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_THE

Chronicle

Of the London Missionary Society

Editor: BASIL MATHEWS, M.A.

Photo hy\ [Basil Mathews

Camel Caravan coming dozen the Taurus Mountains from the plateau of Asia Minor to Tarsus

BY far the most important news of the whole world this month — it may well be during this year — is summed up in the little ship bearing the Japanese name Komagata Maru.

There she has been lying anchored off Vancouver with her Indian passengers waiting for permission to land.

She is the East knocking at the doors of the West : the Asiatic on the doorstep of the Anglo-Saxon. And Canada is making her a test case. Is Canada to exclude the Indian, the Japanese, the Chinese from entering her doors in large numbers ?

The East Knock- ing at the Doors of the West

The problem is an industrial one on the surface — a question of cutting out white labour by the cheapness of Asiatic living. But it is also a commercial, racial, social and religious problem in- volving those tremendous and complex issues of race-fusion or segregation, of moral uplift, industrial development, educational progress and religious salva- tion in East and West which form the greatest problem crying for solution in the next half-century.

If you land to-day on a South Sea Is- land, Chinese coolies and Indian labourers run down to compete with Samoan or

JULY 1914

145

146

The East Knocking at the Doors of the West

[July 1914

Fijian for your employ. The Prime Minister of New Zealand has declared in the last month that the New Zealand Defence Act was prompted by fear of Asiatic attack, and that he hopes to pass legislation prohibiting the entrance of Hindus into New Zealand. In South Africa the problem created by the importa- tion of Indians (as labour) by ourselves as white people issued in a frightful imbroglio between Anglo-Saxon, Kaffir and Indian which was full of menace. That situation created seething dis- content in India, and the fact that it has so far been moved on to sounder and happier lines is due to the fact that the Indians themselves (non-Christians though they are) chose two young North Indian missionaries to go out to South Africa. One of these mis- sionaries has since come home to England, has had long and im- portant negotiations with Sir Edward Grey, and has now just returned to India.

Intense feeling is developing both in our dominions on the one hand and in Asia on the other. This is not a problem which can be settled by rule of thumb, but needs a long, continuous search for the Christian solution.

The Times, commenting on the Komagata Maru case, has advo- cated a principle for Canada, receiving wide assent, that —

. . . free peoples have a right to say whom they will admit into their country, just as free men have the right to say whom they will admit into their houses.

Photo t>y]

The " Cilician Gates

[Basil Mathews through the Taurus Mountains

The Turkish wagon on the road is at the point where only the road and the stream run between the precipices. Alexander the Great came through this pass to invade the East. St. Paul went up through it to Lystra Iconium, etc.

We cannot help feeling that that state- ment involves a perfectly colossal menace. Japan, fully-armed and buoyantly con- fident ; China, now mining in the greatest coal-fields and the greatest iron-fields in the world, and beginning to face possi- bilities of producing her own Dreadnoughts and guns, with her four hundred millions of people, hard}*, and careless of death ; and India with its teeming population, have, in that case, the right to exclude the

West from Asia, with all those enormous commercial, governmental, social and industrial interests which we share in China and India.

It is easy to use the word Armageddon in oratorical exaggeration, but no con- ception of the frightful world-Armageddon of warfare has ever remotely approached the hideous realities which would then be upon us.

July 1914]

The East Knocking at the Doors of the West

147

We hope, in the autumn, to produce an entire number of The Chronicle devoted to this immense inter-racial problem and the relationship of the L.M.S. and Christian missions to it.

Meanwhile it may not be without help to recall that when Paul tramped his way through the mighty ravine of the Cilician Gates (illustrated on the opposite page) from Tarsus to the high plateau of Lystra, Iconium and the rest, he was in the middle of a civilisation where Greek and Roman on the one side and the Asiatic on the other, in a miniature way, illustrated similar conditions. The great and central aim of his ministry was in a word " recon- ciliation " — that Gentile and Jew should

fuse their hates in a common worship of love. His whole effort was bent to the practical work of bringing in — within the Roman Empire of his day — a greater Kingdom

Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman : but Christ is all, and in all.

The modern missionary enterprise is called to bend all its energies to this same task on a scale utterly without precedent, and amid conditions which blend cynical and material ambition, ever watchful and eager for aggrandisement, with a legitimate anxiety to preserve the best in Western civilisation.

58

The Missionary Obligation

DR. GARVIE'S new book, " The Missionary Obligation in the Light of Changes in Modern Thought," is very opportune. Its logical, closely knit argument for Christian missions presents the old appeal

consistently with the widening horizon of modern philoso- phy and Biblical criticism, and a fuller acquaint- ance with the great systems of religion by which Christianity is confronted. The serious purpose of the book is indicated by its careful division into sections and subsections, which, when carefully noted, greatly assist the reader to follow the sequence of thought. It is not a book for cursory perusal, but one to be care- fully read and pondered.

We can hardly doubt, judged by ana- logy, that the position of our country has been conceded in the order of divine

The Rev. F. B. Meyei

By the

Rev. F. B. Meyer

Providence that it may fulfil for the wTorld of to-day a similar function to that of the Hebrew people, in communicating the divine faith and religious ideals, which are intended to lift the race nearer the divine consummation for which creation appears to be waiting. Ours is a great opportunity and a vast obligation. As certainly as the chosen people dwelt in the midst of the ancient nations, that they might communicate the treasure hid in its earthen vessel, does our empire touch every shore, that to all nations, kindreds, and tongues it may pass the divine word.

In these days of declining church at- tendance and the absorption of money by the increased rate of living, it is no- thing short of wonderful that the mis- sionary exchequer is still so marvellously supplied ; but the strain is becoming enormous, and it is evident that a large proportion of income is still provided, speaking generally, by those who hold the more conservative views of Chris- tianity. It is very necessary that these should be encouraged by discovering that the newer attitude to Scripture is not inconsistent with missionary enthusiasm, and that the obligation for the support of our great societies is as urgent, if not

148

The Missionary Obligation

[July 1914

more so, as in the days of our k fathers. This is the problem to m which Dr. Garvie has given his #/ strong, logical, and philosophical few mind, bathing his arguments in evangelical fervour.

One of the outstanding features of the book is its repeated and strong affirmation of the evangelical position. " There is no necessary antagonism between this modern scholarship and Christian faith " (10). " I hold with all my heart and soul that the Gospel we should take to the ends of the earth is the Gospel of an objective atone- ment for sin in His sacrifice" (46). "It was in the holy heart of Jesus Christ on His cross that God's love endured the consequences of sin." Dr. Garvie further expatiates on the sacrificial aspect of the death of Christ as a point of contact with non-Christian religions (52). These and similar statements are eminently reassur- ing, and inspire confidence in his further elucidation of the present position.

The view of the Bible as containing a progressive revelation of divine truth is accepted as being consistent with an un- faltering belief in its inspiration and in the supernatural and miraculous incidents it records ; and it is rightly argued that only in a frank admission of its progressive character can objections be met which educated non-Christians in China, India, and Japan may advance against the morality and religion of Old Testament saints. This is a fair illustration of the method that Dr. Garvie adopts. He is true to all the essentials of evangelical religion ; his appreciation of the Scrip- tures as the unique and authoritative revelation of the divine will is apparent on every page ; and whilst accepting the constructive results of modern thought, he shows that these are making the work of the Christian missionary easier, and leave untouched the great principles on which the Church has ever relied in her presentation of Christ, as the only name given under heaven whereby men can be saved.

WMjJ The immense superiority of the A vScriptures to all other religious lite rat 11 re ; the infinite need of non- Christian peoples, even as regards this earthly human life ; the inevit- able loss that must be suffered by non-Christians as they pass into the other life, even if they have been true to their light in this ; their need of " power unto salvation " to realise MB their ideals, which mock them apart W from the Christian dynamic ; the W contrast between the ethics of Buddha and Christ ; the adapta- bility of Christianity to all mankind, — these are subjects with which Dr. Garvie deals with a masterly hand, and for which we must refer readers to his pages.

Whilst the underlying theme of the book may be said to be that Christianity is the absolute religion, and the religion of the future, the author is free to admit that the Spirit of Truth has spoken in the great systems, which are paling their light before the growing dawn of Christianity. It is admittedly necessary to endeavour to discover how far they have met the need of the groping soul, and to find the point where they have failed. It is there that the missionary, as Dr. Garvie shows, will secure his vantage-point.

That Christianity may be modified, not in its essence, but in its form, is more than likely. There are aspects of the Gospel which will be specially attractive to the Eastern mind, and will be illumi- nated for us Westerns as they are pre- sented under the modifying influence of the lands in which our religion was nurtured (127). But when full allowance is made for all such changes as Western or Eastern methods of thought may im- pose, the Gospel will persist in its evan- gelical essence, the travail of Christ's soul will still cry for satisfaction, the Spirit of Christ will still urge the Church to greater sacrifices than ever, and the Christian mind will still be convinced of the increasing imperative of the mission- ary call. Such is the argument and appeal of this notable book.

THE MISSIONARY OBLIGATION IN THE LIGHT OF CHANGES IN

MODERN THOUGHT. By A. E. Garvie, D.D. London Missionary Society and Hodder & Stoughton. :: :: 2s. net ; 2s. 4d. post free.

A

Doctor's Year

By Dr. H. E. Wareham

of Kawimbe, Central Africa

THE MODEL VILLAGE OF MBERESHI

THE past year has been the busiest at the hospital as far as in- patients are concerned. Though we cannot touch the numbers which they have in the hospitals of India or China, we are never without patients in our little hospital. We have nine beds, and sometimes all are occupied. As we have no nurse, this means a good deal of work for Kawe, my hospital attendant, who has been with me for over eleven years, but not all the time at work in the hospital.

As a nipper of seven or eight he washed dishes, and a year later became our cook. He was an excellent cook, but he had one great failing. He was too fond of reading. I have no objection to a love for literature, but when the porridge is burned and the milk boils over and the pudding is " sad " (i.e. doughy), my love for literature in a cook weakens. As talking and warning and punishment made little impression on him, we told him he had better seek work of another kind, work which would not be interfered with by a love for reading. As I was in need of a hospital boy I took him on, and he has been in that position for eight years and does his work well. He is a good boy, with one or two weaknesses — namely, a love for fancy names and brilliantly coloured clothing and a passionate love for singing — out of tune.

His penchant for fancy names has amus- ing results. At present his name is Thomas Rees Kathleen Kawe Silungyili. There are others which I cannot remember. His love for literature and fancy names are closely connected, for he obtains his names from magazines which he borrows from Mrs. Ware- ham. What his names will be next year will depend on the serial stories in the British Weekly and the Sunday at Home.

But with all his little peculiarities he is a good boy, a great help to me in translation work, and I am delighted to say that he has applied for entrance to the Catechumens' Class. Were I to lose Kawe I should miss him more than any one on this station. But I was talking about my patients ; let me go back to them, though a word or two about the man who looks after them will not come amiss. Some of last year's patients were quite interesting cases.

One day a poor wretch was carried in from a village about seventy miles away. An official had found him in a village far from his home, in a miserable state, and he sent him on to me. I never saw a man in such a condition. He had at least 200 sores. He was suffering from a skin disease which under ordinary treatment would have healed quickly. He had lain in a dirty hut in the village, alone and neglected, a stranger. Dirt had got into the blebs, and every one had become a sore. As is so often the case, he arrived when I was alone and very busy.

Fortunately, a missionary from another station arrived. My hospital attendant was in bed with fever. I called in our head teacher to help, and it took us over four hours to clean and dress him and make him comfortable. I wished an old head teacher at Kambole had been with us to help, it would have done him good. Some years ago he returned, from two years' in- struction at Livingstonia, with a badly swelled head. Soon after his arrival he was asked to preach. He took the oppor- tunity to say that we missionaries were not like our Master, as we did not wash our disciples' feet. (A little le irnin^ is a dangerous thing.) I wish he had had an opportunity of washing that man in the open air on a hot day. He would have realised

149

A Doctor's Year

[July 1Q14

that one may do as the Master did without doing the same work. I did not expect the poor man would live, but I hoped for the best. One has seen such marvellous recoveries in this country that one never despairs. He was " dressed " several times, and quite a number of his sores healed, but one day he became very ill and died in a few hours. We certainly eased his pain and made his dying more comfortable.

Though we did not save his life, his coming amongst us was not in vain, for it certainly helped many in the village to see that no work was too mean or loathsome for' the follower of Christ to undertake in His name. This case also taught our head teacher a needed lesson. He is a good man, and, unlike most of our teachers, is willing to do any- thing that he is asked to do, however humble the work may be. He came willingly to

I thought it was time to appear on the scene, and so returned with the headman to the village. I found the old man in his hut and his daughter crying bitterly, and asking him not to take his life. The man is a widower. I talked to him, telling him that he would be well looked after in the hospital and he would soon be all right again. But he didn't want to be all right again, he said ; he wanted to die. I told him that he must not kill himself. He had no right to throw away the life that God had given him. This and much else I told him, but it made little impression. He refused to leave his hut. At last I went outside and waited till he came. I called to him that it was most disrespectful to keep his chief (as they call us) waiting. The head- man added a few words on the same subject. That fetched him. He wasn't going to be

THE HOSPITAL AT KAWIMBE

help me " dress " the man after several had refused on account of his condition and the awful smell. One day, in the middle of our work on the man, he said to me : "I must stop now as I have to teach a Bible Class in a distant village." I replied : " Stay where you are, you will never preach a better sermon than you are preaching now ; the class will get on without you to-day." I also explained to him our proverb, " Actions speak louder than words." He saw my meaning and stayed without a murmur.

One of the last patients of the year was Sakyi, an old resident in the village. I was called one morning and told that Sakyi had fallen on the fire and was badly burned. I at once sent up men to bring him down to the hospital. The headman came back say- ing that he refused to come, and that he was going to commit suicide as he did not want to live. He was subject to fits, and it was in one of these fits that he fell on the fire. He therefore did not want to live longer.

disrespectful. He came out and was brought to the hospital. He was badly burned, but after a time he was all right and digging his garden as well as any one.

In addition to these, I have had a fair number of white people. In connection with the last we received a bad shock. About six hours after the birth of a little baby, the ceiling of the room in which she and her mother were lying fell on the top of them . I heard the noise and rushed downstairs. Instead of a nice clean room containing my patient and her baby, I saw a mass of mud and wood. I called for help, and after twenty minutes' hard work we reached them, and found them both absolutely unhurt. Fortunately the mother had the baby in her arms, otherwise it would have been killed ; its cot was smashed. The iron bedstead was broken, but neither had a scratch. We were most thankful for the providential escape. Earthquakes had evidently loosened the attachments of the ceiling.

The Wardlaw Thompson Hospital

The Beginning of a New Age

THE HOSPITAL AT CHIKKABALLAPURA

G

RACIOUS Gift of Jesus " is the legend inscribed in the vernacu- lar high up on the front of the Wardlaw Thompson Hospital, Chikkaballapura, S. India. But for the love of Jesus it would never have come into being, and its chief purpose is to witness to the Spirit of Jesus, and to make men more sure of Him. And not alone the building, but he whose name it bears, is truly a gift of God to the London Missionary Society and to the people amongst whom its work is carried on.

The hospital was opened at the end of February, 191 3, and before the middle of July, over 3,000 out-patients and nearly 140 in-patients had been treated there. Those who know the district well had pro- phesied that by the end of the first year the people's confidence might be sufficiently gained to provide half a dozen in-patients. Within the first week there were ten, and the number has seldom fallen below twenty since !

Among the in-patients there have already been many cases which have proved a great encouragement. One man was brought in in a desperate condition, having fallen into a pan of boiling cane- juice in the sugar-yard during the night. He remained for two months and made a splendid recovery. It was a great pleasure to the missionaries to have to do with him and to talk to him, and they now have a very earnest advocate in a part of the country where hitherto it was possible to do very little.

Another good man was brought in on the eve of the feast of Shiva, suffering with a great carbuncle. His relatives did not ex- pect him to live more than a day or two. He was operated on and soon began to mend, and in three months he had quite recovered. But he was very loath to leave the hospital ; for a week he came every

night to sleep in the old place, and almost had to be taken as a boarder ! Later he brought a gift of nearly £2, a considerable sum for him, and he continues to come most mornings to encourage other patients. Another case met with was most gratifying. A man and his wife were encountered leaving the hospital in such high spirits that the missionary felt specially moved to inquire what the trouble had been. The woman beamed again while her husband related how she had had to undergo an operation which had made it necessary to graft skin. Then he bared his arm and showed with considerable pride the places from which the doctors had taken great strips of skin to graft on to his wife. There was indeed good cause for rejoicing on all sides, for this kind of thing marks the beginning of a new age in Chikkaballapura.

Of the hospital buildings some idea may be gained from the picture. There are men's and women's wards of fourteen beds each, two special wards of six beds each, and a beautiful maternity ward with four private rooms, operation-room, consulting- room, and bath-rooms. In the main section of the hospital and at the back of the quad- rangle is the surgical block of which, it is said, there is every reason to be proud. There are also the medical evangelist's house, nurses' quarters, kitchens, store- rooms, foundations for private wards, and the best well in Chikkaballapura. There is water storage of 3,000 gallons and a service by taps over the whole hospital, a consider- able novelty in an Indian country town. The whole was planned by Dr. Campbell, and is an improvement on his old hospital at Jammalamadugu.

Such is the building and such the work that has been chosen to commemorate, in India, the services of Dr. Wardlaw Thomp- son.

151

The Leading of the k New China

By Ch'eng-Ching-Yi

(Pastor of the Independent Christian Church, Peking)

[A speech at the meeting of the Board of Directors on June 9]

The Rev. CJCcnz-Chi

SIX years have passed since I said I my farewell word in this House, and much has happened during these years in the country whence I come, and for which you have done so much. Politically, socially, and relig- iously China is making rapid reforms in every direction. One is almost afraid to make statements about China, for one never knows what change will again take place in the next day ! Her progressive movements are as rapid and radical as her former conservatism was strong and lasting.

Take the city of Peking, my native place, as an example : at one time, not very long ago, everything foreign was to be destroyed, and every one connected with foreigners was to be put to death, and even the word for Foreign — " Yang " — was to be got rid of. To-day in that same city everything foreign is valued highly and copied at once. Yesterday I heard from Peking that President Yuan Shih Kai is sending a band of girls abroad for further education. It is almost un- thinkable that only fourteen years ago railwa\-s, telegraphs, and even matches had to be destroyed for the only reason that they were introduced to China from foreign countries, and to-day you can sometimes see Chinese young women, dressed in the latest European fashion, walking in the street of Peking, with an air of satisfaction !

Just before I came away from Peking an invitation to dinner was received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The invi-

tation was given in the name of both the minister and his wife, a custom unknown in China before, and on the card it was stated that evening dress must be worn !

The word " hsueh " — to learn — can be written across all the provinces of China, and it is the ambition of all to learn, to copy, and to imitate the Western world. While we are glad to see the dearly loved land of ours moving forward, and making real progress, we are sorry, at the same time, to find that in throwing off the old things, she has thrown away some of the best traditions of the ancient days, and in adopting the new things she has adopted some of the things which are not alto- gether for her benefit and good. This is indeed a time of transition which is at once difficult and overwhelming.

With regard to Christian enterprise the situation is not less remarkable. Our difficulty lies in our very success. The question to-day is not: "Who will listen to the Word of God, and when will the rock open ? " But, as so many are willing to know and to learn, the question is rather : " What are we going to do with them ? "

May I be permitted to cite a few inci- dents, from personal experience, during the last two years in the city of Peking ?

There is the man, wealthy and educated, a leader in his native town in the country, who travelled far to Peking for the sole reason of getting more light in the newly found Truth. He read his Bible, he prayed, he attended Christian worship, and yet he was distressed and unhappy.

52

July 1914]

Tt.c Leading of the New China

153

He felt that the very distress shows that there is something in the Christian Re- ligion. He was willing to lead others to Christ, but he said he could not tell others what he did not himself know. After much conversation with his Christian friend he went home rejoicing in the Lord.

There is the Christian woman for two whole hours sounding forth the Glad Tidings in the famous Temple of Heaven to men and women who are standing around her, many of whom are military officers who listen to her message with earnest faces and in a reverential attitude.

There are the non-Christian students — hundreds of them — attending the Y.M.C.A. Bible classes, many of whom have decided to stand for Christ by join- ing the Church and being baptized. They are very eager to learn, and they have many questions to ask. They are seeking light upon their intellectual and spiritual difficulties.

There is the United Evangelistic Band, organised entirely by Church members, to render voluntary service for the preach- ing of the Gospel in various places, and even the police authorities are willing to let the simple-minded Christians preach the Gospel to the prisoners in their yamens. Everywhere they go the people would follow them, and the non-Christian children would begin to sing the hymns they heard at the meetings.

There are thousands of government students who attended the special Evan-

gelistic Meetings conducted by Dr. Mott and Mr. Eddy, and hundreds of whom became interested in Christianity and desire to learn more. The local pastors and workers are altogether too few to follow up so many young and earnest inquirers. Mr. Eddy is going to China again this year, and great blessing is ex- pected by many.

These few incidents answer for many others. The people — especially the edu- cated— are eager to be taught and willing to study. They come to the Church in ones, in scores, and in hundreds. This is indeed rather a time of reaping than sowing. But here the question rises : " What are we going to do with them ? " Our existing staff of workers — pastors and preachers — are far from being well trained, and our well trained young men are not forthcoming in large numbers for the ministry.

In face of such an all-too-precious opportunity, and in face of such a real difficulty, what are we going to do ? This is a problem facing both the Missionary Society and the Chinese Church, for which they are mutually responsible. How to equip our existing agency and how to enlist more educated young men for the ministry are questions to be very carefully considered. May the Lord send forth such men and such women for the ingathering of His children who are beginning to emerge from darkness into light.

The Chronicle for August will contain a short paper by Mr. Ch'eng on the ideal relatiojiship of the Chinese Church and the missionary.

The Missionary By the

Obligation * Rev. R. J. Campbell

" What are we to say about our duty in respect to the sending of missionaries to non-Christian peoples ? Ought we to do it or not ? Assuredly we ought. The call of God comes to us to-day as insistently as it ever did ; the command of Christ has never been abrogated, * Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.'

" The death of the missionary spirit means ultimately the death of religious faith, and the death of religious faith inevitably involves the destruction of civilisation itself. I say this deliberately and after careful thought. Let our religious idealism cease to propagate itself and the soul will die out of it. It will be with us as with the Israelites of old, it will be to our own spiritual detriment and the eventual collapse of our brightest hopes for the social future if we cease to care about spreading good news concerning man's eternal destiny."

* From a siermon preached in the City Temple May 3, 1914.

Arthur N. Johnson

By Principal Bennett

and Basil Mathews

Owing to varied circumstances we were able to give just a single tribute from the hand of the late Home Secretary's friend and colleague, Dr. Thompson, last month. Even now an article which was to have reached us from one of his oldest friends has failed to come to hand. We print, however, with peculiar pleasure the intimate and tender tribute from the hand of Dr. Bennett, Principal of Lancashire College. We are, also, glad to announce that Air. S. Birch Carnley, of Leicester, has presented to the Society a portrait of Mr. Johnson to be a permanent memorial in the Mission House.

IT was my great privilege (writes Dr. Bennett) to enjoy for nearly forty years the intimate friendship of the late Rev. A. N. Johnson. We were fellow-students at Lancashire College and at Cambridge, and near neighbours for many years in London. He was a fine scholar, both in Classics and Theology ; if he had had the opportunity he might have rendered our churches valuable service as a teacher in one of our colleges.

Perhaps my most intimate association with Johnson was during a Christmas vaca- tion from Cambridge. We two, with another undergraduate, spent six weeks at Cleves, with some relatives of the late Dr. Simon. Such conditions are a searching test of a man's gifts of comradeship. I have the happiest memories of Johnson at that time ; it has always been a pleasure to me to recall his unfailing cheerfulness and good humour, and the many ways in which he helped to make our holiday delightful. Long experience showed that all this was not merely the easy good-nature of an undergraduate enjoying himself, but sprang from an unselfish kindli- ness, which was one of Johnson's most marked characteristics. On the other hand, he had firmness and force of character ; he was loyal, sincere, and straightforward, a man to be absolutely trusted, incapable of anything mean or shifty. He had also a certain dignity and reserve, such as are not always appreciated at their full value in these democratic days, and he was perhaps a little lacking in the small change of conven- tional compliments which circulate freely in public life. If there was any defect here it was far more than compensated for by the other sides of his character and work. Only those who knew the full circumstances of his life realise its patient and unobtrusive heroism. One hesitates to use the phrase " cultured gentleman " because it has often been put to base uses, but rightly under- stood it has a worthy sense, and in that sense it would apply to a A. N. Johnson.

His preaching was inspired by a depth

and reality of spiritual experience which appealed to earnest seekers after help and guidance.

But those who knew our friend best will understand that his was a character whose value and power are specially difficult to set forth in words. He did not wear his heart upon his sleeve. Some length and in- timacy of association were needed to enable any one to receive a just and adequate im- pression of his personality.

The impression made by Mr. Johnson on a junior colleague, who fell under the spell of his personal charm and enjoyed the great advantage of his fatherly, affectionate, and frank fellowship in the daily labour of the Mission House may, in some ways, supple- ment the tributes paid by his senior colleague Dr. Thompson and by his contemporary Dr. Bennett.

It may be well at the outset to state the simple facts of Mr. Johnson's life.

He was born at Darwen in 1856, a son of the late Rev. G. B. Johnson, and educated at King Edward VI. Grammar School, Birming- ham. After studying at Lancashire College, Manchester, and Trinity College, Cambridge (where he took a First Class in the Theo- logical Tripos with four other men, one of whom was Bishop Ryle),Mr. Johnson became assistant minister to the late Dr. Mac- Fadyen at Chorlton Road Congregational Church, Manchester, from 1881 to 1883. He had charge of the church in Bond Street, Leicester, where he made friendships which deepened with the passing years, from 1883 to 1892, when he was appointed to be Home Secretary of the London Missionary Society.

During his term of service he visited the United States, Australia, and New Guinea on behalf of the Society, and found time to contribute valuable information to encyclo- paedias as well as to write jointly with Dr. Wardlaw Thompson, " British Foreign Missions " — a work summarising the position

154

July 1914]

Arthur N. Johnson

155

of the foreign missions of Britain at the end of the reign of Queen Victoria.

He died on Sunday, April 26, at Heme Hill.

During Mr. Johnson's term of office the Society has undergone remarkable changes in its home organisation, and has seen a very high degree of specialisation in the propagandist work necessaryto meet itsneed. The annual income of the Society is now about £50,000 greater than when Mr. John- son first took control of the Home Depart- ment.

No one who has not actually taken part in the strenuous, continuous, and nerve- racking drive of work in the home propa- ganda organisation of a missionary society in the . present day can remotely conceive the endless demand it makes on resource- fulness, nerve, cheerfulness, and steadiness of judgment. During Mr. Johnson's secre- taryship that increasing speed of life and that complexity of demand arose which make it continuously more difficult to raise the resources of a society such as ours. The fact, then, that during his Home Secretary- ship the income of the Society from subscrip- tions at home almost doubled is a monument to the flexibility and business method which he introduced into his department and ad- ministered with unfailing conscientiousness.

In thinking of him the words that always come hist to my mind are Stevenson's " steel-true, blade-straight." As a colleague his fraternal integrity of judgment was in- valuable to his juniors. Affectionately placed at their disposal, his knowledge helped to prevent them from plunging into blunders while never hampering them by the sheer weight of experience and seniority. His immensely difficult task of attempting to

Let Us Pray

1. That those on whom now falls newly the responsibility for administrative leadership in the Mission House may have all needed illumination from Almighty God ; and strength, nerve, steadiness of judgment, sympathy, and imagination equal to their tasks. (None of the Secretaries now in the Mission House held office there five years ago.)

2. That we may all be led to a deeper and fuller realisation of the missionary ob- ligation (see pp. 147-8 and 153) that lies upon all disciples of Jesus Christ.

arrange the deputation arrangements of the Society to the satisfaction at once of the churches and the missionaries, called out his great capacities for thoughtful adjustment and the judicious balance of claims.

Any record of Mr. Johnson during the last year would also lamentably fail if it did not record, however inadequately, the great strengthening of nerve and relief of strain which were his through the watchful care of Mrs. Johnson ; and no hand can properly convey the courage and tenderness of her ministering thought during the long, painful illness that ended in her and our irreparable loss.

Mr. Johnson never found himself in a more intimately congenial position than as Chair- man of the United Council for Missionary Education. This Council, which is com- posed of representatives of the Mission Study Departments of the various societies (Anglican and Free Church) , has as its main business the development of coherent plans for missionary education and the provision of those graded study text-books which have secured such a widespread use by the best of our young life.

Mr. Johnson's cultivated mind, his free- dom from unhealthy emotionalism, his rare powers of balanced judgment, his intimate understanding of the practical problems of entrance into the churches, his sympathy with younger minds, and the devotional bearing which discussions took in the Council under his leadership, made him the natural and acclaimed chairman of this group of eager and varied minds. During the last weeks of his life it was in the affectionate company of members of that Council that he found some of the deepest and happiest consolations of human and divine fellowship.

B. M.

3. That God will raise up in China leaders who will show the people under their new conditons the Way of life. (See pp. 152-3.)

4. That God will lead us all, in the Summer Schools (see pp. 161 and 165) and throughout our churches in the autumn and winter, into a great deepening of spiritual concern for the evangelisation of the world, and that the rising tide of spiritual de- votion to the Society may express itself in ever fuller support (see pp. 156-7).

The Decision on Retrenchment

THE meeting of the Board of Direc- tors on Tuesday, June 9, was faced by the most important decision of the past decade, and probably of ten years to come. A year of unparalleled financial uplift, which has left the L.M.S. still faced by a deficit of £17,500 on the year's

Unparalleled working, placed the Board at the Financial £ , £ ! r ,

Uplift. iork of two possible paths — one

of hoping for a further increase in income adequate to the Society's present expenditure, the other of reducing the ex- penditure to a closer approximation with the present income.

Mr. A. J. Shepheard, chairman of the Consultative and Finance Committee, out- lined the history by which the Society has been led up to the present point. A series of deficits had left the Society a year ago with an accumulated deficiency of £72,000, and the resolution was arrived at that a reduction of £15,000 was necessary unless a material improvement in the Society's finances was achieved during the year in order to reduce expenditure.

The year ending March 191 4 realised a financial development which in two features is without parallel in the history of the Society. This is the first occasion, looking back over one hundred and fourteen years of life, when the Society

1 . Has increased its general annual income from the British Isles by £10,000 con- currently with the raising of a great L.M.S. special fund, and —

2. Has raised in gross income at home and abroad (including the £72,000 paid on the £100,000 Special Fund) over a quarter of a million pounds. The amount is £271,000.

This splendid response to the call of the Society in its day of need must bring great cheer to all who are anxious for the life of the churches and of the Society which does their work of world-evangelisation. The response shows a quickened spiritual vitality and a living, sacrificial passion in the hearts of multitudes of our people.

Obviously a material change has taken place in the Society's finances, but the increase of £10,000 in annual short1 ofStiU income still leaves that income Expenditure. short of the expenditure of

The Board last year resolved on a policy supported by the Congregational Union at Southend of carrying on an educational propaganda and a spiritual campaign with

A Call for Advance

a view to raising the annual income by £30,000 in three years. That would bring the income from the British Isles up to the highest point previously realised. The first instalment has been realised by the £10,000 increase during the past year.

A discussion on a very high plane of mental concentration and spiritual elevation followed

Th.n^„«ion in which m- T- E- B- Wilson, The Discussion. j p Qf Sheffield> and Dr H(Jrton

moved successive amendments to a resolu- tion for reduction by £6,500. Mr. Wilson's resolution was in favour of no reduction ; Dr. Horton's in favour of only such reduction as was consistent with handing over the work thus cut off to other societies.

Dr. Lavington Hart who had prepared and circulated through the Board a chart ex- pounding the financial situation for the last decade ; Dr. Garvie, Mr. Arthur Porritt (who was chairman of the Home Base Com- mittee which planned the campaign for advance last year) ; the Rev. A. H. Cullen, of Heaton Mersey, and others contributed to a strong representative debate.

F.nally, the following resolution was adopted :

(a) That, in view of the increased income from the British Isles of upwards of

£10,000 during the last year Reduction of and of the response of the £6,500. constituency to the Special

Appeal for £100,000 which up to March 31 had brought in upwards of £72,000 and promises of an additional £6,500, the Board rejoices that it is no longer necessary to contemplate a reduc- tion of £15,000 in the annual expenditure, and resolves during the eighteen months for which it is now necessary to frame the Society's Budget, to make a reduction at the rate of £6,500 per annum, and that the Consultative and Finance Committee be instructed to settle the Budget on this basis after such further consultation as may be necessary with the two Foreign Committees ; but that, while the Board sincerely trusts that no further reduction will be necessary, the Society's con- stituency be informed that, unless the advance in income already appealed for of at least £10,000 in the current financial year is realised, a further reduction to bring the total amount to £10,000 may be rendered necessary at the end of the period now budgeted for.

(b) In view of the changed financial

156

July 1914]

The Decision on Retrenchment

157

position, the Resolution with regard to deferring the furloughs of missionaries adopted by the Board on June 10, 191 3, be regarded as no longer operative.

The reduction resolved upon will be divided between the fields of the Society,

falling upon China largely in The Bearing of n°t filling up vacancies, on he Reduction. India by actual proposals for

withdrawal in South India, the reduction of grant and not filling up vacancies in Travancore, and withdrawal of men and the failure to supply their places in North India. In Madagascar it is pro- posed to offer the whole of the work in Betsileo to the Paris Missionary Society, though with little prospect of its being con- tinued unimpaired ; and in Papua to surrender the Torres Straits district.

Where these resolutions are new, they are bound to have a most serious effect on the work ; where they are part of the scheme of concentration and reconstruction in India now adopted by the Board, they very materially damage the effectiveness of the scheme. They were regarded by the Board as necessary in the circumstances ; but the

S8

The New Chairman of the Board

The Rev. A. J. Viner, whose tenure of office as chairman of the Board was happily described as combining celerity with dignity, retired from office, and the Rev. A. R. Henderson, of Nottingham, who as a pastor, as member of committee, as Chairman of the Examination Committee, and as Vice- Chairman of the Board has rendered splendid service to the Society, was elected to succeed him.

The Home Secretariat

A special committee was appointed of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board, the Chairmen of the Home and Foreign

Directors share with all those who have the great work of the Society at heart the lively hope that the magnificent revival of support which has been witnessed is but the begin- ning of a steady and determined period of progress.

We rejoice to share the conviction, as Mr. Arthur Porritt put it, in a cogent speech opposing the motion for retrenchment, that the cheer of the past year is only *' the first ripple of a new wave of missionary en- thusiasm," or as Dr. Horton subsequently said, that " the tide of spiritual devotion to the Society is rising."

The present call, therefore, is to concen- trate upon the completion of the £100,000 Fund by raising the last £18,000 The Present by December and the raising of CaU- the regular annual income by

£20,000 (£10,000 this year at least) in order not only to cover the reduced Budget, but to restore the £6,500 thus cut off. With this in view the campaign of the past year will be intensified, especially with the aim of personal canvass of the whole of the members of the churches supporting the Society, so that the additional demand may come on new as well as existing subscribers.

Committees, and three members to be co-opted by the Consultative and Finance Committee, to deal with the situation created by the death of the late Home Secretary, the Rev. A. N. Johnson.

The Indian Report

The report of the deputation to India, consisting of the Rev. Frank Lenwood, Mrs. Lenwood, and Mr. W. H. Somervel], in- volving a considered and thorough scheme of reconstruction and concentration, was re- viewed by the Board and the urgent re- commendations adopted, the details having been thoroughly threshed out by the Eastern Committee of the Society at recent meetings specially convened for that purpose.

Co-operation at Home

REPRESENTATIVES of the British Missionary Societies met from June 17 to 19, at Swan wick, to consider methods and lines of co-operative work. The subjects discussed covered the relation of missions to Governments, Literature (at home and abroad), the approach to the press, plans for an English campaign among laymen under Dr. Mott's leadership in the

autumn, the working of the Edinburgh Continuation Committee, the training of missionaries, and the working of Sunday schools in the field. The L.M.S. was represented by Mrs. May, Dr. Wardlaw Thompson, Mr. F. H. Hawkins (Secretary to the Conference), the Revs. Frank Lenwood and Nelson Bitton, and Mr. Basil Mathews.

Photo by Bernard Turner STARTING A SCHOOL UNDER A TREE

IN the April number of The Chronicle a reference was made to the indirect contribution which the L.M.S. has made to the building up of the South African Commonwealth in the lives and service of the sons and daughters of its missionaries who have taken leading posi- tions in public life in the Colony. In Cen- tral Africa at the present day the Society is making a more direct, and in some respects an even more important, contribution to the foundation and development of the infant State which one day is going to play a great part amongst the nations of Africa.

The traveller of to-day who journeys through the forest and the long grass of that portion of Northern Rhodesia which is recognised as the missionary territory of the Society will find in nearly every large village a wattle-and-daub building which is the village school. In the smaller villages he will come across an unroofed, stockaded en- closure which serves as a school, or he will notice a group of naked children gathered together under the shadow of a large tree, receiving instruction from a youthful teacher. Throughout the Society's area the only education given is that provided by the L.M.S. , and it is these primitive schools which are the hope of the future both for the Church and the State. At the present time some 225 teachers and over 11,000 scholars are associated with our Mission. It is true that the attainments of the teachers are very limited. They depend very largely upon the instruction they receive from atten- dance for two or three months every year at a Teachers' School at a mission station.

Civil Service !

By

F. H. Hawkins

Many of them would have difficulty in passing the lower standards in British public elementary schools. The ap- paratus of education as we know it at home is almost entirely lacking, and there are very few school books. Yet wherever the traveller goes he finds a widespread desire for educa- tion. The attendance at school is, as a general rule, very satisfactory, and it is no uncommon experience to find a crowded schoolroom (which probably did not cost more than 5s. to build) and half a dozen classes being conducted in the open ak- in the shade afforded by the school building. Reading, writing, elementary arithmetic, singing, and drill are the usual subjects of the curriculum. The boys and girls who gather together are keen to learn, oiten prob- ably because they and their parents realise that education means money and advance- ment in life. The children have wonderful verbal memories and find no difficulty in learning scores of hymns by heart. They are very anxious to possess copies of the few books which are printed in their language, and there are many other indications of the fact that amongst those thousands of chil- dren there is excellent material for building up a new generation very different from the old.

The wonderful facility of the boys in the use of tools is noticeable wherever industrial training is undertaken. Throughout North- ern Rhodesia much of the furniture in the Government officials' houses and offices and in the missionaries' homes has been made by boys in the Society's industrial schools.

There being no other provision for educa- tion, our teachers and educated boys are eagerly sought after by the officials and traders to undertake office work, to recruit labourers, to superintend stores, and to act as domestic servants. The attraction of higher wages not unnaturally draws teachers from the service of the Mission. Their wages in the schools range from is. 6d. to 6s. per month, with a small allowance for food when away from home. In the Government ser-

158

July 1914]

Civil Service !

iS9

vice the police get 85. a month and messen- gers 6s. a month, but by no means all of them can read or write. An office boy gets 10s. a month, and a clerk £1 a month, and some in higher positions get from £1 10s. to £5 a month. All, or very nearly all, these men have been trained by the L.M.S., and the Government of Northern Rhodesia does not make a grant of a single penny to the cost of education. But for our schools the Government would be compelled to start

schools of their own or to seek their clerks and servants from other parts.

It is a matter for rejoicing that many of the boys who have been trained and who have gone out into the service of the Govern- ment and its officials take with them their Christianity and not infrequently conduct services and help the work of the Mission in other ways. Who shall measure the gift to the State which the Society is making in Northern Rhodesia ?

Photo by]

[Bernara Tnrnei

REV. H. CECIL NUTTER AND NATIVE TEACHERS AT MBERESHI

African Episodes

T

Young Girls Gome Forward

HERE was a considerable in- crease in the number of applicants for admission to the church and catechumens class," writes Mrs. Govan Robertson, of Kawimbe, Northern Rhodesia, December 31, 1913, "among these being half a dozen young girls. The coming forward of these young girls cheered us exceedingly, for oftentimes the women and girls seem utterly indifferent ; but these, I am glad to say, not only came forward, but remained faithful, in some cases under great tempta- tions.

A Thanksgiving Lion Skin

" Then there were larger contributions than ever before at Kawimbe, out of which came the cost of repairs to the church, and the putting in of a new pulpit, as well as other expenses. At the harvest thanks- giving quite a large number of fowls and some sheep and goats were brought as gifts, and several large baths were filled with grain of various sorts on this day. About half an hour before church time a great noise Was heard in the distance. This noise gradually came nearer, until at last, from the nature of the songs being sung, we knew that some beast was being brought in. It turned out to be a huge lion which

had been poisoned the night before, a few miles away, and the whole village accom- panied the bearers, amid the greatest noise of rejoicing. My husband suggested that as it was Thanksgiving Sunday the lion's skin should be a contribution, and to this all concerned agreed. We sold the skin for £2. 10s."

A Ghieftainess as Catechumen

Mr. W. Freshwater, writing on his last tour among the Kambole villages, December 191 3, says : " Although as yet our teachers have not reached a very high intellectual standard, I found the majority of them faithful in their work, and apparently con- sistently earnest. My impression was that they were taking their work seriously, that they were doing their best, and doing good. There are others in the outlying districts desirous of admittance into the catechu- menate, among whom is a chief tainess.

" It has been a joy to me to find that one half of these converts are adults, and some well advanced in years. Usually our reap- ings are from among the young people, but the fact of those of older years thus coming forward and throwing over their heathen customs proves that steady and effectual work has been done by the teachers. These things give a bright outlook to the future. The inquirers now number 303, and the church roll stands at 27."

One by One Village Visits

By

Mrs. Theobald of Mangari

MANGARI

CONSIDERING that nine-tenths of the people of India live in villages, the importance of evan- gelistic effort in country places cannot be over-estimated. Life, as lived by the vast agricultural population to-day, is practically what it was 4,000 years ago. The same primitive implements, methods of sowing, reaping, watering, and thrashing have been passed down from father to son through countless generations. The dynasties, wars, and changes of government that have from time to time swept over the land, often de- populating large cities, have left little mark on village life. Truly " the daily round and common task " furnish all that the contented inhabitants even desire to ask.

It is among these simple but caste- bound people that Mangari was made a mission centre, with resident missionaries, twenty years ago.

\W w

Within a radius of five miles there are 223 villages

The district is densely populated, 223 villages being within a radius of five miles. The power of priestcraft, which has Benares for its stronghold, penetrates into every hamlet, ignorant villagers and astute pundits alike owing allegiance to its sway.

There are no mass movements here — no villages of out-castes, ready to welcome Christianity. Each convert must be won separately, and to each so won it frequently means the loss of home, loved ones, and employment. It will be realised, therefore, that work in such environment is of neces- sity extremely difficult, and that even such a small Christian community as ninety-five should be a cause for thankfulness — though

A VILLAGE MEETING

Rev. H. H. Theobald using Scripture pictures 160

July 1914]

One by One Village Visits

161

ingrained superstition and life-long training are hard to eradicate. What means have been used in this sterile field during these past twenty years to bring forth such seem- ingly small results ?

(1) Evangelists and their wives placed at five out-stations. It has been our hope that the light and love of Christian homes might help to dispel the darkness around.

(2) Daily preaching in surrounding vil- lages by the missionaries and their helpers.

(3) Day and Sunday schools for girls and boys; also night schools for lads who are either too old or too busy to attend during the day.

(4) Camping tours in the cold season to more distant centres — the magic-lantern being a never-failing source of interest and attraction. No appetites satiated with cinematograph shows are to be found in these village audiences. Picture them — men, women, and children, as they sit under the starry sky after their long day's work ! Most of them are very poor and very ignorant ; the dull monotony of their lives written on the upturned faces. The " old, old story" must be told very "simply," for how different is the idea presented in it of God as a personal, loving Father to the cold pantheism in which they have been reared ! How pure and up-lifting the facts of Christ's life, compared with the mytho- logical stories of their own gods !

(5) A Farm Industry to provide a liveli- hood for some of our converts, and lads who have grown up in the mission. Most of the latter came to us when quite young, and so have had the advantage of years of Chris- tian training. Several now have homes of their own, and work hard to support their families. Besides the farmers (an average of 2^ acres being allotted to each), may be mentioned Daniel, a clever young tailor ; Monohar, our useful house servant, with his sweet disposition and willing spirit ; Maipal, the " handy man" of the compound, water carrier, and church caretaker. Several of these young men have recently joined the church.

The women's side of the work is suffering through the enforced absence during the past two years of our two lady missionaries. Whether the financial position of the Society will continue to hamper this branch of our work remains to be seen. We are awaiting the verdict of the church in this as in the wider issues at stake. In the meantime we must do all in our power to carry it on, and tend the sick folk, who have no medical aid nearer than Benares. May the dread word " Retreat " not be sounded in this corner of the battlefield ! We want to advance, and add to the little band of Christian soldiers who we trust are the nucleus of a great army.

Training for Leadership

MR. BASIL MATHEWS will preside at the United Missionary Summer School from August 8 to 15 at " The Hayes," Swan wick, Derbyshire. The school is in- tended for Study Circle leaders, Sunday- school teachers, and workers amongst girls and boys and young people, and is organised in consultation with the Free Church Missionary Societies, by the Free Church Sectional Committee of the United Council for Missionary Education, formerly known as the Y.P.M.M.

The programme will include Morning Devotional Addresses by the President, and Evening Addresses by missionaries from China and others. The greater part of each morning will be devoted to work in groups. The books and the leaders are as follows :

1. Leaders of Senior Study Circles. Text-books: "The Regeneration of New

China," by Rev. Nelson Bitton, and "The New Life in China," by Rev. E. W. Wallace, B.A., B.D.

Leaders : Miss Helen B. Byles, Mr. H. L. Hemmens, Rev. H. W. Shipley, and others.

2. Leaders and Teachers of Intermediate (Girls) Circles and Classes ; Officers of Girl Guides and workers among girls of 12 to 15 years of age.

Text-book: "White Heroines of Africa," by

Miss Constance Padwick. Probable Leader : Miss Constance Padwick.

3. Leaders and Teachers of Intermediate (Boys) Circles and Classes, Scout and Brigade Officers, and workers among boys of 12 to 15 years of age.

Text-book: "Yarns of Chinese Heroes," by

W. P. Nairne. Leader: Mr. Alfred H. Angus, B.Sc, Head Master of Tettenhall College.

4. Leaders and Teachers of Junior Circles and Classes, and workers among girls and boys of 8 to 12 years of age.

Text-book: "Talks on Changing China," by

Mrs. Whimster (;:ee Entwistle). Leader : Miss Margaret S. Impey, B.A.

5. Superintendents and Teachers of Primary De- partments, and workers among children under 8 years of age.

Text-book: " Taro. A Little Boy of Japan,"

by Miss Mary Entwistle. Leader: Miss Mary Entwistle.

The cost of board and lodging is 30s., and the Registration Fee in addition is 2s. 6d. Further particulars may be obtained from the secretary, the Rev. G. A. Hamson, Cathedral House, 8, Paternoster Row, E.C.

Ten Years in Tsangchow

A Cinema Film of China's Change

THE changes that have swept over the country, the astonishing de- velopment of modern education in all the provinces, the abandon- ment of time-honoured customs thought to be firmly embedded in the national character, the evolution of new social ideas, and the revolutions that have first driven the

By

Arnold Bryson

Manchu usurpers from the Dragon Throne, and then em- phasised the power of an autocratic Pre- sident— all these rapidly moving events, together make up a cinema film of enthralling interest and aston- ishing variety.

To us as a mission in Tsangchow, the years have taken a heavy toll, and of the foreign staff that greeted me on my arrival in November 1903, not one re- mains. Arthur Peill and David Murray, the founders of the work have both left us, the one for " higher service, " the other retired, broken in health, but undaunted in spirit, after twenty years in North China.

It is impossible to do justice to the value of Mr. Murray's work in laying the foundations of the Tsangchow missions. Possessed of an unerring tact in dealing with the Chinese, and a wide knowledge of theii language and character, he was enabled to overcome great difficulties in the initial stages of the work among a people notorious for their hostility to Christianity. The present happy relations that exist between the mission and all classes of society in the city are the legacy of David Murray and Arthur Peill's wise and con- ciliatory pioneer efforts.

Surveying the Field

The autumn of 191 3 was made memorable by a welcome visit from Mr. Sidney J. W.

Clark — that indefatigable traveller and ex- pert on missionary problems. Together we made a careful survey of the whole Tsang- chow field, and in six weeks' hard travelling, covered close upon 700 miles in the mission " buggy," visiting 124 market-towns and villages in the nine counties lying within our sphere of influence.

During the trip we were accompanied by our leading preachers in turn, and to us each and all there came, as the result of our investigations, an overwhelming im- pression of the extent ofthetaskcommitted to us. Upon us as a mission rests the responsibility of evangelising this enormous area. The district already in- fluenced represents but a fraction of the whole territory within our bound- aries. Truly it is an undertaking that demands the utmost resources of the Chinese Church, and the consecrated un- flagging energies of many lives. The whole mission policy and methods of evan- gelisation adopted in recent years came up for review as we journeyed through wide tracts of untouched, thickly populated country within easy reach of Tsangchow.

Back to the Fighting-line

I spent all November in one of our oldest centres, Chouchia (Joe Jar), 60 miles to the south, in Ch'ing yun county, where there is a church of some fifty members. In company with the local pastor, Mr. Teng, and another preacher with the help of a few volunteers, we conducted a vigorous campaign by day in the neighbouring vil- lages, and market centres within reach, while at night the members and adherents of the church were organised into classes to study Mark's Gospel. I hope to receive twenty proposed new members on my next visit. 62

Photo by\ [M. Edwards

Mr. Chi, Tutor at the Theological College, on the right ox the group, and students at Tsangchow

The China of To-day of°To

Fot^the People morrow

Yarns on Heroes of China

A New Book for Leaders and Teachers of Boys

YARNS of South Sea Pioneers " last year was an experiment in pro- viding material for Brigade Captains, Scout Leaders, and other workers among boys. The fact that the first edition of 10,000 was quickly sold and a second edition called for and issued indicates that a real need was met. Now Mr. W. P. Nairne has written "Yarns on Heroes of China" (6d. net, post free j%d., L.M.S.) as the second volume in the series. Readers of his " Great- heart of Papua " and of "Tomalo the Torch- bearer " in News from Afar will expect exciting stories written with a power to grip boys. All the yarns are historically true. Mr. Deaville Walker has written brilliantly helpful and historically illuminating Notes and Suggestions for those telling the " Yarns," with a view to carrying on a con- versation with the boys after telling each yarn. Mr. Stanley Nairne has contributed outlines of addresses for Bible classes, etc., on each yarn.

A Bullet's Adventures *

By the Rev. W. E. Soothill, M.A., Late Principal of the Shansi University

ONE has often heard of guns speaking, but never of a bullet writing a book. This particular bullet has surely a most unusual development ; its ears must be very large to have heard all the remarkable things it did hear, its eyes preternaturally bright to have seen so clearly to give such a faithful and fascinating record of the Revolution in and about Hankow, and its very nose sharper than any Western bullet's nose to " smell " the " antiseptics " in the hospital which it visited.

Hide himself as he may, the real author stands revealed. It was no bullet that wrote this book. The author is undoubtedly my old friend Bernard Upward, and he has put into the mouth of his bullet — if a bullet ever has a mouth — a very succinct and attractive account of his own experiences during the terrible months of the Revolution.

He and his companions bore themselves, as Christian missionaries can generally be trusted to do, bravely, wisely, generously. A mere handful of such men did more in a few brief weeks to break down anti-foreign feeling and open the way for the Gospel than a multitude of others have had the opportunity of doing in long years of devoted service. " These foreigners treat us better than our own folk do."

His testimony to the pluck and devotion of the Chinese is all that could be desired, as is shown in pp. 73, 91, 104, and elsewhere. And the evidence he gives of the gracious work of the Red Cross Corps, and its acceptance amongst all classes, assures us once again of the ultimate triumph of all that is meant by the Cross. For the spirit of the Cross will not only assert itself in time of war, but will dominate over and subdue war itself. In this book we behold it as the herald on the field of blood and suffering of the day that is surely coming, when the Prince of Peace shall have destroyed war, and brought the races of the world into a happier rivalry, in which the boast shall be not of numbers slain, or territory overrun, but of achieve- ments that add to the sum of human welfare.

I heartily commend this excellent book. May the bullet find many a billet in the hearts both of young and of old.

* " The Adventures of a Bullet." By Bernard Upward. (L.M.S. is. net, post free is. 3d.)

163

From North and South

(

r , i , i o i

By the late

Rev. G. T. Coster

Music by A. Vennell Coster

■4,-H — rkzhd — h

F

ROM north and south and east and west, When shall the peoples, long unblest,

All find their everlasting rest, O Christ, in Thee ?

Oh

Orient

When shall the climes of ageless snow

Be with the Gospel light aglow ; And all men their Redeemer know, O Christ, in Thee ?

When on each southern balmy coast

Shall ransomed men, in countless host,

Rise, heart and voice, to make sweet boast, O Christ, in Thee ?

when, lands,

From cities white and naming sands,

Shall men lift dedicated hands, O Christ, to Thee ?

Oh when shall heathen darkness roll

Away in light from pole to pole,

And endless day by every soul Be found in Thee ?

Bring, IyOrd, the long-predicted hour,

The ages' diadem and flower, When all shall find their Refuge, Tower,

And Home in Thee !

Polished Treasures

A WOMAN of slender means has sent 30s. towards the deficiency, in florins and half-crowns. These are all highly polished and of considerable age, for they have long been treasured " in memory of two dear ones." When this friend heard of the great shortage in our income from the churches, and of the crippling of the work in the mission field through lack of funds, she felt the time had come to give her sacred treasure to her Lord, and surely it is as ointment poured forth.

Her Birthday Cake

A MINISTER in Sussex, having preached a missionary sermon this autumn, was met after the evening service by a girl who came bringing 25. She was to have had a birthday cake for her birthday, but chose to go without it in order to help the Society.

FIFTY-FOUR boxes were issued a couple of months ago in a church, and now the contents of half of them have been brought in and added to the L.M.S. Sunday Collection. Instead of getting £12 as last year, the result was ^34 . The Missionary Box means greater subscriptions without strain.

Summer Schools

APPLICATIONS have come in well, and we are glad to welcome a large number of new members. There is still room at all three Schools, and we shall especially be glad to hear from men wishing to camp. (• The following is a list of the Speakers as at present arranged :

SCARBOROUGH

August 1-8 :

President : Rev. G. T. Dickin, M.A., B.Sc. Speakers : Rev. A. H. Cullen ; Rev. A.

N. Rowland, M.A. ; Rev. W. Carson ;

Miss Moore, of Samoa. Study Sessions in charge of Rev. E. A.

Preston. August 8-15 : President : Mr. F. H. Hawkins, LL.B. Speakers : Rev. S. F. Wicks ; Rev. W. N.

Bitton ; Rev. Walter Huckett ; Miss

Foggitt, of Shanghai ; Rev. E. H. Lewis,

of Bellary. Study Sessions in charge of Mr. A. Birkmire.

HINDHEAD

August 15-22 :

President : Rev. G. E. Darlaston, M.A. Speakers : Rev. Phillips Rogers, M.A. ; Rev. B. A. Yeaxlee, B.A. ; Rev. F. Lenwood, M.A. ; Dr. T. T. Thomson, of Jammalamadugu ; Miss Organe, of Han- kow.

Study Sessions in charge of Rev. E. A. Preston and Miss Collard.

'▼All applications and inquiries for these two Schools should be addressed to Miss C. Benham, L.M.S., 16, New Bridge Street, E.C.

ST. ANDREWS

Friday, July 24 to August 7 We are looking forward to another strong and effective School at St. Andrews, and are confident that our hopes will not be disappointed. The mere list of those who

Wants

VERY many thanks to the friends who have so kindly given the Inter- national Missionary Review, Matthew Henry's " Commentaries " (several copies have been given for Indian evangelists), and two violins.

Other articles mentioned in the June Chronicle are still needed. Also the following :

Miss Stevens, of Mirzapur, would greatly value some of Hole's pictures of the Life of Christ, in a good size, for teaching pur-

have consented to take part abundantly justifies our expectation . Our Presidents are :

Rev. W. Morton Barwell, M.A. Rev. H. A. Inglis, M.A.

Our leaders of Bible Study :

Rev. C. McEvoy, Cricklewood. Rev. George Barrett, Lincoln.

Dr. Lavington Hart will be with us from the middle of the first week to the middle of the second. The Revs. J. A. Ross, of Central Africa, J. Sharman, of Madagascar, and Miss Hilda Johnson, of Calcutta, will be present. Under the competent guidance of Mr. Barker, we shall take up in the Study Circles the new textbook by Mr. Nelson Bitton, " The Regeneration of the Church in China . ' ' Other addresses will be delivered by Dr. Chas. Somerville, of Wuchang, Rev. T. S. Taylor, M.A., B.Litt., now of Eccles, Rev. J. C. Ormerod, M.A., Airdrie, and others.

One special feature of the School this year, constituting, indeed, a new departure, will be the amount of attention devoted to work amongst young people. Miss Ackland, M.A., of Glasgow, who is an expert in this province, will guide us at the beginning of the first week, and Miss K. M. Robertson, M.A., during the second. Provision will be made for those who have led Circles now for several years, and due consideration taken for others who have had no experience at all.

The number of applications is already more than double that of last year. Buc our accommodation is ample. While all the places at 22s. 6d. are now taken up, we have abundance of room for others who are willing to pay from 255. to 35s. University Hall might have been planned and built for our very purpose. It is ideal as a residence for Summer School, just as St. Andrews is for a holiday.

For all further information apply to Rev. W. G. Allan, B.D., 75, Colinton Road, Edinburgh.

poses ; also some lantern slides of the same.

Mr. Ross, of Central Africa, wonders if any friend, or any group of friends, would enable him to procure a pair of wooden legs for a native man who has had both his legs am- putated. Mr. Ross tells the very interest- ing story of " Kalolo " in Universal Bro- therhood for June, free on application, and he will be pleased to answer any inquiries, which may be addressed to him at the Mission House. Clara Benham.

A

New

Home

for

Nurses

By

Mrs. Gibson

THE newly built Nurses' Home in connection with the medical- mission work here was opened by- Lady May on March 3, in the presence of many friends, among whom were Hon. Sir Kai Ho Kai, Kt., C.M.G., and Lady Ho Kai. Lady May was presented with a gold key by Mr. Chau Siu Ki, and after the building was declared open the Rev. T. W. Pearce offered up a dedicatory prayer. Sir Kai Ho Kai and Mr. R. M. Gibson gave a short history of nursing and its progress, and acknowledged the generosity of the Chinese gentlemen who had come forward and helped to provide adequate accommodation for the pupil- nurses and the matron. A bouquet of flowers, arranged by Miss Muriel Whiting (daughter of one of our Society's Directors), was handed to Lady May by the senior pupil-nurse.

The Home has been built and furnished entirely by Chinese friends, and thus with- out expense to the Society.

Twenty years ago it was matter of great

Dr. Fowler, of Siaokan

PRESIDENT YUAN SHIH KAI has conferred on Dr. Henry Fowler, of the London Missionary Society's Hos- pital, Siaokan, Central China, the Sixth Order of the Felicitous Grain " for the ex- cellent service you rendered during the Revolution."

difficulty to obtain women willing to attend the sick, much less the dying, and there was a day when the matron came in great triumph and announced that one of the nurses had, of her own accord, attended to a patient in extremis. Hitherto Mrs. Stevens had always done so herself, as it was repugnant to the native women to do so. In time her quiet example commended itself, with result as related. There were few maternity cases in those days, but few as they were the accommodation was un- suitable, and efforts were made to get funds to provide a special ward for them, and Mrs. Stevens was eager to train women as midwives to work among the people in their own homes. The Chinese, hearing of the project, came forward and built our Maternity Hospital. This gave a great impetus to the number of applicants for training. Of the number who have finished their training, one has gone to Trinidad to work, one pursues her calling in Manchuria, four have gone to the Straits Settlements, the services of one are paid for by the village elders in Cheung Chau (an island near Hong Kong), and ten of the number are employed as District Midwives by the Hong Kong Government. By the opening of the new Home we are able to accommodate twenty-four nurses instead of twelve as hitherto.

The Order of the Felicitous Grain

The decoration has reached Dr. Fowler with the certificate regarding the work'done by him in the very centre of the military operations. The idea conveyed by the " Felicitous Grain " is that of our cornu- copia— the notion being of one who has poured himself out for others.

166

The New Head Master of Eltham College

School for the Sons of Missionaries

Mr. George Robertson, M.A.

MISSIONARY parents in aU fields will hear with interest of the appointment of a new head master in the school with which so many of their boys have been associated.

The present head of the school, Mr. W, B. Hay ward, having decided to retire, after twenty-one years' control of its work, the Governors have elected to succeed him Mr. George Robertson, M.A. of Edinburgh and Oxford.

Mr. Robertson is thirty-one years of age, a member of the United Free Church of Scotland, and married a daughter of the late John Ross, Esq., M.A., who was for forty years rector of the High School of Arbroath. Passing from the famous George Watson's School in Edinburgh, with the highest distinction he entered Edinburgh University, and took in succession the Vans Dunlop Scholarship in classical learning, First-Class Honours in Classics, and the Mackenzie Scholarship in Classics and

English Literature. From Edinburgh he went to Balliol College, Oxford, with a Major Exhibition, and devoting himself to classics eventually took the distinctions most coveted by students, viz. the First Craven and Ireland Scholarships.

At the close of his University career, Mr. Robertson was appointed Professor of Classics in the Grey University College, Bloemfontein, and acted for a time as Chair- man of the Senate. He also had experience of hostel life with the students, and in these two capacities won for himself a sound reputation as an administrator and a friend.

Returning home in 191 3, Mr. Robertson was temporarily appointed to the charge of the classical sixth form at the famous Dulwich College, and he comes from that work to the headship of Eltham School, having made for himself a good record as a teacher, and better still, in the words of the one most intimately acquainted with Dulwich College, as "a kind, practical, and sympathetic man, earnest and capable, understanding what boys need, able to win their respect. . . . always reasonable and helpful."

In the things which matter more than scholarship, Mr. Robertson has had a sound and adequate preparation. He himself freely confesses the debt which he owes to his religious heritage, and to the influence of Dr. John Kelman. He made himself busy in Bloemfontein with activities as Elder and Session Clerk to the Presbyterian Church of that city.

Reference has been made to Mrs. Robert- son, who is herself a distinguished graduate of Edinburgh University. She, with her two young children, comes to the School House to add what is always desirable there — the knowledge which comes of mother- hood and a long inherited acquaintance with the inner side of the life of boys at school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have seen much of the life of the foreign field and know its problems for parents ; and the governing body of the school believe that they have entrusted the control of its many-sided life to one who will safeguard its best interests, and lead it to even larger useful- ness and distinction than it has yet gained.

No small part of this desirable future will depend upon the earnest co-operation of all who value the work which Eltham College is designed to accomplish. Parents, old boys, and the great multitude of friends which the schooL possesses can alike help to fill its atmosphere with hope and confidence.

167

A nnouncements

[July igi4

" His captain believed "

Now Chinese Republic Vice-President

" OING round the hospital ward one vJT day " (wrote Dr. Davenport in the Wuchang report in 1903) "a soldier asked me if we would give him some books to read. Certainly, we said ; and asked him if he had heard the Gospel. 'Yes/ he said; 'his captain believed and exhorted his men to give up idoi wcrsnip, observe the Sabbath, wor- ship God, etc'

" We have heard before of this army captain, and know he had the reputation of having 'eaten the foreign religion,' as accepting Christ was called. Numbers of soldiers come to us for treatment, and it is marvellous what a change for the better has come over them. We may, I think, feel sure that such work as Medical Missions has been no small factor in bringing about these changes.

" We feel confident that there are forces at work and a leavening influence acting which, aided by the prayers of God's people, will before long yield an abundant harvest."

" This captain " (writes Dr. Davenport now in 1914) " was none other than Li Yuan Hung, the chief actor in the great Revolution of 1911-12, and now Vice-President of the Chinese Republic. This circumstance clearly denotes the wonderful forces at work, in the past and at present, in the difficult task of leading the new China up the Hill Difficulty which faces it to-day.

Homes for Missionaries on Furlough

WHAT a comfort it is to a missionary and his family to know that when they arrive in the homeland after a term of ser- vice there is a furnished home awaiting them. There are eight or nine such houses situated in London and the country, varying in size to meet all requirements.

A rent of ^42 per annum is charged, which includes all rates and taxes.

A list of the homes is given below : Gilmour House, Clapham. Occupant : Rev. E. Pryce Jones.

Mills House, Catford. Occupant : Rev. H. Robertson.

Livingstone House, Stamford Hill. Occu- pant : Rev. A. Sleep.

Lockhart House, Hither Green. Vacant.

Madras House, Stroud Green. Vacant.

Colborne House, Tulse Hill. Vacant.

Moffat House, Hove. Occupant : Mrs. Warren.

Sleddon House, Southport. To be occupied by Rev. E. H. Lewis.

As the rents received are not sufficient for the upkeep of the houses, we appeal to all friends of missionaries to help us by becoming annual subscribers, on by sending a donation.

All communications to be addressed to 166-7, Bank Chambers, 329, High Holborn, W.C.

H. C. Martyn Wilkins,

Hon. Secretary and Treasurer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Arrivals

Mrs. E. S. Oakley and daughter from Almora, N. India. May 8.

Dr. S. Eavlngton Hart and Dr. E. C. and Mrs. Peake and

two children from Tientsin, China, May 11. Rev. J. and Mrs. Whiteside from Tjimali, S. Africa,

May 12.

Dr. W. and Mrs. McFarlane anl two children from

Mbereshi, C. Africa, May 19. Rev. E. and Mrs. Hawker from Eeulumoega, Samoa,

May 23.

Rev. T. H. Caren from Canton, China, May 23. Rev. A. and Mrs. Parker from Trivandrum, S. India, June 6.

Rev. A. S. HucKETT from Fianarantsoa, Madagascar, and Rev. R. Griffith from Tananarive, Madagascar, June 6.

Departure

Mdlle Y. Du Commtjn returning to Tananarive, Mada- gascar, per steamer Yarra, via Marseilles, May 28.

'Births

Butcher. — On February 2, at Brisbane, the wife of the

Rev. B. T. Butcher, of a daughter. Riley. — Oc April 12, at Sydney, N.S. Wales, to Rev. E.

Baxter and Mrs. Riley, of Daru, Papua, a son.

Marriage

Eastman — Grimwade. — On April 16, at the Devonport Congregational Church, Auckland, New Zealand, by the Rev. K. M. Forbes-Ewan, assisted by the Rev. H. Steele Craik (Mt. Eden), Rev. George Herbert Eastman, of the EMS. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, to Winifred Hilda, daughter of Alderman J. H. Grimwade, J. P., and Mrs. Grimwade, Bacton House, Ipswich.

Golden Wedding.

Wareham — Carling. — On April 6, 1864, at Bunyan Meeting, Bedford, by the Rev. John Brown, B.A., the Rev. E. A'.pcrc Wareham to Susannah R. Carling.

fat«*