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No. 30. — New Series.]

A CRAVE CRISIS.* FINANCIAL POSITION. rFHE year ending March 31st showed a deficiency of £33,215, which has so diminished the available reserves that unless immediate and substantial help is afforded by gifts or loans, the Society will be unable to pay its bills for current expenditure.

In response to the Treasurer's appeal £6,500 has been paid or promised towards the deficiency, and several friends have given, or lent, the Society £6,000 towards its capital fund. Thus the amount immediately required for working expenses is about £20,000. Besides which, to support the missionaries already in the field, and to provide necessary buildings, an increase of £20,000 upon last year's income will be needed.

PROGRESS OF THE LAST THREE YEARS.

The Forward Movement at home at once produced a Forward movement abroad, and in all parts of the field additional expenditure has been necessary to make existing work more adequate and efficient. Sixty-seven missionaries have been added to the roll. A steamer,

* This statement is now being issued, and may be had on application for general circulation. No time should be lost in bringing the Society's critical position before every section of its constituency. — Ed.

[Price One Peiwy.

whose need had been recognised for over twenty years, has been built at a cost of £17,000, and is just leaving for the South Seas. Towards its cost the young friends of the Society have raised £11,677, but as the New Year's Offering has for some years exceeded £6,000, the net gain on this account is only £5,000. There is little doubt of the balance being raised, but in the meantime large expenditure has to be met.

COST OF THE FORWARD JK0YEJKENT.

The experience of the past three years shows that this will exceed the original estimate. To complete the new hundred, by adding thirty-three more missionaries to the staff, will require a further annual income of about £20,000, making in all £40,000. The Directors believe that this addition can be made, and their knowledge of the golden opportunities abroad, and their sense of the needs of the heathen, make them long for its accom- plishment. There are men and women, well equipped for foreign service, already waiting for appointment, and the hundred might soon be completed.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

As the representatives of the churches, charged by them with the solemn commission of extending Christ's Kingdom abroad, the Directors again appeal to their constituency. They look to the churches for the means

JUNE, 1894.

130

SECRETARIAL NOTES.

June, 1894.

of maintaining the advance of the past three years, and for the further support necessary for sending out the remainder of the one hundred missionaries. The Directors would fain believe that the churches still mean to accomplish the task which they so enthusiastically undertook three years ago, and, believing its completion to be the most fitting celebration of the Centenary, have resolved to open forthwith a special Centenary Fund, for which they will be glad to receive special donations, subscriptions for two, three, four or five years, and promises of enlarged or fresh subscriptions.

It is now for the churches to decide what is to be done. The Directors do not feel justified in incurring further liabilities until the annual income is more in proportion to the annual expenditure, and until further funds are obtained they cannot provide the buildings necessary for their present staff.

A Missionary writes : " The possibilities of

GOING FORWARD ARE LIMITED BY THE MEANS OF GOING FORWARD. WE ARE NOT LIMITED IN OUR OPPORTUNITIES,

nor IN the Spirit of God, but in the spirit of the

CHURCHES TOWARDS US."

CENTENARY FUJ<D.

The Treasurer

Mr. Rowley Hill, J. P., Worcester Mr. John Whitley, J.P., Halifax

" Three Friends"

"C. A.S."

"Two Mstcrs," for current expenses o? For- ward Movement

"A Friend," Peckham

Mr. Alexander Hubbard, J.P

" Anido-Indlan"

Mr. Ullot Reed

Rev. H. Arnold Thomas, M.A

Mr. and Mrs. Grabam, Newport, Mon

" An Old Subscriber and his Wife "

Rev. Professor Aruiltage

Mr. Rabbits

" M. H."

Mr. R. F. Horton, M.A

Mr. J. H. Clark, Market Harborough ..

" Eromanga," Kotherham

Rev. Chas. Wilson, M.A

Mr. F. H. Hawkins, Wrexham

Mrs. Samuel Hebdltch

" A Friend," Dalkeith

Mr I. P. Werner

" Friends at Blackheath "

Rev. K. Wardlaw Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. Llddlard

" Friends at Hampstead "

Wlmborne Sunday-school

11 A Lady Friend "

Kev. Dr. Newman Hall

Dr. J. H. Gray

Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Sully

Kev. J. F. T. Hallowes, Birmingham . .

Misses McReand

Mr. W. W. Beare

Kev. Robert and Mrs. Balgarnie

"Madagascar"

Mr. W. B. Hayward

Sums under £10 (acknowledged on cover) .

Additional

Special Contributions, per the Treasurer,

towards the deficiency Do., do., on account of Centenary Fund

Donations.	Annual
	Subscriptions.
1,000 0 0
1,000 0 0
1,000 0 0
1.0C0 0 0
500 0 0
600 0 0
300 0 0
	100 0	0
250 0 0
100 0 0	.. 50 0	0
	60 0	0
100 0 0
100 0 0
	25 0	0
100 0 0
10 0 0	20 0	0
50 0 0
50 0 0
25 0 O
25 0 0
25 0 0
25 0 0
36 0 0
20 0 0
20 0 0
	20 o	0
20 0 0
10 10 0
10 10 0
10 O 0	.'. 10 0	0
10 0 0	10 0	0
10 0 0
10 0 0
11) 0 0
10 0 0
10 0 0
10 0 n
10 0 0
10 0 0
156 6 6	6 1	0
£G,522 5 6	.. £391 1	0
5,540 11 10
1,252 7 0	178 10	0
£13,324 4 4	.. £469 11	0

SECRETARIAL NOTES.

FROM THE HOME SECRETARY.

"Not satisfied but encouraged," I replied many times during our May meetings to friends who asked if I was satisfied, and such is my note on this Whit-Monday regarding the past week. No one can be satisfied till the debt is cleared off and the Forward Movement accomplished. We are encouraged by the hearty determination manifest at all the meetings to maintain and extend our present work. We have recognised the duty of going forward. It only remains to press on.

The Congregational Union has passed the following signi- ficant resolution : —

"That the assembly heartily rejoices in the commencement of the Forward Movement ; thanks God for the success already realised ; impresses upon the churches the duty of more liberal contributions to meet the imperative and rapidly-increasing demands of the work ; and with this view would urge the Directors immediately to initiate a Centenary Fund." The first two clauses necessitate the rest. If we rejoice in the beginning, we are pledged to the fulfilment ; if we thank God for success, we are bound to follow it up.

The Centenary Fund has been opened, and contributions and promises are coming in as reported elsewhere. Our great need is more liberal and more numerous contributions. Why should not all the churches be at once systematically canvassed ? There are but few that pat our work personally and individually before all their members and adherents. The enlargement of our constituency is the work before us ; and if it were seriously undertaken in all quarters, our present difficulties would be quickly surmounted.

We hear much of the depression in trade, and great losses of the past year or two. It may encourage some to know of the following expansion in spite of bad trade. A great Lancashire auxiliary has increased its contributions 50 per cent. A church in a Norfolk town has sent us more than for twenty-five years past, though it is engaged in raising £1,200 for a new place of worship. A church in Wales has risen from £3 or £4, its annual contribution for many years past, to nearly £40.

A Yorkshire correspondent writes : — " I am quite convinced that the Board has not jet undertaken nearly the extent of enlargement that is easily possible to the power in our people's hands if definitely laid hold of. Money is in plenty. All we need is the wit that is used every day in other affairs." In face of this and other testimony, let us not be discouraged. The wit we need is surely in the wisdom that God can give. Let us pray for that and the power of the Spirit, and let us see that we realise the truth of James' words — " the prayer of a righteous man availeth much in its working."

Arthor N Johnson,

Jone, 1894.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD.

131

FROM THE EDITORIAL SECRETARY.

The pressure of reports of meetings in connection with the Society's Anniversary has unfortunately excluded several of our usual items and a very interesting article: from the pen of Dr. Griffith John. These, though in type, must stand over until next month.

By an unfortunate lapsus calami on the first page of our May number, the right-hand column, the word Tamil was used instead of Telugu. The reading should be : " John Hay, the Telugu scholar."

Two more Centenary Leaflets have been published since our !a9t issue. There are now four of these, all of them being two- page leaflets, and published at Sd. a hundred. Their titles are as follows : —

" The Work Left Undone." By Mrs. Isabella Bishop, F.R.G.S.

'■ Tahitians and the Scriptures." From Ellis's " Polynesian Researches."

" Hinduism and the Brotherhood of Man." By Rev. D. Hutton, Mirzapur.

" No Saviour from Sin in Confucianism, Taoism, and Budd- hism." By Rev. George Owen, Peking.

" L.M.S. John Williams."— Special ribbons lettered thus have been prepared, and will be supplied, postage free, to any part of the United Kingdom, price Is. each. The ribbons are black or navy blue with gold lettering, and cream colour with blue letters. They will be ready about the middle of June, and those who order early will have the best chance of getting them, as the supply will be limited.

I have much pleasure i in calling the attention of the readers of the Chronicle to the second annual report of the Watchers' Band, which they will find inserted in this number. That report and the growth of the Band are highly encouraging ; but we can- not rest content with the progress made. There are still many auxiliaries in which no branch of the Watchers' Band as yet exists, and we trust that there will be a large extension during the coming year. George Cousins.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD.

Board Meeting, April 2Wi, 1894. — Mr. A. Hubbard, J.P., in the Chair. Number of Directors present, 64.

The Chairman of the Finance Committee presented the balance-sheet for the year ended March 31st, and it was adopted.

The portion of the list of Directors for the new year recom- mended by the Co-optation Committee, was approved. It in- cluded the appointment of the Rev. E. Herber Evans, D.D., as an Honorary Director.

The Board expressed its deep sympathy with the family circle so grievously bereaved by the sudden death of Mr. J. Walford Hart, of Chung King.

Mr. J. Cullen H. Reid was appointed to succeed the Rev. W. A. Elliott in Matabeleland.

The Foreign Secretary informed the Board that Mr. G. S. Goodwin, of Liverpool, who had prepared the plans and super- intended the building of Lthe new steamer, had given his time

and thought without any remuneration, and had borne all his out-of-pocket expenses. The following resolutions were there- upon unanimously adopted : —

" That the Directors of the London Missionary Society desire to express to Gilbert S. Goodwin, Esq., their very sincere thanks for the valuable services gratuitously rendered by him to the Society in connection with the construction of the new missionary steamer John Williams. They are well aware that the contribution thus given to the funds of the Society by Mr. Goodwin is one of very considerable amount, but they recognise that Mr. Goodwin has expended an amount of time, thought, and technical skill upon this work altogether out of propor- tion to the merely professional service he has rendered, and which cannot be estimated by any money value. They gladly accept this valuable service as an offering of love to the cause of Christ, and they congratulate Mr. Goodwin on the results of his skilful labours in the construction of a vessel of most attractive appearance, and so admirably adapted for the work for which she has been designed ; and they trust that he may be cheered by hearing glad tidings of the value of the services rendered for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ through many years by the vessel, to the construction of which he has devoted so much thought and care.

" That Mr. Goodwin be invited to become an Honorary Life Director of the Society.

"That the warm thanks of the Directors of the London Missionary Society be conveyed to the professional assistants of Gilbert S. Goodwin, Esq., and especially to Mr. Andrew Hamilton, for the ability, the cheerfulness, and the enthusiasm with which they have seconded Mr. Goodwin's labours as designer of the mission steamer John Williams."

Board Meeting, May 1st, 1894. — Mr. R. F. HoRTON, M.A., in the Chair. Number of Directors present, 52.

The Board welcomed the Rev. W. H. and Mrs. Campbell, from Cuddapah ; Rev. E. and Mrs. Lewis, from Bellary ; Miss Budden, from Almora ; Rev. R. M. Ross, from Amoy ; the Rev. A. A. and Mrs. Dignum, from Salem ; and they bade farewell to the Rev. D. P. Jones, returning to Central Africa, Mr. Jones being com- mended in prayer by the Rev. Edward White.

The Foreign Secretary read his draft report for the past year, which was adopted.

Board Meeting, May 7th, 1894. — Mr. R. F. Hobton, M.A., in the Chair. Number of Directors present, 90.

A report from the Special Committee appointed to consider the present financial crisis occasioned by the Forward Movement was presented, and the Board approved their recommendations as follows : — (I.) That the Centenary Fund be opened forth- with, and for two objects : increase of annual contributions and special gifts ; (II.) That further liabilities should not be in- curred by sending out additional missionaries in connection with the Forward Movement, until the annual income of the Society be more in proportion to its annual expenditure ; (III.) That until further funds be obtained no further outlay can be incurred for new buildings.

The list of representative Directors was approved for presenta- tion at the annual meeting of members. Mr. Blomfield and Mr. MacLaren, whose refusal to allow themselves to be re- elected the Board received with great regret, were unanimously eleoted Honorary Directors, and the Home Secretary waB asked to express t» Mr. MacLaren the gratitude of the Board for the many years' service he had rendered the Society especiallj in matters of finance.

Mr. A. Hamilton, Mr. Goodwin s Assistant Mr. Gilbert 6. Goodwin, Designer of the John Wiltlavts.

_ June, 1894.

IN MEM0R1AM.

133

THE DEBT UPON THE "JOHN WILLIAMS."

ON Friday, May 18th, the new vessel, the fourth of the same name, steamed down the Thames. She left Gravesend at half-past 3 o'clock the same afternoon, was quickly out in the Channel, where with a strong N.E. wind blowing she passed a " lively " night, dropped her pilot off Plymouth early on Sunday morning, May 20th, and is now speeding southwards to her headquarters in Australia. The John Williams awakened great enthu- siasm, and won golden opinions on her tour from port to port round the coast. Ship, captain, officers, and crew alike carry with them the good wishes and blessings of thousands, and will be followed with personal affection, intelligent sympathy, and earnest prayer by a very large circle of well-wishers.

The steamer was sorely needed. "Without such a con- necting bond the greatly-extended work in New Guinea, and the interdependence of that large heathen island and the Christianised islands of Eastern Polynesia, which are so nobly sending their children and giving their strength for its evangelisation, could no longer be efficiently maintained. No sailing ship could cope with the need in its present developed form. That conviction forces itself upon the minds of all who examine the circumstances. At the same time it is clear that the outlay involved in building her has added considerably to the Society's financial embarrassment. She cost in all

£17,055 18s.,

and is pronounced by competent judges to be cheap at the figure. But, unfortunately, she is not yet fully paid for, and part of the money spent in adequately providing for the Pacific has had to be, in a measure, taken from the Society's reserves, and cripples its power in meeting the claims of the Forward Movement.

A noble response to the appeal for funds has been made by the children and young people throughout the United Kingdom. The list of shareholders contains 26,200 names, the owners of which possess G 5,000 half-a-crown shares ; smaller sums being added, a total of

£11,677 Is. 4d.

was raised before March 31st, when the accounts for the year were closed, and a number of additional sums have been paid in since. This total is already more than £500 higher than the largest amount ever raised for our

missionary ships before. Still, it falls below the mark, and a balance of

£5,368 16s. 8d.

has yet to be found. This ought to be raised at once. Is it beyond the power of our young friends ? We think not, and for this reason : whilst many Sunday- schools have made splendid efforts to do not only their share, but even more than their share in the task of providing this vessel, there are many others who hitherto have done but little, or even nothing at all. Objec- tion to the use of the New Year Offering Cards, other interests, and, in not a few cases (as was pathetically told by superintendents and others, in reply to our appeal), the sad distress occasioned by the Coal "War, made it difficult, if not impossible, to do anything for the ship.

To all such we now appeal. "We ask for special collections in Sunday-schools, spread over a few weeks if thought desirable. We beg for contributions towards the

Clearing off of this Balance from the children in Christian homes, the scholars in Sunday-schools, members of Bible-classes, and Young People's Societies of Christian Endeavour, and others who have not yet taken part in the delightful task of providing this valuable aid to the evangelisation of the oceanic world. From Adults also Help is Solicited.

Many will heartily sympathise with the efforts which, by means of this ship, are being made to reclaim the islands still untouched from the barbarism, gross dark- ness, and degradation in which they have so long been sunk.

IN MEMORIAM.

IN the announcements of the month, the death of the Rev. J. Tait Scott is included. Mr. Scott's connection with the Society was but a brief one, but his interest in it and sympathy with it was strong and unbroken to the last. A member of the St. Paul's Evangelical Union Church, Aberdeen, and a student of Lancashire College, he offered his services to the Society, and was appointed to New Guinea in 1880. His station was Thursday Island, and, with characteristic energy, he threw himself into the work. But the climate was too much for his strength, and repeated attacks of malarial fever led him in 1882 to retire from the field. Returning home he became pastor of the Congrega- tional church at Lymington, Hants ; but the missionary spirit still burned brightly within him, and, as a pastor, a deputation of the Society, and a member of the Board of Directors, he let this constantly find earnest expression. We mourn the loss of a good man and true, and respectfully tender our sympathy to the bereaved widow, and also to the church deprived of its faithful leader and friend.

134

OUR ANNIVERSARY.

'June, 1894.

rpHE incidence of Whitsuntide rendered it desirable to make some alterations in the routine of the Society's annirersary this year. The anniversary week commenced on Saturday, May 5th, with the children's demonstration. The sermons on behalf of the Society were preached in most of the London Congregational churches on the following day instead of a week later, and, although it had been decided to abandon the usual young men's meeting in the City Temple on the Friday evening, it was afterwards arranged to devote that evening to wishing God-speed to the officers and crew of the John Williams and outgoing missionaries — a most fitting climax to a busy and happy week.

if. •

Although for many years the successive Jolm Williams ships have been regarded as peculiarly belonging to the young people, by virtue of the special efforts made by them to raise the needed funds, this is the first time their pro- prietary interest has been acknowledged in the form of such a pretentious document as a "shareholder's certificate." The idea was a happy inspiration, and has proved very

popular. At the Children's Demonstration, at Exeter Hall, on Saturday afternoon, May 5th, the subject of the new steamship was the one absorbing theme — especially in view of a speech from her much adored commander — so that the gathering may not inaptly be regarded as a " meeting of shareholders." The large hall was crowded in every part, and may also fairly be characterised, as a similar gathering on financial lines would be, as "a stormy meeting," with this distinction, that the stormy parts were the very natural demonstrations of delight at the efforts to entertain and instruct.

The Chairman (Mr. Arnold Pye Smith, of Croydon) was supported by the secretaries of the Society, and an unusually large muster of missionaries in representative costumes from different mission-fields — China, India, Mada- gascar, and the South Seas. After a hymn had been sung, and prayer offered by the Rev. Dr. McFarlane, the Chair- man made a few opening remarks, using as an illustration, and enforcing the lesson to the young people present, Dr. Berry's own account, as given in the May issue of the Young Man, of his first sermon, preached before his mother, sister, and friends, and his sister's dolls. At the close of that first service, when Dr. Berry was still wearing pinafores, a collection was made for the John Williams. The Chairman urged the children present to act up to the responsibilities resting upon them as children for whom many prayers had been offered that they might become " ministers of the Word."

The Rev. J. Stonehouse, formerly of Shanghai and now of Peking, said he had found the children of China at heart very much like the children of England, especially in the perception of anything good. Mr. Stonehouse described briefly some of the methods of travelling — by boat, wheel- barrow, and donkey, from which he had sometimes dis- mounted in a different way from that in which he had mounted the animal. The missionaries sought first to teach the children how to pray to " Our Father " instead of the vain

June, 1894.

OUR ANNIVERSARY.

185

repetition of " Buddha, Buddha, Buddha." Then they taught them to sing ; for, though the Chinese had a very sound theory of music, they could not sing naturally. The Rev. Jonathan Lees had provided some excellent hymns, and when they heard a Chinaman sing such a hymn as " Peace, perfect peace," it meant that he had been brought very near to God. In the third place, Mr. Stonehouse said the missionaries taught the Chinese that children were dear to -the Saviour, and he exhorted those present to pray for their heathen brothers and sisters.

At this point several foreign alphabets and parts of the multiplication table were repeated in Malagasy, Samoan, Hindi, and Tamil, by Revs. J. Pearse, A. E. Claxton, G. M. Bulloch, and M. Phillips respectively ; and Mrs. W. Owen sang a hymn in Chinese.

Mrs. H. T. Johnson, of Fianarantsoa, described some of the conditions of life in the Betsileo province of Madagascar, and the efforts being put forth to reach the children, 20,000 of whom are under instruction in the day-schools. When speaking of the entrances to native huts, Mrs. Johnson showed how, the richer a man was, the more difficult it was to get into his house. Several missionaries having sung native hymns, the Revs. F. E. Lawes, A. E. Claxton, and G. A. Harris anticipated what the natives on Niue, Samoa, and Mangaia will say when first they see the new steamer. The nearest equivalent to the Niuean was " Sail, O ! " The Samoans will express great wonder and astonishment, and pray that she may be very useful ; while the Mangaians will hail her with a great shout of gladness, and will be glad when they see again the face of " the old man." " What a wonder- ful man this captain is ! "

The Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A., called for a show of hands by shareholders, and mentioned, as an incentive to renewed efforts, that the Rev. G. A. Shaw had that week brought a contribution of £4 4s. 2d., from his people at Farafangana towards the new ship — one of the most gratifying contri- butions yet received.

Captain Turpie's introduction was the signal for a tremen- dous outburst of good feeling towards himself, and at last he had to shout out, " Silence on the main deck," in order to gain a hearing. He said that, as he had been required to wear a uniform, he thought that it was time the shareholders themselves wore " John Williams " ribbons round their hats instead of "Warrior," and such like names. At one meeting a Chinese missionary, who had waited for his turn to speak, had begged the audience to " give the captain his ship and let him go." Well, he had got it now, and did not want to go from London with a debt upon it. The natives on one of the islands had surrendered to a man-of-war after an ex- hibition of the electric search light, because " it's no use trying to hide from men who make daylight." With the aid of the new John Williams they were going to " make day- light " in the South Seas. After telling about the little " stow- away " from Hull, and referring to the many beautiful letters

he had received from young people who wanted to become missionaries, one of which had wound up with " Good-bye, with lots of kisses to last you a long time," Captain Turpie exhorted the children to pray for the ship, " and include me personally in your prayers."

The proceedings were brought to a close with a vote of thanks to the Chairman, and to Mr. L. Hinton and Mr. H. G. Holmes for kindly leading the singing.

PRAYER MEETING.

At the outset of the prayer-meeting at the Mission House, on the Monday morning, Mr. R. F. Horton, M.A., who presided, struck the key-note of thankfulness for all that God has enabled the Society to accomplish, so that the prayers might not betray a spirit of distress and disappoint- ment at the present difficulties of the Society. " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." No address was given, the whole time being given to praise and earnest supplication, and the meeting was prolonged half an hour beyond the usual time to give opportunity for specific prayer to God for the release of the Society from its present straitened position, and that it may speedily be " encompassed by songs of deliverance." It was felt that if the spirit generated at this meeting were maintained throughout the anniversary, this longed-for end might be reached before the close of the meetings.

m

• • ° >

a

The annual general meeting of the members of the Society was held in Falcon Square Chapel, on the afternoon of May 7th, Mr. R. F. Horton, M.A., presiding. After the singing of a hymn, and prayer by the Rev. A. H. Storrow, the Chairman referred to the shadow of gloom cast upon the proceedings, which, he maintained, had been brought about by the extraordinary blessing and success which God had given to the work of the Society. If they asked God to do great things for them, they necessarily meant that they asked Him to expect great things from them, and if He continued to answer their prayers it would increase their responsibilities, and bring them very low upon their knees in the sense of dependence upon Him. The gloom, therefore, was the natural outcome, the necessary result of answered prayer. They had asked God to widen the work of the Society, and while they had never expected it to be brought about without stress and strain, they did not now wish to shrink from whatever was entailed by the answer to their prayers. In his opinion the Board had made no mistake! nor had it in the least gone beyond the distinct command

136

OUR ANNIVERSARY.

June, 1894.

given. If it had not done |what it had it would have been brought before the bar of God, and it was much better to be brought before the bar of the Church than before that great Tribunal. The Directors acted in the spirit of obedience to God, and it was not the first time that a body of men in so acting had come under the severe censure of men who were supposed to be the children of God like themselves. The question to be decided during the present week was, whether the Forward Movement should be carried forward to its completion, or even maintained at the point it had already reached. God could very easily hand over the work of the Society to the Church Society, or any other Society that had faith and power to serve : but it was now a

by the Treasurer. In a footnote the auditors called the attention of the subscribers to the fact that the securities had been so seriously reduced of late that, unless increased subscriptions were speedily forthcoming, the amount of securities would not enable the Society to carry on its work during the ensuing year. Mr. Thompson called attention to the fact that the receipts of the Society from ordinary sources was slightly (some £2,500) below last year's. The New Year's Offering was £5,008 greater, and had reached a total of £11,677 Is. 4d., the whole of which had been de- voted to the new steamer, leaving the annual cost of main- taining the ships a charge upon the general funds. In addition to the fitting-out of the new vessel, the strike of

BALANCE SHEET (INCOME

i. Contributions :—

a. 'Subscriptions, Donations,

and Collections .. £97,80? 10 1

'Do., Colonial and Foreign

Auxiliaries .. .. 4,470 14 I Do., Mission Stations .. 1.031 4. I

f

Do., do., locally appropriated A. 'Legacies

*Do., Colonial and Foreign Auxiliaries

Do., for Special Objects

£8,9114	1 1
28	8 9
£1,820	7 2
• 1,815	IS 2

103,469 8 20,271 17

8,992 9 10 8,886 O 4

Income — s«No.Mbcio»> .. £141,860 15 7

3. Sale of Property in Demerara .. .. 174 2 u

4. Investments realised, oneccountof now ship 1,300 o o

Deficiency carried down

83,2 1 .'< l 2

£176,058 19 3

Additional contributions received to meet

Deficiency of Income •• 4,312 4 2

Balance against the Society .. 28.902 17 o

£33,215 1 2

*AND EXPENDITURE) 1893-4.

By -

1. Deliciency from last year

2. Expenditure:—

a. Payments by Treasurer in

London £128,688 17 ?

Do., Cost of New Ship 17,055 18 0

£145,589 15 7

b. Raised and appropriated at

Mission Stations .. 25,271 17

170,8l'.l 12 a

Deficiency brought down

£176,058 19 3

33,215 1 8

£33.215 1 ;

A

3&

fe — gefe ^jfefcg:

question whether the Congregational churches of Britain were to forego the privilege of being in the van of the great missionary movement. They needed to determine to strain every nerve to carry out in its entirety the great conclusion at which the Board had arrived.

In the absence of the Treasurer (Mr. Albert Spicer, M.P.), the Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson presented the balance- sheet, which we reproduce in facsimile. It shows a total income of £141,369 15s. 7d., and an expenditure (including £17,055 18s. for the new./o//>t Williams) of £170,861 12s. 8d. Adding to this the deficiency of £5,197 6s. 7d. from last year, there was a deficit of £.'53,215 Is. 2d., which, however, had been reduced to £28,902 17s. in response to a special appeal

joiners on the Clyde had involved the Society in £400 or £500 in maintaining the old John Williams for a time.

Mr. Thompson then proceeded to review the work abroad. He said that the outlook was wondrously encouraging to faith, and stimulating to Christian enthusiasm. There were open doors on every hand, and evidences of God's blessiDg on the work in which the Society was engaged. The dominating note in the reports from the mission stations was expectant hopefulness, produced by the unmistakable evidences everywhere of the working of God's Spirit. Within the past ten years the number of native ordained ministers had been increased from 383 to 1,476 ; other male native workers from 4,493 to 6,758 (apart from very great

June, 1894.

OUR ANNIVERSARY.

13?

additions to the female staff); church members from 89,359 to 94,192 ; and scholars in day-schools from 113,616 to 125,984 ; and this in the face of withdrawal from four Mission centres. The influence of the Forward Movement in the mission-field had become much more marked, and the change in the tone of the reports from some districts was as if some factory which had long been working half-time had suddenly waked up by a revival of trade to a new activity. There was a bustle and a briskness and a sense of zest in the work which had long been unknown, and there was a prospect of results which were undreamt of before. After referring to the new John Williams and Mr. Good- win's valuable and gratuitous services in connection there- with, the Foreign Secretary reported that though twenty- five new missionaries had been sent out during the year, the actual increase in the staff had only been ten, owing to the unusual number of deaths and retirements.

The Kev. H. Harries, M.A., of Clapton Park, moved that the balance-sheet and report be adopted and circulated, and in doing so he characterised the latter as an admirable report and an honest one. As to the Forward Movement, he felt that if ever any movement was from God, that movement was. He did not see how they could possibly turn ^backi ; they were bound to go on. It was the very richness [and readiness of the Divine response that were baffling their resources. The deficit was a challenge to their very sincerity, honesty, and generosity, and he felt sure that if | they went forth believing in God the churches would nobly respond.

Mr. J. H. Richards, of Leamington, in seconding the resolu- tion, observed that the difficulty in which the Society found itself was due to the attempt to do now what they ought to have done years and years ago.

The resolution was agreed to.

Mr. F. H. Hawkins, LL.B., of Wrexham, and the Rev. A. M. Carter, B.A., of Upminster, in proposing and seconding the re-appointment of the Treasurer and Secretaries, and the election of Directors, spoke in appreciative and sympathetic terms of the work of the executive officers.

The Rev. A. N. Johnson then introduced a discussion upon the present methods of raising funds. He said he would like to see an attempt made to raise £20,000 during the anniver- sary meetings. In addition to that the income of the Society must be raised to £20,000 more than was received last year. Very nearly all the Congregational churches throughout the country contributed to the Society's funds, but if they went a little deeper into the matter they would find that a great many of them were not organised for foreign missionary work, and it was to this matter that earnest attention must be given. The chief problem was how to extend the lists of subscribers throughout the churches. Were there any indeed that had yet come up to the ideal of missionary organisation by which he meant that every member of the church was in some form or other a regular subscriber to the funds of the

Society ? He maintained that there was not sufficient or- ganisation in this respect. There ought to be not merely quarterly or monthly, but weekly contributions. The needed increase was, roughly speaking, twenty per cent, upon present contributions.

The discussion was taken up by half a dozen gentlemen, who emphasised the need of simple organisation, and the necessity laid upon the ministers to take the lead. The Rev. J. F. T. Hallowes, M.A., as the last speaker, also urged that the missionaries when on deputation should become " sons of thunder," and should speak more emphatically than they had ever yet done on one important point, viz., that the churches were not doing their duty if they were not filled with the missionary spirit.

The proceedings were then brought to a close.

The Ladies' Meeting was this year held at Westminster Chapel, and was well attended. After the singing of a hymn, prayer by Mrs. H. K. Lewis, and a few introductory remarks by Miss Dawson, of Lancaster, who presided, Mrs E. D. Williams, of Southampton, read an admirable paper upon the special department of work which the meeting was intended to advocate. Woman's work in connection with the Society had its first distinct recognition, she said, in the year 1875, and perhaps no truer forward movement was ever initiated than this effort to reach women by women, and, through the influence of her gracious ministry, to undermine the cruel despotism and awful superstition of heathenism. The staff of lady missionaries numbered seventy-one, of whom thirteen had been added during the past year. Nearly every month the Ladies' Examination Committee were cheered by fresh offers of service from those who had proved them- selves able workers at home. But " the apathy of some churches," said Mrs. Williams, " not to say the iciness of some Christians in relation to their responsibilities in sending the Gospel to the heathen, is far more distressing than the open opposition of the world. That we can understand, but we cannot explain the secondary importance attached by many Christians to the work of foreign missions, or the relative popularity of every other agency for the reform of the world." Home and foreign missions had identity of interest and claim, for they ran on parallel lines. The en- thronement of Christ in the human heart was the only true

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antidote for the world's sin and suffering. Perhaps of all monopolies Christian monopolies were the worst, and the ex- clusive possession of Christ, whether personal or national, was as impossible as the retention of a snowball in the warm grasp of a living hand. The substitution of home charities and philanthropic organisation for the proclamation of the Gospel abroad was often one of the greatest hindrances. If they could only realise the necessity for absolute obedience to the Divine command, 1 Go ye,' the wilderness would soon blossom as the rose, and the coming Centenary would herald in a future of light and beauty hitherto unknown. The re- inforcement of some of the mission stations, and the opening up of new centres, had given fresh energy to the workers, who were simply breaking down from overstrain ; and if the financial resources of the Society were only equal to the opportunities God was giving them, they would at once enter into a heritage of blessing. ' The crisis has come. How shall we face it ? Shall it be retreat or advance ? ' "

Miss Miller, of Amoy, divided her speech into three parts, dealing in turn with the needs of her district, the work already being done, and the work waiting to be done. Christianity, she said, had brought new hope and joy into the lives of the women ; but there were many difficulties in the way of their professing Christ and embracing the oppor- tunities provided for the education of their daughters. The hospital was a very favourite institution among the Chinese — a boon which Christianity had brought to them. The story of Jesus and His love was quite a fresh story to them, and, in the telling of it, it came with renewed fresh- ness to the missionary. It was good to hear the Christian patients proudly speak up for the Master. Among the work waiting to be done was the establishment of more girls' schools, also a school for the training of Bible-women, and a women's hospital, with a lady doctor, for the district of Hui-an ; also agents to follow the hospital patients to their homes.

In the absence of Mrs. Chalmers, of New Guinea, through ill-health, Mrs. Lewis, of Bellary, spoke upon female mission work in South India. She said the idea that women were naturally perverse and wicked had taken such a hold upon the Hindu mind that it would take generations to remove it. Yet in the large towns and cities much was being done in this direction. There were large girls' schools, and thou- sands of ladies were taught in their own homes, and some even were taking academical degrees. Most of those who went in for the higher examinations were Christians. Though there was much that was good in the Hindu religion, Hinduism was idolatry, often of the grossest kind, as well as cruel and degrading. Even at the best, it was like telling a starving man that there was food in a distant place without telling him how he could get it, or like the finger-post which pointed the way, but did not help the weary traveller one step on the road. In many ways, and by every means in their power, the missionaries were trying to raise the women

of India to their proper place, but the women themselves were the chief obstacle.

Miss Dawson spoke of the pressing necessity for large support of the ever-growing work of the Society, saying that they had once more reached a point where " those in front cried ' Forward,' while those behind cried ' Back.' " Which of the two voices would be listened to and followed ? Was there not one young heart present who could say, " Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ' Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'" "Oh, if you do hear that voice, I beseech you," said Miss Dawson, " not to delay obedience until your application will meet with the sorrowful, dis- appointing response : ' Too old. You may send some one else, but it is of no use your attempting to go yourself ; you could not learn a language or do any good.' Rather let your joyous and immediate answer to the Lord's call be : ' Here am I, send me.' For surely His service, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and His own parting words : ' Unto the uttermost parts of the earth,' must be the aim and the un- ceasing stimulus of every true disciple." Miss Dawson made an earnest appeal for systematie self-denial on behalf of the work, and said that the "pinch of the shoe" must be felt if they were to have any great share in it.

Miss Marris, of Benares, tried to dissipate the idea so generally prevalent that the zenanas which the lady mission- aries visited were scenes of extraordinary luxury. Her experience was quite the contrary. It was exceedingly difficult to gain access to the houses of the wealthy meD, because they were intensely conservative. Though in many cases the women sought the help of the missionaries in order to learn to read and write — very often there was no means of communication between married daughters and their mothers except by letter- writing— it was always made per- fectly clear to them that the missionaries had come first and foremost to tell them of their need of a Saviour. But in some cases the women really desired to hear the message of the Gospel. The missionaries could rarely trace the effect of their work. There was an increased readiness to listen, far less attention to superstition, and a growing readiness to send children to school ; but the underground work they could not test, though at present Bhe (Miss Marris) believed that was very great, and on the increase.

At the close of the meeting auxiliary secretaries and treasurers met for tea in one of the vestries.

SERMON.

Before commencing his sermon at the City Temple on AVednesday morning, the Rev. J. Guinness Rogers, B.A., said he had never entered a pulpit with a deeper sense of overwhelming responsibility resting upon him, in view of the need of quickening the interest of ministers and churches at this critical missionary anniversary. After a few words

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of prayer, Mr. Rogers announced as his text, 2 Corinthians v. 13, 14. The situation depicted in this fifth chapter, and which the preacher graphically described in his own language, was, he said, an exact picture of present-day missionary work The Directors of the Society had a right, he thought, at the present juncture, to take up the words of the text: "For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God ; or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ con- straineth us." Though Festus was dead, the Festus spirit was not dead, and it had got into the churches. His (Mr. Rogers's) own impression was that in their conception of sin lay the explanation of many men's theology. It was only when they came to deal with theology that sin was regarded as a light thing. Sin was not a misfortune, but a radical evil in human nature. There should be a true conception regard- ing sin, and there should also be strong conviction as to the authority of the Bible. He feared that the churches needed a deeper, clearer, fuller, intenser faith in Jesus Christ. What was wanted was not a faith which Christians held, but a faith which so held them that the love of Christ constrained them. In the narrative, enthusiasm and common sense were in apparent contradiction. It was Utopian to hope that to Jesus every knee should bow ; but, as Mr. Ruskin had said : " ' The Utopianism is not ours ; the work is ' — for God has bid us preach His Gospel to every creature." Enthusiasm and common sense were capable of being reconciled. When Joan of Arc was remonstrated with by a Dominican monk for appealing for soldiers when professing perfect confidence that God would grant her success, she replied : " We want men of arms to fight the battle, and God will give the victory." Mr. Rogers said that English Christians seemed to forget that there was a time when this country was the sphere of missionary work ; that the Gospel was not born here, but came " because there were men who believed what we believe." The preacher's idea of Christian enthusiasm was illustrated by the story of a poor paralytic woman, a member of one of the East End Congregational churches, who was able to do a little knitting, the proceeds of which, a few shillings, were found in her withered hand when she died, with this written instruction : " For the dear Lord's work." That money came to the L.M.S., and was a wonder- ful contrast to the unbelief and heartlessness of the pre- sumably Christian man who had recently left £30,000 to religious work, on condition that none of it was to be given to the foreign mission scheme of the Church to which he belonged, thus closing every door of sympathy against the millions who were perishing for lack of knowledge. What was wanted was that which Carlyle called " the white heat of temper " — " and is not God doing something to stir it within us ? " This Divine white heat would burn up the dross in the churches, the hesitating faith, the trembling purpose and resolve, and the miserable contentions about plans and methods ; and, as the result, the churches would throw into the great missionary enterprise a aeal, devotion, and sacrifice

which would put to shame all the noblest efforts and all the grandest achievements of former times. Altogether the Sermon was of that vigorous and heart-searching character which was confidently expected when Mr. Rogers was asked to fill the pulpit, and which we pray may greatly help on our Forward Movement. The opening devotions were led by the Rev. J. D. Jones, M.A., B.D., of Lincoln,

The second annual meeting of the Watchers' Band, held in the large hall at Cannon Street Hotel, on Wednesday afternoon, was an occasion of great encouragement and inspiration. There must have been 700 persons present. The Rev. S. Pearson, M.A., of Manchester, presided, and, after the singing of a hymn, an opening prayer was offered by the Rev. H. H. Carlisle, M.A., of Maldon. Mr. J. E. Liddiard, the indefatigable honorary secretary of the organisation, then read his report. From April 1st, 1893, to March 31st, 1894, 11,475 members were enrolled ; of these, about 4,000 were renewals, deducting which they had nearly 8,000 mem- bers as the number who had joined during the year, exclusive of more than 600 who had joined in the Australasian division. Altogether the report afforded abundant cause for thanks- giving as regards the past, and for hopeful confidence in relation to the future. The receipts had amounted to £451 lis. 9d., and after meeting expenses a balance had been paid over as contributions to the Society of £221 18s. Id.

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, expressed his conviction that there was no meeting held throughout the anniversary week which was so instinct with influence for the future as the meeting over which he was presiding. Mr. Pearson emphasised the power and practi- cality of prayer, and urged that it should be pointed ; also that, in order to be effectual with God, it should oftentimes be personal. He (the Chairman) had just received a letter from Mrs. Hacker, of Travancore, in which she said : " You hardly know the refreshing and reflex influence which the prayers of our friends at home have upon the missionaries abroad." He would like to ask the members of the 2,000 churches in the Congregational denomination whether they all prayed for missions, and whether all the ministers remem- bered the missionaries at the weekly services. " Do we," be asked, " all pray as well as we might ? Some people seem to think that prayer is a very easy thing. I think, on the

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contrary, that it is a very difficult thing. It is a religious art, not a science, which has to be learnt by the deep and pathetic experiences of our own lives, and by the deep and bitter experiences of the lives that may be dear to us." There were many reasons why those should join the band who had not yet done so — viz., because the missionaries asked it, because the Society was in sore straits, and because the Lord had laid upon His people the command to pray.

The Rev. E. R. Barrett, B.A., of Liverpool, seconded the adoption of the report. He was the secretary of the Congregational Prayer Union, which was one outcome of the memorable Southport meetings, and which has now been affiliated with the Watchers' Band. One reason, he said, why this amalgamation had taken place was that the interests of the home and foreign work could not be separated. The success of missionary work abroad depended very largely upon the tone of the spiritual life of the churches at home. Too much prayer and thought was centered upon the question of finance, when they ought to be thinking about the spiritual state of the churches at home, and the need of the right men being thrust out for missionary work. He be- lieved the battle was to be fought out on their knees. There were, he said, in conclusion, three essential things in Christian service — heartfelt interest, importunate prayer, and personal work. The key to all the difficulties connected with the work abroad was apathy in the churches regarding it. If that indifference were replaced by a spirit of really personal interest in the missionaries, there would not be such continual need for imploring for subscriptions. The praying people were, so to speak, pulling the ropes in some obscure part of God's great cathedral, but in answer to their prayers there would be great blessing showered upon the missionaries.

The report having been formally adopted, prayer was offered by Miss H. Bettridge, of Kingston-on-Thames.

Miss Pearson, of Peking, remarked that if the followers of Jesus Christ could look into the mission-field and see the character of the work and its claims, they would need no other call to prayer and earnest endeavour. She gave a very striking example of the transformation wrought in the home of a Chinaman in Government employ through embracing Christianity, and she asked those present to pray that the converts might have faith given them to count it an honour to suffer for Jesus. And then, regarding the missionaries themselves, let it not be thought that they had left tempta- tion at home. If the friends at home went to sleep, Satan did not ; but, now that there were so many joining hands in prayer right round the world, they felt that in answer to prayer all that hindered should be taken out of the eyes of the workers. The greatest need the missionaries felt con- scious of was, that they should be living epistles of God, seen and read of all men.

The Rev. J. Peill, of Madagascar, took as the central idea

of his speech some of the subjects for prayer suggested in the Watchers' Band Manual, one of which is " for stronger Christian life in the native church and ministry." Why, said Mr. Peill, that was the crying need of Christ's Church every- where. But there were special reasons for longing for it in Madagascar. After the turning to Christianity in 1869, great crowds of heathen joined the congregations, and the little leaven of spiritual life was almost swamped in many of them • It was a great mass movement ; consequently there was a low tone of spiritual life. In name the people were Christians, but in life they were to a great extent heathen. A spirit of conviction was spreading among the young people, but in many of the churches there was not a welcome to the higher Christian life, and the young people were in danger of feeling that they were not wanted. Also many native pastors had received no systematic training, and had not been appointed because of their special spiritual fitness. These were reasons why a stronger spiritual life was desired. There were, though, many who, if persecution were to come again, would give their lives for Christ. As an encouragement to prayer, Mr. Peill said he believed that the great revival in Mada- gascar three years ago was in response to the earnest spirit awakened at the Southport meetings.

Dr. Eliot Curwen, of Hampstead, felt that the existence of only 347 branches of the Band in about 3,000 Congregational churches was too small a number. He also urged that the prayers of members should be for distinct objects, and that they should be well informed on missionary matters. " We must see that they read the Chronicle every month, and the annual report at least once a year." And if the number of members and their praying power were to be increased, they must get at and speak to the great mass of church members who did not at present pray methodically and regularly for mission work, and must put these two questions quite clearly to them : (1) Do you or do you not believe that it is God's will that all men should love Him ? and (2) Do you or do you not believe that God is both willing and able to answer prayer ? " If they answer No, it is our clear duty to pray for them, and if they assent, then we must urge upon them that it is culpable negligence not to pray for the work abroad." Dr. Curwen told of a minister with whom he had recently conversed on mission work, who had a medical missionary friend somewhere in Africa, he knew not where, engaged, he thought, in connection " with the Zenana Society." In closing, the Doctor pleaded that in prayer the members should not forget the evil influence exerted by many of our own countrymen at stations where the missionaries are at work.

On the proposition of the Rev. A. N. Johnson, seconded by the Rev. J. F. T. Hallowes, a most cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. and Mrs. Liddiard, who, Mr. Johnson remarked, had been greatly advancing the best interests of the Society in the work they had done in connection with the Watchers' Band.

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The large gathering at the Watchers' Band meeting was a splendid nucleus for the larger meeting that followed, and the earnest spirit which pervaded the former was carried into the latter and intensified by the accession of numbers. The large hall was crowded in every part, and the proceed- ings—started well with prayer by the Rev. E. J. Dukes, of Bridgwater, and by the courageous speech of the Chairman — were most enthusiastic throughout.

The Chairman delivered a stirring speech on the Forward Movement, in which, he said, they were all profoundly in- terested, but whose fate seemed for the moment, in human eyes, to be trembling in the balance. Mr. Horton told of a minister in a small country town who, after he had laboured for eight years without any apparent result, though God was evidently with him, called upon his people to erect two galleries in the chapel, notwithstanding that the building was far from being filled. The general impression prevailed that he had taken leave of his wits, but he was a man of purpose, and, having accomplished his plan, he immediately fell on sleep. Next month there came to the church a minister who had a most marvellous blessing, and very soon the chapel was crowded, and seats had to be provided in the aisles. " The madness of that minister," said Mr. Horton, " is of the same kind as the madness of the Directors of the London Missionary Society. It is my own belief that the Directors had no choice in the action they took. They were compelled by just the same mysterious spirit as was moving in that young minister's heart. They were bound to sketch a great programme which they might not see fulfilled, and they were bound by all the laws of human nature to be told that they were mad — one of those blessed charges that has ever been brought against the saints." He (Mr. Horton) believed that the reason for their action was that in a very few weeks, or months, or, it might be, years, it would be found that God had been preparing the Society for an ingathering greater than they had ever dared to hope for ; and the Directors, led by the Foreign Secre- tary, who had himself been directed by God, had been guided to make a great preparation and a vast demand upon the faith of the churches with a view to what was to be. Some people appeared to think that, because God had not sent all the money needed, He had failed the Society, that He bad passed judgment upon the Forward Movement, and had indicated very distinctly to business-like minds that He meant to go back. He (the Chairman) could not understand the frame of mind which led a person to that conclusion. Was it not the universal experience of the history of the Church, and of their own personal history, that, if God had told them to do anything great and

difficult, they made the venture of faith ? But, if they expected immediate recognition from God, He disappointed them, and threw them upon Himself with a new and implicit trust, leading them through the valley of the shadow ? If they got safely through that valley of the shadow then He began to bless. He (Mr. Horton) felt that the present position had been largely brought about by carnal confidence. " How prone we are to this carnal confidence, how great is our faith in rich men, so that it is difficult to maintain a prayer- meeting. I do not see how God could have dealt with the Society on this occasion, except by leaving it with a deficit of £33,000, and, if He had left us with a deficit of £50,000, it would not have been more than we deserved. Now God has been trying us, let us be patient under the trial. Let this great deficit not weigh us down, but lift us up. Let us recognise God's hand in it. Let us know that He does not lightly afflict us ; that He has not reversed the Forward Movement. He has no intention of leaving those men in the mission-field. He did not call out the choicest of our young men and young women to take them into the wilderness and leave them to perish, or for us to send the news that we had not money or heart to back them up. He led them out that He might bring the rearguard up to the vanguard. He means you to join in the sacrifice. He means us, to-morrow, in Exeter Hall, to witness the baptism of the Spirit, and to make us willing to be poverty-stricken rather than that one inch of the ground shall be yielded, one hero of the battle be drawn back, or one field be surrendered where an open door invites us to enter and take possession for our Lord." In conclusion, the Chairman urged that at that meeting there should be a note of triumphant confidence in God, and absolute independence of man.

In the absence, through family bereavement, of the Rev. G. Cousins, the Rev. A. N. Johnson dealt with the subject of finance. He remarked that, at the corresponding meeting last year, he did his best to minimise the deficiency with which the year had closed ; and now again he intended to take a similar course, only he wished that there should be no mistake as to the actual figures. The year had closed with a deficiency of £33,157 ; but the presence of so many at that meeting, and the Chairman's courageous speech, showed that the Society was not even yet in such a desperate position as some of their friends seemed to imagine. The deficiency had arisen first of all from the fact that the Forward Movement at home at once induced a quick Forward Movement all round the mission-field, which was a most en- couraging fact. What he (Mr. Johnson) liked least about the present financial position was the depressing effect it would have, at any rate for a time, upon the missionaries abroad, after the pledge given three years ago. The Society had added no less than sixty-seven missionaries to its staff within three years, and just recently they had built what was regarded as the finest missionary ship afloat. The deficiency had, therefore, arisen in the endeavour to do to the utmost of

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their power the work which they knew well enough God had put into their hands. Towards meeting the deficiency, £6,500 had been paid, or promised, in response to the Treasurer's appeal. The Centenary Fund had been opened, and £4,000 had been promised ; and towards a loan fund £2,000 had been promised ; so that the deficiency had been reduced to £20,000. But, in addition, the income of the Society needed to be raised by £20,000 annually. In further re- sponses to these appeals, he (Mr. Johnson) trusted that the Directors would receive another mandate from the churches to go forward.

Mr. J. C. Thomson, M.A., M.D., of Hong Kong, said he had been struck in walking round the Armoury at the Tower with the fact that the one thing common in the armour of all the ages was that it provided little or no covering for the back. No turning back was provided for. The Society, he asserted, dared not turn their back upon the new work they had opened up ; they must go forward ; and they meant to do it. God was blessing their work in every quarter of the world, and they ought to feel glad in spite of the deficit. The Society was under a very deep responsibility to China, inasmuch as they sent the first Protestant missionary to that empire ; they gave the New Testament, and afterwards the whole Bible to the Chinese ; they gave to future missionaries a Chinese dictionary ; they baptized the first Chinese convert and ordained the first Chinese evangelist. Thus the London Missionary Society had been at the foundation of all Protestant Christian effort in China. Not until 1830 was the work shared by any other missionary society ; and though since then forty societies had commenced work, there still re- mained extensive districts in the sole care of their own Society. Their agents had sown the seed broadcast, and a rich harvest was awaiting them. But the churches were weak, because the converts were very ignorant and supersti- tious, and a great many of the children of converts grew up to be heathen ; while the lack of missionaries made it im- possible for them to take care of them as they would like to do. Dr. Thomson drew special attention to the vicissitudes of the Canton Mission, and to its present undermanned condition, to illustrate the gravity of the position indicated by a sentence from the annual report which he had taken as the text of his speech : " As for sending additional workers out, it seems to be out of the question."

Mrs. Peill, of Madagascar, pleaded that she was an old- fashioned missionary, twenty-one years having passed since she first went out as a missionary's wife ; but her artless de- scription of their mission station and incidents of work made up a speech which the Chairman fairly characterised as a charming and convincing speech. Ambohimanga, the scene of her labours, meant, when translated into English, "a green hill." It was an ancient town on the top of a hill, where the first Malagasy kings lay buried, and where their chief idols used to be kept, it being the only town in Madagascar which

June, 1894.

foreigners were not permitted to enter. As the missionaries could not go up to the natives, the natives came down to the missionaries. There were four gates to the town, and there was outside each of those gates a large church capable of holding nearly a thousand people. The mission house and a large girls' school stood outside one gate, and a large boys' school near another gate. The churches were under the more immediate superintendence of the missionary, who also had charge of thirty or forty village churches. There was fortunately a hill a little higher than the native town, so that with the aid of a telescope a capital view of the town was obtained. A large daily market was held on the top of the hill on which the town stood, and in that market, on the occasion of a yearly festival, the queen came from the capital and gathered four or five thousand people on two Sundays for religious service. Mrs. Peill then gave the meeting a bright description of one of the native Christian workers and his wife, " Mr. Anthony and Mrs. Anthony Flower," and asked the Watchers' Band to pray for them.

The Rev. T. Bryson, of Tientsin, said he had received great inspiration from the meeting, and if it were God's will that he should return to China for another twenty-seven years' service, he would never forget the words that had fallen from the Chairman. Referring to Dr. Thomson's sombre description of Canton, the first station of the Society in China, where Drs. Morrison, Milne, Hodgson, Legge, and Chalmers, and other honoured men had laboured, but which was still undermanned, Mr. Bryson asserted that more or less the same might have been said at different times in regard to a considerable number of the stations opened by the Society in China. But he wished to speak of something more inspiring, and to use the blessing vouchsafed by God as an argument for going forward. He was once travelling with Mr. Lees when they came to a heathen temple, where Mr. Lees found some old Chinamen to whom he communi- cated the truths of the love of Christ. Again and again they asked him to repeat this message, and then they said : " We cannot find the door." That was a picture of what was happening in the minds and hearts of thousands of Chinase heathen, and the Christians at home were bound to do some- thing to show them the door, and, having touched their eyes with some salve of the Gospel, to go on with the cure until their eyes should be opened to the radiance of Jesus Christ, and they should fall down and worship Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Mr. Bryson also pleaded for advance for the sake of the native Christians. He knew of a native Christian who had had to travel forty miles to attend a place of worship, and that, again, was a common instance of Christians scattered abroad who needed missionaries to shepherd them. Because of the very prosperity which had attended the labours of a native worker in Yen San, the heathen had raised an opposition, and then appealed to the Roman Catholics, so that the history of Uganda had been repeated there on a

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small scale, and there had nearly been war between Roman Catholics and Protestants. In answer to the appeal of the Shanghai Missionary Conference in 1890 for 1,000 additional missionaries, about 700 had been sent out ; but yet among the 300 millions of China there were Christian communities numbering only 50,000 souls, which were represented by one white speck on the black chart suspended behind him. He (Mr. Bryson) could not tell the meeting how much his heart had been searched, and how the reports of the meetings would cause heart-searchiDg among the missionaries abroad. Sacrifice would have to be made somewhere, and it might be the missionaries themselves who would feel constrained to set the example, as was done some years ago when one of their number parted with his policy of life assurance to help to free the Society from debt. Mr. Bryson concluded his speech with the following forcible lines : —

" He is sounding forth a trumpet that shall never call retrea! i He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat Be swift, my soul, to answer Him, be jubilant my feet, For God is marching on." Before the meeting closed, the Home Secretary announced promises of contributions amounting to £1,076.

The musical arrangements were admirably carried out by he choir of Lyndhurst Road Church, Hampstead.

The spirit which Mr. Horton, in his speech on the pre- ceding evening, desired for the Thursday morning meeting at Exeter Hall was, we felt, in a large measure realised. The enthusiasm evoked by the appeals did not, however, manifest itself in excessive demonstrativeness, because, realising the extreme solemnity of the occasion, and of the present situation of the Society, it seemed to be too deep for expression except in the most practical form of definite help. Mr. A. Hubbard, J. P., presided, and an opening prayer was offered by the Rev. W. Bolton, M.A.

The Chairman felt the urgent need for renewed consecra- tion and zeal in carrying on the work of the Society. When the present century began the area of missionary effort was a very limited one, whereas to-day nearly the whole world

was girdled by mission stations. To the Christian, in- creased opportunity meant increased responsibility. The Forward Movement, which had filled the hearts of the mis- sionaries with joy, had, except in its finances, been a great success. It had been pleaded that the deficiency had arisen through the commercial depression and lamentable company failures of late. "If you ask me," said the Chairman, " whether it is sufficient reason why our funds should be so reduced, I tell you very plainly I do not believe it is. I confidently believe that the receipts of this Society might easily be doubled without any sacrifice on the part of our churches, save only the sacrifice of that desire to accumulate wealth which has been growing too much upon us of recent years.'' Referring back to the reports for fifty years pre- ceding the birth of the Forward Movement, it would be found tha^ the increase in the number of missionaries was very small, and the increased support was not at all in com- parison with tne increased prosperity of the country. While the latter increased by leaps and bounds, the receipts of the Society were very little in excess of what they had been at the commencement of the fifty years. With such wealth in the country, the Society ought not to have an adverse balance. If the churches had full faith in God, and held fast His glorious promises, would they ever doubt the issue of the conflict between truth and error, between light and darkness, or that the glorious work began by Jesus Christ at such a cost would be completed ?

The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson (Foreign Secretary) reminded the meeting that last year he tried to set before the corresponding meeting some evidence, from the statistics of the Society's work in the foreign field, of the hopeful condition and remarkable progress of that work, and tried to lead the supporters of the Society to thank God for the great things which He was doing by means of His missionary servants in every part of the great heathen world. To-day he could report that the work was not only as hopeful and its results as encouraging as last year, but as time went on the hope became more confident and the encouragement became more real in evident success. On the present occasion, however, he wished to deal with the home work in support of the missions. The finances of the Society had been a source of grave anxiety to the Directors throughout the year, and it seemed as if at last the facts had entered into the minds and laid hold of the imaginations of the unimaginative public ; but he ventured to think that there was no ground for panic. A glance at the past history of the Society made him feel how utterly unworthy and unreasonable panic would be. Taking the thirty years following 1863, in no fewer than nineteen of those years there were deficiencies, amounting in 1866 and 1867 to £23,000 and £26,000 respec- tively, and at other times from £10,000 to £18,000 ; and yet it was a remarkable fact that the total income had increased in the same period by £49,000. He (Mr. Thompson) quite agreed that it was unsatisfactory to go on in that way ; but

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he thought that the criticism of discredit in the matter applied not to the Directors, but to those who had found the funds. If the spirit of consecration were thoroughly manifest every new need as it arose would be spontaneously recognised and generously met, and there would never be any deficiencies. As it was the Society had perpetually to be the leader of a company slow to rouse and slow to move, moving only so far as it could be pushed or dragged. The Directors had felt bound to meet the needs, and to expect that the churches would in due time see them and respond to the appeal. During the thirty years referred to the Madagascar Mission had been recommenced, the New Guinea and Central African Missions begun, and the staff and efficiency of the China and Indian Missions greatly increased. " But it has been a perpetual drag. We have had to go ahead and appeal to the rear rank to come up to the flag. The churches have responded but slowly. As long as the work continues and increases and is blessed of God, for so long will the Directors be compelled, in spite of ail self-denying ordi- nances, to pursue the same course. We may say that we shall not go forward, and that we shall not make any deliberate and methodical Forward Movement ; but God pushes us forward, and we shall have to put men here and there as they are needed ; and you will have to come up to the flag. But we all look forward to a brighter day." After deducting the adverse balance at the beginning of last year, and the cost of the new steamer, it would be seen that the deficiency on the actual ordinary work of the year was £15,264. The Directors had been blamed for building the ship at the present time of pressure, but it had been im- perative, in consequence of the wreck of the Harrier, the age of the old John Williams, the necessity for visiting the out-stations in the South Seas twice a year, and the develop- ment of the New Guinea Mission. Deducting the £5,000 which the New Year's Offering had realised beyond other years, the ordinary income of the year had been £111,000 ; and further deducting £12,600, the amount received from legacies and dividends, the total contributions of the churches in collections, subscriptions, and donations had been £98,400. In the year ended March, 1891, shortly before the Forward Movement was commenced, the income from the same sources was £82,629 ; or, de- ducting £6,000 on account of the new effort of Self- Denial in 1894, £10,000 less than at the present time. This £10,000 added to the extra receipts from New Year's Offering and Self-Denial, made the total receipts for the present year £20,000 more than three years ago, which was surely cause for thankfulness to God. When the Forward Movement was commenced, the Directors asked for an additional £10,000 a year to make the income and ex- penditure square, and from £25,000 to £30,000 more for the Forward Movement. The churches had succeeded in in- creasing their ordinary contributions to the amount required for squaring the account on the old lines, and then, by

the exercise of a stern and heroic self-denial, continued through a whole week, they had managed to raise £6,000 more towards the £30,000 required for the Forward Move- ment. The Directors, encouraged by the first large response to their appeal, had gone forward, and had sent out two-thirds of the missionaries under the new scheme, besides strengthening old work. During the next two years the Directors ought to spend £13,000 more in providing habi- tations for the new missionaries ; for to keep them without proper residences was the most short-sighted economy that could possibly be practised. The Forward Movement had awakened great enthusiasm among young volunteers for service, and a wave of enthusiasm passed over the colleges three years ago, which led to offers of service from many fine young fellows. This year their course would be completed ; but, under existing conditions, the Directors felt they could not appoint them, because they must not increase their responsibilities by sending out more men. The influence of this kind of thing was paralysing upon the young life of the Church. For two years the Society had been praying for medical missionaries. Eight medical men had now offered themselves, but the Directors had been able as yet to appoint only one of them. For the last six months he (Mr. Thompson) had had to write to the missionaries, and say : " It is no good. You must stop your Forward Movement. We have got no money." " It is crushing," said Mr. Thompson, with great feeling, " it is galling to the missionaries, it is damping to the energy of those who want to be missionaries, it is disheartening to the faith of the young converts, and it seems to me it is a kind of note of discredit to our Lord and Master." When they began the movement they said they were going to take the work and appeal to God for the funds, " and now men outside, I have been told this week, are scoffing at us for our talk about faith in Christ. It is a very solemn thing that we should bring our Master into discredit by anything we have done. Some of our churches have done nobly, but have we kept our compact in the higher sense of the word ? I ask myself and you, and I stand before you self-condemned in this matter : Have we gone to the Lord as we should have gone to Him to ask Him to touch, and influence, and soften the selfish hearts of men ? " Mr. Thompson announced, in con- clusion, that before the meeting commenced additional pro- mises amounting to £1,060 had been received, bringing the total gifts, Centenary promises, and loans in aid of the deficiency up to £14,000.

The Rev. M. Phillips, of Madras, proposed the following resolution : " That those present in this meeting, recognising with deep gratitude to God His abundant blessing on the mission work of the Society, recognises also the solemn responsibility incurred by the churches in putting their hands to that work, and especially in undertaking the For- ward Movement, and pledge themselves to do their utmost to enable the Directors to carry out to its full completion

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the task with which they were entrusted in 1891." Mr. Phillips stated that the Hindus had for generations been seeking for God everywhere, but had never found Him as a Being separate from Nature, and had always worshipped Him in and through Nature. They felt the burden of sin, and had been seeking salvation in forms and ceremonies, but they would never find God or salvation until they should find both in the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel was winning its way in India. According to the last census the population had increased between 1881 and 1891 at the rate of 13 per cent., but the native Christian population had increased at the rate of 23 per cent. The Gospel was conquering India for Christ gradually, and that was the Divine method. There were a great many steps from Hinduism to Christianity, and Hindus were standing on those various steps. Many were stranded on the cold, chilly shore of atheism, but that was not a discouraging fact, because in the upward progress of the human mind from polytheism to theism, scepticism was a stage. It was the darkness which preceded the dawn. Tens of thousands of Hindus to-day were secret Christians and worshipped God in Christ, and would gladly come forth and declare themselves followers of Christ were it not for the suffering that the step would entail. There were also in India eighty-six millions of what were called the depressed classes, who, when educated, took their position among the great body of the middle-class. God was moving among them and gradually turning them towards the Kingdom of Heaven. He believed that ten thousand of these people could be placed under instruction at once. Many of them had been told for some years to wait a little while, and now had fallen back into heathenism. In urging self- sacrifice, Mr. Phillips, in conclusion, remarked that Hindus could sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ.

The Rev. Professor E. Armitage, M.A., of Bradford, remarked that if they had come to the meeting feeling that they would be very happy but for the debt, they must now feel that the Foreign Secretary had, by his speech, "re- moved the fly from the ointment." Were they not glad, debt or no debt, that the Society was leading them forward ? Though there was anxiety about the debt, there would have been a very different anxiety in their hearts if there had been no Forward Movement. Within the present century God had brought the world to their very doors. The diplomat and trader were looking at it, and woe to it if no other eyes looked upon the travelling world than those of the diplomat and trader. But Christ was teaching His followers how to behold this spectacle, and was saying of the Hindu and Kanaka : " He is the least of my brethren." The supreme obligation of Christians to Christ was to see the world as He saw it, to see the heathen as being a little lower than the angels. The world was waiting for those who could carry Christ's eye to those darkened and sorrowful peoples. The world was dying for the want of love. The needed solution of all social problems was more love, and, if

thai; were true at home, how much more true was it of countries in darkness ! " The Buddha of Love has come." The Rev. T. E. Slater, of South India, had said that while the Vedas revealed man in search of God, the Bible revealed God in quest of man. The different epochs in the history of the Church brought to the Church distinct and different duties, and the present was the epoch when the duty of the Church was to pass through the doors which God had opened. Professor Armitage characterised the century just closing as the supreme century of the ages, when tested by the magni- tude and far-reaching effect of the forces which had been brought to bear upon it. China, which at the beginning of the century was walled up to heaven, was now bringing its first-fruits ; India was on the very trembling verge of a great national religious change ; many of the islands of the seas had accepted Christ, and Africa had been penetrated along every great river's course. What, then, must be the result of another century of work, if so be that Christians lost not faith and hope and prayer ? Their successors in another century's time would rejoice to see that there was not a single land which claimed any other faith than faith in Jesus Christ. The speaker pleaded that ministers should take a new attitude towards this work, and should interpret to the congregations their great duty and opportunity.

The resolution having been unanimously carried, the Home Secretary took the opportunity of announcing that the Chairman had promised to give £300 in addition to £100 already contributed, and a fifth hundred which he purposed adding to the collection.

Mrs. W. Owen, of Wuchang, began a most pathetic and inspiring speech by the narration of some sad cases which had come into her hands as a medical missionary, and which she said had caused hot scalding tears to flow from her eyes and made her call out : " Oh, God, how long ? " Thousands of cases of infantile ophthalmia occurred simply because tho people did not know that dirt and neglect caused blindness. In such little matters the missionaries could instruct them and so save a lifetime of blindness. Turning to the brighter side, Mrs. Owen told of how, in her study, the young people told out to Jesus in prayer all the thoughts of their hearts. She then made a powerful appeal to those of her own sex, saying that she had been praying to God to make her a voice to speak to their hearts. There was no joy on earth like the joy which God gave when they tried to serve Him. " There are wounds that your hands can bind up, and sorrows that some of you can sympathise with, and there are lonely, longing hearts waitingjforyou to speak the word of cheer and hope." On one occasion a woman called her back and said : " I am forty-five years old, and I never heard of this Gospel till I came here." But her father and mother had never heard it, and she asked in sorrow : " Why does the Lord Jesus love you so much and not love us a little bit 1 " The one key to solve all problems was love. They could love a bit too little ; but could never love a bit too much. " Love's strength standeth

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in love's sacrifice, and by His great love I entreat you to see that your hearts are true and full of love like His."

The Rev. Yung-King Yen, M.A., of the American Episcopal Mission, Shanghai, claimed relationship to the L.M.S. through his wife, who, he said, was their daughter, she having been brought to a knowledge of Christ through the teaching of Mrs. Muirhead. Mr. Yen said it was his duty to throw a somewhat discordant note into the meeting in the form of the opium question. The L.M.S. had planted the first mission station in China, and had ever since kept in the front rank, and, therefore, be expected the Society to take the front rank in the crusade against the opium traffic. The British Medical Journal had said that the missionaries only met the poor in the streets ; but, said Mr. Yen, they were the poor who had been made poor by opium smoking. The merchant came in contact with the rich men, but years hence they might see them very near be ggary through indulgence in the habit. But medical mis- sionaries did see those in high life as well suffering from the same evil. All Chinamen acknowledged that opium smoking was a vice, and did those present not believe in Dr. Griffith John, Dr. Muirhead, and others, when they asserted that opium smoking was injuring Christian work ? Great Britain ought to help in suppressing it, and though it did not become him (Mr. Yen) as guest to say a word against their country, it did become him to appeal to those present to help in this matter.

The Rev. J. Pearse, of Madagascar, gave a simple, unadorned summary of some of the results of mission work in that country. In those parts where Christianity had taken root, infanticide had ceased, polygamy was contrary to law, divorce could only be obtained by appeal to the State, trial by ordeal had been abolished, fetichism had been done away with, and cruel wars had come to an end. Among the blessings which had been intoduced by the influence of mission work Mr. Pearse mentioned the circulation of the Bible, and the noble share which the Bible Society had had in that work. The missionaries bad also given the people a written language) and the nucleus of a general and religious literature. They had raised up between 1,400 and 1,500 places of worship ; and they had established the Sabbath-day. At the last meeting of one of the Malagasy Congregational Unions, after a heated discussion on the growth of the sugar cane and the manufacture of rum from it, a native of considerable influ- ence and wealth derived from the traffic stood up in the presence of 300 or 400 delegates and declared that in future he would have nothing to do with the sugar cane. " I beg,'' said Mr. Pearse, " to commend the example of that Mala- gasy to the attention of all maltsters, brewers, and distillers in the United Kingdom." The Malagasy were also a praying people, and the very best thing of all was that very many had received the testimony of the missionaries concerning the Buddha of Love.

The Home Secretary announced that in addition to the

Chairman's gifts, promises and donations had in the course of the meeting been received amounting to £414, and that the collection realised £115.

A cordial vote of thanks was accorded the Chairman, on the motion of Mr. R. P. Horton, M.A., seconded by Mr. Albert Spicer, M.P.

WELSH MEETING. On account of the unfavourable weather, there was but a small attendance at the King's Cross Tabernacle on the Thursday evening. In the absence of Mr. W. Williams, M.P., Mr. T. Williams, J.P., of Merthyr Tydvil, presided, and, after a Welsh hymn had been sung and the Rev. W. I. Morris, of Pontypridd, had read a portion of Scripture and offered prayer, Mr. Williams spoke in advocacy of the Society's Forward Movement. The Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A., speaking in English, gave a very interesting account of the Society's work, its present need and outlook. The other speakers spoke in Welsh. The Rev. W. Owen described the work in which he had been engaged in Wuchang — the day schools, daily preaching, country work, and the native church. The Rev. M. Phillips, of Madras, confined himself to a few remarks, having suggested that Mr. Owen should take the lion's share of time, and promising to make another visit shortly to enlarge upon his own work. On the proposition of the Rev. Owen Evans, D.D., a vote of thanks was accorded the Chairman, and the meeting was brought to a close.

RECEPTION ON BOARD THE "JOHN WILLIAMS."

On Friday afternoon Lord Brassey paid a flying visit to the East India Dock to inspect the John William*, at the special invitation of the Directors of the Society. Before leaving he addressed a few words to the company assembled, remarking that no one could have travelled as much as he had done in far distant places of the earth, or seen so much of benighted heathen lands, without wishing well to the mis- sionary cause, which he was sure was one of the under- takings on which blessing from on high might confidently be expected. The work which the Society was doing in the South Pacific was a work which one could not but rejoice to know was going forward. If he were asked as an old navigator to criticise the vessel, he could find nothing to criticise. It appeared to be admirably adapted for the pur- pose for which it had been constructed, and therefore he would like to convey to those who supported the Society the assurance that he firmly believed that the money which had been expended had been well spent ; and for the great cause to which the Society was devoted he again expressed from his heart the warmest sympathy.

On the motion of Mr. Albert Spicer, M.P. (who testified from personal experience to the increased comfort of the new vessel), seconded by Mr. Arthur Marshall, Lord Brassey was thanked for his visit.

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Mr. W. CrosSeld, M.P., called upon the company to wish " God speed the good ship on her voyage, and also Captain Turpie."

The Rev. B. La Trobe, secretary of the Moravian Mis- sionary Society, in response to a friendly challenge from Mr. Thompson, acknowledged that the Harmony must hide her diminished head and go off to Labrador for the 124th annual voyage. Her history and that of the John Williams, however, were a pledge that God would keep those who went on His errands

Mr. Crosfield called upon Mr. Goodwin, whose name, he said, would always be associated with the history of the steamer, for a speech, but Mr. Goodwin said he preferred to ask the John Williams herself to speak for him.

Captain Turpie, in a few cheery words, said that while he was proud of the new ship, it was not a pride that would spoil him, for it had increased his sense of responsibility.

A dedicatory prayer having been offered by the Rev. Dr Barrett, the son of a missionary, the company partook of tea and coffee in the native teachers' saloon.

The records of the first naval adventures of our Society, as contained in the charmingly-written first reports, possess for readers of such antique documents an enthralling interest ; but worthy to be placed side by side with those records, will, we venture to say, be the accompanying account, in the words of those who made the history of Friday evening, May 11th, of an equally thrilling valediction to the officers and crew of the new steamer. The service was held in Whitefield Tabernacle, Finsbury, because the church which worships there was the one to which John Williams himself belonged, and, in order to still further strengthen the bonds of connection between that honoured name and the present undertaking, his' son, the Rev. S. T. Williams, of Catford, occupied the chair. Another son, Mr. W. Williams, was among the audience. The Rev. F. E. and Mrs. Lawes, returning to Niue ; Mrs. Hutchin, returning to Rarotonga ; and Mr. T. W. Ingram, proceeding to Kwato, New Guinea, were also present to say good-bye. As Mr. Cousins observed in his address, it was an occasion of a very rare and unique character such as London had not had an opportunity of witnessing for six-and- twenty years. When the crew entered the cbapel at a later stage they were heartily aud repeatedly cheered. Another interesting break was caused by the entrance of a young Niuean, who was called up to the platform and introduced by Mr. Lawes as the son of a trader who was the most godly, earnest, and devoted Christian worker it was his happiness to know.

The hymn, "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," having

been sung, the Rev. M. Duffill read a portion of Scripture and offered prayer.

The Chairman assumed that every one who had seen the new vessel would feel that she was perfectly worthy of the work she was destined to do. And the work, he added, was worthy of the very best means that could be provided for its accomplishment. Not the least interesting incident connected with the construction of the Messenger of Peace on Rarotonga was, he said, the story of the bellows with which his father obtained a blast for forging the rudder irons. Goats, upon which he (the Chairman) was dependent for milk, had to be killed for the sake of their skins ; but, in spite of the sacrifice, " the baby has the honour of standing before you this evening." Mr. Williams went on to tell how the goats were killed in vain, for the rats rendered the bellows useless, and his father had to overcome the difficulty in another way. Applying the lesson to the present critical condition of the Society, the Chairman said : " And we, too, are not men to be baffled by difficulties." Mr. Williams also dwelt on the imperativeness of foreign missionary work, the feebleness of the instrument- ality and the omnipotence of Christ ; and in conclusion he commended the officers of the ship and missionaries for going abroad to represent to the world that which was purest, noblest, and best at home. " And may God give you grace to fulfil the responsibility resting upon you."

The Rev. G. Cousins said he had undertaken, in order to relieve the pressure of work upon the Foreign Secretary, to describe the field of labour, and yet, in the case of the ship,

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the field was not a field at all, but an ocean. The John Williams was to be, as her predecessor had been, the con- necting liak between all the Christianised islands in Eastern Polynesia and the great heathen continent of New Guinea, continually taking from the former to the latter forces of native teachers to do the work of evangelisation. He (Mr. Cousins) had been trying to master the story of the South Sea missions, in order that he might re-tell it in simple language for young people, and, old missionary though he was, and representing one of the most interesting fields of labour the world had ever known (Madagascar), he must say that his heart and imagination had been touched, and his whole being had been thrilled again and again by the story as he had thus been studying it. It showed how the light of the Gospel, travelling in the course of the sun, had gained possession of the dark places of the earth, and made those who received it intent on carrying light to others who were sitting in darkness. Eastern Polynesia being nominally Christian, and Western Polynesia yielding to Christianity, they were within measurable distance of the total extinction of cannibalism and barbarism from the Pacific Ocean. Raro- tonga, for instance, to which island Mrs. Hutchin was about to return, brought a whole crowd of stirring incidents and experi- ences, and the Training Institution on that island had sent forth 500 native men and women to labour for the Master. In connection with the evangelisation of Niue,one of the Samoan teachers, Paulo by name, deserved to be held in remem- brance to the end of the ages. Mr. Cousins also indicated the station to which Mr. Ingram is going in New Guinea, and referred in terms of high appreciation to the officers and crew of the new ship, which, he said, " we want to be the emblem of all that is lovely and of good report."

Captain Turpie did not envy the man who could stand where he was standing and yet be without strong emotions. The officers and crew had been valedicted many times during the last months ; but there was something about the present farewell that was not likely to be repeated for some time, for it might be the very last time he would say farewell to friends at home. The Captain very warmly thanked the young people who were paying for the new ship, and he thanked the Directors for placing him in command. He scouted the idea of missionary enthusiasm dying out. Let the lion's tail but be trodden upon and there would be a hearty response. If his (the speaker's) head had been thirty years younger, he would have lost it through the exceeding kindness he had received on all hands in this country. The contact with kind Christian friends had done him good, and his one resolve was to make the ship what she was intended to be. At one meeting a speaker had con- fessed that he had taken the crew — " the row of good-looking young men in the first row " — for theological students, and he (the Captain) had to say that their theology had to do with ropes and yards, canvas and coal. " I do not often see my men together, but I am proud of them," was the

Captain's added compliment: Proceeding, he remarked that he could lose himself in London, but could find his way about the Pacific, and the change that had come over the islands in his time was something that bad never been fully related in print. He had known the Rarotongans as children, students, and missionaries. There was but one force that could impel men and women to go through what he had known them to go through, and that was the love of Christ. After dwelling earnestly upon this point, Captain Turpie concluded with a beautiful touch of imagery, likening the work to the rolling of a snowball, ever growing larger, to the top of a hill, and there letting it melt in the sunshine of God's love, and raining blessing on all the valleys round about.

The Rev. F. E. Lawes was glad to be present in that historic temple of God, because John Williams was an in- spiration to missionaries in the South Pacific ; and the native teacher, Jeremiah, whom he (Mr. Lawes) knew, was always proud of having been the means of getting Mr. Williams safely away from the savage island of Niue" when he visited it in 1830. His (Mr. Lawes') brother received about one thousand, and he had himself received between two and three thousand Niueans into church fellowship, and " though there is chaff with the wheat there as here, and dross with the gold, there is grain that is being gathered into the Master's garner, and there is metal that has the genuine ring." Mr. Lawes, in order to show that the new steamer had not been provided at all too soon, mentioned the circumstances under which two noble Niueans had died, after nineteen and seventeen years' service in New Guinea, because they had gone too long with- out change. People erroneously thought that the work in the South Seas was completed ; but the Bible had not yet been translated in its entirety into Niucan, lacking six books,which he hoped to finish ; and the people were needing other books, which they looked to the missionary for. Old superstitions still lived ; and at present the contact with the world was more of an evil than a good. Mr. Lawes also mentioned that the work on Niue was self-supporting, with a surplus for outside effort, and, in addition, the people wanted to have a few rivets in the new ship. He closed with an in- tensely pathetic reference to the trial of separation from children, and said : " When you pray for the missionaries, remember, please remember that the greatest part of the missionaries is here amongst you. I have said something about sacrifice. I did not mean to ; for what have we to say about sacrifice when we think about that great sacrifice which Jesus Christ has made for you and me ? "

Mr. T. W. Ingram said he was proud of the college to which he belonged, and he only hoped that in God's strength he might leave the missionary glory of Cheshunt undimmed. It was surprising that men were willing to run such risks in commercial pursuits and in fortune-hunting, and yet when it came to taking the Gospel abroad everything was too hard,and the sacrifice was too great. God forbid that the time should ever come when effeminacy would be a sign of God's workers.

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The Rev. Urijah R. Thomas, in his valedictory address, remarked that though the friends were going chiefly because Christ had bidden them go, and their chief confidence would be that Jesus would be in the vessel, the present service meant that north, southeast, and west tens of thousands would follow them with their thoughts, sympathies, and prayers. Never did any group of missionaries go out under more promising auspices, and for this reason, that the Watchers' Band had become in so many places a great reality. In such sympathy they had of course a sympathy that was human, but upon human sympathy the Lord Himself leant when in Geth- semane. But beside the human they had the Divine, all- sufficient power of Him who said : " Peace be still." " May the good ship," wished Mr. Thomas, " go forth under the guidance of Him who was the Pilot of Noah's Ark, as well as the Pilot of the ship on the Galilean lake, and is the Pilot of His Church here and His Church yonder." Might he, Mr. Thomas, not also promise that those present would not forget the children left at home? "God be with you till we meet again. Meet again ? Why we shall meet frequently, because the Cross is the great meeting place of souls."

The valedictory prayer was offered by the Rev. R. Partner, and the hymn commencing with the closing words of Mr. Thomas to the outgoing party was feelingly sung by the meeting, after which the Benediction was pro- nounced.

The Congregational Union and our Approaching Centenary.

The approaching Centenary of the Society formed the subject of conference at the closing session of the Congrega- tional Union of England and Wales, at the Memorial Hall, the Rev. Dr. Barrett presiding.

The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson opened the discussion, and, after warning his hearers that the world had come so close to their doors that heathenism would flow to this coun- try and corrupt the springs of their own life if they did not make haste to evangelise the nations, he proceeded to enlarge on the splendid opportunities and great responsibilities which lay before them. Some of the greatest explorers had been missionaries of this Society, and the earlier preparatory work had been practically completed. The Gospel, he argued, was adapted to all needs, and glancing at India and various parts of the globe he declared that never was there such an oppor- tunity for getting at the educated young men of Bengal as now. He quoted also what he described as an appalling need in South India for more workers, and, indeed, all round the world the doors were open. Still more, the young men and maidens of some of their best families were offering themselves as missionaries. Incidentally he mentioned that the Chairman of the Union was the son of a missionary, that Mr. Clarkson, the Secretary of the Church- Aid Society, was the son of a missionary, and that he was himself also the son of a missionary. This enterprise was one of the greatest of this virile age.

The Rev. H. Arnold Thomas, M.A., of Bristol, followed with an address on the cultivation of the missionary spirit. If they had that spirit, he argued, they had everything. He urged ministers to care for the work themselves, to c ill their people together, to get a large map, to collect a lew facts,

and to study the missionary enterprise. If they were mis- sionary men, the churches would become missionary churches ; and sometimes they should give a missionary narrative instead of a sermon.

The Rev. Stanley Rogers, of Liverpool, moved the follow- ing resolution :—" That the Assembly heartily rejoices in the commencement of the Forward Movement ; thanks God for the success already realised ; impresses upon the churches the duty of more liberal contributions to meet the impera- tive and rapidly-increasing demands of the work ; and with this view would urge the Directors immediately to initiate a Centenary Fund." In a vigorous speech Mr. Rogers struck the key-notes of success and of triumph. He believed the resolution would be heartily endorsed throughout the country, and he particularly insisted that the Society had not gone back. In three years they had sent sixty-seven out of the hundred missionaries, and the crisis had arisen entirely out of the Forward Movement. The Society had the grandest record of native teachers of any society. Mr. Rogers proceeded to advocate the systematic collection of money from the churches.

The Rev. Dr. Berry, of Wolverhampton, seconded, and emphasised the thanksgiving part of the resolution. That man was unwise who concealed prosperity, and their churches were inspired by records of success and achievement. De- fending the Self-Denial Week, he said it was not to be treated as a joke, but taken in the spirit of self-disciplme He also advocated the necessity of blending enthusiasm and common-sense. He did not know what was meant by the statement he had heard of the Directors crying " Halt."

The Rev. Richard Lovett, M.A., one of the Directors, answer- ing this, said that the Directors did not feel justified in incur- ring further liabilities until the annual income was more in proportion to the annual expenditure. Their first business was to pay their debt; but unless they had £20,000 more of income they would have a heavy debt again next year, and to complete the Forward Movement they would require another £20,000. , .

The Rev. S. Pearson, M.A.,of Manchester, thought it would ba a shame and a scandal to go back on their Forward policy until they had fathomed the resources of the churches. But the Directors, determined to behave like honest men, had found it necessary to call a halt. The churches had not contributed enough properly to maintain those already despatched. If they did not advance, they must go back.— Rev. Jonathan Lees and Mr. T. E. Minshall having spokeD.

The Rev. J. G. Rogers, B. A., pointed out that the work be- fore them would tax the resources of the churches as they had never been taxed before. They had sent out two-thirds of the men, but two-thirds of the work had not been accom- plished. Some of the men were standing still for want of appliances, and medical missionaries needed hospitals. The contributions of some of the churches were a disgrace to themselves.

Dr. Barrett, in putting the question, said he considered it the most important submitted to the Assembly this spring. The resolution was carried unanimously.

— — TQQOQQQQjnr-i — —

MONTHLY PRAYEJR MEETING.

ON Monday, June 4th, the usual monthly gathering for prayer will be held in the Board Room of the Mission House, 14, Blomfield Street, E.C., from four to five p.m. Recent information from missionaries in the field will be communicated. A full attendance is earnestly desired. All friends of missions will be heartily welcome.]

150

ECHOES FROM THE HOME CHURCHES.

Juke, 1894.

PERSONAL NOTES.

CHINA. — On March lGth Miss Field, of Hong Kong, became Mrs. Colborne, of the C.M.S. The wedding took place in theToTsai Chapel, and was entirely in Chinese. Dr. Chalmers officiated, and a very large number of friends, both Chinese and English, assem- bled to witness the ceremony, including many of the women and girls among whom the bride has carritd on her work. Dr. and Mrs. Colborne left on the 29th for Pak Hoi, to which station Dr. Colborne had been suddenly summoned on account of the break- down of the doctor there. — On the 20th March a social evening was held in Union Church, Kong Kong, to bid farewell to the Rev. G. H. Bondfield, on the eve of his furlough, and to welcome the Rev. G. J. Williams, who is taking temporary charge. Mr. Bond- field was presented with a purse of sovereigns, as a token of love from his congregation ; and Miss Field, who has been the organist for several years, was presented with a handsome chiming travelling clock, and a set of silver tea-spoone and sugar tongs, on the occasion of her marriage. The week previously Mrs. Bondfield received valuable gifts from her class of Christian Endeavour, and from those who gather in the meetings held in the Soldiers' and Sailors' Djstitute. Her service of love and untiring efforts on behalf of all sorts and conditions of men have endeared her greatly to them. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bond- field will leave a blank not easily filled, and their return will be eagerly waited for by many in Hong Kong. — Miss Rowe has settled down happily at Chuk Yuen, near Poklo, from which centre she lives on friendly terms with some fifty of the surrounding villages. There are about a dozen Christians in the village, and Miss Rowe is gradually finding others, generally solitary cases, scattered about in all directions.

India. — On returning to Cuddapah, after a year and nine months' absence, the Rev. G. H. Macfarlane notices a great im- provement in the quantity and quality of the mission work. " We have," he says, " sent twenty-four lads and eight young men to Gooty for training since January. Some of these need only a one or two years' course ; others will have three or four years." — The Rev. E. Hawker has been greatly enjoying and has derived much benefit from his visit to Egypt and Palestine. He expects to reach England early in June.

Madagascar.— The Rev. C. Collins wrote on March 17th :— " Radavidra, an old evangelist of the Society, now Governor of Mananjara, has mediated with good effect between the Taimoro and their Hova Governor. The people, at a large gathering held a fortnight ago, agreed to take up the forced service as of old, and to allow things to be in every respect as before. This means that our educational and evangelistic work can now be recommenced. To this end, Mr. Jones and I came to Vohipeno a week ago. Last Sunday I presented him to the people at each of the two churches here as their missionary. On Tuesday he left for home, and I am remaining behind to settle teachers, &c. We have started eight schools, and hope next week to have most of the others going. Each time I come here I am struck by the

fine field for work which is waiting to be occupied. With a suitable boat, quite a number of stations can be reached in a comparatively short time. The Hovas here plead earnestly for Mr. Jones to come and live among them as soon as possible, and a good number of the natives would be glad to have a missionary in their midst."

New Guinea.— The Rev. W. G. Lawes has fixed upon a hill named Vatornata, inland of Kapakapa, as the site of the new College Institution. There are about 120 villages in the district accessible on horseback, and altogether the site far exceeds Mr. Lawes' most sanguine expectations. — In response to the invitation of the Directors, the Rev. J. Chalmers has inti- mated his willingness to come home in readiness for the Centenary celebrations. — The Rev. H. M. Dauncey, during his deputation work in Australia, visited Summer Hill Church, Sydney, with his magic lantern. He exhibited the photo, of the chief of a, village a few miles from Port Moresby, and told how he had asked for a teacher, and how lack of funds had prevented his request being granted. When Mr. Dauncey had finished, the Rev. W. J. L. Closs and some of his young folks had a short consultation, the result being that Mr. Dauncey was asked to place a teacher at the village as the result of their Christian Endeavour Band.

West Indies. — One of the most enthusiastic gatherings ever held in Providence Congregational Church, Charlestown, took place on March 28th, when the Rev. R. B. Lander was welcomed and inducted as successor to the late Rev. Joseph Ketley. The church was crowded to excess, it being computed that upwards of a thousand persons were present, numbers of whom only obtained standing room. Rev. Dr. J. E. London, who with Rev. J. L. Green, of Blankenburg, has acted as co-pastor since the resignation and retirement of Mr. Ketley, presided over the induction ceremonies. Addresses were delivered by the Revs. J. L. Green, F. C. Glasgow, and — Reynolds, and Mr. Massiah. ♦H*>

ECHOES FROM THE HOME CHURCHES.

THE members of the Wellingborough Congregational Christian Endeavour Society, being anxious to help the Society in its efforts to carry out its Forward Movement, held a jumble sale and sale of work in Salem School, on April 20th, which realised about £15.

A very successful session of St. George's Road Church Bible- class, Glasgow, was closed by a social meeting, at which Rev. Dr. Anderson presided. The attendance was large and enthusiastic. On one of the tables was exhibited a silver Communion service, bearing a suitable inscription, which the class is about to send out to Rev. J. Chalmers, New Guinea, for the use of one of his native congregation there. A portion of the income for the year was also allocated to Mrs. J. C. Thorne for the benefit of the women's sewing classes in the capital of Madagascar, which she supports and superintends.

The Young People's Working Party in connection with Rainhill Congregational Church, Prescot, Lancashire, have raised, through a small sale, the sum of £20, with which they intend to purchase the beds that will be needed for the proposed Wuchang Hospital.

June, 1894.

FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE WATCHERS' BAND.

151

A NEW START IN WALES.

\ T the quarterly meeting of the East Glamorgan District, held in Miny Street, Cardiff, after an address by the Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A., a committee was appointed to take into consideration and devise the best means to cele- brate the Centenary of the London Missionary Society. This Committee, numbering five, met at Pontypridd, April 23rd, when it was thought that it would be a good plan to divide the district into five sections as follows : — No. 1. The two Rhondda valleys, including Ton'refail and Gilfach Goch to the Porth. Bodringallt Church, in the Rhondda Valley, did not use to collect more than £3 or £4, but this year the collection is something over £40. No. 2. From Porth to Glandwr, Taff's "Well, including on the right Efail Isaf, Castell, and Bronllwyn, and on the left Cilfynydd, Groes, Wern, Aber, Llanbradach, Rhydri, Caerphilly, and Wat- ford. No. 3. From Glandwr to Barry, including Whit- church and St. Bride, Super-Ely. No. 4. The Vale of Glamorgan to Bridgend, including Llantrissant. No. 5. The Garw and Ogmore valleys to Bryncethin, including Bethel and Abercynffig. It was thought desirable for this Committee to visit each section, calling together as many as could make it convenient to meet them. The time and places of meeting are as follows :— No. 1. At Ton Ystrad, on May 1st ; No. 2. At Pontypridd, May 2nd ; No. 3. At Cardiff, May 3rd; No. 4. At Pontyclun, May 15th; No. 5. At Brynymenyn, May 16th. It was resolved to give to the churches as much information as possible of the doings of our Society ; ask volunteers to give their names to the secretary, intimating thereby their willingness to visit a number of churches to preach or lecture ; an appeal to be made to the churches that have not collected, to do so at once ; ask all the churches to make a special collection be- fore the end of the year, and whatever is done to be accounted part of their Centenary celebration ; public meet- ings to be held in central places during this and next year ; a sermon to be given at the next quarterly meeting bearing on the subject. The Committee have met in three of the places. There is reason to be thankful to God for the spirit manifested throughout the deliberations, and the readiness of ministers and laymen to go forth and do what they can to make the Centenary a success.

Erratum.— In the April issue of the Chronicle, the Rev. M. Phillips was guilty of an oversight in saying that, at the time of his appointment as a vernacular preacher to the masses in that city, there was not a foreign missionary in Madras capable of preaching to the people in their own language. Mr. Phillips was thinking chiefly of British mis- sionaries, and overlooked the fact that the Rev. R. Hand- mann, of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission, was in the habit of preaching in the lanes in the neighbourhood of the Lutheran Mission House. He has apologised to Mr. Hand- mann for this oversight. It should be borne in mind that Mr. Phillips' statement referred solely to preaching to the masses in the city of Madras, in the Tamil language.— Ed.

FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE WATCHERS' BAND.

ALL of our members and friends who were able to be present at the annual meeting of the Watchers' Band must have been gratified with the large attendance, which crowded the Great Hall of the Cannon Street Hotel, and with the manifest interest in the proceedings which was maintained without flagging from the beginning to the close.

oo* The time-table was well kept through the whole two hours ; the siDging was bright and hearty ; the prayers were devout and definite, and the addresses able, earnest, and instructive. It was truly a time of spiritual quickening and refreshment which was much enjoyed, and we may con- fidently hope that such an encouraging meeting, in which it was a privilege to participate, will have wide-spread and lasting results.

O 0 9

Enclosed in the present number of the Chronicle will be found a copy of the Second Annual Report, and as every " Watcher " should be a reader of our magazine, all should thus receive it ; and if each will use it to obtain at least one additional member, our membership will immediately be doubled. Additional copies may be obtained through the local secretaries, who will be supplied on application with the number required.

o o o

The number of Branches formed in the United Kingdom up to the end of March was 357, but as the number of churches and mission-stations is reported to be 4,842, it will be seen that there is ample scope in this direction for missionary work at home. We must, therefore, all set before us, as a definite aim, the securing of a Branch in connection with every church, and the enlisting of every member as a " Watcher." James E. Liddiard.

NEW BRANCHES.

London.

Branch.

Croydon (George Street)

Country.

Alton

Battle

Ewhurst

Keswick

Manchester (Rusholme)

„ (Stockport Road)

„ (Vine Street)

Oldham (Hope) ...

Over

Sheffield (Howard Street) ,

Southport (Chapel Street) ,

Stockport (Wycliffe)

Weymouth (Gloucester Street) ... Wilmslow

Secretary. Miss S. H. Fletcher.

Mr. T. H. Knight.

Mrs. Humble.

Mr. W. Honess.

Mr. H. W. Miller.

Miss Harker.

Miss Parker.

Mr. Brunskill.

Miss Newton (pro tern.)

Miss M. E. Mellor. ( Mr. J. W. Tuffley. { Miss E. Frost.

Mrs. Lillyman.

Miss E. E. Livesley. Mr. I. J. Brown. Miss C. Manchester.

152

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

June, 1894.

THE LATE J. WALfORD HART.

THE painful tidiDgs, received by telegram, of the totally unexpected death of this dear brother reached us in time for bare notice only in our last issue. We are still awaiting details by mail, and, on their arrival, shall lose no time in giving them publicity. Pending their arrival, we can only join with a host of others in expressing a sense of deep sorrow and loss. To know Walford Hart was to love him. His simple, affectionate disposition, combined as it was with much strength of character and cultured intelligence, made him a delightful colleague in Christian service. Working with him for several years in connection with the Young Men's Missionary Band, I learned to appreciate and love him, and it was a great joy to all his old companions in that Band when he gave up his profession, as a solicitor, to become a missionary. We felt that in him we should hnve a noble re-

THE LATE J. WALFORD HART.

presentative of the Band's highest aims and aspirations, and we anticipated for him a long and honourable career.

In the inscrutable but gracious providence of God, our friend has had to put off his armour almost as soon as he had donned it, and we can only reverently bow to what is beyond our comprehension. A chord of intense sympathy for the bride, for the brother and sister-in-law, for the Hankow and Chung King mission circles, and for the sorrow- ing friends of Mr. and Mrs. Hart here at home, has been vibrating ever since the distressing news came to hand. This is admirably voiced in the subjoined extract from a letter by the Rev. J. Wallace Wilson, who was his comrade and co-worker in distant Chung King. G. C.

" We liked Walford Hart from the moment Ave saw him> and my enforced departure for England was made the less bitter for me by his presence at the mission station which I had

been privileged to establish in far-away Chung King. Never shall I forget the farewell he gave me when surrounded by a distressed contingent of my native friends, who, with him, had helped me in my great weakness down to the boat that was to take me away from the place where my heart was and still is. Let me say at once that I should never have left Chung King, ill and all as I was, had it not been that he was there to act as my successor. His goodness, his kindne-'s, his marked abilities, his general sincerity, his robust common- sense had endeared him to me, and made me feel also that, in spite of the want of knowledge of Chinese, his own presence — being that of a morally and mentally strong man — would serve to bind and consolidate the work that had been set in motion and was still going on. Never shall I forget that solitary European figure standing up in a little boat, waving farewell to me through his tears, as he returned to the city, and I went on my dolorous way, weak in body and well-nigh broken in heart. And he has gone to his rest before me ! I never contemplated that. It is all inexpressibly sad, and at present I fail to see a solitary ray of light in the deep shadow that has settled upon us. But God makes no mistakes. That, at least, is a stronghold just now ; and our faith in His wisdom, which requires no vindi- cation, must help us to believe that out of this unlooked-for visitation there will somehow come a compensating help and blessing for the sorely bereaved bride of a fortnight, for the broken-hearted brother and sister, and for the Mission which has only too good a reason for deploring the early removal of a really promising agent."

♦

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

DEPARTURES.

The Rev. D. Picton Jones, returning to Central Africa, and Mrs. Purves, proceeding to Central Africa, embarked for Ciiinde, per steamer lllovo. May 8th.

ARRIVALS IN ENGLAND.

The Rev. A. A. Dignum, Mr9. Dignum, and child, from Sai.hm, South India, per sceamer Kalsar-i-Ilin<l,sA Marseilles, thence overland, April 19th.

The Rkv. W. B. Puillips, and Mrs. Beuq and three children, from Cal cutta. North India, per steamer Mirzapore, May 8th.

The Rkv. S. J. Wiutmeu, from Samoa, South l'aclllc, via America, per steamer Lucania, May 12th.

BIRTHS.

Lester.— December 29th, at Bellary, South India, the wife of the Rev. H. Lester, of a son.

Kkks.— March 3rd, at Ambohimandroso, Betslleo country, Madagascar, the wife of the Rev. D. M. HecB, of a daughter.

Lawrence.— April 2nd, at Bangalore, South India, the wife of the Rev. W J. Lawrence of a son and daughter. (Children since deceased.)

MARRIAGE.

Coi.borne— Field.— March 16th, at the Chinese Chapel, Hong Kong, by tho Rev. John Chalmers, M.A., LL.D., Dr. Colborne, of the O.M.S., Kong Mun, to Miss Sophia Ellen Field, of the London Mission, Hong Kong, China.

DEATH.

Scott. — April 17th, at Lymlngton, Hants, the Rev. James Tait Scott, for- merly missionary in New Guinea, aged 41 years.

TO SUBSCRIBERS.

It is rtquested that all Contributions, Remittances, and Payments be made to the Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A., Home Secretary, Ik, Blomfleld Street, London, E.G. ; and. that, if any portion of these gifts is designed for a special object, full particulars of the place and purpose may be given. Cheques should be crossed Bank of England, and Post-office Orders made payable at the General Post Office.

All orders for Missionary Boxes, Collecting Books, Cards, Magazines, *«., should be addressed to the Rev. Georqb COUSINS, Editorial Secretary, 14, Blomfleld Street, London, B.C.

Telegraphic Addrosa -MISSIONARY, LONDON.

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