moveth upon the hearts of men,' and He gave us the thing which we asked.
" The new building or, as we call it, the house we prayed for, and which you have christened' Hall of Faith,' is completed and occupied, and free of debt. It is a large two-story building, containing nine rooms. How eagerly we have watched it grow into its present fair proportions, becom- ing, indeed, ' a thing of beauty!! There it stands, a blessed reality- a tangible evidence of direct answer to the prayer of faith. "
" So great has been the increase in numbers that we have found it necessary to become an organized church. To meet the exigencies of the case, by my request Brother Sutherland preaches twice a month at the seminary, both in English and Spanish. We have a membership of twenty-four. The Sunday-school numbers seventy-nine.
" Our missionary society-Lerado Band-has a membership of seventytwo. The year's contributions, $59.60. The baby of the school-Maria Villareal, six years of age-is supported by the Band. All things stand out as beautiful tints. upon the dark background. When we take into consideration the sloth and utter carelessness of the Mexican character, we can more perfectly approximate the advancement of our pupils. Our souls are encouraged by drawing comparative lines, present and past. From one flashes rays of light which give promise of the full life ; the other, only a dark line of simple existence, into which no glimmer of light had ever entered. The three natures of the household have in a measure kept pacephysical, intellectual, and spiritual. This one school upon the border can no more meet the demand of this people tban one drop of water can quench the thirst of famishing millions. We have pleaded, 'and we plead again, and will continue to plead as long as strength and life remain, for the establishment of Christian schools in every city of Mexico. The rapid growth and unrivalled prosperity of this border mission lead us to hope that th-e Board, and through the Board the women of the Southern Methodist Church, will be encouraged to enter the numerous doors now standing invitingly open."
Weare told of an Irishman who, when his opinion was asked as to the comparative merits of the sun and the moon, replied that he preferred the moon, because the moon shone by night and the suu shone by day when there was no need of shining. He reminds us of some Christians, who, in their comparative estimates of Christianity and morality, give morality the preference, on the ground of the Irishman, that Christianity is an unnecessary luminary in the presence of nineteenth-century ascetics, forgetting that nineteenth-century ascetics are the reflection and product of Christianity.
The Presbyterian churches of Great Britain and Ireland held their annual season of prayer for foreign missions during the week beginning November 30th. The Presbyterian churches in the United States, in accordance with the direction of the General Assembly, held" simultaneous meetings" for the same purpose during the week following December 6th to 13th.
A native Japanese, in Bethany Church, Philadelphia, gave a fine definition of prayer and its answer. He said: "They remind me of two buckets in an old-fashioned well, while one was going up the other was coming down."
'tHE WALDEN'SIAN' CHURCH
THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH AND ITS EVANGELICAL MIS- SION IN ITALY.
BY PASTOR J. P. PONS, TORRE PELLICE, ITALY.
[Last April I had the pleasure and honor of a visit to the Vaudois Valleys, as the guest of that rare man of God, Rev. J. P. Pons, President of the Synod. and author of the paper which follows. I spent the whole day- Saturday-in" walking over the hills and valleys of Angrognia, and visiting the beautiful and historic scenes connected with the Waldensian history. I went to the Rock Simon, where one saint, bound about with cords, was" hurled one hundred and fifty feet on to the rock below. I went to the Church of the Cavern, where for centuries the little body of believers escaped persecution, hiding from their implacable foes in the merciful shelter of a cave. I had to get down on hands and knees, crawl through a narrow opening, and then I found myself in an apartment cut out of solid rock by some convulsion of nature, and where hundreds of people could be comfortably accommodated; and I went also to the neat little chapel of Pra de Tour, and saw the very pool that the persecutors threatened to make flow red with the blood of the martyrs. On Sunday I preached four times at successive services in the valley, from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M., to attentive and decorous audiences, Rev. M. Peyrot, Bonnet, Meille, and Pons being my courteous hosts and attendants. The impression left on my mind by these experiences was that God has a great work to do for these descendants of His precious witnesses who counted not their lives dear for His sake. The young men studying in the college at Torre Pellice on a few francs a week, that they may get into the sacred calling; the self-sacrificing pastors, accomplished men as they are, who are living on a pittance that they may serve these poor saints; the whole aspect of affairs in these valleys, where a baptism of blood made every spot a Golgotha, impressed me with a peculiar solemnity, and seemed to say that before this martyr people a great future lies, in the evangelization of Free Italy. Think of a people, poor and few, who since Apostolic days have steadily and steadfastly kept the flag of the cross at masthead even in the stormiest seas, and when the little ship of their ecclesiastical organization seemed to be sinking, and would have sunk had not Christ been in it-think of all the marvels and miracles of deliverance God wrought for them, of which the siege of La Basille is only the most prominent and historic-and then say, whether a people so preserved and so persevering for Christ must not, like the Saviour, have been made perfect through suffering, in order to become Captains of Salvation to the poor, down-trodden, priest-ridden people of Italy. Let us help the Waldenses by prayers and by money, and make up for their poverty by our liberality.
The Waldenses in Piedmont, Italy, have recently held festivals in various places, celebrating "the remembrance of the return of their forefathers to the paternal firesides, where they learned to pray to God, where their fathers fell asleep in peace, where they struggled and suffered for liberty." Although the persecution of the Waldenses did not wholly cease until about the middle of the eighteenth century, an event of much importance in their history occurred in 1689-the permission then granted them to return to their mountain homes from the various parts of Europe to which they had been driven. Here they have since remained. In 1848 the Sardinian Government granted them full religious and c~vil liberty. They are now also permitted to establish congregations elsewhere in Sardinia besides the three retired valleys of the Cottian Alps to which they had before been obliged to confine themselves.-EDlToR.] The Waldenses both are and always have been" a peculiar people," not only of Italy, but of Europe j and the place where they live and have lived for more than seven centuries is also totally different from the country which surrounds them j and the valleys of the Cottian Alps, near Pinerolo, seem to have been especially provided by God for their preservation. If they had not been hidden from their enemies behind a rampart of mountains, they would have perished as a nation long ago.
I.
As to the origin of the Waldensians, my confined limits do not allow me to speak about such a controverted question. There certainly is a great interest in knowing whether they werQ a pure, primitive church, which never went wrong nor needed reformation, or whether their religious principles were due to Peter Valdo, the merchant of Lyons. After all, we would better leave this question to the historians as a matter of no consequence in the present state and to the present duties of our people.
For ages every man's hand has been against them, though their own has been against nobody except in self-defence. Nor can we wonder at this, because they have ever been, since the twelfth century, a thorn in the side of the Church of Rome, a perpetual witness against the errors of the papacy, a light, greater or smaller, shining in darkness, as the Waldenses' motto says, " Lux lucet in tenebris. •, But though thus preserved from destruction, the Church of the Valleys was not shielded from great and numerous persecutions, nor guarded from cruelties such as have been seldom equalled, and never surpassed j and all that during not less than five centuries. That such things should have been allowed may seem mysterious, but we know that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church, and that seed is even now bearing fruit, and will, we trust, do so henceforth.
When God prepares a suitable instrument for His will and purpose, before everything He breaks it! The last of this series of persecutions has been the most atrocious and dangerous for the existence itself of the little flock. It took place in the year 1686, the year in which all the people were imprisoned-viz., 14,000. The following year about 3000 emaciated
1S91.J TlrE WALl>ENSlAN Cnu1WJt
beings crossed the Alps and took refuge in Switzerland; but alas! about 10,000 had perished in loathsome dungeons! The remnant of the exiled were hospitably received, housed, and fed by the generous inhabitants of Geneva and other cities of that generous country, or in Germany.
But after living some time in foreign countries, the poor Vaudois were seized with an unconquerable home-sickness, and resolved to return to their native land, to kindle again their lamp. After much prayer and consultation a party of 800 men, led by the heroic Henri Arnaud, succeeded in entering their valleys, on Sunday, August 27th, 1689.
That glorious return was solemnly celebrated by the Waldenses in the year 1889, and we had the honor of seeing our king partake of our joy, who was there represented by Count Lovera, Prefect of Turin.
The worst days were over, but still the Waldenses had troubles from the Church of Rome, till the beginning of this century living in constant dread of bad edicts. They received moral and temporal aid from their brethren from England and Holland, which enabled them to keep up their schools and their worship.
In the early part of this century three noble men of England-Dr. W. S. Gilly, General Beckwith, and the Rev. Dr. Stewart-were providentially sent into the valleys to help us in the foundation of the College of La Tour and in the improvement of the instruction of youth, as in the foundation of a theological seminary. We said, providentially, because the 17th of February, 1848, the King of Piedmont, Charles Albert, emancipated the Waldensian Church from the oppressive disabilities and restraints under which she had so long suffered and labored, and that event found us ready to occupy the field open to the truth of the Gospel.
The barriers were removed, and the Waldenses, under the impulse of their newly acquired freedom and revived spiritual life, were prompt to undertake the great work for which God had certainly preserved and prepared them. If their " Barbes" had not feared, in the past centuries, to go through all Italy preaching the Gospel, despite the danger their life ran, their descendants were quite decided to continue the interrupted mission-" Woe is unto Me, if I preaoh not the Gospel !"
II.
The first mission to the Italians was' begun by the W aldEmsian Church in Turin, and after some years it had congregations in that city, in Genoa, Alexandria, and many other places in Piedmont.
When, in 1859 and 1860, all the Dukes of Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and the King of Naples were driven from their thrones, and their States annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia, the largest part of Italy was so opened to the Gospel, that the ancient Church of the Valleys sent its evangelists, teachers, and colporteurs everywhere, including the distant island of Sicily.
To prepare fit men for that great work of evangelization, the Theolog- . ieal Seminary of La Tour was removed from there to Florenae, as hetter adapted, that city being the Athens of Italy. In the same year,. 1860, the Synod appointed a special Committee of Evangelization, as the Table could not provide for the wants of the native churches in the valleys, and the new congregations spread throughout Italy, which were increasing every day.
Some years later the provinces of Lombardo-Venitia were liberated from Austrian power, and immediately the principal cities, as Venice, Mantua, Verona, were visited by one or more of our evangelists. At last Rome was opened, and our Church, availing itself of this liberty, sent the first pastor who has preached the Gospel to the Romans in modern times, after the fall of its walls. He was the actual president of our committee, the Rev. Dr. Matteo Prochet.
The mission has been gradually extended, and its progress will appear, looking at the following statement: Forty years ago the Waldenses had 15 native churches in the valleys and 18 ministers (15 pastors and 3 professors). Now the ministers are 81, and the settled churches more than 60.
I give here the statistics of the Waldensian missionary field : Settled congregations.. • • •. . . . . . . . . • . . • • •. . .• 44 Missionary stations…••.••….•..••……… 53 Ordained ministers……………………. . I41 ) . . Lay evangelists …•…•••……•…, …….. . 9 Teacher evangelists……………………. . 588 ( II Teachers or schoolmasters……………… . 8I I all 132 workers Colporteurs ……….•••••. , ………….. . Bible-readers and Bible-women………….. . 8J The regular attendants at the church amount to …..•. " …… . 6,536 The occasional hearers of the Gospel to ………………….. . 49,929 The number of communicants (members) ……. _…………. . 4,428 Members admitted last year ……•……… , .•…••…. , .••.. 586 Catechumens last year…..•••••••..•…….•………••• " •.• 618 The day-schools last year…………………………….. .. 67 The attendance of pupils last year………………• " ..•….. 2,560 The Sabbath schools last year. . . .. . . .. . . .. . … …… .. …. .. 57 Attendance of pupils last year………………………….. . 2,866 There are also 17 evening schools, with 582 young people or adults. The present expense of the mission is about $60,000 per annum, of which about $16,000 are contributed by the Waldensian churches, the offspring of the mission. For the remnant we seek the help of other churches. As our missionary congregations in Italy "four times exceed in number the native congregations in the valleys, our agents in the field of evangelization are 132, and they are doing a great work j some of them having many places to visit in a week, we need aid. We say to all our brethren in faith, in the words of Carey to Pierce and Fuller, " We will go down into the pit, if you will hold the rope !" The progress made by the evangelical movement is not completely indicated if we look only at the figures. As they stand they represent, no doubt, a gain; but it is quite impossible to show by them the general impression produced by the preaching on the many thousands of occasional hearers.
We have ascertained that a general improvement of the public opinion has been the happy result of our labors.
It was evident last year, when the prefects, senators, and many members of Italian Parliament assured their sympathy to our church, coming to La Tour to assist at the Second Centenary of the Glorious Return of our forefathers. They spoke cordially to the descendants of the martyrs, and we felt how imp?rtant is the change of the opinion and attitude of our countrymen toward us. The daily press also gave to us many precious tokens of this great and real improvement.
All this awakens rejoicing, but it is not yet the conversion of the multitudes, which we long for so much. Our evangelists have done their best to attract and retain the hearers, bq.t we know that all the country is under the spirit of indifference, unbelief, and the deepest superstitions. The more we approach Rome the greater the darkness and errors are. Your Catholicism in America is a great deal less intolerant and superstitious, because the influence of Protestantism forces the Papacy to adapt its practices to the milieu in which it lives and works.
When I read, in this REVIEW, an account of the Roman Catholic Lay Congress of 1889, held in Baltimore, I felt more than ever the necessity of evangelizing Italy. Here is the head of that universal army, here is the " man of sin who exalteth himself against all that is called God, . . . setting himself forth as God." England and the United States mnst keep their ground, but all evangelical Christians share the duty to unite their efforts to hasten that day when we shall hear the mighty voice saying, " Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great."
Now, in that hope, " we beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with us in your prayers to God for us."
A Methodist Episcopal bishop of this country boasts that in the last ten years the gifts of the churches for missions had increased steadily by the sum of $50,000 a year. For the coming year the missionary committee has appropriated the following sums: Foreign Missions, $566,352 ; Home Missions, $459, t348. This seems a small sum for so large a body. The United Societies of Methodism, under J ohn Wesley, now !ncludes about six and a third millions of ministers and members, and a domestic and personal affiliation of about thirty millions of adherents. The Methodist Episcopal branch alone has 2,252,621 ministers and members, 26,200 Sunday-schools, and 2,554,000 teachers and pupils.
EXTRACTS AND TRANSLATIONS FROM FOREIGN PERIODICALS
EXTRACTS AND TRANSLATIONS FROM FOREIGN PERIODICALS.
BY REV. C. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, MASS.
-M. Saillens, in a pleasant little tract entitled L'.Age d' 01' (" The Age of Gold"), occasioned by a discourse of the noted female anarchist, Louise Michel, whom a good nun has well described as une sainte egaree, " a saint that has lost her way," remarks, after speaking of the many points which anarchists and Christians have in common, that nevertheless they are exactly opposed as to two points. the cause and the cure of present ills. "The revolutionists say, Change societYI and men will be good. Christians say, Change man, and society will be good." "Anarchism," he remarks further, "is merely Jesuitism reversed. The same fanaticism, the same blindness, the same implicit obedience to secret chiefs, the same contempt of morality, of justice, of the rights of others."
-The report rendered to the Synod of the W aldensian Church, September 1st, 1890, by the Table, or Executive Commission, which is chosen annually to govern the Church ad interim, is interesting. in view of the recent celebration, so interesting to .the whole Protestant world, of the Glorious Return, when, two centuries ago, the expatriated Waldenses forced their way back to their native valleys, in which they have since maintained themselves. It was hoped that this great celebration might issue in a great spiritual reawakening. But patriotic celebrations, with all their benefits, do not always give much room to the" still, small voice" of the Divine Spirit. It is the general testimony of the parishes that no fruits of revival have been seen. In some the crust of religious indifference seems to be growing thicker and thicker. The catechumens, once confirmed, partake of the Holy Supper once or twice, and then remain absolutely indifferent to it. But in most of the parishes attendance is good, great interest is manifested in the services, even to tears, but there is a noted unwillingness to do. The pastor, elders, and deacons seem to be regarded as charged with the sole responsibility of all the administration of the means of salvation. To overcome this paralyzing misconception of a private Christian's duty seems to be the point toward which all the endeavors of the leading brethren are bent. And it is plain, notwithstanding the dead weight of old habit, aggravated by that of modern unbelief, good progress is making in the right direction. In many pariAhes a large number of the brethren are becoming active in prayer, in Bible study, visitation of the sick, and other offices of piety and charity. The old confusion between "the Vaudois people and the Vaudois Church" is giving way to a more spiritual discrimination. There, as. elsewhere in Europe, the national or quasinational crust may break away altogether; for" all are not Israel which are of Israel." But the living nucleus, the true inheritrix of the traditions and the· promises, will be set free for unencumbered energy in the works of conversion.
-In a very interesting essay by the Rev. Arthur H. Smith, of the North China Mission of the American Board, on "The Natural History of the Chinese Boy and of the Chinese Girl," the author quotes a description which, he says, sums up the whole system of Chinese education- "gnawing a wooden pear. " A very small proportion of boys and next to no girls enjoy this dismal privilege. "The great majority of pupils, when they leave school, cast aside all their little store of learning as a wornout pair of shoes." There seems to be the same difference between the Chinese and us as that which some French journal declares to exist between Catholic and Protestant countries. In the former countries, parents are as fond of their children as in the latter, but have but a glimmering conception that childhood has a world of its own, which must be divined, entered into, and provided for. In Protestant countries alone, says this journal, is there (fairy stories apart) a children's literature. The full significance of the Saviour's blessing on the little ones seems to have been reserved for the lands of the Reformation.
In China, Mr. Smith remarks, a youth learns two excellent lessons which do much to make amends for the dreariness of his biting on the " wooden pear"-if he has done so. He learns obedience and he learns industry. " But of intellectual independence he has not the faintest conception or eVlln a capacity of comprehension." An uneducated Chinese youth " knows that he knows nothing, that he never did, never shall, never can know anything, and also that it makes very little difference what he knows. He has a blind respect for learning, but no idea of gathering any crumbs thereof for himself. The long, broad, black, and hopeless shadow of Confucianism is over him. It means a high degree of intellectual cultivation for the few, who are necessarily narrow and often bigoted, and for the many it means a lifetime of intellectual stagnation. Measured by what it has totally failed to do, when it might and should have done it. we charge Confucianism with being intellectually one of the most elaborate, compendious, and far-reaching failures which has ever wrought out its ultimate results upon this distracted earth !"
As to daughters, the Chinese say, "A daughter with the virtues of the eighteen Lo-hans"-whatever they may be-" is not equal to a splayfooted son." Why ~ Because a daughter cannot offer the ancestral sacrifices, without which a family is given over to ignominy and, as is supposed, to every conceivable evil. The reason also why girls are as good as never educated is, that after marriage they are (not socially, -but legally) no longer the children of their parents. To educate them " is like putting a gold chain around the neck of some one else's puppy." If the puppy is whistled away, what becomes of the chain ~ Neither man nor woman being recognized by Confucianism as having any eternal and therefore individual value, the selfishness of mere Socialism has full sway.
" One of the weakest parts of the Chinese social fabric is the insecurity of the life and happiness of woman. But no structure is stronger than its weakest part, and Chinese society is no exception to this law. Every year thousands upon thousands of Chinese wives commit suicide, tens of thousands of other persons are thereby involved in serious trouble, hundreds of thousands of yet others are dragged in as co-partners in the difficulty, and millions of dollars are expended in extravagant funerals and ruinous lawsuits. And all this is the outcome of the Confucian theory that a wife has no rights which a husband is bound to respect."
-The Rev. George Ensor, in the Church Missionary Intelligencer for November, 1890, makes an important remark respecting heathen systemsnamely, that usually in them the moral and the religious elements are in inverse proportion to each other. Thus the highest morality· is perhaps found in Confucianism. Yet Confucianism is very nearly atheistic. On the other hand, an extraordinary depth of religious feeling appears in Hinduism; yet morally it is worse than worthless, it is foul and cruel. This may well remind us of what Dr. Dorner so justly says of our Lord, that in Him we cannot separate ethics from religion. There is no saying of His of which we can declare that it respects man without equally respecting God, or God without equally respecting man. . But, says Mr. Ensor, the much-lauded Islam, in its Paradise of lust, • displays a moral corruption of which the foulest Tantras of Hinduism, the most immoral votaries of Krishna, are simply incapable. They cannot even comprehend it. Our own Mormonism alone approaches it.
-The Rev. Henry Rice, writing in the Harvest Field for November, 1890, on " British Influence in India," remarks: "We may point with just satisfaction to the improved state of the country, to communication by land and water, to railways, electric telegraphs, etc. This is unde- niable. But all the while religion has been largely shuffled off or almost entirely left to missionaries. Little or nothing has been done as a com- munity to let our light shine before the heathen. We have feared that we might acknowledge Christ too openly, and that the natives of the country would imagine that we wished to enrol them forcibly among the number of His disciples. We have, perhaps, feared their numbers. and practised a cautious timidity, until it has come to pass that goodness has been left to itself, and greatness made the foundation and support of our authority. There has been an endeavor to rule by power, and make a display of what may be called great works, tacitly trusting that the Hindus would be awed by wonder, and render the obedience due to superior knowledge and energy. The most subtle and the most formidable forces of heat and electricity have appeared alike obedient to our will and subservient to our convenience. The effect has been very great upon a people who believe in sorcery, whose jugglers and snake-charmers perform feats which at first sight can hardly be accounted .for by anything short of Satanic agency. But we may. say without hesitation that the higher means of spreading the true religion in this country have been largely wanting. Living example in ordinary men has been the exception, not the rule. All has been too much confined to externals. The influence held by the British is an in- fluence derived from wonder at the visible greatness of their power and energy. It excites awe, perhaps, but it does not create the feeling of reverence which internal goodness of principle alone can call into being. Where there is no reverence there can be no love."
The Harvest Field remarks, speaking especially of female agency, and of India as " weirdly fascinating" to cultivated women, " In the divine enterprises to which India invites the V{est, America· is aiready doing an almost equal share with Britain. Could anything be more admirabJe? Divided there, and disposed sometimes to emphasize division, the two nations join here."
The same article speaks at length of the broad and fruitful efforts mak- ing by our countrywoman, Mrs. Brainerd·Ryder, M.D., to advance general and also technical education among the women of Bombay.. These efforts are not specifically religious, but they allow full discussion of religion, and are of course underlaid by Christian motives. The Society for Technical Education of Women has, as its president, the Hon. Justice K. T. Telang, C.LE. The Vice-Presidents are Khan Bahadur, M.C., Murzbun, a Parsi, and Pundita Ramabai j on the Advisory Board are the Bishop of Bom- bay, Bishop Thoburn, of our M. E. Church, and the Vicar-General of the Jesuits.
-The Rev. W. J. Chamberlain, of Mandanapelle, says: "We baptized here a young Brahmin of twenty-five years. He came to us a year ago, entered into full and earnest converse with us, and left with a promise to return in eight days. He did not appear, nor, after the most diligent inquiries, could we find him, He came to town a month ago, and walked directly to the mission compound, as he said, 'driven by God.' He was baptized on the following day, and soon after accompanied me on a tour into the region of his home. "
-The Rev. F. Hahn, of Gossner's Mission among the Kols, quoted in the Harvest Field, says: " How is it that Roman Catholic/! are permitted to break the marriage law with impunity, .•• while Protestant minillters are liable to punishment for doing so?" Protestant Christians should com· bine, not to persecute the Roman Catholics, but to insist that there shall be one manner of law for all Christians in India. Otherwise, without any intention of the Government, of which Mr. Hahn acquits it, it may be throwing the mighty weight of " Cresar in India" (as the empress is officially called) into the scale of the sacerdotal Cresar of the Tiber.
-A non-Christian graduate of a Christian college in India remarks, in a Christian magazine, quoted in the Missions-Blad for October, 1890, that one hostile European of high place can counteract the work of ten. missionaries. He refers to one who used to tell the people that if any applicant for an appointment was recommended by missionaries, he would reject him without any further inquiry. The writer, however, remarks that so desperate a hostility to missions as this on the part of Europeans is very rare. But," before the missionaries rises a strong and gigantic fortification, whose garrison are by no means despicable soldiers in intellectual wars. Behind they are assailed by a Bradlaugh and an Ingersoll. And to render the situation yet more perplexing, there sometimes come flank attacks from hostile local officials of their own nationality."
"The missionaries are not likely in the near future," continues this non-Christian adviser, "to advance the banners of victory very widely in any direction. But they may and ought to accustom the Hindus to look upon them as assailants worthy of their steel. And this is what educational missions are in a fair way to accomplish." '" A patriotic feeling,' many say, 'is awakening among the people of India, and their resistance is about to become more energetic.' This is the exact truth ; and let me say to the educational missionary, You have no occasion to be ashamed when you are declared to be largely responsible for this state of things. Hitherto the lion has been couching in serene disdain of you. Now he feels that, after all, you are not so much to ·be despised, and he is rousing himself for defence and for a counter attack."
" There was a time, " says this Christian]y educated but not Christian theist, "when the inner world was almost the exclusive object of human study, while men looked down upon the physical world with contempt. We are now veering to the opposite extreme. Weare so completely taken up with the visible and palpable, that we act as if everything invisible was chimerical." Tillthe tide changes, he thinks that conversions in India will be few.
" True it is," he remarks, "that often, when by a Christian education one devil has been driven out of the young Hindus, seven devils worse than he come in his stead. But he who believes that Christ is mighty to drive out every devil must believe that sooner or later his power and lordship will be acknowledged by all."
He says in conclusion, in reference to the contemptuous criticisms of the missionary work, " As the Chinese say, a tower is measured by its shadow, and greatness by its slanderers."
Mr. Herman Jensen, who comments on this article, remarks that we lllust. not exaggerate the present position of the Brahmins in India. A poor Brahmin will feel honored to stand side by side with a wealthy and educated Sudra.
He remarks also that missionaries formerly were too much in the way of recommending their converts, simply as such, to the Government, which has given a handle to those who wished to discredit their recommendations altogether.
"This writer also," says Mr. Jensen, " has learned that missionaries are too willing to exaggerate. Till the severity of absolute truth is exacted of all missionary reports, every missionary society will end its days with sorrow, if not with shame."
There are as yet many more "free-livers" than" free-thinkers" in India. The latter tendency is as yet a mere rootless result of the former. -It is known that the English Universities' Mission in Central Mrica ill very distinctly of the Anglo-Catholic type. But happily it is absolutely free from that arrogant and encroaching temper which sometimes renders the missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel hardly less uncomfortable neighbors than the most encroaching Roman Catholi~ orders. In particular, remarks the Church of Scotland Home and Foreign Record, the relations between the Universities' Mission and the Scottish Mission in Nyassaland have always been of the friendliest. Archdeacon Maples, of the former mission, writes of the latter: "The hospitality and friendliness of the Blantyre Mission to ourselves are so well known that I will not dilate on them here, but will content myself with remarking that if there is a place on the face of the globe where the Church in occupation of the field extends the entente cordiale to missionary visitors from another, that place is Blantyre. The mission buildings, with the beautifully laid out' square,' with its home-like looking lawn, its deodoras, and the noble church seen at the end through a vista of greenery, form a coup d'a!il which surpasses anything I have ever seen at any missionary station in Africa. " The Record quotes the following from Vaughan's standard work, "The Trident, the Crescent, and the Cross:" "Thousands with slender faith and scanty knowledge have embraced the name of Christ. Among these were many hundreds of Mohammedans. One of the Mohammedan converts, with a simple and ingenuous candor, said' he hoped God would be more favorable to him when he worshipped Jesus Christ than when ho worshipped Mohammed, for then they had nothing but trouble, but with the Christians they found pity, as also money and rice [largely bestowed also on those outside] which they did not obtain from the Zemindars' [Mohammedan landlords]_ He might have been the spokesman of the majority [of these , famine' or 'rico ' Christians] thus gathered within the Christian fold.
, We find pity and help' was really the voice of converted thousands. It was a voice which fell far short of the agonizing cry, , Men and brethren, what shall we do ~' (Acts ii. 37.) And yet it was a natural voice, and it was true. They began, no doubt, at a very low level; yet, commingled with the selfish aim was a certain vague impression that Chdstianity rested upon a basis of truth and justice. Many a pleasing story might be told of those who, star~ing on such a defective principle, have rapidly advanced in light and knowledge and faith, until at length they have become burning and shining lights. . . . But there is another picture, and one which charms the eye with its glowing and beauteous tints. Numbered among the Christians of India are multitudes of persons, the narrative of whose conversion would grace the fairest page in the history of the Church of Christ. • • , If deep repentance, earnest faith, and burning love, if complete self-sacrifice, if a fearless confession of Christ at any cost, be marks of genuine conversion, then has the Church of India multitudes within her pale distinguished by these marks. . . . Try them by whatever test we may, we find them approved as the regenerated children of the Most High. It has been our privilege to mix with many such, and we have uo hesita_ tion in saying that among them are Christians so advanced in the life of grace that we have, as it were, sat at their feet and learned the deep things of God."
Much is made by many of the fact that by far the most of the converts in India are from the lower classes. As to this, the Indian Witness, Calcutta (as quoted in the Record), says: "It is very true that four fifths of the converts are from the lower castes-many of them, indeed, from the lowest; but those who reject the idea of such people becoming the successors to the Brahmins have not probably given much attention to the rapidity with which many of them rise in the social scale. A youth of eighteen, perhaps the son of a sweeper, becomes a Christian, and begins to study. Three years later he is a student in a high school, and at twentyfive he is the most intelligent and cultured man in the village where he lives. His wife is so superior to all the other women in the village, and is able to help them all in so many ways, that the young couple are everywhere received with honor. Already their sweeper origin is nearly forgotten." How much more in two or three generations !
-The Rev. George Cockburn, M.A., writing in the Record from Ichang, China, says that the Mandarins, who are apt to have a smattering of Western culture, show a disheartening readiness to truckle to the JUost puerile superstitions of the people, and that since the young Kwang-su has come to the throne, the hands of the clock have gone backward. It is rumored, we may remark, that the young emperor seems sullenly resolved not to appear too much under the influence of his father, who has become a decided advocate of Vvestern progress.
-Whatever may be thought of the West African, or Negro proper, the East African Bantu (of which race the Caffres and Zulus are a branch) is, says the Record, "sharp and clever, and although a spirit of levity does seem to rule the African, it does not make him, as Major Wissmann contends, impervious to spiritual truth." Of two East African boys at school' in Edinburgh, one took the highest place in his class, " and both showed themselves not in the least degree inferior."
-Mr. Frederiek WellsWiIliams, a native of Macao, China, and the son of the author of " The Middle Kingdom," says of the Chinese civilization "that, with such a cast-iron system, any change must come from outside. • • • Almost inevitably the great tonic of new life and aims must be from Europe and America. Chinese statesmen recognize the radieal nature of the change to come, one of whom declares it a greater change for China to find herself face to face with the nations of the far West than anything that has occurred in her history. How to adapt herself to this imminent transformation is the problem for years to come. The next two or three generations will be best employed in observing and applying the institutions of other lands. As a cat watches a mouse, China watches Japan, whose rapid progress irritates the Celestial and shocks his pride. Japan may be to China the hyphen, the copula, between the old life and the new. But we shall see no more than the beginning, for Asiatic civilization moves slowly, by centuries j yet some day a great destiny wiIl be realized."
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
II.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
EDITED AND CONDUCTED BY BEV. J. T. GBACEY, D.D.
Korea.'s Political Relation with Ohina. be 80 gracious as to give me to take back to my master. For, if the Throne It is a matter of no small interest to sends envoys, we will not be able to ac· the missionary world to know the exact commodate them properly. Then measure of the independence of Korea would we be sinners evermore. '" e as a kingdom. A late occurrence throws beg your Celestial Graciousness, our a good deal of light upon the subject. most affectionate parents, to treat us Being strictly official, it shows China's like a red child (i.e., a new-born babe), claim to sovereignty over Chosen, and and not inflict any penalty upon us for Chosen's evident disposition to secure expressing this desire. If your Heavthe recognition of at least a little larger enly Majesty bestows the letters of conautonomy, possibly as testing the tem· dolence upon me to take back, so as to per of the Court at Peking as to Chosen's save the trouble of the envoys, my tendency to secure acknowledgment of Prince and my country will ever bathe her independence. in thankfulness."
The immeditate occasion of this reo To this, however, the Government of assertion by China of her Imperial con· China declined to accede; but seizing trol of the little peninSUla was as fol. the only argmuent in the petition based lows: The Queen Dowager of Korea on Korea's poverty, adapted the former died. It has been the custom hitherto custom merely to a more economical for the Government at Peking on such base, but reaffirming the sovereignty occasions to send an embassy of con. of China over Korea. The reply was: as dolence to Korea, as to a vassal. Korea follows: sought to reduce this to an ordinary let. ter of official sympathy as between "RESCBl:PT FBOM THE THBONE-MEfriendly and equal sovereigns. Accord. MOBIAL NOTED.-That Kingdom for ceningly, the Korean First Envoy at Peking turies past having been the Eastern was instructed to solicit a modification vassal and reaped Our Graciousness of ullage, and addressed to the " Board always, on occasions of any death of of Rites" at Peking the following com. that Kingdom's household, We have munication : always sent Envoys to convey Our Sym- pathies. Such Missions have hitherto II This small kingdom, a vassal to the gone overland, making many halts on Throne which has from time immemo. the way. But this time, not having the rial reaped the benefits of Imperial slightest doubt but what that Kingdom favor, even as late as 1882 and 188!;< is in poverty, We will depart from the notably during the two rebellions when old rule and make slight changes. the Throne raised us from the earth and Therefore the Mission shall proceed by saved our ancestors' ashes, we thank water [sea] with the Pei-Yang squadron again and again for having given us new to land at that Kingdom's port of life. But this small kingdom has Jeuchuan [Chemulpol. When the cersuffered grievously from these two reo emonial shall have been performed. the bellions, and the people being in pov. Mission shall return by the same route. erty d1j.ring the past six or seven years, By such a temporary change that Kingthe condition has been getting worse dom will incur no heavy expenses. and worse. This unfortunate year the When the Prince of that Kingdom premother of my Prince died, and the sents you both with presents, you are funeral expenses are such that we must not allowed to accept anything. That economize. Most humbly prostrating Prince, hearing this Heavenly Declaraourselves, we beg the Great Emperor to tion, will forever be grateful. But you give us the instructions and the letter will see that all rites are strictly obof condolence which the Throne would
2:13
served. Let this Decree of Mine be at not take in the Gospel. All atonce obeyed by the Superintendent of Pei-Yang (of the Northern Seas, Li-Hung tempts to bring them to a knowledge Chang, the Viceroy of Chihli). Let the Board of Rites at once instruct that of the true God have as yet failed ut- King to obey." terly… ' Poor brutes in human shape, We ha7e no room to recount the exact manner in which this edict was executed . . . they must perish off the face of on the one part, and accepted on the other. These were, of course, religious the earth like brute beasts." (" Serproceedings, and might appear as if the relation was similar to that of some mons on National Subjects," p. 234.) Europeansovereign recognizing the Pope as religious emperor in his dominions. The article we now present on this But there can be no mistaking the recognition of the political relatiQl1s involved people has been translated and conin Korea saying" This small Kingdom" is a "vassal to the Throne," and the densed for our columns at our request by authoritative utterance of China that " that Kingdom for centuries past Rev A. Hartmann, from the German having been the Eastern vassal, ..• let the Board of Rites instruct that King of Rev. H. G. Schneider, a missionary to obey." This indirectly and directly involves serious political questions. among these aborigines. Mr. Hart- Korea has existing treaties with European nations, and receives minis- mann was himself a missionary of the ters from the same, such as are accredited only to sovereign States. But if she Moravian Church among these Black recognizes and China asserts her vassalage, what then? Fellows of Australia from 1864 to 1873, , This is diplomatic correspondence incidental to religious rites, but Korea and is now a missionary to North Amermay not alone have the decision of her fate. Japan may have something to say ican IndiansatMoraviantown, Bothwell, when the issue is pushed into practical politics, and 80 may western powers; Ontario, Canada. It strikes us that nevertheless it must be said in the face of Korea's confessed vassalage to China. Mr. Kingsley would have found a bet- J. T. G. ter specimen to put in evidence of the The :Black Pellows of Australia. bottomless pit of original depravity, on FmsT PAPER-PBs-MORAVIAN MISSIONS. the other side of the court room. The PREPARED llY REV. A. HARTMANN. " Settler" and the Colonist might toss It is a no less brilliant and benevolent dice with the poor Papuan for front rank, author than the Rev. Charles Kingsley who, taking the position that man might in the lowest depth of submerged actually fall by original sin too low to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ and humanity. Read and judge. be recovered again, points his proposition by the illustration worn threadbare J. T.G. by saints, sinners and scientists, of the poor Papuan of Australia. He says: The continent of Australia was taken " The black people of Australia, exactly possession of by Captain Cook in the the same race as the African negro, can- name of the English Crown. It was taken, not bought, from the original pos- I sessors of the country. The first settlers were convicts. They, and alas! too many of the emigrants who followed, treated the aborigines as they thought fit, robbing them and abusing their wives, and killing them if resistance was offered. Colonial history gives no rec- ord of an organized war with the na- tives; the latter must have been few and weak, and the severities and cruelties practised upon them were therefore unwarrantable. Their thefts and attacks were in many cases incited by want, or by revenge for wrongs suffered by them. By the introduction of intoxicants, the low became the lowest of the low. A disgusting sickness, of which many of the blacks suffered and perished, as a consequence of vice, was also introduced among them. Of the cruelties inflicted on some of them in individual cases we would rather not speak. Just think of a cowboy glorying before his master that with his own hand he had killed six or seven blacks, and that for the mere sport the chase of human beings afforded him! Dismissal from service piled up the dead bodies and kindled was the only punishment for this mur. over them a large fire to destroy every derer. It is not too much to say that trace of their awful murder. Through the majority of European inhabitants a combination of peculiar circumstances looked with contempt on the blacks, the crime was discovered, and the murconsidering them little if any better derers condemned to suffer the extreme than dangerous animals, for whose ex- penalty of the law. During the trial tirpation any measures were justifiable. the whole population of the colony was in a great excitement. Many, and even So matters went on for fifty years. But men of influence, were full of sympathy in 1838 II society was formed for the pro. for the murderers. All possible means tection of the aborigines. In 1839 a law were employed to have the murderers was passed appointing land commission. acquitted. Large Bums of money were ers with full power to put a stop to the raised to employ the most skilful lawcruelties perpetrated on the natives by yers in their defence, and witnesses reo the settlers beyond the colonial boun. ceived terrible threatenings, and even daries. At the same time, the following the chief witness, one of the most honnoble proclamation was made by the orable men of the district, hardly ven- Governor: ., As human beings, who tured to return to his home. The govpartake of the same nature as ourselves; ernor himself, a brave man, occupying as the original possessors of this terri- the most difficult position in this catastory, from which we derive much of our trophe, nevertheless signed the deathwealth and prosperity; and as subjects warrant of these murderers. Although of the Queen, whose power extends over the blacks now enjoyed the protection every part of New Holland, the abodg. of the law, yet slow progress was made ines of this country have the same right in the improvement of their condition. as Europeans to the protection and as- Still, during the last thirty years the sistance of the law. His Excellency be. moral obligations toward the natives lieves it his duty to inform every inhab- have been fully acknowledged. Efforts itant of this colony that each new de. have been made by the government and spatch from the Secretary of State in by private individuals to better thei~ England speaks of the increasing stress condition by supplying them with food, laid by Her Majesty's Government, the clothing, schools, churches, and mission- Parliament, and the whole people, on aries. But alas! much that was well the proper and humane treatment of the meant came too late to save them as a natives of this land. His Excellency race. Too long these unhappy beings also most urgently and solemnly de- had been treated as animals; too long clares that it is their conviction that had there been no place on earth where nothing whatsoever is so essential to they were suffered, cared for, or loved. the honor and welfare (or interests) of Only at the throne of God, the Just and the colony as humane care and consid- the Merciful, was compassion shown eration of the aborigines. " for them; but the poor blacks did not know Him, and it was long before As one result of this Proclamation, those whites who did know it showed and the laws put in force with it, mur· them the way to Him. derers were punished. Seven convicts who, by the Government, had been ap. EFFORTS TO IMPIOVE THE NATIVES. pointed shepherds to some of the squatters, went out on horseback to hunt There is no rule without exception, blacks. They discovered a small tribe and in this case the rule was bad and of about thirty, men, women, and chil- the exception good. Among the many dren. They surrounded them, tied who looked down and trampled on the them together with a long rope, and natives of Australia there were found then butchered them in cold blood in some noble souls, whose hearts were full the dell th of the wilderness. They then
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
of love and sympathy for them. For in. poor parsonage at Paramatta, a few stance, since the beginning of this cen· miles from Sydney. Mr. Marsden tury there have been noble, humane gov· preached to the convicts and to all the ernors, who did everything in their colonists" Jesus Christ and Him cruci. power to ameliorate and improve their fied" with undaunted courage and un· condition. These efforts sometimes met tiring love. With the blacks, however, with resistance and ingratitude on the he pursued another plan. With the help part of those whom they sought to ben- of Governor Macquarie he established a efit. The blacks would stay for a week model farm, in which several families or two in the paradise prepared for of natives were placed under the guidthem, and then suddenly disappear and ance of a qualified overseer to be trained return to their wandering life. Too to farm work. much was expected of them; the most beautiful palace would have been a pris- Besides this, a boarding-school was on for them. Instead of being grad. commenced for native children, in which ually accustomed to order and a civilized they should be taught reading, writing, life, a degree of liberty being allowed arithmetic, and the elements of the them, they were expected to settle down Christian religion. The whole undertakat once. Many such efforts· were made ing was a failure, and after a few years' and proved failures. The hearts of the trial had to be given up. The children natives were difficult to reach, and the were not to be confined within walls, love of a wandering life was not to be nor were the minds of these ignorant eradicated in a hurry. Even the friends heathen to be prepared by the disci. and benefactors of the race were dis_ pline of civilization for Christianity. couraged, and came again and again to The idea was to teach them first to be the conclusion that for this race there men, then Christians. People forgot .was no hope of deliverance. As, on the that though a missionary is a civilizing one hand, too much was expected from agent, yet that civilization must be the them, so, on the other, too little was giv. fruit, not the root of Christianity. Mr. en them, causing again failure. Marsden in his old age acknowledged this mistake, and spoke thus concern. We are reminded here of the noble ing it : "The Bible," said he, "pro- Governor Macquarie and the chaplain claims free sovereign grace for poor sin- Rev. Samuel Marsden. Thelatter, born ners. No self.righteous person can enat Leeds in 1764, was the son of a poor ter heaven; he would rather hunger and artisan. He attended first the parish perish than accept this free gift. Civschool and then the grammar school at ilization is not necessary before Chris- Hull. His father, being unable to sup· tianity. Let both go hand in hand, if port him any longer, and needing his you will ; but you will find that civilizahelp at home, desired his return. But tion rather follows than precedes Chris· Joseph Milner, the author of a well. tianity. Speak to the heathen of the known Church History, desired that the living God and the Saviour who died talented boy might remain, and procured for them. That will come home to for him the assistance of a company of their hearts !" pious and wealthy men, who made it a point to support poor and talented the· Further efforts were made by pious ological students. After completing his and zealous Methodists. The first, studies preparatory to the ministry, who was sent exclusively for work Marsden, after repeated requests, at among the natives, was Walker, of whose length accepted the position as chaplain work, however, nothing is known. Tho to the convict colony at Sydney, Aus- missionaries Leigh, who commenced tralia, and started thither with his ex- work in 1815, and Cartwright, who folcellent wife in August, 1793. On March lowed in 1820, began at once to speak 2d, 1794, they arrived and entered the of the main point, but the natives did not then understand English, and their teachers did not learn Papuan, forgetting of the work to the pouring in of unprinthat the Word of God reaches the heart cipled colonists and the absence of of the heathen only when translated into such law protection as would have prehis native tongue, and that the first and vented desolating wars between the most important work of a missionary is native tribes and guarded the latter to make the language of the heathen against the outrages of the whites. tribe among whom he labors his own. Herein he touches indisputably the sore point in the condition of New Holland; In the year 1828 they relinquished and sad as his conclusion is, it in notheir work for the time, justifying their wise represents the natives as beyond step by the unsteadiness of the abo- improvement. rigines and the great expense of the mission caused by journeys and repeated Another recorded failure in the hisattempts at founding stations. tory of Australian missions is that of the Church Missionary Society of London, Meanwhile, Missionary Threlkeld, of England. Marsden, who died in 1838, the London Missionary Society (prop- had already prevailed upon this society erly intended for the mission in the to send out missionaries. Watson and South Sea Islands), came to New South Handt were appointed to Wellingtondale, Wales, and was desired by the governor north of Sydney,and were joined later on to remain and devote himself to the in the station they had formed by Gun. work among the natives. The society ther. But after eleven years of faithful approved of the plan, and Threlkeld re- and self-sacrificing labor they were ceived from the Government 10,000 obliged to leave, for the shepherds and acres of land at Lake Macquarie for a workingmen of the district (it was the settlement of natives. With firm faith, old story of liberated convicts) exercised unwearied perseverance, and holy love the most baneful influence on the na· he set to work. After laboring for six tives; and to this came drought and years without visible results, the Lon- grasshoppers, which drove the natives don Society, which had spent £3000 on from the district. The missionaries, the work, thought it right to use their therefore, devoteq their energies to work funds in more promising fields. Threl- among the colonists. keld, however, could not leave his Papuans. He carried on the work, The Methodists had again established partly from his own means and partly mission stations in different places in by the assistance of friends and the 1838 and 1840, and met with some de. government. He learned the native gree of success. In the saIDe year mis. language, prepared a grammar, trans- sionaries were sent out by the Lutheran lated parts of the Bible, as well as a Missionary Society at Dresden (now number of hymns. Leipzig), and a number also by Gossner, at the request of a Scottish Presbyterian Generally three or four tribes lived on minister in New South Wales. The the reserve, but their stay was never of a Lutherans, after a few years of fruitless long duration. The news of a corroboree labor, left the natives and became pas. (er dance) or oftener the information that tors to various congregations of Euroa hostile tribe was approaching was suffi- peans. A few years Jater the Gossner cient to scatter them,in spite of all Threl- missionaries followed their example. keld's efforts to keep them. All the ef- The natives had, indeed, begun to dis. forts,sacrifices,and pains of this excellent tinguish between these whites and those man remained fruttless, and as the con- whom they had known hilherto. They tributions of friends flowed more scan- put confidence in the missionaries and tily, and the support of the Government showed at times a desire to work, but was stopped, this champion of the Gos- soon tired of it, and rewarded the kind· pel found himself compelled to leave the ness and patience of the messengers of station. That was a bitter pill! Yet peace by continual thefts. At length still the noble man attributes the failure all the tribes of the district formed tive, is it to be expected that he will themselves into robber-bands, who at- make a distinction in favor of those few tacked and robbed the neighboring sta- who giT8 themselves out as his friends; tions in broad daylight wherever the that he will put full confidence in them, objects of their plunder were not pro- and accept their word, their advice, their tected by revolver and gun. But, in the message? Will he not rather take admean time, the missionaries had the joy vantage of their kindness and, by stealof seeing two of the natives converted. ing their goods, recompense himself for Still the results were, on the whole, so what has been taken from him? Sad sad and unsatisfactory that some of the to say, that in Australia it is not the obmissionaries left the place, with a view duracy of the aborigines but the hardto Illbor among the settlers. Those who heartedness of professing Christians remained directed their efforts to the which has been the greatest stumbling- Bame object, without losing sight of the block in the way of the Gospel. poor natives; and Missionary Gerler wrote, in 1855, "I llm convinced that The Glad Tidings in Morocco. the time is not far distant when the blacks will cry out, ' What must I do to BY JAMES EDWARD BUDGETT MEAKIN. be saved?'" Further efforts made by the English Church, under the direction (For some years editor of the Times of Moroc()/).) of the energetic Archdellcon Hale, of Adelaide, were put an end to by the It is only of late years that any sysdying out of the natives. Of later trials tematic attempt has been made to bring and successes experienced in connection the Gospel before the people of Morocwith different churches and societies we co, though they live, as it were, at the will not now speak, but notice them as very doors of Europe. A small body cotemporary with the missions of the of missionaries are laboring among the Renewed Brethren's Church (Mora- Moors. So far, however, only' a very vians), of which it is our intention to small number have sufficiently surspeak in the next paper. mounted the initial difficulty of the language-Arabic-to be able to do T,he enumeration of aU these failures much in the way of direct teaching or is very discouraging, yet it shows the controversy. But there are other ways difficulties attending the work of evan- in which the people may be reached, gelizing this spoiled and degrllded race. such as by medical treatment of the sick. Let us weigh these well, not forgetting that by the grace of God they may be The benighted condition of Morocco surmounted, and we have a strong proof is such that the aims and objects of misof 'the necessity and duty of carrying sionary laborers are not yet realized, and on mission work. The faith and love the Mohammedans cannot imagine that of Christendom and of its messengers anyone of their number could prove can llnd should overcome, in spite of all himself, weak enough in their faith to the opposition of the servants of sin seriously entertain any other. Once and Satan. Still, in considering what they become fully alive to the,facts of has been and may still be said regard- the case trouble and fierce opposition ing the work in Australia, we must take may be expected. into account not only the sad state of the natives, but also the bllneful influ- The initial difficulty in dealing with ence which has been exercised upon the Moors is their utter self-satisfiedthem by thousands of ungodly whites ness and indifference to outside influduring the last century. If contempt, ences. What was good for their fathers bad treatment, robbery. violence, and is good for them ; and they are brought murder are connected with the idea of up so sure of a heaven of material bliss, the white man in the mind of the na- even after a life of sin, provided that they comply with certain forms, that they see no reason even to listen to the emissaries of Christianity. But, thank God! there are many who have listened, with certain religious duties which are and some among them who have obeyed carefully defined in the' Book to be Read' and been baptized, but these are few (the Quran), we are sure of eternal bliss I"~ and weak, needing much instruction. We who have lived in Morocco can The next ob,stacle to the work is the testify with one accord that this empire utterly erroneous ideas possessed by the is too steeped in sin to allow us to lay Moors concerning Christianity and bare the truth. Crime and misery Christians. They believe, to begin abound, and justice is all but unknown. with, and often tell us so, that we wor- Possessed of a beautiful country, the ship a woman as equal with God-a Moors drag out an almost torpid existmost awful idea to such strict Unita- ence without enjoying one tithe of the rians as Muslims are. They say then blessings within their grasp. Such is that we worship bread and wine as Morocco to-day, and I do not hesitate God; that we have introduced the to give as the reason that it is a victim greater part of the history of Christ into to the spell of Islam. the Gospel, and that we have eradicated every prophecy about Mohammed ex- The difficulties to be met with are not cept John 14 : 26, which they declare small nor few. The fear of the" powrefers to that teacher. It is easy to see ers that be," and the feeling that the whence these ideas come, but still more acknowledged convert must become an Bad to note what they judge from the outcast, cut off from his dearest friends; specimens of nominal Christians with and subject to bitter persecution in whom they have had to deal, to be proportion to his boldness in his new equally tenets of our religion. They faith, is a very serious matter, and s have no doubt that every good Chris- man's change of heart must be real and tian gets drunk once a week or more thorough before he can be expected to often if he can, and that it is their in- make an open profession with such revariable rule to make up for only being_ sults. Even when he has the example allowed one wife by supplies from the before him of others who have stood streets. The wearing of a hat and the and suffered it is easier for him. Neveating of pork are looked upon as ertheless, thousands of Moors have equally essential to the Ohristian life, learned the difference between nominal and it ill generally considel."ed that dis- and real Christians, so much so, that honesty, venalism, and every abuse of while the name Nazarene is still applied power are matters of course with the fol- to all, the names MaseeaM and Kitab~ lowers of the Messiah. (Christian and Biblical) are now given by them to the missionaries and their "The difference between your way few sympathizers to distinguish them and my way," said an intelligent Moor from the others. Medical work among one day to a lady missionary, "is that them and the kindness shown to them yours is hemmea in on either side by re- in many ways are steadily taking effect; strictions which must make your life and although few have come forward miserable, and you have nothing to from among them, and after careful hope for, after all, for your heaven has teaching and examination have been no earthly joys. My way, on the other baptized, there is a pleasurable certainty hand, leaves me room to do much as that a far greater number have the truth I like in this world, and in the next the planted in their hearts, that they know pleasantest sins of this will be our law- the way of salvation, and that but for ful and continual pleasures. Think of fear of man they would acknowledge it. that! Then, too, our lord l'rlohammed, We must not think hardly of these weak the messenger of God-the prayers of ones. God be on him, and peace I-is so good and powerful that, however we may sin BISHOP HANNINGTON'S BONES.-It was against God now, so long as we comply a remarkable Providence that enabled the Church of England Missionary So- ed that he would get rid of the bones by ciety to recover the body of their mar- taking them to the white man. He tyr-Bishop Hannington, who was mur- passed the place twice, and I fancy it dered in Oentral Africa, under circum- was on the second journey that he took stances that would have seemed to the bones to Mr. Jackson. forever preclude the possibility of his receiving Christian burial at all, much "The above is in substance what less the return of the remains to Chris- Marko says. Some of the details may tian England. The story has been most be incorrect." vividly told, but now we have the de- tails of the way in which God's provi- -The American Board has rightfully dence kept ., all his bones." applied to Mr. Blaine for the protection of American property interests in con- It was with peculiar interest that we nection with the newest outrages of the read the communication made by Rev. Spanish authorities on the American R. H. Walker to the Church of England missions in the Caroline Islands. We Missionary Society, in explanation of the trust our Government will speak with manner of the recovery of Bishop Han- some vigor to that anachronism in modnington's body. A strange interest will ern civilization known as the Governhang around this story for a long time to ment of Spain. It is little worth while come. Little wonder that it has recalled allowing this representative of an effete the story of the Ark of the Lord turned civilization to be strutting with misused loose under divine supervision alone. authority in a remote corner of the Mr_ Walker wrote: .. When Bishop globe. At best, Spain is out of joint Hannington was murdered, the same with the times. She feeds on memories day his body was carried to another and mumbles beads; her battles are place, because the people feared that the bull-fights and her victories autos-daje, dead body of a white man might bring and she might as well be relegated to evil on them. But the people of the some museum of political antiquities. next place refused to have it ; and so it Has Mr. Blaine ever secured any indemwas carried from place to place, each nity for Mr. Doane, and will he now refusing to alJow it to remain in their call Spain into court for protection not country. A coast man, who we under- of missicnary, but of American interstand was one of Bishop Hannington's ests? porters, accompanied the corpse. At last it reached a place on the boundary -There is a tract entitled" Christian of Busoga, or in the country of the Women of North China to the Christian Bakeddi. Here they agreed to build a Women of England upon the Opium Inhouse for it, and on a framework or bed- iquity." In this these Chinese Christian stead, such as they make for smoking women declare to all Europe, and to all meat and fish on, the body was laid, and mankind, that" foreign opium in Chinais left to decay. An agreement was made a greater scourge than war or pestilence." with the coast man to live at this house These China Christians are taunted with and to take care of it, and in return the having adopted the l'eIigion of "the people would give him food. foreign devils, who are making China into a hell by their opium ;" and what " To this place Marko, the messenger is worse, the poor weak little Christian from Mwanga to Mr. Jackson of the Church in the Celestial Empire is well- Imperial British East Africa Company, nigh decimated by the use of the drug. came on his way with letters. He seems to have heard that the people -A collector of Bombay has among there had experienced bad harvests and his curiosities a Chinese god marked drought of late years, and that they at- "Heathen Idol," and next to it is a tributed this to the fact of their having gold piece marked " Christian Idol." the white man'~ bones; and he suggest-
EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS
III.-EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.
RUSSIA is exciting no little criticism special attention to the instruction of and animadversion by her course toward mISSIonaries. Miss Swain, M.D., was the Jews and the exiles' in Siberia. the first woman medical miSSionary to Lately the details have been published Asia. of a horrible outrage upon a Jewish lad named Rutenberg, at Bialystok, about The EpOCH OF ORGANIZATION seems to one hundred miles from Warsaw, by a have come. Certainly in Christian work Russian medical man, Dr. Gravonsky. the organizations are both multiplying The boy, with some schoolmates, had and extending their bounds. Some of plucked some apples off a tree and, being them have overleaped the limits of caught in the act, was carried into a stable States, denominatIOns and even conti- where he was brutally branded with nents. For instance, "The Young lunar caustic on the forehead, chin, and Men's Christian Association," "The both cheeks with the words" Jew" and Young Women's Christian Temperance "thief" in Russian, Polish, and Hebrew. Union," "The Society of Christian A photograph has been circulated show- Endeavor," now enrolling one hundred ing the horrible branding of this lad's thousand members, "The White Rib- countenance, and has awakened snch in- bon Army," "The Boys' Brigade," dignation that the authorities have " The King's Daughters," "The Shut· prohibited its sale or circulation. in Society," "Kitchen Gardens," "Guilds," "Christian Workers' Train- THE HONOR ROLL of Wesleyan Meth- ing Classes," "Bible Corresponding odist and Methodist Episcopal mission- Schools, .. "Parochial Associations," ~ aries is a very long and illustrious one. "Chautauqua Classes," "Working- Among Wesleyan Methodists the name men's Clubs," and others. of Thomas Coke stands pre-eminent. He had a hold upon both continents, being Our only apprehension is that these the first bishop of the Methodist Epis- forms of Christian effort and organiza- copal Church under Wesley's commis- tion may wean away from the churches sion. He died on the way to India. those whom they should attract to them, He poured his private fortune into the may fail to acknowledge the supervision cause of missions. The Rev. John of pastors and church officers, and es- Hunt will always have front rank for pecially may, in the pride of numbers, work among the Fiji people. The Rev. commit that fatal mistake of overlook- Elijah Hoole was fifty years in India. ing quality in quantity Samuel Leigh won undying fame in New Zealand, and John Thomas in the There are many Christian parents, Friendly Islands. says the Ohurch Missionary InteUigencer, who are leading people in the Christian From the Methodist Episcopal world, who claim reserved seats at Church, Melville Cox died in Africa. crowded missionary meetings, and join George Bowen, of Bombay, was known in congratulations over the increasing as " Good George Bowen." Among the number of candidates for missionary ser- living missionaries, William •Butler, vice, but who will not bear of their own founder of twenty missions of this sons and daughters offering for that ser- church in India and Mexico, Bishop vice. What a rare jewel is consistency! Thobum, of India, and Bishop William Taylor, of Africa, are perhaps the best Among missionary books we feel con· known generally. Dr. Maclay, who strained especially to recommend " Mis- spent forty years in China and Japan, sionary Enterprises in the South Sea now in his old age is professor in a the- Islands," by John Williams, an edition ological seminary in California, giving of which is published by the Presbyte. rian Board, 1334 Chestnut Street, Phil- dially to every reader who is interested adelphia. It was this remarkable bopk in missions. which led the Bishop of Ripon to ex- claim, when he laid it down, "This is We have received from the publish. the 29th chapter in the Book of the Acts ers, James Nesbit & Co., London, a copy of the Apostles." It is the story of a of a little work known as " Once Hindu triumphal progress. John Williams -Now Christian," edited by Dr. J. Mur- moved in every direction, 2000 miles ray MHchell, our esteemed correspond. from the shores of Tahiti, and within 22 ent. It is the autobiography of a very years, from 1817 to 1839, carried the admirable man, one of the ablest and Gospel to all the islands within that inost devoted Christians in India, Baba radius, and saw not only some of those Padmanji. It is intensely interesting, islands, but whole groups of them, turn- and gives us a remarkable insight into ing from idolatry to the living God. the difficulties of a native convert in India, and it shows how remarkably Perhaps the most compendious ency- useful a man may be who is brought clopredia of missions which has yet ap. out of East India society into a thorough peared is that entitled" Conquestsof the espousal of the Gospel. Mr. Padmanji Cross," by Edwin Hodder. It is pub. has been the author of about seventy. lished by subscription, Cassell & Co. five books and tracts published by the being the publishers. Only two vol- Book and Tract Society of Bombay, umes have as yet reached my table, but Christian Vernacular Education Society, those two volumes far surpass anything and others. If there be any profits from else in the line of comprehensive mis- the book they are to go to Mr. Padmanji sionary biography and history which I himself. We wish the book might be have seen. thoroughly circulated.
The Editor would again call attention In March, 1887, certain papers ap. to "Alden's Manifold Cyclopredia," peared in the Ohristian (London) on which has now reached volume No. 25. the subject of "Unemployed Native Though not a distinctly missionary Agencies in Heathen Lands." They book, we have found the articles in it were by Hudson Taylor, Reginald Rad. which pertain to missions to be exceed- cliffe, and James E. Mathieson, some of ingly helpful and excellent in every re- the most devoted students of missions spect, and we are coming to regard this to be found in the world. These cheap and handy cyc10predia as an brethren regard the raising up of a vast authority. host of native converts, who shall take up this 'Gospel mission for their fellow· Dr. S. A. Mutchmore, editor of the countrymen, as the only practical way Presbyterian, has already published a of reaching the nearly four hundred volume describing his travels in Eastern millions of native Chinese. They con· Europe and Asia Minor. The second tend that a few hundred European mis· volume has now been issued, "The 110. sionaries, not exceeding six hundred, gul, the Mongol, the Mikado and the do very little toward the evangelization Missionary." These letters have of this great empire, and they quote Dr. already appeared to a large extent in Nevius, who has been very successful the Presbyterian, and for raciness, read. in the employment of such unpaid ability, originality, and power to grasp, agents. Rev. Donald MacIver, of South. and present the most interesting mat· ern China, says that the rapid increase ters of foreign travel, we know of noth. of converts has been accomplished, 110t , ing published in modem times that sur· by Dr. Nevius's sermons, or those of , passes them. We commend them cor- his assistants, but by the simple wit· ness of the converts. Eight agencies are at work in China to accomplish its was presiding officer. It was a fit choice. Mr. Field's" Draft Outlines of evangelization. (1) Bible distribution; an International Code" is regarded as an (2) tract distribut,ion ; (3) chapel preach- authority. In it he favors arbitration 'ing; (4) translation and literary work; as to the dispntes between nations by a (5) schools; (6) itinerations; (7) med- reference to disinterested parties. If ical missions ; (8) work among women. we may judge from appearances, the Dr. Nevius says, "I am disposed to time of Universal Peace is not very think that the number of conversions near. All Europe seems rather prepardue to each of them would be found to ing for war. increase about in the order in which they are mentioned above; arid that An Anti-Slave·Trade Conference sat the number traceable to them all to- at Brussels from November 18th, 1889, gether would be but a small fraction of to July 2d, 1890. The beneficial results the whole, and that by far the greater seemed liable to be frustrated by the reproportion is to be referred to private fusalof the Netherlands for a time to social intercourse. That is (lertainly sign the stipulations. The Congo Free our experience in the South of China. State must have a revenue if it is to re- Probably seven eighths of our member- press the slave-trade, and this revenue ship have been brought in, not directly must come from a tariff on imports. All as the result of the preaching, either of the other powers and now also the the European missionary or of the ap- Netherlands have consented to this. pointed Chinese evangelist, but simply The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce at from private Christians telling to their first protested to the Government of friends and neighbors about the Baviour Great Britain against the signing of the they have found. This state of matters stipulations, but the Government nobly is, on the one hand, cause for thankful- replied that these duties were levied ness, for the evidence it gives of the only in the interest of human rights. reality of the religion of these Chinese Every year it is said that four hundred Christians ; and it also is full of hope thousand human beings are carried into as to the future of Christ's kingdom in abject slavery from the Congo region. China. If every individual member of 'he 30,000 Christians in China were a A Hebrew-Christian Conference was true missionary, then the Middle King- held in Chicago on November 24th and dom would soon be evangelized. 25th last. This gathering has excited a lively and extensive interest, as well it •• But it seems to me that this state of might. The Conference seems to have matters is full of important lessons for been called mainly through the efforts all interested in the progress of the Gos. of William E. Blackstone, Esq., whose pel in that land. We are to give most interest in the Jews is known everyattention to the method God's Spirit uses where. We have heard of no other conmost. We are not to give up our preach- ference in modern times where Chrising tours, nor our distribution of Scrip- tianA and Jews have met together for tures and tracts ; we are not to close the friendly discussion of points of hIour hospitals and schools; but we, as terest and matters of difference. The foreign missionaries,should give most audiences were very large, and some of attention to the work of training our the Jewish rabbi were present and took converts in the knowledge of Scripture, part. It is very noticeable that in the developing their gifts and graces, and present time the attention of all Chrissuperintending and guiding their efforts tendom seems to be drawn to God's anto bring to the truth their friends and cient people. Our attention has been kindred." called to the fact that a somewhat sim- ilar gathering was held two hundred and At the Universal Peace Congress, held in London, David Dudley Field forty yeBl'S ago in the Plain of Ageda, in upon the part of persons not accustomed Hungary. Some three hundred rabbis to such surroundings. We think that met in this Council in a large tent, and this}s the only charitable if not the the discussion lasted seven days. We only possible explanation, and we pre- anticipate only good results from a gath- fer to dismiss this horrible story with- ering of this character. In all our ap_ out further comment. proaches to the Jew, we have this great advantage, that he is familiar with the It seems now to be generally admitted prophesies of the Old Testament con- that the position taken by Dr. Lunn and cerning Christ, the Messiah, which have Rev. Hugh Price Hughes as to Wesleyan been so remarkably fulfilled in Chris- missions in India was a mistake. Dr. tian history. Lunn had been less than two years in India, and wrote impulsively and indis- We have purposely abstained hereto- creetly. As to Mr. Hughes, he did not fore from any reference to the startling know of the facts, except as obtained stories concerning Stanley's rear gnard. through Dr. Lunn ; but as it was in his pa- The terrible revelation with regard to per that Dr. Lunn's strictures were pub- the brutality of Barttelot and the cruelty lished, Mr. Hughes acted as his sDcond. of Jameson have caused to be applied A competent committee has examined to this history the appropriate title of the whole matter, and thrown consider "The African Chamber of Horrors." able discredit upon Dr. Lunn's testi- The scheme for poisoning the nephew mony. This is another example of the of Tippoo Tib, the statement that Ma- fact that foreign missionary work will jor Barttelot actually fastened his teeth bear even the severe and searching crit· into the :flesh of a woman, and even icisms to which :it ~has been lately exinto her face, his fatal kick upon the posed. boy Soudi, his fatal flogging of the lad John Henry, whose ears he threatened We regret to learn that M. Saillens, to cut off, and to whom he administered who has been one of Dr. McAll's printhree hundred lashes, his stabbing of cipal helpers in his French work, has the chief Ungunga, etc., might easily resigned connection with the McAll account for the shooting of such a missions, with which he has been conhuman fiend as he showed himself. nected for seventeen years. This will be a great loss to the mission, but the The story of Jameson's cruelty, buy- separation has been made in an entirely ing. a little girl with six cotton handker- friendly spirit on both sides, though it chiefs, causing her to be murdered, was caused by some little differences of cooked and eaten, that he might have a opllllOn. From personal acquaintance practical illustration of cannibalism, with M. Saillens we can testify that a and calmly taking six sketches with his more accomplished and perfect gentle- Kodak to represent the stages of the pro- man we have not met, even among the ceedings-all these things defy descrip- polite French people. Although he will tion and almost credence. It is our no longer be a director or agent of the judgment that all these were acts of per- mission, he will speak in the Salles from sons virtually insane __ that there is no time to time. possibility of otherwise accounting for such atrocious cruelty and barbarity on Dr. McAll writes, .. Our work gives the part of the representatives of a us much encouragement, both as to Christian nation; we cannot believe numbers and evident seriousness. We they were in their right mind; and it cannot enlarge; our resources do not is a well·known fact that climatical in- allow that, to our great regret. No an- :fluenge, together with prolonged expo- swer has yet been received from Dr. sure and privation. som etimes brings on Loba, of Kalamazoo,-Mich., who was ina peculiar type of insanity or monomania vited to join the, work, and who seems especially adapted to it from the fact congregation, but all this served as grathat he is a native of France." tuitous advertisement, and saved us all outlay on this head. One paper, La We perhaps owe it to Dr. McAll to Rappel, suggested that as soon as the say, with reference to an article which ship would be towed away from Paris, appeared in this REVIlIlw in July last, in we should hire a balloon, and so have which the Editor indulged in some our hearers part way to heaven to begin friendly strictures on the mission, that with." Dr. McAll remarks that he is" not prepared to express an absolute agree- The announcement has been made at ment with what is there said respecting the Wesleyan Mission House, in Lonthe overtaxing of the workers. With a don, that the Rev. Alexander McAulay few exceptions of voluntary painstaking, has suddenly died at Sumerset East, the requirements laid upon our mission- Cape Colony. He was an ex-President aries are not at all extreme. In the of the Wesleyan Conference, on an evancase of some of them, they undertake gelistic tour among the Wesleyan other and collateral engagements, good churches in South Africa. He was in in themselves, but not favorable to full his seventy-third year. More than activity in the mission, and liable, to- thirty years ago he began work in the gether with its duties, to bring on over- East End of London, where he spent fatigue. Mr. Greig is a tremendously fourteen years, beginning with a congre-· hard worker, but does his work with gation of eighteen persons; in ten years peculiar facility, and in a way quite vol- he built four large chapels, each seating untary." Dr. McAll confesses the over- 1000 persons, besides organizing other taxing of himself, especially since losing enterprises. He had also during the two of his most valued helpers, but past ten years visited the West Indies, hopes for relief when an assistant is where he exercised a most helpful reobtained. Dr. McAll says that David vival influence. Such a man cannot be Paton, .Esq., to whom we have already other than missed in the great mission referred, had given more than any other work of the world. contributor to the McAll work, probably nearly if not quite six thousand pounds, In the Ghristian (London) for Decemand that he left no money behind him, ber, Mrs. Grattan Guinness gives a long but gave it all away during his lifetime. and critical examination of General Booth's book, "In Darkest England." Dr. McAllfurther says, " The' Bateau She especially calls attention to many Missionaire '-' Le Bon Messager,' we existing agencies which in his book brought to Paris for about seven weeks, ending in July. Certainly it was a great a are entirely overlooked, and the hrissuccess-moored at the Pont de la Concorde. On Bome Sundays we had four tian adds that Mrs. Meredith, with her meetings on board, the people waiting Prison Mission to Women, aud Mr. anxiously to be admitted. It would George Hatton, with his coadjutor, Mr. hold 160 or 180 in the cabin. I think William Wheatley, long before led the that about eight hundred were there in way into this philanthropy, and that the one day. To the close we kep t up four Salvation Army is indebted for its methmeetings daily in all. I think the at- ods to the plans which they have been tendance was about twenty-five thou- following. The Ohristian mentions sand. Never did I have or see greater George Holland, of Georgeyard, whose attention and respect-very many were work is like the waters of Siloah, that intelligent,and many young Frenchmen. flow softly; then there comes to mind Almost all never heard the Gospel be- a multitude of names, each of which fore. The infidel and worldly news- awakens memories of orphans housed papers tried to write the affair down, and homed, or girls rescued, or, still beteven inserted pictures of the ship and ter, prevented ; of work of every conceivable kind for the glory of God and Mr. Silas Farmer, of Detroit, Mich., for the good of men. Miss Macpherson, gives the following reasons why we Archibald Brown, F. N. Charrington, should be specially interested in mis. Henry Hill, William Cuff, Dr. Stephen- sions to the Chinese. First, the an· son, Peter Thompson, Miss Steer, Miss tiquity of the nation and the interesting Child, Evans Hurndall, J. W. Atkinson, peculiarities of the people and the coun. Christian Community, Strangers' Rest, try. Secondly, the peculiar and friend- Seamen's Missions, Mrs. Birt in Liver- ly feeling toward America and Ameri. pool, William Quarrier in Scotland, and cans. Third, the debt which America innumerable others all through the owes to Chinamen for labor in this coun· land. Positively one's heart aches to try, notwithstanding the persecution to think of the noble army of God's ser- which they have been subjected. vants who serve Him and slle His face in Fourth, women especially should be in· the squalid parts of our great cities, who terested because of what the Chinese are, for the moment at least, forgotten women are, and because of what we obby lllany of the churches, and by indi- tain from China. Fifth, the unusually vidual donors accustomed to contribute favorable conditions for missionary to their funds. effort. Sixth, the unusually large field which China presents for missionary Notwithstanding these statements, it labor. seems to us that General Booth's scheme ought to have a full and fair trial. We Lord Wolseley believes that the believe that if it be not entirely success- Chinese are the coming nation, that the ful, it may at least lead the way to a great battle of Armageddon will take larger and more prominent work for the place between the Chinese and the Eng. poor not only of London, but of all our lish.speaking people; that a general is great cities. to arise among them who will train them in the science of arms and prepare them A young man's guild has been formed for a great assault upon the Russian in connection ~ith the Church of Scot- Empire. The Chinese are capable :of land, and the ninth annual convention wonderful endurance, have a stolid in. of delegates met in Hamilton, Scot. difference to death, and he prophesies land, from the 5th to the 7th of October that before them Russia will fall; that last. Delegates were present from all then they will overrun India, sweeping parts of the country, even from the Ork. the British into the sea, and at last Eng. neys. The membership of the Guild lish, Americans, etc., will rally for a desembraces about twenty thousand, with perate conflict. Lord Wolseley is an over five hundred branches, extending authority on military matters in Britain. from Montreal to Ceylon. This Guild Whether or not he is a prophet remains is marked with peculiar missionary zeal; to be seen. no less than eleven of the Church's mis. sionaries have gone through this Guild. The compression of ladies' feet in We have seldom read with greater in· China is merely a mark of gentility. terest the account of any similar meet- Various accounts are given of the origin ing. The Town Hall on October 7th of this custom. One is that an emperor was crowded to overflowing. Mr. Camp- was jealous of his wife, and to prevent bell, M.P., presided, and among the her from gadding abroad put her feet speakers were Professor Charteris, Dr. into iron stocks. Another is that a cer- Marshall Lang, Mr. Hoxier, M.P., Mr. tain empress, Tan-ke (B.C. 100), was Parker Smith, M.P., Mr. Somerville, born with club feet, and that she caused M.P., and Rev. Archibald Turnbull, the emperor to issue an edict adopting . B.D., Darjeeling. Five Guildsmen her foot as the model of beauty, and rehave, during the past year, gone into quiring the compressing of female inthe mission field. fants' feet so as to conform to the imperio untarily chosen as a permanent order of al standard; while a third account is that things implies either a very imperative the Emperor Leyuh (A.D. 961) was amus- call of duty or a great lack of prudence. ing himself one day in his palace, when The duty may and very often does exhe thought he might improve the ap- ist, and then the course adopted canpearance of the .feet of a favorite concu- not be too highly commended. But bine. He caused her feet to be so bent economics have a place in missionary as to raise the instep into an arch, to life as well as elsewhere, and· there is resemble the new moon. The figure certainly a very terrible waste of vital was much admired by the courtiers, energy in this mode of life. Men may who soon began to introduce it into endure it, as soldiers endure the hardtheir families. It is said that another ships of the camp or the march, but it emperor, two hundred years later, is cruelly hard for the ladies. One has placed a stamp of the lotus flower but to look at many of the ladies at the (water-lily) on the sole of the small shoe Conference to see that they were mere of his favorite concubine, so that at shadows of their former selves, their every step she took she left on the ground heroic spirits not being proof against the print of the flower; hence girls with the physical and mental trials of such a small feet are complimented at the pres· life. The statistics of the great society, ent day as "the golden lilies." The whose name is synonymous with the operation of bandaging and compress- highest consecration and self-abnegaing the feet is very painful; children tion, show a terrible sacrifice of precious cry very much under it. Mortification material. It is said that one half of of the feet has been known to result those who enter China under its ausfrom the cruel practice. Cnstom, how· pices return within two years, either to ever, imposes it as a necessary attrac- their homeland on earth or to the home tion in a woman. An old gentJeman at above, and that the average term of ser- Canton being asked the reason why he vice for the whole body is only three bandaged his daughter's feet, replied and a half years. The policy which that if she had large feet she could not leads to this alarming sacrifice must be make a good marriage. backed by the strongest arguments of necessity before it. can be fully justified." A " Heavenly Foot Society" has been formed by Chinese women at Amhoy. The Habitations of Ornelty. Rev. John Macgowen, missionary at Amhoy, now in England on a visit, in a Bishop Crowther, speaking of the speech delivered at Manchesterrecently Niger xegion, says; "About four days stated that the Society was the result of before our arrival at Ohambele, an old his persistent teaching that the Chinese rich woman died and was buried. The custom of binding the feet was in open proceedings of the burial were stated as – violation of the precepts of the Gospel. follows; When the grave was dug, two It is his belief that the example will be female slaves were taken, whose limbs extensively imitated, and that the final were smashed with clubs. Being unresult will be a death·blow to the bar- able to stir, they were let down into the barous practice. grave, yet alive, on the mat or bed on which the corpse of the mistress was laid, Rev. B. C. Henry says, with regard to and screened from sight for a time. Two the wearing of nati ve Chinese costumes other female slaves were laid hold on by the missionaries in China : " Chinese and dressed up with best clothes and dress too often means a Chinese house, coral beads. This being done, they pure and simple, and native furniture, were led and paraded about the town native utensils, native food. These, to show the public the servants of the when necessity requires, may be cheer- fich dead miatresl! whom they would fully eqdllred tor a time, but to be volattend in the world of spirits. This foreign missions, addressing requests to was done for two days, when the un- ministers in different parts of the fortunate victims were taken to the edge Church to write briefly on some aspect of the grave, and their limbs were also of foreign missions and the Church's re- smashed with clubs, and their bodies sponsibility. The first series in the laid on the corpse of their mistress, and symposium appeared on December 10th, covered up with earth while yet alive. discussing the supreme motive of mis- We can only imagine what would be the sions-the _prayer, " Thy Kingdom feelings of these unfortunate victims. Come" -the Missionary-the Mission- Some of the Bonny oonverts attempted ary obligations-the need of consecra- to rescue these last two females by a tion-the debt to missions, and the large offer of ransom to buy bullocks for necessity for a full presentation of the the occasion, but it was refused them. facts. The idea is a good one, -and Can there be any doubt as to the urgent might be well imitated in other quar- necessity of sending Christian teachers ters. We must not only strike while the among this poor ignorant people, who iron is hot, but make it hot by striking. are slaves to Satan, and yet glory in their shame? After these atrooious deeds It is no smaIl gratification to the ed_ were performed, volleys of trade oan- itor to have received from France a copy nons were fired for days in honor of the of "La Crise des Missions," which is dead. I counted ten of these cannons a translation into the French language in the street opposite the house of the of the " Crisis of Missions." The ed- dead, about four or six pounders eaoh." itor supposes himself to be desoended from the Huguenots, his original name From Bolobo, Congo Free State, having been Pierre, the Frenoh for an English Baptist missionary writes: Peter; after the expulsion of the Hugue- " Our neighbor's wife died; a man and nots and their arrival in England, it bewoman were killed, so that she might came very natural that the next generanot go alone into the spirit world. Her tion should be known as Pierre-son, or spouse was then wound up in oloth, and Pierson, Peterson being another form of wrapped round and round with piece the same name. Having his little book after piece until it made a big barrel translated into the Frenoh language at shaped bundle two yards long and one this orisis of foreign missions, he feels in diameter. Hearing that two more as though he were like a son, bringing victims were to be sacrificed on the day to his old mother a tribute of filial love. of the funeral, I determined at least to put in a protest, and, together with An aged clergyman met a man who Miss Silvey, arrived on the scene just was declaiming against foreign misas the executioner was carrying the sions. " Why," asked the objector, young woman to the grave, at the mouth "doesn't the Church look after the of which the young man who was to be heathen at home?" "Oh, we do, ' , her companion in misery was bound and said the olergyman, qllietly, handing the ready for the last act-that of being man himself a tract. placed in the grave in a sitting position and bnri~d alive, with the corpse sup- One of the singular revenges of hisported on their knees. It was, indeed, tory is noted in the fact that the first a sad sight to see a couple of well-built stone of fhe monument erected to the young people, with fine, intelligent memory of the missionary John Willfaces, weeping bitterly at the prospect iams, who was oruelly killed in the of a cruel death and making their mute South Sea Islands, was Jaid by the son appeals for help." of the man who slew him.
The Ohristian Intelligencer of New York has started a symposium on
THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS
IV.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
[EDITOBIAL. ] The Land of the Aztecs.
-Between the southern limits of in either direction may be found all the California, New Mexico, Arizona and featnres of a continent.
Texas, on the one side, and the conti- Historically, this country is equally nent of South America on the other, interesting. Here is the colossal there stretches an irregular triangle of museum of American antiquities.
land which, from a breadth of eighteen Cortes' conquest of Mexico dates back hundred miles, gradually tapers down- neaxly four centuries; yet this era is com.
ward to a narrow isthmus less than fifty paratively modern. Far back beyond the miles from sea to sea. Spanish invasion, into the dim distance The upper and much the larger part of of prehistoric times, stretches Mexican this triangular country is Mexico, which civilization, the monum(mts of whose dips down into the great waters of the unique, antique grandeur even now are Gulf like the arched head and neck of a among the wonders of the world. For camel. Below it lies Central America, example, there is the Teoccali of Cho- in shape somewhat like a half square, luba, its four stories coinciding with the bisected at its diagonal and resting its cardinal points of the compass, its balle base line on the Pacific. more than fourteen hundred feet square, This country of Mexico is, from every its summit rising to a height of one point of view, one of the most interest- hundred and sixty.four feet. Though ing in the world. In physical features undoubtedly built as a temple or grand it is very l'emarkable, having the capac- altax, it was also, like the Pyramid of ities and possibilities of an occidental, Cheops, a sepulchre; and a square sep- tropical paxadise. The Tropic of Can- ulchral chamber has been found with- cer divides Mexico into two nearly in, having no egress, and supported by equal parts, one of which lies on the cypress wood. In it were idols of Temperate, the otheron the TorridZone. basalt, curious vases and two skeletons.
On the western coast is the long, narrow At Mitla, in Oaxaca, have been discov- gulf of California, seven hundred miles ered very unique ruins, palaces with in length, famous for its pearls, and quaint, arabesque ornaments; a vast once known as the Vermilion Sea, from hall. whose ceiling is borne up by six its reddish hue; on the eastern side the porphyry columns, the like of whicli are Gulf Stream has its mysterious fountain. not elsewhere to be found in this hem- The configuration of the country is isphere, and which bear the marks of peculiar. A vast plateau, with a series the primitive days of art.
of table-lands varying in elevation from Politically, the country of Mexico six thousand to eight thousand feet, wields a peculiar fascination over the dotted with volcanic cones, forms the student of political history. In a double great bulk of the interior; and this sense this is a land of earthquakes and plateau abruptly descends toward the volcanoes. Frequent and violent social Pacific, while it gently sbpes to the upheavals characterize its annals. From broad lowlands which border the Gulf. the conquest, about 1522, until now, it Such a country must present all varie- has enjoyed little respite from these po- ties of climate. A few hours' journey litical eruptions and revolutions. After enables the traveller to pass from torrid exactly three centuries of Splnish dom- heats to the frigid realms of ice and ination, in 1822, it became for a short snow. There are three distinct and time an independent State under an well-defined climatic zones, with cor- emperor; in 1824 it was constituted a responding varieties of fiora and fauna. Federal Republic, but afterward came Within a range of five hundred ·miles under military dictatorship. In 1862, by French intervention, it became sub- twenty thousand victims were slaugh- ject to the sovereignty of an Austrian tered upon it. The papal religion has prince, and then again became a Repub- been forced upon the people, but it has lic. There is no social stability; quiet scarcely lifted them above the level of is but the interval between eruptions these old rites and superstitions. To and explosions. keep them down and keep them under, it was necessary to leave them in that The population is of a mixed hetero- ignorance which is the mother of super- geneous character, composed of every- Btition and to cater to their vices. thing, but compacted into nothing; and Hence to-day seven eighths of the pop- this is one secret of social disquiet. ulation cannot read or write. Marriage The whites of Spanish descent, called has sunk into concubinage. The Bible creoles, constitute at once an oligarchy is almost an unknown book, and the and a landed aristocracy. There is a name of Jesus is inseparable from that much larger body of mixed Spanish and of Jesuit. With a drunken and disso- Indian blood who count themselves lute priesthood for teachers and exem- among the whites, but are not of pure plars, with the very churches and con- lineage. Indians form the bulk of the vents identified with extortion and population, and their abject poverty re- licentiousness, the drift of society has .duces them to practical sl.:.very. With been toward atheism on the one hand this mixed mass are further mingled a and the indifference of religious apathy few negroes, and everywhere may be on the other; while the more abject poor found the mestizos, with their varieties, and oppressed lower·clas~es, pulverized the zambos, mulattoes, terzerons, and beneath the millstone of social tyranny quadroons. Add to all these the numer- and slavery, are only waiting for oppor- ous foreigners, especially French and tunity to feed their resentment. The German, and you have the body politic, only power that can remould such a pop- which throughout, like the feet of Neb- uIation is the pure Gospel of Christ. uchadnezzar's image, is of elements that Notwithstanding the sway of a nominal refuse to assimilate and combine, out- Christianity, Mexico is as much a field for wardly mixed but not mingled. Protestant missions as China or Africa.
The Mexican religion is well symbol- This popuIation of over ten millions, ized by the Teoccali, to which we have with a score of cities having each over already referred. The elevated summit- 20,000 inhabitants, lies on our borders, platform once sacred to the Aztec our next-door neighbor. Contact there deities now bears aloft a chapel to the must be, and it must be more close and Virgin. Another race has succeeded it frequent, as modern enterprise is so rapand supplanted the Aztec; so another idly annihilating space and time, and religion, with its new deities, saints, and pushing railways and telegraphs through sacrifices has reared its very shrine on the heart of the land of the Aztecs. the temple platform of a more ancient Lacking a river system and good harbors, superstition. Yet down beneath the Mexican commerce naturally Hoats to corrupt Romanism of Mexico, we find our ports. Awaking to the superiority the old relics of an abandoned faith. of our civilization, Mexican society be- gins to court closer fellowship with our That ancient Aztec religion was a institutions. Now is the tum of tide strange mixture of countless deities and in the affairs of this neighboring nation. deified passions and cannibal cruel- Whether avarice and ambition shall ties. That huge round block of red conquer Mexico in the interests of trade porphyry in the museum of the City of and traffic, or the spirit of the Gospel Mexico, once the capstone of the great shall impel laborers to till these opening pyramidal temple, was once the bloodi- fields for Christ, is the pivotal issue of est stone of sacrifice known on earth. the hour. Its side bears graven records of horrible cruelties, and it is said that every year Forty.four years ago, in 1847, in con- still in the State of Guerrero, until Manection with an unjustifiable war, the thilde Rodriquez went with her Bibles United States troops invaded Mexico, and tracts and anointed tongue to the but they bore in their knapsacks that homes of the people. Eight years ago, blessed book of God, which thus by the Rev. J. Milton Greene went with Rev_ strange fate of war found its way into Procopio Diaz, and found a welcome the Aztec land. The furrows ploughed again in Guerrero. Within seven weeks by cannon were strange furrows in they held thirty-two services, estabwhich to sow the seed of the Kingdom. lished six churches and thirteen congre- Yet so it was. Then seven years later, gations, and baptized two hundred and Miss Melinda Rankin, in Brownsville, eighty converts. Texas, just across the border, a few miles from Matamoras, set up her sem- There were similar signs, elsewhere inary. The revolution of 1857-8 open- in Mexico, of a breaking down of the ing Mexico to Protestant missions, Mr_ barriers of ages. When Mr. Forcada Thompson, agent of the Bible Society, entered Zilacuaro twenty.four years ago, crossed the Rio Grande to Matamoras he found that for six years Bibles and in 1860 ; and that heroic woman, Miss tracts had been making ready the paths Rankin, followed in 1864, and in 1865 of the Lord. A Mexican had opened a personally raised in our country the bookstore and taken with him four hun- $15,000 to push on her pioneer work, dred Bibles and a large lot of tracts, and herself training and sending out native had sold or given away the entire stock_ colporteurs. In 1866 she began work The circulation of the blessed word of at Monterey, and six years later the God had proved a similar John the Presbyterian General Assembly formally Baptist in Tabasco, preparing the way took up Mexico as a mission field. In of the Lord. September of that year a pioneer band of seven, Rev. Messrs. Pitkin, Phillips, The true policy of missions in Mexico Thompson, with their wives, and Miss is to raise up an efficient native ministry Ellen P. Allen, took ship from New to whose charge the churches may be York and went straight to the Mexican entrusted. In the theological seminary capital. There they found a large body at San Luis Potosi, this training work of people prepared for organization into is carried on. The girls' boarding- Protestant communities, and in J an- school, in charge of Miss Snow for five nary, 1873, Rev. M. N. Hutchinson and years, passed into the hands of Miss wife took charge of the work. During Bartlett, when Miss Snow became Mrs. the same year Zacatecas became to the Hamilton. Twenty-five pupils were here northern what Mexico city was to the gathered. southern States, the evangelical and evangelizing centre, and from these The fact that even figures sometimes points evangelism radiated. lie is illustrated in the reports of the statistics of the Mexican field. The re- The methods of work were simple duction in the number of converts and and effective. Protestant worship, with church-members reported by the Pres- Scriptural ordinances and sacraments, byterians, for example, led some to de- Christian schools, Bible teaching, evan- preciate the work and even to affirm gelical hymnology and the education of that it was going backward. But at first a native ministry were the seven-fold all baptized persons were classed with secrets of success. Of course these de- communicants, and so reported; but voted men and women had to breast according to Presbyterian usage elseopposition and sometimes dare and bear where, the lists of baptized children persecution. In the outbreak in Aca- haye been separated from those of compulco in 1875, several persons lost their muning members, and the latter only lives, and the work for a while stood reported. The fact is that, instead of a large loss, there has been a total gain of ten per cent over and above all reductions and losses by death, and the work made Juarez Governor of Oajaca. Revois growing both in interest and promise. lution having broken out there, his position was very difficult, but he not It is very difficult to give any fairly only reduced chaos to order, but sent accurate photograph of the present con· out armed forces to effect pacification dition of missions in Mexico. Before elsewhere in the Republic. In 1857 he what is written can be put in type, the was made Constitutional Governor of whole condition may have undergone Oajaca ; then in November, 1857, Presisuch change as to demand a revision if dent Comonfort made him . Secretary not reconstruction of the report. At of State, and afterward he became Presithe time of the Jubilee Report of the dent of the Supreme Court of Justice. Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, In January, 1858, he became ell-officio they had a total force of eighty.nine Constitutional President of Mexico, by laborers, of whom fifty.six were native the withdrawal of Comonfort. To him preachers, teachers or helpers, twenty· Mexico owes a great debt. He secured one licentiates, and four women. There recognition from the United States. were ninety churches, with 4314 com- In 1860 he drove Miramon, his rival, municants, and a gain of one sixth dur- from Mexico ; then, entering the capital ing the year. Over six hundred pupils in 1861, he was formally elected Presiwere gathered in schools. This repre- dent for four years, and executed with sents but one denomination. great severity the decrees against the clergy, by the confiscation of church Some reference ought to be added as estates. He was governor when France to Benito Juarez, the Mexican Presi- invaded the country and put Maximilian dent, and the descendant of the Toltec into power. In 1865 this ill-fated prince race.· Educated by a wealthy family, he issued his fatal decree declaring the rebecame distinguished in the law, and public extinct, and sentencing to death afterward, as a politician of most liberal all J uarists taken in :arms. Though ideas, went from the position of justice the term of Juarez had expired, the bold of the peace to presiding judge. In Toltec issued a proclamation that he 1846, at the age of 39, he was made should hold office until the driving out deputy to the Constitutional Congress of invaders should make possible a new in Mexico City. He was prominent in election. The United States now inthe administration of the famous manos terposed, our own Civil War being at an muerias, whereby the clergy had to end, and in 1866 Napoleon withdrew furnish a loan to pay war expenses in his troops, and Maximilian was shot in the conflict with the United States. 1867. Juarez probably would have been Then for four years he was Governor unable to prevent his sad end, as it was of Oajaca. During the period of peace judged by court-martial a justreprisalfor he opened roads, built up schools, re- his guerilla mode of warfare on Mexico. formed finances, and left the public treasury enriched when he retired from After a ten yeo.rs' struggle, in which the government. After being banished Juarez had held up the standard of the under Santa Anna, in 1853, he spent republic against treason at home and time in Havana and New Orleans, and armed intervention from abroad, he WIlS in 1855 joined Alvarez, whom he ac- again elected President, and died still companied to Cuernavaca, where he rep- in office, June 18th, 1872. He was an resented his native State in the choice of honest reformer and a man of statesa temporary President for the Republic. manlike ability. He is believed to have Alvarez being selected, Juarez was made done more than any other man of his Minister of Justice. To him was due generation to deliver Mexioo from tIle the Ley Juarez, the law abolishing the despotism of a corrupt papal church privileges of the clergy and the army. and open the way for the Protestant re- General Comonfort, who became Al- ligion and repUblican freedom. varez's substitute in December, 1855,
GE:NERAL MISSIO:NARY I:NTELLIGE:NCE
V.-GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
The Scandinavia.n Mission in Liverpool, by Rev. James Johnston, Bolton, England.
No lack of encouragement is sup- Kjaldstrom, of Hull, and Pastor Snellplied by the pUblication of the nine- man, of London, who have conducted teenth annual report of the Scandi- services in the Finnish tongue. This navian Mission in Liverpool, to sailors, brief record of what is being accom- ~migrants, and others who chiefly hail plished yearly for thousands in the great from Northwestern Europe. Last year port of Liverpool, who would otherwise marked the fifth anniversary of the be spiritually destitute, constitutes the opening of Gustaf Adolf's Church in most eloquent appeal for assistance. the famous English shipping port. The organization has the cordial aid of sev- Organized Missionary Work and Statiseral prominent Li veTpool citizens. Its tics. Edited by Rev. D. L. Leonard, committee further includes the Swedish Bellevne, O. and Norwegian, Danish and Russian Consuls, and the most influential mem- -The China Inland Mission sent out bers of the resident Scandinavians. As no less than 59 missionaries in 1890, of in previous years, the work has been whom 32 were unmarried women. The continued among the mariners and number sent the year before was 55. American-bound emigrants without in- These toilers represent various societies, terruption. The services of the year such as the Swedish, the Norwegian, the 1889 number 331-averaging from six to German Alliance, and the Bible Chrisnine services weekly-and the attend- tian missions. ance in the aggregate to 31,000. Day by day the pastors and laymen have vis- -The number of missionary stations ited the ships, boarding-houses, Sailors' in Africa now exceeds 500. There are Home, emigrant houses, and hospitals, 400,000 converts, and the number is ininviting the wayfarers to the services, creasing at the rate of about 25,000 a comforting the sick, and distributing year. Within five years more than 200 religious books and tracts. During the natives have suffered martyrdom for year the British and Foreign Bible So- their faith. ciety presented the society with 2500 Gospels. The spacious reading-room -It is stated that not one in 10,000 in the basement of the church, which is of the Chinese have yet heard of the provided with admirable supplies of Saviour of mankind. The province of newspapers and religious literature, has Shen-si, which possesses 88 walled cities, become an appreciated quarter for rest, has 86 without 8. missionary. Another conversation, and general knowledge. province has 56 such cities, and 54 ut- When it is repprted that 549 Scandi- terly unreached by the true Light. Nine navian vessels dropped anchor last year other provinces of the empire are equalill the Mersey no greater proof of the ly destitute. need of the mission is required. For the maintenance of this remarkably suc- –The Free Church of Scotland had cessful undertaking the Hon. Treasurer, last year 181 branch stations; 51 or- Mr. C. Brodersen, 10 South Castle dained European missionaries; 14 or- Street, Liverpool, will gratefully ac- dained natives; 10 licentiates; 8 medknowledge the donations of friends ical missionaries ; 3 nati ve physicians; whether in Europe or America. Pastor 23 male and 35 female teachers; 15 lay O. Heden has been assisted in his min- evangelists and mast~rs of industrial istrations by Pastor J. A. Axelson and departments; 625 native helpers; 42 Mr. A. Andersen Hetland. Occasionally native churches; 6620 communicants; help has been volunteered by Pastor 26,826 pupils in schools of all grades.
-The Y. M. C. A. is spreading all over the world. There are now formed upward of 4000 associations, and of these 1000 are in papal lands, and nearly To which add Brazil Mission, 365 ; Cen- 300 in Mohammedan and heathen coun- tral Mexican Mission, 1650 ; China Mistries. There are 21 in India and Ceylon, sion, 348; Mexican Border Mission, 12 in Turkey, 6 in Syria, 12 in Africa, 5 1838 ; bishops, 8 ; travelling preachers, in China, 7 in Persia, and 200 in Japan. 4862 ; grand total, 1,177,150. There are going to be openings in every quarter for the young men who have a -Though the Salvation Army has fitness for secretaries and evangelists In Great Britain as its principal work-field, connection with these associations. and finds its chief. task in ministering to the poor and degraded of the great -Statistics of the Lutheran Church, cities, aggressive operations are also gathered by the Rev. J. N. Lenker, of pushed continually and with vigor in Leadville, Col., show in Europe a total heathen lands. Thus a few weeks since of 22,980 ministers, 29,644 churches, and a detachment of fifty young men and 43,133,696 baptized members; in North women sailed for India to reinforce the America, 4710 ministers, 7964 churches, members of the order already there. and 6,511,500 baptized members. In. These new recruits volunteered for this eluding the statistics of Oceanica, South particular service largely as an affec- America, Africa, and Asia with those tionate tribute to the memory of the already given, he makes the grand total late Mrs. Booth. As showing the in the world of 28,406 ministers, 38,381 financial strength of the Army, it is credchurches, and 50,061,280 baptized memo ited with owning property in various bers. countries to the amount of $3,250,000.
-Methodism in this country has over -The Methodist Episcopal Church, four and a half million members, led by North, with its 2,236,000 members, conover 30,000 preachers; Baptists nearly tributed last year for home, foreign, and four million followers, led by over 28,000 freedmen's missions, $1,799,000. But ministers; Presbyterianism, a million though this sum is large it yet repreand a half, led by a ministry of 11,500 ; sents an average of but eighty cents per besides a host of smaller denominations, member, while the Congregationalists, and a band of Sabbath·schools scholars with a membership of only 492,000, gave numbering over nine millions. In the to similar objects $1,877,000, or at the whole country there is a gain to the rate of $3.81. In all its foreign work Christian churches the past year of this great and active church reports a 1,089,853 members, 4867 ministers, and gratifying growth. The largest gains 8494 churches. were mads in North India, where in a single district last year 2677 were bap- -Statistics of the entire membership tized of whom 1020 were adults. The of the Methodist Episcopal Church, total increase in all the fields was 5553, South, are given as follows: Georgia, or nine per cent. The Methodist Epis- 132,606; Texas, 126,884; Tennessee, copal Epworth League, though but two 114,351 ; North Carolina, 111,630 ; Vir. years old, has 300,000 members. ginia, 108,341; Alabama, 88,702; Missouri, ~2, 933; Kentucky, 80,685 ; Mis- -Madagascar, with its 230,000 square SISSIppi, 72,203; Arkansas, 69,378; miles and population of 3,500,000, is South Carolina, 67,094; West Virginia, one of the wonder-lands for missionary 24,779 ; Louisiana, 23,269 ; Florida, 23,- success. The Church Missionary So- 044 ; l:[aryland, 10,866; Indian Terri- ciety has 12 representatives at work tory, 8130; California, 7491; Illinois, upon the island, and has gathered 6361; Kansas, 2803; Oregon, 1569; 10,000 adherents, and the Society of Colorado, 1138 ; Indiana, 1104 ; District Friends, with a force of 15, has gained of Columbia, 772; New Mexico, 542; 32,000. But the London Missionary Montana, 456; Washington, 342; Ne· Society, first in the fiel d, and called to braska, 300; Arizona, 225; Idaho, 80. bear the heat and burden of the day, can easily reckon up by far the largest are 6271, and the expenditures for the results. To her 30 English toilers are year were $lJ4,742.42. The Japan Mis- joined as auxiliaries 827 native ordained sion was opened in 1873. and has 1686 ministers and 3459 other nati ve helpers. church-members, an increase for the In the churches are found 40,000 mem- year of 211, and the cost was $27,503.50. bers, while 160,000 adherents listen to the Gospel. The local contributions Christian Church (Disciple).-Secamounted last year to $18,340. retary, Rev. A. McLean, Cincinnati, O.
Arabian Mission.-Treasurer, Prof. Report for the year closing October J. G. Lansing, New Brunswick, N. J. 18th, 1890.
Report for the year closing October This church has a membership of over 1st, 1890. seven hundred thousand, and sustains missions in India, China, Japan, and This Society was formed in August of Turkey, in addition to work in England 1889, and the field chosen for its first and Denmark. It has in heathen lands operations is likely to be Southern 32 stations and 33 missionaries from Arabia and the Aden region. Two America (of whom 16 are women) and missionaries are already there or on 25 native helpers, a total of 58. The their way thither, and making prepara- church-members number 1418, a gain tion for their work by studying the for the year of 158, a net gain of 135. language. Its receipts for the first year In day-schools 817 pupils are found, ani 'were $4738.47 with a bequest of $5000 2063 in Sunday-schools. The receipts in addition, and the expenditures were were $67,750.49,8 gain of $5820.34, but $3144.64. $12,000 came froll} a single bequest. An earnest call is issued for $100,000 in Evangelical Association. – Secre- 1891. tary, Rev. S. Heininger, Cleveland, O. Reformed Church in the United Report for the year olosing Sept., 1890_ States.-Secretary, Rev. Allen R. Bar- This society has a mission conference tholomew, Harrisburg, Pa. in Germany and another in Switzerland, but its work for the heathen is wholly Report for the year closing May 6th, confined to Japan, where 5 missionaries, 1890. with 10 native itinerant preachers and 3 local preachers, sustain 31 appoint- Until 1865 this church contributE1d ments. A theological seminary gives through the American Board in all training to 13 students. The number about twenty eight thousand dollars, of church-members is 378. of whom 115 and had its representatives in Asia were received last year. In 1888-89 Minor and among the American Indians. the receipts for the Japan missions were In 1878 a mission was opened in Japan, $9513.03. to which 7 missionaries have since been sent. The number of native preachers Methodist Church (Canada).-Sec- is 17. The churches are 12, with a retary, Rev. Alexander Sutherland, D.D., membership of 1656, and the contribu- Toronto. tions for nine months 'of 1889-90 were $2835.15. The number of converts was Report for the year closing June 1st, 218. A girls' school is sustained, and a 1890. theological school with 26 students. The cost of the mission for three years is This church has a membership of $59,209.64. 233,868, and has increased by 36,399 in four years. It sustains missi;;ns among North Africa Mission.-Secretary, the French, Indians, and Chinese in Edward H. Glenny, 21 Linton Road, Canada, Manitoba, and British Colum- Barking. bia. Its foreign work is confined to Japan. In aU fields the missionaries The figures are from the Monthly number 67, with 44 native assistants Record, December, 1890. and 46 teachers. The church-members This society was organized in 1881, is undenominationol, and has its work Income. sundry funds ..•……•.••• $10.172.35 among the Mohammedans, Jews, and Tuition and public funds. •…….• 40,066.75 Europeans in Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, U. S. Gov't, on account of tuition Tripoli, and Northern Arabia, with a 24.700.08 population of 14,000,000. It has 53 mis- and subsistence for Indians. _… . 8,900.00 sionaries in the field, of whom'31 are lo- Slater Fund, paid to Institutions.. . cated in Morocco and Algeria, 2 are physicians, 36 are women and 28 are Total …………………. $408,038.97 unmarried. In November 7 were sent Balance in hand September 30th, out, and 4 others have been accepted. 1889…….. …. ……………. 4.471.67 Canadian Church (Episcopal).- Secretary, Rev. Charles H. Mockbridge, Total….. ……. ……… $412,510.64 D.D., Toronto. DANI1IL H.um Fmm. INcoHlI: ACCOUNT. Report for the year closing July 31st, Income collected 1889-90……….. ~,686.76 1890. Balance in hand September 30th.
Hitherto this church had contributed 1889…………………… …. .. 16,688.56 through the Church of England, but last year sent out its first missionary, Total……… …. ……… $51,375.32 and to Japan. The total expenditures Amount expended in the South….. $47,482.27 were $14,785, of which these are the Balance in hand and appropriated… 3,893.05 principal items: Total. … ………………. $51.375.32 S. P. G………………………….. $1,880.59 REC1tIl'TS J'OR THlI: WORK OJ' THE YEAR. C. M. S…………………………. 1,410.44 S. P. C. K……………………….. 470.15 For current work • •. •. …..•..•.••• $408.038.97 Income from Daniel Hand Fund…. 34.686.76 Colonial and Con. Church Society. . •• . 470.15 Proportion of General Expenses.. . . . •• 245.00 Total …………………. $442,725.73 Appropriat~d Contributions. American Board.-Secretaries, No.1 S. P. G…………………………. $3,301.73 Somerset Street, Boston, Mass. C. M. S…… _…. ……….. ••• •••••• 275.71 Bishop of Madras ……………….. 305.00 Report for the year closing August Zenana Missions…. . .. .. . .• •••• ••• •• 1,289.53 31st. 1890. Parochial Missions to Jews………… 1,424.06 London Society, Jews …………….. 2,321.81 No. of missions………………… . 22 Rev. J. Cooper Robinson, Japen Fund. 1,227.06 Stations and out-ltatiOns •••••••.•••• 1,053 American Missionary. Association. -The main work of this society is in Ordained missionaries.••••••.•••.•.• 183 the Southern States among the freedmen and the" Mountain whites," with large Lay …………. .. 17 emphasis given to education. but missions are !Llso sustained among the Ind- Women (wives. 181) .. .. 333 ians and the Chinese in this country. Whole No. from America.••.•••….. 533 The Treasurer's Report (October 1st, 1889-September 30th, 1890) gives a grati- Native pastors………………… .. 174 fying exhibit. showing a credit balance of $2,089.24, an increase of receipts over Total native helpers…………….. . 2,417 last year of $31,820.09, a total of $408,- 038.97, and if the income be added from Total American and native •..•.•.••. 2.950 the Daniel Hand Fund, $34,086.76, the aggregate amounts to $442.725.73. the No. of churches……………….. .. 387 largest ever received by the Association. No. of church-members…….. _…. . 36,256 RECEIl'TS. Added during the year…………. .. 4,554 From churches. Sabbath schools. missionary societies and Individ- No. of adherents……………… .. 127,000 nals…………… ………… ••• 8186,470.61 No. of church-members from the be- Estates and legacies.:…. • •••••• 137.739.18 ginning……………… …….. .. 115,000 Average congregations….. ………. 62.200 Under theological training.. . .. . . . . .. 247 In 66 colleges and high schools.. . . . . . 4,600 In 56 girls' boarding schools. . •..• .•• 3,180 In 889 common schools…. .. .. .. .. .. 33,114 Whole number under Instruction…. 47.329 Native contributions….. …. ……. $117,494 Total receipt…………………….. $763,434.07 Protestant Episcopa.l. – Secretary. Rev. WilliamS. Langford, D.D., 22 Bible House, New York.
Report for the year closing December 31st, 1890. According to the Living Chu.rch Alma- Nonconformists in this total is thus nac for 1891, this church has 4163 stated: clergy, 299 candidates for orders, 2330 parishes and missions, and 508,292 com- Wesleyan Missiouary Society……….£124,883 municants. The number of baptisms Londou Missionary Society…. . . .• . . . . . 98,830 IMt year was 61,665, of which nearly Baptist Missionary Society. . . . . .. . •… . 63,470 47,000 were of infants. The contribu- English Presbyterian Foreign Missions. 14,492 tions for the year are $12,754,767. .. Friends" Foreign Mission Association. 13,156 Wesleyan Ladies' Auxiliary for Female In addition to work carried on in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Education…….. …. ……… ……. 7,661 Greece, and Hayti, missions are BUS- United Methodist l!"'ree Churches' Fortained among the Indians and freedmen, and in West Africa, China, and eign Missions.. .. . …. …………… 6,283 Japan. These are the figures for the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists Foreign three fields last named : Missionary Society.. . …………… 7,195 Bishops….. .. ….•. …. …. •… 4 Eight smaller societies and value of Presbyters (of whom native, 14)…….. 32 needlework….. …. … …. ………. 33,682 Deacons (native).. .. •. … ..•. . .. . . . . . .. 18 Total. ……………………….£364,652 Candidates for holy orders……… •••• 22 Scottish and Irish Presbyterian soci. eties contributed £185,646, aud Roman Catechists, readers, etc. (native)……. 'J7 Catholio societies £9819. The amount for 1888 was £1,334,491, and for 1887 Stations……………. …. …. ……. 196 was £1,228,759.
Baptisms……………. …………. 585 United Presbyterian Church, Scot- land.-These figures set forth the growth Adult baptisms…………………… 331 witnessed by this society in thirty years, and in six important and decisive par- Confirmations……… …. …… ….. 265 ticulars. As will be noticed, the de- velopment of both causative forces and Communicants ……….. " …. .. .. … 2,242 of results has been steady, and the two have kept pace in a remarkable manner. Increa.e……………. …… ……… 305 The first column includes ordained na- tive pastors, Zenana missionaries and Scholars in day schools …..• …….. 2,434 European teachers, but excludes all native evangelists and teachers. Scholars in Sunday·schools…….. .. 8,247 Native contributions………….. : …. $5,527.79 The appropriations for work among the American Indians and freedmen is $85,007.50, and for foreign missions $162,504, or a total of $247,511.50.
British Contributions to Foreign ~! "'"Q)~ ..d~ 1>,' Missions.-Canon Scott Robertson has ~lS ~~ "[;Q ;.0) prepared with great care the following .~+::.£ ,>:IS -"il ~,g summary of the gifts of British Chris- ~~ j~ ~~ tians to foreign missions in 1889. Os .s :9~ Though somewhat smaller than in 1888, ~~ ~t. it is yet larger than for any previous -bS year. Of the grand total, £1,301,306, ~ ° – – " — – he estimates that £670.000 came from – § 8"t0d 0 members of the Church of England. The channels of contributions were: – — – -0 – 1859…. 30 1 85 4,552 £16,900 £2,090 Church of England Societies•…•….. £523,226 1869…. 63 7 48 5,740 29,100 8,020 Joint Societies of Churchmen and 1879 …. 81 12 68 9,187 32,300 6,500 1889 …. 117 l!3 96 14,899 40,500 10,470 Nonconformists ……………… .. 217,963 English and Welsh Nonconformist 1 Societies ……………………. . 364,652 Missionary Failure.-The cry about Scotch and Irish Presbyterian Socie- the failure of the modern mission sug- gests a close study of the following statis- ties ………………………….. . 185,646 tical table, compiled to show the growth Roman Catholic Societies. . …..•…• 9,819 at intervals of five years during the past thirty years, or from the beginning of Total contrihutions…….. . … £1,301,306 missionary work in the Methodist mis- sion of North India. The number of The share of 'English and Welsh communicants given is, with the ex- ception of 217 Europeans and Eurasians, native membership. ~~!~ln=~:~~:::':':::':::::.:':::::::.::::~:::::: 1858~ 186~ 1:~ 1::~11 '~I'~I ':; Number of Sunday..schoo!s ……………. , ……. 9 31 104 164 4-30 703 " "school scholars…… …………. 397 860 4,540 6,~ 17,366 26,585 " ~1 :~~~f~~~:::::::: ::::::::::::::::~:::. 4~ 1,Jll 3,~ 6,~,1 7,~7 t2j~ 16,~~ Christian boys in schooL……………. 4 130 257 296, 442 t,243 2,027 " girls in school. .. " …… .., 126 168 350 715 971 1,327 Baptisms during past year……………… …….. .. 115 289 5701 7B9 1,169 1,959 Christian community.. .. .. .. .. .. …. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. 11 .. . . 11,000 " men teachers and evangelists………….. …. women teachers and Bible readers. ,…. .. …• 320 300 The number of children in schools tive Christians live. Christian con. includes only 260 pupils other than verts reside in more than 600 towns and pure natives. Twenty missionaries direct work in 225 centres where na· villages, where they BUpport their own work.
AMERICAN MISSION IN EGYPT. A COMPARISoN SHOWING THE lIHSSlON'S GROWTH AND STATUS, DEC. 31, 1889. 1854-1889.
PERIODS: FmST, 5; OTHERS, 10 YEARS. 1859. 1869. 1879. 1889.
Number stations and churches. . ……………….. .. 3 8 48 112 ~. organized congregations, Christians. . …. . 2 11 29 1 5 12 pastors (native) ………………………. .. 1 6 7 licentiates" . .. ……………. …. . .. . 13 . 8 *14 theqloglcal students …………………… . 180 9B5 2,971 communicante, Dec. 81. ……………….. ' 48B 2,088 5,654 4 $566 $4,726 " of attendants, Sabbath A.M'……………… . 100 5 39 $6,495 Amonnt contributions for church purposes……….. . 118 1,575 9B Number Sabbath schools ……………………… '. 2 (1) 100 4,427 h school pupils…. .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. , .. . 20 $829 H 400 1,200 50 300 83 Amouut contributions Sabbath·school pupils…. , …. . 2,150 Number harem workers ……………………… . "i4 44 " women taught in harems. …. .. ………… .. 'iii 2,218 4,557 females hearing word in churches, harems, 633 1,537 1,156 schools, etc…. ………………….. . .. . 60 352 female ~om!ll~nicant8, ~ec: 31. . ………….. . 281 681 4 women s mISSIOnary SocIetIes …….. ……. . 12 61 159 members women's missionary societies. . . . .. . 10 29 $273 $596 $2.723 100 Amount contributions women's missionary societies .. 6,446 20,720 2,100 6,350 6,304 Number day and training schools……………….. .. 4 $2,051 $4,694 4,386 $3,213 $12,148 1,918 :: pURils, enrollmeutt ……………………. .. 100 51 199 boys ………………………….. .. 45 31 117 100 20 35 " H girls., ………………………… . 55 25 13 $13,872 Teachers {Males…. ………………………. .. 3 B 31,067 Females…………………………. .. .23 10,184 Amount paid by natives for school purposes………. . 3 883 $6,384 Book department: Total volumes sold …. …….. . 600 '(f)' $860 $27,358 250 Scriptures …………………………………….. . (?) 75 Total receipts…. .. .. .. .. .. .. …. .. .. .. . .. … .. …. .. (?) 50 Total paid by natives for all purposes……………. . (?) 68 Training college: Pupils…….. .. ……………. .. 25 NUl;'!-ber of gra?ustes… .. '.' …… _. ………. …. ..- ~11 III servIce of Chnst.. . ……… . teachers trained and workiug. ' ……….. ' .. . 64 2,981 pastors. preachere, etc., trained …….. , ….. . 1,315 college pupils in theological class. .. .. …. .. . $2,123 " sch~ols.-outgrowth.. . .. . .•• .. .. …. .. ….. .. . puplls III same………………………… . Total enrollment, college …………………….. .. Amount fees paid by pupils ………………….. ..
* In 1890, theological students, 19.
t Sects, 1889: Protestants, 1,822; Copts, 3,718 ; Mohammedans, 831 ; others, 433. ~ Seventeen in 1890. Monthly Bulletin. steamer. The annual drink bill of Japan is $86,000,000, an average of -Wo hive Bishop Walker's church $2.40 for every individual in the Emon wheels, and now the Free.Will Bap. pire. It is encouraging, however, to tists have built a floating ohuroh, whioh learn that a total abstinence society has was launched recently at St. Louis. It been organized in that country, and that iii intended to 0lrry the Gospel along many are uniting with it. the Mississippi from St. Paul to New OrleanEl. -The missionaries in Africa deem the work of one woman equal to that of -TJie Presbyterian Church has now twelve men, since the women can go in Alaska seven missions and fOllr anywhere, even among the fiercest ohurches, with seventy to eighty com· tribes, unmolested. The female mismunicants each. Besides the Presby- sionaries are held in high esteem; their terian. the Moravian, the Protestant motives are never questioned, and they Episcopal, the Methodist Episcopal, the are listened to with greatest respect. Roman Catholio, and the Anglioan ohurches have missions in Alaska. -From the recent report of the Jap- -The Church Missionary Society of anese Minister of Education it appears England proposes to send out one thousand new missionaries during the next that education is now offered to all the fi ve or six years. A much larger proportion than heretofore will be laymen. children in Japan, and that there are -It was recently reported from the nearly three millions of pupils in the Presbyterian Mission at Wei Hien. China, that there were 650 inquirers, pllblic schools of the Empire. There and that 150 had been baptized. This is most gratifying news. is a remarkable growth of intelligence -The spirit of intolerance seems to among the people. The standard of rule unmitigated in Russia. It is stated that the procurator of the Holy education is advancing, as is shown in Synod has advised the Czar to banish all foreign missionaries, and to suppress the fact that many new studies have foreign worship except in the Baltic provinces, where the Lutheran religion been introduced in the Imperial U~:liis barely tolerated. versity of Tokyo. ' -The working of the marriage laws of India is illustrated in a recent inci- -A congress of French Protestants dent. A marriage was arranged between was recently held in Paris, having in an edllcated young girl of twelve and a view new consecration and practical lawyer of twenty.three who was suffer· study. The meetings were very earnest. ing from white leprosy. The girl was The subjects considered were such as ,kept in ignorance of the disease of her the relation of the evangelist to the paspurchasing husband. and learned it only tors and churches, difficulties in the way when she met him at the marriage ser- of evangelization in Roman Catholic vice. She merely looked up with tearful countries, and the getting of converts eyes to her father, and then submitted into the church, especially where differto her lot with a resignation character- ent denominations are represented in istic of the Hindu maiden. the same place. A resolution was adopted asking the French Evangelical -American enterprise is now sending Alliance to study means for promoting :r;um to Japan, as well as to Africa. It a confederation of French Protestant is carried over the Union Pacific Rail- churches. way an4 forwarded to Yokohama by -Another mission is to be established in Alaska by the Reformed Episoopal Church. The government having prom- ised $1000 for buildings and $1000 toward expenses, Miss Benson, of Phil. adelphia, offered to contribute one half of the remaining expenses on condition that the Church would raise the remain- der. These propOSitions bave been 00cepted, and an appeal has been made tions on the confines and books prepared for funds. in Thibetan to equip the missionary as . Boon as the wall is broken down. A -The interesting fact is stated that prayer union has been formed among while the number of Christians in Japan the Moravians to pray for the opening is only about one in one thou~and, and of Thibet. in no province do Christians even' approach to a majority, yet there have -Dr. B. H. Badley, 'President of been eleven members of the House of Lucknow Christian College, writes to Representatives chosen from their num- the Independent of the North Indian ber. There are also three professed Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Christians in tho House of Peers. A Church. Its foundations were laid in Christian has been ohosen President of the dark days of the mutiny of 1857, by the new House of Representatives. A Dr. Butler. In August, 1858, the statisformer vice-president of the liberal tics were: Missionaries, 3 ; helpers, 7 ; party is an active Presbyterian elder. church members, 1; probationers, 4; After his ~lection he was advised to give orphans, 6; day scholars, 41 ; native up his office in the church, as it might congregations, 35. In 1889 the figures create prejudice against him, but he re- were: Missionaries, 30,; Zenana and plied that he regarded his office in a native, 72 ; helpers, 389 ; church-mem- Christian church as more important bers, 4989; probationers, 4793 ; than his seat in the Diet. It was then orphans, 617; day scholars, 17,241; suggested that he absent himself from Sunday-school scholars, 28,400 ; native the meetings, but he answered that he congregations, 13,529. The mission has rega.rded attendance at Christian wor- its own publication house, a theological ship as a greater privilege, as well as a seminary, a college, and 8 woman's colhigher duty than any other. This shows lege, and is in all respects splendidly sturdy Christianity in Japan. equipped for work.
-It is said that Hebrew is rapidly -In the year 1800 only one twentybecoming again a Iiving tongue in Pales- fifth of our population was in towns of tine. Jews driven by persecution from more than 8000 inhabitants. Now more other countries are gathering in the land than one fourth of our population is of Israel. They do not know each massed in cities. Thill fact is startling. other's language, but all of them under- It has its great lesson for the Church. stand something of Hebrew, and the Here is where the work of evangelizaconsequence ia that Hebrew is becoming tion must be pressed. While we are the medium of communication among sending missionaries to fOl,eign lands, them. Two weekly newspapers are now God is sending thousands of foreigners published in Jerusalem in Hebrew. It to us, that we may Christianize them would seem expedient that missionaries right at our own doors. The problem of to the Jews in Palestine should be able city evangelization is one of the great to speak in the Hebrew language. problems of Christian missions to-day.
-Thibet is one of the few countries -Dr. Arthur Mitchell, Secretary of where the preaching of the Gospel is the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Misprohibited. Very little is known of the sions, was greatly impressed in his repeople. The population is set down as cent visit, with the vast unoccupied 6,000,000. They have two forms of re- fields in Central China. He found cities ligion, one of which is a type of Buddh- of from 75,000 to 300,000 with not one ism. Various attempts have been missionary of any denomination. These made to carry the Gospel into the coun- fields are open, too. "There is as littry, but they have all been practically tle excuse," he says, " forIeaving a city unsuccessful. The Moravians have long of 100,000 on the New York Central Railwaited to enter the field, having sta- roe.d without 8 single ~reaqber of the GOIl_ pel, as for leaving cities of that size and Miss Frances E. Willard, "no steamer double that size utterly neglected with- could revolve its wheels fast enough to in twenty-four hours of Shanghai." convey me to the Dark Continent. I should go where my color was the cor- -The Rev. J. A. MacDonald, a Wes- rect thing, and leave these pale faces to leyan missionary in Bengal, says that in work out their own destiny." India idolatrous practices are coming into disrepute. He thinks that the -Along the West Africa coast thirtyreign of false gods is drawing to a close. five languages, or dialects, have been mastered, and portions of the Scripture -The Foreign Mission Board of the and various religious and educational Reformed Church has sent out an ear- books and tracts have been translated nest appeal for special contributions to and printed, reaching thus about eight meet the needs of the work. It makes million people. these suggestions: "One cent a day from every member of the Reformed -This is woman's age. Even in Church in this country, 90,878, would slow-moving China, women are coming give $331,707 a year for this blessed ser- to the front. The Amhoy MontMy Ohurch vice. Five cents a week (a single car- Magazine contains a prize essay by a fare) saved and given to it would yield young woman on " How Shall Christian $236,283. Women Lead their Heathen Sisters to Worship God." -An ignorant Hindu woman became a Christian. Her husband told Dr. -The Moravians, at the close of a Murray Mitchell that his wife was century of missionary work, show a realways singing. Dr. Mitchell asked the markable record. The total number of man to write down some of the words their members at home is but one-third she sang and bring them to him. He of those in the mission fields. One in did so, and the following is the transla- every sixty-five of their adult members tion: has gone to labor as a missionary.
" To my poor house there came a lofty strauger- -Reginald Radcliffe says that the Oh, it was Jesus, the darling of heaven. sooner we understand that the New I ran to bid Him welcome. Testament does not ask nor expect the evangelization of the world to be done " With gods of stone what have I now to do ? by ministers, any more than a general I clasp my Saviour's feet; expects the fighting to be done by him- My whole soul clings to Jesus. self and his officers, but in far greater part by the rank and file, the sooner " Since to my breast I clasped those blessed feet, will the day of missionary advance be- Rich, rich am I, 0 Jesus I gin. The apostles did not send to And Thou wilt never leave:' Jerusalem for foreign pastors, but out of the converts in each town found na- -Sometimes converts in heathen tive overseers which they placed over countries may teach us older Christians the flock. lessons in systematic beneficence. It is said that the Christians in Ceylon -The Young Men's Christian Assohave four methods of giving for the sup- ciations are spreading all over the port of the Gospel. First, the tithes of world. There are now above four thoutheir earnings. Second, the offering of sand associations. Of these there are, trees-the setting apart by each family in India and Ceylon, 21; in Turkey, of a cocoa· nut tree, the produce of which 12; in Syria, 6; in Africa, 12; in they sacredly devote to benevolent pur- China, 5 ; in Persia, 7 ; in Japan, 200. poses. Third, the offering of labor-de- There will be openings in all parts of voting a certain amount of time to work the world for young men who are fitted in the interest of the church. Fourth, to be secretaries and eyangelists in conthey reserve a handful of rice from neotion with these associations. every day's meal.
-" If I were black and young," says
The Missionary Review of the World — December 1888
THE RELATIONS_ OF MISSIONS AND COMMERCE
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XI. No. 12.-Old 8eries._ _DECEMBER, _ _VOL. I. No. 12.-New Series.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE RELATIONS OF MISSIONS AND COMMERCE.
BY REV. F. F. ELLINWOOD, D.D., NEW YORK.
[Read before the late General Missionary Conference, London.] PAUL at Ephesus encountered not only the general opposition of'
tile world, the flesh, and the devil, but he had special trouble with an unprincipled craftsman. At Philippi, also, he found a stock company making merchandise of a half-demented girl whose conversion inter- fered with their business. And from that day to this, human rapac- ity has again and again thrust itself across the path of philanthropy and beneficence.
We do not forget that legitimate commerce has been a great factor in the development of civilization and even in the progress of the gospel.
The growth of the early Church followed the liues of trade across the Mediterranean, and on the Continent of Europe Latin Christianity penetrated the forest homes of stalwart races where Roman arms and merchandise had opened the way. Secular enterprise has built the great Christian cities of our Western hemisphere, and opened mission fields everywhere in the chief islands of the sea. The California of to-day could not have been created by missionary effort alone, and the magnificent spectacle of a British Empire in Southern Asia, with its Bible, its schools and colleges, its law and order, its manifold en- lightenment and moral elevation, could not have existed but for the long and sometimes questionable career of the East India Company.
But there is no universal law in the case. Civilization, even in its rougher forms, has not always preceded the missionary move- ment. Often it has pr<ved a hindrance. Throughout British Ameri(ja, mission stations have followed the factories of the fur traders ; but in Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and Madagascar, mi?siollflry ,labor 11as led the way~ Qenturies.ago, also, missionaries fron;J, Ireland and Iona, pene~rating not onlyEn~land and. Scotland, putmany pm.'- ,tions.of the Continent, were unattended. by secularenterprise"q,nd yet .their.inflnence Wa8S0 strong and deep that Europe and the. world have ,feltlt Il.nd.rejoiced i:nit ever since. Those hordes of Nortbmen whom Br i. t a i n -could,." n. ot. r e si-s~t. , .n or the armi!.)s of C-4~r- lElma-gne con q-ue r or eveD.: ,~ " " .~ check, were tamed at last by the simple, aggressive influence of the gospel, unattended by either military or commercial power.
Three things have been found almost universally true: first, that the gospel has always elevated the character and established the power of our civilization in whatever lands its influence has reached. More than once has it been confessed that England could scarcely have retained her Indian possessions but for the conservative influence of those Ohristian missions which measurably restrained the injustice of rulers, while it promoted the enlightenment and the loyalty of' native princes and peoples.
The second principle, which is generally true, is that the first contacts of commerce, and especially during the period of rough adventure and lawlessness, are evil. Whether adventurers have gone before or have followed the missionary, their influence has caused a blight. Whale-fishermen in Tahiti and Hawaii, convicts in Tasmania, kidnappers in Melanesia, slave traders in Oongo, opium dealers in China, and whiskey venders among the Indian tribes of North America-all have proved a curse.
It is impossible to exaggerate the hindrances which have been thrown in the way of the gospel by these influences. And the distinctions which are made in our own lands between the Ohristian name and the wrongs and vices that prevail in the general community, callnot be appreciated by those who s.ee us at a distance, and mainly on our worst side. Judging from the wholesale classifications of their own religious systems, they naturally identify the name European or American with the generic name of Ohristian.
Moreover, while here at home most men are under conventional restraints, adventurers in distant mttrts, removed from influences of home, too often give loose rein to their lowest instincts, throw off allegiance to Ohristian influences, and become hostile to missionaries and to missionary effort. They are hostile because the high principles and clean lives of missionaries carry with them an implied condemnation of their own shameless vices.
I wish it were possible to feel that governments, as such, had ·been wholly free from wrongs to inferior races. But there is no one of the so-called Ohristian nations which can cast the first stone at another. All have been guilty, more or less. These facts become more serious when we consider that to these nations our lost world chiefly looks for the blBssed gospel.
The early American colonies had Ohristian missions for one great motive in their settlement. There it might have been expected that commerce and evangelization would proceed hand in hand, and that William Penn's beautiful drea:nl of brotherhood would be realized, but although we have had in the last 250 years three heathen races on whom to exercise our gifts-the Indian, the, African and the Mongolian-we have abused them all, and each in a different way. Our record is sad snd disgraceful, and we are in no mood to read lectures to other Christian nations. But we are ready to unite with them, heart and hand, in any measures of amendment.
There are consolations in this dark history, as there are in the coolie traffic of the South Pacific. One is, that all this time the Christian Church, or at least portions of it, have realized the wrong, and have done what they could to save the people from destruction and lead them unto eternal life. There have never been more beautiful exemplifications of Christian love than those which were exhibited by Moravian missionaries through all the early history of our dealings with the American Indians. And thousands of our own people have followed their worthy example. Never in the whole history of martyrdom has one seemed to follow so nearly in the footsteps of the vicarious Redeemer, and so to fill up the remainder of His suffering even unto death, as the saintly Patteson, who literally died for the sins of unscrupulous kidnappers, of the Caucasian race.
A third principle is, that improvement generally follows as commerce becomes established. There is much comfort in this. The fi1;st rough adventurers are at length followed by a better class. Homes are established by Christian merchants; fathers who are solicitous for the moral atmosphere which surrounds their children, exert a wholesome influence; the missionary is no longer sneered at, but is supported; vice that was open and shameless is fro.wned upon. The church and school have arrived. In many a land where the first wave of our civilization .seemed to cast up only mire and dirt, order, intelligence and religion at length prevailed.
There was a time in San Francisco when the courts of justice were paralyzed, and when the right-minded citizens felt constrained to send to Hawaii for a missionary to return and establish a Christian church in his own land. Even saloon-keepers joined in the call, alleging that without a church and Christian institutions no man's life was safe.
In all new mining fields, whether in America, or Australia, or South Africa, the first contact has been demoralizing, and yet in those same settlements, when order had been established, when the Christian family had arrived, when a church and a schoolhouse, and a Christian press and Christian influence had obtained a footing, all was changed. And dark as the problem of civilization in Africa now is, and urgent as may be the duty imposed upon us to save the present generation, we do not hesitate to prophesy that European civilization in West Africa a-half century hence will be full of life and light. Even at the worst; we are by no means disposed to hand Africa over to Islam, which in all these centuries has done so little for the heathen tribes-which, by degrading woman, has tended to destroy the family, and, therefore, the State, ~nd which has depopulated every. country that it has ever controlled. The only hope of Africa. is in our Christian civiliza- tion.
But if missions are to prosper in the future, it will be important to promote a more just sentiment toward inferior races. The time should soon come when races like the American Indians, or the Maoris of "flew Zealand; should be allowed equal natural rights with Caucasians.
The time should soon come-if missions are to be a success-when might shall not make right, but weaker nations shall be treated as one European nation would treat another. The time should soon come when treaties with a country like Japan shall not be made and en- forced mer6ly for the convenience or profit of the great Powers, but shall have the same regard for even-handed justice as if the Japanese navies were thundering at our gates. The time should come when all commerce shall be so regulated that it shall not curse the nations with which we have to do. We have often counted upon improvements in inter-communication as factors in the advancement of the human race and as agencies of Redemption, but of late we are sometimes rather appalled than cheered. For example, the fond hopes which we cher- ished five years ago in regard to the opening of the Congo, have been sadly clouded over. And the fact that the Congo State is under inter- national control would seem to render it a proper subject of considera- tion in this International Conference.
Allow me to call special attention to this subject. Whatever may be thought of the propriety of discussing here the abuses that may exist in the colonies of separate European powers, there can be no doubt of our privilege and duty in this case. The Valley of the Congo is com- mon ground, and moreover, it is a vast mission field. Directly across the path of our progress in the evangelization of the Dark Continent lies this gigantic evil of the liquor trade. At the very gateway of our missionary enterprise crouches this hydra, whose hideous proportions no flight of poetic imagination can exaggerate. I need not give the statistics nor discuss the details which have become so familiar, but success or failure in African missions is concerned in this issue. The toils and sufferings of our brave missionaries appeal to us. How can we continue to send our heroic Hanningtons, and Combers,andPark- ers, and yet neglect the very first duty which we owe to Africa? The honor of the Christian name is at stake. Those who persist in.ign<1l'ing thed~inction .between· so-called Christian. nations I,tud the Christ~n Church, arear,raigning the Ohurch for neglect in. this matter., ~~y: are parading the'conservative infiuellce.:of Isla~, all the· beat: hope ai AIi'iea, and are eUl'sing the daytlmt our Christian civilizatio;!ildistllrhed it&: reign. – .; ,0'" , " ,'"",, "
Raeems desirable to treat this question ou broad gJ:ounda,whi(lh..~iU enlist,thesympathiel!lofth~ larg.est possible.oonstituan~J. Thejs~e hefore;Uis is n!)t thetemperanoequestiou with: ,which-.manl otusc BE"6 accustomed to deal. It has all the enormity of systematic cruelty to" children; it is a conspiracy by representatives of civilizcd nations against simple tribes of men who know not what they do. On such an issue the humane and pitiful of every name-Protestant or Catholic, Christian or unchristian-should unite their common protest.
The proofs that the rum traffic among the African tribes tends to destroy all other departments of trade, are so numerous and so well known that I need not dwell upon them. It is enough that this ac- cursed evil blights all hope of the present generation, that even those who had begun to gather about them the comforts of civilization have gone back to barbarism-that women who had learned something of modesty have again discardetl clothing that all their resources may be expended for drink. But the evil is not confined to the present; it incapacitates the people for future commerce al!d thrift; it casts a , blight upon those whose hopes have been turned toward Central Af- rica as a great field of true commerce. Never before has Christendom made so gratuitous a concession to the sordid gains of a few unscrupu- lous blsiness firms-one which involved so great a cost to national honor, to the fair name of the Christian Church, and to the best in- terests of millions of mankind.
No doubt great discouragements beset this question, and many whose sympathies are really touched are nevertheless hopeless of results. We may be very sure that the representatives of the liquor traffic are quietly but effectively exerting their influence to thwart every effort 'made in the interest of humanity. I am informed that at Washington an agent is employed by the" liquor interests," whose whole time and energy are employed to baffle all attempts supposed to conflict with their busmess.
But, on the other hand, what are some of our encouragements to , effort? " First, the fact that so much has already been done to arouse public sentiment on the subject. I refer to the various public meetings which have been held in London, and especially to the formation of a work- ing committee representing the Missionary Societies of Great Britain. , Second, that the constitucncies represented here are so vast and may' be so influential. Mr. W. T. Hornaday, of Washington, D. C., has pertinently'asked: "Who are the more powerful, the traders who de- sire to enrich themselves out of the palm oil purchased with gin, or the Christian nations which were represented at the Berlin Conference, with their 388,000,000 of Christians? America has sixty-five foreign missionary societies, Great Britain seventy-two, and the Continent of Europe fifty-seven, not including those of the Roman Catholic Church. Are thoy not strong enough to cop.. with th.. rum traffic on the . Congo?"
A third encouragement is found in the fact that a united movement by the Christian Church is in the line of true commercial interest.
All enlightened statesmanship should be on our side. The Royal African Company, tradiug on the Niger, has already restricted the rum traffic on that river as a matter of business policy; as the only hope, in fact, of promoting legitimate commerce. .
Fourth. We find encouragement even in the counsels of the Bel'lin Conference. Count De Launy of Italy, Sir Edward Malet of Ind'ia.
Mr. Kasson of the United States, and Count Van der Straten of Bel- gium plead for restriction. And the Conference itself finally adopted a sort of compromise, by expressing" a wish that some understanding should be arrived at between the Governments to regulate the traffic in spirituous liquors." Even the representatives of France and Ger~ many, though not voting for restriction by the great Powers, expressed the belief that "the Congo Government, in any measures which it might deem it wise to adopt, would find the Powers ready to co- operate to this end." 4nd the Congo Government, represented by the King of the Belgians, is more than ready to do all that the sentiment oj the nations will sustain him in doing. .
Have we not, then, great reason to believe that a united plea of all Christendom would be listened to by the contracting Powers? I say a nnited plea, for separate national movements are considered wellnigh useless. Each Government would feel that its own individual action would only cut off its subjects from the profit of the trade, and throw it into other hands, without at all diminishing the devastations which we deplore. It must be an international movement to be successful.
The same Powers that made the original treaty can revise it, and we represent those Powers.
But the strongest consideration which presses upon us is found in a most touching appeal which comes from an unexpected source. A, line of action has been suggested, providentially and significantly, by a Mohammedan prince in West Africa. I marvel that so little heed has been given to his words. The Emir of Nupe, speaking for his own dominions, sent many months ago the following stirring message to Bishop Crowther of the Niger Mission: "It is not a long matter," runs the appeal, "it is about barasa (rum).
It has ruined our country; it has ruined our people very much; it has made our people mad." And then, in the name of God and the Prophet, he beseeches Bishop Crowther to ask the Committee of the Church Missionary Society to petition the Government to prevent bring- ing barasa into his land. May we not consider this an appeal not merely to the Church Missionary Society but to all missionary societies in this Conference, and to the ~hurches which they represent? Has not this Mohammedan prince struck a keynote for this great occasion? What particular measures shall be adopted it is for the wisdom of this great body to decide. May God direct its councils!
MISSIONS IN THE LEVANT. .887 –
And what if we should .not fully succeed? Let us suppose the very worst: yet one thing is certain, at least, the reproach of the Christian name will have been removed. It can no longer be said that the Church -is sitting at her ease while the powers ,of darkness seem to triu~ph.
And lastly, there is one great power supreme over all1 which we may believe is wholly on our side, and to that our petitions should arise as with the voice of one earnest and importunate soul. Africa is a vineyard which God has given to His Son for a possession, and the cause of African missions is a vine of His own right hand's planting. Let us pray, therefore, "that the boar out of the wood" shall not waste it, I and H the wild beast of the field" shall not devour it.
MISSIONS IN THE LEVANT: THEIR PROBLEMS, METHODS AND RESULTS.
BY REV. EDWIN M. BLISS. 1. THE PROBLEMS.
THERE are few departments of Christian work that 4ave to meet such shifting problems as foreign missions. Weare accustomed to the rapid mar~h of events in our own land, but too often have an idea that while we are moving others are standing still; or else we lose sight of distances of time as well as space, and imagine that changes which, even in the keen air of the West: have taken generations, should be accomplished in the East in a few decades. It is one of the most difficult, albeit one of. the essential, elements in a sound judgment of our foreign missions that we recognize, and correctly estimate, the changing phases of the problems they have to meet.
When American missionaries first entered the Levant they encountered a dominant false faith, a corrupted Christianity and Judaism. Islam, proud of its past success, was copfident of its superiority and assured of its ability to meet the rush of Western civi~ization, and either conquer or utilize it. The Jews, reserved, clannish, returned the contempt of Moslem and Christian with a hatred intensified by the repression of centuries. The Christian, guarding jealously the relics of the conquest of the early Church, looked with disdain at the offspring of the barbaric West who came to teach them Christianity! The problem of missions in the Levant, fifty years !;tgo, was to establish themselves, secure a foothold.
That foothold has been secured. Evangelical Christianity has established itself on a firm basis and is recognized as a permanent factor in the life of the whole region.
Thus its relations have altered. Islam recognizes a foeman worthy of its steel. The Christian churches are beginning to think they have a friend rather than an enemy. The Jews alone remain unchanged, 'apparently unaffected, and Am~rican missions have turned from them to the small element of original paganism that has until recently been hid from sight among the mountains where the relics of the Hittite Empire have lain ~o long buried.
The question of Ohristianity V8. Islam is attracting the earnest con- sideration of the world as never before. Not to ~nter into the general discussion, it is sufficient to say that the question in the Levant is essen- tially different from that in India or Africa. In Africa, Islam has practically free scope for all its efforts, unhindered opportunity to use the means by which it achieved its early successes. As a religion, it is unquestionably superior to fetichism, and when it has only fetichism to meet, it will always win the day. In India, too, it has almost un- limited sources to draw from, and if hemmed in on one side, can easily spread out on another. In the J.Jevant it has exhausted its re- sources. Its aiID now is, not to advance, but to hold its own against both outward attack and inward decay. Shrewd, farse'eing men have recognized the irresistible advance of Western civilization, and have . sought to find some means of assimilating it to the precepts of the . Koran. Others, with perhaps a keener sense, have declared the two absolutely incompatible. Isillm must conquer civilization, or be con-, quered by it. Hence have arisen two opposing parties, young Tur- key and old Turkey, and .ninisterial crises gain a new significance, when we realize that they are by no means merely political, but are the outcome of contests that, little by little, are disintegrating the whole . fabric of the Oaliphate.
In these contests evangelical Ohristianity exercises an important, though not always perceptible, influence. It shows few converts. Its work is still preparatory-sapping and mining, rather than direct assault. Were there religious liberty for Moslems, what might be we can hardly say. When, under the pressure of Europe, Imperial " Hatts " declared freedom of conscience for the Sultan's subjects, it was the Ohristian sects that the Turkish Government had in view. To this day, no man can turn from Islam without incurring loss of every- thing. The problem of missions in the conflict with Islam is how to work so that when the break comes, as come it must, Ohristianity shall be able to hold the ground. In order to do this, it must be quick to see opportunities, wise in their use, pati~nt while results seem very small.
Evangelical Ohristianity in its relations with the corrupted Ohristi- anityof the Eastern churches has passed through several stages. At first it was hailed with gladness, being looked upon as a hopeful means of securing freedom from the oppression of the Moslem Government. Soon it appeared, however, that the immediate result was to under- mine and destroy the influence of the hierarchies. and the whole power of the priesthood was hurled against it. The influential lay element was also hostile, not so much because of its sympathy with and respect for the ecclesiastical, as because in the course of these centuries church life has become so welded with national life as to be practically the same thing. He who left the Ohurch left the nation, and every heretic was so far forth a traitor. To understand this fully and give no undue blame to the opponents of Protestant missions, it is essential to study the history and organization of the Eastern churches. It will then appear: that our great problem has been to show that a man could be an evangelical Ohristian and still remain an American historian, Greek, Oopt or Bulgarian. Here came the sharpest contest. There are few more interesting studies in the history of missions than those that show the growth of peace through strife. Over and over again have the Saviour's words been proven true, " I came not to bring peace, but a sword," and yet by the sword has peace been established. Thefirst missionaries said to the native churches: "We have come not to establish a new church, simply to help you in your own church life." They soon found that impossible. In the face of persecution and excommunication they were compelled to form a new church, organize a Protestant Ohristianity. The immediate problem was thus changed. This must first be put on a sure footing, establish its distinctive character. The gospel preached was largely, of necessity, a gospel of separation. Now again there is III change coming. The Protestant Ohurch is recog– nized as a distinct power in the land. Still very inferior in numbers, its influence is out of all proportion to its size. Its opponents cannot fail to recognize this, and many are already calling a halt, considering whether alliance is not better than war. In this there is both hopa and danger. Dividing partitions are breaking down, and many hith· erto unapproachable are coming within the reach of evangelical ideas. On the other· hand, pure Ohristianity has ever suffered more from diplomacy than from persecution. It is well to say, as is being S/1id again, "we have no interest in a Protestant Ohurch as such; our effort . is for a Christian life, by whatever name that life may be called." But is a true, enlightened Ohristian life possible in connectior.. with the old communions? An ignorant Ohristian life is undoubtedly possible, but can the same be said of an enUghtened Ohristian life? Are the old churches capable of reformation, or have they become so affected by the dry rot of an ignorant ecclesiasticism that the only thing possible is to tear down, gently if possible, lest the dust of ages rise in such clouds as to choke the workers and build up a.n entirely new edifice? If so, what shall the edifice be? How far shall Western wine be put into Eastern bottles? Will the true evangelical American be an American still, with his old national traits the same, only purified? or will he he something as different from his old self as the American is from his English, Irish or German ancestor of a few generations since?
Then, a.gain, there are all the problems of social life. What are· the relations that should exist between evangelical Ohristianityand the existing social customs of the people? How far should each community be left to work out its own problems? How much guidance andinfluence may be advantageously used to direct aright and at the 'sametime ' not check that normal natural growth, without which life has no gen- ' uine, permanent character? Such questions come up by the score in every mission station. The problem is not so much" How to reach the masses," but "How to guide them." The age of simple evangelism has passed; the era of growth is well under way, and the problems before a mission's annual meeting, whether in Egypt, Syria and Persia, or in Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, are the sa.me that perplex the learned convocations of, scientists, philosophers, theologians and philanthropists in Europe and America.
Evangelical Ohristianity in its relations to Paganism furnishes a somewhat new problem for the Levant. It has been popularly understood that 0hristianityand Islamism had so permeated the. whole region that paganism, pure and simple, had been crowded out. Later investigations, however, have' showu amQng the mountains, south and west of Antioch, and along the Persian border, large communities which, while nominally Moslem, are really pagan. The Misairyeh of Northern Syria are the lineal descendants in.race and religiou of the Oanaanites who fled before Joshua, and the Yezideesof Kurdistan probably keep up the rites of the Oarduchi that harassed Xenophon and the ten thousand. Both classes are as yet almost absolutely inaccessible to any Ohristian influence. Holding to their ancient faith with a pertinacity that is wonderful, yet compelled by a relentless oppression to cover their belief under the forms of a hated religion, they have developed a power of deceit and dissimulation that probably has no equal in the historyof any race. Defying all investigation, punishing treachery or apostasy with instant death, they seem impregnable to approaches of allY kind. There is something almost fascinating in their gloomy isolation, which has repelled all Ohristian workers except.the sturdy Scotch Oovenanters,who, with persistency not less dogged thall their own, but a faith that lays hold on the power of the Highest, have commenced an attack. Their problem is sim.ple, but not the less difficult. They drill, not through rock, but adamant.
None of these problems, however, are greater than that of infidelity. It is one of the strangest things in nature, that light and air, in themselves so essential to health, when brought in contact with what has been kept in darkness, so often bring not health, but fermentation and decay. The first result of exposing the errors in old beliefs is the shaking of all belief. The Moslem reads the Bible~ loses his faith in the Koran, and is apt to doubt the validityof the Bible, too. ,To his mind, each disproves the other. What, then, shall he believe? Too often nothing. The Copt,Greek, Armenian, Bulgarian; 'finding that the Testament does not indorse the practices of a church hallowed byages :of implicit faith,. jumps at the conclusion that the creed at thefounda- tion of those practices must also be wrong, and casts overboard all
¥IRACLES OF
creed; or rather, because au Orieutal.canIJ.ot live without one, mak~s a Greed of creedlessness. The spread of infidelity through the Levantis appalling, and many a time does the missionary, whether onthe sea- board or far inlaud, stand dismayed to find that it has gained a foot- hold where he least expected. To go into detail is unnecessary. .Every pastor and teacher knows what the problem is. Varying, perhaps, iu some of its forms, it is essentiall.f the same, whether in America, Europe,Asia or Africa. Here home and foreign workers join hands•. The pastor who feels that he knows but little of the per- plexities of work abroad, to whom Moslem and Nestorian are but vague individualities, knows that an infidel is much the same whether he wear hat or turban, be clad in the somber hues of the West or the brighter colors of the East.
This is but a sketch, a glimpse such as the pebble might gain of the . bottom of the ocean as it skims the surface, touching but here and there. There has been no attempt to state the problems in full; simply to outline their nature, in the hope that sympathy may be developed and prayer directed. The great work is one. He helps most who sympathizes most, and he sympathizes most who understands best.
THEMIRAOLES OF MISSIONS.-NO. VIII. [EDITORIAL.-A. T. p.] SYRIA.
SYRIA presents another of the unmistakable signs of the superna- tural power at work in the great field of missions.
Asaad Shidiak was the secretary of the Maronite Patriarch. When the lamented and beloved Pliny Fisk, after kissing the lips of the dy- ing .Levi Parsons, in Alexandria, himself returned to Jerusalem to follow his friend, within two years, he wrote, in his last hours, a fare- well letter to Dr. Jonas King, and while Messrs. Bird and Goodell sat by his pillow and listened for his dying words, he passed away, mourned even by weeping Arabs. About this time, over sixty years ago (1825), there was a remarkable state of religious inquiry. There was moving in Syria the same Power that moved there at the first Pen- tecost in Jerusalem, and afterward in Oesarea and Antioch. Men were pricked in their hearts and came to the missionaries to learn the truth, peing convinced of the shallowness and emptiness of their own relig- ious systems. At the same time rose the persecutiug spirit, which for more than a quarter of a ceutury interfered with missionary work in Syria. The Sultan issued his firman to all the pachas of Western Asia prohibiting the circulation of the Word of God, and the Maronite con- verts had to face death like the martyrs of the first centuries.
Asaad Shidiak, the secretary of ·the Maronite patriarch, and after- ward the tutor of Jonas King, was employed to copy Mr. King's fare-
"892 THE MIRACLES OF MISSIONS. " i[DEiO
well letter from Pliny Fisk. And he attempted to answer it.· As he reached the last page of his reply, like a flash o.f lightning the truth struck him. He saw that he was arguing against his own reason and conscience and opposing the higher teaching of the divine Spirit. He was intellectu,ally honest, and, seeing himself in error, was candid enough to acknowledge it and surrender himself to his convictions. The heart makes the theology, and h,is heart gave up the rebellious attitude which had led him to depart from the living God. He dared to say that he saw himself in error and openly forsook it. 'rhe Patriarch tried persuasion. He wrote him patriarchal epistles, and sent him enticing, and then mandatory messages; he promised him official pro- motion, he sought to bribe his conscience to compromise with his con- victions; then he threatened him with excommunication and all the terrors of the Church's indignation. But it was all in vain.
He sought to win and to warn him by personal interviews, but in- effectually. Then Asaad Shidiak's marriage contract was annulled, but even against the beguilements of woman's love, the convert proved heroically steadfast. Twenty of his relatives conspire against him, and by force deliver him into the patriarch's hands, and by the patriarch he is cast into prison. He is confined to a cell, loaded with chains, and tortured daily with cruel scourgings. The people are allowed to visit him, to revile and mock him, and to spit in his face as they had done with his Master before him. His own kindred joined in this cruel per- secution, and not only would not interpose to secure his release, but opposed it.
Once they led Asaad Shidiak out of his dungeon and placed before him an image of the Virgin to be kissed by him in token of homage . and recantation of error. The alternative was a vessel of burning coals. He chose the burning coals, pressed them to his lips, and with a scorched and blackened mouth returned to his cell. At length they built up entirely around him a wall, leaving but a small aperture .through which he could get breath, and through which they could pass him enough food to keep him alive, and so prolong the sufferings of the starving man. His body wasted and became a skeleton, but his mind was invincible. His heroic spirit defied them to break the cord of love that bound him to his Lord. They killed the body, but after .that had no more that they could do ; and. before that body gave up the ghost, Asaad Shidiak, the Maronite martyr, had proved to them . that they could not subdue the spirit of one whom the Lord had led into the clear light of His own truth and the fellowship of His dear Son. Syria had once more sealed with martyr's blood the testimony of Jesus I
THE MEN FOR·
THE MEN FOR MISSIONARIES.
BY REV. PROF. DELAVAN L. LEONARD, OBERLIN, O.
AND the women as well. Through long years the cry for more men has been painful almost to agony. For lack of laborers the Master's work has languished everywhere, while much more than half the world has lain altogether untilled and desert. But, now at length, we be- gin with joy to behold hundreds offering themselves, ready to go even to the ends of the earth. And hence, it may not be amiss, indeed, there is special need to remember, that though numbers are indis- pensable, the spiritual quality and the intellectual caliber of the heralds of the Cross are a matter of even greater moment. For, after aU that has been said to the contrary, the idea is still by far too common, that the choicest of the sons of God must be reserved for regions where the gospel is already well established, and that if only possessed of piety, anybody will answer for the frontier or the foreign field. Whereas, the task .of exploring and pioneering, of founding and building, of gathering and moulding, is such and so great, that the mediocre, the thin-blooded the white-livered, the dull-eyed, are certain to fail and prove a hind- rance, and only men of nerve and mettle, of force and fire, of large ca- pacity for planning, and leading, and inspiring, can at all meet the de- mands of the case. And, in particular, the mission field has bound- less room for 1. The man 1cho loves. That is, through the combined operation of grace and nature,has a genius for loving-goes after people heart foremost -and thus readily wins confidence and affection. What continual cheer and manifold benediction arise' in a face and voice overflowing with kindness and sympathy! The missionary must love men as others love gold or glory, pleasure or power-with a passion. He must love all men, great and sntaIl, white and black, cleanly and unkempt, and'especialiy the bad, even to the non-churchgoing and the outrageously wicked. Concerning publicans and sinners, harlots and saloon-keepers, instead of passing them by as outcasts and hopeless, his cry must be, Lord, show me how to teach and win! Love effectually smothers disgust and fear of failure.
With a life evidently so pure as to be above all suspicion of countenancing the least of their evil-doing should be joined such a spirit and demeanor that the worst shall feel instinctively that they have found a friend and ., helper•. Love finds slight place for frowns and rebukes, and.nonE) stall 'for -scolding and fault-finding., -. . .
~. ,The man who -prays•. , ,As Jesus did, who had no need totrav,et or ,climb to the place ofcoznmqnion,but liye!l every hou~.asin-theinupe . diate p~eseReeQf His F~ther,_aRd preathed.pont4lu31ly the,atJIl~phflre Y-of;:de'V'otion~ There IS special Ileed that. th~ missionary pray in t:w.sUe~p ~~t, fune~tsense,· because the task on hand for him is so . arduous, that " only heav~nly 'w~om and might will ate all avail. 'l'he, v:.ery high~st of merely human h&lp~ are ridiculously inadequate. Not tQ speak of the immeasurable mass of ignorance and superstition and moral corruption which overspreads the heathen world, the human mind by sin is so dark- ened, the heart is so stained and scarred, the will is so perverse, that the . same invincible forces are required which in ancient days opened blind eyes, cleansed lepers, stilled the winds and waves; and brought dead Laz-' arus forth from the tomb. In such a desperate case there is no help or hope but in resorting to Him for whom nothing is too hard. It were fool- ish and insane to attempt the regeneration of Utah, or Mexico, or India, or Japan, except in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and in firm reliance on the sweet promise, "My word shall not return unto me void."
3. The man who sees. Perceives clearly things unseen and invisible to most. Too many walk habitually only in that carnal wisdom and prudence from which the best things of the kingdom are hopelessly hidden. Fear and unbelief are stone blind; ,at least have eyes only for difficulty and danger. To the soul sluggard there is always a lion in the street. At first Elisha's servant beheld only the Syrian host encompassing the city, but at the prayer of the prophet his eyes were opened, and then he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. A sharp vision for heavenly helps is an indispensable part of a missionary's furnishing, for without it he cannot attain unto that faith "which treads on impossibilities," and hesitates not to venture out at God's command, not knowing whither, or caring to know; Only this celestial sight is able to discover in the foundation and scaffolding the dust and din of the building process, the sure prophecy of the fair temple in due season to stand complete, or in the actual and external of the individual, of society, or of the church to-day, the divine ideal steadily advancing, and some time without fail to be revealed. Not to see things invisible is to have slight call to be a standard-bearer in the Lord's host.
4. Tlte man who 10a-its. Or, is divinely patient, because confident in God and hopeful, sure that righteousness sits upon the throne. "He that believeth shall not make haste." Our Lord was strangely calm, was never excited or in a hurry; and there is great need that His ser- vants keep cool and preserve their equanimity, that the judgment be not seriously deranged by the sudden and fierce onset of some impetu- ous emotion. It is so easy to fret because of evil-doers, and to wax impatient because the wheels of the kingdom move so slowly. There is constant call for that gospel temperance which is continence or 8e1£- control. Time is indispensable in healing inveterate evils. Good in- stitutions grow only by slight increments. And the over-fiery is bkely to work even greater mischief than the sluggard. To speak unwisely and rashly may be worse than not to speak at all. One needs to master the situation and thoroughly to understand the fa.cts in the case-needs to gain a place in the confidence and esteem of menbdore he is in a condition to do much toward setting things to rights which have gone all awry.
5. The man who rustles. A term in frequent and honored use upon the frontier, but not yet received into the dictionary. Waiting is not' the only virtue, and it lies hard by a vice. A rustler is one who is up early and at it with all his might, full of masculine vigor, and of enterprise and tact. He does not sit with folded hands, waiting for good things to happen, but exerts himself to the utmost to make them happen. To rustle for souls is to go out after them, hunt them up and lay hold of them, and in the same heroic fashion to make sure of congregations, money, or whatever else is required; patience and modesty, and passive endumnce are well in their place, but there is also large room for push and dash, and Ohristian strategy and the wisdom of the serpent. The servant of the Lord is not allowed always to follow the Fabian policy, or to fight simply upon the defensive; it is also for him to set forth npon campaigns of aggression, carrying the war into Africa and making fierce assaults.
6. The man 1()7w sings. Literally and figuratively, playing included, sings with the lips and with the heart, and with the understanding. The missionary should learn how to. sing songs in the night of sorrow and of peril and of pain, as Paul and Silas did in the Philippian' prison. His heart should be trained to sing continually for joy and to praise God at all ·times. He should also possess full appreciation of the mission and value of the service of song in the house of the Lord. Few, indeed, are the congregations which hold the hymn-book in sufficiently high esteem as an instrumentality for salvation and sanctification. Sankey the singer, for usefulness in evangelistic work, follows· hard after Moody the preacher. Not to be able to sing, and even to play, is to be burdened with serious defect.
7. The man 1J)ho laughs. Yes, he, too, has a mission. It cannot be doubted that too many of the good and earnest are simply pained and shocked, oppressed and cast down in the presence of unusual difficulties and of gross outbreaking sin. Some find no resource in days dark and disastrous but in hanging their harps on the willows, and no relief but in tears. But such are by no means always the wisest and best among the saints, and are not likely to be most successful in their work. Aud, indeed, is there not a more excellent way? What will be lost or put in jeopardy by cheerfulness and smiles without and within, by bearing with equanimity and good-nature what cannot be helped? It is wise to search for the bright side, and even for the lndicrous side, .of evil events, and to laugh at calamity and laugh away fears. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, and not only to the possessor, but also to all hIS neighbors. Verily, it is well to "rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice/'
THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF FRANCE AND THE MCALL MISSION
THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF FRANOE AND THE McALL • MISSION.
BY REV. R. M. SAILLENS, PARIS, FRANCE.
I. THE position occupied by France during the last three cen- turies in the religious world is one of peculiar interest. France was, before the Reformation, the stronghold of the Papacy, "the eldest daughter of the Church." It was here that the movement of the Crusades originated; here, also, that the monkish orders, for the most part, were created and had their greater success. From this fair land the Holy See drew the larger part of its revenue. It is no wonder, therefore, that when the" heresy" broke out, the Church put forth her most strenuous efforts to retain France in her obedience. She spared nothing in the endeavor, and she succeeded, by the acuteness and cruelty of a pope's niece, Catharine de Medicis, ~nd of her wretched sons. But she succeeded only in a measure. Protestantism was van- quished, but not destroyed, as it was in Spain, Italy and Flanders.
It remained as a thorn in the flesh of kings and popes; it remained as a leaven, which silently but surely worked the whole nation into a new spirit; it remained as a check upon the clergy, which never was able to recover its former power in this country, and has ever been obliged to watch over its own members, the ignorance and immorality of whom were proverbial before the Reformation.
The action of Protestantism has been more direct still. In the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church movements have been produced which owed their origin to the influence of the gospel. Such men as Pascal, Arnaud and Fenelon could not have arisen in a land wholly given up to popish rule. Unconsciously to themselves, the Jansenists were the timid, but true, successors of the Reformers. Pascal wrote his Pensces and his Provinciales by the light which the Huguenot martyrs had kindled.
Another result of the French Reformation was the Revolution of 1789. That great event might be defined: the fruit of Protestant seed fallen in Papist soil. There was in it a strange association of the spirit of liberty with the spirit of fanaticism, as if Loyola and Voltaire had combined in the effort. Jacobinism is the name which history has given to that monstrous combination. But all that was good in that glorious and dramatic movement can be traced back to the gospel influence. The father oithe Revolution, Jean Jacgues Rousseau, whose writings did more than any others to prepare and inspire it, :was It Prot- estant. The man who began to sound the aTarm, and was the first to set his timid hand 'against the old edifice, Necker, was also a Prot- estant.* Alas! that Protestantism should 'have been so weakiy repre- • He was a. Protestant also, the 'man whose v~ry name l"e~ll" th'; Reign 'Of Terror, a.~d Who seemed to ha.ve been born tor that day of blooq~heq anq re'verige~Ma:mi. Such are *he lessons of history I seuted! Who knows what the Revolution would have brought forth ifthe Protestant churches had then been faithful and courageous; ahd, claiming for themselves the honor of having originated the movement, had claimed also the privilege of leading it onward ! .
In another respect, also, France stands apart from .other Latin nations. She has been closely allied with the Protestant world by her theology and by the ties of blood. Scotland, Switzerland and America are in a great measure the daughters of Oalvin. Huguenots and Puri- tans are almost synonymous terms. No nation, except the Jewish people, has sent out so many of her sons to all parts of the earth to become' a blessing wherever they have been. France has, by the Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes, impoverished herself for many long ages; but her poverty has made the riches of the world.
For all these reasons this country deserves love and compassion.
She is not Protestant, and yet Protestants must feel that she is some- what their mother. She is not Romish, for her Romish neighbors dread her liberal and revolutionary spirit. 'ro sum up in a few words: France has, three centuries ago, rejected evangelical Ohristianity, but she has retained a taste of it, which makes her uneasy and restless forever.
Yes; this is the cause of her constant agitation, so singular in a race '" which is remarkable for its natural patience and fondness of routine.
She has seen the light, and unconsciously gropes in the dark, longing to see it again.
II. There have always been some attempts mad'e by the French churches to evangelize their own people, especially during the last sixty years. A blessed revival of religion, which took place toward the year 1830, resulted in the formation of several native societies and agencies for general evangelization. The English Methodists, at the same epoch, sent over to France some devoted men, among whom was Mr.
Oook, whose name became a by-word III the south of France. The Baptists of America also were drawn toward France. They sent a mis- sionary, Mr. Willard, who formed half a dozen native evangelists, each of whom has been working with some success. The Baptist churches which were thus created are now about twelve in number, with a mem- bership of eight or nine hundred, all made up of former Roman Oath- olics. They still retain their connection with the American BaptIst Missionary' Union.
But the success of _those societies and agencies was greatly hampered by the want of liberty, or even toleration. The Methodist evangelists in the south of France, and the Baptists of the north, were constantly prosecuted and :tined for holdIng meetings, for distributing books, etc., etc.· Some of the noble pioneers of those times were sent to prison more than once.' Their converts shared in the reproach and p.ersecu- tion whiehthey endured. They did not hold large and public meetings, but 'Were bound by the law to meet only in private hou~es: aJ?d with no more than twenty people. Their reports, if .they wrote any, could only speak of weary tramping from village to village, from farm. to farm; of a soul being converted here and there. Honor to those, our worthy predecessors! Much of the fruit which we gather to-day is due to their patient~ ignored, silent sowing, in suffering and in tears.
But 1870 brought us, after the dark hours of defeat and shame, the glorious sunrise of liberty.· In a marvelous and une~pected way the Lord sent us the help which we needed· to make good that golden opportunity. No one should have thought that an English pastor, who had passed middle life, and who spoke French but imperfectly, would become the most successful evangelist of France in these times. And yet, no doubt, Mr. R. W. McAll had been prepared by God Himself; and his whole previous course as an architect, and then as a minister, was only God's training for this, his special life's work.
When, on Sunday, January 17, 1872, Mr. McAll opened a little shop in one of the streets of Belleville, for the preaching of the gospel- in answer to the urgent appeal which had come to him from an ouvrier,* he could not possibly foresee what a large tree would grow from this little .root. But he came in a most propitious time, when the ground, recently fnrrowed by the terrible plow of foreign and civil war, was ready for the seed of peace and hope; he came, not with a new panacea, not with some grand scheme of social regeneration, but with the old remedy which had never been applied, with the old gospel, so new to those poor people! His aim was not great in men's opinion: he came not to save a nation, but to save souls.
Three principles, at the outset, were adopted by him, and have never ceased to be at the basis of this mission. Their combination is, we believe, the cause of its success.
The first one is: Nothing but Ghrist. Ohrist and Him crucified is the only attraction, the only theme, tne only aim. No paid choir, no high-flown rhetoric, no scientific or literary entertainments, are used to draw the people together. "Oonferences sur l'Evangile" are the words painted in large letters on the outside of the halls. It would have been easy to gather very large audiences by other means, but it would have been impossible to retain them. The Ohurch cannot com- pete with the world on the world's own ground; David is very clumsy (and what a blessing he should be so!) in Saul's armor. There are in Paris plenty of concert halls. Ours are gospel halls; they are never opened for another purpose than to make known, by word or by song, the love of God through Jesus Christ.
The second principle on which this Mission is built is Oatholicity. On its platforms ministers and members of aU denomination!! are equally at home. Each church has a right to claim the Mis!!ion ft,!! her • The whole "tory of the beginning of the l{i81'1ion, from the pen of Dr. l{eAIl1:timself, will be found in the book, .. A Cry from the Land of Calvin and Voltaire." London: Hodder & StoUirhton, Paternoster Row. own. We recognize the right and proclaim the duty of every Christian to preach the gospel, and we offer him an 'Opportunity to do it. The Mission chooses its agents without any regard to their ecclesiastical tenets, but solely on account of their evangelistic powers.
This principle has secured for us the hearty co-operation of every true minister and every true church of Christ in France. The, Re- formed, the Free Church, the Methodists, and the Baptists, have vied witI-J each other in offering their help, in wishing us success. And it hal' secured also the sympathy of the Christian world at large. It has not been one of the least results of this Mission; that it has brought to- gether Christian men and women whom ecclesiastical prejudice kept hitherto separate. We have seen, more than once, on the platform of one of our humble halls, clergymen of the Church of England-yea, eveh deans and bishops-side by side with Quakers and dissenters.
The last fundamental principle of this Mission is what I will term, for want of a better word, its lay character. Ministers are laymen, and laymen are ministers, when they speak in the McAll Mission. Both are witnesses of the same blessed fact. The people would not accept any other kind of preaching: they will leave the room if they are not interested, though a· doctor of divinity may be speaking, and will applaud a workingman who takes their hearts by his words.
I firmly believe that the success of the McAll Mission is due, under God, to the adoption and carrying out of the three principles which we have thus briefly defined.
III. The word success has agam come under my pen. I hasten to explain what it means. .
In a country like this, success means small things in appearance.
Everything has to be done, and as the most important part of the edi- fice is the foundation, which 'is never seen, so the most important part of our work lies in the preparation of the conscience and the heart- the first having slept so long that it is dead.
Peter's success was great when, in a single day, he led 3,000 to Ohrist from among the worshipers of Jerusalem. But Paul's success was as great, and the importance of his work for the world at large was perhaps greater, when for two long years he spoke in "the school of one Tyrannns," in the heathen city of Ephesus-and yet, in all probability, those two years' efforts brought to Christ a compara- tively small number of converts. .
The McAll Mission numbers at present 25 stations, or mission halls, in Paris ;11 in the immediate suburbs and 79 in the provinces, making a total number of 115. Some of these are opened every night, but the greater number are nsed only on Sunday, a.nd two or three times dur- ing the week. Adults' and children's meetings, Bible classes and mothers' meetin~s, dispensaries, young men's associations, all these and .
other methods of work are carried on, 900 THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF PRANCE AND TBE-lrICALL ~SSION. [DEC•• The aggregate attendance !luring last year, in the 17,000 meetings which have been held, has been 1,114,233. The number of people who are under gospel influence through these mission halls, who a.ttend more or less regularly and may be said to be favorably disposed-people who formerly were freethinkers and indifferent to their religious interests-can be safely estimated at 50,000.
But these figures only represent the superficial results of the work. Among those thousands, many hundreds have truly accepted Christ as their Redeemer. In everyone of those 115 mission halls, the visitor will see, generally sitting on the front rows of chairs, people remarkable by their cheerful countenance, the tidiness of their dress, though they be poor, and the true home feeling which they evidently have. Who are _these? The scoffers, the careless, the evil-doers of yesterday. And- these are not the only ones. In the splendid halls above, many are singing the praises of the Lamb, who learned, sitting once on these same chairs, to love the music of His name. If space allowed, we could tell many a touching story. We could speak of lives renewned, homes made happy, deaths that have been made victories.
Yes, the work has been encouraging, and continues to be so. But we have now come to a point where, in order to secure the results which have been acquired, and to make this missiol} a greater power for good, a new and important step must be taken.
The converts must be cared for. Gospel meetings, Bible-classes, and societes jraternelles do not any more suffice them. The Lord has instituted ordinances, by which the members ot His body are to be visibly united to Him and to each other; no human institution can take the place of the Church. Experience has shown that the converts (as a rule) will not join the existing Protestant churches. Many of them shun the very name of Protestant, which the past wars of religion have made very unpopular in some parts of the country. The mode of worship adopted in most of the old churches is cold and solemn; it contrasts with the simplicity and homeliness of the McAH meetings. This seems to be a case in which, according to our Lord's teaching, new wine cannot be put into old bottles.
And yet the converts are there, remaining in a state of spiritual infancy, having scarcely any influence on the masses which, if they were formed into a body, they might draw to themselves more easily than we can. Our own conscience presses us on the matter. Many generals have lost their conquests by advancing in the enemy's country without securing the land behind them by strong garrisons. Weare anxious, in order to go forward, to establish a solid basis of operation. But how shall it be done without touching the principle of eccle'!liastical neutrality, which has, hitherto, been one of the _caus.es of success? After much prayer and consideration, the following order has been adopted, and has begun to be put in operation; ,A Christianchnrch will be organized in every station where there is a sufficient" number of converts. The hall, however, will not cease to be opened to the general public, and no change will be made in, its aspect which would give it an ecclesiastical appearance.
Each church will be placed under the care of a minister of one denomination or other. That minister may be, at the same time, the pastor of "one of the older chnrches; in that case the mission church will be an annex of hIS own. But it will not always be so, and the directors of the mission may themselves appoint, in agreement with the denominational bodies, a minister whose time and strength will wholly' belong to the. mission, either as evangelist or as pll:stor of the newly formed flock.
It is expected that every denomination, either by their individual members or by their missionary associations, will help to support these. small churches until they are able to support themselves, so that the MeAn Mission, as such, will continue to give its whole energies, and to' spend its whole resources, in carrying the gospel to places which, as yet, have been nntouched.
The scheme has been submitted to our friends and has met with their approbation. One or two of our halls in Paris have already been appropriated to different deriominations: one of the largest and most successful, Salle Baltimore, on Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, is on the point of becoming the center of a Reformed congregation, with a young pastor attached to it who has already been working several years with uS as an evangelist. One of the Free Churches, with her pastor,Rev. A. Fisch, at her head, has voted to give up her present locality and to adopt as her chapel 6ne of our mission halls, sharing the rent and expenses with us. Our Methodist brethren also desire to enter into the scheme, and in their last visit to this country the Rev. A. J. Gordon, D.D., and A. M. Murdock, D.D., President and Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Union, have cordially accepted an arrangement by which one of the MeAll missionaries will become the pastor of a Baptist church to be formed in one of the halls of the Mission.
This plan has seemed to us the only one by which we could meet the requirements of our converts without founding a new sect. These churches will be nurseries. Elementary teaching, such as they could not get elsewhere, will be given them. Their organization will be very simple. But as they will grow in numbers and develop in knowledge, it is' expected that they will unite more and more closely with the several denominations with which they will be connected, while retaining a filial regard for the mission from which they will .have sprung. A brotherly feeling will also bind them together; having the same origin, the minor points on which they will differ will not suffice to create antagonism between them. This will be a new fact in the' history of Missions.
1'HE STATESMANSlnp OF
And something more may be expected. These churches, formed of converts from Romanism, will draw to them their former coreligjon. ists. Evangelists will rise from among them-men better acquainted than we Protestants are, with the language that the people want to hear. And these missionary churches, infusing as it were new blood in the veins of the old French Protestantism, may, by the blessing of God, become in the cOining storms the refuge of every true heart, the hope and the salvation of France.
THE STATESMANSHIP OF MISSIONS.
BY J. M. LUDLOW, D.D., EAST ORANGE, N. J.
[This paper was written for and published some time since in THE HOJIiILE'l'IC REVIEW. It presents, in a fresh and truly masterly mauner, one feature of the mission work of the Church which has seldom been presented-certainly never more eloquently-and We olfer no apology for reproducing it in our pages, for which we have the esteemed author's cordial assent. In future numbers of the REVIEW his facile pen will sketch for our readers the career of sQveral of our Missionary Heroes.-.T.M.S.] OUR purpose in this article is to emphasize and illustrate an element of power in the propagation of Christianity which is not ordinarily taken account of. Merivale gives a good summary of the causes of the early tri. umph of the Church: (1) External evidence 01 the truth-fulfillment of prophecy, miracles, etc. ; (2) Internal evidence of the truth-satisfying the sense of man's need; (3) The holy character of believers; (4) The political help given by Constantine, etc. To these aU Christians will add (5) the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost, making the Christian ages a perpetuation of Pedtecost. But one oC the reasons which Gibbon gives for the spread of our religion comes nearer to our topic, viz. : The organization of the Church as an institution especially adapted to the building of the Christian commonwealth in the heart of the secular empire of Rome, and its spread among various peoples. From the first missionary projects of the Apostles, down through the centuries to the founding of the latest modern mission, the Church has displayed marvelous political foresight, tact and enterprise, fulfilling the injunction of its founder, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
The expression, "Statesmanship of Missions," occurred to the writer while attending a conference of missionaries at one of their stations in the heart of the heathen world, listening to the explanation of their projects, and witnessing the magnificent results already attained. The impression was irresistible, that these men were not simply a band of devoted teachers and preachers, but statesmen, as worthy of the name as were the representatives of European governments at the time assembling at Const(tntinople, 01' those old empire-builders whose astuteness.is praised on the pages of history. This conviction was confirmed a few weeks later, while standing upon the deck of a Mediterranean steamer, in a group of English officers who were discussing the vexed problem of the Ottoman rule in the East. Said one of them, who has since reached highest distinction for military and diplomatic ability, "The American missions alone are doing more for the satisfactory settlement of the Eastern question than all our governments."
By statesmanship we mean especially that sort of wisdom which recognizes the natural movement of great peoples due to racial tendencies and historical culture; selects geographical points of advantage, the location of centers of greatest influence;· adopts the most ellficient methods of persuasion-now addressing the common individual in the s.ubstratum of society, and again approaching those in authority; appreciates the subtle influence of language, impregnated, through translations of Scripture and the pUblication of works on Western science, with Christian ideas; and estimates shrewdly the varied abilities and adaptation of the men who are selected for special fields and forms of missionary work. In emphasizing this human clement of mission- ary power, we do not overlook the supernatural force in Christianity to which all its triumph is ultimately du·e; fOl' the question will constantly arise, Whence did these men acquire statecraft? They were educated in no school of diplomacy. They never sat at the feetof the Charlemagnes, Suleimans, Bismarcks and Gladstones of political control; yet they have seen farther than these masters into the swirling mysteries out of which empires have emerged. As of the Great Master, we ask, "Whence have these men wisdom, having never learned?" There is but one reply, Where the Mastel' found it-through communion with the divine Spirit.
Foremost among the statesmen of the world we must rank the Apostles. Stand upon a housetop in Joppa to-day, and. gaze out at the steamers of England, France, Austria, Italy, Spain-all Christian lands-which dot the sea at your feet. Then recall the vision which Peter had on one of these housetops; how he foresaw the gathering of the Gentiles, and, in spite of the exclusiveness of his Jewish habit of thought, began to lay the beams of the ne·w kingdom across the borders of aU nations and kind reds and tongues I The first mission projected by the Church at Jerusalem showed a spirit of enterprise worthy of the Catholic faith which prompted it. Antioch was the chief center of influence on the Eastern Mediterranean. In this old capital of the Seleucidre mingled the tides of Asiatic and EUropean civilization. It was also a chief seat of paganism and immorality. Through the grove of Daphne roamed emperor and senators from Rome, princes and generals from the East, astrologers, soothsayers, scholars and adventurers from all lands. JuvenaI, describing the influence of Antioch upon the empire, said that the "Orontes poured itself into the Tiber." Into this distributing reservoir of current thought and life at Antioch the Apostles put the clarifying, life-giving element of the gospel. . From Antioch the great missionary Paul worked out upon the high way of travel. Cypru~, Ephesus, Corinth, Athens, Rome, were kindled with the sacred flame from his Caith. Mark occupied Alexandria. Others penetrated to Odessa and Babylon and the banks of the Indus. The rule seems to have been, "Strike for the centers." This displayed not merely preaching zeal and love for souls, but immense enterprise, and, at the same time, genius sufficient to direct it. The prophecy of what has since come to pass was the light within their great souls, and they planned deliberately for world-conquest. And so wisely did they plan and work that Justin Martyn pictures the opening of the second century thus: "There is not a nation, either of Greek or Barbarian, or of any other name, even of those who wandel' in tribes and live in tents, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the universe in the name of the crucified Jesus." Fifty years later, Tertullian said: "We have filled every sphere . . . cities, castles, islands, towns, the exchange, the very camps, the plebeian populace, the seats of the judges, the imperial palace and. the forum."
We know but little of the details of Church extension in the ages immediately succeeding the Apostolic. The results, however, show the same careful, systematic and far-aimed scheme of operations. The statesmen who directed the empire were matched by the ecclesiastics;:indeed, .twdatter adapted the machinery of the secular government to the use of the Church. Gradation in authority, division of fields of labor, strictness of internal dis- cipline, a definite policy for aggressive work against the outlying paganism, soon ,attracted the attention of men to the fact that there was a real com- monwealth of Christians which was commensurate with the imperial do- main. And when the empire fell to pieces there remained the marvel of a compact, unimpaired, spiritual kingdom, maintaining its secular form, with but a single rent-that made by the Latin and Greek schism. Did the early Church absorb into itself the best political genius of that age? or were the devotees of the new religion especially endowed with such genius for their work, as, at the beginning, a few fishermen were gifted with such transcend- ent ability? This is one of the questions which secular historians have not answered.
Medireval missions may be dated from the career of Ulphilas, the" Moses of the Goths." To reach those vast and widespread nations so as to perma- nently affect them with the gospel, it was necessary to create a written language for them. The capacious intellect which grasped the problem was joined with as remarkable energy of purpose in solving it. Prof. Max Mul- ler gives this deserved tribute to the great missionary: ,. Ulphilas must have been a man of extraordinary power to conceive, for the first time, the idea of translating the Bible into the vulgar language of his people. At this time there existed in Europe but two languages which a Christian bishop would have thought himself justified in employing, Greek and Latin. All other languages were still considered as barbarous. It required a prophetic sight, and a faith in the destinies of these half-savage tribes, and a conviction also of tile utter effeteness of the Roman and Byzantine empires, before a bishop could have brought himself to translate the Bible into the vulgar dialect of his barbarous countrymen." Gibbon cannot withhold his admiration of this virtual framer of Gothic civilization. " The rude, imperfect idiom of soldiers and shepherds, so ill-qualified to communicate any spiritual ideas, was im- proved and modulated by his genius; and Ulphilas, before he could frame his version,was obliged to compose a new alphabet of twenty-four letters, four of which he invented to express the peculiar sounds that were unknown to the Greek and :Latin pronunciation. The character of Ulphilas recom- mended him to the esteem of the Eastern court. where he twice appeared as the minister of peace; and the name of tMoses was applied to this spiritual guide, who conducted his people throngh the deep waters of the Danube to the land of promise."
The dramatic scene in which Odoacer, the conqueror of Italy, bows his huge form in order to enter the humble cell of Severinus, the evangelist to the tribes of Pannonia and Noricum. there to take counsel regarding the policy of his l'ule, may be taken as one illustration from hundreds in which the statecraft of those dark ages learned at the feet of the greater wisdom imparted to the builders of Christ's kingdom.
The mission of St. Patrick in Ireland reveals the same super.eminent ability. With profound knowledge of human nature, he studied the peculiar character of the Irish people, established schools for the training of com_ petent teachers and preachers, shrewdly brought Christian truth into debate with reigning Druidism, antagonized piracy and slave-dealing, destroyed superstitions. The town and the See of Armagh are to-day the monument of his far-sighted policy. Kildare is still the memorial of Bdgid's .. Cell of the Oak," or training-school of women, as Derry is that of Columba's " m~wl'Y, ·whetke~ iss~ WHIJWl ~f ,4QVf(j}~~ wen who 'QroOke the power of the ancient paganism in the North, both of Ireland and Scotland, long before Augustine arrived on the southern coast of England with the peculiar dogmas of the Church of Rome. It was no blind enthusiasm, but transcend- ent genius, that built in the far North the institutions of lona and Bangor, the latter of which had at one time between one and two thousand students, attracted .from every part of Europe, and who were sent back to be the planters of a new order of affairs in France, Germany and Switzerland, The England of to-d!ly, independent in its faith, owes much more than ordinary historians admit to the sagacity of the eady British Christians, whose hearts felt the prophetic touch of that wisdom which has made Protestant Christen- dom the dominant type of the world's civilization.
Augustine's mission to Kent is credited with being one of the masterpieces of statecraft in its era. Gregory, who inaugurated it, had, before he was made pope, attained such repute for diplomatic ability that he was chosen to be the arbiter between emperors in the strife of theil' subtle ambition.
The English Winfred, afterward Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, a worthy compeer,of Charles Martel. The latter might hammer the Northern nations to pieces, but it needed the genius and enterprise of the former to remold them, to organize society after the new model, and thus conserve the conquests of the sword. It required amazing executive ability to organize and give permanent operation to the monasteries which sprang up at every advantageous point amid the forests of Germany. Well does Maclear say: "The Sees of Salzburg and Freisingen, of Regensburg aod Passau, testified to his care of the Church of Bavaria; the See oC Erfurt told of labors in < Thuringia, that of Buraburg in Hessa, that of Wurzburg in Franconia; while his metropolitan See at Mentz, having jurisdiction over Worms and Spires, Tongres,Cologne and Utrecht, was a sign that, even before his death, the German Church had already advanced beyond its first missionary stage."
Of the abuses of the monastic system we are well aware. Many of the inmates of monasteries would have developed a healthier piety in private homes, and been more useful in the ordinary circles of social life. Too often the exclusive duties and narrow studies of the monks ~enerated fanaticism; while their herding together, and consciousness of power through organiza- tion, led them to courses which were disgraceful to themselves and hurtful to society. This is true, however, chiefly of monasteries when not sanctified by the missionary spirit, but where men were led to seek seclusion for' its own sake, in city cells or caves in the desert. On the other hand, the insti- tution, when used as an agency for the dissemination of Christian truth among paglLns, was one of consummate wisdom. Instead of leaving solitary heralds of the Cross to make their way with only the proclamation of gospel doctrines, the monasteries brought the practical exhibition of the superiolity of Christian civilization to those who had been ignorant of it. In the midst of pagan hordes, living in semi-barbarism, rose the walls of a commodious, .often stately, pile, planned by the best architectural skill of the age. The members of the brotherhood were not, as a rule, the aged, the weak, the, timid, but the young and energetic. Hundreds of monks-at Fulda, under the great-hearted Sturm, oyer four thousand-were gathered into the new . community. Forests were cleared, waste lands drained, useful arts practiced and taught to the pagan natives, the fine arts cultivated, and learning pur- sued in all branches then open to inquiry; while, most prominently, religion was exalted as the promoter of all this thrift and beneficence. Montalembert I does not throw a false color into his picture when he says of these monks, that simplicity, benignity, and joy.transformed. their exile from the worId into a paradise of G~d. They brought not barren Christian dogma., but Christian life, however far from pedect, into the very midst of the godless degradation of paganism; and, as a. fact, they leavened far and wide the entire lump.
Coming to modern missions, we find no less brilliant illustrations of our theme. It is too soon yet to trace the wisdom of the workers fully in the results of their wOl-k, since the revived interest in it dates almost with the century. Lord Lawrence, while Viceroy of India, reported: "Notwithstanding all that the English people have done to benefit India, the missionaries have done more than all other agencies combined." The same may be said of the opening of all pagan lands to Western civilization. The missionary has been a far larger factor in the problem than would be measured by his strictly gospel work.
One of the most beautif'11 monuments in India was built by Sarfojee, the Rajah of Tanjore, to the memory of Schwartz, who died in 1798. These lines may be taken from the epitaph which'the Rajah composed: ",To the benighted, dispenser of light. Doing and pointing to that which is right; of Ble~sing to princes, to people, to me.
May I, my father, be worthy thee."
Well might the Rajah call Schwartz his father, for when the old Rajah, his real father, was dying, he called for the missionary, and, putting his hand upon his son's head, said: "This is not my son any longer, but thine, for into thine hands I deliver him." By his practical counsel, Schwartz really kept the crown upon the young prince's head. He quieted revolts among his people, as when 7,009 rebels, who had refused to hear the government, said to the missionary: "You have shown us kindness. • . . We will work for you day and night to show our regard." When famine desolated Tanjore, and the people were taking their revenge upon their rulers by refusing to sell them provisions, and when no threats from the authorities availed, Schwartz was able to secure within two days 1,000 oxen and 8,000 measures of grain. The British resident wrote home: "Happy indeed would it be for India if Schwartz possessed the whole authority."
After the English victories in Burmah, in 1826, a grand military reception was given to an Amet'ican lady. Sir Archibald Campbell, the conqueror, welcomed her in person r.t the head of his staff. At the dinner given to the Burmese Commissioners this lady was accorded the seat of honor. This was a tribute which the British authorities rendered not alone to the personal heroism and consecration of Dr. and Mrs. Judson, but in recognition of the importance of their work as beariJ;lg upon the civilization of that country. It was not the mere zeal of an enthusiast that kept Judson at his post for seven years in Rangoon before he could claim his first convert. His soul was balanced by the weight of a grand project, whose accomplishment he foresaw through all the darkness of atheism supported by the throne. So clear was it to him, that he could abide the horrors of the prison and the stocks while the seed was decaying, as it were, in the soil, to bring forth the glorious harvest which others should reap. The statesman-eye of Daniel, in Babylon, caught the luster of coming empires with scarcely more clearness than did the prophetic soul of Judson discern the future of Burmah, when alone he gazed upon the temples at Ava and exclaimed: "We stand upon the dividing line of the empires of dat'kness and light. 0 shade of Ah-ranhan, weep over thy falling fanes;. retire from the scenes of thy past great- ness. A voice mightier than mine, a still small voice, will ere lon~ sweep away every vestige of thy dominion." Never did greater prescience guide an ambassador to, a foreign court than when this solitary man wrote in his journal: "Weare penetrating into the heart of one of the great kingdoms of the world to make a formal offer of the gospel to a despotic monarch, ' and through him to the millions of his subjects." To-day the king of Burmah sends his princely children to sit at the feet of the successors of Judson, and learn the deepest lessons of both secular and celestial wisdom.
Beirut, in Syria, is called the "crown-jewel of modern missions." It was taken from the bed of Moslem degradation, cut and set by the deliberate planning of a handful of American Christians. As late as 1826, Beirut was a straggling, decaying Mohammedan town without so much as a carriageway through it, a wheeled vehicle, or a pane of window-glass in it. The missionaries who came to it were persecuted by authorities and mobbed by the populace. Some were driven to the Lebanons; others fled to Malta. There they matured their plans, chimerical to all but the eye of faith. They projected Christian empire for Syria, not the gathering of a few converts. Schools, colleges, printing-houses, churches, Western culture in science, art and religion, were all included in their plan. They retumed to Beirut bringing a hand-press and a font of Arabic type. Night after night a light gleamed from a little tower above the mission building-a prophetic light seen out on the Mediterranean-where Eli Smith, and, after he was gone, the still living Dr. Van Dyck labored in translating the Bibleinto Arabie. When, in 1865, Dr. Van Dyck flUng down the stairway the last sheet of "copy" to the compositor, it marked an era of importance to Syria and Asia Minor, to Egypt and Turkey, and all the scattered Arabic-speaking peoples, greater than any accession or deposition of Sultans and Kh'edives. There is nothing more eloquent than the face of the venerable translator, in which can be read the making of the grandest history of the Orient.. The dream of the exiles has been ,accomplished. Beirut is to-day a Chl'istian city, with more influence upon the adjacent lands than had the Berytus of old, on whose ruins it has risen. Stately churches, hospitals, a female seminary, a college, whose graduates are scattered over Syria, Egypt, and wherever the Arab roams; a theological seminary, a common-school system, and three steam-presses, throwing off nearly a half-million pages of reading-matter a day; a Biblehouse, whose products are found in India, China, Ethiopia, and at the sources of the Nile; thes~ al'e the facets of that" crown jewel" which the missionaries have cut with their sanctified enterprise.
Across the Mediterranean, answering to the college at Beirut, stands Robert College, just above the fortification built by the Turks when they invested Constantinople. It was founded in the practical wisdom which foresaw its influence upon the surrounding people. Weare not surprised at the statement of those resident in Bulgaria, that the rapid development of that people into a compact nation, "with destiny in its eye," is due to the education of so many young Bulgarians at the American College on the Bosphorus. These men have returned to their homes to assume positions of control in every department of life. They are the advisers of the nation and the executors of its will.
David Livingstone, the Apostle of Africa, ranks among the foremost statesmen of modern times. Sir Bartle Frere, the diplomat, says of him: "No man ever attempted, on a grandel' or more thorough scale, to benefit and improve those of his race who most needed improvement and light. In the execution of what he understood, I never met his equal for energy and sagacity. Every year will add fresh evidence to show how weH-considered were the plans he took in hand, and how vast have been the results of the
WORK IN
movements he set in motion." Florence Nightingale says: "He was·the ·greatest man of his generation. There are few enough, but a few statesmen. He stood alone, the bringer-in of civilization, or, rather, the pioneer of civHization, to races lying in darkness. Learned philologists from Germany,not at all orthodox in their opinions, have told me that Dr. Livingstonewas·the only man who understood races and how to deal with them for good."
Shall we not put Marcus Whitman among our American statesmen? He labored humbly among the Nez-Percez Indians in Oregon before the.Rocky Mountains were regarded as passable for civilization. His practIcal eye saw n • • • In those continuous woods, Where rolls the O~egon. a.nd hea.rs no sound. Save his own dashing •••"
the untold wealth of soil and mine and commercia] advantage, while the professional statesmen at Washington were incredulous of their value, and were negotiating their disposal for some fishery rights in the North Atlantic. His far-vision alone caught, across the Pacific, the gleam of ships cOI,l1ing from China and Japan. Clad in bearskins, he appeared not only before the American Board, but among the magnates of the capital. He brought with him no formal credentials, and. needed none. His earnest, patriotic conviction was attested by his mutilated face, some parts of which had been frozen off by the sevel'ity of his passage over the mountains, "our natural Western boundary;" as was then believed by our most astute politicians. His wisdom was attested by his arguments, and the basis of international treaties was changed by them. Perhaps to Whitman, more than to any other man, we Qwe our possession of that vast and exhaustless territory south of latitude 49, now included in Washington and Oregon. His monument, which graces the town of Whitman, in the County of Whitman, is a meager tribute to the sagacity and patriotism of this great pioneer statesman of the Northwest, who there fell a martyr at the hands of our country's enemies.
But, to fully illustrate OUI' theme, the Statesmanship of Missions, we would have to recite the entire history of these evangelistic movements dur·· ing the eighteen centuries since the Founder· of Christianity first com· missioned the builders of His kingdom. Take down your old volumes of. missionary l'ecords of thirty 01' forty years ago. Read the stories of solitary labors, of the conversion of little handfuls of men here and there over the heathen world. They awakened but little attention at the time of their first publication. Then take the map of the world to-day, and locate these apparently common-place scenes. Behold! they are the centers, not only of religious light, but of the dominating forces that make for mod€1'll civilization!
Doubtless the missionaries were wiser than they knew, but they also knew that they were wise. A writer, speaking of the scattering of the early Church by persecution, describes the disciples as cinders piloted through the ail' by Providence, kindling Christianity where they fell! But the cinders were each a man with glowing brain, as wen as with ardent love and quench-. less devotion. each one himself kindled by the All-wisdom that sent him forth.
MISSION WORK IN CATHAY.
BY REV. GILBERT REID, CHI-MAN-FU, CHINA.
The progress of missions in China is great, increasing more and more as the .yea~'s pass by. Forty-five years ago there were only six nativeChriltians of the Protestant faith. Increase by the same proportion the next forty.five years as during the last, and there will b~, not 38;000, as we now- find, but·· , over 180,000,000 actual communicants. Looking on the whole field, beyond the limits of one's own denomination, and we find stations scattered along the coast, up the Great Riv~r, and far and wide in all the interior.. N()ta. province but has some/converts to Protestant Christianity. Our society may be weak this year, but another has never been stronger. Hope ever comes from the whole, not from the part. Thirty-six societies are l'epresented in China, with upwards of 490 male missionaries, over 200 unmarried female missionaries, and nearly 200 native ordained ministers.
Great as is the progl:ess, great-awfully, solemnly great- is the need. We can say that the ·Chinese Empire has opened her doors; but what is meant by the Chinese Empire? A writer says that China has 300,000,000 of people, and then adds that China has eighteen provinces. His first use of the word "China" is synonymous with the Chinese Empire, and his second use with China Proper or the eighteen provinces. These vast regions outside the eighteen provinces are ov~rlooked in the general calculation, Manchuria, with a population of upwards of 12,000,000, has one treaty port and thl'ee mission stations, those belonging to the Scotch United Presbyterian Missions. Mongolia, extending over a vast extent of desert, and with an estimated population of 2,000,000, has only one missionary, the indefatigable worker of the London Mission, Rev. James Gilmour. Tibet, with upwards of 7,000,000, and IIi, with 2,000,000, population, are both tightly locked in from all foreign and missionary impression, except as meeting Russia to the north, and Great Britain to the south. The island of Formosa has been advanced to the position of a province, has three treaty ports, and a very successful mission work carried on by the Canadian and English Presbyterians. The island of Hainan, still a department ef the province of Kwangtong, has now one treaty-port, and one mission station of the American Presbyterians. Such ends the border land of the Chinese Empire.
As to the condition of China Proper, wha.t do we find? Of the eighteen provinces only two have no pel'manent mission stations, Hunan and Kwang-si. The former has a population of some 20,000,000, and is visited by members of the China Inland and London Missions, but is as yet too hostile for permanent settlement. Kwang-si, with a popUlation say of 7,000,000, had for a short time a station belonging to the American Presbyterian Mission, but owing to a serious riot the missionaries were driven away, and have not since been able to secure the needed protection and residence. The provinces of Knei-chir, Yunnan, Kiang-si, Gan-kwong, Kansnk, Shen-si and Honan are occupied by missionaries of the China Inland Mission alone, though the Canadian Presbyterians are soon intending to open a station in the hostile province of Honan, Missionaries may now travel in all parts of China, and preach the Word, though residence in particular places, and especially the provincial capitals, is generally subject to great opposition. It is, however, a matter of congratulation that of all the capitals only five are at this time unoccupied by missionaries-those of Kwang-si, Kiang-si, Hunan, Honan and Shen-si I To a portion of this success we are indebted to the China Inland Mission alone.
In such an enumeration as we here attempt to give, we should not overlook the labors of the Roman Catholic missionaries, who have prepared the way for Protestants in most of the interior. In fact, we fear if the Roman Catholic priests had not first gone into the interior on the basis of the French Treaty of 1860, which especially referred to the French priests, all Protestant missionaries would have been able to do but little, except.by way of travel. Now, following the precedent of the Roman Catholics, Protestants may
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS AND LAY WORK IN THE 19TH CENTURY. [DEC'-
reside in 'the interior, and may purchase property in the name of the Church.
The very heroism and persistency of the Roman Catholic missions in China.
should check our inherent sectarian prejudice, and induce us to applaud the good wherever found. '
Great favors h3.ve already been bestowed on the cause of Christianity by the toleration and protection from the Imperial Government. That much of this is directly due to the mediation of foreign powers is not to be denied; and yet the Central Government, while resenting much of the past treat- , ment of the stronger nations, is in no way inclined to reverse its attitude toward either foreign missionaries or Christianity. Coming down to the lower officials, who ha'e control of the many districts and departments of the eighteen provinces, there is oftentimes a glaring disregard of imperial orders in regard to Chl'istianity, and this spirit is largely intensified by the antagonism of local residents. As Christian converts increase in number, we may expect frequent persecutions in certain sections. The need in China is truly great, but we must count the cost before accepting the call.
The way for preaching the simple gospel, for the practice of medicine, for the curing of the opium habit, is open in many places throughout China; and it is for the Church to seize the opportunity when it comes and in the way it comes. We may not realize all that our preconceptions would feign mark out, but the best plan is to commit all our ways unto the Lord, and He will direct our paths, Possessing our souls in patience and running with pa- tience, we cannot, as servants of the kingdom, fear defeat or in reality be overcome.
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS AND LAY WORK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. BY A. WOODRUFF, ESQ., BROOKLYN, N. Y. PERHAPS there is no more encouraging feature of the century in which we live. for guaranteeing a hopeful and progressive future, than the numerous forms of Christian organization which now invite, if we may not say engross, the attention of men and women, especially in so-called Protestant countries. We propose here and now to show that our much cherished Sunday. school system has not only borne an important part in developing these organizations, but has really been the parent of them, and united them more or less intimately with the growing principle of lay labor, thus reviving the fundamental principles of the New Testament. The aspirations that have incited good men in all ages to be the prompters of lay activity, and the many who claim to have formed the first Sundayschool, furnish good evidence of the value of the Sunday-school system itself; and the fact that so many of these claimants arose about the end of the last century marks that period to be the time of the inauguration of the movement which the World's Sunday-school Convention, in London, in 1880, decided it to be.* Accepting this, shall we not also be obliged to accept as the outcome of the Robert Raikes system, the definition of the Sunday-school system to be primarily the teaching of the Bible by laymen in classes of six or seven, more or less. The :flowingand ebbing of the 'oceanic tides are scarcely more apparent thal'l the rising and falling of spiritual reforms by influences and instruments wielded by the divine hand in accomplishing His momentous purposes in the moral elevation of our race. We will claim the Sunday-school as one of these instrumentalities, and the closing of the eighteenth century as the '" See" Centena.ry Memorill,l of the EsiIl,QUs'lment of Sunda.y-scp.oo!s," ebbtidc, in England anu America, the flood to which is the lay teaching of the nineteenth century, as will be shown later.
All along the line of Christian history there have been both men and times that have clearly indicated reforms, in Church and State, which seemed to give gleams of hope that a permanent day was soon to dawn. But these partial hopes have been revived only to be more or less clouded; not until the year 1800, when the influence of the Sabbath-school first began to be felt in England and America, was there anything to prevent the relapses that had so often darkened, not to say dissipated, the expectations which imme_ diately followed the face-to-face teaching and preaching of the primitive Church.
A glance at the history of that day would indicate a darkness that could only be penetrated by some new luminary; and if this light was to be permanent, it must be kept so by a more widespread teaching of the new Testament than the schools of learning had hitherto furnished. True, the gospel had been faithfully preached by many most efficient teachers, but only in important centers; and Church history had not developed an almost costless theory, which, like the first teaching of the gospel, should be commensUl·ate with the wants of the entire race. We shall endeavor to show that this achievement has been accomplished, and may, in a high, natural, and important sense, be attributed to the Sabbath-school organization of the nineteenth century.
What could be more natural than that the immediate fruit of this teaching to the masses should revive a missionary spirit, which is the glory of our cf'ntury; and that this struggle of men and women to bring souls to Christ, should give to the general proclamation of the truth a power that it never had before, and create a sympathy that would not rest until every individual bought by the blood of Christ was brought within its influences.
Nor is it but natural when this sympathy of the pew with the pulpit, and the masses with the Sunday-school teacher is once created, that the funds should not be wanting; stimulating, not preceding, the personal moral force, the lack of which would make money a curse instead of a blessing for the accomplishment of every reform of the Church, if we should not add, of the State?
May we be forgiven for pausing here a moment to complain of our good magazine writers, of the statisticians or statistical writers of our age, of the professors of learning, nay, of the Church at large, in that the Sundayschool is ignored by them, its teachers held to be a non-commissioned band; although it is one of the greatest of moral forces, holding in its hand, in England and America alone, 16,000,000 of teachers and pupils. If the critical scholar shall, as we have said, claim that to other causes may be attributed the moral force which we have attributed to the Sunday-school, we will imperatively demand that they show us these causes and their capacity to do it; and if this can be done successfully, then we may not close our Sunday-schools but will add to them their better theories of lay labor.
While we are thus pleading for the greatness of our organization, let us not overlook the fact that it has grown out of the simple command, "Go teach!" and not" Go organize!" The first was insisted upon by Christ and His apostles, and the latter was left to such organization only as should preserve the spirit or the first great commandment; and obedience to this command is the only guarll.ntee of its capability of univerl!!al expansion. Nor can it be denied that such is the educative power of teaching that the Sunday-school has furnished tn its reflexive influence the broadest and the best, if we may not say the most effective, college of Christian teachers in this century that the world has yet produced.
Glance at the one million of voluntary Sunday-school teachers, bending over the pages of the Bible with the immediate obj~ct of bringing its sacred truths into contact with fifteen million pupils. Grant thatJt may be rightfully claimed that, without fhe theological seminary and the ordained ministry, as this country enjoys them, the world would,sink back into unbelief, infidelity and barbarism. Still, we maintain, that without this spiritual host, the home and foreign missionary societies could not maintain their present standard, much less furnish a ministry commensurate with the wants of the race.
But perhaps we should more clearly present the intrinsic value of this movement by enumerating the increase in the missionary societies it has begotten since its influence has begun to be felt. At the beginning of the century there were seven missionary societies; now there are 147, not to count many of the smaller ones.
But the reader is ready to inquire, Have not other causes beside the Sunday-school produced all this?
As we have admitted above, other centuries have had Bible teaching, more or less effective in given localities; but may we not justly claim that the1'e has been no such uniform progression as that which we now behold, and which we attribute to the institution whose results we are here reviewing. Holland, Germany, Sweden-in short, all the countries of Europe-have had more or less of a preached gospel; but, until the latter part of this centui'Y, it may be doubted, if not disbelieved, that there has been any ascertainable ratio of progress. This was not from the want of general intelligence, nor even adequate civilization, but from a want of zeal produced by efficient lay teaching.
But if we contrast mOi'e specifically the moral conditlOn of England and America in the year 1800 with their pi"eSent condition, and state the change which, if rightly claimed, have been the fruit of the Sunday-school, we shall have before us the grounds of encouragement, which will not only enable us to anticipate what the Sunday-school is yet to be, both in its home and foreign work, but also the help that it shall give to every other religious enterprise which shall bless the future of our race.
While at the demand of the Sunday-schoolcommunity, England organized her British and Foreign Bible Society for the supply of Sunday-schools with Bibles, she has taken in tUt'll some of our Sunday-school improvements and adopt.ed our public school system, and, in general, the improvement in her institutions has been little less than our own; we shall only have space to chronicle the noble inventory applicable to our own country.
We have taken the accumulated corrupt populations of the old world and made of them a country that, morally, will favorably compa1'e, if we may not say, greatly transcend, any country in the world. We have peopled a territory equal in extent, and nearly equal in population, to any other civilized country, and elevated it into a free Republic, with institutions of leaming equal, if not superior, to any other on the globe. We have transplanted the seedling-s of liberty from eur Eastem border on the Atlantic to the Pacific slope, and there placed the Sunday-school, the State, for the occupancy of future millions. Our Sunday-schools have originated seventy-five per cent. of the churches in the Westem States, there to develop and guarantee the fut~re perpetuity of our nation. In the hour of trial these W ('stern States sent the fo~ce necessary to help the East in working out the problem of the freedom of more than four millions of slaves. We have also tra.nsfe:.ored our Sunday-school system to other States and natiOns, and now there are: In Germany, 3,000 Sunday-schools, with 30,000" teachers and 300,000 scholars; Italy, 200 Sunday-schools, with 850 teachers and 12,500 scholars; France, 1,100 Sunday-schools, with 4,500 teachers and 115,000 scholars; Belgium, 57 Sunday-schools, with 160 teachers and 2,350 scholars; Switzerland, 1,500 Sunda,y-schools, with 6,522 teachers and 97,890 scilolars; Spain, 100 Sunday-schools, with 400 teachers and 8,000 scholars; Portugal, 30 Sunday-schools, with 100 teachers and 1,000 scholars; Holland.. 1,291 Sunday-schools, with 3,800 teachers and 141,640 scholars; Bohemia, 90 Sunday-schools, with 260 teachers and 2,875 scholars; Mora,via, 38 Sunday- schools, with 60 teachers and 1,423 scholars; Sweden, 500 Sunday-schools, with 18,000 teachers and 200,000 scholars; Denmark, 300 Sunday-schools, with 2,000 teachers and 25,300 scholars; Russia, (German population), 23 Sunday-schools, with 438 teachers and 6,017 scholars; Brazil, 21 Sunday- schools, with 35 teachers and 518 scholars; Chili, 255 scholars; Uruguay, 11 Sunday-schools, with 40-45 teachers and 700-900 scholars.
While this has been accomplished, we have survived the Civil War ar,d treasured up its fruits sufficient to show the world that, whatever the cost, the right is to succeed until itl:! final triumph. Our missionaries are laboring side by side with all the missionaries in the world, and many, if we may not say the majority, of them, together with our home ministry, have found their spiritual birth and culture in the institution for which we are pleading; and with the help of our Sunday-school education the theory of missionary labor has been revolutionized so that nations are being born in a day.
If there is ground for what we have said above, though it be vastly less than we have claimed for it, who will deny that there is that in it which no other system holds, for loving personal appeal from heart to heart; and that it presents for a well-founded future, the 'progressive steps toward the mil- lennium, for which the world is now praying and laboring as it has never done before.
Admit, if we must, that all our assumptionS are wrong and our hypotheses entirely false, yet tell us, ye Churcb militant, is the multiplication of schools of learning, is the clearer declaration of systems of theology, are the elo- quence and thundertones of the modern preacher, or the propagandisms of Church and national reforms comparable to this movement of a mighty host all along ,each division of the family of man, organized in executing the commission of our Great Commandei- that shall demolish the lines of "national pride, and wipe out the bitterness of denominational demarkation, and shout the rallying cry of "Peace on earth, goodwill to men," in every household in the world?
Once more only will we appeal to our friends, at horne and abroad, and ask them what they will do before this century shall close to bring the Sunday- school within the reach of every tribe of man, nay', of every hamlet, which is yet without this gospel influence for }Vhich we have been pleading? Shall we not earnestly and affectionately bring our supplication before Heaven, and into the condition which revelation has assured us shall secure an answer? , Are we prepared to make the corresponding sacrifice? Do we believe in its possibility? Shall means and measures be forthcoming from a convic- tion firm and abiding that anything sbort of what we have specified, if not rendered, will leave us under the doleful reproach, "Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye did it not untoque" I
TRANSLATIONS FROM.FORElGN MISSION_ARY
TRANSLATIONS FROM VARIOUS FOREIGN MISSIONARY MAGAZINES.
BY REV. CRAS. C. STARBUCK, ANDOVER, MASS.
PROTESTANTISM EXPOSED!
THE Christliche 'Welt contains the following gem taken from an Italian paper published neal' Naples: .. Catholic Christians, living in the truth proclaimed by Christ, are liever intent on calumniating Protestants. But Protestants calumniate the Catholics in every way., Protestants are liars by natnre. Each one makes for himself a law which pleases his passions; by means of ,lies they gaic access to Catholics. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they use deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; their month is fnll of cursing and bitterness, as is written in Rom.'iii : 13. Protestants are liars when they affirm that the Catholic faith is not that of the Apos_ tles, when they paint black the Inquisition, when they charge the Catholic Church with shedding blood on St. Bartholomew's night, and with revoking the edict of Nantes. What the Protestants are is stated by Paul in Rom.' i '29. Protestants are to be compared with mad dogs which run through fields and canse much danger; they curse all they do not understand; they are clouds without water, trees without frnit ; lilthy as waves of the sea; they 1Iy about like a meteor which rapi'Aly disappears and leaves nothiug but darkness; they are teachers of a church founded. on polygamy and robbery; their religion is based on murder and treachery; tbey are enemies of Christ and cynically trample on His religion. What is written, Matt. xxiii : 33, applies to themthey are serpents, a generation of vipers. They have no firm doctrine: the teaching in London diJrerd from that in Berlin. They believe what tbey like, and each one acts according to his pleasure. Under their smUe they hide the kiss of Judas; their individual reason is tileir law. They are ravenous wolves under the cloak of a lamb. They have spread themselves by means of the dagger and murder_ lies and vices, crime and deception, blood and immorality. They make their reason the judge of revelatioc'; their Christianity is anti-Christianity. This is a true picture ofProtestantism. Flee from their devilish art, by meaus of which they seek to turn souls away from the Church 1"
Surely, if Protestants henceforth do not know what they are this journal is not to be accused_ ,But the best is yet to come, The next number of the same journal says.: "Martin Luther, the chief originator of the sect of the Protestants, throughout his entire life sus- tained the most intimate relations witl< the devil, from whom he received his unhallowed doctrines. The devil slept with Luther, he helped him in his studies, and. even ate with him. Respecting Calvin and ZWingIi, we know similar tilings. There exists, in recent times, a sect of devil-wor- shipers, which has no other origin than in the so-called Reformation."
The Yearly Report of the Pilgrim Mission of St. Chrischona, near Basel, in Switzerland, for 1887, gives the outlay of the mission at 128,955 fmncs, or $24,501. This Mission house trains young men of different nationalities and denominations, mostly artisans, for Christian work III Europe, America and other parts of the world_ The Berliner Missions-Berichte says: "A new thought has lately Imtered. into our mission work, namely, that we owe the heathen in our newly occupied colonies more affection, more attention and more labor, than we owe those among whom the Lord has so visibly opened the way for us and blessed our ~ol'k among them. I cannot acknowledge the justice of this demand. The missionary cause is a reichsunmittelbare Sache_" This phrase has a technical value in Germany, which needs explanation. Under the Empire, which was dissolved in 1806, the many princes of Germany were divided into two classes, those who, though exercising sovereignty over their own people, were themselves the vassals of other princes, and those who, whether their work was less or more, owned no superior except the Emperor. These latter were. reichsunmittelbare Fursten, "princes holding imlllediately of the ·Empire." So the writer of this maintains that missions depend immediately on Christ, and not on Chl'ist through William II. "The cause rests upon the comtnission and Good Samarit~n love of our Saviour, who will havll ~ll. men saved and brought. to thQ knowl'edge of the truth. Into this holy world of love no element of subordinate rank ought to be introduced, such as the question of the suzerainty or protectorate of the German Empire."
The Missions-und Heidenbote, of Neukit'chen, for April, 1888, gives the following account of Roman Catholic missions in Eastern Africa: .. Until lately We had to do with two different Roman Catholic missions. The one is the so-called • Congregation ot the Holy Ghost and of the Sacred Heart of Mary,' commonly called' the Black Fathers.' They number some fifty missionaries, working at seven central stations, none of them very far removed from the coast. Besides missionary work strictly 80 called, they also carryon a general work of culture. Especially are they devoted to the care of the sick. The other Roman Catholic mission is that of the' African Algerian :liissionarie.,' commonly called' the White Fathers.' They have advanced their stations far into the interior, and set them as widely as possible apart. As it appears, they limit themselves mainly to proper missionary work. "unhappily, we do not know the number of their laborers.
.. As we learn from the journals, there has come on the field a new German mission of the Roman Catholic Church, of which a column of thirteen priests, besides artisans aud agriculturists, is already on African soil. As we learu, the south of the Germau possessions in Eastern Africa is assigned to them, while the Kilimandjan region 1s to remain under the Brothers of the Holy Ghost. Results are yet to come. So mnch is clear, the Roman Church is bestirring herself mightily to lay her hand upon Eastern Africa. As yet evangelical missions have the precedence; will they maintain it! Let us accept this question as a serious question of concern for us, too I ..
The Heidenbote reports the number of the Herrmannsburg stations in Barsutoland as being 23, with 10,273 members or adherents. Last year 1,251 pel'sons were baptized; 1,678 scholars attend school.
The NOl'wegian missionaries have found themselves able to reoccupy in Zululand four of the five stations which they had been obliged to abandon in ' consequence of the Zulu War, besides three places in the so-called Zulu reservation. In Natal they have now, instead of one, three stations. The number of preaching-places in the whole territory is twenty, served by fifteen missionaries and ten evangelists. Four hundred souls have been won.
Madame Jaques writes from Spelonken, another district of the same French-Swiss mission: .. Those of our Christians who are a little remote from the station and live surrounded by their pagan relatives, are doing au admirable work, and are truly faithful in their vocation. It is grand to see how, little by little, one after the other, the members of a numerous family are drawn to the worship, come a second time, find pleasure in it, and end by giving themselves once and for all to the Saviour. It is evidently the exhortations of ~he first converts of their households; It is, above all, the instruction given by example, which first speaks to the conscience of the others and brings them to the desire of being enlightened on the question of salvation."
M. Jaques writes: .. Yakobo Maloungana has turned to Elim; I have resumed with him my work of translation. We are now on the 11th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The translation of this book is much more easy than that of the Epistles. As the Gwamba have had at all times much to recount, their lauguage lends itself most happily to recitals, while, as soon as there is occasion for a demol)stration of principles where reasoning plays a great part, one finds himself in the presence of a real embarrassment. This is what I have more than once experienced in translating the Epistle to the Romans, in which the argumentation of the apostie is sometimes so condensed. In· twenty years from now, when we shall know our language to the bottom, and shall have Gwambas, who will be able to render some rational account of it, we shall be in condition to make a more faithful translation of our sacred books. In order that it should be absolutely exact, it is necessary that our vocabulary should be enriched with a number of new words. at present absolutely lacking to it, such as are needed to express the most elementary notions of morals and of psychology. Thus, you would search in vain in Gwamba for a term corresponding to .. truth," but yon find a profusion of words destined to express the ideas offallieluxid, deception, seduction, etc., a fact which indicates that our natives are ouly too little strangers to the practice of tl!ese sad vices."
The Finnish MIssionary Society, whose mission in Gwamba land, in Sou~h western Africa, dates back twenty years, labored there twelve and a half years before being able to report a baptism. A year ago the number of baptized Christians was 80. Since then, by the blessing of God, it has more than doubled, being now 165. The last year's income of the Finnish Society amounts to 107,478 Finnish marks. Reckoning a Finnish mark at 16 cents: this is equivalent to $17,196.48. __ ,. '.
The Cape Colony Synod of the Berlin Mission in South Africa gives the following report of operations from Sept. 29, 1886, to the same date 1887: Baptized, 50; confirmed, 9; .died, 17; communicants,601. ..
The following, from Missionary Voskamp, of the Berlin Society, gives a. vivid picture oi a great Chinese city: "We hired a bearer and proceeded through the endless confusion of the narrow, diTty streets of Canton, throngh the evil smells of a many-thousand-year-old decaying cultnre, on past all the innumerable shops and idol temples, halls of justice and idol altars, past all the numberless human forms, poor and rich, well and sick, vested with silk or cOTered with rags, painted with vermilion or oonsumed with leprosy, which flood the lanes of the giant city of Southern China, out through the pet nun, the great iron Northern gate, through several streets of the suburbs, past scattered hutB-llnd now the great allUVial plain of the Nort~stream delta stretches before our eyes. A purer air breathes over the land and encompasses us after we have escaped the exhalations whieh rest, suft"ocating and heavy, upon the city of the million souls• .. In the schools aud on the crossways, where the passing wayfarers were resting in the tea-hust, we sought opportunities to preach the Word of God. Often we fonnd them, often we waited in vain. Hanya guest listened an instant, then silently took up his bnndle and went on his way. There was nothing in the proclamation oC the Word that engaged the man's interest. Companies of heathen hungry for salvation, and hanging upon the 1Ips oC the missionary, were not to be found in the mountains; such. we may well say, are not to be found anywhere in China. The Lord alone knows where a seedcorn of eternity sinks into a human heaTt. The man takes it with him; often it sinks out of reach or is choked by the thorns and briers of heathenism, yet often, after the 11I>8e of years, it shoots up again into the light. At one tea-hut, which was covered with the leaves of. the fern palm, there gathered around us a great company of women. They were burdened with stones out of the neighboring quarry, at the same time carrying their infants on their hips. They laid oll" their loads and listened. I was greatly deligbted with the attentiveness with which they received the Word. Some also asked very intelligeut questions ~ •Sir, if we are not to worship idols, how shall we pray to the Heavenly Father" A heathen, sitting near, disturbed us by his unseemly witticisms. The language is rich in such equivocal turns. People do not understand the reference, and are taken in by the seeming harmlessness of the phrase. The helper explained to me the more Usual of them. Theyopen a Tiew into the hideons depths of heathenism. Often young children may be heard prattling them, as they have heard them from their parents.
There are few Protestants so bitterly set against the Roman Catholic Church that they would· not be glad to include her in, a comity of· arrange- ments for a partition of missionary work among the heathen. Unhappily, however, Cardinal Lairgerie, Archbishop of Algiers, seems to be the only Roman Catholic prelate interested in missions who instructs his missionaries not to establish themselves within a certain considerable distance of any Protestant station. In general the temper of Rome is only too well ex- pressed by this quotation from Friedrich Prippe, given in the Evangelisch- Lutherisches Missions~Blatt for April, 1888. "Missionary activity among all peoples is doctrinally an exclush'e right of the Catholic Church. Every other missionary activity, therefore, presents itself as an encroachment upon the exclusive right of the Catholic Church." That is, it is better that the heathen should be lost than be Christianized bya Protestant. Such mutual strife between those who acknowledge the same God and Saviour is sad'
. indeed.
Herr A. Gehring, of Trichinopoli, in South India, writes in the Missions- Blatt, describing a girls' school: .
.. I wish I could only present to the friends of missions at home the little brown-faced company, in their variegated, becoming costume, with their ornaments in nose, ear~, hair, and wherever else they can tlnd a lodgment. EYen the poorest cannot alford to be wholly without them, although, to be sure, all is not gold or silver that glitters. You at once become aware, by the expression of the ehUdren's faces and their whole demeanor, that they belong to the higher classes. When the, heathen girls have attended school awhile they lay Bside, in ~ mea~)lre, their sjlyncs!l to'lVBJ"ds.tb.6. missionary and become more approachable, and I am inclined to think that the Christian inftuenee makes itself noticeable in their general appearance. At Ilrst they are often greatly-diSinclined to learn the Christian lessons, but it seldom occurs that they utterly refuse to give their iuterest to the Christian instruction. On the contrary, the heathen children often shame the Christians by their animated answers. And how touching it is, when these children, with their hands laid over their eyes, join in the school,prayer, and with their Christian fellow·pupils repeat' Our Father who art in hea~en'. It Is certain, that here many II seedcorn is sown, and even though these children, forced to it by their parents, continue to bedaub their foreheads with the ashes, marking them as votaries of Vishnu or Siva, at least Christianity is no longer a strange thing to them, and the folly of heathen. ism no longer unknown; and while in general it is the women who cling most tenaciously to heathenism, even when the men are careless of It, it cannot but be that such heathen girls, hrought up in Christian schools, will in later life be …uch more cordially affected towards Christianity."
Herr Gehring brings a serious charge against the Roman Catholic missionaries of South India, which ought to be looked into, for it is either a grievous calumny 01' a crushing accusation, "In the surrounding Roman Catholic congregations it is customary for girls, before their marriage, to grow up without any manner of instruction. They know about as much of Christianity as a newborn child. When marriage seems to be impending, they are sent a few weeks to the catechism class, and there learn by rote the so·called mantrams, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ave Maria."
Referring to the accompanying table, which shows that in forty-five years the number of TamilChristians connected with the Lutheran mission hasrisen from 1,400 to 14,000, the Missions·Blatt exclaims: "What are our 14,000 Christians compared with the 14,000,000 Tamils who are yet heathen? How dark is still the night of heathenism in those millions oC heathen souls I" Yet the rate of increase-tenfold in forty·five years-is most gratifying. Of these rates of increase, the vital factor in the question, Canon Taylor, in his article, "The Great Missionary Failure," seems to ~ake no account whatever. He computes how many thousand years, at the present absolute annual increase, it would require to overtake even one year's addition to the popula~ tion. But he entirely passes over the fact, shown by Sir William Hunter, to whom he refers again and again, that from 1872 to 1881 the population increased 11 pel' cent., and the native Christians 64 pel' cent; At that rate it will not take a geological reon to do something effectual for India. An -eminent Semitic scholar has remarked to me that accuracy is a quality which Canon Taylor never came near. That may explain his saying that Sir WH– Ham Hunter allows half a million Hindus as eligible material for present missionary effort, ,whereas he allows jifty millions!
The Missions·Blatt gives one of the oldest missionary prayers known. It was found written on the first page of the first church book of Tranquebar, of 1707, written by one of the earliest missionaries. It is as follows: "0 thon exalted and majestic Saviour, Lord Jesns Christl Thou Redeemer of the whole human racel Thou who through thy holy apostles hast everywhere, throughout the w)1ole wori,d, gathered a holy congregation out of all peoples for thy possession, and hast defended and maintained the same even until now against all the might of hell, and moreover assurest thy servants that thou wilt uphold them even to the end of the world, and in the very last times wilt multiply them' by calling many of the heathen to the faith I For such goodness may thy name be eternally praised, especially also because thou, through thy unworthy servants in this place, dost communicate to thy holy word amoug the heathen thy blessing, and hast begun to deliver some souls ont of destructive bllnduess, and to iucorporate them with tbe communion or thy holy Church. Behold, it ill thy word; do thou support it with Divine power, so Gliat'by thy power many thousand souls may be born to thee in these missiou stations, which bear the names of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, souls which ilfterwards may be admitted out of this earthly Jerusalem into thy heavenly Jernsalem with ever- iasting and exultant joy. Do this, 0 Jesus, for the sake of thy gracious prorillseand thy holy merit, Amen." .
The Journal des Missions EvanglUiques, in remarking- upon the greater
OIi.GANlZJi:l> MISSIONARY WORK
ease with which a missionary field is reached now than a generation ago, . observes: "We know that It requires about tweuty days to accomplish the 6,000 marine miles Which divide , the English coasts from Cape Town. The railway which joins this city with Kimberley has been pushed out some 6rO miles, a pas.age of about twenty-four hours. Nothing easier, as we see, tb!ln to go from Paris to Kimberley, In the heart of South Africa; it requires but twenty-1Ive days and from 1,500 to 1,600 francs. But less than thirty years ago M. and Madame Mabille have had I'voy- age of 104 days between England and Cape Town, and they found it to require 1Ifty days, including . the necessary preparations for a wagon journey, to go from there to Lessouto. To-day the Zambezi Is hardly farther off than was, forty years ago, the country of Mashesh-in the Transvaal. Only on reaching Kimberley do they harness up the heavy wagon which transports the missionary to Kazungula, where we cross the Zambezi to enter into the country of the Barotsls."
It has been already mentioned that. as tue French Government, since tak- ing possession of the Gaboon, has forbidden the American missionaries to . teach anything but French in their schools, these have found it necessary to solicit their Frer;.ch Protestant brethren to send them out teachers, which they have done. The editors of the Journal remark: .. The reception given to our friends at the Gaboon, a!) well by the authorities as by the American missional'ies, has been excellent. The latter have themselves written to thank the Society for the pains which j,t has taken to secure and send out these auxiliaries of French speech, the introduction of whom had become an absolute necessity, involving the vet·y existence of the mission. Thus our young people have found at the stations true friends, with whom they are happy to be fellow-laborers."
One of these young gentlemen, M. Virgile Gacon, who found in the American mission a more rigorous rule of total abstinence than is com- monly thought necessary in France, writes: .. Mr. Good haR explained to us In full the importance which here belongs to the question of abstinence. The matter is not difficult to comprehend: when once a black man has tasted alcoh61, it Is too late to say to him, Stop. At another time I sha11 be able to write at length on this 8ubject. For now this one fact will suffice. There is near here a "Village, which will soon be entirely destroyed. The cause is 'water-of-Iife,' em-t-de-vie, or rather, water-of-death, In many places 'men have been known to die a few hours after having drauk these drugs. purchased at high price. He who follows such a business is unworthy of the name of civilized European."
M. Brandt, of the French mission in Senegal, touches upon a loo well- known fault of the African character: "At every moment I am baffled against their iuertla, their lack of reflection, aud above a11 the mobility of their impressions. If I ask of my scholars to enumerate to me the distinguishing marks of a truly Christian child, they will give them with marvelous preCision, but a. to actiug agreeablJ thereto, no one dreams of it. They have rather a superabundance of those ready-made phrases, those expressions so beautiful in the mouths of those who really feel them', but so cold when com- ing from those who are not touched by them, and which may be called the pafcia of Canaan, ,'Many words and few deeds,' is something of which I have often to remind them."
II.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK.
Society for Promoting Ohristian Knowl- nance of bishops and clergy for the Colonial and edge. Pounded 1698. Missionary Dioceses in the training of candidates for holy orders, and in preparing native students TRIS society Is the Bible and Prayer- Book for lay missiou work. It devotes a portion of Socf,etyof the Church of England. During the its funds to aid medical missions in the East, year It circnlated 588,907 of these books or por- and for the training of medical missionaries. tions in over 75 languages, at a cost to thc This latter plan n()w includes the training or society's funds of over £10,000. It is a Tract female medical missionaries for the spread of and Pure Literature Society. During the year the gospel among the women of India. Five works of religious and other sound literature thousand pounds have been voted dUring the were sold to the amount of £78,730, aud books year for the extension of medical missions, and £2,000 toward the endowment of the Sees of to the value of £8,805158. were granted free to Perth,W. A., Bathurst. and Ottawa; £1,000 churches, mission rooms, schools, etc. It is a ,Jli88i07la1"!l Socf,ety, and assists in the maintetowards, a Clergy Endowment Fund for the Primitive Methodist lfissionary So-. diocese of Perth, and £900 for the maintenance ciety, of students in mission seminaries and boarding- schools' in the diocese of Madras. Twenty- FORTY-FIFTH report for year end- three stUdents of various nationalities are main- ing March, 1888: tained in theological colleges in preparation for holy orders, and forty-four natives are also The gross income of the General Fund for being trained for lay mission work. the past year has been £17,868 18. 10~d" and tlie gross expenditure £13,187158. ~., Besides this its noble Training College at leaving a balance in the treasurer's hands Tottenham involves a considerable expense. It of £4,680 68. 7d. But £500 of this balance is , expended during the year £7,955 to erect 109 money the committee will have to repay in buildings for church purposes. Its efforts as an a short time, and £2,500 more is money held Emigrant's Spiritual A id Society are extensive. for a special purpose, so that the balance, strictly speaking, is £1,680 68. 7d. The total amount of grants in money and , The gross income of the African Fund for books made in the year ending March 21st,1887, the year has been £2.584 148. 9d., and the gross expenditures £2,134198. 7d.; leaving a wag '£41,667 178. 4<1., including the charge on balance of £449 158. 2d. This balance will, of cGurse, be expended in a month or two the SOCiety's funds for Bibles and Prayer-books from the audit. sold below cost price. The society's liability for grants promised amounted at that time to The districts have sent £617 58. 2(,l. less to nearly £74,000. The society's income from all the General Fund this year than last, but sources was £35,l1R 58. 5d. The grants voted £805 178. 7d. more to the African Fund. for the various branches of the society's work in the year much exceeded its income, aud its British and Foreign Bible Society. assets have been reduced £7,320 98. ABSTRACT of the report, 1888: Society for the Propagation of the Gos- The issnes of copies at home and abroad pel in Foreign Parts. have been the largest the society has ever known. The total number of Bibles, Testa- ESTABLISHED in 1701. Report of ments and Portions' has been 4,206,032. This is an increase beyond the issues of last year the year 1887 : of more than 273,354. Of the total issues 2,293,393 copies Were sent from London; ovel During the 187 years of its existence, the 1,312,639 from the depots abroad. Society's work, which began in 1702 in the Receipts: The gross total, £250,382108. 5d United States and the West Indies, has been The expenditures, £224,823 98. 9d. This pays the deficit of last year, £10,021 178., and extended to Newfoundland in 1703, to Canada leaves a balance of some £15,000 in the treasury. in 1749, to the West Coast of Africa in 1752, to Oolonial and Oontinental Ohurch So- Australia in 1795, to the East Indies in 1818, to ciety. South Africa in 1820, to New Zealand in It139, to INCORPORATED in 1887. Report for Borneo in 1849, to British Columbia and Bur- the year 1887-88: mah in 1859, to Madagascar in 1864, to the The special object of this Society is to Transvaal in 1873, to Japan in 1873, to China in .. supply clergymen and catechists and teachers to British residents in the Colo- 1874, to Fiji in 1879. n ies, on the Continent, and in other parts of the world." Archdeacon Wilkinson, D.D., The following comparative statement gives preached the anniversary sermon. The report is voluminous. The receipts for the the amounts received under the several items, year, if we understand the statement, amounted to £41,695 138., including balance into which the Society's finances are divided, in at the beginning of the year.
1886 and 1887 : Pilgrim Mission of St. Ohrischona.
COLLECTIONS, SUB- 1886. 1887. THIS mission is located near J3asel in SCRIPTIONS, AND £ 8. d. £ 8. d. SWitzerland. From the yearly report we DONATIONS. 77,72513 3 learn that the outlay of the Mission for .1887 13,0551l! 10 was 128,955 francs ($24,501). This, Mission- General Fund…. 75,764 6 5 house trains yonng men of various nation- Special Funds … 13,408 2 1 10,323 12 5 alities and denominations. chiefly artisans, 25 0 0 for missionary work in Europe, America LEGACIES: and other parts of the world. General Fund…. 7,652 2 2 3,954 7 4 Special Funds … 200 0 0 4,680 19 5 • Bibles, 869,061; Testameuts 1,938,097; Portions 1,898,874. RENTS, DIVIDENDS, Etc. : General Fund.. . . 3,552 8 3 Special Funds. .. 5,134 16 0 Gross Income of l £105,71114 11 £109,765 5 3 the SociAty f – It will thus be seen that the gross receipts for 1887 exceed those of 1886 by £4,054 : that the General Fund received a total larger by £5,035 than in 1886. of which £2,672 were under the head of LegacIes, and £1,961 under ,the head of Oollections, Subscriptions, and Donations, and that the Special 'Funds show a decreasennder each head, which amounts to £981. Fiji Island Mission. SIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD, we give the latest statistics of this FROM the paper read before the Confer- marvelous mission: ence at London by Rev. John Calvert (see The McAll Mission nnmbers at present l!5 pages 656-00 of this REVIEW) we gather the stations, or mission halls, in Paris,l1 in the immediate suburbs, and 79 in tb,e provinces, ' latest facts re.pecting this marvelous mis- making a total of 115. Some of these are openeil every night, bnt the greater number ~on. I are used only on Sunday, and two or three times during the week. A.dults and child- .. With only 9 white missionaries, we have ren's meetings, Bible classes and mothers' meetings, dispensaries, young men's asso- 3,505 native preacMrs; 56 ordained, who take ciations, all these and other methods of work are carried on. full part in the work of the ministry with the The aggregate attendance during laat English missionary, 47 catechists, 983 head year in the 17,000 meetings which have been held, has been 1,114,233. The number of preachers, with 1,919 ordinary local or lay people who are under gospel infiuence through these mission halls, who attend preachers. There are 1,268 chapels and more or less regularly, and may be said to befavorubly disposed-people :"ho, formerly, other preaching places; 28 English church were freethinkers and indifferent to their religious interests-can be safely estimated members, 27,097 full native, church mem- at 50,000.
bers. These are Well cared for by 3,480 de- Hebrew Ohristian Work in New York.
voted cloiss-leaders. There are 40,718 schol- REPORT to Jan. 1, 1888: ars in our 1,735 day and Sunday-schools, This work is under control of Rev. Jacob Freshman, a converted Israeliteand Rabbi's taught by 2,526 teachers; and 101,150 at- son. The Center is 17 St. Mark's Place, New York. Preachin~ in German anil English tendants on pUblic worship. The jubilee of every Saturday afternoon, English services Sundays and Fridays. No statement of fithe mission was lately held. Fifty years nances is appeniled. The property has been boughtand paid for and is without debt, save previously there was not a Christian in aU the $10,000 first mortgage. It is essentially a faith work, Mr.and Mrs. Freshman having Fiji; then not an avowed heathen left. no salary. In our jndgment it inspires con- fidence to print a full account of all receipte Cannisalism has, for some years past, been and expenditures, and we commend this suggestion to friend Freshman, wholly extinct, and other immemorial cus- toms of horrible cruelty and barbarism have disappeared."
Bahamas Baptist Mission,.lBB7•.
REPORT 81 stations, 14 sub-statIOns, 1 mlS· sionary, 98 evangelists, 148 baptisms during the year, received otherwise 58; number of members, 4,161; Sabbath-school teachers, 396; scholars, 4,027. Amount of contributions not given.
The Finnish Missionary Sooiety.
THIS mission of this society in Sonthwestern Africa dates back 20 years. It was over twelve years before a baptism waR ,eported. The pres- ent number is 105. The last year's income of the society amounted to 101,478 Finnish marks, equivalent to $17,196.48.
Basel Mission Society, Basel, Switzer- United Methodist Free Ohuroh (London).
land. THIRTY-SECOND report, 1888.
RECEIPTS: £ 8. d. Ordinary Receipts., . . . . . . . .• . . •. 9,849 13 9 THE latest and, most anthentic statistics of Miscellaneous and Special……… 519 17 7 this Interesting mission are furnished by Rev. Commemorative Fnnd. . •. . . . . . . . 905 0 0 Foreign Local Receipts. . . . •. . . . . 9,753 9 4 H. W. Hulbert in the two valuable papers given by him on the Basel Mission In our October and TotalIncome. . . . . . •. . . . . . . . 21,O'JIl 0 8 Deficiency on the year……….. 426 18 10 November issues. We give the snmmary as follows: , To·day the Basel Society has four fields of £21,454 14 6 £ B. If: labor, East India, China, Gold Coast, and Cam- EXl'ENDITURES: Home Expenditure …… , …..•. 3,978 9 4 eroons and Victoria in West Africa; 44 sta- Foreign Expenditure. . . . . . . . . . . . 7,722 15 10 tions 79 ordained male European laborers, 31 Foreign Local Expenditure…… 9,"53 9 4 day European lay workers, 85 female European £21,45414 6 laborers, 577 native workers, 19,98ll adherents, Bible Ohristian Missionary Society (London). 9,497 communicants, 207 schools and 7,486 schol· THIRTY-SEVENTH annual report, ars. The annual income of this society is 1888: £36,000, of which the native converts contribute The statis~ical tables show that the Society has at present 126 missionaries, 742 local £778. preachers, 390 chapels, 119 preaching places, 10,552 members, 254 on trial for membership, MoAll Mission, Franoe.
FROM the admirable paper of Mr.
Saillens, the assoCiate of Mr. McAlI, given in this number of THE MISand in the Sabbath-schools, 2,990 teachers, and different villages ; from four villages they w~ the first-fruits. 21,310 scholars. There is an mcrease of 16 Total of baptized Christians …•••…•. , •• 1145 Received from other missions. ••. •• . .• . •• 11 local preachers, 13 chapels. 13 preaching places, Children of Christians….. .. …………. 230 39 memhers, and 589 scholars. Newton Abbot 586 Died ………………………………. 16 is not included in this year's returns, the Con- Excluded ………………………….. 14, Emigrated and joined other missions ference of 1887 having decided to unite that (with their children) ……………., 101 mission to the Torquay Circuit, or these tables -131 would show larger totals anti. increases. Present…. .. .. .. … .. … …….. …. 455 RECEIPTS: £ 8. d. Oolonial Missionary Society. By Home Contributions……… 4,397 19 10 " South Australia………….. FIFTY-SECOND annual report, 1888; .. Victoria…………………. 493 10 9 .. New Zealand…………….. 2,0~8 5 2 This Society repl'esents the Inde- pendent or Congregational Churches. 114 10 1 £ II. d. £7,094 510 Balance from last year … , .. … 307 0 4 DISBU1ISElIrENTS : £ 8. d. CASH RECEIVED. To Balance, with Interest…….. 598 3 3 " Home Disbursements…•…. 3,685 13 7 Annnal Subscriptions……….. 670 12 3 .. South Australia………… .. 47210 9 Donations…………… …….. 111 Z 6 .. Victoria………………… . 2,237 10 10 Congregational Collections….. 675 3 9 .. Queensland …………….. . 25 0 0 Sunday-schools, Boxes, etc….. 20 14 8 .. New Zealand…………… .. 232 5 1 Repaymeats(Passagesaccount) 190 8 6 .. China…………………… . 526 13 4 Dividends on Stock.. ………… 32 • 5 Legacies……………………. 2,610 15 8 Total Disbursements.. ….. 7,77'11610 Jubilee Fund, Winnipeg ac- Total Receipts.. ……….. 7,094 5 10 count…………………… 250 0 0 £688 11 0 £4,868 2 Foreign Ohristian Missionary Sooiety. JUBILEE FUND.
ABSTRACT of thirteenth annual re- £ II. d. To Balance from last year…..• 473 15 7 port, October, 1888: Receipts to date (including £750 SUJ(KARY OP WORK AND WOBKBBB. from Legacies to Society).. 1,964 0 8 Dividends on Stock…………• 38 16 8 .. Nnmber ofmissions, 6; stations, 24: male £7,344 15 0 missionaries, 24; Cemale, 13; helpers, 22; EXPENDITURES. whole nnmber of paid workers, 59; additions £ II. d. during the year, 798; net gain, 588: nnmber Grant from Legacies to Jubilee under the care of the society. 2,473; children in Fund……………………. 750 0 0 Grants to Churches, Stations, Sunday·school,2,689; In day-school, 880. . and College.. .. •.. .. .. .. … 1,905 14 8 Voyages and Outfits…… …… 195 14 6 PINANCES. Rent of Office, Attendance,Gas, .. Total receipta for the year $62,767.59. Of etc……………………..• 51 0 8 Salary of Secretary ………..• 350 0 0 this sum $2,670.40 was received from the sale of Postages, Carriage, and Inci- securities, and $2,100 "Was returned on invest- dentals …………………. 26 Z 2 Printing, Paper, and Advertisements. Deducting these amounts leaves $57,- ments…………………… 38 4 10 997.19 as the contributions of churches, Sunday- Annuity for Gift of £1,000 …… 38 16 8 Deputations, and Traveling sch,ools and individuals, This is an increase of charges ………………… 24 10 6 817,437.84. Aside from bequests the increase is Deposit Account (H. W. & Co.). 1,000 0 0 $10,035.74. The total expenditure amounts to Balance……………… :. 487 18 1 $60,092.66. With a single exception there has £4,868 2 1 JUBILEE FUND. been an increase in the receipts each year from £ II. d. the first. In the last six years the increase has Deputations, Expenses, and been fivefold. Hundreds of churches and Charges. .. .. ….. . . .. .. .. … 131 2 0 Printing, Postages, etc.. … …. "1 0 SChools are fsIling into line each year. The re- Purchase of Stock………….. 2,044 7 6 Loan, Winnipeg account…….. 250 0 0 ceipts from the Sunday-schools amount to $15,- Balance……………….. 47 2 Z 662.gJ against $10,573.08 last year. This is an £7,344. 15 0 increase of fifty per cent. The interest and en- American 'Arcot 'Mission in Connection thusiasm of the superintendents and teachers with Refornled Dutch Ohurch.
are constantly increasing. The work among THIRTY-FOURTH report, 1887: the ehildren is by far the most hopeful feature of SUJlJlARY.
our home work. Additions to members in 1887, 245; but, as an offset to this, there was a. decrea.se of "Please note that our Woman's Board does not contribute to our treasury, as in some other societies. A. McLEAN, Secretary."
Bethel Santhal Mission.
PASTOR A. HAEGERT, founder and director, Bengal. Report of 1887-8. Summary. Married, ·13; confessed faith in Christ and "Were baptized, 34. They came from eighteen 223, leaving a net increase of only 22. A instead of taking them. from my report.. This large par,t of this loss is accounted for by !tatistical table is madeup from reports sent to the erasure of the names of persons who the Stated Clerk from the various Presbyteries. have ceased attending church. and is iuaccurate in many respects.
The.present status of the Mission: 8 mis- "J. L.SECOR, Secretary." sionaries, 7 assistant missionaries, 3 native We are in doubt now whether the p~tors, 185 native helpers, 8 .stations, 56 $11,212.63, which we stated as conout-stations~ 23 churches, 1,755 Church mem- tributed by the Woman's Board of bers, 00 congregations, 5,508 the aggregate Foreign Missions, is embt'aced in the of native Christians, 6 Christian boarding figures given above. schools, 5 Anglo-vernacular schools, 8 Hindu girls' schools, and 84 primary schools, Woman's Foreign Missionary Boards and chiefly in the villages; making altogether Work in the United States.* 103 schoolS, with a total attendance of 2,765 scholars, of whom 1,699 are boys, and. 1,066 I. Woman's Union Missionary Socigirls. ety. Organized 18tn.
EVa.IU!;elical Lutheran Ohurch in the Miss S. D. Doremus, 'Correspondiug Sec- tary,54 East 21st street. New York. U. S. (General Synod). This Society is Rupported by 27 Auxiliary 8U)l1lARY. Societies. The reported income for 1887 was $37,346.69. It conducts work in Calcutta, MISSIONARIES in the field: Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Allahabad and Cawnpore,India; in Shanghai, China; and in Yokohama, Japan. The sumR Unangst, Rev. and Mrs. Wolff, Miss Dr. Kugler contributed for the support of their work at mission stations amounts to a considerable and Miss Dryden. total, nearly $10,000.
Whole number of native gospel workers. 11i7 The report contains no summaries of Baptized members…………………. 10,256 a.orents and other facts. . Net gain during the year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r~6 Communicants………… .. …. …..•.. 5,316 Miss Hook, of Calcutta, says: "During the Sunday-schools (regularly organized) …. 8 past year tllere has been a revival of Christ- Sunday-schoo! scholars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. – 890 ian literature. New books, papers aud Congregations or~an~zed in 1887 . . . . . . . . . 8 tracts have been written. and an immensely Prayer-honses buUt ID 1887.. . .. . •… .. . . 14 large number of the old ones have been sold Whole number of schools……………. 158 and distributed." Teachers. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. ••… . .. .. 184 Pupils io all the schools ……………… 3,886 Dr. Reiffsnyder, of Shanghai, conducta a Candidates for the ministry. . . . . . . . . . •. •• 12d very prosperous medical work.
RECEIPTS. The organ of the Society is The Missimtary Link. It is published monthly. The Cor- For the work in India and Africa, from all responding Secretary of the Society, Miss S. Bourees, $25,249.50, as follows: Collection at D. Doremus, is the editor. The .. RoOm .. of General Synod, $71.26; American Tract Society, this Society is 41 Bible House. $100; from the Southern Church, $493.72; Publicatiou Society, $1,500; Woman's Missionary II. Woman's Board of Missions. (Con- Society, $3,987.65; from individuals, Sunday-' gregational.) Organized 1868. schools aud churches, $19,090.87-$10,903.13 less than called for' by the Board, and indorsed by Miss Abbie B. Child, Home Secretary No.1, General Synod. To make up this serious defi- Con!(regational House, Bostou, Mass. ciency an appeal was sent to pastors and Sundayschools, from which only partial responses had Three Women's Boards of the Cougregatioual been received np to date of report. "An urgent Church co-operate with the americau Board, call for reinforcement comes from India and namely: The Woman's Board of Missions, with Africa, and the Board promises to send addi- headquarters at Boston, the Woman's Board tional men as soou as possible." of Missions of the Interior. with headquarters at Chicago, and the Woman's Board of Mis- Oumberland Presbyterian Ohurch. sions of the Pacific, centering at San Francisco. The last has just organized an Oregon and IN our last number (page 845) we erred in giving the receipts of this .• We are indebted to Mrs. Dr. J. T. Gracey, Society for 1887-8. On application to Buffalo, N. Y., for the preparation of this the Secretary we received the follow- entire matter relating to Womau's Foreign ing correction: Mission Work. So extensive ha.s the work become that we 'are obliged to confine the .. Tle receipts in our work last year were as exhibit in this number to the United Statea. follows: In the next number we hope to give the For foreign missions ……• '" .•….. 815,265 97 work of the Canada and the .European For home missions………………. 27,672 59 '".S. ocieties.-EDS. Total for the year……….•…..842,988 56 "Your mistake doubtless occnrred by your taking your figures from the statistical table .in the back part of the Minutes of the Assembly, Washington Territory Branch. This Pacidc Africa, Mexico, and among Indians and Cblll~ Board was not organized 'till 1872. The three in this conntry. Boards had contributed to the general work 01 the Prudential Committee at the time of the 1. Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 01 seventy·dfth anniverEsry of the American the PreBiJyterian Church. Organized 1870. Board, $1,270,000. lIliss S. W. Du BOis, 1,334 Chestnut street, On January 11, 12 of this year, the Woman's Pbiladelphia, Home Secretary. Board celebrated its twentieth anniversaryin Mt. Vernon Church, Boston. Mrs. S. Brainard Pratt, This society has 2,725 auxiliary societies and in ber "Twenty Years' Review," said: ·'In lIands, and supports 183 missionaries, 8 of whom 1868 we began with seven missionaries, four are physicians, 27 zenana visitors, 84 natl"8 ot whom have continned through all these helpers, and 165 day and boarding·schools. Its years at their labors. In 1888, we can number income last year was $150,000, making a total of 171 missionaries who have been under onr care, $1,647,618 since its organization. twelve or whom have died, others withdrawn, and now we have in active service 102 mission- 2. The Woman's Board ol.Missions qf the aries and 132 Bible women. Twenty years ago Nl»'thweBt, organized 1870. It has 1,522 auxilithe Board had no school buildings of its own to ary societies and bands, supports 71 misSionaries, which to send its ·seven teachers. Time 4 of whom are physiCians, 57 native teachers will fall to tell how one after another day and and Bible readers, and 102 day and board:ngboarding·schools have been opened and build- schools. Its receipts last year were $102,499.87, ings erected, houses, hospitals and dispensaries and its total contributions $726,277.35. built, which have been like little glimpses of America, nay, more like the very gate of heaven 3. Woman'8 Board of Foreign .Missions, New to the thousands ot girls whom they have shel· York, organized 1870, has 900 auxiliary societered, telling in langnage which all may read, ties and bands, supports 41 missionaries, 32 that American women are stretching out belp- native helpers, 22 schools, and its income last Ing hands to their sisters of every nation for year was $65,544.35, a total since its orgaDtzalove'88au. tion for foreign work of $430,346.
.. 'rhe Board's drst fields otlaoorwere Chilla, 4. Woman'. PreBbyterian SOCiety, Nl»'tkern Ceylon, Turkey and Zululand. They have added New Yl»'k, organized 1871. This society has 220 to .these India, Persia (1870), Japan, Spain, .subordinate organizations, and support. 5 mis· Mexico, Austria, Micronesia, West Central and sionaries, 13 native pastors, 49 schools and East Ceutral Africa. scholarships, and its income last year was $10,413.36, a total durin~ its existence of $120,812. "In 1810 the Woman's Board welcomed Its drst daugbter, the Philadelphia Branch; now it has 6. lWJman's PreslYyterian Board of MI,'8iom twenty-three brauches, comprisnlg 1,700 aux- qf the Southwest, organized 1877, headquarters Uiaries and circles. One more glance backward. at St. Louis. It has 376 societies and bands. Its income last year was $7,193.18, making a What bas it cost, this work of twenty years r total since its organization of $28,968.58. It has several missionaries under Its care, and scholar- Last year the receipts amounted to $123.240,45, ships in many count.ries. and for the twenty years, in money paid Into the Treasury, $i79,457.·23. 6. Woman's NorlJi, PacVlcPreabyterian Board of Missions was organized last year (l88i), and " The Woman's Branch at Boston supports 110 has for its home field the Synod of Columbia. missionaries and 121 Bible women in its various There was some regret at the separation of this . missions. The receipts for the year ending territory from the main society and at the multi_ December 31, 1887, were $12il,2Z9.45. plication of the number of societies, bnt as the step Wl,S taken with the approval of the Presby- "The Woman's Board of the Interior has tery and Synod, all concur, and wish an In- 1,500 auxiliaries, and supports 62 mission- creased efficiency for these workers. We are .aries. Their income last year amounted to sorry not to be able to give the number of $51,171.40. The Woman's Board of the Pacific auxiliaries, but the society is not yet in condi- bas 75 auxiliaries and supports 3 missiouaries. tion to report, Its Income last year was was $4,045.38, Mrs. B. Douglas of Chicago, TIl., thus sum- "Life and Light, the periodical of the Wo- marizes the women's work of the whole of these man's Congregational Board, reports a circula- societies: tion of 15,451. This Board also issues a paper "Number of Women's Boards and Socie- for the cbildren, called M't88Wn Day-Sprinu, which has a circulation of over 17,000. Tbese ties for work among heathen women, in papers are published in Boston, the former at the Presbyterian Charch, North…….. 6 60 cents a year and the latter at 25 cents." Number of auxiliary societies and bands connected witb them………………. 5,743 III. Woman's Boards, Presbyterian Number of missionaries supported by them on the foreign field……………. 260 Church. Number of native assistants………….. 158 Number of boarding and day-schools….. 820 THE missions of the several Presbyterian 'Woman's Boards are in Syria, Persia, India, .. In addition to these larger items, we have Siam, Japan, Korea, Papal Europe, Southwest aided in the building, furnishing and sapport of schools, hospitals, orphanages, training-scbools for nurses, asylums, aud dispensaries; have translated books into: foreign languages and pri~ted them; have built a boat for African of concerning the operations the ladieli'·soeie- waters: have supported a Mexican newspaper, have met all expenses connected with onr work ties in connection with their general society: at hllme, and have paid unappropriated into the "In reply to your card I wonld state, that in the treasury of the Assembly's Board, five per cent. of. our receipts for cohtingent expenses con· Sonthern Presbyterian Chnrch there was contrib- nected with our special work. uted last year by Ladies' Foreign Missionary Societies, $20,732.71. The number of these .. The whole amonnt raised for these pnrposes societies contributing was 457. In 1874 the by the women of onr Chnrch since the organiza- contributions of these societies amonnted to tion of the first SOCiety in 1870, is $2,934,021. $2,111.50:" in 1878, $10,107.54. Since 1874, Adding to this the many thonsand dollars given when the contribntions of the societies be- to specific objects outside of the regnlar esti- gan to be reported separately from the other mates, and the legacies paid into the Board receipts, the total amount contribnted by them direct from the estates of Presbyterian women has been $185,682.34. The societies have in (one of >'hich is the largest legacy they ever re- general had no association witl, one another: ceived), amouutin~ in all to about $5CO,000, we Within the last year Presbyterian associations have raised during these nearly eighteen years have in some cases been formed." over $3,500,000. V. Reformed Presbyterians. The two periodicals published by these so- cieties jOintly are Woman's Work for Woman. THE REVIEW last year reported the formation and Our MissionF'ield, and Ohildren's Work . for Ohildren, and both are self-supporting. of two Presbyterial societies. We have endeav- 7. 7heWoman's Board Of the Pacific Islands, 1871 <Presbyterian). We have no report of this ored to ascertain something further abont them, society, and can do no better than to refer to TUB RRVlEW for December,1887, page 785. bnt have nothing. A note from Rev. R. M. Som- IV. Woman's Work in the Presby- erville, New York, Sept. 13, 1888, says: terian Church in the United States "We have no women's missionary societies, (Southern). except in connection with individual congrega- There is no separate organization of the tions, and there are no pubUshed reports or tbeir ladies of this Church for the conduct of foreign work. We are indehted to the Corresponding work." . Secretary of Foreign MiSSions, Rev. 14. H. Houston, D.D., 113 N. Charles street, Balti- VI. Women's Board of Missions of more, for the following response to our inquiry the United Presbyterian Church.
Organized 1879.
Miss Margaret Shaw, Recording Secretary, Pittsburgh, Pa.
This is a joint home aud foreign missionary SOCiety, and the following table, thongh contsin- ing matter extraneous to our purpose, is too val· uable to mar, so we give it entire : COIdl'ABATlVE SIDOrABY 011' STATISTICS.
– – – – – – – – – 1883. 1884. 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. Presbyteries Represented……………. . '0 ….25 .. ··32 56 Presbyterial Societies…..•………….. 16 41 43 Congregational. ……………………. . 33.; 34.5 :l99 469 5:;2 675 Members Reported ………………… . 10,593 11,007 12,071 13,585 15.~ 17,529 CONTRIBUTIONS.
Foreign Missions ………. '.' ……… , .. $7,546 $8,365 $10,177 $10,763 $13,803 $15,619 Home Missions ………………….. .. 4,304 4,2'J7 4,924 5,650 5,835 5,363 Freedmen's Missions ……………… .. 2,082 2,103 2,788 6,'06 17,316 3,215 Church Extension ……… ' …………. . 906 860 1,096 2,121 1,188 2,108 Congre~ational Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,819 12,438 12,970 Otber Objects. 4U Ministerial Relief….. …… ………. 371 Ot'phans' Home… .. ……………… 4,379 Miscellaneons ……….. ;…………
Total "Other Objects " ………….. 10,839 12,528 10,732 4,120 5,812 5,192 Total. …………………………. $25,731 $28,082 $29,767 $3s,749 $46,395 $44,467 Boxes NOT included….. …… ……….. 6,310 :Miss Shaw says: and retrenchment of work in Egypt. where " Comparing this with report of previons year, schools which had been in existence many years we find that 2,005 have been added to the mem- have actually been closed for want of funds. bership·, while there has been" failing off in contributions of $1,961. We had hoped to have ".T¥ Women's Missionary Magazine, pub- $50,000 to report thIS year, and had there been lished by a committee appointed by the General tlie growth there Itas been for several years MiSSionary Society, thongh making its tlret apback, this would have been the case. pearance in August, 1887, is on a caBh basis, with .. A. deep and prayerful interest ha& pervaded a steadily increasing 8Ubscription Jist. Many the whole Church, and especially in regard to tbe kind words and subscriptions bave been received debt 'i:estlng on the :Board of. Foreign· Missions for it from persons of other chnrches as well as our own,·' Report, of the MFiavyeIW, 1o88m8e:n*'s Foreign Missionary Organizatio' ns of t, he Presb, )rterian ' Chure,b, Co the yoor ending lIl'
.CD .CD .; .t.o,- ~ .~ 8i..~,-0il. t ti ti i ~".":"e~ := .E os &" ! " . ~ ~" ~" ~ – -iil – -z– c::lo"S ~.t. >C<D ~"t>"< Woman's Foreign Missionary Soclety of the Presh. Ch., Phila….. $149,640 $19,821 2,382 91 Woman's Preshyterian Board of 221 – 133 Missions of the Northwe.t …….. 82,472 15,412 1,522 0 68 49 Woman's Board of Foreign Missions of the Preshyterian Church, New york ……………………… 62;544 12,407 1lOO 76 Womau's Presh. Foreign Mission- 41 30 ary Society of North'u New York. 10,413 0 118 14 5 13 Woman's Preshyterian Board of Missions of the Southwest…….. – -7,21-7 ,–5-03- – – 4-7 – – – -8 – – – -7 – – – -0 – $312,286 $48,143 4,969 319 254 183 VII. Women's Board of Foreiin Mis- at Chittoore, India, together with two caste sions of the Cumberland Presbyte- schools at Vellore. Their organ, The Mission rian Church. , Organized 1879. Gleaner, is puhlished once in two months at 26 Miss S..C. McClurkin. Correspondine: Secre- Reade street, New York, for 25 cents a- year. tary, Evansville, Ind. During the year the Society has sent Its lIrst This Board supports work in Japan, Mexico and among North Americau Indians. Its in- medical missionary. A young Chinese lady come last year was $1,920.87. The children's paper of the society is called The Missionary graduated in New York, offered herself to the Ba1lnBr, and has a circulatiou of 3;600; price, 25 cents. And they conduct a department of Woman's 'Board and was accepted, and is now their own in The Missionary RecO'l'd, the general missionary oigan of the Church. As no sum- in Amoy, China. mary of the work is given in their Eighth Annnal Report, we cannot make one up, hut during Miss Y. May King, M.D., is a native oC China, the past year 120 new societies and hands have been organized, and the total now enrolled is but brought up from the age oC two years in the 822. They have printed and purchased 10,552 leallets during the year, and the Secretary has family of Dr. McCartee, for many years a medo written ],m5 letters. They have no separate periodical•• ical missionary in China. She is the lIrst woman VIII. Woman's Board of Foreign of her nation, as far t.S known, to obtain a med- Missions of the Reformed (Dutch) ical education in this country,and attaining the Church in America. Organized 1875_ lIrst honors of the institution at which she pur- Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. M. Ho'well, 36 sued her studies. Her prospects for usefulness East 70th street, New York. are great, and she already asks for funds to It now has 200 auxiliary societies and bands. During the twelve years they have made 350 start a dispensary and hospital. In India the life members. The total receipts in that time amount to 3126,874. For 1887 they raised $17,- Society has work at Vellore, Tindivanum. Arnee, 544.81. Their report states that, "The Woman's Board has assumed the support oC the girls' Chittore, Wallajah and Madanapalle. In Japan, schools established by Synod's Board, and it is not probable that the womeu ofoor Church will at Yokohama and Nagasaki,while from Tokyo, as ever enter upon work disconnected, or npon the forming of schools other thau those established ,a center, Japanese women are sent forth to read by the Board oC the Church." the Bible and gather women into the churches. The sum of $5,500 has beeu annually pledged for the support of three seminaries, one at The" Jonathan Sturges" Seminary, at Nagasaki, Amoy, China, one 'at Yokohama, Japan, and one is fairly started with fourteen hoarders; th.e. oFrodremroefcthhainstiaca.bl lree.asIotnbsewleonhga8vteot~oo.vlanr.y In China the "Charlotte Duryea" School, at Amoy, has had forty women in attendance. The girls' school at Kolong·See has had ahout lIfty pupils. The Children'S Home is a new branch of work organized during the year. Many cases of cruelty towards girl children having come to the knowledge of these ladies, they, in connection with three friends of the English Preshyterian Mission, determined, if funds could be raised, to establish a home where children might be taken in,and cared for. They suc,ceeded in raising bEl- tween six and seven hundred dollars, and ha,'e started this beneficial work. Whil~ nothing so far has' been asked of the B,oards towards 'its support, yet work of this character must apPlllll unresistingly to the hearts of mothers In the home land. '
A day-school started on the island of ADioJ' I.
an9tber neW.feature of the work for the y!lllf•.. IX. Reformed (German) Church in the Africa, on the Congo; in Obln., Swato1V Nlngho; Japan, at Tokyo, Yokohama; United States. Rev. A. R. BartholotIlew, Secretary, Potts- France and Sweden. At the annual meeting, a novel feature ville, Pa. The Secretary of the Board of Foreign was introduced, in the form of questions. to be ans:""ered as follows: First question, Missions for this Church says the wo'men of What IS the testimony of missionaries in the Church do not print any report of their regard to the importance of our Society' work. They· co-operate with the General Second question, What is left undone in the' .Society, but in what form we cannot say. foreign field' Third question. What re- mains to be done in the home·field t Fourth X. Woman's Foreign Missionary So- question, In What ways may our work in the foreign field be appropriately enlarged t ciety of the Evangelical Lutheran The following. relating to the drink trallle, Church of the United States of an,d specially bearing on the Congo, where thiS Board supports work, was adopted : America. Organized 1879. " Whereas, The exportation of intoxicants Miss M. H. Morris, Corresponding Secre- into heathen lands is frau!:'ht with untold tary, 406 N. Greene ~treet, Baltimore, Md. evil to the natives, and is one of the most serious obstacles to the work of evangeliza- This society has a Board of Home and tion in those lands; Foreign Missions. .The Corresponding Sec- retary's report for the year gives the fol- "RESOLVED, That this Woman's Baptist lowing statistics: Number of Wom..n's So- Foreign Missionary Society enter its protest cieties, 379; Young People's Bauds, 67. against the continuance of this tralllc ; Total, 436. Number of members, 10,613; honorary members, 1,106; life members, .. RESOLVED, That we recommend to the cir- 166. Total members, 11,874. The total cles represented in this organization to pe- amount of money raised for the year is tition Congress to prohibit the exportation $14,197.88. Of this amount $6,425 was for of liquors from thi~ country to heathen Foreign Missions. The Lutheran Mi8sianary lands, and that this be done before June 15; Jaurnal, a magazine of the Church, has five 1888." pages under the direction of the women, and it has about fourteen thousand sub- 2. Woman's Baptist Foreign MiBBionary scribers. Society Of the West. Organized 1871.
The Society has work in Gunthoor, India, Mrs. A. M. Bacon, Corresponding Secre- consisting of ten day-schools, with nineteen tary, 3112 Forest Avenue, Chicago, Ill. native teachers and 618 pupils. These schools are under the care of Miss Dryden, The total receipts of this society last year who received from the English Government were $44,846.12. It has also an invested the' position of Superintendent of Girls' Medical Fund of $3,335.88, through which Schools in Gunthoor. In 1886 Miss Kugler, four medical women are preparing for for- M.D., was appointed their first Medical eign work. It conducts a" course in Christ- Missionary to Gunthoor, where a dispen- ian Doctrine," a .. prepltratory course for sary was opened in 1886, and an effort made candidates," in which four ladies graduated to raise fifteen thousand dollars for a hos- during the year, and eight others are en- pital. Part of this money has been secured. rolled. Besides the countries in which the Zenana work is carried on with the help of Boston Baptist Society labors, this society eight native assistants. Two of these help- supports work in Liberia, Africa. It has ers devote all their time as Bible readers in sent 46 women to the foreign field. the dispensary. Bibl~ women have 109 schools, with 3,850 Miss Susan Kistler has jnst been appointed scholars, of which 1,133 are from heathen to the work in India. homes; 246 baptisms are reported by them. They conduct a "Home for Children of Mis- XII. Baptist Women's Boards- sionaries" in this country at a cost of $1,21;9.37. Northern Convention. Their periodicals are: Helping Hand, 1. Woman's Baptist Foreign Mi88ionary which paid its own way last year and passed Society. Organized 1870. over to the general treasury $1,646.63 ; The King's Messenger to Heathen Lands also Mrs. O. W. Gates, Corresponding Secre- published as a monthly for young people. tary, Newton Center, Mass. LilUe Helpers, its predecessor, was pub- lished at a small loss of $249.09 last year, Last year the rallying cry was "$70,000 and has now been supplanted by King's or more," and their receipts were $75,369.47, Messenger. being an advance of $13,000 over the pre- vious year; $10,000 of which was an advance 3. Woman'8 Baptist Foreign Missionary from' donations. 2,633 churches contribute Society Of the Pacific Coast. to this fund, with 1,243 circles, 32,973 contributors, 616 Bands, with 14,120 members. This society has been organized during They support work in Burmah among Karens, Shans, Eurasians, Chins, Kachins; in the year, and, of course, has no published India,.a.mong the Telugus, and in Assam; in report. XIII. Executive COmmittee Woman's HONEY. 818,512.21 20,'1117.63 Mission Society. Auxiliary to Under appropriation: Southern Baptist Convention. ~ Domestic Missions, inclnding Indian 8,053.28 4,573.15 President, Miss M. E. McIntosh, Society and Colored Work, ………….. . 49,049.06 Hall,S. C. Foreign Missions…………….. ..
Secretary, Miss Annie Armstrong, 10 E. Specials seut throngh Treasury: Fayette Street, Baltimore, Md. Domestic, including Indian and Col· This society has been formally organized, ored……………………….. . we believe, within the year. The Ladies' Foreign………………………. . Auxiliaries, however, to regular Southern Specials reported but not sent Baptist Convention Missionary Society, contributed during year ending May I, 1888, as through Treasury……………. . follows: Boxes: Arkansas•.•.•..•••••••.••..•……• $24196 Domestic……………………. .. $128,989.99 Colored………….. ' •.. ' …….. .. 20,922.01 Indian ……………••••…… '…. . 19,900.85 Foreign…………………….. .. 1,873.34 Florida……………………….. . 432 2'1 Total Value of Boxes.. ………. $171,686.19 Georgia ………… ; …………..• 1,811 83 Total in Money …………….. , . 100,985.33 ~~tsi~~i:::::::::::::::: ::::::::::: 1,722 11 205 28 Total for 1887-88……………… $272,671.52 1,167 95 : ~~I:~:~~~::::::::::::::::::::::: 54120 XVI. Woman's Foreign Missionary 3,01555 Society of the Methodist Episcopal *North Carolina ………………. . 1,238 67 South Carolina……………….. . 2,14766 -tTennessee (division of receipts Church. Organized 1869.
not reported) … .. ……….. . MrR. H. B. Skidmore, 230 West 59th Street, Texas (six montus).. . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . 411 75 *Virgiuia.. ……… ………. .•… 2,61850 New York.
The work of this Society is conducted by Total ……………………. $15,554 73 twelve co-ordinate branches.
XIV. Free Baptist Woman's Mis- The administratIOn of the Society is in an sionary Society. Organized 1873. Executive Board, composed of three dele- gates from each branch, that meets aimn_ The Secretary, Miss K. J. Anthony, of Providence, R. I., kindly furnisbes us a few ally. This Society is independent, in tha.t it items in lieu of the annual report, which is not published at the time of our going to selects it own missionaries and disburses ita press. own funds, subject to ratification by Mis- The Woman's Society supports Miss Combs, Miss Butts, Miss Hattie Phillips, sionary Board. Mrs. Smith, Miss Ida Phillips, and Miss Bacheler. The last two are in America at Its home work is represented by 4,383 present. auxiliary societies, and 115,228 members, The work of this society is located in with 8,524 life members. The amoun.t of Bengal, India. money raised the past year was $191,158.13. These ladies do not publish a separate paper, but conduct a department in both The receipts for the year ending October, Foreign Mission Jaurnal, Richmond, Va., 1888, will be more than $11.000 advance on and The Baptist Basket, Louilwille, Ky. this. The Society has made an advance in its receipts each year. The whole amount contributed to October, 1887, since organi- zation is one million six hundred and eighty tlwusand dollars. '
XV. Woman's Auxiliary to the Board The work is organized among young la.dies of Missions of the Protestant Epis- and children. copal Church. Organized 1871. One hnndred and thirty missionaries have Miss Julia C. Emery, Secretary, Room 21, Bible House, New York. been sent out to foreign fields, of whom Miss Emery informs us that their annual re- twenty-four were medical missionaries, and. port is in the hands of the printer, and she graduates of medical colleges. About sevkindly favors US with the following: enty-five missionaries are now in the variou'! SUMlIIARY OF YEAR'S WORK, 1887-88, miSSIOn fields. The Society has work in Ja- Accomplished in 48 dioceses and 12 missionary jurisdictions, by 48 diocesan and many parish pan, Korea, China, India, Burmah, Bulgaria, branches and individual members of the Woman's Auxiliary. Italy, Mexico and South Amerlca. Itaims to do : I. Direct evangelistic work: 1. Through ladies sent out by the Society from the United States to labor in foreign fields as missionaries.
2. Through native Christian Bible women, who visit the homes oi the women and reach *Not connected with organization, but them in all possible ways, whether in the kindly allowing statistics to be printed for information. city or village.
-t Only partial account received of $473.,95. II. The society does indirect evangelistic work:
MISSIONARY WOII.K. [DEO••
1. By establishing and sustaining day and This vigorous Society was organized in boarding-schools. 1878 at Atlanta, Ga., and has just celebrated its first deCilde. The movement was new 2. Through benevolent agencies, such as among Southern women, who, bj education orphanages, medical work among women, and associa.tion, are eminently conservacarried on by American aud native Christ- tive, and at first many stood aloof, but sigian physicians, and the establishment of nal success marked their efforts, and a.t the hospitals and dispensaries. close of the first year a good, strong organi- zation was reported. Each sncceeding year a. By creating a native Cllristian litera- has marked an advance, until now their home work is represented by 2,399 auxiliary ture. societies and 56,783 active members. Some Work has been organized amnng the Ger- 338 new organizations have beeu added dur- ing the year, with 553 ·members. They report man Methodists, and this is represented by 104 auxiliary societies, and 2,614 members. 750 childrens' bands, wi~h m.907 members; Societies have also been organized in Germany and Switzerland. In Germany, 33 but these are included in the aggregate ; auxilia.ries, with 487 members, and Switzer- Life members, 1,250. The Secretary says: land, 14, with 497 members. The amount .. The growth of the work is of secondary contributed by "oth American and Euro- importance compared with the spiritofmispean GermanI! last year, 1887, was $3,005.71. sions that has been kindled in the hearts of not a few." The Heatlwn Woman's Friend has a circulatiou of 20,293, and has not only been self- Woman'8 Missionary Advocate is the offisupporting from the beginning, but from its income many millions of pages of miscella.- cial organ of the Society, and has a circulaneous literature for gratuitous circulation has beeR printed. The Society, in addition tion of 12,000. It is self-sustaining. It is to its annual contributions, has raised an published at Nashville, Tenn., for fifty cents endowment fund of ~.OOO for the establish- a year. The Society prints and distributes ment of a zenana illustrated Christian a large amount of literature, over a million paper in India. The first copy appeared in of pages havmg been scattered the past 1884. It is now published in four of the lan- year. guages of India, and about five thousand copies are issued every month. A German The foreign work is represented by 22 mispaper has also been established, and has sionaries (1 medical and 1 trained assistabout 1700 subscribers. A large number of ant), 43 teachers and assistants, 7 boardingleaflets, hoth in English and German, are is- schools, 19 day-schools, and 862 pupils; hossued annually. pital, 1 ; Bible woman. 1.
The Society OWns real estate amounting CHINA.-The reinforcements sent to this to about 5250,000. field the past year strengthened the hands and cheered the hearts of those who had, Full statistics of foreign work cannot be through much sulfering and toil, held the given, but in North India, in addition to the posts of duty assigned them. Sickness and missionaries employed, there are over 40 overstrain told heavily on that faithful band assistant miSSionaries, zenana tea.chers ; 194 of brave workers. Two ladies who went Bible women, 115 native Christian teachers; out in the spring were received as from the while in South 'India, 188 Bible women are Lord, and greeted with the words, "You employed, with 103 native Christian teach- have come to save our lives." Thedevelopers. ment of the work and its ever-widening cir- cles have absorbed the new laborers. and There are in the boarding and'day-schools there is urgent need for further reinforceover 8,000 pu pils, and over 3,000 zenanas mcntj. regularly visited. MEXICAN BoRDER,-The work in this field In China there are 38 day-schools; in has grown steadily, and now extends on both Japan, 12; inBulgaria,l; in South America. sides of the Rio Grande, with more invita- tions to entel' wide-open doors than it is posn ; in Mexco, 11. while in Italy and Korea sible to accept..
there is work which is not tabulated. Laredo Seminary is growing in strength 1ledical work is carried on in Korea, China and infiuence, Miss Holding attended the last annual meeting of the Board,and spoke and India, where there are hospitals and eloquently of her work, stating the immedi- dispensaries. There are three homes for ate need for more room to accommodate the homeless women, and three orphanages. pupils. Her request was sorrowfully re- The Society has homes for its missionaries fused, because of other obligations that in all these fields. must be met. She did not turn away dis- pirited, but, with cheerflliness and faith XVII. Woman's Foreign Missionary that grasps the promises, said: "I have trnsted God for it, and will get it," and she Society of the Methodist Episcopal did. How? We IIca.rcely know, only that Church, South. Organized 1878.
President, Mrs. J. Hayes, Baltimore, Md. Mrs. D. H. lIlcGarock, Oorresponding Sec- retary, Nashville, Tenu.
ORGANIZED MISSIONARY
the money came to Miss Holding in small 40 Mission Bands, and a membership' of special gifts, sanctified by love and prayer, and' the house was built, It is finished, has 3,000. been dedicated, and the beautiful" Hali of Faith" stands as an object lesson to tbia pu- We cannot find in their report the exact pils of trusting God for all things. amonnt of money raised by this Society for BRAZIL.-The college at Piracicaba knows no law but that of progression. It has been 1887, but conclude it to be a little over five subject to changes the past ye.r, owing to the removal of missionaries ; bllt Miss Watts thousand dollars; the amount for the pa.st writes: .. The college has passed the crisis brought about by these changes, and there four years is $15.222.65, and tbe report adds, will be an advance movement." .. The receipts of the past year are above Rio College, in the capital city, is beautifully located on a spur of the mountains any previous year." overlooking the waters of the bay, and far enough from the crowded center to be free The organ'ofthe Society, Woman's Misfrom yellow fever. No case has ever occurred there. sionary Record. is a twelve-page paper. pub- Miss Bru,:e has encountered many difficul- lished in Pittsburgh at 50 cents a year. This ties and much opposition from the Government officials in her persistent effort to paper has been established tbree years. and tound a first-cbss institution, but has at last has a circulation of 1,7po. and meets all exsecured the necessary license and opened the college, . penses, most of the labor given to it being INDIAN TERRITORY.-Harrell Institute, at gratuitous. . Muskogee, has passed through a successful year. Faithful and efficient teachers have The first work adopted by the Society exsupplied every department. The influence, both Christian and educational, of this in- clusively its own was a girls' school in Yokostitution is extending to distant tribes, and more room is needed for boarding pupils. hama, Japan. This school now nnmbers VALUE OF PROPERTY OF WOIllAN'S BOARD. 60. Four of the girls taught bere have been China …………………………… $57,200 assisting the missionaries this past year. Mexican Border…………………. 35,000 Brazil. .. . .. .. …………………… 45,800 The Society employs three missionaries. Indian Territory………………… 15,500 Work has been commenced in Wagoya; Japan.
XIX. Friends' Missionary Society.
Total. ..•………•……………… $153,500 Esther Tuttle Pritchard, Dearborn Avenue, Chicago, Ill. The contributions of this Society for 1887 The work of this Society began in 1881. amounted to $71,379. The amount given in Since that time other societies have been formed, with a membership of 3,892, and in table is $69,7~, but the explanation is made these years tbe amount of $27,840 had been raised. They have done mnch valuable that $1,650 was sent direct to the field, and service in stimulating the raising of money~ These societies were entirely separate, and including- this makes the total named. have had no bond of union, except that they were of the same denomination; but the Their receipts sinceorganizationaregiven need of a general organization was felt, and so representatives of these societies were in the following table: apPointed to meet for this purpose, and in March last (1888) 70 delegates met in Indian- RECEIPTS SINCE ORGANIZATION. apolis and organized" The First National Missionary Conference of the Woman's Am't rec'd for fiscal year 1878-9 $4,014 Z1 Foreign Missionary Societies of Friends." " .. 1879-80 13,775 97 The aim of this conference was to adopt .. u " u ,.. 1880-1 19,382 10 some basis of co-operation among the ten 25,609 44 independent missionary organizations of " u u 29,647 31 Quaker women. 38,873 52 1881-2 52,652 12 This was accomplished by appointing a 51,588 76 General Superintendent (to be elected an- 1882-1J 50,092 63 nually) over each of their three depart- "1883-4 69.729 65 ments of work: 1. Junior and Juvenile 1884-5 Work; 2. General. Literature; 3. Systematic 1881Hl Ohristian giving. These superintendents .. .. 1888-7 are to elect their General Secretary of that work annually, a two-thirds vote being 1887-8 necessary to elect. The name under which ,these general secretaries shall act shall be Total ………………………$355.345 '17 Woman's Foreign Missionary Union of Friends. XVIII. Woman's Foreign Missionary Their relation to missionary boards of the Society of the Methodist Protestant yearly meetings wasd iscussed, as to whether they should become auxiliary, and turn Church; Organized 1879. their collections over, or maintain their orga,nic individuality as women's societies. Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. M. A. Mil- Their decision wts to be independent, reler, Pittsburgh, Pa.
This Society was organized nine years ago. It now has auxiliaries in seventeen of the Annual Conferences of their church. They now number 3W Auxiliary Societies, with cordirig their conviction" that the separate school In. Up to this time over five hun_ form of organization by the societies is the dred different Chinese have been in the providential channel of women's work in school, and ail have been taught more or mission fields." less of the English language. The first Sabba.th after the school was opened a Sab- The figures are as follows: Number of bath-school was organized, which has had a separate missions,4. Tokyo, Japan, Indian session every Sabbath evemng from that Mission, Mexico City, and Matamoras, Mex- time to this. Fifty-nine have professed ico co-operating with Friends' Missionary faith in Christ and joined the church. Many Committee in four missions, viz., Ramallah, of them are faithful to their duties, and are Palestine, Monsourich, Syria, Mexico and living up to the light they receive. They Alaska. have paid, as tuition, and in subscription to the property and in collections for missions, Number of missionaries….••..•.•• 8 $2,545.88.' They have paid $770.58 more than Number of schools …..•…….•••. 4 the native helper has cost. Then the Board Number of churches …………… I has property in this great city of the North- Congl'egation at Tokyo, attendance from west, free of debt, worth at least $16,000." 35 to 50, not yet united in membership with Friends. The enrollment of the day and Sunday- Pupils in schools………….•…. 241 school has been 60, with an average attend- Receipts for 1887. . . . . . .. . . . ••• $11,288 ance of 30. The Board has recommended One of these eight missionaries has sailed, opening a mission in China. and Miss Butler will be associated with the Methodist missionaries in Nanking, China, The work in Africa has met with some ob- until the Church founds a Chinese mission stacles by war, which scattered the people. of its own. The mission in Tokyo has been At Rotufunk a Girls' Home has been built; especially prosperous, and accounts of con- and is now occupied. versions have been "received in the India Mission. XXI. Christian Woman's Board of The li'riends' Missionary Advocate, which Missions (Disciples). Organized is a private enterprise, yet is indorsed and supported by the societies. It is published 1875. in Chicago at 415 Dearborn street, at 50 Mrs. S. E. Shortridge, 358 Home Avenue, In- cents, and is ably edited by Esther Tuttle dianapolis, Corresponding Secretary. Pritchard. This Board is represented by 697 auxillaries, an Increase over last year of 168; a membership XX. Woman's Missionary Associa- of 12,849, an increase of 1,840 ; missiou bands, 272, an increase of 117. The income amounts to tion of the United Brethren. $26,226.01, an increase of $1,500. The auxili- aries are distributed through 27 States and Mrs. L. K. Miller, President, Arcanum, Territories, District of Columbia and Jamaica. Ohio. It should be remembered that this society is both home and foreign. It has work in Jamaica Mrs. L. R. Keister, Corresponding Secre- and in India. The women of this society have tary, Dayton, Ohio. organized children's banes to the number of 272, a !(ain of 117. The Thirteenth Annual Report of This association has been in existence the society will be found in Missionary Tidings, thirteen years. They have branch societies the organ of the society, published at Indian- in every self-supporting conference, and in apolis, Ind. many of the mission conferences, and report 41 branch societies and 315 local, with an XXII. Woman's Missionary Society aggregate membership of 7,555, life mem- bers, 336, and 77 children's bands and 22 of the Evangelical Association. young ladies' bands. The summary given is as follows: 't missionaries, 't native mission- Mrs. W. H. Hammer, Cleveland, O.,Corre- aries,5 day-schools, with an attendance of sponding Secretary. 192; church membership of 706; value of property, $26,000. This Society conducts work both at home aud abroad-at home in Oregon and "lse- Woman'8 Evangel is the organ of the where, abroad in Germany and Japan. society, published at Dayton, Ohio, for 50 cents. Work is supported in Coburn, Ger- The following are the footings of their many, with two appointments and thirty statistical report: Auxiliaries. 78; mem- , pupils in Sunday-schoOl. The Board has bers, 2,048. Income, $1,654.39. It conducts authorized commencing work in Berlin. work in Germany a.nd Japan. Eighteen Five years ago they sent a missionary to Children'S bands raised $120. work a.mong the Chinese in Portlapd, Ore- 1I"0n.· The Rev. M. Sickafoose, their mission- The organ of the missionary society of ary, !aye: .. When the Board began the work this Church is The Missionary Messenger, we had nothing, not even a member of any published at Cleveland, 0., and the ladies church, to assist in the work. We had to conduct a department in i~. pay $25 a mOQ.t4 for a hOnse to 40ld the
1888·1 CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
III-CORRESPONDENCE and GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
INTERESTING letter from J. Hudson tion, and obtained three, who represent Taylor, of the Chinese Inland Mis- churches in Plttslleld, Mass., Detroit, Mich., sion: and St. Paul. M'nn.; and subsequelltlyeleven others from Canada, representing Belleville. [In sending us this letter, Mr. H. W. Frost, Toronto, Galt, Hamilton, and Stratford, vol- unteered and were accepted. a friend of Mr. Taylor's who jourueyed with The expense of the journey to China, estihim in his whole A,,,erican tour, adds the mated at $250 each, has been provided by contributions gi ven at Northfield, Clifton following facts: .. 1111'. Taylor sailed from Springs Sanitarium, and other places, u.nd from the whole l'roceeds of the sales at our Vancouver by the Batavia on his way to meetings of mis.sionary literature. The mis- sionaries now going out have their support Yokohama and Shr.nghai, Oct, 5th, expect- provided or promised for the next year, and will correspond direct with the individuals ing to rea.ch Japan the 17th and Shanghai a or churches whose representatives they are. From what f have seen of the :nlsweek later, from which place the 14 mis- sionary spirit in the States and in Canada. I feel sure there are many others who can. sionaries proceed inland, the 7 ladies to the not themselves go out to the field who will be glad to have a representative there.' training-school at Yang-Chan, and the 7 goen- Will you pray for much blessing on this tlemen to the school at Gan King."-EDS.] first hand of fourteen workers from this side the Atlantic, now joining us for our Ulland SS. Batavia, ! work, and ask that ten times as many may soon follow their example! VANCOUVER, B. C., 5th Oct,., 1888. f Yours very truly in Christ, EDITORS OF THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF J. HUDSON TAYLOR.
THE WORLD.-Knowing how deeply interested India.
you are in the cause of China'S evangeli- [THE following highly interesting letter was written to Mrs. Rev. B. -zation, IwilJ send youafew lines before sail- L. Herr, of Tarrytown, N. Y., who has kindly consented to its publica- Ing from this port to-day. tion in our REVIEW.-EDS.] Most unexpectedly to me, God has opened l HOL:MWOOD, COONOOR, NILGIRt, HILLS, INDIA, June 8, 1888. f the way for a band of recruits to proceed to My Dl!:AR MRS. HERR: You will see by the China. and 14: young missionaries from date that I am up here in the delightful sanita- rium so generonsly provided last year, where I the United States and Canada are now am gaining steadily, though slowly, in strength. It is always a pleasure to me to write about my on board this vessel. Quite a considerable work. I like to share its joys and its I.rials with others. But I hardly know where to begin. number are wishful to join us, but eight who Perhaps. as yours is a ladies' circle, some of my experiences among the women here will interest are accevted are unahle to leave immedi- you as much as anything I can write.
ately, and our time has not allowed suffi- As yon donhtless know, my department is medical work; but it i. totally unlike home cient correspondence with the remainder to medical work. The diseases themselves are, in many cases, different from any that euter into enable us to definitely accept or decline home practice; then, too, the native ideas of diagnosis, hygiene and drugs are often much their offers. As a tentative measure, to harder to combat than disease.
deal with these cases and to facilitate com- For instance, it i. almost impossible to eon- Tince even an Intelligent native that burning is munications, an Auxiliary Council has been not a sovereign remedy for various ailment•• formed, to meet In Toronto, though some of They led a blind man to my dispensary one day. Hi. eyes had been injured hy an accident, the members reside in the States and some and the substance of both eyes was completely gone ; ~et bis friends, with his CuU consent, ha4 in Canada. Mr. Alfred Sandham, of the Willard Tract Depository, Yonge Street, Toronto, Is the Honorary Secretary. He will receive and forward to China the con- tributions promised for the support of the band now going out, and any other moneys sent for the furtherance of the work; and the Council will with due care accept suit- able candidates and make arrangements for their joining us in China from time to time.
This work really originated at the Niagara Believers'meeting. I had the opportunity of speaking twice on the subject of Missions there, and then left for Chicago, as pre- viously arranged with Mr. Moody. But 1I:lessrs. Reginald Radcliffe, George B. Stndd and R. P. Wilder, subsequently spoke on the same topic, and the feeling so deepened that when it was ascertained that $250 would support a lady missionary in Inland China, and 8300 would sustain an evangeli~tic brother, support for eight new workers WILS put Into the hands of one of the Secretaries of the Conference. Mr. H. W. Frost, of Attica, N. Y. In consequence, I appealed for workefs a~ 1I:1r. jIloody's AUjrust Copvepf brallded his baek elear from the neck to the bathing the hot skin, and moistening' the wai~t. The scars were about an inch wide, and parched lips, etc., then inquired if the from one to two inches apart, and this to restore child-born seven days before-were living. sight t I have not infrequently been asked to One of the women answered indi!ferently, cure large festering burns, inflicted on little .. Yes, it's alive yet." I asked where It.was, children for iudigestion, convulsions, teething and 8he replied, "Oh, it is in tlu;re," pointtroubles, etc. Another remedy, applied in ex- ing to another room. U but never mind the treme cases, consists of making an incision in baby, it is not worth while to do anything the scalp, generally nearly circular, lifting up for it; it is nothing but a. girl!" the whole integument. depositing strong drugs beneath it. and then replaCing the integument. I I went in at once, and found the poor little have not been able to learn all the compound thing lying on a rough cord bedstead, with used iu these cases but know that stramonium only one thickness of thin cloth beneath it.
is one of them. A .ery commOD belief is, that a It had never been washed, and for four sick person must be entirely without food or days had not beeh fed, and every tiny bone drink until he or she begins to improve, and was visible through the drawn skin.
there are cases where tbe patient actually dies Physician though I am, my eyes filled for lack of proper nourishment. A strong paint with tears. as I took up the little skel.
is that bathing is very injurious, Bnd SO an un- eton. I did what I could to save, but …
happy patient will lie day after day ill thi~ bot merciful Father took the little soul to where climate without a bath or a change of clotbing, it would be loved .and developed; even nntil the odors are most sickening. Custom though it had been" only a girl," and as l forbids that the mother of a newborn cbild thought of the blessed change I thanked shall have food or driuk for three days. and no Him that mye!forts had been unavailing, water must touch her person for at least nine The mother died a few hours later, but I days; and the child. itself, in some castes, must wonder if you ladies, in your relined homes, not be washed until a week old. can imagine the death scene in India! No Among tbe more ignorant classes, a patient sooner did they learn that death was near, who is delirious is looked on with aversion aud than neighbors began to swarm in, until the fear, and the treatment is a violent beating, "to miserable hut had llwenty or thirty in it, all drive out the demon that possesses ber." In vying with each other in groaning, shriek.
one case of protracted delirium I actnally bad to ing, smiting the chests and screaming. In Bet Ii watch for two nights to prevent a beating vain J showed them that the noise wru. tor· and death, which I am sure would have resulted. ture to her poor brain, and that her head Well, theu, here Is my work, and not an easy began to roll from side to side again. I one. to meet and combat these and a hnndred could not keep them even from throwing other equally harmful notions, day by day; argu- themselves full weight onto her poor chest, in!!:, where I can obtain a hearing; instruct- laboring harder and harder to give her ing wbenever prejudice does not prevent tbe re- breath, and when I wanted to give a few ception of instruction; reproving, when that drops of medicin!", but failed because her seems necessary; and insisting, when the weI· jaws were already set, I turned cold and fare of a patient demands that. faint to see her own mother strike her to In a certain way the natives have un- compel her to swallowl I saw that I could bouuded confidence in my skill, and will do no good, and, as the strain was too severe throng to the dispensary formy medicines; to be borne unnecessarily, I left her two but when J run athwart their ideas, some· hours before she died, but the scene haunted times 1 have to be very decided, and once or me for months. But my experiences are not twice. in critical cases, I have been obliged all sad; they are dsUghtful when I succeed to say, when some old midwife has persist. in relievmg sulfering, and many a time I ently interfered with my work, .. Either you have felt repaid for my. separation from must send tilat woman home, or I shall go." home and friends when I have been the When I can concliate a midwife and let happy means of saving the life of a woman her help me, I always do so; but they are whom no one else but myself was allowed to the class that is most jealous of my inllu. see. Sometimes, too, I lind a comical side to ence. and most determined in opposing me a medical missionary's life, as for instance and my methods. when they brought a little girl to me, who I shall never forget (I wish I could) one was so terrilied at the ~ight of my watch experience that I had: I was called up at that it was half an hour before she would midnight to see a woman in the last stage. let me come near her.
of puerperal fever. I told the friends before You ask about the difllculties of my work, I went that I could do nothing for her, It but I think you will read some of them, at was too late. least, in what I have already written, though However, I arose'and started; I found her only one who has tried it can know the tossing and muttering in a delirium that trials involved in working constantlY amid rau into stupor and then death. I did such ignorance, lilth and degradation. In lI'pat l could to make her I'Olllfortable, adqition to this, I have 1)&d till! triq,ls of in. competent assistants, and, worst of all, my ter I wish to approve-" the neClessity of ignorance of the language. Clloser and more active fellowship among disciples." His plan of promoting the spir.it This latter I hope to overcome, though of unity seems to be the wise step. And I my three months' illness has hindeJ'cd me would add, if such an inter-denominational sadly. However, I shall resume study next committee should be constituted, tbat its week, I hope, and, as the Board has kindly first work could not be more important than granted me a year of freedom from medical to send out advisory recommendations that work, in order to study, I hope next January similar local committees be formed in tbe to resume practice witt. proper helpers and diJferent mission fields among the missionwith a fair command of Telugu. aries. In this way tbe interests of the en- tire world would be quickly placed in the My work is not especially hindered by hands of those who are most able to advise. caste, as I :have it fully understood that I It would certainly be the incarnation, so to speak, of an idea of uniou both at horne and work for an, and in times of danger the abroad.
proudest Brahmin will admit me to his wife, We who are out in the field, in close comeven though my feet have just trodden the bat with tbe enemy, see the need of cofloor of a pariah's dwelling. This is a great operation, unity, sympathy, as we never comfort to me, and I appreciate it more as saw it before. While eJforts in that direc- I see how caste interferes in all other de- tion have been pushed further in Japan partments of mission work. than in any otber field, yet a great deal of those eJforts have appeared to better ad- I think I have written enough to show you vantage on paper than in any practical apthat my especial task is not an easy one plications. To see ·the churches at borne but it is a fascinating and delightful one isolated from each other in co-operation after all, and I am very happy in it, and ex- and· sympathy is certainly painful. If this pect much more happiness when I can be so, what must we say when these churches converse with the poor shut-in women endeavor to propagate the same spirit of freely, and if I can ever feel that through ostracism and dissensIon ~mong heathen me one of them has been led into the light converts t of life it seems to me that it will give me a thrill of joy almost unendurable, for that is 1 should consider it one of tbe most prothe grand work for Which I am in India. It pitious signs of this closing century that a is pure satisfaction to me to relieve physical great International Assembly should he suffering, and a work that is sadly needed held to give us some basis of union and coin this fair,lost land; but to reach a lost operation. While the London Conference soul and lead it to the One Physician is joy has generated such a spirit of fellbwsLp, unutterable and incomparable. let tbat spirit be fostered still in some manifest way which shall ultimately crown And now, I do not know if I have told you this closing age with a fuJI realization of just what you wanted to know, but if you or the Saviour's prayer, that his disciples may any of the ladies of your circle will ask me be perfected into one. Then may we hope any questions, I shaH be very glad to reply. to begin to say of the heathen: And may I ask as a favor that after this letter has been read in your meeting you Will U His sov'reign mercy has transformed unite in a prayer for the Telugus, and es- Their cruelty to love; pecially fe»:' me, the only medical missionary to the Telngus in our Society? Pray that I Soften'd the tiger to a lamb, may have strength, spiritual and physical, The vulture to a dove I" and that I may be allowed to win many of the Telugu women to Him who is their Morocco, Saviour aud ours. LETTER from our correspondent, With the prayer that your· circle may Rev. E. F. Baldwin: have its share in this work, and may be blessed in its efforts to interest others and MOGADOR. Oct. 3. 1833. to aid in fullllling the promise of the Father There are a few items of news from this field, to the Son, .. Ask of me,and I shall give thee which will be of interest to the readers of THE the heathen for thine inheritance,' I am, REVIEW. We have been occupying this post only a few months, having come from Tangiers, in Very sincerely, your sister in the work, North Morocco, where we were several years. EMMA J. CuMMINGS, M.D. We were delighted to find the door wide open at first. Those who have any experience or BAP,4LTA, MADRAS PRES., INDIA. knowledge of Mohammedan fields will know the difficulties that beset workers in them, and Japan, how thankful we were to find little opposition here. However, as 800n as the Lord began to LETTER from Rev. E. Snodgrass: work, the evil one showed his objectiollll to having his kingdom invaded. ::lHoNAI, JAPAN, Sept. 24, 1888. EDITORS MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD: I was greatly interested iu a letter of Dr. Pierson in the September REVIEW written from Loudon concerning the great World ,",'onference. One item especially in his let- We baptized our first convert here a few on work in China, and another is hoping to weeks after we arrived. He was converted as leave for India in November next. he listened for the first time to the gospel which was spoken in the the open air. This My heart was gt'f'atly moved by the a!lshonld enconrage workers among Moslems, dress you gave at Mildway, the SUllday the dUllcnlty of whose- conversion has passed after the Conference, and the longing to do Into a proverb. The native Governor attempted something, more than ever betore, took posto arrest this young man at once, snd he has session of me. This the reading of your since been in mnch jeopardy of life and liberty. .. Crisis of Missions," greatly increased, and Upon my baptizing another man, a convert also the effort of which the inclosed papel' from Mohammedanism, a few days ago, the speaks is the outcome. A deal' friend. an first One I mention was at last arrested. The invalid, who would go abroad did health same night, another, an inqnirer, was thrown permit, Is joining me in the work. Already Into prison. Instant and earnest prayer was we have several members, and we are hoping made for them by us, we claiming Peter's re- when we have the inclosed paper printed to lease as a precedent, and asking that they might send it broadcast, and that hundreds of be set at liberty that night. This the Lord did Christian girls will join our rauks. for us, and great was the joy when they came knocking at the door where we were accus- Will you pray for us, that the hearts of tomed to hold our meetings. many of our members may be moved to go out into heathen lands. and that they may The conversion of Abraham, the last convert go forth, .. strong in the power of the Lord" f mentioned, was the silver lining to a very dark cloud. We received word a few days since of Yours faithfully. the departure to be with Christ of Miss Caley, MARION E. LASRI'1"1'. who was one of the most valued of the few workers for Christ in Morocco. She was on CHRISTIAN GIRLS' llISSIONARY UNION. the staff' of the North African Mis8ion. The same day that we received tbese tidings we This Union is fOl'med with the purpose of were visited by this man, Abraham, to whom banding together Christian girls, with the Miss Caley had given the Gospel of St. John, object of stimulating definite prayer and in Arabic, some montbs ago in Larache. He sustained effort for specific missional'ies had worn the book out by constant reading, and and their work, and also to plead the needs thereby had been led to Christ. He had also of the foreign mission field. It is earnestly been reading to many others on his journeys as hoped that none will join but those who a cattle dealer. Several in one city and others have definitely given themselves to the elsewhere, he claimed, had received the truth. Lord and are longing for the spread of His Thns God is working. We trust the readers of kingdom. THE REVIEW will pray unceasingly for this neglected corner of the mission field. The desire of the few who have started this Union is that from time to time mem- The opposition that has been aroused of late bers may be led by the Holy Spirit to conhas almost shut the door of opportunity here secrate themselves to God for service in the for openly speaking of Christ io the streets or foreign mission field. With such missionshops. I am abont leaving for a journey in the aries a constant correspondence will be kept interior. up, and interesting items of news will be forwarded to each member of the Union at Ohristian Girls' Missionary Union. the beginning of the month.
[THE following letter to our asso- Of the original fifteen members of this ciate will explain itself. It is one of Union, one is already in. China, and another has given herself for foreign work and hopes the many outcomes of Dr. Pierson's to leave tor India in November. visit to England and Scotland, subsequent to the rising of the Mission- It is purposed to raise a fund by the subary Conference in June. The scheme scriptions of the members, in case at any time a member of the Union, feeling led of here proposed is admirably conceived, God to devote herself to foreign work, should and we earnestly hope that the be without the means of carrying out her desire. The Union would then faU back upon this "Christian Girls" of America, as fond to help their sister forward, It is therewell as of England and Scotland, will fore proposed that each member lay aside, .. on go and do likewise.-J. M. S.] he first day or the week, 3d," to be forwarded to the treasurer each month. And as the Union .. 94 LANSDOWNE PLACE, BRIGHTON, l will be conducted in s simple manner, there Aug. 10, 11l88. i will be no working expenses beyond printing and postage, which will also be covered by this DEAR DR. PIERSON: About six years ago subscription . a little .. Missionary Pr~yer Union" was formed amongst my pupils and governesses. We are anxious that the association &nd work Oneot the little band, ayearafter,entered of the Union should be bright and warm, there- fore propose that the snbscriptlons be sent in by the 20th of the month, togethel' with any_inter- esting items of miBsionaIT intel1lpnce Iatelf received; and the next monthly report will pass who 41 years ago became a firm adherent of on such itelllll of nc.ws to each member, in order that the iuterest be personal and sustained. the evangelical faith, and has been ever WhUe it is most desirable that the fund of the since its best known and most widely hon- Union should grow, ready for demand to be made upon it, in case of need, let It be an under- ored defender. . stood thing amongst us that this being the Lord's work, we ask no one but the Lord Him- Mikail Mesbaka was born on Mt. Lebanon, self for money, for" the sUver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts;" lit the May 20, 1800. His father was in the service same time gladly receiving IIny gift that may be the outcome of the Lord's own promptings. of the famous chieftain and ruler of Leb- A card will be sent to each member on anon, the Emir Besheer. Soon after his joining the Union, containing the general subjects for prayer and praise: Special birth the family moved to DeiI' el Komr, the requests will be sent each month in the re- port, and members wishing such inserted seat of the Lebanon Government. As a lad must forward them to the secretary before the 28th of the month. he was wide-awake, anxious to gain knowl- The thought in the minds of those who edge. From his father he learned arith· formed the ·nucleus of this Union was spe- cially to arouse and maintain an interest in metic, bookkeeping, and his father's trade, foreign missions in the hearts of Christian girls; at the same time the names of any that of a !:,oldsmith, which he was obliged to ladies willing to become "Associates" will be gladly received. The amount of sub- take up upon the loss of his ancestral do- scription from these we leave to themselves. mains. His love for mathematics was As this is above all a Union for prayer, it is hoped that those who join it will system- aroused by his desire to be able to foretell aticaUy lay before the Lord the ~neral and special needs of the mission field at eclipses as some of his learned JeWish large, and of our own particular interests in it; and so shall a blessing redound to neighbors were able to do, and when his each one who thns pleads. uncle came to visit them in 1814 from Dami- Oards of membership can be obtained by inclosing two penny stamps to the Secretary etta, Egypt, a mau learned in mathematics Christian Girls' Missionary Union, 94 Lans- downe Place, Brilrhton. and natural sciences, he took lessons from Syria.. him in the elements of astronomy, geog- HIGHLY interesting letter from raphy. algebra, natural philosophy and the Mrs. Mary Pierson Eddy: higher mathematics, in which he ever took BEIRUIT, Aug. 14, 1888. Travelers to Damascus mourn that this keen delight. At the age of 17 he went to city of such historic interest has become transformed into an ordinary modern capi- Damietta, Egypt, as a clerk, and acquired tal, with new shops and houses and broad streets and markets; as, for instance, that some property there. During this period narrow street called" Straight," mentioned in Scripture, has been changed into a wide he attended a wedding where music was new carriage road for a great part of the way aerose the city, and the old markets, provided, and some one present asked his with their appearance and odor of a dim and fabulous antiquity, are being displaced opinion about an air that was played. Be- by arcades, rivalling those of European cap- • itals. fore he could reply, one of the bystanders But during the last month, to one inter- said, .. 0, he is a mountaineer, he knows ested in the revival of Christianity in its early home, Damascus has lost something nothing of music I" SO keenly did he feel of greater value than all its antiquarian treasures. This ioss it has sustained in the the sting of this remark that the next day death of Dr. Mikail Meshaka, sometimes called the" Luther of the Easter… Church." he began the study of music under the best Ouce a bigoted follower of the Greek Ortho- POX Church, and enemy.of Protestantism, instructor he could find, and became not only a proficient performer on many instru- ments, but an author of a work on the music of the East. In 1820, on account of the plague, he left Damietta and returned to Mt. Lebanon. After holding for seven years positions of honor under the Emir Besheer, he was taken ill. During the five mo~ths of his confinement his thoughts turned to the study of medicine, and on recovery he commenced with intense earnestness to study it with an Italian physician resident in the town. In 1831 he was present at the siege of Acre with the army of Emir Besheer.
Later he went with the Egyptian army to Damascus, thence to Hums, where he re- mained for a time acting as physician to the troops among whom the cholera was raging. As the couutrywas in an unsettled state, owing to the invasion of Ibrahim Pasha, he retired to Damascus to pursue his medical stUdies there under experi- enced physicians. .
The year 1845 found him again in Egypt whither one of his instructors had gone, studying with him, and in the Medical Col- lege in Cairo. After eight months he ob- tained his degree and at once returned to Damascus to begiw his true life work. At this point too, the transforming power Qt the simple story of the Cross entered Lis Ufe An exhaustive essay on Eastern tuuela and entirely changed its whole current. already mentioned. A historY'lf Damad" ….. Thenceforth in season, out of season, he to illustrate its present places of inte1'""t. spoke, wrote, and lived Christ. In 1870 a. This has been translated into Germa.n and stroke of paralysis deprived him of the use published in Berlin. Another of permanent of his right arm and confined him to his interest, describing popular beliefs in regard room, but for eighteen years he has daily to "the evil eye," H good and evil omens.'" received the visitors who were attracted to and other Oriental superstitions. A bistory him by bis eloquence, his learning, parti- of the early civil wars of Syria, and a hiscularly his stores of information respect- tory of the Druzes. ing Oriental history and customs, his zeal in behalf of his countrymen and for the ad- He was for many years American Vicevancement of true religion. Consul in Damascus. With his different visitors he could converse upon their favor- Two months before his death, some of the ite topics with ease, being versed In theolmembers of our family paid him a visit. En- ogy, medicine, rhetoric, mathematics, bottering by two long narrow passages they any, astrology, astronomy, chemistry, music emerged from nnder a vine-covered door and architecture. He was also versed in into the open central conrt of the house, silk culture and silk 'weaving, and in the with)ts marble pavement and large foun making of the fiJagree work of the gOldtaint and were soon ushered into a, long smiths, for which Damascus is famous. room; at the upper end of which, on a low divan, sat Dr.'Meshaka, dressed in richest TaU and commanding in appearance when of Damascus silk, who for 18 years was young, his vigorous constitution carried not able to stand and receive his guests, him safely through his checkered career to but was wont by his genial manner and his 89th year; and when death came his uncourteous salutations to make them wel- dimmed eyes had never known the need of come. The raised upper half of the room glasses, his hearing was unimpaired, and where he sat was in Oriental style, deorated there yet lingered on his cneeks a ruddy with elaborately intricate mottoes in Per- glow, which his long years of helpless consian seript, carved woodwork and mirrors finement had not effaced. He was an Indesunk in the walls. Before him, on an inlaid fatigable student of the Bible. His oft-remother-or-pearl book holder, in the form of peated saying was, .. We are here to prepare an X, was a book which he was studying. for heav,en. Our only rule and guide to Around him on the walls hung various Arab another world is inits pages. Let us, thereinstruments of musie. Another room in the fore, study it to learn the ways of its inhouse, his favorite place, which he wished habitants and the nature of the life we the party to visit, Was an Oriental room, should pursue here, to fit us for an entrance adorned with rugs and ornamental devices, there." He called the Bible .. the pillar of and with a tiny fountain playing in the our faith," "theruleof our guidance," Uthe deeply recessed window. Now (hat he has mirror of God's will." His funeral was atgone, it seems strange to think of that tended by hundreds to show him honor. spacious home to which his three sons had Thousandsfrom near and far have lamented each brought their brides, and where their his death. Many eulogies, in prose a.nd families were reared, without its venerable poetry, have been written and published in his own country. patriarch and head. As an author aud controversialist, Dr. Syria has lost one of its most eminent scholars, Damascus a noted citizen, and Meshaka accomplished what no one else Protestanism a staunch defender; but his could have done in the early days of Protest- works still live to establish truth and conantism in Syria. He was the author of 14 fnteerror; his example still endures to in- books and pamphlets-seven of which were spire the youth of Syria; and when the hison controversial subjects. One, a reply to tory of .. restored Christianity in the East" the Greek Patriarch, Maximus, giving the shall be written, then, in bold outlines will history of his conversion to Protestantism, appear, with the name of Asaad Shidiak, entitled" Reasons for Obeying the Gospe!." '1 the martyr of Lebanon," the name of Another,.. ProofsofEvangelical Doctrines," Dr. Meshaka; one of whom sealed his brief .. A Reply to a Friend,…. A Vindication of testimony to the truth with his blood,like Stephen; the other, like Paul, for many one Accused of Forsaking His Church." or years was permitted to be a witness for Jesus with pen and voice. his other works we may mention a .. Higher Arithmetic," and an" Almanac for a Cen- Barmah.-The Burmans seem tury," beginning with the year 1870, with more ready to hear the gospel than copious tables, to harmonize the diverse ever before. Twenty-nine were bap- reckonings of days, months and years in tized in June, or half as many as were current use in the East amongst Jews, Greeks, Copts, Mohammedans and Occi~ reported for the whole of 1887, dental Christians; also all theappea.rances of the heavens and eclipses for the century.
1888.J INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D., OF THE "INTERNATIONAL MIS- SIONARY UNION."
Vernacular Languages and. Literature Conference of Missionaries in Meiico last February, was the demand for of Mexico. THERE lies before us as we write, a the establishment of missions con- printed form of eight pages, which ducted in the vernaculars of the is of much more than ordinary inter- country, and the use of these ver- est. It is entitled "Yacuic iyec naculars in printed form for Scrip- Tenonotzaltzin in Jesu- Christo Que- tures or other literature. The prose- nami Oquimo Ihcltilhuili in" San cution of work in the vernaculars Lltcas." It is the first form of the seems to have not met with special Gospel of Luke, being published by favor, and so far as we can learn private subscription, at the press of was rather summarily dismissed, with the Methodist Episcopal Mission in the reading of a single brief paper by the city of Mexico, in the Nahuatl a brother who was interested in the or pure Mexican language. It has dissemination of Spanish literature.
been revised by a competent hand, How far this indicated that the mis- from an old Jesuit translation into sionaries on the ground were simply this language, which, so far as we not informed on the subject of these know, is the only fraction of the Janguages, or their mature judgment Scriptures extant in any of the na- after thorough canvass of the sub- tive tongues of Mexico. The edition ject we cannot say, but if ever they now issuing is only a small one of a have carefully studied the matter, , thousand copies, and is made as an they have managed by some mas- experiment to test the demand for terly inactivity to keep out of the and usefulness of such publication public press of the United States of the Scriptures, or portions thereof. their data or their discussions. We Nahuatl, or Mexicano, is a living are not disposed to champion the use language, constantly undergoing the of these vernaculars, because we changes incident to speech used by have not satisfactory data upon large numbers of people, and is sub- which to reach a conclusion, but we ject to the friction of a foreIgn civili- have considerable doubt if those who zation, both old, in the Spanish form, have to do with the matter, have and new in" the English, with which themselves, with care and patience it is brougbt into contact through investigated the subject. '
commerce with the United Stutes and There are a few facts to be borne Europe. This language is further in mind, howevel', in making up a subject to modifications arising from judg-ment of the propriety of this ex- local separations of the people using perimental edition of Luke in :Mexi- it. The old Jesuit Gospel has, there- can.
fore, needed not only doctrinal re- 1. 1'[exicans, not Spaniards, rule vision, but retouching- to eliminate Mexico to-day, and the grave ques- archaisms. How well all this has tion arises, what relation has this been done, and how useful this ver- fact to the literature we ought to nacular "portion" may prove, even seek to produce. Mexicans are not if fairly well done, are points upon only the governing race in Mexico which we venture no opinion at tbis now, but are likely to be such for a writing, and upon which few pel'SOIlf; long time in the future. The hope can throw much light. of a progressive civilization is linked One of the topics which received up with them. Nobody would ex- some consideration at the General pect progress and modern ideas, po· litical, social, or religious, as repre- chism for the use of priests, by sented by Protestantism, to be en- Paredes Caroch y Castano, appeared, hanced by displacing the native, for and in 1865 Gastelu published a small Spanish rule. Juarez had not a drop catechism at Orizabo, in Maya (1). of Spanish blood in his veins. Diaz, In 1869 a catechism in Nahuatl or, the present Chief Executive of the Mexicano, was published at Chimal- Republic, is nearly a full-blooded popoca. In 1878 Ripaldo issued his Me~ican, and" the George W ashing- " Catechism of Christian Doctrine" in ton of the Republic, Hidalgo," was Mexican. Nor was all this confined part Mexi~an. These native Mexi- merely to religious literature. They cans dislike, some say "cordially paid large attention to the study of hate," the Spanish language, which the natives tongues and to their was forced upon them by their con- development. As early as 1595 querors as politically their national Ringon published his "Grammar language. Thlil bulK of the native and Vocabulary of the Mexican Lanraces are prej udicea against acquir- guage," and this was reprinted as ing it, and exhibit toward it the most late as 1885.· In .1714 Pacheco pubopen hostility, and among themselves lished "Arte del Idioma Tarasco," do not speak it, nor do they teach it and that was reprinted by the Govto their children. ernment in 1886. Tarasco was spoken over a large territory in West Although the old Spaniards forced Central Mexico. their language with their civilization on the natives of Mexico, they In 1863 a spelling-book in Otomi were shrewd enough themselves was published at San Jose. In 1880 carefully to study the native lan- Cabellero published a " Grammar of guages, compile grammars, lexicons, the Mexican Idiom," in Mexican and easy reading books and catechisms, Spanish, on the Ollendorf method. from which the priests could orally It was dedicated to Altamirano. In teach the people in their own tongue 1886 the Government printing-office in which they were born. It is said published, at Cordova, a reprint of a that they published the first book work in Zapoteco. ever printed in the New World in 15~9, and that was in the Mexican lan- In the very learned work of Manuel guage, and for purposes of religi- Orozco y Berra, published in Mexico ous instruction of the natives. In in 1864, entitled "Geografia de las 1544 they printed another such book Lenguas y Carte Etnografica de Mexfor religious instruction of the Aztec ico," we have a colored map, show- Indians in their tongue. In 1544, also, ing the ethnological and philological a book was published at Cordoba, in distribution of the Mexican races. Aztec, for the instrllction of Indians; The names of the tribes arranged in and in 1546 Molina's" Christian Doc- catalogue occupy ten pages, but the trine" was translated into Mexican. names of the languages occupy less It is shown thus that three centuries than five. These sixty-nine lanago these priests saw the importance guages are divided by him into eleven of using the vernacular languages families, though he gives a long list for indoctrinating the people. Nor (over sixty) of idioms outside of the does it appear that they have ever general classification. The two leadintermitted the use of this means. ing families are Mexican and In 1834 Perez published a catechism Othomi. in the Otomi language, which was indorsed by the Government sys- Among the latest general native tem of instruction. In 1840 "Ex- wort,s of great value on Mexican ethtracts of Doctrine," a smaller cate- nology and philology, is that of Mr. Francisco Pimental, entitled "De- scriptive and Comparative. Table of the Indian Languages of Mexico, or great as the total Indian population Treatise on Mexican Philology," pub- el the United States and Territories, lished in the City of Mexico. A large including Alaska I chart, some 16×24 inches, accompanies this work, which, besides the It is, therefore, with no slight classification into four orders of these pleasure that we greet these eight Mexican languages in the text, pre- little pages as the promise of the full sents a graphic view of them in the Gospel of Luke in Nahuatl, or what form of philological trees, named, is, technically speaking, Mexican, numbered and colored, so as to enable which is not a generic term, but the one at a glance to see the relation of title of one of the languages, per any language to its group or to the haps the greatest, certainly at preswhole. ent the most widely spoken, in the Republic of Mexico. A careful study of the geographical distribution of the languages in which Whether Spanish ought to be these publications, previously refer- pressed on the native races by misred to, were made, shows them to sionaries is not beyond debate. The have been mainly contiguous to the people dislike it. They have not City of Mexico. The Mexican or Uf,ed it except as compelled to do so. Nahuatl, indeed, commenced at a Mr. David A. Wells pronounces it point opposite Southern California, "a language not well fitted for the swept south through ten degrees of uses and prog'!'ess of a commercial latitude, with a width varying from nation, and which will inevitably fifty to one hundred miles, till south constitute a very serious obstacle in of the city of Mexico, and then across the way of indoctrinating the Mexithe continent, with an average belt of can people with the ideas and methpel'haps one hundred miles. It pen- ods of overcoming obstacles and doetrated among the other languageil ing things which characterize their along the coast again to the borders great Anglo-Saxon neighbors." of Guatemala. Otomi was one of the greater languages, covering a terri- English will press more and more tory perhaps one hundred and fifty into Mexico, as it has into all the miles each way, lying directly north territory we acquired from Old and west of the City of Mexico, and Mexico; and it has done that, not even a little south of it. The City of merely because it has become the Mexico was on the borders of these national language since we incorpotwo languages, though located in rated the Territory, but because it Nahuatl or Mexicano territory. is the "language of commerce of North America," and Mexico is com- Latham, speaking of the Nahuatl, ing into close and closer commercial or pure Mexican, says: "It is pre- relations with us. eminently an intrusive tongue. It is probably spoken beyond its original There is, perhaps one may aml'm boundaries in every direction, some- with safety, more liability of English times (as in Central America) in iso- displacing Spanish in Mexico than lated patches." It is the vernacular there is of Spanish displacing these of the Valley of Mexico, and of the "Mexican vernaculars among the nainterior on either side of that Valley, tive races. Not more than one-sixth and is probably spoken by three mil- of the total population of the country lions of people-possibly more. To is European, including Spaniards. give the gospel, therefore, to the peo- It may be a fair question whether ple speaking this language in their the short cut to the native populaown vernacular, is to give the wrltten tions is, after all, through the Spanish gospel to a population ten times as language. Perhaps it may be through these vernaculars, perhaps through the English language. Missionary Training for WomeD. called of God to a special work, need a special training for that work, do BY MRS. LUCY RIDER,MEYER. not also women, called of God to their special work, need a special ONE of the things, unknown in the training for that work? And at the bottom of all really effective religiOUS religious world till very lately, is work must lie a thorough knowledge of the Bible. Cavah'Y, artillery, the Missionary TrainiBg-school. Let even light infantry, must know some- thing of the use of powder. us look at it. I hardly need bring illustrations of First of all, is special training the fact that this broad, basal knowl- edge of the Word of God is not posneeded for women having the mis- sessed by average Christian women. No, not even by the Christian women sionary work in view? This question who are very actively engaged in religious work. It would be marmust be answered. Life is too short, velous, indeed, if it were. We are not ready to claim such startling the call from the whitened fields is superiority for woman, as to assert that, without stimulus or direction, too urgent for us to spend time and she arrives instantly at a point reached by our young men only after thought and money on anything but a long course of study. The Lord forbid that I should ignore, or in the the absolute necessities of Christian slig-htest degree depreciate, the blessed illumination of the Spirit of equipment. In answer: There are God on the page of His Word, but people are not born with a knowledge hundreds of women, yes thousands, of the Bible, nor are they-I speak reverently-born again into it, Neiunder the auspices of the Church, ther does anyone, untrained, know how to 8tudy the Bible. The power devoting their whole lives to religious of concentrated, critical study cornel' always and only by long and careful work, and hundreds more are press- discipline.
ing on, many of them young and in- Next to this great need of knowing more of the Bible, comes the need of experienced; and, whether for good knowing the best methods of work. The old way of training schoolor ill, they will soon be in the field. teachers was to thrust them out alone into the actual work of teach- These women are to deal with the ing, and let them learn by the hard- est, through their own blunders and most precious interests of time and failures-a painful process to the teacher and all expensive one to the eternity. Can the question be asked unfortunate childl'en upon whom she experimented. But the Normal whether they need special prepara- schools that have sprung up all over our land tell of a better way in secution for their work-preparation lar teaching, a way in which theory and practice and kindly criticism go which can only be secured in a tech- hand in hand. And if the work of a. nical school? / First, as to a knowledge of the Bible.
Everyone must agree that something of the same broad and deep knowl- edge of the Bible as a book, which we endeavor to give our young men in our theological seminaries, could not fail to be of utmost value to our C~ristian workers among women.
Apart from the many occasions when such knowledge would be needeu tor use, it is fundamentally necessary in the character of the worker. It is a foundation stone, the absence of which may not indeed overthrow the whole super$tructure, but cannot fail to render it weak and unsym- metrical. But while we plead for this foundation stone in the training alike of our young men and young women for Christian work, we do not fail to recognize the marked dif- ference in their work. We believe that there is, and that there must always be, a difference. But if men, secular 'teacher is too responsible to accommodate a family of forty-eight.
be entrusted to novices, what shall but already its capacity is overtaxed, we say of the religious teacher? and arrangements ar!! in progress for Testimony as to the need of special mOl'e room.
preparation might easily be accumu- Though the school has only com- lated. Mrs. McGrew, M.D., of India, pleted its third year, 106 different says: "Such preparation would be young women have been in attend- invaluable to our missionaries." ance. Twenty different States and The venerable Dr. Butler says: Territories have been represented by "The idea seems to me to be of these students; and, whileltheschool divine origin. It would be a great is nominally Methodist, yet the class- help to those going to the foreign room work being undenominational, field. even as physicians. The work five different denominations have had would be in much safer condition adherents among our pupils. Mis- with trained missionaries. With sionaries trained in the school are such training ladies would be ten now at work in Chicago, Arkansas, times better prepared for their South Carolina, Indian Territory"
work." A student of the Chicago Utah, India, Japan, Africa, South Training-school writes back from America, China and Korea.
Japan: "Tell the girls they can't But it is in our financial support realize how much good their Bible that the hand of God has been over study is going to do them." Another us with richest blessings. The school student says:' "Many, many times I is poor, never having had, even dur- find my experience at the school a ing all its building, a larger donation right-at-hand aid in some emer- than $3,000, and not many so large gency." as $1,000. Students pay $3.00 per But the best argument that the week for all expenses, and this makes Christian world feels the need of the school self-supporting, so far as special technical training for mis- running expenses are concerned. All sionaries is the succe~s of the schools our teachers and lecturers give their that have been established to meet services without salary, which makes this need. The writer may be par- it possible for us to give tuition free.
dOll.ed for believing that the Chicago Five teachers and assistants reside in Training-school is the one best known the building (with all the students), in the United States, and that a brief and devote their entire time to the description of this institution and its school. In addition to their work, methods may be of interest. This we have a large list of lecturers, in- school 'has been in existence three cluding some of the best known years. It was established largely by teachers and ministers of the coun- the exertions of private individuals, try. We gratefully recognize the and has never been organically con- special blessing of God, in thus pro- nected with any missionary society, 'viding volunteer service which it though on its Board of Managers are would be impossible to secure other- representatives from, the Chicago wise, without the expenditure of City Missionary Society, and from several thousand dollars annually.
the Woman's Home and Foreign The money needed to erect and Missionary Societies of the Metho- furnish the building has come by dist Episcopal Church. A charter voluntary contribution, as the wants was obtained in 1886, and the first of the school have been made known.
rented house being found Insufficient, A monthly paper, The Message, pub- a central and convenient lot was pur- lished at the school, has b('en the chased, and a large building was principal means of communication erected upon it. This building will with the public. It is from this source-also, voluntary contributions and for which she needs special prep.
as the LOTd shall move the hearts of aration. His people to give-that we look for Then, very prominent in the plan the money necessary to give us the enlarged accommodations that we of school discipline, is the systematic need. The school has never had a putting into practice of the things dollar of endowment, nor has it ever paid a dollar of salary. learned from day to day. All kinds of religious work are done by the The course of study pursued in the school is definite, and a diploma is pupils in the mission fields which a. given for completion. It is technical in character, no literary branches re- great city furnishes in such sa~ abundance. Can anyone doubt the value of such pl'actical contact of the worker with the work? Is it not far betterthat the tlrst attempts at work ceiving attention. There are three should be done under the eye of an great lines of study: 11't, The Bible; experienced teacher, where mistakes 2d, Methods 0/ teaching the Bible can be pointed out and better ways and doing religious work; and 3d, suggested, while lull and rich sym- Nursing and Elementary Medicine. pathy is given, rather than to sub- The Bible is studied, first as a whole, ject the young worker to the terrible and then book by book, with analysis test of being thrust out a thousand of each. Lectures are received on miles from a helping hand perhaps, Bible Interpretation, that we may be to struggle and suffer alone? And guarded against the vagaries that not only is this the only merciful have done so much, lately, to bring way for the missionary, but it is the all lay work into contempt; Old Tes- only safe way for the Church. A dis- tament and Church History, and tinguished foreign missionary says: Christian Doctrine. In methods we "If there were any way of testing have general instruction in organ- missionaries in similar work at home, izing and carrying on work, with a before they are sent out, it would be little innocent modified homiletics, a most satisfactory plan. Every fail- such as the making out of analyses ure involves great expense, discour- on the Sunday-school lessons, and ages many pel'sons at home. and preparing prayer-meeting talks. We induces tl'ouble and perhaps discord have also instruction in house-to- in missions and societies,"
house visitation, the management of We tlnd that the training we give children's, young people's and cot- answers this other incidental but tage meetings, temperance, revival most important end-it tests, both and kindergarten work. Miss Isa- physically and spiritually, the mis- bella Thoburn, fifteen years a mis- sionary candidate. We believe that sionary in India, has been with us this alone would justify the existence the past year, and has given valuable of the school, and that it would be aid in this department. We pay the part of true economy for mission- special attention to Sunday-school ary societies to supportit for this end work, our course being a very good alone, if there were no other means normal training in that line. We of support.
have also class instruction in singing The practical work of the students, and elocution. though taken by way of training, is The third department of our work, found to be of great value to our nursing and elementary medicine, is overworked city pastorll. During a intended to prepare the students for single term of seven months 4,386 re- the emergencies that may come upon ligious calls were made, 750 opportu- any woman in the home, but which nities for prayer or Bible reading the Plissionary will in~vi4tbl;y meett were embl'aced; many coI.versioI.l'I were known to have taken place; may well each ask ourselves, Wha.t large numbel·s of children were is my personal relation to this movetaught in industrial and Sunday- ment? Have I any duty toward schools, and many people were this line of work? Is it not the spebrought for the first time within the cial duty of everyone in these daYIiI to reach of Christian influences. Ingen- watch for opportunities to turn the eral, we may say that the influence of flow of young lives into channels of our large body of students at work in special religious and miSSIOnary the city mission has been great, and work? How greatly the efficiency has contributed not a little, we may of even the ordinary home worker in modestly believe, to the establish- church and Sunday-school would be ment of the order of "Deaconesses" increased by a year of special trainin the Methodist Church-an order ing in Bible study and religious which finds its first members, by the methods. A year in such a school way, in the "Deaconess' Home," would "finish off" a Christian girl's which is a direct outgrowth of the education better than a year in Euschool. rope. Many of the training-school students are such because of a word But the school is a stimulus, not to fltly spoken by teacher or pastor. the home work alone. Several of And are there not many others who our pupils, soon to go to the foreign might by word of ours be led in such field, would never have found their a school to a revelation and inspiraway there but for the influences of tion that would invest life with new the school. The school is-if it is meaning? How many a woman in possible to separate the ideas-more a our land, measurably-perhaps most Bible than a missionary enterprise. sadly-free from home ties, is soul- Young women are welcomed to it weary for an object in life. In the who wish to know more of the Bible Romish Church snch women throw and methods of teaching the Bible, themselves-and their fortunes, if whether they have the missionary they have any-into the arms of the work in view or not. But as they omnivorous convent. Why should study the Bible and the field the mis- there not be a conesponding, even if sionary spirit grows. The wider, a more intelligent, devotion in our deeper knowledge of the Word of Protestant churches, where the spe- God must produce a great increase of' cial consecration of a life means not a missionary zeal. Jesus Christ, re- living death, but a life of special joy vealed centuries ago as the Incarnate and privilege? Word, appointed His Apostles, first that they" might be with Him," Upon us may ·be laid that other and second, that He "might send blessed duty-and duty is always them forth" (Mark iii: 14). The se- privilege-of doing with the means quence is not one of mere accident, God has put into our hands, what we but of deepest necessity. Whenever may not do with our lives. The cost we "draw near" to Him, revealed of training a worker in the Chicago to-day by the living Spirit in the school is only $100 dollars per year. written Word, He will "send us How better could business men or forth." The Bible training-school busy women duplicate their lives for movement, drawing men "near" God and the missionary cause than by a better knowledge of Christ, by supporting students in such a through the history of Himself given .school? in the Bible, is of deep significance in the present remarkable era of mis- And above all let us recognize the sionaryactivity. hand of God in the movement. Let us acknowledge that the" tree" so IJ.l closing tl1is brief djscu,ssion, w~ "fqll qf sap" is His, ~d JI~ will direct our relations to it-whether Hovey, "Manual at Theology. II pp.
we are to go or send, whether we are 00-104.
to give His Word or give gold. God 8. Chapter IX. Providence.
gives the dominant thought of the 9. Chapter XII. Man Needs a Saviour.
Pamphlet… Life of Christ," Rev. J. L.
centuries-nay, in these rapid days, Hurlburt, M.A.
almost forthe decades, and happy are 10. Chapter XIV. The Person of Christ.
they who heal' His watchword at this Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- time;' "THAT THEY MAY BE WITH ject-Person of Christ.
ME," and" THAT I MAY SEND THEM Hovey, "Mauual of Theology;" pp.
190-207. .
FORTH." Pamphlet, " The Person and Character Prepa.ratory Study for Oandidates of Christ," T. Armitage, D.D.
AMONG THE BAPTIST LADIES. 11. Chapter XV. MediatoriaofficeofCbrlst.
THE Woman's Baptist Foreign Mis- Hodge. "Systematic Theology;" Vol.
sionary Society of the West has II, pp. 455-461.
taken in hand a correspondence Hovey, "Manual of Theology;" pp.
207-234.
course of study in Christian doctrine. Pamphlet, .. The Way of Salvation."
It is conducted by Mrs. H. W. Bar- 12. Chapter XVI. Atonement.
bel', Ph.M., of Fenton, Michigan. It Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- is so unique a movement, and one ject-Atonement.
which may inspire others, if not to Pamphlet, "The Sin Bearer," Horatius Bonar,D.D.
imitate yet to emulate, that we ven- Pamphlet, .. Can I be Assured of Salva- ture to take the space to reproduce tion Y"
tb.e lessons and readings of the cur- 13. Chapter XVIII. Regeneration (Repent- riculum: ance and Faith).
LESSONS. READINGS. Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- 1. Chapter I. The Being of God. ject-Regeneration.
Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- Hodge, .. Systematic Theology;" Vol.
ject-Existence of God. Ill, pp. 31-36.
Hovey, "Manual of Theology and Eth- Hovey, .. Manual of Theology;" pp.
ics :" subject-Existence of God. 242-263.
2. Ohapter II. The Bible a Revelation. 14. Chapter XIX. Justification.
Hovey, .. Manual of Theology;" sub- Northrup, Lelltures on Theology; sub- ject-The Bihle from God. ject-Justification.
Hodge, .. Systematic Theology," V01. 1, Hodge, "Systematic Theology;" Vol.
pp.lM-166. III. 116-125, 141-145. Hovey, .. Manual of Theology;" pp. Broadus, pamphlet, .. Three Questions as to the Bible." 2S3-272. Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- 15. Chapter XXI. Sanctification. ject-Inspiration. 3. Chapter III. The Attributes of God. Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- 4. Chaptel IV. The Trinity. ject-Sanctification. Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- ject-Trinity. Hodge, .. Systematic Theology;" Vol.
III, pp. 2l<!-226.
Hodge, "Systematic'Theology;" Vol. Hl'vey, .. Manual of Theology;" pp. 1, pp. 442-448. 273-299. 5. Chapter V. The Deity of Ohrist. Nortl).rup, Lectures on Theology; sub- 16. Chapter XXIV. The Church. ject-The Deity of Christ. Pamphlet, .. The Origin of the, Bap- Hodge, "Systematic Theology;" Vol. 1, pp. 483-488, 495-510. tists," G. B. Taylor, D.D. Hovey, "Manual of Theology;" pp 1'12-190. 17. Chapter XXV. Baptism.
Pamphlet, " The Position of Baptism In the Christian System," H. H. Tucker, D.D.
18. Cbapter XXVI. 'l'he Lord's Supper.
6. Chapter VI. -The Deity of the Holy Pamphlet, "Close Commtinion," Alva.h Spirit. Hovey, D.D.
Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub. 19. Chapter XXVIII. The Resurrection. ject-Deityof the Holy Spirit. Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- Hovey, .. Manual ,of Theology;" pp. 235-242. ject-Resurrection.
'1. Chapter VII. Purpose of God. Pamphlet," Stateof Man afterDeath," Northrup, Lectures on Theology; sub- ject-Divine Purpose, A. Hovey,D.D. 20. Chapter XXX. Heaven and Hell, E.evi>w ILlld Examination,
THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS. ~
V.-THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
SYRIA.. partridge upon the mountains. But SIXTY-SEVEN years ago Pliny Fisk if a building can be hired, and a and Levi Parsons were sent to Jeru- school established, the Maronite, the salem to begin work among Jews, Jew, the Druse, the Mohammedan, Mohammedans, Druses and other the Greek, the Roman, the Protest.
sects. They soon found the Holy ant Chl:istian, are safe within their City not the best center of opera- own walls, and can there, and there tions; so the headquarters of the only, preach and teach their faith.
mission-field were moved to Beirut. The cost of these schools in the Since those days Central Turkey has interim is only from five dollars to become a field for missionary labor- ten dollars a year. In the South the ers from many societies. In all the cost of a boys' school would be but a evangelical schools there are about few dollars a month. In the college 120,000 children, and some $00,000 tuition is eighty dollars a year.
has been contributed during the one Modern missionary work in Syria year from all these churches. The began in 1821. In 1841 Beirut was language spoken is Arabic, and the made the central station. It had the missionaries have translated, and, advantage of being on the seacoast, through the mission press at Beirut, and was a mission station only two have given the Bible to one hundred years younger than Jerusalem, hav- and fifty millions of people, whose ing been occupied in 1823. The prin- sacred language is the Arabic. Mr. cipal stations are Beirut, Sidon, Whiting, going to China to labor as Tripoli, Zahleh and Abeih, with a missionary, sent back to Beirut for eighty-six outstations. Across the Bibles for the millions there who country, east of Beirut, on the spurs speak the Arabic. of Lebanon, is Zahleh, consecrated India has fifty millions who read by the life and death of Rev. Gerald the Koran in Arabic, and who, if F. Dale in 1886. North of Beirut is Christianized. must get their Bible Tripoli, also an important seacoast literature from the mission press of station with outposts; special effort Beirut. Persia and Egypt also make was made for a school building there large demands upon this source, this a few years ago. Southeast of Beirut, tree of life, whose leaves are truly also on Lebanon, is Abeih, where the forthe healing of the nations. Syria educational department is a promi- is the land of the Bible, washed by the nent feature. South of Beirut, Sidon, Mediterranean, the Lebanon Mount- on the seacoast, like Damascus, ains running through it; its plains, claims to be the oldest city in the its mountain slope~, filled with vil- world. In Syria there are over a lages and rich in historic interest. million of people. Not only are the In regard to what has been done eyes of all the world turned to Syria, by the Presbyterian mission: first, the but the feet of all races stray to its educational work. Sixty thousand soil. The religions are as various as children are in these schools in the the races. The False Prophet has the Turkish Empire; and experience has most numerous followers, and Moshown that, in Syria, the school is hammedanism is the dominant rethe only way to begin the good work. ligion. The Sultan of Turkey rules the land, and owns personally enor- In the midst of a population so mous estates in the various provinflammable, so riotous, open-air inces. Syria has many Sundays. preaching is an impossibility. A '1'he Druses observe Thursday, the small thing might excite a crowd Moslems Friday, the Jews Saturday beyond endurance; the massacre of and Protestants Sunday. Arabic is 1860 was begun by the shooting of a the spoken language of the majority, ture, mathematics, natural sciences, though there are as many languages Turkish, English, French and ..Latin as races. Arabic, being also the re- langua.ges, mOl'al science and biblical ligious language of Mohammedan- literature, medicine and surgery, etc.
ism, and missions being to the Mo- There is a hospital, with dispensary hammedans of Syria chiefly, much and pharmacy. The whole work is of time and labor is devoted to the conducted on Protestant evangelical study and printing of that language. principles, and the Bible is the text- At Beirut in 1886, 19,331,750 pages book. Rev. George E, Post. M.D" of of Scripture were printed. Since the th!! Syrian College, says there is con- press was established there, about nected with the College a Young 350,000,000 of pages of God's Word Men's Christian Association; that of have been printed-" enough to cover the 180 students of the institution, 120 a carriage-road around the earth are connected with this association; at the equator." . The tracts printed that of these nea.rly half are active at Beirut were 1,702,500 during the members; and that the remaining same year. Steam and hand-presses ha.If represent the various Oriental are kept running from daylight till sects.
dark, and are unable then, with fifty The Jesuits tried to keep pace with employees, to supply the demand for Protestants at Beirut as to college, ap- the truth. The work of bookbinding, paratus, library, and even by free tui- etc., is carried on to a great disadvan- tion, and for the first time translating tage in the present building. Econ- the Bible into Arabic, but higher and omy and convenience demand a much scholastic, not popular, Arabic. They larger and better-planned building, could not sell the Bibles. As it was or the work will falI far below the possible to get masses said for souls needs and demands of the time. for five cents, people elsewhere sent The Arabic is the religious lan- to the Jesuits to get masses said, and guage of 200,000,000 of people. What they kept the money and gave the a. lighthouse Beirut is! and how fal' Bibles to the prie~ts instead. The the Beirut Arabic Bible may go! priests had no use for them, and sold Wherever Mohammedanism is found. them for nomina.l rates. One case is In Beirut there are one church and known where bigoted Papists thus six preaching places. The total num_ got hold of the Bible in Arabic from ber of church members was in 1886 their own priests and found the error 281; of these, 155 are women. of their belief by reading them; So There is a presbytery, ca.lled tbe God used the very method used by Presbytery of Beirut and Mt. Leba- the Jesuits to defeat the Protestant non, and the effort is to be ma.de to cause as the way of making more have tIle native pastora.tes self-sup- Protestants! .
porting. The Mohammedans are not THE JEWS.
idle; in Beirut, each adult Moslem .. TM Jew first. "-Rom. i : 16. was obliged by government to give " Give to him who gave the Bible; a dollar toward building the new mosque. Think from whence it came to yon: Do you love yool precious Bible P The Syrian Arabic College of Bei- Then restore it to the Jew."
In 1884 wa.s first brought to the rut was established in 1865, and the attention of the religious world the regular course began in autumn of rema.rkable Jewish-Christian move-'
1866. The medical depa.rtment was ment in Southern Russia, under the added in 1867.' 'fhe langua.ge used leadership of a learned and piou~ law- is exclusively Arabic, the common yer of Kischneff, Joseph Rabinowitz; tongue of Syria; the course em- and since then we have, from time to braces Arabic language and litera.- time, had accounts of the growth and development of this communion. heart in hisJewish brethren, a.s thw boa.IIted Jts adherents are as yet compara- of their noble descent from Abraham, Is&a.c, tively few, but the movement has and Jacob, and were proud of the wisdom which the law, received from Mount Sinai, attracted attention everywhere as a gave to them; and who, on the other hand, factor of great importance in Christ- saw through their stubbornness and their ian missions. The baptism in Berlin proclivity in good and prosperous timesto of the spiritual leader of this move- desert the living God, their heavenly Fatlrer, ment indicates that the development and choose for themselves new gods, namely, the love of money and the sover- is healthy and in the right direction. eignty over their brethren through science The original thirteen theses of this and mammon. communion, published in the official 10. The man who unites within himself "Documents," issued by this Society all these characteristics, we have, after a thorou~h examination of all the books of in Hebrew and German, represent the hi:tory of our people. the children of the faith and animus of these earnest Israel, found in the one Jesus of Nazareth, souls. They read as follows: who was killed at Jerusalem, before the dest~uction of the last Temple. 1. The present moral and material condition of the IsraeJitish brethren in Rnssia is a de- 11. The wise men of Israel, among his cayed, distorted and disconraged one. contemporaries, could not yet understand and grasp his doctrines and his salutary 2. Under the circnmstances, to sit in lazy idle- purpose, which was his aim in regard to ness would signify to give consent to the entire his Jewish brethren, this namely, that he ruin to onr Israelitish brethren. laid stress upon the observance of the mandates of the law that touch the head 3. In order to better our circumstances, and hearts, and not on the trilling features we cannot look to our rich people or their of outward acts and deeds. But we, the money for help, nor to our Rabbins with Jews. who live in the year 5644. we can their dQctrines, nor to her writers with with a certainty say, that this Jesus sought their reasoning, for these are all bent on ouly the true welfare of his brethren, and their own benefit, and the welfare of Israel offered peace to bis whole generation. is not their object. 12. Therefore, the power of our 10Te for 4,. Nor must we seek a refnge in leaving our Israelitish brethren compels us to keep our birthplace, Russia, in order to emigrate holy, and to fear the name of this Jesus, to the land of Israel, and just as little in an our brother, and, with all submission of amalgamation with the native non-Jewish heart, we should learn his holy words population of Russia. spoken in truth and love, as they are re- corded and explained in the Gospels, we 5. It is our duty to seek hope and assist- should impress them upon our brethren ance here in Russia, through our own ex- and the children in school; we should reertions, with all our heart, with the assist- ceive the Gospel books as blessed into our ance of the Lord (Jehovah), the only one houses, and join them to all the holy writ- iugs which have beentransmitted to us as a who can help. blessing from our wise men in all genera- 6. The material conditions of the Jews tions.
cannot be improved, unless it is preceded by 13. We confidently hope that the words of an improvement of the moral and spiritual our brother Jesus, which aforetime were status of the people. spoken to our Israelitish brethenin justice, love and mercy, may take root in our hearts, 7. In order to bring to rights the moral and may bring to us the frnit of righteous- condition, there is need of deep-seated re- ness and of salvation. Then our hearts newing of a spiritual regeneration. We will turu to love the true and the good, and must throwaway our idols, the love of then, too, the hearts of the people and the money as such, and in its place must make government will be turned in good will at home in our hearts·the love of truth as toward us, to give to us aid and succor such, and the fear of evil as such. among the other nations, who live securely under the shadow of European laws, which S. In order to attain such a regeneration have been given and written in the spirit of we need a helper, a physician, whose person our brother, who gave his life to make the and medicine have been found reliable. world blessed, and remove evil from the earth. Amen. 9. In order to find such a person we must look among the descendants of Jacob for a The treasurer, the secretary and man who loves Israel,and who has given his life for the sanctification of God's holy one of the missionaries of the British name, and for the sanctification of the law and the prophets; a man who is known to all Society visited Kischinew in the the inhabitants of the earth on account of the purity of his soul, and his love for his people, the children o~ Israel; a man who, on the one hand, recognized the greatness of spring of 1886. It was because of movement has spread not only to their visit then that the Conference other parts of Bessarabia, but even was held at which the new Hebrew to the capital of Russia; and we Christian Church was formed, and hope will go on, along with kindred the new movement inaugurated. At movements, till through Israel, all the. close of the Conference, M. shall know Jesus and His redeeming Rabinowitz turned to the secretary of love.
this society and gave him the follow- When Mr. Rabinowitz visited Eng- ing exquisite parable: land lately he was received at the A few foolish people driving in a four- Conference H:(lJ, Mildmay, and pubwheeler happened to lose a wheel. Finding licly welcomed by Mr. J. E. Mathiethat the car moved along heavily, they son and Rev. J. Wilkinson. About looked about and found that a wheel was foul' years before, Mr. Wilkinson saw missing. One of the foolish men jumped down and ran forward in search of the miss- in a newspaper some mention of what ing wheel. To everyone he met he said, Mr. Rabinowitz was doing, and acor- "We have lost a wheel; ,have you seen a respondence ensued; there being an wheel? have you found a wheel?" One earnest desire to see one another, a wise man at last said: .. You are looking in meeting took place in Berlin in Augthe wrong direction. Instead of looking in front for your _heel you 'ought to look ust, 1885. The first interview was behind." That is exactly the great mistake very touching: at the words" Wilthe Jews have been making for centuries. kinson," "Rabinowitz," in true patri- They have forgotten that, in order to look archial fashion, they fell on each forward aright, they must first look behind aright. The four wheels of Hebrew history other's necks and wept and kissed may be said to be Abraham, Moses, David each other. Having a great desire a.nd Jesus. The Jews by looking in front, to consult Mr. Wilkinson, Dr. Saphir, instead of behind, have failed to find their and other friends, and to meet Chrisfourth wheel. Thank God, that" THE SONS tians in England, Mr. Rabinowitz came to London after Christmas 011' THB NEW COVENANT" have found the especially to be introduced to the friends at Mildmay. The meeting Supreme Wheel-JESUS. Abraham, Moses a.nd David are but beautiful types and symbols of Jesus. They were, and still are, the repositories of His energy; they were, and are still, moved and managed by Him, as had therefore been arranged that truly as are the Cherubim and Seraphim. they might give to their brothel' the Thank God, we have found our Brother right hand of fellowship. Mr. Jesus, our all, .. who of God has been made Rabinowitz had already addressed unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifica- several gatherings of his Jewish tion and redemption"; from whom alone we have found divine light, life, liberty aud brethren, and very touching it was love, for the great here. and the greater to hear him preface an address to a hereafter. And now, with bright eye and number of Jewish children with the jubilant heart, we are looking forward to words, "My dear little brothers and the pulsing splendors of His appearing.
This parable was the crown of the sisters."
Conference, and has in it the divine Mr. Rabinowitz, speaking in his and human evolving energy of own language, and his interpreter Christ, which is destined to fill the being Mr. Adler, told how, after world and eternity with the highest years of study of the Holy Seriptures, life and bliss. his eyes were opened to see that Jesus, of whom Thus by Christian prayer and par- the new Testament testified, is the Messiah for whom all true Isrselites were looking. He told able the new movement was inaugu- how, long ago, he was in the habit of reading the rated, which has been placed before Old Testament with his Jewish brethren; how the world in a pamphlet entitled, at St. Petersburg. Constantinople, and other "The First Ripe Fig," by Professor 'places he had songht to improve their position, Delitzsch, of Leipzig, and in an ad- and to obtain for them equal right~ -with their dress entitled, "The Everlasting Na- fellow citizens. At one period he hoped much tion," by 'the Rev. Dr. Saphir. The from the liberal disposition of Alexander II., but all hopes in this direction were 1!C&ttered to the winds by the, outrages in Bulgaria, by the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and they Russo-Turkish war, aud by the persecution that believe, notwithstanding all they broke out in Moscow. He turued his thoughts have gone through, that God will be then to colonizatiou, and, visiting Palestine, was faithful to them, and that He has deeply pained as he beheld the indignities to still some purpose in regard to them. which, at the Wailing Place in Jerusalem, his Unfortunately, Christian and Gentile brethren were subjected. Here also, as he was with them are synonymous terms, standing on the Mount of Olives, the conviction and what they who believe in Jesus was forced upou him that the Jesus of whom he as the Messiah have to show is that had read in the New Testament, was the Mes- they have so accepted Him, not alsiah. Then it was that the words of our Lord, though they were Jews, but becau8e .. Without me ye can do nothing," came home they were Jews. As Jews hear, first, to his mind. On returning to his native place words from the Pentateuch and the many Jewish brethren visited him, and with Prophets, and then from the Gospels these on the Sabbath he read the portion of the and Epistles, they cannot but feel Old Testament appointed for the day, and then that in all there is the same voice, some portion of the New. Testament, expound- the same language, the same Lord. ing it to them. Many ofthem came to think of Jesus as he did, and then, feeling that, in order Now from ice-bound Siberia comes to convince them that he had indeed accepted the intelligence of a gospel movement Jesus as the Messiah, he should be baptized, he essentially of the same character as went to Berlin for this purpose. Some thought that in Kichneff in Bessarabia. It that then he would become a Christian, but he has been assuming considerable promtold them that he was a Jew still, only that he inence during the past two years, but had received Christ into his heart as his Saviour. only lately has reliable information been secured concerning its nature Another text much impressed on his mind and prospects. It is also a movement about this time was, "If the Son shall make you Christward among the Jews of Westfree, ye shall he free indeed." After his bap- ern Siberia, originating, strange to ism he thought the Jews would not call upon, say, entirely independently of that him as they had done before; but even more under Rabinowitz. The leaderin the came, because then they saw that he was really enterprise is Jacob Zebi Sheinmann. in earnest in the matter, and they argued that He is a Polish Jew, who, twenty as he had always taken an interest in his breth- years ago, through independent ren, and by his efforts secured them some thought, came to the conviction that advantages, he must mean well. Some few, the" Messiah, the Son of David," was however, opposed him, and wrote letters to the thE' true Saviour. The open avowal papers against him, but this soon died out· of this conviction gave mortal offense Having given himself to the study of the New to the strict Chasidim or Talmudic Testament, he taught openly and publicly, and Jews of his country. They first exalso published his sermonS and pamphlets in the communicated him, and then, on the Russian language, these being circulated by the oath of four perjured witnesses, sethou$and. Many then began to. see that it was cured his condemnation on the charge a good thing to be a Christian, and asked for of perjury; whereupon, he, with baptism. Thus he showed that there was life other unfortunates, was transported amongst the Jewish people, though they seemed to Siberia. He took his faith with to be wrapped in death, aud now they needed a him into exile, and did what he could place of worship, a liturgy, and several other to awaken in those around him a things, about which, indeed, he had come to faith such as filled his heart. Baving England to consult his friends. Above all, they been an almost unheeded vox clamanneeded that passport, the Bible, which God tis for fifteen years, he providentially Himself had provided for them, but which they became acquainted with th~ work had so long neglected. And this he prayed his of'Rabinowitz. Among uncalled-for Christian friends to help to give to his Jewish mail matter at Tomsk, where he brethreu.
Mr. Rabinowitz is a type of the God-fearing Jews who believe in Scripture and love their nation, and who in that way are prepared to re- ceive Him who is the center of Scrip- ture. In sending missionaries to the Jews there is a foundation on which to rest. The Jews, as a people, can- not forget that they are children of
PROGRJl:Si AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLlCTIN
was engaged in business, he found a. sway of Talmudic prejudices as are copy of the pamphlet called Bikkure those of Eastern Europe. Then that Teena, containing the public confes- power among missionary agencies, sions and two sermons of the Kich- Delitzsch's Hebrewtranslation of the neff reformer. He saw in the latter's New Testament, is being constantly work the realization of the dreams of called for by these Jews. The British his exile, and at once entered into Bible Society, which publishes this correspondence with Rabinowitz. book, has established a depot at They exchanged documents concern- Tomsk, and the book is being eagerly ing their doctrinal views, and it was read and studied, but no distinct J ewat once discovered how entirely in- ish-Christian organization has as yet dependent of each other they were. been effected.
Sheinmann calls his pamphlets Kol The first of some special services kore bamidbar (Voice of One Crying for the Jews in London was recently in the Wildel'ness). His sentiments announced for St. Mary's Church, and ideas, as also his methods of Whitechapel. Bills were distributed gospel work. have a most remarkable warning them against attending; So similarity to those of Rabinowitz, counter-attraction was started in the showing that the hearts and minds form of an address by a popular of both must have virtually gone Jewish lecturer, and a delegate from through the same process in finding the Jewish Board of Guardians was their Redeemer in Christ. This new placed at the door of the church to movement'is yet in its formative pe- take down the names of those who riod. But indications abound that entered. Nevertheless, the audience even more effectual work may be of the Jewish lecturer was about looked for than has been done in twenty, whereas 150 Jews listened Southeastern Russia. The Jews of with the greatest attention to a dis- Siberia are not so entirely under the course in the church on Isa. i: 18.
VI.-PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS: MONTHLY BULLETIN.
". A.frica. -The attention of the civilized world section that brave German, Emin Bey, lifter seis now so intently fixed upon the rapid march of curing the confidence of the natives, Is believed to have firmly established himself, (or the purevents on the eastern coast of Africa, that a pose of suppressing the horrible traffic. It is a condensed notice of the African situation, as it section with which communication from the now appears, will interest our readers. For east coast is almost impracticable. Trying to fiud Emin, Stanley ascended the Congo and the supposed commercial advantages. Englaud and Aruwimi, one of its branches. Disinterested Germany have secnred from the Sultan of Zan- and competent judges believe that betweeu the zibar large grants of territory. Those of the headwaters of the Aruwimi and Wadeiai, his former embrace nearly one million square miles objective point, just north of Lake Victoria Nydirectly opposite the Island of Zanzibar, and ex- anza, he fonnd his way blocked, and was comtending several hundred miles to the northwest pelled to make a wide detour to the west, from and into the interior of the continent. This terri- which to move eastward by a more northerly tory is practically controlled by the British East route. The possibility, if not probability, is African Company, which has all the powers inci- that this is true. If it is, there has not been dent to a thoroughly equipped government. The snfficient time to hear from him. It is the ex- German claim o(more than 740,000 square miles, pectation of the British African Company 'hat consists of a triangular section lying north of the Stanley will yet march from Wadelal, Emln's British claim, and of a much larger territory lying center of power, southeasterly to the eastern to the south of that claim. Outside of these there coast, strengthen British prestige and possesis a French claim amounting to about 700,000 sions, and perhaps establish a New African Free square miles. Adding these together. of the State nnder British protection. With this hope- 4,500,000 square miles of Africa not ruled by fnl view of the African Situation, as it now is, foreign power, more than one-half 18 lU the we must wait patiently until we have something Sahara. In the heart of Africa, on the Great besides mere conjectnre.-New York Evan- Lakes, and for a long 'distance north o( them, we gelist. find the slave trade, whose horrors lind ravages extend over a vallt rel:ion of country. In this -The completion of the survey for the new miSSionary may help to eonvlnoe railroad past Livingstone Falls greatly in- Mwanga that the English and GerIllBllB do creases the importance of the work of the not, by their annexations of territory, mean American Baptist Mission steamer on the to remove him from his throne, or to punish Upper Congo. The Henry Reed is the hi~for the murder of Bishop Hannington. only means for carrying the missionaries and maintaining the mission stations in China.-The China Inland Mission won a the great Central African Valley, as t,here new interest among us the past summer by are yet no means of public conveyance. A the presence of its leader, the Rev. J. Hudcompany has been formed for maintaining son Taylor. He was heard at Northlleid the steamer and its mission ~ork, which and elsewhere with much interest. His last year raised $1,127.99 by means of one words were greatly reinforced by his life of dollar life memberships and ten cent annual self-sacrifice and devotion to the cause. memberships. The income of this mission the past year is put down at £33,000 sterling. The large -A note from Mr. Reading, in West Africa, Humber of one hundred missionaries left says: .. The Evangelical Missionary Society of Great Britain last year to reinforce the staff Paris have sent two more French teachers to already at work. The number at present is our West African mission. Mons. Lesage and given at 294. They have come from ~nd's Presnet sailed from Antwerp on the 19th Jf End to John O'Groat's, from Ireland, from March and reached Gaboon on the 16th of April. Wales, and from Sweden and Norway; and They will be stationed at Gaboon, and will be- they have been enabled to cover ground, gin teaching immediately. All the instruction though of course very inadequately, in no must be in the French language, but religious fewer than fifteen provinces of China. For exercises in the schools are not prohibited. No 22 years the work has been carried on under attempt is made to interfere in any way with Mr. Taylor's direction, and he estimates purely religious gatherings, and the gospel is that over 4,000 souls have been converted as freely ta~ght throug!)out the colony, in any through this agency. A few medical mislanguage, as it is in Paris. The labors of our sionaries are at work, and others are studybrethren are being blessed, and the future pros- ing in Edinburgh. There were no fewer pects of the mission are assuring. than 600 applications for service during the last two years, from which a judicious .. The brethren in our West African mission choice was made. Accepted candidates are are rejoicing in the continued presence of God's urged to pursue speeial stUdies for a time, Spirit. There is now no hindrance to the and a home has been opened at Cambridge preaching of the gospel, and at some of the sta- for those who are able to go thither for a tions great interest IS manifested in religion. course of study at tae university. The Batanga church is in the northern part of the field, and is under the pastoral care of Rev. From his own letter to us (see "Cor- Frank Myongo. At the ~ommnnion season in respondence," page 931), Mr. Tay- Aprillhirty-three adults and eight infants were lor secured fourteen additional mis- baptized. Not more than half the people who came could get admittance to the church. The sionaries from the United States and inquiry class numbers 120." Canada, who sailed with him on his -It is announced that the Marquis of Salis- return early in October. bury, the English Premier, has directed the British Consul-General at Zanzibar to use England. – The Society for the all his inllueuce with the Sultan to induce Propagation of the Gospel held its him to exert his power against the three annual meetings during the sittings slave traders who have attacked the Afri- can Lakes Company at the head of Lake of the Lambeth Conference, and sev- Nyassa. On the tenth of August the Sultan sent a special messenger to check these eral foreign bishops gave addresses. There- slave-traders, and some good may be hopcd port stated that the number of ordained mis- for from this movemeut. sionaries, including nine bishops, on the So- ciety's list at the present time. was 596. -Uganda. The latest tidings from Mr. There were also in its various missions Gordon, the English Church missionary in about 2,000 catechists and lay teachers, Uganda, were dated March 7, at which time mostly natives, and more than 400 students all was quiet. The mission boat had been in its colleges. The Bishop of Japan said taken away and a watch ~et upon Gordon's the attitude of the educated classes toward nlovements. Though Mwanga, the king, Christianity there perhaps might best be was more friendly, the natives were forbid- described as an attitude of respectful hesi- den to attend any services, and the sale of tation. Bishop Smythies said that from his Christian books had been stopped. The king experience in Africa he was more than con- had invited another member of the Church vinced that missionaries must in every pos- Missionary Society to come to Uganda, and aible way keep away from every aet of cir- Mr. Walker had left Usambiro, March 31, to cumstances which would inve.ilt them with join' Mr. Gordon. It is believed that the the character of civil officers. I'r&noo.-The Annnal Report of the Societe ian missionaries, by the immediate estabdu Nord gives the following statistics with lishment of a Hindoo theological college I regard to Protestanism in the north of Of course these are hopeful indications. A France: In lS07 there were in the 9 depart- wide-awake heathen nation is a more promments coveredby the work of this Soc¥ty S ising field for missionary effort than one Protestant churches and 5 pastors,1Ivith that is sound asleep. about 10,000 nominal adherents. Now, there are 52 pastors and 145 places of worship, of -The Church Missionary Intelligeneer which S4 are temples, and nearly 30,000 ad- draws attention to a curious illustration of how herents. the East and West are reacting on each other. Mr. Hackett, at Allahabad, lately gave a lecture (lermany.-The Gustavus Adolphus Soci- on "TheAryan·VedicReligion." ItwasmostIy ety of Germany, which aims specially to taken up with an account of a catechism put establish Protestant churches in Roman forth by Pundit Raghunath Rao, the Dewan of Catholic countries, during the last fifty-six Indore, as a short catechism of the Aryan-Vedic years, has erected 1,398 church and 691 religion. "Our friends in Scotland will perbaps school bUildings. It reports immediate be flattered, but certainly astoniShed, to learn need of 314 more church buildings. that it is taken word for word from the Shorter Catechism, so familiar to all dwellers north of the India.-A brief statement of the compara- Tweed I Only it consists of some 20,000 questive progress of Protestant missions in tions and answers, those relating to our wrd India and Burmah during the thirty years Jesus Christ being omitted. On this being extending from 1851 to 1881, and of the pointed out to the Dewan, he defeuded his comagency by which that progress ha9 been pilation ou the ground that the truths were comlargely made, are here collated from Sir mon to both, and he wished to use a formulary William Hunter's recent address before the that might, as far as pOSSible, commend itselC to Indian Section of the Society of Arts, and both Christians and Hindus. It may perhaps be will interest our readers. During the period considered one of the most remarkable plagiaalready named, the stations of Protestant missions in those countries advanced from risms on record." 222 to 601-nearly three-fold: their congregatious from 267 to 4,lSO–more than jifteen- -As to the value of the work perfold: the number of native Protestant Christians from 91,052 to 492,882-more than formed in India by the first Protestjive-fold: and the number of communicants from 14,661 to13S,2M-nearly ten-fold. The.se ant missionaries-Carey, Ward and large advances are the results of a large increase in the number of native ministers- Marshman-a native Hindu paper an agency which is the chief, last and only hope under God for the conversion of any says: "They created a prose verheathen nation, and to the securing of nacular literature for Bengal, they which missionary effort should be largely established the modern method of directed. A native Protestant Church has, popular education, they gave the first we are happy to say, grown up in India, grand impulse to the native press, largely supplying its own staff of laborers. they set up the first steam-engine in It will SOOIl. beeome quite able to do so. India, and in ten years they trans- During the thirty years already indicated, lated and printed the Bible, or parts the nnmber of ordained native ministers in- thereof, in thirty-one languages." crea.sed from 21 to 575-or twentY-86.>en-fold: a.nd the number of native lay preachers -The Presbyterian women of India raised from 493 to 2,856-nearly siw-fold. last year in their missionary societies and Boards, in cash and missionary boxes, -Hindooism is waking up in India, with a nearly $8,000 for home missions. spa.smodic and convulsive twist which is more like a sign of death than of returning Italy.-Signor Sonzogno, the proprietor life. Christianity has made such inroads and able editor of a leading daily newspaper that the old religion begins to feel weak in of Milan, Italy, recently made the startling its knees, and to realize that it must fight announcement of his intention to becomea for its existence, or at least for its old-time full-fledged and active Italian Bible Society influence and power. Publications in its by issuing a popular edition of the Bible in defense are now extensively circulated. A halfpenny numbers-a price which would Hindoo Tract Society in Madras noW issues bring it within the reach of nearly every large monthly editions of leaflets, in which man, woman and child in Italy. This an- Christianity is assailed in a way which indi- nouncement has great significance when cates that it is felt to be a dangerous thing. viewed under the light of the fact that the A large pnblic meeting of the Hindoos of new Penal Code makes the priest responsible Madra.s was recently addressed by a popular for his ntterances in public and private; speaker, who urged the necessity of com- not to the Pope, but to the State. Signor bating the successful aggressions of Christ- Sonzogno has the candor to announce that this new enterprise has not been undertaken in the interests of any Church, or of reli- gion, but simply as a commercial enterprise, Which, besides being financially profitable to himself, Will also promote the good of Italy. PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN.
lap.D.-According to the Japan Weekl,l1VaU, in North and South Kafirland and Zuthe Japanese publicists are earnestly discussing luland; they are educational and evan- gelistic. From the remarkable misthe propriety of an omcial adoption of Christian- sion station of Lovedale, Kafiryouths ity as a means of perfecting their civilization and go forth all over the country. A of maintaining a moral standard among the Lovedale register has been published, people. It ia said, also, that many high omcers tracing the career of over 2,000 former of the government are in favor of such a step, pupils. In Central Africa, the. wellnot because they believe in the Christian religion, known Livingstone Mission belongs but because they believe its adoption would to this Church. Its dangers and diffipromote the best Interests of the country. culties demand the prayers and sym- pathy of all interested in missionary Iladagasc.r.-Mission Schools. The Cfhron- work. In the New Hebrides Mission icle of the London Missiouary Society has seventeen missionaries are at work. an interesting article on the elementary In South Arabia, the Keith-Falconer schools as organized and carried on by the Mission is now fully equipped, with agents of that society in Madagascar. Dr. Paterson in charge, and the Rev. The growth of these schools has been ex- W. R. W. Gardner as ordained mistraordinary. Twenty-five years ago they sionary. In the Lebanon Mission, a numbered 7, with 365 scholars; in 1886 small beginning of five Protestants they numbered 1,005, with 102.747 scholars. has grown to a community of 135, a church membership of 86, with 1 pas- Some at these schools. however. are under tor, 6 lay preachers and 28 teachers.
the care of the Friends' Foreign Missions, The Ladies' Society of the Free which co-operates heartily with the London Church of Scotland carries on work Society. The several provincesare divided in Calcutta by means of a Christian into districts, and each district bas a meet- home or boarding-school, in which Ing-house. used both as a church and school- are ninety pupils, a day-school for house. Most of them are built of adobe, Hind u girls with 100 on the rolls, and with thatched roof, and are very plain zenana work. The same kind of work buildings, with mud fioors. The school -is carried on at Madras, and, to a outfit consists of a few lesson sheets and smaller extent, in Bombay and Nagtext-books for the ·teacher's use. The pore, and also in Santalia, Poona, and pupils, however, provide tnemselves with Berar. a primer, a copy of the New Testament, the native Christian newspaper, a cate- a South Sea Islands.-This island of Rarotonga, chism, grammar and geography. There are six standards according to wnlch these which has in such wonderful way provided schools are regularly examined by their superintendents. The teachers are sup- missionaries for New Guinea, Is still keeping up ported in part by the natives. The object of these schools is to teach the children to its record of devotion to the missionary work. read the Bible, and in this they succeed, and so these schools become the chief An appeal to the churches on that Island for reauxiliary to the direct preaching of the gospel. The coming generation of the Inforcements Is never made in vain. Though Malagasy will have as a foundation not only an ability to read the Scriptures, but their brethreu are made martyrs, more than also a fair knowledge of gospel truth. enough helpers Immediately volunteer to f111 Scotiand.-An extremely interesting their places. The last report comes that six bird's-eye view of the missions of the native teachers of New Guinea had just b~en Free Church of Scotland i!J given by ordained at Rarotonga. They were fully Professor Lindsay in the monthly equipped, and were to leave for New Guinea in magazine of that Church. The mis- September by the John Williams. sions in India, to which 70 per cent. of Thibet. – Destruction of Roman the Church's funds and agents are de- Catholic Missions. The region in eastvoted, are in five centers-0alcutta, ern Thibet bordering upon China, Madras, Bombay, Poona, and Nagpore. Each may be described as a nu- in the provinces Szchuen andYuncleus of Christian higher educational work, surrounded by a circle of ver- nan, has been occupied by Roman nacular and more purely evangelistic effort. Native congregations exist in Catholic missionaries since 1846, and all the mission centers, and the pas- the missionaries have been steadily tors are paid partly by the congrega- pushing forward into Thibet proper. tion and partly by the society. The In 1865 the mission at Bonga was de- South Africa Missions are carrif.'d on stroyed, its houses burned, and the missionaries having been driven from that place established themselves on the Chinese side, where they felt tolerably safe. It now appears that during last autumn these mission- aries were severely persecuted, their houses burned, and only two of the nine centers remain untouched. The bitter antipathy toward Christianity aorritled exclamations from all parts of on the part of the lamas. The acts of the great Metropohtan Opera-House. She violence are said to have been done told ot two sisters, Mormon girls, one sixdirectly under the eyes of the Chinese teen years old and the other fourteen years authorities, who took no steps to old, whom she saw in a squalid condition, punish the persecutors. both with babes in their arms,and bothgirls the wives of their own father. Another Turkey.-A delightful surprise awaited the case mentioned was that of a man who had members of the European Turkey Mission married, besides a wife outside his family, at. the annual meeting in June last, as they his own mother, his grandmother, his recounted the progress in their several sta- daUghter, and his granddaUghter-alI these tions:-the number of communicants dou- wives living at the same time. The Nabled in one station, and relatively large ac- tional Union will take steps to ameliorate cessions in others, the increased attendance the condition of the Mormon women as tar in the college and high schools, the earnest- as lies in its power. ness of native Bible-women in commending the gospel alike to children and to adults, -The two volumes containing the prothe enlargement and success of the mdus- ceedings of the London Missionary Contrial school, and generally the new life and ference wi1l consist of about 600 pages each. activity among native Christians. But the Arrangements are being made for issuing event of the year wM to follow a month the volumes in this country at a. very low later in the dedication of a church edifice price, probably less than seventy-five cents at Sofia, the capital of the principality. a volume. At such a rate there ought to The services were attended by a iarge and be a very large circulation ot these records interested audience; among others.. on in- ot the most remarkable missionary gathervitation. was His Royal Highness, Prince ing of the century. The volumes shonld be Ferdinand, who, on leaving, presented the iIi the h&nds ot all clergymen and of ~he church with five hundred francs as a token friends of missions everywhere. of his goodwill. The whole scene, so in contrast with the bitter opposition of a few -Receipts of Missionary Societies. We years ago, might well fill the hearts of the regret to note a very material decline in missionaries with thanks~iving and praise, the receipts of the Presbyterian Board of and inspire them and the entire evangelical Foreign Missions (North), and of the Methocommunity with new hope for the future. dist Episcopa.l Missionary Society, during the first half of the current fiscaJ year, United States.-City Ev~geliza compared with those of the corresponding tion. Frank Russell, D. D., one of the months of last year. The deficit in the secretaries of the Evangelical Alli- tormer Board amounts to $92,910.88. The missions are a.lready complaining. and the ance, says, in Our Day: secretaries are alarmed. One of our oldest and most faithful missionaries in Syria .. Churches covering more than a million and asks. .. What shall we brea.k up? Our a half population are united as never before in village schools (about the only things that household visitation, whicb, unlike a canvass, can be stopped) are the very life of our has in it the element of permanence. Visitors work. They keep the doors open for the from the churches co-operating in a community preaching of the gospel when people other- wise would no~ come." Surely neither of are interblended as to denominational lines, these great denominations will go back on each becoming acquainted with a little field their splendid records I of scarcely more than ten dwellings. It.!s estimated that there are more than 25,000 church -A Magnificent Gift. Mr. Daniel Hand, members engaged in this activity. The city of of Gnilford, Conn., has given $1,000,000 to Brooklyn is organized into fifteen branch alli- the American Missionary Association for the ances, with an average tI) each of over 50,000 education of poor colored people in those states population. Baltimore, under similar organiza- in which slavery existed in 1861. tion~ has published a large pamphlet made up from statistical returns of the work-a kind of -W. E. Blackstone, Esq., of Oak Park, religions directory of the city. Buffalo, Roches- Illiuois, h.,.s made a donation of $3,000 (about ter, Oswego, Ponghkeepsie,Kingston, Newburg, Rs. 9,000), for erecting a Ladies' Home at Mat- tra. He desires that this home shall be not only and many other places, are well organized, while a place where women workers may reside, but more than 100 towns, West and South, are mov- where they may be trained for the work under ing in the same line." competent leaders. There are hundreds of widows residing at Mattra and Bindraban, and -Mormons. At the Woman's Christian thonsands of female pilgrims visiting these Temperance Union, in New York, lately, shrines annuallY, so that the opportunities for among the speeches was an address by work for women are very many. Mrs. AngieF.Newmann, who has charge of the work among Mormon women. Her graphic description of the shocking condi- tion at the Mormon women in Utah elicited Atrlea.*-A correspondent at Gaboon writes: steamers cau then find tnll employment on the .. At the spring C?mmunion 25 were added to Upper Cougo imd Its branche. In bringing to the Kangme church and 8 to the Benita church; Stanley Pool the rubber, gums, spices, ivory, 84 were added to the Batanga church at the and agricultural products of the valley, which ssme time. The sceues at these communion are wanted by the civilized world. The raU: seasons are wonderful. Crowds attend and road also will be an important factor In comgreat Interest is manifested. Candidates for merce. because it will bring to the markets of membership are mauy, but none are admitted the world large supplies of articles which are until they have gone through a long course of now obtainable ouly In limited qnantities. instruction In the Catechism and doctrines of Christian missions ~hould pre-empt the Upper the church. The relations of the missions with Congo Valley iu advauce of commerce, since It the authorities in the French part of the field is well known that the introduction of trade, are good. Everything appears hopeful. Two with its corrupting influences. and, above all, its or three more laborers are needed." deadly liquors, makes mlssiouary work among any people more dimcult. The time to push -Arrivals on the Congo.-Mr. C. B. and Mrs missions iu the Upper Congo Valley is now.- Glenesk, of Aberdeen, Scotland, for the A. B. M. BaptiBt Miss. Maaazine. Union. Misses Kartson, Anderson and Svenson, and Messrs. Anderson and Rangstrom, all -Hope for the .. Dark Continent." The of Sweden, for the Swedish mission here. All fnture of Africa is a subject now attracting the arrived per steamship Alrikaan, at Banana, on attention otthe civilized world. More and more the 12th of May. will the leaders of civilization attend to the problems which are raised by the opeuing ofthls You will have heard, possibly, of the death of vast contineut to modern commerce. The rail- Mr. Shoreland, of Bishop Taylor's party. Died road and the telegraph will soon stretch across on a vessel on which he hoped to work his way the land, steamships will follow all its great home. rivers to tlie head of navigation, and every salubrious province will iuvite emigrauts from -TheIssue. Prof. Dl'ummondsays, the older parts of the civilized world. Civiliza- tion'is at last beginning to feel its mastery of "The plajn issue is now before the the world, and to see that the natural resources world: Is the Arab or the European of the earth must all be brought uuder its couhenceforth to reign in Africa f Africa trol. The slave-trade, and the various prac- tices of savagery, must soon come to au eud the is claimed by everybody and belongs world over. It will not be long before it will be to nobody; and in the meantime seeu that the good health of the whole world is depeudent upon the good health of all its parts. Arabs pour into it from North and Decency, thrift, morality, religion, commerce, the arts of civilization will follow the railroad East with the deliberate purpose of and the telegraph, contending In new couutries as in old with the lower and bestis! elemeuts of making a paradise a hell." civilization. The various missionary societies of the world are calling the attention of their -New developments on the Congo. The respective governments to the fact that civiliza- omcers of the Congo Free State are contin- tion in Africa is worse iu its effect on the natives uing their explorations of the Upper Valley, thau their aboriginal savagery. Whatever may and find the products of the country rich ann be the result of Stauley's raid into the heart of varied beyond expectation. Immense planta- Africa, he will be followed finally by those who tions of bananas, oil-palms, maize, manioc, pea- will represent the higher Interests of human life, nuts, beans, etc., were encountered, and the aud they will work for something more than the supply of these articles which may be obtained makiug of money by whatever means. The for commerce is practically uulimited. It is rum-trade, the opium-trade. the slave-trade iu said to have been settled that the Mobangi is the Africa aud Asia are crimes of civilization quite lower course of the river Welle, discovered by as much as of barbarism.-Ohristian Register_ Dr_Sohweinfurth; and so a large part of the Soudau comes iuto the valley of the Congo, and -Christian influence in Africa' in another will find the natural outlet for its products generation will be a great power,and weare through'that river. The engineers who are sur- not !lontent to hand that country over to veying the route for the railroad past the Liv- Islam. As the work is more extended new iugstone Falls report that, after full survey, the adverse influences may arise, but we must construction of the road from Matadi, below the welcome the sympathy and help of all Christ- Falls. to Lukunga River is easy_ The road will iaus_ Old systems of religiou must be bet- run ilome distauce south of the river Congo. ter understood, as they have to be met, and all commerce must be so regulated as not The survey ot the whole route to the Pool will to curse the nations. Hopes cherished of the opening of the Congo have been clouded be completed duriug the summer. The con- by the liquor traffic. The Congo is an inter- struction of this railroad will mark a new era lu the development of Central Africa. Fleets of • Not till after the foregoing pages had been cast did we decide to add 16 pages to this num- ber, In cousequence of which we are able to give additional matter, althoul'h not exactly iu our usus! order.-EDi. national mission field, but at its gates sacred classics of China, and' the religious crouch that hydra-headed monster, and the bent of the Chinese people is indisputabie. martyrs of the Congo appeal to us not to A vocabulary fit for the conveyance of neglect the ma.tter of drink. The issue be- Christian ideas is already in use; the an. fore us is not the temperance question only, cient cult of China supplied terms descrip_ but a conspira.cy against the children of those races. It blights in the bud 0.1 the tive of the attributes of God; Tauism prohopes of the Christian Church and the best vided a psychological nomenclature; Budinterests of mankind. The representatives dhism enriched the language with meta.- of the traffic are spending all their energies physical and religious terms; and the euly to contend against mission· work.-F. F. Nestorian and Roman Catholic missions im- Ellinwood, D.D. ported into China the familiar terms of -Strangely mixedtidings comefrom Nyassa Christian theology. Lastly, China having Land. In the midst of all the commotions subjugated all the aboriginal tribes in her the missionary work seems to be going for- vast territory, and having now been laid ward with vigor. At Bandawe 1,179 young open to the civilization of the West, is playpeople were present in the schools at the ing a part in the East similar to that of closeo! the term, one-third of these being Rome in early times in the West, and is a girls. There are 38 native teachers at work, peculiarly promising center for Christian IIond Dr. Laws, of the Scotch Free llhurch operations. Mission, says that, at the rate the work is going forward. the next generation of the France.-A large number of young ladies Tonga people would have nearly received a of high social position are endeavoring to Christian education. Among the Angoni, get the Sunday morning delivery of shop 'Work was progressing peacefully both in the psrcels abolished in Paris, and are pleading northern and southern regions. At Chirenji, also for a whole holiday on Sundays for the Which is on the road between Lakes Nyassa employees of the large shops. and Tanganyika., the people, though under arms in defense of themselves from the -The Breton Mission. A recent issue ot Arab slave-traders, were listening to religi- Le Tremetois contained a contribution by an ous instruction. Dr. Cross' says: .. Nothing astonished me more than to see over a hun- English lady, entitled, "A Trip to Tremel." dred young people every morning come After referring to the many natural attractions creeping through the hole in the stockade of Brittany, the writer points out that not only surrounding the school-room, and beginning is that province of France easily accessible to the day's lesson." English people, but that liviIJg there is very cheap_ CalliIJg attention then to the Breton -By request of M. Goblet, the French Yssion, of which Pasteur G. Lecoat is director, Admiralty has ordered the men-of-war in she says: East African watersto chaseall slave-ships, "M. Lecoat has translated the whole Bible '0no matter under what ftag they maybe, and into the grand old language. And "be is pro- pursue with especial energy any which claiming the glorious gospel as far through may he fiying French colors. Brittany as it can be taken with the aid oC but Chlna.-The United Presbyterian Magazine two schoolmasters, three colporteurs. and one tor September (Edinburgh) has an article on evangelist; and that in the face 011,800 priests China and the Gospel, by Dr. Williamson of and twice as msny nuns, He is even trans- China, which is of interest to American mitting it to the many thousaud Breton laborers readers from the hopeful view it takes of the in Havre and Jersey. This untiring paateur present condition of China as a mission field. finds in Mme. Lecoat an invaluable coadjutor. rhe recent proclamation of the Chinese :Many a destitnte orphan finds in her a mother Government has secured the protection of tender and true. Not only is her house a verinative Christians in the exercise of their table orphanage ; she has near it a hospital, unreligion, and the article shows that this act der her charge. And at length she has the wish of government merely" crowns the mani- of her heart-a echool for girls, needing only told preparation made by Providence for furniture and a mistress's salary to become a the conversion of China to Christianity." seminary of true evangelical Christillnity and inrhis preparation is fourfold-educational, dustrial training." moral and religious, philological, and politi- cal. The competitive system of government About £36 per annum will be required as appointments, in vogue since the first cen- lIalary for a teacher. The mission has land for tury of our era, ha.s led to the use of a common spoken language over a great part of a. large room, but about £350 is needed before the empire_ Schools are multiplied all over the building can be erected. The lady con- the country, and" there is no mission field cludes: in which there is such a large proportion of the people who are able to read." The " It is impossible for one who loves the Lord Iouthority of conscience is taught by the to stay at Tremel without becoming deeply in- terested in the Bre tou Mission. And it has none of the draWbacks that from time to time stagger a critical mind in some other missions. (1) No extravagance. There is literally no use- less or careless expenditure. (2) No worldlll poaition to maintain. Here the example of Christ and his first missionaries Is Collowed too represented by the twenty-six letters of the nearly Cor that I 3. No tnainceritv or overprQ/usion. Absolute honesty and downright English alphabet, twenty-four letters of the straightCorwardneBs permeate its every ramill.- cation." English phonetic alphabet are captured aDd Ha1'l'aiJa.-From Molokai, an isiand of the made to do service in·this new English pho- Hawaiian group, comes the news of heroic self-sacrifice .on the part of a Catholic netio alphabet; and we then have one priest, Father Damien, a Belgian by birth, and now in the prime of life. Ever since simple alphabElt taking the places of forty ISTd, this missionary has devoted himself to the care of the lepers who live at the east or more, and becoming available as the end of the Island. With his own hands he has constructed for them wooden houses, to written language of 200,000,000 of people who replace the huts of gra.ss in which they formerly lived. He has, in addition, built have no written alphabet, because they them a chapel. During the fifteen years of his stay,on the island, his attention to the don't know just how to use one. We have sick in all the stages of their terrible malady has been unremitting. As a result, he never had a gushing confidence in .. Fonethimself is now a leper, and is doomed soon to die. Another heroic priest, Father Con- iks," but we are constrained to hope for rady, has recently sailed from San Francisco to care for him, and eventually to take his valuable results from a scheme considered place. practicable by an Oriental scholar like Mo.>; India.-The Calcutta correspondent of the London Times reports two prominent cases Miiller. and heartily commended by the exhibiting the evils of Child-marriage and Madras Times. the urgent need for reform. In one case a girl-wife, aged eleven, was branded with ltaly.-A further expulsion from Rome of red-hot irons by her mother-in-iaw. In the other, a girl, aged eleven, of good position, Capuchin Nuns and "Sisters of Perpetual was found by the police dead, her throat having been cut with a razor. Her husband Adoration" is being carried out by the alleges that she committed suicide, but the matter is being investigated, These barba- Italian Government. the communities in rous customs are accepted apathetically, without the faintest attempt at amend- several convents having had notice to leave ment. the city. Rev. J. McDougall, of Florence, -The telegraph reports the volnntary writes of .. several men of considerable burning of a young Indian widow on her husband's funeral pyre. No marvel if a power" who lately have left the ranks of woman prefers death to the sorrows and penalties of such a widowhood. Rome and joined the Free Italian Church.
-The Bombay Guardian recently pub- One of them is attracting crowds to the lished a literary curiosity called .. The Indian Phonetic Alphabet," which includes, gospel bv his eloquence at Hisa.. Roman in one view, what is essentially a Roman alphabet for all the languages and vernac- priests are, by a recent Act, no longer ulars of India, nearly every Indian sound being represented by a Roman letter. More allowed to preach sermons which assail the than one hundred and fifty languages and dialects are current in India and in British political institutions of Italy. They are Burmah, with their 256,000,000 of people, and very angry about this, but the Protestants the distinct alphabets of those countries, many 01 which are very elaborate, outnum- regard it as a step towards religious equalber all others in the world. Some forty different alphabets, or syllabic systems. each ity. ' having ,from two hundred and fifty to five hundred combinations are used to represent Japan.-Women in Japan are more respectthe sounds of the 150 languages, and more than 10,OOOdiffersnt signs and types haTe ed than in any other Oriental country. Two been elaborated from the original alphabet to represent the fifty simple sounds-all vears ago a society was organized among that the combined Indian vernaculars con- ;a;in. 'As these simple sounds cannot all be thewomen, whose members agreed to read portions of the Scripturesoaily, and to pray for each other. This society numbers 2,500 members, who are scattered all over the country. At its last annual meeting in Tokio many addresses were made toan a.udi- ence of 3,!l'JO persons. A" Soclety for the Promotion of Woman's Education" has been orl(anized during the past few months, and the nobility of the land have pledged sub- stantial support-the Prime Minister and the Governor of Osaka each contributing $10,000. The Japanese women of Osaka. have organized a Women's Christian Association.
At a recent meeting in the Y. M. C. A. hall, the audience, composed entirely of women, numbered 1,000. The women and many of the leading men of Japan have beenbrought into active work for temperance and social purity through the efforts of Mrs. Leavitt, the" Around the World Missionary" of the American W. C. T. U. The liberality of the Japanese Christians is far beyond the aver- age churchesof America,and so faithful are the native preachers and teachers, that if all the American and English missionaries were recalled from the field the /:Ood work would still be carried on."-Miu M. j. Olokey, Pres. oj the Women's MiBS. Society oj the United Pres. Ohurch. Jerasalem.-8ome things a.re being said by requesting the HOTa Government ·to carry about Jerusalem which it is not pleasant to hear. .. In 1885-6," says Dr. Merrill, .. I as- out their own law, with the assistance of a guncerta.ined tha.t there were 130 shops or places in Jerusalem where liquor, chiefly boat on the East Coast to back up and support wine and arak, wa.s sold. The shops were kept byChristia.ns or Jews." "The use of the native governors there, and to watch liquor among Mohammedans," he adds, "as well as every other class of the inhabitants, against any attempts to bribe them. This plan seems to be increa.sing, and the fact causes missiona.ries, t …a.chers, and others who are was formeriy pursned with success on the Zaninterested in the welfare of the country, great anxiety." zibar coast, when the slaves were taken from -" The Judson Centennial Year" may be the British Indians. observed by those who wish to honor the memory of the great America.n missionary, New Gulnea.-In a recent letter to a friend, by contribnting to the America.n Baptist Missiona.ry Union in three wa.ys : Rev. James Chalmers, writing of a visit paid to 1. To the Judson Centennia.l Fund of the various mission stations along the south $100,000, for the enla.rgement of the mis. sions, in individua.l subscriptions of not coast, in charge of native South Sea Island less tha.n $1,000. 2. To the fifty per centadvance needed in the income of the Mis- teachers, gives a cheering report of the progress siona.ry Union. This atrords an opportunity to those who do not feel able to give $1,000 of the gospel amongst the cannibals. Speaking at once. 3. To the Judson Memorial Chnrch in Mandalay, Burmah. The first $1,200 to- of a village named Vagavaga, he says: "There ward this was given by an old Bnrman Woman baptil'led by Dr. Jndson. $3,000 are is a change seen even in the appearance of all still needed. the natives. They were a wild cannibal lot a. -The first permanent American mission station was e"ta.blished in 1835 by Messrs. few years ago, Mr, Pearse asked one of the Perkins and Grant, of the American Board, a.t Oroomiah, the chief town of the Nes- natives if they eat man, and was answered, 'No. torians. They found the people without printed books, possessing only a few manu- no eat man now, all fellow missionary now.' script portions of the Bible in the ancient Mid nnknown Syriac, Few men and but In the evening, at seven, a bell rang, and soon one woman could read. Not theological error, but idleness, va.graacy, drunkenness, hymn·singing was heard; they were having formalism, superstition, prevailed. In eourse of time, the spoken language was evening prayers. You cannot realize it-savwritten, schools established, tile Bible translated, churches gathered. After a.ges, cannibals, murderers, now seeking to eleven years' toil came the first spiritual revival. Many others have followed. All worship God. It was strangely pleasing to hear 'the work of the American Board in Persia was in 1871 transferred to the Preshyterian an old hymn tune iusuch a place. • • • 1 had Board. In the churches are now numbered nearly 2,000 communicants, and in the a good time at South Cape. I got refreshed in schools, 2,500 scholars. visiting the stations with the New Guinea Madagascar.-Mr. Sturge asserts that" tm lately the importofslaves from Mozambique had teachers. At Savaia, where, only a short time been stopped and the slaves liberated; but the Hova Government has now entered upon a ago, there were cannibal feasts, there are three retrograde or renegade conrse, and seems to be fast relapsing into the savagery af the past." catechnmens and six who can read well, and all But one statement closely affects Great Britain. With reference to the concubinage slave trade the people friendly." on the East Coast, it is even more disgraceful, as almost all the real owners are British subjects, -In the British protectorate of B~chuana Christians, and often bighly educated. In Its details, too, I think that possibly it is the more land, God's Word is gradnally but surely gaining cruel slave trade of the two. This slave trade could easily also be checked in a week or two grouud. Heathenism is slowly being uprooted, and superstition overcome. God has revealed Himself to these poor people in many ways, and their minds and hearts are being awakened to realize that God is the Lord. At Kanye, espe- Cially, has the power of the living God been manifcsted. The native chief, Kbame, at Sho- shang, prohibits the manufactnre of Kaftlr beer, and does not allow liquor to be brooght into his country by the white man. On the latter p,oint he is very firm, aud ouly recently expelled two men, who had been trading in the land for many years, for endeavoring to introduce that detesta- ble brandy, contrary to the law of the conntry. The chief's son at Kanye has also recently stop]led the selling of brandy to his people.- L • .M. 8. Chronicle.
-A New Hospital.-The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, foreign Secretary of the London Missionary Society, calls attention to the hos- pital in connection with the medical mission at Antananarivo, which has been condemned on sanitary and other grounds as no longer fit for use. It has become imperatively necessary to erect another in a more convenient Situation, and an appeal is made for a new hospital by the mem- bers of the Friends'Foreign MisslOn Association. The responsibility of maintaining and mana- ging the medical mission in Mada~ascar devolves on the Friends' Foreign MthiessmionedCicoaml mmiitstseie~' nbtuot so great is the value of the missionaries of the London Missionary So- ciety, and to the people nnder their care that the SOCiety regnlarly contributes one-thh-d of the annnal cost of maintaining It, a.nd urges their friends to assist in providine: the funda for the Rew hospital.-Tlie London CIIrl8titJ1I.
!!TATISTIC8 OF Till!: WORLD'!!
VII.-STATISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS.
Woman's Work in the Reformed Ohurch. lose hellrt and faith P Who can read it and ~ot be glad and grateful P IT may stimulate the good women of our And yet this is not the measure of the power church to know something of the growth and oPJlortunity of the Church of Christ In thiB land. Leaving out the Romau Catholics, the, amongst them of the spirit of giving to Foreign net iucrease was 574,861 communicants. This is at the rate of 4.35 to each church, 6.6 to each l!rIissions. From 1874, when the first contribu- minister, and 1 to every 21 communicants. An average of ten to each church would by no tions of Ladies' ~ssionary Societies were re- means be an extravagant expectation. That would give a net increase for the Protestants ported, these girts have been as follows: churches of 1,320,000. This is the number ·we might have had this year; it is the nnmber we 1874…………….. $2,111 50 may have for the year to come. 1875…………….. 4,455 33 1876. . . . . . . . . . . •. . .. . 8,817 85 Population Statistics in Japan. 1877. .. . .. .. •. •.. . . . . £,625 78 1878…………….. 10,107 54 THIll Loodon and China Telegraph, referring 1879…. ..•. ……… 8,81551 to recent publications on Japanese statistics, 1880…………….. 10,03136 says that on January 1, 1885, the Japanese Em- 1881…. . . . .. …….. 10,608 0600 pire had a population of 37,868,987, or an average 10,984 of 99 Inhabitants to each square kllometer, 1882…………….. which is about the same average as Italy, and 1883……… …….. 13,053 74 much more than that of Germany. But if the 1884…………….. 12,47063 large area of Yezo and the Kuriles, with its 1885…………….. 16,030 111 small population, be deducted Japan, proper haa a population of 131 to the square kilometer 1886…………….. 16,653 89 while Great Britain had only 114. For various 1887…………….. 18,406 74 reasons peculiar to the country and the people 1888…………….. 20,7'02 71 the distrlbntion of the population i~ by clusters. Total In llrteen years, ..•.. $137,782 34 In eight administrative districts the density Statistics of the Ohurc-hTehseoMf"tuhseWUnnairtye. ~ reaches 220 per square kilometer, for these in- clude the fertile rice plains and the most pro- States. ductive fisheries. Japan is a country of small peasant cultivation, rice being the principal THill Independent has again been at pains to staple, and hence the mountainous districts are very thinly inhabited. The average number of gather, so far as possible, the statistics of the persons in a household is 4.91, while In Germany it is 4.7; but in urban households the averege is Christian Chnrches of the United States. It much smaller than in the country or than thosII of European cities. Notwithstanding the denhowever, says that In not a few instances the sity of the population, the small nnmber of pop- ulous towns is very striking. Only five have a figures are given for former years. For some population exceeding 10,000, viz.: Tokio, 902,- 837; Osaka, 353,970 j Kioto, 255,403; Nagova, denominations, such as the branches of Plym- 126,898, and Kanagawa, 104,320. Six only have a population between 50,000 and 100,000. This onth Brethren, it.is not possible even to get esti- peculiarity in distribution is due to the circum- stance that Japan is not an industrial but an agmates; they refuse to give information. There ricultural country. Another pecuIisrity is the proportion of the sexes. There were 19,157,977 are hence thousands of Christians who are not males and 18,711,110 females, sO that, reversing the rule In Enrope, the males preponderate. enumerated by our contemporary. It says: This is said to be due to the tact that there is a great preponderance of female mortality between .. Our summary shows that there are 138,885 15 and 40, Japanese statisties on this subject churches, 94,457 ministers, and 19.790,323 mem- being wholly different from those of European bers in this country. These totals, which are countries. At the date of the census there were rather under than over the exact figures, are big 8,898 Japanese abroad, their distribution being with meaning. One hundred and thirty-nine as follows: Corea, 4,356 j China, 2,068 j America, thousand churches founded and maintained for 817 j Russia, (mainly Eastern Siberia), 671; the worship of God I More than ninety-four Great Britain, 264 j France, 164 ; Gel'ftlany, 129; thousaud ministers set apart for the declaration and the remainder in othercountries or on the sea· and exposition of the doctrines of Christianity I Almost twenty millions of souls baptized in the -The Central Baptist says: .. The history faith of Christianity I These areeoquentfacts. of the work in Cuba shows that it has been They are witnesses of a living faith, an earnest scarcely less than miraculous. Six churches, spirit) and a consecrated life, For these facts numbering 1,100 members, have been estabtell or sacrifice and effort and costly endowment-, lished in two years. In the Sunday-schools which are not the symptoms of unbelier and there are 2,500 teachers and pupils, and in godlessness. Unbelief has been in the world longer than Christianity; it came to the country more than a century ago ; but it has no facts like these to speak for it."
The net gains for the year were 6,434. churches, 4,505 ministers, and 774,861 communicants. These facts are eloquent, too. They show that the long-predicted decline of Christianity has not yet set in. Christianity is still increaSing her churches, her ministers, and her communicants. Every year many thousands of her communicants and hundreds of her ministers are swept away by death; but her numbers do not.fail. She gathers in converts and educates ministers, and fills all the gaps, aud has a large excess. The excess this year is 4,500 minister", and 775,000 communicants. This means an addition to the force of ministers of about 87, and to the number of communicants of 14,904 every week. More than seventeen new churches were orl!:anized every day of the year.
Every dllY saw seventeen churches, twelve ministers, and 2,129 communicants added to the forces of Christianity In the United States. This is the story which our statistics tell. Is it not a sublime story P Who can read it and the day-schools 500. And all this at a cost church houses built, 27; cost (ra.ised by ot only $5,762. But there Is urgent need for missionaries on their fields), $21,486.40 ; total .. house of worship in Havana, now. Diaz pleads for it in the name of Christ. Let not mission fund expended on the fields, PII,- his pleading be in vain." 508.57.-Examiner.
-Rev. A. J. Holt, State missionary of the -The Missions to Seamen ha.s 41 mission Baptist Church in Texas, reports the follow- vessels and boats daily carrying the divine ing summary of the year's work: Mission- message on board ships. If this non-paroaries, 130; days labored, 22,222; stations chial agency were to cease, in many cases supplied, 600; miles traveled, 111,625; ser- none would deliver the message of salvamods preached, 11,564; addresses, 16,582; tion.-The Living .Church. baptized, 3,689; received into mission churches, 4,642; churches organized, 154; -The total income ot the United Presbyterian prayer-meetings organized, 349; Sunday- Church of Scotland during the past year amolIDtschools organized, 265 ; pages of tracts dis- ed to £368,009, or £5,536 less than in the pretributed, 460,839; religious visits, 24,247; vious year. The membership of the church on the 31st of December last was 182,170, being an increase of 107.
Native Foreign Com· Contri- Work· Ad- muni· Schol· butions. herents. cants. ars. ers. FIELDS Oll' LAlIOR. – – — — — —— — — • No. of Stations Native Workers. Schools Or- Or- Lat. dained. dained. 1,393 £ Cellon…………… 78 16 1,276 10,937 3,277 271 1~,637 90 In ia ……………. 79 49 8,445 2,~ 80S 19,716 China……………. 10 50 24- 54 1,149 1,5M Western Africa….. 26 17 4 1,234 45,704 11 625 88 West Indies, Hondn- 13 90 7,243 1,4« 43 ras and Bahamas. 11 South Africa(Trans. 15 1 684 15,145 5,160 51 5,011 774 vaal) …………… 32 – – – – -12 – – -6 – 218 -7-,02-1 -1-,31-7 – -26- -1-.85-9 – -7-0 Totals…………. 236 123 127 5,359 88.401 14,834 752 53,141 £2,466 • Exclnsive of sums raised and expended at the several stations.
-Rev. James Johnston, Secretary of the day-schools, with a membership of 318,000. and Centennial Missionary Conference, makes a curi- a teaching force of 33,340 ; number of preachers ons calculation in his work on "A Century of 3,262. The value of church property is 810.3118, Christian Progress," just published by James 361. The estimated annual increase of member Nisbet lie Co., London. He makes an elaborate ship with churches is 47,600. The number of incomparison of the increase of populaGion stitutions of learning which have been received during the last hundred years, with the re- is twenty-nine-five universities, nineteen colspective increases of Protestants, Roman Cath- leges, aod five institutions; but there are some fifteen or twenty from which no report has been olics, and followers of the Greek Chnrch, and received. the result is very striking. Protestants in Europa Rome. – With a less popul&tion than man., have increased, according to this showing. other large cities, Rome has no less than SO from 37,700,000 to 134,000,000, or nearly fourfold; cardinals, 35 bishops, 1,469 priests, 828 candi- dates, 2,832 monks and friars, 2,215 nons, etc. Roman Catholics from 80,100,000 to 163.000,000, These ligures are, of course, very much lower or twofold; and the Greek Chnrch from 40,- than those of the days of the temporal power ; 000,000 to 83,000,000, also twofold. Mr. John- yet, during that regime there was more immor- ality and crime in Rome than in any other Euroston draws from this preponderating vitality of pean city, and even still over 100,000 of the in- Protestantism the most hopeful augury of its habitants cannot either read or write. These future victory. facts speak for themselves, and dispose once for all of every Rornish claim in regard to the civiliz. -According to the Directory of the ing power oCthe Apostacy. Roman Catholic Church for 1888, there are, in England and Wales, Roman Oathollo Missions. 2,314 Catholic priests to 1',728 in 1875, and these preside over 1,304 churches, chapels and stations. Scotland has 5 bishops, 324 priests and 237 churches and chapels. The Roman Catholic MR. JOHNSTON alBo contributes a valnable popUlation in 1887 is given as 1.354, appendix to the Handbook of Foreign MiBriotII, 000 in England and Wales, 326 in published by the London Religious Tract So- Scotland, 3,961,000 in Ireland. To- ciety, au •'Roman Catholic Missions." "It will be getherwith the colonies, the number seen from the table given below,.. says the Muof Catholics under British rule is rionary Herald,"that, although Roman Catholic 9,682,000. missions have been carried on from two to three -The Disciples ot Christ for 1888 report 6,{S7 h nndred years and in some instances are qnite churches: 620,000 communicants; 4,500 Sun- vigorous, they are !1I111 matched by the foreign missions of Protestants, whieh began, on a large Romanista have presented a variety of motives seale, less than one huudred years ago. There to induce men to become adherents of their faith, are in the Romish Church a large number oCmis- and that the submission to baptism has been in sionary societies, but they are all under tho many places the only prereqnisite to enrollment direction of the Propaganda at Rome. One as a Christian. Their roll of converts includes of the most marked methods of prosecuting large numbers who know and care little for any work is by the establishment of missionary col- form of Christianity. The notion which is enterleges,ln di1ferent parts of Europe, for the train- tained in many qnarters that the Romanists Ing of men for particular fields of missionary are prosecnting their missions with marvelous work; such as the Chinese College at Naples, the energy and snccess will be a good deal modified Central African Seminary at Verona. It must by the sight of the following table. " be borne in mind that, from the beginning, * SUMMARY OF ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS.
(Taken from tables in Missiones OatlwlicllJ, 1886.) In.-China Re~ions Oceanica Africa DIVISIONS. India. Peninsula China. adjacent and and its Is- Total. –e-tc-. – – – – – -to-C-h_ina.. -A-me-ri-ca-. -lan-ds-, e-tc.- —- Adherents …………… 1,183,142 674,317 483,403 77,~ 114,845 210,000 2,742,961 Churches and Chapels…. 2,677 1,668 2,429 360 200 7,561 European Missionaries.,. 996t 342 471 …..4.1..6 180 417 2,822 Native Missionaries….. 378 2111 752 93t 1,779 . ……. …..2.0..5 954 4,504 Elementary Schools…… 1,566 25,219 …….. Elementary Scholars….. 64,357 . '2i:i66 . ……. 110,742 "Deducting those returns which cannot be fairly classed under modern missionary work.
t There seems some obscurity in the table from which these figures are taken, poslflbly from some of the returns not distinguishing native from European missionaries. The numbers are combined in the total (1,089) under the column for Europeans. It is probable that there are rather more native and fewer European missionaries.- Handbook of B'ln'eign MiB8io1l8, p. 841.
-Jesuit M1ssions.-A recent issue of the by Pius IX. lind forty-three by the present pon- Etudes Religu'Ulle8 contains some statistica of the ti1f. Of the cardinalS, four are Romans, twentynumber and distribntion of the J esnit mission- eight are Italians, and twenty-nine are of oxtmhe.r aries abroad at the commencement of the present nationalities. During his pontificate, Leo year. The numbers are those of the varions has established the following new offices: One orders of the priesthood, priests, coadjntors and patriarchate, nineteen arcbhbishoprics, fifty- .. scolastiques," but in every' ease the number of seven bishoprics, thirty-four apostolic vicarates- one apostOlic delegature, eleven apostolic prepriesta is more than twice that of the other two fectures. In all there are now thirteen patriorders put together. In the Balkan Peninsular archs, 185 archbishops, 752 bishops. On the first there are forty-five Jesnit missionaries; in of January of the present year there were 728 Africa, and especiallyEgypt, Madagascar and the archbishops and bishops of the Latin Rite, fifty- Zambesi region,223; In Asia, especially Arme- six of the Oriental Rite, 318 titular archbishops and bishops, twenty without title, and five pre- lates nullius dioecese08. The whole Roman hierarchy consists of 1,254 persons.
nia, Syria, certain parts of India and parts of -A.merican JIIissionaJ')' Association.-Last China, 699. In China alone the number is 195, statistics: Receipts, $320,953; expenses, $328,788. In the 58 schools in the South, all of French nationality. In Oceania, inclnding , there are 9,896 pupils. There are in the the Phllippines, the Malay Archipelago, Austra- South 131 churches organized by this Asso- lia and New Zealand, the number is 270; in ciation, with 8,056 members. Four new churches have been organized. There are America, Inclnding certain specified States of 18 schools among the Indians, with 580 puthe Union, portions of Canada, British Hondn- pils; five churches, 13 missionarie., 397 ras, Brazil and Peru, 1,130; the total number of church members, and 11,091 scholars. Among the Chinese 17 schools aud 1,131 pupils, and J esuita scattered over the globe in purely mis- three new missions. Thirteen women's sionary work being 2,377. These are of various State organizations join with the Associa- nationalities, but the vast majority are French. tion in the work. The ASlIDciation now has 136 churches, 115 missionaries, 8,452 church -London Ti1M8. members, 972 being added during the year, -The Ghararsha Colea, the official paper and and 17,114 pupils in Sunday-schools. $226,- year-book, issued by the authorities at Rome, 000 were expended in the Southern field; $8,920 in the Chinese missions, and $48,967 has been published for the year 1888. Accord- among the IndIans. Ing to it Leo XllI is the 263d pope since St. Peter. The number of cardinals is sixty-one, of -The Minutes of the British Wesleyan Conference state that there are 545,290 whom five are cardinal bishops, forty-three are members at home and abroad, and 48,951 on trial; ministers fully ordained, 2,225; on cardinal priests, and thirteen are cardinal dea- trial, 263; with 364 supernumeraries. The cons. As the whole college of cardinals consists Australian Church numbers 79,135, and the of seventy men, there are only nine seats va Canadian 200.479. During the year 40 minis- te·rial probationers were received into full cant. The oldest cardinal is Dr. Newman of connection, 4 of whom are Hindus,l Chinese, England, whose age Is eighty-eight; the young- 3 Africans, and 1German; there are 263 j uni- est is Cardinal di Renda, who is only forty-one. ors still on probation, The local preachers Of the present college, eighteen were appointed number 15,657.
EDITORIAL NOTES
VIII.-EDITORIAL NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.
[BY A. T. P.] THE following letters to the editors obtainable for a few cents. It shows, in we answer in the REVIEW as matter striking contrast, the annual expenditure of of interest to the general readel': the United States and Great Britain for for. eign and home missions, education, sugar "I have been very much interested in and molasses, iron and steel, cotton and readinl' the articles on a • Crusade for Mis- woolen goods, bread, meat, boots and shoes, sions,'!ll the October REVIEW. I have some tea and coffee, ministerial salaries, liquors, maps for pulpit and associational work, but etc.; and, in additiou, gives a diagram of the wish to make myself something up to date. popUlation of the world according to relig- Have you any printed maps or diagrams. ions faiths, each square on a larger diagram statistical or of countries, in the form of standing for one million people. pamphlets or leaflets that I could enlarge mto large wall maps, or any other new and In addition to all these we would have a valuable information that I can utilize that chart of comparative increase in the number you can furnish me with? I wish to do as of societies, translatiolls of Scripture, mis- Dr. Pierson suggests, start a' Crusade for sionaries and workers, scholars in schools, Missions' in my own vicinity. expenditures for missious. etc., from the be- "Yours fraternally, C. L." ginning of the century to the present date, so far as any approximation to accuracy can In response we beg to say. that in all at- be obtained.
tempts to reach the public mind on mis- It might be well if, besides all these, there might be also a chart to show comparative sions, if we can at once attack the citadel supplies of mInisters, teachers, etc., at home and abroad, with the relative sizes of their of thennderstanding through both Eye-gate respective H parishes"; dividi!lJ:' the whole nnmber of souls to be reached, equally, and Ear-gate, our success will be doubled. among all the workmen.
We advise the use of maps, charts, com- If ail these, except the general wall map, could be made so as to be ~upported in one parative tables of population, expenditure, frame on separate rollers, so as to be pulled down ~uccessively as the speaker needed etc., made large enough to be seen at· a them, these charts themselves would make a most startling and powerful exhibition of distance.
First of all, a map of comparative religions ought to be prepal'ed. For this a model may be found in the front of .. A Manu"l of Mis- sions," prepared in 1854 by Dr. Jno. C.
Lowrie, and published by A. D. F. Randolph & Co., New York. Of course since 1854 very important change~ have taken place, which necessitate changes in the coloring of the map. But that map will be found an excel- the truth, and would themselves speak elo- lent basis for the construction of a large quently to the public mind, heart and conwall map which presents at a glance the science. comparative condition of various countries If it be asked, how can these be procured, as to religious beliefs. we answer, make them for yourself. It re- Next, we advise a wall chart of compara- quires very little mechanical skill, and: if tive populations. This might be made by you lack ability, get some one to do it for upright columns of different heights. Tak- you under yonr personal supervision. This ing,for instance, Siam, as a basis or limit is a work that no man can do for another. of measurement, with eight to ten mIllions, The very labor of COllecting and arrang- this might be represented by a column four ing the facts, by which the work is done, is to five inches high, i.e., one-half inch to the itself the greatest source of blessing to the million-then the other countries could be man who does it. No accurate statistics arranged in order, until we reach India and can be obtained. Figures as well as facts China, which would be represented by col- are constantly changing. But if the man umns from ten to fifteen feet high. Of course will study the subject, and as fast as he gets these columns should be represented in the hold of facts and of accurate fignres emsame colors as those which on the map ex- body the results in his charts, he will find hibit the religions prevailing in those lands. himself fast becoming an authority on mis- In this way, at a glance, the eye would take sions, correcting not only his own mistakes in the comparative numbers of people under and misapprehensions, but those of others the control of each great nation, and the asweU.
relative extent of Paganism. Heathenism. It behooves us all in studying missions not Mohammedanism, Papacy, Greek Christian- to be impatient of results. The field is the ity, and Protestantism. world, and we have but a lifetime in which Next we would have a wall chart of com_ to explore it. Of course, we cannot conparati1!e expenditures, of which there are duct the exploration in person, and must abundant models, none of them better than depend in great part on others'labor and that published in colors by the Baptist MIS- results of their researches. Statements will sionary Union, Tremont Temple, Boston, and often be made that are incorrect, and by repeating them we shall be led to propagate Burns Thomson, and the wonderful Iltol'7 error; but as errors are exposed we must of Wil1iam A. B. Johnson in Sierra Leone, correct them, and so approach nearer aud now out of print. But it must be remem_ nearer to absolute correctness and exact- bered that we have made no mention of the ness. We must not claim for ourselves or life of Robert Moffatt, of William C. Burns, others infallibility, but only that we are of Dr. Goodell, of Dr. Duff; of the story of .. philosophers," lovers of wisdom and seek- William Duncan in British .Columbia, the ers after truth. But we may do much to missionaries in the Fiji Islands, the work in belp each other, and as we learn facts and Madagascar, nor of John Williams in the gather exact statistics, we may make them South Seas, and a host of others. We have available to otbers wbo are on the search taken five almost at random, because they like ourselves; Every pastor must be a mis- happen to have possessed peculiar charm sionary, and not expect all his work of col for us, and are representative of work' done by godly and educated men, refined women, lating and comparing to be done for him. medical missions, and the uneducated, con- What a man does himself is like his own secrated mechanic. ILl'mol', made for him and in which he moves As to the histories of mission work, it is easily and familiarly-he has proven it, and hard to separate it from lIiography, but we it is like a part of himself. A. note-book venture to give five more books which cover with divisions for various classes of facts, wider territory, viz: "Ten Yea~son the Eu- and' in which, under its own department, phrates,"byWheeler; "Among the Turks," each new, well-ascertained fact is entered, by Hamlin; "A. Century of Christian Pro- will soon become a thesanrus of informa- gress," by Rev. Jas. Johnston; Warneck's tion, and of more value than any compila- " HIstory of Christian Missions," edited by tion that can be made for us by the most Dr. Smith; and the Ely volume. But here, again, we have not even mentioned Goodell's skillful bands. The facts one gathers and .. Forty Years in the Turkish Empire," both assimilates to himself and his uses, he can a biography and a hIstory; .. Medical Mis- always command, and itJs these that make sions," by Dr. John Lowe; "Our Indian Mis- him ready, even at short can, to advocate sion Field," by Miss Rainy; " Foreign Missions," by Dr. Anderson; Christlieb'! the great cause of missions. noble little book on the same topic ; "Siam," by M. L. Cort; "The Cross and Dragon," Ly The second letter is from Balltsore, India: B. C. Henry; "The Handbook of Foreign .. REV. A.. T. PIERSON, D.D.-I have recently Missions," by the London Religious Tract become a reader of your most excellent Society; or, Dr. Thompson's grand book Oil HEVIEW, and it has increased my appetite U Moravian Missions." .tor such reading. The object of my writing now is to ask if yon will kindly take the There are five other books We advise every trouble to name in the REVIEW what you man and woman toread, each in its way un. reg-d.rd as th~ five most valuable books of surpassed, as bearing on missions in general, nlissionary bIography, and five others, most seeking and savin,. the lost, viz: first and valuable, of the history of mission work. foremost, Hodder's "Life of the Earl of "Idare say that you will find it difficult to Shaftesbnry" ; then, the" Life of Jerry Mc- choose from a mass of material that is so Auley," published and widely scattered by rich and the request I make might be the New YOl'k Observer; Belcher's biography rath~r unreason..ble for one within l'e..ch of of Whitefield; "Memoir of Mary Lyon"; j'mbhc libraries. But in a far-off station, and the" Life of William E. Dodge." But Sllut up to one's own library, with money we are conscious that in naming these, we for buying and time for reading both very are possibly passing by others equally de- limited, It becomes a question of no little serving of this honorable mention. importance how the limIted time end money can be best invested. In doing this, I dare WE have been lUuch impressed say you wiJI confer a favor on many others with the consecrated men and wo- situated like myself in heathen lands. men of Gl'eat Britain. We have met few such in our own land, who U HARRIET P. PHILLIPS." lay wealth, position and influence, ab- To answer such an inquiry is not so easy solutely at the feet ofJesus. There are as to propose it. The field of missionary many noble merchants and princely biography is fertile and luxuriant in the givers here, who combine singular amplitude and magnificence ot its products. Nowhere in the wide range of literature is commerClal talent and tact with lib- there to be found combined so much of the romantic and the real, the highest attain_ erality. But England and Scotland ment In character and the hIghest achieve- present not a few who have aban- ment in practical life and work. We ven- doned busmess, practicality, that ture to name five biographies of surpassing interest, without attempting to accord to them liuch supreme excellence over all ethers, viz.: "Life of AdoniramJudson," re- centlyedited by his son; "Fidelia Fiske," by Rev. William Guest ; "David Bramerd," new edition, recently edited by my colleague, _ Dr. Sherwood i "Seedtime m Kashmir," a memol1' of W. Jackson Elmslie, M.D., by Dr.
NOTE!!
they may work for Christ. Campbell of a bishop who is well-known for his dislike White, of Glasgow, declines election of cant and his skill in snubbing those who practo Parliament, because he will not tice it. .A pious lady of his diocese was illushave his work among the poor of trating the doctrine of special providence by a that great city interfered with by ease in her experience. An aunt of her own public engagements; the Earl of was setting out on a sea voyage, when she felt Aberdeen helps the tenants on "a warning from on high." She obeyed the' his lands to become owners of their warning and did not sail. Next day the ship own houses and farms; the Provost was wrecked and all the passengers perished. of Aberdeen subordinates everything '.. Was not that saving of my aunt's life a clear to his duties as a Christian and his case, my lord, (jf divine providence 1" "1 canwork for Christ. Lords 'Radstock not say," replied the Bishop, "for I do not know and Kinnaird and their families, your aunt." Jas. E. Mathieson, Esq. ; Hugh Mathes<n, Esq.; A. H. Moncur, ex-Pro- We would call attention to the vost of Dundee; Alexander Balfour, Shaftesbury Institute for Girls in Lonof Arbroath; Mrs. Drummin Stew- don. Two ladies, disguised as factory art, of Logie, Forres; Mrs. Mary girls, visited the low theaters, music Watson, the Countess of Cairns, halls, gin palaces and streets fre- Sir T. Fowell and Lady Buxton, quented by this class in the West Sir John and Lady Kennaway, Sir End, in order" to become acquainted Arthur Blackwood, Robert Paton with their habits and associations, and Mr. Charrington, Miss Annie and learn how best to meet their McPherson-these' are a few of the needs." hundreds of men and women in the British Isles who are giving time, Since the publication of "Only a money; influence, personal labor to Factory Girl," in June, 1887, contriall sorts of missionary enterprises, butions, unasked, have poured in home and foreign, and to city evan- from all parts of the kingdom, gelization. London is the greatest amounting to over £2.000, and an Incenter of Christian work on this stitute for West End Factory Girls .globe. God has many devoted ser- has been established. In the little vants in the United Kingdom, who book, "Rough Diamonds," will be sound no trumpet before them and found an account of the work carried whose very names we hesitate to on there. Four hundred pounds a print, so modest are they in their year is required· to meet the current work for Christ. expenses, including rent and taxes, and about £200 to start a Country THERE is a tendency nowadays to Training Home. measure missions by mercanti.le and monetary standards. The question THE Rev. Griffith John, the eminent "Do missions pay?" is a character- missionary of Hankow, declines the istic American inquiry. How much honor of this year's chairmanship of does "each convert cost" '! If this the Congregational Union of Great method of computation is to prevail, Britain. In substance he says': "I per.haps it would better be carried am doing a great work so that I canfurther, and we might ask how much not come down. Why should the some of our modern products of our work cease, whilst I leave it, and "high civilization" at home are come down to you?" Not many worth to society. years since our Senators at Washing- ton were surprised when Dr. Henry The logical basis of :Mr. Chadwick's recent H. Jessup, of Syria, declined the apargument was the monetary value of saving a pointment of United States Minister human life. Every human being in the land is to the Persian Court. Few, if any worth, he says, £150. But is this really so f foreign missionaries would exchange places with an emperor. They es- :Mr. Cha4wick mliht relllemb,r the lltory told teem it their highest privilege to preach the gospel to lost men.
EDITORIAL
IT is proposed to hold a World's ,I MEMORIAAf. Sunday-school Oonvention in London in 1889, from July 1-4. The repre- REV. ADONIRAM JUDSON •. sentation to be from America, one to every 100,000 of population, or about BORN AUG. 9, 1788. 600 delegates, and appointments to DIED APRIL 12,1850. be made only from well-known Sunday-school workers This is the day MALDEN. HIS BIRTHPLACE. of world's conventions. THE OCEAN, HIS SEPULCHRE. IT is vain to talk of lack of money to prosecute missions, while the CONVERTED BURMANS.AND thousand millions spent for strong drink annually stands in contrast THE BURMAN BIBLE with the 5,000,000 spent for foreign missions. The fact is, Indulgence HIS MONUMENT. and Mammon are the idols of our boasted nineteenth century civiliza- HIS RECORD IS ON HIGH. tion-like the Baal and Ashtoreth of the Phrenicians of old. It was stated DR. CAIRNS said,at thePan-Presbyat the London Conference that the terian Alliance in London, that one annual keeping of 100 race-horses for way to reach the masses of the peo- the races, inclusive of interest on ple is by the collection-box, which is their purchase money, equals the en- both democratic and aristocratie, tire annual inCOrlle of the London permitting all who will to takevolun- Missionary Society! tary part in the support of the gos- pel. We feel like adding, that if the THE "American Board" has a collection-box were the only way of grand and heroic history to look supporting the gospel, the aristoback upon. We rejoice in its noble cratic feature ot pew rents, oftenrecord, and not least, that the stand times extravagantly high, might not taken against the Second Probation, repel so many who belong to the or postmortem theory, has not alien- democracy. ated gifts fl'om the treasury. The more we !>ee and hear of these specu- PROF. DRUMMOND, at the World's lations about the supposed preaching Conference on Missions, while reto spirits in prison, the more we are ferring to Africa as a mission field, satisfied that the "Eternal Hope" has no foundation in Scripture, and asked the question: "Is it right to is delusive and dangerous. As Dr. Noble, of Chicago, well said : "There go on against what seems a proviare two things we may do-work for dential barrier against a European men's salvation while we know there missionary living there at all?" 'is a day of gractl, or hope for a day of grace for them in the next life and We should earnestly deprecate the so neglect them now." For myself, abandonment of destitute fields be- I have no doubt which, for us and cause they are regarded unhealthy. them, is the only safe course to pur- If the element of personal risk is to sue. be considered, why not enlarge the scope of the risk and take in not only THE centennial of the birth of health but all exposures to life and Adoniram Judson was observed at liberty? How soon, under the operathe Baptist Church in Malden, Mass" tion of such a principle, would mis- August 9, and a tablet was erected, sionaries begin to decline to go anybearing the following inscription: where unless assured of immunity from all personal danger!
Nothing is sublimer in missionary biography than the devotion of men and women who, for Christ's sake and that of perishing souls, have dared climate, cannibalism, persecution, she set in motion and regulated the poison and death. Where would have delicate mechanism of his being, nor been the 30,000 living Karens, and the other 20,000 now asleep in Jesus, had would he allow it to be displaced by Judson retired before Burmese fever and persecuting intolerance? How the costliest chronometer. Were the about Krapf in Africa, and David secrets of all hearts revealed, we Livingstone, forty times scorched in the furnace of African fever; how might find that behind many a life about Mrs. Grant in Persia, and the devoted Stoddard, Pliny Fiske, Dr., that has come with observation, that Bushnell, Coleridge Patteson and Harrington, Dober at St. Thomas- has been conspicuous for great useand the splendid heroism of the Moravians among the African and fulness in winning souls, there lay Syrian lepers? some obscure, unobserved, undemon- THERE were added, on profession of faith hearly one thousand sonls a week, on an strative influence like the secret average, during the year ending May 1 last. to the <:hurches connected with the Presby- sacred touch of this poor, uneducatterian General Assembly. North. The total numlier added on examination is given a,t ed old nurse I All we have to do is 51.062. to abide in our calling, however We hear much congratulation ex- humble, but abide with God. pressed upon this result. Yet let us remember that this great Church re- Popery "Puts Eetween. " ports aboJlt three-quarters of a million communicants. This is a gain 1. ITSELF as mediator between of about one for every fifteen com- heaven and earth. municants. In other words, it takes fifteen disciples a whole year to bring 2. Priest between sinner and God. one soul to Christ! How long, at that rate, would it take 20,000,000 3. Auricular confession between Protestant Church members to over- penitent and mercy. take the unevangelized population of the globe? At that rate we should 4. Penance between offender and have but 2,000,000 converts a year godly sorrow. for all Protestant Christendom I 5. Mass between believer and right- eousness in Christ.
6. Indulgence between him and self-denial.
7. Tradition between him and Scrip- ture.
8. Purgatory between him and heaven.
9. Celibacy between priest and home.
10. Good works between believer and justification.
11. Extreme unction between him and death.
12. Saints and Virgin Mary be- tween him and prayer-hearing God.
THE religious impulse of the whole Errata.-On page 414 of June numcharacter and career of the late Earl ber, sixth line from top, it should of Shaftesbury is directly traceable read: to Maria Millis, his pious old nurse, who before he was seven years old, On a continent, equal to two-andtaught him of Jesus, and at whose a-half Europes, they have covered ~ side he learned the prayer which he never failed to use till his dying day. territory as large as all the United Neglected by his own parents, the States except Alaska. etc. Africa evangelist of Parliament owed to has about 8,500,000 square miles. this evangelist of the nursery the Europe about 3,400,000. The Congo first lessons he learned in the school Free State reaches a territory of of Christ. The watch she left to about 3,150,000 square miles, about him, he wore on his person as a re- as large as the United States, excluminder of the sacred touch by which sive of Alaska.
In the same number we erred in giving credit for the admirable arti- cle on The Insufficiency of Buddhism to Principal D. H. MacVicar, D.D., '; instead of to his worthy son, J. H. ' MacVicar, B.A.