The Missionary Review of the World — October 1901
THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
Old Series. } OOTOBER. j New Series. VOL. XXIV. No. 10. t VOL. XIV. No. 10.
SOME HOME PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
In a previous paper we considered the problems which confront us on the foreign field; but no outside barrier hinders the advance of an army more than hindrances which may be found within its ranks. As a nation's worst foes are of its own household, so the condition of the Ohurch's own membership and the conduct of its work may either promote or prevent its success more than any conditions which its external field presents.
'fhis side of the problems of missions should have much thought; and it needs the wisdom from above to solve the question, how to secure a better fitness in both the individual believer and in the body of believers for carrying out the great commission.
Better administration of missions is not all that is needed. Every hindrance in the believer and in the Ohurch needs to be got out of the way. I~uther saw so little spil'ituallife in his day that he said in despair: "Asia and Africa have no Gospel: another hundred years and all will be over; God's Word will disappear for want of any to preach it." But the era of missions came, nevertheless, becallse God meant it should, and He interfered. Not many mighty, wise, or noble were called. In His sovereign choice of means, methods, and agents the poor, weak, base-born "nothings" of the world were chosen to bring to naught the "somethings." His heralds began to go forth, and the Scriptures began to be diffused, without which, as Dr. A. J. Gordon used to say, "Ohristianity may be imposed upon a nation, but can not be implanted in a nation."
But has not God provided som~thing still better for the Ohurch of the twentieth century? How inadequate the present working force and working funds! Protestant Ohristendom represents a vast host. Two hundred million members are identified with the reformed churches. Yet there are less than fifteen thousand Protestant mis- sionaries, one-third being unmarried women; and, in addition to these, there are about fifty thousand native ministers and helpers, less than one-tenth of whom are ordained. Liberally estimating the number of the total force, now at work for Christ abroad, at iiixty.five thousand, this still gives but one laborer for about every twenty·five thousand souls. Surely it would be a small thing for the Church of Christ :..:om such a host to supply at least one missionary for every fifty thousand of the unevangelized.
We are not of those who idolize Science or worship Mammon. Much so-called" enligh tened civilization " has, like that of the Cainites, the stamp of Satan upon it, and our boasted human progress often feeds an immoderate self-confidence and godless pride. Yet it must not be forgotten that a high state of civilization has its great advantages. Discoveries and inventions seem to have now reached their golden age, multiplying so fast, and penetrating so far into the realm of the hitherto unknown, that the most astonishing novelties in this realm no longer startle; they are the wonders of a day, and then sink to the level of the commonplace. No man can forecast the immediate future in the matter of discovery and invention; ten years may bring achievements now deemed impossible.
But, in proportion as opportunity enlarges, responsibility multiplies. Whatever God has given the race, it is the part of the Church of God to utilize for the work which He has given to the Church. Every year shou~d now be crowded with achievements that in the apostolic age would have occupied a lifetime. That first mission tour of Paul and Barnabas, covering about a thousand miles to and fro, consumed from two to eight years, and yet in but one place do they seem to have made any considerable stay.
In the review of the last century, the amazing advance made in every direction is perhaps the one and dominant impression. In fact, it is difficult to put in words the advantage accruing from all these modern facilities. Time is practically lengthened by every device that shortens distance and quickens the pace of mankind, for the period needful to accomplish a given result is proportionately less. He who learns to do in a day what once took a week has practically seven days in one. Strength is practically increased with every device that enables us with less exertion to effect equally large results. He who by machinery can do the work of a hundred men is practically become a giant, with his lifting or moving energy a hundredfold multiplied. Life is practically made not only longer but broader by every discovery or invention that makes possible the multiplication of man's achievements and the widening of the range of his activities and sympathies. In these days a time-saving, strength-saving, and moneysaving apparatus forms part of the very mechanism of society, and puts at our disposal boundless resources of opportunity for crowding life with service. If, therefore, it be true that we live. in deeds rather than da!s or years, and if life is to be measured, not by the swing of
SOME HOME PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS
the pendulum or by the tick of the clock, but by the capacity'for action and advance, for attainment and achievement, every man or woman of fifty has already outlived the thousand years of Adam.
To all spiritual-minded disciples it is obvious that a higher type of piety is the one pressing need, in order that we may meet all these new opportunities and responsibilities which crowd upon us. A new reformation is needful, not doctrinal only, but, above all, ethical, spiritual, practical. The world and the Ohurch demand more Ohristlike Ohristians. Worldliness dims the vision of the unseen, relaxes the grasp of faith and of hope upon the verities of God's Word of promise, and chills the very heart of love. Selfishness is not only the dearth of all true godliness, but the death of all true benevolence.
The standard of holy living which God has set up is 110 longer the practical model adopted, or even accepted, by the average disciple, for the most melancholy feature of all this declension is when the Scriptural pattern is virtually disallowed as no longer fitted to, or binding upon, disciples of our day. Attention has been often called to the contrast between our Lord's injunctions in respect to self-denial and cross bearing, as in Matt. xvi: 21-26, and the current types of GJIristian character and conduct; but we are told that this teaching was for the apostolic age, and is not appropriate for the time now present; that such principles make monks and nuns, recluses and ascetics; that we are in the world and mnst not be sour and gloomy separatists like the Pharisees; that to win men, we must mingle with men; and that our esthetic tastes were given us to indulge, not to crucify. And so the modern wine-drinking, card-playing, theater-going, horseracing, self-pleasing disciple, however extravagant in dress, in house appointments, and in the whole style of expenditure, feels emboldened to cultivate luxury on principle, and takes ease on the soft couch of selfish pleasure with a conscience void of offense. The Bible, it is said, is not" a book for the times" in all these austere views of life. Self-denial is considered as having had 'its day; or, while it may be in vogue for heroic missionaries, it is out of date in Ohristian lands. We are taught that it is not only lawful but commendable to hoard great wealth and leave great fortunes to one's heirs, Houses full of expensive furniture and garniture are not thonght of as "the things that make a deathbed terrible," even when those who are luxuriously living can apathetically see millions dying of spiritual famine. Surely the Ijord Jehovah must have abdicated His judgment-seat, or. reversed His judicial "decisions, or else there is It day of destiny ahead, when the modern" disciple" is going to be put to shame!
There is no reason why the evangelization of this world should not be attempted and accomplished in our generation. If Ahasuerus could twice send out a proclamation to every subject in his vast king-
dom, extending over five million square miles, and do it inside of a year, even with the slow" posts" of his day, what may not fifty million Protestants do, scattered from the rising to the setting sun, and from pole to pole, with the Bible translated into more than four hundred tongues; with steamships and railways that can carry us at from twenty to sixty miles an hour, and with all the new facilities for the work that make this the nniqur era of history!
A new century has now opened before us, and the end of the age is therefore drawing near. The earth is depopulated and repopulated thrice in a hundred years, and every second marks a birth and a death. Darkness and death are abroad, and we have the Light of Life; a world-famine, and we have the Bread of Life. God is calling, man is calling; the past is luminous with its lessons, the future luminous with its possibilities. 'The Church should dare great things for God, and hope greater things still from Him! The God of the future is, to those whose faith is greater, a greater God than the God of the past, and has some better thing for those who by faith, prayer, and obedience make possible the discovery of His true greatness.
The disciple of Christ will find his greatest inspiration and encour- 'agement to duty in the thought of his "high calling".j hence when he looks not backward but forward, not downward but upward, keeping in view the goal which is ahead of him and the crown of glory which is above him, he finds perpetual stimulus to faith, hope, love, .and every holy labor.
The one all-inclusive need for mission work is to get and keep close to the mind, heart, and will of God. 'Then we see both the work and the world through His eyes, aud feel somewhat of His unselfish and holy love for human souls. 'Then alone can His Spirit work unhindered in us and through us.
As we confront the work anew we need a new vision and revelation, both of opportunity and responsibility. If Christ is the Light of the World, so is His Church. Satan is represented as blinding the minds of unbelievers, lest the light of the glory of the Gospel of Christ should shine unto them (2 (Jor. iv : 4-7~-i.e., lest the illumination, the enlightening influellce of the glory of the Gospel, as reflected and transmitted through the believer, should reach them with its irradiation. In the same connection we are taught that He who commanded the light to shine out of the original darkness hath shined in our hearts to produce this irradiation in us, and make possible this illumination of others; and that one great proof, both of the power and grace of God, is found in that He thus makes it possible for a " vessel of earth" so frail and unworthy both to bear or contain such Divine splendor as a revelation to itself, and to bear forth or convey such glory as a revelation to others. The highest privilege of a believer is to receive, reflect, and transmit the glory of God as revealed in Christ
i901.j SOME HOME PROBLEMS OF F'OREiGN :MiSSIO~S
through the Gospel, which, practically, will never shine in the hearts of men except through believers, as mirrors or transmitters of God's grace.
At least four factors combine to constitute a new and critical emergency in missions, beyond any previous one in importance and appeal i those factors are: the vast unoccupied area, the entire inadequacy of the army of occupation, the lack of a proper standard of giving, and the lack of a proper spirit of prayer.
Immense areas and populations are thus far unreached and neg- lected; one-half of the region of the Death -Shade yet unoccupied, and one-fourth of it practically unapproached! Great realms where darkness reigns, as large as the British Isles, Scandinavia, or India, and nineteen centuries of Christian history gone! God only can awake a dormant Ohurch to the guilt and consequences of such delay! Thirty times the entire present population of the globe is computed to have passed into eternity since Ohrist rose, far the major part of them dying without even the knowledge of Him, and the earth being depopulated every forty years. In a sense not perhaps originally meant, Paul might say, " For some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame."
Some needs are so imperative that they drive us to God without stopping to trifle with secondary means and agencies; and a high calling like the work of missions must have a motive power correspondingly high and holy.
For the solution of this foremost problem three things are needful: a missionary convic#on, a missionary 81tbjection, and a missionary service which is the fruit of the other two.
A MISSIONARY CONYICTION.
First, there must be a missionary conviction,. that is, a thorough, changeless, and final acceptance of this, as the last entrustment committed to the Ohurch by her ascending Lord. 'fhis must be put beyond dispute, denial, or doubt, for here hesitation is treason. There will be no proper obedience if we even halt to consider. Ohrist's command leaves, and was meant to leave, no room for question. As surely as "there is none other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved," there is none other work given by God to His saints whercby the world is to be made acquainted with this salvation. Not to believe and accept this as indisputable truth shows something wrong from the root upward, and prevents any true growth, flower, or fruit in Ohristian life. An uncertain sound in the Gospel trumpet leaves men to doubt the danger of sinning and the reality of salvation; and so an uncertain sound in the companion trumpet of missionary appeal leaves disciples to a fatal complacence with, and complacence in, their inactivity. There should therefore be an upward and plead-
iug look to God, to create in us and in the Ohurch a deep, immutable missionary conviction and persuasion.
A second and kindred need is a missionary subjectiun; that is, a practical subordination of all our being to Ohrist as the missionary Leader and Oommander.
What inspiration is found in a practical sense of His actual Divine conduct of the missionary campaign! A holy evangelism, marked by a constant expansion and a tireless enthusiasm, becomes natural and delightful when He is seen habitually moving before His people.
The one aim should be to bring this Leadership perpetually to the front, and so to make His presence on the field a felt reality. Then every great event becomes a step of God, and every marked stage of progress a milestone along His highway. So long as faith sees the Lord on the battle-field, every new advance is merely keeping step with Him, and every Ilew accession of men or means is thankfully owned as His answer to prayer and His fidelity to promise. If mission work is thought of as a church scheme or enterprise, of course adhesion to it will be inconstant and variable. But, if God is seen leading the way, it will become our high _calling to follow; to feel no interest in missions will show that we are out of harmony with God's plan, and to say so will be to declare our disloyalty not to the Ohurch only, but to the Oaptain of the Lord's Host.
A sense of" God with us" begets a sublime courage. When a Russian official said to Dr. Schauffier, "My imperial master, the Ozar, will never allow Protestantism to set foot in Turkey," he calmly replied, "My imperial Master, Ohrist, will never ask the emperor of Russia where he may set His foot or plant His Kingdom." Yes, God is the Oontroller of History. Before Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia he told the Russian ambassador that he would destroy that empire. The ambassador's reply was, "Man proposes, but God disposes." "Tell your master," thundered the arrogant and self-confident Corsican, "that I am he that proposes and I am he that disposes." It was a challenge to the living God to show who is the ruler of this world; and God accepted the challenge. He moved not from His throne, but sent the crystal snowflake from heaven to punish the audacious boaster! Napolean flung his forces into Moscow, but in his retreat he left on the frozen plains the bulk of his vast army; and the official returns of the Russian authorities' reported two hundred and thirteen thousand five hundred and sixteen French corpses buried and ninety-five thousand eight hundred and sixteen dead horses. When, in 1815, Napoleon, escaping' from Elba, again threatened to " dispose" events in European history at his will, the Sovereign of this world, whose hand is on the helm of history, ordained that Blucher should join the Iron Duke at the turning-point of the conflict of Waterloo, and by that decisive battle turn the fate of Europe. That·
SOME HOME PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS •
crowning victory ushered in thirty years of peace. Napoleon found at St. Helena that God does dispose, a fact of which the whole mission history of the century is an illustration.
In the former feudal days the vassal did homage to his lord by putting his hands together and placing them in the hands of his feudal master, as a token of entire submission and absolute surrender of all his active powers to his service in work and war. This custom suggested Dr. Moule's sweet hymn: co .My glorious Victor, Prince Divine, Clasp these surrendered hands in Thine I At length, my will is all Thine own, Glad vassal of a Savior's throne."
Such missionary conviction and subjection prepare for the supply of that third great need, a true missionary service.
All genuine service will be gauged, moreover, not by success, but rather by submission. He does God's will most truly who, in doing God's work, leaves to Him all results, accepting failure and defeat as cheerfully as success and victory, if God so appoints. The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. Our Lord, at Nazareth, read from Isaiah lxi : 1, 2, as the formal announcement of His whole mission, its Divine character, and His own special endowment and enduement for it. Of that entire section of prophecy the burden is, "the Servant of Jehovah," this expression occurring seventeen times; yet this same Servant of Jehovah is'presented before us as " despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," abhorred of his own nation, imprisoned, judged, led as a lamb to the slaughter, in visage marred more than the sons of men." All the outward signs are those of discouragement, disaster, and defeat. Judged by all worldly standards, His life was a failure. He labored in vain and spent His strength for naught. Not a token of success could be discerned by the world. He was, nevertheless, Jehovah's Servant, doing His will, even in suffering triumphant, and in defeat and death victorious. The Apocalypse likewise shows us the slaughtered "lamb" as God's "lion"-king.
Some years ago a humble Ohristian mechanic wrote a brief article on his" Three Mottoes": "I and God," "God and I," "God and not I." They indicated three stages in service: First, when he conceived the work as his own and asked God's help; then, when he thought of the work as God's, and of himself as a co-worker; but last and best, when he saw God to be the one Great Worker, and himself only His instrument, taken up, fitted for service, and used in God's way and time. It is most restful to feel that we are simply and only God's tools, the perfection of a tool being that it is always ready for the workman and passive in his hand. To learn that it is His yoke we take on us and His burden that we bear is to lay down that care which
implies a responsibility we can not sustain and an anxiety we can not endure. With results which we can not control we have nothing to do. Obedience is ours, and only obedience; God, who assumes all responsibility for the command, is responsible also for the consequences.
We need a new conception of systematic and self-denying giving and a new delight in this form of ministry.
The name" ducat "-" duke's coin "-means a coin struck from a ducal mint. These Italian pieces of money, which appeared first in Venice, seem to have borne the simple Latin motto: "Sit tibi, Ohristo, datus, quem tu regis iste ducatus."
The name and motto are significant. All money is from God, bearing His image and superscription, held in trust by disciples, and therefore to be rendered unto Him as belonging to Him. This habitual thought makes giving an easy and delightful expression, both of debt and of love, and a blessed form of service.
HOW TO PRAY.
The problems of missions demand for their solution a Ohurch that also knows how to pray. Missionary activity God Himself has set to the key-note of supplication. Days of intercession have often been followed by such marked answers to prayer as have started new anthems of praise.
In the history of the Church Missionary Society, when the expansionin the preceding two years had created very urgent need for more men, an appeal went forth, in 1884, for prayer to the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth more laborers. One thing laid on the hearts of praying saints was to ask for a new spirit of self-offerillg in educated young men. 'rhe day came (December 2d), and Secretary Wigram told how, on the day previous, he had been sent for to go to Cambridge to confer with university men desirous of giving themselves to work abroad. B~fore they called, God had ansUJcredj and that day of prayer started a movement which brought iuto the work a large accession of the best missionaries.
The Church needs an aggressive and progressive type of piety. The soundness of doctrinal Christiauity is tested by the acceptance of justification by faith; but the test of practical Christianity IS obedience to Christ. Dr. McLaren says: "Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel; because, if they do, the candle will either go out or set fire to the bushel." Evangelistic activity is both the guard and gauge of evangelical belief; it is an outlet for a pure faith, and, as a channel, not only provides for the flow of the stream, but keeps it from spreading out into a stagnant pool, preventing the excessive breadth which is at loss of depth and strength. 'I'he Church, by bearing Gospel tidings to a lost world, at once makes faith live in deeds, and keeps it pure from heretical mixtures.
SOME HOME PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS
The power of missions is lost so far as the greatness of salvation is obscured or belittled. That unique phrase, "so great salvation" (Heb. ii.), reminds of the high level from which the Redeemer descended for our rescue, and to which He l,ifts us by His own ascension and coronation. He is shown first to be the Son of God, and then, by equally sure proofs, to be the Son of man; and the conclusion is that, by as much as He identified Himself with man in his shame and guilt, by assuming his nature, He identified man with Himself, in His glory and holiness. This constitutes the greatness of salvation: it makes Gail partaker of man's nature, in order to make man partaker of His own nature. Whatever lets down Christ from His divine level, therefore, lowers the level of man's final estate; and to make man's sin and guilt seem jess, robs salvation of its grandeur and glory; hence, any teaching that either impairs the matchless glory of the Son of God or the hopeless ruin of the sons of men strikes a death-blow at missions.
All true earnestness in missions is born of deep conviction that these millions are perishing, and that we are in trust with the Gospel for their rescue and redemption. There is spreading in the Church a leaven of destructive rationalism and corrupting scepticism, which, if not purged out, will make Christianity a cult rather than a creed, a form rather than a spirit, "a mode rather than a life, a civilization rather than a revelation," a development along the. lines of natural growth and culture and goodliness, rather than an inrlwelling and· inworking of the Holy Spirit.
The one hope of breaking away from this delusive snare is that God's saints shall maintain a thoroughly biblical standard, and exalt the Holy Spirit in practical life, as actually dwelling and working in the body of Christ, the Head, who must be recognized as the life of God and power of God in that body to make all things possible.
To the scriptural conception of the Church of Christ this ministry and administration of the Holy Spirit is fundamental. Let faith in the actual presence and power of this divine Paraclete be weakened, and the world charms us, the flesh masters us, and the tempter triumphs over us; our vision of the Christ becomes dim, our sense of the powers of the age to come grows dull, and our power to claim supplies of grace and actual victory over our foes suffers paralysis.
So far as the Church, as a body, loses Holy Ghost power, it is in danger of losing Holy Ghost doctrine. The blight of the Dark Ages is still upon us; the great Reformation itself was succeeded by more than three centuries of infidelity and indifference. Iniquity abounds in the world, and in the Church the love of many waxes cold. Two very conspicuous causes combine to foster human aversion to the whole supernatural and even spiritual element in the Christian system.
On the one hand, the natural and carnal man-incapacity to appre-
hend and indisposition to accept spiritual truth-lead men to rebel against humiliating dependence upon supernatural revelation and regeneration. On the other hand, men see a nominal Ohurch of Christ, for fifteen hundl'f)d years claiming Divine supremacy and authority, heavenly gifts and miraculous manifestations, while giving sanction to diabolical plots, like the attempted assassination of Queen Elizabeth, the actual massacre of thirty thousand French Huguenots, and the torture and martyrdom of as many more by the Spanish Inqui- sition; and men see in this ecclesiastical system a type of morality pronounced the lowest in Europe; and the whole claim of Christianity as a supernatural religion is thus discredited.
Christ, as He turned away from apostate Jerusalem, said, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Yot£r house! God had always called the temple His house; but when His Son was rejected in its very courts and crucified by its very priests, it was no longer God's homle, but man's. A church, with God's Spirit withdrawn, ceases to be God's assembly and becomes merely a human o;ganization-perhaps a synagogue and seat of Satan.
A godly man sadly writes of the modern worldly church: "They have all gone astray, and have altogether become worldly. All this has become so engrafted upon our system that it has acquired a certain sanctity in the eyes of the people, so that they would rather have their trained choir of worldly singers than a new consecration from above ! Joseph Parker's translation of the trinity of evil is this: He says the world, the flesh, and the devil, translated into present-day dialect, means society, environment, tendency. How many of the ministers and missionaries of Christ are entangled in the society, hemmed in by the environment, swept on by the tendency? How to be delivered many are asking and do not know."
Separation is the condition of consecration, and without it we can not live in God and unto God, for we must be bold enough to stand alone, if necessary, like Luther at Worms, for the sake of a protest against what is evil, unscriptural, and unspiritual. Those who believe in the .Holy Ghost, and are ready to accept the conditions within which alone His power is manifested, must part company with the world if God is to sway them and use them as He will. A new era of missions would dawn if the Church should stand once more on the high level of separation from the world and consecration unto God, which the Apostolic Church displayed!
The representatives of the Christian scholarship of the world met in PrincEton in 1872, to pay respect to Dr. Charles Hodge, at his jubilee. In his reply to their congratulations, Dr. Hodge referred to an incident when he was about leaving Berlin, on his return to America. Friends in that city sent him an album, in .which they had severally written their names, with a few lines of remark. Neander
THE DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE OF ISLAM
wrote a short sentence in Greek, which may be freely translated thus: "Nothing in ourselves; in the Lord all things, whom alone to serve is our glory and joy."
We must live under the power of one overmastering conviction: GOD IS ALL AND IN ALL. In ourselves we are nothing and can do nothing; but in Him we have all possessions, privileges, and powers; and to be His willing slaves, alone, always and wholly, is the supreme glory and joy. His primal command is both the authority and the inspiration to missions, and His promiRed presence is both our encouragement and reward. His superintending Providence makes the pathway of missions safe and glorious to tread; and His final purpose that, through the Gospel, humanity shall be redeemed and the works of the Devil be destroyed, is the goal of all mission service.
The new century will prove a new volume of mission history whose pages will be written as in letters of light if, "forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which are before," the Church of God, like a runner in a heavenly race, shall "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!"
THE DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE OF ISLAM.
BY REV. SAMUEL G. WILSON, TABRIZ, PERSIA.
Missionary of the Presbyterian Board, U. S. A., in Persia; author of "Persian Life and Customs.'l Islam occupies a unique place as a religion of conquest. Its history is one of the drawn sword. The jahad, or holy war, is a cardinal doctrine, for unbelievers must either be brought to pay tribute or be put to the sword. Its glory is in its cry to the God of battles, and the wide sweep of its all-conquering hordes. 'fhe Khalifa is also the sovereign; Islam and the State are one. Hence, the extent of the territory under its sway is the measure of its power, and the decline of its empire presages a decay of its power as a religion.
The beginning of the twentieth century is a fit time to sum up the loss of power and prestige of Islam. Notwithstanding the considerable increase in the number of its adherents during the nineteenth century, and its present zeal and aggressive spirit, there can be no doubt that its great 10s8 of territory has inflicted a severe blow upon it, and has given a great advantage to Ohristianity as a world religion.
Before this century the empire of Islam had lost considerable territory. The blow of the hammer, Charles Martel, drove back the Saracens from France, and the expulsion of the Moors liberated Spain. The southern part of Italy and Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Isles were freed from the rule of Islam. Russia was domi-
nated for centuries by the Tartars, who became Mohammedans in 1272. The czars gradually expelled them, and finally began to annex the territory inhabited by the Tartars and Turks. The Osmanlis carried their arms into the heart of the German empire, laid siege to Vienna, and held the greater part of Hungary until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Through most of that century they continued to rule over the whole littoral of the Black Sea and the Caucasus as far as the Caspian. But in 1771 they were compelled to surrender the shores of the Azor, the Cherson and Crimea, and the right banks of the Dniester to Russia. Before the dawn of this century the British in India and the Dutch in the Sunda Islands had begun to undermine the dominion of Mohammedan rulers in the Far East. The sword of Islam was being grasped in enfeebled hands.
'rhe (lecline of the empire of Islam in the nineteenth century can be clearly seen on the map.* An outline of the events can be seen in the following table: TABLE OF THE TERRITORY LOST BY ISLAM IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Date. COUNTRIES OR PROVINCES. To whom Date. COUNTRIES OR PROVINCES. To whom ceded. ceded.
I. Caucasus and Trans- III. Europe and Mediter- caucasia. ranean Isles (concluded).
1800 Georgia from being trib 1878 Cyprus ……………….. at. Britain. 1813 utaryof Persia………. Russia. 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina .. Austria. 1813 1878 Districts to Greece, Servia, 1828 Darbend, Baku, Shirwan, Rumania, and Monte- 182 Karadagh, Moghan from negro. . 1878 Persia ……………… . 1878 Bulgaria created ………. Bulgaria. 1844 Sovereignty of Caspian 1885 East Rumelia… . ….•… .. " 1864 Sea from Persia……. . 1898 Crete (Autonomous). 1868 1873 Erivan, Nakhejevan, etc., IV. Africa. 1881 from Persia ………… . 1891 1830 Algeria ……………….. France. Poti, Anapa, and the Cir- 1882 Tunis………. …… …. " 1829 cassian Coast from Tur- 1882 Egypt ………………… at. Britain. 1858 key ………………… . 1884-98 Sahara and Sudan (West- 1878 ern)…………………. France. Batum, Kars, Ardahan 1898 Sudan (Eastern) ……….. Gt. Britain. from Turkey……….. . 1887-89 British Ea"t Africa……. " II. Centml Asia. 1887-89 German East Africa…… Germany. Kirghiz ………………. . Samarcand…………… . 1890 Zanzibar ………… < …. , Gt. Britain. Khohand and Bokhara… . Khiva ……………….. . V. Southern Asia. Merv ………………… . Part of Khorasan from 1799 Nizam's Dominions, India. Gt. Britain. 1803 Mogul, Indian Empire.. .. " Persia………………. . 1824 Strait Settlements ……. . 1830 Sunda Islands, Dutch rule lIT. Europe and Medite>'- remean Isles. consolidated………… , Holland. 1839 Aden and Arabian Coast .. Gt. Britain. Greece and Servia granted 1843 Sinde, India……….. …. " independence ……….. Greece and 1849 Punjab and Kashmere … . Servia. 1856 Oudh ……………….. .. 1876 Baluchistan Protectorate. Rumania formed fro m Wallachia and Moldavia Rumania.
Bessarabia ……………. Russia.
These cessions of territory and the conquests of Christian powers from heathen rule have greatly altered the relative size of the empires of Christendom and Islam. Mohammedan governments rule over • The territory conquered or ceded from Islam before the beginning of the nineteenth century is represented on the map. The territory lost during the nineteenth century is also indicated. See Frontispiece.
ono-sixteenth of the earth's surface; Ohristian governments over seven-eighths of it; the former rule over fifty millions of people, the latter over one thousand millions. Of the one hundred and eighty million Mohammedans forty-five millions are under rulers of their own faith, and one hundred and five millions under Ohristian rulers, while of the five hundred millions of Ohristians but a few millions remain under the rule of Islam.
To this historical outline let me add: 1. The nineteenth century is memorable for the liberation of Ohristian races from the rule of Islam. The Georgians and the third of the Armenians who live in the Trans-Oaucasus, the Greeks, Servians, Rumanians, Bulgarians, Montenegros, Oretans, Oyprians, and the Oopts of Egypt have been freed from the yoke of Islam, which was at all times galling, frequently oppressive and cruel, and under. which massacres and forcible conversions were not infrequent. 2. Some of those races which have come under Ohristian governments are new converts to Islam. Upon them its system has not yet fixed its iron grasp. It is the testimony of travelers that some African tribes are as yet only nominally Mohammedan. Experience of missions in Java and Sumatra, where twelve thousand of these new Mohammedans have been brought to Ohristianity, shows that mission work may be speedily fruitful among such races. Self-defense, too, should lead to a pressing of mission work along this border~land, that the further progress of Islam in that direction may be checked. The history of 1Iganda shows the importance of this. Had Ohristianity delayed entering upon this field a few years the probability is that it would have been converted to Mohammedanism. Hupfeld, the leader of a geological expedition into Africa, says: I am persuaded that in a few decades we shall have to reckon with Mohammedan majorities (in the border tribe~) if things proceed as now. It is a national interest that the advance of Islam should be checked. This can only be done by offering the Africans another and higher possibility of development. This is the work of Christian missions.
3. The Ohurch. can no longer put forth the plea that the Mohammedan world is closed to missions. God has marvelously opened the door. The seventy millions under British rule in India and Africa are accessible, as well as the African possessions of other European powers, the Dutch Indies, and the Balkan States. The North African Mission has shown that the work can be carried on in Algeria under French protection. 'rhe thirty million Mohammedans of China ani not closed to efforts. The Swedish mission to Kashgar has entered this field through Russian Oentral Asia. Even in some lands under Mohammedan rulers, such as Persia, there is much that can be done toward the evangelization of Mohammedans. There is much liberty of speech and little fear of molestation, except for the open convert,
who is liable to the fate of the martyr, Mirza Ibrahim. Even in the Turkish empire there is freedom for Bible distribution and for much influence through the institutions of reformed Ohristianity. The fact that three-fourths of the Mohammedans are living under governments where no sword hangs over the convert's head, in some of which even encouragement is given to missions, constitutes a call to the Ohurch to awake to this work in earnest. Let their evangelization be put as a prominent point in the program of the twentieth century, that the spiritual conquests of this century in the conversion of Mohammedans may bear a good proportion to the territorial conquests of the past century.
ARABIC OONTROVERSIAL LI'l'ERATURE FOR MOSLEMS.
BY REV. S. U. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S., BAHREIN, ARABIA.
Missionary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church of America.
The oldest and most generally received war maxim is, find out your enemy's weakest and most vulnerable point and hit him there as hard as you can with all your might.-Lord Wolseley.
One of the indications of the hopeful revival of the crusade of missions for Moslems is the increase in controversial literature. What has been done for the Punjab by men like Imad-ud-Din, himself a convert from Islam, is now being done ill Syria, Egypt, and Persia by others. Islam's strength is to be left alone; put on the defensive, its weakness is evident even to those who defend it. Oontroversy is not evangelization and must not take its place, but in Moslem lands especially it holds somewhat the same relation to evangelization that plowing does to seed-sowing. Books like" Mizan el Hak" break up the soil, stir thought, kill stagnation, convince the inquirer, and lead him to take a decided stand for the truth.
Rev. William Summers, in a recent article on Christian literature in Egypt, states the need of a special line of apologetics for Moslems. He says: All workers of experience among Moslems feel the need of such books. A simple statement of the Gospel is not enough for the Mohammedan. He demands that we prove the authority of our message and the reality of its claims upon his acceptance.
From the time when Raymund Lull wrote his" AI'S Major" to the day when Bishop French spent his last strength at Muscat in trans- .Jating "St. Hilary on the Trinity," the sentiment of all workers among Mohammedans could be voiced in the words: Missionary work as regards Moslems is impossible 1/ controversy be interdicted.* Chris- tianity must be polemic because it is exclusive. Islam is in one sense * See an able paper on this theme in the Church Missiona,'Y lntelligencer for July, 1864.
Also Eugene Stock's" History of the C. M. S.," Vol. II., pp. 154ff.; "Report of Third Decennial Missiona~y Conference, Bombay," Vol. II., pp. 722, 728.
ARABIC CONTROVERSIAL LITERATURE FOR MOSLEMS
a Christian heresy, and calls for wise apologetic. Islam has attacked and is attacking all the vital doctrines of Dhristianity. At Lahore and Cairo the Moslem press is active in its defense, not only of the citadel of Islam, but is bitter and infernally skilful in its assault on Christian teaching and on the Bible. Weapons are drawn from every arsenal and used in any way so long as they can be made to hit the Cross and the Divinity of our Lord.* Sophistry is too good a word to describe the mental process of the learned Moslem when engaged in argument. Henry Martyn described the mullahs of Persia as "a compound of ignorance and bigotry; all access to the one is hedged up by the other." In arguing against the Trinity an Indian Moslem thus paraphrased John's Gospel: The word Be was in the beginning before all creation, and it was the Word of God. The Word became flesh; that is, the word Be was the cause of Christ's birth.
He denies that the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah can refer to Christ, because it is said "he shall see his seed," while nearly all of Isaiah's prophecies are made to refer to Mohammed. " The root out of a dry ground" refers to Hagar and Mecca. Mohammed" divided the spoil with the strong." "ant of Zion shall go forth the law"-i.e., it left Jerusalem and migrated to Mecca! Islam can not be a strong building if it needs such sorry props in these last days. Christian apologetics, tho in its infancy as regards Islam, is doing giant work already. Look at the accompanying table and see the glorious weapons that already grace the arsenal for the conflict. How far in advance we are, not as regards the spirit but the method of Raymund Lull, thanks to the, labors of men like Pfander, Muir, and the unknown skilful apologists among the Christians of Syria and Egypt! An educated inquiring Moslem in Egypt, having greedily devoured the three successive volumes of "El Hidaya" (a reply to two popular but scurrilous attacks on evangelical Christianity), declared in his. enthusiasm that this is the book by which Islam will fall. Sir William Muir has, in his" Call to Moslems to Read the Scriptures," struck a chord that will vibrate in every Mohammedan land; while the Syrian Christian who wrote" Sweet First 'Fruits" and the "Beacon of 'Truth "- has done more to shake the whole fabric of the false prophet than all the missionaries since Henry Martyn. One missionary writes: "So impressed am I with the value of 'Sweet FiI'st Fruits' that I would like to see it printed in a very cheap and possibly abridged form, and sold in thousands all over Egypt." It has been translated into English, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, and other languages. A Shiah Moslem in the Persian Gulf declared to me that there was no one in the Moslem world able to answer the arguments * For an account of some of these attacks, read Sir William Muir's "The :lfohammedan Controversy." Edinburgh,1897.
A CLASSIFIED TABLE OF RECENT ARABIC CONTROVERSIAL
DATE. ARABIC TITLE. I ENGLISH TITLE. NO. OF PAGES. AUTHOR. WHERE PRINTED CHARACTER, CONTENTS, SCOPE, ETC.
AbdelMes- Two letters; one from a Moslem to accept Islam, and the other the reply of El siahel Kindy, Kindy. They are both in classical Arabic. The treatment of Islam is very Circa Risalet Abd el Al Kindy. Arabic, 272. a Christian S.P.C.K. trenchant, almost too strong for an apologetic. Its strength is its age. Be- 830 Messiah bin (Translated by Sir William English, 122. at Court of London. tween this and Pfander's works there is the difference between perusing an Al Mamun, essay and listening to warm and impassioned eloquence. Some of the argu- Ishak el Kindy. Muir.) 1885 and 1887. Bagdad. ments are, however, weak, and there are censorious epithets better avoided.
Arabic. A conciliatory preface on the need of a revelation. The choice is between the Rev. C.G. S. P. C. K. Bible and the Koran. The integrity of the Scriptures proved. The doctrines 1843 Balance of Truth. Arabic, 200. Pfander,D.D. London. of Christianity erpounded, especially the atonement. The last chapter rs- Mizan-el-Hak. (Translated bI. Rev. R. H. English, 133. English, futes Islam and the claims of Mohammed as prophet. A good book for C.M.S. those who have leisure and inclination to read a solemn, solid book. Excel- Weak ey.) Missionary. C. M. House.
London, 1867. lent for inquiring Moslems and those in doubt.
Arabic. A story ,»ith a purpose. Delightful readlDg. The scene is Damascus, and the story is one of Moslem inquirers and their acceptance of Christianity. Faith- Sweet First Fruits. A Native London. Cairo. fulness under persecution and triumph in death. The argument hinges Bakoorat-esh- (Translated by Sir William Arabic, 242. Syrian English. 1893 Shahiya. English, 176. R.T. S. mostly on the integrity of the Scriptures and the proofs for Christ's divinity. Muir.) Christian. London. It is eminently suited for nearly all classes of Moslems. All agree to its su- preme value as an apologetic. But it is a little verbose, and might hav.. more on the atonement as t·he very heart of Christianity. I Arabic. A series of arguments drawn from the Koran and the Traditions. The batt!.. The Beacon of Truth. A Native London. Cairo. is pressed to the ~ates. It proves that M. did no miracles; was not touseforce: 1894 Minar·el-Hak. (Translated by Sir William Arabic, 136. Syrian English. that the Koran a rogates itself, and testifies to Scri:ture; that pro~hecy is English, 166. Christian. Muir.) R. T. S. not in the line of Ismael; that Christ is more than uman. Specia Iy suit- London. Cairo. able for learned Moslems. Argltmentum ad hominem. Unanswerable.
1898 Makaietfi'l Treatise on Islam. Arabic, 400. George Sale Cairo. A literal translation of Sale's Introduction to the Koran, with an a~pendix. Islam. English, SO. and The former is valuable to give unvarnished account of origin and c aracter of Islam. The latter is a criticism of the Koran and stings. Cairo Arab.
-~ I Vol. I., 320. Reply to Moslem attacks on Christianity; especially to .. that Satanic book," Vol. II., 300. An Egyptian American Mis- Izhar-el·Hak. Vol. I. Reply to Alleged Mistakes in Bible. Vol. II. Exposure 1898- EIHidaya. Right Guidance. Vol. III., 304. Protestant sion. of 110 Mistakes in One Section of the Koran. Vol. III. True and False Revs- 1001 [4 vols.] Vol. IV., ? Christian. Cairo. lation. How We Got Our Bible. Vol. IV. [in press]. A mine of material for controversy and reply to attacks. Not for all Moslem•. – – ~-.– AtMat Salb el Eng London 188.'5 Messiah. Proof of Death of Christ. SO. AbdIsa. C.M.S. Arab. Proofs of Christ's death from prophecy and history. Reasons given for the Cairo. C.M_S Moslem denial. A capital tract; full of the marrow of the Gospel. — Misbah-el- The Torch of Guidance to : 25. Native. R. T. S. The sacrifice of isaac made the text of a treatise on Sin and Rede.mptioD. 1898 Huda. Mystery of Redemption. ILondon. Cairo Proofs given that Moslems fear death. Jesus saves. A gem. Da'awet el Call to Moslems to Read Cairo. Proofs of Integrity and Genuineness of Bible. Irenic not polemic. Selootions 1899 Mu.c;limeen 40. Sir William of Scripture. the Bible. Muir. London. – 1897 I Burhan el The Clear Proof, etc. 43. Native. Cairo. Tract on Genuineness of Bible. Answers charge of corruption. Short and fair_ 1898 Freedom of the Bible 13. Jalil, etc Native. Cairo. Similar to the above, but more irenic. Snitable for simple-minded. Salamat el Injil, etc. from Corruption.
1897- SEM~I:o"oK8?~,o::re.al:.nMee;:~:J-:el-l Rouse's Tracts for Moham- 10 to 15 each. Rev. G. H. Arabic. cairo.IA s"ries. Short and sharp. Each discusses a particular point at issu… and 1899 medans in Arabic dress; Rouse, D.D., Eng. Madras. ends with an exhortation. All are useful. But the one on the Koran and of Bengal. Bengali. .. that comparing Christ with Mohamm<>d must be used with discrmiOD. from English version.
THE SPAWN OF SLAVERY
of the "Beacon of Truth." It means much for a learned Mohammedan to acknowledge that.
The judicious use of controversial literature is one of the best ways of evangelizing Moslems. It is often better to persuade a Moslem to read a portion of Scripture or a book or tract than to speak to him directly. Ink is cold. A written argument appeals to the mind and conscience in solitude. There is no pride in answering back glibly or irreverently to a printed' page. It was said of the old Romans that" as they shortened their swords they lengthened their territories." So will it be in the conflict with Islam. The way for the Church to conquer is to come to close quarters with the foe. If prejudice prevents preaching by word of mouth, let us use the press aud speak to the eye. If fanaticism shuts the door of the mosque, let us use the door of the post-office.
Regarding the circulation of this literature, Rev. E. M. Wherry, D.D., writes in the Harvest Field (November, 1900): It is not easy to secure a sale of such books, and possibly the preacher feels a hesitancy about asking a man to buy a book which is aimed at his religion. The writer sympathizes with this feeling. It does seem like an impertinence, if not an insult, to ask a man to buy such a book. A better plan is to send it as a present, either by a messenger or through the post-office, always accompanying it with a kindly letter duly signed by the sender. Sometimes it is wise to loan books rather than to sell them or give them away. The return of the books will always afford an opportunity for conversation on the subject nearest the heart.
. In whatever way this literature be circulated, its power is unquestioned, and it should be used to a much larger extent than heretofore in all Moslem lands. The present supply is large and varied enough to be used with discretion as well as with determination. New weapons will be forged to supply new exigencies in the cOllflict; none of those on hand should be allowed to rust; that is why we thought it worth while to hang them up in order, as swords in an arsenal.
THE SPAWN OF SLAVERY.
'THE CONVICT-LEASE SYSTEM IN THE SOUTH.
BY PROFESSOR W. E. BURGHARDT DeBOIS. Professor of Economics in Atlanta University. Georgia.
A modified form of slavery snrvives wherever prison labor is sold to private persons for their pecuniary profit.-Wines.
'fwo systems of controlling human labor which still flourish in the South are the direct children of slavery, and to all intents and purposes are slavery itself. These are the crop-lien system and the convict-lease system. The crop-lien system is an arrangement of chattel mortgages! so fixed that the housing, labor, kind of agricul-
ture and, to some extent, the personal liberty of the free black laborer is put into the hands of the landowner and merchant. It is absentee landlordism and the" company-store" systems unitell and carried out to the furthest possible degree. The convict-lease system is the slavery in private hands of persons convicted of crimes and misdemeanors in the courts. 'rhe object of the present paper is to study the rise and development of the convict-lease system, and the efforts to modify and abolish it.
Before the Civil War the system of punishment for criminals was practically the same as in the North. Except in a few cities, however, crime was less prevalent than in the North, and the system of slavery naturally modified the situation. The slaves could become criminals in the eyes of the law only in exceptional cases. 'rhe punishment and trial of nearly all ordinary misdemeanors and crimes lay in the hands of the masters. Consequently, so far as the state was concerned, there was no crime of any consequence among Negroes. The system of criminal jurisprudence had to do, therefore, with whites almost exclusively, and as is usual in a land of scattered population and aristocratic tendencies, the law was lenient in theory and lax in execution: On the other hand, the private well-ordering and control of slaves called for careful cooperation among masters. The fear of insurrection was ever before the South, arid the ominous uprisings of Cato, Gabriel, Vesey, Turner, and 'Toussaint made this fear an ever-present nightmare. The result was a system of rural police, mounted and on duty chiefly at night, whose work it was to stop the nocturnal wandering and meeting of slaves. It was usually an effective organization,w'hich terrorized the slaves, and to which all white men belonged, and were liable to active detailed duty at regular intervals.
Upon this system war and emancipation struck like a thunderbolt. Law and order among the whites, already loosely enforced, became still weaker through the inevitable inflnence of conflict and social revolution. The freedman was especially in an anomalous situation. The power of the slave police supplemented and depended upon that of the private masters. When the masters' power was' broken the patrol was easily transmuted into a lawless and illegal mob known to history as the Kuklux Klan. Then came the first, and probably the most disastrous, of that succession of political expedients by which the South sought to evade the consequences of emancipation. It will always be a nice question of ethics as to how far a conquered people can be expected to su bmit to the dictates of a victorious foe. Certainly the world mnst to a degree sympathize with resistance under such circnmstances. The mistake of the South, however, was to adopt a kind of resistance which in the long run weakened her moral fiber, destroyed respect for law and order, and enabled gradually her worst elements to secure an unfortunate ascendency. The South believed
1901.1 THE SPAWN OF SLAVERY
GIRL PRISONERS IN ALABAMA.
They are In charge of a white overseer.
in slave labor, and was thoroughly con vinced that free Negroes would not work steadily or effectively. The whites were determined after the war, therefore, to restore slavery in everything but in name. Elaborate and ingenious apprentice and vagrancy laws were passed, designed to make the freedmen and their children work for their former masters at practically no wages. Some justification for these laws was found in the inevitable tendency of many of the ex-slaves to loaf when the fear of the lash was taken away. The new laws, however, went far beyond such justification, totally ignoring that large class of freedmen eager to work and earn property of their own, stopping all competition between employers, and confiscating the labor and liberty of children. In fact, the new laws of this period recognized the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment simply as abolishing the slave-trade.
The interference of Oongress _in the plans for recou'struction stopped the fnII carrying out of these schemes, and the Freedmen's Bureau consolidated and sought to develop the various plans for employing and guiding the freedmen already adopted in different
places under the protection of the Union army. This government guardianship established a free wage system of labor by the help of the army, the striving of the best of the blacks, and the cooperation of some of the whites. In the matter of adjusting legal relationships, however, the Bureau failed. It had, to be sure, Bureau courts, with one representative of the ex-master, one of the freedman, and one of the Bureau itself, but they never gained the confidence of the community. As the regular state courts gradually regained power, it was necessary for them to fix by their decisions the new status of the freedmen. It was perhaps as natural as it was unfortunate that amid this chaos the courts sought to do by judicial decisions what the legislatures had formerly sought to do by specific law-namely, reduce the freedmen to serfdom. As a result, the small peccadillos of a careless, untrained class were made the excuse for severe sentences. The courts and jails became filled with the careless and ignorant, with those who sought to emphasize their new-found freedom, and too often with innocent victims of oppression. The testimony of a Negro counted for liUle or nothing in court, while tbe accusation of white witnesses was usually decisive. The result of this was a sudden large increase in the apparent criminal population of the Southern statesan increase so large that there was no way for the state to house it or watch it even had the state wished to. And the state did not wish to. Throughout the South laws were immediately passed authorizing public officials to lease the labor of convicts to the highest bidder. The lessee then took charge of the convicts-worked them. as he wished under the nominal control of the state. '}'hus a new slavery and slave-trade was established.
THE EVIL INFLUENCES.
The abuses of this system have often been dwelt. upon. It had the worst aspects of slavery without any of its redeeming features. The innocent, the guilty, and t~e depraved were herded together, children and adults, men and WQmen, given into the complete control of practically irresponsible men, whose sole object was to make the most money possible. The innocent were· made bad, the bad worse; women were outraged and children tainted; whipping and torture were in vogue, and the death-rate from cruelty, exposure, and overwork rose to large percentages. The actual bosses over such leased prisoners were usually selected from the lowest classes of whites, and the camps were often far from settlements or public roads. The prisoners often had scarcely any clothing, they were fed on a scanty diet of corn bread and fat meat, and worked twelve or more hours a day. After work each must do his own cooking. There was insufficient shelter; in one Georgia camp, as late as 1895, sixty-one men slept in one room, seyenteen by nineteen feet, and seven feet high. Sanitary con-
'fHE SPAWN OF SLAVERY
ditions were wretched, there was little or no medical attendance, and almost no care of the sick. Women were mingled indiscriminately with the men, both in working and sleeping, and dressed often in men's clothes. A young girl at Camp Hardmont, Georgia, in 1895, was repeatedly outraged by several of her guards, and finally died in childbirth while in camp.
Such facts illustrate the sysiem at its worst-as it used to exist in nearly every Southern state, and as it still exists in parts of Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and other states. It is difficult to say whether the effect of such a system is worse on the whites or on the Negroes. So far as the whites are concerned, the convict-lease system lowered the respect for courts, increased lawlessness, and put the states into the clutches of penitentiary "rings." The courts were brought into politics, judgeships became elective for shorter and shorter terms, and there grew up a public sentiment which would not consent to considering the desert of a criminal apart from his color. If the criminal were white, public opinion refused to permit him to enter the chaingang save in the most extreme cases. '1'he result is that even to-day it is very difficult to enforce the laws in the South against whites, and red-handed criminals go scot-free. On the other hand, so customary had it become to convict any Negro upon a mere accusation, that public opinion was loathe to allow a fair trial to black suspects, and was too often tempted to take the law into their own hands. Finally the state became a dealer in crime, profited by it so as to derive a net annual income for her prisoners. The lessees of the convicts' made large profits also. Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible to remove the clutches of this vicious system from the state. Even as late as 1890 the Southern states were the only section of the Union where the income from prisons and reformatories exceeded the expense.'" Moreover, these figures do not include the county gangs where the lease system is to-day most prevalent and the net income largest.
INCOME AND EXPENSE OF STATE PRISONS AND REFORMATORIES, 1800.
Earnings. Expense. Profit.
New England.-~ ……… : ….. $299,735 $1,204,029 . … . .' ". . Middle States………………….. 71,252 1,850,452 . … Border States………………….. 597,898 962,411 Southern Statest……………….. 890,432 …….. 938,406 1,971,795 Central States…………………•. 624,161 1,572,316 $47,974 Western States ………………… 378,036 '0' ••••• ……..
The effect of the convict-lease system on the Negroes was deplorable. First, it linked crime and slavery indissolubly in their minds * Bulletin No.8, Library of State of New York. All figures in this article are from this source.
t South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.
as simply forms of the white man's oppression. Punishment, consequently, lost the most effective of its deterrent effects, and the criminal gained pity instead of disdain. The Negroes lost faith in the integrity of courts and the fairness of juries. Worse than all, the chaingangs became schools of crime which hastened the appearance of the confirmed Negro criminal upon the scene. That some crime and vagrancy should follow emancipation was inevitable. A nation can not systematically degrade labor without in some degree debauching the laborer. But there can be no doubt but that the indiscriminate careless and unjust method by which Southern courts dealt with the freedmen after the war increased crime and vagabondage to an enormous extent. There are no reliable statistics to which one can safely appeal to measure 'exactly the growth of crime among the emancipated slaves. About seventy per cent. of all prisoners in the South are black; this, however, is in part explained by the fact that accused Negroes are stilI easily convicted and get long sentences, while whites still continue to escape the penalty of many crimes even among themselves. And yet allowing for all this, there can be no reasonable doubt but that there has arisen in the South since the war a class of black criminals, loafers, and ne'er-do-wells who are a menace to their fellows, both bliwk and white.
The appearance of the real Negro criminal stirred the South deeply. The whites, despite their long use of the criminal court for putting Negroes to work, were used to little more than petty thieving and loafing on their part, and not to crimes of boldness, violence, or cunning. When, after periods of stress or financial depression, as in 1892, such crimes increased in frequency, the wrath of a people unschooled in the modern methods of dealing with crime broke all bounds and reached strange depths of barbaric vengeance and torture. Such acts, instead of drawing the best opinion of these states and of the nation toward a consideration of Negro crime and criminals, discouraged and alienated the best classes of Negroes, horrified the civilized world, and made the best white Southerners ashamed of their land.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
Nevertheless, in the midst of all this a leaven of better things had been working, and the bad effects of the epidemic of lynching quickened it. '1'he great difficulty to be overcome in the South was the false theory of work and of punishment of wrong-doers inherited from slavery. The inevitable result of a slave system is for a master class to consider that the slave exists for his benefit alone-that the slave has no rights which the master is bound to respect. Inevitably this idea persisted after emancipation. The black workman existed for the comfort and profit of white people, and the interests of white people were the only ones to be seriously considered. Conseqnently,
THE SPAWN OF RLAVERY
for a lessee to work convicts for his profit was a most natural thing.. Then, too, these convicts were to be punished, and the slave theory of punishment was pain and intimidation. Giver. these ideas, and the convict-lease system was inevitable. But other ideas were also prevalent in the South; there were in slave times plantations where the well-being of the slaves was considered, and where punishment meant the correction of the fault rather than brute discomfort. After the chaos of war and reconstruction passed, there came from the better conscience of the South a growing demand for reform in the treatment of crime. The worst horrors of the convict-lease system were attacked persistently in nearly every Southern state. Back in the eighties George W. Oable, a Southern man, published a strong attack on the system. The following decade Governor Atkinson, of Georgia, instituted a searching investigation, which startled the state by its revelation of existing conditions. Still more recently Florida, Arkansas, and other states have had reports and agitation for reform. The result has been marked improvement in conditions during the last decade. This is shown in part by the statistics of 1895; in that year the prisons and reformatories of the far South cost the states $20!,483 more than they earned, while before this they had nearly always yielded an income. 'fhis is still the smallest expenditure of any section, and looks strangely small beside New England's $1,190,564. At the same time, a movement in the right direction is clear. The laws are being framed more and more so as to prevent the placing of convicts altogether in private control. They are not, to be sure, always A COUNTRY CHAIN-GANG IN ALABAMA.
enforced, Georgia having several hundreds of convicts so controlled in 1895 despite the law. In nearly all the Gulf states the convictlease system still has a strong hold, still debauches public sentiment and breeds criminals.
The next step after the lease system was to keep the prisoners under state control, or, at least, regular state inspection, but to lease their labor to contractors, 01' to employ it in some remunerative labor for the state. It is this stage that the South is slowly reaching to-day, so far as the criminals are concerned who are dealt with directly by the states. Those whom the state still unfortunately leaves in the hands of county officials are usually leased to irresponsible parties.
Without doubt, work, and work worth the doing-i. e., profitable work- is best for prisoners. Yet there lurks in this system a dangerous temptation. The correct theory is that the work is for the benefit of the criminal-for his correction, if possible. At the' same time, his work should not be allowed to come into unfair competition with that of honest laborers, and it should never be an object of traffic for pure financial gain. Whenever the profit derived from the work becomes the object of employing prisoners, then evil must result. In the lSouth to-day it is natural that in the slow turning from the totally indefensible private lease system, some of its wrong ideas should persist. Prominent among these persisting ideas is this: that the most successful dealing with criminals is that which costs the state least in actual' outlay. This idea still dominates most of the Sonthern states. Georgia spent $2.38 per capita on her 2,938 prisoners in 1890, while Massachusetts spent $62.96 per capita on her 5,227 prisoners. Moreover, by. selling the labor of her prisoners to the highest bidders, Georgia not only got all her money back, but made a total clear profit of $6.12 on each prisoner. Massachusetts spent about $100,000 more than was returned to her by prisoners' labor. Now it is extremely difficult, under such circumstances, to prove to a state that Georgia is making a worse business investment than Massachusetts. It will take another generation to prove to the South that an apparently profitable traffic in crime is very dangerous business for a state; that prevention of crime and the reformation of criminals is the one legitimate object of all dealing with depraved natures, and' that apparent profit arising from other methods is in the end worse than dead loss. Bad public schools and profit from crime explain much of the Southern social problem. Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, as late as 1895, were spending annually only $20,799 on their state prisoners, and receiving $80,493 from the hire of their labor.
Moreover, in the desire to make the labor of criminals pay, little heed is taken of the competition of convict and free laborers, unless the free laborers are white and have a vote. Blaek laborers are continually displaced in such industries as brick-making, mining, road-
THE SPAWN OF SLAVERY
building, grading, quarrying, and tile like, by convicts hired at *3, or thereabouts, a month.
The second mischievous idea that survives from slavery and the convict-lease system is the lack of all intelligent discrimination in dealing with prisoners. The most conspicuous and fatal example of this is the indiscriminate herding of juvenile and adult criminals. It need hardly be said that such methods manufacture criminals more quickly than all other methods can reform them. In 1890, of all the Southern states, only Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia made any state appropriations for juvenile reforma- tories. In '1895 Delaware was added to these, .but Kentucky was missing. We have, therefore: 1895.
1890. $854,581 174,781 New England ……………………… $632,634 33,910 130rder States ……………………… 233,020 Southern States…….. .. …………… 10,498 And this in face of the fact that the South had in 1890 over four thousand prisoners under twenty years of age. In some of the Southern states-notably, Virginia-there are private associations for juvenile reform, acting in cooperation with the state. These have, in some cases, recently received state aid, I believe. In other states, like Georgia, there is permissive legislation for the establishment of iocal reformatories. Little has resulted as yet from this legislation, but it is promising.
I have sought III this paper' to trace roughly the attitude of the South toward crime. There is in that attitude much to condemn, but also something to praise. The tendencies are to-day certainly in the right direction, but there is a long battle to be fought with prejudice and inertia before the South will realize that a black criminal is a human being, to be punished firmly but humanely, with the sole object of making him a safe member of society, and that a white criminal at large is a menace and a danger. The greatest difficulty to-day in the way of reform is this race question. The movement for juvenile reforr~atories in Georgia would have succeeded some years ago, in all probability, had not the argument been used: it is chiefly for the benefit of Negroes. Until the public opinion of the ruling masses of the South can see that the prevention of crime among Negroes is just as necessary, just as profitable, for the whites themselves, as prevention among whites, all true betterment in courts and prisons will be hindered. Above all, we must remember that crime is not normal; that the appearance of crime among Southern Negroes is a symptom of wrong social conditions-of a stress of life greater than a large part of the community can bear. The Negro is not naturally criminal; he is usually patient and law-abiding. If slavery, the convict-lease system, the traffic in criminal labor, the lack of juvenile reformatories, together with the unfortunate discrimination and prejudice in other walks of life, have led to that sort of social protest and revolt which we call crime, then we must look for remedy in the sane reform of these wrong social conditions, and not in intimidation, savagery, or the legalized slavery of men.
CHRISTIAN FORCES AT WORK IN THE 'rURKISH EMPIRE.
BY REV. EDWARD RIGGS, D.D., MARSOVAN, TURKEY.
Missionary of the American Board.
The Turkish empire can in no propel' sense be called a part of Christendom, because it is now the very center and stay of Moham- medanism, and the large majority of its inhabitants are of that faith. But some of its subject races bear the Christian name, and have adhered to that name and form through centuries of trial, with a zeal and firmness which do them credit, and are a standing testimony to the sustaining power and inherent truth of the Christian religion. The number of these Christian inhabitants of the Turkish empire runs up into the millions. 'rhe state of these Christian races at the close of the eighteenth century might well cause us to question whether we could properly call them Uhristian forces, but the nineteenth century has witnessed a wonderful awakening of these races. It is largely the jealousy roused in the hearts of the ruling race of the land by this new life that resulted in the terrible scenes of five years ago, and the similar horrors of twenty-five and seventy-five years ago.
The Turk in many parts of the country is a vine-dresser, and knows that by pruning back the tender twigs of his vines he is going to strengthen them and increase their fruitfulness. He has not asked himself whether the application of the knife to the thrifty growth among his Christian subjects, which he has recently adopted as a means for crushing and humiliating them, may not likewise prove the means rather of ultimately increasing their vitality and growth. At any rate, there is no immediate prospect of the annihilation nor of the dying out of these races. They therefore form an element not to be eliminated from the problems of the future history of that land. Under the most untoward of circumstances they have made a degree of progress which would appear to indicate that with a reasonably fair chance they would make a name and a place for themselves socially and financially, if not politically. Whether they would give the right degree of prominence to educational and spiritual interests without the aid and stimulus of foreign effort is an open question, and is merely a speculative one, for the foreign influence is there, and is destined to bear a part in the shaping of the outcome.
The Christian forces now at work are not at present in any sense arrayed against Mohammedanism. The attitude of the state religion would not tolerate that. During the Crimean War the Turkish government was so deeply indebted to the Christian powers of Western Europe that there came'about a considerable relaxation of the rigidity of this attitude. Religious discussion was very free between Mohammedans and Christians. It was to be heard openly in the marketplaces and on the Bosphorus steamers. Preaching-places were opened
CHRISTIAN FORCES AT WORK IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE
for the presentation of the Gospel to Mohammedans, with some small net results. But this could not long continue, and private persecution was later followed up by an ill-disguised. attitude of fanaticism on the part of the authorities. This spirit 01 haughty intolerance has been steadily growing for a quarter of a century, and renders practically impossible all effort to influence Mohammedans in favor of Christianity. The sphere of activity, then, of the Christian forces in the empire is among the nominal Christians themselves, and their' purpose shoqld be to make these more truly Christian, that when the opportunity for wielding a moral and spiritual influence comes, they may be prepared to use it aright.
The organized Christian forces in the Turkish empire belong to two distinct classes, which may be termed The Older and Retrogressive Elements and The Newer and Progressive Elements. The latter might even be called" regenerative" but for the obscurity of the term. The former might perhaps be called" stationary," but in the most essential points they have lost ground. There is a lower standard of morality and spirituality to-day in the Armenian and Greek churches than there was five hundred years ago, when they came under the power of the 'rurks. That standard was yet higher in the days of Gregory the Illuminator and Chrysostom, and vastly higher still in the isolated and persecuted churches founded by the apostles. The term "retrogressive," then, is not an injustice, and is characteristic, not only of their history, but of their present attitude. They look backward and not forward, and their aims are worldly and selfish as compared with those of the progressive element, which seeks the salvation of souls and the building up of the universal Kingdom of Christ. The older and retrogressive party includes not only the various branches of the Oriental Ohurch, under their traditional administrations, but also those portions of them over which the Church of Rome has acquired dominion. The newer and progressive, beside the native evangelical church organizations, includes the foreign evangelizing agencies which have been instrumental in bringing those churches into being. Some of these elements require individual notice.
I. THE OLDER AND RETROG RESS1YE ELElIENTS.
1. The Oriental Ghurches.-The Turkish empire not only came into possession of the traditional capital of Oriental Ohristianity, but its territory covers all the great historic centers of early Christianity.
(1) The Greek GhU1·ch.-" The Orthodox Christian Church" is the special title claimed with pride and ostentation by the four great branches of the Greek Ohurch-namely, those in Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. 'rhe last named is the only one of these four which has a patriarch at its head. The Greek Church in '['urkey, by its geographical position, holds an unchallenged claim to all that is
thrilling and uplifting in the traditiolis of all the centuries of Chris- tianity in the East. "'ithin her bounds were held those great ecu- llIenical councils which settled for all time the form of some of the profoundest doctrines of the Christian Church. In her great centers of Alexandria and Antioch were established those schools from which went forth the eloquence and the learning that nourished and propa- gated the Church. Her basilicas resounded with the preaching of Chrysostom, the Gregorys, Augustine, Basil, and a host of other noble champions of the faith. Upon her soil was shed the blood of that heroic army of martyrs, from Polycarp down, who sealed their testi- mony with their lives. From her capital went forth those missionaries who carried .the Gospel message to the Goths and other peoples of powerful influence in the savage wilds of Central Europe, as well as . to Abyssinia and other distant lands. Within her territory were made those faithful translations of sacred Scripture into Syriac, Latin, and Armenian, which stand to-day alongside of the most ancient manu~ scripts in the work of correcting our sacred text. It was her monas- teries that preserved to our own day those precious manuscripts themselves. It was on this same soil that the apostles walked to and fro, carrying the glad tidings and laying down their lives in unre- corded martyrdoms, and here are those spots, called sacred by all the world, where our blessed Master passed the days of His humiliation. In a language almost identical with the language of to-day in Con- stantinople and Smyrna were written those wonderful records of Divine thought in human speech.
With a ~istory redolent with such memories, how could a Christian people be other than zealous, devoted, and spiritual? A thorough study of the present condition of this great Church brings a feeling of disappointment on this point. A zeal for their Church they certainly have, but it is as a national organization far more than as a spiritual body. The story of the Greek revolution early in the nineteenth century shows clearly what important service the Church received in securing Greek unity, and hence Greek liberty. The undisciplined patriots were scattered in factions which were sometimes fiercely opposed to each other, and ,it was only the Church which could reconcile and unite them. Around the Church they loyally rallied as the representative of all they were fighting for. And yet very few of them had any adequate idea of what the true Church really signified. The Greeks in Turkey have no present plans for political independence, but their national feelings and their hopes for the future of their people seem to them inseparably bound up with the ecclesiastical organization; hence the strong feeling of antipathy toward any individual who shows any leaning toward laxity in his adhesion to that Church. Those individuals who. by reason of imbibing evangelical sentiments, refuse longer to comply with the formalities of the Orien-
CHRISTIAN FORCES AT WORK IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE
tal Church are at once branded as traitors to the national organization, and are excommunicated and anathematized. Such persons are liable to social ostracism, persecution, and boycott.
Doctrinally, this Church occupies a sort of middle position between an evangelical basis and that of the Romish Church. It has not, like the latter, tied itself up to any such hard and fast list of extreme and polemic doctrines as those of Trent, nor is it willing to submit its traditional tenets to the searching criterion of Scripture. The Greeks have some fine statements of Christian doctrine in the works of the "fathers" and other early writers, but in attempting to amplify those so as to cover the traditions and practises now in vogue, they have eliminated the vigor of the original expressions, and in many cases introduced directly contradictory elements. 'rheir more recent formal statements of doctrine are mostly in the form of catechism, and are rather rambling composites, lacking in homogeneity, and in that bold confidence and directness which can come only from scriptural authority. This weakness of doctrinal statement is one of. the causes of a sad reactionary wave of skepticism and infidelity which has swept through a considerable portion of the Greek Church during I he century just closed. Koraes and his coadjutors a century ago gav~ a tremen- . dous stimulus to the awakening Greek mind, and opened up the treasures of the ancient languages and the possibilities of the modern. But they also let loose upon their young men the floodgates of French skeptical and immoral literature, and modern European science, with its foolish attitude of opposition to revelation, tickled the Oriental mind, and carried away multitudes of the brightest minds,into agnosticism and atheism. j1"inding the very standards of their Church weak and vacillating, and the practise of their leaders contradictory and inconsistent, this awakening body of thinkers fellllaturally into the fashionable current of contempt for religion, and yet continued to maintain its outward forms in order to keep in touch with the conservative and superstitious portion of the community. Thus the stream of life flows on in this communion consisting of two distinct currents which will not mingle, and neither of which has force enough to overcome and control t.he other. '1'he devout and orthodox are mostly ignorant and superstitious, while the more intelligent and educated bring t.he name of t.heir Church into disrepute by their irreligion and often by immorality. Both are equally loyal to the outward name of their Church, and both are equally shy of the plain teachings of an open Gospel.
Ecclesiastically the Greek Church has a thoroughly organize::l hierarchy that controls its affairs with but littlejnterference from the laity. The secular clergy are married men, and hence can hold an honored and respectable place in society. but as a general thing they reflect no glory upon their Church by learning 01' exalted moral
influence. Indeed, the rural clergy are as a dass extremely ignorant, and are repulsively perfunctory in the discharge of their ecclesiastical duties. Their stipends are miserably inadequate, and they are generany compelled to eke out a living by some outside avocation. The monks and higher clergy are liable to all the perils of enforced celibacy, and have the reputation of being selfish, scheming, and unreliable. Among them are men of learning and ability, and they have done important service in the cultivation of Greek language and archrnology.
The liturgy of the Greek Ohurch is burdened with the use of an obsolete dialect, and is rendered still further unintelligible by the nasal drawl of intoning. Thus the idea of getti~g any knowledge or information from the Church service is quite foreign to the thought of the worshipers, and the religions effect has to be made up by the dramatic get-up of the ceremonies, by the glare of tinsel and candle, and by the pervasive odor of incense. The use of solid images, and of crucifixes with the body on them in relief, is strictly prohibited, but the form of the cross is very much in evidence, and painted pictures in the flat Byzantine style are essential to the functions of worship. Each worshiper must kiss one of these and touch his forehead to it on every act of worship, and the sign of the cross has become a habitual charm with which to honor every symbol of religion and ward off every evil. Superstition and heartless extel'llalism mark all their worship.
Such in brief is the Ohurch which sits in the seat of the apostles and the holy fathers. Secularized and corrupted by the vast influx of the heathen element from the time of Constantine, it became an easy prey to Mohammedanism. Crushed and distorted by centuries of oppression and contempt, and driven to the use of every sort of deceit and prevarication in order to avoid annihilation, it has failed of its Divine mission to uplift and spiritualize and sanctify, and has served mainly as a social bond to save its adherents from dropping into the abyss of Mohammedanism. Still, to accomplish this has been no mean undertaking, and we should give ungrudging sympathy to an organization which, in the face of such terrible odds, has stanchly maintained the name and form of the Christian faith through all these centuries.
(2) The Bulgarian Clwrclt.-This is properly only a part of the Greek Church, and has only reccntly assumed a separate organic existence. Its doctrines, its forms, and its practises are identical with those of the Mother Ohurch. Its liturgy, too, is largely the same, except that the old Slavic language takes the place of the old Greek, and serves equally to hide the meaning of the inspired scripture and the beautiful old prayers and songs. The ecclesiastical organization of the Bulgarian OhtHch is essentially the same as that of the Greek
CHRISTIAN FORCES AT WORK IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE
Church in Turkey, the exarch taking the place of the patriarch. Its religious life is perhaps even more superficial than in the Greek Church, the differences mainly corresponding to the contrast in national characteristics, with probably less of avowed skepticism, and more of stolid indifference and deI~se ignorance on the part of the lower classes than among the Greeks. The Bulgarians outnumber the Greeks in Turkey, and yet they have always held a secondary place. This is not only because the Greeks have commanded more wealth and education than the Bulgarians, but their Church is richer in tradition and in location and in external- recognition. Since the separation, the Greek hierarchy has made repeated efforts to assert a sup.,remacy over the Bulgarian Church, but in vain, for the Bulgarian spirit of independence is as strong in ecclesiastical affairs as in political.
The Bulgarian people, tho not originally and ethnologically a Slavonic race, have yet so wholly imbibed the Slavonic spirit and adopted a Slavonic language that they have been admitted to or dragged into the Slav' group of nations, and thus they have long had the sympathy of Russia, and enjoyed very substantial aid from Russia in their struggle for independence. Their present attitude toward Russia, however, is far from one of subserviency, and even savors at times of jealousy and suspicion. Socially and individually the Bulgarians are of a sturdy stock, and they have won the esteem of their European neighbors by a vigorous use of their opportunities. Yet if they persist in refusing to purify and regulate their Church 011 truly evangelical principles the outlook for their moral and religious life will be rather gloomy.
(3) The Armenian Oll1lrch.-Much that has been said of the Greek Church might be repeated verbatim about the Armenians. Their hierarchical system is sommvhat similar to the Greek, culminating in a patriarch residing at Constantinople, but who is himself subordinate to a still higher ecclesiastical figurehead, called Catholicos, who resides at Etchmiadzin, in Russian Armenia, and claims to preside over the Armenian Church in all lands. The local clergy of this communion are not much, if any, above the range of those in the Greek and Bulgarian churches in point of intellectual and spiritual grasp and activity, tho perhaps on the average a little more intelligent. Their liturgy is in the national language, and was ill the vernacular when it was first adopted, but it has remained unchanged from the fifth century, while the language of the people has undergone a gradual and very essential change; hence, the people get very little idea of what is being chanted and intoned in the service from beginning to end. This fact gives the key to their spiritual condition. It is in a state of suspended animation, which for the individual means death. The characteristic symptom of this condition is that they are them-
selves unconscious of it, and to a large extent lacking in desire for anything better. These remarks apply to all these nominally Chris- tian communities. This low spiritual state; of course, gives the tone to their moral con<1ition. , It is perhaps surprising that the amount of flagrant open crime is not greater than it is, but their standard of commercial probity, of domestic purity, and of public dut,y is sadly low. Centuries of oppression by a race of unscrupulous and fanatiqal conquero'rs have driven them to the use of all manner of subterfuge, and this habitual practise of deception has had a most balefnl influ- ence on their spiritual, moral, social, commercial, domestic, and personal character. There is, however, a conserving power in the primitive Rimplicity of Oriental customs, and still more a seasoning grace in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. These have kept.
these people from the lower depths of depravity, and enabled them to live along with an easy-going forbearance toward their neighbors, but with very small interest in anything outside of their own personal advantage.
The geographical distribution of these nationalities is a significant factor in their present condition and fnture history. The Bulgarians occupy some of the best portions of the Balkan Peninsula, and show an inclination to make the best use of their newly acquired advantages for agricultural, industrial, and commercial progress. They are massed together in a compact territOl'y with comparatively' few outsiders living among them, and are united and harmonious.
The location of the Greeks and Armenians is quite different.
Widely scattered, mainly in Asia Minor, among largely preponderating majorities of Mohammedans surrounding them on all sides, they experience all the benefits and disad vantages of constant contact with other races.. The Armenians are found in all the large cities, in very considerable numbers, engaged in trade and as artisans, and in some regions they form also the agricultural class. The Greeks are mostly scattered along the whole seaboard of Asia Minor and Macedonia, employed in maritime and commercial pursuits.
(4) The ilfino1' Gltristian Sects. (a) The Assyrian Ohu1'ch.- This is a name applied to a small community scattered on the mountains of Kurdistan, on the borders of Persia. They are practically one with the Nestorians of the Urumia region, and are a relic of the Monophysite controversy which rent the Eastern Church during the sixth and seventh centnries.
(b) The Jacobites.-Another fragment from the same Monophysite explosion, but numbering more than the so-called Assyrians. They occupy portions of Southern Asia Minor, Northern Syria, and Mes- opotamia. • (c) The Copts.-These are the Christian descendants of the ancient Egyptians. They number about four hundred thousand, and are
OHRISTIAN FOROES AT WORK IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE
among the best of the inhabitants of Egypt, comparing very favorably with the Fellaheen, those of the same race who accepted Mohammed- anism. 1'hey have lost the knowledge of their original language, and have adopted Arabic as their vernacular. The Ooptic, however, is interesting philologically, and the Ooptic version of the Scriptures is useful, as from its antiquity throwing light on the textual questions. The Coptic Ohurch has made much less opposition to evangelical efforts of foreign missionaries than have the other churches of the East.
THE ROMAN CATHOLICS IN TURKEY.
The Romish Ohurch in its interpretation of the name Oatholic sets up a claim to universality, and it has been indefatigable in its .efforts to bring other Christians nnder its sway. While the geograph- ical boundary between the Eastern and the Western Ohurch is pretty clearly drawn, yet within the territory of the Eastern Church the Western has secured a considerable number of adherents. Beside those named below, certain portions of so-called independent national churches in some of the principalities of the Balkan Peninsula were either brought originally into Ohristianity by agents of the Western Ohurch, or have been won over to it by more recent inducements of various sorts.
In all the Oriental branches of the Papal Church important concessions have been made to local prejudice or preference in order to secure consent to the supremacy of the pope, and the name of being attached to that Ohurch. 'fhe principal of these concessions are three-viz., the marriage of the secular clergy, the use of the national language in the liturgy, and the use of both elements in the Lord's Supper. This makes their religion outwardly almost identical with that of the Oriental churches in the same nationalities. In all of both parties there is the same disuse of the Scriptures, devotion to national names and catch-words, dependence on outward rites and formalities, and lack of spiritual piety. The name " United" is prefixed to the national name of those sections of the Oriental churches which are connected with the papal organization, to indicate that relation.
(1) The United Greek Olmrch.-About the middle of the fourteenth century there was a renewal of the struggle over the question of the unity or separation of the Eastern and Western churches, and the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, and when the smoke had cleared away several considerable fragments of the Greek Church were found clinging to the Western organization. They are mostly in European Turkey, or what did belong to Turkey until recently. In faith and practise they scarcely differ from their "Orthodox" brethren, but in ecclesiastical connection they belong to Rome.
(2) Tlte United Armenian Ohurch.-For a time during the fif-
teenth century the entire Armenian Ohurch recognized a sort of union with the Ohurch of Rome, but it w~s not long before they declared their absolute independence, and from the time of the Oouncil of Florence, in 1441, only a small portion of the Ohurch elected to remain in connectIon with Rome. Rome has done enough for them in the way of civilization, and of education, and of political patronage, to secure the continuance of this relation, to the advantage perhaps of both parties, except that these melllbers of the Armenian community are looked upon by their conationalists as traitors to the national cause. 'fhese Catholic Armenians number perhaps about two hundred thonsand, and are mostly dwellers in the large cities of the empire, Oonstantinople, Smyrna, etc., tho Oatholic Armenian villages are found in the interior at various points, as Pirkenik, near Sivas, etc..
(3) The JfaJ'onites.-These are the rugged mountaineers of the Lebanon. Their leading bishop in the fifth century was John Maron, and from him they have their name. The story of how for centuries thfly maintained not only their ecclesiastical but also their political independence, boldly repelling all who sought to invade this Switzerland of Syria, is one of the thrilling romances of history. But toward the middle of the fifteenth century, having joined the cause of the Orusaders, and being tempted by promises of political protection and various other advantages, they gave ill their adhesion to the Ohurch of Rome. Another tragic chapter in their history was when, in 1860, they were assailed by their fierce Mohammedan neighbors' the Druses, and suffered thosernthless mas~acres which stirred all Europe. France, tho not overmuch religious at home, has always proved the loyal champion of the Papal Ohurch abroad, and she earnestly espoused the cause of the persecuted Ohristians of the Lebanon. Since that time, as a result of the demands of Europe, the Lebanon has been ruled by' a Ohristian governor, and the fierce Druses have become peaceable, industrious citizens.
(4) Tile Jesuits.-These are named, not as a sect 01' native Ohristian element, but as a missionary body, seeking by a variety of means to bring individuals and communities into the communion of the Romish Ohurch. 'fhey have a large number of stations scattered in all parts of the country. In the problem of their success much depends on the individual character of the personnel in the different stations. In some the work seems to be scarcely more than stationary, while in others it is prosecuted with mnch ardor. At many points they have gained great influence, and won many permanent adherents through their colleges and other educational establishments. They command large sums of money with which to carryon these institutions. Instruction in the French language is very thorough, and forms a strong attraction to the young men and women of the country, as a knowledge of that tongue is considered the key to political and
IN BLOOD-STAINED ASHANTI LAND
social preferment. Instrumental music is another very popular means for gaining influence, and their bands and orchestras are sometimes quite successful. In other departments of education, however, they are often superficial, and the essential elements of character-building are too much neglected. In general, the course of the members of this frater- nity in the empire has been such as to gain for them the reputation of falsehood and trickery, and their name is often used in conversation as a synonym for hypocrisy and underhanded plotting. Doubtless, some of them are men of talent and erudition, and we would not malign their motives, but the n"et result of their work in the Turkish empire does not appear to conduce much to the spiritual reformation of the people.
(To be concluded.) oTebo -_ o Wangara. – …… .. _- ….- ….. …-………
.A tJ SCALE OF MILES G GU L 50 100 150 200 ASHANTI LAND IN BLOOD-STAINED ASHANTI LAND.
BY REV. JAMES JOHNSTON, A.T.S.
The negro kingd()m of Ashanti in western Africa, now forming a definite part of the British empire, is located inland from the central seaboard of the Gold Coast Colony. It has an area of about thirty thousand square miles, and a population estimated from one million to three million, of whom a fifth are born warriors. The country is
hilly, and well watered by the rivers Volta, Prah, and Assinee, but is none too healthy, especially in the lower alluvial districts. It is covered with dense forests abounding in elephants, boars, gazelles, and other wild beasts.
In the vicinity of the towns the land is fertile and admirably cultivated, producing maize, rice, millet, yams (the staple food), tobacco, sugar, etc. The principal trees are the bamboo, oil-palm, rubber, and plantain. The capital is Kumasi, and the principal towns Kpando, an important trade center on the Volta, with Salaga, containing a population of forty thousand souls.
The exports are palm-oil, gold-dust in abundance, and slaves. The Ashantis are elever in the art of manufacture, their cottons are beautiful, and their work in leather and earthenware is excellent. 'rheir sword-blades indicate traces of earlier :Moorish civilization. With other West African tribes the Ashantis compare favorably: the men are taller and better proportioned than the average negro and the women are by no means unprepossessing.
Unhappily, human sacrifice has been practised in connection with cruel fetish worship, and attended by scenes of hideous, blood-curdling, a!ld revolting carnage. Polygamy, too, has beel! the rule, the last king having no less than three thousand three hundred and thirtythree wives.
In its early days the Ashanti kingdom consisted of sereral tribes, driven southward, hundreds of years ago, by various northern Moslem tribes, the former in their southerly course asserting their sovereignty over the weaker Fantis, who occupied the coast region. During their later conquest of the Fantis they became involved in war with the British (1807-26), and were finally driven from the seacoast.
After a punitive expedition by the British in 1863 stern measnres were again necessary in 1R73, when Sir Garnet Wolseley landed with two thousand five hundred men, forced his way through hordes of aggressive savages, forty thousand strong: captured Kumasi, and afterward committed it to the flames.
Kofi Kari-kari, a savage monarch, renounced his claim to the Gold Coast Colony protectorate and granted various cOllcessions, including the abandonment of the dreadful system of human sacrifices, the victims of which were usually prisoners of war and condemned criminals. The treaty was recklessly violated, and the reign of his successor, the ex-King Prempeh, was even more horrible and bloodthirsty. Prempeh's refusal to fulfil his obligations and his preparations for war determined the British government upon ending his rule.
An expedition in 1895, of which Colonel Baden-Powell was a member, marched to Kumasi, and by a bloodless battle seized Prempeh,who is now an exile in Sierra Leone. In one day, just before the
i901.] IN BLOOD-STAINRD ASHANTI LAND.-
British troops reached the capital, Prempeh had sacrificed four hun- dred human beings in order to make the British advance a failure.
Prempeh's cruelty was inconceivable; the only way in which this barbarous ruler displayed any ingenuity was in torturing his sub- jects by nameless methods. It was in this campaign that Prince Henry of Battenberg, a son-in-law of Queen Victoria, fell a victim to malarial fever.
By treaty and annexation England came into possession of terri- tory in the Gold Coast region extending five hundred miles inland.
Again, in 1900, the Ashantis made a struggle to throw off the Brit- ish yoke, due incidentally to the attempt of the British to seize the Golden Stool-the emblem of Ashanti nationality-but mainly to the imposition of the hut tax, and the incitement of. the fetish priests against civilized government in any form.
The garrison in Kumasi, numbering some three hundred and fifty- eight persons, eighteen of whom were Europeans, including the governor (Sir H. Hodgson), Lady Hodgson, and six missionaries with native agents, was attacked by at least ten thousand infuriated Ashanti warriors, who, had they been provided with rifles, would speedily have annihilated the little force of defenders. By sheer British pluck and strategy the savages were outwitted until the arrival of the black Hausa regiments, led by Col. Sir James Willcocks, who suppressed the rebellion.
Among the Ashantis the principal racial characteristic is an insane passion for the shedding of human blood. Their indifference to life and suffering is appalJing. For ages the most fiendish massacres have been perpetrated, and slavery, with its nameless atrocities, carried on.
When the war _drums, varnished with human blood and decked with human bones, are sounded, neither,age nor sex is spared ill the "dance of death." Even at festivals in times of peace the ferocious thirst for blood seeks satisfaction. The death of a king has always .been marked by a wholesale butchery of victims, on the assumption that a chief's rank in the next world depends on the number of followers he can claim there. 0ne of the streets of Kumasi, says Reclus, the celebrated geographer, was called" Never dry of blood," and the very name of the city meant" Kill them al1."
For the reclamation of the Ashanti savages the English Methodists opened a station in Ashanti territory nearly fifty years ago. As might have been supposed, the king and the fetish doctors drove them out and destroyed their buildings. They have since returned, and, despite this early reverse, coupled with a deadly malarious climate and frequent tribal uprisings, the work has been full of promise and civilizing progress. In this heroic enterprise the Rev. J. T. F. Halligey was signally identified some years back, while in 1900, when the Basel and Methodist missionaries were besieged in Kumasi, one hundred and
twenty miles north of Oape Ooast Oastle, the Rev. Thomas Morris, of the latter society, and his native agents were of the number. This missionary reported that, previous to the rising, thousands of natives were flocking to the Uhristian services, and bright results were every day more apparent.
The famous Basel Evangelical Mission was planted on the Gold Ooast and in Ashanti in 1828, its subsequent noble history being specially associated with the names of Riis, Zimmermann, Ohristaller, and others, founders of stations and translators of many valuable works in the native dialects.
In more recent years the mission has been conspicuously represented by the Rev. Fritz Ramseyer, for thirty-seven years a missionary on the Gold Ooast, of which thirty years have been spent in Ashanti proper. According to the principles of the Basel Industrial Mission, Mr. Ramseyer, in evangelizing the natives, has combined the teaching of religion with the acquirement of some handicraft, in order to make the best of the native, and to make the native the best for his own country. This plan of civilizing influence was bearing remarkable fruit when the disaster last year occurred. So long ago as 1869 he and his mission station were raided by warriors of King Kofi Karikari; Mr. Ramseyer and his devoted partner were carried off prisoners to Kumasi. Four years and seven months they were kept in captivity until, in 1874, relief came through the British soldiers under Sir Garnet (now Lord) Wolseley.
Twenty years strenuous and fruitful toil succeeded at Abetifi, when the undaunted pair, four years since, went again to Kumasi, to reestablish themselves in a prosperous work. In 1900 came the rebellion and their investment in the Kumasi fort for nearly eight weeks. Notwithstanding their extraordinary perils in Kumasi-their rescue by the relief column, the destruction of their mission station and loss of personal effects, their flight to the coast and suffering terrible privations, benighted in the forest depths and mourning the loss of their child-Mr. and Mrs. Ramseyer are sanguine of resuming their task when funds have been secured. Mr. Ramseyer, hale, hearty, and vigorous, Lelieves that Ashanti has a great future under a settled government. The Ashanti chiefs were accustomed to say to him that they would revolt once for all, and, if beaten, "their submission wOlllrl be true submission."
The now historic Golden Stool, held in deep reverence and whose whereabouts has been a mystery, was last removed by two chiefs and two slaves who had charge of it, the latter burying it and being killed as soon as they had completed their task. The secret was then left with the two chiefs, both of whom, however, lost their lives in the recent campaign. Some of the English officers serving on the Gold Ooast are said to have a good idea where the famous stool lies buried,
IN BJ"OOD-STAINED ASBANTI LAND
and an organized attempt is to be made to recover it. This royal relic consists of a wooden frame with gold plates rendered black by human blood, for every time sacrifices were made it was dipped in blood. The stool was more than one hundred years old, and when repairs had been necessary these had been carried out by affixing strips of gold, with which the stool was now nearly covered, while there was also upon it two chains of massive gold. The king, at his coronation,sat on the Golden Stool at the great festival, bu t only for a few minu tes, and that was the only time 'in his life. The stool was the emblem of power and loyalty, and doubtless, after some years of A SCENE IN THE MISSION COMPOUND. KUMASI, ASHANTI LAND.
firm and patient government, the Ashantis.will think no more of the Golden Stool.
The future of Ashanti has many encouraging signs. Within the last ten years trade has trebled, and, by the clearing of once impenetrable forests, and also the anticipated completion of the railway from Sekondi via Tarkwa to Kumasi, to be opened by March, 1903, colonization is making rapid strides and doing much to render this part of .the ,African continent, once" the white man's grave/' more secure and habitable. Already slavery has been prohibited, barbarous customs and human sacrifices have been largely abolished, and, by pacific government, a new era is in store for the gold country when its enormous resources are more fully developed.
No less gratifying is it that the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has lately achieved a triumph in the medical investigation of the
causes of malarial fever, transmitted by the mosqnitos, hitherto a source of very regrettable mortality. Fortunately, when the swampy country near the coast is passed, the climate in the interior is much better, and the conditions of existence in Kumasi, save for the presence of black-water fever, are improving each year.
Every good wish will accompany Mr. and Mrs. Ramseyer on their return to the heart of Ashanti land in the prosecution of their laborious calling to ameliorate, by the union of industrial training and religious instruction, the mental and spiritual lot of the dark races in that vast region of West Africa.
SELF-DESTRUOTION .IN JAPAN.
BY J. H. DEFOREST, SENDAI, JAPAN.
Missionary of the American Board.
Everybody knows that Japanese history lbounds in stories of haralciri, and as the word has gained entrance into our English dictionaries there is no need of an explanation other than to say that this method of dying was considered most honorable. The good effects of haralciri on the military and chivalrous spirit of the Japanese are not lightly to be passed by. A noble fearlessness of death was thus inculcated, which was felt chiefly among the warrior class. but was apparent among the 'common people also.
Even boys and girls became infected with this unflinching purpose to die rather than to suffer what was considered dishonor. Among my pictures I have a very vivid one of seventeen boys, averaging sixteen years of age, committing haralciri after the battle of Wakamatsu, thirtyfour years ago. They fought fearlessly 'by the side of their parents, and when defeat came they would not survive the brave dead. I have often talked with the men of those times, and heard how the old men, women, and children quietly carried out this self-destruction as soon as the news of defeat reached them. Whole families were thus swept out of existence. Women and children would kneel in a line on the mats, say good-by to each other, and then the grandfather, smothering his grief, would drop their heads one by one with his sword, and end himself by haralciri.
To understand Japanese history and the sword-to-sword battles thereof, one must add to the bloody victories the after self-destruction of large numbers who would not survive defeat. While writing this my eyes happened to rest on a Japanese newspaper having an article on " Harakiri." It gives two instances of terrible self-slaughter after defeat. In one some five hundred warriors commit haralciri; and in the other over six thousand perish by their own hands.
With this spirit affecting all strata of society, it is not so much to
SELF-DESTRUCTION IN JAPAN
be wondered at that the women of Japan figure more largely among suicides than do the women of any other land where statistics are taken. Out of a hundred, thirty-eight are women. I shall not go into the various causes of this now, but will refer to something quite foreign to our civilization-the joshi, or the dying together of lovers.
This is wholly the result of the system of public prostitution. Poor parents sell their daughters to these places for a term of years. Some go from a sense of duty, hoping to help support their aged parents, and looking forward also to a match with some sympathetic visitor who wiII assume the financial burdens of the girl. But always the debts are so managed that few girls escape on the expiration of their contracts. This hopeless condition often leads to self-destruction.
The evil houses of Sendai have within two months furnished the public with five cases of Joshi. In one of these a sergeant in the army here fell in love with one of these girls, whom he visited for three years. The attachment was mutual, and they longed to marry. But three years of this life brought the sergeant to financial and moral ruin. The girl saw no hope of being bought out of her virtual imprisonment, where she had contracted debts to the amount of over a hundred dollars. She could not become the sergeant's wife, so she suggested mutual self-destruction. He resisted for a while, but was overcome by her persistent urging and consented to die with her.
Even matters of this sort are attended with certain formalities, one of which is leaving a letter of explanation for relatives or others concerned. It is sad reading, this letter of the girl telling of her unworthy life and loss of hope. The shorter letter of the soldier confesses his failure in life, and says that, being a soldier, he should naturally die by harakiri, but as the girl is so eager to die with him, he has consented to die as she does, with poison.
My morning paper has just come in with another Joshi story. It seems that a young man from the country entered the service of a merchant here for twenty cents a day, and won the confidence of his master by his fidelity. But a companion led him off one night for a frolic, and from that time he went the downward path. He formed an attachment for one of the public girls and contracted debts to such an extent that his employer discharged him. When lie told her of his hopeless future, she eagerly replied that she too was deep in debt and could never become his wife. "So let us die together," she urged, and he consented. They escaped from the premises unobserved, went to the high precipice overhanging the river, tied themselves together, and jumped into the rocky bed sixty feet below.
Her letter of regret to her parents was as fallows: "Father and Mother, parents dear-My life-long desire has been for you, to whom I send this note of regret. Believing it was for your sake, I sunk my body in this pleasure-house, and among my many
visitors was one . . . We became perfectly open-hearted with each other in firm friendship. But no matter how long we live in this world, my useless body is drawn by an unfeeling fate, and I have decided to die. Dear family, father and motileI', I write this word of sorrow. Please bury this dead body. I have mountains of requests to make, but in my haste I must omit them. Be resigned to my fate."
Thus death is the retreat of men of honor, and also of those whose hope in this life is destroyed.. 'fhe old thought still lingers that selfdestruction is the only honorable course left after wrong-doing. To this day it is commanded by fathers when their children bring disgrace upon the family.. I know a young lady who has recently received a dirk from her father with the message that her action has brought immense shame on him and on the family, which death alone can wipe out. I know a young man whose disregard of his father's wishes led the enraged parent to send him the message that one death would not suffice to save the family from shame-it would take both the father's and the son's.
With the Hew liberty which the recent laws give young men and women, with the larger recognition of their rights, and with the optimism of a Ohristian philosophy, there will disappear from Japanese life much of the pessimism that poisons the mind, and the low estimate of life will give place to belief in its sacredness. And the nobler virtues of the Japanese family that dread shame and prize honor will be purified and enriched in the faith in the living God and loving Father 'of us all.
DID THE BOXER MOVEMENT HELP OR HUR'l' OHINA:'
BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
It is often of great help in judging of the drift of great events to learn what the impression made on persons of average intelligence disconnected with the prime movers is. Such impressions may be but "straws," as in a political campaign, but they are nevertheless interesting under the conditions. It is an item of some entertainment at least, possibly of some importance, that comes through the secular press of the Far East, that a debate should have occurred in the Young Men's Ohristian Association, at Shanghai, Ohina, in May of the present year. It was only a debate after the fashion of the old New England debating society, with judges to render a verdict according to the argument, but that itself is a fact of interest as an innovation in the conservatism of the East, and it was in English.
The judges were Rev. Donald McGillivray, M.A., B.D.; Wong Kai Kah (Yale University), and S. C. New (Philipps Exeter). They awarded the strength of the argument to the negaHve party in the discussion of the resolution, "that the Boxer uprising will be for the ultimate good of Ohina."
DID THE BOXER MOVEMENT HELP OR gURT CgINA? '(63
The party maintaining the affirmative were Messrs. H. C. Tan, Tien tsin University; N. Y. Chang, Queen's College, Hongkong, and G. H. Bell, another college, U. S. A. The opposition was composed of Messrs. Theo. Wong, University of Virginia; S. L. Fong, Gov- ernment Translation Bureau, and W. W. Yen, University of Virginia.. They had all engaged in business and professional life, and their arguments represent the progressive nature of young China's thoughts.
The contention is, summarized by the Union, as follows: The affirmative claimed: 1. "Reform always comes through upheaval." The history of France, Japan, and England has proved this point.
2. The Boxer uprising "has caused a wonderful stimulus to public opinion," which makes for good government.
3. The Boxers themselves, "tho entirely fanatical, yet demonstrated that the Chinese are patriotic." Sir Robert Hart was cited to prove this.
4. And the fact is also noted that tho the Russo-Chinese convention grew out of the Boxer uprising, yet that "the patriotism of the Chinese was therefore aroused· and was so strong as to force the hand of the Manchus." This was good out of evil.
5. The Boxer uprising has for good and all "convinced the Manchus of the foolishness of their foreign exclusion policy."
6. The uprising has demonstrated" that the Chinese Christians have the martyr spirit, and that the hearts of the people are not dead."
7. The overthrow of Eoxerdom has given a great blow to superstition. S. "The Conservatives have been crushed." 9. The war has brought the other nations closer together in suppressing a common danger, and has therefore had "It unifying effect on the world."
Th9 speakers on the negative side argued: 1. "China has already lost her independence. Her foreign relations, the policing of her capital, hel:' customs and her financial system are now dictated by foreigners. Officials are put down and up as the foreigners direct. She is only nominally independent. If the loss of independence is a benefit, then the Boxer uprising has been a benefit. but not otherwise."
2. The Boxer uprising" is only the beginning of like troubles." 3. One result of the Boxer uprising is "the certain increase of taxation to a point such as the Chinese have never known before." 4. The Boxer uprising has given Russia just the pretext she wanted to seize Manchuria. "She will never restore Manchuria." 5. "The moral effect of this bloodthirsty War, the object-lesson of Western troops descending to barbarism, will take years to eradicate among us Chinese." 6. Another detrimental result was brought forward-namely, thf' I:'evulsion of feeling now felt all over the world against Chinese. 7. The barbarities of the foreign troops have led many progressivf' northern Chinese "to hate foreigners, excepting the Japanese. The native newspapers are constantly praising the Japanese." S. Tho the Yangtse Viceroys undoubtedly did a wise thing in
breaking with the northern Conservatives, yet the result has been the making of two parties, the northern party and the southern party. If any nation desires to secure North China, she undoubtedly will playoff one of the parties against the other.
9. The missionary problem is now much more complicated. 10. The court, instead of being led to adopt reform measures, has given evidence by recent appointments that it is as conservative as ever.
The negative held that for these and other reasons the Boxer uprising was not for the ultimate good of China, and the judge>! decided in their favor, after long deliberation.
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
BY REV. G. S. MINER, FUCHAU, CHINA.
lIIethodist Episcopal lIIission.
During the past year or more China and the Chinese have been before the reading public of Christendom as never before. Probably the world to-day knows ten times as much about the "Celestials" as it did twelve months ago. Enough has been written about "the situation in China," and kindred topics, to fill many large volumes. Almost every question that relates to this nation has been before the people except the" educational," yet no persons put a higher estimate upon an education than the Chinese do, and a 8chol/1r commands greater respect in no other nation.
For more than three thousand years China has had a written language. The writings of Confucius, which have done more to influence the people of this empire than those of all other writers put together, date back about five hundred years before Christ. Most of the textbooks used in the schools to-day were written more than twenty centuries ago, and the same influences and teachings which governed the mind then control it to-day. This being the case, and the aversion which the Chinese have for chnnging the old for the new being so strong, it is with the greatest difficulty that this people are influenced to change their mode of living, system of education, and religious belief.
There is no "pnblic school system" in this empire. Only the "well-to-do" or wealthy have the advantages of an education, unless the missionaries, or generous Chinese, open schools in behalf of the masses. There are a few native charity schools, but only a few. The Chinese boy starts to school when about six years of age. A fortuneteller is called, and after ascertaining the boy's age and date of birth, he fixes the day upon which he is to start on his educational career. On the lucky day, appointed by the wise man, the boy, dressed in his best, with hair neatly combed and. head smoothly shaved, presents himself to the teacher, gives him a small present, bows his head to the floor three times, thereby signifying that he is willing to obey his
l!lDUCATION IN CHINA
commands. (The Ohinese recognize three great superiors-the emperor, the parents, and the teacher.) He next does reverence to, and burns incense before, the tablet whi~h has the name of the sage Oonfucius written upon it. .
The school is generally held in the central room of a d welling- house; sometimes a side room or temple is used. Its walls are usually decorated 'with scrolls on which are pictures and ancient sages' wri- tings. The furniture consists of anum bel' of little tables and stools for the pupils, and a large table and chair for the teacher. On each small table is an ink-stone and little brush that is used as a pen. On the teacher's table are books, inkstone, pens, a flat bamboo stick, and the indispensable pipe. There are no stated hours for opening and closing the school; the pu pils who can, come early and stay late, others may be iu school only one-half of the day; consequently they are not organized into classes, but a lesson is assigned each individual pupil and they are allowed to advance as rapidly as they can. Their books are printed from boards on which the characters have been cut.
There is no alphabet in the Ohinese language, but two hundred and fourteen radicals or root characters, which enter into the formation of all the other characters, each of which represents a word. The characters are written one beneath another in columns and are read from top down, and the columlls are read from the right to the left.
The number of words in the language is about forty thousand, but only a small part of these are known to any but the literati. 'I.'he first sentence in the Ohinese boy's primer runs as follows: "Men at their birth are by nature radically good." The importance of study is then enlarged upon, and a sentence occurs to this effect: "To educate without severity shows a teacher's indolence." The bamboo stick, which is frequently used, is a proof that this maxim of the sages of.
old commends itself to the teachers of the present day. The boy nex't learns that there are three great powers-heaven, earth, and man; and three great lights-sun, moon, and stars. They further read that rice, miTIet, wheat, rye, and barley are the five kinds of grain on which man subsists. Various other matters of a similar kind are touched upon, followed by a summary of Ohinese history. Afterward the examples of sages and prodigies of antiquity are commended to the yonthful pupil. Many examples of bigotry, superstition, and devotion to literature are indelibly impressed upon the scholar's memory. They are also taught to despise foreigners, and that Ohina is the only great nation of the earth. Fung-shui and filial piety are taught with great emphasis and bind them with an iron coil.. There is little doubt that the instances recorded in " Twenty-four Examples of Filial Piety" (a small text-book illustrated with woodcuts, and accepted as historical facts) have greatly influenced Ohiua's rising generations. A favorite proverb teaches that "Of the hundred virtues the chief is filial piety," and no other virtue is so constantly instilled into the children's minds.
Chinese education is not a "drawing out;" it is a " cram-cram." It consists chiefly in being able to repeat verbatim the sayings and writings of ancient tlages. 'l'housands of young men in China can for days repeat the sayings of Oonfucius and Mencius. Suppose a young man in-America siJould discard all writings except the Greek and Latin, and should spend fifteen or twenty years in committing to memory the sayings of these authors, would we call him educated? He would be " educated" as thousands of the Ohinese are. And then, also, the language of the Ohinese sages, when read to the common people, is not understood, unless the reader explains the text as he reads (and often he himself does not understand it), any more than an English audience would understand an orator if he should repeat one of Cicero's ora- tions without comment. After studying ten or fifteen years, Ohinese students enter the annual examinations held under the auspices of the government. On the appointed day they present themselves to the literary chancellor, and are assigned a subject upon which they are to write an essay. 1'hey are then conducted to a small room, placed under guard, and not allowed to communicate with any one until they have finished writing. Probably about one in a hundred passes at each examination and receives the degree of "Siu-tsai" (A.B.). Altho unsuccessful at first, candidates annually attend the examinations until they either attain the honor or die in the attempt. A" Siu-tsai" can attend an examination and secure the degree of "Chu-jen" (A.M.). A" Ohu-jen" can attend an examination and receive the degree of "Oheng-shih" (LL.D.). Men with these degrees possess official prestige and power. They can go directly into the presence of certain officials. and their letters and petitions command special attention. In fact, degree-men are the representati ves of their relatives and friends on nearly all legal and political questions. They can, by paying certain sums of money, become" mandarins" and candidates for office. It is also considered a great honor to obtain a degree, and when a graduate adorns himself in classic robes and calls upon his friends, they make him presents, give him feasts, and show him great respect. This, in brief, is a sketch of the student class which constitutes about fifteen per cent: of the male population of Ohina. Not more than one per cent. of the women can read. The masses of the people of this great empire live and die without the benefits of an education. Here is where the energies of the missionaries are applied. 1'hey instil intellectual and religious truths into the minds of this poor ignorant people, and teach them of a higher and happier life. The fact is, the great majority of the people in Ohina are too poor to pay the teacher's full salary, and, consequently, unless aided, can never obtain an education.
For more than fifty years the Ohristian Ohurch has been laboring to elevate the people of this part of the Flowery Kingdom. Olose attention has been given to the subject of education, and a system as near like that in the United States as possible has been adopted. Our day-schools convene in rooms similar to those described above, save that they are decorated with Christian pictures and mottoes, instead of those of the sages. This is one use made of the "Bereau Leaf Oluster" pictures sent by kind friends. There is but little difficulty in opening day-schools, as every Ohinese considers it an honor to be able to read; the trouble is to keep the pu pils until they have finished the studies. You know how it is in the United States; the
EDUCATION IN CHINA
lower classes in an educational institution are generally three or four times as large as the higher ones, and if this be true in a country that prides itself on its educational acquirements, what must we expect in a heathen land where a majority of the people live" from hand to mouth," maintaining a constant" struggle for existence."
The plan for opening day-schools here in the Fuchau Mission is as follows: We call them "special gift schools" because the" grant- in-aid" is furnished by special contributors, and not by the mission- ary society. 'reachers or persons who wish our aid in promoting a Ohristian school first visit the pastor on whose circuit or station the schools are to be located. If his consent and recommendation are obtained, they come for my approval. After an examination as to the general fitness and qualifications of the teacher to be employed, and the object the people have in asking for a school, it may be opened. The teacher and the pastor then decide on a room (the teacher and patrons paying the rent), and post a notice inviting the scholars of that community to attend the school. If twenty or so apply, the school is opened on or about the twentieth of the Ohinese first month. For these "special gift schools" we have prescribed a four years' course of study, one-half of which consists of books prepared by missionaries, and the other half are carefully selected books of the sages, which all Ohinese must know in order to be considered educated. These books are regarded by the natives as Greek and Latin are by us, and they really are to the Ohinese spoken language what the Greek and Latin is to the English language. Beside the studies that are purely Ohristian, geography, history, and astronomy are taught. The books prepared by the missionaries and all of our Ohristian newspapers and tracts are printed on modern presses. 'rhe schools are examined quarterly by the missionary, presiding elder, or pastor, as circumstances allow. At these examinations each pupil who passes receives a picture-card that some kind American boy or girl has sent for this purpose. I have sixteen colporteurs under my supervision, and their work is so divided that each school receives a visit from one of them at least once a month, and they report the condition in which they find the schools. The pupils generally buy their books from the colporteurs; they are not furnished to them free. The pastors are also required to visit the schools of their respective charges once a week, give religious instruction, and render to me a written report. Myself and the other missionaries visit the schools as often as our other duties will allow. From these day-schools the pupils go to the boarding or high schools, pursue a five years' course of study, which consists of Ohinese classics, mathematics, history, science, and books on the Bible. From these high-schools the pupils can enter either the college or the theological seminary. The studies in these two latter institutions are nearly similar to those pursued in like-named schools in the home land. The teachers in the " special gift schools" are all natives, but in the other schools the missionaries teach as much as time will allow, and employ natives to teach the remaining classes. So far as possible only Ohristian teachers are employed, bnt in a very few instances where the school is ullder the direct oversight of a missionary, or a careful pastor, a non-Christian teacher is employed, but never a heathen. As far as possible we secure teachers from graduates of our own schools, but when this supply is exhausted we take the best men we can secure elsewhere, pre-
scribe a four years' course of study for them to pursue, require them to attend institutes and other educational meetings, and thus prepare them for the work.
The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society's workers are ed ucating the girls and women of China as efficiently as the plant above described does the boys and young men. A young girl may attend a boys' school if she has a brother attending or if a relative is teacher, consequently a goodly number of girls where there are no girls' schools, attend the "special gift schools." But the woman's society has schools in which they not only teach nearly all the branches that are taught in the above-named schools, but, in addition, vocal and instrumental music. The teachers, Biblewomen, and physicians they send forth into the work are a great credit to all concerned.
To show that the educational plant in Fuchau is in a prosperous condition, let me refer to a few facts. '1'he statistics of the Fllchau Annual Conference for 1889 show the following number of pupil.;: Day-schools, 442; boarding-schools, 24; theological seminary, 25; Anglo-Chinese College, 104; while in 1899 there were 5,382, 138, 29, and 303 respectively. Toward the support of these schools the scholars in 1899 contributed $3,998.00. The balance needed in carrying on the work was paid by the missionary society and friends who have sent me "special gifts." For six years my time was divided in superintending "special gift schools" and teaching in the Anglo-Chinese College, but during the past two years the former has demanded all my time. That our work is approved by the Chinese is proven by the fact that not long since a large dormitory, that will accommodate about one hundred students, was built by the Chinese for the college, and the Fuchau officials issued a very complimentary proclamation concerning the" special gift schools." The demand for education is greater than we have power to supply. All of our schools are full and many seeking admission have been turned away. I have refused applications for more than thirty "special gift schools." China is moving, or, as some may think, is being moved in such a way that never before in the world's history, barring the check of the Boxers, were there such opportunities for the Church, educators, manufacturers, and promoters of commerce. Leading men of the empire are losing faith in the old musty form of religion and are seekillg for the truth. They are gradually realizing that the ancient writings will not suffice for the present progressive age, and are seeking for education of a more modern character. They are understanding that their waterways, fertile valleys and plains, mountains of mineral wealth, must be utilized and developed.
THE FIRST GENERAL COUNCIL ON BIBLE STUDY AND FOREIGN MISSIONS.
BY REV. C. C. CREEGAN, NEW YORK.
A unique and inspiring conference composed of more than two hundred friends of foreign missions-more than half of them mel1representing more than one hundred churches and eighteen states, was held at Silver Bay, on the shores of the beautiful amI historic Lake George, from July 6th to 15th, inclusive. The idea of spending eight days in a careful study of the great needs of the heathen world and
FIRST CUUNCIL ON BIBLE STUDY AND FOREIGN MISSIONS
better methods for the forward movement in the work originated with Mr. Luther D. Wishard, who, perhaps, has addressed more students during the last twenty years than any other man living. Mr. Wishard, who now has charge of the Forward Movement of the American Board, was ably supported by the advisory committee having that work in charge, and of which Lucien O. Warner is chairman.
The success of the council was also largely due to the hearty cooperation of Mr. Silas H. Paine, of New York, who placed his large and splendidly equipped hotel at the disposal of the committee at remarkably low rates. Mr. Paine is a high authority on hymnology, and during his study of this subject he has gathered five thousand volumes, which have recently been presented to Hartford Seminary.
There was a minimum of speechmaking and a maximum of note- taking at this council. The first hour of the morning session was occupied by Prof. E. I. Bosworth, of Oberlin Oollege, who greatly instructed his hearers by his lectures upon the "Teachings of Jesus which hear upon the Kingdom of God and its Extension." These lectures, which gave so fully and lucidly the teaching of the New Testament concerning the kingdom, furnished the educational quality which the council needed, and produced a profound impression npon all who were present. Following the instruction of Professor Bos- worth was a round-table conference conducted jointly by Rev. Harlan P. Beach and Mr. Luther D. Wishard, in which the best methods for developing interest in the missionary cause were fully discussed.
Among the points emphasized were: A Study Olass; 'Up-to-date Literature; The Missionary Meeting; The Question of Money and Missionary Societies (especially for men) in the local churches. At the close of these lectures an open parliament was held which brought out many timely suggestions from members of the council, not a few of whom were experts upon the subject of missions.
The afternoons were left open for sports of various kinds and for excursions upon the lake or among the mountains. It was worth a long journey to see grave doctors of divinity and missionary secre- taries and business men, who had not taken part in athletics for twenty-five years, joining with enthusiasm in contests with their sons and daughters in baseball, tennis, golf, n"t to speak of swimming, bathing, and other sports.
'rhe evening services were more formal, but none the less instruc- tive and popular. Among the speakers were: Dr. Oharles H. Daniels, of Boston; Dr. H. A. Stimson, of New York; Dr. J. H. Selden, of Green- wich, Oonn.; Dr. Doremus Scudder, of Woburn, Mass.; Dr. J. Douglas Adam, of Brooklyn; Dr. O. O. Oreegan, of New York; and Mr. J. Oamp- bell White, of Oalcutta. The home missionary problem in its various aspects was eloquently presented by Rev. Washington Ohoate, D.D., of New York, and President F. G. Woodworth, of Tougaloo University.
So great was the enthusiam of those who shared in this delightful and spiritual council that it was decided to hold another at the same place next year, and it is the hope and expectation of those who are at the head of the movement that similar gatherings may also be held at Lake Geneva and elsewhere. Never before has such a gathering been held, but we hope that the day is not far distant when the workers will assemble, either as denominations or in union rallies, at many points in the land, and by inspiring addresses and a careful study of the ways and means help to reduce the subject of missions to a ecience. –
PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN GREECE.* A few years prior to the revolution of 1821-29 the Church MIssion- ary Society had attempted some work in the Ionian Islands, but no effort was made on the mainland of Greece. During the latter part of the war for independence, in 1828, the Rev. Jonas King was sent by a society of ladies in New York with material relief for the suffering Greeks, impoverished by their long struggle with the Turk. Dr. King was essentially a missionary, and preached the Gospel and distributed the Scriptures while ministering to bodily needs. In 1830 he regularly entered the service of the American Board, and remained in that service nearly forty years, till his death in Athens in 1869.
About the time of his going to Greece the Episcopal Church in America sent the Rev. Dr. J. H. Hill and Rev. J. J. Robertson as mis- sionaries to Greece, but as their instructions forbade them antagonizing the orthodox Greek Church, or making proselytes from it, their work really never became a missionary work, and during his long and memor- able career Dr. Hill was known almost exclusively as an educator. He died in Athens in 1882, in the ninetieth year of his age. The fine girls'
school still conducted in Athens by Misses Muir and Masson is the con- tinuation of Dr. Hill's lifelong work.
In 1836 the American Baptist Union established a mission in Greece, "
which, with very small results, was continued for about tWEnty years, being given up in 1856. This union resumed its work through native agents in 1871, but after much discouragement finally abandoned its work in Greece altogether in 1887.
In the early days the Presbyterians of America prosecuted their foreign work through the American Board, and most of the distinguished pioneers from the southern wing of the Church were sent out by that board. In 1834 it sent out the Rev. Samuel R. Houston and his wife, from the synod of Virginia. In January, 1837, the Rev. G. W. Leyburn and his wife, also from Virginia, were sent out to reinforce the Greek "mission. "
In the early summer of 1837 Messrs. Houston and Leyburn opened a new station at Areopolis, near ancient Sparta, in Lacedamonia. At first they were most enthusiastically welcomed, and the mission promised well; but soon the priests and high officials became jealous and began to stir up opposition, which soon took a political turn. Church and State were practically one with the Greeks, who at first, after achieving their independence, were seemingly full of gratitude to all Americans. But "Joseph" was soon forgotten, and the government, under the influence of the hierarchy, began a system of persecution which eventually closed this mission. Messrs. Houston and Leyburn continued their labors till December, 1841, when before the gathering opposition they were obliged to retire to Athens, and eventually to their native land. Dr. King alone remained, and through more than twenty years of stormy scenes, some- times leading to banishment and imprisonment, continued his testimony for the faith.
With the exception of Dr. King's heroic witness and the small, inter- mittent work of the Baptist Union, there was a long gap in foreign effort for the evangelization of Greece (from 1843 to 1873, a period of thirty years), when the Southern Presbyterian Church took up the work• • Condensed from The Missionm"y, Nashville, Tenn.
GIRL SLAVERY IN CHINA
During the brief sojourn of Messrs. Houston and Leyburn in ancient Sparta they had among the pupils of their "Lancasterian school" a certain Spartan lad nam.ed Kalopothakes, whose first impressions of saving truth were received from these honored Virginia missionaries. After their retirement this young man went to Athens, and there'became the faithful and efficient helper of Dr. King. He rendered notable service in pditing at Athens for nearly thirty years the only evangelical paper published in Greece-The Star of the East. Meanwhile, Kalopothakes had pursued a course of study in the Union Theological Seminary of New York, and in 1864 became a member of the Presbytery of East Hanover. The New School Synod of Virginia adopted him as her missionary in Greece, continuing to support him there as such till the breaking out of the Civil War. During the war it was impossible for the synod to forward its contributions, and the Foreign Christian Union assumed the support of the little Greek mission until it (the Foreign Union) went out of existence in 1873. The assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church met that year in Little Rock, and the Committee of Foreign Missions formally took under its care the work of Dr. Kalopothakes and his associates, but no foreign missionaries were sent to this field till 1875, when, on the 25th of March, the Rev. and Mrs. G. W. Leyburn and Rev. G. W. Leyburn (their son) and his wife sailed for Greece.
In 1891 the Presbyterian Church withdrew from the Greek field, leaving the work entirely in the hands of the native church, now organized and known as the" Evangelical Church of Greece."
This was the last effort of any Protestant church toward foreign missionary work in Greece. The native Evangelical Church now has entire charge of the field, with churches in Athens, Salonica, Volos, the Pirreus, Yanina, and other places. The territory embraced by the synod includes Greece proper, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus.
For many years the British and Foreign Bible Society has done a good work in Greece, Dr. Kalopothakes having been their agent from 1859 up to the present time (1901). In 1859 he had just returned from his theological studies in ~merica and was launching The Stm' of the Eaf~t.
GIRL SLAVERY IN CHINA. * BY DR IDA KAHN,t KIUKIANG, CHINA.
Slavery exists in China to an appalling extent. So far as my observation goes, the girls of China furnish the victims and the boys but very seldom. Their cry is suppressed until it is only a groan, or it would be heard from the millions of oppressed ones throughout the length and breadth of this land.
True, the little slaves are not often obtruded upon your notice. You lllay gaze up and down all the streets without seeing one. Should you chance to be waited upon by one in a wealthy friend's home your mental. reservation might be that the poor girl had fallen upon rather easy lines. However, come with me to the back streets and alleys, and you will see everywhere the patient little ones toiling with all their might-at least, with all the might their mistresses can succeed in getting from them-at • From China's Mtlltons. t Dr. Kahn was one of the first two Chinese young women to receive an education outside Qt their Ilative country. She was graduated from the Medical School at Ann Arbor, Mich.
their daily tasks of sweeping, washing, scouring, and what not. Then let us drive through Su Ma Loo, and you will see the slave girls in their gilded cages-but does the sight pain you less than the previous one?
The people that use slaves in China are the rich people, who regard them as indispensable as so many pieces of furniture. Accordingly, they furnish them to each daughter of the house in quantity and quality corresponding to the length of the family purse. The daughter carries them to her future home as part of her dowry. If the slave girl should be ugly looking and awkward, as she has every reason to be, then the more blows and scolding will be her lot. Such a steady course of treatment for years will not tend to brighten her intellect and sweeten her temper, so that she will almost invariably become stupid and sullen. On the contrary, the menial ma.y be bright and pretty, and then, alas! she will doubtless find favor in the eyes of hel' master, and perhaps become peer with the rich man's daughter.
The middle classes use the slave girls because they can not afford to have servants, and the poor people use them as a means of getting rich. Even some Christian Chinese keep slave girls. I think they hardly realize the wrong involved. I may add that they do endeavor to ameliorate their condition in many ways.
Interested in knowing approximately how many slaves there were round about me in Hankow, I looked through one of the tenement houses immediately in our vicinity. The general entrance is rather imposing, and you see in front of you a wide alley. Then turn to the right or left, you see opening from this about five or six short rows of little houses with a nt'rrow alley running between the several rows. On ari average, such a place would contain two or three hundred residents. Taking one of these places at random, I made inquiries, and found within between thirty and forty slave girls. Just think of thel'e being such a large percentage of slaves in even a tenement house!
My first painful contact with the system of girl slavery occurred in far-off Szechuan. One of my schoolmates there was little Winnie. She was not pretty, but she was at least sweet and amiable, and she sang with an almost phenomenal voice. Our teacher would often smile and say, "Ah, how people would appreciate Winnie's voice in America!" Unfortunately she had no mother, and her father was an opium-smoker. One day, finding himself without the means of indulging his appetite, what did he do but sell his mere slip of a girl! How well I remember the consternation among us when one of the schoolmates came in haste to tell us that she had seen 'Vinnie's father carrying her off to her master! A messenger was despatched, and you will he glad to hear that means were found for her rescue. Alas! her respite was short, for like a thunderclap came the riots of 1886, and all foreigners were driven away from Chingking. 'Vhen we heard from that place again we learned that Winnie had been resold. Somewhere she may be still living.
My sorrow for 'Vinnie's lot can not be compared with what I felt for my classmate, Lin Si Chen, on hearing that she, too, had been sold by an opium-smoking father. She was my best friend in school, and her mind was as beautiful as her person. We were baptized together, and she confessed to me that she would like to devote her life to Christian work, adding, so sadly, that she must try to first help her father. Where were gone her longings and aspirations when she became the concubine of a man sixty years of age? Surely, on this eve of China's
regeneration, we, the more favored ones, must plead with all our might that all these unnatural customs shall be swept away with the last relics of our country's barbarism. The laws, too, which recognize these evils by levying taxes on the export of slave girls should receive attention.
Just now the newspapers in Japan are struggling valiantly to uphold the law for the protection of girls from servitude. We may at least be striving for the law.
Directly opposite our home at Kiukiang dwells a woman fairly well to do in the world; she kept two slave girls, one above and one under ten years of age. Her-treatment of the two poor creatures became a neigh- borhood scandal. The younger of the two, being weaker and less useful, suffered the more. Rarely did they have enough to eat, and my sister as well as the other neighbors tried sometimes to give them a full meal, but they needed to be exceedingly wary or a harder beating than usual would be forthcoming. No bedding was furnished them, only a heap of straw, and often the younger one was made to sit on a bamboo chair all through the night. Being but scantily clothed, you can imagine how the child would shiver through the cold wintry nights. As she grew weaker she must have suffered more without any outsiders knowing it, and evidently her shivering angered her master, for he made her tramp up and down the room, saying, "The foreigners tell us exercise stirs up the circulation and makes people warm." One morning, sleepy and weary, she was perhaps a little more stupid than usual, and did not heed her mistress's commands fast enough, so a quick blow came and she was stretched upon the hard stone floor. This time she did not rally. Later on a Christian neighbor came, asking if we would not try and see if any- thing could be done te> help the child. 'Ve found her thrown on a brush heap in the back yard. There was no roof anywhere to cover this child of God except the pitying heavens. She was in terrible convul.-ions, so we asked hurriedly if we might remove her to our hospital. " You do not think she :will live, do you?" was the query. "No, we do not think she will, but we wish to do our best for her any way." The permission was grudgingly given, and we took her in. After a while the heartless woman came to look at her property. Seeing the child lying quietly in a bed and surrounded by every comfort, she asked again, "Is she going to live?" " No," we sadly replied. "Then when she is at her last gasp just throw her out into your front yard, and when she is cold I will send a man with a sack for her." How indignant we were; but we only said, "What harm would she do us if she did dhi in the hospital?" So, all unconscious, she passed away. – A little slave -girl was carried to our hospital in a serious condition, the result of ill treatment at the hands of her mistress, who belonged to one of the richest families in the city. My colleague spoke kindly to the suffering one and said she would be glad to take her in, but the servants who brought her could not give a guarantee that they left her with us for better or worse. As her condition was critical, the doctor did not feel she could take her in without such assurance. While the servants returned to ask the mistress, the wounded child brokenly replied to our sympathetic inquiries. We learned that her mother's brother, who was addicted to opium, had stolen her away from her widowed mother in the far-away home in Szechuan and sold her as a slave. So it is that opium and slavery, like two sworn brother robbers, support each other in their evil course. If one could be captured the other might more easily sur-
render. The servants returned unsuccessful, and with sorrow we saw them pick up the little bruised body and not too tenderly carry it away. The Roman Catholic hospital also refused to take the child in. Somehow, after her return. a vague idea seemed to form in her mind that if she once got to the hospital she would be all right. So she managed to get up and started out to find us. Here and there she wandered and asked the way, but her pursuers overtook her and carried her back. Her mistress, in a fit of anger, on seeing her brought back, actually beat her to death on the spot.
Do I need to ask if it remains our duty to keep quiet and calm as to this system of girl slavery in China? If so, I turn and appeal to the higher court where our narrow judgments will so often be reversed.
MASS MOVEMENTS TOWARD CHRISTIANITY.* BY THE REV. W. HOWARD CAMPBELL, M.A., B.D.
Missionary of the L. M. S. in South India.
Mission work in India has, after it has passed the initial stages, developed in two very distinct directions. In the one case, while the general mass of the people has been influenced by Christian teaching, comparatively few individuals have, as a result of personal conviction, abandoned their old customs and practises, and made open profession of faith in Christ. In the other case, the unseen influences at work in the minds of the masses have resulted, not in the conversion of a few isolated individuals, but in a widespread movement which has led certain classes to come over to Christianity almost en ma.s.se, whole communities coming forward as one man to abandor. idolatry and embrace Christianity. Such mass· movements are taking place in almost every part of India from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, and altho so far they have been almost entirely confined to the lower strata of society, .there are signs that before long they will make their appearance among the higher classes, and develop quite as rapidly among them as among the lower.
In the Cuddapah district a movement has been going on among the Malas, or pariahs, for more than forty years. At first confined to a few villages in the extreme northwest of the district, it now extends over more than four taluk.s (countries), so that in an area of quite three thousand square miles the whole Mala population is either Christian or so far inclined to Christianity that it might be reached and won with comparlttively little effort. The movement develops spontaneously, village after village being brought into it, not so much as a result of any direct effort on the part of our mission workers, as through the influence of allied communities which are already Christian. The social bond, which is immensely strong in India, tho it is at first a serious obstacle to the spread of the Gospel, becomes, as soon as a Christian community has been gathered from any particular class, a most powerful influence to accelerate the progress of a movement among the mem bers of that class. Non-Christian Malas in this district, for example, when they see their friends and fellow-caste people abandoning their old filthy habits and giving up idolatry for the worship of the one true God, feel that if they remain heathen they will be left in a position of inferiority which *Condensed from the London Missionary Chronicle.
MASS MOVEMENTS TOWARD CHRISTIANITY
will inevitably cut them off from those with whom they would naturally seek intercourse and alliance. An old woman belonging to a community which had recently determined to embrace Ohristianity gave me a most characteristic answer when I asked ~er why she wished to give up the practices of her fathers. "The whole world has become Christian," she said, "how can we keep back? "
It is anything but easy to analyze the motives that lead these poor ignorant people to give up their old customs and seek for admission into the Ohurch of Ohrist. Purely material corisiderations can not enter very largely into their calculations, for in most cases no direct, material advantage is to be gained by a profession of Ohristianity. Those who come to us corne in most cases because they have become dissatisfied with their condition of ignorance and degradation, and inspired with hopes of a better, freer life, and are convinced that it is only through the religion of Ohrist that their hopes can be realized and their condition bettered. They know little or nothing of Ohristian truth, but they believe that Ohristianity is the one true religion, and that unless they become Christians there is no hope for them in this world or in the next.
After the members of a community have made up their minds to embrace Ohristianity, it is often a considerable time, in some cases several years, before it is possible to receive them and put them under Ohristian instruction. In our district we have always felt that the grea,t danger lay not in receiving large masses of ignorant people into the church, but in neglecting them after they have been received. Oonsequently we have made it a rule not to receive people as adherents until we are in a position to care for them. When we feel that we can deal fairly with a community seeking instruction, we receive from its members a written bond by which they pledge ~hemselves to abandon all idolatrous practises, to receive Ohristian instruction, to join in Ohristian worship, and to endeavor to live according to the teaching of our Lord Jesus Ohrist. They are then required to build, or at least help in the building of, a school-house in their village. When they have done this they are put under the care of a resident teacher who opens a school for the children and acts as pastor to the community. We regard these adherents as Ohristians, and treat them as Ohristians, but none are baptized until they have received instruction and shown signs that they are endeavoring to live a Ohristian life. Oandidates for baptism must be able -to repeat the Oommandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Oreed, and must know something of the main facts of the life of our Lord. The people are on the wh01e ready to learn, and if they have a good and faithful teacher it is not long before they show a marked change in their habits and life.
One mayor may not look on mass movements with favor, but it is impossible to deny that it is only through such movements that mission work in India has attained to anything like numerical success. In every district where a large and growing Ohristian community is to be found, that community has been formed and recruited by the reception of communities rather than by the slow ingathering of individuals. This does Dot, of course, prove that the development of mass movements is the only, or even the best, method of extending the Kingdom of Ohrist. It is a mistake to make light of numerical success, but it is a still greater mistake to regard such success as the sole standard and to estimate the re!!lUlts of mission work by quantity rather than by quality. A rapid
numerical increase, if accompanied by moral weakness and religious apathy, may be-or is, Indeed, likely to be-a very decided hindrance to the progress of the Gospel.
If we view the matter from a theoretical standpoint we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the gradual ingathering of individuals, whose conversion is the result of personal conviction, is much more likely to contribute to a healthy and vigorous Christian community than the reception of masses of ignorant people, the majority of whom simply follow their leaders like sheep. When I came to India fifteen years ago, I was so strongly convinced of this that I was inclined to look on the mass movement among our Mala people as a hindrance to the progress of our work, and to wish that it were possible to refuse to accept any adherents who did not give proof of personal faith. Experience has convinced me that I was mistaken. I have found to my surprise that better moral and spiritual results are secured when people come over' in the mass than when they come Ol'er as individlluls. There is much more stability in a Christian community which has arisen as a result of a mass' movement than in one which has been formed by the ingathering of isolated individuals. Altho during the last fifteen years we have received in our Cuddapah district over a hundred Mala communities, I only know of three cases where the people have gone back, and in all of these three cases the people have not had time to receive any instruction worth speaking of. When a community becomes Christian individual lapses are almost unknown. This is not wonderful, for while every social influence tends to lead the isolated convert back to the old paths, the very opposite is the case with the man who is a member of a Christian community. A return to heathenism in the case of our Mala Christians would involve a defiance of the sentiment of the community which could hardly fail to result in most serious social disabilities. As a consequence, tho some of the more ignorant of our people may, under exceptional circumstances, join secretly in idolatrous practises under the influence of superstitious feelings, actual apostasy is extremely rare.
Not only as regards stability, but as regards moral and spiritual development, the results accruing from individual conversions compare, on the whole, unfavorably with the results which follow a communal m~vement. In most cases, I fear, the Christian convert who lives in a heathen community is unable to rise very much above his surroundings. The social atmosphere almost inevitably stifles his zeal and prevents his growth in Christian knowledge and character. In a Christian community, even where its members have come from the lowest and most degraded classes of society, there is always something of a Christian sentiment. This is a powerful influence for good. The fact that one's friends and neighbors expect one to live a decent Christian life, and will probably show their disapproval if one does not do so, furnishes a very strong motive for at least outward conformity with the Christian standard.
Alt,ho the members of our Christian community here have not yet attained to anything like a high standard of Christian living, tney have been to a very remarkable extent improved and elevated by their acceptance of Christianity. The initial step involved in a profession of Christianity may seem trivial to some, but it really involves an entire revolution in the communal life. To give up their idols, to destroy their little temple, to abandon the old heathen ceremonies, which are almost a
second nature, and to begin to worship One who is. unseen-this is a vast step in spiritual development. The people gradually :rise to the conception of truly spiritual worship, and learn to realize something of the presence of God, and to understand that He requires of them righteousness of life. Under the influence of these ideals, a great, tho a gradual, change comes over their lives-a change which is recognized and noted by their neighbors.
A great change has, indeed, come over the lives of the poor pariah people, of whom our congregations are chiefly composed. Sins which were formerly almost universal have now become exceptional, and what was once regarded as natural and unavoidable, has come to be considered a grave offence. Infant marriage, for example, which was once the rule, is now exceedingly rare; cattle-stealing, which formerly prevailed in most villages, has almost disappeared; concubinage, which used to be very common, is decreasing year by year. A public conscience is growing up among the people, and they are giving increasing evidence of a desire to live cleaner and better lives.
Conscious union with Christ, which is the ideal of the Christian life, is not so common as one could wish. I am doub~ful, indeed, if we have a right to expect to tind it common among people who are still in the very first stages of Christian experience. In infllncy there is not much conscious fellowship between the child and its parents, altho the young life is being formed and molded by their influence quite as much as at any other stage. Most of our village people are still in their infancy, knowing little of their Father, and very ignorant of His will; but they are being gradually led to a higher knowledge and a fuller realization of the Divine presence. Some have felt the power of Christ in their lives, and experienced the blessedness which comes from conscious union with Him. When one speaks to them of Christ, one can not fail to recognize this. They may not be able to express themselves very clearly. They may not be able to express themselves in any definite terms. But they respond to what one says, and show by look and tone that they have experienced the great change which comes through the presence of Christ in the soul. If I have ever had any doubts as to the existence of genuine spiritual life in our village congregations, my doubts have always vanished when I have joined with a number of our poor people in the fellowship of the Lord's Supper. No one who has seen their dark, dull faces light up at the thought of the wondrous love of our Lord, and their eyes moisten, and their lips quiver as imagination took them back to the scenes of His suffering and death, could doubt that they had given their hearts to Christ and ente~ed into living union with Him.
I do not think we should be too critical of the motives that inspire such a movement, st·ill less that we should expect too much of the people in the earlier stages of such work as we are engaged in. Weak, ignorant, vicious as many, perhaps most, of these people are when they give up their idols and become Christian adherents, they have, however blindly, come to the feet of Jesus. They have entered His school, and however ignorant they may be, in time they must feel His presence, and learn the lessons which He is so ready to teach. Since Paul tells us that .. No man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost," and our Lord Himself says "No man can come to Me except the Father which hath sent Me draw him," must we not recognize, even in the first faltering steps taken by these poor people, the guidance of ·the Divine SpiritP
EDITORIALS.
ANew Critic of Missions. facts, based on his study of the Reynolds' Newspaper (London, official missionary reports: Eng.) has of late been giving con- siderable room to a bold and almost "Out of India's 350,000,000, the reckless criticism of foreign mis- Church Missionary Society's con- sions. A special correspondent has verts, aiter a century of labor, are been employed to "investigate," less than 36,000, with nearly 3,500 tho we are reminded of Parke God- agents at work. Reckoning babes win's famous saying that "in so- 6f converts, he says the gain in called 'original investigation' the 1889-90 was about 1,800, thus it originality sometimes surpasses took two agents and £113 to sethe investigation." cure one convert in a year. Mr. W. S. Caine's assault on missions These investigations cover the twelve years ago is again brought missionary organizations in Lon- forward, thoit was amply answered don–the great center of Protestant at the time, and even Sydney foreign missions-as well as the Smith's irreverent clerical jokes results in the chief countries of the and sneers find an echo, after nearly Orient. The writer states that the a century. The candid admissions Church Missionary Society has an of the missionary societies as to annual income of about £404,906 (a the low standard of many converts little over $2,000,000). The collec- are turned against the work, as tho tion of this sum alone costs £25,843 the same argument would not dis- (about $129,000); administration courage all Christian effort and costs £15,917 (about $79,500); sala- even demolish all Christian ries to nineteen clergymen as asso- churches everywhere. The conciation secretaries amount to £5,432 clusion of thiR. special correspondent (about $27,160). The London Mis- is that mission work is a failure, if sionary Society has an income of not even worse-a fraud I The about £150,168 (about $750,840) position taken is that the 'public yearly, while its foreign secretary, are grossly deceived with reference the Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, to the doings of missionaries and receives £800 (about $4,000) per the result of their missions.' annum, and others receive "pro- ,Vhile conceding that among misportionately large amounts." The sionaries-and presumably among missionary income of the Wesleyan converts-there are a few 'good Methodists for 1899 amounted ,to and self-sacrificing' souls, the £133,690 (about $668,450), out of fruit of their work is so scarce and which four ministerial secretaries so poor, the work left undone at received" large salaries" in addi- home so great, and the cost so tion to extra charges for" children, enormously disproportionate, that rent, rates, taxes, house bill, house it is 'nothing les3 than a criminal repairs, and replacement of furni- act of human folly to give any ture, coal, gas, etc.," alnounting to special encouragement to the misabout as much again. The Baptists sionary movement.'" in 1900 collected £73,716 (about $363,580) for foreign missions. We give this arraignment more In commenting on the foreign space, doubtless, than it deserves. results received for these vast sums, the special agent of Reynolds' But it is the old story-the ancient Newspaper gives. the following satanic argument from apparent results. Judged by appearances, our Lord's ministry was a fail.ure, and this fact is both foretold in the prophecies of "the Servant of Je- hovah" by Isaiah, and conceded in the histories written by the four evangelists. Duty is ours; results, God's. We have our marching or- ders, and our General-in-chief it responsible for the whole campaign.
SOME HOME PROBLE]lJS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS
It is ours simply to obey. To personal consecration. But to measure success by numerical abandon mission work because it standards savors not only of imper- does not pay pecuniarily, and to tinence but of blasphemy. Were measure success by the number of there absolutely no results abroad, converts, or even by the character the reaction, the reflex influence of of converts, is to introduce into missions on home church life, in God's work principles which are preventing spiritual apathy and wholly anti-Christian. atrophy would abundantly repay all expenditure of money, time, Oonvict Ohain-Gangs and Oamps. and life. As Dr. Chalmers so acutely remarked, "Foreign missions act This is the subject of an intereston home missions not by way of ing and able paper in this number exhaustion but of fermentation." of the REVIEW. For several years Apart from all direct results of our the shocking cruelties inflicted Lord's ministry, the example of upon the convicts, both white and His self-sacrifice is enough to com- black, and especially upon women pensate for the cross. Missions are and children, in some of the chainthe salvation of the Church if they gangs and prison camps of the are not the salvation of the world. southern United States, has attract- And to listen to such tirades ed considerable attention. Some against the work Christ has left to improvement has taken place in the Church is to drift into apos- the treatment of these convietstasy. at any rate, of those who are now retained under the immediate con- Nevertheless, candor compels us trol of the state authorities, espeto admit that, wherever a holy cially in Georgia and Louisiana. In economy in administration can be Georgia all the juvenile convicts secured, it is of the first conse- have been separated from adult quence. To reduce the proportion criminals, and the women have of home expenses in the conduct of been collected in separate prisons. the work is a direct and noble serv- The long-term, able-bodied convicts ice to the cause. No doubt men are leased to well-known and repand women can be found both com- utable business firms. The prison petent and willing to repeat the management is placed under the grand offer, made and accepted in control and constant supervision of more than one instance, of gratui- three of Georgia's most reputable tous service. At least three of the citizens, who are salaried to give greatest administrators of missions constant attention to the welfare of in England refused to receive one these convicts. In Louisiana the penny of salary. It is true they leasing-out system is reported to be were men of private means, but we abolished, and to be gradually disknow of others of a similar sort. appearing in several other states. There is a large mission work, And in various parts of the South reaching many lands and employ- good men and women are taking an ing over 200 evangelists and teach- increased interest in this subject, ers, which has not one paid secre- and in the treatment and conditaryor agent. Of course, the work- tion of the colored race in general. man is worthy of his hire; but if, in such a cause, there be children of But much yet remains to be done. God who are prepared cheerfully The most abominably cruel sento give their services in adminis- tences continue to be passed upon tration, it would both relieve the Negroes in the South for petty societies of expense and stimulate offences, which in other countries
would merely involve a reprimand practise to inveigle, or force, or a very brief detention. Thus, a Negroes into them. negro was lately sent to the gangs for 15 years for stealing a box of In some Southern states the ausoap! Black children may be thorities have made attempts to desentenced for "obstructing" the tect and bring to justice the offendstreets. The Southern newspapers ing parties; but the latter are very state that 13 plant.ers in South cunning, and manage to baffle such Carolina were recently fined (tho endeavors to check their malpracin very small amounts) for en- tices. Prisoners, or even free slaving and whipping Negroes citizens, giving information against whom they had induced to sign these oppressors do so at the risk "contract labor" papers. The of their lives. The Florida legisgrossest licentiousness is practised lature appointed a committee to and encouraged by the officers of visit the convict c'amps in that some of the convict camps. One of state. They reported of one of these officials recently acknowl- them (in Citrus County): "Your edged that" the favorite male con- committee found a deplorable convicts are allowed to go in and out dition of affail's in this camp, and of the women's room in the stock- can not present in language the ade at all hours of the night. The true situation. "Ve found a system guards do the same." Very cruel of cruelty and inhumanity that punishments are inflicted in some would be hal'd to realize unless it of the convict camps, such as scores could be seen and heard." The of lashe's on the bare back, for same committee afterward ascerslight offences. Women also are tained that prisoners had been brutally flogged. punished for replying to their in- quiries. A well-known Southern lady, who has long labored on behalf of suffer- It is time that something was ing humanity, recently said that done to stop these outrages. The negro children are still sent to South is poor, and claims that it prison with adult criminals, and can not afford to care for its prisonthat they leave it "half devil and ers. It can not afford not to do 80. half beast." In one jail 50 chil- The present system is breeding dren were incarcerated, whose only criminals among both white and offense was "stealing a ride on black. Even on the ground of selfa train." Another Southern au- interest, the white community thority remarks that a similar should seek to raise the moral condescription applies to the prisoners dition of the black race, and to disin nearly every Southern state, and continue the debasing influences adds: "It has recently been proved of chain-gangs, convict camps, that men, women, and children are and lynchings. Every preacher, held in a worse bondage than before teacher, and leader should advocate Emancipation. " reform by tongue and by pen. * A committee of investigation in The South African War. South Carolina lately found a number of innocent persons in con- At the Keswick missiol). meeting vict stockades. They were being in July, Mr. Spencer Walton, of the chained, flogged, and cruelly over- South Africa General Mission, of worked. Occasionally even white which Rev. Andrew Murray is tae persons are kidnapped and obliged head, gave a som.ewhat melancholy to work in remote camps or mines report of the present real state of in the South. But it is a frequent affairs at the Cape, particularly as a mission field. He drew a vivid
EDITORIALS
contrast between the past and the and the rejection of a number of present. Through the great parish, where Rev. Andrew Murray had applicants, because of a lack of made his life work, he had traveled, had looked upon a scene of in- money, caused a reaction under dustry, quiet homesteads, and flourishing churches;-but now many which it has been, at times, diffia Boer who knew and worshiped his God lies beneath the sod, bome- cult to secure suitable men already steads are burned, women and children are crowded in laager, prepared to go. There is always places of worship are empty, and in one church every elder but one need for God-called and wellhad met his deatb in batt~e. Taking in these two scenes, we may form equipped men and women. Only an idea, he said, of the blackness of war. All the prospects which were such should apply. Of those wbo once so cheering are blighted, doors are closed, and village work almost apply a large percentage must be ended. Vfhere there was once no eliminated because of physical, edhatred there is now the greatest ucational, or other disabilities. bitterness. On revisiting a town Even not providing for advance in which many had been brought to work, vacancies in mission fields Christ through a previo1ls mission, are occurring constantly, and all his own spiritual children closed the leading missionary societies tbeir doors to him because he was report a real difficulty in securing a Britisher. The sore in South men fully prepared to go. Africa is a running sore, and it will not be healed by legislation, emi- The Gordon Training School. gration, or even moderation; only by the sending forth of men and The thirteenth year of this usewomen who shall take the balm of ful school opens Wednesday, Oc- God. tober 9, 1901, in the Clarendon Street Baptist Church, Boston. It This is one of the lamentable is undenominational and independresults of such a war. We had ent. The design is to give a free already intimations of a similar course of biblical and practical state of matters from Mr. Andrew' training to such men and women Murray himself. Surely a " Chris- as have offered themselves to tian nation" should only go to war Christ, and who desire a better when all other methods of settling equipment for His service, but a controversy are exhausted; and whose age and attainments or other it is plain that they have had in circumstances make impracticable tbis case no fair, full trial. a more extended course of study. Rev. Emory W. Hunt has been Missionaries Needed. elected president. to take the place of Rev. A. T. Pierson, who, Many seem to suppose that the since the death of the founder, Dr. Students' Volunteer Movement has A. J. Gordon, has been at the head. incited more young men and wom- Dr. James M. Gray has been with en to offer themselves for foreign the school from its beginning, and mission service than could be sent continues as instructor in the synon account of lack of funds. This thetic study of the Bible. Associ- 'U'as true to some extent, but the ated with him are Dr. W. H. knowledge of a shortage of funds, VValker, Dr. Robert Oameron, Dr. A. C. Dixon, and others, together with a corps of special lecturers, in- cluding the retiring president, Dr. C. I. Scofield, Dr. Harris, of Toron to, and others. * We can safely commend this school for the purity of its doctrinal teaching, the helpfulness of its methods, and especially for the purity of its spiritual atmosphere. The spirit of its founder still lingers there like the scent of flowers about a shat- tered vase.
* Those who wish further information may address the superintendent, Rev. J. A. McElwain, Clarendon Street Baptist Church. or the secretary. Mrs. A. J. Gordoll. 18~ W, Brookline Street, BostOn.
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS.
EeSAYS ON ISLAM. By Rev. E. Sell, B.D., most interesting and trustworthy M.R.A.S. 8vo, 267 pp. S. P. C. K. Depot, Madras. Simpkin Marshall, Kent & Co., authority. All who desire to know London. 1901. Islam in its present state of expec- The author of this important volume is already well known as the tation and disintegration should writer of "The Faith of Islam" and "The Historical Development study this volume. z. of" the Quran." His latest contribution to the study of Islam con- DAYBREAK IN L,VINGSTONIA. By James W. sists of eight essays on various Jack, M.A. Maps and Illustrations. Inphases of Moslem thought and re- dex 8vo, 371 pp. 58. Oliphant, Ander· form. The book is thoroughly up- son & Ferrier, Edinburgh. $1.50. Fleming to-date and scholarly in its treat- H. Revell Co., New York. ment. The Mystics of Islam with their poetry and pantheistic philos- This story of the birth and ophy pass before us. Sufism is growth of the Livingstonia Misweighed in the balance and found sion in British Central Africa is wanting. The Babis, that remark- one of the marvels of modern misable sect, which has honeycombea sions. The author is not a misall Persia with its teaching, receive sionary, but a student of missions, thoughtful study; but the author and his record has been revised by leaves the question unsettled that prince among missionaries, whether or not the movement is Dr. Robert Laws, the direct misfavorable to Christian missions. sionary successor of David Living- What Mr. Sell reveals as to the stone. number and strength of the religious orders of Islam will surprise The history clearly reveals God's' most people. Their immense power guiding hand in the founding of and ambition mark the growth of the mission, and in all the years of the Sanusiyah Dervishes as the preparation, seed-sowing, and harmost startling fact in the evolution vest. Livingstonia was mostly of Islam. They claim eight million virgin forest when the great mismembers. Other chapters tell of sionary explorer first penetrated the Druses, of Islam in China, and its dark jungles, but "the end of of the status of non-Moslems ac- the geographical feat became the cording to Moslem law. The con- beginning of the missionary enterclusion reached regarding the sig- prise." nificance of the Hanifs is not endorsed by other scholars-e.g., Dozy Mr. Jack has written a very inand Sprenger; but the chapter on forming and inspiring narrative, the " Recensions of the Quran " is a quoting from missionaries and exreal contribution to a very difficult plorers who have obtained firstsubject. The appendix on the Ara- hand information in regard to the bic text of the Quran is valuable undeveloped country and untutored to missionaries, but the volume re- savages that inhabited it. The mains a maze, when used by the beautiful luxuriance of the scenery student, because it has no index. contrasted strangely with the hor- Altogether we have here very val- rible cruelties of the slave-trade and the vile character of.the nati ves. lahle side-lights on Islam by a Blantyre, Bandawe, and Lovedale are now names to conjure with in missionary circles. Certainly no industrial mission in Africa, and probably none in the world, has been so successful as that at Love- dale.
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS
This volume is an excellent sequel THE W AHABlS: Their Origin, History, Ten- to the" Life of Livingstone," and ets, and Influence. By Rev. S. M. Zwe- contains an abundance Df unsur- mer, F.R.G.S Pamphlet. Victoria In- passed material for missiDnary stitute,8 Adelphi Terrace, London. talks and sermons. This very interesting paper was CALABAR AND ITS MISSIO"S. By Rev. Hugh Goldie. Map, Illustrations, Index. 12mo. written for the VictDria Institute. 400 pp. 58. Oliphant, Anderson & Fer- rier, Edinburgh, 1901. The author has had peculiar advan- This is a new edition Df a book tages for the study of the charac- published some ten years ago, and cDntains additional chapters by ter and history of the Wahabis Rev. John T. Dean, formerly a mis- siDnary in Calabar. There was during his ten years o.f life and reason fDr a second edition bDth because of the character of the work in Arabia. He has here given wDrk described and because Df the developments in the field since the the results of his studies in brief first edition was written. and clear-cut form. The founder The mission is on the west CDast Df Africa, and is under the SCDtch of the Wahabis was a Moslem re- United Free Presbyterian Church. It has had a history full Df interest, former of Arabia, born in 1691. and has made real progress during the fifty years and more since its Their history shows that" a reforestablishment. Much Df value is also to be found in the volume con- mation of the Moslem wDrld by a cerning the country and people, the old native government and relig- return to primitive Islam is an imion, the slave-trade, the folk-lore and language. These readable ac- possibility. Back to Christ, nDt connts of individual missions are invaluable, as they give much that back to Mohammed-that is the must be omitted from general histories. only hope of the Moslem world."
CHRIST AND MISSIONS. By Rev. John Smith. The pamphlet includes a chronD- 12mo. 181 pp. 28. 6d. Robert Bryant, London. logical table, lil!5t of authorities, and These Hartley lectures for 1900 are the discussion of the paper by the thDughtful discourses on Christ's teachings regarding missionary institute. It is a valuable contriwork. They consider successively and successfully the Purpose of bution to our knowledge of this God; Christ, the Chief Missionary; Christ's Missionary Program; The religious sect. * Missionary Problem; MissiDnary Women; Medical Missions; Mis- AN INDIAN DREAM. Lucy E. Guinness. Illussionary Motives; Missionary Fruit, trated. 8vo, 49 pp. and panorama. 28. and Christ's Expectant Attitude. Regions Beyond M. U., Bow, E., London. The lectures are most suggestive, and show how carefully Christ laid A unique idea is the most charthe foundations for missionary work and how fully He provided acteristic thing about this folded for all times and conditions. * booklet. That idea is to. present to the eye by a pho.tographic panD- rama 170 inches long and by another smaller picture the Dver- whelming co.ntrast between the average parish of Protestant Chris- tendom (1,000 people) and the aver- age parish of each missionary to.
India (155,500 people). This photo- graphic representation accom- plishes more fo.r mo.st peDple in a moment than mere statistics could do in a lifetime. The remainder of the booklet is an imaginary dream which illustrates and im- presses SDme vital facts in regard to.
the present conditions and needs of India. The descriptions Df scenes are taken from life, and the facts have been carefully collected and are skilfully presented. *
GOD'S WORD IN GOD'S WORLD. By Miss G. filii: AT HOME AND ABROAD. By Rev. W. T. Gid. B. Stewart. 8vo. 80 pp. Illustrated. 18. 250 pp. 18. London Jews Society. Bible House, London. JAMES CHALMERS OF NEW GUINEA. By Will- We have in this volume a popu- iam Robson (New Edition) Maps. illus- trations. 12mo, 176 pp S. W. Partridge lar account of the British and London. Fleming H. Revell, New York.'
Foreign Bible Society and its work. DAVID LIVINGSTONE. By T Banks Maclach- lan. 12mo, 157 pp. Oliphant, Anderson It is sympathetically written, and & Ferrier, Edinburgh. Scribners, New York. gives many interesting accounts of NIGERIA. By Charles H. Robinson. 12mo, 223 Bible work in various parts of the pp. $200. M.~. Mansfield, New York. 1901. world. From a literary standpoint SKETCHES FROM THE DARK COl<TINENT.. By the book has many faults, and is Willis R. Hotchkiss Illustrated. 12mo, 160 pp. Friend's Bible Institute, Clevenot as full of life and color as it land. 1901.
might have been. No work is more LATI" AMERICA. By Rev. Hubert W. Brown. Illustrated. 12mo, 308 pp. $1.50. Flemimportant or more far-reaching ing H. Revell Co, New York. 1901.
than that of the Bible societies, THE SOUTH AMERICAN REPUBLICS. By W. F. Markwick. 8vo. 348 pp. 60 cents. Silver, and none furnishes better material Burdett & Co, New York. 1901.
for missionary incidents and signs THE NEW BRAZIL. By Marie R. Wright. 4to, 450 pp. $10.00. George Barrie & Son, of the power of God. * Philadelphia. 1901.
PREACHING AND HEALING. 12mo. 102 pp. THE LAND OF THE AMAZONS. By Baron Nery. Map. Church Mission House, London. 8vo, 405 pp. $400. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. 1901. This is a report of the work of the C. M. S. Medical Mission Auxilli- HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN PEOPLE. By Franary. The society has the next to cis Newton 12mo, 625 pp. $1.50. A. C. the largest staff of medical mission- McClurg, Chicago. 1901. aries, and is doing a remarkably interesting and successful work in HANZI"A HINZ. (Moravians in Greenland.) 15 mission fields. The story of the By H. G. Schneider. 18. Religious Tract work at the various missions is well Society, London. told, and, like all the C. M. S. publications, this report is well edited. ~IARCUS WHITMAN AND OREGON. By William A. nlowry. Illustrated. 8vo. 341 pp. $1.50. Monthly Missionary Bibliography, Silver, Burdett & Co., New York. 1901.
MISSIONARY ISSUES OF THE TWENTIETH CEN- THE MORMON MONSTER. By Edgar E. Folk, TURY. (New Orleans Conference.) Maps D.D IllustrRted. 8vo, 272 pp. $2.00. and charts. 8vo, 598 pp. Barbee & Fleming H. Revell Co. 1900. Smith, Nashville. 1900. THE SPANISH PEOPLE. By Martin Hume. PRESBYTERIAN FOREIGN MISSIONS_ By Robert 12mo, 555 pp. $1.50. D. Appleton & Co., E. Speer. 12mo, 296 pp. 50 cents. Pres- New York. 19U1. byterian Board of Publication, PhilRdel- phia. 1901. THE HlGH CASTE HINnu WOMAN. By Pandita Ramabai (New edition.) 12mo. 75c. HISTORY OF THE FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE Fleming H. Revell Co. lf01.
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. By Rev. Robert THE CHILD o~ THE GANGES. By Rev R. N. W. Weir 8vo. 200 pp. 28. 6d. R. R. Barrett. (New Edition.) 12mo, 355 pp. Clark, Edinburgh. $1.00. Fleming H. Revell Co. 1901.
THE UNITAS FRATRUM. By Edmond De INDIAN CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY. By S. Modak. Schweinitz (Second Edition.) 8vo. $200. 2 vols. 835 pp. $1.50. Educational ~oci Moravian Publishing Co., Bethlehem, Pa. ety, Bombay.
MISSIONS OF THE MORAVlAN CHURCH. By IN TIBET AND CHINESE TURKESTAN. By Capt. Prof. J. Taylor Hamilton, D.D. 8vo. H. P. Deasy. ~vo, 420 pp. $5.00. Long- Times Publishing Co., Bethlehem, Pa. mans, Green & Co. 1901. 1901. MT. OMI AND BEYOND. (Tibetan Border.) By MODRRN MISSIONS IN THE EAST. By Edward Archibald J Little, F.R.G.S. Illustrated, A. Lawrence, D.D (New Edition.) Illus- map. 8vo, 268 pp. $3.50. Charles Scrib- trated. 12mo, 397 pp. $1.50. Revell, ner's Sons. 19U1. New York. CHINA: Her History, Diplomacy and Com- LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. By K. B Birkeland. merce. By E. H. Parker. !faps. 8vo, Illustrated 8vo, 669 pp. Minnehaha 352 pp. $3.00. E. P. Dutton & Co. 1901. Publishing Co., Minneapolis, 1901 CHINA AND rHE ALLIES. By A. Henry Savage KEY TO THE MISSIONARY PROBLEM. By Rev. Landor. Illustrated. 2 vol•. 8vo, 876 pp. Andrew Murray. 12mo, 204 pp. Paper. $750. Charles Scribner's Sons. 19u1. 28. James Nisbet & Co., London. IU01. nlISSION PROBLEMS IN SOUTH CHINA. By J. THE SOURCES OF ISLAM By Rev. W. St. Campbell Gibson. 8vo, 332 pp. $1.50. Clair Tisdall. T. & T. Clarl<, Edinburgh. Fleming H. Revell. 1901. 1901. CHINA UNDER THE SEARCH-LIGHT. ByWilliam Arthur COl'naby. 8vo, 250 pp. 68. T. Fisher Unwin, London. 1901.
As THE CHINESE SEE Us. By Rev. T. G. Selby. 12mo, 253 pp. 68. T. Fisher Unwin, London. 1901.
FILL1W HANDS. (Mrs. A. 11. Denman in Japan.) By Mrs. J. H. Thlorton. 16mo, 115 pp. Cumberland Presbyterian PUQ- jishinjl' HOl!se, Nashville.
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
AMERICA. 500 (men 370 and women 130), all in government employ, sailed from President On September 6th, San Francisco bound for the Phil- McKinley on the grounds of ippines to open schools for the Assassinated. the Pan-American benefit of our wards in that region. Vhy was not the spectacle really Exposition at Buf- sublime? It was sufficiently novel falo, President McKinley was and wonderful when a year ago, cruelly shot twice, by a man who at government cost, several shipboasts of his being an anarchist. loads of pedagogues were trans- After lingering one week under the ported from Cuba to Boston and care of the best physicians, the back that they might receive the President passed away early Sep- benefits of the Harvard summer tember14th. It is a sad and terrible school. Such" imperialism" is state of society, when three Presi- humane, is beneficent, is Christian. dents are thus assassinated within thirty-six years-Lincoln in 1865, Honor to a The State Depart- Garfield in 1881, and McKinley in Missionary. ment at Washing- 1901. ton has forwarded The assassin, Leon Czologsz, is a to the American Board a despatch Pole. He claims to have felt it his recei ved by the department from duty to kill the President, and un- the United State~ Charge d'Affaires doubtedly had accomplices in his at Peking, reporting the conferring crime. There is appropriately a upon Miss Abbie G. Chapin an unloud call for the wiping out of an- usual honor, in view of the special archy. It may be repressed, but it services rendered by her during the can only be wiped out by the com.. siege of Peking. Miss Chapin has ing of the Kingdom of God. been a missionary of the Board for eight years, the daughter of parents A Monument A worthy move- who were also missionaries in to the ment is in progress, North China. All the missionary Martyrs. under the auspices women who were in Peking ren- of the American dered heroic service, – but Miss Chapin's work in the International Board, to secure funds for a suit- Hospital brought her into conable memorial to the Congrega- spicuous notice of the representational missionaries who lost their tives of various foreign nations.- lives in the Boxer outbreak. Since Missionary Herald. most were graduates of Oberlin, it is proposed to erect on the college Episcopal George C. Thomas, campus a marble monument, or a Missionary Treasurer of the boulder with bronze tablets, or, if Enterprise. Domestic and Forpossible, a building to be devoted to religious uses. A good begin- eign Missionary Soning has been made, subscriptions ciety of the Protestant Episcopal small and large are solicited, and Church, has given $6,000 for the all funds are to be sent to James R. erection of an Episcopal church in Severance, treasurer of the college. San Juan, Puerto Rico. The pro- posed church will cost $10,000, and Schools When before, since the remaining amount has been Following the 'worldbegan, subscribed. Not long since a proj- the Flag. did such an event ect was started by Episcopalians to raise $100,000 for missions ever occur? A few days since an "army of invasion," composed of teachers numbering
t h I' 0 ugh the Sunday-schools, try. As the Calvinistic Magyars which has resulted in the giving in Europe belonged to the Reformed of $101,247 by 3,274 schools, with Church, the Reformed Church in about 800 yet to be heard from. America (formerly German) at- This movement has been made suc- tracts them. In a few years it has cessful chiefly by the efforts of one formed 23 organizations among man in proposing and carrying them. Recently Presbyterians out a definite plan of organization have begun work for Magyars ".in with a definite amount to be raised. connection with missions among Each Sunday-school was told what Slovaks in the Presbytery of Lackawas aimed at, and each scholar wanna. Magyars are a peculiar knew when he had given his pro- people, unlike others in Europe, portionate part. except perhaps Basques, Finns, and Turks. Scandinavians The t;wedish Au- and Missions. gustana S y nod, Chinese and According to the Japanese in census of last year, with 120,000 communicants, sustains evangelizing America. the Chinese in this work in India, for which $12,000 country have dewere contributed last year. At home 3 hospitals are supported, 2 creased from 107,475 a decade since orphan asylums, a deaconess mother to 89,800, and in California alone house, and an emigrant mission in from 72,472 to 45,753. But during New York City. The United Danish the same period the Japanese have Church Synod has inission work increased from 2,039 to 24,300, and only among the aborigines of in the Hawaiian Islands from 13,120 Indian Territory, but is planning to 61,111. to break ground in China soon. The Norwegian United Synod, Protestantism Since this island bewith 134,000 communicants, has 6 missionaries in Madagascar, and in came a possession of gave $13,000 last year to sustain 3 orphan asylums. Porto Rico. the United States, American Tho the Roman 9 Protestant Catholics Non- Church in this churches of the United States have missionary. country boasts of a membership of sent representatives, who are now 8,000,000, the total of its gifts for prosecuting mission work. They the conversion of the heathen are utterly insignificant. Their con- are two branches of the Christian tributions are mainly sent to the French Society for the Propagation Church, Lutheran, United Brethof the Faith. Boston is the banner (!) diocese, and sent $22,745 last ren, Congregational, Baptist, Protyear, which is more than a quarter of the whole amount given by all estant Episcopal, Presbyterian, and North America, $84,020. The rich archdiocese of New York comes Methodist Episcopal. Prior to 1898 next to Boston, with a paltry $5,733. the only Protestant services were Magyars in The Magyars, ac- AmeriCa. cording to one of those of the Church of England. their authorities, It would seem to be about time to number about 350,000 in this coun- beware lest an embarrassment of "riches" result.
"Foreign During last year no Missions" in less than 1,033 Canada. homesteads weI' e taken up in Canada by Austro-Hungarians, and 957 the year before, which means some 10,000 persons. It is estimated that Toronto alone holds at least 2,000 Italians who, altho nominally Ro- man Catholics, practically have no
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGBNOlI
r e Ii g ion. An English-speaking ings were of cedar, hence the fright- Italian clergyman has been brought ful rapidity of the great conflagra- from Naples, and now the regula!' tion. The loss is not less than service of the CI urch of England £7,000 ($35,000) worth. I mourn for prayer-book is carried on in the my library-all my manuscripts, Italian language. The mission is the work of many years, on sub- well attended, and must do a great jects that are peculiarly my own, deal of good. translations of Scripture, folk-lore, poems, two grammars-one very A Great The following letter complete, my best work-and ma- Fire at Old from Bishop Ridley terial for a book on the origin, Metlakahtla. is of much interest. habits, traditions, and religions of It is dated Victoria, Indians. 'Tis, I think, a real loss B. C., July 25, 1901: "Fire destroyed to literature, seeing I can not live the work of long years, on July long enough and have not the 22d, my birthday. At once I ap- energy to try and reproduce even pealed to the public here, but it is some of it. It is my second great a poor and pleasure-loving, yet, I bereavement. To crown all, my hope, a sympathetic public. I ask Ohinese servant is very ill of con- for flour, meal, rice, potatoes, but- sumption. I shall never see him ter, lard, etc., as well as garments again after I leave Victoria. We and bedding. What I shall get I love each other dearly."
do not feel able to anticipate. To EUROPE. be sure of not going empty-handed, I am spending about £25 for imme- Church o{ The two great misdiate wants. I shall send the chil- England sionary so cie ti e s dren of one institution to the Clax- Missions. under the care of ton Hospital, 25 miles from Metlakahtla by sea, the children of the the English Ohurch other to the hospital at Metlakaht- have recently made their annual la, and the boys we must huddle repo:r;ts; and, considering the trials into Indian houses for the present. through which the nation is' pass- At this season the whole popula- ing, they show remarkable vitality tion outside our missionary institu- and fidelity. The Society for the tions is away at the salmon-fishing Propagation of the Gospel, the on the Skeena River, so there was older of the two, supported chiefly no one to use the fire-engine. As by the "High-church" element, fast as the children were sheltered has received during. the twelve in one building the fire chased them months past $891,980, while the to another, until no place remained Ohurch Missionary Society, supto go to. The buildings destroyed ported by the "Low-church" conare the great church, the two day- tributors, reports $1,750,000, a truly schools, the Boys' IndllstrialSchool, inspiring exhibit. Both societies the Indian Girls' Home, the White touch high-water mark this year, House (Miss 'Vest's), Mr. Keen's their aggregate gifts reaching new house, the Church Army Hall, about $300,000 above the year pre- ceding, Guest House, the chapel, and my A Month of The organ of the own house, as well as many out- Sorrows. London Missionary buildings, among them the boat- Society says that houses containing all our boats, the months of March and April of including my schooner. Nothing t.his year will long be remembered of it saved. Only a few Indian in the society's annals as a time of houses were burned. All the build- tribulation and sore loss. " With-
in the four weeks from March 23 to in London of the mission amounted April 20 no fewer than 5 of our to £42,149, and in America, Ausmissionaries were suddenly called tralia, and China to £11,215, 'to lay down their work on earth, making a total from all sources of together with the young wife of £53,364, a total increase of £168 our Rarotongan missionary, Mr. over the preceding year. The new Percy Hall. In North China, in workers joining the mission last Cape Colony, in Central Africa, year amounted to 21. Tho it is and in New Guinea there are to- quite impossible to compare the day vacant places which, but a few number of the baptized with those short weeks ago, were filled by of previous years, yet, during the strong and able men-men of great terrible year of crisis, there were promise and of great fulfilment." no less than 500. The number of missionaries and associates on De- The London At the last annual cember 31st last had been reduced City Mission. meeting of the Lon- to 745, owing to the loss of 63 adult workers, including 5 deaths from don City Mission natural causes. the secretarY's report showed that there were 460 missionaries in the A European Mention should employ of the society. During the Missionary have been made fiscal year just ending they had Conference. sooner of an immade nearly 2,400,000 calls, con- portant gathering ducted 43,403 cottage or missionhall meetings, and 9,271 open-air held in Bremen May 14th to 17thservices, and held 76,785 impromptu meetings in public houses. to wit, the "every four years"
Industrial At a recent con- Evangelischen Missionary Confer- Mission's Aid ference of mission- ence, at which deputies from all Society. aries in Lon don, Protestant countries of the Con- under the auspices tinent met together for earnest bf the Industrial Mission Aid Society, Mr. H. W. Fry outliI1ild the counsel. Both attendance and inhistory, scope, and operations of the society, defended its principles, terest were much greater than ever and urged its claims. Besides before. A wide range of practical establishing a carpet factory at Ahmednagar, in which nearly 200 missionary topics were discussed. natives are employed, it has taken over industrial work, consisting of Among the rest, a very important carpentry, etc., formerly carried on by the Church Missionary Society but also difficult question was at Nasik; capital has also been provided for assisting industrial raised by Dr. Warneck in his work at Cawnpore, Aligarh, and Peru. Operations on a large scale address on new mission underare shortly to commence at Freretown, East Africa, in connection takings. He said: with Bishop Peel's work, and also in Peru. There threatens us in Germany China Inland The financial state- a great deplorable splitting up of Mission. ment of the China mission life. To the already exist- Inland Mission for ing German missionary societies the year 1900 shows that the income there have been added in the last ten years no fewer than 11, chiefly very small undertakings, and this atomizing threatens to go still fur- ther. While some of these new enterprises at least are carried on by men of ability and skill, the majority have no appearance of any internal strength, and their action tends to a fatal weakening of Ger- man mission power.
What he says has equal applica- tion to the United States and Great Britain.
i901.j GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
Moravian There are 20 mis- with 50,000 adherents. The income Missions sion provinces, viz., of the society for the past year is in 1901. Labrador, Alaska, the greatest in its history. A de" ficit of nearly £6;000 has been re" Canada and Cali- duced to less than £1,000. The fornia, Jamaica, St. Thomas and total sum raised last year was St. Jan. St. Croix, Antigua, St. £33,000 ($165.000). Kitts, Barbadoes, Tobago and Trinidad, . the Moskito Coast, Protestant Taken in conjunc- Demerara, Surinam, South Africa Revival in tion with the reac- (West), South Africa (East), German East Africa-Nyassa and Austria. tion in F ran c e, Unyamwezi-Australia (Victoria), where the Re- Australia (North Queensland), and West Himalaya (Tibet). The num- formed faith has been adopted by ber of mission stations is 131, be- 100 Romish priests, the fact that in sides a large number of preaching the past six months no fewer than places; 460 missionaries (247 males 6,]48 conversions from Romanism and 231 females) are engaged in the are reported as taking place in work. Besides these, there is a Austria, of whom 2,538 are Bohelarge number of native 'assistants, mians, is of the highest signifimissionaries and their wives, help- cance. The dissent which led up ers, and perSOliS filling various to the Reformation of the sixpositions, the total number being teenth century, was born and upward of 700. The day-schools cradled in Bohemia. There, oppohave an attendance of 23,998. The sition was manifested long before total number of souls under the NortherIl Europe roused itself in care of the missionaries is 96,877, protest; but, by the rise in Jesuitan 'increase of 1,453 during the year, ism and by internal reforms, the 20 missionaries have been called Church of Rome managed to retain into the service during the year; its hold upon the central belt of 10 have retired from service, and 3 Europe, including France and Aushave died. tria. Now, across this great tract' of country, simultaneous signs are Norwegian The annual report appearing which give indication of Missionary of the Norwegian a fresh, forthcoming struggle for freedom from the tyranny of the Society. Missionary Society papacy. What far-reaching issues has just been is- may not these events betoken!- London Christian. sued. The society has 4 main fields. The earliest is that of Zululand Protestants Ve sometimes forand Natal. Altho at some of the in Russia. get that tho only 15 stations there the sound of guns could be recently heard, most of the Greek Church the buildings have escaped destruc- may proselyte in the dominions of tion. There are now 1,200 communicants, 235 catechumens, 2,070 a the czar, other faiths are allowed baptized persons, and nearly 2,500 adherents. In Madagascar the to have being. And from an aumost important of 3 Norse efforts thoritative source it is gathered is the Inland Mission. The number that in the empire are to be found baptized is considerably over 6,COO. 557 Lutheran churches with 700 Twenty-seven Norse missionaries pastors, and 40 Reformed, or Preswith 70 native ministers, superin- bxterian, churches. Of these, 94 tend nearly 1,000 congregations churches with 130 pastors are in the St. Petersburg district, and 75 churches with 88 pastors in the Moscow district.
Russian The persecution of selfsame village. To his astonish- Intolerance. the Stundists con- ment, the first man he met at the gate detained him with the ques- tinues. A new s- tion: "Are you not the man who paper correspondent at Odessa sold the Bibb?" With fear and reports that 16 persons have just trembling he answered: "Yes. I been sentenced to varying terms of am the man." "Then come to our imprisonment for holding a relig- village; everyone of us desires to ious service in a private house. purchase your book," was the The police found the company en- amazing reply. This was how the gaged in prayer, with an open Bible chang"e was wrought. A merchant on the table. The householder said of the village picked up the book in they had met aEi Christians and be- the market-place, concluding that lievers in the Gospel, to pray and the paper might be used. Accordhear the Bible read in accordance ingly leaf after leaf was torn outto with the Acts of the Apostles; but serve as wrappers for salt, sugar, it was enough when the court was !'ice, or other groceries, thus entersatisfied that they were Stundists. ing every hut. And so it was that Many Christian friends will learn when the leaves were scattered with something akin to dismay throughout the village, the pages that Count Bobrynsky has just been were eagerly scanned, and one by arrested, and sent off at only four one the people came to the merhours' notice to Kola, a wretched chant, requesting additional stray Lapp village on the Arctic Ocean. leaves to satisfy their thirst for To a petition from the count's knowledge concerning the Bible. mother, the Ministerof the Interior The joy of the man as he heard replied: "Tell the countess that I this wonderful tale may well be am acting in virtue of special imagined. In less than two days powers from the czar, and will he had disposed of all his books, brook interference from no one." and was even compelled to tarry some time longer in order to teach The Bible One day a colpor- the people the way of salvation.
as a teur entered the viI- Missionary. lage of Montalbo- ASIA.
rejo, in the Province of Toledo, in Spain, and offered his The Rep 0 r t s fro m goods for sale. Among others he Mohammedan Shanghai tell of also sold a large Bible. Already Mission the humiliation of the priest had been informed of the Fizzle. an envoy from the transaction. He rushed out of the Sultan of Turkey, church standing in the market- sent to China at the solicitation of place, swiftly approached the col- the Emperor of Germany, to aid, if porteur, tore the book out of the need be, in pacifying the Moham- buyer's hand, cast it upon the medans of northern China. Em- ground, and angrily exclaimed: peror William seemed to think, as "These books of the devil shall diel the sultan, that word from the never enter my parish." He roused sultan as nominal head of all Mo- the people, and especially the pious hammedans would be sufficient to women, to anger, and they took up quell an anti-Christian, anti-for- stones and cast them at the inoffen- eign spirit wherever it existed.
sive man, causing him to flee, When the pasha sent as envoy thankful to escape with his life. arrived in Shanghai, he found that Six weeks later the colporteur was the Mohammedans he was sent to again on the road leading to the pacify were in a distant province,
GENEItAL MI8810NARY INTELLtGENOE
not to be reached from the east author is a Moslem occupying the coast with safety, but only through position of legal counselor, and the India and Cashmere, and, more- unusual feature of the book is its over, that if he once gained access advocacy of the abolition of polygto the Chinese Mohammedans they amy, the veil, and the harem, and would spurn him, the Sultan of also of the education of women and Turkey being to them as naught. girls, and its claim that under cer- Consequently, the envoy pasha has tain circumstances a Moslem started back to Turkey via Vladi- woman should have the right to vostok and the Trans-Siberian divorce her husband. The Mufti railway full of chagrin, and having of Egypt has just issued a Fetwa learned much-among other things, giving woman the right in certain that Shanghai has European soci- cases to divorce her husband, and ety. He thought he was going this Fetwa is incorporated into among barbarians. He also learned this volume. The book has had a that the Indian Mohammedans are great sale in Egypt. It has been not all loyal to the sultan. In- replied to by a Damascus Moslem specting one of the British Indian of the old school, who insists that regiments in Shanghai one day, a the Koran requires the subjection regiment made up of Mohammedans and veiling of woman, and enforces in the main, he said to one of the the customs now in vogue in the officers: "I come from the head of Mohammedan world concerning your religion, the Sultan of Tur- her. The agitation of the question key." "Your excellency," replied among Moslems themselves is sigthe officer, "the only head that I nificant as well as hopeful. The know is the King of England."- campaign for the emancipation of The Congregationalist. Moslem women seems to have be- gun in Egypt. The Light According to a late Rejected. dispatch from Con- Medical Work The Rev. John stant.inople, the sul- in the Rooker, author df tan is no lover of· knowledge for his subjects. For, following the Holy City. " A Modern Pilgrim graduation of the first Turkish girl at the American Girls' College, the in J e I' usa I e nl , " Turkish government has issued an edict prohibiting Turkish children writes of a visit paid him by Dr. from attending foreign schools, the employment of private teachers in ·Wheeler, of the Medical Mission in Turkish households, or the appearance of Turkish women in public Jerusalem. He says: "The dense accompanied by Christian women companions. This edict deprives ignorance of the people is extraorhundreds of foreign governesses of the means of livelihood. dinary, but for a man with humor The New Dr. Henry H. Jes- there are experiences which relieve Moslem sup, of Syria, states Woman. some interesting the monotony of 'the daily round.'
facts concerning a I have just come from the hospital. remarkable volume in Arabic recently issued at Cairo by Kasim I love my patients, but they are a Beg, entitled " Al Mir'at al Jadidat" (The New Woman). The funny lot. A man came to me a few days ago with bad pains. I gave him a box with four pills in it, and I gave him directions. He came back in two days. 'Thanks be to Godl' he said, 'you have made me· well, but the secret was hard to swallow.' He rubbed his throat expressively. 'I tried once, and twice, but no good. So I rubbpd here, and I pushed, and I
gotit down at last. ' I found he had admittance. By 5.50 A.M. every swallowed the box and the four available space was filled, and at pills all at once. that early hour the gate was shut, " A woman came with a head- several hundred disappointed pa- ache, and asked for a blister. They tients being most reluctantly turn- don't think anything of you if you ed away. Heart-breaking as it was only give medicine. You IftUst to be compelled to do, it was inevi- give them something which pro- table, and altho the doctor after duces discomfort or pain; other- immense effort was able to treat wise they say: 'Ah! he is a kind 628 women who had secured admit- man, but he is not a clever doctor; tance, the strain was too much, and he never hurts.' Well, I gave this we were compelled to close Santi- woman two mustard leaves. She pur. In those six days the total came to see me next day and said: attendance was 2,621, of whom 'Praise be to God! I am well. But ],377 were new patients; and if it at first I had no ease. I put your be remembered that these patients papers on one side of my head, and were all women, many of whom the pain went to the other side. had come long distances during Then I put them that side, and the night in the height of the rainy pain went to the middle. So I put season, the remarkable nature of one of them here' (tapping the end the result will be apparent.-Medi- of her nose), 'and it pulled the pain cal Mission8 at Home and Abroad.
out of my head altogether, and I British The following table Providence in shows the acreage am well.'"
Hospitals for Santipur is a city India. irrigated by gov- Hindu Women. of '30,000, located in ernment irrigation lower Bengal, and _works on March 31st of last year: here the experiment was tried of opening a branch for women pa- Baluchistan ………………….. .. 3,091 tients only, the lady doctor avail- Rajputana …………………… .. 18,896 Burma……….. " ……………. .. 424,774 Bengal.. ………………………. . 727,026 able going there once a week, ac- Bombay ……………………… .. 1,678,875 companied by 2 of the women of the mission as evangelists. Opening N. W. Provinces……………….. . 2,830,945 dispensary work at Santipur in the height of the rains, 25 female Madras ……………………….. . H,286,344 Panjab ……….. . 4,4~,890 Total acres ……………… 13.430,841 patients attended. By the follow- The Chaos of The attempt to cod- ing week the news had spread, and Hinduism. ify Hindu doctrine the attendance rose to 183. The and belief, indeed third day brought 509, the fourth the very idea of importing a logical 572, the fifth 70.Jo; and even these or rational unity into Hinduism astounding numbers of female pa- has come from the outside. Re- tients did not represent the whole garded as a system of belief, it has of the women who desired treat- been impossible hitherto to define ment, for hundt'eds besides those Hinduism. The only unity dis- admitted had to be turned away, cernible in it has been geographical, as it was absolutely impossible for provided by the boundaries of the the lady doctor in charge to receive Indian peninsula, or social, consti- them. The strain of work at last tuted by the universal institution . broke down the only too willing of caste. In its logical aspects, worker. On September 6th, long Hinduism can only be described as before 4 A.M., crowds of women be- a weltering chaos of opinions; the sieged the dispensary clamoring for most conflicting are intricate con-
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE•
geres of systems that are mutually laxis against cholera, the native destructive. It is the proud boast way of staying the further course of of the modern Hindu that no mat- the epidemic in their midst. On ter what school of thought one be- realizing the danger, the village longs to, a place can be found for elders with really surprising promp- one in the system which-for con- titude had met in solemn conclave to venience' sake-we call by one discuss what should be done in this name, Hinduisrn.-Harvest F'ield. strait. It was duly resolved to beat Conversion At a meeting of the the village bounds that very night, and so expel the evil thing from VB. South India Mis- their midst, and to pass it on to the next village I They in their turn Education. sionary Ass 0 cia- would be sure to pass it on to their neighbors, and so the peril would tion, held at Coo- leave the land. Accordingly a sub- scription was started, to which noor in May last, an address was custom made even the poorest con- tribute something, and the money given by Rev. W. I. Chamberlain collected went to pay for the necessary lights and instrumental on "The Need of Moral Education music, and to provide the libations and sacrifices for the appeasing of for the Youth of India." A fe'Y the angry goddess-and doubtless there was something left over for extracts will show the trend of the astute wire-puller, the priest who suggested it all. thought: "The people of all classes in India are religious." "All Malas in the Cuddapah district can be reached by little effort." "Have we any right to inquire too much into motives? " "The feeling that Christianity is the true religion is the main motive with the masses who move toward Christianity."
"Such movements spread in India Irish In the last five on lines of family relationship." Presbyterians years the baptized "Experience and history testify in Gujerat. membership of the that mass movements are of Divine mISSIOn has in- appointment." "More abiding re- creased from 1,973 to 3,000 (includ- sults have been obtained where ing the jungle tribes mission), or people have come in mass than as over 52 per cent., and unbaptized individuals." "The signs are many adherents from 585 to 3,157, or more that the caste people are coming than fivefold. The whole Christian out to Christianity."-Baptist Mis- community numbers 6,157 against sionary Review. . 2,558 five years ago. Communi- Superstition Dr. Ashton refers to cants have increased during the VB. the superstitions of same period from 520 to 674, or Medicine. the Hindus with re- nearly 30 per cent. A large part gard to disease, of the increase in unbaptized ad- showing incidentally how closely herents was during the last two their ideas of healing are allied to years, in which period orphans their practical religious belief. The alone increased from 330 to 1,610, doctor is awakened at night by a but the increase was much greater noise, but it was no marriage pro- than the number of unbaptized cession, as he might easily have dis- orphans would account for, being covered for himself had he been less from 789 to 3,157, or just fourfold.
sleepy. Inquiry in the morning At the end of 1870, when the mis- threw a fresh light on the case. The sion had been thirty years in ex- midnight performance was only a istence, there were 5 principal sta- truly Oriental method of prophy- tions, and the total Christian com-
munity was 534, of whom 381 were the fruit of the labors of a leper baptized members, 126 being on the Christian (an Oriya) by the name communicants' roll. In the follow- of Gurabuttu, who lived in Tekkali ing thirty years the baptized mem- many years ago, and taught a bership increased nearly eightfold, school for the Pariahs beneath a while the number of communicants tamarind tree. Two Savara boys is more than five times what it was living a few miles away near the in 1870. There were then no native foot-hills yearned to get a little pastors, and the native Christian education, and, breaking their agency consisted of 7 catechists, 5 parents' commands, they clandescolporteurs, and 10 teachers, or 22 tinely sought the poor, persecuted in all. There a,re now a native Christian school-teacher, and sat at Christian staff, male and female, his feet beneath the tamarind tree, numbering 251 in all, of whom 5 where they made letters in the were native pastors, 66 evangelists, sand. Gurabutta won several con- 159 Christian teachers, 4 colpor- verts from among these hill people. teurs, and 17 Biblewomen. Since then about 20 have been re- ceived into the Tekkali church. The From "A Review The Savara Christians, for the most part, li ve in one village, three miles Salvation Army of the Work of the from Tekkali. The Telugu churches were urged to undertake the evanin India. Salvation Army in gelization of this tribe, and a board, consisting of 4 Telugu brethren and Other Lands" we 3 missionaries, was appointed.
learn that the work is almost en- tirely among the lowest classes of the people and in the villages.
"The Army can not boast of great ingatherings of high-caste Hindus " Advantages" Last year the or Mohammedans, altho among our of Anti -l<~oot – Bind- officers and soldiers there are beau- Foot-binding. ing Societ.yoffered tiful converts from these classes, prizes for essays but we can speak of a present army on the subject of its work. Over of 40,000 soldiers and adherents 200 essays were sent in, most of won for Jesus from among those to them strongly condemning the whose circumstances and condi- practise of foot-binding. A few, tions of life reference has been however, defended the custom on made-viz., the poor and the out- the following grounds: "Bound cast. The Lord is making a people feet assist women to do their duty, of those who were not a people. which is to stay at home and not From these thousands ranged to gad about in their neighbors'
around our army colors we have houses." "Bound feet are condu- selected and trained over 1,500 men cive to health and long life. See and women, who now act aFl native how many more old' women than officers and teachers, seeking to in- old men there are in China! This struct their fellow converts and is because their bound feet prevent their children in the way of life." women from working too hard.
Telugus The Telugu church- Moreover, they do not see and Sending Out es which were Missionaries. organized by our grieve over the unobtainable; so Canadian Baptist they are not envious, but have brethren in South India. have undertaken mission work among a hearts at rest, which is very helpneighboring people known as Savaras. The first converts were ful indeed for women." "Those who complain of the pain involved in binding the feet forget that suf- fering is necessary for the proper
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
development of woman's character. the import has forced Ul!! to attempt a dangerous remedy; we have A woman who has not eaten this legalized native opium, not because we approve of it, but to compete bitterness is likely to be opinion- with and drive out the foreign drug, and it is expelling it, and ated and to want her own way. when we have only the native pro- duction to deal with, and thus have She will argue and quarrel with the business in our own hands, we hope to stop the habit in our own her husband, and the two will op- way."
po"e each other like a pair of strong A Chinaman Bishop Warne, in hands, each coming against the Transformed. the Indian Wit- other, causing smacks and crashes. ness, gives an inter- On the contrary, a bound-footed esting sketch in brief of a Chinese woman will receive correction and convert in the Penang District, is submissive and obedient to her Malay Peninsula, which is worth husband. Confucius says that reading as an illustration of the women should be weak and men power of the Gospel to transform strong. This is the proper order." character. He says: One Cause of Sir Robert Hart has When at Kuala Lampor I found the pastor was a bright Chinese Chinese not hitherto been man, a convert from our church in Siam. Four years ago he was Prejudice. regarded as friendly a poor, ignorant, withered up, opium-smoking coolie in Siam. He to the Anti-Opium was converted, called to preach, and was brought by Dr. West to movement, having apparently de- the Penang Theological School. He has since learned to read the sired to minimize the magnitude of Chinese Bible, arithmetic up to square root, writing, geography, the evils inflicted on China by the and has read in Chinese three vol- umE'S of church history, the Dis- opium traffic, tho he admitted that cipline, the Catechism, the Philoso- phy of the Plan of Salvation, Chinese who have studied the Binney's Theological Compend, Evidences of Christianity, a Life of opium question are opposed to the Christ, an account of the religions of China; Buddhism, Confuciantraffic. This fact gives additional ism, Taoism. He has learned, in the tonic sol-fa system, to read emphasis to the following extract music at sight, and to lead a con- gregation in singing in tune and from his recent article: time. When I saw this man an intelligent preacher, and thought The position the Chinese take what he was four years ago, I feIt up may be said to be this: "We the days of miracles were not past, did not invite you foreigners here," and that no one should doubt the they say; "you crossed the seas of value of missions and the elevating your own accord, and more or less power of the Gospel. forced your'selves on us. We generously permittpd the trade you A Noble Some time since the were at first satisfied with, but what return did you make? To Chinese British and Foreign the trade we sanctioned you added opium smuggling, and when we Dignitary. Bib I e Society retried to stop it you made war on us! We do not deny that Chinese solved to make no consumers kept alive a demand for the drug, but both consumption claim whatever on the Chinese auand importation were illegal and prohibited; when we found it was thorities for the damage, amountruining our people and depleting our treasury we vainly attempted ing in all to £3,000, sustained to induce you to abandon the trade, and we then had to take action through the recent outbreak in against it ourselves. War ensued; but we were no warriors, and you China. The Rev. G. H. Bondfield won, and then dictated treaties which gave you Hongkong and opened several ports, while opium still remained contraband. Your legalized opium has been a curse in every province it penetrated, and your refusal to limit or decrease
sends from Shanghai the copy of a priests, 18 deacons, 137 catechists, correspondence between the acting and 60 female workers, all Japan- British consul at Kiukiang and ese, and working with foreign Ming Taoti, the ruling Chinese workers hand in hand. There are official in that city. The taotai nearly 9,000 native converts at- writes: "'Vherever, through last tached to the 75 churches and 138 year's disturbances, any missionary outstations, all being bound tosociety has lost any documents and gether in one native church with books,· such loss, if really incurred its own constitution and synods. through the destruction of mission premises, ought naturally to be AFRICA. fairly estimated and paid for. In your letter you mention a Shang- Basel Mission The mission of the hai society which is unwilling to on the Basel Society on press for an indemnity, but is prepared to accept compensation ·if West Coast. the Gold Coast is voluntarily offered. This attitude, one of those where which fully proves the good intentions of the society, and its desire the native pastorate has been most to deal in a spirit of fairness and completely developed. Hundreds equity, commands my profound re- of native helpers are employed in spect. . . • I propose myself to its service, and many schools and offer the whole amount (of their congregations owe their origin to loss in this city) as a subscription their persevering work. Many to the society, in evidence of my were sent into the Ashanti country, respect for them and my sincere where for the la!lt four years they regret for their losses." 'Vith the have been carrying on a very letter went a draft for $400, the modest but very important work. value of books, etc., destroyed in In the terrible revolt of last year that city. their position was one of extreme danger. For a long time the soci- How to An old Chinese wo- ety had no news of them; it is now Tell when rn a n had become a known that many of them have died as martyrs in the truest sense Sunday Christian and wished of that word. The heroism of Otou, Came. to keep the seventh a native teacher who, with his wife, was alone at a station five day holy, but could days' march northwest of Coomasnever remember when it came. sie, has never been surpassed in After much difficulty, she hit upon the annals of martyrdom. His last her own plan. Six chop-sticks were recorded words were: "I can not laid on a shelf, and each morning prevent you from killing me. Other when she arose she took one away. children of God have been treated The day when the shelf was bare in the same way; the Lord Jesus was Sunday, and work was stopped. was crucified by His own people; I On Monday all six sticks went back am ready to sacrifice my life for again, and so the fourth command- Him."-Le Missionaire. ment was kept. The There are now 4 Episcopacy There are in the in Japan. empire of the French Kongo principal stations in Anglican commun- Mission. t,his mission, 1 havion 6 bishops, 51 missionaries, 15 lay-workers, 72 women-all drawn ing been added durfrom England and America. In addition to these, there are 26 ing the past year. It is a most encouraging fact that Lambarene has now 5 outstations, Talagorga 11, and Samkita 11. These out- stations are manned by native
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
catechists, who are aided by occa- denominationally, the Wesleyan sional visits of the French mission- Church easily leads with 31,000, aries. The whole valley of the followed by the Church of England Moobe, an affluent of the River with 20,000; United Free Church of Ogowe, has now for the first time Scotland, 11,000; Independent (or heard the Gospel. The annual re- Congregational), 7,000; Dutch Report of the mission concludes with formed, 5,500; Moravian, 3,500; these words: "Our work has been Rhenish, 2,000; Berlin Society, 1,700; pursued this year in the midst of Roman Catholic, 1,000; French the usual difficulties; setting itself Evangelical. 700; Trappist's Missometimes against the attractions sion, 300; Primitive Methodist, 260; of gain, sometimes of immorality, German Lutheran and Baptist two forms of paganism, and some- churches, 100 each. These figures times also meeting well-disposed account for 84,000 children, the hearts. If there has not been prog- balance being made up of pupils atress everywhere, we can say that tending undenominational schools. in a general way there has been progress." How Converts In reply to a ques- Hold Out. tion, How many Growth on Many more than mission converts the Upper Southern Presby- lapse? Dr. N. Macvicai', of Blan- Kongo. terians will rejoice tyre, British Central Africa, says, to read these words in the ChU1'ch of Scotland Mission Record, that out of a total of 314 from the Ch1'istian Observer: men (with 5 exceptions young " Our mission work on the Kassai men) who have been baptized from branch of the Kongo River was be- the beginning of the African misgun in the year 1891 at Luebo. sion up to December 31, 1899, only Two years ago it had 197 members, 26 have lapsed from membership. the next year God blessed it with Seeing that many of the converts 88 new members, and the report for are now living at a distance from the year just closed is that 116 more any of the churches, and are exwere added, and the total number posed to temptations from their of members is 375. The church -at heathen neighbors often hard to Ibanj is a daughter of the church be resisted, the proportion of the at Luebo. It was organized 3 or -1 lapsed is remarkably small. years ago, with only 15 members; in its second year 35 new memberE< Roman In the May number were added; the next year some 40 more; and the latest news is that Intrusion and of Afrika a comthe church now has 122 members. How many churches have we at Guile. plaint is v 0 ice d home that have grown from 15 members to 120 in about 3 years? from German mis- The new building was begun about 2 years ago and has been built sionaries in East Africa concerning by the natives." the unfair methods of the (Roman Catholic) Trappists, both in intrud- ing upon fields occupied by Prot- estant missionaries,'and in enticing away their mem bel'S. At Marangu, Native The number of na- where the Leipzic Society had es- Education in tive and colored tablished a school, the Trappist Cape Colony. children attending Fathers have likewise opened one, the s tat e – aid e d in spite of remonstrances as to the schools in Cape Colony at the close confusion sure to arise from such of 1900 was 86,730, both sexes being interference. Some 25 boys have in almost equal proportion. Taken already been decoyed from _the
THE MIBI!IIONABY REVIEW 0:1' THE WORLD
Protel!ltant school, and tell their erected a suitable building for former associates that it is much preaching in. This was a "bait" pleasanter to learn under the to get a missionary; and it is now " Mopia" (corruption from "Mon getting quite common for the un· pere "), as they are not so strict evangelized tribes who have heard about singing and dancing, and are something of the Gospel to build a always ready to pardon sins against preaching-place, and set apart a the commandments. It will help portion of the land, in the hopes us to understand the Protestant that the nearest missionary would attitude by remembering that such make arrangements that some one dances form part of the heathen should be sent to tell them the worship. The Trappists also in- good news. tend to settle at the Meru mountain, tho the Leipzic Society has ISLANDS OF THE SEA. been preparing for some time to Glad Tidings In a personal note, plant a mission there; their utterly false allegation being that the Ger- from the Dr. Homer C. man commander had desired such Philippines. Stunt'3 writes from settle men t. Manila: " This is New The Christians of truly a wonderful field! Nothing like it has been seen in the history Cathedral in Uganda are build- of modern missionary effort. The eagerness of this people to hear the Uganda. ing a large new Gospel is at once a delight and an embarrassment. We are embar- church of brick to rassed by the paucity of workers to overtake so great a demand. sea,t 4,000, to replace the old one of Their hunger for reading-matter, hymn-books, etc., is actually reed and thatch. The whole of the pathetic. We can not make Bible, portions yet as fast as they are members have gone off to fetch wanted. Every page that we print goes at cost as soon as it is dry clay for brick-making. The women, from the press. We (the.Methodists) have now over 1,200 members in including the regent's wife and Manila, and the work is opening in the provinces. several princesses, are bringing fire- Higher How incongruous wood for burning the bricks. The Education for the very idea! And prime minister and other chiefs Fijians! I! yet at the last con- ference in Austranot only share the work, but make lia a proposal was discussed that a point of carrying a bigger load provincial and high schools be es- tablished in Fiji under the auspices than most of their men. A fine of the mission board. Numbers of common schools have been coexillustration of noblesse oblige! istent with the Methodist Mission to Fiji, and the education of the Progress in The Bishop of Mom- people undertaken by its agents. East Africa. basa (East Africa) A demand was being made for higher education, ranking some- tells of his travel- where between the Navuloa Coling hundreds of miles on foot, lege pertaining to the mission and planning new stations, and acquir- their common schools. It was proing land and buildings. Six new large districts have been recently acquired in German East Africa, and t.he willingness of the natives everywhere to welcome the missionary is general. One chief had gone three days' journey to meet him, and asked, " Won't you corne and teach us ?" Six chiefs having heard of a missionary who was laboring some distance off, sent for him,having in the mean time
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
posed to establish two grades of church supports its own pastor superior schools, one a provincial now, and makes an offering for the superior school and the other a work of the Board. Lukunor excentral high-school. The govern- pended $160 on the church building ment (British) was prepared to last year, and Oniop nearly as much subsidize at the rate of £1 for £1 up for the same purpose. Both these to £1,000 for the building and fur- churches have ordered bells of the nishing of a high-school. The cost trader. There are now 12 churches of maintaining such an institution in this field." would be £500 per annum, covering £170 per annum for one provincial New Work Th e Australasian superior school, and £330 per an-. in Solomon Methodist Missionnum for one high-school. The estimated cost of erecting and fur- Islands. ary Society has denishing the buildings required was termined to com- £2,000. mence work in the Solomon Islands How They One of the sights of group. The Anglicans have had Measure in the river Mamba, for years a mission there, but there New Guinea. New Guinea, is the is room for this fresh enterprise. The Rev. Dr. George Brown, super- native church built intendent of the Methodist misby the mission at the village of sions, has proceeded to the new Ave. All visitors are taken to see sphere of labor, and aJPid all the it. Its proportions so impressed perils incident to residence among some men from the Gara River that savage and cannibal tribes, he will they took its measurements with superintend the laying of the founstrips of bark tied together. First dations of this important work. they measured the length of the This will include the selection of building and folded that measure the site for the first mission station, up; then one climbed the post in the erection of buildings, and the the center and measured the height, selection of laborers. As in the that measure being also folded up case of the New Guinea Mission, and put by. The width was then agents will be sent from the Christaken in the same way, and the tianized natives of Polynesia. three measures treasured up to dis- Many of these ordained ministers play to wondering friends at home. and students will doubtless be eagerly ambitious to be among The Situation Mr. Price says of the the pioneers of the Gospel. in Micronesia. MortIock I s I and s, MISCELLANEOUS. connected with the The World Every year thl! Allmission at Ruk, "There is a marked Religiously. gemeine Zeitung, increase in the material wealth of the people on all the islands. This of Munich, publishis not due so much to an increase in es a carefully prepared estimate of products as to prudence and in- the religious statistics of the world. dustry in taking care of the wealth According to the estimate for the found in their respective islands present year, there are in Europe and labor to increase the produc- 384,500,000 Christians, 6,600,000 Motiveness of the land. They are hammedans, and 6,500,000 Jews. learning the value of material In all America there are 126,400,000 wealth. There is no reason, there- Christians; the Jews and heathen fore, why many of the churches on are not given. In Asia there are these islands should not become 12,600,000 Christians, 109,500,000 rapidly self-supporting. The Nama Mohammedans, ·200,000 Jews, and 667,800,000 pagans. In Africa are
4,400,000 Christians, 36,000,000 Mos- geIical Alliance. He was a mislems, 400,000 Jews, and 91,000,000 sionary at Singapore, where he heathen. And in Oceanica are 9,- learned Chinese. That was in the 700,000 Christians, 24,700,000 Mos- years following 1838. Afterward lems, and 4,400,000 heathen. In he became a missionary at Con- the whole world there are 240,000,- stantinople, where he was associ- 000 Catholics, 163,300,000 Protest- ated with Cyrus Hamlin. He there ants, and 98,300,000 Greeks, or a translated the Bible into Armenian, total of 501,600,000 Christians in a and other religious works. He was population of 1,544,509,000. It is a a famous linguist, was familiar striking fact that Protestants are with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, increasing in numbers faster than and could speak fluently in French, Cat h 0 Ii c s. In English-speaking German, Syriac, and Chinese. He lands Ireland alone has a majority was eminently useful, was modest of Catholics. The wealthiest Cath- . and unobtrusive, but firm in main- olic Church is that of France. taining his convictions.
Commander It has been my General Haig, General F. T. Haig, Wadhams pri vilege to see of London. R.E., was called Testifies. much of our mis- home in the latter sionaries and their part of July. He was for many work throughout the world. No years an active Christian worker one can fully appreciate the great in India, and after retiri.ng from good that has been done by foreign the army, was an active and valued missionaries until they can com- friend of missions. By his pen and pare the converted with the uncon- voice he was ever ready to plead verted in distant lands and islands for the.cause. His wide experience of the sea. The missionaries need made him a most valuable adviser no word of cOD;lmendation from me on almost every missionary subor anybody. Their work speaks ject, while his self-denying genefor itself; and any man or woman rosity forwarded its plans. It was who honestly examines the work of largely as a result of his journeyour foreign missionaries must ad- ings, and at his suggestion, that mire and rejoice in the great work the North Africa Mission began that is being done by the noble men work in Northern Arabia and and women whose privilege it is to Egypt, and it was through a letter scatter the sunlight of the blessed of his in The Christian that the Gospel. Hon. Ion Keith Palconer went out to Aden, and the C. M. S. sent Dr. OBITUARY NOTES. Harpur to the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. In all his labors Mrs. Dr. Wood, Rev. George W. Haig was his able and self-deny- of Turkey. Wood, D.D., died ing cooperator. May God raise up others like him! He was most at Geneseo, N. Y., humble, and did the most heroic July 17th, of old age and par- things so quietly that they were alysis. He was born in Bradford, frequently unknown. Vhat one Mass., in 1814. He was correspond- did hear of was generally through ing secretary of the American some fellow-officer, friend, or com- Board of Missions, from 1852 to panion. It would need a volume 1871. During that period he, in to tell the story or his consecrated association with Rev. Dr. Henry life. B. Smith, of Union Seminary. and Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff, organized the American branch of the Evan-
The Missionary Review of the World — October 1900
A CHINESE MANDARIN AND HIS WIFE, OF I-CHOU
The mixture of Chinese aud of Western ideas is seen in the native dress and small feet of the wife !IS contrasted witb the foreign cbairs and clock. MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
Old Series. } OCTOBER. j New Series. VOL. XXIII. No. 10. 1VOL. XIII. No. 10.
MYS'rERIES OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE IN CHINA.
BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.
These are days in which we seem to have but one course open to us: God seems saying: "Be still, and know that I am God." There has been nothing which parallels the recent position of affairs in the Middle Kingdom, since Christ ascended. The Indian mutiny of fortythree years ago, was the nearest approach to it, but even that was on no snch scale of magnitude. Here were between twenty-five hundred and three thousand Christian missionaries shut up within the empire, many of them six weeks' journey from the coast and the ports, with tens of thousands of poor native Christians, and there was no communication with them by telegraph, post, or other method of contact, and for many of them no human help has been available. Meanwhile organized bands of foes, implacable, merciless, re'ady for outrage, plunder, torture, and slaugh tel', hemmed them in on every side.
We could not and dared not attempt to read this riddle of Divine Providence. In this case hindsight will be safer than foresight as an interpreter, and we simply wait and pray, in the calm confidence that the Lord reigneth. When we think how the great Powers stood quietly by, and permitted the Armenian atrocities to go forward without interposition, and see how these very powers have been suffering such suspense over the fate of their own representatives, amid similar Chinese atrocities; when we think of the opium curse, forced upon China by armies and navies, and other forms of injurious trade which have been practically forced on a helpless people by treaties, we can not but ask, May there not be something retributive in this as a judgment of God?
When we remember the World's Parliament of Religions, seven years ago, and how it was boldly -affirmed that, however much China might need Christianity to teach duties and relations Godward, Confucianism is quite sufficient to instruct the Chinese as to human rights, relations, and responsibilities, manward, we can not but wonder whether Confucianism is not on trial, in its own chosen territory, and
in the very matter of man with man, and found fatally wanting. But, whatever possible solution conjecture may suggest, it is only par- tial, and we feel constrained to wait until God throws clearer light on the meaning of this mystery.
An acute and devout student of the times, in Britain, writes as follows: Dr. Charles Pearson's book, published in 1894, on "National Life and Character," was a professed ,. forecast." He was a minister of education in Australia, and thought it likely that the yellow and black races would speedily acquire knowledge, come to realize their own might, organize armies, and assert themselves. What if, ere long, they should arise in their wrath, and sweep all Europeans out of Asia! We have given them,' or rather a small portion of them, a modicum of the Gospel; but. on the other hand, we have done them all sorts of fearful wrong, our so-called "civilization" being mostly sheer wickedness.
The western nations have been preparing their own chastiser. Ever since the Japan-Ohinese war, Ohina has been openly getting ready for a coming and inevitable conflict. Under skilled European training her young men have been taught the manipulation and use of the most advanced and destructive weapons of modern warfare, and the consequence is that when, in this day of awful suspense, and the massacre of hundreds of Ohinese Christians, European nations have undertaken to quell what proves to be a gigantic revolt against foreign interference, Ohina has been found armed to the teeth, and knowing how to use the best rifles and heaviest guns, very nearly as well as the most skilled men from the western military and naval schools. And the allies are taken by surprise to find that the nation that proved as unwieldy as a lame elephant in the contest with Japan, and a thousand years behind the age, unable to cope with the little Sunrise Kingdom, is almost a match now for the combined forces of Europe and America. Her awkwardness and antiquated methods have given place in less than a decade of years to alertness, rapidity of movement, and skilful maneuvering; she has been mobilizing her forces with astonishing ease, and revealing strategic skill wholly unexpected. The lame elephant has become a tiger for ferocity, a lion for strength, a panther for swiftness, and a serpent for subtlety. China has shown herself to be the Red Dragon indeed, breathing out fire and defying even the sword of "St. George."
One thing which compels us to hesitate to attempt any forecast of the result, is that we really know so little about the real conditions. One thing may certainly be avoided and should be studiously shunned, in the midst of this terrible chaos of events, viz., the depreciation of missionaries and their work. It may suit the political humor of the English premier, to hint that" the army generally follows the missionary," and that" the missionary is not popular at the foreign office"; but it is too late in the history of the world either to sneer at the work of the missionary as a sort of mistl1ken and fanatical enthusiasm, or
GRAVES OUTSIDE OF TUNG-CHOW FU
The disturbing of these graves by the construction of railroads is one of the causes of the anti·foreign uprising. ~he Chinese have II superstitious reverence for the graves of their ancestors, and believe that calamity will befall any community . where the spirits of the dead are not propitiated.
to underrate his services to the whole race of man. There is some- thing besides the" army" that follows the missionary. Witness the common school and the college, the law court and the peaceful home, the industries of labor and the amenities of society. Witness the languages in hundreds of cases first reduced to a written form by these servants of God who have actually laid the foundations of all literature, not only translating the Bible into four hundred tongues, but building up literary intelligence from its corner-stone! Go and visit medical missions and hospitals which have introduced the science and the art of a rational medicine and snrgery into many a land where the native system or treatment was but the refinement of barbaric cruelty. Then turn to the zenanas, first penetrated by Ohristian women with the dawn of hope for woman's education and emancipation.
Does the army follow the missionary? How often has the missionary made the army needless? It was a missionary that in the great crisis of India was called in to be a mediator between contending forces and factions as the only trustworthy party. Let anyone study the history of Judson in Burma, Schwartz in India, Griffith John in China, Livingstone in Africa, McAll in France, Riggs in Turkey, Hogg in the Nile Valley, Calvert in the Fiji group, Paton in the New Hebrides, Oousins in Madagascar, McKay in Formosa, and the other Mackay in Uganda-let him read the "Ely Volume," and Dennis' great book on sociology and missions, and similar records of missionary ac!!ievement outside of preaching, and he can not speak lightly of the service rendered by missionaries in every department of human progress, not only moral and religious, but literary and scientific, political and commercial, medical and social. The army follows rather the tradesman than the evangelist, the money maker rather than the soul winner. Enlightened nations send their apostles of greed to foreign shores to turn the ports of heathen lands into marts of commerce. Opium, rum, firearms-anything that will sell, without reference to either the welfare or the wishes of the people, are persistently pushed forward into the market and often against remonstrance. Then comes systematic land-grabbing with increased proprietary rights and political control; then dissension and contention, then violent outbreak and war, with the oppression of superior numbers and better military equipment. What wonder if at times hatred of foreigners comes to the front and organized conspiracy and massacre are the result! Ohina, like India and Africa, has suffered great and grievous wrongs at the hands of nations calling themselves enlightened and Ohristian; and it is no great mystery if at last the great empire of the East, representing nearly a third of the human race, has been roused to assert herself and claim her rights, however wrong the method and spirit.
MYSTERIES OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE IN CHINA
We subjoin a private letter from a belned missionary in Chefoo as a specimen of the stamp of men in the very heat of this furnace of trial. Surely these are men of whom the world is not worthy. The lettpr bears date of June 26th, 1900: My thoughts turn to you to-day, as we are in the thick of rumors, and in the midst of the worst rebellion that has ever overtaken China. We are so disturbed here, not knowing what an hour may bring forth, I can only send you this hurried scrawl.
The Tatu Luli, or Big Knife Society (one order of the Boxers), is both anti-foreign and anti-Christian, and lately have centered all their powers north of us, at Tientsin, Paiting, and Peking, the capital. It is a thousand pities that the European powers have allowed that wicked woman, the empress, to go on so long against us. The facts, so far, are as follows: Tientsin, eighteen hours by sea from us, has been practically destroyed, both native and foreign settlements are burned, and the sacrifice of life has been fearful. All the women and children left last week for Chefoo and Shanghai. How the men are faring we know not. The suspense of wives for husbands, etc., as to their whereabouts and safety, can be more fully imagined than described. Two of our lady missionaries had to fly without even faying "Good-by" to loved ones. Telegraph wires are all down, railways broken up, officials murdered, and the whole district a literal hell upon earth. A relief party (European) has been repulsed twice between Tientsin and Peking. No wire or letter from missionary friends is possible. Peking, shut up and besieged; added to all this, we have heard that Chefoo is to be attacked, forts near here to be opened on us by the Chinese. The admiral at Taku, near Tientsin, says, in case of trouble, he can not protect Chefoo, as his force, etc., is not sufficient. Missionaries from inland stations are pouring in, some without a dollar for personal use.
Now, all this is a black picture, indeed, and it has not been without its lessons. Praise God! and to God's glory be it said, we are just letting our Father in heaven hold us, moment by moment. It is nice to sing about being safe under Divine protection, but to be in the midst of all this, and not knowing but the people will rise any hour and sweep Chefoo away, is quite another thing, and calls into play how much faith there is actually to trade with.
Some nervous ones have already caught the panic fever. I scarcely pass two hours without having to bid some one look up and really trust Hin~. I thank God for the testing, and if this be a, last letter I can say that, owing to His power to keep my dear wife and myself, we have just kept quiet and restful all through. Each night we patrol the large compound in twos, two hours each, from 10.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. These are times of cheering each other on, and practically relying on the rich and precious promises. Some fear the two reverses near Peking may make the soldiers and people intoxicated with excitement, and they may rise locally to burn and loot. Another rumor is that sixteen thousand Chinese troops are en route for this place to kill the foreigners. But many of these are groundless, I am sure. Any way, the situation is sufficiently grave to say we are in great danger.
In our San we have ten children and seventeen adults, so that causes
thought, if not anxiety, but I can say that I never epjoyed more real peace after my patrol. I sleep like a top, and it is not the natural man, but the Divine hand that keeps one steady in this sea of turmoil and strife. It may all end in our having to leave China, but we will not dwell on that, but rather let us think that greater victories than ever will be the outcome of this distress and desolation. All mission property is destroyed in three cities up north, but we can not hear where our brethren and sisters are.
Pray for us, very hard, will you not? Each night forty or more meet here for prayer at 8.30. Meanwhile, wife and myself are going on with our daily work. We have to cheer the servants or they might all desert us and, praise God! the first man who wanted to go has said, "I can't leave while I see you so calm and brave."
Poor native Christians, alas! my heart bleeds for them; they will suffer, indeed, they have suffered terribly. Remember them especially; rather forget us than them. I can not write any more, my hands are full. I do not anticipate a massacre, but if so, remember I said He is worthy, and if I had ten thousand lives they should all he gladly given for such a precious Master. I fear not, but just trust. J. A. S.
GOVERNMENT PROTECTION OF MISSIONS.
BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D.
President of the International Missionary Union.
The utterances of Lord Salisbury about the triumphs of mISSIOnaries in early church history, without government protection, may be a diplomatic hint of a change of policy in government patronage of the modern missionary. But Lord Salisbury needed not to go back so far to find illustrations of the success of non-combative evangelism, and there is little ground for his intimation that Protestant missionaries rely unduly on the arm of flesh.
Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, has under his leadership missionary sn bjects of several of the western powers. Does anybody suppose he would like to see a syndicate of these powers combined for their protection? Members of that mission tell of riotous persecution, involving imminent peril to their own lives, without a hint to government about redress, which advertised the mission and provoked investigation of Chinese hitherto indifferent to it, and this resulted in conversions, and from among these specific converts came some of the most efficient evangelists and leaders of the native church. Bishop Ridley, of Caledonia, tells of his being: spat upon, knocked down, and kicked about by savage ruffians, without any thought of appealing to his own British government to keep the police in British Columbia. The brute who abused him afterward clasped his feet and begged his pardon, and at last died a triumphant Christian. The inherent might of this non-combative love has won victory for hundreds of modern Christian converts from heathendom. It is the native
GOVERNMENT PROTECTION OF MISSIONS
Christians that have to bear the brunt of persecution without redress from civil or political source.
Bishop Ridley tells of a heathen band who entered the church of Indian Christians and forbade them reading the Bible to the people.
Because they would not promise to comply with this demand, the sav- ages tore down the edifice with axes and bars, and because it was too great a task to pull down the tower, set fire to it and burned it up.
One young Ohristian said, "Shall we not fight for the house of God? "
An older Ohristian replied, " No; Jesus never fought, He died. We will rather die than fight." There was no appeal to government for redress; no requisition for punishment of the criminals. They bore it all meekly and lovingly, declining to "put up a good fight in the name of the Prince of Peace," and the result was the conversion of the tribe to which the men of the mob belonged-the strongest tribe on the Pacific coast. "From that night onward," said one of the rioters, "I dreaded the Spirit of God. .' when I hunted among the mountains, the Spirit of God hunted me, and I was afraid."
Another man was one day holding the tape measure, while the bishop was measuring out the best site in the town to begin a new church, when he said, "Bishop, do you know that that hand set fire to the church? It did; and until I heard the native preacher say that the blood of Jesus Ohrist cleanses from all sin, I never had peace in my heart, but when I heard that, my fear went away."
TRIUMPHS OF GRACE.
All mISSIOn lands have furnished such illustrations of the triumphs of grace. Chinese Ohristians are eminent in these ranks. The case of Ling Ohing Ting is well known. Pe"secuted, falsely accused, and sentenced to two thousand bamboo stripes, which left him almost lifeless, and his back a jelly, his first words on being able to speak were, "Teacher, this poor body is in great pain just now . Jesus is with me. I think perhaps He is going to take me to heaven, and I will be glad to go. But if I get up from this, you will let me go back to Hok-chiang, won't you?" Back to the men who had falsely incriminated him, and beaten him almost to death, without any civil protection or other assurance of his safety, his Ohristian zeal carried him, and he won these enemies to Ohrist.
No; Lord Salisbury needed not to go back so far to point the moral of the triumph of the principles of Ohristianity without government patronage. Nor will he be likely to have to wait long for similar illustrations. The most perplexing problem likely to confront missionary boards in China is not how to procure indemnity, nor how to secure civil and political guardianship for missionaries, but how to deter missionaries from reentering fields where the danger is most imminent. If the misionary societies were to make the call for volun-
teers to enter the most perilous place in Ohina there would a score of men and women proffer their services to one that they could send, men who would spurn the suggestion that they must have government guaranty for their safety. Lone missionary women have not been regardful of the restrictions of consuls from reentering isolated stations near the locality of the massacres of the Foochow provinces. Missionaries in Uganda have not asked the. powers to avenge their personal injury, and elsewhere they have braved the dangers which the governments have superadded to those of the heathen conditions. The missionaries were not responsible for the Indian mutiny. It was the "hut tax" innovation in Sierra Leone that resulted in the massacre of missionaries. It is the abominations of the "concessions" that create peril for missionaries in other African colonies. The South African war is not a «missionary" war. Missionaries did not suggest "treaties" with North American Indians, nor with Ohinese. Hon. William B. Reed, as minister plenipotentiary, put the missionary clause into the treaties with Ohina. Missionaries did not solicit it. Even French Roman Oatholic missionaries did not take the initiative in this compact. They come under" the most favored nation" clause.
It was not missionaries, but United States Plenipotentiary Hon. Anson Burlinghame, who put into a treaty with Ohina the axiom that one of the fundamental rights of mankind was the privilege to change one's residence. If that was a fallacy, the United States was the first to override it by Oongressional Act; the Ohinese government did not dispute the proposition then, nor has it since done so. It is not missionaries, but John Barrett, ex-minister of our government to Siam, and who, it is rumored, is a possible successor to Mr. Oonger, who says: " We can not recall our missionaries unless we are ready to recall our merchants."
INDEMNITIES FOR MISSIONARIES.
Of what use has the treaty with Turkey been to restore values destroyed in the Armenian massacres? Has the American Board ceased its operations while waiting for a paltry hundred thousand dollars, for the collection of whieh a "naval demonstration," costing far more than that sum, is reported as imminent?
Missionary indemnity for damage done American missions in this present uprising in Ohina would not figure at all, except in name or principle-it would scarcely, at the utmost, reach one three-hundredth part of the money indemnity which has been mentioned as a probable sum to be requisitioned by the United States from Ohina. If moneyindemnity is to be demanded from Ohiua it must be too long a-coming to be of avail for missionary rehabilitation.
China cares nothing for demand of blood. Life is too cheap. Somebody dies when this is insisted on, but generally not the person
who committed the crime. 'fhe punishment of officials by degrading them is a temporary farce; the deposed officers being reappointed to some other office, and presently advanced higher than ever. Ohinese are not amenable to but two kinds of punishment-loss of territory and cash indemnity. But any considerable cash indemnity, such as the two hundred million dollars to Japan in the late war, means out- rages of" squeezing," and corruption, and oppression, against which when pressed too far, the ordinary Ohinese rebels, and the native Ohristian seeks protection of the missionary patronage.
To appeal for" indemnity" is, therefore, a course which complicates the missionary in China, and it ill probable the boards in America may forego their technical claims in the case of Ohina. The United States is not likely to take a territorial indemnity, and she may have to administer some form of Chinese imperial revenue, if ever she gets a cash equivalent. The whole situation is so complicated that missionary societies and missionaries may pause before reaching any conclusions as to the course they should pursue.
But what governments are to do is quite another question. It was, perhaps is, "in the air," that Lord Salisbury's speech was a manifesto, indicating that the allied powers might withdraw all government protection from missionaries hereafter. But France is not likely to consent to that. She has always extended her protection over Roman Oatholic missions as a matter of State policy. With a million of adherents in Ohina, and her" chief priests" advanced to mandarins, she is not likely now to retreat from her precedents, and specially when precedents are pretexts for her meddling with politics through missions for five hundred years in the Far East. The Russian empire is inseparable from the Greek Ohurch, and it is not likely she will attempt the impossible, and tell her bishops and other ecclesiastical functionaries in her missions in Peking that she will not protect them. Great Britain's policy of colonization includes the missionary as advance courier of commerce, and she is not likely to begin a differentiation against the missionary as a "subject," when she spent two millions in Egypt to defend a "subject" who was a Jew. The United States would brook no discrimination between classes of her" citizens."
But government patronage and protection is not a missionary question; it is distinctly a government matter. Missionaries would differ among themselves as widely as any other citizens would, as to how the government's action would affect missionary or political interests. The writer asked an experienced missionary of Oonstantinople what would be the effect ou missions if the government withdrew from them their protection in their civil capacity, and he replied, "I would not like to see it tried in Turkey." Another missionary from the interior of Ohina replied to the same question, " The only effect on the Ohinese mind would be that they would attribute it to weakness."
That the protection of missionaries as subjects or citizens has its own perplexities is conceded, but it is not a missionary problem, it is a state question. They would find that Lord Salisbury's appeal to return to primitive practise would not afford them any relief. There are men who would face the antagonism of their own governments as quickly as they would that of a heathen one to preach Christ in the regions beyond. The Moravian missionaries to the Iroquois were imprisoned in the city of New York because they would not desist. When Dr. Schauffier was told by the Russian minister at Constantinople, "My master, the czar, will not let you put foot on that territory," Schauffier's immortalizet'l reply was, "My Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, will not ask the czar of all the Russias where he shall put his foot."
CHRISTIANITY IN MANOHURIA.* BY REV. JOHN ROSS, MUKDEN, MANCHURIA. Missionary of the Scotch United Presbyterian Church.
Manchuria is the name now given to a large region which, under various names, has been for thousands of years more or less intimately connected with China. Its wide plains and innumerable valleys are fertile, and its mountains rich in mineral wealth of many kinds. It is now fully occupied by a numerous peasantry, whose diligent industry secures for them an amount of comfort second to that of the peasantry of few nations in the world. The towns, large and small, depend for their trade, and indeed for their existence, upon the fruitful agricultural couutry. Except that townsmen are usually more keeu in business, and skilful in deceit than the farmer, there is no essential difference between the citizen and the agriculturist. Indeed, the cities are very largely occupied by people who were born in the country.
Education is fairly well diffused, tho Manchuria does not produce the highest literary talent in the proportion produced in many of the provinces of Ohina proper. Almost all our Christians, however, can read the Scriptures and hymn-book, having acquired a knowledge of letters themselves after, conversion, if they were ignorant before.
The inhabitants of Manchuria are divided into three principal classes. First comes the Manchu element, which forms perhaps a fourth or fifth of the whole. As they began their historical career with no literature of their own, they have mentally become so absorbed into China that they know not now-save in remote outlying districts -how to speak their own Manchu tongue. All official posts of the highest rank, and a considerable proportion of the inferior, belong to * Since this article waS written the Manchurian Christians have suffered severe persecu- tion, and most of the missionaries have been obliged to leave the country,
CHRISTIANITY IN MANCHURIA
this class. Many Manchus engage in agriculture, but none in trade. Most of the hangers-on about yamens are Manchus.
The second great class is the Chinese-Manchu, or Han chun, as they are generally known. 'These are the descendants of the Chinese inhabitants of Manchuria, who united their fortunes with the Manchus when the latter overran the country three centuries ago. They had to adopt some Manchu customs, as the permitting the feet of their girls to grow their natural shape. In return they received certain privileges confined originally tp the Manchus. They were divided into eight banners. The possession of a literary degree is indispensable to civil office. 'The proportion of graduates to students is very large among the Manchus. It is less so among the Han chun, who, however, have a much higher proportion than the ordinary Chinese.
THE FIRST CHAPEL AND CONVERTS IN MANCHURIA.
The Han people are officials, soldiers, agriculturists, and largely engage in trade.
The third class is the ordinary Ohinese, who themselves, or in the person of immediate ancestors, came from the southern provinces.
They hail from all the provinces of Ohina, but chiefly from Ohih-Ii and Shantung. They occupy here exactly the same position, apd retain the same customs as in their native provinces. The principal merchants with the largest capital are of this class. Large numbers engage in agriculture as masters or servants; and many of thein are soldiers and laborers of all sorts. The first two classes may be said to be the original inhabitants of Manchuria, the third its immigrants.
The third class probably equals the second in numbers. But its pro- portion is continually increasing from an endless influx of immi- grants. .
Tho the Manchus are the ruling race, there are no public indica- tions to a foreigner of any difference in the treatment of the three
classes. Socially there are distinctions. A Manchu girl rarely marries into a Ohinese family, such marriage being regarded as a mesalliance. Even the Han prefer intermarriage within their own class.
But the important movement last year toward and against reform, has had the pernicious effect of making a sharp diyision between the Manchus and Ohinese. The pro-reform party was, as far as the public was aware, a purely Ohinese, and mostly a Oanton party. Th'e anti-reform party was, as felt in public, a Manchu party. The parties were in reality not so divided. But the unwise policy of the empress, guided or dictated by ignorant and corrupt officials, both Ohinese and Manchu, led the public to believe that the question was one of Manchu versus Ohinese. Further, it was well known that the reform party was closely associated with, if not guided by, foreign missionaries. Hence the enmity suddenly aroused in the Manchu mind against the Ohinese, was manifold greater against our Christians. We can the more easily understand this antagonism when we remember that France and Russia entertain the delusion that Protestant missionaries are, like Roman Oatholic missionaries, more political than religious agents. It is less surprising that the Chinese should entertain this suspicion, and classify all foreign missionaries as political actors. We can hence nnderstand how it is the Manchus during the past year regarded our Ohristians with special animosity. This hostility is all the more explicable when we reflect that our Ohristians now form a large body of the people, widely diffused, and exerting an influence on account of their greater intelligence far beyond tllat represented by their mere numbers; for the effects of their beliefs, of their conduct, of their attitude toward idolatry and superstition, have been profoundly felt throughout much of the country. Prior to the assumption of power by the empress, and the issue of decrees in her name, virtually upholding idolatry and denouncing change, people who had not the remotest wish to join themselves to our Christians, had ceased all openly idolatrous practises, except such as are interwoven as custom in the social relations and national feasts. Idolatry appeared dead, and even the Buddhist priests were in many places quite prepared to see it buried-if not to assist in the obsequies.
Now, however, superstition has again boldly and arrogantly raised its head, not because there is more faith in it, but because it is ,associated with anti-foreign patriotism and is politically and socially profitable.
A sect whose known tenets are chiefly abstention from all alcoholic liquors, from opium and from tobacco, but whose secret designs were originally questionable, has enrolled in its ranks several millions of Manchus and Ohinese, soldiers and civilians. The recent impetus was given to this formerly forbidden sect by the early decrees of the empress, which were and are believed to be anti-foreign and there-
CHRISTIANITY IN MANCHURIA
REAR VIEW OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT MUKDEN.
fore anti-Christian. The sect took as its public cry, "Great is Diana," and everywhere exhibited a superlatively patriotic zeal against the Christians. They were secretly supported by the officials, tho openly condemned by them. 'rhe Manchu officials, great and small, were prominent by the manner in which all lawless violence by this sect was suffered to pass without any attempt at bringing culprits to justice. We were at length compelled to take such action before the magistrates to protect our people as never before. After a year's persecution the flood of evil has at length gone considerably down and there is now a brighter prospect of peace for the future. 'rhe attempt by this sect, from interested motives, to galvanize into life the dying superstition of the people succeeded for a time. Great zeal repaired ruined temples and restored or made prominent superstitious practises which had fallen into disrepute. But it is impossible to ,believe that superstition upheld by violence alone can recover its lost throne. Dagon may be held up by shoving it against a wall, but its standing position is not only insecure, but brief. Another change must come -sooner rather than later-over the Chinese people. Tho the guides of Chinese policy are very ignorant, they will open their eyes under the compulsion of facts, and mllst mend their ways. Indeed the empress seems to have already learned a great deal, especially from the lessons of an empty treasury. She has for some time adopted a good
deal of what was formerly vainly urged by the defeated reformers.
She will adopt more.
'fhen, when freedom of worship is guaranteed in reality, and equality or treatment by the law irrespective of creed, we entertain little doubt of the rapid spread of Christian knowledge till every man in Manchuria shall have ample opportunity of intelligently accepting or rejecting the doctrines of Christ. Meantime the Gospel is steadily and in all directions leavening the public mind, tho its progress during the past year was not equal to its immediate predecessors.
It will from the above statements be readily un- derstood how it is we have extremely few Man- I chus in the roll of our Christian membership. ){ The Manchu-Chinese, or Han CllUJI, are largely represented. To this claEs belong the two native pastors already ordained in Mukden and Tieling.
We have also large num- bers of Chinese who themselves or their fathers came from Shantung or Chih-li.
The late Rev. Dr.
Williamson, then in con- nection with the Scottish National Bible Society, was the first missionary to OLD WANG. travel in Manchurilt. Rev. William Burns landed in' From 1 photograph taken just before 1118 death.
Newchwang, where in a few months he died. His wonderful person- ality attracted four men to Christianity, who were baptized by Dr.
Williamson. 't'hese four disappeared and left no apparent trace.
'fhe present native Protestant Church began in 1874 with the baptism of " Old Wang!' * Other two men were baptized along with him; but they, like their predecessors, have died leaving no trace. Old Wang was in reality the human founder of the church in Manchuria. His scholarship was of the most meager. But he was most familiar with his Bible. "Think you I' endure all this • Story published by the Religious Tract Society, London.
CHRISTIANITY IN MANCHURIA
obloquy from you ou account of the pittance I receive from the foreigner?" asked he indignantly. "'1'he foreigner has brought me THAT," holding up a Bible. "'1'he foreigner may leave the country when he chooses; he leaves this Book behind. It is enough." His tact was remarkable; his enthusiasm was unbounded, and his zeal knew no weariness. Up till midnight or before earliest dawn he was ever eager to preach Christ and Him crucified-the one bope of humanity -to any and every man who would listen. He had himself in his initial stage been carefully instructed in Christiau truth, importance being attached rather to great principles than to the letter. That truth was made practically applicable to life in China and not set forth CHRISTIAN COLPORTEURS OF THE MISSION AT MUKDEN.
as merely applicable in the West. It was thertl a living, active, goverlllng power. This system of Biblical instruction has been carried on ever since, and is coextensive with the widely spread church in Manchuria. Every missionary makes it the chief work of his life to make Christ and His Gospel fnlly understood by the Chinese Christians and applicants for baptism.
Another phase of our Christian work in Manchuria is exemplified' in the case of the late Elder Chen. He was a cadet of one of the principal families in Weihien, of Shantung. He carne here many years ago as a doctor. While practising his profession he became a convert. He considered himself a member of the literary class in China, and was not wholly free from that form of vanity which belongs to that class, and which has been known to exist in other lands than China. Old Wang, who was not a literary man, was my chief preacher in the
public chapel, where for several hours daily we proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus to crowded audiences. Liu, who is now the native pastor in this city, and was then the personal attendant of the president of one of the boards, was permitted to ascend the platform and assist Wang.
Ohen, the scholar, and a brave man, to boot, requested leave to take his position by their side. To his great surprise permission was refused. "Why! old Wang is no scholar! Why should he, who was a scholar, not be allowed to preach? He could do so, better than old Wang! " But he was led to understand that it was not scholarship, or even knowledge, which entitled a man to be a public preacher. He, as every other Ohristian, was encouraged to expound in private as much as he could, to as many as he would.
When, in 1879, I was leaving the station for a time, special instruc- tions were left that Ohen was not to appear on the platform; nor any other, except Wang and Liu. Aftcr my departure Ohen and another Ohristian traveled north to Kuanchengtzu purposely to preach the Gospel, where it had never Leen heard. At nightfall, on the first night out, Ohen and his fellow went on their knees to ask a blessing on the work for which they had volunteered. To his own amazement no words would come, while the illiterate Wang had a remarkable gift in prayer. IIe Wi:l;S much disappointed, and admitted to his com- panion that there was something wrong. Ere long he discovered that he should have the help of the Holy Spirit. His next prayer in words was for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to teach him to pray. From that date his difficulties disappeared. I have never known a more trustworthy man than this one. He continued a conservative Ohinaman to the end of his life in external matters and customs, not inconsistent with Ohristianity. Old Wang, at one time in his early days, cut off his "pigtail," because he had found in the Scriptures that it was a ,. shame for a man to wear long hair." To Ohen such an act would have been impossible.
Th('l"Ough instruction in the life-guiding principles of God's Word and dependence on the invisible, but all-pervading influeRce and power of Goc_ are the two corner-stones of our church in Manchuria. Of course, lYe have a creed, but living power is more to us than the most excellent form of words. Our first native pastor, Lin Olwenyao, of this city, is a good example of the two principles mentioned. lIe is remarkably well versed in Scripture, and no Keswick preacher ever insisted more on the ever-present and active power of the Holy Spirit as a sine qua non of religious life. The church being built on such a foundation, and with thirty thousand Ohristians, the largest number of whom are ever ready to expound the saving doctrines of Ohristianity, should it be regarded as surprising that I anticipate within a few years an intelligent opportunity given to every human being in Manchuria of accepting or rejecting the great Salvation? The principles on which the mission work in Manchuria has been conducted are those expounded or implied in the Acts of the Apostles, making them applicable to a people like the Ohinese; and in the circumstances of this century, we do not attach much importance to the many fads and theories of some moderns interested in mission work..
HOPE FOR THE PRISONERS
HOPE FOR THE PRISONERS.
BY MRS. MAUD BALLINGTON BOOTH.
When we first entered the prisons and felt beneath our hands the handle of the plow God gave us, we realized that, difficult as the task might sometimes seem, we must never waver or turn back. Our hearts ached at the revelation of the great, wide, needy wilderness before us, but we could only bare our heartaches, for we could not show that need to the thousands whom we felt should see it and feel it-we have had patiently to wait and work. When our plans became formed, and we began to see how much could be done, we decided that our duty was to do, prove it possible, labor through· the hard places, overcome the difficnlt ones, and then let the accomplished work speak for itself.
Four years have passed, and we can rejoice that the work has spoken. Letters filed away in our files from prison officers, speaking of their knowledge of the practical good accomplished among the prison population, letters from employers speaking in the highest terms of the faithfulness of our men now in trusted positions, and letters from wives and mothers whose hearts and homes have been brightened and gladdened-all thesc speak louder than any exposition of theories or proclamation of schemes.
So far the work has proved the success we hoped, and even snrpassed our hopes. Even now it may take long years of faithful toil, of earnest living, and of patient effort, before our" boys" have removed the stigma that surronnds that hateful cognomen," ex-convict." Our united aim and object in this work is to prove to the world that a man can thoroughly retrieve the past and prove himself a worthy citizen, even tho he may have been for years an inmate of a state prison. It is also as much our effort to make possible for every man on leaving prison to have at least one chance to make an honest living, that he may have a way of escape from the wretched life into which in many instances he fell more by misfortune or reckless folly, than by deliberate crime. So frequently do I receive letters asking for written information in regard to our work in the prisons, that I will jot down a few facts to send in answer to snch qneries.
DESPAIRING AND HOPELESS CONVICTS.
I. Over eighty thousand m'en are to-day in our states prisons in this country. They are practically hopeless concerning themselves. Many things combine to bring them to a most despondent and reckless frame of mind.
1. Many of them have to face and dwell on their own failure and weakness, or their own sin and misfortune. What they have been in the past casts its wretched gloom of ill omen over what they might do
in the future-blighting and spoiling any aspiration that might germinate during their imprisonment.
2. The world's estimate of them is well known within the prison walls. 'rhey know that because they have been in prison no one will think of them as anything but criminals. They have heard it said that a man having once been in prison is sure to return there, and they look forward with dread to the suspicion and criticisms and the harsh dealings of an unfriendly world.
3. Our prisons are not as much places of reformation as they should be. I am not speaking in any sense against our prisons or their management. I believe in prison discipline. I have the warmest respect for many of our wardens. It is not within their power to alter the fact that as a country we are inflicting punishment which in hundreds of cases is not conducive to reformation. Their long confinement in the serving out of weary sentences makes these men become hopeless, unnerved, and unmans them for the future. My opinion is shared by many leading prison authorities that long terms often do more harm than good, and that with the first twelve months the man may have learned and profited by his experience to the full extent of its benefit, whereas during long years of imprisonment he will only be crushed and made unfit to ever again take his place in life's battles. I do not want to be thought a sentimentalist. I do not condone the prisoner or wish to make our prisons into easy places of retreat for those who care nothing for the law of God or man. I admit that many may be suffering the just retribution for their crimes, but I believe that in such punishment we should always, before all else, aim at reforming the man, or else of what good is all the expenditure that is made by the state and country upon these penal institutions? I believe very strongly that if the indeterminate sentence, as it is now enforced in Illinois, could be brought into force in every state, we should be bringing in a much more hopeful day for our prisoners and remove the possibility of crippling them so that honest lives are made difficult or impossible in their future.
The knowledge that the means of again gaining an honest livelihood has been practically removed by their sentence in state prison makes our prisoners look with gloomy despair on the future. Careful investigation of their life history would prove that a large perc~ntage of our habitual criminals to-day are what they are because it was impossible for them to find honest employment. "Jean Valjean" was no fanciful creation of Victor Hugo's brain. He was the representative of a vast class of men who are looked upon as dangerous, worthless, hardened criminals, but who have within them the same spark of good and can often tell as pitiful a tale of hardship and misfortune as was 80 vividly depicted in "Les Miserables." From the very first we felt t~at hope was the great !leed with the prisoners and we have tried
HOPE FOR THE PRISONERS
in every way in the establishing of our work to stimulate this better, brighter condition in the hearts and lives of those with whom we have come in contact, and we realized from the onset that preaching would not do it but that what was needed was practical friendship.
II. We have just entered the fifth year of our work in the prisons, but the record is sufficient to give us every hope for the future. Of one thing I am very glad. We did not undertake the work with any preconceived idea, but all that we have done has been from what we have learned from the circumstance right on the scene of action. Soon after we had commenced our work within the prison walls, which includes meetings in the prison chapel, interviews with the men, and corresponding with them, we found it necessary to establish a league, which should link together those who had made public confession of a desire to lead a better life. We always lay great stress on the importance of beginning the new life, not on the day of liberty, but during their imprisonment, so that their sincerity may be there tested and tried, and their character strengthened. 'rhe benefit of these efforts to themselves are incalculable, as they are by them prepared for the chances that may be given them on their discharge from prison. This league has now been formed nearly four years, during which time we must have enrolled between eight and nine thousand men. The hold that we are gaining on the prison population is growing steadily all the time, so that they will now turn to us as they never could have done had we not thus become linked with them. The work is established in the following prisons: Sing Sing, Auburn, and Clinton prisons, in New York; Trenton, N. J.; Charlestown, Mass.; Joliet, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Canon City, Col.; Baltimore, Md.; and in Folsom and San Quentin, Cal.
SOMETHING ABOUT HOPE HALLS.
III. We had not been working long before we saw that if our work was to be a practical one, it must do something to befriend the men on their discharge from prison until such time as they could find employment. We opened our first Hope Hall in New York about six months after the inception of the work. '1'he second Hope Hall, in Chicago, was opened a year and a-half ago. Through these homes we have passed about eight hundred men-seventy-five per cent. of whom are doing well, and a very small percentage, indeed, have returned to prison. The home is made as attractive and homelike as possibleeverything that might make it look like an institution is avoided-the rules are simply those that would guide any well-ordered family. No visitors are allowed to intrude on their privacy-everything possible is done to cultivate and stimulate self-respect. While there is no special industry, such as a factory, in connection with our homes, we avoid that idleness that would breed discontent. All the work of the home
is done by the men-improving, building, farm-work, care of the poultry, etc., and they are allowed to look for work themselvesJ while we also are constantly striving to find them employment. Tho we do not make it a rule of admittance that a man must be a Christian, yet the earnest Christian spirit of the home is one of its great influences for good upon the lives of those who use it as a stepping-stone to a better future. No one has admittance to the home who has not served a term in state prison, but it matters not how many terms he has served, many of our most faithful men having been five or six times in state prison. We receive the Jew, Catholic, Protestant, or infidelthe only condition being that they must conform to the rules of the home, and prove themselves earnest and sincere to do right. In my work for our boys in prison I have come across very few who had not an earnest desire to work. Many of them are men of great ability and good intelligence-an absolutely different class from the class of men encountered in the rescue missionEl in the down-town part of our big cities. It should be remembered that these men come from every grade of society, and that they should be treated with as much consideration, and expected to show as much gentlemanly conduct in the home, as if the stigma of state prison had never fallen upon t.hem.
IV. The finding of work with employers who would be willing to give them a chance at a new start was, at first, a very difficult matter. Now that many of them have made splendid records, it has, of course, become easier, but we can still say that this is a part of the work in which we must most earnestly ask the help of all those who can help in finding positions for our" boys." We have men naturally representing all the different trades, and men who are only too willing to prove themselves faithfnl and painstaking in any service of those who will show Christian sympathy enough to forget the past and give them a fair chance.
WOHK FOH WIVES AND FAMILIES.
V. Out of our interest and sympathy for the men in prison has grown another phase of our work, namely, the corresponding with and helping of the wives and families of those we get to know in prison. '1'hese represent a most needy and deserving class, and yet can not be reached by ordinary charities. They can only be approached from the sympathetic standpoint-as friends who have learned to know them through acquaintance with their dear ones. Many a time we have been able to help families in the most dire want and poverty-sometimes saving them from eviction-at other times getting them properly treated when sick, and in cases where temporal help was not needed, comforting and helping them in their sorrow and lonely hours.
At the Christmas season we make a special effort to provide good cheer for the little children who would go Christmasless otherwise, on account of their father's absence. Clothing, food, and toys, are dis-
HOPE FOR THE PRISONERS
tributed, bringing joy and comfort to many, and of course the news that goes back to the prison cell proves a fresh link between us and those whose hearts we are trying to reach. We are exceedingly grateful for all articles of clothing that can be sent to us for this work, as also for men's partly worn clothing, to equip our men wheu they go to work. Friends who will make up barrels of clothing, sheets, pillow covers, towels, etc., and send them to us, can feel that they are very effectually helping us in our work.
The work that I have been describing is one branch of the work of the Volunteers of America, and I have only a small staff of workers assisting me in it. Our workers, tho they do not go into the prisons, having their own special work to conduct, can yet help the prison work very materially in that many of our men on leaving prison are scattered in the different cities, and naturally turn to the local Volunteer post for help and comradely sympathy. In this way we shall he able to follow up many, where an organization of lesser scope would have to lose track of them. They have learned to love the white standard with its blue star of hope while within the prison walls. They have read our Gazette, and have become acquainted with our workers by name, and therefore when they return to their own city they naturally choose the Volunteer Armory as their place of worship, and turn to the movement with the knowledge of our promise to champion their cause.
I am constantly asked how this work is maintained. In the past it has been maintained ~nth'ely by my personal efforts in my lectnre trips or by appealing to our friends. It can readily be understood that very heavy obligations are involved in such a work and the burden on my shouldf)rs has heen almo~t more than I can bear. I am much needed in the prisons and when occupied with meetings there my public efforts must be suspended, which means that our income ceases. Should I be laid aside by a breakdown in health our liabilities could not be met. This naturally proves a great anxiety to me and I am exceedingly anxious as soon as possible to get a steady income for this work.
I am now appealing to onr friends to help me by joining a « Hope Hall Maintenance League." I hope within the next few months to get five hundred names upon this league of those who will donate or collect one dollar per month toward the maintenance of this work, or il they prefer twelve dollars per year in a yearly payment. If I had this steady income to rely on, the burden of the work, financially, could be carried while I was free to visit the prisons and further develop that which we consider is but the commencement of a great enterprise. That it has been a success has already been proved. The only drawback and real hindrance in our way is the need of funds. I sincerely hope you will join this league and try to interest others in joining it.
BRITISH AMATONGALAND, SOUTHEASTERN AFRICA.
BY W. SPENCER WALTON.
Superintendent of the South Africa General Mission.
The land of the Tongas, which was not. long ago annexed by Great Britain, is still unevangelized. It is the territory north of Zululand and not three hundred miles from Durban. We recently journeyed through this region in a cart drawn by six oxen, and saw unmistakable signs that at one time one great inland sea extended from Lake St. Lucia on the south to Kosi Bay on the north, where the now high sand ridges along the coast, acting like dams, have effectually kept back the sea and waters of the Indian Ocean. The count.ry is one great plain, dotted over with sand hills, ponds, lakes, and ridges. It is covered with grass and trees in some places, and thousands of fan palms, while A NATIVE STORE IN AMATONG.u.A.ND.
to the west, apparently the old sea boundary, is a long narrow forest. West of this, marsh land extends almost up to the Ubombe Mountains, which divide Zululaud aud Amatongaland from the Transvaal and Swaziland.
Journeying through one long plain covered with palms, we pas~ed to the west of Lake Usebai and journeyed on through prairie land, skirted by the forest already mentioned. Lions, panthers, leopards, buffalo, koodoo, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and other animals are to be found here, while the lakes and rivers are infested with crocodiles. There are many snakes of an sorts, from the python, twenty-one feet long, to the little deadly night-adder. The flora is magnificent, especially round Kosi and Usebai lakes. This country would be a paradise to a naturalist and a botanist. The large swamps between
BRITISH AMATONGALAND, SOUTHEASTERN AFRICA
Lakes St. Lucia and U sebai and the many water or sour pans, as they are called, make it more or less a fever district; still healthy spots can be found, especially on the high ridges, which skirt the Indian Ocean to the east.
The Zulus look down upon the Tongas, and to call a Zulu a Tonga is considered a great insult. While in some districts the Tongas are degraded and diseased, as a whole we found them industrious, clean, and eager for teaching. To the northeast of Lake St. Lucia many live on A TONGA HUT. little mounds which dot a large swamp, through which flows the Umkusi River, at times an under- ground stream. These are in a most degraded condition, dirty and covered with sores, the result of the bite of a very vicious insect.
We hope to reach these poor Tongas from our station north of the lake.
North of this district, right up to Kosi Bay, great numbers of Tongas are to be found along the ridges which skirt the sea. They are of fine physique, and both intelligent and industrious, always busy in their gardens, which produce two crops a year, or carving, making mats and baskets, or covering battle-axes or sticks, with very pretty wire work. Along these ridges we hope, in time, to have three stations.
After nearly five days'
traveling, we reached Maputa, situated five miles to the west of Kosi Bay, a very' pretty srot, with hills and valleys well wooded and watered.
THE KING OF THE TONGAS. This was formerly the magistracy, but was re- The king is seated in the middle of the group with his cently given up, and the native advisers. Mr. Walton is seated on his left.
government has' placed the building at our disposal for a mission station. The sea is only ten miles to the east, and the noise of the heavy billows can be dis- tinctly heard. We have now placed a missionary here, one solitary
witness, and hope soon to be able to send a much-needed medical missionary.
The Tongas have occupied this land for generations, and number about twelve thousand. They are supposed to be a branch of the Atonga tribe, found in the northern districts of the Zambesi. Their language is quite different from the Zulu, but they are able to speak Zulu. The women dress their hair with red clay and fat-a most objectionable fashion. 'l'hey are great polygamists, the young king, only twenty-seven years of age, having forty-six wives. This part of Amatongaland has only been annexed about three and a-half years; before that time human life was sacrificed for all sorts of imaginary evils, suggested by the witch doctor. But things have changed; the witch doctors are not looked up to as they formerly were, for the people seem to see the roguery of these emissaries of the devil.
The queen mother is a shrewd, intelligent woman, and has brought up her son, Ngwanasi, the young king, fairly well. Two of his people went to Cape Colony, and learned to read and write, and on their return taught him to do the same. He was called to meet us, and two days after our arrival came from a big hunt, with his two advisers and the usual retinue of followers. He is decidedly a pleasant looking young fellow, well formed, and with a bright smile on his face. We had a most interesting talk with him, and he told how desirous he was to have a teacher (missiouary), and that he would do all he could for him, and tell his people to do the same. He told us that they were not a fighting nation like the Zulus, their only enemies being the Shangaans, who come from the north of Delagoa- Bay. Some few years ago two missionaries visited Maputa, bnt were requested to leave after two or three days. Now all is changed, and God has graciously opened another land to be occupied for Christ.
TIlE GREEK CHURCH OF RUSSIA.
BY BUDGETT MEAKIN, ESQ.* .A uthor of "The Land of the Moors," etc.
" Orthodox" is the title by which the people of this empire love to style their church, and as we might appeal to an audience as our "fellow-countrymen," a Russian wonld address his hearers as "Ye orthodox!" But it is not with our ideas of the meaning of the word as applying to those who happen to hold the same views as ourselves on religious questions. In their mouths the word applies to those who conform to every practise and ceremony introduced eleven centuries ago from Constantinople, whatever their views as to their signification may be, or even if they have none. This is the distinctive feature of * Mr. Meakin is now in America, prepared to give illustrated lectures ou North Africa, Russia, and other countries in which he has traveled.-EDlToR.
THE GREEK CHURCH OF RUSSIA
the Greek Church, of which the Russian is an offshoot, and the main difference between it and the Church of Rome is, that while the latter disseminates the doctrines of men in addition to, or in place of those of the Gospel, the former may be said to teach nothing at all.* A sermon, or any kind of religious instruction, is seldom or never heard in a Russian church,t in which no seats are provided, since the only duty of the congregation is to bow and prostrate and cross themselves before the sacred pictures or icons (spelled also eikons), to kiss them and the various relics exposed in glass cases, and to follow the performances of the officiating priests as long as they feel inclined, coming and going, or walking about at will. '1'he scene presented is almost identical-bnt for the different types and costumes, architecture and adorr. ments-with that in Buddhist and Hindu temples, and there is nothing of the awe-inspiring decorum and united action of Mohammedan mosques.
PAGANISM OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH.
In fact, it must be confessed by any unbiased observer that tho its every ceremony is, if rightly understood, a testimony to some Christian truth, and tho its name and object are Christian, the Church of Russia is in no other sense a Christian church, but a pagan religion, on which have been grafted pseudo-Christian forms. The mass of the people, those who give their nation a religious character, the ignorant and superstitious multitude, have remained idolaters in all but name. But even the nominal acceptance of the Gospel has opened a door which is steadily opening more widely, for the '1'ruth as it is in Christ to be reached; and from the beginning many have reached it, both independently of one another, and in real Christian churches-such as the Molokani, the Stundists, and others.
If one questions any among the small proportion of educated people who have retained a sincere belief in the church of their land -not an indolent conformity for political interests-it is at once seen that they have taken the trouble to master the intricate symbols which oppose an impenetrable wall to the common people, and have arrived at the hidden Truth, in the light of the knowledge of which alone these forms and ceremonies acquire significance. Thus it is that a genuine Christian who is a member of the Russian Church has no difficulty in not only excusing, but even recommending, the ceremonies with which he has been familiarized from child- * Yet the Bible is free to all, tho very little read, and the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society-which annnally disposes in Russia of one-seventh of its total output-is heartily supported by the ecclesiastical authorities. This fact alone speaks volumes for their good intentions, and is in itself the most hopeful feature in their church. They have already tteir Own Bible Society, and several local translations have been undertaken by them.
t The first complete translations of the Bible into modern Russian were issued by the Russian and British Bible Societies about twenty years ago. Preaching is, however, gaining ground, in spite of the fact that the sermon must first be written out and submitted to the bishop.
hood, and which he dare not abandon if not prepared for the life of an exile. How few of us, indeed, can cast away the religious conceptions woven around us from childhood, imparted before we began to think ourselves! In this way the Russian Church counts many who are in very deed our brethren, whom we shall one day meet where there are no shadows, and where we shall realize, with thousands gathered from every fold, that the real Church of Christ has ever been one, and ever indivisible.
No servant of Christ can look on at a Russian service, noting the real earnestness of the majority, withal regretting its ignorant, superstitious nature, and, remembering that they are gathered in His name who died for them as for us, without being greatly moved. Even in a heathen temple, where our fellow-creatures bow before wood and stone of their own manipulation, one can not but be impressed with their blind devotion to their unknown Creator, but one is saddened as well to see the same thing done in the name of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Still, He knoweth them that are His, and He must number many more of those before us among the redeemed than ever we can know. Let us not then be deceived into judging those whose blindness we pity, or tempted into any feelings for them but those of loving interest.
THE ENTRANCE OF CHRISTIANITY INTO RUSSIA.
It should always be borne in mind that Russia never knew the Gospel in its purity, and that all it was able to borrow from Constantinople was a corrupt eighth-century system in which" the simplicity that is in Christ" had long been hidden by ecclesiastical and ceremonial adaptations from heathendom; in which theory and symbol had taken the place of practise and deed; in which facts were lost in figures. Little wonder then, that it has hardly known that reversion to type, the purifying influence of spiritual revivals which have been the striking feature of Western Christendom. Such experiences are only rendered possible by study of the Word of God, and by the claiming of His promises of spiritual power, and churches in which lack of education or books renders this impossible can not rise above their received ideals. A Russian who attends the celebration of the Lord's Supper at least once a year, who employs a priest also for such births or deaths or marriages as happen in his family, and shows due respect to churches and icons, may live what life he likes, and hold what views he likes, but he will always be considered a satisfactory "orthodox" Christian.* Heterodoxy in Russia means holding the fingers in certain positions while making the sign of the Cross, spelling the name of Jesus according to the reformed system, neglect * Fasting for a day, confession, and absolution are, however, necessary to obtain permis- sion to receive the Sacrament.-B. M.
THE GREEK CHURCH OF RUSSIA
of' prescribed rigorous fasts,* and otherwise departing from certain matters of immaterial form. 'fhe missionaries of the Russian Church, to be found among the aborigines of Northwest Russia and Siberia, in Japan and China, etc., demand neither conviction nor religious knowledge from their proselytes. Baptism is considered the only essential, and a strict observance of fasts is not at first imposed. Where necessary the" convert" is presented with a shirt and an icon. No pious Russian passes or espies a church or icon without bowing, removing his cap, and crossing himself repeatedly, and this may be seen on the streets, in the tram-cars, and in offices and homes, where an icon hangs in the corner of ~lVery room, often with a lighted lamp before it. These icons are archaic Byzantine pictures-often almost too dark for the features to be recognizable-of faces, hands, and feet in their normal positions with regard to one another, showing through holes cut to fit in gold, silver, or gilt plaques on which the costume and halo appear in relief, altogether a most incongruous production. The features most frequently represent the Savior or the Madonna, but a whole host of angels and saints are likewise so honored, notably the popular St. Miehael, "the wonder-worker." In the churches, as in those of the Romanists, may also be seen so-called representations of the Father and the Spirit. Many of these pictures are believed to have been "not made by hands," like the Virgins of Saragossa and elsewhere; others being portraits of Ohrist by Luke and John, while few of any note lack records of miraculous powers. Such may be seen hung round with models of the organs or limbs which are said to have been cured-a widespread custom in many lands. In battle the originals or copies are carried forth, and in many cathedrals assortments on brazen flags are always ready to hand. The " Iberian Madonna," whose chapel close by one of the inner gates of Moscow is the first place visited by the emperor on reaching that city, and having a great reputation for healing, is carried round the city daily to the houses of such sick folk as can afford the price, a copy in its place being worshiped the while. Funerals may also be seen preceded by men bearing ieons in silken cloths. Occasionally icons of "the Mother of God "-as Mary is popularly styled here-are taken to visit one another, exactly as if endowed with personality. Peasants not infrequently call their icons what they really are, their "gods "-in Russian, "bogies." Only those who have seen the worship of idolaters in other lands can realize the veneration in which these pictures are held, in all respects the same as among the Hindus, the explanatiuns of whose educated members are identical with those of educated Russians.
* The Russian fasts are: Seven weeks in Lent; two or three weeks in June; from the beginning of November till Christmas, besides all Wednesdays and Fridays. Not only meat but even eggs and milk are then prohibited, and one of the Protestant churches, the Molokiini, or milk-drinkers, derives its nickname from the disregard of this penance. –B. M.
At Ekaterineburg, on the borders of Siberia, I saw a large one from Mount Athos in Greece-the stronghold of Greek Ohurch monasteries-which was making a collecting tour of the country, sanctioned by the" Holy Synod," in charge of a party of priests, in a second-class railway carriage. I was assured that it was one of those "not made by hands," tho a joiner who had been employed to repair its wooden frame had lost one of his legs for using it disrespectful1y, notwithstanding that it was accredited with healing powers. For some days it had been worshiped by crowds in one of the local churches, aud a multitude had accompanied it to the station, where a special service was performed on putting it into its carriage. In St. Petersburg the wayside chapel of a picture of the" Mater Dolorosa" was recently struck by lightning, and one of the adjacent collecting. boxes being shattered, a copper coin was discovered adhering to the picture's breast. This having been construed as a sign of God's displeasure at the neglect of the chapel, and as an indication of what was dear to the Virgin's heart, a stir was made to collect more coins, and now a stately church is being built on the spot. As the crowded tram-cars pass, the people cross themselves and throw coins on the pavement, to be gathered up by men in uniform provided by- the church authorities. When the really heathen tribes who still exist in Russia are in trouble, they as readily pray to the local Madonna as to their own fetishes, and when any of them embrace the Russian religion and find the fasts hard, they have been recorded to turn the face of the icon to the wall while they ate their meat behind its back!
THE GREEK CHURCHES.
The innumerable churches built for their cult are unlike any others, both in architecture and arrangement, the commonest type being square, with four huge stone-built pillars supporting a central dome or< cupola, around which cluster four or more smaller cupolas, generally shaped like an onion or an inverted pear, and often surmounted by an ornate cross, secured by rigging of chains. The cupolas may be gold-plated or gilt, or painted green or red, or a wonderful blue, in which case they may also be star-bespangled, and among them may rise tapering spires with hollowed flanks of similar colors. The walls below are for the most part whitewashed plaster-covered stone work of massive lines, with huge dull windows, separated by an excess of blank wall. From afar the effect is most pleasing, tho except in the large towns their dimensions are out of all proportion to the surrounding houses. Even straggling villages of log-huts often possess imposing churches, and every district center must have its cathedral. But the most picturesque of all are the country monasteries, almost always on some striking site, flanked by waving trees, or with a back-
THE GREEK CHURCH OF RUSSIA
ground of hills or water, features common to such institutions in most lands.
Inside, the Russian churches, as a rule, are lofty but bare. The walls and pillars are adorned with religious frescoes, canonical, celes- tial, or infernal, which often extend to the vaulted roof, on which may be discerned, at the risk of one's neck, a colossal human face in a halo, or an old man with a child affixed to his breast, and a dove. Opposite the principal entrance, toward the east, is the distinguishing feature, the picture screen, or eikonostrisis, a magnificent piece of work, appar- ently of gold, relieved by a colored background, and fitted from top to bottom, and side to side, with paneled portraits of varying value, tier aLove tier of full-length saints and busts. In the center are the "Royal Doors," through which the laity may not pass, often of con- siderable value. Close beside them will probably be placed the most highly venerated icons of the church, before which worshipers pros- trate themselves individually before kissing them and placing lighted tapers in the stand by the side. Often the gold plaques which repre- sent all but the flesh are thickly encrusted with precious stones of fabulous value, in which case the prayers of their devotees increase in fervor, and their attitude grows still more reverent. Those who wish to have their friends remembered in prayer make out a list of their names on papers which are placed in an appointed tray. At the door is a counter where tapers and candles are sold, of varying size, accord- ing to means and desires, in the more modern churches being in reality American roll-top" bureaus." The business administration of church affairs, the furnishing and repair of vestments, etc., is in the hands of a committee, consisting of the priest, the deacon, the bell- ringer, and at least five churchwardens elected annually, who deter- mine the proportions to be contributed by each household. All employed in services about the church or in the choir, are free from tithes and taxes.
THE ALTAR-THIWNE.
Behind the Royal Doors, only opened at 'Jertain times during serv- ice, stands the altar, a large square table or cube, known as the trapeza or prestol (i. e., throne). On it has first been spread a white silk "shirt," then an embroidered cover, underneath which lie relics.
On this is the indispensable napkin or "antt"minsos" of yellow silk, embroidered with pictures of a tomb, etc., and perhaps more relics, as well as the crucifixes held in the hands of the priests while blessing the people who kiss them; a copy of the Gospels, often richly bound in silver; the" ciborin7n," in which the bread and wine are kept after consecration, to be taken to the sick, etc.; a seven-branched lamp, and a sponge wherewith to wipe up the crumbs. I have also seen a silver casket-hall-marked-of coffin shape, with a figure of Christ triumphantly dancing on the lid, but perhaps this was a "ciborium."
There are two other doors in the icon screen, and behind that on the north side is the" 'fable of Sacrifice "-the siasteri6n-on which the" elements" are prepared. On it are a chalice, a paten, a lance- shaped knife, and a star to lay upon the bread beneath a napkin, in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem. During the first half of the m3Jls, consisting of litanies, psalms, gospel and epistle-known as "the liturgy of the catechumens," who leave at its close-five little specially prepared cakes of bread, like diminutive "cottage" loaves, are blessed, and a cube called" the Lamb" being cut out of one of them, it is placed on the paten and .Jierced on one side, each act being accompanied by an appropriate Scripture quotation. But, unfortunately, these and all the rest of the service are in ancient Slavonic, which the people can not understand. At the moment of piercing, wine is poured into the chalice, which, with the paten, is now 'carried out of the north door through the church, a halt being made before the Royal Doors, through which they are carried and laid on the altar. Then commences "the liturgy of the faithful," who, when the priest has" communicated," are invited to do the same, by receiving a bit of the bread soaked in wine in a spoon, as they crowd round the door. There is not a movement in the whole performance without a symbolic meaning, but "the Russians became zealous Ohristians in all matters of external observance without knowing much about the spiritual meaning of the rites which they practised.
They looked upon the rites and sacraments as mysterious charms which preserved them from evil influences in the present life, and secured them eternal felicity in the life to come, and they believed that these charms would inevitably lose their efficacy if modified in the slightest degree. If the Russian Ohurch could instil into their minds a few simple moral principles, as successfully as it has inspired them with a belief in the efficacy of the sacraments, it would certainly confer on them an inestimable benefit. . but the great majority of the parish clergy are men ntterly unfitted for such a task." * (To be concluded.) THE LIVINGSTONE MEMORIALS.
BY REV. JA:ltfES JOHNSTON, A.T.S., DARWEN, ENGLAND.
At the recent annual meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in London, the object which excited perhaps more interest than any other exhibit was the section cut from the tree on Lake Bangweolo, Oentral Africa, under which Livingtone's heart was buried, and containing the inscription carved by his faithful native followers. This pathetic relic was recently sent to England by the British South *Mackenzie Wallace.
THE LIVINGSTONE MEMORIALS
Africa Oompany for preservation in the rooms of the museum of the society.
Some two years ago Mr. Alfred Sharpe, O. B., Commissioner in the British Oentral Africa Protectorate, suggested to the Geographical Society that, inasmuch as the mpundu tree under which the heart of the great missionary and explorer was buried was in an advanced state of decay, the inscription should be cut out and sent to England for preservation. Later Mr. R. Oodrington, acting administrator of the British South Africa Oompany in northern Rhodesia, on making a journey itito the Bangweolo country, was requested to restore, if possible, the inscription. He found the tree still standing, but very hollow, and the inscrip- SECTION OF THE TREE FROM CENTRAL AFRICA, CONTAINING tion partially defaced by THE LIVINGSTONE INSCRIPTION CARVED BY HIS NATIVE FOLLOWERS AFTER HIS DEATH. worms or insects. The tree was felled and the section bearing the inscription was cut out and is now preserved in London. The following words are still legible.
DR. LIVINGSTONE, MAY 4, 1873.
ZA MNIASERE UCHOPERE.
After cutting out the section Mr. Oodrington marked the site by erecting a telegraph pole in the center of the surviving mpundu stump, and staying it with wire. Preparations have since been completed for erecting a permanent memorial on the spot which is so sacred to Livingstone's countrymen, and to his admirers in all lands. It was hoped that a stone monument might be erected, but no stone being available it has been decided to build a,n obelisk, twenty feet high, of concrete blocks, and surmounted by a cross. This work has been undertaken by a committee, consisting of representatives of the Royal GeographIcal Society, and Sir Henry M. Stanley, M.P., repre-
senting a committee formed some time ago for a similar purpose in British Central Africa.
'rhe three hundred concrete blocks will be made on the spot, and thirty oak molds, lined with metal, have been sent from England, together with foul' hundred and fifty cylinders of concrete, each cylinder weighing fifty pounds. This gives some idea of the magnitUde of the undertaking. From Chinde, at the mouth of the Zambesi, the loads will be taken to Chiromo on river steamers, theuce carried overland to a post on the Upper Shire, and again shipped in a lake steamer to one of the posts on the West Coast of Lake Nyassa. From this point several hundred carriers will be required to transport the materials for the obelisk to old Chitambo's vil- lage, near Lake Bangweolo.
On each of the four sides of the obelisk there will be a bronze plate.
On two of these will be inscribed the words seen in our drawing of the monu- ment.
On the other two tablets will be the inscription: "This monument occupies the spot where formerly stood the'tree, at the foot of which Livingstone's heart was buried by ~lis faithful native followers. On the trunk was carved the following inscription: 'David Livingstone. Died }fay 4, 18'73.
Chuma, Souza, }fniasere, U chopere.'''
The memorial is primarily dne to the initiative of }fl'. Poulett Weather- ley, who has spent many years in the heart of Africa.
A memorial box has also been THE LIVINGSTONE MONUMENT. fashioned from the wood of the mpunda tree, and is to be presented to one of the surviving members of the family. Some leaves from the same tree were recently on view at a Livingstone exhibition.
A suggestion has been put forward for nationalizing the land at old Chitambo's, in Ceutral Afriea, whereon the new Livingstone memorial is to be erected. 'rHE MISSIONARY QUESTION IN OHINA.* BY HON-. CHARLES DENBY.
Ex-Minister of the United States to China.
The missionary question as affecting Ohina claims at this time a calm and fair consideration, if for no other reason than because it may furnish an element in the settlement which the allies must soon make with the Ohinese government. I assume that such a settlement will be made. After the terrible experiences of the past two months it will not do for our troops to withdraw from Ohina without securing safeguards for the future protection of foreign residents. If by means of the indecision of the powers, or their conflicting views, nothing is done, the Ohinese will claim, as they invariably do under such circum- {stances, that they defeated the foreign troops, and the foundation will be laid for new trou bles in the near future. Now. is the time to settle all questions touching foreign rights. It is the time also, if it be possible to do so, to settle what rights Ohina has, if she has any, in the family of nations. A declaration in which all the treaty powers would guarantee her against dismemberment or partition, would be the foundation-stone of a convention which should contain abundant safeguards for the protection of foreigners. Undoubtedly one of the prominent subjects in such a convention wonld be the status of the mIsSIOnary. It is probable that Ohina would endeavor in some way to curtail rights which have been granted to the missionaries by existing treaties and conventions, but she would not demand the impracticable thing of their total exclusion.
The history of the Ohristian missionaries has on the whole been that of Ohinese progress toward modern civilization. Oommencing with the arrival of the Jesuit father, Ricci, in 1582, through the time when the first Protestant missionary, Robert Morrison, arrived at Oanton in 1807, and down to our own day, missionary work has never failed to instruct and benefit the Ohinese. The missionary has been the educator of the Ohinese. He has written original books for them; he has translated foreign books into their language; he has established schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals; he has introduced foreign arts and sciences; he has been the forerunner of commerce. To the ordinary foreigner, whether a tourist or a resident, the Ohinaman is a stranger, but the missionary is his constant companion and friend, and always the dispenser of charity. It is stated that the converts informed the foreign minister~ of thee impending riots, but that their warning was not heeded..
China has rarely refused to grant to the missionary whatever, privilege was demanded for him. In the French treaty of 1858 she ~llowed the missions to secure land in any part of the empire, and il}_ *. This paper is dated Evansville, Indiana, Ser>telllber 5, 1900… 1865, in the Berthemy convention, she agreed that the magistrates should not necessarily be consulted before land was bought, and she made this privilege emphatic at the instance of M. Gerard, the French minister in 1895. In 1891 the emperor, among other things, declared in an imperial edict: The religions of the West have for their object the inculcation of virtue, and tho our people become converted, they continue to be Chinese subjects. There is no reason why there should not be harmony between the people and the adherents of foreign religions.
Now when the position of the missionary is made secure, both by Imperial edict and by treaty, it is sought to charge him with the responsibility of the last outbreaks in Ohina with a view to prevent him from continuing his labors. Recent history does not sustain the proposition that the people are so much opposed to missionaries as to be willing to drive -them out by violence. If that proposition had been true they would long ago have been driven out of Ohina. In the province of Ohih-li, where the recent riots had their most important sphere of operation, from 1870 down to 1899 there was no riot, tho the province is full of missionaries. There have been usually specific causes for riots. At Ohin-kiang, for instance, the riot which occurred a few years ago arose from the striking of a Ohinaman by a Hindu policeman. Several riots have been caused by the ridiculous charge that the missionaries use the eyes of infants to make medicine. This was the origin of the celebrated riot at Tientsin in 1870. Here it must be said that if the foreigners would give up the establishing of orphan asylums, they would avoid a prolific source of disorder. In one of the towns on the Yangtse a missionary laid her hand on a boy's head in the streets. The boy claimed that he was bewitched, and a fearful riot ensued.
It must be admitted that sudden disturbances growing out of such incidents or delusions as above mentioned, do not indicate a general antagonism among the people to missionary work. Missions are established all over that great empire, many iu the most isolated and unprotected places, and disaster has come to comparatively few of them. It is not to be denied that hatred of missionaries exists among the literati and the higher classes. While the government has not failed on suitable occasions to acknowledge that the missionaries do good, and to order that they should be protected, still official classes view them with envy, hatred, and malice.
I must distinctly say that in this article I take no account of the spiritual side of this question. That field of argument must be left to the religious teacher. The merchant, the manufacturer, the diplomatist, the statesman, look to economic results rather than to the spread of religion. Surely the Western world gains by having residents all over a great empire who have its interests at heart. Surely" the spread of modern civilization conduces to the extension of trade and commerce. Surely, the enlightenment of the nation tends to promote peace and good-will, and all friendly relations with other nations.
In the great question of commercial expansion the labors of the missionaries in all parts of the world have been appreciated by all intelligent rnlers, and they have consequently been fostered and pro- tected. A noted example of this line of, policy has recently been furnished by the emperor of Germany. Whatever may be said of the peculiarities sometimes exhibited by the kaiser, it must be admitted that his foreign policy has been definite, determined, and brilliant, even if occasionally too aggressive. He has realized that one of the important agencies in the development of the world, and the extension of German influence, is the establishment and protection of foreign mISSIOns. France learned this centuries ago, and from the time of Louis XIV she has been the protector of Catholic missions. Tho she excludes and derides them at home, in the Orient she has immemorially spread her egis over them, and they have repaid her by extending to her and her interests the most perfect devotion. In China, since the earliest establishment of Catholic missions, the French minister has had sole charge of the claims of all members of Catholic missions, no matter what was the nationality of the claimant. Thus the Belgian, English, Italian, German, Spanish, in fact the Catholic of all nationalities looked to France alone as his mediator in all troubles, and it must be said that. she has served him well. She has always been on the alert to secure rights and privileges, of which other nations have availed themselves under the favored-nation clause.
It is odd, perhaps, that the nation which is considered to be the most irreligious in the world, should, all over the East and the Far East, stand as the champion and defender of the Catholics of every country. Yet under the empire, the monarchy, and the republic, this position has been sustained up to this hour. The German emperor long ago saw the subtle, and far-reaching influence, both at home and abroad, which was esc~ping from him by reason of the policy of France, and he determined to counteract it. After the Franco- Prussian war he commanded that the German Catholic, like the German Protestant, should be under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of Germany, so that now in Turkey, as well as in the Far East, France has lost all authority over matters connected with the German Catholics. There can not be much doubt that this policy is right and just. There are to my knowledge no American missionaries in China who are Catholics, but if there were, the minister would undoubtedly claim jurisdiction over them.
The world well knows, to its sorrow, one of the results of this absorption of supremacy over the Catholics by the German emperor. When, in 1897, two Oatholic missionaries were murdered in Shantung, the event was made an excuse for the seizing of Kiao-cho and the adjoining territory. From this unjustifiable event dates the begin- ning of the troubles that have lately afflicted Ohina and startled the world. It is well known, also, that in other quarters, as in Palestine and Syria, the same policy of protection is being pushed by the kaiser. It will scarcely be doubted that one of the reasons for this action is to secure the influence of the Oatholic Ohurch for the emperor, but . another unquestionably is the expansion of German commerce. That commerce follows the missionary has been indubitably proven in Ohina. Inspired by holy zeal he goes into the interior, into localities where the merchant has never penetrated, but it is not long before the drummer follows on behind. Several times in China little towns have been laid out and built up by missionaries, with hotels, churches, and stores. Municipal governments have sprung up which are admin- istered under foreign laws, and they have been object lessons to the Chinese.
I freely admit that other causes besides missionary work have operated since 1843 to produce progress in Ohina. No one will deny that the diplomatists, the consuls, the merchants, and the Imperial Maritime Customs have done a great deal, no doubt the greater part of the work of opening up China. The world scarcely realizes how vast the work has been. The electric telegraph is now in every prov- ince, steamboats ply on the coasts and up the rivers; handsome cities have been built. Foreign trade has vastly increased, mines have been opened, and railroads are soon to cover the land as with a network. '1'he best intellects in China do not hesitate to admit that much of this progress is due to the missionaries, who constitute nearly one- third of the foreign population. How could it be otherwise when we consider the hundreds of industrial and other schools, colleges, hospi- tals, that have been established all over China? If these agencies of improvement are powerless of effect, then let us discontinue the use of them in Ollr own country. It is contended that the Chinese are vio- lently opposed to the adoption of the Christian religion, and that on this account mission work should be abandoned.
In the consideration of this question, it must be remembered that the Ohinese have barely any religion. Their fundamental cult is the worship of ancestors. They are the most tolerant, or the most indif- ferent to religious views of any people in the world. They care nothing about sects. They rarely go to a temple. They have toler- ated the Mohammedans for centuries. They tolerated the Nestorians and the Jews. '1'he only religious exercise of any note in which the emperor takes part is when at the winter solstice he sacrifices a bullock to Shangti, the unknown and ideal divinity.
Of course when the riot against the forei~)1er is afoot the missiol),- ary suffers, but it is because he is a foreigner, not because he is a Christian. He bears the burdens of his race. We have not far to go to find the causes of popular discontent. Western inventions, it was thought, were depriving the poor of bread, and the foreigner was, by degrees, absorbing Ohina. To take away the missionary now is to sur- render the fruition of the labors of many devoted men and· women during half a century. It is to leave Ohina to relapse into barbarism.
I.t will result in checking commercial expansion and impeding internal Improvements.
I have been asked to point out any" failings" in missionary work that have come to my attention. It can hardly be expected, however, that I can advance anything new. With all due deference to the great missionary societies who have these matters in charge, my judg- ment is that missionary work in China has been overdone. For some years past it has assumed the phase of a new erusade. Take Peking as an example. As given in this REVIEW, in its issue of Sept., 1900, there were located at Peking, the following Protestant missions: American· Board, American Bible Society, American Presbyterian (North), American Methodist (North), Ohristian and Missionary Alliance, International Y. M. O. A., London Missionary Society, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, International Institute, Mission for Ohinese Blind, Scotch Bible Society for Diffusion of Ohristian Knowledge. To these must be added the Ohurch of Eng- land Mission, the English Baptist Mission, and the Swedish Mission.* The Greek Ohurch (Russian) had a mission, which was established many years ago. No mention has been made of it during the last two months. The Oatholics have immense holdings in Peking. They own very valuable real estate. In the way of mission work they are very largely represented. They have a bishop and vicar-general, a great number of priests, an orphanage and college, and schools, sisters of charity, four churches, and a hospital. Let it be said here, in paren- thesis, ~hat it is certain that the Oatholics will never abandon Uhina, and if they stay there, no human power can keep the Protestants out.
The above list shows that of American societies alone there were seven in Peking, not counting the Peking University, and that all the Western powers, taken collectively, were represented by about twenty mISSIons. The same condition practically exists in other important cities. Tientsin, for instance, seventy-three miles away, had eleven English and American Protestant missions, and a great number of Oatholic priests. In at least eighty towns in the north, where the scene of disorder Jay, there were missions. I submit, with some diffi- * It should be remembered that almost all these missionary societies are in Peking chiefly because of its political and commercial importance; that they may use the city as the basis of operations, and not simply as a sphere of missionary work. The same is true of other centers.-EDITOR. dence, that it would be better to have it few strong missions than many weak ones. A careful study of the situation would seem to suggest that no two American societies should occupy the same district.
If the land were parceled out. and only one society were located in any place, there would be less risk of mutual antagonism, and less confusion among the Chinese. They can not understand why, with only one God, there should be so many different churches. The Catholics appreciate the force of this suggestion, and never allow two societies to locate in the same province.
One other criticism, and I have done with this ungracious task. The zeal of missionaries, which impels them to go into dangerous places, ought to be controlled. When the territory is in disorder, and unsafe, the parent society should see to it that its employees do not go into such localities. Consuls have sometimes advised persons not to go into dangerous parts of the country, and their ad vice has been ignored. When trouble comes the representatives of the government must intervene to afford relief, but they are powerless to control missionary movements. Reason would dictate that prudence and common sense should be consulted in all such matters.
Much has been said about sending ladies to China as missionaries. The China Inland Mission has been greatly attacked on this account. Possibly if I had never seen the ladies at work I might have agreed with these critics. But the truth is that they do the hardest part, and the most of the work in China. The teaching of the children, and the nursing and treating of the sick women and children, surgical and medical, fall to their lot. I have not space to praise them here, and I could not say sufficient good of tllem if I had.
I realize how difficult it is to discuss a subject of such far-reaching effect as the missionary question in the Far East without allusion to its spiritual side. To the missionary, of course, the saving of souls is the supreme purpose of his labors. The charity, the instruction, the medical treatment, are all subsid.iary to this main object. But words from me can add nothing to the sublime obligation that comes to Christians from the Divine command. To him who believes that he is ordered by the Supreme Being to go forth as a religious teacher, argument is superflous. History shows that he will engage in this work tho the greatest dangers may confront him. Nor is it worth while to look at the subject from a governmental point of dew. It is not within the range of probability that any administration in this country will consent to the exclusion of its missionaries from China. It can not be dreamed of that a step fraught with such vast and injurious results will ever be taken by the 'rreaty Powers. The treatment of the whole subject rests with the Christians of this and other countries. It will be found that the sentiment of the world will now, as heretofore, be on the side of a reasonable and prudent policy of religious expansion.
BIBLE TRANSLATION ANn D1STRIBUTION
BIBLE TRANSLATION AND DISTRIBUTION.* BY REV. CANON W. J. EDMONDS, B.D., EXETER, ENGLAND.
Vice·President of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
It is not yet adequately realized throughout the churches that the translation of the Scriptures into the language of the people among whom the religion of our Lord took root, was the first solicitude of the Apostolic churches, and, almost without exception, remained the policy of the Church until the sixteenth century. This is Ecumenical, if anything is, and yet it needs to be reaffirmed and coordinated, and made to be the common policy of us all. We want Ohristian converts to have the help of Bibles. We want them to look into that achromatic mirror, in which, without refraction or distortion, they may see Jesus. We do not want them to have the distraction of rival Bibles, nor the disadvantage of eccentric Bibles, nor the darkness of unlearned Bibles. We want them to have the best that the best men can give them. We want to kindle in the churches the ambition that will keep men from sleeping, till in every land and language there is some promise that, before long, there will be such a translation of the Word of God, that we can look comfortably into each others' faces as we give it to the converts, and say, "Here is your spiritual history. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." . . . Whatever is the share of other lands, America, and Germany, and Great Britain are clearly put in trust of the Gospel. They must translate and they must distribute it.
'fo give to men the message of God on lips touched with a live coal from the altar of God, is the first true greeting of the ideal missionary, as he lays the foundation of a living church; to hand to his people God's written revelation, plain, permanent, perfect, as far as anything partly human can attain to be perfect, is, when his other work is over, his ideal farewell.
There are on the roll of distinguished missionaries, ancient and modern, the names of illustrious laborers who have so begun· and so ended their work. There are instances, in the work of the early Church as well as in the modern Ohurch, where the best of books was the first of books; where the very alphabet was constructed for the purpose of translating the Bible into the people's language, thus giving a new force and interpretation to the name which our Lord gave to Himself, "The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last," so revealing Himself as the creator of literature as much as He is the creator of the world.
The great duty which, alike in England and America, is especially committed to the chief Bible societies, can not be viewed to advantage * Condensed from an address delivered at the Ecumenical Conference on Foreign Mis· sions, Tuesday evening, April 24, 1900. Corrected by the author.
October
except an effort be made to realize its plnce in the great scheme by which the Holy Ohurch throughout the world has acknowledged God. . . . . We view and review the work of many laborers in many lands, but there is unity in it all. . . . American and Scottish societies there are, not unfruitful or obscure, who share, with the British and Foreign Bible Society, that part of the white man's burden involved in the duty of bearing forth the good seed of the Kingdom of God. I deal with it as one work, one task, mighty in operation, the surest, the safest of all the agencies by which a living Ohurch performs the duty laid upon it when as a sower it goes forth to sow. . . .
I have noticed for some years a process at work by which the lessons of Ohurch history, which have been too much" unexplored territory," are becoming every year more familiar to us upon whom the ends of the ages have come. And what is more, and I trust also better, there is an approximation on both sides of the Atlantic, in the temper in which Ohurch history is viewed, toward a common understanding of its lessons.
"Ohurch histories" says Bishop Potter, "have been hitherto of chief, if not of exclusive interest to scholars. But if our age has brought nothing else with it, it has brought an instinct of historical inquiry which has happily largely freed itself from partisan or ecclesiastical bias, and which has learned to read and tell the story of theOhristian centuries in a larger spirit and with a more candid utterance."
1'his witness is true, and the work of Bible societies has everything to gain from it, and this much is certain. Ohurch history teaches no earlier and no clearer lesson than this, viz., that a living church holds fast and holds forth the Word of life; and that its chief security for holding it fast is fidelity in holding it forth.
It is one of the signs of the good hand of God upon us that there is not only a revival of zeal in the work of missions, but there is also poured out upon the churches an increasing desire to know what our earliest predecessors did when they went forth in obedience to our Lord's command to make disciples of all nations. It is a striking fact that the work of translating and disseminating the Scriptures begins where missions to the heathen begin-its starting-point is Antioch.
Listen to St. Ohrysostom, the most illustrious name in that fourth century when many were illustrious: "The doctrine of St. John did not in such sort (as the philosophers did) vanish away, but the Syrians, Egyptians, Indians, Persians, Ethiopians, and infinite other nations, being barbarous people, translated it into their mother tongue, and have learned to be (true) philosophers." And King James' translators, who quote this in their" Address to the Reader," add a similar passage from Theodoret, "next to Ohrysostom," both for antiquity and learning: " Every country that is under the sun is full of these words, and the
BIBLE TRANSLATION AND
Hebrew (tongue) is turned not only into the language of the Grecians, but also of the Romans, and Egyptians, and Persians, and Indians, and Armenians, and Scythians, and Sauromatians, and briefly into all the languages that any nation useth." Then, after a detailed account of similar work, reaching through much of the middle ages, and yet far from exhaustive, they draw their conclusion: .iSo that to have the Scriptures in t.he mother tongue is not a quaint conceit lately taken up,. . but hath been thought upon and put in practise of old, even from the first times of the conversion of any nation, no doubt because it was esteemed most profitable to cause faith to grow in men's hearts the sooner, and to make them to be able to say, with the words of the Psalm, ' As we have heard, so we have seen.' "
I venture, my brethren, to urge that it is of the highest importance to the soundness of our missionary activity, that we should not think of this branch of our work as "a quaint conceit lately taken up." It is, as King'James' men say, "most profitable" as an instrumentality for" causing faith to grow." It is a means also, when faith has sprung up, for "the more confirmation of it," that men may" know the certainty of those things in which they have been instructed."
Men will yield homage to principles fortified by such sanctions. Methods may and do alter. This plan or that plan may be tried, adopted, or put aside. We, however, are dealing to-day not so much with the achievements of translators, as with the principles upon which the early Church proceeded in her missionary work. I am not losing sight of the fact that if a thing ought to be done which in old times was not done, we must be bold in Christ to create a precedent. The Holy Spirit still abides in the Ohurch. The Lord walks still among the candlesticks. But no man can thoughtfully watch the tendencies of the times we live in without seeing that all round us there is an increasing desire to realize the unity of the Church's life, to bring its operations into harmony, and to rejoice when fresh studies reveal to us that the instincts which prompt us to make known in all lands and languages the very Word of God, are but a repetition in us of promptings which came to the earliest Christians in their earliest organizations.
TJ:.e quotations that I have given from St. Ohrysostom and from Theodoret, tho somewhat rhetorical, are, when all deductions have been made, a splendid record of solid achievement. Bible societies are mere instruments, but the translation and distribution of the Word of God is the duty of the living Church; it can not be neglected without grave consequences. Whatever else was or was not done, this branch of the ministry of truth was never neglected in the early Ohurch. From whichever of the great missionary centers we start, from Antioch, from Alexandria, from Oarthage, or from Oonstantinople, the footprints of the translators of the Bible are there. Beautiful are their feet, and their footprints are not only beautiful, but indelible. Ro
strikingly true is this that, when Dr. Salmon, one of our ablest British divines, was meeting the allegation that the four Gospels were a good deal later than apostolic times, he replied with equal logic, learning, and wit, "that at the time when it is doubted whether the four Gospels were born, we find their children full grown."
From the pages of early Church missionary history I select an example of missionary policy, and an instance of far-reaching missionary success, which by a series of unbroken links binds the second century to our own; the Syrian to the Saxon.
In Edessa, the Oxford of the East, in the second century, the question arose whether the New Testament was to speak out the one truth in whatever language the believers in it spoke, or whether that truth was to be buried in the grave of the one only language in which the Church had received it. The answer is found in every book of authority that deals with the history of the Bible; at the head of every list stands the Syriac version, and the date assigned to it is the second century. The relations between the church of Antioch and the church of Edessa have been investigated by two French Roman Catholics, Professors Martin and Tixeront, opposed in one point indeed, but agreeing in this, that the Syriac-speaking church of Edessa is the child of the Greek-speaking church of Antioch. The older man differs from the younger in the date of foundation, Professor Martin placing it in the first century, and his pupil placing it in the second. Mr. Burkitt, a high authority on the Syriac language and literature, finds this very Syriac church distinguished from other contemporary types of Christianity by its simplicity, its close touch with Holy Scripture, and its deep moral tone and practical seriousness. No church was fuller of the missionary spirit. No translation of the Bible, except the Vulgate, and our own, has had a more distinguished missionary history. It went to Ceylon in the sixth century, to China in the seventh; it was a missionary progress all along the line. Nor was its influence confined to the East. Tatian, a Syrian of the second century, cOllstructed out of the four Gospels a continuous narrative. It was called the Diatessaron, and it had an immense circulation. It passed from the East to the West. It took a Latin form in the sixth century, and then in the ninth was turned into Old Saxon. Under the name of the Heliand it assumed the "form of poetry, and was a chief instrument in the conversion of. the Saxons. In this form, says Dr. Wace, the Gospel "lived in the heart of the German people," and in due time produced Luther and the German Bible, thus binding together the second century and the sixteenth, the East and the West. And 'l'atian tells us how his own heart was touched and his mind satisfied by the Bible. His faith came by reading, and his reading was in the Word of God. He had made trial of every kind of religious worship, and the result had sickened him. "As," he says, "I
BIBLE TRANSLATION AND DISTRIBUTION
was earnestly considering this, I came across certain barbarian writ- ings, oldK' in point of antiquity than the doctrines of the Greeks, and far too divine to be marked by their errors. What persuaded me in these books was the simplicity of the language, the inartificial style of the writers, the noble explanation of creation, the predictions of the future, the excellence of the precepts, and the assertion of the government of all by One Being. My soul being thus taught of God, I understood how the Sacred Scriptures lead to freedom from the world's slavery, liberating us from thousands of tyrants, and giving us not indeed what we had not received, but what we had once received, but had lost through error." This fragment of second century autobiography is not only decisive as evidence of the policy of the early Church in the matter of the translation and the diffusion of the Scriptures, but it is in itself, and in its far-reaching results, an eloquent example of the missionary value of that policy.
I have spoken of Antioch and its methods. The same lesson is taught when we look at Alexandria, next in order of Apostolic churches. Our knowledge of Egyptian Christianity is rapidly increasing. We know of four Coptic versions of the Scriptures, beginning with the second century, and I need only remind you of the beautiful anecdote of Pontitianus, which St. Augustine gives us in his Confessions, to show how influential one of these versions had been upon the missionary life of Egypt. In India, thousands of thoughtful men are living under similar conditions to those which existed in the second century, as also are other thousands in China and Japan.
When we reach the fourth and fifth centuries, we are in the era of great Bibles, and nearly everyone is the result of missionary work. There are diversities of operations, indeed, but the governing principle is always the same. The aim is to translate the Bible into the language of the people, and then to put it into their hands. Sometimes, as in the case of the Latin Vulgate, it is one man away in solitude like Jerome in .Bethlehem, who does the work, or in the full activity of Church life as Miesrob was when he gave the Armenian Church their Bible, and constructed their very alphabet for this purpose. Sometimes the missionary impulse is given half unconsciously, as when Ulphilas felt the spell of Christianity at Constantinople, and gave the Gothic people the first of Teutonic Bibles, five hundred years in advance of the earliest Anglo-Saxon Gospels. But nowhere is there an exception to the rule. It operates wherever there is need, and only because of the fact that the German and other invaders of the Roman Empire adopted Latin as their sacred tongne was the work of translation apparently suspended in the Western Church for nearly a thousand years. 'rhere is no fallacy more fallacious than that the Latin Bible was provided with a view to the protection of the Word of God from common use. It was distinctly the reverse. What the
Syriac Bible was in the East, that the Latin Vulgate was in the West.
There is another great missionary service which Constantinople rendered to Western Christendom, the effects of which continue to this day. The millions who look up with reverence to the czar of all the Russias, owe their Bible to Constantinople. The Bible now circulated among them in hundreds of thousands of copies yearly by the British and Foreign Bible Society, is the child of this ninth century version, for the sake of which the current Russian alphabet was invented. That translation of the Bible was sought for by the Slavonic princes, and distinctly as the supreme authority in matters of faith. Evangelists had approached their country from more than one quarter. They were perplexed. "One teaches after one manner," they said, "and another after another." "'Ve do not understand the Greek and Latin languages; send us teachers who may translate the Sacred Books." And so it came about that the Bible was the first of Russian books as it had already been the first of Gothic and the first of Armenian books. As a sacred umpire it came, as well as a sacred teacher, an end of controversy when once its meaning is ascertained, and its sentence delivered. And this was done in the darkest century of the dark ages. Such is the value of a true principle, that where it prevails, the tendency is always to bring about a better state of things. Even when religion has stiffened into rigid f01'Jnalism, virtue goes out of the Word of God to reanimate, to regenerate, to renew.
This principle, operative in the life of the Church from the first, received fresh illustration at the Reformation. Teutonic Christianity comes into view with the Bible in its hand. "The primal records of Christianity," says Milman, "in a narrow compass passed into all the vernacular languages of the world. . . . Monasticism was rejected as alien to the primal religion of the Gospel; the family life, the life of the Christian family, resumed its place as the highest state of Christian grace and perfection."
Of this there is a striking example in the church life of Bohemia, in the generation that produced disciples of Huss and Jerome of Prague. It is Matthias of Janow who speaks. "From my youth up, whether on a journey or at home, in business or at leisure, never was my Bible out of my sight. My soul was, as it were, espoused to it. In every sorrow, in every persecution, I ever betook me to my Bible, which walked with me as my betrothed. And when I saw others carrying about the relics and bones of saints, I, for my part, chose for me my Bible, my elect, my comrade in all life's journey." And it is to be noticed that it is to the exhortation of Augustine and Jerome that this saintly man traces his love for the Bible.
The invention of printing in the fifteenth century gave a powerful
stimulus to the circulation of the Scriptures, aud it is due to the truth of history to add, that there was for a long time no departure from the ancient policy of the Ohurch. Indeed, in all the leading countries of Europe there was as it were, « the appearance of a man's hand, and lo! a roll of a book was therein."
Nearly eighty years were to pass before Europe was to stand at the parting of the ways. Twenty editions of the Latin Bible had been printed in Germany alone, before Luther was born, and in the year that followed the nailing up of his "Theses," the fourteenth known issue of a German Bible took place. All these fourteen issues were large folio Bibles and not mere reprints, but of various translations from the Vulgate. I take these facts from the catalogue of the Oax- ton Exhibition of Bibles of 1857, drawn up by Henry Stevens, of Vermont. Germany, as we have seen, took the lead, but Italy soon followed, then France, then Bohemia. Soon the folio Bibles were followed by a quarto, and then "the poor man's Bible," the first edition in octavo of a Latin Bible, made its appearance, in 1491. All these Bibles were produced in open day; they involved no breach with the past, they indicated no forward movement, but they bear by their numbers and their variety strong evidence of a deepening and extending Christian life.
A forwlO',l'd step, however, was about to be taken. "Greece," says Mr. Goldwin Smith, "arose from the dead with the New Testament in her hand." Two eminent men took the manuscripts from her ana shaped them for other men's use. One was a cardinal, the other, Erasmus, narrowly escaped that dignity. Again there was no breach with the past. Erasmus's Greek 'restament was dedicated, with per- mission, to the pope. The date of this event should be noticed. It was 1516.
The Old Testament in Hebrew had been printed as early as 14BB. Access to the originals is the primary condition of sound Bible work. All Europe over the foundation of Bible knowledge was laid.
It is an exceedingly solemn thing to notice that there was nothing .final or official to hinder the work of Bible translation and diffusion from being done III every country in Europe, whether of Latin or German race, till the Oouncil of 'l'rent took its fatal decision in 1546. Then for this high service the one race was taken and the other left. Then the policy of the council bore fruit in the hostility of the church, and no man since has been able to count upon official support in that great communion, from pope, or bishop, or parish priest, if he devoted himself to the task of giving the Scriptures of God freely to the people. There is plain proof that in the judgment of the best men in the Latin Ohurch, including the present pope, this opposition has gone too far. But it is now too late to alter a policy which has three centuries ang a half behind it, Tyndale and Roger!!
can not be unstrangled or unburnt. The history of other crimes can not be blotted out. In Spain, for example, Oardinal Ximenes had the start of Erasmus in the matter of the Greek Testament. In his Poly- glot it was printed first, tho not published. There were Spaniards who longed to give the Bible to their countrymen in their own tongue, and the great cardinal's munificence and learning had made it pos- sible; but when, in 1543, Enzina published at Antwerp a version of the New Testament, and presented it to Oharles the Fifth, he was thrown into prison for his pains; while Liesvelt, who printed a version in the Low Oountries, in 1526, was condemned and beheaded for asserting in one of his annotations that "the salvation of mankind proceeds from Ohrist alone." It can not be too distinctly affirmed, nor too often repeated, that sixteenth century opposition to the trans- lation and diffusion of the Word of God, was an innovation, a depar- tnre from the course which the missionary Ohurch of God had up to then almost invariably followed. The Jesuit missions are the first considerable examples of learned men carrying the Gospel message, abundantly competent to translate the Bible, but, so far as appears, not doing it.
In the East, in the early ages, the great missionary church of Syria did it, the Franciscans in the middle ages did it; but the Ooun- cil of Trent, by its decree, stereotyped the Vulgate, and thenceforth held the sword of the Spirit in a paralyzed arm. And so it has come about that the work done by great scholars and scholar missionaries, like Ulphilas or Jerome, or great missionary churches like the Syriac, or thE) Alexandrian, or by the commanding influence of great Ohristian cities, as when Oonstantinople helped the Russian people to obtain their Bible, or by the new-born energy of a great religious movement, as when the Reformation angel uttered his voice, that work, with the sanction upon it of Ohurch authority, of Ohurch history, of scholar saints and scholar martyrs, has come into the exclllsive charge and custody of the most living branches of the Ohurch of God. It is the common task of Ohristendom, and the lowly and the lofty alike are members of this greatest of cooperative societies. All missionary work will eventually be tested by the conformity of its results to the Divine model of life and character set before us in the Holy Book. No missionary is better employed than the competent translator. No missionary society has fully risen to the ideal which has not contributed a man or men to this great Pentecostal revelation of the mind of God to the heart of Ilis creatures.
'Ve now reckon over four hundred of these Divine voices, and none of them is without signification. Each bears witness to the love that God hath to us, and that no race or language is now common or unclean…. The missionary idea is conquering the life of the churches. The living churches are alive to it and by it, but let us be jealous for the stability and authority, as well as for the fervor of our work. The Word of God is the most living of all God's oracles, the most evangelical of all evangelists, the most trustworthy of all God's messengers. Man lives by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
THE PRESS AND RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS
t'
THE PRESS AND RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS.
BY REV. GEO. H. ROUSE, D.D., INDIA.
Missionary of the Baptist Church, of England.
It is satisfactory to know that missionary societies appear to begin to realize that the preparation and circulation of Ohristian literature is a most important department of mission work, and that it is wise to set apart and support missionaries in this special work. Dr. Murdoch's endeavor to persuade the chief English societies laboring in India to set apart, each one, a literature missionary for some special language, promises to be successful. To use a photographic image, it seems to me that while the wide preaching of the Gospel in villages, markets, and melas may produce the image we wish to show, it is the Gospel and tract left in the home, and read and pondered, that succeeds, by God's blessing, in fixing that image.
It seems to be very desirable that Scripture portions which are used for distribu tion among the masses should have brief notes, explanatory of the meaning of words like passover, Pharisee, Sabbath, and so forth, which alone give no meaning whatever to a non-Ohristian reader. Without such notes these words are practically untranslated. The missionaries in Ohina have in their united conferences expressed a strong conviction of the importance of this matter in that country. It would also be well if the Gospels, in Indian languages, could be put into rhythm and rhyme, as has been done in the Ooriya language. The natives are accustomed to such rhythm in their own vernacular literature, like the Ramayan.
In two or three languages we have brought out a life of Ohrist in Scripture language, collected from the Gospels, selecting such passages as seemed best fitted for the Hindu mind, and omitting all clauses which would be unsuitable, such as "which is called in the Hebrew, Sabbatha," It has six chapters, "The Birth and Ohildhood of Jesus," "The Public Work of Jesus," "The Death of Jesus," "The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus," "The Teaching of Jesus," "The Teaching of the Scripture about Jesus." The whole book is about the compass of a Gospel, and is sold at the same price.
In regard to the preparation of Ohristian literature, we must be 9areful not to slavishly translate English books. Except the Bible, there is hardly a single English book which will bear literal translation into an Oriental tongue. Words and phrases which have a clear meaning in the home-lands need to be explained to an Eastern man, especially when he is a heathen. We need not to translate, but to adapt. A simple translation will often be unintelligible to the heathen reader, or even to the native Ohristian. What we have to do is to get clearly in our own mind the truths we wish to teach, and then to bring them out in such language, and with such explanations and illustrations as
will enable our readers to grasp these truths. It is difficult to do this, and it is still more difficult to train our native colleagues and helpers, to do it, but it is most important that this should be done.
We should avoid technical phraseology, except in regard to certain great words, such as salvation, faith, repentance, and so forth; and in regard to these words it will often be important to explain their meaning in other words. Such phrases as "Come to Jesus," have deep meaning to us, and we are apt to use them in tracts intended for the heathen, without asking whether the heathen reader would really understand them.
In preparing literature for the non-Ohristian, and even for the Christian reader, in heathen lands, we ought continually to be asking "'ourselves whether the words we use will convey to the reader the same idea that they do to us, who have had Ohristian training in a Ohris- tian atmosphere from our childhood.
There ought to be a wise selection of subjects on which books and tracts should be prepared, and the literature missionary, when he is appointed for any language, ought to be consulted by all those who wish to bring out books in the vernacular.
REORGANIZATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK.
BY REV. LEVI B. SALMANS, M.D., GUANAJUATO, MEXICO. Missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North).
The place of medico-evangelism as the entering wedge for the Gospel can not be disputed nor longer neglected, much less spurned with the observation that "the old Gospel has not lost its power." "Into whatsoever city ye enter, heal the sick that are therein" is the very power itself of the Gospel to predispose, attract, and cause to hear and to believe, those rebellious and hardened sinners who will otherwise persist in their prejudices against us until they go down to their graves, and even leave their children equally deceived as to our real characters and that of our blessed heavenly message.
What overwhelming evidence we have of this in the present state of affairs in Germany, and even in America. In the former country I noted villages, netly Oatholic, surrounding a Protestant village of high Christian virtues, and well established in Protestant forms and practises for centuries. The parts of Germany that received the Gospel at Luther's hands, crystallized Protestant within a generation or two, and so did the parts of Germany which refused Luther's message crystallize Oatholic, and are harder to evangelize to-day than in Luther's day, for they suppose themselves already to have looked into this matter in the persons of their ancestors, and to have found it bad, and to have rejected it forever. They will to follow the religion of their tI:tJb~:rs" at least until some one invites their attention to somethin~
REORGANIZATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK
of which their fathers never heard. In our own country, how all but impossible most Christians suppose it to be to evangelize Catholics, and no denomination, as such, makes any special provision therefor. They are apparently waiting for God's time to come. I have often wondered if God's time is not when we devote ourselves to Christ's methods, and learn and use them perfectly. It is undeniable that we have been imperfect in our conceptions of His methods for evangelism, for the past century or two show immense changes for the better in our conceptions and practises of God's way for reaching all kinds of sinners. I have wondered if a perfect appreciation of the nature and uses of healing for Christ's sake may not be the principal key to the situation which we still lack for the speedier evangelization of all those immense groups of the human family who reject us and our message simply because they are so attached to traditional religion and to traditional opinions of us and of what we offer them.
The proper organization of the Church of Christ for attaining the greatest results has always been a problem. The Christian Church has worked at it indefatigably, especially for a few centuries past. Each denomination thinks it is the nearest to perfection in this regard, but none fail to feel keenly their own imperfections at the same time. But little attention has been given as yet to the proper organization of the medical branch of our labors. Some of the most untenable practises are still retained in the majority of our missionary societies. In the general perfection of organization which exists in our day, who thinks of putting the direction of any of the arts, professions, or trades, into the hands of others than those who are themselves skilful in the very same arts, professions, or trades? In Christ's time, and for a while thereafter, healing for Gospel purposes was a miraculous gift of the preachers themselves, and of others devoted to evangelism. As it exists in our day, it involves the use of one of the most learned of the professions, and one of the most difficult of arts, and, as practised on the mission fields, it also involves the knowledge and use of one of the trades-that in drugs and other necessary supplies. -Can we forever continue to disregard the need of a certain autonomy for the missionary use of the medical art, profession, and trade, and on the field subject such missionaries absolutely to the judgment and control of men who are preachers only, and at home have the boards made up without any regard whatever to the presence of committees or secretaries therein who are skilful and practised in medical missionary work, or at least in the medical profession? There seems to be but one answer, and that is that this matter will require attention and" reorganization" in the case of most of the missi9nary societies before we can expect the full natural fruits for our Christ from this most important feature, if indeed we should not say department, of evangelism.
In Edinburgh and in London, medical missionary societies exist, made up in their major part of medical men. They are far better rounded in their work than any of the other missionary societies so far as the use of this agency is concerned; for, not to mention other features, they have training schools for the training of medical missionaries, and t.his is certainly an all but essential feature for those who would take up the direction of this work in earnest. All medical matters are with them managed by medical men; boards, training schools, secretaries, superintendents, and on down to the very last details of the work on the field. Nevertheless, there seems to this writer to be a defect in their organization, for they seem to be too much divorced from the ministerial and teaching branches of the work.
Perhaps the influence of the presence and work of these societies in Great Britain has had something to do with leading the Church Missionary Society to take so large and radical a step three years since in the organizing of the Medical Missionary Auxiliary, and turning over to it the gathering of funds for this branch of the work, the. publishing of a special medical missionary paper, and the selecting, sending out, and controlling on the field of all medical missionaries. The Seventh Day Adventists in the United States, who have been most active in the use of medicine, have also taken large steps in securing a more advanced form of organization in the utilization of medical men and work.
Our first necessity is to be convinced of our need. Surely we need this powerful agency perfectly handled to more speedily bring to Christ those whom we fail to reach with our pulpits and our schools. If, as we believe, we have found in this medical work an efficacious means for reaching the Catholics, the Jews, and the submerged tenths of our own cities, not to mention the great aid it furnishes in reaching the masses of paganism, shall we be able to remain longer indifferent as to its increased use and rational organization?
The beginnings in the modern use of this agency have been experimental and largely personal. Scattered throughout the world of missionary enterprise individual doctors have gone to itinerate 01' carryon private practise for Christ, 01' to set up their isolated dispensaries or hospitals, and work as best they could in relation with the ministers and teachers already on the ground, and under the direction and support of those wholly unaccustomed to the use of this agency for Christ, and who were almost always not even members themselves of the medical profession. In some places scarcely any appreciable difficulties referable to defective organization have appeared as yet, while in other places great damage to the work, and even its failure, have been clearly due to these causes. In some places the work has been handicapped by a controlling influence over it being placed in the hands of mission,
THE HAND OF GOD IN JAPAN
workers whose interest was already previously absorbed in the ministerial and school enterprises in which their own hands and hearts were engaged, and who at once saw in this new and expensive agency a competitor for a division and diversion of the funds, already all too scarce, on which their hopes depended for the urgently needed developments of the work already begun.
There are now on the field six hundred medical men and women engaged in this form of work exemplified and commanded by Christ Himself. The number preparing to take the field in this line of missionary activity is increasing rapidly. We believe the time has come, therefore, for the agitation in the right quarters of this imminent need for the reorganization, both in the home office and on the field, of that part of our missionary societies which has to do with the management of this branch of the work.
THE HAND OF GOD IN JAPAN.
BY REV. A. D. GRING, JAPAN. Missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
We may perhaps be brought into greater sympathy with the Japanese government, by pointing out some of the great difficulties with which they have had to contend. The grounds of their opposition to Christianity are: 1. Their fear that Ohristianity will destroy their government. 2. That Ohristianity which preaches the Divinity of Ohrist will destroy the belief of the people in the Divinity of their emperor.
In the light of the Jesuit attempt to interfere with matters politi- cal in the work begun by Xavier in 1549, we can have a great deal of sympathy with the Japanese in their fear that Christianity might interfere with the government. So also we may be able to sympathize to some extent with their fear that a belief in the Divinity of Christ would do much to lessen the faith of the people in their emperor.
But thanks be to God, the careful avoidance of all political criticism, and the loyal conduct of the native Christians to their emperor, have completely convinced the thinking people of Japan that the missionaries are not there to interfere with their government, and that it is possible for a Japanese to be a devout Ohristian and still be loyal to his emperor and to his country.
Japan is now in search of a new religion. The faith in the old cults is giving way. The atmosphere of modern Japan is uncongenial to their old religions. Nothing but the Gospel of love, sympathy, liberty, and reason, can meet the demands of the hour.
The door is completely open. We have but to enter in, and by the lives of the missionaries and native Christians, and deep sympathy for all classes and conditions of men, convince the people of the superiority of the Christian religion. There is here a tremendous responsibility. Let us catch the enthusiasm of this responsibility, and make Japan a Ohristian nation.
REV. CYRUS HAMLIN, D.D., LL.D."
It is doubtful whether in the whole range of American biography a more typical Yankee career can be found than that of Dr. Cyrus Hamlin.
The stern struggle for a living on the Waterford farm, in Maine,-where he was born, Jan. 5, ISll, and where he learned to make something out of nothing, and to conquer obstacles; the high standard of conversation in the home and tht'J good literature that was read and assimilated; the apprenticeship in the Portland silver and jewelry shop, the conversion to Christ under the ministrations of E. P. Payson, the decision to enter Bridgton Academy and the arduous life there, the admission to Bowdoin College, and graduation from it in 1834, and then the preparation for the Christian ministry at Bangor Theological Seminary-these are depicted with rare vividness in Dr. Hamlin's fascinating autobiography, "My Life and Times."
When at Bangor he received the appointment Irum the Amer- ican Board, which assigned him to Constantinople instead of to China, as he had expected and hoped, and about a year later, on December 3, IS38, he embarked from Boston for the Orient, and arrived in Smyrna in the following month. In ]839 he started the seminary at Bebek, with slender equipment in text- books and furniture. The latter, including apparatus for experi- ments in physics and chemistry, were soon created by the marvelous skill of the Maine Yankee, whose CYRUS HAMLIN. lathe went everywhere with him, and did magical deeds that aston- ished the natives. The work grew rapidly, and demanded all the energy and versatile powers of Dr. Hamlin. He not only preached and taught, but carried on polemical controversies with Jesuits.
Text-books were made or translated-books that were so admirable that the Turkish government put some of them, the least Occidental and heretical, into the Turkish schools. Workshops were started to manu- facture clothing for the pupils, to manufacture stovepipe and stoves, and later came that audacious experiment which,succeeded far beyond the dreams of Mr. Hamlin himself, but which most of his colleagues scoffed at when he proposed, namely, the establishment of a large bread-making establishment for supplying the hospibl andtroops at Scutari, an enter- prise in which the Armenian converts found employment and the mission a profitable source of income. This bakery during the Crimean War furnished the British soldiery with fourteen thousand pounds of bread per day, and did it with such promptness and scrupulous compliance with the terms of the contract that Dr. Hamlin had repeated offers to take on similar tasks at other points where British soldier:> were :>uffer· ing for lack of good food, water, and the decencies of hfe• .. Oondensed from The Congregationalist.
REV. CYRUS HAMLIN, D.D., LL.D
More sagacious and courageous conduct by a missionary in conserving the financial interests of his work and at the same time doing good to others it will be impossible to find in missionary annals, the work being the more remarkable that it was done without the approval of the mission board officials in Boston and most of his colleagues in the Turkish mission. The removal of the seminary to Marsovan and Dr. Hamlin's decided difference of opinion with the board as to its decision to introduce an educational system in the vernacular led to his resignation from the board in May, 1860.
Then began the task of founding and managing Robert College, the site having been chosen. Dr. Hamlin with his wife returned to the United States to secure the needed endowment. The officials in Boston and the clergy thereabout did not look with favor on the scheme; and even some years later the outlook committee of the Congregational Club of Boston refused to permit Dr. Hamlin to set forth the merits of the plan. Thanks chiefly to the aid of Harvard professors and Unitarians the first mass meeting in the interests of the college was held in Boston.
Dr. Hamlin, by lecturing on Turkey, earned $1,000. He returned to Constantinople with pledges to a considerable amount, and, after meeting with successful subtlety the crafty opposition of Russian and Turkish officials and French priests, in 1863 the college was named and opened with four students. Since that time it has flourished, and has done incalculable good throughout European Turkey and Southwestern Europe. Holding its title to its property by imperial irade and under the protection of the United States, it stands for the highest type of Occidental Christian civilization.
Coming to the United States in 1873 to gain, if possible, an endowment for Robert College, Dr. Hamlin had to undergo a siege of physical prostration and a critical operation, which brought him nigh death. Resuming the task of securing an endowment, he also had to undergo the never explained alienation from him of Mr. Robert, the founder of the college, with whom he had fought side by side during seventeen years, and the sudden ending of his work for Turkey. The way seemed dark, and the wounded heart was sore indeed when Providence opened the way to a call from Bangor Theological Seminary, where he taught dogmatic theology from 1877 to 1880, when he was called to the presidency of Middlebury College, Vermont, where he remained until 1885, since which time he has resided in Lexington, Mass., giving of his knowledge, wisdom, and courage to the churches, writing for the press, and waiting for the call to depart.
Dr. Hamlin went to Portland in August to participate in the festivities of Old Home Week. On Wednesday evening, August 8th, he attended an old home social at the Second Parish Church, to which he ministered sixty-three years ago, and before the company broke up was persuaded to speak a few words, and his testimony had all the old-time fire and straightforwardness. Returning to the home where he was entertained, he soon was seized with pain and in twenty minutes had passed away. A singular and beautiful incident of the last moment was the fact that as he was being moved in his restlessness from chair to chair he said, "Put me there," pointing to a chair which belonged to his mother and in which he used to sit as a boy, eighty years ago, in his old home at Waterford. He passed away peacefully, and his body was buried, a few days later, in the cemetery at Lexington, Massachusetts.
SOME RESULTS OF MISSIONS IN JAVA. it BY JOHN W ARNECK.
What results? These are quickly given in round numbers-twenty thousand baptized persons, of whom very far from all are true Christians. That is very little over against the twenty-two million inhabitants of Java; very little, if we consider how long the land has been under Chris- tian supremacy. And yet it is a very respectable amount, if we remem- ber that all Java is Mohammedan, and that, therefore, those twenty thousand are not converts from heathenism, but have been wrested from Mohammedanism. Java supplies the proof that Islam (at least, in Nether- land India) is not utterly inaccessible or invincible. Undoubtedly, it is a sharply disputed mission field, where one has to do with very especial difficulties.
Fanatical, as a rule, the Mohammedan of the East is not. Rather, this caricature of religion has this quality, to make its disciples dull and indifferent toward all religion, however bigoted its demeanor may be. Among the heathen we are much more apt to find seeking souls, indeed, whole populations, that at least feel that old things do not suffice them, and that there must be a new plowing. The Mohammedan is satisfied and needs nothing, since he believes himself to be, in point of religion, extraordinarily well provided for, better than the contemned European, who, indeed, for the most part, has no religion at all. Unhappily, the Christianity of which they get a sight in the great cities, is, in large part, such a poor, scanty thing, that it lacks attractive power for men of other beliefs. A religionless man is to the Mohammedan simply incomprehensible, and, therefore, in the highest degree, contemptible. He esteems himself infinitely exalted above the unbelieving European. The Chinese, who, even in India, retains the ceremonies of his religion, or the Hindu, stands, in his view, much higher. To this unhappy fact it may well be that we should largely ascribe it that everywhere, in places where there are many Europeans together, therefore principally in the great cities, missions have scanty successes to boast of, indeed, we may rather say, no success at all. In Batavia, Samarang, Gurabaja; Christian labor has long been going on, and yet no fruit of the labor appears. No doubt, also, it is not in these cities that the best native elements are to be found. The same is true of the coasts of Sumatra, India, and Africa. Where missionaries go into the inland they never work quite in vain.
Java is inundated with Hadjis (Mecca pilgrims) and priests of all degrees. A missionary in Pl'ianger complained that round about him some thousand fanatical Hadjis were seated! In such regions, in my judgment, there is simply nothing to be accomplished. These are Mohammedan centers and citadels. Such a one, for instance, is the city of Swakatra, in Middle Java. This is, at the same time, the residence of the greatest Javanese prince. whom his under-officers call "emperor." Altho now his government is but a shadow, continued to him for political reasons, and gilded with a princely allowance, yet in the eyes of his Javanese he is the most glorious of all men. His wealth may be measured by the fact that he allows his European physician twelve hundred florins monthly. This center of Javanese life Mohammedanism also has turned into a fortress of its own. Neither the prince nor the government at * Translated from the Allegemeine Missions-ZeitsckriJt.
SOME RESULTS OF MISSIONS IN JAVA
present allows missionary work to be carried on here, in fear of disturb- ances. I had opportunity at the railway station to note with what creep- ing submission the people met an Austrian priest of somewhat eminent rank. In such places one meets with merry Arabs, fanatical fellows, from whom you might apprehend any possible outrage. Here, for the present, missions find nothing to do.
However, matters are not so bad everywhere. Altho the Javanese have been Mohammedans for centuries, yet Islam is largely only a var- nish, which, altho it covers over the old heathen superstition, yet has never removed it. Old Hindu divinities still playa great part in their religious emotions. Some leagues from Djokjakarter there still exist magnificent remains of ancient temple buildings. To view and admire these was a great enjoyment to me, notwithstanding the fearful heat which brooded over them. This sacred structure, which may easily be a thousand years old, consists of a series of larger and smaller temples, built in the form of pyramids, and in various chambers containing images of gods. Round about the buildings run broad terraces, adorned along their length with splendid sculptures; e.g., in the chief temple the whole Reuna legend is represented in bas-reliefs of consummate art. In one of the chambers is found the colossal image of a female divinity. This is still for the Javan3se far and wide nothing more or less than a national deity; matrons and maidens especially make pilgrimages to her, and bring her offerings of flowers, when they have some petition especially at heart. Even young ladies of the half caste have been said to bring their mite to the divine image, to win the affection of a chosen lover. In Batavia is an old cannon of the Portuguese days. This, too, receives superstitious reverence from many Mohammedans, if they have any petition to make. I have not heard that on this account they pass for less faithful adherents of the prophet.
Notwithstanding this, the Javanese feel themselves to be wholly Mohammedans. The time of heathenism lies too far behind them to be acknowledged. In ancient times there were magnificent Hindu kingdoms subsisting in Java. Of great fame, for instance, was the kingdom of Majigahit in Middle Java, whose dominion extended over Sumatra and Malacca, and which ruled the sea with its fleets. It was in its prime that those mighty temples were reared. Then, however, came Mohammedanism, which in bloody battles overthrew the ancient realm, laid waste the temples, and constrained all to come after it.
Now it is to them as something self-evident that they are Mohammedans. Yet there is no great hostility to Christianity. Where there are already Christian congregations, thE, Mohammedans not infrequently show them good will, even the native functionaries. But conversions are yet rare.
The least accessible are the Malays proper, who everywhere dwell on the coast, just as in Sumatra. The Sttndanese in West Java are more accessible, but they have to be sought out in their mountains. There are not many Christians there yet, but experience has shown that they can become Christians. The land of the Sundanese has really been first opened by the railway; missions there are accordingly still relatively young. It is among the Javanese that missions chronicle their best results, that is, in Middle and East Java. Unhappily the Javanese, as already meptioned, has, by long-enduring want, become creepingly submissive and characterless, and insists on being ruled. The Javanese, like
all Malay peoples, is reserved, inscrutable, is shy of the straight way and the frank word; but also very laborious, endeavoring, enduring, easily contented. These two sides of his character are noticeable also in his Christianity. It surprised me, that the quality of the Christians won over from among the Mohammedans is on the average not better than that of our Butta Christians of Sumatra, who come over in masses. Yet in the former case the transition takes place under difficult circumstances, and naturally presupposes an entire change of convictions. Lack of Christian character is. everywhere that of which the missionaries chiefly complain, of course exceptis excipiendis.
Outwardly the ways are already opened for Christianity; a wise government cares for the people; the land enjoys all the blessings and advantages of progressive culture; traveling is uncommonly facilitated by good roads and railroads; trade is flourishing; social distress'does not exist.
D. B. McCARTEE, M.D., OF JAPAN.* BY R. S. MILLER.
Divie Bethune McCartee, A.M., M.D., was born in the city of Philadelphia on the 13th of January, 1820, and was the eldest son of the late Rev. Robert McCartee, D.D. He was educated at Columbia College in New York and at the University of Pennsylvania, from which latter institution he received the degrees of A.M. and M.D.
In June, 1843, while practising medicine in the city of Philadel- phia, he received an intimation from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church that they wished him to go for them as a pioneer and medical missionary to the city of Ningpo, one of the five ports of China opened by the treaty of Nanking to foreign trade and intercourse in 1842. Dr. Mc- Oartee had been known to the majority of the executive com- mittee of the board from his early boyhood, yet the proposition was entirely unexpected by' him, and he was led to ask the secretary of the committee, the Hon. Walter Lowrie, whether the secretary DIVIJ;: BE'lCHU;NE MCC'BTEE., really thought him a suitable per- son to be a foreign missionary.
Upo~ receiving an affirIUl.tive reply, Dr. McCartee took time to consider the. question, and to cousult his parents. In the month of August he wrote to the corresponding secretary stating that he was willing to go.
On, the 6th of October following he sailed from New York for China.
via the Cape of Good Hope, I.nd arrived at Hong Kong on the 19th of * From th,e Japan $van9.Ust.
lJ. :8. McCARTEE, M.D., OF JAPAN
February, 1844. As it was not possible for him to sail through the Formosa Ohannel during the northerly monsoon, he was compelled to wait until the 12th of June, and then, availing himself of the first oppor- tunityof that season, he sailed in an American brig, the Eagle, lately arrived from the United States. On the 19th he reached the harbor of Ohusan, where the captain had agreed to land the doctor with his luggage, medical stores, etc., before going on to his ultimate destination, Shanghai.
In Ohusan, through the kind assistance of the officer before referred to, Dr. McOartee obtained permission to occupy three rooms in the house of a Ohinese family, within the walls of the city of Tinghai. There he succeeded in finding a Ohinese teacher, a Ningpo man, who, having been brought up as an apothecary, was able to be of great assistance to him not only in acquiring some knowledge of the colloquial dialect (which does not differ very widely from that of Ningpo), but also in conducting a dispensary for the Ohinese, which he immediately commenced, and which was attended by numerous Ohinese medical and surgical patients. The only thing that could be done at that time for the spiritual good of these patients was the distribution of a few Ohristian tracts, and the reading of a portion of the Scriptures by the Ohinese teacher, from an edition of the Bible published in Singapore; no good Ohristian literature having yet been printed in Ohina.
As .soon as the weather began to get cooler Dr. McOartee went again to Ningpo, where, having now acquired some knowledge of the Ningpo dialect, and being accompanied by his Ningpo teacher, he succeeded in securing a small house on the North Bank, opposite the city of Ningpo, where the mission was thus fairly in operation in the beginning of October, 1844.
Dr. McOartee himself went over the river, and, through his teacher succeeded in renting ro~ms in a Taoist temple within the city walls, in which he placed his scanty furniture, consisting of a chest of drawers, four Ohinese chairs, and a rattan couch, together with a few chairs and a table loaned him by the monks, and at once commenced to carryon a hospital and dispensary, and to practise his profession among the native families at their own houses. The Ohinese officials tried to induce him to leave the city, but the doctor insisterl that he was strictly within his rights as provided in the treaty; and finally the officials withdrew all active opposition, ostensibly upon the ground that he was a single individual, without any family, and engaged in a work of benevolence. From that time on .the Ohinese officials continued to be most friendly, very frequently coming to him for advice in case of difficulties with foreigners other than British subjects; and even in the case of conflicts between Oantonese and Portuguese pirates, as well as between other armed and unprincipled foreigners. On two occasions he was able to identify some shipwrecked Japanese, whflse nationality was not recognized, and with reference to whom he was consulted by the order of the governor of the province, and who were afterward returned to Nagasaki.
By the favor of God, Dr. McOartee's success in several amputations, restoration of sight in cases of cataract, saving of life in cases of attempted suicide by taking opium, and in the treatment of fevers,. dropsy, etc., seemed to the Ohinese almost miraculous, and spread his reputation far and wide.
In the city of Ohinhai, where a very stubborn and bloody fight took place between the English and Ohinese forces in 1842, the bitterness:
against foreigners had been increased by the French missionaries having obtained the possession of a family temple, by means of a fraudulent deed of sale executed to them by a profligate member of the family, who had no legal right to sell it. The influential citizens of the city threatened to burn the house of any man who should rent a house to a foreigner. Dr.
McCartee taking a medicine chest with him, went alone to Chinhai, and entering a tea house in the suburbs of the city, called for a cup of tea; and while drinking it and looking around saw one or two cases of eye diseases which he examined and treated. He then told the customers of the tea house that he proposed to come regularly, once a week, to pre- scribe gratuitously for surgical ailments. The result was the obtaining of the lease of a lot in the center of the city of Chinhai, where a chapel was built without any opposition on the part of the neighbors; and where evangelists were stationed, and the Gospel was preached for several years, until the whole city was pillaged and burned by the" long-haired rebels," during the time of the bloody Tai-ping rebellion.
Dr. McCartee, for the greater part of his twenty-eight years in Ningpo and during his extended residence at Chefoo, in founding the Presbyterian mission there, also served as the family physician of the missionaries and foreigners in government and commercial circles, without regard to nationality. But his chief mission was to the Chinese, and many touching incidents might be related of the doctor, to whom they frequently applied the words of the apostle Paul in 1. Thessalonians 2: 7, and for whom they very often sent, even from long distances, to be near them when they felt the chill of death creeping over them. His life was rich in such experiences through many years; and he has never forgotten nor been forgotten by his Chinese friends. While some medical missionaries restrict their work for the most part to the hospitals, this physician found his work in the homes of his Chinese patients; and his name is revered by them down to the fourth generation; and he still, from time to time, receives from them and sends to them messages of love and remembrance.
Space does not permit to dwell upon Dr. McCartee's long and equally honorable careers in the United States consular service at Ningpo, Che- foo, and Shanghai; in his diplomatic service in the Ohine3e legation at Tokyo; in the service of the Japanese government as professor in the departments of the natural sciences, and the science of law of the Tokyo University, nor upon the many adventures through which, as pioneer, he passed in early days of the opening of China and Japan to foreign intercourse; nor the excit,jng incidents connected with his journey to Nanking and Hankow during the Tai-ping rebellion, as official interpreter for" Admiral" Stribling, commander of the United States squadron. In recognition of his services in connection with the suppression of the infamous Macao coolie traffic, Dr. McCartee received a handsome gold medal from the Chinese government, and later the honorary title of consul-general for services in the Chinese legation at Tokyo. From the Japanese government he has received the decoration of the Fifth Order of the Rising Sun. He was also a corresponding member of the American Geographical Society, the American Oriental Society, the North China branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), Society of Archeology and Paleontology of the University of Pennsylvania, the Natural History societies of Portland, Me., and of Montreal, and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society. * * Dr. 1I1cCartee left Ningpo for Tokyo in September, 1872, joining in the pioneer work in Japan. There he labored for the remainder of his life, returning to America last winter, and being called to his reward from San Francisco oil July 17th, 1900.
Eln'l'OR1ALS
EDITORIALS.
More than Oonqueror.3. or condone this barbarous treat- ment of those who as heathen In these days wnen our hearts should be taught to reverence are saddened by the tidings of Christian and civilized nations by murder and persecution and pil- the principle of "love your lage in China, and when even enemies." We llluSt hang our Christians are inclined to call down heads in shame that such cause is fire from heaven upon the heads of given to China to look upon Europe those who are fighting Christ and as barbarian and hypocritical. His followers, it is well to remem- This will do more to retard the ber that Saul, who was transformed cause of Christ in China than a into the apostle Paul, also once thousand massa( r.lS of Christians. bitterly persecuted the Church even Those who trust in Christ can unto death, and that at the martyr- afford to die for Him and thus seal dom of Stephen he may have re- their testimony with their blood, ceived his first impulse toward but those who claim to be, or are Christ. ""Ve fir-mly believe that looked upon as followers of Jesus, hundreds of these men and women make havoc of the Church by every who now breathe out hatred and sign of an unloving or vindictive slaughter against Christians in spirit. Let Christians rise up and China are chosen vessels who will protest in the name of God against before long see the heavenly vision every word and act which is not of the crucified One and will re- dictated and executed by the Spirit spond to Him with submission and of Christ. love. Let us pray for these, our enemies, and seek to look upon Missionary Interests in South Afrioa. them as Christ, our Master, looks upon them, with forgiveness and The Anglo-Boer conflict has been yearning love that would die for already very disastrous to missionthem if need be. When they are ary interests in that partof the Dark brought to the feet of Jesus then Continent. Rev. Andrew Murray, of indeed we shall realize our privilege ""Vellington, seeing that the Boers, of being •• more than conquerors whatever their past treatment of through Him that loved us." the natives, were sincere lovers of the ""Vord of God, set himself to European Barbarism. make this love of the Bible a prac- tical force in raising the level of Even more to be lamented than piety, cementing the bonds of the massacre of Christians in China brotherhood, and inspiring missionis the murder of Chinese non-com- ary operations. He had already batants by European soldiers. Re- succeeded to a remarkable degree peated and well-authenticated re- in all these directions when tl:e war ports have been coming to us of at once became utterly destructive the scandalous behavior of Russian of all his plans and hopes. It gen- Cossacks and others toward de- erated and stimulated the worst fenseless men, women, and chil- carnal passions, promoted estrangedren in Manchuria and around ment and alienation, displaced Tientsin. The wounded in battle amity by enmity, and put a stop to are also ruthlessly slain. No plea missionary effort. Funds, as well of the treachery and villainy of as energies, were at once diverted the Chinese, or the difficulty of into military channels, the country caring for the wounded can justify
became the theater of a bitter war- effect. The work of the mission- aries is made doubly hard by this fare and the sepulcher of the dead criminal traffic of American, German, and French traders. or the hospital for the living and Dr. Paton only asks that the same disabled, and, said this experienced prohibition be proclaimed and enforced by the United States as South African missionary, it will that under which Great Britain has placed her traders in the group. take a lifetime to restore the former France has promised to prohibit the traffic if America will do so. favorable conditions of Christian The question is in the hands of brotherhood and of missionary the president and congress, but public opinion may demand that effort. Mr. F. S. Arnot, so well this righteous law be enacted. As in so many other things, the love known in connection with Gara- of money is the root of this evil. No possible reason can be found for ganze, also says that the union of allowing the introduction of death- dealing drinks and weapons into the republic with Britain will not these islands of the South Seas.
be an advantage, as there has been There is no protectorate over the group, for altho England and in each a check on the other which France have an eye on them, Dr. Paton has documents to prove that has been a wholesome influence for they have no exclusive jurisdiction over them. both the Boers and the Britons. Every pressure should be brought We have seen few men who seemed to bear upon the president and to us to have a more sensible pra~ congressmen to prohibit this traffic. Dr. Paton also says: "Those tical view of the whole condition of who have no great influence with temporal lawmakers have influmatters, political and religious, in ence with the King of kings and Lord of glory. Let every Christian South Africa, and hope to give our pray for help in this great work."
readers some matter from his pen The Fourth Zionist Congress. The holding of this congress in shortly. III health obliged Mr. London attracted much attention. The brief account of the aims, ob- Arnot to retire from the field, but jects, and history of the movement will have interest to many readers. in Bristol he is still ceaselessly Ve make extracts: working at missionary problems, The movement aims at the settlement of a large proportion of the Jewish people in and using his personal inflnence, Palestine. During the long ages of persecu tion this ideal of the ret urn has not been for perhaps more wisely and widely gotten by the Jews, but only of late bas this yearning inspired a practical undertaking. than ever, in building up an intelli- and the question of ways and means been prominent. gent interest in missions. * During the persecution in Russia, in 1881, Firearms in the Pacific. in tbe very center of suffering. it was felt that new cities of refuge must be found for It is high time for the United refugees. and at once many eyes were States government to take decided directed to Zion. The late Lawrence Olio action in regard to the traffic in firearms and strong drink in the Islands of the Pacific. Dr. John G. Paton, the veteran missionary to the New Hebrides, tho over seventy years of age, has journeyed thousands of miles in order to secure this legislation on the part of our government.
Firearms in the New Hebrides have no legitimate place. There is practically no game of any sort, so that the only use to which firearms can be put is the killing of men by their fellows. "Fire-water" deprives them of their self-control, and the firearms are then used indiscriminately, often with deadly
1900.J EDITORIALS
phant took up the idea, and for a time led in persecution, suffered in the con- this direction, and in the course of a decade gested pale of Jewish settlement. small colonies were founded in Palestine. Under this pressure the delegates, In 1896, however, the continual growth of from Argentina to Northern Cana- persecution throughout civilized Europe, and da, from the Caucasian slopes to Jewish patriotism, led Dr. Theodor Herzl to South Africa, met to report on the issue a pamphlet on .. The Jewish State," progress that has been made during which met with a ready response in many the third year of organized effort. quarters, especially those in which suffering No spectacle could have been more was most keenly felt; and, in 1897, a congress striking, even in the world's me- was convened to discuss the question and aU tropolis, than this coming together its subsidiary issues. of the representatives of the Chil- dren of Israel who, full of hope and This, the first International Jewish faith, labor to emancipate their Assembly, was a unique demonstration of the brethren by reestablishing them in brotherhood of the Jewish people and of the the land of their past glory and great eagerness there existed in all lands eternal promise. where the Jews dwell to deal with the matter in a practical way. The leadership wa. given The first meeting assembled in to Dr. Herzl, the founder of the new move- Charrington's great assembly hall, ment; and Dr. Max Nordau graphically Mile End Road, crowded to suffoca- depicted the world-wide misery of the Jews. tion almost. It was .interesting to see this vast multitude of Jews, The congress created the first rude gathered to discuss the national re- machinery of the movement for the creation habilitation and return to Pales- of a "publicly recognized and legally secured tine; and hundreds of these Jews home in Palestine for such Jews as can not or were literally bathed in tears as will not assimilate" with their surroundings. they thought of the bitter misery It does not, therefore, invite all the Jews to and poverty and suffering of thou- return to Palestine. sands and millions of their fellow Jews. The second congress, in Basel in 1898, brought even a larger assembly together, and Chinese Ideas of Death. in devising ways and means it was decided to found the Jewish Colonial Trust. since suc- Rev. Mr. Arthur Elwin, of China, cessfully launched as the financial instru- has given us a clear insight into ment of the movement. many Chinese characteristics. He says that the fear of being a spiri- At the third congress in Basel in August, tual tramp after death moves the 1899, the president reported that he had with average Chinaman to do almost four other representatives been received as anything to avoid future wo and a deputation by Emperor William II. during want. If he is beheaded, he will go his stay in Palestine. The movement has about headless; hence the anxiety now become international, with a series of of survivors to get hold of the head federations and central bodies powerful and sew it on to the headless trunk. enough to cope with the work in each Again, a Chinaman will give him- country. self up not to death only, but to torture, for a few shillings, that the London was chosen for the fourth money may be used after his death of these historic gatherings, which assembled at the Queen's Hall, to provide him cash and clothes in Langham Place. The delegates met under the most distressing condi- the other world; and the money is tions that have beset the Jews dur- left with survivors to be invested ing the nineteenth century. In in paper garments and money to Bessarabia the Jews were starving burn at his grave. Mr. Elwin also from famine; in Galicia, in extreme says that Chinamen let their fel- want, owing to the bad economic conditions, resulting from merci- less persecution. Beyond that, the Jews of Rumania were being driv- en from their homes, in defiance of the Toleration Clauses of the Ber- lin Treaty, and through famine, raging in Moldavia. In Austria and in Germany the hideous and calumnious blood accusation has been reraised, and in Galicia a Jewish girl has been kidnapped and interned in a convent despite the wishes of her father and moth- er. Over and above this, the nor- . mal condition of Jewish life in Rus- sia is that of chronic misery and
lows drown when they drop over- "saved to the uttermost" and make earnest Christian workers. board, because if they attempt to At present, as we might expect, rescue them and fail, they may be this mission is in need of generous contributions from those who decharged with being the cause of sire to have a part in the work. It is entirely supported by voluntary their death, and themselves be con- contributions, and is in need of at least $10,000 a year to do one-tenth demned as murderers. These and the work which should be done in that district of New York where many other contradictions of the the lowest and most degraded gather from all parts of the world, Chinese character need a fuller and and where, thank God! many who hav6 sunk to the very depths of wholly new treatment. Thehatred degradation and despair come to 316 Water Street, and are saved of foreigners is not hard to account by the almighty and ever-loving Savior. for, when we consider that China An appeal has recently come for looks upon all foreign peoples as the Chinese Christians who have been rendered homeless, poor, and the natural and necessary enemies friendless by the anti-foreign riots in China. Many will be glad to of the prosperity of the Middle make thank offerings for the rescue of friends and fellow countrymen, Kingdom. * and will take the opportunity to share in the sufferings which our Opportunities. brethren are called to undergo for our Lord and Master. Every opportunity for doing good, plus a possibility of doing it, The need of the people of India makes a responsibility to the must not be forgotten amid other Christian. We are stewards of calls. Letters from Guzerat, Rajtime, strength, money, and all putana, and elsewhere raise notes things are held in trust. A call for of thanksgiving for the aid already help in Christian enterprises is not given and tell of the great good therefore begging but is the offer of done for these, theleast of Christ's a privilege of having a share in brethren, the starving people of our Lord's work. India. All speak of this as a time when there are special opportuni- Weare glad to be the means of ties for winning men, women, and bringing to the notice of our readers children for Christ. The great such enterprises as we heartily need now is for money with which believe to be worthy of confidence to care for orphans and to buy and support, and in special need of grain for seed and implements and assistance. 1Ve are also. always cattle for agriculture. Let each ready to transmit funds contributed give as the Lord prompts, cheerfor these objects. fully and speedily.
One of the noblest and most Donations Acknowledged. Christlike enterprises which we have ever known, is the Water No. 217. Water Street Mission…….. $200 Street Mission in New York. The superintendent, Mr. S. H. Hadley, " 218. 25.00 and his helpers have but one aimthe glory of God in the salvation of " 219. Indian Famine Childrell…… 1.OQ their fellow men. To this end they devote their time, strength, and money most unselfishly, seeking to be "all things to all men if by any means they may save some." No one in need is ever turned away by them, and yet they are not careless stewards, and the Lord has marvelously blessed their labors by saving one or more men very nearly every night in the week. These men are
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS
RECENT BOOKS ON MISSIONS AND MISSION LANDS.
TWENTY YEARS IN KHAMA'S COUNTRY. From remarkable outward results of the Letters of Rev. J. D. Hepburn. Edited Gospel. For example, on one of by O. H. Lyall. Hodder & Stoughton. London. the Cook Islands, an old deacon of This is one of the finest journals the native church "spoke to us of of mission work put on the mar- the 'bad, bad days,' when they ket during the last decade. It is used to bring canoes full of dead specially valuable for its pen-por- bodies from other islands for their trait of that remarkable African feasts. There are now 276 members chief, Khama, who is, perhaps, the in the church." Another native most perfect specimen of a Chris- was asked "What special good tian ruler and statesman that the Christianity had brought to his history of African missions fur- people. He thought for a minute, nishes. We intend to reproduce and said, 'Men can sleep nights this portrait hereafter in these now,' an answer which gave a pages. Mr. Hepburn's incidental graphic pictu;e of the old barbarous references to the influence of war heathen days, when the tribes on in Africa in counteracting and des- the islands were constantly at war troying missionary work are espe- with each other, and human life cially instructive and admonitory. was a thing of no account." He maintains, by irrefragable ar- Dr. Thompson adds his personal gument and witness, that just as testimony to the high type of the missionary begins to gain the Christian character developed in confidence of the natives, some these savage peoples, notwithstand- Christian nation, by martial suc- ing the heritage of heathenism, cesses in the very midst of mission notwithstanding the demoralizing fields, arouses jealousy, revenge, influence of the traders and the and hatred; the missionary is more devisive efforts of the Romanists. or less classed with the aggressive Here and there in the narrative foreigner, and perhaps suspected of we get a glimpse of the life of the being a government spy or agent. missionaries, its awful loneliness, Over and over again war has made its frequent hardships, and its fine needful a score of additional years heroism. *** for the undoing of the damage done to the cause. The book is really a THE OOBRA'S DEN. By Jacob Chamberlain, M.D, D.D. Illustrated. 12mo, 270 pp. marvelous tale of Christian har- $1.00. Fleming H. Revell 00., New York.
vests reaped with great rapidity These stories and sketches of mis- sionary life and work in India are among some of the South African written in Dr. Chamberlain's most fascinating style. They give an intribes by pioneers among the Batu- side view of missions among the Telugus, and are likewise decidedly ana on Lake Ngomi. * helpful and practical for Christians at home. They are stories with My TRIP IN THE JOHN WILLIAMS. By R. points to them, and tell just the Wardlaw Thompson. Illustrated. 4to, things that one most wishes to know 224 pp. 28. 6d. London Missionary So- -how the Gospel is preached, and ciety. how it is tranformingthe people of India. The chapter titles them- Dr. Thompson, the secretary of selves iuvite further iuvestigation, the London Missionary Society, gives us in this book a sketchy, interesting record of his long voyage among the society's mission stations in the Pacific. It is in these Pacific islands that we see the most
e. g., "The Snake-bitten Hindu's cellent idea of the features of this Story," "The Angry Mob and the kind of missionary work, its oppor- Story of the Cross," "Those Torn- tunities, methods, difficulties, and up Gospels," "The Spotted Tiger encouragements. Foiled, "etc. Other chapters are of a different character: "Hinduism Monthly Missionary Bibliography. As It Is," "How the' Cut' Cuts," "Despondent Missionaries," "The THINGS CHINESE. J. Dyer Ball, M. R. A. S. Change of Frant in India," etc. This (Third edition, enlarged.) 8vo, 691 pp. book, like the "Tiger Jungle," ",.00. Charles Scribner's Sons. is adapted to all ages, and is one of the best books we know with which THll: CRISIS IN CHINA. Eleven authors. Map to interest young and old in mission and illustrations. 16mo, 271 pp. $1.00. work and to convince the skeptical Harper & Bros. of the power of Christ and the value of missions. CHINA AND THE PRESENT CRISIS. Joseph Walton. Map. 12mo, 319 pp. Sampson, FROM THE FIGHT. Amy Wilson-Carmichael. Low, Marston & Co., London. Illustrated. 8vo, 62 pp. 2,. Marshall Brothers, London. CHINESE MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES. Trans- lated by Prof. Isaac T. Headland. Illus- This is a dainty and delicious trated. 4to, 160 pp. $1.25. Fleming H. little book by a "Keswick Mis- Revell Co. sionary in India," who has already given us a volume of charming and THE SITUATiON IN CHINA. A record of cause thoughtful letters "From Sunrise and effect. Robert E. Speer. 12mo, 61 Land." Mrs. Carmichael has the pp. Paper. 25c. Fleming H. Revell Co. happy faculty of seeing beneath the surface of men and things, and of OVERLAND TO CHINA. A. R. Colquhoun. writing about them in a convincing Harper & Bros. and fascinating style. CHINA, THE LONG-LIVED EMPIRE. Eliza R. These letters "From the Fight" Scidmore. Illustrated. 8vo, 466 pp. have to- do with the war of the $2.50. The Century Co. Lord against spiritual darkness and death in India, where the A BRIEF HISTORY OF EASTERN ASIA. I. C. writer has been working for several Hannah, M.A. 8vo, 297 pp. $2.00. T. years in Zenanas and villages Fisher Unwin, London. among women and children. Her descriptions are picturesque, her RUSSIA AGAINST INnIA. A. R. Colquhoun. narratives vivid, and her observa- Maps. 12mo, 246 pp. Harper & Bros. tions .pointed and practical. She unveils the missionary·heart and FROM THE FIGHT (IN INDIAI. Amy Wilsonshows the sympathy and tact CarmichaeL Illustrated. 8vo, 62 pp. which are winning the homes of 1,. Marshall Bros., London. India to Christ. LIFE OF LAL-BEHARI (OF INDIA). G. Mac- UNDEJI CANVAS. Itinerating Work in the Pherson, M.A. 148 pp. 50c. T. & T. Punjab. C. Hanbury. Illustrated. 12mo Clark, Edinburgh. (Paper), 64 pp. Marshall Brothers, London. SOUTH AFJlICA, PAST AND PRESENT. Violet R. Markham. Illustrated. 8vo, 450 pp. The writer is a Church of Eng- Chas. ticribner's Sons. land zenana missionary in India, who gives a graphic picture of life RECOLLECTIONS OF MISSIONARY LIFE IN THE in a missionary tour in northern TRANSVAAL,1859-1882. A.Merensky,D.D., India, especially preaching to the Berliu. women of all classes, in hovels and in palaces•. The story gives an e:x;- HISTORY OF THE BASUTOLAND MISSION. Book- let. 3d. Morgan & Scott, London.
N,GERIA. Canon Robinson. 58. Horace Mar- shall & Son, London.
CHRlsrIANITY IN POLYNESIA. Joseph King. 12mo. 184 pp. 5Oc. Wm. Brooks & Co., Sidney.
KIN-DA-SHON'S WIFE. Mrs. E. S. Willard. Illustrated. ~vo, 281 pp. $1.00. Fleming H. Revell Co.
STORY OF My LIFE AND WORK. Booker T. Washington. Illustrated. 8vo, 423 pp. $1.25. J. L. Nichols & Co., Chicago.
JAMAICA AND THE FRIENns' MISSION. Gilbert Bowles. Map, illustrations. 8vo, 143 pp. $1.00. Western Publishing Co., Oska· loosa, Iowa.
COLUMBIAN AND VENEZUEr&.N REPUBLICS W. L. Scraggs. Mar> and illustrations. 8vo, 350 pp. $2.50. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
CAPE HORN TO PANAMA South American Missionary Society. London.
CHRISTIAN EFFORT AMONG THE JEWS. Rev Louis Meyer. Leajl3~. Glenwood, Minne· sota.
FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES S. L. Baldwin, D D 12mo, 272 pp Eaton & Mains. New York.
THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE WORLD IN THIS GENERATION. John K Mott 8vo, 237 pp. Student Volunteer lIiissionary Union, London. and Student VoJlnteer Move· ment, New York.
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.
AMERICA. educational objects. The propor- tion, tho, which went to mis- American It is always helpful sions was but 8 per cent. What vs. Chinese to see ourselves as lover of mankind would maintain others see us, and for a moment that this was a due Women. proportion to be devoted to the world's evangelization? hence it is worth while to read what Madame Wu, Beneficence in Strange Places.- wife of the Chinese ambassador in Among the notable contributions Washington, has recently written sent to India for famine relief, must for Harper's Bazar on the above be put these two: $10.50 donated by a company of Christian Chitheme. Among other things she nese in California, and $28.00 by the criminal inmates of the Ohio says: penitentiary in Columbus.
Tho the condition of women in Gifts from During the last China stimulates the zeal of foreign Young People. year the Sunday- reformers who would like to see us "civilized," I must say I have seen schools and socie- nowhere in the United States such ties of Christian Endeavor of the marked devotion shown to the Reformed (Dutch) Churches con- goodness of women as prevails in tributed$19,532 to foreign missions, my country. Not alone is work and $12,748 to home missions, a to- arranged to relieve us from the tal of $32,280. In order to stimu- burden of toil out of respect to the late giving on the part of the office we fill as mothers, and not young, the publication has been alone is social etiquette prescribed commenced of the Day Star Mis- sionary Leaflet, a four-page quar- 'with regard for the virtue of terly, filled with interesting and woman's modesty, which we exalt, helpful facts concerning mission work, so arranged as to be used by but even the Chinese government classes, schools, mission bands or honors mothers as other nations societies. The first two numbers honor heroes of wars and great have already appeared, one on statesmen. The traveler notices " China," and the other on "Our . memorial arc he s everywhere, Domei3~ic Missions." erected by authority to commemo- rate some good or noble deed, or the purity and devotion of some woman's life. The goodness of heart of the women of China is held to be . their greatest glory. We have a few New Women ourselves in China, but it is ingrained in our civilization to be suspicious of any scheme of progression for the sex .that makes a waman's head bigger than her heart.
Education vs. The Wa t c h man Presbyterian According to the Statistics. latest authorities, Evangeli- calls attention to there are 70 distinct zation. some tendencies of churches of the Presbyterian fam- ily. These embrace in round num- benevolence. Last bers 29,800 congregations, 26,600 ministers, 127,000 elders, 4,900,000 year gifts were publicly announced, communicants, 337,000 Sabbath- school teachers, 3,500,000 pupils. aggregating $63,060,000 from more The Presbyterian Churches contrib- ute for home work $32,090,205, and than two hundred donors, in sums about $35,640,760 for foreign mis- sions. They support 840 ordained not less than $5,000 each, showing foreign missionaries, 1,306 medical that the rich are giving more than formerly. It was also an encourag- ing feature that the gifts of the Iiving toward this sum were double the bequests of the dead.
Just half of it was given to promote
missionaries, 465 ordained native mission field will have reason to workers, and they have among the be thankful. heathen over 148,000 communicants. In colleges and schools, The Gordon The twelfth year of and in mission fields, there are 158,- Missionary the Gordon Mission- 648 pupils. The Presbyterian population of the world is 25,000,000.- Institute. ary Training School Presbyterian Witness (Boston) will open A Corporation Anyone for a nick- at the Olarendon Street Baptist with a Soul. el can enjoy a ride Ohurch on Wednesday, October 10, 1900. The courses of instruc- through the beau- tion will be along the same lines as tiful suburbs of Boston. But the heretofore. It is expected that elevated railway company provides Dr. James M. Gray will continue that even the poorest may ride. It his Synthetic Study of the Scripdistributed about 100,000 free tick- tures. Dr. Robert Oameron, editor ets through churches and charitable of Watchword and Truth, will associations, so that mothers and teach Biblical and practical thechildren, and sick and aged persons ology. Dr. Vm. H. Walker will who can not pay may be carried to give special courses in Bible exethe woods or the seashore. gesis. Dr. A. T. Pierson, presi- dent of the school, Dr. Scofield, Salvation Army Two years ago president of the Northfield Train- Social Schemes. the S a I vat ion ing Schools, and other eminent teachers will lecture as circum- Army made a be- stances will permit. Rev. John A. ginning of one of General Booth's McElwain, the newly elected supersocial schemes by establishing 3 intendent, will give his valuable colonies to carryon farming opera- talks on Practical Ohristian Work tions. One of these is in Oalifor- and Spiritual Life. nia, another is in Oolorado, and the third is in Ohio, near Cleveland. An Outrage on Our president has The object is to get the worthy the Indians defended the Napoor out of the crowded cities into Prevented. vajo Indians from a the cOuiltry, and those selected n ear I y successful were men out of employment, but willing to work if they had the robbery, and the fact calls forth chancE'. Each head of a family is glowing gratitude from every lover given 20 acres of land and 5 or 6 of justice who has seen it. To that cows, and the result so far is en- capable, self-supporting pastoral couraging. Oommander Booth people, President Arthur and Sec- Tucker is trying to raise $1,000,000 retary Teller secured a land addito carryon the work. tion in order to give needed water and pasturage in 1884, and last A Successful The three bishops January President McKinley still Experience. of the Methodist further enlarged their reservation by about 1,200,000 acres, in order to Ohurch in Southern preserve and enlarge their sheep- Asia have decided to call for 12 raising industry. Then a few men more young men to come out for coveted half of this latter territory mission work on half salaries for a because of what they thought term of four years, engaging to promise of copper in it, and their remain single during that period. bill actually passed both Houses of If the personnel of the second 12 Oongress, because at this late hour should equal that of the first batch senators and members were" not Whicll was sent out last year, that looking." But our vigilant execu-'
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
tive looked into the case, consulted Baptist Church has 2 American Secretary Hitchcock and Commis- women devoting part of their time sioner Jones, and vetoed the bill to teaching. The Christian Church amidst the applause of the just. has a school at San Juan, with 3 All honor to our president for this teachers fl'om the States. veto.-Indian's Friend. Progress in At the Internation- Citizen The Fort Berthold Mexico. al MissionaryUnion Indians. Indians have re- at Clifton Springs, cen tl y beco me Dr. A. T. Graybill, of Mexico, in voters. The coming fall elections giving an account of his work, said are important; consequently the in part: "There are people who caucuses held this spring were of think we ought to make an apology some moment. In the county con- for taking the Gospel to Mexico; vention 11 delegates out of 26 were that we are infringing on the right!:> Indians. They might have a de- of the priesthood. It is the people ciding vote of considerable conse- who have asserted themselves, and quence. There was an effort to have risen en masse and declared control the ignorant part of the that the church must be separated community for private interests. from the state; that the people The better educated young men, should not be forced to pay tithes, however, were alive to their duty but should give voluntarily. The and opportunity, and many of the government built schools, and reolder ones were sensible enough to ligious liberty was established in put forward the younger and better 1847. Three hundred years ago the informed to represent them. The people said: 'If you send Bibles we consequence was that when the will burn them; if you send misdelegates arrived at the county sionaries we will imprison them.' seat they were found to be an in- Now they say: 'Send on your telligent and well-dressed com- Bibles and we will read them; send pany, who could understand what your missionaries and we will hear was going on. Two of them went them.' Not only has the call come from the county to the Fargo state from the people, but from the govconvention to nominate delegates ernment." to the national presidential convention. One went to the judicial EUROPE. convention, and two are to go to the coming state convention at Lord Salis- The British pre- Grand Forks to nominate state bury on mier's recent reofficers. Three of these delegates Missions. marks on missions, were from our Santee school, and i n E x e t e r Hall, one from Hampton.-American Missionary. seem to have been strangely mis- interpreted and misrepresented- Light in Dark The American Mis- for a reason which is, perhaps, well Puerto Rico.. sionary Association set forth in the Central Africa for August, in a letter from one who of the Congrega- listened to the address. He says, tional Churches, has had during in part: "Lord Salisbury's speech the past school year, 7 American has struck me in different ways at teachers in Puerto Rico, divided different times. When I listened between Santurce, a suburb of San to it, I heard the tones of such gen- Juan, and Lares. The Presbyteri- uine kindliness to missionaries and ans have had 4 American mission- reverence for religion as we should ary teachers at Mayaguez. The expect in that good man, and as took away much of theelescttironngic,fileoct'reated by cafis.org
rather put the right interpretation aloud in the presence of the vicar upon a speech which was somewhat and churchwardens. Year by year ambiguous. But when I read it this charity has been continued, next morning, it seemed to me and year by year it is to be conmuch abler and less kind, and one tinued. The property was sold the missed the tone which interpreted other day and realized £7,674, the and justified it. Again, when I interest on which, say £200, should heard it quoted in bits it roused me purchase a great many Bibles. a good deal; and I think it is in this last state-cut up into bits by A Splendid What Mr. Ogden the unsympathetic, that the speech London Mills has done in the is really to be regretted. In this Charity. line of cheap lodgstate it maybe made very mischiev- ing-houses in this 0us indeed. It may be used ignorantly or maliciously to support an country, Sir Thomas Lipton seems entirely untrue account of the mis- to have done in England in another sionary, his want of prudence, his direction. When young and poor , conducting himself' rather rashly he determined he would do his best, -and when you say a person' con- if he ever became rich, to give the ducts himself,' it always suggests poor good food at low prices. He that his conduct is more or less bad has kept this vow, recently buildconduct-his expectation of gun- ing in London a $500,000 restauboats. I think, also, the speech rant, where from 10,000 to 12,000 suggests unhistorical ideas about people are daily fed upon wholemission work generally. If there some food at a halfpenny a head. is a contrast to be drawn it would Hot-water carts are sent out from be at least as true to say that mod- the restaurant to carry meals to the ern missionaries rely less on the sick and bedridden, and hot meals arm of the flesh, as that they rely at a halfpenny each are served to more than the old ones did. But school children and workmen anythe great opening for misuse of the where within a radius of three speech lies before those whose task miles of the dining-hall. All money it may presently be to apologize realized on the capital, and it is for a big and horrible Chinese war. expected that it will be about three These may be tempted to say on per cent., will be expended in the authority of Lord Salisbury extending the buildings and cart that the war was caused by the service. The restaurant was named missionaries; that the Chinese ris- after the Princess of Wales, who ing was provoked by these men." partoolc of a halfpenny meal with Sir Thomas Lipton the day the great dining-rooms were opened.
An Ancient Setting apart a The Mother The Society for the Benefaction. piece of land, about of Missionary Propagation of the two hundred and Societies. Gospel 0 b s e I've s fifty years ago, Sir John Fenner its bicentenary directed that its rents were to be used in buying Bibles for pOOl' throughout this year, completing children of several London par- its 200th year next June. It is an ishes. In those days the Bible was organization of the Church of too costly a book to become the England, founded originally to care possession of a slum child in the for emigrants from Great Britain ordinary course of events. To to its colonies and dependencies. prove their ability, the young bene- It did a valuable but unintentional ficiaries had to read a few verses service to New England by intensi- fying the desire for independence
GENERAL MtSSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
through its efforts to establish printed, and are being circulated in among the Puritans the English all parts of the world. Mr. Berg- church. Its first missionaries mann has also rendered the New abroad carne to Boston in 1702, one Testament into Yiddish. The four also being sent to South Carolina Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the same year. The society spent the Epistles to the Romans, Gala- $1,137,000 on this country before it tians, and Hebrews, have each been withdrew on the establishent of separately published and circu- our national independence. Its lated. Of the Epistle to the He- sphere has now become almost brews 47,000 copies have been dis- world-wide. The S. P. G. has dur- tributed among Jews. Now the ing its existence spent more than complete New Testament has been $32,000,000 on its missionary work, issued. It is computed that there and its income last year was about are some six or seven million Jews $660,000. who do not understand the Hebrew Bible, so that the edition of 10,000 A Bible for Yiddish is the ver- copies of the Yiddish version is far the Jews. nacular of the Jews from meeting the whole need.
of E a s t ern and Through the Russian ambassador Northern Europe. It is a jargon in London, the emperor's permis- composed of German and Hebrew, sion has been recei ved for the free with an admixture of words from circulation of this version among other languages. Tho all Jews the millions of Jews in Russia.- learn to read the Hebrew charac- Christian World.
ters, and to pronounce the words Prosperityin The Paris Missioncorrectly, and tho also their prayer- French ary Society, reprebooks are in Hebrew, yet only few really understand the language. Missions. senting the Protes- Yiddish is the language they actu- tantsof France, with ally understand and speak. The Old Testament is usually printed work in 'Vest and South Africa, for Jews by their own press, con- Madagascar, and Tahiti, rejoices tains the Hebrew text, together in such an encouraging increase of with a large mass of commentary receipts as to be able not only to from the Talmud. It is costly, be- meet steadily growing expenses, ing in many volumes, and quite but also to payoff a troublesome beyond the reach of poor Jews, and debt. The income has risen from $79,155 in 1897, to $100,094 in 1899.
itis, besides, unintelligible to them. A German Society.-The Leipsic Millions of Jews thus grow up in Missionary Society had an income the utmost ignorance of their Sa- of $135,000 last year (an increase of cred Scriptures. What they need $15,000), besides receiving $30,000 is a copy of the Old Testament in for famine relief. Seven men were the familiar Yiddish tongue, print- ordained for the foreign work. Ined without note or comment. Such dia and Africa are the fields occua Bible has been prepared for them pied, in the former of which the by Mr. Marcus S. Bergmann, of the number of communicants is 18,473, London City Mission. Tho Yiddish and 803 were baptized in 1899. has a number of diaiects, Mr. Berg- mann has succeeded, by a careful Los von Rom Movement.-Herr selection of language, in producing Schoenerer estimates that in Bohe- a Bible which will be intelligible to mia and other provinces of Austria, all. Of this version of the Old Tes- over 10,000 have recently seceded tament 10,000 copies have been from the Roman Catholic Church;
while the Christliche Welt affirms at the hands of the Turkish that even this number is much too authorities. He explained that small, and that 16,000 is a figure this would be the only way to premuch nearer the fact. vent his people in Asia Minor from falling entirely under the religious, ASIA. which in the Orient is akin to the political influence of Russia. The Porte and Monsignor Ormani- patriarch received only empty Patriarch. an, the patriarch promises of a better administra- tion for the Armenians. Vorse of the orthodox Ar- than that, the Porte tried to create menians in the Ottoman empire, a schism in the Armenian Church has tendered his resignation, and and to support the election of the the Turkish government has to face catholicos, or high priest, of Sis another trouble nearer home than against the wishes of the patrithat connected with the American arch. Finally, the latter, who had claims. It finds itself shaken up formerly been considered by Arby the clerico-political demands of menian patriots too subservient to Russia on the one hand, and the the Turkish government, feltindigresistance offered to those demands nant and has tendered his resignaby the Armenian patriarch. Rus- tion, which was refused at first, and sia, which has already obtained an the case is yet unsettled. exclusive railroad concession, and thus placed under her dependence Tokens of At the present time the Turkish basin of the Black Sea. aims at installing there her practi- Good there is a disposical protectorate in regard to religious matters. She has never aban- in Turkey. tion in the old Gredoned the pretension she made in 1854, relative to exercising a pro- gorian Church to tectorate over all the Christians of the orthodox faith, in virtue of the accept as teachers of their schools treaty of Kainardji. Now, Russian missionaries are roaming among young men trained by the Amerithe Armenians. promising them that if they abandon the Gregorian can missionaries. Many of the to join the R u s s ian orthodox church, they will be protected by massacre-orphan boys, reared in the czar against the Kurds and other Moslems better than they are orphanages, have already become protected by the sultan. In the vilayet of Erzerum more than teachers. In connection with one 5,000 Armenians have already passed to the Muscovite orthodoxy. station, no less than 11 village Ar- The Armenian priests, finding themselves unable to keep many of menian schools are under such boys. their people within the folds of their flock, have appealed to their These youths are in full sympathy chief, Monsignor Ormanian, the patriarch of the Fanar at Constan- with evangelical ideas, and most of tinople. He hastened to carry those complaints to the Porte and to them are believed to be truly coninsist upon the necessity of a more friendly treatment of the Armeni- verted, yet they are members of ans than that they usually received the old Armenian Church, and ac- cepted teachers in its schools. The movement is full of blpssed hope for evangelization and reformation.
A Native Of course, the nat- Church ural development of in India. missions in foreign lands is a native in- dependent church, but there are, as yet, but few cases in which it has been realized. The General Assem- bly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland took slIch a step. The Presbytery of Gujerat and Katha-
" GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
iawar, in Northern India, has been taken idea of what the mission connected with the General Assem- should do for them is one of the bly. The missionaries were the greatest hindrances there is to the members, and native pastors were work among the lower classes in little more than corresponding this district, as in some villages members. The Assembly, in its they refm e to hear the catechist desire for the development of the preach, thinking in that way to native church, declared the presby- force the mission to give charity to tery to be no longer a part of the all who want it.-F"ree Church I I' ish Church, but henceforth Monthly. should be the supreme judicatory of the native Indian church, having The Blessing Among the many native pastors and ruling elders as members, and the missionaries as of a saintly missionaries corresponding members. The mis- sionaries will form a council, hav- Burden. in the land of the ing control of all the funds remitted by the home church. Hindus there is at Self-Help in In Chingleput dis- least one who is a philosopher in India. trict of South In- dia, Dr. William addition, D. J. Fleming, to wit, of Walker represents the church as Lahore, for he has discovered that its medical missionary at the stations of Walajabad and Conjeve- the extreme heat of that region is by ram. His view of the need for teaching the people self-reliance no means anunmixedevil, and in the and self-respect needs to be insisted on abroad as well as at home. Presbyterian Banner enumerates There is an unfortunate idea among the poor Christians that the mis- several forms of blessing connected sion is here to support them, and for years they have been doing all therewith, of which this is one: in their power to make it do what they consider its duty, and they Before coming to India the idea seem to welcome this time of want, and will not try, as others do, to of nirvana seemed a perfectly senseget work, but come to the mission less ideal. But after seeing how for help" They have been told over and over that they should support the ordinary Indian loves to lose the mission and not the mission all consciousness of the long and them, but they draw my atten- sultry summer hours by lying outtion to cases outside where many are more or less supported by mis- stretched on a shady charpai, and sions and tell me that we are not since feeling so plainly myself that doing our duty. At this time I feel face to face with a difficulty, to doze away in lethargy would be as, if one or more poor Christians get help, many others will feel that the line of least resistance, I can they have been overlooked, and explanations that they are not so conceive how a people could count badly off as the others will not be as heaven the losing of all personal heard or understood. This mis- consciousness in absorption and an actionless, desireless nirvana. May it not be that the climate here is responsible, to a certain extent, for the lack of appreciation of personal immortality? Under such circum- stances they must feel that Christ has a power when they observe the activity of the missionary. Some- thing outside must sustain him in those long, hot days. He sets an example of activity notwithstand- ing the inertia of a tropical climate, and teaches them that there is One who bequeaths a significance and dignity to life, and who makes it possible not to be and simply exist, but to rise and stem life's current.
Sufferings of The missionaries in Missionaries In d i a have been in India. among the princi- pal sufferers from the famine. Not that they have themselves been in want of food,
but thai they have been overwork- and about 33,000 native agents and ed in caring for the sick and the helpers of various grades, ministers starving. Owing to the heavy strain, of the Gospel, colporteurs, Bible one after another has broken down, readeI'd, teachers, zenana workers, until the difficulty of carrying on etc. 'l'he Directory shows that there the work has become almost help- are among the 772,055 Protestant less. In one district the clergymen Indian Christians 1,010 Christian of the Church Missionary Society ministers, 590 medical men, 1,098 have been reduced from 40 to 21. government officials, 646 Christian A Report Tbe report of the authors and editors, 354 traders, 92 of Progress. American Lutheran lawyers, 15 civil engineers, and nearly 39,000 who live by agricul- .liission, Guntur, ture. Over 100 have visited foreign for 1899, states that the scarcity countries. Indian Christians are which prevailed over the larger to be found in almost all places of part of the mission field during the public responsibility and usefullatter half of 1899, and which com- ness. There are Indian Christian pelled thousands of the people to lawyers, judges, magistrates, enleave their homes in search of work gineers, doctors, members of legisand food, has not been favorable to lative councils, professors, editors, the prosecution of m issionarywork. principals and teachers of schools, And yet substantial progress has contractors, landlords, municipal been made in spite of all odds. The commissioners, and many other ponumber baptized during the year sitions of trust and respect are held under review is 1,542; the increase by them. in number of communicants, 395; in the number of inquirers, 496- Are Chinese Without religion, making a total of 3,351. Thenum- Civilized? without progress, ber attending the various day schools of the missions has increas- without aspiration, ed during the year from 4,475 to these people are without civiliza- 4,920; in Sunday-schools, 10,538 to tion. '{'he conflict between the 10,905. The number of villages in 'Vest and the East, between Euwhich Christians reside bas risen rope and China, is not a conflict of froL"l 514 to 529-a gain of 15; the civilizations; it is a misnomer to number of congregations from 421 call it so. A people who discovered to 426. The amount credited to the the compass, and are without comnative church for the year is Rs. merce, discovered gunpowder and ll,271. The entire amount raised are without arms, discovered movin India in 1899 toward the support able type and are without a press; of the various departments of mis- a people whose best means of locosion work was Rs. 23,013. This is motion has been the wheelbarrow, only $829 less than the en til' e and who have suffered in conseamount sent by the church in quence frequent and devastating America for the general work, not famines in a land of plenty; a peoincluding the zenana department. ple with coal-fields in a single prov- ince adequate to supply the world What Hindu Mr. S. Modak, of with coal for twenty centuries, but Christians Ahmednagar, has without mines because disturbance are Doing. published lately an of the ground might disturb the "Indian Christian subterranean dragons, can not be Directory." It appears that there termed civilized. Neither are the are 70 different missions in India, Chinese barbarians. They occupy with 2,797 foreign missionaries, a middle ground between the civil-
GENERAL MISSlONARY lNTELLIGENCE
ized and the barbaric peoples of the ceed to the nearest point affording globe; they are embodied conserva- adequate protection. This order tism; for twenty centuries they practically denudes West Ohina have lived in a state of arrested development, well satisfied so to live. of its foreign mission workers. He – The Outlook. continues: Christendom's A United States For the past month we have lived in a United Prayer. military officer re- cyclone of rumor and threatening. The people, and generally speaking the officials, cently said with too, are kept in ignorance regarding the contruth: "The Peking relief expedi- dition of affairs in Peking, but they know tion is the first military expedition something is occurring, and consequently in the history of the world in be- the wildest rumors are afloat. half of whose success the efforts as well as the sympathies and prayers In the provinces of Yunnan and Kueichou of the whole civilized world have there is an outbreak of open violence, and ever been enlisted. I wish that Szechuen is being infected. At several diff"r· some of the writers who are trying ent points uprisings have taken place, and to discredit and embarrass it could the mission buildings of the Catholic miscomprehend and appreciate that sions destroyed. So far no large center has fact." Let others, who have not been attacked; the rioters follow the earlier been guilty of false witness-bear- tactics of the boxers in the north, and coning, also contemplate it in all its fine their attentions to the villages where significance. The Sikh from India the officials have less opportunity to give is fighting alongside the African protection. The time of testing has come; from the United States; the Japan- long expected, oft deferred, it is now ese and the Russian, instead of upon us. fighting each other as everyone first expected them to before the No one who has followed the long weary great contest between the Occident path of evasion and reaction, can do other and the Orient came, are standing than welcome the test. The intimate conshoulder to shoulder. The German nection between politics and missions in and the Frenchman, forgetting the their international aspects is nowhere more hatreds borne of the seizure of strongly marked than here. To place the Alsace and Lorraine, are cocom- stigma of a strained political relation upon batants. The world has never seen the missionary, is to lay a ban on all his anything like it, and be the out- work; hence the vacillation and apprehencome what it may in other respects sion have made themselves a menace, have we have faith to believe that the made a shadow across the whole field. More shedding of blood in a common especially is this true of interior stations, cause by the soldiers of Ohristen- which are in a larger sense the barometer of dom and Japan will not be without popular feeling. its serious import to the statesmen and diplomats of those countries, Thus far in Szechuen the people have not making them less likely in the apprehended the full import of events now future to fight against one another. passing at Peking. The hope that sustains -The Congregationalist. as we sorrowfully leave for a time the homes and work in which we have lived and labored, Word from Word comes from is that some permanent advance may be West China. vVm. Upcraft on made when the refluent waves begin again to flow. the western outskirts of Ohina, that an official The old conditions have become imposnotice has been served upon all sible, and the impending change can be only foreigners ordering them to pro- for good. All the upward steps in the past have been taken in the gloom of uncertainty and conflict.
It should be the office of God's people now to pray unceasingly for the rulers and people of China that in this day of her visitation they may find the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Shall When Rev. Ward- Missionaries law Thompson was be Withdrawn. asked r e c e n t 1Y, "Will the London Missionary Society send men and
women to replace those who have cables brought us the sorrowful died in China? " he replied, ","Vill intelligence that a riot had occured merchants send out cotton goods again?" And we may inquire fur- at Hsiao-i, in Shan-si, and that Miss ther: Will the governments with- ,"Vitchurch and Miss Searell there draw their ministers and consuls? Will the trading firms withdraw had been murdered, and that a mastheir agents? Will the railway companies give up their charters? sacre had occurred at Pao-ting-fu, Why, then, should anybody expect the Church of Christ to give up its Chih-li, where many missionaries missionary work? had lost their lives, including our Curses Coming Much ground for own workers, the Rev. and Mrs. B. Home to Roost. tho ugh t will be Bagnall, and probably the Rev.
found in the cry William Cooper. The last cable for retribution and vengeance against China, when it is borne in advised us that a riot had taken mind that in that development of place at Rao-cheo, Kiang-si, but trade, of which we boast so much, England has during the past five that no lives had been lost, and also years supplied to that Eastern empire 190 field and position guns, that local rebellions had taken with over 60,000 rounds of ammunition, and 297 machine guns, with place at Ho-tsin, Shan-si, and at 4,228,400 rounds; that Germany has Ku-cheo, and Ch'ang-shan, Chehbeen doing likewise, and that we both have been teaching the Chi- kiang, which possibly had caused nese the use of them. What force do such figures as these give to the the death of more of our devoted plea for the Christianizing of our commerce ?-London Christian. workers.
How one Says China's Mil- A Japan It is said that al- Society has lions, organ of the Mission in ready Japanese Suffered. China Inland Mis- China. Christians are dis- sion, for August: cussing the carry- " Since our last issue we have been in receipt of as many as seven ing of the Gospel into China. It cablegrams from China, most of which have been the bearer of sad would not be surprising soon to tidings. The first cable advised us not to send forth any more mis- hear of an organizing of Japanese sionaries for the present, as the churches for that purpose. It is state of the country prevented such likely that they could work with being properly received and cared for. Another cable advised us of much greater success among a peoan uprising in Honan, where nearly ple so near akin to them than Euall of our stations have been rioted, ropean or American Christians. It and also in Chih-Ii, where two of our stations have passed through may before long be found that the the same experience, tho the lives of the missionaries in all these opening of missions in Japan had places have been saved. Two other a significance then hardly thought of for the regeneration of the neigh- bor empire. Who knows but that Japanese evangelists are destined to play the greatest part in this gigantic undertaking? There arc already Japanese Christian mis- sionaries in Formosa.
AFRICA.
The Flow of England's govern- the Nile. ment of Egypt has had no more im- portant or encouraging result than the advances made in solving the problem of Nile irrigation, which has been for time immemorial Egypt's all-important agricultural and industrial question. The great
1900.j GENERAL MISSIONARY
Assuan dam when finished will Language Rev. Henry Rich- furnish the means of storing up Study on the ards writes thus of 1,000,000,000 cubic meters of water, and now it is seriously proposed to Kongo. his early wrestlings: dam also the Albert Nyanza and "The greatest Victoria Nyanza, and thereby multiply this reserve by over 200. trouble was with the language. The undertaking is truly stupend- No white man had ever acquired ous, and the cost (reckoned at it. I got a note-book, wrote down £1,000,000) is not as startling as the everything I could hear, and what I enormous amount of labor under thought it meant, until I had quite peculiar difficulties. Yet Mr. Will- a number of words, phrases, and cocks, until lately the head of the sentences, which I at once began to governmental department of reser- use. Altho the people would laugh voirs, in an article in an English at my pronunciation and the way I magazine declares that it is quite put the words together, I did not feasible, and the only sound mind that. I found it very difficult method of permanent improve- to get some words. I tried to get ment. The magnitude of the bene- hold of the word 'mother,' and at fit to follow may be judged from last thought I had it, but afterthe estimate that the increase of ward found that the word meant value in the total yearly crops of a full-grown man. I was about as the Nile Valley would be something near as this in many other words. like $45,000,000. Even so temporary I was about three months in getting and partial a remedy as that just the word for 'yesterday.' I found applied in cutting away the vege- the grammar of the lauguage very tation which has been blocking up difficult. I began with nouns, and the channels of Bahr el Gebel has wanted to get the plurals. I exsaved, Mr. Willcocks asserts, half pected to find the change at the this year's cotton crop, and thereby end of the word, hut never could averted a loss of $20,000,000. It is hear any. I heard 'dinkondo' evident that Egypt is to continue (plantain), but I wanted to say to be a fascinating land for en- 'plantains.' At last I heard a gineers and industrial contractors man say 'monkondo,' and I said: of imagination and courage. 'That is the plural-" di " singular, "rna" plural.' Then I he a r d From the Dr. Harpur, C.M.S., 'nsusu' (fowl), and I thought the Upper Nile. has returned to Om- plural would he ' mansusu,' and I would say 'mansusu,' and they durman from a tour would laugh and say, 'Not so,' 100 miles up the Blue Nile, to but 'zinsusu.' Then I got hold of Sennaar. His most interesting the word' muntu,' and I expected journal concludes with the follow- that the plural would be 'maning striking sentence: "Afterwhat muntll'; but no, it was 'antu.' we have seen of the earnest efforts So I went on and found that there of our British officers to administer were 16 classes of nouns. I then justice and relieve the sufferings of tried to get hold of some preposithe people committed to their care, tions. I got the word 'vonda,' to we can not but feel that a brighter kill; and I wanted to say' kill for day is dawning on the Sudan, and me,' but I could not get the word that, however indirectly, the influ- 'for.' About this time I heard ence of Uhristianity is already the word ' vondila.' By this I being brought to bear upon its found that' ila ' was used instead of people." , for.' I went on in that way until I found that there were 17 classes
of verbs, the prepositions' being Bible Society has issued altogether part of the verhs. The language is 32,000 complete Bibles and 66,000 not a mere jargon, but veryeupho- New Testaments in Sechuana. nious, flowing, and it is very ex- pressive and beautiful. When once Was it Work and Workers known it is very easy to preach and Wisdom or tells apathetic story to translate the Scriptures into it." Folly? of the lonely death Turning Among the Herero of a Nor wegian from Idols. p e 0 pie (German missionary in South Africa. Be- Protectorate, lieving himself called of God to Southwest Africa) a hopeful move- preach to the heathen, he went out ment toward Christianity is devel- to Africa, unattached' to any so- oping. At one station 188 heathen ciety, worked at the Buluwayo are under instruction with a view brickfields till he had earned a little to baptism; at another the people money, then built his little church show their practical interest in the away out on the veldt and preached Gospel by building for themselves to the natives-all alone, unaided, a spacious church. This awaken- unknown. When his funds were ing is especially noticeable among exhausted he went back to the those who get their living by pas- brickfields for a time and earned turage, many of whom confess that more money. By-and-by he was they had long desired baptism, but taken ill with fever, and there, in that their flocks and herds had too the building which did duty for much absorbed the attention of church and house together (only a masters, children, and servants. rude partition separating them) he Now the Lord has removed these lay for days unconscious, deserted hindrances. Cattle plague and even by the natives for whom he fever have ravaged the fields and had labored so faithfully. He was homesteads, and these visitations found by a white man when at the have given the people both inclina- point of death; every effort was tion and opportunity to attend to made to save him, but he pa3sed their spiritual wants. away within a few hours-a true comrade of the noble army of mar- Moffat also Moffat is an amazing tyrs. could "Plod." example of Chris- Living and: Missionary Hafner, t ian perseverance. "He was not a scholar like Henry Dying to the of Nyasaland, in Martyn, nor a genius like William Carey, nor a man of infinite re- Lord. the Calwer Missource like Morrison;" but in some respects he surpassed them all, for sionsblatt, presents he entered a sealed garden and discovered a new people. He reduced a new aspect of the attractions of their barbarous tongue to unity, and made in it a version of the missionary life: "In Ipiana last whole Bible-" a version which won its way into the hearts of its read- year matters took a very serious ers and made them a people of the Word of God." As they became course. January 19th died the wife acquainted with the Scriptures the Bechuanas said of them, in their of our merchant brother Stolz. A simple, graphic way, that they turned their hearts inside out. The month later brother and sister Hichard had to leave us for some months on account of health. They were scarcely back when brother Hichard fell very seriously ill, and mnst again leave Ipiana for some two months. While he was still gathering strength in Lungwe, brother Stolz was seized with the blackwater fever, and must also
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
flee into the mountains. Thus I ation has taken place in school- was five weeks alone in Ipiana, work, the government having first and that in the time of strenuous given up its unreasonable demand work. Our plans, which we had for French in all e 1erne n tar y formed in May in the station con- schools, and then having decided ference, have been completely trav- to give up compulsory attendance.
ersed, but in the confident feeling, The future alone will show how , it is the Lord,' we learned to bow this latter alteration will work; ourselves and be still. To crown the missionaries are not without all, before my breakup for Isoko, fear that it may have injurious the fever seized me, and now for consequences. They fear that their some weeks I could against my will teachers will be more and more enjoy the rest for which I had so burdened with military service greatly longed, after the wearing and forced labor when they are re- labor of the foregoing months/ The. lieved of the school tasks on which time of sickness was a blessing to the government set so much store us all, and knit us fastel together previously. It has now become to oneness in the Lord. Ah, yes! possible to obtain the freehold of what a peculiar thing it is, to be the mission stations, which, under placed at an unhealthy station! I the Hova government, could only have had huge delight to be in Ip- be built on rented land, as no for- iana. These very things, death eigner was allowed to buy land.
and sickness, instead of discoura- This has caused the society consid- ging me, have awakened in me cour- erable expense, as the French are age and joyfulness, to surrender demanding payment for the free- myself wholly and completely to hold of the stations. But the price the missionary calling, as the most is set so low that the property is in beautiful thing there is. What at- reality cheaply acquired.-;-No1'slc tractiveness, beyond all question, Missionstidende.
has the tropic climate! Despite In the Norwegian mission in the graves, despite the frequent Madagascar, in 1898, there were sicknesses, despite the leopards, the 4,230 baptisms. mosquitos, the crocodiles, and the heat, it pleases everyone, who has . IS-hA:~S OF THE SEA. only been there awhile, and has overcome his prejudices. Sorrow The During the pas t comes only when we must leave it." Methodists in year Me th 0 di sm Manila. . has been making French The Norwegian So- rapid progress in Regime in ciety reports from the Philippines, under the direction Madagascar. Madagascar that its of Bishop Thoburn. Since his first greatest obstacles visit, in March, 1899, regular Sun- during the last year have been in- day services have been held. There creasing expenditure and the rising has also been opened an institute prices of necessaries. Otherwise for soldiers and sailors on the same the missionaries have been in a general lines as maintained in In- good positbn as regards their work; dia, where the men may have tern..
the ruling authorities show more perance drinks, meals, games, lodg- and more good will, and the oppo- ing, and general social enjoyment sition of the Jesuits has lost its without the evils of the saloon.
power, as both the people and the Regular Sunday services are held government have learned to know here, and a Christian Endeavor Sothem better. A considerable alter- ciety is sustained. There are ~ow
in Manila 3 Methodist churches, an Herbertshohe, and when returning English church of 50 members, a they stopped for the night at Filipino church of 200, and a Chi- Ragaru. Nine of them, it is said, nese church with 5 members. Un- were cruelly murdered and cooked. der the auspices of the Woman's They may have killed more, as Foreign Missionary Society, a there were quite a number of school is being opened, and medical people in the party, and it is very and evangelistic work is going on. difficult to find out the exact Until the past few months the Bible number killed. Only a short time has been a closed book to these ago I was with those fellows, people, but 1,000 copies a month are and I would not have thought now being sold. The first Protes- them capable of such awful cantant Filipino minister was recently nibalism. I went on that occasion ordained, Nicolas Zamora. to station a teacher there at a place called Kulauma, and I am glad that Education The day is dawning. this people had no share in the murders, nor did they get any of in the The opening of the the human flesh. It is very sad indeed to hear them say now: Philippines. college of primary 'Why did you not send some teachers to us too, then we would and secondary edu- not have done it p' Alas! Where are the men to take up this very cation in Manila a few days ago, necessary work? The police force went to punish them, and found marks the beginning of a new and the flesh of the murdered men between the hot stones of the ovens, better era in the department of and portions hanging up in the houses." education in the Philippines. Here- A Reopened The Congregationtofore education has been under Mission aUst tells an inter- the control of the priests. This in Ponape. esting story of the Protestant mission institution, so auspiciously opened, at Ponape. Thirteen years ago, is strictly non-sectarian, and looks when Spain took possession of the Caroline Islands, the flourishing for support to the voluntary contri- mission fell into the hands of the priests who accompanied the Spanbutions of the people. It is the iards. After several years of delay the Spanish government paid to first educational enterprise of its our government $17,500 indemnity for property destroyed belonging kind in the Philippines, and that to the mission and to missionaries. As a result of our war with Spain it is appreciated is evidenced by the she sold her possessions in the Caro- lines to Germany, and the way is fact that 500 pupils have already now open for the board to renew its work. It has assurances of cordial been enrolled, and many children support from the German authori- ties. Two women who were at are leaving the schools of the Ponape when Spain took posses- sion, Miss Foss and Miss Palmer, priests to enter the college. Judge Taft, president of the civil com- mission, and his colleagues were present at the opening exercises, the judge speaking i:.l fitting and effective terms of the significance of the interesting ceremony.
Recent Concerning the re- Horrors in cent cannibalism in New Britain. New Britain, the news of which so greatly shocked the Australian public, the Rev. H. Fellmann writes: "'rhere has been a horrible piece of cannibalism committed by natives living south of Birara, near Kabauga. Native visitors from the eouth of New Britain came to
GENERAL MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE
are about to return, sailing from missionary work; let it be support- San Francisco this week by the ed by loving sympathy and fervent schooner Queen of the Isles. Rev. prayer.-DR. BRUCE of Persia. and Mrs. Thomas Gray will accompany them, and a physician and A Broad The purpose of mishis wife are also under appointment View of Mis- sionary effort is not for the Ruk station. sions. merely to try to MISCELLANEOUS. save adult pagans, Value W hat sometimes but as well to create through the introduction of Christianity a betof Medical vexes me is the im- ter condition abroad which shall increase the presumption that the Missions. putation that med- following generations will become converted. One of the most trench- ical missions are a ant and telling things said at the Ecumenical Conference was the sort of pious tribe. It is hinted declaration of Dr. Maltbie D. Bab- cock when, speaking of the heathen, that the healing of the sick is not he said: "You are wronging un- born children by not putting the spontaneous, prompted by genuine light in the faces of their fathers and mothers." Now is the time to brotherly kindness, but is cold and work for the generations coming into paganism, that when they calculating, saying: "If I heal you, come they may not remain pagan, but may find an easy highway into I expect you in return to accept Christianity already prepared for their childish feet. my religion!" We deny this. We do not heal in order to induce men to believe the Gospel, altho our work, I am glad to say, has often that effect. We do not heal for the dramatic purpose of exhibiting Christian charity. You and I heal, and let us say so plainly, because the Christ spirit has begun to soften our own hard hearts, and we have Christianity, A missionary at the True and Clifton Springs begun to feel for our fellowmen. To , False. Conference sa i d : " Bear in mind that mitigate distress and remove whenever there is a great movesorrow we consider a noble end in ment or movements toward Chris- tianity, there must be a large itself, worthy of Christ's followers amount of nominal Christianity in it. It is sure to result that the nuand Christ's Church.-DR. JAMES cleus of Christianity carries with it a mass of secondary Christianity." A. GREIG. The world takes note of this second- ary Christianity, and charges the Put Missions Dr. Josiah Strong true with all its faults, wrongdoings, First. . asks: ",Vhat are and sins. When trouble comes, a churches for but to few are pointed out, and it is said, " This is what Christianity is." make missionaries? What is education for but to train them? What Communicants An interesting is commerce for but to carry them? What is money for but to send them? What is life itself for but to fulfil the purpose of foreign missions, enthroning Jesus Christ in the hearts of men? "
at Home and statement was Preparatory Work.-I am not Abroad. made by the modreaping the harvest; I scarcely claim erator of the to be sowing the seed; I am hardly plowing the soil; but I am gath- United Presbyterian Church of ering out the stones. That, too, is Scotland as to the number of church members connected with the mis-
sions of several branches of the not only the witness, but himself Presbyterian Church compared the worker, in respect to the moral with the number in the home and social transformation of that churches. He stated that for every district, and "George Yard" is the 1,000 members in the established memorial of his work. Miss Mac-'
Church of Scotland at home, there pherson has long worked in the were 4- in the mission field; for same vicinity, and been wont to every 1,000 in the Presbyterian consult this unmitered "bishop of Church of Ireland at home, there Whitechapel " in the crises of her were 20 in its missions abroad; in work among the waifs. Mr. Hol- the Free Church of Scotland, 28; land was a man in whose very face in the Presbyterian Church of the shone the beauty of the Lord-a U nited States (North) there were 37; strong, bright, kind face, upon in the United Presbyterian Church which magnanimity and benignity of America there were 65; in the were stamped. He was buried at United Presbyterian Church of Highgate Cemetery on Friday, Scotland there were 139. vVithollt August 24th, and in the evening a examining the reports of the memorial service was held in American societies of the several George Yard for the people who denominations we can state con- loved him, at which meeting Mr.
cerning the Con gregat io n al R. Cope Morgan, editor of The churches that for every 1,000 mem- Christian,. presided and made the bers in these churches there are 80 opening address. T. A. Denny, communicants in the churches con- Esq.rand Rev. A. T. Pierson also nected with the missions of the took part, as well as some of those American ,board. _who have been identified with the " Costs a Such is the utterly work more or less closely. The Dollar to Send groundless charge general impression is that George Holland has had no superior, and a Dollar.n against missionary few, if any, rivals in his unique societies, for the career of service to the degraded and deserted waifs of Whitechapel. cost is but 7 or 8 cents. But suppose He was a bachelor, and gave his the charge were true, even then whole life to one unhesitating and the case is not so bad after all as unreserved sacrifice for humanity. some other philanthropies. It cost George Yard became a kind of cen- (to be exact) $63,021 to send $1.00 ter for all sorts of Christian work from America to aid the fighting among the poor, and ignorant, and Boers. That is: It cost $1,116.38 outcast. Reading-rooms, coffee in the United States to collect houses, ragged schools, evangelis- $1,134.38 for the widows and tic services were some of the many orphans of Boers slain in battle, forms of endeavor whereby he leaving $18 to be sent to South sought to uplift and save men, Africa.
DEATH NOTICE. women, and children. His place it would be hard for half a dozen Geo. Holland On August 20th, men to fill, for it was a place made of London. Mr. George Hol- by a long history of self-denying land, at the age of labors. Some account of Mr. HoI- 76, departed to be with the Mastei' land and his work has already Whom for so many years he so un· appeared in these pages, and to selfishly served in the slums of that we refer the readers. (See Whitechapel, London. He was March, 1898, page 178.)
The Missionary Review of the World — September 1888
THE CENTENARY CONFERENCE OF MISSIONS
MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XI. No. n.-Old Series._ _SEPTEMBER, _ _VOL. I. No. 9.-New Series.
I.-LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE OENTENARY OONFERENOE OF MISSIONS. SECOND EDITORIAL LETTER FROM REV. A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
LONDON, June 26, 1888. My DEAR DR. SHERWOOD :-This great World Oouncil impresses me as, so far in history, the climax of a series of astounding developments, which, like a pyramidal structure, have been rising from the broad base laid a century ago in the recognition of duty and debt to this lost world. 'These developments may especially be noted in seven directions or successive stages. First, there came the opening of doors till the whole world is now practically open. Then the organization of Missionary Societies and Boards now numbering over two hundred. Then the revival of the doctrine of divine stewardship and the consequent consecration of money; then the multiplication of laborers until the church knows not how to send those that offer. Then the development of the woman's agency in direct mission work. Then the bestowment of a new spirit of united prayer, and now the exhibition of the essential unity of all true disciples in what seems to me the most important and thoroughly ecumenical council that has ever yet assembled. The greatness of this gathering grows upon us all. Babel's miracle was reversed at Pentecost-the confusion of tongues that divided and dispersed mankind was offset by the tongues of fire uttering in every language the wonderful works of God. But here we have an advance even on Pentecost. Then and there, disciples could do nothing more than utter the gospel message, each in his own tongue. Here, from the east, west, north, south, the scarred veter~ns from a thousand fields have come up to the metropolis of the world, to translate into our one English tongue the stupendous triumphs of this gospel as wrought under their own eyes, in the isles of the sea, in India and Ohina, Japan and Burmah, Turkey and Syria, Africa and Papal lands. But though we have reached a climax of development, the topstone and capstone have yet to be laid before the pyramid of wonders is complete. The 1JJhole world must now be taken possession of and occupied for Ohrist. Without this grandest result, all else is comparatively not only unfinished, but is failure. To this end all elsc points and tends. For this God led His people to see and feel their debt to a dying world. For this He opened wide the doors, led to the organization of societies whose network of effort should encompass the globe; for this He led disciples to give money and offer themselves; for this ·He brought woman to the front, gave a spirit of prayer and manifested the essential unity of all true disciples. And if now, with all these encouragements and helps, we do not go up and possess the land and drive out the sons of Anak, it will be the most faithless and cowardlyapostacy of the ages! Never came the words of the inspired apostle with more force to the church: "See then that ye walk circllmspectly, not as fools, but as wise, buying up opportunity, because the days are evil! Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, and be not drunk with wine, wherein; is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." Eph. v. 15-18.
Another impression most profoundly made by this Oonference is the necessity for a positive, aggressive type of Ohristian faith and life. The gospel needs no defense-if it does, the best apologetics are found in ener·getics. ;, To use the spade and throw up defenses may be well enough for those whose principal thought is to put up a barrier and a rampart between themselves and the foe. But whenever an enemy can put the opposing army on the defensive an immense advantage is gained. The only hope of successful warfare is to carry the war into the enemy's country-give him all he can do to take care of himself, press him to the wall, divide his forces, giving him no chance to combine and concentrate; compel him to garrison every imperiled point, not knowing where next you are about to strike. God never meant that His troops should busy themselves throwing up intrenchments and hiding behind defenses. To attempt to defend the Bible is a confession or concession of its weakness, or rather our own. Ohristian missions have shown that the gospel needs no defense. It is the power of God unto salvation, and the wisdom of God, too. All we have to do is to let philosophy, speculation, doubtful hypotheses alone, and simply, persistently, faithfully, lovingly, positively preach Ohrist, and the gospel will assert its own authority and vindicate its own divinity. There is such a thing as obscuring its glory even by the smoke of the incense of our own praises. There was one paper read on the work in the Fiji Islands; it occupied but twenty minutes, yet that twenty minutes, packed full of simple facts, carried conviction not to be produced by a half a day's subtle reasoning. The logic of events is the demonstration of the Spirit. The world may dispute the conclusions of argument: the keen edge of the metaphysician's sword often only whets the edge of his antagonists. But there are wonders of God's power that compel even Oharles Darwin to say, with Pharaoh's magicians, "This 1:S the finger of God." Those facts, modern missions must multiply and spread before the people. We nc:cd not yoke our arguments to God's chariot: only gather out the stones and give it free course and it will be glorified.
Another profound impression left by this World Oouncil is that of the. marvelous celerity of movement in this march of the ages. Truly God is marching on, and he who would keep pace with God must not lag behind or lack for energy and enthusiasm.': This is an age of steam and telegraph. There has been an amazing development of human invention and discovery. The march of humanity has been so rapid as to leave every other age far behind in rate of advance. Within a quarter of a century changes have taken place which have revolutionized human society. The spectroscope has been added to the telescope and microscope. The telegraph has yoked the lightning to its chariot, and now outstrips even the wings of the wind. We have devised photometers so delicate that stars which the greatest telescope cannot reveal are detected by the delicate instruments that betray the presence of the faintest light.. 'The deaf are almost made to hear and the blind to see. The most terrible surgical operations are performed while the patient is wholly unconscious through the beneficent action of anmsthetics. But if the march of man is rapid, how much more so is the march of God. He never falls behind. ~'The faster man moves the faster God moves. The celerity of His march is always in proportion to the preparation and capacity of His people to follow. And hence we may expect Him as leader to move onward and forward with more and more astounding rapidity as He gives us facility and opportunity for a corresponding rapidity of advance.
The unthinking man and even disciple may sometimes become discouraged and complain that it is impossible to meet the growing demands of the constantly advancing and enlarging work of missions. But such forget two things. First, this is the comincing proof that it is God's work and He is in it. No human power could have opened doors as He has done it, or swept away obstacles such as He has removed, or insured such miraculous swiftness of movement. In every part of the world-field God is manifestly working, and because He is working, His church finds new developments perpetually challenging her attention and response. While hurrying to occupy one new point and post of advantage another and another invite immediate occupation. While going up to possess some fair land that has suddenly been thrown open, fresh territory on every side commands and demands our prompt entrance, lest the enemy go in before us. While we are hurling back one wing of the enemy, the other gives way and the very center reels and staggers, and God sounds the trumpet call for fresh battalions to come to His help and complete the route of the foe. All healthy work and successful war makes constantly increasing demands on our resources, our sacrifices, our energies, our endeavors. A healthy boy will outgrow and outwear his old clothes, in fact they never get old, for while yet comparatively new, he gets too big for them, or his very activity quickly wears them through or tears them through. But no sensible mother ever complains because her boy is growing. A poor sickly cripple may wear the same pants till they rot from mere age, but the cripple does not grow. Because missions represents the healthy offspring of the church in her best type of life, the work of missions will always astonish us by rapidity of development. The more rapid~ the more normal and healthy and hopeful.
Secondly, let us not forget that it is the salvation of the church to be il'l, stra£ts. Laodiceanism is always already developed whenever and wherever disciples become rich in goods and easy in mind, as those that have need of nothing, or are sufficient unto themselves. Emergencies drive us to God for new help and strength, as they drove Moses and Joshua and Hezekiah to the throne of grace. To feel deeply our own inadequacy to the task; to be consciously in the minority; to be humbled by our own weakness, poverty, jgnorance, infirmity-this is the first condition of real power. If our trust in God be only as great as our distrust of ourselves, there are no triumphs impossible.
It is an indisputable historic fact that the eras and epochs of the greatest power in the church have been those when the exigencies and emergencies have been the most trying and desperate. The very fires which, by a seven-fold t"rial in the furnace, kept the Huguenots and Waldensian churches pure and true, were the fires of persecution. The most startling supernatural deliveranccs were wrought when every human hope had been crushed by apparent and overwhelming disaster. The church of God will never be in easy circumstances. Whenever J eshurun waxes fat he always kicks. Whenever God's people get in comfortable and especially luxurious circumstances, then evangelism declines, worldliness creeps subtly in, devotion dies, and the church has but a name to live. But to see a host of foes in our very front, which we cannot meet in our own strength; to behold a work whose very opportunities far overtax our available resources of men and means; to find God's chariot hastening on at such a rate that at our utmost speed we can barely keep it in sight-ah, this deepens the spirit of prayer, evokes consecration, and compels close fellowship with each other and with God.
Another impression left by this conference is the necessity of closer and more acUve fell01lJsMp among disciples.
Much has been said of our un'ity as expressed and developed in this great conference. Let us not forget that the very emergency of the church compels unity. Our opportunity and our peril alike make unity absolutely necessary. Before a united, determined, malignant, desperate foe, marshaling all his hosts and concentrating all his force against the Bible, the Ohrist and the instItutions of the gospel, we cannot afford to be divided. We unconsciously and involuntarily draw together in presence of a common danger. When the ark is in danger, we forget our tribal standards and close up our ranks about the tabernacle of God, until we touch shoulder to shoulder and forget our tribal allegiance in our anxiety for the treasures of our faith and hope. Macaulay says that in presence of men that worship a cow, the differences between evangelical disciples become positively insignificant. We add that to magnify and emphasize them till they become separating barriers and dividing lines, in the presence of foes that, like Herod and Pilate, become friends for the sake of crushing Ohristianity, is positively criminal. I take no merit or credit to myself that in this great conference I have forgotten my own country and my father's house, and almost lost my own identity and denominational connection. In the presence of issues so vast, and perils so tremendous, and work so herculean, and foes so colossal, all has been driven from my mind save the fact that I am a servant of God, and am standing with other servants of God, watching the imperative signals of His hand in the crisis of the opportunity of the church and the destiny of the world. And if, in- presence of such an enemy on the one hand and the Jehovah of the covenant on the other, I could not forget all else but this, that we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one common cause, hope, and home, I should doubt whether, after all, I am a disciple. A man who, in such a presence, magnifies his denomination is only a fossilized ecclesiastic-a mere mummy.
In connection with this necessity of closer fellowship, one other impression this conference has graven on my heart, and that of many others, as with the pen of iron and the point of adamant: The voice of God to-day commands active co-operation among disdples in mission qoork. Here for ten days we have met from every quarter and every evangelical branch of the great Ohurch Oatholic, and not a discordant note has been sounded. Brethren may dwell together in unity, may talk freely and frankly of things in which there is wide difference of opinion, and yet feel one heart-beat of responsive sympathy. This harmony of feeling and concert of action would continue if the contact and fellowship could continue. But there is danger that when we separate, diversities of sphere, denominational view and practical working may leave the way open for misapprehension and possible conflict. Oan we not perpetuate this contact and preserve this fellowship? The conference has bound itself by wholesome restraints not to open the door to resolutions. But even wholesome restrictions must not become a yoke of bondage.
I am fully persuaded that there is at least one way in which we may preserve certain links of contact and co-operation. We have spent hours upon the discussion of missionary comity, and in it we were touching the very core of practical mission problems. Now the only hope of permanent adjustment of missionary comity is by a missionary committee. Change the emphasis of your accent and you have the remedy suggested. This blessed contact which has developed such overflowing charity it would be a disaster to have broken and lost. Could there not be a committee, not legislative but advisory, representing different denominations and societies, to whom might be referred any questions pertaining to the adjustment of our common and co-operative missionary work? What if such representative men as Sir John Kenneway and Eugene Stock, Wardlaw Thompson and A. C. Thompson, Ellenwood and Gordon, Hudson Taylor and Wm. M. Taylor, Bishop Wilson and Ninde, could be organized into an interdenominational and international missionary committee, to keep up this blessed contact and counsel with each other by correspondence or converse as new exigencies arise I Let me mention one direction especially in which such a committee would be pre-eminently helpful: the occupation of fields for Ghrist. First, as to fields already fairly preoccupied, it could be determined to leave them to those now working in them, unless too large. So has the Nile Valley been practically left to the United Presbyterians, Turkey to American Congregationalists, Palestine to English Churchmen, and Siam to American Presbyterians.
Second, as to fields now open but unoccupied, whose very vastness demands division of labor, such a committee might aid in securing prompt and united occupancy without overlapping and interference.
Third, as to fields not yet opened fully but just about to be-like Korea and Thibet-preparations might be made by which both delay and waste of material might be prevented. So important does this matter seem to me that I can think of no other work more important, and for the sake of doing this any man might feel honored if he were called of God, to lay down any other and separate himself unto this. I am painfully conscious that the occupation of the world-field, vast as it is, is not a matter of numbers. There is an enthusiasm of mere numbers that is often misleading and mistaken. God can work by a few humble faithful consecrated souls better than by a vast host of nominal disciples. Quality is far more important than quantity. But the fewer the heroic souls ready to dare the self-denying work the greater the need of preventing waste. We shall need all the men and women and all the money and means which can be obtained for the Lord's work. Let us have wise and holy counsellors, who act for the church and the Lord Christ, in mapping out the world-field and distributing the workmen widely and wisely.
But above !}ll our eyes need to be turned to the Lord. In the year-1863, in the midst of the great war for the Union, the ordinarily rainless summer in Nevada was suddenly interrupted by a
THB TRAINING OF WORKMEN
densely dark and threatening sky of storm-clouds. So heavy the pall that rested over Virginia City that Mount Davidson could scarcely be distinguished in the distance from the black masses behind it.
A remarkable phenomenen then appeared. Upon the very summit a little tongue of golden flame swayed to and fro like some weird supernatural signal; strange flame, indeed! for it neither waxed nor waned, but steadily burned on. It was the flag of the republic. There chanced to be a rift in the dense clouds, and the setting sun through that unseen rift flung its radiant beam upon that nation's standard and transfigured it to golden flame, an(l for an hour that burning bauner held the charmed gaze of the multitude. And, stranger still, that very day marked the fall of Vicksburg and the victory of Gettysburg!
Darkness that may be felt overspreads the earth, and gross darkness the people. The black clouds of skepticism and infidelity, irreligion and idolatry gather their awful masses in our sky and threaten a destructive storm. But on the very summits of Pagandom, in the midst of the death-shade, waves God's own signal. '1'he flag of the Cross burns in the ray of the Sun of Righteousness, the glory of God transfigures it. Even while we gaze upon it Satan's strongholds are giving way before the onset of God's missionary hosts, and the very tide of battle is turning. We have only to keep our eyes fixed on that banner, . and by that sign we shall conquer!
THE TRAINING OF WORKMEN.
• BY HENRY GRATTAN GUINNESS, LONDON.
[Dr. Pierson writes, concerning this paper, read at the London Conference and furnished 08 by the author for publication: "Clear, practical, pungent and powerful, it captivated the Rssembly. "-EDS.1 WE have in thiJ'l year 1888 reached an important crisis in missions. A hundred years of missionary labor lie behind us, and we gather at this International convention from east, west, north, and south, to study its records, and to learn its lessons, that we may start with the fresh knowledge and renewed energy for our still unreached goal-the evangelization of the world.
The century has been a glorious one in gospel work. After ages of apostacy-followed by stormy times of Reformation-the church awoke a hundred years ago to its duty to publish the gospel to all mankind. During the century, thousands of devoted laborers have gone forth; hundreds of heathen languages have been learned; the Scriptures translated into them; the Wora of God widely proclaimed, and some three millions of heathen converted to Christianity. Among all people the gospel has proved its soultransforming power. A co-operative providence has opened the world. Railways and steamers traverse it in every direction. Meanwhile Protestant Great Britain, America and Germany have largely increased their Ipopulation and their wealth. England alone, after spending freely on necessaries and luxuries, hoards annually now no less than 240 millions of money (1,200 millions of dollars). The means to accomplish our God-given work are increased and increasing. What we want now, and what we seek, is full purpose and resolution to use the powers we possess. God grant that this conference may be, as it ought to be, a tUrning-point in missions-a stage from which the church will make a fresh start, and push on her glorious warfare against sin and Satan with tenfold courage and energy, l'esolvingby divine help to evangelize the world before the present generation has passed away!
If this is to be done it is clear that there must be an enormous increase in the missionary army. The non-Christian nations number over a thousand millions. To give no more than one missionary to every ten thousand of these we should need a hundred thousand missionaries. There are at present only six thousand-in the entire field-men and women, all told. A new era, however, seems dawning-witness the hundred missionaries added to the China Inland Mission in 1887, and the thousands of undergraduates in England and America who have recently pledged themselves to missionary work.
God is evidently answering prayer, and thrusting forth laborers into His harvest.
We gather here to-day at the outset of this convention, to consider the qualifications and training necessary for missionaries. Four points al'e raised for discussion-the first as to mental and spiritual qualifications; the second a as to special training at home; a third as to training in the field; and fourth as to the advisability of establishing missionary lectureships in our colleges. I take up here the first two of these points-the testing of candidates to ascertain their suitability for the work, and their training after acceptance, and before being sent out.
And firstly as to the qualifications required. A missionary is an ambassador for Christ to the heathen-or to any non-Christian people. It is of necessity, therefore, that he be a true Christian-an anointed man, one called of God to the ministry of the gospel, and sent forth by Him. The church cannot create such laborers; only He who made the world can make a true missionary. No training can manufacture him; no human ordination can fit him for his work. The best musical education cannot make a musician of one who has no ear, nor the ablest instruction an artist of one who has no taste. It is clear that we cannot create even genius, how much less grace. A true missionary, like a true minister, is a supernatural gift to the church and to the world from the ascended Saviour. He ascended np far above all heavens, and gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. He alone gave them then, He alone can give them now, In considering the application of a candidate, therefore, the question to be settled is not, Can he be made into a missionary? but, Has God called him to be such? Have the necessary qualifications been bestowed? Only where this is the case can the training be of any use. If a man or woman is to become a true and useful missionary, there must first be not only genuine convel'sion and sincere personal piety, but whole-hearted self-consecration to the work of God, and a call to His holy service; including a strong inward sense of vocation, together with providential indications and adaptations. There must be mental and physical fitness for foreign service, and abQve all the spirit of Christ, for no matter what other qualifications So mah may have, he will never be a missionary unless he is filled with Christ-like compassion for the lost, and with a burning desire to seek and save them. This should be the ruling feature of his character. With this almost any special talents may be utilized in missionary service; without it, even the most brilliant are useless, If the heart be intensely set on the salvation of the perishing, love will teach ingenuity, and lead to painstaking and perseverance. Love will overcome all obstacles, and accomplish its object. The love of souls, the longing for llalvation, is one of the leading qualifications that should be looked for. But even the presence of this does not make testing needless, for there may co-exist with it physical, mental or moral disqualifications. Delicate or unsound health, a nervous irritabitity or desponding temperament, a lack of vitality or vigor, personal defects of a serious character, hereditary or acquired tendency to any dangerous malady or bad habit-these are so many physical disqualifications. So again, a prevailing mental obtuse~ess, the absence of general intelligence and common sense, the want of good memory, of the power of attention and observation, of ability to distinguish between thin~ which differ-to reason correctly and to reach right conclusions-any conspicuous defect in these mental requisites should create grave hesitation as to a candidate's fitness for missionary work.
And there are moral dejects also which would hinder usefulness even if body and mind were all right. Pride, obstinacy, want of docility, of meekness, of sympathy; habits of exaggeration, misrepresentation, or mischiefmaking; indolence, selfishness, rashness, levity of character, lack of patience and perseverance, of faith and courage, of self-denial and prayerfulness; all these are prohibitory defects, and the candidate in whom any of these are observed should be recommended at least to wait till he has grown in needful grace.
On the other hand, it should be noted that there are defects of a different character, which constitute no real disqualification, because training may, to a great extent, remedy them. Ignorance, lack of habits of study, or of experience, narrow-mindedness arising from want of intercourse with various classes of men, awkwardness of manner, and many and similar faults, indicate only a candidate's need of education and training, and should not stamp him as ineligible.
2. We turn now to the subject of the TRAINING of accepted candidates. The question stands in the prospectus, "Should there be special training for the missionary service in addition .to general education?" The answer is, ttndoubtedly. God always trains His instruments. Every true missionary must be specially trained for his work, though not all in our schools. God has His own schools. They are very various, and some of them strange and severe. Moses was trained to be the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel in the courts and schools of Egypt, and in the mountain solitudes of Midian, for eighty years. David was trained to be king over Israel by years of spiritual experience, and by many dangers and toils. Daniel was trained for his wonderful prophetic office by his education and career in Babylon. Any training that we can give to a volunteer for missionary work will form at best but a small part of a greater and more effectual training which God himself bestows. We can do something to help, though not much. Let us see to it that what we do be done in harmony with that which is done by the'great Master. Our Lord himself carefully trained His apostles for the great work He committed to them-;-the evangelization of the world. His example is full of instruction for us.
Christgave His disciples a threefold training-theoretical, moral andpractical. This was one of the principal works which He accomplished in the world. He prepared the instruments, He trained the men who should afterwards evangelize it. He chose them, called them, kept them, taught them, prayed with them and for them, impressed Hisspirit upon them, breatheditinto them : He corrected them, expanded their minds, exalted their conceptions, and purified their motives and purposes. Before He sent them forth into the world He kept them for over three years with himself, during which He set before them His own glorious and sacred example. What a development of soul! What a training for service! "Follow me," He said, "and I will make you to become fishers of men." "Take up your cross and follow me." "Learn of me." " Abide in me."
Besides this He imparted to them priceless instructions. He tanght them the nature of His divine kingdom, His own personal character and claims, the nature of true holiness, the simplicity, spirituality and power of prayer, the excellence of humility, the essential duty and blessed results of self-sacrifice, the sin of hypocrisy and formality, the spirituality of worship, and the supremacy of the Word of God over all human tradition,;. He revealed to them also the future, unfolding the prospects which lay before the church the Jewish people and the Gentile world. He revealed the advent and th~ work of the Comforter, to whom they were in future ,to look for guidance and help. It was by these instructions and influences that He fitted His disciples to be the promulgoators of a pure, spiritual, universal religion, with charity as wide as the world, with consciences sensitive about sin, yet free from superstitious scruples; with habits of obedience to the divine law, though emancipated from bondage to human customs, and with characters cured of pride and passion, impatience, selfishness and self-will. Christ employed as His first ambassadors God-given, God-taught and God-sent messengers, and even these He had both sifted and trained.
Hence it is evident that the development of spiritualli!e is the great thing to be aimed at in missionary training. Woe to the church if she neglects this, or gives it a secondary place! Her messengers will be of little use, for un_ spiritual agents can never accomplish spiritual work. Are we not building up a spiritual temple? Must not each stone of it be a living stone, seeing the house is to be the habitation of God through the Spirit? If, then, the end in view be spiritual, so must the means and methods be-we must follow the example of Christ.
The effect of this training was to transform the men who received it. They became a wonder in the world. Men marvelled at these Galilean fishermen -ignorant and unlearned as they were in earthly things-that they should possess such spil"itual light and love, such wisdom and boldness as they evinced. Men took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Yes, they had been with Jesus. That was the secret of their power; that was the method of their training. The society of Christ was the school of their apostleship, the college in which they graduated. They had been with Jesus, and as the Father had sent Him so He sent them into the world, promising himself to be with them, and with their faithful successors even to the end of the age.
The calling, qualifying and directing of the laborers thus commenced by our Lord was afterwards continued by the Holy Ghost througoh the church. He sent forth missionaries unto the Gentiles. The Apostolic Church acted directly under the Spirit's guidance. " As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Then the church fasted, prayed, laid their hands on those men and sent them away. That is, they set apart and sent out those whom God had qualified and called. The Lord was with these missionaries and wrought glorious things through their instrumentality.
We cannot improve on this example of the primitive church. The Acts of the Apostles form the best guide-book for missionary societies and missionaries. The impulse and the energy must always come from heaven. Successful missionaries are God-appointed men. We must pray for such; watch and wait for them; welcome them and utilize them as they are given. Yes, for the thousands of workers still needed in the mission-.!ield we must first of all pray-pray as Elijah prayed for the rain, fervently, effectually, incessantly tIll the prayer is answered; pray as the church prayed for the promised Spirit before Pentecost. Such prayer would bring another Pentecost, and we need such a season to-day. We want the world to be evangelized, but we must remember that He who redeemed it and commanded His apostles to evangelize it, forbade them to leave Jerusalem on their glorious mission till they were endued with power from on high. They obeyed Him; the power came, and thousands were converted by it. But there never was and never will be any substitute for this spIritual power, this holy anointing. Without it evangelistic or missionary work must be in the deepest sense a failure.
With these sacred examples before us we cannot but ask the question whether our mode of testing missionary candidates is sufficiently careful and thorough, and whether our plan of training them aims, as it should do, at the development of the moral and spiritual naturH even more than at the invigoration of the mental powers, and the impartation of mere knowledge. Do we seek and select in the first place, and cultivate in the second, the type of character which Christ cultivated? Are we guided in our selection mainly by the spiritual stature of the candidate-by his humility, patience, prayerfulness, and faith-by his possession of the Spirit of Christ? In our training, again, is our aim the right one? We educate abundantly, and education is undoubtedly a good thing, but it is a poor substitute for grace exercised and spiritual gifts strengthened by use, for habits of practical devotion and self-denying labor formed and established. Collegiate study and examinations are not enough. Degrees are no criterion. Men of high scholastic attainments have been sent out in our own day to convert the heathen, who have been converted by the heathen, or rather perverted by them from the truth. As Gideon tested his three hundred, so do we need to test and sift our missionary volunteers, and the testing should include the Oross. "Master," said one of old, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests," was the answer, "but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." That is, Christ intimated to the would-be disciple that to follow Him, he must be prepared to share His lot." No training that misses this element is worth nluch.
'fhe reality of the missionary's devotedness is best proved and developed by hard a.nd humble work among the ignorant, the prejudiced, the poor, the degraded at home. If a man objects to, or slurs labor among them, as beneath his dignity or disagreeable to his tastes, it is useless to send him forth as a missionary. Selfishness may make a good student, natural ability an acceptable speaker, but only distasteful service puts to the proof a man's grace, his sense of duty and strength of principle. Fifteen years' experience in the training of young men, and personal dealing with more than three thousand volunteers for missionary service, leads me to urge the importance of this test. Next, perhaps, in value to spirituality may be ranked evangelistic gift and ability. How is this to be developed? In the same way that skill in any other line is imparted-by instruction and practice. The preparation for all ordinary work consists in the actual doing of it, not merely in gaining a theoretical knowledge of how it ought to be done. No one would employ a mechanic who had never worked at his trade, nor an architect who had never erected a building. No one would employ a doctor who had not treated the sick, nor should we ever send out missionaries-preachers and teachers for the heathen-who have not done teaching and preaching work, and been blessed to the conversion of souls at home. If a man is not a successful soul-winner in his native land, he is not likely to become such in China or Africa. It is surely unwise in a high degree to commit to unproved men one of the most difficult of tasks. Unless a man has succeeded in turning others to righteousness in these lands where it is comparatively easy, what reason have we to conelude that he will do so in heathendom where it is much more difficult? There are home heathen enough in our crowded cities to afford practical training for missionary students. Just as medical students walk the hospitals, so should om' missionary students learn their future work in our courts and alleys-in the centers where sin-sick and perishing souls needing the gospel remedy congregate. East London, for instance, with its vast and varied population, is an admirable training ground for missionary students. It was this fact which led uS,many years ago, to plant there our Institute for Home and Foreign Missions, from which, during the last fifteen years many hundreds of missionaries have gone forth. We have more than a million of the working classes in this quarter. We have infidels, Romanists, English and foreign Jews, French, Germans, and Italians; Africans and Asiatics, including Chinese, Hindoos, and other nationalities. We nave drunkards and paupers, and multitudes who are heathen in their habits, if not in their creed. Among these the evangelist can prove his gifts; he can either deal singly with indiVIduals, or preach to companies gathered in rooms, mission-halls, lodging houses, or on board ships; and above all, he can address crowds in the open air.
The value of open-air preaching as a preparatIOn for missionary work is exceedingly great. It cultivates aggressiveness, boldness, simplicity, directness, and earnestness of style, an extemporaneous delivery, and an interesting and striking manner of presenting divine truths. The open-air preacher 'must first gather his congrq'ation, and then hold it in spite of surrounding distractions, with nothing but the simple power of his words. He must suit his style to the roughest and shrewdest of his auditors. He must promptly meet objections, answer questions, and quiet disturbances, as he seeks to win an entrance to unwelcome truths in the hearts and minds of neglecters and rejecters of the Word of God. He has to face opposition, and enaure at times contempt and shame for the Master's sake. It is not easy work, and there is nothing in it to foster conceit or gratify self-esteem. It is really hard, self-denying service, more analogous to that which would be required of a missionary in the streets of India or China than almost any other form of gospel labor.
To preach from a pulpit to orderly congregations, prepared to listen re- spectfully and sympathetically, is no preparation for labor among the heathen. There is no trouble in gathering the people under such circumstances. Everything in their surroundings helps religious impression, and intelligent attention is bestowed on the preacher.. But there is nothing of this sort in heathendom lOne who is only up to work of this conventional type might almost as well stay at home. The missionary has to press his message on mim who have no notion of its importance, no disposition even to listen to it, no substratum of religiOUS knowledge on which to work, no enlightened conscience to which to appeal, no habits of reverence or decorum, no sym- pathy with the preacher's mode of thought, and but an imperfect compr~hen sion of his language. Like the open-air preacher, the missionary must not expect either to be sought, appreciated, or thanked for his service, nor to find in it any other gratification than that of serving Christ and saving men. In this and in other similar efforts to raise and transform degraded and sunken populations at home, the missionary candidate is not the best trained for his future work, but best tested, best proved fit for it.
In addition to such experiences a missionary needs, of cours'e, knowledge of various kinds. Education of the mind has its place, though it be not the first place. The higher the mental qualifications of a man or woman (other things being equal) the better. But here it should be clearly stated that the nature of the case indicates that only a certain proportion of missionary workers require what we call a thorough education. Do we not limit too narrowly the class of men from which we select missionary agents? Do we sufficiently remember that the first missionaries were mostly poor and uninfluential in worldly position, ignoran t and unlearned as regards mental attainments, not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble were called. For one learned Paul of Tarsus there were elev.en plain men of no special erudition, fishermen and men of that class whose principal education was that which they received from Christ himself. The army requires more privates than officers; and one architect can plan a building which will need many hands to erect. Some highly-cultured men are of course needed in a mission, and are essential to its highest prosperity; they are needed to do literary work, reduce unwritten tongues, and translate the-Scriptures; to train and teach native evangelists, to lead and organize, to direct and to originate. But are they the only men needed? Did any army consisting of officers only ever march to victory? Are not rank and file required as well? and does not the mission army need hundreds and thousands of privates? Is it essential that all, or even the great majority of missionaries, should be scholarly gen- tlemen who have studied from boyhood to maturity at heavy expense of time and money? Do the ninety per cent. of thc population of China who cannot even read, 01' the savages of Central Africa or the New Hebrides, de- mand teachers of a higher stamp than do the working classes in these coun- tries? Should we not elSteem it a great waste of rQsources to insist that all home and city missionaries should be classical scholars? And are not work- ers of all classes required among the heathen as much as at home? May not many men without either the leisure or the means, or perhaps even the incli- nation for a long and elaborate course of study-intelligent artisans, young clerks in banks, in offices, assistants in shops, the sons of farmers, mates of vessels and skilled mechanics, tradesmen, teachers and others-be well suited to serve Christ among the heathen, to preach the simple gospel to the masses of the people?
On the other hand, to send out ignorant and untrained men to undertake missionary work were clearly folly. "Let such first be proved," is a dictate of common sense as well as a precept of Scripture. Paul said to Timothy as regards the truths of the gospel which he had taught him, "The same com- mit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Of all men a missionary should be a man of general intelligence and fertIle resources. Without a measure of cultivation it is impossible that he should be this. Knowledge is power, and missionaries as a class should know something of everything. A missionary has to travel, and should understand geography. He may perhaps have to build his house, to make his own furniture, to till or direct the tillage of his garden, the cooking of his food, to work the printing- press. Knowledge even on such matters will therefore be valuable to him. He may be situated far from any skilled physician, and ought there- fore to have at least some elementary knowledge of anatomy and physiology and of the use of simple surgIcal and medical aids; The more grammaticaJ, knowledge he has the better, for he will have to learn and use a foreign tongue, and possibly to translate into it the Word of God. He ought to know enough of nature to appreciate the works of God, and enough of history to perceive the background of Bible facts. As he has to teach Christianity, he should know something about the history of its planting, its early sufferings and triumphs, the origin and progress of existing apostacies, and the story of the Reformation. He should also be acquainted to some extent with the history of modern missions, including the lives of eminent missionaries. But above all, he ought to be well acquainted with the Bible. That Book will have to be the companion of his loneliness, the guide of his perplexity, the support of his life, the instrument of his labors. It should be the chief subject of his study. His mind should be familiarized with the sacred text, with the evidences of its lDspiration, and with the varied doctrinal and practical truths which it reveals. He needs to be rooted and built up in Christ, and established in the faith, and the aim should be to give him afirm grasp of the teachings of Scripture, and instruction; as far as possible, in the whole counsel of God.
It is a serious question whether in our training of missionaries we give the Word of God the place which it deserves. Is not Bible study in our colleges apt to be too cramped, and too merely critical? We teach our stu- dents to dissect the Scriptures, but are they taught to dissect their own hearts, to understand themselves? We teach them the letter of Scripture, but do we lay due stress upon the posession of its spirit? We teach them to judge the Book, but they should he taught to let it judge them, and by its light to judge of all things. Is not God's Word a fire and a hammer? Woe to us if by our processes we strip it of its sacredness and strength. Let us give the Word of God its propel' place, and own its supreme authority, pre-eminence. and power.
It is the desire of this conference that those who take part should contribute to the general stock the,results of their experience, suggesting for the con- sideration of their brethren the chief practical conclusions to which they have been led. I may mention, then, that guided by the principles indicated in this paper, we founded, fifteen years ago. in East London, an institution for training' and helping into the foreign field young men who desired to be mis- sionaries. We subsequently added a country branch of the Institute, and later on a Training Home for Deaconesses. During these fifteen years we have dealt with more than three thousand volunteers for missionary work, have re- ceived on probation between eight and nine hundred, have trained and sent out five hundred missionaries, and have now about a hundred students in the Institute. Our plan is to give the students, where they require it, preiimi- nary secular instruction in the country branch, and then practical training in East London, including missionary, evangelistic, linguistic and medical de- partments. All our students receive from a qualified medicaJ man the train- ing of the ambulance corps, the results being tested by a public examina- tion. The deaconesses, in certain instances, are sent for three months to live in hospitals where the maternity cases are treated. Students going to Africa receive instruction in the treatment of tropical fevel's, and where there has been special fitness we have given students the advantage of a four years' medical course in the London Hospital. In almost every case these have be- come qualified medical men, and are now in the mission-field. The time spent by students in the Institute has varied according to their age and needs. Our system has been an elastic one. We have tried to give to each the help he or she was capable of receiving, and to introduce each to the sphere in which we saw they could best do good gospel service.
The results have not disappointed us. We have received men of all nationalities and all classes, as well as of all evangelical denominations. We have trained them for all countries, and former students are now working in connection with between twenty and thirty societies and organizations, while many of them have founded new and independent missions. As a rule they had done well, and given much satisfaction in the missions they have joined. There are exceptions. Every rule has such, but we thank God on remembrance of the majority of them. They have gone into every country in Europe. They have gone to the roughest and most westerly parts of North America, to the negroes in Jamaica, and to the Roman Catholics and English settlers in South America. They have evangelized in Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Egypt, in North Africa; have established missions in Cape Colony, Natal and Kaffir-Iand; and have penetrated the heart of equatorial Africa, founding fresh stations, reducing the languages of the people to writing, translating the Scriptures, and turning hundreds from heathenism to the knowledge of God. They have suffered, literally, thousands of attacks of fevers, and many of them have laid down their lives in the service of Christ and for the gospel. They have founded medical missions in Constantinople, Syria, and Armenia ; have evangelized in the wildest parts of the HaUl'an, have preached in the crowded cities and mountain wilds of India, and opened many mission-stations in the most distant provinces in China. They have scattered the Word of God in every province in that vast empire, and have traversed in their missionary labors almost every country in the world. Our experience has shown us that there are thousands of devoted young men and women suited for missionary work, and desirous to give themselves to it, that they are capable of rapid improvement under Christian training, and willing to go anywhere for the sake of the gospel, that there are open doors in all lands, and fields waiting for reapers, white to the harvest, and that the Christian Church may increase with appropriate effort the number of its missionary laborers to an almost indefinite extent.
Allow me, in conclusion, to summarize what I have said, and to emphasize certain points.
First, we agree most thoroughly with our highly esteemed and respected friend, Dr. Pierson, in his published opinion that "if we would largely increase the missionary force we must in some way lessen the time and cost of preparing the average workman.. . A most formidable barrier to the work of evangelization is that even where both men and money may be obtained it takes too long a time and too costly a culture to train the average workman; and this one obstacle often overtops all others, and is practically insurmountable. •• There ought to be a change in our ecclesiastical tactics; our system of training for the mission-field must be more flexible and more economical of. time and money, or we cannot send workmen mto the great world-field in adequate numbers." Without any rigidly uniform system.of training, we must encourage every willing soul to do the work for which he 01' she is best fitted, and endeavor further to fit eaeh for their proposed sphere of labor, and we must shorten and simplify the course of training.
Secondly, no candidates whatever should be accepted for training save spiritually-minded men and women, possessed of good health, good common sense, devotedness to God's service, and a divinely indicated call to the work.
Thirdly, such persons should be thoroughly tested, and carefully trained.
THE WORK AMONG THE FIJI ISLA.NDS. [SlU"f
Their training should be adapted to develop the unworldly spiritual character which missionary work requires. It should always be adapted to the individual case. All missionary students should be trained in laborious and self-denying habits, and exercised in evangelistic work among our own lapsed masses, especially open-air preaching.
Lastly, every missionary student should be furnished with the practical instructions of the ambulance corps, as to how to deal with accident cases; while those who are prepaung for labor in Central Africa and other parts of the world where no qualified medical aid is to be had should receive, in addition to other teaching, special medical instruction of an elementary and practical nature, and in those instances where there is marked aptitude and desire for it, the missionary student should have the advantage of a full medical course.
THE WORK AMONG THE FIJI ISLANDS.
[A Paper read before the London Conference by Rev. John Calvert.1 [The facts concerning the missionary life of this remarkable man, stated in a note to Dr. Pierson which we give below, will add interest to bis paper.-J. M. S.
.. DEAR DR. PIERSON: .. SEVENOAKS, KXN'!', June 19, 1888.
"IN 1838 I went to Fiji with John Hunt. 1n 1856 I came home with the printed New Testament and MS. of the complete Bible, and was four years in England. In 1860 I went again to Fiji with several younl!; missionaries newly married. Iu 18721 went to South Africa for nine years. In May, 1886, I went on a visit to Fiji and returned through America, and I am now settled down here as supernumerary. 1 have lately supplied twenty cases of Bibles and Testaments, from the Bible SOCiety, and four cases hemispheres iu ziuc cylinders to keep them safe, when not used, from the cockroaches, And I am now putting to press Hunt's Theology, Hymns. Catechism and Book oC Offices. .. Affectionately yours, "JAMES CALVERT."] OF all the many Oceanic missions in the Pacific, I am here to represent but one, in which a. great part of my life has been spent-the Mission to Fiji. This large and beautiful group, which lies 1,800 miles northeast from Sydney, and 1,200 north of New Zealand, consists of some 200 islands and islets, eighty of which are inhabited; and the two largest are ninety miles in length. The islanders are a fine race, of fair intelligence, and, according to the measure of their own simple wants, very industrious. Having been left to themselves and to the undisturbed control of bad influences in all the past, they became extremely vile and degraded. Cannibalism was a recognized institution among them and practiced to a frightful extent. Infanticide was a general custom, and the burial of sick persons before death was common. Cruelty of all·kinds abounded; and polygamy, with its inseparable consequences of evil, was established throughout the group.
The condition and claims of Fiji were brought urgently before the Chris- tian people of England, and particularly before the Wesleyan Methodist Churches, about fifty years ago. Already two white missionaries were doing noble work in the Islands. They were re-enforced from time to time. They never exceeded thirteen at anyone time-now they are only nine; and this number will probably be still further reduced, the work being carried on chiefly and successfully by agents raised up among the people themselves. Happily we have always been heartily one, so that our prayers and. labors . have not been hindered, but greatly helped. Regular weekly English wor- ship and the class-meeting among the mission families were of the utmost value in keeping our own souls alive. God chose the men employed; none of them extraordinary or great, but suitable, well adapted, ready to rough it and go on heartily with every branch of the work that had to be done, making little of difficulties, dangers and affiictions, but the best of everything and everyone. And all our work personally, and in the training of native agents, has always been done in the Fijian language, and interpreters not employed. On a recent visit to Fiji, my heart was gladdened at finding the same stamp of men supplied by Australia, carrying on the work successfully. A very great help to our progress was, as I believe, that we had the whole field to ourselves, and our laborers were not interfered with, by the presence of any other Protestants. The Romanists came too late, arriving after we had got a good footing, and supplied the Scriptures. They avowed themselves as our opponents, and relieved us of a few troublesome persons. They have never succeeded. to a large extent, and are now losing ground, though they have zeal and self-denial worthy of any cause.
The vital, experimental and practical truths of God's Word were explained, applied and enforced. Christ, the living Saviour of all, especially of them that believe to the saving of the soul, was shown to be all in all, able and willing to save to the uttermost all who came to Him. The divine personal Spirit, in all His glorious energy and saving power, was prominently set forth, and He was ever present, convicting of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Great numbers from the beginning of our work, and, thank God, to the present time, were thoroughly awakened by the truth and by the Spirit. They sorrowed after a godly sort, turned from sin, and turned fully to God through Christ alone. And such penitents in very large numbers have, throughout the whole history of the mission, found peace with God through believing, and have shown to all men the evidences of life renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Old things passed away: behold all things became new. On several occasions, on many of the islands, there have been special outpourings of the Divine Spirit, when considerable numbers were saved, and all ~ere quickened into life and prosperity.
The spirit in which they endured trials, persecution and loss, and their steadfast aim with all kindness to do good to anyone by any effort or sacrifice, proved the truth, depth and excellence of the religion they experienced, enjoyed and practiced.
Many of these new creatures in Christ Jesus, quickened and raised into newness of life, began to speak, and testify and entreat as the Spirit gave them utterance. It was more than meat and drink to them to spread among their relatives and countrymen the religion that was such a reality and boon to themselves.· Thus the truth and saving grace of God spread from one to another, from village to village, from tribe to tribe, from island to island. None could gainsay or resist their testimony in holding- forth the Word of life. The missionaries and our mission needed no better or stronger commendation. These real converts have been and are" manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written with the Spirit of the living God," "an epistle known and read of all men." And by their agency a most substan- tial, most blessed and extensive work of God has been wrought in all direc- tions throughout Fiji.
On my last visit I was d4llighted with the grand sight I witnessed at the District Training Institution. There I found 109 fully-devoted men, selected from the institutions in each circuit, under training as preachers of the gospel: fine, strong, whole-hearted men, who 'cheerfully surrender them- selves to the cause of Christ in Fiji or elsewhere. To the oversight of this vastly-important branch of our work are devoted a missionary and his assist- ant, a native minister, who are specially qualified and adapted. Since my return an appeal was made to these students to hazard their health and lives among the dangerous people and in the unhealthy climate of New Guinea, where Fijian teachers have already been sacrificed. Fifteen were asked for: forty volunteered! eighteen were chosen, and sent forth.
Mission work in every-conntry must mainly be done by the converts them- selves. The foreigner is an expensive agent, with the many real and im- aginary wants of himself and his family. His continuance is often inter– rupted, and his stay shortened. And he can never manage the climate and customs, or find out and adapt himself to the native character, so well as one of themselves. The native agent was well-known before the glorious change that has renewed him on the spot before their eyes: and he is a liv- ing specimen-well studied-of the power of the gospel to transform. He is already there without any expense, can be employed at small cost, and that raised mainly by those for whose benefit he labors: and mission funds are not required for his removal and sustenance should he fail. With only 9 white missionaries, we have 3,505 native preachers: 56 ordain{>d, who take full part in the work of the ministry with the English missionary, 47 catechists, 983 head preachers, with 1,919 ordinary local or lay preachers. There are 1,268 chapels and other preaching places; 28 English church members, 27,097 full native church membQrs. These are well cared for by 3,480 devoted class-leaders. There are 40,718 scholars in our 1,735 day and Sunday-schools, taught by 2,526 teachers; and 101,150 attendants on public worship. The jubilee of the mission was lately held. Fifty years previously there was not a Christian in all Fiji; then not an avowed heathen left! Canibalism has, for some years past, been wholly extinct, and other immemorial customs of horrible cruelty and barbarism have tiisappeared.
Behold! what hath God wrought! A nation has been born at once!
"Instead of the thorn the fir tree came up: and instead of the brier came up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for aname, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." "The wilderness has become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted for a forest." "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel [and of all nations, great and small], who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen."
Though poor, the people are most liberal in contributions for carrying on their own work, building all the schools and chapels and teachers'
houses; and they give generously, at much personal sacrifice, to the general mission funds. Had it not been for the business calamities that have come upon Fiji, as upon most parts of the world, the mission promised well ere this to have been self-supporting. Their deep poverty is borne well: and the riches of their liberality abound. I was delighted now to find them thoroughly good and fully devoted to God and His cause. Their religion is a grand , and powerful reality in very trying circumstances.
When this mission began, the Fijian language had never been written; the missionaries, therefore, had to supply it with an alphabet, and reduce it to a written form, and then to set to work to explore its grammatical structure, so as to give the people in their own tongue the Word of God, and furnish them with a useful literature. Very early in the history of the mis- sion the printing-press was brought into use.
When our printer failed in that far-off and out-of-the-way place we were in great difficulty, as a new edition of the New Testament and other books were urgently required. We ordered a man from London who would rough it, be content with the poor fare and small pay and hard work we were ac- ';:l!stomed to, but slch a man was not found. Then it came to pass that il! French count, an infidel, who was wrecked from an American beche de mer vessel, was thoroughly awakened, and sought and found mercy and saving grace. He was completely reformed and wished for employment with us. I taught him printing and book-binding, which he quickly learned; and just then, when we were in deepest need, he became a most efficient laborer wIth us. He could make sails, splice a rope, pull an oar, sail a schooner, floor a house, put in windows, make a door and fit it in. He became a teacher in our schools, and a good local preacher. The people felt that he loved them, and the best of our converts from any part of Fiji were cheerfulJy ready to settle down and work with him, so that we had a good staff of earnest and cheap workers in our printing and book-binding establishment. A new edition of the New Testament and all the books we required were well done and quickly supplied, helping on the work amazingly: A wh'ole-hearted man like that was beyond all price. Had one been made to order on purpose for our needs and work, he could not have been better adapted. And the case proved to us the all-sufficiency of God's resources; and just at the right, the very best time on the spot the demand was supplied, and without any cost. Oh, that we looked more to God for all we need I Then we printed innumerable portions of the Scriptures, catechisms (one especially, consisting o~ passages of Scripture only, which was invaluable), reading, and other books, as well as an excellent and immensely valuable system of theology, prepared by the eminent John Hunt when his heart and mind were in their best state, and when he had gained an excellent knowledge of the language; also an invaluable dictionary and grammar, provided by David Hazlewood, a man not known to fame, but whose record is on high, who did service of immense value in the language and translation department.
Since 1856 large supplies of Bibles and New Testaments in good bold type and strong and some elegant binding are constantly forwarded by the British and Foreign Bible Societies, on which many missionary societies are largely dependent, and from which all are cheerfully and promptly supplied with all they require. These Scriptures are highly l)rized, eagerly purchased and diligently read, the natives in many instances depriving themselves of the conveniences of life that they may secure and possess God's Word. The proceeds of these books are returned to the Bible House. They have supplied two editions of the completed Scriptures and fifty-six thousand of the New Testament in six editions. Other books in large quantities are also supplied fl'om England, better and at less cost than they can be printed and bound in Fiji, or obtained from the colonies.
Though Fiji is small when compared with the great nations, yet it affords a specimen and example of what can be done by the Word and Spirit and Providence of God, and it enheartens and encom'ages all to attempt and expect great things for all the nations of this sin-stricken, redeemed world. Ample provision for all our race has been made in the grand atonement and all-prevalent intercession of our great and loving Redeemer, who by the grace of God tasted death for every man, and wills that all should be saved in the gift of the life-giving Spirit who works mightily and can renew every depraved heart; and in the glollious gospel which saves all who believe, God intends to save our fallen race, and will do it. His glory shall be revealed antl all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. He hath said it, and He will assuredly bring it to pass. Christ must reign over all. Let us then go fOJ;'th in faith and preach the gospel to every creaturel feeUng sur~ tbat we have strongest ground for ille utmost hopes iu Him who has said: "And I, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." And again: "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth; go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and 10, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
SEVENOAKS, KENT, June 1,1888. JAMES CALVERT.
THE KARENS.
[Paper read belore the Conference by Mrs. W. F. Armstrong. It made 8 deep impression.-Ens.J THE only apology for my appearance here this evening is that I am the only Karen missionary attending this Conference, and so noble a people should not be passed by unnoticed. Thousands of them are praying for us, and it is right that we should remember them.
The Karens were once the hill tribes of Burmah, treated by the Burmese with the greatest injustice and cruelty. While they were under the Burmese Government they hid themselves in the jungle on the mountain sides, con- cealing the paths to their bamboo homes, and constantly moving from one place to another to avoid detection. They were content to live on the pro- duce of their gardens, to weave their own clothing, and to be as independent in the forest as the birds or the bees.
Their religion was peculiar to themselves. They lived pure, honest, truthfullives-I speak advisedly-they were unbounded in their hospitality, had no idols; but made offerings to propitiate the demons whom they feared.
They had no books, but they had carefully preserved traditions of a book they once possessed to which they were disobedient, and it was taken from them. Some day-so their legends ran-their white brethren would come across the sea in ships and bring back the book which told of the Great Father. They retained much of the moral and historical parts of the Old Testament in sayings of theil' old men, and it seems probable that tpey had at some time had access to its sacred pages.
No wonder such a people should receive the gospel when it came. No peo- ple have ever been discovered who were so prepared for it or whose very prejudices were on its side. When missionaries came among them their old men said, This is what our fathers told us of, it is this for which we have so long waited; and they flocked by hundreds to receive it. Not without change of heart. Their simple faith took Christ at ilis word; the Spirit accom- ied that word. Though they were ignorant and untaught in schools, they came forward eagerly to learn, believing with all their hearts, and re- ceiving the promise of God" to everyone that believeth."
An entire change has been wrought among them in the last fifty years.
Now there are over 450 Karen parishes, each one of which supports its own native pastor and lts own village school, and many subscribe largely to send the gospel farther on. !
There are about 30.000 baptized communicants, and fully 100,000 nominal Christians, about one-sixth of the whole tribe in Burmah.
A marked characteristic of their Christianity is that th.ey are earnest for- eign missionaries. They have their own foreign missionary society and send out their own young men to distant countries and other languages, support- ing them there and re-enforcing them as the need arises. These have opened up new fields of labor where other missionaries could not reach; they have tuken educated <Lnd devoted Karen wb'esto assist them, and have undergone
HOME WORK FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS
much hardship and privation with a true spirit of heroism worthy of any Christian nation. One instance, which I was personally cognizant of, and I have done.
I loved the people dearly; I looked upon them as brothers and sisters indeed, but when my husband went to the Telugus I went too. One of my teachers, who had traveled with me in many a jungle tour, and who loved souls as well as I did, who had risked her life over and over again for Christ's sake, was moved to go wIth me. This Karen girl went to India and learned the Telugu, both written and spoken, and this more rapidly than any missionary I have ever known. She started a girl's school among them, teaching them in Telugu more efficiently than any of their own people could do on account of her previous training. Of course I speak of work in a new station where mission work had to begin from the foundations. She won many women and children to listen to the gospel, and was everywhere treated with respect. The natives giving her the same title they applied to myself. Indeed, she proved herself in all respects a genuine foreign missionary.
She is now living in Rangoon, where she is married, and works among Burmese, Telugus and Karens, as she has opportunity. She is Secretary of the Karen Women's Foreign Missionary Society, which supports and directs its own Bible women. She is not in mission employ, but is supported by hel" merchant husband, who also is an educated Christian Karen, speaking daily for his Master during business hours and giving nobly to the cause of Christ, as you in this country do.
I always felt that work among Karens was only half way to heathenism. Among the Telugus I saw many debasing influences of idolatry which I did not find among Karens. In the estimation of those who know them best they are the most remarkable of all Eastern tribes. God has surely some wonderful purpose for them in the future, and we see a forecast of this in their eagerness and ability to work as evangelists among other nations.
Another conference, I trust, may see some of them in your midst to speak for themselves.
HOME WORK FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS.
BY REV. A. T. PIERSON, D.D. [A paper read at the World's Missionary Conference on Monday. June 18.] WHAT the source is to the supply, the motor to the machine, the home church is to the foreign field. The vigor of the heart's beat determines the ' pulse beat at the extremities. It is of first importance that, at home, work for missions abroad be continuous and constant, healthy in !one and spiritual in type.
How shall the churches be raised to the degree of consecration required for the evangelization of the world? Sheldon Dibble used to say that two conversions are needful: first, to Christ as a Saviour from sin; and then to missions as the corrective antidote to selfishness. A century ago William Carey felt the thrust of the keen lance of Sydney Smith, who, by his unsanctified wit, proposed to "rout out thai nest of consecrated cobblers"; and Carey had to fight for fifteen years the apathy even of his own Baptist brethren. Dr. Judson's hand was nearly shaken off, and his hair shorn off, by those who, in the crisis which can be met only by self-sacrifice would, to save themselves, willingly let missions die.
Foremost among the means by which deeper devotion to the work of eV'an~ gelization is to be secured, I would put the education of the chu1'ch in the' very principle of missions. Where the hearty acceptance of this is lacking, the impulse and impetus of missions are wanting. The church of God exists, not only as a rallying, but as a radiating, center. It is indeed a home, but also a school; a place for worship, but not less for work. For a society of disciples to be engrossed even in self-culture is fatal to service, and even to true sanctity. The church is no gymnasium where exercise is the law and self-development the end. The- field is the world, and each sower and reaper. while at work for a harvest, gets in his exertion the very exercise which is needful to growth.
So important and so fundamental is this principle of missions, that any church which dj!nies or practically neglects it, deserves to be served with a writ of quo warranto. This law of church life must be constantly kept before believers, enforced and emphasized by repetition-that upon every believer is laid the duty of personal labor for the lost. This conviction must be beaten in and burned in, till it becomes a part of the very consciousness of every disciple, until the goal is seen to be not salvation or even sanctification, but service to God and man in saving souls.
In the educatiop of a church in foreign missions, nothing is more essential than that the missionary spirit burn in the pastor. A stream rises no higher than its source; and, ordinarily, the measure of the pastor's interest In the world-field determines the level of his people's earnestness and enthusiasm. He ought to be a student of missions, an authority on missions, and a leader in missions. He is not the driver of a herd, but the leader of a flock: he must therefore go before. His contagious enthusiasm and example must inspire in others the spirit of consecration. The personal character of the man gives tone to his preaching, and is perhaps itself the best kind of preaching. That must be a frozen church in which a man, alive with intelligence and zeal for the work of God, could not warm into life and action under such a pastor as the late W. Fleming Stevenson.
The rudiments of a true education being laid, we must go on unto perfection; and among all the means of this higher training we put, first and foremost, a knowledge of the facts of missionary history and biography. Information is a necessary part of all university training in missions; not a partial, superficial impression, but information-a knowledge of missions complete enough and thorough enough to crystallize into symmetrical form in the :mind and heart. Facts are the fingers of God. To a devout student of His will they become signs of the times, and signals of His march through the ages. Like the gnomon of a sun dial, even their shadow may mark the hour in God's day. Prince Albert used to say to the young men of Britain: " Find out God's plan in your generation and never cross it, but fall into your own place in it." There is a pillar of providence, the perpetual pillar of cloud and fire, whereby we may be led. That pillal'is built up of facts, oftentimes mysterious and dark, like a cloud, yet hiding the presence and power of Him who dwelt in the cloud and made it luminous.
To a true disciple missions need no argument, since the chm'ch has what the Iron Duke called her" mat'ching orders." But duty becomes delight, and responsibility is transfigured into privilege, when it is clearly seen that to move with the missionary band is to take up march with God. The apathy and lethargy prevailing among believers upon the subject of missions is to me unaccountable in view of the multitude and magnificence of the facts which demonstrate that in the movements of modern missions, more <han in any other of the ages, there has been a demonstration and a revelation of God.
We are observing the centenary of modern missions. But the most amazing results of this century have been wrought during its last third, or ihe lifetime of the generation now living. This World's Conference is simply the church coming together at the Antioch of the Occident to hear those whom the Holy Ghost has chosen and the church has separated unto this work, rehearse all that God has done with them, and how He has opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Who dares to say, in the light of modern missions, that the days of supernatural working are passed? So far, as in primitive days, the disciples have gone forth and preached everywhere, it has still been true that the Lord has wrought with and confirmed the Word with signs following-signs unmistakable and unmistakably supernatm-aJ. Doors have been opened, within fifty years, that no human power could have unbarred. The mighty moving of God can be traced back through the centuries, long since g'iving Protestant England a foothold in the very critical; pivotal center of Oriental empires and religions. The necessity of protecting her Indian possessions, of keeping open the line of communications between London and Calcutta, determined the attitude of every nation along the water highway. Then from beyond the Pacific another mighty, puissant people, the offspring of Protestant Britain, moved forward thirty years ago to turn the extreme eastern wing of the enemy while Britain was piercing and holding the center. Commodore Perry knocked at the sea gates of Japan, and in the name of a Christian Republic demanded entrance. Rusty bolts that had not been drawn for more than two centuries were flung back and the two-leaved doors of brass were opened to the commerce of the world. Rapid has been the progress of the march of God. Japan unsealed her gates in 1854. From that time not a year has passed without some mighty onward movement or stupendous development. In 1856 the g-reat breach was made in the Chinese wall, and by the treaty of Tientsin one-third of the human race were made accessible to Christian nations, and, as Dr. Gracey says, that wide door was opened, not by the vermilion pencils of the Emperor, but by the decree of the Eternal. The same year, 1856, also saw signed and sealed the Hatti Sherif in Turkey, by which the Sultan, at least in form, announced the era of toleration. The next year the mutiny in India changed the whole attitude of the East India Company towards missions, and prepared the way for the surrender of its charter to the Crown of England.
Let us leap the chasm of twenty years and nole the progress of eventR on the Dark Continent. In 1871 Stanley pierced the jungle to find the heroic Livingstone. In 1873 Livingstone died near Lake Bangweolo; in 1874 Stanley undertook to explore equatorial Africa; in 1877, after a thousand days, he emerged at the mouth of the Congo. At once England took up the work of following the steps of the explorer with the march of the missionary, and now, ten years later, the missions of the great lakes in the east, and those of the Congo basin at the west, are stretching hands to link east and west together. Give us ten years more and Krapf's prophecy will be fulfilled: "A chain of missions will cross the continent." In 1884, fifteen nations, called together by King Leopold and presided over by Bismarck, met in Berlin to lay the basis of the Congo Free State; and in that council not only Protestant, but Greek, Papal, and Moslem powers joined I Such are some of the great providential signs of a supernatural presence and power. What shall be said of the gracious transformations that have displaced cannibal ovens by a thousand Christian churches in Polynesia; that reared Metlakahtla in British Columbia; that made Madagascar the crown of the London Missionary Society; that turned SielTa Leone into a Christian state; that wrought mightily with Hans Egede in Greenland, Morrison and Burns in China, Perkins and Grant in Persia, Carey and Wilson and Duff in India, McAll in Paris, ,and a host of other missionaries!
If disciples are indifferent to missions it is because they are ignorant 'of missions. A fh'e needs first of all to be kindled, then to be fed, then to have vent. The only power that can kindle the flame of missionary zeal is the Holy Spirit. The coal must be a live coal from God's altar. But, having that coal and a breath from above, all that is needed is fuel to feed the flame, and that fuel is supplied by a knowledge of facts. Too much care cannot be taken to supply these facts in an attractive, available form, at the lowest cost. The women's boards and societies have done no greater service than in providing and distributing a cheap literature of missions. The printed facts that are to do this work of education must be put in the briefest and most pointed form. This is an age of steam and telegraph. While Methusaleh turned round, we have gone around the globe. Men need now what they can catch at a glance. Ponderous volumes may do for ponderous men, who have leisure for prolonged study and research, but the bulk of people must get their knowledge of facts in a condensed form. Our bulletins must be bullet-ins. Some of us must skim the great pan and serve up the cream in a little pitcher, rich and sweet; we must boil down the great roots and give others the sweet liquorice in the stick, so that a bite will give a taste and make the mouth water for more. Students of missions will read with avidity the Ely Volume, and" the Middle Kingdom,"and kindred books that are the authorities on missions; but students of missions are not made by this process. We must feed first with milk, and not with strong meat-and by the spoonful, until both capacity and appetite are formed.
The value of simultaneous meetings, missional:y conventions, and other special services consists perhaps mainly in the wide, rapid, and attractive and effective dissemination of intelligence. Truths and facts are brought before the mind with all the help of the enthusiasm of a public assembly. The eye helps the ear in producing and fastening impression. The hearer comforts the living men or women who have come from the field, perhaps with the very idols of the heathen in their hands, or the relics of their superstitious practices; sometimes the native convert, or preacher, himself pleads for his benighted fellow countrymen. And so the most apathetic soul, III whom grace has kindled the fire of love, finds the fire burning, spreading, consuming selfishness, and demanding a proper vent in Christian effort! This is the way that missionaries are made.
In 1885 there assembled at Mr. Moody's boys' school at Mount Hermon, in Massachusetts, about 300 student." from the various colleges for a few weeks of study of the Word of God. A few who had in view the foreign field greatly desired a missionary meeting, and all the students were invited. There was not even a missionary map to assist in impressing the facts; the speaker drew on the blackboard a rude outline of the continents, and then proceeded to trace the great facts of missions, and so deep was the interest awakened, that meeting after meeting followed; from about a score, the number who chose the mission field rose to a hundred; then certain chosen men resolved to go and visit the colleges and carry the sacred fire; they went, met their fellow-students, and brought out the leading facts of missions; and to-day, in America and England, a band of probably no less than 3,000 young men and women stand ready to go to the foreign field if the door shall open before them. If disciples do not wish to flame with missionary zeal, ~hey must avoid contact and converse with the facts and the heroic souls who are the living factors of missions. It is dangerous business to trifle with the combustible material, unless you are quite sure there is not even", spark of life or love in your soul!
Among the means of education we mention last what in the order of time and of importance belongs first: the influence of Christian women in the home life. If God has shut out the ordinary woman from much participation in public life, and shut her in the home, iii is because her sphere makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity. Here are life's arcana, veiled from the common eye; the home is the matrix of character. The faith of the grand- mother Lois and mother Eunice still descends to Timothy. Anthusa and Monica still give the church her golden-mouthed Johns and her giant Augustines. To one woman may be traced the rise of the seven kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy. At evet'y stream there isa point where a human hand might turn its current, and at that point in human lives the wife and mother presides. The heathen rhetorician Libanius exclaimed: "What women these Christians have!" And, if the secret things were brought to light, it might be found that many, beside Morrison and Burns and Lindley and Pat- teson, have owed their saintly character and missionary career to the sanct- ity of a mothet'. Even before birth, maternal character leaves its impress upon the unborn, and at the mother's breast and knee the earliest lessons are learned in piety and prayer and personal consecration.
The nursery may be the garden where the precious germs are first nourished from which develop pillars of cedar and olive for the temple of God. The Earl of Shaftesbury learned of humble Maria Millis the first lessons in living,which made his influence capable of being measured only by parallels of latitude and meridians oflongitude, and its results only-to be computed by the :eons of eternity! My sisters in Cht'ist, do not hesitate to break on your Master's feet your alabaster flask; though it may seem but as waste to some, the house shall be filled with the odor of your consecration, and you shaH at least create in the home a mighty mould of chat'acter from which shall go forth men and women whose words and deeds shall shake the world: Here, in the home, if prevailing selfishness and extravagant self-indulgence are to be correctea, must be taught first lessons in giving, the divine doctrine of stewardship, and the responsibilities both of wealth and poverty. Munificent legacies cannot atone for parsimonious gifts. It is not God or His poor who need our gifts, so much as we ourselves need to give. Giving is the sovereign secret of serving, but also of getting and growing. To deny self and help others is God's antidote to that monstl'ouS sin of selfishness w,hich is the root of all others; and soit is more blessed to give than to receive. And if there ever was an altar that sanctified, magnified, glorified the gift, it is the altar of missions. Let the ethics, the economics, the :esthetics of giving be taught at the mother's knee, and we shall have a new generation of givers.
Too much emphasis cannot be laid on placing at the center of the family a consecrated woman. She is like Goethe's mythical lamp, which, set in the humblest hut of the fisherman, changed all within it to silver. She pours on the root of the cocoanut-tree the water, which comes back, by and by, sweetened and enriched, in the milk of the cocoanut which falls from the top. A selfish, sordid woman, presiding in the home, perverts child-life; in such a household there is a malign influence, which, like the mirrors in the temples of Smyrna, represents the fairest images distorted and deformed, and makes even piety seem repellant. The more I see of woman's influence on the whole structure of society the more I feel the stress of the apostolic injunction that the believer should marry only in the Lord.
The responsibilities of wealth are to be discussed by another in a separate paper.' BlIt I must add, to complete my own thought, that, among other necessary reforms in our church life, we must cease to depend upon the donations of the rich. It is alike harmful to them and to the church. God never meant that with such wealth of divine promises we should appeal to the rich, and especially the worldly wealthy, for money for the kingdom. Such appeals discount our faith, dishonor our Lord, and humiliate the church, while they inflate the rich with self-righteous conceit and complacence as patrons of the cause of God. Let there be a Bible type of systematic and proportionate giving by every disciple, and the treasuries of the church would overflow with voluntary gifts of disciples.
Above all other spiritual agencies affecting missions from the home side, we place earnest and habitual prayer. This is a supernatural gospel and demands a supernatural power, for conversion is a supernatural work. Not even a knowledge of facts can make a missionary or inspire a missionary spirit. The coal must be there, and the breath of God, before even the best fuel will take fire. A thermometer may be held in the direct line of the sun's rays and show but little rise in temperature, because the radiant heat is reflected from the bright, glassy bulb, like light from a mirror. Heat rays from the sun may pass through a lens of ice, and concentrated to a sufficient deeree to ignite, at the focus, combustible material, and yet those rays may not melt the ice of which the lens is formed. It is only when knowledge is sanctified by prayer that it becomes a power.
For one, I regard the increased-or rather the revived-observance of the monthly concert as a necessity to true home work for missions. It is now comparatively a thing of the past. Once it was a regular observance of the first Monday of each month; then merged into the first Sunday evening; then the first mid-week service; and in many cases, divided between home and foreign missions, it lost its original special character, and has now only a name to live, and is practically dead. I know a church member who thought the monthly concert meant a musical entertainment. To allow so valuable a help to the culture of intelligent interest in missions to he dropped from our church economy and become an arclu.eological curiosity is a fundamental mistake. It may be made both interesting and stimulating. I have found the most successful way of conducting it to be to divide the world-field among the church membership, so that every man and woman, willing to help, may have a special field from which to report from time to time, changing the fields once a. year, in order to broaden both intelligence and interest, Then have maps, and, best of all, maps made by the church members themselves. A man or woman who draws a map of any mission field will never lose the image of that field from the mind's eye. I have had a full set of fine maps made for me without a penny's cost, by members of my own congregation.
The lack of earnest, believing, united prayer for missions is both lamentable and fatal to success. Prayer has always marked and turned the crises of the kingdom. No sooner do devout souls begin to unite in definite supplication than stupendous results begin to develop. Fifty years ago the burden of prayer was for the opening of doors, and one after another the iron gates opened as of their own accord. Then the plea went up for larger gifts of money; and at a critical period, when the whole onward march of missions was threatened, God gave a spirit of liberality; in 1878, that annusmirabilis, some twenty persons gave about four millions of dollars. Woman came to the front, and showed how, by gathering the mites systematically, the aggregate of gifts may grow steadily year by year, and rapidly. Then devout dis-
1888.J THE HEROIC MISSIONARY SOCIETY
ciples were led to pray for more laborers, and especially for the consecration of our foremost youth; and now from the universities of Britain and America a host of three thousand young men and women are knocking at the doors of the church, saying, "Here we are; send us;" and even the church that has been praying for this very result can scarce believe that they stand before the gate.
Brethren, we shall have learned little at this Conference if we shall nothave learned new lessons of the power of prayer. Themistocles delayed the naval engagement at Salamis until the land-breeze blew which swept his vessels toward the foe, and left every oarsman free to use the bow and the spear. How much wasted time and strength might be saved if the church of God but waited for the breath of the Holy Spirit to provide the impulse and momentum which we vainly seek to supply by our own energy and endeavor! When He breathes and blows upon us, how tbey who have toiled in rowing are left free to wield the weapons of the Lord's warfare, to exchange secular anxieties for spiritual successes!
Zoroaster bade his followers let the fires go out periodically upon their hearthstones, that they might be compelled to rekindle them at the sacred altars of the sun. What mean the smouldering en;bers on our hearths and altars, but that we have forgotten whence come the live coals, and the breath which alone can fan them into an undying flame!
THE HEROIC MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
BY ROBERT N. CUST, J.L.D., LONDON.
(Ooncluded from page 603, August number.) I NOW pass to the Heroic Missionary Society. I take as my type "the Moravian, 01' the Church of the United Brethren;" for the church and society are identical. It was the offspring of a bitter persecution by the Roman Catholics in Moravia: a small remnant fled across the boundary of hated Austria into Lusatia, and settled on the estate of Count Zinzendorf, and founded their city of Herrnhut. I have lately visited it, sat in the councilroom, conferred with the leaders of the community, visited their widows and worn-out missionaries in their humble homes, and knelt in their great Freidhof: they were first in the Protestant mission field, they are one ot the few associations that have obtained a footing in everyone of the five portions of the world: and they deliberately chose the most debased and degraded tribes as the object of their love, because such as they seemed to need the gospel most; their agents in truth wore the garb of poverty, and were poor in spirit also; in the countries, where they worked among slaves, they became slaves also, even as our Lord took upon himself the form of a slave, "p.6p</>1JV dOVAOV Aaf3wv." With the poor Hottentot they were not ashamed to suffer hardship and persecution, and to maintain that these poor outcasts had souls for which Christ had died: with the Eskimo they lived as brethren, and won them to themselves, content with the poorest and most unsavory fare, laboring with their own hands, trying not to be a burden to their church, which was so poor that it has still to be sustained by the alms of universal Christendom, for they were doing work which no other society could do; they literally went about as the disciples of Jesus, without scrip 01' change of garment, and their examples of self-denial carried the hearts of their people by storm: in these last days they have opened an asylum for lepers at Jerusalem. Their doctrmes were as simple as their practice, "Nothing but Christ crucified"; they had a courage which no danger could daunt, and a love which no harsh treatment could efface; who ever heard of a Moravian appealing to public meetings, or a public press, to organize armed relieC-e:fpeditions, or avenge their slaughtered brethren? They took death and the spoiling of their goods joyfully; they had a quiet constancy which no hardship could exhaust; there were, and are, no Exeter Halls to trumpet their praise; in their church there are no rich men to sub- scribe annual thousands, and yet they have left a mark on the world which no time can efface. Their types were, ,singleness of pm'pose, simplicity of bearing, self-consecration, and contentment with a little. If I wished to praise a missionary, I should say that he is worthy of being a Moravian. Many societies have done well, but this has excelled them all, for it has most nearly approached to the ideal church, formed after the pattern of the Founder-first and foremost in the great battle-field, yet seeking the last and lowest among the ranks of men. "I was a stranger, and ye took me in; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." The blessings of those ready to perish have accompanied, and still accompany, the gentle footfall of the Moravian brethren, as they tread the soil of distant and inhospitable climes, unknown, unpraised, but not unrewarded, The mode of conducting missions must be heroic also. We have but one _.life to keep or lose: how can we spend it in the best way? If souls are to be won to Christ, it must be by men or women whose souls are overflowing with lo'e to Christ. We ask not for ascetics, nor adopters of the native dress, nor the turner of the formal prayer-wheel, nor the daily celebrant, but such an expression of character on the countenance, such a mode of utterance, such a voice, thoughts that move, words that burn, as display earnestness and that the soul of the missionary is on fire. All human talents are only so far profitably employed, as they are used to save souls; all human knowledge is of no avail, unless it conduces directly or indirectly to the extension of our Master's king- dam: the simple gospel outweighs it all, so simple that all can understand, so profound that no one can get beyond, ,The great he- roes of whom I have spoken, and the great missionary band of Moravian heroes, differed from each other essentially, but they had formed the same conception of Christ, and of their duty; they looked over the human fences of churches, and saw the awful vision of the face of Christ only; they had a burning desire to carry His message face to face, mouth to mouth, in i{s naked simplicity; they thought nothing of chapels, and altar-cloths, stoles, m.usic, painted glass and decoration; they took the living Word to dying souls, teaching the poor heathen to live decent, holy lives in this transitory world, and through faith to inherit eternal life hereafter. There was no necessity for hair shirts or flagellations, for long ceremonies or retreats; theirs was the daily round of holy duty, whether steering the mission-ship, building the mission-school, or preaching the mission-sermon, until the very hour that they are called away, which is the best proof that their allotted task was done. I would have you realize the dignity, the greatness of the office: it is not a romantic or sentimental employment, such as discoursing witb Brahmins under a tree, or gathering sweet little children in a school; there is much that is distasteful, and humbling, and sometimes a feeling of despair.
The hero must not be cast down, must not be diverted from his purpose, must not change his ground. We can admire the perseverance of a bad man in a bad cause, how much more 01 a good man in a good cause I The famous Las Oasas had a fixed purpose to protect the poor natives of America, and he IS reported to have done,something every day of his life to advance the one great idea which dominated his existence. Hudson Taylor has put it well, "GO· in glad obedience; in fullest confidence, without anxiety, to do a definite work." Such is the high type, s,uch the practice of those hero-missionaries, * * * whom I have noticed. (See our !August number.) Let me look at the subject from another point of view. How much do we read, in missionary letters and reports, of theirfamilies, birth of children,death of children, illness of wife, and domestic cares, while the reader is anxious to know how the gospel warfare goes on, what progress has been made. Only imagine the public dispatch of a general or governor in which such details were even alluded to! In private letters to friends such things might be noticed, but not in the documents placed before the dommittee. Nothing strikes a committeeman more than the preponderate proportion of the corre- spondence which is occupied with notices of the wives and children of mis- sionaries, as if the committee were a board of guardians of the poor. How often a missionary comes home in full health and vigor, leaving for a time, or forever, a field of work for which he is suited, and in which, after some years of pupilage, he has learned to be useful, because his wife is ill ! Would the general commanding an expedition, or the governor of a province, have done so? How often the Indian official, or soldier, has to ship off a sick wife and cannot accompany her! We have not far to look to find out what St.
Paul would have said, and what our Lord did say (Mark x : 29). Even in the life of John Williams we find mention of the illness of his wife brought much too prominently forward: he was !1lways anticipating the necessity of an early return to England for her sake: but he clung on for eighteen years, and she arrived home in excellent health, and outlived him some years. It is against this exaggeration of human affections that the servant of Christ should struggle valiantly and prayerfully.' * * * * There are giants amidst the body of missionaries, for whom nothing is too good, for they would in secular professions have risen to distinction and wealth, but to a very large proportion this would not have happened. The praise of the good, self-denying, consecrated missionary is in the heart of all who care for such things, and many, unknown to him personally, talk lovingly of him when he is absent, and sadly when he is dead; but the great missionary is thinking always of his own infirmity, of how much he has left undone, and how much he could have done better, and rejoicing that it is given to him to spend and be spent. There is in modern times a far wider spread of missionary spirit than in past years, but it is not so deep; it has become a fashion, not a revelation, in a man's mind.
We find no idle calls on the part of the heroic missionary society, or the survivors and relatives of hero-missionaries, for vengeance on the murderers of the slain; this is one of the features of the gradual degeneracy of the age and the overweening self-assertion of a certain section of the British middle classes. It is well to have a giant's strength, but it is not well to use it as a bully. Nothing would have been easier than to have swept the islands of Erromanga and Nikapu from sea to sea clean of all their inhabitants to re- venge the deaths of Williams and Pattison; but the missionary societies pro- tested against the very idea of retaliation, nor would tl:J.e British responsible authorities have tolerated it. The relations of the deceased did not gather excited meetings in British towns, and pass resolutions, as in later cases, to petition the Government to send expeditions of rescue or intimidation. Such weakness of faith, such want of sound judgment, such incomprehensibleruis- 1 We do not indorse all the strictures and criticisms of the writer in this paper, and think he is at times unduly severe and sweeping. Still, what he writes on mi.sionary subjects-and few write more-deserves careful reading and candid consideration. Missions and missiOnaries have not IL warmer friend thllIl he.-EDs. understanding of the duty of a Christian man, were reserved to a later age. On the platform the missionary proudly, yet humbly, professes that he C.al'- ries his life in his hand, ready to live, God willing, and ready to die: if this were not the case, how low the British missionary would rank after the Swede, the Norwegian, and the Swiss, who have no ships to send, and whose countrymen still are ready to give up their lives, and fill up all that remains of the sufferings of Christ. If a misdionary has not stomach for such warfare, he had better retire into the safe refuge of a London curacy, or a Lancashire manufactory, where he will find heathen to minister to, without risk to his life, or causing alarm to his over-anxious relations.
The hel'o-missionary remembers that his service is a life-sel'vice, not the pastime of youth, or the employment of manhood, until a good living and a pleasant home is provided for him in his native country. Nothing is so disheartening as to !;lee so many instances of this forgetfulness of their first love, and of the words of our Lord (Luke ix : 62), "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 'l'here should be no discharge in this warfare save death or certified ill-health of the missionary himself, not of his wife and his children. It is a matter of congratu- – lation that we have aged bishops content to occupy their posts until death, that we have missionaries who have not preferred tbe ties of blood or the claims of family to the work which has been the desire of their youth, the joy of their manhood, and the solace of their old age. The hero-missionary is tender in heart, gentle in words, slow to anger, and easy pacified. He is not insensible of the heinousness of sin, but his heart melts in pity towards the sinner. He does not strike with his hl),ud or stick the bodies of the poor natives whose souls he has come out to try to save; he does not usurp an authority over them because his face is white and he is one of a strong nation, as he remembers that he is their minister, the servant of servants, as was his Master, who washed the feet of His disciples; he doe~ not tie them up to trees to be flogged, and kept in durance for whole nights, but he .attaches them to himself by the silken cords of love.
He may be the son of a noble in his own country, and he is not puffed up, or he may be the son of a country shopkeeper, and he is not abashed, nor does he strive in his new profession to be coventionally treated as a gentleman, for in his humility he takes in either case the standpoint of being a Christian, occupying the same position that was occupied by Paul the great scholar and Roman citizen, and by Peter the humble fisherman : he seeks not high places, nor great companies, nor first-class accommodation in steamers or railways; he is economic of the funds of the good society which is his nursing mother; he is not always calling out for grants for his wife or his children; he does not dwell in a fine, comfortable house, for he minds not high things, and is content with men of low estate; his door is ever open to the people, whom he came to win to Christ; his attire is simple, and he seeks not the company of this world, though indirectly the type of the holy, upright man, which he presents to their eyes, has a reflex blessing on their souls; though silent, his life is a sermon to them. He acts up to the ideal of the Christian soldier which he had conceived in his youth when the message came to him, when the Holy Spirit overshadowed him; to be brave and strong, yet loving and tender; full of holy ardor yet self-controlled and free from spurious excitement; firm in convictions, yet tolerant; firm of purpose, yet merciful and considerate; meek and lowly, yet proud of his calling; fearing God, and fearing no one else.
~y friends, you must lJe thorou~hly equipfled for th«;l cQmbilot with something more than the surface teaching of the ordinary theological college. One of my fellow-students, forty years ago, at the East IndIa Cl>Uege, was a Jew, a believing Jew and a clever Jew, and he took the highest marks in PalPy's Evidences. I asked him whether he were not entirely convinced, and he re- plieu that it had not the least effect upon him. Such must often be the teach, ing of the oruinary missionary to a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Mahometan, and, to a certain degree, to the Pagan. It is always easy to speak with contempt of the Indian Fakir, smeared with ashes, and sneer at the pJ'ayer-wheel of the Buddhist (something very like which in kind is found ill many a Christian church) and point out the blots in the Mahometan scheme of salvation; it seems casy to show up the utter abomination of pagan human sacrfiices; but the missionary will find that behind these exoteric symbols there is a rad- ical misconception of the problem of human nature in the minds of the pro- fessors of a false religion, and behind the poor ignorant devotee he will flnd men with minds much more l;ubtle than his own, gifted with a power of argu- ment far .exceeding his own, appealing to authorities, of which the ITltssion- ary is ignorant. The idol is something more to the believer than a bit of wood and stone; the believers are not men of the nineteenth century, and with the impress of European training. To miracles and prophecies quoted by the missionary the teachers and believers of the false faith will quote prophecies and miracles of their own; to the words of the Bible and the claim of inspil'ation they will oppose the words of their own sacred books, and claim equal supernatural authority; the sequence of historical events and the facts of geography are unknown to them; it becomes at last a struggle for life upon the first principles of human existence, and the contest must take place upon an arena, of which the poor theological student of England never dreamt, behind the altar, out of sight of the church, in scorn of the Bible or any Christian authority, and nothing but the outpoUl'ing of the ,Holy Spirit can bring the unbeliever to see, and know, and bow to the truth.
The Hindu in his prolific literature works out his great metaphysical ques- tion, "What am I? whence came I? whither dol go?" , lIov yev6f1a1; 1f60ev ripl; rivo, XaplV i;')JJov, a1fij')JJov; and it ends in nothingness; his successor the Buddhist makes this nothing- ness the object, aim, and end of existence; the Mahometan boldly pillages the Old and New Testaments to fashion a system which can never respond to the yearnings of the human heart or satisfy its aspirations; the pOOl'
pagan in his blindness is so far ahead of the modern educated atheist, that he feels and admits the presence of the Deity and His omnipotence, and tries to appease Him by sacrifices; he is ready, however, to listen to some- thing better, and welcomes the teacher, who .comes with a semblance of greater knowledge of the great Unknown. We read how, when the first missionary arrived from Rome in Northumbria, and a council was summoned to discuss how be should be received, a wise old baron remarked, that the life of man seemed to them in their heathen ignorance, like the flight of a bird outo[ the dark winter outside into the warm and lighted chamber, and then out at a window into another world of dark winter at the opposite side; the passage of a moment from a long unknown past into a long and unknown future; the contemplation of this was crushing; and, if the stranger from Rome could tell them something a little more certain, he should be wel- comed. Such is the spirit, with which a teacher is welcomed in many a pagan community. But is the ordinary missionary equal to this occasion?
Bred up in an atmosphere permeated by Darwinism and atheism, in a church whel'!~ more value is plac~d on the human surroundings, the ritual and th~ externals than the eternal truth, can it be hoped that he will mount up to the level of the religion of religions, the object and aim of human existence, and with the Bible in his hand aRd in his heart, and nothing else, grapple with the Hindu, Buddhist, Mahometan, or Pagan on the common ground of right and wrong, truth and -falsehood, judgment and mercy, sin and repentance, pardon and peace, opening out new worlds of thought to his astonished hearers? The hero-missionary can do this. He exhibits his principles, and his doctrines in his Christ-like life and words, and challenges his hearers to show him a better way than the way of self-sacrifice, self-control, and selfconsecration, to procure a higher conception than that of the fatherhood of God, of faith in a Redeemer, of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit leading poor weak men to personal holiness.
There are plenty of men who will volunteer to go out and dwell a season amidst the polished Persian, the civilized Arabized races, the Indian, who, with all his faults, is gentle and reasonable, the intelligent Chinese, and the progressive Japanese. They represent nations on the highest roupds of the ladder of civilization, our superiors in many arts and graces, with their monuments of literature, and architecture, and their time-honored customs: they have centuries ago got beyond the epoch of human sacrifices or cannibalism; they have had in their midst great sages who felt after God, if haply they could find Him, men standing on the same platform as Socrates, and Aristotle, and Pythagoras. There is very little discomfort in such service, and no danger; mere worldlings dwell among such races for the purpose of commerce and the service of the state. We do not wish to undervalue such services, for such were the missionary operations of St. Paul among the Greeks and Romans. The process of sapping and mining has long been going on. Education has brought with it a contempt for idolatory, but civilization has brought with it a contempt for all religions, and a disbelief in the supernatural, a doubt as to the reality of a future state.
But this is not the higher order of service; it does not mean the same self-sacrifice; it does not approach so near the services rendered to man by our Saviour; our Lord abased himself when He took the form of a slave and became man for our redemption. He thought it not vile to dwell in the tents of men, and associate with the poor, erring children of men. Patteson and John Williams, and the whole army of Moravian missionaries, learnt to look over the-wall of partition that separates race from race, and to call no one common and unclean; there have been missionaries who have had the fortune given to them to go in and dwell among lepers, and have succumbed to the disease themselves; there are those who have found a grace vouchsafed to them to dwell among the POOl', dirty savage outcasts of the human family, to submit to insult, hardship and perils; to die in spirit every day, and at length breathe out their last breath in some round straw hut, looking to Jesus, yet still thinking of friends and home.
U Dulces moriens reminiscitur Argos."
But there was no murmuring, for they knew how to be humbled but not ashamed, to be cast down but not disheartened, bearing about them the marks of the spear in their sides, and the print of the nails on their hands and feet. The service of such was great and noble; the heart of the worlding beats high when he hears of such achievements. Surely there must be joy in heaven w/len one of the miserable savages, to the outward eye nearer the beast than the man, is brought into the fold, and his body becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost, for Chris~ in very deed died for him also. The seU-sacrificing missionary teaches the men to lJe br(l.ve, yet not cruel, and the women to be sweet and affectionate, yet not unchaste; out of the stores of his acquired experience he teaches them humble arts, and the very rudiments of knowledge, the very fundamental of human graces, to be decent in act and word, to respect human life, to recognize property, to be sober and chaste, to love God as a father and cease to fear Him like a slave, to bow in gratitude to the free offer of pardon. And yet all this is possible: it has been done, it may be done again; it must be done by some of you who stand here and hear me this day: "EV 'TOV'Tr,J VlK(L."
It will be nothing wonderful, if in due time we convert the people of India, China, and the extreme Orient. They are not wiser and stronger than were the Greeks and Romans in the day of their greatness, and we know that the cross proved sufficient for their conversion. And experience has shown that the same cross is sufficient for races whom Cmsar never knew, of whose existence the Greek philosophers, and even St. Paul, had not the faintest idea. We thus begin to realize the full meaning of the prophecies of Isaiah, "The isles!lhaU wait for his law," and the words of our Lord, "They shall gather his elect from the uttermost parts of the earth," and again, in the Revelation, "Behold a great number, whom no man can number, out of every nation, and all tribes, and peoples and tongues."
There are three classes, in one or other of which you must, as Christian men, range yourselves : I. Whatever secular station you occupy, whether at home or abroad, you -must place the duty of assisting the evangelizing of mankind in the very first rank of duties, for nothing can approach it in impdrtance; if your lot takes you to non-Christian countries, you will find plenty of opportunities to serve the cause, and bitterly you will regret in your old age, if you neglect your opportunities.
II. If you have a call to go forth as a missionary to the civilized non-Chris- tian nations, if you find yourself in possession of special gifts, consecrate them; do not take a worldly view of the subject, and mix up a mission to a dying world with visions of early matrimony, social advantage, and a pleas- ant career. Mere worldlings act thus. Many a soldier, many a student of nature, ml:ny a ruler of men has risen far above such a low level of human aspirations. The athlete and the mechanic give you a lesson. Show to the heathen that you come among them unjerstanding the law of self-sacrifice, and that you come not, as the haughty Briton, one who lords it over, and sometimes strikes or ill-uses the lower races, but as then' brother and their servant for Christ's sake.
III. But Jet me show a more excellent way to those who are strong in body, strong in spirit, and also have worked out the sublime idea of self-sacrifice and self-consecration. The call will come to some of you, as it has come to others, in your dreams by night, in your visions by day, as you walk alone, or are in prayer, or in the midnight watches. It will gradually overpower you and make you captive, and at length you will call out with a loud voice, "Send me, Lord, for I am ready." For still many a sunny island of the South Seas, many a retired valley of the great central plateau of Asia, many a dark, forest-clad savannah of ,the great valley ot the Congo, many a wild tribe of South America, and, alas! our own fellow-subjects, the neglected, ill-treated Australian aborigines, and the poor Bushmen of the Cape Colony, are waiting, waiting for the moving of the waters of the fountain of life, and for some one to help them down; lifting up their eyes for the sight of the blessed feet of those who bring the gospel message; calling for their man, the Allen Gardiner, and Patteson, and Williams of this generation; they are standing in your midst, though not as yet revealed to the eyes of men. In the long course of centuries no prophet or evangelist has ever come near these poor heathen; they have laid out of the course of the revolution of the gospel; they are waiting for one who, in his life as well as his words, will illustrate to them the life and passion of our Lord and their Lord; they ask not for the refinement, nor the fantasies of modern religious thought and practice, but with dumb voices they ask the men of the nineteenth century and civilized Europe to teach them to clothe their nakedness, to dwell in decent dwellings, to cluster in villages, to live with one consort, and to respect human life, to do all things in a Christian way, and to realize the presence of the risen Saviour. In the last desperate struggling of heathendom it may be .:that the man of God, who thus appears like an angel among them, will be killed and devoured; but his death will prove the dawn of the new life; over the martyr-tomb will spring up the new chapel, and the younger generation, who witnessed the slaughter and partook of the ter~ible feast, will, by the grace of God, be converted and made new men, and, like St. Paul, become evangelists. When their day of grace comes, and they understand the matter, like the Jews at Jerusalem a few days after the crucifixion, they will be pricked to the heart. History is always repeating itself; but on this generation, the men of your age and country, rests the duty of completing the work, till the gospel cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. At the present moment there are regions still unevangelized, sufferings for Christ's sake not yet suffered, and crowns of martyrs and confessors not yet won.
Finally, my dear friends, suffer me to say to you one word more, and this word applies not only to the missionary, whose vocation is the highest of earthly vocations, but to each one of us, however humble and prosaic our special vocation may be. What were we created for? Why are we kept alive, except to do some special work which is marked out for us by the inexorable teaching of circumstances, circumstances wqich are controlled by the omniscience of God I How can we succeed in any work if our attempts are not sanctified by prayer! "Labora et Ora," for true prayer is somethmg done in the service of the Master, followed by praise for being selected to do it; not the empty litany or the conventional prayer-meeting. Say what we like, we are all day-laborers, and he serves his God best who does his day's work in the best manner and in the best spirit. None miss so entirely the mainspring of human action as those who strive to dissociate religion from the simple round, the common task of the most prosaic, the mostunroniantic, the most depressing lot in life.
It is not success that sanctifies the work, fot many of the best of us in our noblest undertakings do not succeed. We are thwarted by some narrowminded obstructers standing on the next round of the ladder above us; we are baflled at every turn, and at length laid aside by poverty, sickness or death. It is not striving that wins; the race is n()t to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. We must not look for the selfish satisfaction of thinking that we have done something; we must not hope for the applause of bystanders, for the foolish multitude generally praise the wrong person, or praise the right person for the wrong thing. We must find our reward in the work itself; something each day accomplished; something done; some kindly word spoken; some cup of water offered to the suffering; some noble thought cherished, some achievement, which the world ought not willingly to let die, shadowed forth, thought out, conceived, If not actually brought forth. Good work, earnest work, prayerful work, can never be without a
A TRINITY OF MONSTROUS EVILS DENOUNCED. 6'75
blessing to the worker, which will follow him after life's endless toil and endeavor to his rest, and what greater work than the saving of a soul I I once stood at the mouth of the great Panjab Salt Mine on the river Jhilam, and watched the long procession of women, children and men, of young and old, slowly advancing towards me, toiling up the steep incline, each with his head bent and back curved under the burden of rock-salt, which they brought from !he bowels to the surface of the earth. This was their hard and palpable day's labor. To the strength of each the burden was adjusted ; the young daily grew into capacity to bear heavier, the old daily felt their strength less equal to their diminishing load, but all rested night after night wearied with their daily round, and all each morning rose to the consciousness of a day's sweating and straining, and a risk of accidents and disease, and the dark river to be crossed at last. Tears started in my eyes as I thought of the sad procession of my contemporaries, whom dut'ing my own life I had seen toiling and striving, lifting their heavy burdens, or sinking by the way under them. I thought of the strong and enthusiastic, too eager for the strife, who fell years ago; the patient and uncomplaining, who toiled on till within the last few years; the yearly diminishing group of fellow-laborers, with yearly diminishing force, and the dark unknown future before me.
But there is no prison so deep that its depths are not reached by some ray of God's interminablfl day, and, as I looked into the faces of the salt-bearers, I became aware that one ray of light reached to the lowest slope of their dungeon, and, as they advanced upwards, it ever became brighter and brighter, shining hopefully in their uplifted eyes, and gladdening their hearts with the thought of home, and rest, and of labor, sanctified for the sake of the little ones, the old ones, the sick ones, to whose cOljJlforts their earnings ministered. The hero-missionary places the heathen, to whom he goes as Christ's ambassador, in that corner of his heart where other men place their families. Nay, more; God's greatlessons are taught in His works and in His creatures. As each laborer reached the outer world, and flung ((own his burden, his eyes insensibly turned up with a look of thankfulness and acknowledgment to the kindly light which had led him, and then each unconsciously shrouded his eyes with his hands, as if unable to bear the full glow of unutterable gladness, which the grace of Gcd sends to testify to the sanctity and dignity of labor, however humble and contracted the sphere: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things. 'Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
A TRINITY OF MONSTROUS EVILS DENOUNqED.
[A popular meeting of an extraordinary character was held on Wednesday evening, the twelfth dl>y of the session for the express purpose of giving public and indignant expression to the intensified feeling of the Conference in relation to three stupendous evils which had been brought to its notice during the meeting. It was not down on the programme, but the Loudon papers speak of it as a "magnificent dembnstration," and the most .. enthusiastic as well as the largest meeting of the series. Several of the speakers were Americaus-Dr. William M. Taylor of New York, Dr. A. J. Gordon of Boston, Dr. G. E. Post of our Syrian Mission, and our associate, Dr. Pierson of Philadelphia. We have full reports of the meeting in various English papers, aud proceed to give our readers a bird's-eye view of the great meeting, that they may feel the pulse of the world's missionary representatives in regard to such giant social, commercial and national sins as those here unauimously denounced by the largest and grandest popular council ever held. We follow chiefly the report in The Christian of London.-J. M. S,1 THE final meeting of the great Missionary Conference will not soon be fo.rgotten by those who were present. It was the largest of the series, and by far the most enthusiastic. The subjects under consideration-the Opium Traffic, the Drink Traffic, and Licensing Sin-naturally lent themselves to the expression of strong feeling; both speakers and hearers fully took advantage of the opportunity. The opinion was expressed during the evening that in the matter of the opium trade the Christian conscience of Great Britain has of late gone to sleep. The proceedings of Wednesday evening ought to do something in waki:e.g it up and keeping it wide awake till the cause for such wakefulness has disappeared. The outstanding features of the evening were the powerfully explosive utterance of Dr. Taylor, of New York, the remarkable reception given Mr. Alfred Dyer, on his return from India, and the heartiness of feeling shown towards our two eloquent American brethren, Dr. Gordon and Dr. Pierson.
"The chair was taken by Sir Arthur Blackwood, who was supported on either side by an array of gentlemen well known for their active interest in questions of national morality. In the opening prayer, Dr. Parsons, of Toronto, struck an appropriate keynote by his reference to the foes that oppose the kingdom of Christ and prevent the salvation of men.
SIR ARTHUR BLACKWOOD'S ADDRESS.
" After some remarks on the wisdom of the decision to hold such a meeting in connection with the Conference, the Chairman said: 'Not as part of a cutand-dried plan prepared beforehand, not as an outburst of hasty enthusiasm, but as the deliberate, solemn conviction of men and women qualified to judge, you have decided to speak out and denounce certain deeds and practices, and to deplore their terrible results. I a!ll sure I am right in saying that we do this in sorrowful confession of the blameworthiness of the churches, as well as in solemn condemnation of these practices. Were it not for lack of faithful testimony, watchful attention, earnest prayerfulness, courageous utterance, these things could never have attained their present magnitude. Surely the standard of morals in so-called Christian nations and governments must be low ir..deed, when practices like those cannot only continue unchecked, but be defended; and that not merely ou the ground of expediency, but of actual necessity. Where have the churches of Christ been in their testimony against these things? We must confess om' own guilt. We are not met for discussion; that time has gone by. Denunciation is our object to night-unanimous, I hope, and vehement if need be. What cause can demand it more? It is to be the denunciation of deedsdone contrary to every pre- cept of the gospel, contrary to the whole spirit of the Christian dispensation, and even protested against by the very heathen themselves. We are indeed deeply thankful that no sooner has one of those practices in its clear and ter- rible character been fully exposed and recognized than the British House of Commons resolved unanimously (for the few defenders of the practice dared not record their votes against the resolution) that this system should be abolished root and branch.* That proves, thank God, that the moral sense oC this nation is still alive with regard to such matters. But doomed systems often live long, and your denunciation and your protest to-night are none the less needful because, so far as that judgment has been uttered, this thing is doomed in all its horrible enormity and atrocity.
We are not only here to denounce, but to deplore the results, direct and in- direct, of these deeds and practices. The direct results, alas! who can esti- *This reference is to the formal licensing of harlotry by the British Government for the gratifiea- tion of the army in India. A fierce fight has been going on against the awful and scandalous in- Iqnity for months past, led on by Mr. Alfred S. Dyer, who in return has been assailed with as mnch bitterness as the Pall Malt Gazette once received for uncovering similar, though unlicensed, in- iquities in Lonaon. The British Parliament was finally forced by the terrible revebtlons made and the protests nttered to repeal the act, just as the Conference came together.-EDs. mate? Eternity alone will disclose the ruin to the thousands and thousands of bodies and souls of those amongst whom these practices have been carried on by members of so-called Christian nations-carried on by those who ought to have been the protectors and the friends and the saviors of the heathen to whom they went. The indirect results have been no less fatal. What might not the progress of the gospel of Christ have been among the nations of the earth had that gospel been commended and enforced by the lives of those who profess to be Christians? What can more effectually have barred its advance and have stayed its progress? I must allude here, for one mo- ment, to a challenge thrown down to you by the world. It is not often need- ful nor wise to pay much heed to what the world says about Christian work. Yet at times it is necessary, and I wish to draw your attention to the utter- ances of The Time8, which, in a leading article dealing with your Conference, spoke the other day in these words :- .. , Criticism cannot express itself aR altogether contented with the amoont of groond which has been annexed. • . • Before the promoters of missionary work can expect to have greater resources confided to them they will have to render a satisfactory acconnt of their trnst in the past. Their pro- gress, it is to be hoped, is sure; indisputably it is slow. A Congress like the present would be better employed in tracing the reasons for the deficiency in quantity of success than in glorifying the modi- com which has been attained. • • • The cause marches at a pace which, unless it is registered by the enthusiasm of Exeter Hall, appears little more than funereal. • • • For eyes not endowed with the second sight of the platform, the principal citadels of heathendom continue to 1lannt their banners as before. If some people profess to believe that they hear too much of foreign missions, the explanation is that they see too little of their results.'
"I think that demand is a fait- one, and that we are right in answering the challange. The world asks, Why have you not accomplished more? It says: 'Traae the reasons for your want of success, instead of talking about what you have done.' We have come together for that purpose to-night. Whilst . in the spirit of self-judgment and true humility before God for our well- known shortcomings in enthusiasm, in zeal, in self-denial, in prayerfulness, in effort, we declare before the world that, foremost, perhaps, amongst the causes which have hindered the progress of the gospel of Christ in heathen lands, have been the three practices which we desire to hear denounced to- night. How could it have been otherwise, when wherever the missionary has pitched his tent the rum merchant has sent his barrels, so that we have gone to the heathen in certain lands with the Bible in one hand and the rum-keg in another. What can those people have thought of the character of the Chris- tianity which thus presented itself to them? How can we wonder that the gospel makes small progress? With our cannon balls and bayonets we have forced the introduction of opium into China, and, alas! taught the popula- tion to grow the drug itself in order to oust our Indian products, thereby inflicting upon them irretrievable injury. What can that people think of the Christianity that came to them in that guise? And, again, when upon the defenseless, uneducated female population of India, a Christian government has fastened the horrible diabolical system to which allusion must be made to-night, and enforced it with all the tremendous weight of its authority; when side by side with the chaplain and the church has been the Govern- ment brothel, how can we wonder that there, in India, they have laughed at our Christianity, and cast contempt upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? If the world taunts the missionary enterprise with its little progress, and says, 'Find out the reasons for your lack of success,' we can indeed say, with all self-judgment as regards our own shortcomings, 'These practices, carried out by Christian nations, and authorized and enforced by so-called Christian governments, have much to bear of the blame for our want of success.' It is our business to-night to lift up our voices, and that with no bated breath; a.nd in no indistinct manner, to declare, in the name of the Lord, and on the ground of every obligation that we owe to Him who has redeemed-us by His blood, that, so far as lies in our power, so far as our protests and prayers can effect it, these deadly evils shall be stayed, and, by God's help, be impossible for the future."
THE CHINA OPIUM TRADE.
Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, moved the following resolution: .. That this Conference, representing most of the Protestant Missionary Societies of the Christian world, desires to put on record its sense of the incalculable evils, physical, moral, and social, which continue to be wrought in China through the opium trade-a trade which has strongly prejudiced the people of China against all missionary eftort; that it deeply deplores the position occupied by Great Britain through its Indian administration in the mauufacture of the product, and in the pr'Qmotion of the trade which is one huge ministry to vice; that it recoguizes clearly that uothing short of the entire suppression of the trade, so far as it is iu the power of the Government to suppress it, cau meet the claims of the case, and it now makes its earnest appeal to the Christians of Great Britain and Irelaud to plead earnestly with God, and to give themselves no rest until this great evil is entirelv removed; and further, that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for India.'
"Mr. Taylor observed that the fact that the opium traffic is a huge ministry to vice, and an obstacle to the evangelization of China, is surely sufficient reason why the subject should be brought forward and protested against by this Missionary Conference. He then said: 'I made the statement at a previous meeting, which I will repeat, that while the result of eighty years of evangelistic effort in China has brought us to rejoice in 32,000 converts to Christianity, about 150,000,000 of the Chinese have been either turned into opium smokers or have come to suffer from the opium vice, as husband, wife, father, or mothe)'. If the evil is so rampant, and it is most difficult to help the smoker or his unfortunate family, surely it is high time that our protest was raised against it, and that we did our utmost to bring the evil to an end.'
"Proceeding to quote from official documents and the writings of wellknown men, Mr. Taylor showed the iniquitous character of the traffic. Rev. Griffith John condemned it unsparingly, and appealed to 'the great heart of England' to remove the curse. Rev. Howard Malcolm, of the United States, remarked that' the proud escutcheon of the nation which declares against the slave trade bears in this trade a blot still broader and darker.' Mr. C. Aitchison, chief commissioner of British Burmah, in a memorandum addressed to the Government of India, speaks of the' demoralization, misery, and ruin produced among the Burmese by opium smoking.' After quoting other testimonials, Mr. Taylor contended that England is directly responsible for every acre of Chinese soil engaged in the cultivation of opium. We introduced the drug, and then the people of China raised it themselves. The Chinese appealed in vain to England's kindly feeling and sense of.rectitude; they appealed to every sentiment which was likely to move a professedly Christian people: but in vain. Then they came to the conclusion that Eng- land has no moral sense, no conscience, but only a pocket, and that the only way to move England was to prevent the money from reaching her revenue by China producing the drug at home, until the pressure of England is removed. , "The government of India is to a large extent the producer of the drug. More than half the drug manufactured in India is produced and sold directly by the government of India. It is said that we need the revenue. Remem- ber the well-known words of Mr. Henry Richard in the House of Commons. He said he had a firm conviction that no nation had ever been engaged in any business so absolutely indefensible on all grounds as the opium traffic: … It might be true that the power of England was forcing it upon the Chinese, and was spreading among them demoralization. disease and death-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that the tralllc created an enormous amount of ill-will and heart-burning towards England on the part or the Chinese Government and the Chinese people, which had led to one war and might lead to another-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that the traffic constituted the most formidable of obstacles to Christiauity among the Chinese-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that it interfered with the development of every kind of legitimate commerce-but there was the Indian Revenue. It might be true that it dishonored the character of England in the eyes or other nations, and prevented her from protesting against similar practices elsewhere-bnt there was the Indian Revenue.'
"To put it plainly, as Mr. T. A. Denny had well put it, this plea amounts to this, that' the English nation cannot afford to do right.' I sincerely trust that this meeting will make it very plain that in its estimation the English nation cannot afford to do wrong. In conclusion, Mr. Taylor expressed a hope that the wrong may be put right while there is opportunity, and before the wrong-doer is visited by divine judgment.
Dr. James L. Maxwell, formerly missionary to Formosa, seconded the resolution. It is quite true, he said, that the Indian Government is the chief party to the evil. But before that there is a BritIsh House of Commons to be reached, and still before that there is the conscience of England to be reached, and, yet again, before that, there is the heart of the Christian church in England to be touched. The question is absolutely beyond discussion. We deliberately cultivate the poppy and minister to the vice of a heathen people; more than that, we fatten upon that vice, in spite of the fact that the rulers of the Chinese have again and again remonstrated with us, and in spite of the fact that our action is leading to the physical, moral and social ruin of the people. Of late years there has crept over the Christians of this country a very strange apathy in dealing with this opium trade. Intellectually we have acknowledged that it is wrong, and we have signed memorials against the traffic; but we have not kept it in our hearts as a burden upon our souls before God. Why do we not arouse ourselves? In this hall to-night, there is a constituency large enough, if set on fire on this subject, to begin to move England from end to end. Who dares to measure what the progress of speed in dealing with this would be, if each of us pledged himself before God not to forget the matter; but in private and in public so to move that this blot shall be removed from the nation? Only let us get to faithful handling of the evil, looking to God for help, and absolute suppression will in due course be reached." The resolution was carried unanimously.
NATIVE RACES AND THE DRINK.
Dr. W. M. Taylor, of New York, submitted the following resolution, which he supported, by a tremendous earnest and rousing- speech :'- " That the International Conference, compristng delegates from most of the Protestant Missionary Societies in the world, is of opinion that the traffic in strong drink, as now carried on by merchants belonging to Christian nations among native races, especially in Africa, has become a soarce of terrible and of wholesale demoralization and ruin, and is proving a most serions stumbling-block to the progress of the gospel. The Conference is of opinion that all Christian nations should take 8teps to suppress the traffic in all territories under their influence or government, especially in those under International control, and that a mutnal agreement shonld be made to this effect without delay, as the evil, already gigantic, is rapidly growing.
" After stating that he had received several pressing mandates on this topic, to be delivered to the Conference from Presbyterian bodies in the United States, Dr. Taylor said: 'We who look back to this as our dear old home-land have a very tender regard for her reputation, and we feel sad to have to hang our heads in shame over her when the opium traffic is brouglit up against her. But our hands in America are as deep in this drink traffic~ yours are, and we come here to beseech you a!ongwiih us that the Christian Church of Europe and America as a whole shall advertise itself out of this business, and shall declare that whosoever hereafter is responsible for its continuance, that responsibility, by the help of God, shall no longer lie at our doors. I protest against this traffic because of the demoralizing effect it has on the native races. We know something of what it does at home, but these effects are far more tremendous abroad. These native races are in the position of minors or infants. If we insist, and rightly insist, that those who sell liquor to children and minot'S shall be punished, shall we force this traffic on those nations that are composed of minors altogether? I protest against the traffic, also, because it is destructive of legitimate commerce. The expenditure of resources for the gratification of the drink appetite renders it impossible for the natives to deal in more wholesome articles of trade. I ask you, in the name of common sense and righteousness, if you are going to allow this one deadly traffic to deprive you of honest gain in those countries which in so wonderful a way have been opened up to trade in modern times? If you force rum upon them, you cannot give them cotton, because they have nothing to buy cotton with. But stay, there is one trade that may be Improved by the rum trade. I saw in one of your morning papers this week a paragraph with reference to King Quamin Fori, and a visit paid to him by Sir Brandford Griffith, Governor of the Gold Coast: 'All that King Quainin Fori asks is that Her Majesty's l'epresentive will instruct the merchants of Addah to pay for palm-oU in cash instead of gin.' The Governor, III answer to this appeal, said he could not interfere with the course of trade. The last sentence in the paragraph is to the following effect : of .. The prevalence of the habit among Christian traders in that region paying the heathen for his goods • in gin,' may possibly have something to do with the curious circumstance that king after king with whom the governor held a palaver, during his official progress, appears to have asked for a supply of handcull's,"
"Yes, the trade in handcuffs is one that is stimulated by the gin traffic. Here is a trade-mark for the gin bottle. Handcuffs! Handcuffs ! Yes, handcuffs that enslave, handcuffs that degrade; 0, yes, put it on the gin bottle everywhere.
"I protest against this traffic because of the retribution wbich it is sure to bring on the nations who protect it. I rejoice in the ringing words quoted by Mr. Hudson Taylor from Mr. Henry Richard: 'The government of God is real; the government of God is moral; the government of God is retribu- tive.' Has Great Britain forgotten to read the lesson of the Indian mutiny? Has America forgotten to read the lesson of the civil war? Shall we allow ourselves to go to sleep agamover an eVil like this, folding our arms and saying : ' Let it alone; it will take care of itself'? The Governor of the Gold Coast said, 'We cannot interfere with the course of trade.' This has been said again and again in history. It reminds me of the passage: 'Yet a little more sleep, a little more slumber . . . so shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man.' Oh, that armed man! We saw him in America twenty years ago, and Gettysburg was the retribution of letting it alone. You saw it in the Indian mutiny away back among the fifties, and that fearful time was the retribution of letting it alone. Are we to let it alone again, and bring down still greater retribution upon our heads in America and upon you here?
" Once more I protest against this detestable traffic because of its neutral- izing effect upon the efforts of our Chrlstian missionaries. Why should we go to the heathen handicapped and hampered by men who have no care but to make money, and who have yoked the motive-power of appetite to the car of Mammon, that they may ride the more surely over men? Oh, brethren, as the representatives of the Missionary Societies of the world, let us rise in our might and say: 'It is time that we should be unlimbered and unhampered and delivered from this terrible evil.' If the churches of England were united, and in earnest, and right, no government would be able to resist them. If the churches of England, of Europe, and America were united, and in earnest, and right, no evil in the world could stand before them. Let there be no pessimism among us in regard to this. PessimIsm is lor those who have no Christ; courage is the characteristic of those who know they have Him with them and in the midst of them. But we must ourselves have clean hands. Let us labor, and pray, and determine in the might of God to lay low everything in the shape of demoralizing traffic with these native races. Let us knock it on the head, and sweep its kennel clean out. The resolution was carried by acclamation.
KING LEOPOLD AND THE TRAFFIC.
" A third resolution, recognizing the benefits that have already accrued to Africa in connection with the founding of the Congo Free State by the King of the Belgians, invoking his aid in suppressing the drink traffic, and appointing a committee to proceed to Brussels and lay this important matter before his Majesty, was submitted to the meeting by the Rev. Dr. J. Murdock, of Boston. In doing so he mentioned an incident told in New York by Mr. H. M. Stanley. When that explorer met the King in Uganda, the King asked him many questions about Queen Victoria, the Emperor of Germany, and others i then he said, •What tidings can you bring me from above?' Mr. Stanley, unhappily, was not an expert in these matters, but he gave the King a New Testament, which he declared contained the only answer which man could ever receive to that most momentous inquiry. After a long passage across the continent, Stanley came at last to meet with the colored people of the Western Coast, and the first question they asked of him was, 'Have you any gin?' That, said Dr. Murdock, is the difference between heathendom pure and simple and heathendom as touched by the curse of Western civilization. It was in order to touch this evil at its very core that the matter would be laid before the King of the Belgians. The resolution was seconded by Mr. H. Grattan Guinness in a paper full of startling facts, most eloquently and impressively stated. The resolution was heartily agreed to i the gentlemen appointed to carry out its provisions being Dr. Murdock, Mr. Grattan Guinness, Mr. J. Bevan Braithwaite, and Mr• .Alfred Baynes.
L!OENSED VICE IN INDIA.
"The fourth and last resolution was moved by MI'. Alfred S. Dyer, who, as the Chairman remarked, had only a few days before returned from India. On rising, MI'. Dyer was greeted with oft-repeated rounds of cheering, and it was some time before he was able to speak. He read the resolution as follows: " That this Conference has heard with shame and sorrow of the extensive system of State·licensed vice carried on throughout India by authority of the Indian government; that at the same time it desires to place on record its deep sense of the great service rendered to the canse of morality and religion by the House of Commons determining the repeal of all legislation which anthorizes and en· courages vice; and it confidently expects that Her Majesty's government will now take Immediate measures to abolish what constitutes a social degradation, and so remove a stnmbling-block to religion, and the dishonor to the name of Great Britain which have resulted from this system; and further. that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime :Minister and the Secretary of State for Indis.
"The time being far spent, Mr. Dyer had proposed simply to read the resolution, leaving it to speak for itself without any advocacy of his own. In response, however, to the calls of the audience, he said: The uppermost feeling in my heart is one of unbounded thanksgiving to God for the great victory which has been gained in the House of Commons in this cause of social purity. I honor the noble men in that House who have stood faithful to this cause amid so much ridicule. I honor them in that they have been • faithful to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I look upon this victory entirely as an answer to the prayers that have been offered up. We have been praying about it in India. Not a day passed that I did not pray for it, so that I feel, as I have said, unbounded thankfulness to God, while I thank those members of Parliament. After seven or eight months' patient investi- gation in India, and coming into contact also with the drink traffic, I have come to the conclusion that the two great obstacles to the success of mission- ary work in India are the systems of licensed vice and of licensed drink. I would only add that we must see that the resolution of the House of Com- mons is carried out in India. I hope in a few weeks to go back there; and I intend to stay there, to act as your representative, to exercise a due vigil- ance, and to see that the system of licensed Ivice is abolished. While I am there, I shall also make it my business to investigate further these questions of the drink traffic and the Chinese opium traffic, and to see if I can help you to get rid of them.
"Rev. G. E. Post, M.D., seconded the resolution. He said: 'It was with extreme repugnance that I undertook to speak. My repugnance arose from the fact that I felt myself to be a citizen of another land, and that this was a question which primarily concerned Britain. But in presence of such a ques- tion you are not Eng-lishmen, and I am not an American, but we are all of us citizens of the commonwealth of man, and endowed from heaven with the freedom of the city of God. I take that freedom to protest against the worst form of outrage that has ever been perpetrated against a defenseless people, Anglo-Saxon fathers, hang your heads with shame for the cause that brings us here to-night. Anglo-Saxon mothers, turn your hearts away from your husbands and your sons; you cannot look them in the face as you discuss a question like this. Anglo-Saxon daughters, draw your veils over your eyes lest you put me to silence by ihe mantling blushes on your cheeks. Twelve years ago the civilized world was stirred to its depths by the story of the Bulgarian atrocities. A few undisciplined Bashi Bazouks, elated by victory, were guilty of atrocities which brought down upon their country a desolating war, which dismembered it, and which drew from one of your statesmen that famous utterance that the Turks must be driven, 'bag and baggage,' out of Europe. We have been guilty of an atrocity which surely might justify the statement that we ought to be driven, 'bag and baggage,' out of Asia. This, moreover, is not an atrocity by a few guerilla soldiers, but by a Christian Government, with its two estab- lished religions and its numerous churches and chaplains. We have gone into India in an official capacity, to degrade, first our own sons, and then the daughters of the weak subject races. It is with shame that we confess that our race has sunk to such a degradation as that. Turn to a lIlore cheerful aspect, and reJoice at the action of the House of Commons. All honor to those noble men who have stood up and vindicated the right. I repudiate, and never will believe, the accusation, that the medical profession stands behind these acts. I have been a member of that profession for twentyseven years. I say that when you press this matter on your legislative bodies, you may rely upon the medical profession being with you. And let us press forward in the consciousness that God is with us." The resolution was carried unanimously.
CLOSING WORDS.
The evening was now far advanced, but the Chairman called out Drs. Gordon and Pierson for brief addresses.
Dr. A. J. Gordon said: "It has been said, and I think truly, that there is enough sentiment, and conscience, and enthusiasm, and spiritual power in this audience to move our governments to the abolition of these terrible iniquities. Let it be remembered for our encouragement that in England, when the slave trade was to be abolished, agitation began with only two or three men, who carried it to a successful issue. I remind you also that our great conflict in America began with two or three men, who for years stood alone. Again, remember that the leader of that movement placed on his banner the motto, 'Immediate, Unconditional Emancipation,' and in spite of all ridicule and all abuse, and all dissuasion, he never would take that motto off his banner, but carried it forward until at last the whole nation followed him, and we swept the curse of slavery from our land. I suppose it will be admitted by our American brethren that the most eloquent man America has produced in modern times was Wendell PhiUips. He stood side by side with Lloyd Garrison-the two stood alone for years. I remember the time when they could not rally twenty men in a city to listen to them, eloquent as they were. This, however, is what I am going to say: Dh, English women! oh, American women! do you know what you can do? Just before Wendell Phillips died, I had a memorable conversation with him. Knowing that he had sacrificed social position, and much besides, I had the curiosity to ascertain what led him into the agitation. He had an invalid wife, who for years never left the house. I asked, 'What first led you to espouse the cause of the slave and to stand by him? ' He replied, 'My whole career is due to my wife. She said to me before the thought had ever touched my conscience, 'Wendell, you must take up the cause of the slave,' and I did it at her request, and I fought it out because she stood behind me.' There is a lesson for Christian women! And now let us remember that if two leaders can. finally bring a whole vast nation to follow them in deIpanding the abolition' of such an evil, we are more than two, and we have had as eloquent men leading us to-night as either of those I have named. Let us follow them. There is nothing that ca'n stand against iteration and reiteration. Suppose you suspended a piece of iron .weighing a hundred pounds In the midst of this hall, and, when it was perfectly poised, you brought a schoolboy to pelt it with pieces of cork. At first there would be no impression, but if the boy kept at it long enough and directed the pieces of cork at one point, the time would come when the whole mass would begin to mo,'e. In like manner, our testimony may in itself be very weak and unworthy, but let us bring it to bear long enough-testimony after testimony, protest after protest, demand after demand, abhorrence after abhorrence, expressed in the intensest terms against these evils; and by and by the great mass will begin to move, and it will be swept out of the way. Let us not be disheartened. Let us take courage from the assurance that God will bruise Satan under our feet shortly."
Dr. A. T. Pierson, lD the course of a stirring address, said: "If I had time I would like to take up the challenge thrown down in that secular news-
MISSIONARY MONTHLY
paper. For I reckon that it knows a good deal more about the kingdom of Britain and other kingdoms than it does about the kingdom of God. We stood this afternoon in the London Missionary Society's premises, and had rehearsed to us in brief outline the wonderful story of the progress of the gospel in Tahiti and the neighboring groups of islands. The missionaries labored in Tahiti for years without any apparent results, but then within a very short time the people became so thoroughly Christianized that they sent to the otqer groups, and within forty-four years the regeneration of Polynesia was accomplished. And yet this newspaper thinks that the progress of foreign missions has been funereal! Having told of wonders wrought in China, Dr. Pierson said :We have spoken much in this Conference about the union which has been exhibited. I want to say that I take not the slightest credit to America or to myself for this unity. If in the presence of the gigantic foe that unites all its forces and masses all its hosts against the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, I did not forget that I am an American, and also forget the denomination to which I belong, I should consider myself a fossilized ecclesiastic, and not a disciple at all. When Herod and Pilate are made friends in order to crush Christ and Christianity, it behooves all true disciples to stand shoulder to shoulder, and to close about the ark of God. The fact is, our unity is largely the involuntary unity of those who in the presence of the adversary have come together because they cannot help it ; and I think that the methods and manner adopted by our foes make it clear that we can pursue no successful policy of warfare but an aggressive one. We had better stop throwing up defenses, and carry war into the enemy's camp. A positive, aggressive gospel is surely the one that is going to win the day."
THE MISSIONARY MONTHLY CONCERT.
BY DR. JAMES L. PHILLIPS, CHAPLAIN TO STATE INSTITUTIONS, R. I. ALMOST a century ago a few earnest Christians in England founded the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions. To this day it is faithfully observed in many churches of the mother country. More than twenty years ago, when I was a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, this monthly concert was regularly held in many of the New England and New York churches; and while visiting friends in the Western States, before embarking for India, I found it in some of the churches there. On coming back to America I have been making many inquiries, and regret to learn that there seems to be a marked falling off in the observance of this missionary service. The history of this meeting for nearly a hundred years affords ample proof of its importance. Its real value cannot be estimated, for facts and figures can neither detect nor determine the full benefit it has brought to the church of Christ at home and abroad. The journals of missionaries in foreign fields, and records found in our best periodical missionary literature, and in the memoirs of men who have been valiant pioneers in extending the triumphs of the kingdom of God on earth, yield abundant and remarkable testimony to the benefit and blessing that this monthly concert has been to Christian toilers in many lands. It is very cheering to find THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD calling attention regularly every month to the Concert of Prayer, and the following incidents may serve to illustrate and impress the importance of this service. Ten years ago, when at home on furlough before, one of the last things I had to do was the raising of an endowment fund for our Bible School in India. While engaged in this work, which occupied several months, I was traveling much and met with many very Ct9nvincing proofs of the educating power of the Missionary Concert. One of these I wish to cite, because it illnstrates how the regular observance of this monthly meeting tends to plant the habit of cheerful giving, one of the hardest habits, so the pastors tell us, for Christian disciples to acquire.
The committee sent me to some strange spots for money. Everyone who has done such deputation work among the churches on either side of the Atlantic knows wh~t surprises, pleasant and otherwise, drop into this line of service, and some of these become the salient points of the scene as you look back upon it in after years. One week day evening I had an fLppoint- men t in a village of Central Ohio. On stepping off the train, and looking over the place from the railway station, and there learning that the church to which I was sent was without a pastor, I wondered how this appointment came to be made. The outlook was anything but bright.
The hour for the missionary lecture found about seventy people seated in a plain house, the women on one side and the men on the other. They listened admirably to what was said about gospel work in India, and the demand for. trained native helpers. A stranger minister had offered the opening prayer, and no one volunteering to take pledges or the collection for my endowment, I asked my brother to wait upon one side of the house, while I did on the other. Catching up paper and pencil, he straightway went for the men, fancying no doubt that the pocket-books belonged on that side of the house. For once it wasn't so, for in cash and pledges together moire . than ten times as much came in from the women's sIde as from the men's side of that small congregation. I shall never forget the very first woman whom I asked for money that evening. Her quick answer to my question, "Would you like to help our Bible School?" was significant and cheered me so. Looking up through her glasses squarely into my face, she said :- "Indeed, I should, sir," and she gave me fifty dollars. Anotherlittle woman gave me twenty-five dollars, and still another ten. On reaching my lodg- ings I learned from my kind hostess that these three women were sisters, and naturally I was curious to know their history. One of them lived close by, so the next morning on my way to the railway station, I called upon her and thanked her and her sisters for the good cheer they had given me at the meeting. And from this humble Christian woman I learned these facts. Their childhood home was in Western New York, and they used to attend a Presbyterian church. Their pastor never failed to observe the monthly concel·t of prayer for missions, at which service he regularly brought be- fore his people the conditions and claims of the pagan nations, the freshest news from the front ranks of Christ's advancing army in all lands, and also the duty and the privilege of helping on this grand movement for the world's evangelization by earnest prayers and cheerful offerings. That faithful pastor had reached his rest and reward in heaven, and I, a stranger from the opposite side of the earth, had been permitted to reap' some of the golden harvest for which through years of patient toil he had sown the seed.
Another incident of more recent date illustrates the other side of the ben- efit that accrues from thIS missionary concert, that is the cheer it carries to our brethren across the seas. On the 6th of March, 1887, the concert topic in quite a number of churches was New Fields, and particular men,tion was made in the addresses and prayers of a little station recently opened on the Orissa coast. The young missionary planting this station had met with serious obstacles. A cyclone had blown down his first buildings, there had
ISLAM AND CIVILIZATION
been lack of funds for pushing on the work of rebuildhtg, and other discouragement. He did not know that on the first Sabbath of March we were to offer up special prayer lor him in our monthly concert. But the blessing came just the same.
In a private letter this missionary writes: "On the 6th and 7th of March I received a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Such courage I have never felt in my work, and all the native Christians felt more or less the same spirit of consecration. The following Sabbath I baptized six, and there are a number among the Hindus and Telugus here who, are seeking Christ. Wherever we go, the Spirit of the Lord seems to be going before to open up the way. It has been surprising to me, and the native workers have remarked a number of times, how wonderfully the people accept the gospel."
By the slow course of an ocean mail, our brother on that Ori!'sa coast learned on the 3d of April, from a Boston newspaper dated February 24th, that the missionary concert of March 6th was to make him and his field the special subject of prayer. Whereupon he writes: "Then it flashed upon me like light from heaven that my wonderful blessing on the 6th and 7th of March was a direct answer to your prayers, and I went into the service and told the Brethren. Instead of preaching, we had a consecration meeting, in which the power of the Spirit was wonderfully manifest. It was a blessed day. I believe the prayers offered there for this special field were answered. Today the hardest man in this place sent to buy a New Testament. God's Word will make its way, and His kingdom prevail."
These words from a lone man on a far-off shore speak volumes to every pastor in America and Europe. Would that all pastors, in city and country alike, could be of one mind in observing this Monthly Concert of prayer for Missions. How the church at home needs the quickening and refreshing it would surely bring! One of the most interesting sessions of the Convention of the International Missionary Union, held at the Thousand Island Park in 1887, was devoted to discussing ways and means for stirring up our home chnrches to persevering prayer and systematic beneficence in behalf of the millions still in pagan darkness. Over and again during this discussion, it came out that wherever the monthly concert was regularly kept up, the interest i,missions was intelligent and aggressive. Beloved pastors of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout all lands, will you revive and sustain this MONTHLY CONCERT, and so teach your people to obey His great command to disciple the nations?
ISLAM AND CIVILIZATION. "THE recent controversy as to the comparative merits of Islam and Christianity raises issues deeper and wider than the so-called' religious world.' It is not Christianity alone, but civilization, which is involved in the issue. I believe that under Christianity alone can man reach the perfect development of his nature. • . • Islam can raise to its own level tri,bes lower than itself in the scale of humanity; but this it does at the terrible cost of petrifying them at that level forever-the level, that is, of the barbarous Arabs of Mahomed's day. For, except in the matter of idolatry and infanticide, Islam, as we find it in Mecca, its metropolis, is not in advance of the social and intellectual condition of the Arabs of that time; and inasmuch as the Koran claims to be the last declaration of the divine will to man, it follows that any progreiis beyond the Koran is not only superfluous, but impious in addition. And the history of Islam all ovel' the world proves to demonstration that what was antecedently to be e~pe~ted has in fact occurred. • • • The Koran, in Islamic belief, was written by the finger of God in the highest heaven before all time, every word and letter of it, in the Arab tongue; was· then, at the predestined time, taken down to the third heaven by the angel Gabriel, and there recited, word for word, to Mahomed in an audible voice in 'suras' or chapters, as occasion required, and was by him miraculously re- produced from memory. This is an article of faith throughout the world of Islam; and as the Koran professes to be the last revelation of the divine will to man, it follows, of course, that nothing which is sanctioned in the Koran, explicitly or implicitly, can· ever be abrogated, altered, or become obsolete.
Nobody who realizes this fact will believe that the Koran can possibly be a preparatory discipline, like Greek philosophy, for Christianity.
There is no living voice in the church of Islam to reconcile the past with the present and make provision for the future. It claims an infallibility more sweeping and more rigid than that of the Vatican decrees, but it is the in- fallibIlity of a dead pontiff, an ignorant and immoral Bedouin, who died twelve centuries ago. . . . As a spirtiual force, in so far as it ever was one, Islam is not advancing, but retrograding. The Musulman world contains no longer a single center from which radiates any intellectual light 01' any sign of material progress. There is not one Mussulman state in the world which wields independent sway-which, in fact, does not exist solely by the suffer- ance of Christendom. A creeping paralysis has fastened upon Islam, and the shadow of the devouring eagles may even now be descried on its horizon.
How stands the case of Christianity in comparison? Its Pattern Man is not only to the Christian, but to the great mass of intelligent and educated un- believeJ's, the highest and noblest ideal of humanity that history records or the human mind can conceive. His teaching and example are the most per- fect exhibition of human virtue that the world has seen. . • . As to the comparatively slow progress of Christianity and its imperfect success, even within the frontiers of Christendom, we must distinguish between the essence of a system and its separable accidents. Islam, at its best, bears within it the incurable germ of inevitable decay and dissolution. The hin- drances to the spread of Christianity, on the other hand, are but parasites whioh cling to it and which it may shake off. They may be summarized as follows: "1. The divisions of Christendom. Islam, too, has its sects, and many of them; but they close their ranks and present a united front to the 'unbe- lievers.' 2. Faulty methods of propagandism, such as neglect of rearing in foreign lands a native ministry, while importing European habits, customs and dress among native converts. 3. The discredit cast upon the Christian name by the lives and demoralizing traffic of professing Christians. 4. To which may be added, as regards India, the active discouragement and even resistance which, until a recent period, a professedly Christian government offered to the propagation of Christianity. . It is a superficial view which would confine the comparison between Christianity and Islam to the numerical proportions of their respective adherents, though even on that score Christianity has no reason to blush, as I have already shown, and as Sir William Hunter has explained with respect to India. At the time of Christ's dea.th, 'the number of names together,' who owned themselves His disciples, 'were about an hundred and twenty.' Was that a fair test of the success of his ministry? The apparently signal failures of Christianity have generally been the preludes to fresh victories. So it may be now. The suc- cess of Christianity at any given time is not to be measured by visible r~sults.
In India, in Japan, in China, in Africa, throughout the Turkish empire, it is
ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK
silently sapping the foundations of rival religions. Its ideas and principles are in the air, like those minute yet potent germs of which physical science tells us. Only they are germs of health inoculating diseased organisms with the seeds of a. regenerate life. Christianity is impregnating Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Paganism, with hopes, aspirations, ideals, principles, which are gradually but surely disintegrating the old order of things, and preparing the way for the reception of Christianity."-Malcolm MacOoll, in Oontemporary Review.
n.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK.
Established Ohuroh of Scotland. crease in the membership of the church to the number of 7,973_ The total number of commu- AT its recent session the Foreign nicants is 579,002. In 1873 the membership was Mission Committee reported to the 460,464, so that there Is an increase of 118,538 in General Assembly 827 baptisms as fifteen years. the fruits of the labors of their missionaries during 1887. Of these The Free Ohuroh of Scotland. 676 were in the Punjab, around Sialkot; 120 in the threefold Darjeeling GEN1IRAL abstract, showing the sums raised Mission; 13 in Madras, and 13 in Ar- for the various objects of the church for tbe konam; 4 in Calcutta, and 1 in Bom- year, from 31st March, 1887. to 31st March, 1888: bay. To these add 1 at Calcutta and 2 at Madras, in connection with the I. Sustentation fund ………… £167,37474 Ladies' Association. There are at II. Local building fund. . . . . . . . . . 65.689 8 IIJ-ii present about 3,000 baptized persons III. Congrega- In the Church of Scotland's missions to the heathen in India, Africa and tional fund. £16:>,005 8 5J-ii China. Congrega- RECEIPTS. tional mis- cellaneous The Foreign Mission Revenue from all sources objects …. 43,123 12 6 in 1887 was £43,399. This sum inclndes income – – – – 208,129 0 llJ-ii IV. Missions and education.. . . •. 117.916 5 1 at home, £24,481; income abroad, £10,799; in- V. Miscellaneous ………….. 33,746 3 2 terest on J1lvested funds, £1,267; income of Total……………………£592.855 5 1 Ladies' Association for Foreign Missions, £6,8,;2. The missionary receipts were as follows: Revenue at Home…………………. £50,295 As regards income, results, and additions to the Revenue Abroad………………….. 33,5UI For tho Conversion of the Jews…….. 8.682 sta1l', 1887 has been the most prosperous year ill Making the whole missionary revenue the history of the Foreign Mission. of the Free Church of Scotland for – – 1887-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £100,756 The total contributions to the various schemes of the church for the year amounted to £151,805, an Increase on the previous year of £9,293.
DUring the past year there bas been an in- United Presbyterians of Sootland.
SUMMARY FOR 1887.
Annual Income, '£43,430 13s.• Including a Small Expenditure in Spain.
No. of Com- Native Fields of Labor. Sta- Foreign Workers. Native Workers. muni- Schools. Schol- Contri- – – – – – – – – tions. cants. ars. butions. ——— —— — — — Or- Fe- Or- !~~. dained. Lay. male. dained. Lay.
Jamaica ………… 46 19 . …. …… 13 82 ………… 8,796 68 £ Trinidad ……….. 3 2 "2" 1 ··42" 359 2 5,967 6,000 Old Calabar. 6 6 7a 4 "iil' 269 ]6 Kaft'raria ……….. 11 11 3 76 1,426 India…………… 10 15 10 ….2· .. 65 2,180 3'~ 517 194 195 1,482 1,266 .. ..2.. 15 2 445 92 5,029 . 217 ..2… …1… 499 5 – – – -13- – – – – – – – – – – – China ………….. 43 -3-90 Japan ………….. 4 –** – ** 80 – -ll!2- Totals………… 84 61 7 21 22 389 44 12,938 210 13,071 £9.325 *Not reported.
The Income as given above IS over 1886 gaye, and 161 more native com- .£3,800 more than our report for municants. Irish Presbyterians. Total home receipts .. " ……•.. £124,581 19 fa FORTY-SIXTH annual report on FOREIGN RECEIPTS.
Foreign Missions, presented to the Mission districts auxiliaL·'ls…… 5,803 0 6 General Assembly in Belfast, June, Total ordinary receipts. . •. . •. . 130,337 19 8 1888. EXTRAORDINABY RECEIPTS. The report is encouraging. The Contributions for special missions year 1887 has been a notable one in the Indian Mission. There were 147 in UpperBurmah, Central Atrica, baptisms, and an increase of communicants, and two natives were China, India, etc…………… 1,508 18 6 ordained over congregations of conveds from heathenism. The outlook Ditto, for St. Vincent Hurricane in China to.day is more hopeful than it has been for many years. The in- Di5tress Fund…. …………. 20 4 4 come of the Society is also steadily, though not rapidly, increasing, as Total Income ..•…………. £131,867 2 6" the figures below will show: PAYlIlENTS. Total sum raised 1884-5, £11,130 5s.; 1885-6, £12,032 lOs.; 1886-7, £12,728 18s.; 1887-8, General expenditure …………. £136,124 8 0 On account of Special Missions, £13,054 16s. If we add to last year's sum the £2,000 raised etc ……………………… . 1,529 210 Ditto,Ladies'AnxiliaryCommittee 313 19 5 for the Stevenson Memorial Fund, it would Total expenditnre ……….. £131,967 10 3 make the sum total above £15,000. From which deduct ordinary and Presbyterian Ohuroh in Oanada. extraordinary receipts for the year.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. …. . 131,867 2 '> THE report made to the General Leaving a deficiency on 1887 Assembly, which met in June, is account of……………. . 6,100 7 9 highly interesting and inspIrIng. To which add the debt of 1886.. . 10,768 19 11 Decided pl'ogress is reported in all Leaving a total deficiency of. £16,869 7 8 the Missions under the Assembly's GENERAL SUMMARY.
care. Missions nnder the immediate direction of the Wesleyan Missionary Committee and British According to the returus the Canadian Pres- Conference, in Europe, India, China, West byterian Church now embraces 1831 churches 4(rica, the Transvaal, B,"itish Hondura8, and stations, with 793 ministers. The active and the Bahamas. membership aggregates 76,226 families, 13,261 single members, while the church-goers number Central or Principal Stations called Cirahout 400,000. There are 112,940 Sabbath cuits ……………………………. 336 scholars, and 12,976 teachers, having the privilege of libraries containing 183,471 volumes. Chapels and other Preaching Places in The income of the Church last year was $1,772,- connection with the above-mentioned 000, against $1,215,000 in 1881. Last year Central or Principal Stations, as far as $738,000 was paid in stipends, or an average of ascertained.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . 1,338 $943 to each minister. $112,000 was also subscribed last year towards Home and Foreign Missionaries and ASSistant-Missionaries, missions; $86,866 for foreign missions, as including Supernumeraries.. . . . . . . . . . . 333 against $69,000 last year. Knox and Queen's College each have sent out and support a mis- Other paid AgentR, as Catechists, Inter- sionary to China. The Women's Foreign Mis- preters, Day-school Teachershetc…… 2,000 sionary Society contributed over $23,000, as against $18,500 last year. Unpaid Agents, as Local Preac ers, Sab- bath-school Teachers, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,859 Wesleyan Missionary Sooiety. Full and accredited Chnrch Members…. 32,lt?O THE seventy-fourth annual meet- On trial for Chnrch-Membership…….. _ 4,1114 ing of this society was held in Exeter Scholars attending either the Sabbath or Hall, London; April 30. The abstract of the report shows that the Day·schools… . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. .. .. . … 59,388 Society's debt has been increased by £6,100, and is now £16,869. Unless Ohurch Missionary Society. there is an increase of income this year it will not be possible to main- THIS society, which has the largest tain the existing missions of the income of any missionary society in society. the world, held its eighty-ninth an- niversary in Exeter Hallin June. Its income for the year was £221,331 ($1,106,655). We give an abstract of the financial report: Last year the committee reported the larg- est ordinary income on record, viz., 207,7931., the advance being mainly due to an exceptional amount of legacies. This year the total is only 191,557l., the lowest in the past five years; but this again is due to a falling-off of nearly 14,- ODOl. in legacies. The receipts from all sources except legacies, viz. 173,7561., are the highest in the past five years. The committee therefore feel constrained to utter a note of heartiest thanksgiving. Moreover, some of the most im- surplns of one year and being charged with the portant gifts of the year do not come nnder deficit of another, is entirely exhausted for the ordinary income. The Extension Fund has re- first time since it was formed, in 1880. Judged, ceived, 8,6791., including a benefaction of 5,5OOl., therefore, from a business point of view, the po- specially allocated to Japan and the Punjab. sition is a seriOlls one. Yet the committee dare More than 4,0001. has been received for the Ny- not send back the candidates for missionary ser- anza Mission. The contributions for the Winter vice who are coming forward in increasing Mission to India amounted to 1,700l.; and 700/. numbers, and who are plainly brought by the has beeu given towards the proposed Hanning- Lord of the harvest to be thrnst forth into His ton Memorial Church at Frere Town. The total harvest. Nor do they believe it is necessary to receipts from all sources amount to 221,3311. do so. If only there is faith to roll upon Him the whole burden, and to follow in simple obedience Nevertheless, the facts remain that the defi- the clear indications of His will, there is no ciency in legacies has diminished the resources cause for fear. But the committee are bound to at the committee's disposal for carrying on the state the case to their friends exactly as it stands. work by Over 13,0001. ; that the expenditure of Put in one sentence, it is this: to replace the the year is more by 2,333l. than that of last year, Contingency Fund, and to cover the estimated and though considerably under the estimate, expenditure of the current year, will require a sum exceeding the income of the past year by I has exceeded the receipts by 12,oool. ; and that 3'.ooOl. the Contingency Fund, which is always the bar- ometer of the Society's position, receiving the Fields of Labor. – – ——– — – – ——– – – No. of Com- Schol- Native Sta- Foreign Workers. ars. Contri- tions. IDuni- Native Workers. Schools – butio-ns. cants.
Or- Lay. Fe- 01'- J..ay. Fe- £ dained. male. dained. male. West Africa…….. 42 10 14 49 151 75 9,598 96 6,995 7,875 East&Central Africa 11 14 11 1 Egypt aud Arabia .. 2 2 14 ..7 281 .. 8 528 95 Palestiue ……….. 9 6 13 1 1 '5 2 140 9 11 45 1,875 266 48 12 885 Persia and Bagdad. 2 4 1 .. 1 11 11 93 8 309 Poenrslyia } 343 India…………… 91 Ceylon………….. 12 109 1..2 12 137 1,724 421 24,531 1,314 47,089 6..,8..73 Mauritius ………. 6 12 250 93 2,009 192 9,793 …… China ………….. 20 18 1 ..1 29 1,470 Japan ………….. 5 3 52 4 16 3 421 115 2,007 New Zealaud……. 42 10 5 N. W. America ….. 31 23 3 I .. 242 16 2,570 129 North Pacific……. 7 8 '43 11 ~17 ~415 is 336 1;211 15 I .. 122 2,562 1,115 227 2 .. 92 201 7 268 Totals………. 280 247 40 22 265 2,881 653 4i,115 1,859 71,814 £15,452 The London Missionary Sooiety. and kindred societies to preach the The ninety-fourth annual meeting gospel to the heathen." The plea of this society was held in Exeter Hall, May 10, under the presidency of Lord Brassey made for the extension the renowned traveler, Lord Brassey, K.C.B. The testimony of the chair- of the work was very effective. man, who has had such exceptional opportunities for witnessing the " Iu the report reference is made to the splenwork of missionaries in different did success which has attended the work of lands, haviug, as he himself indi- your Society under those illustrious missioncated, seen the work in Labrador, aries, Lawes aud Chalmers, iu New Guinea. We Terra-deI-Fuego, in Turkey, India, have very interesting details with reference to Tahiti and elsewhere, is very valua- the progress of the work iu Iudia and in China; ble. He admits that there have been and as a most remarkable instance of the sucindiscretions in some cases, but he cess of our work, let me refer once more to that adds: "I venture to say that few in- devoted zeal which is shown by the native misdeed are those instances of indiscre- sionaries who are recruited from the South tion in comparison with the mass of Seas. I do not know any evidence more imnoble work which has been done for pressive of the good results of the work which generations by those who have been is done by this Society than this most telling sent forth under the auspices of this fact, that the work which is being carried on by those 160 devoted men and women, who have gone forth from this country, is being supple- mented and carried forward by no less than 1,000 native ordained ministers, and 6,000 native preachers. Aud looking to another and per- haps a less impressive circumstauce, is it not ex- ceedingly grat!(ying to observe that the statement of income which this society has at its dis- tary (Dr. Green), set forth that: posal for its good work contains an item of nO less than £17,000, which Is subscribed by the The receipts from !Ill sources during the year, native people from theIr limited aud narrow re- ncluding the balance at commencement,. were sources,to carry forward the missionary work?" £211,108. There was a net increase on the year of £9,098. The total expenditure had been The total income of the society Cor 1887 £208,662. The number of new publications isamounted to £157,000. But uo less than £27,000 sued during the year amounted to 757, of which of this sum came from legacies, which is £16,000 214 were tracts and leafiet.. The circulation above the yearly average, necessitating mnch had reached 61.061,050, including 24.590,600 more liberal giving the current year to avoid a tracts. To this number must be added that of heavy debt. the Issues from foreign depots, estinlated at 15,- 000,000; the total amount being 76,061,050, a Religious Traot Sooiety. slight diminutiou upon the whole as compared with the issues of the previous year, although EXETER was crowded on the occa- the circulation of the tracts has shown an insion of the eighty-ninth annual meet- crease of 870,300. In the year 1887 no fewer than ing of the Religious Tract Society. 222,000 of the London Board School children Lord Balfour, of Burleigh, presided. were presenled for examinalion in Scripture, of The annual report, read by the secre- whom 5,555 received prizes and certificates.
Methodist New Oonnenon Missionary Sooiety.
Annual Income, £7,106.* No. of Ad- Com- Native Sta· herents. Contribu- tions. muni- cants. tions. Fields ofEntered Foreign Native Schools. Schol- Workers. Workers. arB. —- —- I ;LaY'1 – – — – – – – Labor.A.D.
— £ daOiure-rl. Lay. • mFaele-.
Ohina …. 1859 50 6 1 47 3 2,436 1,218 6 162 388 *Iucluding the sums spent in Ireland, Canada and Australia. The Missiou in Canada 1D 1874 united with the various other Methodist bodies in the Dominion, and thus was formed '.' The Metho- dist Church of Canada."
United Methodist Free Ohurch Missions.
Annual Income, £21,876 178. 9d. * No. of Foreign Native Com- Schol- Native Sta- Workers. Workers. muni- ars. Contribu- tions. cants. tions. — – – – —- – – – – – —- —- Entered A.D. Fields of Labor. Schools.
'– Ordained. Lay. £ China ……………… 1864 3 3 11 306 4 77 34 East Africa ………… ]861 5 4 9 180 5 241 24 West Africa………… 1859 6 5 92 2,894 11 1,122 641 J-am-aic-a .- – ……. – – ……..- -1838- -10- – -9 – – -48 – – – 3,342 -31- -1,-924- -1,-188- – Totals ………………… 24 21 160 7.622 51 5,864 1,893 * This total includes the sums expended in the colonies of Australla and New Zealand, as well as in heathen lands and in Jamaica.
The Southern Baptist Oonvention Maryland. . •.. . . •. . •.. . •••. •.. . . . .. .. •.. .. 2 M!ss?u~i…………………………….. held its forty-third anniversary in 4 MISSISSIPPI. .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . .. . .. • 3 . ~r::i~i~· …………….:.:::.::::::::::: 1~ Richmond, May 11-15.
Total income from April, 1887 to Western Arkansas and Iudian Territory.. 15 Western North Carolina……………… 18 April,1888 $86,385,66 West Virginia………………………. 1 Total expenses 84,848,34 Total………………………… ~ Actual balance for the new ••• WORK DONE. MISSIonarIes ………………….. '" year – $1,748,60 287 Churches and stations …………… . 1,114 The number of missionaries in the employ of Baptisms ……………………… .. 4,857 the Board during the past year has been as fol- Reeeived by letter……………… .. 2,63n Total additions . . . . . . . . . . . " ……… _ '1,4H6 lows: S. S. organized ………………….. _ 431 Arkansas ……………….. ~………… 22 Cuba………………………………. 17 Teachers and pupils ……………… . 17,240 District ocColumbia……… …. …….. 1 Churches constituted……………. . Houses of worship built………… ,_ 306 FlOrida…………………………….. 37 Georgia…………………….. …….. 5 64 Iodi!,,! Territory. . .. .. . … .. . . .. . .. .. .. . . . 15 Cost of bouses of worship ………..• $54.068 LOulSlana………………….. ……… 21 Pages of tracts distributed……….. . 442,852 Bibles and Testaments …………… . 1.769 Total Snnday-school publications…. . 4,754,000
CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
III.-CORRESPON DENCE and GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Jews of Morocco. or forced outside the city walls and there m~ dered in cold blood. Their hodies were then cat By Rev. E. F. Baldwin, our Ed- into pieces, and their clothes as well. The money itorial Correspondent at Tangiers. that each one had was put into hi. hands, which MOGADOn, MOROCCO, May 25, 1888. were severed from the bodies. Their headlcss DEAR EDITons.-Although I am working as trunks, their heads themselves, their hands and a missionary among the Moors aud Arabic- feet were laid in order in a long ghostly row.
speaking Berber races of this great empire, yet The scene of lamentation and woe the next morn- I feel great ,interest iu the Jews which are found ing, when the entire Jewish population poured crowded tcgether in all its many cities. A few out to behold the harrowing sight, was inde- notes respecting them will doubtless interest scribable. The heads only conld be recognized.
your readers. It was impossible to know to which of the mur- Large numbers of these ancient people of dered men the severed members belonged.
God are supposed to have been settled in Moroc- Doubtless the Jews often exasperate the co from the earlier centuries of the Christian era. Moors beyond endurance by their nsurious if They were greatly increased by the influx from not dishonest extortions. The following incident Spain about the end of the fifteenth centnry. was just told me by a credible witness. In an When Columbus was sailing westward to dis- inland Morocco city a Moor died, leaving a wid- cover a new continent many scores of thousands ow and three little children. Before there had of wretched Israelites were sorrowfully making time elapsed to bury him, a Jew appeared, de· their way out of Spain and Portugal, where they manding from the widow the sum of $600, which had been enslaved and persecuted, and from he clainaed was dne him from the deceased. The which they were now finally banished. Spain had widow protested that it could not be so or she long afforded them an asylum. To them is would have known of it. She had nothing to largely due the attainment in arts and letters pay. He was one of the protected Jews referred that marked the period of Moslem conquest and to. At his demand the body of the dead man rule in Spain, and which has been so vaunted by was brought out of the house which had bethe admirers of Islam, which in itself is incapa- longed to him, and his widow and her children ble of aught but blight and ruiu. The descend- were also ejected. She buried her husband and ants of these forlorn Jews are now found then made her way to the house of the chief throughout Morocco. They densely fill the sep- rabbi of the Jewish community. She was ad- arately walled off portions assigned to them in mitted, her children being with her to add force the Moorish cities. These Jewish quarters are to her appeal. She tcld hina her piteous tale.
called the Mellahs or places of damnation. Into He was an upright man. He sent her away to these they are shut from sunset to sunrise. They return after three days. That night he called are downtrodden and despised. They formerly together the leading Jews of the place, the of- were compelled to wear only black garments. fending Jew among them. The rabbi, when Also when outside their Mellaha in many towns the Jew persisted in its being an honest debt, they must go in their bare feet. Neither may counted out before him the $600 in gold from his they ride through the Moorish part of the town. own store, and, placing their Scriptures before They are in constant dread of the Moors, who him, demanded of him that he shonld swear tc oppress and maltreat them. The Jew never the righteousness of his claim and then take his makes the least resistance. The fear of the na- money and restore the widow her house. He tions among whom they dwell is indeed upon refused to swear, from which his gnilt was evi- them as foretold. dent. The next morning the rabbi sent for I recently heard from an eye witness of an mules, and began lading them with his goods, appalling circumstance that occurred in Fez, the saying he would leave such an iniquitous people northern capital of Morocco, now less than a year before it was smitten with the wrath of God.
ago. ·Several Moors, it is asserted, had been The Jews gathered about hina and entreatedhina thrown into prison on false claims for debts and entreated him to stay, but without avail. brought against them by Jews who had the ben- Then they insisted on the offending Jew leaving efit of foreign protection, that is under the pro- the town, hanishing him from their midst. Upon tection of one of the foreign consuls. Such pro- this the old rabbi consented to remain. The tected natives, whether Jews or Moors,cannot be Moorish authorities were appealed to, and the called to account for their actions by the Moorish addule, or Moorish officer who conspired with authorities, being only answerable to the minis- the Jew and gave him a false paper on which he ter or consul who gives them protectIOn. The made his claina, was arrested, and on confessing friends of the agrieved Moors took summary his gnilt was thrown in prison, where he still re- and dreadful vengeance by waylaying nine of mains. the chief men of the Jewish community, includ- On the Jewish Sabbath just passed I accoming some of the offenders. They were on their way from the business part of Fez to the Mellak, panied a missionary of the Jews who is laboring In the gathering dusk, when they were enti~ed here to the Jewish synagogues, and there saw much the saml) scene as was witnessed when the Lord and IDs apostles were on the earth. sible tiDle; and to this end it is the duty of There was the venerable rnier of the synagogne. Christians to give personal effort and money. Then, too, after their reading of the law and Besides. this there are some things that need prayers it was virtually said to the friend I was special attention. One is to sonnd out a strong with, "If ye have any word of exhortation for voice against the Drink Tramc in the Free Congo tile people, say on." Whereupon he preached State. Such a protest will be concurred in by Christ to them from their own law, much in the the leading inlluence of the Established Churches same way that Paul did in Antioch, in Pisidia. of England and Scotland. At the same time, The place, the faces, the dress, the manners, the however, the arts of the opium trade aud use in service were all Oriental, Jewish and full of China and India, and of the free still system of Scriptnre suggestions. I noticed also that" when India'ought to be noticed as great hindrances to they heard that he spake in the Hebrew ton!(ue the evangelization of the 600 millions in these to them, they kept the more silence." The two lands. brother I speak of was a converted Persian Jew who is the assistant of Mr. Zerbib, the mission- Another question in relation to which the ary of the London Jewish Society for Promoting Conference should give expression is this, viz.: the Gospel among the Jews_ He succeeded Mr. What shall be done with converts who have, in Guinsburg, who was long here, but has now accordance with the laws and us~ges which prebeen removed to Constantinople. He was much vail in China and India 'from the days of Abrabeloved in this field. ham, and before them, two or more wives. The present prevailing usages of different mission- I have no space to speak of my own work, ary societies is to require them to put away aU which is among the Moors and other Arabic- wives but one. I think this contrary to aposspeaking races of this vast and almost entirely tolic usage. I think they should be permitted til unevangelized empire. I have recently come to retain their wives till separated by death. I Mogador in the sonthern part of Morocco, from seud you a printed copy of my views. Tangier, where I have been working for several years. The outlook is full of promise. We are The estimated number of Buddhists. EdwlJ: hoping soon to be joined by others. Perhaps I Arnold, in his .. Light of Asia," states the num ought to mention that I am an independent missionary, unconnected with any society, and ber to be 470 millions-the greatest number or therefore looking to the Lord alone for needed direction and supplies. But we find it true that religionists of one sect in the world_ Others, al "He is faithful that promised." Mr. Eugene Rev. James Freeman Clarke, in his" Ten Great Levering, 2 Commerce street,Baltimore, receives Religions," states the number to be 300 millions, and forwards funds for me, Dr. John Peddie, and others at 250 millions, and so on_ These pastor of the Fifth Baptist Church, Philadel- statements are made with a view to discredit phia, and Rev. A. C. Dixou, pastor of the 1m· our holy religion. I regard these statements as manuel Baptist Church, Baltimore, know me entirely unwa'/"1"anted and uiuJUpported by facts well. The church of the first licensed me to and principles which guide in classifying re preach, and in the church of the second I was ligionists. I inclose a pamphlet in which I dis- ordained. My father was formerly a pastor in cuss the subject and give my reasons for fixing New York city. the number of Buddhists at 8eventy·two millions. Prof. Monier Williams, who is a very much Ohina. more reliable man than EdWin Arnold or Dr. Freeman Clarke, states, as his opinion, that 100 LETTER from Dr. A. P. Happer: millions would be a large estimate of the Bud- [This lp.tter was written before the dhists in the world. It is too bad that Christian writers should accept and publish the opinion of meeting of the London Conference, skeptics and infidels on this point when there is and contains several important sug- positive testimony. If the Conference should appoint a committee on this point who would gestions in relation to its action, most publish a report, accepting Prof. Monier Will- iams's estimate of the number of Buddhists in of which received due attention.- the world, viz., 100 millions, it would be ac- cepted by Christiau writers as a reliaQle state- EDS.] ment, and do away with this infidel reproach to Christianity. For, with Protestant, Greek and CANTON, April 30, 1888. Roman Catholic followers, Christianity has the My DEAR DR. PIERSON.-THE MISSIONARY most numerous following lin the world, and au REVIEW OF THE WORLD for April has just ever increasing multitude. I include a pamph- reached me. I suppose you expect to be in Lon- let on this subject that may go into the hands of don from Juue !l-19th at the World's Missionary such" committee. Conference. I pray that the Spirit of God may be poured out upon the members with great Iu this day of multiplying the number of mis- power. sionaries, I think it specially importaut that There are some things that should have con- sideration of the Conference. First, and above some arrangements should b'e adopted to give all, it will seek to deepen the conviction in the whole Christian church that it is its duty to them some distinct and practical instruction aud evangelize the whole world in the shortest pos- training regarding the work to be done, and the best way to do it, by missionaries, men and women. :Many men and women come out with In what lis God glorified t 1110 being kTI(JWn. the most indefinite idea of what they are to do, A biographer. in making people adniire his hero, or how to do it. I inclose a pamphlet on this does a great deal of "touching-up," cutting paint. I do emphasize !uno it may best be none. down faults and expanding virtues. A homan I favor a professorship in existing institntions, character suft'ers by being perfectly known. But though a distinct institute for that purpose may the glory Of God is in being known. Our busibe best. ness is simply to cry with Isaiah, "Behold your God! " One cannot look at the sun without Some of these papers may be of use to you, if Beeing ItB brightness. One cannot look on Jethese pOints come up in the Conference, and I hovah without beholding His glory. noticethat several ofthem are on the programme. The drink trade in Africa, and the opium trade If, then, we would be God-gloriften, we in India :and China, I observe, are not down, must be God-revealers. Isa. ii : 9-" The earth but I think they ought to be acted upon. The shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." number of Buddhists is a matter of fact, and it Hab. Ii : 14-" The earth shall be filled with the somewhat concerns the honor of our Lord, and knowledge of the glory of the Lord." The two it is easy to vindicate that point from the taunts are one. To know Him is to know His glory. of infidels by Btating the fact. . When His glory is known, then He is glorified. The end of creation and redemptionis attained. With best wishes, and praying that a special In both passages it is written that this knowlblessing may rest upon the Conference and the edge is to fill the earth "as the waters wver the Spirit of God direct all their counsels. sea." God has set the limits of the sea, and from limit to limit the waters sweep. The Yours in Christian work, limits of the gospeJ.sea are uothing short of the A. P. HAPl'ER. limits of "the earth." "As the Waters Cover the Sea." Here, in India, we have tracts nearly equal to FROM Rev. John M. Forman. London in population, which are unoccupied. FATERGARR, N. W. P. INDIA, May 26, 1888. In China there are a thousand counties, averag- .. What i8 the chief end of man!" "To ing in population about the same as English glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." counties, unoccupied. The Soudan, with about To ENJOY GOD. 1. The Christian is sure of 70,000,000, occupied by two young men I If all heaven, and the JOY of heaven is God. So, as this extent is to be filled with the knowledge of to future enjoyment of God, he is certain. Let the King of Glory, we must be at work. him, then, be glad of what he has, and go on to " As THE WATERS COVER TI'IE SEA."-The the next point. waters fill every crack and crevice. How differ- 2. The present enjoyment of God. Any child ent from the knowledge of God thus far. Look at London, Boston, New York, Chicltgo and the knows that when he takes candy into his mouth he need not try to enjoy it. The enjoyment is Great West. The number of unfilled corners is iuevitable. A man who tries to be happy is un- allpalling. Then look at our nominallyoccupud happy. But even an atllicted and sorrowful fields in India, China, etc. Here in the district soul, when once occupied in seeking to make of Fauakhabad (one of our oldest mission-fields) others happy, is itself happy. When the enjoy- we have yet some half million practically unment of God is our aim, we fail to eUJoy Him. touched. If this world is really to be filled with Simply because the aim is selfish, and selfishness the knowledge of Jehovah we must be up and is sin, and sin hides God from us. doing. "Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion." A man who carries the name of Christ The way to enjoy God is so to live that He and does not try to fill the earth with the gospel enjoy us, i. e., to please Him. There is no ques- is a clog to the wheels. He is a destroyer… He tion as to Enoch's having a keen enjoyment of also that is slack in his work is brother to him God, as he walked with God; for in that walk- that is a destroyer." ing he had "witness borne to him that he had been well-pleasing unto God." But wbat an inspiration in this prophecy I It will be fulfilled. The sea bed with all its rough- The way to enjoy God is to please God. The nesses,ups and downs, is covered by one great way to please God is to fall in with His plans. ocean. So this earth, scarred and furrowed and The consummate plan of God is God's glory. valleyed by sin, is to be covered by the glory of Then, though man has two ends, he must have but one aim. That one conscious aim or pur- the Lord. And when we look we Bee His glory, pose Is TO GLORIFY GOD. glory; nothing but a sea of glory I Praise the Lord I "Let us fall in line with God's plan, not :Many Christians think this savors of tran- with theories but with work, giving first of all . scendentalism. But Paul, by the Holy Ghost, makes it a plain, business·like. every-day prin- our own selves unto the Lord. " ciple. "Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, ·do all to the glory of God." "Now concerning the collection," give cheer- Our first petition must be, "Hallowed be Thy folly, give liberally, give to the last cent. What uame." Christ's loftiest prayer is "Father, is holding the wealth of a million millionaires glorify Thy name. And there came a voice from compared with knowing that we have" fellowheaven saying, 'I have both glorified it, and I ship with God" in His glorions purpose! When will glorify it again.' " Alexander Duff was a yonng man he locked his closet door and said," Silver and gold have I years, at last will throw open the doors to none, but such as I have give I thee; I give thee missionary efforts over the length and breadth myself." Young man, young woman, go and of Dutch India. Being thus challenged to send do thou likewise. And let the mother teach her out more missionaries it is to be confidently ex- child from infancy that the only thing worth liv- pected that the Christians of Holland w!ll, in the ing for is to fill the earth with the knowledge of name of God, accept the challenge. So be It.
God. Japan . .. What Beest thou 1 And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree (shaked). Then said the Lord LETTER from Rev. C. S. Eby: unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch (shaked) over my word to perform it." As TOKIO, June 23, '88. sure as God is sure, this earth is to be filled DEAR BRETHREN.-I "m not sure whether I with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as have not already sent you a copy of my " Appeal the waters cover the sea. Brother, if you are for Japan," at all events I send you a copy each not striving for foreign missions, you are miss- by the present mail, and also a copy of the ing the purpose of your creation. course oflectnres delivered in the Meiji Kwaido in 1583, English edi!ion.
LETTER from Rev. F. Leon Cachet: I am delighted with tl:.e MISSIONARY BEVIEW OF THE WORLD, and wish it godspeed ; it will [Foreign Secretary of the Dutch do much to stimulate the missionary zeal of the Reformed Missionary Society, Rot- churches and to promote the missionary revival terdam, Holland. The news it con- almost upon us. God grant that the real misveys will carry joy to the missionary sionary age may soon dawn when the efforts of world.-EDS.] the churches will be commensurate with their AlIlLITY and with the OPPORTUNITIES of the DEAR EDITORS.-Will you allow me room in hour.
your highly valued REVIEW to state that the Rev. The " Appeal " will speak for itself. I do feel Mr. Cook's' powerful appeal,' which you give in that the imperial opportunity in Japan is not your June number (p. 448), respecting the want being fully met by ordinary methods, arid tre- of missionaries in Dutch India, and which ap _ mendous forces of prejudice and unbelief and peared at length iu The Straits Times, is bearing imported misbelief run rampant and almost un- good fruit alre!,dy. You must know that there rebuked, except in a small way. A large and was a change of government in the Netherlands bold movement" takes" with the Japanese as a few weeks since, and one of the first official well as with any people, and through the central acts of the new Secretary of State for the col- institution piIrpose we shall be able to speak so onies, Mr. Reuchenius, was to send a circular as to be heard by an empire.
to all the Protestant mission society in the Neth- Will you give the aid of your powerful advo- erlands, of which the following is a translation: cacy? Surely there are devoted men of wealth "COLONIAL OFFICE, No. 46. who would invest. May our common Master THE HAGUE, May 8, 1888. guide.
In an article, 'Netherland's India: An Ap- Spain. peal,' appearing In The Straits Times, a Singa- pore newspaper of March 6th, attention is drawn ~ur readers will recall the brief to what Dr. Schreiber, Secretary of the Rheney appeal we made in our July issue in Mission at Basmey, had pointed out ten years behalf of these heroic missionaries. ago, that the number of missionaries in Dutch The Lord gl'antedspeedy help, and we India should be greatly increased, in order to rejoice with His sel'vants.-EDS.] counteract the growing influence of Islam there: and it is further shown how great the need FIGUERAS, SPAIN, June 30, 1888.
yet is that the number of missionaries should he DEAR EDlTORs.-The pastor nnites with me increased. It appears to me that this article de- in thanking you very warmly for so kindly in- serves, in every respect, yonr attention, and I serting my last letter in your valuabie MISSION- therefore do myself the pleasure to offer you a ARY REVIEW. If you remember, it was there copy thereof. stated that we were anxious to build a Gospel I need hardly state that the government Hall in this dark Spanish town, and that £400 would valne it highly if the mission societies in was needed for a site. A friend, then traveling the Netherlands would put forth their utmost in Italy, most kindly wrote telling us to buy the efforts to increase the number of missionaries in land at once, adding, 'I will cover the cost.' The butch India, and to counteract the increasing pastor lost not a moment in trying to secure it, influenee of Islam among the heathen in the but the lawyer would not credit the assurance Indian Archipelago. that the money would shortly he sent from Eng- The Minister for the Colonies, land, and refused to draw up the legal document.
(Signed) " REUCHENlUS." The landlady, however, agreed to wait a couple This is a most important docnment, as it of week•.
shows that the Dntch Government, after having The Romanists at once seized their opportu- more than favored the Mohammedans for many nity. Deputations from the Societies of St. Yin·
INTERNATIONAL DEPAtfT:M:E~'t'. [SEP'l'
cont de Paul and the Holy CroBS, beaded by tbe returniug home iill after midnight. Will your rector of tbe largest church here, called on the readers praythat his precious life,and thoseofhis landlady and urged that she on no account be fellow workers, may be preserved. Our comfort gnilty of selling land for a Protestant capilla. At and conlldence is that .. not a shot cau hit till the same time they laid down the money (£400) the God of love sees lit." For the angel of the for·the site, and also £1,400 to purchase a house Lord eilcampeth ronnd them tbat fear Him, aud "nd garden adjoining, thus effectually shutting delivereth them. From month to month our the Protestants out on each side. All we could do little party give a hearty welcome to your valuwas to unite in prayer that God would undertake able and most interesting M,SSIONARY REVIEW for US and for the honor ofilis cause. The triumph OF THE WORLD. Wishing it increased blessing of the enemies of the trnth seemed complete. and a yet wider circulation, But, contrary to all expectations, a far better Yours faithfully, site was immediately offered for sale. It is EMILY LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ. situated in the principal street, in a central part of the town, having also the great advantage Afrioa. that it commands a back street by which many who, like Nicodemus, lack courage, may be LETTER from Rev. Jos. Clark: able to enter the hall unobserved. Our only dilllculty was that the price, including govern- CONGO, PACAVALA STATION, May 9,1888. ment payments and legal costs, came to £250 Rev. J. H. Weeks and Mrs. Weeks, also more than we had in hand. This we laid Rev. A. D. Slade, all of B. M. S. (English), arbefore the Lord in prayer, and He graciously rived safely at Bauana ou the 24th of April. Mr. answered by inclining the hearts of two of His and Mrs. Weeks spent some considerable time servants to come to the rescue. In addition to at San Salvador, Congo, and have beeu to Enga former donation of £100, a friend in Surrey land for rest and change. sent us £200 more, and another in Scotland Receut reports from Bishop Taylor's party £50. Thus the e:JJact sum needed arrived just state that M,.,.. Walker has been ill and delayed in time to make the purchase I Truly the in journey to Stanley Pool. When taken ill she Lord has made what seemed so evil to • work was fortunately able to be taken on to our Lu- together for good,' kunga Station. Messrs. Waiker and Burr are also there. About 600 loads of their steamer are What would not the Romanists give if they now at Isangila; none beyond. could take from us that precious site I But it French, State and trading steamers refuse to is legally secured. .. If God be for us, who can take Mr. Brooks and his companion to the falls be against us f" All that now remains for us to of the Mobangi, where he desires to be placed so do is to build the first permanent Gospel Hall as to work his way to the Soudan. They refuse in the province of Gorona. Being for the to leave him in any place except where there is Mastor's glory, we believe that through His a station with white men. servants He will provide the means. Recent news from Stanley's Aruwimi camp report the whites there all well, bnt a good deal Since writing the above we have heard, on of sickness among the Zanzibaris. No news of reliable authority, that a priest belonging to a Stauley. church quite near to our new site, said, 'I All well at various missiou stations. would gladly have given $5,000 to have 'Jre- May, 12, '88.-Mr. J. S. Cutler of Ohio, who vented the Protestants bnying that plot of land.' joined himself to Bishop Taylor's mission here, Last Sunday night, while we were returning died at Vivi on the 3d May of gastritis. He was home from the service, a man was seen hanging about 65 years of age. about our house armed with two long knives, and At Vivi aud Isangila the bishop's people are was arrested by the civil guards. We thank God working hard at getting the steamer up country, for what we have reason to believe was a narrow but they are hampered for trade goods (cloth escape. Of Rome our Lord's words still hold etc.,) wherewith to pay carriers. Those that good, .. The time cometh that whosoever killeth are left are not at all dismayed, though their you will think that he doeth God service." In numbers have been greatly reduced. If the preaching among the villages the pastor has to Methodist Church "Would only take up the work, drive along very lonely country roads, often not they have a grand opening before them.
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D.D., OF THE "INTERNATIONAL MIS- SIONARY UNION."
The Medioal Work in Missions.* sityof urging the importance of the BY REV. EDWARD CHESTER, M.D., medical, in connection with other forms of mission work. And more INDIA. than ever before, most missions are feelIng that the medical work THE time has passed for the neces- must be cared for and }'alued, just *Read before International Missionary Union, Bridgton, N. J., 1888. as are the educational, the evan- Fourth, and lastly, the exigency of gelistic and the congregation and the times demands a much larger church work, and that for women force of medical men and women and girls. upon mission fields.
There will be cases where the par- 1. The medical work should be ticular circumstances of location, given a place in every well organized custom, a deficiency of funds, or a mission. I do not mean the having paucity of laborers may render it one or even more men in a mission almost impossible to carryon every who know a little about medicine, or form of mission work. But in a mis- even have a degree,. providing they sion with a sufficient force, not confine their medical work to the lim- cramped for funds, and with ability o its of their own family and servants, to undertake the various forms of or even the families of the catechists mission work, the medical work and teachers living at headquarters.
should be conducted with the same Nor do I mean an occasional taking care and energy as the educational up of the medical work for a week or or other form of labor. two, and then giving it up for months The statement that the medical at a time. With the same expecta.- work is very expensive, almost as tion of permanency as you would much so as the educational, will not commence a high school or boarding be found true in all cases. And it is school at headquarters, with the a question whether it may not al- same use of recognized appliances, ways be almost self – supporting. the same amount of energy and sys- Certain it is, that the medical man tem in carrying on the work, and the himself in each locality may do same generosity in the use of funds very much to make this work in a for necessary expenses, thus only, is mission inexpensive, and it depends it of any real use to conduct the greatly upon him whether it is pop- medical work in missions. One or ular with the people and a success more dispensaries at important cen- or not. tel's; a hospital, if the funds will I would start with the proposition allow, and accommodation in this for "that in organizing any new mission at least a dozen in-patients, a good in a locality where none had existed supply of inexpensive medicine, so before, the medical work should be. that all the out-patients as well, who given a place, as much as the educa- attend the dispensary, may receive a tional or the WOJ:k of preachmg. supply of medicme; a sufficient staff And even in missions of long stand- of native trained assistants to pre- ing, if the medical work has not been scribe, compound, and look after entertained, I would' urge a trial of surgical cases, with a sufficient stock it, with an eye to the great gain it of surgical instruments for all mi- would be to the mission. nor operations. All these are neces- My second point would be that the sary for a successful medical work in medical work in a mission must be a mission.
eminently evangelistic, and In har- I have for years, m my mission mony with all the other work of the work in India, found it wise, as en- mission. abling me to save myself for more A third consideration is that if the important work, to do nothing my- medical work is taken up at all in a self which could be about as well mission, it must be a thorough and done by a native. It is on this line efficient work-one which will com- that I have always had, in my work ..land the respect and regard of all in the Dindigal Dispensary, such a classes. staff of native assistants that I could trust the work to them for a few the relief of suffering and saving of days at a time, when obliged to be life. myself out in the villages. In short, I think that in the medical work 2. But I pass to the second point: in missions, as in the educational that the medical work in a mission work, those steps must be taken which must be eminently evangelistic and will insure success. The natives of in harmony with all the other work India are clever enough to know of the mission. The more skilful the which are the best schools, the gov- medical missionary as a physician, ernment or the mission schools, and the more clever as a surgeon, the choose the best, which are, as a rule, better for the work and for making the latter, even though they know it a success, so far as popularity goes. they will have to give an hour a day, But it will not be a success as a for five days of the week, to the study mission work unless the saving of of the Bible. And just so is it with souls is ever brought to the front as dispensaries in India. As a rule, the the main object to be accomplished, mission dispensary is the most popu- and unless the medical missionary is lar and has the largest attendance. eminently a spiritual man with much And it is good policy for any mission of the mind of Jesus. As in New to make its schools and its dispensa- England of old, the church and the ries the best in the market. schoolhouse were side by side, and each helping the other, so should the Tothe work of the dispensary and church and the schoolhouse and the the hospital already noted, I would dispensary, on mission ground, work add, to be attended to, if possible, into one another's hands and be emiby the medical missionary, the train- nently fellow-workers. In a mission ing of good native men and women dispensary, among out-patients and for the work of hospital assistants Ill-patients, there is ample opporand nurses. Then native Christians tunity for making known the goscould be selected, and a choice made pel. And oftentimes the patients among these, so as to secure those are in such a state of mind that they who would add evangelistic to their may truly be said to hear the Word medical work:. gladly. In every part of our mission work we turn to the Lord Jesus as I would give the medical work a our great example. But eminently place in every well organized mission, in the medical work must we follow because I believe that, in a very His example in striving to reach the specialdegree, it adds to the efficiency heart and save the soul by showing of every branch of mission work, and our desire to relieve suffering, to heal makes the work, as a whole, more the sick, to give sight to the blind, successful. and hearing to the deaf. The medical work in missions is nothing, save as I would do so, also, because I think it helps to show to the heathen that that it furnishes, in the course of a the divine Christ is the center, the year, a very large number of most at- soul anltthe life of Christianity, and tentive and mterested hearers of the that we are His disciples and followgospel, not to say scholars. I would ers. do so because I think it gives us an entrance into many houses, 3. Our third consideration is that and an intimacy and friendship If the medIcal work is taken up at all with many of the more intelli- in a mission, it must be a thorough gent, respectable and influential na- and efficient work, one which will tives, such as could be secured in no command the respect and regard of other WilY. And all this quite aside all classes. In all cases with which from the positivegoodresulting from I am acquainted in India, the medical form of medical disease and surgical, missionary has become proficient in of which our best American medithe vernacular, so that he speaks cal text books inform us. And a with his native patients without the medical missionary has seldom the help of an interpreter. 'I'his is sel- opportunity of holding a consultadom the case with the civil or govern- tion with a brothel' doctor, even in ment dispensaries. But this greatly a dangerous case, requiring, perhaps, pleases the natives, especially the a most difficult surgical operation. women. Then, with hardly an ex- The nearest European doctor, as in ception, the rule in a mission dis- the case of the writer, may be 38 pensary is one of kindness. Not only miles away, and the medical missionis the medical missionary very care- ary may have to treat all his medical ful to gain the affection of the native cases and decide upon all his surgIcal patients by his invariable krndness, operations entirely by himself. If a but he insists upon his native assist- mission would have the medical ants in the dispensary following his work a Slccess, it must be willing to example. And here the natives are take pains to secure a really efficient not slow to mark the difference be- workman and grudge no expenditure tween the mission and other dispen- which is necessary to secure him a saries. competent corps of native assistants and a fair supply of surgical instru- But, important as it is to let the ments and medicine. law of the dispensary be a law of love, other things must be added. The medical mission work has been The work of the dispensary must be found to pay, and to pay well, in all carried on with the greatest regular- cases where it has been conducted ity, precision and care. It must be properly and in a liberal spirit. Indecidedly first-class work. There is stances to prove this could be given no place here for half-way work, by the hour. Thorough work and skimping 01' sham. He who is not the best, carried on in love to Christ willing to give his whole time, his and souls, and for Christ's sake, this whole heart, and his whole love to must be the motto and life of all sucthe medical mission work, had better cessful medical mission work. leave it alone altogether. The loathesome leper must have our best care 4. Fourth, and lastly, the exigency as well as the simple cases of fever. of the times demands a much larger Case;; of cholera and small-pox can force of medical men and women in no more be avoided or neglected than mission fields. I can speak of India the farmer neglect to feed his horses from what I know of the state of 01' cattle. The best results, which mission work there, after an experionly follow the best service, must ence of twenty-eight years. But gain for a mission dispensary a good what I note of India, I think, I may, name. Let no one imagine that a with equal force and truth, say of mere smattering of medical matters, China, Japan, Turkey, Persia and the knowledge of medicine which Syria. Never before has there been would be picked up in reading a few such an interest felt in medical mis- pages here and there of the books sion work; never before such an denominated" Medicine for the Fam-' opportunity afforded for reaching the ily" would suffice to enable a man people through the dispensary. In to have charge of a dispensary in India the Lady Duiferin scheme has India, Japan, China 01' Africa, where, excited an intense interest through- in the course of a month, there may out the whole of India in the medical present themselves almost every work for women, and though more lady physicians have come out to India in connection with the various pensaries. Even for this purely evangelical missions during the past evangelistic work we need more medten years than in all previous years, ical missionaries. And I can speak yet it seems to-day as if there were from personal experience when I say places for scores more. And in the that with an efficient corps of trainmedical mission work for women, in ed native assistants in his dispensaall the countries noted above, there ries the medical missionary can do is, perhaps, the strongest argument a great d('al of evangelistic work. for the importance of the medical For 24 years I have been compelled, mission work, the strongest ground from th£' smallness of our mission of its great necessity as a part of force, to have charge of a large and mission work, than can possibly be important station, with its churches given. I need not take fl'om any and congregations and schools of table of statistics the proportion of various grades, and the work of the women to men in the population of itineracy, or preaching in heathen the prominent countries of, the East. villages, while carrying on all my Their number is immense. And with medical work. An English service all this countless number of women every Sunday evening, with an Engand girls there is no possible way of lish sermon, has been thrown in as a reaching them and influencing them, matter of simple recreation. It has and blessing them, which will com- truly, however, been a great pleaspare with that in the power of the ure. Christian lady physician. To ev('ry lady physlCian now on the ground, That my Dindigal dispensary has in the countries noted above, if there been of the greatest help to me in were ten, yes, a score, it would not my general mission work, I have had be one too many for the great and many proofs. I have gained the good impol·tant work the Lord is giving to will of the people; our native pastors just this class of Christian laborel's. and catechists can preach and sell Scripture portions and tracts in any And the number of male medical part of the station without any fear missionaries should be greatly in- of insult or opposition. They are creased. We can do much of our listened to with the greatest interest. work through our native Christians, I would receive a welcome in the but they require to be trained for house of any man in the whole of the special work. We can never, in any Dindigal district. I find it more easy, heathen or Mohammedan country, on this very account, to establish expect to have all the European or schools in the villages, and I receive American laborers required for the more money from the people for evangelization of these countries. their support. And the Dindigal dis- We must call to our aid the natives pensary and hospital, with about of the different countries. But for 9,000 new cases every year, and 20.- aid in Christian work the missionary 000 old cases, or those coming more must train them for each specific than once to the dispensary, and form of mission work. For the med- patients coming in the same period ical work, both among men and from 500 and more different villages, women, many more native men and have cost the mission nothing these women need to be carefully trained, 24 years, from the first year they and this is an important work de- were established. For my services, volving on the medical missionary. which I am only too glad to give gratuitously, the English Govern- I have already alluded to the large ment gives me the whole cost of the and appreciative audiences which the dispensary establishment, all the medical missionary has in his dismedicines required each year, and all about doing good to all. A mission the surgical instruments and hospital dIspensary on heathen ground is a. appliances. The American Board of beautiful and strikmg object lesson. Foreign Missions kindly gave me the It is ever educating the heathen in money for the hospital and dispen- the first principles of the gospel. Its sary buildings, which secures these golden word is "Love," its motto, permanently to the mission. " Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do And I see no reason why the Eng- ye even so to them." lish Government would not grant International Missionary Union, Fifth this favor in any part 0/ India, if Annual Meeting.
satisfied that a medical work in a As the International Missionary given locality is needed, and will be Union IS a unique institution, not yet carried on efficiently. fully understood in many quarters, and unheard of in some others, we After these twenty-eight years in may once more introduce it to our India, watchillg with intense interest readers as a permanent organization the work in various missions and va- seeking to accomplish in its measure, rious localities, I have been forced to the same general ends aImed to be the conviction that it is not best to reached by the great missionary undertake anyone form of mission conferences in bringing together the work at the expense of the others, missionaries of all societies, from all but rather have them all carried on fields, that they may annually comwith as much skill and energy as pare views on current developments possible, letting each help and sup- of Christ's kingdom in the several port the other. I would not, there- parts of the globe. The Union was fore, exalt the medical work beyond organized at Niagara Falls, Canada, others, which for many veal'S have in the summer of 1884, met there been found worthy of trial. I would, again in 1885, and at Thousand Island however, strive to have this work Park in the River St. Lawrence in given the place it deserves, and fairly 1886 and 1887. It is composed of re- turned foreign missionaries of all tried. branches of the Evangelical Protest- W hen we see m England and ant Church, temporarily or perma- nently in America. Its international America the splendid building's which character has thus far embraced are being erected for hospitals, when representatives of the British Empire we know what large amounts are and the United States of America. necessary to carry them on success- The constitution names as the object fully, we cannot believe that this of the Union "to promote the gen- medical work is being tried, and the eral cause of Missions in all possible large expenditure made without care- ways, chiefly by the diffusion of mis- ful consIderation. More costly hos- sionary mtelligence, the discussion pitals are being built and a larger of missionary topics, and the increas- expenditure incurred, because it is ing of mutual acquaintance among known that the work appeals to the missionaries of different churches interest and sympathy of the whole and countries." people. And none the less is this medical work needed in heathen The Union holds one meeting a. lands. We cannot conduct it on such year, as near August as possible, on a magnificent scale as in this country. invitation of such community as may It is not necessary. But we can show proffer entertainment to its members the heathen, in a much less expen- sive manner, the same lesson of the gospel, and how our Lord and Master cared for His fellow men, and went a.nd be easily accessible.Thetotal num- fifth annual meeting, held in Bridgel>er of missionaries now enrolled is 134. ton, New Jersey (1888), are found On the roll of attendance at the the following names: Years of NAME. Field. Denomination. Service.
1858–…•. Rev. H. N. Barnum. D.D ..•.•••………••.•…•. Turkey•••••.. American Board. 186(}-'64….. Rev. A. Bates …………•…•••.••…..••.•….• Ceylon.••…… American Board. 1879-·81. •.•. Rev. W. H. Belden…………………………. Bulgaria.•.•••. AmericanBoard. " ….. Mrs. " …………………………. Bulgaria..•…. American Board. 1861-·69•…. Mrs. M. H. Bixby………………………….. Burmah .•.•…. Baptist. 1S6{}–•…. Rev. E. Chester. M.D ..••••…•…•••••.•.•…… India ….••..•.. American Board. 1867-·74•…. Rev. M. B. Comfort ……………•.. , ..•••…… Assam•…•….. Baptist. 1878-'84•..•• Miss C. H. Daniells, M.D ……………………. India ……….. Baptist. 1869-'70….. Rev. J. A. Davis …………………………… China………. Reformed " ., … Mrs. " …………………………… China………. Reformed. 1834-'84•…. Itev. William Dean, D.D ……………………. China……… Baptist. 1883- – ….. Rev. N. H. Demarest……………………….. Japan .••……. Reformed. 1846- – ….. Rev. S. B. Fairbank……………………….. Iudia……….. American Board. Rev. L. A. Gould…………………………… China………. Baptist. Mrs. " …………………………… China………. Baptist. 1861-'68•••• Rev. J. T. Gracey. D.D ……………………… India ……….. MethodistEpiscopal 1856- – ….. Rev. R. H. Graves. M.D .•……………•……• China………. Southern Baptist. 1837-·77….. Rev. Cyrus Hamlin. D.D.• LL.D ……………… Turkey ……… American Board. 1885- – •…. Ira Harris. M.D.. . .. .. . . . . ••• .. . …………… Syria ……….. Presbyterian. 1884- – .•… Mrs. " ……………………………. Syria•…•…… Presbyterian. 1846-·72••••. Rev. Allen Hazen ………•••.•••…………•… India…..•….. AmericanBoard. M. B. Kirkpatrick. M.D …………………….. Burmah …….. Baptist. Rev. R. M. Luther. D.D. (Secretary) ………….. Burmah…….. Baptist. 1878-'83….. Rev. James Mudge ………………………… India ………. Methodist Episcopal 1870-'78….. Rev. R.E. Neighbor ………………………… India……….. Baptist. 1861-'82….. Mrs. S. E. Newton ………………. , ……….. India……….. Presbyterian. 1866- – ••••. Rev. H. V. Noyes ………………………….. China………. Presbyterian. 1872- -…. Mrs. " ………………………….. China………. Presbyterian. 1873- – ….. Rev. G. W. Painter………………………… China………. Sonthern Pres. 1570-'81. …. Rev. C. W. Park ………………………….. India ……….. AmericanBoard. 1885- – ….. Rev. J. L. Philli~s. M.D., D.D ………………. India ……….. Free Baptist. " ….. Mrs. ' ……………….. India ……….. Free Baptist. Regillald Radr.lilfe. Esq ..••.••..••…•.•…••…. Russia ..•••…. Church of England. 1877- – ….. Rev. J. H. Roberts …………………………. lJhina………. American Board. 1880-'86….. Rev. W. Royall ……………………………. China………. SouthernM.E. 1682- – ….. Rev. E. C. Scudder. Jr ……………………… India……….. Reformed. 1854- – ….. Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, M.R.C.S.• F.R.G.S ……. China………. Inland Mi,sion, 1848-·56….. Rev. Geor~e Thompson …………………….. Africa………. Am. Miss'y Society. 188()…'87….. Miss Jeume S. Vail ………………………… Japan ………. MethodistEpiscopal 1846-·64….. Rev. Edward Webb ………………………… India ……….. American Board. 1872-·82….. Miss Lula Whilden …………………………. China………. Southern Baptist.
To this group of missionaries was heartily sustained the Executive added Rev. Dr. Wm. Kincaid, one Committee in the experiment of apof the Secretaries of the American pointing the meeting aw&y from pop- Board, who made a handsome ad- ular summer resorts, and though the dress, in which he recognized the spe- smaller number was doubtle·<s in part cial benefits of such a union, not only attributable to this "new departto the missionaries, but to missionarv ure," yet the meeting was acknowlsecretaries and other prominenthome edged as equal to any of the precedworkers for missions. Rev. Dr. ing meetings in all other respects, Luther, a member of the Union by and superior to them in some features. virtue of service in Burmah, is also Bridgeton, through its churches, Di&;trict Secretary of the American represented by their Ministerial Un- Baptist Missionary Union. Miss ion, became the host of the Union McIntosh was the only lady secretary from July 5 to July 12 inclusive. It is this year, and she represented the a beautiful, thriving city, with glass, young organization .of the Woman's nail and iron manufactures and ex- Board of the Southern Baptist Con- tensive canning interests, seminaries vention. No one was discouraged by of learning, a personally highly rethe small number in attendance, as spected mayor and council, and not a compared with previous years, but 8aloon! The hospitality was cordial, and the guests found themselves af- annual meetings are usually inaugu- fected with "enlargement of the rated served to stir the finest relig- heart" ; the local newspapers gave ious emotions. This "Recognition daily reports of the meetings; fast meeting," in which each missionary friendships were made, and we trust introduces himself or herself, stating both entertainers and entertained field, form and years of service, call were made mutually helpful to each to the work, special difficulties, trials other in spiritual things. It will not and triumphs, or other personalfacts, be surprising if a gracious revival of tends at once, and at the beginning, religion shall follow on this sweet to blend souls that have hitherto only season of the "communion of saints." known each other through remoter The devotional meetings which agencies in purest fellowship. Cloud- occupied the first hour of each day's pillar and fire-pillar, springs in the exercises sustained the character of desert, manna that "tasted to every those of previous sessions. Dr.Dean man like that which he liked best,"
pronounced them amongst the most dew on Hermon, vision, miracle, par- precious· of his experience, and de- able and prophecy-all were recalled clared that of Tuesday morning to or realized in this mosaic of Chris- be the best meeting he had beep in tian narrative. One becomes confi- since he returned from China. Of dent that neither the Acts of the course, it was with depth of tender- Apostles nor the eleventh chapter of ness that these members prayed for Hebrews is yet finished, as he listens missionaries' children. The session to these "testimomes." God does devoted to interchange of thought on "in very deed yet dwell upon earth the specific power of the Holy Ghost and among men.
was not only one of earnest self- Turning from this feature of the searching, but of discrimination be- week to the free" round table" con- tween even the most highly analyzed versations on practical problems, one moral character and power and the finds in these meetings What Dr.
supernatural c~:;erations of the adora- Chester would call "sanctified com- ble Spirit. mon sense." The hour given to the If ever, since Pentecost, a company consideration of the subject of re- of Christians realized more fully the production of western ecclesiastical unity of the Spirit, it wDuld be diffi- forms on foreign mission fields was cult for any who enjoyed these hours the most remarkable of its kind the to name the place or time. The writer ever knew.
deeply spiritual character of the de- It was much more remarkable than votional hours of the Union through any participating in it had planned its five annual meetings suggests that or could have anticipated. The frank- that they be placed in the list of ness and freedom, the manifest intent "movable feasts." It were worth· to lay aside as far as possible the bias traveling across the continent to ex- of education, association or other perience the indwelling, the abiding preference, that each might contrib- presence of the Holy One as it· was ute his quota to the honestest pos- realized at Bridgeton. One may go in sible inlook to the real needs of the the strength of such meat more than foreign churches; earnest Chris- forty days. Some of the addresses, tian rivalry in making concessions, eminently those of Rev. J. Hudson without yielding or expecting any to Taylor and his associate, Reginald yield what he was supposed honor- RadclIffe, Esq., only served, if possi- ably to maintain-all made this ble, to deepen the divine impressions company of ten denominations ap- of the devotional hours. Even the pear a charmed circle. The equal of peculiar service with which these it has seldom been experienced. If the spirit that pervaded that com- American Indian vernaculars by pany could become the spirit of the Rev. E. _Arnold, of the St. Regis churches everywhere it would make Reservation, caused considerable dis.
but a mite of difference what forms cussion and showed wide diversity of of church government and polity ob- view. The question whether it was tained. Herfil was a Congregationalist desirable to bring natives from the brother saying that in his district the foreign fields to give them an educa- churches would in his judgment soon tion in Europe or America developed form into a modified episcopacy, as a the existence of only one set of opin- form of government most suitable to ions. All declared against the course, the native mind ; and another, a Pres- as leading to most unsatisfactory re- byterian, declared to be, in fact, a sults.
bishop over the churches under his A paper from Rev. Dr. Cunnyng- care; and others, not Presbyterians, ham, formerly of China, now Secre- conceding that the Japanese would taryof the Sunday-School Union of probably prefer and possibly come to the M. E. Church, South, was read, demand a Presbyterian form of gov- and followed by healthy discussion ernment, and yet another declaring on the development of this and other that the Anglican Church in China agencies for increasing-the interest of did not aim to strictly reproduce the the home churches in missions. Rev.
Episcopal polity, but to recognize in Dr. Barnum of Persia, who contrib- it such modifications as might nat- uted much of wisdom and interest to urally grow out of its new relations. several of the leading discussions, Some oC the discussions were much read an able pap{'r on" Some points more formal than others, and were of comparison between the mission- introduced by able papers. One of ary work of to-day and the early these was by Rev. Edward Chester, planting of Christianity."
M.D., on "Medical Missions," to Women's work for -heathen women which we have given the position of was considered during one session, leading article in this department, and the missionary ladies took part and which it is possible may be in the discussion, rendering there, as printed hereafter in other form for they did at the evening platform general circulation. meetingsand specialafternoon ladies'
Dr. Cyrus, Hamlin's paper on services, the most helpful interest to "Five Hundred Years of Islam" the whole annual session. Their con- was a terrible impeachment of Is- tribution to the spiritual directness lamic civilization. We hope to be and power of the devotional exercises able to favor the readers of the RE- was of great worth.
VIEW with this paper, and some others The papers and addresses cannot also hereafter. The wide range oC be all recounted, though none were experience and observation, and the below the merit that would entitle intimate personal acquaintance with them to speCIal mention. The even- Islam in Turkey, Persia, Bulgaria, ing platform meetings were devoted Africa, India, China, Ceylon, and to countries or to subjects, as other quarters of the globe, by the "India," or "Medical Missions."
members present, made the discus- One whole evening was occupied by sion of the subject of "Islam as a Civ- Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, founder and ilizer" one of rare value a.nd interest. present Superintendent of the cele- A paper presented by the writer of brated China Inland Mission, in these lines on Bible and other trans- narrating his personal experiences lations in' the Mexican vernaculars, and the development of his peculiar and another paper on the narrow- work which challenges solargeatten- ness and the limitations of the North tion. The spiritual effects of the simpIe story were not the least of the Several missionaries not present results of the evening with this sent their congratulations, and made brother, who was admitted to mem- suggestions of value for the future bership in the Union. The Union usefulness of the Union. We furhad been represented at the World's nish herewith the personal letter of Missionary Conference in London by the venerable Dr. Wood to the meettwo of its members, Rev. W. H. Bel- ing at Bridgeton. den and Mrs. Belden, and an hour was profitably and entertainly spent LETTTR from Rev. George W. in listening to their report of the Wood, D.D., to the Secretary of the great meeting from the personal and International Missionary Union: social, as well as the more official side. They evidently absorbed much, Unable myself to attend yonr meeting last and were able happily to reproduce it year, I was glad that the missions in Turkey for the delight of others. It was to Mr. and Mrs. Belden that the Union were so well represented by Drs. Hamlin and was primarily indebted for the courtesy of entertainment in. the city Barnum; and I hope tbat they and others from where they reside. that field may be with you also at Bridgeton dur- The address by R. Radcliffe, Esq., before the Union, on his personal ex- ing the present week. It would gratify me highperiences as an evangelist in several countries in Europe, eminently ly to be with you in bodily presence, as I shall Italy and Russia, was instructive and practically suggestive. It was a be in spirit and fullest sympathy; but the ordersurprise to most of those present, surely, to be told that Russia is pEn'- ing of the Divine Will, ever wise and good, defectly free for any number of evangelists who may go from person to nies me this privilege. From my late temporary person, and do effectivework through interpreters. sojourn in Summit, N. J., I have come with my The officers of the Union were, in wife for a little visiting among relatives and the main, re-elected, but Dr. Dean was added to the list of Vice-Presidents, friends in Livingston County, N. Y., on our way a class which Dr. Hamlin already. graced. to Dakota and Montana, to spend the summer, if The Rev. Mr. Mudge says; the Lord will, with children whom we have in .. Notes can give but ltttle idea of the rich those Territories. feast that was spread before us for each of the seven days, enlarging our stores of information, The death of our brother, Dr. Byington, has qnickenlng our sympathies, broadening Our view, deepening our consecration, and intensi- brought a great a1lliction upon the missions in fying our love for the work of saving the nations. We lloated ou a stream 01 keen enjoyment where Bulgaria and Turkey. Cut off in mid career of the pOints of beauty .ucceeded each other with almost bewildering rapidity. The people of a most useful life, he speaks to us impreSSively Bridgeton, who opened their doors to us with most cordial and abundant hospitality, showed of the supreme importance of spiritual and eteralso by their attendance a high degree of appreciation of the great privileges thus brought nal realities as a motive power in all Christian withiu their reach. Their pulpits were nearly alllll1ed on Sunday by the ·misslonaries, and the activity, and in the spirit of a true consecration, testimony of the pastors was that an entirely new era of interest in lllissions among their of a wise husbanding of physical energy in order people would date from this Convention. The members of the Union will certaiuly hold in to continuance of service in a world where the grateful remembrance their unstinted kindness. " most that we can do in the longest period that may be allowed to any of God's servants, is so greatly needed. '
May I exprees in a word the joy which I feel in the multiplying evidences of a new uprising of a zeal, not blind or tranSitory, for the conquest of the whole world to the dominion of Imman- uel, our Saviour and Lord 1 The trend of divine providences over our entire globe and the work of the Spirit in its measure and fruits in the hearts of Christ's true disciples, while accom- panied with much that is painful, bring to the church an appeal which it becomes us to wel- come with cheer and thauksgiving, and glad re- sponse in the line of individual and organized efforts to which we are called. :May you con- sultations be stimulating and productive of richer results for good than in years past, when occasion for congratulation was so great. In the might of the forces of evll in our Own country and in other lands, let ns see no ground of dis- couragement; for greater is He that is with ns than can be all they who are against us. What- ever drawbacks or defeats may occur, these are permitted for benellcent ends to which they are noedful or may be made subservient. What we may not now understand, we shall see hereafter
70ti THE MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS
With adoring admiration of the wisdom that Is Dege of carrying it forward to new triumphll higher than oura, May the, be wise, faithful and happy, lind ui As I look forward, knowing that my con their turn be succeeded by a generation who nection With present Corms of service Is com- Ing to Its termination, I desire, with penitent 'shall be more honored and blessed even than confession and supplication in respect to my own relations to the cause I love, to give the hand of they, as workers together with God for the fulfellowship, with words only of encouragement, to the young and vigorous who have the prv- filment of all that He has promised to do for men, With fraternal affection and regard, youra most sincerely, GEO. W. WOOD.
V.-THE- MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
BY A. T. PIERSON, D.D.
JAPAN. of fellowship." What a scene was that to betoken the change that ABOUT twenty-five years ago a twenty-five years had brought I native of Japan, not known by name to modern history, conceived the The whole nation is awake and adidea that for his country to open her vancing. In 1872 the name of Chrisgates to Occidental civilization would tian was odious in Japan; now there be a benefit and blessing, and with are 16,000 who are loyal to Christ, a the prophetic foresight of a practical multitude of students there are waitpatriot and statesman, he dared pub- ing to learn of this new religion; and licly to advocate the abandonmen~ thousands are on the very pivotal of the exclusive policy hitherto pur- point of destiny, the question must sued by his nation. For such advo- speedily be determined whether they cacy he became so obnoxious to his become Ohristians or agnostics and countrymen that it was resolved to atheists. Years ago a school for put an end to his influence by put- boys and girls began in Yokohama; ting an end to his life. On a great now 'the boys' school is moved to festival day, when Japanese came Tokio, and becomes the Union Colfrom all quarters to do honor to the lege, with 300 students, under presigods of the kingdom, three bands dency of Dr. Hepburn; and the girls' prepared to waylay him: he escaped school remains at Yokohama as the the first, but fell into the hands of Isaac M. Ferris Seminary. Christhe second and perished. tianity is penetrating to the very borders of the land of the Rising A few months ago, a native pastor Sun. The Government itself offers was celebrating the Lord's Supper in to aid teachers while they are studyone of the Christian churches of the ing the Japanese tongue, and the island empire. He was a relative of door is wide open to Christian misthat murdered man who was the sions. Five denominations are united first modern martyr to his country's in the Union church, which is repreadvancement. In the congregation sented in the Union College. Young an old man arose and begged to be men are so anxious to get an educaheard. He said, "I am one of those tion and be fitted to preach to their who murdered that man, twenty-five countrymen that they resign lucrayears ago, and I want to confess my tive positions, or refuse tempting part in that crime. " The young pas- offers for secular positions, in order tor said, "By all the ancient customs to fit themselves for Christian serof Japan, I am bound to avenge that vice. Who shall guide these inquirblood-feud by plunging my dagger ing, intelligent minds and encourage into the throat of the man who was these young disciples, unless the the murderer of my relative. But church in this land supplies men and Christ's blood reconciles all blood- means? Was there ever such opporfeuds, and in Christ's name I wish to tunity offered by God 'for the evan~ extend to this brother the right hand g'elization of an empire containing on a persecution, and the Catholic thirty-eight millions of people I How converts recanted or fled to China, slow we are to go in and possess the or endured torture and martyrdom. 131nd I With a proper, prompt, ener- In 1835 Roman Catholic missions getic occupation of these wonderful again found a way into Korea by way fields of Christian labor, we might of China and Mantchuria, and the turn the whole future of the Sunrise Jesuits claimed 15,000 converts even Kingdom in the direction of the as late all 1857. cross: Not only is all antagonism abated, but Japan actually invites But we are especially concerned Christian teaching and missionary with the late opening for Protestant labor. The plowman may overtake missions. Japan in 1876 made the the reaper, and the treader of grapes first complete treaty with her neighhim that soweth the seed. The sower bor across the channel; six years' must carry the sickle. later, partly through the aid of the great Chinaman, Li Hung Chang, a KOREA. similar treaty was made with the United States. In 1884 the Presby- AFTER a strict isolation of centuries terian Board, at the solicitation of this hermit nation is open to the Rijutei, a Korean of rank, who was gospel. Its territory is partly penin- converted while representing his sular and partly insular; the penin- government in Japan, established a sula is about 400 miles long and 150 station at Seoul, H. N. Allen, M. D., miles broad, and is shaped like Italy. a medical miSSionary in China going Numerous adjacent islands constitute there. The American resident minthe Korean archipelago, chiefly of ister, General Foote, gave him an granite rock, some rising 2,000 feet appointment as physician to the above sea-level. The population legation. Dr. Allen was simply numbers from 8,000,000 to 12,000,000. tolerated at first by the Koreans; but during a revolt 10 Seoul, he skilfully The predominant religion is Bud- treated several persons of rank who dhism; though there are some follow- had been wounded, and saved the life ers of Confucius, as in China, and of the king's nephew, Min Yong Ik. some of a religion similar to that of He found the native doctors and sur- the Sin-tu in Japan. Indeed, Korea geons trying" to staunch the wounds seems, in some respects, a cross be- with wax, and his own scientific tween these two immediate neigh- treatment won the admiration of the bors. In 1882 Korea was, by treaty, Koreans. The king's nephew de- opened to American commerce, the clared they that believed him" sent key used by God to unlock this em- from heaven to cure the wounded." pire to the gospel was the medical His medical services to the royal m~88ton. Somewhere between the family led the king to build a gov- sixteenth and eighteenth centuries ernment hospital, which he named Romanism was carried into this Hay Min Lo, House of Civilized country by papal converts from Virtue, and which he placed under Japan and China. About one hun- the care of the Presbyterian mission dred years ago, Senghuni, a distin- and the supervision of Dr. Allen. guished official, professed conversion The mission finds in Rijutei a true and was baptized under the name of helper who has devoted his energies Peter; the missionaries were popu- to giving the Koreans the New lar, and the more educated classes Testament in their own tongue. Mr. saw that even this corrupted form of Arthington, of Leeds, gave the money Christianity was an improvement to pay for printing 3,000 copies of the upon "paganism. The government Irospels of Luke and John; and so became alarmed; the priesthood led the last door is opened by this her- change in public opinion, we would emphBSlm mit nation for the admission of the this fact, which very much simplifles the probgosPIlI. The working force has been lem : that you are not now asked to build and increased by the addition of Rev. Mr. furnish school-houses, supply native teachers, Underwood and Dr. Herron and his pay annual detlciencies, etc., but simply to fur- nish and support lady teachers to work witla wife; and some are so sanguine as to sympathetic Japanese in giving the girls ot Jwhope that God is going to work a pan .. Christian education. The ripe opportlD" greater and more rapid change here ity consists in this-that not only Christian than in Japan. Fragments of evan- clmrches, but non-Christian philanthropists, are gelical truth, brought by stealth from looking to Christianity as to the ouly force they the· Sunrise Kingdom, found their know of that will lift woman ont of her Ignoway to the heart of Rijutei. Years rance and degradation, and enable her to exert passed by, and the crisis came. such an Influence in the home as do the womell Rijutei was the means of saving the ot Christian lands." life of the queen, and so earned favor with the king. At once he went to Dr. Wm. Fleming Stevenson, while Japan, where he learned the way to Christ more perfectly, and so was an enthusiast in Missions, said to his led to undertake, like Luther, to give brethren: his own countrymen the Word of God in their own tongue. Here is .. We must not be over sanguine as to the rll' another pruof of God's seal on the ception given to the gospel in heathen communiwork of missions. A few years ago ties, as in Japan. It is partly of an Athenian type, born of cnrioslty and love of novelty; and we were just beginning missionary partly the result of proverbial politeness, giving teaching in Japan, and now Japanese courteons audience to a foreigner; and partly converts are proposing to go to the fruit of a Progressive, aggressive spirit, Korea as evangelists I which, especlaily in educated people, takes to Occidental civilization; and partly the movement SUGGESTIVE PARAGRAPHS. of governmental policy. From motives of State, neutrality is exercised. The Sabbath is ob- Desire of Japanese Philanthro- served in Japan only in government omces pists.-The Rev. J. H. De Forrest, a where are many foreiguers. The edict against missionary in Japan of the American Christianity Is not repealed, and much real Board, says in a recent letter: hostility hides behind the veil of indifference."
"Thoughtful Japanese have long been watch- The Mildmay meetings and all the ing missionaries and their methods of work; and when they compare the gifted women en- great religious societies' anniversagaged in school and evangelistic work with the better classes of women here, tbey see tbat ries held in England and America, in something-either that Christianity or civilization-has given tbe women of the west a posi- the month of May, have already their tion that excites their admiration and earnest longing to bave the women of Japan gain a sim- counterpart in Japan. This year the ilar place of influence. They also see that unless some way of elevating woman is systematically tide of these has been at its flood for uudertaken, Japan cannot push forward into the position of a truly civilized country. Hence it nearly the entire month in Tokio and happens that woman's work is now attracting tbe thought of philanthropists, who are asking vicinity. The meetings may be said in pnblic and in private that we aid them, espe- cially in the establishment of Christian girls' to have commenced with the fourth schools. We have already at hand importnnate calls for lady teachers from TokiO, Okayama, biennial meeting of the General As- Takahashi, Matsuyama, and other large cities; and what &11all we do in the face of these re- sembly of the United Church in qnests? Professor Toyama vehemently says, •It is an opportunity that missionaries cannot Japan, when fifty-seven churches, afford to lose.' In asking you to do all you an to take advantage of this unexampled represented by their delegates and a nearly equal number of natives and foreigner ministers met in Tokio, and a large number of clergymen of other churches were invited to sit as corre- spo n ding me m be-rs-. – .
. Mistaken Devotion.-In one of the great temples in Japan the devotion of the worshipers consists in running around the sacred building one hun- dred times, and dropping a piece of wood into a box at each round, when, the wearisome exertion being ended, the worshiper goes home tired and 000, about that of the United States very happy at the thought of having in 1845. done his god such worthy service. Are there not some Christians whose How the Gospel was first Planted activity is very similar to this, and of in Korea.-This incident is related about as much value? They are on by Mrs. Fannie Roper Feudge, Balthe street, running to all sorts of timore, Md. : meetings, and ever bustling from place to place. They feel and talk as .. Among many efforts made during the presif they were rendering most valuable ent century to carry the gospel into Korea, and service, and solace themselves in their weariness with the comfort that with little apparent success, one seed ot sacred they are doing great good and will have a rich reward. Yet really they truth was planted by a little Chinese lad shortly are accomplishing nothing. Their before Korea was opened to missionary effort ; exhausting labor is really only run- and this, so far as we know, was the first in nil ning round and round the temple; the hermit kingdom to spring up and bring forth no cause is advanced by it; God's fruit to the glory of God. This little boy's name name is not honored by it. was Ah Fung. He had been taught at one of the mission schools at Ningpo to read the Bible, Every indication goes to show that and to go to Jesus iu prayer whenever he was the Hermit Nation, as Korea is called, in need of help. When he was about nine years is rapidly leaving the hermitage and of age, his father took Ah Fung with him on one coming to the fore. The United of his trading expeditions to the Korean capital. States steamship Omaha has just By some mishap, while there, the boy was stolen arrived at Yokohama from Korea, and sold to the governor, who presented him to and Captain McNair reports his ob- his wife. She made him her page, and he would servations from a visit to that coun- often attempt to tell hili young mistress of the try, at whose capital, opened up to Saviour he loved and trusted, but withont avail, Americans by the treaty of 1882, he until one day the reaper Death took away her met the American Consul. For baby girl ; and then, in her great loneliness and miles, in the journey to Sevul, the sorrow, she recalled the words of her little page capital, the country looks like one about Jesus and His love, and asked him to teU vast cemetery, with its thousands of her the story agalu. Day after day did this green mounds on hillsides where Christian child talk of the Saviour, until she, too, sleeps the dust of more than ninety came to love this same Friend." generations. The crops are grown, the trades flourish as they do here. TEXTS AND THEMES. They have crime and criminals just as we do, but unlike our own courts, Zech. iv : 6-" Not by might (num- Korea punishes thieving with decap- bers), nor by power, but by my itation, consequently a great many Spirit." heads roll about wanting bodies to fit them. Remington and Martine rifles, Zechariah is encouraging Zerubbawith Gatling guns, the telegraph and bel,who was disheartened in attemptelectric lighting abound in parts of ing to build the second Temple by Korea, so rapid is the march of civil- paucity and poverty of the returned ization. Mission work is just begin- captives, who must be his human dening to occupy the ground, and no pendence. God assured him that not doubt there it will meet with great by a host of people, nor by human' opportunity for spreading the gospel, resources, but by His Spirit, all although at flrst the work will have work for <Sod is to be accomplished. to be limited to the youth. Korea When His Spirit moves, the most now contains a population of 20,000,- colossal mountain of obstacles be- comes a plain.
To enforce and illustrate this, the vision of this chapter is portrayed.
The candelabrum represents the church of God-God's golden light- bearer. The reservoir of prophecy supplies the lamps with oil. _ But the reservoir itself must be supplied by golden pipes, and these must connect with the living trees, which are per-
PROGRESS AND RESULTS 01' MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
ennial oil-producers. These trees, personal influence more obviously represent Jesus Christ in His royal appear. This compels us to shout and priestly offices as Mediator, in " grace! grace!" all the way from which offices He was typified in Ze- cornerstone to capstone. rubbabel and Joshua. Exodus xxxviii: 8-" And he made The way to build and nourish the laver of brass . . . of the churches is to depend on the Holy looking glasses of the women assem- Spirit. The foundation must be laid bling." in Jesus, and then the structure carried from corner to capstone as a The banished metal mirrors of ~he work of grace. Let us not despise women were contributed to be melted the day of small things. If the seven and cast into a laver for God's tabereyes of omniscience are supervising nacle. What a sacrifice of vanity! our work, and the seven hands of and what a lesson for us on the way omnipotence are building for us, to furnish God's house with needed even the feeblest, faintest body-a supplies! mere remnant-can build the temple of God in a strange land. This has 1. We ought to sacrifice our luxbeen the hope of missions always. uries. Not one step has ever heen taken successfully in d~pendence on num- 2. Common things may be put to bers or wealth or social patronage. uncommon uses-a brazen mirroJ' In no work does the Holy Spirit's becomes a brazen laver.
2. The instruments of vanity unto the sacred vessels of the tabernacle.
VI.-PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS: MONTHLY BULLETIN.
Africa•…,..Mr. Moil', of the African The native church among the Hydahs, Rev. J. Lake Company, states that at least Loomis Gould, missionary, has 42 communiten thousand slaves cross Lake Ny- cants. At the communion of the Thllngit Presassa every year. "I once looked into byterian Church, Sitka, on May 5th, Rev. A. E. the hold of a slave-dhow," he says, Austin received six adults and baptized four "and saw eighty or ninety little chil- infants. dren there. Oh, friends, if you had seen those eyes gazing up into yours, Austria.-The British and Foreign you would pray earnestly that this Bible Society distributed by sale and 'open sore,' as Livingstone called it, gift 20,597 Bibles, 102,01l Testaments might be healed."-Spirit of Mis- and 45,391 portions, making a total sions. of 167,959 volumes. The largest number was in the German language, -The first Christian church in the the next in Hungarian, then Bohe· Congo Free State was organized in mian, Hebrew, Roumanian, Servian, November of last year, and there are Polish, etc. now 1,062 converts in the Congo Mission. Burmah.-Sir Charles Bernard, wbo has two sisters working as missionaries of the Alaska.-The reports of the churches in South- Church of Scotland in India, has recently stated some interesting facts a.bout the east Alaska are f8ll of encouragement. Rev. S. Christian Karens of Burmah. He says they number about 200,000, that is, about one- Hall Young reports from Fort Wrangel47 com- third of the Karen people. There are from 500 to 600 congregations practically if not municants ; 7 added on examination and one by entirely self-supporting. It is their practice to set apart as much produce of their land certificate; adult baptisms, 7 ; Infant baptisms, as will support their native pastors,and this they do before appropriating any of the har- 4; enrollment of Sabbath-school, 50 ; collections vest for themselves. They also sen4 mig. sionaries into Siam, and support them fully. Corall purposes, $277. Rev. Eugene S. Willard -The annual meeting ofthe Bassein reports from the native church, Jnneau, com- Sgau Karen Churches was held remunicants, 'rI ; 'added on examination, 14, and by cently. During the year, 562 have certficate,13 ; adults baptized,14, and Infants, 1 ; enrollment of Sabbath-school, 80. Rev. Alonzo E. Austin reports from the native church, Sitka, communicants, 222. Added on examina- tion, Ill, and by certificate, 1. Adults baptized, 108, and Infants, 75. Enrollment of Sabbath- school, 175. Collections for all pnrposes. $70. been baptized on profession of faith, given away, the rest sold. The of whom an unusually large number American Bible Society has also have come from the heathen. The made a grant of $1,500 to the Evantotal contributions of th(l churches of gelical Society of France to aid in its work of Bible distribution. That the association for the year amount society has had in its service durto Rs. 41,000. The pupils in the town ing the year 42 colporteurs, and high school have increased to 400, the distributed 28,745 volumes of the largest number ever known in the Scriptures. history of the Bassein Sgau Karen Mission. Besides the Sgau Karen Germany.-Fifty years ago seven Association, there is a Pgho Karen Association having about 1,500 com- shoemakei's in a shop in the city of municants. The Henthada Karen Mission numbers 2,000 communi- Hamburg said, "By the grace of cants. These Christians have taxed God we will help io send the gospel to our destitute fellow-men." In themselves voluntarily to raise Rs. 5 twenty-five years they had estabper member toward new school buildings in the town of Henthada. Al- lished fifty self-supporting churches, ready Rs. 7,000 have been paid in, and the rest ,will be forthcoming had gathered out '10,000 converts, soon. It must be remembered that the great body of the Karens are had distributed 400,000 Bibles and small rice cultivators, yet they are willing to bear heavy burdens in or- 8,000,000 tracts, and had carried the der that their children may receive gospel to 50,000,000 of the race. It would take only 150 such men to carry the gospel to the whole world in twenty-five years. • -Pastor Rohrbach, of Berlin, said that he an education.. . gaioed his first ideas of evangelistic work from China.-The news from Central Mr. Moody, and when he read of the work of China, received by the China Inland Robert Moffat in Buchuanaland, he asked, Mission, is very cncoura.ging. Mr. " Cannot the same power be' brought to bear Stanley Smith reports 210 baptisms upon Germany Y" He was glad to say that the at one time, and as many inquirers. initiatory work of Dr. Schluembach, Dr. Somer- The Rev, G. Clark tells of preaching ville, Dr. Ziemann, and others, had done a great deal for the caose of evangelization. to immense audiences, sometimes as Hawaiian Islands.-Seventy years many as 4,000. It is stated that "a ago the inhabitants were depraved few as influential men as the empire has produced have embraced Christi- heathen, and human sacrifices formed anity, others are ready to do so, or a part of their religion. In 1820 the wish to reap the benefit of its civiliz- American Board sent the first mis- ing influences." Nine men have been sionaries there. From that time baptized and admitted to the Lord's Supper by the China Inland Mission there was steady progress; at one at Honan. This is stated to be the first Christian church founded in time, during a great awakening, 1,700 this province of 15,000,000 souls. The only other society at work in persons being received into the the province IS the Baptist Mission- church in one day. The time came ary Society, and there are but three when the islands could be called European agents in all this vast Christianized, and in 1863 the Amerpopulation.-O. M. Intelligencer. ican Board closed the evangelizing agE:ncy, continuing only the educa- China Inland Mission.-Ohina's Millions for tional, and an independent self-sus- taining native church was formed July says of last year's labors: "Looking on under the name of "The Hawaiian the work of the whole year, we have to praise Evangelical Association." From a report of the Association made in God for the addition of between five and six 1886 we gather the following: There are fifty-eight Hawaiian churches hundred members to the churches-a larger ac- connected with the Association re- porting 5,387 members, who paid cession than we have ever yet had to report. $8,463 for pastor's su~port; $9,829 for church building; $3,655 to send We look for yet greater results this year. All the gospel to others; $5,593 for misthe stations and oot-stations can be better cellaneous purposes; a total in one year of $28,142. worked by our augmented numbers."
France.-By the aid 01 the Ameri- Holland.-The Ministerof Colonies, can Bible Society the Bible Society of France has printed 10,000 copies of the New Testament, and distributed by sale and gift 13,938 volumes, of which 196 were Bibles, 9,486 Testa- Mr. Keuchenius, has sent a missive ments andS,487 portions. About one third of the entire number were to the various Missionary Societies in the Netherlands, declaring in it, that 8,523 probationers and 10,180 Chris- tians. This is Bishop Thoburn's the Dutch Government should like to " diocese."
see if the societies 01' unions afore- At the Conference on Foreign Mis- sions in London, Sir W. W. Hunter said could contribute largely to in- saId that while the ordinary increase of the population of India had been crease the number of missionaries in 10~ per cent. the increase of Chris- tians had been 64 pel' cent. in the last the Dutch East Indian Archipelago ten years.
and to stop the progressing influence -The Indian census shows that the native Christians are increasing of Islam among the heathen popula- fifteen times as fast as the general population. tion of these islands. -The Maharajah of Darbhauga, of N. D. SCHUUMANS. Bengal, has given $25,000 for a hos- HAARLEM, July 5. pital and dispensary in connection with Lady Dufferin's medical work. -The evangelical population founded a union His gifts for benevolent purposes the last eight years reach fully $1,- for the purpose of establishing schools independ- 700,000.
ent of the State becanse of the law forbidding Italy.-In this stronghold of Ro- man Catholicism the work of the the reading of the Bible and Christian teaching British and Foreign Bible Society has met with marked success during In olllcial schools. These independent schools the past year, the distribution being 83,349 copies in advance of the year are prospering; at the end of 1886 there were preceding. The figures are: Bibles, 7,322, Testaments, 18,885, and por- 441, In which 71,000 children receive a good ed- tions, 102,821; total, 129,028.
ucation.-JOIIN1Cil Reli{lieux. -A Japanese correspondent writes India.-The Hindus are not disposed to the Christian Union: to allow Christianity to win a victory " Sunday, March 25, was another rad·letter in India without a struggle. Publica- day in Kyoto. Twenty-five yonng men and tions in defense of Brahminism are eight young ladies, students in· onr Doshisha scattered widely over the country. schools, publicly confessed Christ as their Just now we hear of a Hindu Tract Society started in Madras, which is Savionr. This, with six young ladies baptized issuing large editions of handbills monthly, in which the Christian re- in January, and forty-three young men baptized ligion is furiously attacked. The English missionaries report that all In December, makes eighty-two accessions from this is working for good, and that "the Tamil country is being stirred the school during the current school year. Ten as never before." These conflicts are rousing men from their indifference, were received Into one of the city churches on and will lead to decision, either for Christ or against him. the same day. One of the young men joini~ -A Parsee Student. A Parseegirl in from the school is a son of one of the most fa- India named Sorabji has become mous men in Japan. The Osaka Church will quite distinguished for her intellec- dedicate a very large and commodious chnrch tual ability. In her University course April 5."
she has gained scholarships each Jews.-The number of Jews in the world is estimated by the Hebrew year, and has kept at the head of the .Annual at 6,500,000; of these 800,000 list of competitors in English. She are in Palestine. The largest disperhas recently graduated in the first sions are in Russia, which contains class. Only six students in all, of 2,550,000, of whom 766,000 are inRuswhom the remaining five were men, sian Poland; in Austria-Hungary, succeeded in obtaining this degree. 1,645,000; Turkish Empire, 800,000; Miss Sorabji is the only" girl gradu- Roumania, 265,000;· United States, ate" in the Bombay Presidency. 230000, and Abyssinia, 200,000. Best of all, she is a Christian, and the child of Christian parents, one of -Alexandria Reports for 1887. The seven sisters, all of whom have been Rev. William Kean, the head of the well educated and are doing good station, givesa frank statementof the service as educationists. Her mother difficulties of work among adult Jews. has established a successful high Miss Kirkpatrick reports continued .chool in Poonah. success in the two schools under her charge, the fees of the girls' school -calcutta has 200,000 Mohammedans and one not only paying:aU expenses, but with ordained missionary to them.-Indian Witness. £25 from the Glasgow Ladies' Associ- -The Methodist Episcopal Church has in India foreign, native and zenana missonaries, 4,450 members, ation, meeting all the requirements rents, $32,986, and the remainder ~m mis_ of the pOOl' school in the Jewish cellaneous sources. The appropriations already quarter of the town. Mr. Douglas pledged by the Board for foreign work during Dunlop, the head of the boys' school, the coming year amounted to $183,076. To reports 251 pupils (124 being Jews) translate, publish and distribute 500,000 volumes enrolled in the boys' schools, 190 be- of the Scriptures In foreign lands, $143,570 was ing in attendance at St. Andrew's paid. school. Of the 190 there were 63 Jews, 42 Roman Catholics, 31 Protestants, -The address ofthe Methodist bishops 24 Moslems, 23 Greek Church, and at the Geueral Confereuce shows that In the 7 Copts; 01', with regard to nat:ion- past few years 450,000 souls have been brought ality, 51 Egyptian, 45 British, 25 into the church, and the membership Increased Greek, 25 Italian, 20 German, 11 from 1,769,534 to 2,093,935. Receipts for mis- French, 8 Austrian, 3 Spanish and sionary work last year upwards of $1,000,000; 2 Swedish pupils. The ages of the approprlatlons for next year, $1,200,000. The pupils were remarkable. Of the 190 church claims 12 theological semi)laries, 54 colenrolled in St. Andrew's school 6 leges and 120 seminaries, with a property valua were over 20 years of age, or 21 over tion of $25,000,000. seventeen, or 42 over fifteen, or 78 in all over thirteen. The New Testa- -'l'he General Assembly of the United ment is carefully read and explained Presbyterian Church of North America recently in various languages every day, and held its sessions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ten all the Jewish boys without exception Synods and 61 Presbyteries belong to the Assemtake full part in the devotional exer- bly, with 753 ministers, 3,580 elders and 9S,992 cises and religious instruction. At members. The contributions of Sunday-schools the Sunday-school there is a good at- and missionary societies frp: the past year tendance of Jewish boys-sometimes amounted to $1,019,937. a dozen of them senior pupils. The basis of the success of the school is -The foreign missions of the Protestant the solid and high-class commercial Episcopal Church report communicants as foleducation provided, for which £347 lows: Liberia, 472; China, 374; Japan, 429; were realized in fees in 1887.-0hurch Haiti, 855; total,1,730. The income was $175,- of Scotland Record. 84S.46, including a balance of $20,739.51 from last year. There is a balance of $44,974.3Sln the -The Mission work among the treasury. 6,400,000 Jews of the world has been developed with especial rapidity -The English Wesleyan MisBiona.ry since 1881. An investigation made Society expended last year $700,000, and reports then showed that there were engaged statistics as follows: Stations, 339; preaching- in it 20 societies, employing 270 mis- places, 1,224; missionaries and assistant mis- sionaries. Statistics recently pub- sionaries, 324; other paid agents, 1,825; unpaid lished report the existence of 47 so- agents,3,651; cburchmembers,31,26S; scholars, cieties, with 377 missionaries. The 58,10S. increase in contributions has not been proportionally large, being only -During the six years, 1881-7, the North- about $96,000. Of the $432,000 which ern Baptists expended for Home Mission work, constituted last year's income, $363,- as shown by the receipts of the "American 163 were given in the British Isles. Baptist Home Missionary Society," $2,256,656. The missionaries make their head- For the same period they expended for foreign quarters at those cities where the missions, as shown by the receipts of the Jews chiefly congregate. Fifty-eight "Baptist Missionary Union," $2,327,289. The work in London; 14 in Buda-Pesth; Southern Baptists duriug the same six years 33 in Constantinople, and 28 in Jeru- contributed for Home Missions $455,399, and for salem. A proportionally smaller Foreign, $472,411. number of wQrkers are stationed at the less important cities. -The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, reports a total of members and preachers MISSIONARY SOCIETIES' RECEIPTS FOR of 1,107,456, an increase of 41,079. It has 11,364 churches, valued at $15,204,883. 1887-8. -The United Presbyterian Church of -The seventy-second annual meeting Scotland reports 565 congregations, an increase of 1, aud 182,170 members, an Increase of 107. olthe American Bible Society, New York, was The total congregational Income the past year held May 10. The cash receipts for general pur- was $1.603,500. -The German Evangelical Luthera.n poses amounted to $557,340, and disbursements, Church Synod embraces 246 ministers, 387 con- $506,443. The receipts from legacies for gen- gregations and 38,000 members, 219 parochial schools, and an average yearly attendance of eral purposes amounted to $113,778; from 6,427. churches, individuals aud auxiliary donations, Russia. – Rabinowitz. The Free $85,405 ; from books and the purchase account Church of Scotland Monthly contains $296,540 ; from trust funds, etc., $23,944; from a letter-written by Rabinowitz tp Dr. ary who came to this country to ob- Wilson of Edinburgh, dated March tain funds for the erl'!"ction of a Chris- 12. Dr. Somerville, who will be re- tian high school in Bangkok, has remembered as the Scotch minister turned to his field of labor. He sewho has preached in Constantinople cured $15,000 in this country, to and in various parts of the world with which the King 01 Siam will add such good effect, had visited Rabinowitz at Kischineff, which is the capi- $5,000. The erection of the school is tal of Bessabaria, some eighty-five thus made possible. miles northwest of Odessa. Dr. Somerville stayed with this Christian Sweden.-The Swedish Magazine, Israelite a few days, preaching, as Lunds-Missions Tidring, gives the Rabinowitz says, "to a house crowd- present number of baptized converts ed to overflowing by children of of the Berlin society as 16,539 at 47 Israel coming to see the eminent and stations. The last year's contriburespectable doctor." And he adds: "Dr. Somerville was 'moved to his tions of these amounted to $3,780. very heart, seeing how here the Jews, Syria.-The Quaker women have a with God's Word in the hand, are seeking the Lord their God, and "Syria-Ramalleh Home." They pro- David their King, Jesus Christ." pose to build a girls' training-school there, for which ,3,000 is raised, twice -Lord Radstock gave some interesting in- that amount being needed. Sybil Jones was the first woman to preach stances which had come under his notice. Two the gospel in the land since the apos- tles' day. They have a school at prominent workers had heen banished; one had Mansnrieh, near the Svrian Mission, on Mount Lebanon. The Philadelto walk 1,000 miles in chains to Siberia, bnt his phia Society supports a Bible woman in this mission. joy was that he would" now have the privilege -The Mission at Brumana on the of preaching the gospel to the prisoners," who heights of Mount Lebanon. overlook- ing Beirut, is under the joint mancould not otherwise be reached. In St. Peters- agement of the Society of Friends in Great Britain, Ireland and the burg the" open meeting" principle works ad United States. There is a training home for boys, with 30 inmates, and mirably, hecause when the gatherings are broken for girls with 20, and a well-ordered hospital with 15 beds, besides disup by the police-as is invariably the case when pensary, open five days a week. The mission has the charge of various discovered-the converts are each competent to day-schools for both sexes in several surrounding villages, in which more minister the Word to others, and thns, as in the than 300 children are under instruc- tion ;, it also employs a colporteur early days of the church, the scattering of the and several Bible-women. There are people secures the scattering of the seed. In also two mothers' meetings, which in earlier days had sometimes to be fact, on one occasion a number of imprisoned shortened becaulile of fights among the women, but which now are comconverts were released, hecause by their testi- posed of large numbers who delight to learn texts of Scripture, and be mony " they did more harm in prison than out." read to, rather than give vent to evil passion.-Presbyterian. Scotland.-,At the first meeting of the National Bible Society directors -The Pilgrims to Mecca this year for the new year, held in Glasgow, the from Syria are very few. The steamtotal income for 1887 was reported to ers offer great inducements, but as be £33,432 7s., being only £335 Is. less the pilgrimage takes place in June than the income of 1886, which in- and July the people dread the intense cluded £4,875 ofa fund raised in heat of Mecca and stay at home. A honor of the society's semi-jUbilee. Moslem of Beirut was asked, "Are The expenditure had been £30,992 6s. The issues in 1887 were 6a2,073 copies many of the Beirut Moslems going or parts of Scripture, including to Mecca this year?" "No," said he ; 164,729 Bibles, 180,662 Testaments, "only about ten." " Are those who and 286,682 portions. Though some- go generally made better men by the what less than the exceptional circulation of the last two years, these fig- pilgrimage?" " Better I They are uresare considerably beyondany form_ worse. Mecca is the wickedest place er record. The issues at home were in thQ East; full of robbers, thieves 220,754 copies, and abroad 411,319. and pickpockets, and everything vile.
Siam.-At a meeting of the Pres- Hardly a man goes but is robbed." bytery of Siam, it was reported that an addition of 48 members by confession, and five by certificate, makes the Whole number of communicants in connection with this Presbytery now 881. One new church was organized and one student licenl:!ed to preach the gospel.
-The Rev. Mr. Eakin, the mlssion~ Swltzerland.-The Basle Mission native Bible readers, and more'than has 111 missionaries and European 150 schools. teachers in its three fields, and 489 native pa.stOl'S, catechists, evangelists -The Woman's Foreign Missionand teachers. In 1884 there were ary Society of the M. E. Church just made to the quadrennial conference, baptized in Africa, India and China is full of encouragement. The re- 531 adult heathen,204 heathen chil- port covers the past four years. dren and 773 Christian children. The Basle Mission Church numbers to:day The society now nUlllbers 4,888 auxiliaries. with an annual membership of 115,228. The 17,053 members. German work had fnlly justified the expectations Turkey.-We are beginning to hear of the originators and had grown constantly. The last report gave a total of 104 auxiliaries, of spiritual result'i following the ad- with 2,694 annnal members and 19 life members. ministration of relief to the famine The aggregate recelpte of the last four years sufferers in Turkey. In some places have been $658,898.77, an increase over the pre· portions of the Scriptures have been vlous fonr years of $154,314.23. distributed with needed bread for the body. Mr. Gates of Mardin reports -The Woman's Society of theAmerican Bapthat in one village a man said, after tist Missionary Society received, East, $55,880 ; an earnest discussion: "It is nothing West, $25,882. other than the words of this book -Reports of the Five Women's Foreign which have sent us this aid." A Mos- Missionary SOCieties of the Presbyterian Chnrch lem at one village affirmed: "I know Cor the year ending May 1, 1888, namely: that the Protestants are the best of all the sects." " How do you know Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the that?" said a bystander. .. You are Presbyterian Chnrch, Philadelphia: Receipts, a Moslem. What do you know of the $149,640, a gain of $19,821; Anxullarie., 2,000, teachings of the Protestants?" The gain, 221; Missionaries, 133; Native Teachers and Bible Women, 91. Moslem replied: "I know by one sign. If I go to a priest, he says to Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions or me, Give. If I go to a Moolah, he the Northwest; Receipts, $132,472, gam, $15,412; says to me, Give. If I go to an offi- Auxiliaries, 1522; Missionaries, 6~; Native cial or a friend, they say to me, Give. Teachers and Bible Women, 49, All;ay, Give. The Protestants alone say, Take. Theil' schools say, Take; Women's Board of Foreign Missions of the their teachings say, Take; their Presbyterian Chnrch, New York: Receipts, charities say, Take. By this I know $62,544, gain, $12,407 ; AUxiliaries, 900, gain, 76 ; that they are the· best." Mr. Gates Missionaries, 41; Native Teachers and Bible reports that villages are asking for Women,3D. teachers, and that the evangelical Woman's Presbyterian Foreign Missionary helpers are honored wherever they go Society of Northern New York: Receipts, $10among the mountains.-Mi88ionary 418 ; Auxiliaries, 118, gain, 14; MiSSionaries, 5 ; Herald. Native Teachers and Bible Women, 13.
Women's Missionary Work.-The Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions of Women's Foreign Missionary So- the Sonthwest: Receipts, $7,217, gain, 503; ciety of the Presbyterian Church in Auxiliaries, 47, gain, 8; Missionaries, 7.
Canada reports $10,058 as the amount Total receipts, $812,286, gain dnring the year. of last year's receipts. Its foreign 848,143; Auxiliaries, 4,587, galu, 319; Missionwork is thus summarized: Three aries, 254; Native Teachers and Bible Women, schools for our Own Indians in the 83. Northwest, one girls' school in Formosa, six schools under the care of -The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Woour ladies in Central India, six native man's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presteachers assisting in these schools, byterian Church of the Pacific Cocst Is an ex- ceedingly Interesting one. The receipts from two Bible women, general mission- all sources were $10,700.4Q. ary work in the hospital, villages and zenanas, three missionary teachers, -The Woman's Union Missiouary SOCiety of one medical missionary, one lady America has In Calcutta and the villages south ready for the work, one lady in of It 22 schools with 1,178 girls, and 114 zenanas Canada receiving medical education, in which are 130 regular pupUs. A Bible lesson donation for Trinidad. Is given every day in the schools and at every visit in the zenanas. -The money given by the women of the Presbyterian Church in the -At the recent annual meetIng ofthe Chnrch United States during the past sixteen of England Zenana Missionary Society It was years amounts to $2,150,000, repre- stated that there had been good success at al- senting the entire support of more most every station. The receipts for the year were $133,000. There are now at home nearly than 200 women missionaries, 200 900 ass,ociations, and upward of 600 working parties in support of the mission.
'716 STA.TISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS
VlI.-STATISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS.
WORLD – WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF THE The issues of the Hibernian Bible So- 59,105 ciety for the same year were as fol- BIBLE. lows: Bibles, 20,897; New Testa- ments, 25,862 : Portions, 12.846. To- [Rev. John Wilkinson (London) has tal…. ….. ….. ………. …. …..• published a powerful tract with the Portions reduoed to Bibles, 402, which 46,661 above caption. We avail ourselves with Bibles and New Testaments of his statistics relating to Bible dis- make a total of Bibles, New Testa- ments and Portions reduced to Bitribution.-EDs. ] bles, of…………..••…..•……• REv. JAMES JOHNSTON, in his" Centnry of The Issues of the American Bible So- ciety, as given in the report for the Christian Missions," puts the population of the same year, were as follows : Bibles, world at about 1,470.000,000: Protestants, 135,- 369,714; New Testaments, 598.515; 000,000; Greeks, 85,000,000; Papists, 195,000,- PortiOns, 469,211. Total……….. 1,437,440 000; Jews, 8,000,000; Mohammedans, 173,000,- 000 ; heathen, 874,000,000; altogether about Total Bibles, New Testaments and 1,473,000.000 as the world's population at present. Portions reduced to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . 982,892 The Mohammedans and the heathen together The report states that "there are at least make 1,047,000,000, besides about 11,000,000 of .Tews. These 1,058,000,000 are unevangelized. twenty-five German Bible SOCieties. Some of Besides, there are millions of Greek Catholics them are very small." Only four or five-occupy and Roman Catholics as destitute of the Bible as a prominent position. These are: (1) the Prus- 8re the Mohammedans and the heathen. sian Chief Bible Society, for the eight original provinces of Prussia; (2) the Wllrtemberg It is esthnated that there are yet more than Bible Institute, for the kingdom of Wiirtem- 3,000 langnages and dialects into which the Holy berg; (3) the Saxon Chief Bible Society, Cor the Scriptures have never been translated. kingdom of Saxony; (4) the Nuremberg Bible Association, for the kingdom of Bavaria; and A.t the head of the list of agencies for the dis- (5) the Berg Bible SOCiety, on the Rhine. The tribution of the Bible is the British and Foreign circulation of the Prussian Chief Bible Society Bible Society. According to the report of 1886 for 1885 reached 97,400 copies; SO,694 of them the issues of the Society were as follows: Bibles. None of these were issued by the From the Bible Honse, London: Bi- British and FOreign Bible Society, but were ad- ditional. " The other four Societies mentioned bles, 636,411 ; New Testaments, with put into circulation, in 1881–39,539,20,731, 6.752 or without Psahns, 1,100,891 ; Por- and 17,477 copies respectively. About one-half tions,365,517. TotaL………… ..• 2,192,819 of these books were supplied by the British and From depots abroad: Bibles, 195,102 ; Foreign Bible Society. The work of the re- New Testaments, with or without maining twenty Societies was limited in extent, Psalms, 625,295 ; Portions, 1,110,688. and comprised but few of the British aud For- TotaL…………… …………… 1,931,085 eign Bible SOCiety's books. "
Total for the Jear, of Bibles, New Now let us gather the sum total of Bible cir- Testaments and Portions. . . . . .•. . . .. 4,123,904 culation by these German Bible Societies: First we have the Prussian Society… 97,400 Total portions, 1,476,205, divided by 82, Then we have the Wilrtemberg,Saxon, and thus reducing them to whole Bi- bles, make 46,181 ; which brings out Nuremberg, and Berg SOCieties, al- the following total of Bibles, New together 84,499; from these we must Testaments and Portions reduced to deduct half, as reckoned to the Bibles: Bibles, 831,513; New Testa- British and Foreign Bible SOCiety's me nts,l,816,186; Portions, reduced issues-so these four Societies cir- to Bibles, 46,131. TotaL…. •. . . . .. 2,693.830 culated ………………………. . 42,250 We put down for the other twenty The issues of the National Bible Soci- 645,662 small Societies a circulation of….. . 60,350 ety of Scotland for the same year, 1886, were as follows: Bibles, 154,- 450; New Testaments, 256,507 ; Por- tions,234,705. TotaL…………..
Total portions, 234,705, divided by 32, 418,692 This will make a total for the twenty- and thus reducing them to whole Bi- five Societies of………….. …… 200,()()(1 bles, make 7,335; which brings out The Trinitarian Bible Society's report fOl the following total of Bibles, New Testaments, and Portions reduced to 1887 says: "The circulatiou of Scripture dur Bibles: Bibles, 154,450; New Test- ing the past year has been as follows, in twenty aments, 256,507; Portions reduced languages" :- to Bibles, 7,335. TotaL………… Bibles, 3,354; New Testa- ments, 11,038; Portions, 96,620…•…•••.•.••Total 111,012 Special sale or HebrewNew PRESBYTERIAN MISSION OF NORTHERN BRAZIL.-STATlSTICS FOR 1887. Testaments, 75,000; special NAlIlE OF grant oC Hebrew INew CHURCH.
Testaments, 25,000..Total 100,000 Recife ………. 1~ ~ ~'i 25 58 39 . . . . . . . . Total circulation, sales, and grants… . 211,012 Goyanna……. 11 •. 32 29 1 …. 1 8 The Portions, 00,620 rednced to Bibles, i" .. Fortaleza. . . . .. 9 .. 1 47 40 27 " .. 1 1 by being divided by 32, make, In Mossoro.. .•. . . . 5 20 21 12 ……. . Parahyba .•…. 11 3 1 1 16 ~~ <I I ….. . round numbers, 3,020; which with Maranham….. 1 1 …. 15 …. 1 ..
the Bibles, New Testaments, and Pao de Assucar. 8 7.. .. … IS 17 .. 1 .. ·. Maceio……… 8 1 …. ,.. 3 1 1 ….. . special 100,000 oC Hebrew New 8146 3 3 108 215 143 3 1 2 2 Testaments, make the total……… 117,412 Totals. Catholic and Protestant Converts.
British and Foreign Bible -DR. WARNECK, who also is a lead- Society – Bibles, Testa- ments and Portion: issued ing authority on mission matters, from the London House and from def.ots abroad.. 4,123,904 has compiled some statistics on the The same tota , with Portions reduced number of converts reported from to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. •. . .. 2,693,830 Catholic and from Protestant socie- National Bible Society ot ties. His summary is that the former Scotland-Bibles, Testa- ments and Portions. . . . . . 645,662 reports 268,700 converts in Africa, The same total, with Portions reduc- 2,000,000 in Asia, 55,000 in Oceanica, ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . • 418,692 330,000 in America, or a total of Hibernian Bible Soclety- 2,053,700. Protestant societies report Bibles, Testaments and 577,000 in Africa, 700,000 in Asia. Portions. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 59,105 280,000 in Oceanica, and 688,000 in The same total, with Portions reduc- America, or a total of 2,245,700. Dr. ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . . 56,661 American Bible Society- Warneck remarks: Bibles, Testaments and Portions ………………. 1,437,440 .. I must confess that these figures sur- The same total, with Portions reduc- prised me. Considering the grand and im- ed to Bibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 92,982 posing organization of the Catholic Church. The twenty-five German Societies…. 200,000 the larger number of its missionaries, their Trinitarian Bible Society- rapid method of receiving into church com- Bibles, Testaments and munion larger numbers, and the great ad- Portions …………. , . . .• 211,012 vantage enjoyed by the fact that they have The same total, with Portions rednc- been at the work many centuries before our ed to Bibles…………….. ……• 117,412 work began. I had thought that numerically Grand total, InclndingBibles – – – their mission success would vastly exceed Testaments and Portions. 6,477,123 that of the Protestants. Leaving ont of consideration Asia, where chiefiy those who The same total, with Portions rednc- are descendants of converts of earlier cen- ed to Bibles.. ………………… 4,4.59,487 turies in China and India swell the number in the Roman Catholic reports. it must be Only frrur-and-a·1uJlj' milliOns of Bibles are seen that everywhere else the mission work being prodnced a year, while the annual increase of the world's popnlation is estimated at twelve of the Evangelical Church is far in advance mUli0n8! of that of the Roman Catholic."
BlBLE WORK IN CHINA IN 1887.
B. & F. Bible Soc. North China. …… ~~ 790 75,228 76,212 Central .. . . . . . . . 839 83,652 84,664 – – Sonth " .. . . . .. …. -. .-. . – -. . . -. 91,010 TotalB. &F….. 367 1,629 158,880 251,886 Scotch Bible Soc. -Mission work ofthe Catholic Church North China. . . . . .. …. 136 7,229 7,366 Central" ….•…… 1,952 168,859 170,31J is in the hands of the Propaganda Total N. B. S. S.. 2,088 176,088 178,176 Society, In the periodical Kathol- iscke Missionen recently this Society Amer'nBible Soc. 80 689 713 1,482 Sales-Depot …… . ]20 2,082 29,932 82,13'" makes its report for 1886. 77 2,059 :103,782 205,918 h Missionaries. 35 121 1,145 1,301 According to this France furnished about 48 899 9,837 10,784 two-thirds of the funds needed Cor the work. " Colportenrs.• namely. 4,855,658 francs; Germany contrib- Donations-Depot .. 72 1,184 1,256 uted 409,271 francs; Belgium, 358,767 ; Elsass " Missionaries. and Lorraine, 286,987 ; Italy, 382.214; Great " Colportenrs.. Britain. 166,319; Switzerland, 77,139; the Total Am. B. S . . 360 5,922 246,593 252.875 Netherlands, 112,551 ; Spain,97,522; Portugal, 47,249; Austria, 88.403; Hungary. 3,952 ; Bnl- SgacrainadainnadviRaonnmcoaunnitar,ie5s0,0;84R7u; ssAiaSlia5,288;,4t0h5e; Grand total, 1887. . . 727 9,639 581,581 682,937 Total, 1886… . . . . . .. 1,019, 14,256 493,678 583,429 Africa. 35,373; North AmerlCa.l00,928; Cen- tral America, 566; South America, 55,569 ; – Chute8e Recorder. Australia, 14.519. ' .Je'll'I.-lI'rom the HelJrsUJ Annual we learn A.merlcan Baptflt 1Illmoa&l]' tlnton• that France contains 000,000; Germany. 562.000, of whom 89,000 inhabit Alsaee and LorraIne; REOAPl'rULA'rI01I'. Austria-Hungary, 1,644,000, of whom 688,000 are in Galicia and 638,000 In Hungary; Ita!;!'l to.QOO ; The Burman Ml88ion.-51 mll!l!Ol1aries, 1ft Ns~'e!Ith~e~r,laOnOdOs, 82,000; RPooluamnda,ni7a6,8,2O6OO5~U;WTu; r~kUeIyI, men and 85 women (including wfflllJ of mis- (Russian sionaries) ; 13 Ordained and 89 nnordalned na- SloWotlutuzuerilanBde,lg7iu,0m0,0; 3,O:Kl ; Bulgaria, 10,000; tive preachers; 21 churches, 1,680 members, Denmark, .,000; Spain, 150 baptized in 1881. 1,900; Gibraltar, 1,500 i. Greece, 8,000; Servia, 3.500; Sweden, 3,000. m Asia there are 30,000 TAe Karen .Mi8rion.-47 missionaries. 15 men of the race. Turkey In Asia has 195,000, of whom and 82 women; 10 ordained and 851 unordained 115,ooo are in Palestine, 407,000 In Russian Asllr, native preachers; 494 churches, 26.008 mem- 18,000 In Persia, 14,000 In Central Asia, 111,000 In hers, 1.877 baptized In 1887. India, and 1,000 in China. In AfrIca 8,000 Jews lgievrel~In.60E,0g0y0pitn, 55 000 In Tnnisia, 35,000 in AI- TAe Shan Mi88ion.-6 miSSionaries, 2 men Morocco, 6,000 in TrIpoli, and and 4 women; 7 unordained native preachers; 2OO,uuu In Abyssinia. America connta 280,000 2 churches. 42 members, 1 baptized In 1887. i;rg~clr:; g}::n:ee~~~s ~l~em~':ts~fIa:ll:; continent, while only 12,000are scattered through TAe Kachin MiBrion.-2 missionaries, 1 man Oceanica. The entire total ~f the Hebrew race and 1 woman; 2 ordained and 1 unordained na- tive preachers; 3 churches. 39 members, 3 bapon the surface ot the globe Is estimated at tized in 1887.
6.300.000. TAe Ohin'Miasion.-5 missionaries, , meB and 3 women; 15 ordained Bnd 16 unordalned -The French Protestant mission- native preachers; 7 churches. 174 members. 62 aries among the Bassutos of south- baptized In 1887. eastern Africa report for 1886-7 as follows: The M8Gme8e .Mi8sion.-9 missionaries, 8, men and 6 women; 2 ordained and 9 unor Stations……………… . 17 (Same as previ- dained native preachers; 15 churches. 786 mem- ousyear. bers, 37 haptized In 1887.
Out-stations…………. . 89 Increase of 5 The Garo MiBrion.-4 missionaries. 2 men and 2 women; 5 ordained and 6 unordalned na- Native helpers•……….. 160 18 tive preachers; 10 churches, 986 members. 165, baptized in 1887. Marriages…………… .. 109 14 TAe Naga .Mi88ion.-8 missionaries. 4 men InCant baptisms.. . . .. . .. . 322 64 and 4 women; 6 unordalned native preachers; 8 churches. 70 members. 6 bap.tized In 111117. Catechumens.. . . . . . . . . . .. 2.245 387 The Tcl'U(fU Mi8sion.-44 missionaries, 19 men Communicants. . . . . . . . . . .. 5,525 385 and 25 women; 56 ordained and 137 unordalned native preachers; 52 churches. 68.629 members, Total number adherents… 7.770 672 2.321 baptized in 1887.
– – – Scholars….. . .. . .. . . . 4,066 982 The OAineBe MiBBiOn.-1IOmi8sionaries,12 men and 18 women; 7 ordained and 33 unordalnod Congregational Statistllll. native preachers; 19 churches, 1.568 members. 51 baptized in 1887. Chur~hes: whole nnmber………. .. 4.404 new ………………. .. 246 TAe Japan MisBion.-2/i missionaries. 8 men gain in number……… . 127 and 17 women; I) ordained and 21 unordalned Mell!.'>ers: whole number ………. . 457.584 native preachers; 11 churches, 770 members, added on conCession…. . 41,156 211 baptized in 1887. .. by letter …….. .. 26.185 total [189 not di- T1Ie Congo MilI8ion.-28 missionaries. 17 men vided] …………. .. 67,530 and 11 women; 4 churches, 248 members, 1111 removed…………… .. 38,644 baptized in 1887. apparent increase ……. . 28,886 gain [actual. comparing JiJurqpean Ml&siom.-1I72 preachers; 654 totals] ………….. . 21.200 churches. OO.14l1 members, 5,532 baptized In difference [due to Inacu- 1881. rate report<! …….. .. 7.681 BaPHsms : I!-dult………………. .. 20,123 In the missions to the heathen there are 60 mfant……………… .. 11,1166 stations and 831 out-stations. Including those Families reported.. . .. .. .. .. . .. …. . 268,775 now absent from their lI.e1d8, there are 282 mis- Sunday;~chools. me.mbers ……….. . 551.691 sionaries. including 159 single women lll!d 84 gam in members … . 29.704 wives of missionaries. " average attendance . . 324.719 united with the church In an the missions there are 262 misaionarles from……….. .. 18.399 (Including la1 evangelists), 1.798 preachers, 1.296 benevolent contribu- churches. and 127.208 members; 10.602 were tions ot…. ….. . $162,012 baptized in 1887.
BENBVOLEN'r CON'rRmU'rlON8 oJ!' 'rHIII I1IJIJ'tWUe frum laBt Slear.-14mia8Ionaries, 31 OHURCHES: churches, 8.678 members.-8eventy;fourth ~ lIual Report. For the year 1887 only………….. $2.095.485 Increase over 1885.. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. (18,275 O~,which lor ~oreign Missions. . . . . . 319.404 ~ucation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 221.287 .. .. Church BuildiIlg……. 122,590 Home Missions…. . .. . 436.577 .. A. M. A…… ………. 151,698 .. Sunday-schools……… 28.986 .. New West………….. 43.960 .. Ministerial Ald….. …. . 9.138 " •. Other ob,tects……….. 787,731 Legacies paid. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . 829,663 !lome Expenditures……………… 5.078,980 Increase. . . . . . . . . 1,100,750 U U – Congregational Year-Book JfYr 1888. " Faetl COllCemiDg the COllege Department of or more tl'&veling secretaries, and the Interna- YOlIIIg lieD'. Christian As.oelatloDs of North tional Committee's secretarial force numbers America. 14. 77 or these associations are engaged 231 college associations are In existence. specially in work among raUway men; 10- 41 have been orgallized within the year. , among German-speaking young men; 273 are in ' 179 have an aggregate membership of 9.863. colleges; 29 are colored and 18 Indian. 226 203 have an active membership of 8,699. associations report educational classes in trom 174 have an associate membership 0(2,240. one to fifteen branches of study; 287 report 177 have 2,570 members serving on committees. special attention to physical culture through 143 expend annually $6,067. gymnasiums and out-door sports; 898 Bible classes, 367 Bible training classes, and 661 4 haTe buildings; Princeton, valued at $20,000; Hanover, '$1000; Toronto University, weekly prayer-meetings are among the services $7,000, and ~"e University, $50,000. Cor young men only, which are reported.
59 have rooms devoted exclusively to their UStt. -In heathen countrie. Protestants occupy 54 have furniture valued at $20,732. 100 separate mission fields, containing 20,000 18 have libraries of 8,655 volumes, valued at mission .tations, supplied by 40,000 missionaries. In these 20,000 mission stations there are 500,000 $3,577. Sabbath-school scholars, an average or 25 to 27 had 101 lectures during the year, and 68 ha. each station. In the 20,000 Protestant mission stations there are 1,000,000 of native communi- 144 sociables. cants, or an average of 50 to each etation. There are also 2,000,000 of adherents who are friends BELIGIOUS MEETINGS. of the evangelical faith and hearers of the gospel preached from tbe Bible, an average of 100 to 87 report 98 Bible classes, with a total average each station. Including all classes, there are attendance of 1,688. now identified with Protestant Christian mis- sions 3,500,000 persons, served by 40,000 mis- 59 report 99 traiuing classes, with a total aver- sionaries. The nationalities friendly to Protest- age attendance of 1,024. tant Christianity, or nominally Christians, contain a population of about 150,000,000, or 188 report 198 prayer-meetings, 147 ofwhich have one-ninth ot tbe whole population of the earth, a total average attendance of 3 998. ' covering 14,000,000 of square miles, or one-fourth of the whole geographical surface oC the globe. 84 report gospel meetings, 50 of which have II The Greek and Roman Catholic churches cover total average attendance of 1,481. 18,000,000 square miles in nations friendly to them or dominated by them, and have 250,000,000 23 report song services, 13 of which have a to- of adherents. The Mohammedans bave a fol- tal average attendance of 394. lowing of "bout 200,000,000 nominally. Strictly pagan conntrles, therefore, have yet a popula- 80 report missionary meetings. tion of OM bution souls who are not reached by 3 report daily prayer-meetings. Mohammedan, Catholic, Greek or Protestant 19 report 21 cottage or neighborhood prayer- churches.
meetings. -Statistical tables In the Baptist Year-Book 8 report meetings In almshouses, jails and hos- show the total number of members In the 31,891 Baptist churches to be 2,917,815, indicating a pitals. gain of 184,745 members during the year. Tho 18 report 27 Sunday-schools conducted in their number of baptisms reported is 158,373, which ia 2,995 more than were reported a year bofore. members. 137 881!OCiations observed the day of prayer for -" The Presbyterian Church of the United States, ,,11 branches, have over 15,000 churches, colleges the last Thursday in January, :1886. 11,500 ministers, 1,500,000 members, and ex- 181 observed the day of prayer for young men, the second Sunday In November. 200 report 81,420 young men as studenta In their colleges. 157 report 9,956 young men, stndents of their colleges, 8S members of evangelical churches. 150 report 1,7~ professed conversions during the year. 161 report that 2,750 students in their colleges intend to enter the ministry. 48 report tbat 135 or these have been convocted since entering college. 24 report that 86 of these have been converted the past year. 19 report that 64 have been inflnenced in their , decision for the ministry by tbe work of the College Association. 59 report that 126 students in their colleges In- tend to be foreign missionaries. 4 report that 5 of these have been converted the past year. 3 report that 16 of these have been influenced in their decision for the forei!(n field by the missionary department of the College Asso- ciation.
– The International Committee of Young pends annually in her work 816,000,000 ; has also Men's Christian Associations at 40 East 23rd 46 colleges, with 5,000 students; 20 theological street, New York, bas just issued the Associa- seminaries, with 1.900 studenta ; 34 female sem- tion "Year-Book for 1888." There are now, inaries, with 4,000 pupils."-Dr. G. P. Hay,.
according to this annnal report, 1,240 associa- -The statistics preseuted at the last Interna- tions in America, aud 8,804 in the world. The tional Sunday-school Convention show that American associations bave a membership of whlle there are in the Sunday-schools oC our 170,000 ; they own buildings valued at $5,609,- country and the Dominion of Canada seven mil- WS, and have a total net property of $7,261,658 ; lion children and youth, there are more than IIIstyear they expended $1,181,888 In local work, nine million outside of the Sunday-school. Dr.
~d $104,949 In general work. 752 men are de- Worden stated that of this number 800,000 are In voting their entire time to the local, State and New York State,575,OOO In Pennsylvania. 440,000 IIlternational work as secretaries and assistants; in Ohio. 365,000 in Kentucky, 840,000 in Indiana, ~here are 23 ,Btate committees that employ one 600,000 in DlinOi8, 550,000 In Missouri, 228,000 In Kansas. In three years the gain In" Sunday- l!'aith in foreign /parts was organized in L7ona.
school membership has been nearly 500,000 ; but France, in 1822. Since that time it has received an aggregate of 220,000,000 francs, mainly in this ill small, compared"with the gain in our pop- small amounts. Its receipts during the past year were 6,648,000 francs, of which 4,850,000 ulation, which Increases more rapidly every were drawn from France.
year. -According to the Directory of the Roman Catholic Church for 1888, there are, in England -The Weilih Calvinistic Methodists embrace aud Wales,2,314 Catholic priests to 1,728 in 1876, and these preside over 1,:lO* churches, chapels 1,:e20 churches, 129,000 members, 1,012 minis- "nd stations. Scotland has 5 bishops, 324 priests and 237 churches aud chapels. The R0ters, aud 1,450 Sabbath·schools, with home and man Catholic population iu 1887 is given as 1,354,000 in England and Wales, 326,000 iu Scotforeign missionary societies. land, 3,961,000 in Ireland. Together with the colonies, the number of Catholics under British -The German Evangelical Lutheran Chureh rule is 9,682,000.
Synod embraces 246 ministers, 381 congrega- -New England Catholic statistics count up as follows: Priests, 906; seminariaus, 233; tions, and 38,000 members, 219 parochial schools, churches, 602 ; chapels and statiOns, 133; col- leges, 7 ; academies,38 j parochial schools, 205 ; and an average yearly "ttendance of 6,4'l7. pupils, 69,105 ; charitable institutions, 36; Cath- olic population, 1,185,000. This estimate is -The African Methodist Episcopal Chureh, based on the reports of the parish priests to their ordinaries. It is rather uuder thau over the fig_ whose General Conference recently in session at nres. Exceeding care is taken in making this ceusus. Estimations are generally based upou Indianapolis, reports 1 membership of 408,351, baptisms, marriages, etc., which yield a certainty on the safe side, but which exclude that host and the total of money raised for all purposes of Catholics who hold their religion loosely, who seldom attend church, who frequently neglect to during the year 1887 as 51,064,569. There are have their childreu baptized, yet who are sub- stantially Catholics, if anything, and who some- 3,394 churches and 660 parsonages, valued at times, soouer or later, return to the faith of their rathers. There are at least a million and a half $5,340,889. There are 11,009 stewards, 14,190 Catholics in New England. It has been assertsd, without contradiction, that over half the popustewardesses, and 14,778 class-leaders. lation of Boston are Catholics.- Catholtc Re- view. The statistics of the United Presbyterian – In 1881 the 1,200 members of the United Church for the present ecclesiastical year are: Presbyterian Board in Egypt-most of them very poor meu and women-raised more thau 1887. 1888. $17 each, for. the support of churches and schools. Look on this picture, then on that. Total membership… . . . . . . • 94,641 98,991 Christians in America give 50 ceuts each to mis- Total congregations" . . . . .•. . 885 1107 sions. Christians in poor Egypt give $17 each Total pastoral charges…… 618 708 for missions, and yet America is considered" Total contributions ………• $977,860 $1,019,937 Christian nation -Presb. CoUtge Journal.
-According to the Year-Book of the Disciples -The wealthof church members in the United States of America in 1880 was 8,723 m!llion dolof Christ for 1888, they have 6,437 churches, lars. Of this pne-sixteenth of one per cent. or one dollar out of $1,586 is given in a year for the 620,000 communicants, 4,500 Sunday-schools, salvation of eight hundred million heathen.
with a membership of 318,000, and a teaching – I t is difficult so learn thstatistics of J emsa- em. Probably as reliable information as can be force of 33,340 ; number of preachers 3,263. The secured is given by the Bote aus Zion, a carefwly edited German Protestant quarterly, published value of church property is $10,368,361. in the Holy City. The Mohammedans number about 9,OOJ, the Jews 18,000, and the Christians -In Germany and Switzerland there are eigh- 7,000, making a total of 34,000. The Jews genteen foreign missionary societies, with betweeu erally claim more, making the estimate as hlgil 522 and 550 missionaries in the field, and with an as 30,000.
Income of about $720,000. The particular cir- cumstances of their origin, no doubt, account for this state of things, bnt it certainly ought now to be possible to consolidate the smaller so- cieties, and thus save the expense of so many different officials.
-Mr. David McLaren has made II careful ex- amination and analysis of the home contribu- tions of four great missionary societies and of the British and Foreigu Bible Society during the ftftyyears of the present reign. The annual av- erage amount of the five societies for the last ten years was £556,631, shown as follows: Baptist Missionary Society. . . . . . . . . . . .. £57,229 Wesleyan Missionary Socie!y………. 109,433 Church Missionary Society…………. 193,670 London MisSionary Society..• , . . . . . ••• ro,742 British and Foreign Bible Society. •.•• . 109,557 The total contribntions for the IIfty years were £10,798,160, being about the amount spent on drink in this country in sixty days.
One feature bronght out by the examination is that, when al large sum has been raised for a special object, the income of sncceeding years has not suffered In consequence.
-The Roman Catholic Propaganda of the
The Missionary Review of the World — May 1888
THE SUPREME QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR
MISSIONARY REVIEW .OF THE WORLD.
VOL. XI. No. 5.-0Id Series.-MAY.-VOL. 1. No. 5.-New Series.
I.-THE LITERATURE OF MISSIONS.
THE SUPREME QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR.
[EDITORIAL.-A. T. p.] As we study missions we are more and more convinced that the defect in our methods is radical. There is something wrong, and it reaches down to the very foundations of our system; otherwise there would be a greater and grander onward march and a more speedy and glorious success. Let us be ,honest with ourselves and with God, and handle this subject with ungloved hands.
The supreme questions of the hour, in respect to missions both at home and abroad, are these two: How can missions be prosecuted vigorouslyand efficiently? How can missions be supported generously and systematically?
1. As to the prosecution of missions as an enterprise of the church. Any worldly man who is considering the question of his calling in life from a purely secular point of view will ask four subordinate questions: 1. As to the character of the business he proposes to pursue: its honesty and honorableness, its effect on his own physical, mental and moral well-being. 2. As to the opening for such a business: whether there is room for it, where he proposes to prosecute it, and a reasonable prospect of its success. 3. As to the profit of such a business: whether whatever capital he has can be· best invested in that particular way, as to quick and safe and large returns. 4. As to the associations of such a business: whether they are like to be congenial, helpful, stimulating, harmonious, and especially if a partnership in business is involved in the proposition.
Missions must be regarded as the business and the only business ever yet divinely committed to the believers as individuals and as a collective body. "Follow me, and I will make you FISHERS OF MEN." No other calling is legitimate unless it is in harmony with this; any other calling is legitimate if in it we may abide with God and carryon God's work. Let every believer get this fixed in his mind and heart: whatever his employment may be, his business is saving souls, or more exactly stated, bearing witness for Christ. He is responsible not for results, with which he has nothing to do, but for his work as a herald of good tidings.
Now apply to this life-vocation the four tests heretofore stated. 1. The character of such a business is of the most exalted possible order. Beside it everything else, however lustrous, dims and pales. The most colossal schemes of human enterprise are small beside this which embraces the whole world and reaches forward into a limitless eternity! What is all making money to making a human being godlike? What is all the triumph of art in comparison to modeling of character? It is architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry and music, aU in one, and elevated to a spiritual sphere! Consider such a life business in its effect on the 1vorker, the heroism of endeavor and endurance, self-sacrifice and self-oblivion to which it inspires; the atmosphere of influence with which it surrounds character, the transfiguring halo with which it invests common mortals-nay, the transparent spirituality which refines away all the grossness of materialism and carnalism. Go read of Ziegenbalg and Zinzendorf, Krapf and Schwartz, Carey and Moffatt, Martyn and Morrison, Dober and Duff, Harms and Eliot-the illustrious host who~have burned with the quenchless fire of missions-and tell us where will be found the like of such characters? Where the glory and joy of such reward? 2. The opening for such a divine vocation is especially inspiring, for it is purely of God. Fifty years ago the world was like the sealed jar in the tale of the genii. Now the seal is broken, and forth in the form of a colossus that strides from pole to pole comes the gigantic opportunity that challenges us to make it our servant to do our bidding in great achievement. Again we hear Prince Albert thunder out, "Find out God's plan in your generation and do not cross that plan, but fall in unto your own place in it." Has God a plan in this generation? If so, what is it, and how am I to know it? By every sign and signal God has shown -the men of this generation that his purpose is the immediate evangelization of the 1(Jorld. Behold him, while the church is yet asleep, arouse here and there a heroic soul to dare to go, like Jonathan and his armor-bearer, to attack the strongholds of the enemy. B~hold him, when the church is yet but half awake, go before the little missionary band, and as they shout the gospel message at high walls and closed gates he makes the barriers fall and within thirty years flings wide the two-leaved portals of every leading nation on the globe to the entrance of the gospel. He who doubts providential interposition in missions is blind. Nothing like it has ever occurred in human history. The cleaving of the Red Sea or Jordan, the tumbling of Jericho's walls, the defeat of Amalek, were not as conspicuous miracles as the opening of modern doors of access to an people, because these modern miracles have been on a larger scale and repeated through a half century. Obstacles are out of the way that were as broad as continents, as high as the Himalayas, and as hard as adamant. Facilities of approach have been provided in a succession of discoveries and inventions unparalleled in history-the mariner's compass, steam, the telegraph, the printing press, all the new machinery of human progress can be made available to carry us and our instrumentalities to these open gates and occupy the vast fields of labor. And besides all these openings God has by his grace so proved and approved the work that a whole series of miracles of another ,order may be seen following up the wonders of his providence by even greater wonders of his grace in the transforming of souls and even of society. Men have seen the deserts blossom as the rose, with the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; instead of the thorn the fig tree; instead of the brier the myrtle tree; the obvious planting of the Lord-God's own husbandry-that he might be glorified.
3. The profit of such a business as winning souls, who can estimate it? There is another capital to be invested besides the capital of money. Brains as well as brawn, mind and morals, gifts' and graces, time and talents, acquisitions and accomplishments, the inherited and gathered riches of human character – knowledge, love, speech, life-tell us, young man, young woman, you who wish to serve your own generation by the well of God, where will you find such opportunity for the investment.of your intellectual, moral and spiritual capital? Do you want to make your life tell for God and man? Do you want to wield a sceptre of far-reaching and deathless influence? Do you want to multiply yourself a thousandfold, to make your tongue and your pen a redeeming factor in human history? Here is your chance. On our border lands of civilization new empires form in a quarter of a century. A desert tract to-day is a hamlet to-morrow, next year a thriving village, within five a flourishing city, within ten a radiating railroad center, within fifteen a capital of a new state, and so on, marching with gigantic strides to the imperial control of vast territories with teeming population. The clay is on the wheel; you may go and sit at that wheel as the potter and mould that plastic society, now in the crude lump, into vessels for God. Here are old empires now opening to a new civilization; the Orient welcoming the Occident, asking for the western schools, manners, inventions, and taking with them the western faith because it is inseparably interwoven with the western civilization. Here is a new set of conditions, such as the world now sees for the first time: nations like Japan asking you to come and teach them, casting away hoary super- , stitions and effete faiths to take whatever you will bring, and jn danger of taking something worse than what they cast away in the craving for something new and fresh. While you hesitate the devil pushes his army of skeptical and infidel teachers and books into the new openings and threatens to sow the tares before the Lord's people get in the wheat! While you are looking about at home, waJting for something to turn up, you are losing the greatest opportunity for the investment of your mental and moral capital ever offered to the sons of men! You can shape a nation, perhaps a continent, anew before you die!
4. The associations of such a business are nothing less than divine. Human companionships of the most ennobling character, but beyond and above all the rest, fellowship, partnership with God! « Lo I am with you always" is a promise that can be enjoyed only by those who at home and abroad are engaged in the work of missions. The assurance is the divine reward and encouragement of the herald of the gospel, the cross-bearer, the witness. The business you are invited to take as your vocation, employed, engrossed, absorbed the Son of God. It drew him to these foreign shores, it made him to assume our nature and become of kin with us, learn our language, and suffer our cruelties and scorn, and fall a martyr, that by his blood he might buy the way for us to heaven! Ohrist Jesus was the pioneer in foreign'missions, the first Ohristian martyr and the leader of the host of heralds. Partners who share work share profits. No man hath forsaken all to go on this errand for Ohrist and with Ohrist who receives not a hundredfold here and now, and in the world to come both the gift of eternal life and the jru'it of his toil, which is the added wages for his work. Tried by this fourfold test, this business overtops all other in its claims and in its charms! Those who have heartily undertaken it would not exchange it for all the honors and dignities and coffers and crowns of earth. They prefer the fiery furnace, with the Son of God as a companion, to the throne of a world without him. The very self-denials of the work are an attraction, since they imply a fellowship with his sufferings; to be crucified with him is only next in bliss to being glorified together.
Such are some of the motives to the immediate and energetic prosecution of the work of missions. It is but too obvious they have never yet grappled with the convictions, affections and consciences of the bulk of disciples. Think of it. It is now 1850 years since Jesus ascended, his last message being, « Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." For fifteen centuries the church lost sight of her duty, until she even disputed and denied the obligation itself, and sneered at the few fanatics who would obey the great commission; and now after all this millennium and a half of lost time, worse than lost, while the world has been gaining on us, outstripping us, vastly outnumbering us, until the task of evangelization seems like an impossibility, we still send only about 5,000 missionaries into the whole field and'spend only about $10,000,000 a year on the work, while in this country alone $100,000,000 are spent every three months on popular amusements alone, and many times that sum every year on strong drink! The Ohristian churches, counting only the evangelical and reckoning only the more intelligent and consecrated members, could put one million workers in the field by giving to the Lord's special work one out of thirty church members, and could put at their disposal $1,000,000,000 yearly by laying aside systematically one-tenth of the average income of those members! Are we not jCistified in saying that there is something radically wrong about the methods in which our missionary enterprises are prosecuted, or rather are not prosecuted? The church is but just half awake, rubbing her eyes from her long sleep; they need to be washed with the milk of the word and get fully open to the duty, the privilege, the opportunity of modern missions. Never was sueh a business, never such an opening, never such returns, never such a divine partnership possible to the children of God! Let the church wake up and gird herself for the work and win, and seeing her white-plumed leader in the van of the fight, press on to get by his side and bear the flag of the cross to the summits of the citadels of the enemy!
1. But as yet we have not touched, save in passing, the obher grand factor in this problem of missions, namely, their systematic ana'generous support! This is even more shameful than the lack of vigor and enterprise in pushing the work itself. To think of crippling foreign missions and home missions too by withholding adequate support from self-denying servants of God already on the field; obliging them to retrench when every voice of God sounds the word, "expand j" compelling them to hesitate and halt in the very face of such magnificent opportunities; begrudging them the pittance which keeps them from starvation, and helittling their heroism by showing a lack of appreciation! This is the crown of our dishonor.
We take up the latest printed appeal of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, as an example. The brethren that are in charge of this work we know-know intimately-and we dare affirm that there is not a more capable, conscientious, careful body of administrators of such a trust anywhere to be found thau the four men who as secretaries conduct this work in behalf of a church of nearly 800,000 members, and representing more wealth than any other like number of Christians in this country, with perhaps one doubtful exception. At the last general assembly in Omaha it was determined in view of the loud calls of the foreign work that at least one million dollars should be raised this year, which is only about one and one-third dollars per member, or a little over one-third of a cent. daily! The secretaries, notwithstanding this enthusiastic vote and the imperative needs of the work, did not venture to layout the expenditures upon any such scale in advance; and yet, with but two months·left to finish the fiscal year, again they trumpet forth their note of alarm, that nnless the church they represent redoubles its fidelity and increases its gifts, this year cannot close without repeating the disaster of debt! In this appeal these brethren will say: "This Board is not a producing capitalist. It can assume no obligations of its own. It is only a board of trust for the receipt and disbursement of whatever the churches may give for their great work of foreign missions. But the Board is so circumstanced· that its grants must be made or pledged in advance. The general assembly, instead of ordering a halt, called for more than $200,000 advance. The actual pledges made by the Board in June last were far short of the amount which the assembly named, and yet even at that lower figure, there will be a heavy debt unless a more adequate supply of funds shall soon appear!"
And such appeals as this have been chronic. Year by year, not only this Board but other similar societies have been compelled to appeal to their constituencies importunately and repeatedly to help them out of the slough of debt. On the one hand they are distressed by the needs and openings of the vast field abroad, and on the other hand by the slow, sluggish movements or lack of movements on the part of the church at home! Pity. indeed-shame, indeed-if we are to be embarrassed by the very opportunity that God gives us ; if we dare not ask for other open doors because we cannot enter those now open; if we dare not reach out a helping hand to those who entreat us for aid, because our hands are now more than full; if we dare ,not ask for more workmen because we do not know what to do with those now offering or even already on the field!
We deliberately say, after much thought and prayer over this matter, that something is radically wrong in this matter of the financial support of missions. Our methods are either unscriptural and unspiritual, or else they are defective in their application. God certainly does not need our money; it is for our sake that he uses us as almoners of his gifts. We need the discipline of unselfish giving, and the church will never grow in the grace of giving until she recognizes the fact that no believer ever puts God under any obligation by the most" munificent donation," as though" he needed anything." We must from the bottom rebuild both the science and the art of giving. We must learn for ourselves and teach others, that 1. It is a privilege to give, rather than a duty. To scatter is to increase, to give is to get. The richest growth comes by the most heroic pruning. It makes one comparatively omnipotent and omnipresent to use money aright-multiplying his power and his presence a thousandfold.
2. The giver can sanctify the g{ft, however small or insignificant, by his unselfishness and magnanimity of motive. A cup of cold water in the name of a disciple cannot lose its reward. It becomes a great gift by a great motive and spirit in the giver. Whatever is done in His name is divine. Give what you can, when you can, where you can, but give it cheerfully; give a cup of water, a mite, a kiss, a word, a smile, grandly, nobly, as a disciple. That way of giving swells the gift, and God will use it grandly. 3. The altar sanctifies the gift. Put on God's altar as such, the humblest offering acquires dignity. We should study to' give discrim- . inatingly, to the worthiest objects, not carelessly or indiscriminately. Money may be thrown away and lavishly wasted on nothings, while the greatest objects appeal in vain for our aid. Where can be found any altar so sacred as that of missions? The Lord himself laid himself on that same altar, the first grand whole burnt-offering, and any gift laid there is made divinely sacred by his sacrifice.
4. God values the little gifts from the many more than the greater gifts from the few. For the church to depend upon large donations from a comparatively few is not God's way. It is bad alike for the many and for the few. The many learn to lean on the few, and the few become self-complacent and self-righteous as though the progress of the church depended on their munificence. God's way is not that other men be eased and a few burdened, but that there be equality, i.e. a sharing of responsibility according to ability. " Organize the littles," make many little rills unite in one great river. The Women's Boards both teach and illustrate this lesson: they have gone straight on, giving more and more, and yet the immense sums they gather are all the aggregate of small and regular gifts.
5. Giving does us little good until it comes to the point of downright self-denial. The tithe system may answer for the minimum, but never for the maximum of our gifts. It is obvious that one hundred dollars from a man whose income is a thousand is a very much larger proportion than is one thousand for him who gets ten thousand, or ten thousand for him who has one hundred thousand a year. In one case the man has 900, in the next 9,000, and in the last 90,000 dollars left for his own expenses. The fact is that all these rnathematics of giving are sadly, radically misleading. The ethics of giving reach higher, hut we need some higher plane than either. Shall we call it the (Esthetics of giving? We need to apprehend the beauty of giving. It is the highest of the fine arts. We ought to be enamored of it as of the most resthetic productions of the artist, the sculptor, the architect, the mu- SICIan. Then giving will not need to be urged; there will be rather need of restraining the people from bringing, as Moses dia. The man or woman who learns to give in the right spirit forgets all about the duty, in the privilege, and the absence of life's necessities would bring no such distress as to be cut off from this lztxury. To illustrate and enforce this truth, we add to this article a few facts from history and biography. First, we recall a fine tribute of Bishop Ooxe to one of his old parishioners, Mr. Lee: "He was an instance of religious principle and system as regards tithes and offerings. For years it was his habit to set apart a most liberal portion of his income as the Lord'sportion. Hence giving was to him a great pleasure and a mere act of stewardship. If an object struck him as a good and valid claim on him he said, 'My only-task is to reckon how much of the Lord's portion should go to this object in view of others. Hence,' said he, 'the visit of a good man 1;0 solicit aid is a source of pleasure to me. 1 say to him, If you have a good cause I've something for you; you must help me to judge how much.' Sometimes he would say to one calling on him, 'I've money for you, but this morning. I've no time; please state the case in few words, and if 1 find it a just claim on me I'll gladly do something; only, 1 am sorry to say, 1 can give but five minutes to the matter.' Often, in such case, the five minutes would send the laborers away $50 or $100 richer, and cash in hand. Once a solicitor said, 'Mr. Lee couldn't give me anything this time, but he told me why so kindly and so satisfactorily that his very refusal has done me more good than some men's contributions.' At a crisis in the early history of St. John's church he came to me and said, 'If they will go on and pay the debt 1 will give $5,000.' 1 said, 'You can't afford it.' He answered, 'I intend to sell my house and live in a plainer one till 1 make it up.' And he did so! When Christmas came he enabled me to give a Christmas turkey to everyone of my poorer parishioners. Henry IV. of France, who wished that 'every peasant in his kingdom might have a chicken in his pot every Sunday,' did far less than Mr. Lee by way of personal sacrifice to make the poor man's heart rejoice over his Sunday meal. When prevented from attending the Board of Missions he would send a check equal to what would have been his expenses in attending. 'I can't go, but that will do more good than my presence.' "
Next, we remind our readers of the famous story of the origin of The Order of the Iron Gross. Frederick William III., the father of the present king and son of the great Frederick of Prussia, was the providential prompter of a simple and sublime testimonial of the pure patriotism of his subjects and their readiness to come up nobly to the help of their country in the time of its greatest distress. At the call of their king to pour their gold and silver ornaments into the public treasury and to receive in their stead iron ornaments of the same form, the people cheerfully and nobly came forward, stripping themselves of their bracelets, necklaces, rings, brooches, crosses, earrings of gold, and jewels, casting them into the treasury, and receiving only in exchange similar articles, beautifully worked in bronze and bearing the inscription, " I gave gold for iron, 1813." Hence arose the "Order of the Iron Cross." What an interesting instance of the confidence of subjects in the wisdom and valor of their king! And how impressively does it demonstrate their patriotism and willingness to make any sacrifice for the liberation and glory of their country. They were ready to surrender all their luxuries for the relief of their oppressed nation. Hence, as long as the war lasted, gold ornaments were never worn, and the beautiful Berlin bronze ornaments became more admired and more highly prized throughout Europe than were the most costly jewels before the war.
What if the disciples of- Jesus would but form a new Order of the Iron Cross, and cheerfully sacrifice their superfiuous ornaments to supply the needs of his poor, destitute ones! We should not know what to do with the money! And yet our sacrifices would not have touched our necessities or even our comforts; we should have got only so far as the women when they gave their burnished metal mirrors to make the brazen laver.
Our last illustration shall be the story of Princess Eugenie and her jewels. Eugenie of Sweden has a name already immortal for her selfsacrificing, sympathetic friendship for the poor and suffering. It is now many years ago that she was ordered by her physicians to go to an island off the coast for her health. On that island she found a large number of wretched cripples, many of them hopelessly incurable. She could not be happy until she had done something for their relief. She devoutly prayed God to put into her own heart his own thought about the matter and show her his will concerning this thing.
Then the thought came into her mind which has now made her famous. She would build a home for those poor cripples, where they might have loving nursing and sisterly care. Their number was so great that the house must be large and costly, and she knew not how to raise the necessary funds. Then another thought came into her heart. She wrote to her brothel', the king, asking his c~nsent to sell all the crown jewels that belonged to her and to use the proceeds of the sale for God. The letter was baptized in tears and hallowed with many prayers that the king would accede to her request.
At first he thought Eugenie must be crazy. These jewels were heir- . looms'; they had come down to her from past generations. Who had ever heard of such a preposterous notion, that a royal princess should part forever with her precious family treasures to build a hospital for cripples! But there was one phrase in her letter that her brother could not forget. Her whole plea was "for OMist's salce." And at last he wrote a reply giving his consent. The princess, happy in the sacrifice, sold her jewels and finished and furnished the hospital.
.And not only so. Her sublimest gift was the gift of herself. Into 'the home she had built she went day after day, God's ministering angel to those deformed and loathsome cripples. One day a poor woman, at whose bedside day after day she had thus been a visitor, was drawing near to death. Eugenie had been wont to sit by her, holding her hand and pleading with. her to accept Jesus as her Saviour. And now as the last hour had come she raised herself in bed, bent over the princess' hand, and caressing it said, "Lovely princess, I bless the Lord for sending you to this island, for but for you I never should have learned to love Jesus and my soul would have been lost." Then she fell back and expired, but the hand of Eugenie was covered with the tear-drops from those dying eyes. Eugenie, looked down at her hand, saw those grateful tears glistening upon her hand in the sunlight, and lifting her eyes to God said, ., 0 my Saviour. I sold my jewels for thee, bu,t I see them all restored, and hOtv much more beautiful they are titan lJ)hen Iformerly owned them!"
THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE AGES
Let our giving to missions be wholly reconstructed. Let as awake to the fact that we have not yet begun to learn the divine lesson of self-sacrifice. Our luxuries must be surrendered in view of the destitution of a ptlrishing world-yes, even our comforts, our very necessities must be diminished and sacrificed in the face of the extremities of those who must perish for the want of bread.
THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE AGES.
By JACOB OHAl[BERLAIN, !lI.D., D.D., OF M~DANAPALLE, INDIA.
INDIA is the home of one-sixth of the human race. Reaching from Oape Oomorin, within eight degrees of the Equator, north 2,000 miles to the peaks of the Himalayas, and from Afghanistan through 1,800 miles to Indo-Ohina, we have a country inhabited by 252,000,000, and equal to about one-half of the area of the United States.
The people are not homogeneous. There are forty languages spoken in India; many are very ancient and polished. The Sanskrit, in which the Vedas were written, rivals even the Greek in fullness, power, and beauty, and is stiU the language of ritual in all India, being to the Hindus all that Latin is in the Romish Ohurch. The people are as different as their languages; not of one cast of countenance, not of one ethnological descent. The religion of the people of India is one- Brahmanism or Hinduism-with the exception of the descendants of the Mohammedan invaders of some seven centuries ago. Of these, 40,000,000 remain in India still, and are Mohammedan. .
Let me remind you what Brahmanism or Hinduism is. Their ancient Vedas, the most ancient of which is believed to have been written about the time of Moses, teach, in the main, a true conception of God· and man and sin and sacrifice. But though they have these ancient Vedas and these purer ideas of God, there came later the teaching and the practice of polytheism and idolatry, until what once was light in Asia has become darkness.
As the purer religion of the Vedas degenerated, their purer morals gave place to sensuality, corruption and vice. As a physician I have treated many thousal!ds of patients, from the Rajah to the beggar, and I say that there is no such thing as purity or virtue among them.
And I have this from the confessions of their best men, that" there is not a family that is not tainted with the impure disease." Honesty in dealings is scarcely known, and is not expected in trade. And al- though their Vedas, poets and sages call on the people to main- tain truth as their choicest heritage, yet there is no truth among the people. A common proverb among the Telugus is, "If a man tells the truth, the town will soon become too hot for him." I was once preach- ing in a Telugu city; said I, "You Hindus tell a lie as often as you tell the truth." "What, sir I" said a Brahman right before me, "do you say that we Hindus tell a lie as often as we tell the truth?" " Yes," said I, intending to staud my ground. "Sir," said he, "we Hindus tell ten lies for every truth we utter." That time he certainly told the truth.
Hinduism has two chief bulwarks in this generation: caste and the endowed temples. Caste is a religious distinction. It is not a social distinction, but one of birth; for Brahma created each caste by a different creation, they hold. 'fhe Brahman claims that he is holier than the rest, and if we yield to caste we must allow him to say to the rest, "Stand by thyself, for I am holier than thou." If we give place to caste, we can no longer proclaim, "As in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," for they hold that there were a dozen Adams. Caste is so firmly rooted that I have known of a Brahman that died by starvation when there was food placed by his side, because that food was cooked by one of a lower caste. "Better die," said he, "and reach heaven, than eat that food and live, and lose caste and lose heaven," Caste, then, is the adamantine chain which Satan has wound around these people to hold them back from embracing the truth.
The second great bulwark which supports the system is its myriads of endowed temples. They dot every hilltop and every plain, endowed in former ages with rich lands-the choicest of the fields. AU the revenues of those lands go to the support of the priesthood, who carryon the ceremonies of the temples. If Christianity prevails the Brahmans will cease to reap those revenues. By this craft they have their wealth, and they lock arms to defend their ancient system against the missionary. I had a discussion in the Mysore country, in a city where no missionary had been before, with the chief priest of that region, the president of their theological seminary, where were seventy young Brahmans studying under him for the priesthood. He, surrounded by his disciples, had come to meet us in the market-place, and the discussion lasted hour after hour. He had been pushed to the wall; but darkness coming on he said there was no time to discuss further then, but he would renew the discussion the next evening.
At noon the next day, when all the people were indoors at their midday meal, he stole out of the northern gate of the city, and, coming around through the rice fiel~s and behind the trees to our tent, asked if he might come in and let down the curtain. " Certainly." " Is there anyone within hearing besides yourselves?" " No ; all our people are away at their dinner." At once his whole mien and appearance changed. "Sirs," said he to us, "what you said yesterday was utterly unanswerable. I did the best I could to defend my own posi- I tion, but I am not going to meet you again. What you said is so pure, so holy, so good, it appeals so to the highest needs and desires of men, that it seems as if it must be divine, it must be true. At all events, it is a better religion than ours. But, sirs, we Brahmans canuot afford to let you succeed. Look at our position. . We reap the rich revenues from all these temples. Weare treated as demigods by the people. At every festival we receive rich gifts. Weare looked up to and worshiped. But let your system succeed, which teaches that there need be no human mediator between God and man but Jesus Ohrist, and we Brahmans drop from our high pedestal down to the level of what we are worth, and you know what that means as well as we do. We Brahmans can't afford to let you succeed. We have got to fight you." And fight us they do.
How then is such a system, defended by the power of caste and of an endowed priesthood, to be overcome? We missionaries try to follow our Master in the oral proclamation of the gospel to the people, carrying it to them in the highways and the byways, in their towns, their villages, their hamlets; at their markets and their fairs. We take our tent and pitch it by some central village, and preach in that and each of the surrounding villages within a radius of say three or four miles, reaching perhaps forty to eighty villages, before moving on. We mount upon some platform and gather the people together, and preach to them of Ohrist and his salvation. In our part of the country we gather them by the voice of song. The eighteen millions of Telugu people are a very musical people, and their language is a language of poetry and song. They have old tunes by the hundred, weird and sweet and pleasant, which they have sung through twenty generations in the praise of their gods. We, anxious to seize the devil's choicest weapons to thrust him with, take these tunes of theirs and marry them to Ohristian words, and set them afloat again through the country in tracts with the gospel message put into their style of poetry, and adapted to their choicest tunes. They, curious to see how the new words fit the old tune, will often sing until they sometimes sing the gospel message into their understanding, and the love of Ohrist into their hearts. And on in the night, mingled with my sleep, I have been conscious of hearing songs of redeeming love sung by Hindus who had that day, for the first time, heard of the Redeemer, Jesus. Thus with preaching and with song and with tract and Scripture scattered as we go, do we canvass the country sowing the seed of the kingdom, and the seed is taking root.
We are reaching the people also by medical work. Many of us are physicians as well as ministers. We have gathered in thousands from all the villages around simply by the knowledge that if they came their diseases would be healed. They have come from thousands of towns and villages in all directions. They hear the Bible read; they hear the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Ohrist; they listen as we raise ~he voice of prayer to him who made us and who can save us; they go back to their homes; they take with them the tickets on which are printed a concise statement of Christian truth, and thus the truth is being scattered where we have never set foot.
Our schools present the truths of Christianity. Heathen pupils come to them with the understanding that they will study what the Christians do. Everyone of them studies the Bible, and so we initiate the young into the pure teachings of the religion of Jesus; and we have girls' schools now, which are filled with the highest caste of Hindu young women. They all read the Bible, learn our Christian hymns, study our catechisms, and come to a knowledge of the truth in these schools; and thus we are reaching the secluded zenanas everywhere. Then we have our Anglo-vernacular schools, high schools and Christian colleges, with which we reach young men preparing for the universities and help them on their way through those. In everyone of these schools the Bible is studied as a text-book in each class every day. In December, 1883, I received a very singular petition from Vayalpad, the county town of the adjacent county. There were no Christians in that county. The petition was brought by a special 'messenger and signed by the chief men, not one of whom was a Christian. They petitioned me to receive under my charge the Anglo-vernacular school which they had established the year before for teaching their sons, and to introduce the Bible as a text-book in every class every day.
Much surprised at the tenor of the request, I went out at once to see them and see if they were in earnest. A meeting was summoned of all interested in the school. I read this petition to them. I said: "If this school is placed under my charge, it will be my aim to present the highest truth that man can conceive of to all the pupils. With that understanding, do you wish me to receive the school? The head mas- ter of the school, a Brahman, not a Christian, but who had himself been educated in a mission school, spoke first, telling of what he had learned in that mission school, how he had learned to reverence the Bible, and how anxious he was that these, his pupils, should be under biblical instruction. By experience he knew what the Bible did for one, even though he did not become a Christian. Then a native judge, . the judge of four counties, spoke. He was a high-caste native gentleman and finely educated. His speech was so remarkable that when I reached home I wrote it down in English. He said : "I was not educated in a mission school, but I have many friends who were and who studied the Bible daily in school. I have witnessed its effect upon their lives. I have read the Bible myself privately a great deal. I have come to know the pure and beautiful morality it inculcates. Nothing in our Vedas can compare with it. Let your sons study the Bible. They need not become Christians; but if you want your sons to become noble, upright men, put this school under the charge of the missionary and have the Bible taught in it daily. I have but one son. On him all my hopes are centered. I am able to send him where I please for his education, but I want him to be a noble, earnest man. I have therefore sent him to the Madras Christian College, and there he studies the Bible with the missionaries every day." • By unanimous vote the school was placed under my charge. The Bible from that day was introduced in every class, taught by our cate- chists, and as I examined the school from month to month before I came home I found there was no lesson learned with more avidity, no examination passed better than in the Bible. Thus are we reaching the young men of India. But they seek, as did this Hindu judge, to obtain the morality of the Bible, the nobility of character which its precepts give, without embracing Christianity. They forsake their old religion. They neglect their ancient scriptures. They sip at the fountain of the Bible, but alas, they do not take the Jesus of the Bible to be their Saviour. Fearful danger lies before them.
Thirty-five different missionary societies laboring in India, with their 658 ordained missionaries, have been diligently working, sowing the seed and preparing for the harvest. The Scriptures in twenty-five languages have been scattered throughout the hundred thousand towns and villages of India. These gospels have gone into ten thousand vil- lages where there is no missionary, no native assistant, and not a Christian. We have indeed made the people dissatisfied with their own system, but we have not yet given them Ohrist. Said a Brahman to one of our missionaries visiting that village for the third time in ten years: "Sir, you come just often enough to make us dissatisfied with our old religion. You shake our faith in our ancient gods. You do not come enough to explain your religion to us, so that we can intelligently embrace it. Either keep away entirely or come and bring us to your God and Saviour."
And there was truth in what he said. 'rhe mass of intelligent men all through India have lost faith in their old religion, and now Satan comes in to reap the harvest. 'rhey are dissatisfied with their ancient system, and he brings in the books of John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer and Huxley, and men of that class-yes, and of Bradlaugh and Mrs. Besant, and of Voltaire and Thomas Paine. The writings of these are scattered all through India, and presses run night and day casting off pages by the million for the poisoning of these awakened Hindu minds.. Anything opposing Christianity, no matter how vile, will be published by them and scattered through the country broadcast.
The whole nation is on the eve of coming out of Hinduism and going into-what?
" Sir," said a Brahman priest to me, "I have never seen a missionary. I have never seen your Veda. But one of our townsmen went to your hospital and was cured, and brought a little ticket which you give your patients, on the back of which was printed a statement of your religion. That is all I have ever seen. He told me what he had heard of your preaching at the hospital. That is all I have ever heard of your religion. We Brahmans have been reading that gospel ticket. It has shown us that Hinduism is not the complete soul-satisfying system that we imagined it to be by pointing out a nobler way. We have talked it over. Sir, Hinduism is doomed. It must go by theboard. Now I have come eighty mile'tto ask you, What are you going to give us in its place?"
I tried to tell him of the pure religion of Jesus Christ, which we were going to give them in the place of Hinduism; and as I talked with him, said I to myself: "Am I telling this man true or false? Are we going to give to these teeming and now awakened millions-are we going to give them the religion of our Jesus? Or are we going to awaken them and dissatisfy them with their own system and then leave them to drift out into skepticism or rationalistic deism or black agnosticism? That is what they are drifting to, and that does not interfere with their caste and the enjoyment of the revenues of the Hindu temples. Shall we let them go out into that realm of darkness? Shall the ruins of Hindu temples be built up into temples for Satan, or into temples of the Most High God?"
THE TIME FOR ACTION.
There is a "tide in the affairs of men" in matters spiritual as well as temporal. That tide in India is now at its flood. If it recedes, the advantages that we now have will never again be offered. There is not a province where Hinduism stands firm on its ancient basis. There is not a caste or a creed whose ranks do not show gaps made by those who have deserted them and enlisted under the banner of King Immanuel. The thirty-five missionary societies now in India are coming together for the conflict. The strategic points have been gained. Plans for the final attack are matured. The enemy are weakening and are dispirited. Already do we see them on their citadels prepared to let down the flag and surrender if a vigorous' assault be made. But, alas! our forces on the field are still too weak to make that assault.
But can the men and the sinews of war for this stupendous battle be obtained? When Lincoln, in the early daya of the war, issued his call for 75,000 volunteers, the cable told us that the roll of 75,000 was filled; that word had to be sent out to stop the enrollment, as so many more offered. Then the men and women of the North said, "Send them into the field. We will raise the needed funds." And right royally was the promise fulfilled.
We must have an army of 75,000 to conquer India for Christ! The privates for the army we will enlist there. We must have 5,000 "West Point officers" within five years to lead that army. 'rhoy must be men from America and Europe, trained for the conflict in the older Chris- tian lands. There has been no greater msplration in this century than . the springing forward within the past twelve months of 2,500 young men and women in America enrolling themselves thus as volunteers to go to the front if God shall open the way. "Is it possible for the church to send out and support such a great number of new recruits?" That question is born not of faith, but of fear. Behold God's triangle! He has created the opening bj; his marvelous providences. By his Spirit he has called for these volunteers, and they have responded. The apex of the triangle only needs the funds. The silver and the gold ate the Lord's. God's triangle is never incomplete. In the name of our Immanuel, I ring out the caU for 5,000 volunteers for tMs glorious warfare!
There are in India 60,000 young converts to be trained for the work. They have not the life, the energy, the spiritual earnestness for the work of saving other souls that we have longed to see in them. Their piety, their endurance under persecution, their devotedness to Christ, we do not question. But they have not inherited the capacity for organized vigorous effort. '.rhey do not know how to touch their fellows. We need in India the life, the fire, the method, which the Y. M. C. A.'s are giving to the young men in America. We need organized effort all along the line.
In our great cities in India there is abundance of material to work upon and to work with. Our colleges, our universities, our schools, all give abundant scope. Send us out one of the best-trained General Secretaries, trained in the school of failure as well as in that of success, that we may know that he will endure. He need know no language but English, for his labor should be given to laying the fouudations all through India, not among the people of one language, and for such work the English is sufficient. Let him be a man of experience, of spiritual power, of hop@fulness, of tact. With him send us five younger men to be general secretaries in the five capitals of India-Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Allahabad, Lahore. They will need to learn each the principal vernacular of his presidency.
When out upon a tour in 1879, in a county where there was not a Christian, a native official, high in office, in caste, in social position and in wealth, sent a message to me saying that he would like to come and see me privately for the treatment of an ailment. I found that he had some trifling ailment, the treatment of which was dispatched in a few moments; he had used the little ailment merely as a cover to talk with me about Christianity. He said to me in substance: "Sir, I am not a Christian. I am still regarded as a devout Hindu. I still perform enough Hindu ceremonies to avoid suspicion. But in my heart I dare not deny the claims of the Bible. I see the power of Jesus Christ in the lives of hisfollowers so distinctly that I cannot deny his divinity. He is not yet my Saviour. Caste, wealth, position, family, all hold me back. But even now I never allow him to be spoken against in my presence. I have long been reading the Bible in secret. The more I read of Christ and ponder over his life and teachings, and the power to conquer sin that comes from embracing his religion, the more do I feel that in the end I shall have to accept him at any cost as my personal Saviour. But how can I do it and bring ruin upon my family?"
That was six or eight years ago. He has not yet come to the Saviour ; and there It.J"e thousands in this position all over India. They are not being reached. They need not polemics, but a loving, feeling presentation of the gospel of Christ.
Five hundred years before Christ, India was groaning under Brahmanical sacerdotalism, priestcraft, polytheism, idolatry, and caste. Buddha arose as a reformer. With the modicum of truth which he presented to them, teaching them that there was one God, that no human mediation was necessary between God and man, that all men constituted one brotherhood, that service for others was man's highest glory, he fired his disciples with zeal, and they went forth with him to conquer India to their new-found faith. Kings became the nursing fathers of the new religion. A prince of the royal house of Magadha, with his associates in the work, went down through India, and crossed to Ceylon, and all Oeylon was converted to Buddhism. Other disciples went around the northern end of the Bay of Bengal and converted all Burmah to Buddhism. They entered Siam, and all Siam and its monarch embraced the faith. These Buddhist missionaries, climbing up the ascents. of the Himalaya Mountains, went through Nepaul, and all the Nepaulese became Buddhists. They went over into Thibet, and Thibet became and remains Buddhist. They passed on into Siberia; into Ohina, and two hundred millions of its people embraced their faith. ~'hey crossed over to the island empire of Japan, and the standard of Buddha was planted there.
Let this history be to us a prophecy and an inspiration. Give us the men and all the agencies God has put in our power, and we can, by God's blessing, bring India to Ohrist within this onr generation. The Hindu converts will repeat the history of the past; but with new zeal, aided by a power that Buddha's disciples knew not. Again will they sweep through Nepaul and Thibet. Again will they traverse Siberia to its northern limit, and sweep over northern Ohina, conquering not for Buddha, but for Ohrist. The Mohammedan population of India, thus converted, will sweep northward and westward through Arabia and the Turkish Empire, and joining with the missionary forces already at work bring their coreligionists to Ohrist. The Japanese, now so rapidly and grandly enlisted under the banner of Christ, having then through their vigorous home missions completed the conversion of the islands of Japan, will sweep across through Korea and on through Siberia, to meet the advancing Hindu army of Ohrist. And the Chinese contingent, starting northward from Canton and Swatow and Amoy and Foochow, gathering force from the other coast missions and the Inland Mission, will complete th!;l conquest of Ohina, and all Asia will have been brought to Ohrist. Then upon the high mountains in East- will ern Asia will those three armies meet, and together plant the royal standal'd of King Immanuel, and from those united hosts go up the shout, "Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
THE MIRACLES OF MISSIONS
THE MlRAOLES OF MISSIONS.-No. III.
[EDITORIAL.-A. T. P.] THE "WILD MEN" OF BURMAH.
WHEN the missionaries first landed in Burmah they were not even aware of the existence of the Karens or Karians or wild rnen, a rude race inhabiting also Siam and parts of Ohina, dwelling in jungles and mountainous districts, and numbering from 35,000 to 40,000. They reckon themselves by families, and though a family should number hun- dreds of souls it has but one house. Their government is primitive and patriarchal. They wear but little clothing, generally a long sleeveless shirt of coarse cotton. It is now sixty years ago since these obscure people were discovered by the Baptist missionaries. They were oppressed and virtually enslaved by the Burmans.
While their Burman oppressors turned proudly away from the cross, and clung the closer and the more resolutely to the follies and absurdi- ties of their atheistic idolatry, these humble people emerged from their obscure hiding places and not only heard the simple message of the gospel with a strange gladness, but bore the tidings from village to village till hundreds had been baptized and added to the church of God. Wherever the missionaries went the good news had preceded them, and in even the most remote, retired and untraveled quarters they found some who, like Simeon, were waiting for more light and prepared for its reception. Side by side with preaching went the mission schools. By lessons in language and science, as well as in the faith of Ohrist, these devoted men and women sought to lead the young from the vanities, idolatries and superstitions of their ancestors, and displace the , doctrines of Gautama by the teachings of Jesus. The printing press was also brought into requisition. Within ten years after the mission was begun fonts of type were prepared in each of the Karen dialects, and thousands of copies of books, tracts and portions of the Scriptures were published. The natives speaking the several languages soon learned to print them and became valuable helpers both in producing and distributing the issues of the press.
It may be worth while to trace at least the grand 9utlines of this wonderful history of modern gospel triumphs. When in 1828 Mr. Boardman removed from Maulmain to Tavoy there lived in his family a middle-aged man who had been a slave till the missionaries themselves purchased his freedom. Already a convert to Ohristianity, soon after' their arrival in this stronghold of Gautama with its two hundred Bud- dhist priests, this poor Karen was baptized. His name was Kho-Thah- by-u. He was the first Karen convert; his turning to Ohrist was the turning point in the history of the degraded race to which he belonged, and the work begun in his transformation was ~he auspicious forerunner and foretaste of a success which has in all Christian history scarce any superior or even equal as a demonstration of divine power. These "wild men," upon whom even the Burmans looked down with haughty contempt as servile inferiors, weaker in body and mind than their oppressors, the victims of intemperance and disgusting vices, were cruelly trodden under foot and virtually enslaved by the Burmans, who forced them to till the land, pay exorbitant taxes, and do all kinds of slave labor. To escape their persecutors they became half-nomads, wandering into remote and inaccessible regions that they might not be kidnapped and reduced to bondage. Though they had some crude belief in deity, and a future state with its awards, they had neither a definite religious faith and form of religion nor a priesthood. Yet these were the people whose unbounded enthusiasm in receiving the gospel has proven that none are so low that the good news may not at once reach to their deep degradation and accomplish their moral uplifting and utter transformation. Soon after Mr. Boardman settled at Tavoy, Ko-Thah-byu brought to him several Karens of the city. 'l'his first convert not only evinced a true and deep interest in Christ, but a passion for other souls that proved how the degraded pagan may not only be converted, but take up the work of winning souls with avidity and constancy.
At one of the Karen villages, twelve years before, a traveling Mussulman had left a mysterious book, which he told the Karens was sacred and entitled to divine honors. The superstitious party who had charge of it knew nothing of its contents, but wrapped it in muslin and enc~sed it in basket-work of reeds covered with pitch, like the Nile cradle of Moses. The mysterious book became a deified obJect and religiously venerated. The keeper himself became a kind of high priest and sacristan combined, and it was vaguely believed that a treasure had been sent them from a.bove which some future messenger would claim and explain. When Mr. Boardman came to the village he was visited by the guardian of the holy book to ask concerning its character. He could give no opinion till he should examine the book. So the keeper of it returned to his own village and came back after several days bearing the revered book and followed by a numerous train of interested people, all eager to know Mr. Boardman's verdict concerning this unknown volume. The wrappings were removed, and an old, torn, worn-out copy of The Book of Oommon Prayer and Psalms was revealed. It ,was an Oxford edition in English. Mr. Boardman, like Paul at Athens, told the people they were, in their way, very religious, but their devotion was misplaced. They had been ignorantly wor- shiping an unknown god, and he took opportunity now to declare to them the messa;ge of the true God. ." That book," said he, "is a good book, and teaches of the true God in heaven." The docility of the people was amazing. These Karens seemed to feel the sin of having given to a mere book the homage due only to God, and during the two days of Mr. Boardman's stay received with deep interest his instruction. The aged keeper of the book saw that his office and dignity were at an end and laid aside his sorcerer's fantastical dress and wand which had been for twelve years the sign and sceptre of his authority and influence.
In 1831 Mr. Boardman yielded to solicitation and began to visit the Karen villages, accompanied by the devoted Kho-Thah-byu. First of aU they went to the village of Tshick-Koo, the repository of the" sacred volume." The journey was through a country where the very hills and mountains were monuments of idolatry-every height was crowned with a pagoda.
Three days' journey brought him to Tshick-Koo, where he not only found a cordial welcome, but a zayat had been built in anticipation of his coming, and it was large enough to accommodate the whole population of the small village. There at once he preached, Kho-Thah-byu being his interpreter to such as were ignorant of Burman. Not only was he heard gladly, but some stayed all night at the zayat to hear him and the next day crowded about him with presents, and at the end of the second day five came for1vard to receive baptism, one of them the old sorcerer himself. Wherever he went he was received with great hospitality and frequently found candidates for baptism who had first heard of Christ from the lips of Kho-Thah-byu. This itinerant experience of ten days determined him to form a grand plan of comprehensive missionary operations, embracing preaching tours among the villages and establishment of Christian schools.
In 1829 the famous Tavoy rebellion scattered the little band of Karen disciples, broke up the schools and destroyed the mission premises, but when Mr. Boardman returned the fugitives came back from the jungles and new power attended the preaching of the word. There were those verging upon old age who traveled fifty miles by hard and perilous paths to apply for baptism. Kho-Thah-byu went often over the mountains to bear the gospel message, and from these distant homes, some of them on the borders of Siam, there came to the missionaries Karen inquirers who had been first reached by these disciples, who, scattered abroad, went preaching the word. On one occasion Kho-Thah-byu brought back forty of his countrymen.
Mr. Boardman's health gave way and he saw that his end was near. These simple Karens in the villages roundabout, fearing that he would not be able to visit them as he had promised, came to Tavoy and bore him ona cot upon their shoulders to the zayat they had builtior his use on the banks of a beautiful stream, where the sloping mountainsides were lined with Karen villages. There he found about fifty can- di@tea for baptism. With the aid of Rev. Mr. Mason and native disciples the dying missIonary examined the candidates, and at the sunset . hour his cot was placed by the riverside and the first Ohristian baptism: ever known in that district was celebrated in that mountain stream by Mr. Mason. This was Mr. Boardman's" closing scene "-fit close to the labors of a devoted missionary. They attempted to bear him back to Tavoy, but he died on the way, and his tomb is in the midst of what was once a Buddhist grove and beneath the shadow of a ruined pagoda. Its simple marble slab bears an epitaph which reminds us of Ohristopher Wren's memorial in St. Paul's cathedral, "If you seek his monument, look around you."
The next prominent stage in this wonderful work among the Karens was the gathering of these scattered converts from the villages into a community by themselves, in order that they might be provided with schools and other means of religious culture and growth quite impracticable in their scattered condition. This docile people accepted Mr. Mason's proposal, and about the year 1833 actually abandoned their homes, and a site was chosen for a new Ohristian town. It was the site of a former settlement known as "the ancient city," but only tradition of its former condition survived. The new settlement was called Matah, city of love, almost the Karen equivalent for Philadelphia. Fifteen years wrought there marvelous transformations: there might be found, forty years ago, a flourishing church, Ohristian schools, a.nd a happy, harmonious people, their nomadic habits having given way to a settled life of trade, industry, and agriculture. Heathen vices had already been displaced by neatness, cleanliness, decency and ordl(r. They began to support not only their own families but their own schools and the institutions of the gospel. The history of the wonderful changes wrought by the gospel among the "wild men" of Burmah we cannot trace further. Both in manners and morals, in manhood and hvusehold life, the Karen became unrecognizable after tHe gospel had touched his mind and heart.
When Mr. Mason in 1832 visited the fields of the beloved Board- man's labor, he came to the villages under the jurisdiction of Moung So, the chief, who early sought the missionaries at Tavoy, and he beheld with astonishment the changes already wrought. Hear his own words: " I no longer date from a heathen land. Heathenism has fled these banks. I eat the rice and potatoes and fruit cultivated by Ohristian hands, look on the fields of Ohristians, and see no dwellings but those of Ohristian families. I am seated in the midst of a Ohristian village, surrounded by a people that love, talk, act, and in my eyes look like Ohristians !" And this was over fifty years ago• .At Dong-Yahn the lamented Eleanor Macomber, in December, 1836, found the poor Karens, slaves of drunkenness and all the most loath- SOIJle vices of heathenism. With the aid only of two or three natives she maintained at her own dwelling daily prayer and Sabbath worship and opened a small school. Before the close of the .first season tw~lve Karens; rescued out of their low and degraded paganism, were baptized and formed into a church of Christ. By September of 1837 native preachers were in charge of the church and schools, and Dong-Yahn was the seat of a flourishing Christian community, from which Over a wide district crowded with Karens the ligbt and life of the gospel was extending. Her influence on the women and girls was such that scarce a home in the numerous villages of the jungle had not felt the power of her Christian womanhood to uplift and transform female character; and when in 1840, after less than four years of labor, she was called to her reward, the wilderness had already begun to bloom like Eden and the desert like the garden of the Lord. Persecution broke out, and the poor victims fled in every direction, but they held fast their fai~h, and like primitive disciples preached it when scattered abroad.
Among the most fascinating stories of missions is this triumph of the Christian faith in the wilderness of Burmah. It was propagated by Karens, who themselves had only just heard it and had scarcely learned to read the Gospels-men" persecuted and despised by cruel priests and superstitious despots"-yet that gospel took possession of hundreds of Karen hearts and homes and lifted a whole people to a new plane of domestic and social life and started them on a new career! What hath God wrought!
But the work thus begun has grown with a rapidity seldom paral- leled. In 1878 the fiftieth anniversary of the conversion of Ko-Thah- byu was kept by jubilee gatherings and the consecration of the Memorial Hall that bears his name. The Karens themselves built it for school and other mission purposes at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. It rep- resented twenty thousand then living disciples, converted from demon worship, maintaining their own churches and schools, besides twenty thousand more who, in the faith of Jesus, have died and gone to be with him in glory.
At the dedication of this Hall four veteran native Karen pastors and hundreds of others were present. 'fhe hall measures 134 feet on its south front, 131 on the east, and 104 on the west. It has a splendid audience room 66 by 38 feet, and with a fine gallery. Along the east side is carved in Karen, "Behold the Lamb of God," etc., and on the west side, "These words . . . thou shall teach diligently unto thy children." What a work may this hall see done in fifty years to come!
He who would realize what the gospel has done for the Karen slaves must go and stand on that" gospel hill" and see Ko-Thah-byu Memo- rial Hall confronting Shway-Mote-Tau pagoda on an opposing hill, with its shrines and fanes. Here is the double monument of what the ; Karens 1(Jere and are. Burmah has not only taken her stand among· the givers, but in 1880 ranked third in the li!:St of donors to the Bap- tist Missionary Union, only Massachusetts and New York outranking her! Burmah gave $31,616.14! and of this amount the Karen churches gave over $30,000! Fifty years ago in idolatry, now an evangelizing power! And not content with this, they set about raising another $25,000 to endow a normal and industrial institute! Their liberality puts to shame the so-called benevolence of our Ohristians at home. We give out of our abundance; "the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abound unto the riches of their liberality."
In the Government Administration Report for British Burmah for 1880-81 there is a glowing tribute to the American Baptist missionaries, followed by the statement that there were then attached ,to their communion" 451 Ohristian Karen parishes, most of which support their own church, parish school and native pastor, and many of which subscribe considerable sums for missionary work." The report adds: "Ohristianity continues to spread among the Karens, to the great advantage of the commonwealth, and the Ohristian Karen communities are distinctly more industrious, better educated and more, law-abiding than the Burman and Karen villages around them. The Karen race and the British Government owe a great debt to the American missionaries, who have, under Providence, wrought this change among the Karens of Burmah."
In connection with these gospel triumphs the name of that first Karen convert can never be forgotten. First in the Burmese Empire to embrace Ohristianity, afterward pastor of Maubee, for many years he preached the gospel to his despised and oppressed countrymen. The servant of Ohrist, the apostle of the Karens, whose conversion was the pivotal point in the history of a whole people, was a poor degraded Karen slave!
Sau Quala was one of the first converts among the degraded Karens. From the lowest state the gospel raised him, with a rapidity that no civilization ever knew, to a noble Ohristian manhood. His' first impulse was to tell others of Jesus. He helped to translate the Bible into the Karen tongue, for fifteen years guided the missionaries through the jungles, and then himself began to preach and to plant new churches. In one year he had formed nine, with 741 converts; in less than three years the nine had grown to thirty, with 2,000 converts. He did his work without salary, and when the English Government offered him a position, with large compensation, he at once declined, though his poverty was such as prevented him from taking his lovely wife with him in his missionary tours! This one man, whom no bait of money or position or personal ease could win to leave his holy and unselfish work, is an unanswerable proof that a power higher than man works in Ohristianity. And yet there are those who "do not believe in missions !"
WOMAN'S WORK FOR MISSIONS
WOMAN'S WORK FOR MISSIONS.
[EDITORIAL.-A. T. p.] PAUL writes to the Philippians of those "women which labored with him in the gospel;" mark the phrase, "who labored with me in the gospel"- tTwtjO).1)tTav – were my co-athletes, fellow-gladiators, al':! though the life and labor of the gospel were an arena and they were his fellow-combatants, destined to the crown of life!
God fitted woman constitutionally for a high service in the gospel. Woman is pre-eminent above man in her sentimental, emotional and religious nature, and so it is that she holds the very keys of the domestic ~anctuary in the opportunity to form youthful character. She has marvelous capacity for teaching and for endurance. She is especially fitted to care for, sympathize with and reach her own sex. Hitherto in our denominational schemes she has been quite too much neglected and her work almost altogether ignored. But now the time has come when her capacity and sagacity, her intelligence and her consecration, bid fair to constitute her the leader of the modern missionary host. When we think of Augustine and his mother Monica, Ohrysostom and his mother Anthusa, Basil of Ooosarea and his grandmother Emmelia, Gregory of Nazianzen and Nonna, Theodoret and his mother, no marvel that Libanius, the pagan rhetorician, exclaimed in amazement, "What women these Ohristians have!"
Let us not forget how much woman can do for the rising generation by fostering in them a spirit of consecration to the work of God in evan- gelizing the world. The Scriptures * tell us to whom the world and the church are indebted under God for the labors of Timothy: "I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice"; "from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures." Here is the double secret: not only a pious education, but a pious ancestry transmitting an aptitude for a religious life, almost as though faith and devotion of soul to Ohrist were become hereditary, like the curse of a sinful character.
Put in contrast to the exclamation of Libanius what Napoleon said: "France is lost for want of mothers." There was a .boy at Athens, according to the old story, who used to boast that he ruled all Athens. and when asked how, he said, "Why, I rule my mother, my mother rules my father, and my father rules the city." But there is a reverse side to this statement. The mother shapes the character and influence of the child, the child determines the future man and woman; and so in the hands of the mothers God puts the character of the whole generation that in thirty years is to give shape to society. As we trace * Compo 2 Tim. i. 5, and iii. 15. great rivers to their sources we find a point in every stream where by the palm of the hand you may divert the current to any direction. At that point in the stream of human life God puts the mother.
We wish, however, to magnify especially woman's work for the conversion of woman in pagan countries, and in the organization of her own sex in Ohristian lands for missionary effort. Let us remember that she can especially understand and appreciate the condition of her own sex, and the elevation to which the gospel of Ohrist has brought her and can bring her degraded sisterhood elsewhere, and again that she alone can have access to the women of pagan countries. The severe restrictions of the seraglio, harem, zenana, forbid a mau to approach Eastern wives and mothers, even in capacity of a physician. There are perhaps four hundred million women who, if reached at all, must be reached by Ohristian women.
Jerome in his letter to Otesiphon says that Simon Magus founded his heresy by the help of Helena, a prostitute. Nicolaus of Antioch, the founder of all impurities, led about troops of women. Marcion also sent in advance to Rome a woman for his greater pleasure. Apelles had Philumena for a companion. Montanus first corrupted Prisca and Maximilla with gold and then polluted them with heresy. Arius, that he might deceive the world, deceived first the sister of his prince. Donatus was aided by the fortune of Lucilla. The bliud Agape led the blind Elpidius, and Galla was allied to Priscillian, and Justinian and Theodora were associated.
Even so has God ordained woman's work for the conversion of the world to be the grpat auxiliary to man's endeavor.
A student at Auburn inquired, "Shall I go to the heathen married or single?" Dr. Eli Smith replied, "By all means, married. 1. Because a single man must depend on another missionary's wife for home comforts, etc., which is unfair. 2. Because the question is not whether he shall take care of her, but she of him. 3. Because a single man in the East is looked, upon as corrupt. 4. Because woman proves the equal, if not the superior, of man in Ohristian work." He might have added, Because nothing more influences the heathen mind than the exhibition of what Ohristianity makes woman and home life.
Woman's work in the conversion of the world may be considered from four points of prospect.
1. The womanly nature and character. 2. The relation woman peculiarly bears to Ohristianity. 3. Woman's identification with her own sex in pagan lands. 4. Woman's opportunity and responsibility in the education of children. Woman sets us the example of self-sacrifice. The Roman maidens gave their tresses to make bowstrings for the Roman soldiers, in the second war with Oarthage. The Tyrian girls gave their long locks to be woven into cables to defend the city against Alexander. The women of Ephesus contributed their jewelry to restore Diana's temple. From the day that the hosts of women gave their polished metal mirrors to be cast into the mould for the brazen laver for the tabernacle, women have been our examples in the heroism of self-denial.
Woman's nature gives predominance to love. Now religion is more than anything else a matter of the affections. Although there can be no holy living without first a basis of conviction or belief, there may be this basis without any structure of godly character resting upon it. Not until the heart is touched by the truth and our love responds to our faith does true union with God begin, and the building of a renewed nature surmount the basis of belief. Hence when the affectional nature predominates we may naturally expect to see the noblest developments of piety. From the beginning of Christ's ministry until now women have been largely in the majority in the number of the followers of Jesus, and distinguished alike for their service and their suffering in his cause.
The elements of womanly character, therefore, indicate her peculiar fitness to co-operate in the conversion of the world. She is confessedly prominent and pre-eminent in her sentimental, emotional, affectional and religious nature.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, before she could read, used to go into the castle chapel and bow before the crucifix and place her little golden crown before the thorny crown. Whatever power woman may manifest in intellect, and whatever prominence she may exhibit in purely intellectual faculties and functions, no one will deny that her affectional and emotional nature is especially rich and exuberant.
Women have been pre-eminent in literature, like Martineau, Browning, Bronte, Beecher, Edgeworth; in art like Hosmer and Bonheur; in science like Somerville and Mitchell; in humanity like Patton and Nightingale; but the pre-eminence of women in direct and indirect missionary work is greater than all. The life of Harriet Newell has made many a missionary. Mrs. Grant and Fidelia Fiske in Persia, the three Mrs. J udsons in Burmah.• Mrs. Krapf in Africa, Mrs. Bushnell at the Gaboon-these are a few specimens of the heroic women who have thrilled the world by the exhibition of their consecration.
The woman of Samaria gave an early example of woman's power as a preacher. What preaching that was! Evangelical, experimental and consistent, earnest, simple, practical, effective. True; she was uneducated and unordained. She inquired of Jesus, .then told of Jesus, and so brought to Jes"iIs, directly and indirectly.
Great is the service rendered by woman in the evangelization of mankind. From the very beginning of Christ's ministry we find women following closely in his footsteps, ministering to him of their substance and sympathy, love and devotion. At his death there stood by his cross the three Marys-Mary his mother, Mary wife of Cleophas and mother of James and J oses, and Mary of Magdala; and Salome wife of Zebedee, and many other women who came up with him from Jerusalem. And again at the sepulchre we find two of the Marys and Salome very early in the morning bringing spices and ointments for his embalmment.
Subsequent to Ohrist's ascension we shall find woman still p;ominently engaged in spreading the conquests of the cross.
Acts ix. 36 : At Joppa there lived Tabitha or Dorcas, a woman full of good works and alms deeds which she did, and at whose bedside stood all the widows weeping and shewing the coats and garments which she had made for the poor while she was with them; and so abundantly did God recognize her service to the saints that Peter was sent to restore her to life. Acts xvi. 13 : When Paul visited Philippi he went out of the city on the Sabbath day by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
There it was that Lydia, the seller of purple cloths from Thyatira, heard the wQrd, whose heart the Lord opened, and who, after her baptism and that of her household, manifested such a grace of hospitality, saying, "If ye have judged me faithful to the Lord, come unto my house and abide," constraining Paul and Timotheus and Silas.
The last chapter of Romans is a chapter of farewell messages. rrwenty-seven persons are mentioned particularly and by name: with special salutation and commendation. Of this number nine are godly women. "Phmbe, our sister deaconess of the church at Oenchrea, who hath been a succorer of many, and of myself also;" "Priscilla, my helper in Ohrist Jesus,'~ who with her husband Aquila actually took Apollos, who though converted, eloquent, and mighty in the Scriptures, was a raw recruit, and "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly;" "Mary who bestowed much labor on us;" " Junia, of note among the apostles." Ohrysostom regards this as meaning of note as one of the apostles.
Paul describes the good works of the godly woman: "If she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the affiicted, if she have diligently followed every good work" (1 Tim. v. 9, 10). All this both evidences Ohristianity and advances it; the pious discharge of motherly responsibility, the exercise of Ohristian hospitality, the ministry of humble service to the weary and afflicted-all this constitutes a method which the humblest woman can follow for the furtherance of Ohrist's gospel. A modern example of fellowship in missionary service may be found in a Vermont mother, following her son Henry in all his work in the missionary field with her prayer, becoming a participator in every visit, discourse, and journey, about four weeks after.
Well may woman be devoted to Ohrist. Ohristianity was the first great step in her elevation to her true rank and place. Even Judaism treated woman with comparative contempt. The Talmud abounds in insulting references to the female sex, classing women with slaves and idiots. 'Whoever will read such works as "Women in Persia," by Laurie, or" Woman in India," by Rudolph, or "The Women of the Arabs," by Jessup, can see what woman is and always has been, independent of the uplifting power of the religion of Ohrist. Well might woman, when apostles fled, the danger brave, last at the cross and earliest at the grave of Ohrist, for all that she is in social position as well as spiritual hopes she owes to Jesus.
Weare sometimes told that it is civilization, not Ohristianity, that has rescued woman from degradation and elevated man in morals. It is a great mistake. When Rome was in her highest state of civilization she was in her lowest stage of morals. Ohina has been a civilized nation for centuries, but the Ohinese women have no educational facilities and no social status above that of a slave; the girl babies are heartlessly murdered and the wife and mother is a mere chattel. No; civillzation without Ohristianity is incapable of purifying man or elevating woman. Ohristianity is the great purifier and elevator. Let us thank God for it, seek more of it, and rejoice more in it.
Woman's work for the conversion of the world is a natural result of her conscious indebtedness to her Saviour and his salvation. Woman feels her indebtedness to Ohristianity for what she is. Man owes to the religion of Ohrist all that he is spiritually as an heir of heavenly hope. But woman owes even her social and domestic dignity and liberty to the gospel. Independent of the influence of Ohristianity, what has she been everywhere and in every age? The slave, the tool, the victim of man. Education even in the Garden Oity of the Orient was the badge of the courtesan. Degradation and thraldom were the universal law of her condition. When Ohrist condescended to be born of a woman and call a Jewish maiden mother, he elevated her sex to a new dignity; I henceforth her social progress began. Paganism had treated her with contempt, as it does still. You insult a Turk by inquiring after the welfare of his wife and daughters, and to bury a female child alive car- ried no twinge of suffering to a parent's heart.
Tryphena and Tryphosa and Persis still labor much in the I~ord. They love his service and the service of souls. God bless the women of this day of missions for their widespread effort to inform the mind, inspire the heart, move the conscience, in the direction of missions I It is now held that the new version of the Old Testament gives a clear authority for women's foreign missionary societies by its rendering of the eleventh verse of the fifty-eighth Psalm: "The Lord giveth the word; the women that publish the tidings are a great host." Their separate organizations are not twenty years old, yet they have overspread the earth. The great uprising of young men and women, unprecedented in human history, who knows how far it is traceable past all the nearer impulses to the remoter cause-the training at the.
knee in the nursery. Go forward, godly women! God has given you the rare gifts and graces, the emotional, affectional fervor, the warm sympathy, the heroic sacrifice. Penetrate the harems and zenanas of the Orient; set up your schools and touch the child heart; build up the Ohristian home in the very centers of pagan, Mohammedan and pa.pal superstition and degradation. Gather your dimes till the mites make the millions; scatter yourtraets till the knowledge of the facts has penetrated even the lowliest home and humblest heart. Leave the stereotyped methods behind while you devise larger and more liberal things. The Lord is with you. May he give you yet more abundant grace and wisdom and success!
In 1883-84 the following list of women's organizations was published by Mr. Wilder. It might now be greatly enlarged: Woman's Union Missionary Society, New York. Organized in 1861. Income, $44,779.
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Philadelphia. Presbyterian. Organized in 1870. Income, $138,778.
Woman's Board of Foreign Missions, New York. Presbyterian. Organized in 1870. Income, $43,219.
Woman's Presbyterian Board of the Northwest, Chicago. Organized 1870. Income, $59,134.
Woman's Presbyterian Board of the Southwest, St. Louis. Income, $3,646. Woman's Baptist Missionary Society, Massachusetts. Organizf:'d in 1870. Income, $63,424. Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of the West. Chicago, 1871. Income, $30,419. Woman's Board of Missions of the A. B. C. F. M., Boston, 1869. Income, $137,949. Protestant Episcopal Woman's Auxiliary, New York, 1871. Income, $18,179. Boxes, $131,617. Freedmen and Indians, $30,362. Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of M. E. Church, New York, 1869. Income, $143,199. Woman's Missionary Society of M. E. Church South, Nashville, 1878. Income, $52,652. Woman's Missionary Society of M. P. Church, Pittsburg. Income, $2,135. Woman's Board of Foreign Missions, Reformed (Dutch), New York, 1875. Income, $20,573. Woman's Missionary Association of the U. P. Church, Dayton, Ohio, 1875. Income, $9,689. Cumberland Presbyterian Board, Evansville, Ind., 1879. Income, $8,860. Lutheran General Synod's Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society, Baltimore, Md., 1879. Income, $18,825-for two years. Woman's Board of Missions, Church of the Disciples, 1875. Income, about $14,000. Woman's Missionary Society of the Evangelical Association, 1884, Cleveland. Income, $1,220. Free Baptist Woman's Missionary Society, Danville, N. H. Income, $5,712. Woman's Foreign Missionary Association of Friends. Income, $3,000. Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of Presbyterian Church in Canada, Toronto, 1876. Income, $10,381. Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of Ontario, Toronto, 1877. Income, $2,500.
We add a selection as in the line of this paper: "Woman occupies a conspicuous place in the primitive church. This will· be evident if we simply mention some of the feminine names which appear in the New Testament records: Anna, Apphia, Chloe, Claudia, Damaris, Dor-
DAVID BRAINERD
cas, Elizabeth, Eunice, Euodia, Joanna, Julia, Lois, Lydia, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala, Mary of Nazareth, Mary of Rome, Mary the mother of Mark, Mary the wife of Cleopas, Persis, Phoebe, Priscilla, Rhoda, Salome, Susanna, Syntyche, Tryphena, Tryphosa, etc. Moreover, there are many women on whom the Lord bestowed signal favors, but whose names have not come down to us ; for example, Peter's mother-in-law, th~ widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, the woman with the issue of blood, the Canaanite mother and daughter, the woman with the eighteen years' infirmity. Once more, there are the many anonymous women who tried, in one way or another, to serve the Lord J.esus; for example, the woman at Jacob's well, the penitent adorer in Simon's house, the widow with her two mites, Pilate's wife, the wailing women on their way to Calvary, the praying women of the upper chamber, etc. Indeed, it.may be doubted whether any secular history so small as the four Gospels wal> ever written in which the womanly element so largely prevails as in the life of Jesus the Christ.
"Nor is this surprising. For, first, woman's distinctive temperament makes her, if one may so say, a natural believer in Jesus Christ. He is emphatioally 'the seed of the woman.'
u, Not she with traitorous kiss her Saviour stung, Not she denied him with unholy tongue; She, while apostles shrank, could danger brave, Last at his cross, and earliest at his grave.'
"Secondly, woman owes an incalculable debt to Jesus Christ. His birth marks the turning point in woman's history. Hitherto, as in heathen countries to this day, she had been the victim of man's caprice, cruelty, lust, scorn and tyranny. EYen the Hebrews themselves, although taught from the beginning to reverence woman, had been wont to regard her as man's handmaid rather than his equal; in fact, a Jewish morning prayer prescribes that a man shall bless God for three things, namely, that he was not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman. But when the fullness of the time came, and God sent forth his Son to be born of a woman, as well as under the law, then was woman herself emancipated and restored to her·paradisal equality with man. Henceforth, at least in the realm of the spiritual life, there was to be neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female; for all are one in Christ Jesus. It has been so ever since; wherever Jesus Christ has been best known, there woman has been most honored. Woman owes everything to the Son of Mary."
D A V I D BRA I N E RD.
[EDITORIAL.-J. M. s.] HAVING sketched the Life and the Oharacter of this extraord~nary missionary saint, it only remains for us to touch upon the matter of his expulsion from Yale Oollege and vindicate his memory from the asper- sion cast upon his good name by that unjust and cruel act, and offer a few remarks suggested by his life and experience. .
His expulsion was as high-handed a measnre as the annals of college discipline can produce. Viewing it even from this distance of time, it fills us with amazement and indignation. If we were a member of the Faculty of that venerable institution, we would not rest until that iniquitous measure was expunged from its records. Sure we are that no unprejudiced mind, possessed of the facts of the case on which the act was based, as carefully stated by President Edwards and also by Brainerd himself in his journal and letters, can come to any oth~r conclusion than that the college authorities erred in expelling him in the first instance for so slight an offense; erred in inflicting the severest academical punishment in their power for a word spoken in confidence to two 01' three college mates and intimate religious friends with no malicious intent; that they erred again in refusing to accept his very humble and penitent confession and restore him to his standing; and again erred by their strange and relentless persistency in refusing the request of a large number of the most distinguished clergymen in the colonies, that Brainerd might be allowed to take his degree with the class from which he was expelled the year before. Had his alleged offense been tenfold more serious than it was, we cannot see how the~r conduct in this instance could be justified, especially in view of the peculiar circumstances of the case and the fact that the offending party had made a prompt and manly acknowledgment. But the offense in fact was a trifling one, and one that the o.:ffended tutor and the faculty of the college ought not to have laid to heart or made a serious fuss over. If the authorities of Yale or of any other college in the land to-day should expel a student for such an Qffense, a cry of shame and indignation would ring throughout the land.
The offense consisted of two particulars: The first a hasty and foolish remark, reflecting on the piety of one of the tutors, made in private to two or three fellow students and overheard and reported by another student who happened to overhear it. The other item Was in going to a religious meeting in the town when the college had forbidden attendance on such meetings. That 10as the whale of the offense. It seems scarcely credible to us in these days. The last item must be ruled out. For no college rulers had a right, legal or moral, to enact such a rule. It was a high-handed assumption of power, and was a fling at the promoters of the great religious Revival which then agitated and divided New Haven and many other parts of New Englaud. And whether the other offense-the words applied to tutor Whittlesey-were true or false, there was, as all must admit, a great deal to excuse or palliate the offense in the spirit and occurrences in the life around him at the time the words were spoken.
A great religious movement was then on foot. Whitefield and other apostles of the new evangelism had fired the hearts of multitudes. Excitement ran high. The revival had shaken the town of New Haven and the mass of college students had come under its power, Brainerd among the rest, who entered into the work with all the intensity of his earnest nature. « Ministers of long standing," and churches without number, were divided in regard to these « New Lights," as they were .
called. Extravagances and evils, according to President Edwards'
testimony, mixed with much that was good. A censorious spirit was rampant. Whitefield himself publicly judged and denounced ministers of standing and experience, and many leading churches also, for their supineness or opposition-so much so that the pastor of Northampton, while sympathizing with the movement and throwing the great weight of his example and preaching in favor of it, deplored the excesses of intemperate zeal, and specially exposed and condemned the. censorious and self-righteous spirit which characterized a portion of its promoters.
Even Whitefield himself he censured and personally rebuked!
Surely, when old and staid ministers-ministers of learning, piety and recognized standing-were led away for the time being from the meekness and sweet gentleness of Christ, and in speech and manner, in preaching and praying, implied that all who were not of their way of preaching and praying-all who cast not out devils after their fashion -all who failed to enter heartily into their measures, or who dared to oppose them, were hypocrites or graceless professors-the young and zealous sophomore who had caught the contagion and entered 'into the excitement and took an active part in the revival, which changed the character of the college and numbered many of its students among its converts, might have been pardoned the hot, thoughtless words spoken in private concerning the lack of piety in one of the tutors who had just been "pathetically" praying before the students! What college law was broken? What was there in the nature and extent of the offense to call for college discipline ? Were there not many palliating considerations in the times and in the circumstances of the case? Would not a reprimand have been all that the offense called for? On what principle of justice or fairness could they visit upon him, a student too of blameless virtue and exemplary piety, condign punishment, blast his future prospects and consign him to disgrace, so far at least as their action had effect? Fortunately it did not seriously injure the character of Brainerd, even at the time, or lessen the high esteem in which he was held by his friends, while it served to rally to his support many of the most eminent ministers of his time, and called forth great sympathy and interest in his career, not only over all New England, but also in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. And God so overruled the matter that, beyond all question, it was one of the chief causes which led to the establishment of Princeton College.
The first point suggested by these memoirs that is worthy of careful consideration by all the friends of missions at the present time relates .to the methods and the machinery of missionary operations. We do not propose to discuss this important and vital question here, but simply to note the example of this eminent Christian and missionary and the results of his labors. Brainerd literally obeyed the ascended Lord. He went forth with the Bible only in his hands. He gave himself to prayer and to the preaching of the Word of God, to catechetical instruction, to direct efforts to convert souls and train them for Ohrist. He at once began to preach to these untutored, uncivilized, degraded barbarians the central trnth of Ohristianity, the cardinal doctrines of the Ohristian system -the very same doctrines which Jonathan Edwards then preached in Northampton, and which Dr. John Hall preaches to-day on Fifth avenue in New York Oity-and he preached them with the same distinctness and discrimination and directness and urgency and application; and the same results followed! He had to preach through an interpreter. He labored under a thousand disadvantages. But he honored God's word, God's method of saving sinners, and he preached and prayed with faith in the efficacy of the gospel and the Holy Spirit's power; and the effect, the fruit, was the same at Kaunaumeek, and Orossweeksung, and at the Forks of the Delaware, as at Northampton, and in New York Oity, and in primitive times.
Have we not, in these days of weak faith and decay of spiritual life, departed quite too far from the apostolic idea and practice in our missionary endeavors? Are we not making organizations, schools, civilizing influences, machinery, and merely human devices, altogether too prominent? Is not the natural, if not the inevitable tendency of such a policy to unduly exalt the human element at the expense of the divine'! And is not the effect to weaken our hold on God, to lessen the felt necessity of prayer and the Holy Spirit's omnipotent energy? Is it not precious time lost? are not energies wasted? and is not the time of harvest delayed?
Ohrist understood perfectly the conditions and necessities of the case, andthe nature and adaptability of the gospel to its end, when he commissioned the disciples to go and teach all nations. And we know how the disciples understood his message, and how they obeyed it; their one uniform and universal method among Jews and Greeks and Romans, alike among barbarians and in civilized communities, was to preach Ohrist and him crucified, and to organize and gather the converts into Ohristian churches on the simple basis of the gospel. They knew nothing about our modern theories and accessories. We do not find the slightest trace of any of these modes or machinery in the primitive church's effort to evangelize the world. And human nature is the same to-day as then; and the condition of the heathen world is essentially the same. And yet we have drifted into a totally different method. We have come virtually to put civilization, education, preparation, before and in place of the gospel. It is not "the foolishness of preaching" so much as it is the perfection of appliances and constructive agencies and civilizing forces that is the church's main reliance today for the evangelization of the world, both nominally Ohristian and heathen! The Indians to whom Brainerd ministered were exceedingly ignorant; their social and moral condition was of the lowest order. They were simply savages. And yet the gospel, as preached and expounded to them by this single young isolated missionary, whose heart was all aflame with the love of God, and who spent hours every day on his knees in prayer, was made mighty through faith in God for their salvation. The grace of God achieved in four short years among that degraded race as signal and as glorious a triumph as it achieved under Whitefield and Edwards among the civilized and educated whites. No one can trace the history of God's converting and transforming grace at Kaunaumeek and Orossweeksung-note the operation of gospel truth and of the Holy Spirit's influence on these ignorant and degraded sinners, and especially such manifestations of power and grace as are recorded in Ohapter X. of Brainerd's memoirs-and doubt for one moment the sufficiency of the gospel in the hands of the Spirit of God, when wisely and faithfully preached in faith and with importunate prayer, to tr3.nsform and elevate any people, however depraved and degraded. 0 for the simplicity, the faith, the whole-heartedness, the reliance on the teachings of Ohrist and" the witness of the Spirit," which characterized the early Ohristians, and which characterized the life of Brainerd! 'l'he chl1,rch ?rmst yet come to this, or the" millennial " age, for which she has prayed and waited so long, will prove only a pleasing dream. Maya renewed study of the life and example and achievements of this illustrious missionary help to bring it about!
A second remark. Brainerd and his co-workers on the same field- Eliot, Horton, Sergeant and Edwards-really solved for us in theory the. Indian Problem, and we have been almost a century and a half in finding it out! Had the work which they began among and in behalf of the aboriginal tribes of North America been continued and prosecuted to its legitimate end; had the policy which they clearly marked out and inaugurated in their treatment of the Indian race-viz., honest dealing, evangelization, education, teaching the industrial arts-had this Ohristian policy been recognized and pursued by the United States Government and people in their subsequent dealings with them, what untold millions of treasure had been saved the nation! what bloody wars and frightful massacres had been averted! The long dark record of injustice, cruelty, perfidy, treaty-breaking-the strong oppressing the weak, high-handed unrighteousness in the sight of Heaven and the civilized world-had not been written.
At length, blessed be God, the truth which these missionary pioneers clearly perceived and exemplified in their teaching and lives begins to dawn upon the American mind. The gospel of Jesus Ohrist, the church, the ministry, the school, Ohristian society and civilization, are coming at length to be recognized,by the Ohristian church at least, as the only forces and methods to settle this perplexing question, which has so long overmatched alike the wisdom of statesmanship, the resources of military genius and power, and the humanities of philanthropy.
If our Government, which has so strangely blundered and so grievously sinned in the past in its Indian policy, will now at least keep its hands ofi and not sufier evil-minded or pig-headed officials in our Indian Bureau to Jlerpetrate monstrous stupidity and outrageous interference and injustice at the dictation of political intrigue; if the policy and trend of our missionary efiorts in behalf of the Indian established by Eliot and Brainerd and Edwards, and kept steadily in view ever since by those who have sought their elevation, shall not be interfered with, the practical solution of the Indian problem is nigh at hand.
. We bless God to-day for such a noble life, for such a saintly char- acter, and for such an example of Ohristlike sacrifice and toil in the glorious cause of human redemption as we have been contemplating.
That life, that character, that example are calling to us to-day-call- ing by the printed page which perpetuates his wondrous, burning testi- I I mony; camng by those earnest soul-wrestlings and prayers, which God witnessed and heard in the American wilderness five generations ago; calling by those displays of almighty and regenerating grace which he was the occasion and the instrument of displaying among the heathen and savage tribes of this new world; calling by the tongues of prophets long dead, by the sacrifices and the triumphs of modern missions, and by the hopes and expectations of the church of God, to awake out of sleep and take hold of the work of the world's conversion in dead ear- nest! The appeal is made to 1l8, of this generation, as truly as though an angel were flying through the midst of heaven summoning the sacra- mental host of God's elect to be up and doing, to go up and possess the land, to thrust in the sickle and reap, to "stand and see the sal- vation of God." The prayer of the church for more than eighteen hundred years has been, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." And the apocalyptic angel has joined in the grand chorus, "Even so come, Lord Jesus! Amen." The souls under the altar that were slain for the word of God are crying, " How long, o Lord, holy and true! " The earth groaneth and travaileth in pain for her redemption hour. The nations which sit in darkness stretch forth their hands unto us and are struggling upward toward the light.
There are signs too in the heavens, and commotions on the earth, and stately steppings of almighty power and converting grace in the providential world, which plainly indicate that Ohrist the Lord is speedily coming to take to himself his great power and assert his king- ship over aU and establish his millennial reign on the earth.
The preparation of long ages is now complete. Prophecy has closed its testimony. The promises are world-embracing. Discipline, waiting, training, developing, laying foundations, have had their day and done their assigned work. ~he time for ACTION has now fully comethe time for a combined assault on the kingdom of darkness, the time for a grand aggressive movement all along the line. The trumpet is sounding to the charge! In the name of the Lord of Hosts, lift up the banner of righteousness and fling to the breeze the all-conquering standard of our Immanuel. Long since the church had her marching orders: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature !" Why hesitate? Why wait for other manifestations?
Young men and maidens! can you look on the stirring scenes which this world presents to y()U to-day-the world in which the Eternal Son of God has planted the cross, the symbol of omnipotent love and divine sacrifice, by which he is to conquer and reign over a redeemed uni. verse-can you view these scenes and events and not long to participate in the glorious struggle and the glorious conquest? Ye Brainerds and Henry Martyns and Careys and J udsons and Livingstones, ye Harriet Newens and Mrs. J udsons, this is the day for such as you to come to the front and assert your Ipission and fire the heart of the sacred brotherhood with flaming zeal, holy enthusiasm, and a self-denying spirit-the day to emulate the faith, the heroic spirit, and the sublime self-sacrifice of Paul and Peter and John and the other primitive disciples.
Weare approaching the close of the nineteenth century; and what a century it has been, especially the latter half of it, in the way of change, development, progress, achievement! Stirring events are transpiring before us every day. Divine providence is writing history with a rapidity and on a scale of magnitude unparalleled in the past. And have these things no significance? Have you no personal interest in them? Is not God speaking in them all to you, to me, to every disciple with'loud and solemn voice? And especially the young men of this generation, are they not" brought to the kingdom" at a momentous crisis in the world's history? Is not human life to-day, measured by its opportunities, its responsibilities, its possibilities, worth a hundred lives in ages gone by? Did ever a generation have such opportunities to distinguish itself in the grand march of human events? Was ever such a cry heard from so many lands, and from the isles of the sea-from India and from Africa, from China and Japan and Mexico-from so many races and nations and peoples and tongues, saying, "Come over and help us," as noUJ resounds throughout Christendom?
If we will not respond to these wondrous providential calls-these calls of the Spirit of God, these calls of a groaning and perishing world, going up day and night to heaven like the sound of many waters-we shall be thrust aside, and the kingdom, the work, the honor and the victory will be given to others. For, CONVERTED TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST this world will be. God has purposed it. Prophecy proclaims it with a thousand tongues. Divine promises without num·
THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN JAPAN
bel' are the pledges of it. All the instrumentalities and facilities necessary to its accomplishment are ready. All over the earth prayer is continually ascending for the hastening of th~ work. Ohristianity was never such a living power in the world as it is. to-day, despite the unbelief and wickedness of the times. The Anglo-Saxon race-the race of progress and dominion, the custodian of Ohristianity-which nnmbered but 7,000,000 when the Pilgrim Fathers replanted Ohristianity on these western shores, numbers to-day 100,000,000, and is marching on to universal snpremacy ; while the achievements of the last seventyfive years in the missionary field are on a scale of grandeur unparalleled in the history of the church, not excepting even the apostolic period. A few decades of years will decide the momentous issue; will flood the earth with supernal glory, or witness the going down of the sun of human hopes in a night of darkness that shall have no morning!
THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN JAPAN.
[For prudential reasons the writer of this interesting paper prefers not to give his name, but we assure our readers that it comes from a source which entitles it to the highest consideration.-EDs.] THE Japanese follow the West in politics as in all else. Already there are two parties, with leaders, organs and programmes. For years the strife has been hot; it will reach a crisis in 1890. Both parties profess their devotion to Western ideas and civilization; the strife is as to the European country that shall furnish the political model. Shall the new parliament be German or English in its powers? The Imperialists are in power. They command all the forces of government-the public purse, the army, the police, the signature of the Emperor. The Liberals are in opposition. They have neither public power nor wealth, and must depend upon enlightened sentiment. The extreme radicals are supposed to place some reliance on dynamite.
The Liberals state their case somewhat as follows: For some years after the revolution of 1867-68, which resulted in the overthrow of the Shogun and the re-establishment of the rule of the Mikado, the men of new Japan acted in harmony, All agreed that Western civilization must be adopted, and all desired complete reform. Great things were accomplished even in politics, and a constitutional development was begun that would eventually place Japan abreast of the most advanced of the free kingdoms of Europe. There was complete freedom of the press and platform, and both were widely used for the enlightenment of the people. Local self-rule was, to some extent granted, and both town and provincial assemblies were formed. A national parliament was promised. So far there was agreement. But dissensions arose. Some of the statesmen thought the pace too fast for safety. Absolutist tendencies became manifest, and a desire to replace the feudal despotism with a powerful and centralized imperialism. Some of the J,iberals protested, and were silenced or forced to resign. Thenceforth the development of the new imperialism was more rapid. In 1876-77 was the Satsuma rebellion, led by General'Saigo. It was not directly connected with liberalism and was personal in its origin, but its repression was followed by stringent political measures. One by one the political rights already granted were curtailed or abolished, and an open tyranny was established. Freedom of the platform and of the press was overthrown. Political meetings were broken up by the police, and public speakers were hurried off to prison at the will of petty officers. The privacy of the mails was invaded, and spies entered the homes of suspected r~iberal leaders. The press was intimidated or bribed, justice was corrupted; there was false imprisonment of political opponents and no hope of redress. The powers of the local assemblies were so reduced that men of position refused to enterthem. The governors of the provinces were given great powers, and became the mere creatures of the Tokio executive. The police and army were strengthened and force became the ruling policy. Taxation became more and more oppressive, the administration WaS grossly extravagant-in short, all the evils of political tyranny followed. The government has finally agreed to establish a parliament in 1890, but it will be a parliament with little power to benefit the people, since every change during the past ten years has been in the direction of centralization and personal government. The events of December, 1887, are only the last in a long series, and show that the right to petition has ceased to exist. The ministry stands between his Majesty and the people, and the most moderate petition is refused a hearing. Nobles and men influential in the restoration of the Emperor are denied all access to him if their politics displease the men in power. The Liberals sum up their charges in an adjective an~ call the government Russian.
The Imperialists are ready with their reply. The men in power are not reactionists; they are not tyrannical nor intolerant. They are the very men who have been most instrumental in the advancement of Japan. All the progress of the past is owing to their wise statesmanship. They are not even conservatives; they are leaders of young Japan. In other lands governments are goaded to reform by public' sentiment, but here reforms have been in advance of popular demands. The nation follows, the government leads. The story of the past fifteen years is the all-convincing evidence of good faith. It must not be forgotten that a few years ago Japan was feudal, and even now the ignorant people know nothing of politics. Surely England is too advanced to be a safe guidE' at once for Asia. Men who can lead Japan from Asiatic feudalism to German constitutionalism in a single generation are not tyrants. Progress is as rapid as safety will admit. The promise of a parliament in 1890 is enough to satisfy all reasonable men. The leading Liberals are carried away with crude ideas of English politics. They have no experience of practical government, and have no notion of its responsibilities. The radicals are dangerous and must be repressed. If the press and platform were not controlled, the people would be inflamed by irresponsible politicians. Most of the people are content, and the agitators are only a handful. It is better to repress a few and thus preserve the peace. Oertain of the radicals plot, and men who play with edged tools must not complain if they are hurt. The government is repressive only as freedom is abused to the injury of the people.
Missions have nothing to fear from either party. The present government is friendly and has afforded every protection to miSSIOnaries. It has shown its good feeling iIi very many ways. It regards the Ohristianization of Japan as inevitable and as a part of the adoption of Western civilization. It naturally desires that religious work be kept wholly distinct from politics. The Liberals are not less friendly. Some of their leading men are already professed Ohristians and all desire the rapid extension of the religion of Ohrist.
The severely repressive measures of last December are used as an argument to strengthen the position of those men who are opposed to the abolition of extra-territorial rights in Japan. It does not seem to us that the question is involved at all. The argument is that the government is irresponsible and not to be trusted. An imperial rescript can change the laws without notice, and there is no guarantee that the modern system of legal procedure will endure.
The objection would have a show of force were there any party in the empire desirous of re-establishing the old system of Asiatic and feudal Japan. Extra-territoriality is justified when Europeans dwell in barbarous and hostile lands. In Ohina and Turkey the system is necessary if foreigners are to dwell in those lands at all. In Ohina judicial procedure is crude and cruel, and in Turkey the Ohristians have no rights that Moslems are bound to respect. When foreigners first went to Japan the same system was the necessary condition of residence. N ow all is changed; the law is no longer Asiatic, but has become European, and no one.desires a return to the old ways.
The men in power rightfully refer to the history of the past years as proof of their earnestness in the adoption of Western civilization. And as to guarantee, the treaties will be guaranteed by all the safeguards of treaties made between J:ltrong and weak powers. There is no danger that the stability of the laws, that are the very reason for the abolition of the present extraordinary rights, will be endangered. 1'he Japanese proposals guard our rights in fullest measure. Oertainly no debate within Japan as to the European model that is to be accepted there can justify the treaty powers in refusing a simple act of justice. As Americans we naturally sympathize with liberal politics and regret absolutist tendencies. But much as we prefer England to Germany, the questions at issue now in Japan in no wise alter the fact that foreigners in Japan should henceforth submit to Japanese laws.
THE MISSIONARY CAUSE. [M.A.Y
THE MISSIONARY CAUSE.
[One of the most powerful appeals ever made in behalf of missions was recently made by Canon Liddon in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. We give a few extracts from it.-Ens.] "IF when Christians had been free to do their best for their Master's cause, missionary enterprise has at any time slackened, it has been because the real nature of the claims of Christ has been lost sight of. Missionaryimter- prise is at once wasteful and impertinent if the Christian religion, instead of being necessary for every child of Adam, is only suited, we will say, to the . Western world at a particular stage of civilization. And if all religions are partly true and partly false, and the choice between them is to be settled, not by recognizing any universal necessity of man or any decisive proof of a clear mandate of God, but by considering what is called the' genius' of a par- ticular people, then Christianity has been mistaken in a vital manner and from the very first. If we have not lost part and lot in the spirit of St. Paul we should not deem the antiquity and vast empire of Buddhism, or the aggressive and more modern religion of the false prophet Mahomet, any rea- son which should deter us from doing what we may to rescue races, some of them more highly endowed by nature than ourselves, from the tyranny of these and other errors. Be the genius of these people what it may, we, like St. Paul, are debtors both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; we owe the gospel to them, but especially do we owe it to that loving and gracious Saviour, who, without any claim or merit of ours, has called us out of dark- ness into his marvelous light, and has bidden us go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
"It is urged that missionary work, like charity, should begin at home. 'Look at your great cities! '-so an anonymous correspondent wrote only last week-' Look at London before you busy yourselves about the needs of dis- tant populations.'
" A religion issuing from the mind and heart of the Universal Father must be adapted to the needs of everyone of his rational creatures; and to say that there are any stages of their development for which it is less adapted than some false creed which would fain support it is to deny that our Lord Jesus Christ is what he claims to be-the Saviour of the world. But are those who thus object to Christian missions always and entirely sincere? Is it not the case that when the church takes their advice and is enabled to restore Christian faith and life in a particular English parish, district or diocese, to something like a primitive standard of fervor and excellence, she is apt to be cautioned against thinking too much of any such success, while two- thirds of the world are not Christians? And yet if we ask them to help For- eign Missions they plead their absorbing interest in Home Missions' To such critics we cannot afford to listen. Time flies, and our Master's bidding is plain and imperative. Some of you will remember an occurrence which took place during the Second Punic War. It has often been referred to as showing how from very early days the Roman people possessed what is called the instinct of empire. When the victorious Carthaginian general, Hanni- bal, was in the heart of Italy, and threatening Rome itself, the Senate dis- patched a fleet and army to Spain that they might, by laying siege to Sa- guntum, deal a deadly blow to Hannibal in his rear; and this bold venture w-as abundantly justified by the result. Now every heathen land is the Sa- guntum of the Christian Church, and if it be true that some spiritual Hannibal is ravaging possessions which had long owned her sway, or even
THE DESERTED MISSION
threatening ruin in this or that of her ancient homes, still she owes the gospel of salvation to all the world.
"It is sometimes said that England best does her duty to heathen lands by conferring upon them the blessings of civilization, by which is meant all those material improvements in human life which European science and industry have so largely multiplied. Certainly it is not my duty or my inclination to depreciate these great advantages; but, unhappily, our civilization is accompanied by an alloy of evil which we cannot ignore. We cannot forget what has been the moral meaning of the sale of some British drug, or of the arrival of a British ship's company at a pagan port, or of the methods of capitalists in savage lands. There is no need further to lift the veil. All those who have looked into these matters must know that England owes a debt to more pagan lands than one, not merely that of the glorious gospel, but also some sort of moral reparation for evils which those who bore her name have too often carried with them into pagan lands and homes.
"I ask you to give your generous support to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. . . • With a history that now approaches the completion of its second century, it has necessarily done more than any other body for the expansion of our portion of the kingdom of Christ . . . and you will not, we feel sure, be found wanting in an effort which must command the sympathy of every man and woman who sincerely believes that through our Lord Jesus Christ alone is there real approach to the Father of spirits."
THE DESERTED MISSION.
PROF. HENRY DRUMMOND of Glasgow, in a lecture on "The Heart of Africa," before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, gave a striking illustration of the peril which besets missionary life in that deadly climate. As his boat swept along the beautiful Lake Nyassa he noticed in the distance a few white objects on the shore. On closer inspection they were found to be wattle and daub houses built in English style and whitewashed. Heading his boat for the shore he landed and began to examine what seemed to be the home of a little English colony. The first house he entered gave evidence of recent occupancy, everything being in excellent order, but no human form was to be seen or human voice heard. The stillness of death reigned. He entered the school-house. The benches and desks were there, as if school had been but recently dismissed, but neither .teacher nor scholars were to be seen. In the blacksmith shop the anvil and hammer stood ready for service, and it seemed as if the fire had just gone out upon the hearth, but no blacksmith could be found. Pushing his investigations a little further he came upon four or five graves. These little mounds told the whole story and explained the desolation he had seen. Within them reposed the precious dust of some of the missionaries of Livingstonia, who one by one had fallen at their posts, victims of the terrible African fever. Livingstonia was Scotland's answer in part to the challenge which Henry M. Stanley gave to the Christian world to send missionaries to eastern equatorial Africa. When that intrepid explorer, after untold hardship, had found David Livingstone, and during months of close companionship had felt the power of that consecrated life, he blew the trumpet with no uncertain sound to rouse the church to her privilege and responsibility in central Africa. But it was not till the death of the great missionary explorer that the land which gave him birth resolved to send a little army of occupation to the region which he had opened to the Christian world. On the 18th of January, 1875, at a public meeting held in the city of Glasgow, the Free,
ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK
the Reformed and the United Presbyterian churches of Scotland founded a mission to be called Livingstonia, and which was to be located in the region of Lake Nyassa, the most southern of the three great lakes of central Africa, with a coast of eight hundred miles. Although founded by the churches just named, it was understood that it was to be regarded as a Free OhUl'ch mission, the others co-operating with men and means as opportunity offered or necessity required. The choice of location was most appropriate, not only because Dr. Livingstone had discovered that beautiful sheet of water, but because he had reqnested the Free Church to plant a mission on its shores. The first company of missionaries, which included also representatives of the Established Church who were to found a separate mission in the lake region, after immense toil and severe hardship, reached the lake via the Zambesi and Shire rivers, October 12, 1875. They selected a site near Cape Maclear as their first settlement, and as soon as possible put into operation the various parts of the mission work they had been commissioned to prosecute-industrial, educational, medical and evangelistic. From the first the mission met with encouraging success,. becoming not only a center of gospel light to that benighted region, but also a city of refuge to which the wretched natives fled to escape the inhuman cruelties of the slave-traders. As the years rolled on, however, it was found necessary to remove the main work of the mission to a more healthful region on the lake, hence the desolation seen by Prof. Drummond, the work at Cape Maclearbeing now mainly evangelistic and carried on by native converts. The mission still lives and comprises four stations, one of which is situated on the Stevenson Road, a road constructed at a cost of $20,000 by ~n English philanthropist, and intended to promote communication between Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika. An additional station is soon to be occupied in the uplands southwest of Cape Maclear.
It is still the day of small things with the mission so far as tangible results are concerned. In the annual report submitted last May but one organized church is mentioned, with a roll of nine communicants. The missionaries write in a hopeful spirit, however, both as to their work and their health, and the friends of the mission at home are encouraged at the outlook, and have recently completed arrangements by which the support of the work for a third term of five years is assured. They are not discouraged by the fact that already some $200,000 haye been spent upon the mission, exclusive of the expense of constructing the Stevenson Road and of efficient help rendered without compensation by the African Lakes Company. They are determined to push forward in the noble work of evangelizing the lake region of Central Africa. Livingstonia, therefore, so far from being a deserted mission, gives promise of being a power for good to the dwellers by Lake Nyassa who are sitting in the region and shadow of death.
II.-ORGANIZED MISSIONARY WORK.
Missionary Society of the Methodist third year from the union of the Ohurch (Oanada). Methodist Church of Canada, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the REPORT for 1886-87 (sixty-third an- Primitive Methodist Church, and the nual report), being the thirteenth Bible Christian Church. year from the union of the Wesleyan "The General Board of Missions Methodist Church of Canada, the submits this report with feelings of Wesleyan Methodist Church of East- devout gratitude to the Head of the ern British America, and the Meth- church, who has crowned the work odist New Connexion Church, and the of the society withabundantblessings, Montreal Conference ………….. . 22,490 86 and with cordial acknowledgment of Manitoba Conference…………… . 28,626 13 the liberality with which the fund Nova Scotia Conference………… . 5,930 10 has been sustained. Having now New Brunswick and Prince Edward passed the $200,000 line, it is hoped that the church will make this the Island Conference ………… :… 6,56923 starting point for a grand onward Newfoundland Conference……… . 10,64793 movement, and the board suggests Mount Elgin Industrial Institution .. 3,125 28 that the motto for the present year Sundries …………………….. . 16,132 16 shall be, 'A REVIVAL IN EVERY Cost of management ………….. .. , 8,942 53 CONGREGATION, AND A QUARTER OF A MILLION FOR MISSIONS.' The re- Total expenditnre……………. $189,286 15 ligious reports for the past year are Balance, being excess of income full of interest and encouragement. In almost every department there over expenditure for the year. . . . . $12,588 19 has been substantial growth, and there is a spirit of hopefulness about $201,87437 most of the reports which promises well for the future." Balance, deficit June 30,1886……. $13,58i 41 After a very full and detailed state- Balance brought down, net deficit.. $999 22 ment of operations, covering some 350 pages, the following summary is The ,General Baptist Missionary Society. given: THIS small but venerable society INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, '87. made its seventy-first annual report June 29, 1887. It sustained a great loss Toronto Conference, including mis- in the death of Rev. John Buckley, sionary districts …………….. . $46,588 71 D.D., their senior missionary, after more than forty years of devoted ser- London Conference ……………. . 16,27002 vice. His death is greatly lamented, and it is proposed to raise a "Buck- Niagara Conference ………….. .. 24,69641 ley Memorial Fund" for a twofold object: 1. The support of a native Guelph Conference ……………. . 18,14663 minister; 2. The establishment of a scholarship' in the Mission High Bay of Quinte Conference ……… . 19,16905 School.
Montreal Conference ………….. . 32,707 18 The chief mission of this society is in Orissa, a district containing over Manitoba Conference………….. . 5,463 42 9,000,000 souls.
Nova Scotia Conference ……….. . 11,687 03 The general statistics of the mis- sion, March 31, 1887, were as follows: New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Conference ……………. . 7,985 16 English missionaries (male aud female) 17 Native ministers. …………………… 23 Newfoundland Conference …….. . 5,104 10 Ministerial students… …. …. .. …… .. 3 Mission stations……………………. 16 Legacies…………………….. .. 1,868 30 Mission chapels……………… …….. 14 Mission churches…… .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. .. 9 Lej(acies ,!mltted from Mission Church members…………………… 1,306 Rooms List: 1. Rev. Wm. Shaw, Total native Christian community….. 3,366 devise acc., 1 year's interest ….. . 1800 Baptized since the commencement of 2. Duckworth legacies, Brantford. 2000 the mission …………………….. 2,162 Donations on annuity………….. . 1,500 00 FINANCES. The committee are concerned to Indian Department …………… .. 9,04798 report that the debt, which at the commencement of the year was £696 ForJapan……………………. , 1,103 00 17s. 7d., now stands at £1,197 9s. 10d.
Miscellaneous ………………… .. 67735 The total disbursements for the past year have been……….£8,147 4 II Deduct unpaid subscription, $202,052 34 The total receipts for the past Toronto district, 1885-6.. $Ui 00 year have been ……………. 6,949 14 8 Deduct amount charged to Leavin~ a balance due to the miscellaneous income acc. bank of………………….. £1,197 910 in error……………. .. 163 00- 178 00 Thus the balance due last year $~1,87434 of ……………………….. £69617 7 Balance brought down, surplus. . . . . $12,588 19 Has been increased this year by £500 12 3 This ~iffel'ence arises from a de- Balance, net deficit …. ; . .. .. . .. .. ..- -9-99 -22 $13,58741 EXPENDITURE.
Torouto Conference, including mis- sionary districts …………….. . $52,00057 London Conference……………. . 9,87266 Niagara Conference……………. . 4,30854 Guelph Conference …………… .. 9,454 60 Bay of Qulnte Conference ….. , … . 10,219 56 creased income and an increased ex- 97; 4 local preachers; 180 Sunday- , penditure, the latter having been oc- schools, with 935 officers and teachers casioned by sending out a new mis- and 12,255 scholars; 25 churches val~ sionary, by extra payments on ac- ued at $207,652; 4 parsonages valued count of passages, by grants for print- at $24,175; present indebtedness on ing Scriptures and tracts, and by church property, $101,832. The colgrants for schools. For some years, lections had been $576 for missions, however, the ordinary expenditure $88 for church extension, $35 for has been in excess of the income, Sunday-school Union, $40 for Tract hence the balance against the society Society, $44 for education, $37 for has gradually increased. American Bible Society, $68 for Women's Foreign Missionary So- Southern Baptist Home Mission Board. ciety, $7,404 for pastors, presiding elders and bishops, $254 for confer- THE work of the board during the ence claimants.
past conventional year has been as Poreign Mission Work of the Reformed Ohuroh in the United States. follows: OUR Board of Foreign Missions cel- Missionaries.. . •.. .. .. • . . .. . ••. . .. • 251 ebrates its year of jubilee in 1888. Places occupied. .. . .. . . . .. .. . . . . .. 822 Ten years ago we had no mission in Baptisms …………………….. 3,923 the foreign field, but we carned on Received by letter. .. .. … . .. .. . … 2,319 the work of-evangelization by giving Rev. Benjamin Schneider, D.D., and Total additions. . . … . . . . . . .. 6,242 318 our means to the American Board of Snnday-schools reported.. . . . . . . . . . Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Teachers and pupils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,031 In the year 1878 the Spirit of peace Churches constituted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 began a gracious work in our vener- Houses of worship built.. . . . .. .. .. 62 able General Synod at Lancaster, Pa., which gave us, among other THE EXPENDITURES $86,827 05 precious results, our present promis- 35,270 15 ing foreign mission in Japan. A com- Have been for missions………… parison of our men, means and re- Our missionaries have raised for sults with those of other boards fur- nishes abundant reasons for praise houses of worship built upon and encouragement. their fields oflabor.. .. . . .. . . . . . . Rev. AmbroseD. Gringis the senior Total. . …. .. . . . . . . . •. . . •. . . • $122,097 20 missionary of our church in Japan. This sum represents actual work done for the His recent return to America has had Baptists of the South. a very refreshing influence on our people. The Reformed Church in The board calls for an increase of 50 the United States forms a part of the per cent. on the receipts of last year. Union Church of Christ in Japan. We have three principal centers of "God has so enlarged the sphere of operation-Tokio, Sendai, Yamagata. our labors that nothing less than this will enable us to do what is im- At Tokio the work is mainly evanperatively demanded of the board." gelistic. The church owns a very handsome parsonage at '28 Tsukiji, The Switzerland Methodist Oonferenoe. and supports the Bancho and Nihon Bashi Missions. THE German and Switzerland Conference of the Methodist Episcopal At Sendai we have a flourishing Church was organized in 1856. At girls' school, with 70 pupils, and also the conference held in Zurich, Switz- a theological school for the training erland, June 24-30, 1886, the confer- of young men as evangelists. ence was divided into two conferences, one to be known as the Germany Conference and the other as the Switzerland Conference.
The last session of the Switzerland Conference was held in Berne, Switzerland, April 23–27, 1887, Bishop Ninde presiding.
The statistics reported showed there were 4,638 members, an increase of 238; 996 probationers, an increase of The students are doing good work thing gave promise of further adfor the Master, some thirty souls vance. During the fifty years now having already been won for JesU!; closed five connections of mission through their personal efforts. A churches have been formed under the large school building and residences jurisdiction of no less than eighteen for the missionaries will be erected annual conferences. on a large lot during the summer. The native Christians have recently The missions of 1837 are to-day purchased a fine Buddhist temple, represented, as nearly as can be ascerwhich ~will be used for church pur- tained, by 1,959 circuits, 10,919 chapposes and for the training school. els and preaching places, 2,592 minis- ters and missionaries, and 430,247 At Yamagata the Rev. J. P. Moore members. is acting as professor in a native cooperative boys' school, with three The society operates in almost ev- Christian native teachers. The school ery part of the world. In 1836 the work here promises to be a great suc- expenditure of the society was 4%, cess. One hundred and fifty students per cent. of its expenses in Europe; will attend the spring term. The citizens wish to raise $30,000 for the 12~ in Asia; 11%: in Australasia; 17 school and make it one of the best in the north of the empire. in Africa, and 38 in America and the West Indies. During 1886 the corre- A congregation has already been sponding percentages were: Europe, organized which will become the cen- 15%; Asia, 27%,; Australsia, 0; After of a number of out-stations. rica, 21; America and the West StatiBtiCG.-Number of married missionaries, Indies, 574' 4; lady teachers, 2; native preachers and helpers, 13; churches and ont-stations, 16; com- The gross income for 1886 amountmunicants, 1,000; receipts for the year 1887, $2,000. ed to £135,259. In addition to this £7,922 was received and disbursed by ALLEN R. BARTHOLOMEW, the ladies' auxiliary, and is not in- Secretary. cluded in the general treasurer's ac- count. Total amount for the year was £1~,182 ($715,910).
Wesleyan Missionary Society. FINANCIAL REPORT.
THE seventy-third annual meeting HOME REOElPTS. £. 8. d. of this society was held in E~eter Hall, London, May 2, 1887. It was Mission House donatioll!l, suhscripan occasion of special interest, not tions, etc.. ………………… 3,864 13 11 only because of the advent of a national Jubilee but also because it Home districts,includcloses a "century of missions." ing England, Wales, When the society published its first Scotland and Zet- £. 8. d. report in 1818 it had 82 mission- land ……………. 82,987 3 0 aries in charge of 109 stations, with 23,473 enrolled members. The income Ditto, Christmas offerfrom ordinary sources was £18,434. ings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,655 14 5 At the close of 1836 the society reported 64,691 members, under the Ditto, juvenile asso- ciations. . . . . . . … . .. 11,149 0 1 care of 306 missionaries, aSSIsted by 100,791 17 6 1,955 paid agents and 3,1li6 gratuitous helpers. These were grouped in 180 Less expenses and recircuits. The total income of the wards. . . . . . … . . . . . . 6,239 16 7 society from all sources was £75,526. – – – – 94,552 0 11 The expenditure exceeded £70,000, and there was in the hands of the Hibernian Missionary Society, in- treasurers more than £11,000. Every- 19 g cluding Christmas offerings ….. . 4,833 18 :- Dividends on investments …….. . 5,~ Interest on centenary grants…… . Lapsed annuities …………….. . 2,600 0 0 Legacies …………………….. . 12,760 10 9 Loans repaid ………………… , 139 0 9 Indian Famine Fond, for orphan- ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 15 3 RFreont~ Centenary Hall…………. . 50 00 Stratton Extension Fund for the Transvaal………………. . 1,500 0 0 Total home receipts …………. 126,995 10 8 FOREIGN RECEIPTS.
Mission Districts auxiliaries… . . . . . 6,668 1 3 Total ordinary receipts . . . .. . .. 188,663 11 11 EXTIlAORDINAlIY BECEIl'TS. To which add the excess or aver· £. B.d. age on legacies carried- to Lega- 6,853 6 I> Contributions for speCial missions cy Reserve Account……. : … . in Upper Burmah, Central Africa, £. 8. d. China, India, etc……………. 1,431 1 7 Total expenditure ………….. . 141,345 19 10 From which deduct ordinary and Ditto, for St. Vincent Hurricane. Distress Fund………………. 165 4 10 extraordinary receipts for the year.. . .. .. .. .. •.. .. .. .. •. …… 185,259 18 4 Total income……………….£185,259 18 4 Leaving a deficiency on 1886 ac- PAYMENTS. count of.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6,086 1 6 General expenditure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138,145 1012 To which add the debt of 1885.. •• 4,682 18 5 Onaccountofs~eCialmissions, etc. 1,596 6 5 Ditto, Ladies Auxiliary Com- Leaving a total deficiency of.•••..£10,768 19 11 mittee……………………. -' 250 16 10 Total……………………..£134,992 13 5 Presbyteria.n Ohuroh in Oanada..* FROM the report made to the Thirteenth General Assembly, held at Winnipeg, June 9-17, 1887, we glean the following items: FOREIGN )[lSSION FUND-WESTERN DIVISION.
. – Receipts.
Balance from last year ……………………………… _………. : …… . $8,25820 Total receipts for year. _.. _………………………… _……………… . 49,817 13 Balance ……………….. _………………………………………. . 2,906 43 $55,98176 E:r!penditure. I. Northwest……………………………………………………… $9,71078 II. Formosa- Salaries and expenses, hospital, etc. …………………………… . 22,528 87 m. India- Payments ……………. _………… _…………….. $16,806 00 Miss Oliver, outfit, passage, etc…………….. _. __ .. _… 1,030 00 Miss Wilson ………………………. __ .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. 800 00 Misses McKellar and Fraser.. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 00 Rev. R. C. Murray, special………………………….. 5000 IV. New Hebrides, Trinidad, etc.- 19,286 00 From W. F. M. Society, 1885-6 ……………………… . $600 00 do. do. 1886-7 ………………. ;…… .. 80000 On account of Rev. J. Gibson's salary………………. .. 97222 2,872 22 Chinese work on Pacific Coast………………………-……………… .. 6400 Jonathan Goforth………………………………………………….. . 1000 Expenses of committee, secretary aud convener ………………..•….•..•• 01054 Printing and advertising ……………………. , ………"……………… . 4680 Proportion of general expenses and salary of agent ……………………. .. 620 00 Balance of interest …………………………………………………. . 228 60 Interest per Mrs. J ……………………………………………….. .. 21000 $55,98176 It is gratifying to report that the receipts for the several schemes of the church have been in almost every case in advance of last year's receipts.
We subjoin a comparative statement of receipts for the last three years : Home missions.. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. 1884-5. 1885-6. 1886-7. Stipend augmentation……………………….. …… $81,960 10 $82,276 46 $82,83190 Colleges …………. _…………………… __ ……. _.. 23,721 S6 Foreign mission ………..-………………. __ .. , _. … . . 22,45994 80,57498 Widows' Fund……………………………………. 8,499 88 8,404 99 5,95791 38,773 71 38,881 70 49,81718 Rates……………………………………. 4,685 41 4,065 77 4,868 37 Aged aud Infirm Ministers' Fund .. _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,994 20 2,24150 2,304 65 5,658 59 t 10,026 89 7,630 ('fI .. Rates……………… ……. 1,292 CR'I 9,08748 1,91045 7,138 05 8,83991 French evangelization……………………………. _. *6,347 41 3,000 40 8,120 11 3,287 ('fI 3,372 84 Manitoba College….. …….. ……………………… 3,196 49 3,806 fY1 Assembly Fond.. .. .. …………………… … …….. .
Total………………….. _……… _… $127,987 92 $185,081 62 $150,910 CR'I * The report is so elaborate aud embraces such a variety of subjects, that is is diJllcnlt to giva in briefspacelln intelligent view of the Assembly's mission work.-EDs. t This amount includes several special contributions and donations. :1= 'l'I!llI'!e amQunt~ 40 not InclUde the amounts received at Montreal or Halifax.
CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL tloTELLIGENCE
FOIlEIGN lIHSSIONS-EASTElIN DIVISION. $16,363 34 Cr. 17,21704 By total receipts .. : …………………………………………………………. . $853 70 Dr.
To balance dne May 1, 1886………………………………………. 0 .. • $719 64 " total elq)enditnre ……………………………………………. 0 • • •• 16,497 40 Balance due treasurer . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
III.-CORRESPONDENCE and GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
An Appeal to the Ohurches from Student ministry go to the foreign field, and out of each 100,000 communicants in America only twenty. Volunteers for Foreign Missions. one go to the foreign field.
It is our desire to place before the S. The reflex irifluence Of foreign. mis8ions on the spiritual life of the home church. Many churches some of the reasons which minds ask the question, Does not this uprising mean a decline in the work at home f A proml. have led us to decide- nent evangelist of our country, 0 when asked what he thought of it, replied, " I rejoice, for it 1. First and foremost, our Lord's command, means revival at home." The week of prayer "Go ye into all the world and preach the gos- was suggested by missionaries in India. Though pel to the whole creation." Does" go" mean carried out with reference to foreign needs, the stay ? ~nd does" preach the gospel to the whole first week in January has become a time of spiro creation" mean keep repeating that gospel to a itual awakening at home. few while two·thirds of onr race have never o The missionary movement, starting among the heard the name Jesus? Instead of regarding the world as the field, have we not been practic- stUdents of Cambridge University, was followed ing •• high farming," cultivating certain sections by floods of blessing in Great Britain. The forto the highest degree, and anowing the vaster eign missionary work started by Pastor Harms tracts to go to waste? Has not the church said of Germany resulted during the remaining sevof each sncceeding ,generation, "Send the mul- enteen years of his pastorate in a continuous retitudes away?" Or, at best, has it not, in re- vival at home and the addition of 10,000 to that sponse to the words of the Master, "Give ye one church. Two divisions of the Baptists in them to eat," continned to feed the first three or the United States were about equal in memberfour frows over and over again, allowing the ship; after seventy years the anti-missionary masses beyond to die of starvation? section had 45,000, wbile the missionary Baptists numbered two and a half millions. Truly, 2. Because the needs of the foreign ./leld are "the religion of Christ is a commodity, of which 80 mIJAJh greater. Our heart's desire and prayer the more we export, the:more we have at home." to God for America is that it might be saved, "There is that seattereth, and yet increaseth ; but we go because the need abroad is a thousand· there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and fOld greater. This is so in some countries from it tendeth to poverty." Let it be our earnest a purely numerical standpoint. In the United prayer that there may be such an outlet of men States there is one minister to 700 people; in and money from this country as shall lead to an China one ordained missionary to 1,000,000. Of inlet of blessing from heaven. the 200,000,000 of Africa, 140,000,000 have not been Wuched by Christian teachers. The United 4. Because of the" pre8ent crisis." The fields States has 80,000 preachers. while India, with are white, the harvest must be gathered at once five times the population, has but 700 ordained or be lost. Are we alive to the fact that the hosts missionaries. of evil are rushing forward to gather these golden sheaves f The Mohammedans are at work in Says one: "But two thousand two hundred Africa. Thousands of the aborigines are yieldhave offered to go." "What are these among ing to them because Islam appeals to the sensuso many Y" China alone would swallow them ous and is propagated by the sword. If we deup, and adding them to her present farce, includ- lay, the present difficulties of evangelization will ing the native ordained ministers, there would be at least dOUbled. For" Mohammedanism, so then be but one man to 175,000 people. If you would get an approximate idea of what that far from being a stepping-stone to Christianity, means, eliminate from the United States the is one of the very strongest fortresses of unbe· great mass of her Christian institutions, her lief. Converts from Mohammedanism are comschools, hospitals, churches – the church and paratively few." A missionary who has labored S. S. workers-in a word, take away her whole twenty·six years in India says: "India is now Ohrl8tian atmosphere. Throughout the length ready for our work, and if this crisis is not met and breadth of the land seatter but 343 ministers with a few thousand converts and adherents, and by the cburch at least two or three generations you have Ohina in miniature. will paos before an equal opportunity can again be offered." Do not fear that our country will be depleted; for only one and three-tenths per cent. of our From Brazil the word comes: U This land is ready; thousands would accept the gospel if dying at the rate of a hundred thousand a day, they ouly had preachers." One writes concern- and Christians are giving to save them at the ing China: .. A thousand missionaries are worth rate of OM·tenth Of a cent a day." Every tick of more if sent now than ten thonsand ten years the watch sonnds the death-knell of a heathen from now." As for Japan-it is melted and soul. Every breath we draw, four souls perish, ready for moulding. What skatl the mould be? never having heard of Christ. Christianity or infidelity 1 You may help us also by prayer. "Helping 5. The whole world can be evangelized in the together by prayer." Oh for some five hundred present generation. "Let us go np at once aud Elijahs, each one on his Mount Carmel crying possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." nnto God I Then we should soon have the The Earl of Shaftesbury says: "During the lat- clouds bursting with showers. " There shall be ter part of these (eighteen) centuries it has been showers of blessing." "I will pour . . . jlood8 in the power of those who hold the trnth, hav- upon the dry ground." . . . Oh, for more ing means enongh, having knowledge enough, prayer, more constant, incessant mention of the and having opportunity euough, to evangelize mission cause in prayer, and the blessing will be the globejifty time8 ()'/)er." Listen to the dying snre to come. words of the veteran missionary, Simeon H. Calhoun: .. It is my deep conviction, and I say WE have received the following it again and again, that if the church of Christ letter from Rev. John Crawford, were what she ought to be, twenty years would pastor at Morristown, N. J. : not pass away till the story of the cross would be uttered in the ears of every liviug man." ])ear Editors: Will you give us in THE MIS- Bot mark more recent testimony. It is ginn by SIONARY REYI'EW the present status of Pllstor one hundred aud twenty missionaries in China, Harms' mission work? In" Praying and Workrepresentatives of twenty-one Protestant socIe- ing" I can find no sequel to Fleming Steventies. They say, "We want China emanCipated son's account, and Harms' work is a wondrous from the thralldom of sin in this generation. inspiration for us pastors. Indeed, Dr. Steven- It is possible. Our Lord has said, 'According son's course in promoting missionary interest at to your faith be it unto you.' The church of home, as a campaigner for that cause, has greatly God can do it if she be only faithful to ber great aroused me. But I can find very little of detail commission." This statement comes from mis- concerning him. In my conference I have been sionaries who are acquainted with the discour- trying to engage some of the men as lecturers in agements, who know the dilIiculties. "missionary concerts." If we could hear of such work as Stevenson's we would be much Money is wanted for this work. There is need quickened. With great relish for THE REVIEW for the millions and for the mites. All cannot on its new departure. go, but all can give. There are two colleges in Canada-Knox and Queens-Princeton College, REPLY. New Jersey, three theological seminaries in the United States; each has jdecided to support a The Hermansburg Misl!lional'Y Sograduate in some foreign field. ciety's last report to which we have access was that of 1886. Rev. Louis Are there not enough churches, each of which Harms, its originator, died in 1865. will give enoagh money to support at least one Rev. Egmont Harms is now secreof these men 1 Eighty-five people each contrib- tary, and may be addressed at Heruting twenty-five cents a week will pay the sal- mansburg, Germany. The income of ary of a missionary and of his wife. Thonsands the society was, in 1886, $48,500; it of churches, Sunday-schools, young people's so- employed 219 missionaries and native cieties, and Young Men's Christian Associations helpers, of whom 40 were ordained can support one, two or three missionaries apiece Europeans, 50 laymen and 42 women, -if they will. Single individuals can each hold likewise Europeans; and 25 were naa representative abroad. A student about to be tive ministers and 62 native helpers. admitted to the New York bar has pledged to There were 4,680 native communisupport a friend as soon as he enters the foreign cants and 12,120 baptized persons. field. Can you not yourself give enough money Two hundred and sixty communito support at least oUll missionary? cants represented the gain of the year. South Africa is the chief field Is there one law of self·denial for the mission- of this society, and the work is prinary disciple and another for the disciple who cipally among the Zulus. Mission " stays by the stuff? " Is it a time for Christians work is however prosecuted in India, to hoard money? Is it a time for thinking only Australia and New Zealand. The of society and fashion, for spending money on society feels the need of the remarkrich eating and dressing, while the world is waiting Cor the gospel and the eyes of the dying are able inspiration communicated to its fixed on us? Is it not a time for close economy, for handling our substance as stewards of God? Out of every dollar given to the Lord's work we spend niuety-eight llI'!lts at borne. "The heathen are work by Louis Harms. He was a illustrated by a native artist. It is produced very uncommon man; it is no dis- handsomely in a small volume by the American paragement of his successors to say Baptist Mission Press at Rangoon. A copy has that his enthusiasm was contagious. been, through the courtesy of the translator and His fire burned so bright and hot that superintendent of the press, Mr. F. D. Phinney, everyone about him took flame. He sent to Prof. W. C. Wilkinson, who is advised was one man among a million. It is that copies of the volume may be had from a marvel that the work survived at Scribner & Welford, importing booksellers in all when it lost such a head. But it New York. will ever stand as a proof and illustration of what one man can lead one Oft' Duty. church to do, composed of the middle class, rept'esenting little if any THE missionary is also a man. He has his wealth. It was all accomplished by moments of relaxation. It may seem to afford faith, prayer, gathering of the littles, readers an idea of how much a missionary's life and self-giving. may resemble the life of his brother minister at home if we print here a list of books lately Letter from Mrs. J. O. Braq, Gen. Seo. given, by the way, In private correspondence by of the Amerioan MoAll Assooiation. a missionary In India, that he had been reading as a diversion and replenishment of his mind. I SEND you a few items regarding the McAll We simply print the list as throwing a light of Missiou, takeu from letters just received from reality on what to the imagination is often a Paris. Perhaps the oue thing for which we are dimness of romance: the most thaukful is the Intelligence that ten new stations have been opened lately in the "I am to-day reading 'Charlotte Bronte,' by provinces. These stations are very nearly self- Laura C. Holloway. We have been reading supporting, the mission being responsible for 'Sartor Resartus,' 'A Tale of Two Cities,' the rent of the halls only. The French pastors 'French Revolution,' 'Never too Late to Mend,' and their people provide the speakers, pay the 'IHeart of Midlothian,' 'Vanity Fair,' 'Woman running expenses, etc. This seems like a long in White,' 'Mrs. Browning's Poems.' To-day I step in advance. received Dr. Smith's 'Modern Church History.' I notice that Dr. Fisher is publishing a Church A letter dated Paris, Jan. 3, 1888, says: "The History." work this winter has surpassed our expecta· tions. We have never had so large and so good Prom Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, audiences, and never such signs of regeneration and salvation being wrought in the halls. . . . CHINA INLAND MISSION, At Bonne Nouvelle we have lately adopted the LONDON, Feb. 17, 1888. plan of asking all friends who wish to be privately talked to concerning their souls to remain DEAR DR. PIERSON: I have not yet had the after the meeting Tuesday evening. There are pleasure of seeing your January REVIEW, but always as many as 25 or 30 young men who re- have had a card from your pnblishers telling me main, and 80 women. The sight which the hall it is ont of print and will be forwarded later on. presents from 9 to 10 O'clock is beautiful." .•• The February No. came to my hand yesterday, At Rue Royale we are also much encouraged. and though only able to glance at it hastily I feel The hall is more than full on Sunday afternoons. profoundly thankful that such a periodical has (This is the street leading from the Place de la been brought out. Concorde to la Madeleine.) My friend Mr. Reginald Radcliffe of liver- " In general it may be said that there seems to pool tells me he has mentioned to you the probhave been a wonderful outpouring of the Holy ability of our being able to pay a hasty visit to Spirit In the mission, as the renewed consecra- the States, and perhaps to Canada, together. I tion of the workers and many conversions think that I shall very likely come over In time testify." , to attend Mr. Moody's Northfield conveution, and bring with me a clergyman-a member of Buddhist Literature, the Church of England-who is shOrtly going to China, and whO, like myself, will be refreshed [Note from Prof. W. C. Wilkinson.] and helped by coming in contact with onr breth- ren in America who are animated by the same READERS who may like to take a fresh taste spirit. of the real quality of Buddhist literature at its best have now a new opportunity to gratify I presume we shall see yon at that conventhemselves. Mr. L. Allan Goss, inspector of tion or otherwise, and if any suggestions occur schools In Burmah, has translated from the Bur- to you that would be helpful to a stranger and mese version of the Pali text the " Story of We- also helpful to the missionary canse, I shall be than-da-ya," a Buddhist legend. This has been very thankful to receive them.
From our most recent Intelligence from China the water is retiring from the fiooded districts, partly from lessened influx and partly probably from improved egress Into the Yellow Sea; and the Imperial Government is most manfully and nobly coping with the distress. The spiritual progress of the work in China is in Peking, then there is one ordained minister to very encouraging, aud we are grateful to God for answers to prayer, the 103 new missionaries every r5O,000 people. " , having gone out during 1887, and our income having been raised as we asked God, and antici· In 184:~ the population was estimated to be pated by £10,000. 330,000,000. On this snpPosition, notwith- Letter from Dr. A. P. Happer. standing the immense loss of life by wars, re- CANTON, CHmA, January 31, 1883. DEAR EDITORS: The statistics of the missions bellions, famine, and pestilence, there has been in China have been partially made up for the year 1887. These show the missionary workers an increase in the population of 32,000,000. in China to be 489 men, 820 wives, 231 single women, in all 1,040, of whom some 400 are or- The statistics ,above given state the number dained ministers. There are 175 ordained native ministers, 1,816 native workers as preach- of church members to be 32,260, which may imers, colporteurs, Bible women and teachers of schools. There are 32,260 adult church mem- ply that the members of their families nnmber bers, 13,777 pupils in Christian schools. The contributions amount to $38,236. say 150,000. It may be supposed that two or These statements compared with those of 1886 three millions of the people may have such a show the increase to be as follows: Of men mis- knowledge of the gospel as would enable them sionaries,43 ;.,of wives, 4; of single women, 74 ; making 121 in all. Of native ordained ministers to accept of Jesus Christ as their personal the increase is 35 ; of native assistants, 20. The increase of communicants is 4,260; of pupils iu Saviour, and that a larger number have some schools is ouly 198 ; of contribntions is $19,862, which sum is double the amount of contributions knowledge of Christianity. On these supposithe preceding year, and is more than $1 for each tions the efforts of the Protestant churches member. These statements will be gratifying to all the during these 46 years to propagate the gospel supporters of missions and call forth thanksgiv has not been sn1llcient to reachune-tkird of the ing to God for his rich grace and mercy. It is to be noticed the great increase in the number increase of the population during these years. of foreign laborers; this is much greater than in any previous year, and of this increase it is to be The accepted time for the life of one generaremarked that 74 are single women, nearly double the number of the increase of men. They tion is 33 years. During these 46 years more everywhere find ready entrance to the homes of the teeming millions of women and girls who are than one whole generation of the population of in all the darkuess of heathenism; there is room for hnndreds more of Christiau laborers in this China has passed away. If then the efforts of populous empire. the Protestant churches have ouly reached 1888 Let the churches cousider these facts and arouse themselves to the greatness of the work t::'on one-third of the increase of the people, and to be done. In the year 1842 China was partially opened to the introduction of the gospel by a whole generation and more has passed beyond the treaty England made with China at the close of what is known in history as the opium War. all hnman effort to reach them, when will the It was still more fully opened to the gospel in 1858, at the revision of the treaties with Western present measure of effort by the churches fulfill nations, when toleratiou to Christianity was granted and missionaries were permitted to the command of our Lord and Leader to preach propagate the gospel in all parts of the country. natives to profess it and to assist in its propaga- the gospel to every creature? May the leaders tion without hindrance, according to the stipnlations of the treaties. It is now 46 years since of God's sacramental hosts devise the means God in his providence opened this populous land to his people, thus preparing the way for them to for carrying out these orders of the Captain of carry out the command to .. go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." In our salvation, and may all the host follow ont ol)edience to his command there are now some 400 ordained ministers here laboring for this ob- these plans to a complete accomplishment of the ject. If we accept the recent statement of the population of China proper to be 882,000,000, as work, and until the knowledge of God covers given by the secretary of the Russian Legation the whole earth even as the waters cover the sea I Letter from Rev. G. W. Ohamberlain.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL. I HAVE read with much pleasure and profit your editorial on the" Apparent Waste of Missions," in the March nnmber of THE REVIEW. Simon- ton, our first missionary to Brazil, was perhaps the most able man that our churCh' has ever sent to Brazil. He died after seven years' services, at the age of 33, when he seemed to be indispen- sable to our work. Yet he lived to see three chnrches begun-Rio, Sao Paulo, ann Brotas. To-day these three have a membership of 491, 47 of whom were added on profession of their faith last year, an increase of over 10 per cent. They contributed toward their own snpport last year the sum of $3,300.00. The Presbytery of Rio, which Was composed at the time of Simon- ton's death of these three churches, has now on its roll thirty-three. This year they will (at our next annual meeting), in combination with the fourteen or fifteen churches of the Southern Presbyterian Chnrch Brazil Mission, form the Synod of Brazil, and enter, 21 years after Simon- ton'8 death, upon an era of self-propagation and increasing self-snpport, whose results in the next 21 years it is difficult to forecast. At Sao Paulo, where Simonton died In 1867, we now publish the ImprelUla Evangelica, a weekly re- foreducation, and in furnishing a number of exligious paper, of which he was the first and cellent text-books in the Siamese langnage. aolest 'editor; a monthly Missionario Juvenil They are, however, mainly used for fitting native (organ of the young people's missionary society young men for positions as clerks and translators of the chnrch and school at Sao Paulo), self- in the government service. They are not aVRilsustaining, and third, Revista das M"1.8soes able for the traiuing of teachers of good eduea: Nacionals, edited by one of our native ministers tion and ability, nor for the preliminary educaon behalf of the Society of National Mission!- tion of native ministers. It is believed toot a self-sustaining and stimnlating by its monthly suitable institution of the kind here suggested reports all the churohes of the presbytery to would receive extensive patronage from wealthy self-snpport. The school which I began in 1872 Siamese princes and nobles, as well as from the as a parish school has grown from a primary to king himself, wbose gifts in aid of Christian edua school of over 200 pupils, embracing normal cation have been frequent and liberal. It is not elasses of both sexes and a department for intended at present to expend a large snm of training our theological students. We have eight money in organizing an institution beyond the native pastors (two others have gone up to the present demand, but it is proposed so to organ- General Assembly of the First-born), and sev- ize it that it shall be able to keep pace with the eral candidates under care of the presbytery. needs of the people, and in time to become an The Synod of Brazil will have on its roll the institution like Robert College in Constantinople, ,names of at least 12 native ministers, besides 21 doing efficient work for the country of its locaforeign missionaries. tion.
Bhaisdehi, Betul Diat" Oent. Prov., India. It is proposed to establish a Christian high school in Siam for the purpose of giving native • J anusry 24, 1888. young men a plain, practical education, such as will fit them for usefulness in any honorable EDITORS OF MISSIONARY REVIEW. – I pmise employment, but especially with a view to pre· God that he has led you to take npthework which pare them for teaching, with the ultimate design of raising up a native ministry which can be dear R. G. Wilder was, compelled to lay down. supported by the people. It will be a school for May he grant you grace and spiritual power to the training of native Christian workers. In undertaking this work it is not considered addo mighty things for Christ's glory in the visable to erect buildings in the outset, which would require nearly two years of valuable responsible place in which he has placed you I time, but rather to rent the necessary buildings I am thankful that you have started a .. fund" for the present, expecting that after the school has made a reputation and its work has become to send THE MISSIOlS"ARY REVIEW OF THE favorably known, a more desirable location can be obtained, perhaps as a gift from the king, and WORLD to the 3,000 young men and women in considerable aid can be secured in the way of contributions from Siamese gentlemen of wealth the United States aud Great Britain who have and liberality, and from foreign merchants residing in Bangkok. devoted their lives to the missionary work. The school is to be organized under the care I hope that you will also start another fund to and control of the Presbyterian Board, which send THE REVIEW to all missionaries now will have charge of all property belonging to the actually laboring among the heathen who are school, and direct the general policy to be fol- lowed and the expenditnre of the funds connot able to pay for it. As a rule, among this trihuted, being assisted by a board of advisers residing in Siam. The Bible will be a text-book class are laborers in self-supporting missions for all classes. Daily stndies in both Siamese and English will be required of all students, and so-called independent or faith missionaries. translating each language into the other. In addition to this the course of study will in- There are also beloved brethren under some or clude instruction in mathematics and the nat- ural sciences, mental and moral philosophy, and all of the boards who on account of the demand normal methods of teaching, being similar to the course given in onr best normal schools, and for the education of their children or other de- equivalent in mental discipliue to the· course in mands are not able to pay for THE REVIEW, a first-rate classical academy.
though they would much like to have it. One It is estimated that S15,Coo will be sumcient to way to sustain the zeal of this goodly army of establish this institution ou a permanent basis, with a prospect of becoming self-snpporting young men and women who have devoted their after a few years. It is proposed to raise this snm in advance, and to place it in the haeds of lives to the mission cause is to keep the fire of the Preilbyterian Board, to be expended by them III sending out and snpportin~ three teacher~ devotion and enthusiasm burning in the hearts of the laborers already out in the harvest field.
God bless you and wondrously endue you with power from on high I Yours in Christ, KORKOO MISSION. ALBERT NORTON.
Ohristian High School of Siam.
[Letter from Rev. J. A. Eakin.] EDITORS OF MISSIONARY REVIEW. -In the opinion of the missionaries in Siam and also of the Pres. Board of Foreign MiSSions, the time has come to found in Slam a school which will ultimately grow into a flrst,class educational establishment for that country. The government schools which have been established there have Ilolje a 1500d work in exciting a popular delIsnd and providing the necessary equlpments for the rather tban God·s will? "Herein is my Father school. Of this sum $10,000 has already been glorified that ye bear much fruit. " secured, mainly in large contributions, and it is hoped the remainder wilrsoon be offered, so that But has not God for each child that sense of the work may be begnn as soon as possible. This nearness to him which. comes from special diboard has elected Rev. J. A. Eakiu, who was for rection? God does send special impressions, four years a teacher iu the Kiug's school iu Bang- but should we lean On these except as confirmkok, to be principal of the Christian high scbool, ing God's word f Is not what we term a special and authorized him to solicit fnnds for this pnr- call simply God's hand reaching down to help us pose. The board also cordially recommends to acknowledge onr "bigh calling in Christ this school to the churches as a suitable object Jesus? ,~ for memorial offerings during the centennial year, and the Executive Committee of the Cen- If in Christ Jesus should we not find our mistenary Fund have placed it On their list as one sionary call as easily as the Crown Prince finds of the special causes for which contributions are his heirship to the throne? If challenged for requested. onr right to seek a missionary life, we can per- haps point to the hour or circumstsnce through There are special reasons for urgiug the begin- which we realized our bigh calling, bnt if not ning of this enterprise at the present time. this, directly to Onr high calling. "He that_ winneth souls is wise." "Follow me." U I 1. The Siamese are entirely dependent On the come to s~ek and to save the lost." "Ye shall Presbyterian Cburch of this couutry for the be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in Judea knowledge of the gospel. No otber denomina- and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of tion is laboring for their evangelization. the earth." Accepting this Bible missionary call, we can extend it and say to a brother 2. Tbe present missionary force is altogetber Cbristian, "It is your privilege to be a missioninsumcient. In Siam proper there are only four ary just as much as mine." .. Let him that ordained missionaries and four or five native heareth say come." It is your privilege to seek preachers for a population of six million souls. a neglected field, unless hindered. "Go ye into the highways and hedges." Tbis choice <I. Tbe situation of affairs iu Siam is remarka- will not diminish daily guidance or nearness to bly favorable for tbe successful planting of such God. A fixed purpose to enter Canaan was tbe a school. The king has promised to establish a reason of the guiding pillar and cloud. Tbose system of national scbools throughout the coun- who lean bardest and are asking God to try. He has intimated his willingness 1.0 employ shape every hour of life mnst be those who be- Christian teachers in these schools. Here, tben, lieve that the Cbristian's calling is to carry life is our opportunity to prepare Christian young to those in the sbadow of death. This convicmen for this work, and so mould the future edu- tion leads to close walking with God. .. Go " cation of the entire kingdom. Tbe opportunity and" 10 I " (Matt. xxviii. 19, 20) were linked by is ours now. It will soon pass away from us un- Jesus. less it is improved. Contributions may be seut to Rev. J. A. Eakin or to the treasurer of the Oh that the spirit of God~may so fill us that Board of Foreign Missions, marked for the we shall seek Christ'S'last command, yea have it Christian High School of Siam. our cbief desire to "preach the gospel to the meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, and bring Have Not IOommanded Thee'l .deliverance to captives." We sball then, like a certain young man, be willing to .burn the im- [Letter from Miss Grace E. Wilder. plements of our former pursuits. We shall, like Concluded from p. 285, April No.] him, follow even wben a prophet says, Go back. Three times was the temptation repeated, but ONE has said," Where our Father has written every time the young man answers, .. As the out for us a plain direction about anything, he Lord liveth and as my soulliveth I will not leave will not of course make an especial revelation to tbee." Is this fixedness of desire rewarded f us about that thing." Doubtless in his great When they had passed over Jordan Elijah says, love he does help our weak faith by special Ask what I shall do for thee? "Let a double providences. Bnt God forbid that we insist on a portion of thy spirit be upon me," was the special providence before we obey such a clear young man's request. revelation as that to carry the gospel to every creatnre. His desire must stand still another test. .. Thou hast done hard in asking, nevertbeless, Some are saying, My concern should be, not the if thou see me when I am'taken from thee it conversion of souls, not the evangelizing of this shall be so unto thee." Tbis condition involved world, but the doing God's will, accomplishing not only intense desire but a firm purpose. He his purpose for me. Does not this imply that must keep watch constantly. Tbe great future his purpose for me is an exception to his re- of Elisha-the power with which he performed vealed purpose'· for his cbildren? Did the early twice as many miracles as Elijab-was con- Christians make a mistake that all interpreted ditioned upon eager seeking for his Master's God's will to be the extension of Cbrist's king- spirit. dom f In the space of 8 year the Thessalonian church made the gospel known througb the re- Our prize is the mind flf the Lord Jesus and gion of Macedonia and Achala. Is this ambition the power of the Holy Spirit, by which we are to do greater works than he did. The condi- prime minister, summoned Dr. Thompson and tion of our receiving it is, "Go ye into all the his medical aSSistant, Rev. Mr. Cooper, and the world and preach the gospel to every creature." writer, to an audience. It was a glad day for ns and an important one in the history of this mis- A Remarkable Letter from Siam. sion.
[The following was written and published by After ascending the mountain we were invited us in another magazine some months ago, but is to seats in a ball occnpied by several princes, worthy of a place in this REVIEW. We give it among them the Minister ofEducation, the king's only in part.-EDs.] private secretary and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. We were hardly seated before the THE past fifteen days have been busy and joy- princes began to qnestion' us regarding the ful Ones for the missionaries at Petchaburi. The Christian religion and the nature of our mission. king of Siam, with hundreds ofprinces, ministerb They pnt many searchiug questions about the of state, nobles and soldiers, has been in our creation, atonement, forgiveness of sins, miracity, the king resting in his palace on the top of a cles, future life, etc., thus giviug ns a good opmountain, one mile from our home; the plains portunity to preach Christ to them. One of the below covered with soldiers and followers in princes stated that he was a reformed Buddhist, camp; the river in front, "bove and below our that he discarded the supernatural from Bnddhhome, filled with crowded boats. We have had ism, and tbat he did not regard Bnddha as a god, daily preaching of the gospel to good audiences, but simply a great teacher, and received only and at 0 night through the sciopticon, Bible pj.c- his moral teachings. We learned from the tures have drawn large crowds to hear the life prince that tbis view is rapidly gaining adherents of our Lord. Ouro.homes. schools and hospitals in Siam. Our conversation lasted for one hour were visited by princes and nobles, who encour- and a half, and was enjoyed by all. After this aged us in onr work, some of them in a very pleasure we were conducted to the palace and substantial way. met at the door of the drawing-room by the king, who, after grasping our hands, warmly in- We conld not help noting the contmst between vited us to chairs, and at once began questionnow and former days. Not many years ago, ing us regarding our work, relieving US of no when tbe king passed along the highways, the little embarrassment, and showing us that inpeople were compelled to fall upon their faces stead of being summoued to a formal audieuce and did not dare look upon his Majesty. Now we were to have a familiar talk on mission work. the king rode ont to the villages and through The king at first expressed his gratitnde to Dr. the streets, halting now and then to speak with Thompson for the surgical aid given the marines the people. Crowds greeted him along the way, who were injnred by the gunboat explosion, and and large companies visited him daily at the then for his medical work among the people, palace. His Majesty had many kind words for assuring him of future aid and urging him to them. On one occasion about two hundred aged carryon the work to the best of his ability. He women sought him at the palace, carrying with then told ns of his joy at seeing and hearing of them offerings of fmits, sogar, sweetmeats, flow- our schools over the city, asked many qnestions ers, etc. The king received them kindly. Ad- coucerning our plans and told us of his plans for dressing one old lady, he said, "Well, grand- a system of public free schools for his country, mother, when your king comes to visit the which he hoped to establish at an early day. prOVince, are yon filled with fear or does it give you joy?" The old lady answered, "Your He then called the Minister of Education, and Majesty's visit fills us witb joy. Why, before told him that if the missiouaries should apply for your Majesty arrived we took three meals a day, text-books or other aid for the mission schools but since your arrival we have been so happy ill' Petchaburi, he mnst grant them freely. Then that we take but one meal a day, and are satis- turning to ns he said: "I wish to place yonr fied." The king laughed heartily land replied, schools-as to aid from the government-on a "If that is the case I shall come frequently." plane with the government schools." We ex- His Majesty sent these (as well as all who sought pressed to him the gratitude of the Board of him) away rejoicing over liberal gifts from his Foreign Missions for liberal aid and encourage. hand. ment received from him in the past, and also for the liberty granted the missionaries in their la- Shortly after his arrival the king rode throngh bors. The king replied, "During our reign we the streets, and on noticing our little school- always have encouraged and will in the futnre houses expressed his joy, and inquired of the encourage the American missionaries, being prime minister of Siam and the governor of fully persuaded that you are deeply interested In Petchabnri as to the extent of the school work, and laboring for the good of the people." IDs number of pupilS, how it was sustained, etc. Majesty then bestowed upon Dr. Thompson a These otllcials having visited our schools were handsome silver medal, to his medical assist- able to give the king considerable information. ant a well-filled purse, and the Rev. Mr. Cooper The next day the royal physician visited our and the writer beantiful presents, saying, "These hospital and inspected it. That night he report- are tokens of my appreciation, and they will ed to the king, who intimated that be would be serve to keep this occasion in remembrance." glad to have a report from the missionaries re- After taking ns each by the hand and wiehing nB gardiug their )Vork, its needs, etc. We there- success iu our work, he withdrew. fore prepared reports, and they were presented to him, and on the following day he, through his But this was not all. The Jing's private sec- and family, and otherwise animadretary handed us two letters-one from the queen verting on Bishop Tayloll's scheme, addressed to the ladies of the .mission, and one which he adjuges to be a failure and from the king addressed to the gentlemen. The a folly. We have not much occasion former read as follows: "Her Majesty the to discuss the case now, as it has queen has been informed of the work of the lady been largely presented by the secumissionaries in the girls' school and of your de- lar and religious press, but we doubt sire to establish a home for aged women. This if this brother's testimony is worth so work has produced great joy and gratitnde in much notice. Discussion of methods her Majesty's heart, and it is her pleasure to grant s generally wholesome, and this the sum of sixteen hundred Iicals ($960) to aid may" provoke" to good works. Ceryou. Her Majesty prays that the work may be tainly there are formidable obstacles carried on free from difllculties, and ever pros- to Bishop Taylor's plans, but it is per." The king's letter read as follows: "His rather early to summon them for Majesty the king has been informed of the medi- judgment. cal mission work in Petchabnri, and deems it a great pleasure to aid in this department of your China.-Professor Joseph Edkins work. His majesty feels that it is proper taup- of the Educational Department at hold this work, because it is one of vast benefit Peking, and one of the foremost ta his people. He therefore takes pleasure in authorities on the language and litergranting the sum of twenty-Cour hundred licals ature of China, has traced an inter- ($1,440) for the purpose of enlarging your hospi- esting connection between the Pertal buildings. His Majesty asks that you labor sian and Chinese calendars. Instead to complete this work, and that it may be firmly of fire, air, earth, and water, the established and ever prosper." Thus the day Chinese hold to five elements, omitbrought us the good wishes of the king and ting air, and adding wood and metal. $2,400 to help in the Master's work. The system of five elements has not been discovered in India or Babylo- GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. nian archreology, but is the basis of the Persian calendar, in which five Africa.-The opening of Central angels, corresponding with the spirits Africa to commerce is working great. of the five elements, preside over the changes among the people. They months and over the days of the are rapidly laying aside their native week. The date of its entry into clothing, arms and implements, and China is referred to the Ria dynasty, adopting those brought in from civ- or about 2100 E.C.. so that Persia ilized lands. People that four years must stand for one of the prehistoric ago asked the traders for beads, trink- Bactrian empires. During the Chow ets and brass l'ods, now ask for guns, dynasty, one thousand years later, cloth and-rum. The Hakka or high- the Chinese had an increased knowlland people of Kwangtung province, edge of the elen)ental philosophy, China, furnish more literary men to and elaborated it to suit their own the National Academy than any other counting and their own tastes. But class. They are the people in South- the modern Chinese calendar was not ern China who do not bind the feet completed till 140 B.C., when the of their women, and their character route to the Caspia.n was opened, and is vigorous and independent. The King Fang, the philosopher of that American Baptist Missionary Union period, received clearer ideas of the has a mission a few years old among Persian system than had previously this interesting people. been known in China. The fitting of the five elements to the months and – Bishop Taylor Criticised. A days, which is characteristic of the brother by the name of Waller, who Persian and Chinese calendars, was joined Bishop Taylor's Congo mis- not expanded to its modern fullness sion in the capacity of cook for the in China till 140 B.C., after which steam yacht, has returned to this country and attained notoriety by allowing himself to be "interviewed" by the secular press, and giving out that he was not suitably provided with necessaries of living for himself followed the construction of the an- the annual address. .A large company nual calendar as now established in of native gentlemen were present, the empire. together with one European lady and less than ten European gentlemen. England.-Fifty Years of the Brit- Oratorically the lecture was labored ish and Foreign Bible Society.-.At and the sentenceslabyrinthian. Theothe late anniversary of the British logically the lecture was pantheistic, and Foreign Bible Society, the presi- theistic, and occasionally Christian. dent, the Earl of Harrowby, in his His views of God were in harmony address from the chair, referred to with the gospel according to Spinoza. the progress of the society's work On the question of sin he was more within the reign of Queen Victoria. orthodox, declaring that Theodore The story is most cheering; Parker erred in saying "every fall is a fall upward." Mr. Mozumdar's " Fifty years ago our receipts were plan of salvation is opposed to Mat- £100,000; now they are nearly £225,- thew the Evangelist's, but in hal'- 000. Fifty years ago that great test mony with Matthew the peculiar son of the interest taken in this noble of a well-known .Arnold of Rugby. work – the auxiliary societies – The lecturer spoke of the ills of idolamounted at home to jl,370; now atry and the" demon caste." For they are over 5,300. If there is any this we praise him. He frankly conproof of the spread of the interest fessed that the present state of his taken in the circulation of the Bible, branch of Brahmoism in Calcutta that is one. .Abroad you had 260 was" anarchy," and affirmed aU the auxiliaries and bl'anches fifty years evils of hatred, jealousy, falsification, ago. You have now 1,500. Fifty etc., of his people. We regret this years ago, what was the issue of the fact, but do not think that Mr. Bible and portions of it from this Mozumdar's closing invocation to our great society'? The annual issue was Saviour and aU the prophets of his 600,000; now it is about 4,000,000. pantheon can stem the tide that has The cheapest copy of a book half a set in. Theism has no conservator century back was issued at about two but Christianity. Hindu or Brahmo shillings; now the price is sixpence. pantheism is only refined or figurative The cheapest Testament then was idolatry.-The Indian Witness. tenpence ; the cheapest now is Lord Shaftesbury's, and the price is a -British rule inIndia has not resulted penny. .And that not done by any in the removal of the hateful customs grinding of the people who produce which prevail in reference to marthese works. In how many tongues riage. Parents continue to contract and languages were the Scriptures marriages for their children. One bad circulated fifty years ago? In 136. feature of such marriages is illustrat- That figure is actually doubled, for ed by the story of two sisters in a now they are circulated in 280. Fifty zenana school at Serapore. These years ago 14 fresh languages of Eu- girls resemble each other, but one has rope had been honored by Bible pub- ugly scars on her face which disfigure lication. Now the Bible has been her. It is said that the father intends published in 12 fresh languages in to repeat Laban's fraud on Jacob. Central.Asia and Siberia, 12 in India, The expectant bridegroom will be 14 in China and Mongolia, 19 in the told by his parents that, the bride is Pacific, 30 in .Africa and 30 in .Ameri- aU he can desire (they will have seen ca. That surely is a most marvelous the scarless sister); but whlln the marriage actually takes place the record. disfigured girl, duly veiled, will be India.-The town hall lecture of seated at the lad's side, and not till too late to draw back will he see her Keshub Chunder Sen used to be the event of January in Calcutta. Last Saturday Mr. P. C. Mozumdat· gave face. Of course, as Leah was hated, undertake a humanitarian work for so will this Hindu girl be when she the relief of Hindu child-widows. becomes a wife. No government, She does not propose to do this on however paternal, can succeed in in- any pronounced Christian basis, as suring happy marriages, but the she thinks that would be fatal to the wrong we have instanced ought not attempt, in the present state of to have the semblance of the sanction Hindu prejudice. She seeks to found of British law. and sustain a school and home at a cost of $25,000, and estimates that -A Hindu Husband's Creed. The $5,000 w:ill meet the expenses of fifty Hindu idea of marriage is curious. scholars. At a public meeting in A man both day and night must keep Boston, Dec. 13, an association was his wife so much in subjection that formed to assist her, and a constitushe by no means be mistress of her tion drawn up under which friends own actions. If the wife have her might co-operate, and an organizaown free will, notwithstanding she is tion was effected. Among the offiof superior caste, she will go amiss. cers we find Rev. Edward E. Hale, A woman shall never go out of her D.D., Rev. Phillips Brooks, D.D., house without the consent of her hus- Miss Frances E. Willard, Dean Rachel band, and shall pay proper respect to L. Bodley, M.D. A board of nine trusher husband's father, the spiritual tees, aided by an advisory board in guide and her guests, and shall not India, controls all business matters. eat until she has first served them " Ramabai circles" are being formed with victuals (if it is medicine, she throughout the country. The cormay take it before they eat); a wo- responding secretary lis Miss A. P. man shall never go to a stranger's Granger, Canandaigua, N. Y. Of the house, and shall not stand at the benevolentintent of this society there door, and must never look out of the can be no question. It distinctly diswindow. If a woman, following her claims being a missionary movement. own inclinations, goeswhithersoever she chooses and does not regard the Mexico.-The General Assembly of words of her mastel', such a woman Evangelical Mlssionaries in this reshall be turned away. If a man goes public, held in the City of Mexico on a journey, his wife shall not di- January 31 to February 3,1888, was vert herself by play, nor see any pub- attended by nearly one hundred mislic show, nor laugh, nor dress herself sionaries-male and female-l'eprewith jewels or fine clothes, nor see senting eleven different Protestant dancing, nor hear music, nor sit at churches. Many visitors were also the window, nor ride, nor behold any- present, besides six of the eight inthing rare or choice, but shall fasten vited speakers from the United well the house door and remain pri- States. The meeting occupied six vate; and shall not eat any dainty nights and three whole days, and invictuals, and shall not view herself cluded social reunions, devotional exin a mirror; she shall not exercise ercises, written essays, oral discusherself in any agreeable employment sions, sermons, and addresses. The during the absence of her husband. subjects embraced in the programme covered many points of prime interest -The Ramabai Association. The and importanGe to the evangelization learned Sanskrit woman, Ramabai, of this country, and were ably treated has for a year or more attracted in the essays and discussions. Work public attention in this country. was assigned to fifty persons, nearly Ramabai was baptized in the Church all of whom met their allotments, of England. She is one of three high- and many of those who had no specaste Brahman women who have cific tasks took part in the exercises been known to make their way to and discussions. The following sta- America. She is very desirous to tistics were presented, which will be sacrifices, of the blood feuds that exread with interest: All of the States isted among them, of the rule folof the republic occupied except Cam- lowed by all of keeping alive two peche and Chiapas; number of cen- children, and no more, in everv famtres of operation, 86; congregations, ily, and of the whole aspect of"life as 393; ordained foreign missionaries, something fearful. All this has been 48; assistant foreign missionaries, changed through the influence of 44; foreign lady teachers, 43; whole Christianity. The spiritual work has number of foreign workers, 123; na- been most interesting. To see a peotive preachers ordained, 81; native ple who once were cannibals partakpreachers unordained, 65 ; native ing of the Lord's Supper has been teachers, 96; other native helpers, truly delightful. At the New Year's 49; total native workers, 273; grand gathering it has been the custom for total of foreign and native workers, all the members of the church at Rar- 442; church societies, 17'7; communi- atonga to assemble together for worcants, 12,135; probable adherents, ship. Looking around upon this 26,967; training and theological gathering, the family history of all schools,10 ; pupils in same, 66; board- known to him, he had seen the bread ing schools and orphanages, 15; pu- administered by one to a man whose pils in same, 503; common schools, father that man had murdered, or the 71; pupils in same, 2,187; total reverse. The work of evangelization under instruction, 2,492; Sunday- in these islands has been done almost schools, 199; Sunday-school teachers entirely by the natives whom it has and officers, 367 ; Sunday-school been Mr. Gill's object to train for scholars, 4,187; total membership of this purpose. It is wonderful what Sunday-schools, 5,306; publishing they have done. Hundreds have houses, 8; papers issued, 10; pages sacrificed their lives to carry the of all kinds of religious literature is- gospel to their brethren. Sixty of sued since establishment of presses, Mr. Gill's own church have been killed 49,471,295; church buildings, 73; ap- while acting as missionaries. proximate value of same, $257,900; parsonages, 39; approximate value -French Policy in the South Seas. of same, 93,260; educational build- France is quite liberal in religious ings, 16; approximate value of same, matters at home, but she has a very $147,200; value of entirfl publishing different policy for her colonies. In outfit, $39,500; total value of all mis- her colonial policy she is almost as sionary property, $599,251; churches intolerant as Spain; indeed, quite so. and chapels built without aid from It is true that the Spanish governor Home Boards, 16; receiving partial of Ponape, one of the Caroline Islaid, 19; martyrs, 62; native preach- ands, seized and imprisoned, on the ers, sons of former workers, 2; for- most absurd charges, a missionary of eign workers, sons and daughters of the American Board; but the govmissionaries, 3; foreign workers, sons ernor-general promptly gave the misand daughters of ministers in the sionary redress and removed the home field, 9. offending official. What French in- tolerance is capable of was seen a South Pacifico-At a recent meet- few years ago in the case of Mr. in London, Rev. W. Wyatt Gill, a mis- Shaw of Madagascar, and has been sionary from the South Pacific, gave a illustrated more than once in the statement of work there and its re- Loyalty Islands, over which, unhapsults. His work since July, 1851, has pily, the French protectorate has been among eleven islands of the been extended, since missionaries of Hervey group. He spoke of the con- the London Society began many dition of the natives at the time-of years ago to make Cllristians and their love of revenge and human civilized beings of the savage population. The Loyalty group lies between or his banishment was his having New Caledonia, the French penal roused the wrath of his coreligionists colony, and the New Hebrides, where by declaring on a public occasion his French influence has been asserting belief that the Messiah came in the itself to the discomfort of the mis- time of the second temple. This consionaries, and with the manifest in- viction doubtless remained rooted in tention of seizing the islands. Hap- his heart, but does not seem to have pily, English protest has prevented become a living power within, until this. On Mare, one of the Loyalty one day at Tomsk, where he had group, the Rev. John Jones of the gone to meet his family, he founa a London Missionary Society has been tract containing Rabinowitch's conlaboring since 1853. He has wrought fession of faith. He at once entered a wonderful work among the natives, into correspondence with the writer, and is one of the most popular men and procured more of his writings. in the Western Pacific. Mr. Jones These were read by some thirty of has, by order of the governor- the Jews at Tomsk, and Scheinmann general, been expelled from the expounded to them what the Talmud island. This is the news which his and other Jewish books say about society has received. There are no the Messiah. "The scales," he says, particulars, but it is thought that the " fell at once from their eyes." In expulsion was caused by his protest the letter in which this passage ocagainst the introduction of convicts curs, Scheinmann asks Rabinowitch from New Caledonia into Mal·e. Two for a New Testament, only one copy years ago Mr. Jones's church and of which he had ever seen, and which schools were closed by a decree of no one in Tomsk knew what it was the governor, but they were re- about! All the books and tracts opened by permission of the French which were sent to him, except the consul at Noumea. There are Cath- New Testament, he distributed among olic priests on the island, and they his brethren in Siberia and Poland. have, it is said, been waging a relig- And there is reason to think that they ious war against Mr. Jones. It may are being read to good purpose. be that their influence has helped to Schienmann seems to be devoting his bring about Mr. Jones's expulsion. energies to the propagation of his Whether English influence will be so newideas. He has published several exerted as to secure his reinstate- letters, in one of which he calls upon ment is a matter of doubt.-Method- the Jews to "take up the New Testaist Review. ment, the true Thora, which Jesus, the Son of God, and our Master, has Siberia.-A Judmo-Christian move- taught us, and give yourselves to the ment has begun in Siberia, analo- study of it day and night." The New gous to that which for two or three Testament is being read by the Jews years has been proceeding at Kisch- as it never was before.-Chronicle of nieff, in Southern Russia, under London Miss. Society. Joseph Rabinowitch. It owes its institution to a Polish Jew, one Jacob- – The Oldest Missionary Journal. Zebi Scheinmann, who, on the The present volume of Periodical ground of utterly false accusations, Accounts relating to the missions of was banished to Siberia in 1874. He the church of the United Brethren settled at Irkutsk, where he set up in will complete the century of their business, and at the end of five years issue. In 1790 the first number of found himself in possession of a cer- this oldest of missionary journals was tain competency. In his native land "presented to an that pray for the he had heard about Jesus Christ from coming of the kingdom of Christ one of his 'friends, the late David and take an active share in its pros- Levinsohn, and the indirect occasion perity." Since then successive vol-
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT•
. umes have followed at intervals of Bureau of Information, where mag- about two and a half years, until azines and leaflets on all flelds and by more than thirty now stand slde by all evangelical denominations are side. In anticipation of the approach- kept for consultation and sale in ing hundredth year of the issue, the cheap form. A catalogue of these latest volumes have increased from publications, with their prices, can be ten to twelve quarterly numbers. had on application by enclosing 5 The present one will therefore (d. v.) cents in stamps to Maryland Baptist extend over three years, and its last lfission Rooms, 10 E. Fayette st., number will be published in Decem- Baltimore. ber 1889, so that a new volume will commence in 1890, the centenary -Prize for Essay on Missions. One year of the venerable publication. of the recent graduates of Hanover College' offers to the students a prize -A Missionary Training School in of $25 for the best essay on "The Philadelphia has been opened at 4045 Relations of Missions to the New Ogden street by Mrs. W. B. Osbdrn, Civilization in the Orient." This a former missionary in India. It is prize will be continued for at least two conducted on the basis of faith and years. prayer, and aims to put a course of preparatory study within the reach -Missionary Intelligtmce. Two of the humblest and poorest who are thousand secretaries of district mis- seeking to go abroad as miSSIOnarIeS. sionary meetings are now furnishing the daily and weekly papers of the -Mission Repository. In compliance country with missionary intelligence. with a resolution adopted by the last Never was such an amount of infor- Maryland Baptist Association, there mation distributed as is being sent has been established in Baltimore a forth now.
IV.-INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCTED BY REV. J. T. GRACEY, D. D., OF THE "INTERNATIONAL MIS- SIONARY UNION."
Islam in West Africa. with those who were authorities on this subject, such as Rev. Dr. Blyden, THE writer had the good fortune then professor in the Liberia College, when in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and Archbishop Crowther of the some ten years or more ago, to have Niger, enabled him to collect what a letter of introduction to Muham- was then and is still esteemed valumad SanusL who presented him with able information on this subject, just an illuminated manuscript, written now attrar.ting attention afresh. by himself, of an original Arabic composition by Sheikh Omaru-al- The measure of Moslem bigotry Haqq, a native of Futah Toro, West and fanaticism did not seem to be Africa. It is an acrostic poem, with equal in all parts of the coast. preface on the letters contained in Bishop Crowther said that in conververses 9, 10 and 11 of the 63d Sura of sation with Moslems along the the Quran. Being on a tour along Niger, on which river lies a portion the West Coast of Africa, partly of his diocese, and where, as on some with a view to study local Muham- of its lower tributaries, he has bemedanism, as far as opportunity come familiar with Moslems, he had might allow, this interview ana con- never met with a stern opposer of tribution were specially valued. Christianity among them. He could Little incidents of this nature, and a not say whether this WaS becau:se of peculiar good fortune in falling in theil' apprehension of the purer moral teaching of the Scriptures, or purchase of them, establishes less bigbecause they were ill informed con- ogtry than elsewhere we do not say. cerning the Quran, and surprised to The Moslems of India do this from a find how much more the Christian variety of motive; sometimes with a missionary knew of it, than they view to endeavor to prove their corthemselves. He said he had in a ruption and disagreement with the number of instances given the Quran. The Wesleyan missionaries Christian Scriptures to Moslem chiefs about Sierra Leone have made a someand moulvis, but never met with an what vigorous attempt to reach the obstinate disputant of his teachings Moslem community in that quarter, in connection with the present. The and at the time of which we write, had Emir of Nupe accepted from him an just held a soiree with them on an ap- Arabic Bible in the presence of his pointed evening, when seventy Moscourtiers, and a copy was sent lems were present. Working among through him to another king. The them was a Rev. Mr. Schafira, a Jew head messenger of the Emir solicited who had been under instruction in a copy like that given to his master. Palestine with the view of becoming a He also presented a Bible to an old rabbi, and after his conversion was priest, keeping an Arabic school at educated in the Missionary College at Lokoja, who had solicited it a long Islington, England. Many Moslem while previously, but to whom it had chiefs had called upon him, and a large not been given through fear that it number of Arabic-speaking Moslems was his purpose only to put the book from the interior purchased Bibles of to poor use, by taking scraps of the him. :Qr. Blyden informed us that paper and writing on them some many Moslems came from a long dis: verses of the Quran and selling them tance in the interior for the purpose of for superstitious uses to the people. learning of Christianity in its relation The native preacher under the to Islam. In November, 1870, one Bishop read selections from the came to him from Kankan to inter- Arabic Bible to merchants who came view him, bringing a manuscript copy to certain trade centers to sell ivory. of the Quran and many other elegant Arabic manuscripts. Kankan is nine Bishop Jayne of the Episcopal days from Musardu and six from Church had added similar testimony. Footah. He said that the Moslem priests are found all through Central Africa, In some other localities the bigotry from the borders of Egypt to the At- is objectionable enough. A missionlantic Ocean, zealously prosecuting ary at Lagos said, that whenever in their mission, yat exhibiting none of preaching they speak of the sonship the bigotry and fanaticism usual to and divinity of Christ, the Moslems Islam. present cease not to repeat the Sura of the Quran which says, "God does Rev. Mr. Day of the Lutheran Mis- not beget, neither is he begotten." sion at Muhlenburg said that Moslems He affirmed that the priests were dilof the Mandingo, and Vei tribes fre- igent to keep the people from listenquently came to his house and spent ing to their preaching, advising them hours in reading the Christian Scrip- in their public services to avoid the tures for the purpose of comparing Christian missionary, and refused to them with the Quran. The Liberia hold conversation with them, consid- College has distributed copies of the ering them enemies. An active con- Scriptures among Moslems of the troversy among them the year prenorth and northwest portions of Li- vious, respecting the authorship of beria and beyond, toward Boporo and Jallaloddin's Commentary on the Musardu, and found no disposition to Quran would have resulted in bloodreject them. How far this willing shed but for an appeal to the Lagos acceptance of the ScriptUl'es or the Government. Rev. Mr. Picot, the fourths of the additions were from account of whose journey to Kumasi conviction and not by natural inis more thrilling than Stanley's of crease by birth-rate. his travel over the same route, says he met a Moslem priest at Houssa The African Moslems appeal' to be who said his native place was Stam- great travelers. Dr. Blyden met at boul [Constantinople], and that he Toto Korie a young lad, bOl'n in had been traveling two years, all of Mecca, while his mother was on a which time had been occupied in pilgrimage at that place. Newlyreaching Houssa. He conversed converted Moslems often go from the freely about the nature of the road, desert of Bornou or Lake Tchad, to and the countries through which he the great collegiate mosque at Cairo, had passed, and entered into a vigor- and return. They go long distances ous defense of Muhammedanism. for the purpose of securing education. One young negro Moslem is told of, That the Qill'an is studied in towns who was accustomed to send orders from seventy-five to three hundred to Trubner of London for books, who miles from Monrovia, and by the went two hundred and fifty miles to Veis and Mandingos much nearer, is be instructed. A copy of the Quran well accredited. At Boporo, Man- was found in the interior which dingo, and other places many travel- proved to be of Liberia origin. It ers testify that the muezzin calls reg- was written on coarse folio leaves of a ularly five times a day to prayers, ledger, such as is used in the customand it is not to be called in question, houses. It was written by a negro. that mosques are to be found from It was imperfect, comIIlencing with Senegal to Lagos, but they are not to the 19th Sura. The Muhammedans be imagined to be fine specimens of appeal' to have shrewdly stationed Moorish architecture, modeled after themselvE's in influential towns near St. Sophia of the Levant or The the coast, and generally in those com- Pearl at Delhi. The Moslem is too manding the trade from the distant zealous to wait till he can construct interior. They have succeeded in an elaborate edifice, and often his impressing the people that their re- "mosque" on this coast, is not dis- ligion is peculiarly adapted to the Aftinguishable from his ordinary house rican. A missionary who had been of bamboo, wattled and lined with laboring in the interior for two years mats, covered with its thick straw said that on urging Christianity he thatch. Still it is his "mosque," be- met with two common answers: cause it is set apart as his place of first, that Christianity was good for prayer. Such is the mosque as found ., 'Merican man," but no good for in Liberia. "country man." The other came from Moslems, that "Christ is the Dr. Blydeninformedus that during white man's Saviour; Muhammed is his travels in 1872-73, on the explor- the black man's." To what extent ing expedition for the Sierra Leone Islam has proven a blessing to the Government, in every large pagan West African negro, is quite too large town he found one intellectual Mos- a question to discuss in a fragmentlem acting as prime minister to the ary way, and the testimony gathered chief and directing his policy. He by the writer can itself only be conlearned that the chief advisers of the sidered fragmentary. King of Ashantee are Moslems from Sokoto, and this was true also of One should be slow to disparage Da,homey. The Rev. JamesJohnson, any agency which ameliorates the now archdeacon, a native clergyman cruelty or the degradation of any of the West Coast, thought Muham- portion of mankind, yet after the medans were numerically increasing most assiduous inquiry made of misabout Sierra Leone, and that three- sionaries, merchants, sailors, explorers, among Europeans of several na- and his fetish may become bewitched tionalities and negroes of several and powerless. It can be befooled.
tribes, the writer reached the con- He will whip it and throw it away clusion that the balance between the or exchange it for a better. The in- blessing and the bane of Islam in evitable gree-gree may be seen every- West Africa as compared with those where, hung on doors or trees to se- of fetishism or Christianity had not ~ure good crops. Only the rich can been struck. As to the demoraliza- afford a good many. .Anything may tion of the natives by rum, there become a fetish, and the Moslem of- seemed to be much testimony that fering his superstitious charms sim- many non-Moslem tribes, like the ply asks the negro to substitute Quran Pessahs and Barline people. were not Suras as a fetish, for tigers' teeth, cats'
more given to the use of intoxicating clawsor alligators' scales. The Qu- liquors than were the Moslems about ran fetish becomes the most popular Musardu, and even among those like because supposed to be the most pow- the Kabyles of North Africa. erfu!' But all that, leaves the heart It is claimed by some along the of African heathenism untouched.
coast, that the Moslems work with Re'. Mr. Picot makes special mention wiser adaptations to native preju- of these men in the journal of his visit dices, customs and idiosyncrasies to Coomassie. When he found one than the Christian missionaries do, of these lIoslem teachers, with his and their success is quoted in evi- manuscripts and his beads, he asked dence of the statement. But Islam if he was not ashamed to be deceiv- has been for a thousand years gradu- ing the people by giving them these ally spreading over the northern half scraps of paper, telling the people of Africa, and has held the country they were capable of protecting them of these Mandingos since the days of against evil. The man suddenly pre- the Norman '(onquest, and that of tended not to understand the language the Foulahs and of Lake Tchad for spoken, but the people made sport of six hundred years, yet there are large him, and he confessed his deception.
tracts not conquered by it to this As to the unity of the godhead taught day. Mr. Boswell Smith speaks in by Islam, that is an article of faith his" Mohammed and Mohammedan- from end to end of Africa among the ism" of "whole tribes laying aside entire negro popUlation, and this devil worship or the immemorial fe- compounding with the superstitions tish, and springing at a bound, as it of existing heathenism, or overlaying were, from the very lowest to one of it with another without any im prQve- the highest forms of belief;" but ment, does not look much like Mr.
from facts learned all along this coast, Smith's description, of the African that seems to be quite a rhetorical laying aside the immemorial fetish statement. After more than a thou- and springing at once to the highest sand years of effort to subjugate these form of religions belief.
pagan tribes, the Bornous, Fulahs, Muhammedanism, if it has added Mandingos and Jaloofs, who profess any to the limitations which the Af- Islam, have done little more than rican's povel·ty imposes in most cases abandon some of the rites of pagan- to the practice of polygamy, has in efism, while their belief in some su- fect left it in principle and practice perstitions is said to be intensified•. intact. Rev. Mr. Adcock, Wesleyan A Moslem negro offered for sale to missionary on the river Gambia, the writer,alarge silver locketor box, properly put this part of the case for said to contain selections from the the whole coast, when at a breakfast Quran, to be worn as a charm to meeting in London he said: ward off evil. The gree-gree does the "We have no difficulty in getting members. same thing for the native African, The difficulty is to keep them out of the chqrch, We could have thousands of members if we stra.tes to these heathen, the secret would allow them to come iu with a wife ou and strong power in Christianity that each arm, aud many other things which we do binds together all who truly love and not permit. We never have to refuse the sac· serve our Lord Jesus Christ. rament because people do not believe in the per sonality of the devil; they believe in it a great Much to our astonishment there deal too much." has recently come a proposition from Mr. Joyama, the former president of Affairs in Japan. the Imperial University, to place all schools of the middle grade underthe BY REV. H. LOOMIS, AMERICAN BruLE care of Protestant missionary bodies.
AGENT, YOKOHAMA. The reforms and improvements which have been inaugurated by Mr. ONE of the many encouraging and Mori, the Minister of Education, delightful features of Christian work have been important and helpful, in this land, is the unity of spirit that but the claims on the government prevails among all the followers of are so many and varied that it is Christ. found impossible to do all that is felt to be needed. In this emergency it The prayer of Christ is being an- is urged that suitable preparatory swered here in the manifestation'of a schools would be found, by calling in oneness of heart, so that even those the aid of the missionaries and givof different folds mingle together as ing them the charge of this branch one flock and followers of the same of educational work. This is a mere Shepherd. As evidence of this, a suggestion, but it comes from one social meeting was arranged for all who knows of what he speaks, and the theological students in Tokyo. whose opinion will have weight in It was held in a sort of park near the the minds of those who are to decide center of the city, which is a popular such matters. Possibly such a thing place of resort for all classes of people. is not wholly feasible even should it A meeting was recently called in meet with the approval of the proper Tokyo by the various pastors, in Japanese authorities. It would inwhich the question for discussion volve large expense on the part of was, "What is the present need of the missionary bodies, and at present our respective churches?" none of them seem to have surplus funds, even if there was a willingness A monthly meeting for prayer and to devote their income to an almost conference was arranged; it was well distinctively educational work. But attended and exceedingly profitable. the suggestion is an important indica- At the recent gospel meeting held in tion of what has been accomplished Tokyo under the auspices of the Epis- by the missionaries in this land in the copal mission, were Bishop Bicker- work of educa.tion. Of course no steth of the English church, Rev. such proposal would have been made Dr. Verbeck of the Reformed mission had not the work hitherto done atin America, Rev. Mr. Honda of the tracted the attention and won the Methodist church, and Rev. Mr. approval of those who are best qual- Hashimo of the Congregational or ified to judge. Mr. Joyama is not an Independent body. As Bishop Bick- avowed Christian, and has therefore ersteth was unable to speak in Jap- no religious bias that would lead him anese, he was assisted by a Presby- to take this step. The 'proposition terian interpreter. It is reported shows the confidence that the leadthere were one thousand persons ing men in Japan have in the charpresent. At a similar service recently acter of the missionaries, and of their held in Nagoya the speakers repre- ability to conduct such a work even sented the Protestant Episcopal and better than the Japanese themselves. Methodist Episcopal, the Reformed and the Presbyterian churches. The general influence of such unity is most beneficial to all, and demon- It will not surprise us if we see in to missionaries on a number of forthe future a flocking of the young eign fields, to secure an expression of men of Japan tothe Christian schools opinion on the importance of musical as the most desirable place to secure a training as a part of the preparation complete and thorough education. of persons for service abroad, and re- There is no question but what the fu- ceived such responses as to lead him to ture of Japan depends on the training make most liberal proposals to miswhich the present generation of schol- sionary boards, or to intending misars receives. sionaries themselves, for special edu- cation at his institution, in any or all There is a most blessed work now branches of music. This paper was gomg on in the various schools, es- presented at the meeting of the pecially in Yokohama and Tokyo. At International Missionary Union last the Ferris Seminary forty-five con- August, and a general discussion was verts are reported among the girls entered into, which gave a good with no extra effort or excitement, deal of information to those present. one after another has come out bold- Perhaps nothing was more striking lyand joyfully on the Lord1s side. On than the diversity demanded by the a recent Saturday it is said that more several fields oflabor in the character than fifty letters were sent by these of the music to be used. Rev. Mr. new converts to their homes and Chandler of South India, said three friends in all parts of the land, courses were open to the missionary: asking permission to profess their First, to teach the English system, faith in public, and pleading with one which imposed no end of labor in and all to repent of their sins and fol- teaching. Second, to translate hymns low the Saviour. In the Methodist and sing them; but in India the peo- Protestant school there has also been ple knew nothing of our scale and great interest of late, and on a recent nothing of harmony, and even the Sabbath forty-five persons received reduction of native airs to notation baptism. had to be done by ear, and then they could not get them as the natives did. In the school at Ayoma, in Tokyo, If the natives tried to sing in parts in there are seventy-four applicants for harmony they went through together baptism. The students have become if they started together, but whatever so aroused that they have for some difference obtained at the start was time gone out into the streets and maintainetl to the end. The third preached to the people and distributed method, which he thought the best, tracts. At another of the mission was to use native tunes and metres. schools in Tokyo there has been a general awakening and twenty of the Rev. Mr. Nicholls, Baptist, of Burscholars asked for prayers at a single mah said the natives there learned meeting. English music very quickly. Rev. Mr. Stanley said in Northern China The churches also have been arous- there had been no exoensive attempt ed and are at work as never before. to use native tunes. The Chinese At many of them special services are scale was unlike that of Europe, and being held; not only are sinners being our instruments were not adapted to converted, but those who have been their music, which was in minor visited by their brethren aroused to a chords mainly; yet in the boardingnew zeal. schools the pupils learned our music very creditably. Mrs. Culbertson Musia and Missions. spoke of Chinese girls learning our tunes, and singing as they strolled, THE subject of music, as related Moody and Sankey hymns. Dr. Barto the work of the foreign and native num said in Turkey the natives readmissionary, seems to lose none of its interest. Professor Tourjee of the Boston Conservatory of Music wrote ily adopted our tunes and caught the an article intended to show how great airs of the military bands. a work has bt::en accomplished by missionaries, in the introduction of The Indian Evangelical Review for Christian. hymnology among the va- October, 1887, had an excellent arti- rious nations of the earth, and for cle on "Hindustani Hymns and this purpose Rev. W. R. Stevenson, Hymn Writers," which will be con- M.A., Carrington, Nottingham, Engsidered as contributing much of inter- land, wishes answers to the followest to the general subject. Rev. John ing questions from all mission fields: Chamberlain of the English Baptist Mission was the first to enter this " (1) Please state to what part of the mission field, by the publication of a volume field your answers refer, and the language or of Hindu hymns still su,ng after 70 languages there spoken. (2) What hymn-bookR years. Following him was Rev. Shu- have been prepared for the use of the converts· ? jaat Ali, a native preacher, whose Abont how many hymns do they contain? By hymns" will be sung for many years whom were they prepared, and when P Where to come." Rev. John Parsons, an- are they printed? Are the same books nsed other Baptist missionary, "became elsewhere, or by the missionaries of any other famous for his vernacular hymns, society, so far as you know. (3) Are the especially Bhajans, which are still hymns chiefly translations or originals P If widely sung and are full of poetic translations, by whom were they translated P If fire." Rev. John Newton, Sr., now the Original, who were the authors? If possible, of. Lahore, the oldest missionary in kindly give the first lines in I!Jnglish of the India, was the first Hindustani hymn- prinCipal tran81atedhymns. (4) AreourEngJish writer am~ng the American Presby- metres and tunes used? Do the lines rhyme 8S terians. Rev. Mr. Janvier and Rev. with our hymns. Please address reply to Rev. Mr. Ullman are also noted for their W. R. Stevenson, M.A., Carrington, Nottinglarge contributions to Indian hym- ham, England." nology. Several other societies have contributed through their mission- Bnlgaria.-W e cannot fail of symaries, original hymns and transla- pathetic interest with Bulgaria. It tions. The author of the article says is an old battlefield of Asia and Euthat Mrs. J. E. Scott of the M. E. rope, and hard soil for missions, with Mission of North India, has been forces that would grind them as beat work for two years on a book of tween the upper aud nether mill~ native tunes and hymns. He further stones, but it is a vast strategic point says: for Christian work as well as for the soldier and the statesman. It must be "Munshi Shankar Dyal, literary assistant in taken and held for God. The people the Methodist Publisblng House in Lucknow, has are a noble stock, and though trouwritten at least one hundred ghazals (hymns), bled about political existence now, many of them of a bigh order, several of which they are as likely to yield results to have found their way Into various hymn·books. Christian toil as any branch of the One of these is sung more frequently In the Slavic race, and they are admirably Christian congregations of the Methodist mission situated to be a leading Christian than any other native hymn, and yet this inter- power among their ninety millions of esting writer, whose literary prodnctions (the brother Slavs. In less than seven product of his spare hours) are found so accept- years this race of Slavs became a able, breathing throughout a truly Christ-like nation of freemen, with power to spirit, is as yet a Hiudu. He admits that at heart govern themselves. They set themhe is a Christian, and those who know him best selves to crush brigandage,. and they are convinced that illuminating grace has reached did it completely in East Roumelia his soul. For twenty years or more he has given and almost completely in Bulgaria. all his time and strength to the preparation of Christian books in tce vernacular; evidently he The Rev. D. C. Challis of Bulgaria is not far from the kingdom of God." calls our attention to the stamina, strength, and promise there is for And now we learn that a "Dic- Bulgaria, as illustrated by the action tionary of Hymnology" is in course of their national assembly; He says: of preparation, which is to contain "The serious and businesslike man- Delegates to the London Oonferenoe. nerwith which the Bulgaria National Assembly, lately adjourned, ad- REv. WILLIAM KINCAID, D.D., Bible House, dressed itself to the work in hand is a striking instance of coolness under New York, Secretary of the American Commitfire. A gh1nce at the list of laws enacted during the late session shows tee of the General Conference on Foreign Miathe presence of no mean legislative ability, and the published reports of sions, informs ns that our Euglish brethren are the discussions show that nothing making generous provision to entertain all reg~ was done by force or the abridgment of the freedom of speech. The most lady accredited delegates during the continunpractical and cranky members were free to express their opinions and uance of the Conference, June 9 to 19. Delecast their votes. gates may expect to hear from the London com- " Among a large number of enactments ofgeneral importance we notice mittee on this snbject in due time. – the following: A law authorizing a subsidiary nickel coinage of 3,000,000 He also says: "Societies that have not yet apfrancs. A law for the disposition of cases pending in the courts of Eastern pointed delegates, but still hope to do so, will Roumelia at the time of the annexation. Alaw for the suppression of brig- confer a favor by taking action at the earliest andage, granting the government extraordinary powers in cases of neces- convenient date. It is important that the list sity. A press law guaranteeing full freedom with responsibility, and pro- should be completed and be in the hands of the viding for the speedy trial of offenders. A law authorizing a loan of committee as soon as possible. The requisite 50,000,000 francs ($10,000,000). A special credit of twenty millions to credentials will be sent in proper season. payoff the debts of Eastern Roumelia. A special credit of 370,000 .. Special attention is called to the request of francs for the preliminary survey of new railroad lines. Many other our English brethren that 'earnest and conmeasures of importance were passed, all pointing to the fullest possible tinued prayer be offered in behalf of the prorealization of the provisions of this liberal constitution." posed conference,' and to the suggestiou of the In his address on closing the session, American committee, in this connection, that Prince Ferdinand expresses the highest satisfaction with the "loyal and interdenominational meetiugs be held throughpatriotic co-operation of the assembly" and the "tact, intelligence and out this country to inform the Christian public devotion of the ministry." Cut off from the recognition of the "pow- with reference to the conference and awaken ers" by their" illegal" position, and themselves the bone of the fiercest interest in it. Such meetings, with great succontention, the Bulgarians quietly attend to their business and defeat the cess, have been held in New York; may they intentions of their enemies by presenting an example of good govern- not be planned for throughout the whole land?" ment on a system almost purely democratic. The delegates from American societies, so rar as reported to Dr. Kincaid, are as follows: Pre8byterian Board of Foreign MisBionB- Rev. F. F. Ellinwood, D.D., Secretary.
ForeignMisBions of the Presbyterian Ghurch- Rev. M. H. Heuston, D.D.; Rev. W. M. Murk- land, D.D.; Rev. J. A. Lefevre, D.D.; Christian Deovies, Esq.
Board of Foreign Mis8ions Qf the Reformed Presbyterian Ohurch – Rev. D. McAllister, LL.D.; Rev. D. McFall, Mr. A. Alexander.
Board Qf Foreign Missions Of the Reformed Ohurch-Rev. T. W. Chambers, D.D.; Rev. W. J. R. Taylor, D.D.; C. L. Wells, Flatbush, N. Y.
Board Qf Foreign M'f,8sions Qf the Rejormed Okurck-Rev. D. Van Horn, D.D. Alternates, Rev. C. L. Weiser, D.D.; Rev. S. G. Wagner, D.D.
American Board of Oommissioners for For- eign M'Ulsions – Rev; A. C. Thompson, D.D.; Rev. Judson Smith, D.D.; Elbridge Torrey, Esq.
American Missionary Association-Rev. A. F. Baird, D.D.
American Baptist M'f,8sionary Union-Rev. John N. Murdock, D.D.; Rev. A. J. Gordon, D.D.; Hon. Eustace C. Fitz.
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Okurch-Rev. William S. Langford, D.D.
Missionary Society Methodist Episcopal Ohurch-Bishop W. F. Mallalieu, D.D.; Rev. J. N. Fitzgerald, D.D.; John M. Phillips, Esq.
Home and Forei(1n Missionary Society of the African Metfwdiet J!Jpiscopal Ohurch – Rev. Wm. B. Derrick, D.D.; Rev. D. P. Roberts, M.D.; Prof. Philander Outland. Alternate, Rev. C. T. Shaffer.
MONTHLY CONCERT OF. MISSIONS
Board of Fusions Metlwdi8t Protestant DR. hUD'lJD-DIN is the first native oC India Church-Rev. F. T. Tagg. who ever received the title of Doctor of Divinity. The Punjab New8 has the following interesting Mis8ionary Board Free Metlwdist Church- incident: "Recently the Rev. 1I10ulvie Imad-ud- Rev. B. T. Roberts, Rev. T. B. Arnold. din, D.D., was asked by a rich and infiuentlal 1I10hammedan to come and see him on important American Bible SociBty-Re…. E. W. Gil- business. When he reached the place he was very man,D.D. cordially received aud hospitably treated. After some time the business was broached. His host Chicago Tral.ning Schoolfor City, Home and took him into an inner room. There he found Foreign Musions-Wm. E. Blackstone, Esq. about forty 1I10hammedan gentlemen, including some 1I10ulvies and well-to-do infiuential per- Washington City Bible Society-Rev. A. W. sons. They carefully shnt the door, and having Pitzer, D.D. taken every possible precantion against interrup- tion and eavesdropping, they said to him, • Now Foreign Missions Southern Baptist Conven- you are alone with us and God. We charge you tion-Rev. H. A. Tupper, D.D.; Hon. J. L. M. by the living God, to whom you will one day Cnrry. give account, answer our questions truthfully. The Lord judge you ifyou deceive us.' The 1I10ul- Woman's Foreign Missionary Society Pres- vie said, • God is my witness. Ask, and I will byterian Church-Mrs. William Dugdale, 1111's. answer truly.' They then said,' We see you are Arthur T. Pierson. a man of learning and worth. Why did you be- come a Christian f ' •For the salvation of my Woman', Board Cumberland Presbyterian soul,' the 1I10ulvie replied. • Could you not find Church-1111's. A. H. Stephens. salvation in Islam, 0 brother?' •No. ' • Tell us why not.' Woman's Board Of Riformed Church-Mrs. W. J. R. Taylor. "Dr. Imad-ud-din then preached Christ Jesus to them. They listened attentively, and ouly in- Women', National Indian Assoc·iat·on-1I1rs. terrupted him now and then to ask pertinent Amelia S. Quinton, Mrs. Geo. D. Boardman, questions. Be stayed three days. and each day was spent in converse about the things of Christ. 1I1iss 1I1ary L. Bonney. Wheu he left they all showed him great honor, Woman'8 Board, Congregational – 1I1iss embraced him and said, 'God bless you and be with you. Now we' know that whatever yon Abbie B. Child, 1111's. A. C. Thompson, 1111's. have done you have done, not for the sake of gain, but with a pure heart. for the sake of Geo. W. Coburn, 1I1iss Carrie Borden. what you believe to be truth.' .. Woman'8 Foreign Missionary Society Of I()Wa Meeting if Friends – 1111's. Elizabeth Hutchinson. lJelegates at Large-Rev. Geo, E. Post,1I1.D.; Rev. A. T. Pierson, D.D.; Rev. Geo. D. Boardman, D.D.; Rev. Wm. 111. Taylor, D.D.; Corneliu. Vanderbilt, Esq.; Re,·. Daniel Dorchester, D.D., General Clinton B. Fiek.
V.-MONTHLY CONCERT OF MISSIONS.
Burmah and Siam. two sects; one held a kind of panthe- BURMAB contains about 3,000,000 ism, believing the godhead to pet'- of people and is rich in resources, vade all nature and life, but especially both vegetable and mineral. Here, the Buddhists: the other sect rejects as in Hindustan, God permitted Brit- the doctrine of the metempsychosis, ish arms and diplomacy to establish cloister system, etc., worships one an Anglo-Indian empire, controlling spirit supreme and all-creating (Nat), the seaboard from the mouth of the and holds to a life beyond death with Gang-es to the Malacca strait, but un- weal or woe according to the works locking this land also to the gospel, of the departed. These heretics were which here fonnd a field for special burned by the king, but were reported triumphs. The article on another numerous though worshiping in sepage of this issue gives an account of cret. the work among the Karens. The Burmese are Buddhists, and The empire of Burmah reached its their religious faith is purer from ad- apex of glory in the eleventh cenmixtures than that of the East Ind- tury; in the sixteenth the state was ians and Chinese; there is not as rent into several warring factions. much picture-worship as in China, Alompra, founder of the present dyand the monks are more faithful to nasty, restored the empire to sometheir vows of poverty and celibacy. thing like its former territory and About the close of the last century prestige. But the British have since the state religion branched off into then, in the wars of 1823 and 1852, made it largely a dependency of Britain. The government is dflspotic ; society in the world. This great or- the hlwot-dau or council of state reg- ganization is revising its whole mis- ulates details, and is composed of four sionary policy, to bring it into line ministers and presided over by the with the demands of the times. The heir ~pparent to the throne, or a General Commjttee has resolved: prince of the royal blood. First, not to refuse any candidates for The Burmese courts seldom dis- missionary service on the sole ground pense justice. From the Supreme of the lack of funds; second, to rec- Council down, every office-holder is a ognize the present methods for the plunderer; the judges are venal, the collection of funds; third, to employ police powerless; life, liberty and more lay evangelists; fourth, to ar- pl'opertyare at the mercy of the vio- range for more meetings for ulllted lent and vicious. Thefarther from the and special prayer. The Henry Reed capital the less heed is paid to the Steamboat Company, connected with king. The provinces near the Chi- the American Baptist Missionary nese border live under two govern- Union, raised $1,056.02 in 1887 for ments, the Chinese and Burmese ac- the support of the steamer on the tually sharing the control. The in- . Upper Congo River, in Central Africa; terior of Burmah is comparatively $1,750 is wanted for 1888. The Equa- unknown, the seacoast having been tor Station of this mission is farther mainly the scene of missionary oper- inland than any other from the West ations. Coast. Baptist missionaries in Assam The Irawaddy, navigable for 400 are laboring among people speaking miles, is the" Father of Waters," and seven different languages, three of Ava, made capital in 1819, is the" City which had never been acquired by a of P-..)arls." foreigner until the missionaries went Those who would read it fascinat- there. One station is sixty milfls ing story of mission labors and tri- from even a cart-road. Rev. J. E.
umphs must real Gammell's "His- Clough, D.D., has been laboring on tory of American Baptist Missions" the Ongole field in the Telugu Bap- and the "Life of Adoniram Judson and tist Mission for twenty-one years. In his Wives." No more thrilling chap- that time the number of Christians ter can be found in the entire record has risen from none to 25,545. More of modern missionary labor. than six hundred converts were bap- The Burmah Baptist Missionary tized in the first eight months of last Convention held its thirteenth an- year. Rev. Kyouk – kai, a Karen nual meeting at Moulmein November preacher of the Toungoo District, 5-7. All the work is encouraging. Burmah, has been presented with a The convention was preceded by a silvel' sword by the British Govern- three-days' conference for prayer. ment for his efforts in suppressing On the last evening of the conferenee the rebels and restoring peace to the a mass-meeting of all races was held district. This is the only case in on the Burman Mission Compound, which such an honor has been be- near where Dr. Judson's chapel used stowed.
to stand. Addresses were given in SIAM has a territory of about seven languages-English, Burman, 200,000 square miles, and a popula- Karen, Shan, Talaigu, Telugp and tion estimated at eight millions. Lit- Tamil. No one of these languages tle has been known of this romantic was understood by all present, but a country in literature until of late.
hearty Christian unity prevailed. We are now beginning to know some- The Church Missionary Society is thing of this second great river basin supported by the evangelical element of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, with of the Church of England, and has BangkOk, its capital, the "Venice of the largest income of any missionary the Orient." Vegetation is abundant and luxuri- The Presbyterians have but two ant, the fruits unsurpassed in variety main stations – at' Bangkok and and excellence, the animal kingdom Petchaburi-and two more among the varied and interesting. The white Laos, at Chiengmai and Lakawn. elephant is the form associated with Their entire force, including native the appearing of Buddhas and the preachers and teachers, would num- transmigration of souls, which are ber less than thirty workers, who, if believed to be far on their way to- their responsibility could be aver- ward the Buddhist heaven, Nirvana. aged, would each have thl'. rare of a Woman's condition is far above that quarter of a million souls. of her sex generally in the East, and her treatment more affectionate and It is a rare opportunity that Siam considerate. Social distinctions are presents. Contact with vVestern civ- numerous and numerical, 5 repre- ilization has embraced Siam in the senting the lowest slave, and 100,000 telegraphic circuit, that thus binds the second king. her to the Christian world; the ,. postal system reaches from Bangkok The sacred literature, in the Pali, to the bounds of the kingdom. Com- is written with a stylus on long slips merce is developing the exports and of palm-leaf, and the 400 principal introducing imports. Next to the works embrace 4,000 volumes. The Mikado of Japan, the kin!; is pro- secular consists of about 250 principal nounced the most" progressive sov- works with 2,000 volumes. Of the ereign in Asia." Himself an educated males, from 80 to 90 per cent.. can man, he favors education; more read, and education is afforded gra- than this, the government has given tuitouslyat the temples. Buddhism practical proof of its estimate of the absolutely sways this people. Its value of Christian missions by giving sacred fanes are among the costliest the land for a new mission station at and finest of the Orient; one, esti- Lakon. The king subscribed $1,000 mated to have cost $800,000, holds for a hospital building. A series of nearly a thousand images of Buddha, friendly acts shows the attitude of the principal of which is 158 feet the royal court toward the work of long, inlaid with pearl and overlaid the mission. with gold. The priesthood, now much reduced, once numbered This new and liberal policy was in- 100,000. augurated by the government in 1851, when a new king took the Protestant missions date from the throne. He reigned for seventeen days of Gutzlaff, Tomlin and Abeel yf'ars; was a scholarly gentleman, 'in 1828-31, and properly from the who had been taught in languages settlement of Jones in 1833. A half and modern science by a missionary century ago all foreigners, whetheL' of the American Board; and under missionaries or merchants, were ex- his successor, the present king, the cluded; now all Christian countries influence of Protestant missionaries . enjoy treaty rights. No country on with the government, as we have earth is perhaps more widely open to seen, has not waned. An official the gospel, and Providence has espe- document, under royal sanction, tes- cially given to Presbyterian Christians tifies to their intelligence, integrity this land to occupy for him. and personal worth. It acknowledges the debt of the Siamese to them for The American Baptists, who have teaching them to read and speak the had a mission there for over fifty English tongue, and says: " The years, are now working only among American missionaries have always resident Chinese, from whom Dr. been just and upright men; have Dean in 1837 organized the first never meddled in the. affairs of church of Chinese Christians in all government, nor cre:lted any diffi- Asia. culty with the Siamese; have lived breathe new life into her explrlllg with the Siamese just as if they flame, so that her light may shine belonged to the nation; " and further- clear and far. more this document affirms the high standing. of the missionaries In the The fourth verse is open to a simirespect and love of the government. lar construction, and may be trans- When this young king, by a sad ac- lated, he shall not burn dimly nor cident some years since, lost his wife, be bruised; and then the thought his brother came to the missionaries throughout is beautifully consistent. for a copy of the New Testament, and gave as a reason for the request that Christ finds his church with the king had lost faith in his own re- branches bruised and lights dim, and ligion; that he could find nothing in by his corrective judgments he makes Buddhism to console him in his great her capable of a powerful testimony grief. It might cost the king his to the truth. But we are to look up crown, or even his life, to renounce from a fallible, imperfect body of disthe state religion, yet this bereaved ciples to an infallible and perfect monarch flies to the Christian's Bible Head and Lord; he cannot be bruised for the solace that his pagan creed and broken, nor does his light ever cannot supply! Siam may be much nearer to becoming a Christian nation become dim or threaten to be extinthan we think! The additional fact should be put on record that the first guished. He shall not only correct zenana teaching ever attempted in his church by chastening judgments, the East was by missionary women, but by punitive judgments destroy in 1851, among the thirty wives and the wicked and set up his throne upon royal sisters of the king of Siam. the earth. And for his law tile isles shall longingly wait and Ethiopia THEME FOR A GRAND MISSIONARY shall stretch forth imploring hands.
SERMON. God has called him to be the justi- Isaiah xvii. 1-7. fier, and holds his hand and keeps him; he has entered into covenant THE Messiah is here set forth as the with him, and that covenant is as servant of Jehovah, upheld by his sure as the word and oath of God can almightiness, his elect, the object of make it. Christ shall be a light of his delight, the subject of his Holy the Gentiles, though the church's Spirit's unmeasured indwelling and lamp may at times seem to be going outworking. out and her testimony be almost quenched. He shall open blind eyes, His special mission is to the Gen- release imprisoned souls, and those tiles. He shall not cry as in helpless in the shadow of death. We do not grief, nor shout as in boastful glory. claim that this is a precise, exact and He shall perform his service in the scholarly exegesis of this passage, quietness of a divIne confidence and but we believe a careful study of the certainty of result. Hebrew will satisfy any student that the drift of this paragraph is not or- The bruised reed and smoking wick dinarily apprehended; that the hope seem to me to refer to the golden of missions is here shown to be the candlestick, whose branches were infallible covenant of God; not the called reeds; and so regarded this golden candlesticks, but He who walkverse may refer to the church,which eth in the midst of them; not the even in her periods of spiritual de- efficiency and energy of human orcline he shall not forsake. When her ganizations, but the power and grace branches are bruised he will not of the living, risen, glorified Christ. break them off, and when her lamp The word judgment occurs here in burns dim he will not quench it, but three conspicuous connections, and by his patient, loving discipline heal that word always calls attention to her schisms, repair her breaches, and divine energy of action. God invites the co·operation of his people, but SUGGESTIVE PARAGRAPHS. he is not dependent upon it. He can work in his own way, and sometimes DR. W. M. PAXTON said to his stu,. by mighty jugdments he both brings dents at Princeton Theological Semian unfaithful church to see her duty nary as to the Signs of a call to the and a rebellious world to bow and foreign field: submit to his law. The wholetlutline of missions is suggested in this 1. Desire. passage in Isaiah-the outline of mis- In general, when the Lord wants sionary history and of the divine a man to do a certain work, he puts philosophy of missions. into his heart a strong desire to do it. "I have long observed that God It is also particularly noticeable puts certain proclivities in men's that a conspicuous change in pro- minds," etc. (Albert Barnes.) phetic terminology occurs at chap. liii. of this prophecy. The Sel'- II. Qualifications. 'ant of the Lord is a phrase which Many men would make good minisoccurs frequently up to chap. liii. 11 : tel'S at home who would not perhaps the Messiah who represents the true do for the foreign field, e.g. : Israel, the holy seed of God, the in- 1. One must have some faculty for destructible germ which assures con- acquiring a foreign language. tinuity to Israel's life, who restores 2. A man must be good.tempered moral order. But though this title enough not to quarrel with his occurs nineteen times in chaps. xli. to brothel' missionaries. Scores of trouliii., after the eleventh verse of chap.. bles have arisen from this source. liii. it disappears. "My righteous Bad temper is easily developed iI) a servant shall iwdify many." Now missionary field, especially in a bad his work as servant is done. He llas climate. Above all, don't take a bad· suffered the just for the unjust to tempered woman. A man who is to bring us to God. He has justified be a missionary must not have a many and made them servants of curious, prying or gossiping disposi- God. They now take up the work tion. He needs especially to mind be has laid down, and fill up that his own business. which is behind of his sufferings. 3. Must have aptness to teach and And so aftel' this, as in chap. liv.17, patience in imparting knowledge we have the new phrase, "servants even to those of a low grade of caof the Lord," which occurs ten times pacity. from chap. liv. 17 to lxvi. 14. The 4. Must have good health, and his servant of God now sees his seed, and physical constitution should be it is a numerous seed. The servant of adapted to the climate where he God is multiplied a thousand fold labors. Every man must have a phy- (Rom. v. 15-19). He ceases to suffer, sician's certificate-e.g., one with a and in the former sense to serve, and torpid liver should not go to a very his spiritual offspring take up service hot country like India or Afl'ica, nor ~nd suffering for his sake. They go with weak lungs to a land unfavormto all the world, and as witnesses able for pulmonary weaknesses. testify and as martyrs die for him ll;nd his cause, until he comes again, III. Opportunity. and then service and suffering are This means. that providence will merged into triumph and glory, and open the way when God has a purthe new heaven and earth, wherein pose in a man's hfe. There may be dwelleth righteousness, take the place an insuperable objection – e.g., an of this sin-cursed and sorrow-stricken aged and dependent mother, etc. world, and chaos is once more displaced by cosmos. -Dr. Barnardo, the English phi- lanthropist, has now the largest fami· ly in the world cared for by anyone man. It numbers 2,233.
PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS-MONTHLY BULLETIN
VI.-PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONS- MONTHLY BULLETIN.
A.frica.-Bishop Taylor's advance advance of those of the preceding party have at last reached the goal year for the corresponding period, ~ in the depths of Africa toward which which amount about $30,000 was from he has so long been struggling. Be- donations and $48,000 from legacies. fore his pioneer band of missionaries started the bishop declared his inten- -The French Government and Mistion to plant stations among the sions. Rev. John Jones, a leading tribes along the Upper Kassai and its missionary of the London Missionary tributaries. Toward this region his Society, has been expelled from the chain of stations has been steadily Loyalty Islands by the French Govlengthening. Dr. Harrison, one of ernment. The directors of the sothe party that the bishop led up the ciety have given to the press the de- Congo in July last, has reached Lu- tails of the outrage from Mr. Jones's luaburg, the new station of the Congo own pen, and now pnblish them in State. He is one of the two phy- their own periodical, The Chronicle, sicians who have followed the bishop for March: to Africa, and he is now established among the natives. These Balubas .. Mr. Jones has been summoned home by are among the most remarkable sav- telegram to meet the Board, whose future ages in the world.-The Christian. action will be determined upon after his arrival. In the mean time, suffice it to say -Dr. Elmslie, an American mis- that they sympathize deeply with their sionary, who has been stationed for missionary in the wrong he has sustained, some time among the Zulus west of and regard him as the subject of harsh and Lake Nyassa, has sent home the first unjust treatment. He has been expelled book printed in Nbungoni language. not so much on account of his Protestant- The book was issued from the press ism, as on that of known friendliness to the of a neighboring mission station islanders, and as being a sturdy representacalled Blantyre. It contains the tive of earnest British Christianity, a type Decalogue, passages from the Psalms, of man the French Colonial Office is not Proverbs and the Gospels, with four- partial to." teen hymns. Much is expected from the book, as the Nbungoni language India.-They write from Kolapoor is intelligible to a large number of that it is wonderful the joy the nathe tribes. tive Christians show at seeing the Wilders, mother and daughter, after -The Royal Niger Company has an ab~ence of thirteen years, and that determined to impose a tax of fifty Miss Grace talks Mahratta (or Maraper cent. upon all spirituous liquors thi) "like a native." landed within its territories. Total prohibition is impossible, as the river -The Lutheran Missionaries in is free to all hade under the Berlin South India have long had a German Treaty; but this tax will limit the synod, but in June, 1887, their first supply. The company has been en- Tamil synod met, composed of deledeavoring to induce the government gates of the churches (which have to negotiate with other powers for hitherto had a very loose connection a uniform duty on spirits all along with each other), of all the native the West African coast for :!,500 miles. ministers, and of three missionaries, together with the Senior of the mis- -American Board. For the first sion. The synod is to meet triensix months of the financial year the nially. Tanjore, as being the most total receipts were about $78,000 in central station, was chosen as the first place of meeting.
-July I, 1883, was the bicentennial anniversary of the missionary Ziegenbalg, the first foreign missionary of whom no fewer than 115,361 were of the Lutheran Church. It was in Ninnahassa, or Celebes, the whole therefore resol ved to build a hand- population of that island being 138,- some memorial church at Shiali, on 026. In Dutch Timor there are 33,015 the southeastern coast of India, some nominal Christians, with only one six leagues south of Tranquebar. government helper and no mil.sion- 'l"his was dedicated last July. ary. The Dutch Government has no objection to missionaries of other na- -The North India Methodist Con- tionalities working, as the Germans ference met at Cawupore on the 4th do, in its possessions; and the Rev. of January. The reports presented J. B. Cook of Singapore, who sends were full of encouragement. The us the above information, is very native Christian community now urgent that British Christians should connected with the conference num- come to the help of these multitudes bers 9,226, of whom 5,675 are adults. of Mohammedans and heathen. There has been an accession during the year of 832 adults by baptism. Of -Commercial Value of Missions. these 27 were from Mohammedanism, Take the following figures, vouched the rest from Hinduism. Inquirers for by competent authority: The are not reported, yet the~e are so nu- commerce of the United States with merous that' if the missionaries de- the Sandwich Islands alone in 1870 sired only to swell their numbers, was $4,400,426, while in the same 2,000 persons could be baptized at year the whole amount expended in once. One native preacher, the Rey. foreign missions by all denominations Philemon, ordained by Bishop Ninde in this country was $1,633,801. "The a year ago, has since baptized 211 cost of the Sandwich Islands mispersons. The conference greatly sions," says Dr. Andel'son, "up to needs a staff of goo'd colporteurs. 1869-that is, for fifty years, and dur- There are 23,913 scholars in the ing the whole period of its dependschools.-Indian TVitness. ence on the Board-was $1,220,000. The profits of our trade with the -Netherlands India, that is, the Sandwich Islands for 1871 was $660,- India under Dutch rule, possesses a 964-more than half of all that was popUlation of 27,000,000. It stretches expended on the mission during fifty from Atcheen, in Sumatra, to New years." Guinea. Among these 27,000,000 there labor 70 missionaries, 36 of -Pope's Jubilee. The gifts to Pope whom are Dutch, the rest being Ger- Leo, at the late Jubilee, exceeded mans, principally from Barmen, and $10,000,000 in articles of value, besubsidized by the society at Amster- sides as much more in cash. The dam. Besides these there are 24 United States outstripped every other "helpers," who are in government country, and no greeting was perpay and labor only among the nom- haps more cordial than that of the inal Christians. These 94 agents (in- New York Independent! cluding helpers) are distributed as follows: In Jaya, 24; in Sumatra, Madagascar.-Rum! The British 19; in Mias, 5; in Borneo, 7; in Weekly says: "Rum and the gospel" Celebes, 11 ; in Sumba, 1; in Timor, have reached Madagascar in the 1; in Rotti, 1; in Wetter, 1 ; in Buru, same boat. The official Chronicle of 1 ; in Ceram, 2; in New Guinea, 5; the London Missionary Society, in in Gilolo, 2; in Sangi, 3; in Talan, 2 ; announcing the safe arrival of the in Saparina, 2; in Amboyna, 4; in Rev. A. G. Shaw and Mrs. Shaw at Ternati, 1; in Letti, 1; in Harnku, 1. Tamatave, and the hearty welcome given to them by their old friends, -According to the Census (1885- adds that they shortly afterward left 86) there were in Neth. India Malay- in the coasting vessel which had an race native Christians, 235,070, taken them across from Mauritius. It "was partly laden with rum, the Syria. – The good tidings come stench of which filled it from stem to from Syria that the late attempt of stern, and accommodation on board the Turkish authorities to force was of the most meager description." new and intolerant restrictions upon the cause of Christian education has Persia. – The Persian mi~sions been earnesly resisted by the diplohave been more richly blessed during matic representatives of the different the past year than ever before, both powers, that it has utterly failed and in the accessions to their churches has finally been withdrawn. and in the general prosperity of their work, while as to opportunities for -The Y. M. C. A. in Evangelization. the extension of the .work they seem Mr. L. D. Wishard is about to underliterally without limit. take a tour of the world in the in- terests of the Y. IV!. C. A. Eighteen -Reformed Dutch Missions. The associations are now established on treasury of the Reformed (Dutch) foreign missionary soil-Japan, Tur- Board of Foreign Missions is becom- key, India, China, Persia and Ceylon. ing seriously burdened. It is main- There are 300,000 in India speaking tained at present by the use of the English, and 60,000 Christian young credit of individuals. The receipts of men, and 100 government schools October were twice those of October, from which the Christian religion is 1&86. Since that statement such a excluded, but where the undenomidecline of income has occurred as to national Y. M. C. A. could enter. cause increasing anxiety. The receipts of December, usually a fmiHul -The Eleventh Triennial Meeting month, were much below those of re- of the Young Men's Christian Assocent years. ciations of all lands is to be held in Stockholm August 15 -19. A spe- South America.-The William Tay- cial rate has been secured to Lonlor Transit Fund and Building Fund don and return by the new steamer Society has a self-supporting work City of Berlin. of the Inman line, in South America, begun eight years sailing from New York July 21; ago, embracing four well-established the return tickets are available from missions in Chili and property in Antwerp by the Red Star line, as churches, parsonages and schools well as by the Inman line steamers worth about $100,000. There are in- from Liverpool. Special rates becipient church organizations, one tween London and Stockholm. with a membership of thirty-six, and Friends in England extend an invithere have been about 3,000 pupils in tation to a special steamer trip along the~e schools, with from 600 to 1,000 the Norwegian coast before the meetchildren under tuition now. The ing. There will be a trip provided schools are patronized by the most which will include all expenses of influential classes, from the Presi- the journey from New York back to dent of the republic down. There New York, covering about seven are also stations in Brazil. These weeks, the cost of which will be foundations, say the officers of the $300. Particulars can be obtained society, have been built up largely from Geo. A. Hall, State Secretary within the quadrennium now closing, Y. 11. C. A., Twenty-third street and and more missionaries and larger Fourth avenue, New York. premises are called for. Zenanas.-The needle of a mission- -Spanish Armada. In May next it ary's wife was the instrument God will be 300 years since the" invincible used to give access to Oriental zenaar-mada" met with the beginning of nas. A piece of embroidery wrought those disasters which terminated but by her deft fingers found its way to with its destruction, and it has been the secluded inmates of a zenana. If proposed in England properly to cele- a woman could do such work as that brate the anniversary.
STATISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS
other women could learn under her gaged; four normal schools with 123 instruction; and so, with the cordial pupillil, and lil3 other schools with consent of the husband, this Chris- 5,411 scholars. Last year 2,364 zetian woman was welcomed to the in- nanas were regularly visited. Finanside of his home; and as she taught cially it received 19,497 rupees in his wife the art of embroidery she government grants, 7,916 rupees in was working the" scarletdyed in the fees, and 18,953 rupees locally subblood of the Lamb" into the more del- scribed. Its home receipts during icate fabric of their hearts and lives. the year amounted to $118,185. Of 14 missionaries recently sent out by -The Church of England Zenana the society, 3 were self-supporting, 4 Society is the most enterprising soci- draw no salary, 2 have their salaries ety of its kind probably in the world. plid by their friends, and 5 only are It has 88 missionaries, with 445 Bible chargeable to the. society. women and other ageIts locally en- VII.-STATISTICS OF THE WORLD'S MISSIONS.
The Comparative Cost of War and The English army has now under of Missions. Dr. Fed. Garlanda, in arms 218,569 men, with 22,242 horses, an unusually able article, has recent- and 624 guns. The navy is equal to ly measured the military strength of the combined navies of France, Ger- Europe at the dawn of 1888. many and Austro- Hungary, em- The Italian standing army presents bracing about 700 ships.
a total of over 871,000, of whom over The Russian Empire could bring 250,000 are in actual service, and into the field over 2,500,000 troops, 17,800 officers; the milizia mobile and and a navy of over 300 ships. Tur- the milizia territoriale being added key and Spain could muster over to the others, we have a grand total 1,000,000 more, and 200 vessels. In of 32,248 officers and 2,475,533 men. other words; the combined armies of The navy includes 235 ships. Europe could bring into the field The French army can in case of over 16,000,000 men and cover the war summon to her aid over 2,000,000 waters with 1,400 vessels of war, men and a navy of over 400 s4ips. many of them of the most destruc- Her yearly expediture on navy alone tive sort.
is $46,000,000. The total annual expenditure for The land forces of the German Em- the war and navy departments of pire consist in time of peace of 19,264 these governments is said to reach officers, 468,409 men, with 84,091 the enormous sum of $906,000,000.
horses. The artillery has 364 batter- These' governments are also im- ies, 47 of which have six pieces each, mensely in debt, yet the political sit- and 317 have four. In time of war uation is such as to require increased those 317 batteries have also six – armaments. They cannot go to war pieQes, bringing up the total to 2.184 because they have not the financial guns. In case of war Germany can credit to extend their indebtedness.
muster 1,753,000 men of the standing The total annual interest upon Eu- army and 993,000 men of the Land- ropean indebtedness is about $1,070,- wehr. The Landsturm numbers 000,000. Hence the people are bur- 3,955,000 men. Altogether about dened with high taxes.
6,000,000 men. Bel' navy contains All this it costs simply to .be pre- about 200 ships. pared for international conflicts in The Austro-Hungarian Empire can Em·ope.
command nearly 44,000 officers and Now look at the cost of actually 1,533,296 men, with 207,034 horses, carrying on the Lord's war for hu- and a navy of 106 ships. man redemption by the universal church I We have put into the en- tire church of Christendom can mustire foreign field, including men, wo- tel' in men and money for the Lord's men and native helpel'S, considerably war of the ages! less than 50,000 laborers, and we ex- How would these figures be changed pend about $10,000,000 yearly;. so if the Christian church should but apthat Europe alone has 333 times as preciate her opportunity and her remany soldiel's, and spends 900 times sponsihility-the perils and possihilas many dollars each year as the en- ities of the critical hour of history!
—- Women's Foreign Missionary Societies.
[THE first in the field was the Woman's Union MissionarY Society, organized in the City of New York in J annary, 1861. In 1885 more than twenty foreign missionary societies of ladies exi~ted in the United States. The following table we copy from Dr. Dorchester's" Christianity in the Uuited States," showing that over eight and a half millions of dollars have been raised by these women's societies in this brief period of time.-Ens.] ·C.; 1 .0.0,00 " , ' "• ~~'''':"": '0'" . …. 00:.:$:: FROM REpORTS FOR 1885. .; – -.~ :"".0..,''0 "'-0" ~ ,-:011 0 .. '0 ~ 0 ~ -< . —— " .. l A~"'bat~ I'< -1.'<~-.". -w"- – – – Union Missionary Society.. . … ………….. …. •. .. .. 1861 521 141 49… . 78: 2,881 Congregational Board ………………………….. " 186~ 1201 97 98 98 2C9 ….. .. .. " o f Interior ……………….. " 1868 1,275 …… 43 35 58 …… . .. of Pacific ………………… " 1873 50 25 4 .. .. …… . ….. . Methodist Episcopal Church Woman's Board…… . . . . ]869 3,&70· . . . . . . 59 225 2C3 5,772 .. .. .. South, Woman's Board. " ]878 ],406 514 ]6 6 21 522 Protestant Church Woman's Board ……. " ]879 ]02 20 2 ] 1 47 Presbyterian Woman's Board…………………….. 1870 1,327 1,2131124]02 152 …… . .. of the Northwest…….. 1870 1,506 …… 6] 4~ 98 …… . " h 102 113 7 15 31 53 of Northern New York .. 187~ 489 259 34 62 47 …… . of New York City ……. 1870 294 ….. . ]4.. .. •………. . of the Southwest …… " ]877 1,189 528 27 57 109 4,049 Baptist Woman's Board…………………………. 1870 ],363 327 25 107 147 1666 .. . ", .. of the West ……………….. 1871 Southern Presbyterian Cburch Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. …… 369 …. " …. …. …… . .. : .. .
United Presbyterian Church of North America Board.. …… 4691 ………………..•…… Cumberland Presbyterian Church Board ………. , .. " 1879 589 …… …. …. . ……….. . Reformed Presbyterian Board ………………….. " …… ….. . …… …. …. …… . ….. . Friends' Foreign Missionary Society… ……………. 1881 9 …………………….. . Reformed (Dutch) Church Board …… " ………… " 1875 190,1…………………….. . Protestant Episcopal Church Board…………….. '" 1871 43 …………………….. . Free Baptist Foreign Mission Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ]873 ]93 49 7"… ……….. . Mite Society of African Methodist Episcopal Chnrch. " ….. . United Brethren Board ………………………….. 1875 ·· ..S03 ….861 …6 '''9 ….. i; …. iii; Disciples' Foreign Missionary Society…… .. ………. …… 454 5:1 .. .. ….. .. . .11.1………. …. Lntheran General Synod…………………………. 1870 302 29: 2 20 Total of 26 Women's Missionary Boards ……… ~ 15,8663,4541 578 785 1,1421 ]5,165 TOTAL REQEIPTS OF WOMEN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY BOARDS.
Woman's Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1861 $119.827 $473.221 $246.687' $1,026,239 Congregational, East. . . . . . . … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1868 20,495 688,134 841,78] ],550.410 Congregational, West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1868 ]69,364 276,446 450,903 Methodist Episcopal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1869 505,246 Presbyterian, Philadelphia. .. .. …•………….. 1870 567,394 1,066,338 1,661,585 Presbyterian, New York City………………… 1870 166,194 692,765 ],250,]65 Presbyterian, Northwest…… ………………. 1870 207,560 208,771 374,966 Presbyterian, Albany and Troy…………. , .. . . .. ]872 45,341 371,005 578,565 Baptist, East ……………•…………………. 1870 281,100 1)5,165 100,506 Baptist, West………………………………. 1871 104,841 378,753 659,863 Protestant Episcopal. .. '" …. .. …….. …….. .. 1871 67,278 160,191 244,031 Reformed (Dutch) Chnrch… …………•……… 1875 35,869 115,005 182,283 United Brethren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1875 15,000 119,6!H ]54,972 Methodist Episcopal, South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1878 20,319 69,755 84,755 232,144 25.!,463 Total ……….. i……… …………….. …… $140,322 $3,436,361 $4,884,419 $8,57],706 NOTE.-There are I1bout a dozen other woman's boards very recently organized, a statement of whose receipts we have been unable to obtain. Most of the above receipts are included in those of the various denominational boards, but not all.
* In a few instances the receipts are limited at ]885, and in a few others ]887 are included.
g StatistilSs of Missions and Missionary Work in Japan for the Year
THill following table is condensed from one prepared by Rev. Henry Loomis, agent of the American Bible Society at Yokohama. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Mission declined to give statistics, and the figures for this society are partly approximate. In the column for contributious the yen is equal to 75 cents gold. Two columns, for which we cannot make room, giving statistics of churches wholly or partly self·supporting, show that of the 41 connected with the American Boartl33 are wholly, and the remainiug 8 are partially self-supporting. The progress of the past year, as indicated by this table, is most cheering. "' "". . . . ~',…;.. .~8;; w ".',"151£ .~ ,,; .t:.f3 Q).f, " ., . … ,;0 .~ ~ ~~~ w,; 0 '" NC)~ .,,,; .~~ 'a~ 't:IooaJ oW 1-<-;; ~ ~g ., s .. "" ~~.~;::S~-·OJ'off.i.'~"~ "-" .~ I-< '~d .~_.Sc ~~ ~:§ ~ .~ 00 p"~'~S ~ ~-5 MISSIONS. i; I-< ;.S~ .c bll., '"8"~-'"g .~…,. c:::1 I~U .,.~ E-o"< '''' 0-" .P-=I – – ::":a .9"" uz l – – – – ~ -"- """""" —- — – – —- -I><- – :::a-;~ :a1lj ~~~ i:il~.~ 0 " ,,~ 0 0 Z".~ – – – – 00 -,,'" 0""0 .0..0. Eo< —',– ~ -~- en American Preshyterian Church ………………….•………….. 18:)9 14 21 85 ts 6 85 Reformed Church in America ….•……………………………. 18.';9 10 4 14 8 19 Union Presbyterian Church of Scotland ……………………….. 1874 8 United Church of Christ in Japan (Native) ……………………. 8 1 6 I 1,688 6,859 I 3 I 44 I 34 I 48 I 18,553 "A Reformed Church in the United States………………………… 1879 4 1 5 I 8 10 ~ Presbyterian Church in the United States ……………………… 1885 4 2 6 2 5 Woman's Union Missionary Society ………………………….. 1871 ~ ·s 5 5 1 2 J7 454 15 700 2 408 1,085 CAummebriecralnanPdroPtreesstbayntteEripainscCohpualrcChh.u.r.c.h..*……………………………………………… 1877 11 4 7 2 21 11 88 1 1 2 4i 1859 4 15 207 Church Missionary Societ.v. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1869 2 11 5 12 19 222 880 1 19 3 7 1,209 I'iI Society for Propagation of Gos'El ……………………………. 1873 9 200 ~ 7 1 8 2 2 bOO 300 Eo< Society for Promoting Female ducation …………………….. 1877 ·s 2 2 1 ·2ij 1 10 8 20 745 American Bapti,t Church …………………………………… ]860 6 22 10 715 ~ English Baptist Church ……………………………………… 1879 2 7 15 33 1 4 3,166 3 1 11 2 20 140 1 1 57 1 7 Disciples ………………………………………………….. 1883 2 2 5 1 6 16 .i 00 Christian Church ………….•……….•…………………….. 1887 1 1 2 ·i 868 5,65·) ·6 4 t 15 A.B.C. F. M ……………………….••.•………………….. 1869 1 49 1 100 1 25 15 t 12,769 0…. 28 8 102 41 64 21 845 2 700 eEon< Independent Native Churches ……………………………….. 2 t ~70 355 American Methodist Episcopal Church ..•…………………….. 1873 jiJ 4i 2,a5~ 87 23 32 3,395 -rE"w<<o"< Canada Methodist Church. .. . ………………………………. 1873 15 33 11 46 109 2 15 5 12 Evangelical Association of North America. . ………•………….. 1876 9 15 3 25 12 64 1,012 1 t 1,500 Protestant Methodist Church ….. ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. … . ……….. 1880 3 6 4 1 64 250 3 1 2 ·i 4 30 177 1 6 4 4 7 75 2 125 1 2 43 American Methodist Episcopal Church (Sonth) …….•…………. 1886 5 6 4 1 3 76 ·i 4 85 3 37 Gen. Evan~elical Protestant (German SwiSS) ………………….. 1885 2 2 1 1 :;'5 5 17 Society of riends, America ………….•….•………………… 1885 1 11 Unitarian Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. 1887 1 148 1 1 — — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Total, 1887 ……………….•………•.••……………… 128 — – – – – – – – – – – – – Total, 1886 ……………………………………………. 216 102 19) 41,511 103 253 69 -316- -221- -5-,020- -19-,829- 14 S.S — — — 169 98 166 26,866 215 50 211 193 3,640 14,815 11 – – – – – …. 1 i Increase, 1887………..•……………………………… …. 20 18 38 19 105 28 1,380 5,014 3 47 9 ' 25 14,705 .-< • Statistics to June 1. t Approximate. -Missionary Herald.
Episoopal Mission in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Vicinity
~ A HALF OENTURY of mission work in South America was closed in 1887. It was begun by no less a man" than John Dempster, followed in successiou by William H. Norris, Dallas D. Lore, Goldsmith D. Carrow, William Goodfellow, and Henry G. Jackson, all men who had made their mark in the service of the church at home before coming to South America, and who proved after their return, by still more eminent services and successes, that it was no fault of the workers that the work in South America did not meet Impatient expectations. The difficulty was in the field, and not in the men. Not till 1882, when the mission was reinforced and backed up by a pollcy of aggressive evangelization, were there satisfactory results secured. The work of 1886-87 prospered all along the line. We give 'the statistics of the mission for 1887, for which we are indebted to the (Iogpel tn all Lands, which gives an interesting history of the mission.-EDs.
J ~ ~ Q1 5 ai: STA.TISTIOS OF THE MISSION, 'g -0 fn ~ ~~ ~ ~~ W~ ~ g~ -o trn5~a~dl ·~Wg~.8'0>~ ~ ~ ~ ~.E ~ ~ ~ '8 ~ • • ~~ -a• . -~~. (J,) -0 a~. '~~- i ~ ~& @9 !ll a t rB 0 e~,Q g 1=3 ~ ~i ~ ~ .'~;I..0~… ';:::.. ~ ~ ,g 8 :w; ~ g3 U '~" • ,.gr!i "d (J ,g ..t:I ab~r~7o .:s.=~. "'" ]. –.: Q1 CD .~0 . ~g ~CD f ~"'" :. '0 -§ § 'Q -0 Q. ~~Q;> ~ -~§ ..0 5·…. • A. Q;l rn. • rn CD 'tj :: CD >'l r~ .~~ ~~l ~ ~ i ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ i J~ ~ j j j ~ ~ ; ~ ~<~ ~~ ~ ~ -~ge:-§;2m §!ONOI] = S §! $ e::t .——I~i'.0:T0.•l~:~.rn~,:i~Trn.".l~.~~0."~.-0~t=+~.""'~0~"~:~..t.'=:".". -~ .0~'" :.~Q=al:iI_dcd….j.=;P~'>4,:Q~SQ,:) .,~:0~3~I''§.r~=0tl::'~~t-,:I,'.:;~~t:~~o: ~~'00Q~..) &'~.00~ii~'00J.~"'.d00~~~~~I0>~.J ~,~C~0~.: ~,~~I0~::J.. ~-~00""-':500;=::l"~('fl0= -~Q~'I~-~.0•EPc0F~:"-i.E,..(I~~l.)~.sr":i"C.f,l.l..gS0. 1887. -S.; ~ '~~~O- _~~~ ~~ ~~'~~8 "gg ~ CD ~ :=1:=1 W :=I 1]-0 b ~ ~. := I'o:s: , , 0~ 00 0 0 0 Q1 Montevideo and its Depen- I> 00 00 0 '"Sl "" ,'" ;,,+01.. '" .. ..,.1 ,I ",",,' ",~, ,,~, dencles…………….. . fa "",700' '" "" n ,., ,; m,,, …" …. .,,' _ …. ~ Buenos Ayres and its Depen- dencies ……………. .. 2121 I 2121111111 .• /4122112751 2,100/ .• 1 761··1 .. 1··181 815181 5051·.121 46,0001 6111 16,000/ .·.·1 3801 101 6,6861 1,6001 1,006 Rosario and its Dependen- 11 11 2 I 8 I 21 81 6181141 861158/ 2,6501 21182 .. 1.. 1.. 151 3371141 4051191 21 9,000113 ,.. …. ,$14,0001 631 651 2,2391 8,BOOI 64Il 'I' cies ……………….. .
Total ………………. I 51 51 2 1 82 1 8137/531 31281 546 724 7.450/ 8 3041 11 lil0134 2.1321371 1,740119 5:$64,000/ 32 I 21$16,500:$14,000/ $626/ $86/$9,4721$5,8581$8,213 Last report (1885) ..•.•.•• ~I~I~I':'I~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 46: 4'5~ ~ 185'~ ~ ~I~ 1,204 ~ 1'6041~ ~ 64,O~ ~ ~ 16,000 14,000 ~1~ 444 5,753/2.991 2,950 15 Increase in two years … 1 1 .. 10 819 .. 9 109 262 2,950 4 119 .. " 21,2 928 5 136 12.. •… 1 1 $500 ~ …. $"0' .. $3,7191$2,867 $268 1 ~,
! Reoeipts of the Poreign Missionary Societies of the United States from the Origin of Eaoh.*
SOCIETIES. !S10 to 1820 to 1830 to 1840 to I 1850 to 1860 to 1870 to 1881 to Total: 1810 1819. 1829. 1839. 1849. 1869. IfSO.t 1887.+ to 1887. 1859. —– .——— .American Board C. F. M……….. $162,430 $664,247 $1,684,751 $2,550,277 $3,140,811 $4,519,112 $5,243,137 $4,488,112 $22,452,877 .American Baptist Missionary Union 43,780 81,471 591,230 769,265 1,061,608 1,429,149 2,753,977 2,327,239 9,057,719 Methodist Episcopal. . ………… …. . ….. 195,403 330,213 785,357 1,505,550 3,773,887 2,756,251 9,346,661 Protestant Episcopal …………… … .. …. 227,816 309,026 559,435 709,200 1,270,731 916,246 3,992,454 <Ii Presbyterian Board i …………… … .. …. 186,639 784,750 1,772,873 2,372,552 4,885,241 4,744,533 14,746,588 …. ……. 65,886 276,263 238,365 404,428 472,411 1,457,353 ~ Southern Baptist ……………… ….. …. .American Foreign Church Union 0 ••••• 246,505 608,424 829,164 518,613 129,625 2,404,331 w. …. (chiefly foreign) !' … '" •…….. Sl Reformed Church (Duteh) with .A. w. B. C. F. M. until 1857……….. ….. …….. · ….. 20,000 41,111 568,424 701,576 413.2[10 1,724,401 ~;j Evangelical Lutheran 'IT •.•••••••••. ….. · ….. 35,000 80,000 165,000 257;089 557,089 ~ Evangelical .Association ………… ' … . …. · ….. 12,000 30,000 62,000 145,000 85,000 334,000 United Brethren……………….. ….. ….. · ….. 44,402 161,101 345,150 200,000 750,653 …. ….. . United Presbyterian……………. … " . …. I>l Southern Presbyterian …………. …. · ….. · ….. . ….. 400,331 609,298 616,610 1,626,239 · ….. 54,767 483,174 498,570 1,033,511 0 ••••• · …..
E=o=! Reformed Presbyterian …………. .. .. …. · ….. · ….. · ….. · ….. 92,732 9Po,000 185,732 . ….. . ….. · ….. S Disciples ……………………… ….. , … . ….. · ….. · ….. 33,177 185,565 218,742 Free-Will Baptist………………. 0 ••••• · ….. 126,000 466,362 w. Methodist Episcopal, South (partly . … .. … . …..
8 .. . . . . . . . . . . . -. -. . . – -.-…-.. 719,43~ 2,719,439 '$il,425, estimated… .. . . Ewo.! . . – -.' '"- – …… .. …. I …… ……
~ —-1—- – —- —– wEo.! Total ………………….. $206,210 $745,718 $2,885,839 $5,087,922i $8,427,284 $12,929,715 1211 $19,028,980 $73,074,151 NOt'E.-Add to the above $2,501,707, received by Woman's Foreign Missionary SOCieties, known not to have been inclnded in the receipts of the parent boards, and we have a total of $75,575,858. There are also some smaller boards which are not included, because the data cannot be obtained. Complete returns from 1881 to 1887 wonld make about 21,000,000, or an average of THREE MILLIONS annnaily• * In a few cases the earlier receipts have not been ascertained. t This period comprises eleven years.
:j: Several are for 1881 to 1886.
…., II For many years the New School Presbyterians contribnted to the American Board of Christian Foreign Missions, but not since 1870• -~ § Formerly more largely foreign than of late years.
,. Estimated by a leading official of that denomination. Since 1880 the figures include other Ln'theran bodies. '-])1'. Dorchester'8 "Ohristianity in the United States." SOCIETIES. 1820 to 1830 to 1840 to 1850 to 1860 to 1870 to lESl to I 1820 to 1829. 1839. 1849. 1859. 1869. lSSO.t 1887. 1887. —- —– – – – — – – – ——– $105,643 $860,599 $394,482 $1,012,281 $1,190,657 65,173 612,658 1,178,017 724,231 1,107,852 1,746,963 o Presbyterian, Old School Board………. Ameri"can New School Board…….. , }t$4,314,327 $3,666,186 $13,334,8 Home Missionary Society…… 2,847,210 11,586,8 1,975,878 3,119,584 Methodist Episcopal Domestic….. " ….. ·6.3.,0..1.0 390,806 660,426 1,576,714 3,011,100 2,907,635 2,505,848 11,164,5 9 ~ 108,184 320,613 463,204 754,507 1;827,724 1,187,904 4,762,1 6 Protestant" " ………… · ….. 1,103,~ 5 ..r~J…,l 453,097 517,690 133,158 American Church Missionary Society …. · ………. 31,661 64,297 139.490 202,534 308,516 217,143 963,e 42 Q · 243,444 441,762 1,149,161 2,330,585 2,256,656 6,556,1 42 Reformed Church (Dutch)…………… 134,534 172,128 254,914 689,796 378,234 !i1,112 421,249 430,766 3,743,113 American Baptist Home Mission.•……. · ….. 94,697 120,000 1,829,624 580,000 2,020,5 5 rJl · ….. · ……….. .4.8.,0.0.0. 693,291 Seamen's Friend Society t …………. , .. 88,804 248,000 258,279 3,257,567 9,302,e 5 ~.., American Missionary Association t……. 266,356 322,201 6,773,082 630,616 1,626,e 6 · Evangelical Association $i •.•..••••••…•• 908,000 495,020 650,078 494,225 · ….. 7,384,218 369,661 455,399 · ….. ·· ….. 27,714 84,410 457,633 1,598,5 United Brethren§ ………………….. · ….. 186,801 7,850,000 1,601,2 ~ ….. …… 117,728 2…0…9…,2…..8….7 410,500 Southern Baptist Domestic…… , …….. · ….. · ….. • •• 0.0 g 22,165,C o ::!l ………………………..' · ….. **893,918 1,372,7 Young Men's Christian Associations II .•.. • .0 ••• · ….. tt50ll,671 · Disciples …………………………… ….. · ….. ……….. H124,284 .. …… · ….. · … • •••• 0 .,0..••.•.•.• 296,890 853,B United Presbyterian Church…………. ,~ . ….. ~ · Southern Presbytedan Board ………… ·………. .0 . . 495,788 1,076,1 .0' .0' .o . .. . rJl'
Cumberland Presbyterian (last 9 years)… 184,734 394,C e: …… Free-Will Baptist…………………… …. • 0 •••• …… 103,900 373,8 · ….. ….. .' 1,061,495 4,061,4 …rJl 221,905 747,8 Meth. E. Church, South (estimated)…… rJl · Lutherans ………………………..'.. ·eO..' .'0 ..' …… o 951,403 .0 •• o ,r Freedmen's Aid Societies .. '~ ….. …… Methodist Episcopal ………………… .. …….. 1,845,3 …… …. .. Presby •• 0…. ….. • ….. United ….. , terian. . .. .. . … .. ………•… . . . – .. 703,356 1,207,0 Prpsby teri an . … " …………. , . – 0 ••••• 176,556 300,8 – – – – – —– – — Aggregate, …………………… $233,826 $2,342,712 $3,062,354 $8,080,109 $21,015,719 $21,272.154 $27,556,673 $100,019,3 NOTE.-The above is by no means a full exhibit. The Reformed Presbyterians, the Reformed German, the Moravian, the Protestant, ·Free Wesleyan and African * i Methodist chnrches, the Disciples, the Christians, the Adventist., and, in short, all denominations do much borne missionary work which cannot be tabulated in any form. * The earliest receipts of some boards cannot be ascertained.' t United in 1869, Chiefly domestic. § Estimated by a leading ofllcial. UIncluding Christian Commission. 'IJ The Freedmen's work of most churches is included with the Domestic Mission work, ** For thirteen years. tt For eleven years. tt For fourteeu II- ~ years. -Dr. ])()rchester's "Christianity in the Unitea;<itaie8."