THE
Missionary Echo
OF THE
United Methodist Church.
Editor,
J. E. SWALLOW.
VOLUME XXXII.
1925.
How far has the night gone, watchman ?
The watchman answers, “ Morning comes, morning—
and night : would you know more, come back again.â€
Isa. xxi. 11, 12. (Moffatt.)
(See Annual Report, p. 1.)
London:
HENRY HOOKS, 12 FARRINGDON AVENUE, E.C.4
INDEX.
PAGE
CHINA.
Bible Society ... ••• ••• 53, 180
Concerning China. F. B. Turner ... 161
Feng. Marshal. D. E. Hoste ... 73
Hosie. Sir Alexander .........................91
Sun Yat-Sen. H. S. Redfern ..................101
Transformation. J. Hinds .................... 50
War-horrors. W. T. Slater ... ... 94
Woman of China, The new. J. Hinds 234
NORTH CHINA.
Cracking-up China. D. V. Godfrey ... 35
China, New. G. T. Candlin .................... 7
District Meeting. E. Richards................134
Robson, Dr. J. K. J. Hinds ... ... 130
Wayfaring. E. Richards ......... 88
SOUTH-EAST CHINA.
Christmas. A. A. Conibear ................... 75
Penryn Spier, B.A. H. S. Redfern ... 41
Wedding at Ningpo ........................... 48
SOUTH-WEST CHINA.
Austin, Dr. C. J.............................148
Chao Tong Hospital. C. E. Hicks ... 1
Dartmoor, A grave on. L. H. Court ... 28
Dingle, The late Dr. Lilian. C. Stedeford 3
Eastern Lutist. Hudspeth .................... 77
Finally, farewell! F. J. Dymond ... 181
Girl, A naughty. W. H. Hudspeth ... 216
Idol, Story of an. W. H. Hudspeth ... 171
New Year. C. E. Hicks........................ 86
Nosuland. C. E. Hicks........................ 12
Nosu Tribute, A. John Nu ....................117
Ting Lan. W. FI. Hudspeth ................... 77
Wedding at FIong-Kong ... ... ... 48
Wen-Tsi-chien. W. H. Hudspeth ... 31
Yunnan Fu, Church. C. N. Mvlne... 222
EAST AFRICA.
African Memories. J. Baxter .................141
Black Brothers. A. J. Hopkins 132, 156,
173, 194, 211, 227
Education. Hans Vischer .....................174
„ Dr. Snape 190, 213. 230
Mentality, African. A. J. Hopkins 21, 45
Pokomo Mission. Dr. Snape ...................131
Tana Happenings. B. J. Ratcliffe ... 61
WEST AFRICA.
Deputation. Rev. W. S. M. 63, 128, 151
Problem, Our. Rev. W. Vivian... 146, 169
Reception of Ministers. A. E. Dymond 27
Shears. Rev. T. D. ............. ... Ill
â– POETRY.
After Harvest. Miss S. Gertrude Ford 189
Autumn in China. ,, ,, 206
Easter Lilies. ,, ,, 68
Manger, At the ,, ,, 232
Rose of Sharon. ,, ,, 113
Woodrow Wilson. ,, ,, 26
Acts 16. W. H. Hamilton ... ... 145
PAGE
Better Part. M. Arnold.................129
Call, The. 1. S........................122
Christmas Day. Miss Syson ... 234
Daddy’s Bible Tales ... ■■■••• 116
• Foreign,†a query....................211
Gather us in. G. Matheson ... ... 209
Idyll, An. Miss Barwick................ 57
Missionaries. Sigma ... ... ••• 168
Missionaries, To our. J. B. Brooks ... 32
Missionary Hymn. W. H. Hamilton... 93
Said Jude to James. W. H. H. ... 220
Santa Claus ...........................233
Spirit of Love, The ...................186
Supposing Him to be. K. Williamson 68
BOOKLAND.
Tana Tales ... ... ... ... 16
International Review ... 37, 82, 177
Hymn Tunes ;............................37
Missionary Sermons .................... 55
Who shall Command? .................... 55
Conquest of Kingdoms .................. 55
Forces of the Spirit .................. 56
Africa and Her Peoples ........... 56, 198
Wilfred Grenfell ..................... 57
Son of a Savage ... ............. 67
1 am Debtor ............................76
These Fifty Years ... ... ... ... 114
Dr. Schweitzer .......................114
The Vanishing Tribes of Kenya.........149
The World-Task .......................176
Robert Moffatt ... ... ... ... 195
Kenya ... ... ... ... ... ... 196
Moslem Movement ..........215
Coral Reefs and Cannibals ............215
HOME AND GENERAL.
Secretary’s Notes 4, 25, 63, 83, 103, 123,
143, 163, 183, 204, 223
W.M.A. 19, 38, 58, 79, 97, 118, 137, 158,
178, 199 219,
Missionary Intercession 6, 31, 44, 71, 87,
105, 130, 157, 172, 188, 210, 225
Annual Report. W. Cann ................ 14
Annual Report. J. E. Mackintosh ... 229
Christmas Thoughts. Rev. F. Cooper 232
Competitions 116, 157, 168, 209, 228
C.I.M. Jubilee ........................110
Colours Five. E. W. Smith ... ... 49
Collectors ... ... ... ... 95, 198
League of Nations ... ... ... ... 125
Conference Missionary Day .............166
Exhibitions, Missionary .......... 92, 193
Englanders, Little......................11
Greatest Gift, The......................96
Good for Evil. Mrs. Naylor ... ... 15
Hindu Prayer, A.........................71
Imperial Responsibility. E. C. Bartlett 217
Kent Home Missions. J. Ellis ... ... 201
London Church Extension ...............226
London Demonstration ... ... ... 106
League of Nations ............125
Laureate, Our ... ....... 127, 189
PAGE
Missions To-Day ... ... ... ... 78
Missionary Investments. Miss Long-
bottom ..............................17
Negro Wisdom. W. Hall ............... 33
Observatory ... 43, 66, 136, 197, 210
President, The. Amicus ... ... ... 121
„ C. E. Hicks ... ’.......187
Ritson, Dr. J. H. A. E. Salmon ... 126
Reflex Action. Dr. Snape ... ... 49
Students’ Demonstration ... ... 81
Ten Years After 1914 ... ... ... 54
Spiritual Pioneers.................
Sunday School and Missions. H. J.
Watts .............................207
Wedding in Japan ... ... ... ... 189
Washington Convention ... ... ... 85
“Wembley.†Miss Shann........... ... 36
ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHINA,
Buddha in West China ................164
Christian Army, The ... ... ... 73
Gateway, Fukien .....................161
Gateway, Suichow...................... 5
Gorge at Ruling .....................110
Hororific Vase ... ... ... ... 35
Lao Joe, C.I.M.......................110
Manchurian Woman ....................236
Sun Yat-Sen (Funeral) ...............101
Tongshan Colliery ... ... ... ... 50
NORTH CHINA.
Fishing Net...........................14
Group Outside Church ... 88
Patients at Lao-ling ................193
Peking, 1919 ................ 9
Reminiscent of 1909 ... ... ... 7
Tongshan College ... ... .......134
SOUTH-EAST CHINA.
Bathing Pool, Ningpo ... ... ... 144
High Street, Ningpo ... ... ... 75
Ningpo Woman ... ... ... ... 235
Paih-sa River ... ... ... ... 98
Penryn Spier, B.A. ... ... ... 41
Tree Temple, One- ... ... ... ... 204
Wenchow Schoolgirls ... ... ... 219
Washing the Fish ... ... ... 178
Washing Day ... ... ... ... 119
Yunnan Fu, Church ... ... , 221, 222
SOUTH-WEST CHINA.
Chagford Chapel ......................28
Dingle, Dr. Lilian ... ... ... ... 3
Ferry on the Yangtze ... ... ... 69
Hill Scenery in Yunnan ... ... ... 182
Hospital-staff ... ... ... ... 1
Miao Women ... ... ... ... 60
Preachers and Wives .................187
Sai-moh-lih..........................220
School-group ... ... ... ... 207
“ Son-of-God-over-all †... 171
Yunnan, A Bridge in ... ... ... 158
Yunnan Lake, A ... ... ... ... 86
EAST AFRICA.
Burden-bearer, A................ ... 131
PAGE
Clearing Bush at Ngao ... ... ... 61
Gaila Woman Weaving ... 16
Mount Kenya ... ... ... ... 231
Kilimanjaro ... ... ... ... ... 154
Krapf, Dr...............................142
Medicine-man ... ... ... ... 45
Meru Market ... ... ... ... 46
Meru Warrior ... ... ... ... 150
Servants of Africa ... ... ... ... 191
Tofiki 141
'['raining Department ... ... ... 213
Waiting for the Pictures ... ... 21
Wameru Cultivating .......... ... 23
WEST AFRICA.
Barrie, A ... ... ... ... ... 146
Bendu ........................... 123, 223
Chief and Wife ... ... ... ... 151
Deputation at Boia ... ... ... 85
District Meeting Group ... ... ... 84
Freetown ................................63
Freetown, A Street in .................. 43
Martyr’s Monument ... ... ... 169
Ministers at Reception ... ... ... 27
Ministers of Sierra Leone ... ... 83
. Murray town Choir ... ... ... 128
Old and New ... ... ... ... 138
Shears, Rev. T. D. ... ... ... Ill
Soldier’s Family........................227
Street in Freetown.................... 103
Taloo, Group at .............. ... 183
Travelling in W. A. ... ... ... 92
Weighing Palm-kernels ... ... ... 170
PORTRAITS.
Barkby, Rev. J. T. ...................108
Bennett, Rev. E. E. ...................107
Conibear, Mr. and Mrs. ... ... ... 48
Children, Five ... ... ... ... 49
Dymond, Miss C. ... ... ... ... 199
Ellis, Rev. James ... ... ... ... 199
Easten, Mr. J. W........................106
French, Rev. E. Aldom.................107
Goldsworthy, Mr. and Mrs. ... ... 66
Hicks, Rev. C. E. ... ... ... ... 12
Henderson, Mr. Coun. J. E. ... ... 166
Jackson, Rev. J.........................185
May, Rev. K. W. ... ... ... ... 185
Milburn, B. A., Miss Doris ... ... 199
President Lineham ... ... ... 24
President Grist ... ... ... ... 121
Rev. Arthur Pringle ....................226
Ritson, Dr. J. H. ... ... ... ... 126
Robson, Dr. J. K. ... ... ... ... 130
Sharman, Rev. A. H. ... ... ... 109
Turner. Esq., Samuel ... ... ... 108
Thorne, Late S. T. ... ... ... ... 30
Vanstone, Late T. G. ... ... ... 29
Wang, Peter ... ... ... ... 13
HOME AND GENERAL.
Children Saved from Leprosv ... ... 72
Four School-fellows ... ... ... 211
Lily Pond, Jamaica ......................33
Mount Eve-est ... ... ... ... 154
“Report,†Cover ... ... ... ...228D
Students and Staff ... ... ... ... SI
1925 Report
OF THE
United Methodist Church
MISSIONS
(HOME & FOREIGN)
For year ended April, 1925
FREE TO SUBSCRIBERS
OF TEN SHILLINGS AND
UPWARDS.
Facsimile of first pa?e of
cover of Missionary Report.
(See pane 229V
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DAWN ’ ,
7
Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity
is to know when to forgo an advantage.
—Lord Beaconsfield.
The Hospital
in Chao-t’ong-fu.
(TV* FEW months ago the mandarin of
tea this city paid a unique compliment
* * to Dr. Dingle and her assistant,
Nurse Raine. They had attended the
mandarin’s daughter-in-law in a serious
illness and performed a particularly skil-
ful operation. To express his grati-
tude he presented to the Doctor and
Nurse a beautifully made complimentary
tablet on which were carved in large
Chinese hieroglyphics the four charac-
ters “Hsi Lai Hwa Pien,†[See next page]
which freely translated into English may
mean : Drs. Hwa T’oh and Pien Ch’ioh
have come from the West.†A little
Chinese history will make clear the man-
darin’s compliment.
Pien Ch’ioh and Hwa T’oh were
Chinese doctors of considerable
renown. Pien Ch’ioh was a
physician who lived many years
before Christ. Legend says that
wishing to cure the ten thou-
sand different forms of disease,
he tasted many kinds of herbs
that he might know their
nature. In one day he ate
seventy poisons, and his body
being transparent, the effects
of the medicine could be
seen.
Hwa T’oh was a distin-
guished surgeon who lived in
the adventurous times of The •
Three Kingdoms {3rd cen-
tury a.d.) A warrior of great
repute, Kuan Yii, had been shot
with a poisoned arrow. The
arrow-head lodged in his arm.
By
Rev. W. H. HUDSPETH, M.A.
Hwo T’oh was sent for and asked
to prescribe. He advised that Kuan
Yu play chess, and as the patient
played, Hwa T’oh opened up the
wounded arm, scraped the bone, put
in medicine, sewed up the wound, and did
it so dexterously that Kuan Pii was not
aware of it until the whole operation was
completed. Tradition and romance retail
many such stories of Hwa T’oh’s won-
derful skill and attainments. At the
present day both Pien Ch’ioh and Hwa
T’oh are numbered among the gods of
medicine. The delicate compliment of our
mandarin to the medical staff will now be
understood. The complimentary tablet'
suggested that Western medical celebri-
Chao-Tong Hospital Staff.
Centre—Dr. Wang.jDn^DingleJ Nurse Raine.
The two girls on left are the wives of medical
students at Chengtu. [W. H. Hudspeth.
January, 1925,
The Hospital in Chao-t’ong-fu
ties had come from the West to the East.
In China religion and medicine are in-
separably connected. There is a universal
belief that invisible demons control disease
so that when the body is suffering with
pain it is a special time to offer incense,
prayers and sacrifices. It is right, there-
fore, not only from our point of view, but
also from that of the Chinese, that with
Christian missions religion and medicine
should be closely related. Many doors are
â– open to the doctor which are not open to
the minister, but our medical staff has
always worked to show to the Chinese
that the motive power of all their work
is the constraining influence of Christ’s
love. Medical work opens doors to< the
preacher which can be opened in no other
way. It is one of the most powerful evan-
gelistic agencies in China.
I don’t think that our friends in the
homeland realize that this hospital is the
â– only one in an area as large as the North
of England. It is a thousand miles from
the coast, and the nearest railway station
can be reached only after a tramp of
thirteen or fourteen days. We calculate
that it is the only hospital to meet the
needs of a million people.
But Dr. Dingle quietly faces all the
problems which such a vast work presents,
and immediately on her arrival she began
to think and plan how best to meet the
appalling need. To do this she has started
to give a thorough training to two Chinese
girl nurses, two Miao nurses (the wives
of the two Miao medical students at
Ch’engtu), and one Chinese male nurse.
The training is to extend over three or
four years, after which it will be possible
to place these nurses in strategic places,
where they will be able to do their part in
the healing of the wounds and pains of a
suffering people.
In addition to her city work, Dr. Dingle
pays a monthly visit to Stonegateway,
where there is always a large number of
patients on the sick list. In this work
she is generously supported by Nurse
Raine, who has won a place in the hearts
of the Miao women second to none.
Skilled medical work done by Dr. Dingle
at Stonegateway (and formerly by the late
Dr. Savin, whose memory is still green)
has had a remarkable effect in reducing
the diseases from which the Miao suffer.
Not content with her city and country
work, Dr. Dingle has thrown herself
heartily into the work of helping to lessen
the sufferings of lepers in this part of
China, and we are hoping that under her
guidance a leper asylum will be erected.
But I think that of all the varied medi-
cal work here, the nearest to the hearts
of Doctor and Nurse is the help they can
give to the women and kiddies, and surely
no work is nearer to the hearts of the
Great Physician. The burden of Chinese
women is a very, very 'heavy one, and it
needs a woman to understand it and to
lighten it. The light of life and health
shines out of many women’s eyes, and
happy smiles cover the faces of many
Chinese kiddies because in this far inland
town is a Christian hospital which we in
our hearts term “The house of Healing.â€
There is no distinction made between
the poor and the rich. From here no one
in need is ever turned away.
“ The healing of His seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain.â€
In the services at home you often sing
these lines. Sometimes will you please
think of the beds of pain here in West
China, and pray for those who tend them,
so that here in Chao-t’ong-fu very, very
many may be touched by the healing gar-
ment of the great King Himself?
[This article was in type before the sad
news came which is reported on next page
by the Secretary. By common consent, Dr.
Dingle has devoted herself quite self-forget-
tingly to the congenial work of the Hospital.
Her experience, her adaptability, her genero-
sity, won the praise and admiration of all
who knew her, either personally or profes-
sionally.]
2
Dr. Lilian M. Dingle. Rev. C. STEDEFORD.
eN December 8th, 1924, a cable' was
received from Rev. C. E. Hicks of
Chaotong, with the brief and tragic
announcement that Doctor Dingle died of
typhus on December 5th. We are sore
stricken with this sorrowful news. We
grieve to think of our little missionary
band in Chaotong
being plunged again
into the darkness
of bereavement so
soon after the loss
of Mrs. Hicks. Dr.
Dingle fell a victim
to that . scourge
which has laid so
many missionaries
low in China. We
had received no
intimation of Dr.
Dingle being in poor
health. In the last
letter received from
her, written on
October 3rd, she
speaks of the health
of her colleagues
but says nothing
about her own. She
was very conscious
of her responsibility
in caring for the
health of the mis-
sionaries. She had decided that^ Nurse
Raine who had suffered much from
malaria and wffiose recovery was slow,
must go to Yunnanfu for a change and to
consult the doctors there. In this last
letter she concludes with a review of the
existing situation in the following words :
“ Our autumn weather, with its damp mists
and chilly nights is upon us. The maize har-
vest is poor, but the rice seems fairly good.
The late Dr. Lilian M. Dingle
It will be a hard winter for many in this
province. With the floods in North China,
and civil war in S.E. China, the outlook is not
too promising. We need courage and grace
to carry on the work in the face of the diffi-
culties. Well, we know the Reservoir is un-
soundable, so there is no need to be down-
hearted, is there? And we are not so..â€
Dr. Dingle and
Nurse Raine were
true yoke - fellows
and worked most
happily together.
Speaking of her in
a recent letter,
Nurse Raine says :
“ I admire her more
every day." Dr.
Dingle cherished
lofty ideals and was
animated by the
noblest motives. In
early life she dedi-
cated herself to
medical missionary
service and in a
very sacrificial spirit
secured her training
for her life work.
She first went to
Yunnan in 1905.
After completing
seven years of ser-
vice she married and
retired from o.ur Yunnan staff. She sup-
plied for a while during the absence of
a doctor in Wenchow. She desired to re-
turn to the work she loved in Yunnan, and
in May, 1923, she was welcomed to her
former sphere of labour. We little realized
that her term of service would prove to
be so short. The sympathy of our Church
will flow toward the sorrowing relatives
and missionary colleagues. May the all-
sufficient grace from the “unsoundable
Reservoir †sustain and comfort them.
3
Foreign
Secretary’s Notes.
The Call of Ever since the earliest
the Year. ages of Bible history there
has been an eager looking
forward to a brighter day
for humanity. Abraham was lured by the
promise, “ in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed.†The prophets found
their consolation and inspiration in the
hope of the coming Messiah. In the fulness
of time Christ came, anointed to preach
the Gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-
hearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives and recovering of sight to the
blind, and to set free the oppressed. Our
Lord declared that the Kingdom of
Heaven was at hand. But we are still
looking for the world’s brighter day. We
have still to pray “Thy Kingdom come.â€
While truly the Kingdom of Heaven is
open to any individuals who will enter
into it, the day seems to be far distant
when the kingdoms of this world shall
become the Kingdom of our God and of
His Christ. The Kingdom tarries because
men have not sufficient faith in its prin-
ciples. They regard the sermon on' the
mount as impracticable. Even Christian
men are too ready to allow compromise
and palliation.
The call of the year is for unflinching
loyalty to Jesus Christ. We must believe
absolutely in the reign of God and in the
saving power of truth. The world is wait-
ing for the fuller manifestation of the
love of God, which can work only through
human hearts and lives. The channels of
blessing are too often choked by ignorance,
selfishness and unbelief. Christians should
be live wires conducting the Divine power
which would heal the nations.
The year calls for greater liberality on
behalf of our Missions. Our special
£30,000 Fund, upon which we are de-
pendent for the new buildings required in
all our Districts in China and in Africa,
will be closed this year. No Church should
allow it to close without making a worthy
contribution. Our ordinary missionary
income also, both for work at home as
well as for work abroad, urgently needs
to be augmented. We trust that the next
few months will find all our missionary
secretaries and committees busy with
Rev. C. STEDEFORD.
methods and organization which will
secure triumphant results.
Flood and Rev. F. B. Turner is
Famine in facing the herculean task
N. China. of organizing relief for
1,500,000 people rendered
destitute by the extensive flood which
occurred last September. In response to
the appeal of the China International
Famine Relief Commission he has been
loaned for this very important work. He
is assisted by all the missionaries through-
out the affected area, both Catholic and
Protestant. His first duty was to collect
returns to ascertain the extent of the need.
These returns show that no less than one
and a half million persons are in such a
desperate condition that they must perish
unless relief in some form comes to them.
Five thousand villages are affected ; thou-
sands of houses have collapsed, and many
thousands of the people are homeless.
This is a terrible condition in which to
face the bitterly cold winter of N. China.
The method of relief adopted is thus
stated by Mr. Turner in an address he de-
livered to the Tientsin Rotary Club :
“You will ask how we propose to relieve
these destitute people. The Commission has
given the most careful consideration to this
problem, and has formed the opinion that
direct relief by free gifts of food is, at least
upon any large scale, beyond the bounds of
possibility : that, except in the case of the
very old, and those of the most destitute who
have no one to work for them were work
available, relief should be given by providing
work which will at once support the workers
and those dependent upon them. The Com-
mission has therefore formulated a scheme
which will not only provide work and sup-
port for the starving, but will directly and
largely help in reducing the menace of flood
in the future. The Commission’s engineers
have projected a plan for the digging of a
channel from the Grand Canal near Tu Lui
(a Canal port some 15 miles from Tientsin)
extending for 45 miles to the sea, with outlet
about 20 miles south of Taku. The Channel
to be 500 feet wide and 12 feet deep: to be
effectively locked at the Grand Canal end, so-
that there may be sufficient water to supply
the Hai Ho : and to be capable of diverting
and carrying straight to the sea any excess.â€â€™
This is a fine scheme and reflects the
highest credit upon those who arejable to-
4
Foreign Secretary’s Notes
execute it. - The services of advancing
plan it and
the missionaries throughout the province
are essential to it. They will recruit
labourers from among the destitute in
their own region and will undertake the
support of the dependents of the labourers.
To each labourer is given a double ration
to keep him fit and up to work, and orders
upon the local centres throughout the
province for four of his dependents. It
is estimated that when the work is in full
swing 200,000 labourers will be thus em-
ployed and provision made for a million
destitute people.
The cost of this great undertaking is
estimated at $6,000,000. To provide this
sum the Chinese authorities have endorsed
the proposal of the Relief Commission that
a Customs surtax of 10 per cent, be levied
for one year only. The proposal required
also the sanction of the Diplomatic Corps,
which has probably been obtained since
Mr. Turner wrote.
The excellent scheme of relief work,
however, cannot supply the needs of a
great number of persons, such as
women and children, the aged and
infirm, who are unable to comply
with the labour conditions. Public
charity alone can save a very large
number from being frozen and
starved to death during the win-
ter. Mr. Turner appeals for help-
ful rgifts to relieve this terrible
misery, and any contributions re-
ceived in response will be gladly
forwarded to him.
Decaying A new argument
Religions. proving the urgent
necessity for Chris-
tian Missions is found in the dis-
integrating effect of advancing
knowledge and civilization upon
the primitive faiths of mankind.
It is impossible for superstitious
beliefs, born of fear and ignorance,
to survive very long in the pre-
sence of scientific truth. The en-
croachments of such knowledge
upon the realms of darkness are
ever advancing and affecting an
ever increasing number of people '
who will be left without any
religion whatever unless they re-
ceive that Christian ’ faith which
knowledge must prove to be,
as Dr. Fairbairn describedit, “the highest
truth for the intellect, the surest light for
the conscience, and the purest life for the
heart.â€
The process of religious deterioration is
seen in Africa wherever the white man
penetrates. Slowly but surely the magic
spell of religious superstition is broken,
ancient sanctions and obligations are dis-
credited and the old tribal authorities are
undermined. The poor native is left
without any power to curb the wild pas-
sions raging within and around him. The
last state of the man is worse than the
first. If such is the effect produced by
the white man he cannot escape the duty
and responsibility of communicating to
the African that true religion which his
very presence has made even more neces-
sary for the native than it was before the
white man met him.
In China likewise the contact with
Western enlightenment has produced a
marked effect upon the popular estimate of
A natural gateway at Sinchow, China.
[Favoured by Ed. of Herald, B.M.S.
5
Missionary Intercession
ancient forms of religion. Confucianism,
which has been embedded in the Chinese
mind from hoary antiquity, and which
has been the means of developing many
worthy qualities in Chinese character, is
losing its dominating power. Professor W.
Guy Sarvis, M.A., of the Nanking Uni-
versity, says “there is practically complete
unanimity of opinion that its force as a
standard of conduct has greatly and
rapidly declined.†One business man
says: “That it has been on the decline
especially for the last twenty years is a
patent fact.†He explains this fact by
saying: “With the abolition of State
examinations one of the most powerful
incentives to the study of Confucian books
was removed. . . The next formidable
cause of the neglect of Confucianism and
its books is in the introduction of foreign
languages and Western ideas and reli-
gions.†The study of Confucius does not
serve the purpose of the ambitious youth.
The autocratic and dynastic conceptions
characteristic of Confucianism cannot suit
the views of a democratic age. Professor
Sarvis further says : " The leaders of China
are indifferent, contemptuous, or actively
opposed to Confucianism. These new
attitudes affect chiefly the educated classes,
and particularly those living in cities, but
they are by no means confined to these.
Testimony from rural districts confirms
the opinion of those from urban centres,
that Confucianism is gradually losing its
hold upon the common people of China
as well as upon the educated.â€
Everyone must admit that it will be a
calamity for China to forsake Confucianism
unless a superior religion takes its place.
If Western contact divorces China from
her ancient allegiance, the same Western
contact should communicate the truth of
God revealed in Jesus Christ. Unhappily,
the Westerner does not always exemplify
the Christianity he is supposed to represent.
All the greater necessity, therefore, for
Christian Missions to present faithfully,
in preaching and practice, the grace and
truth revealed in Jesus Christ. Never
were the words of our Lord to His dis-
ciples more true than they are to-day :
“Ye are the salt of the earth.â€
The Late The Editor has received
Mrs. Hicks. the following from a lady
reader, and it is a plea-
sure to pass it on.: “How very sorry we
were to learn from the Echo that Mrs.
Hicks had passed away. What a noble
woman she seems to have been ; and her
photograph reveals a lovely face to match
the soul.â€
On the 15th prox. there came news frorr
Mr. Hicks concerning the last illness of his
dear wife. She had been ill for nine days with
typhoid fever complicated with latent malaria
and broncho-pneumonia. On October 22-23
she had severe haemorrhage, which was the
immediate cause of death on the 25th.
Everyone will understand when our friend
says, “It is very lonely now.â€
Missionary Intercession.
“The living, the living, they shall praise
Thee : . . . the fathers to the children
shall make known Thy Truth.—Isa. 38,
19.
“To fret and fume is undignified, suici-
dally foolish, and theologically unpar-
donable ; we are here not to make, but
to tread predestined pathways ; we are
the foam of a wave, and to preserve a
proper equanimity is not merely the first
part of submission to God, but the chief of
possible kindnesses to those about us.â€â€”
R. L. S.
Jan. 4.—Review of forces and possibili-
ties for the new year. Rev. C. Stedeford.
Pages in Report, 1-3 : 6, 7. Joshua 1.
Jan. 11.—Home Missions and pros-
pects. Rev. T. Sunderland. Pp. 12-14.
Isa. 35.
Jan. 18.—TongJshan area. Shantung
with remembrance of Mr. Turner’s work
on Flood relief in that province. Rev.
F. B. Turner. Pp. 43-46. 1 Cor. 13.
Jan. 25.—Chao Tong School and
Training Institute. P. 75. Miss L. O.
Squire, B.A., and Rev. W. H. Hudspeth,
M.A. 1 Cor. 4.
Prayer :
That the Education Commission r to
East Africa may be guided in offering
their recommendations; that God will
guide and bless the thought and work of
the newly-organized China Association
for Christian Higher Education; that
India may find able Christian leaders in
sufficient numbers to form and carry
through right policies for rural and for
industrial education. I. R. M.
6
New China.
By the late
Rev. G. T. CANDLIN, D.D.
IN spite of the fact that since the
Proclamation of the Republic four-
teen years ago, the West has taken
very much more interest in China,
it still remains true that we are far from
fully appreciating the meaning of New
China. From the time of our first con-
tact with her, we have been accustomed
to speak so invariably of her inveterate
conservatism, her stubborn resistance to
all progress, that it is no wonder we
cannot at once gauge completely and
adequately the astonishing volte -face she
has accomplished. Changeless China
has suddenly become changeful China.
Perhaps it would not, be too much to say
that, apart from positive revolutionary
events, China is to-day undergoing more
and more important changes than she has
ever passed through in all her long his-
tory. With the Boxer outbreak began
a wonderful' era of new life. Apart! alto-
gether from politics, the spread of edu-
cation, the phenomenal increase in the
power of the press, the opening of rail-
way communication throughout the
country have brought about changes
which in any country have most rarely
been so rapid. The Boxer outbreak sig-
nalled the passing away of Old China,
but the Revolution of 1910 was the be-
ginning of a New
China which for good
or evil will] go very
far. It brought an
entirely different set
of men to the top.
With rare exceptions,
they were imbued
with Western ideals
of social life and
progress. A certain
number of them were
professedly Christian
men, but the ma-
jority of them were
men who had been
profoundly influenced
by their education
in our Christian
schools and colleges.
Even where they had
been affected un-
favourably, and had
become markedly
unchristian and agnostic in their outlook,,
the change from the old Chinese attitude
was only the more pronounced, and their
entrance into the full current of Western
civilization the more complete. China
was a world apart ; she has become with
her own consent, and even eager desire,
a part of the world, and once a part, she
must be a most important part. That is
absolutely predicated by her immense
population with their high level of intel-
ligence, their unsurpassed genius for
trade, and their industrious habits and
capabilities. The formation of the All-
China Christian Council of the Protestant-
Missions of China is really an endeav-
our, none too soon commenced, to keep
pace with the rapid progress of the
nation.
Perhaps nowhere is change more in
evidence than in the language itself. It
would not be too much to say that ancient
as it is and generally regarded as most
inflexible, the Chinese language is under-
going at the present time greater and
more important changes than ever in all
its long history, and fully as great as any
language has ever undergone. The in-
troduction of so many thoughts and
ideals and moulds of life from the West
And the exigencies of scientific education
A Reminiscence, 1909, Dr. Baxter J. Hedley,
(died 1918).
Li Fu Ch’en. Liu Fang, Dr. Candlin, Li Ngan Su.
New China
have put a strain upon the language
which we should have said beforehand
that it was ill qualified to bear. But it
has shown itself singularly flexible and
pliant, providing new terms and felicitous
expressions in great abundance. In
another twenty or thirty years, when the
eager intellect of young China has ab-
sorbed the current ideas and ideals of the
European world, it will be seen how
much they have been indebted to the sin-
gularly-receptive and adaptative powers
of their languge ; and what a facile in-
strument it has been for the reception of
new thought. Whoever considers the
enormous number of Greek and Latin
words (the latter coming to us indirectly
through the French) which flooded our
ancient Saxon tongue before the religious
thought and the learning and art o'f the
Greek and Roman world could become
to us an intellectual possession, will be
amazed that the Chinese language has
been able to borrow so great a body of
foreign thought, yet find or coin in-
digenous expression for it. This vast
body of new knowledge, coming to them
almost entirely through the medium of
the English tongue, will not carry with it
one-tenth as many English words as the
Renaissance of Europe borrowed from
Greece and Rome.
These enormous changes, in the Chi-
nese language are an effective measure
of the new life which is awakening,
surging, coming to birth in the mind of
China to-day. It is veritably a New
China which has come upon us, and
thoughtful minds will be more anxious to
hold back than to hurry the passion for
the new which possesses the present
generation. Whether we wish it or not,
the Chinese are rushing into what we
know as civilization with a fierce ardour
which is much more likely to land in
agnosticism than to leave them in the
grasp of their ancient faiths, or even to
predispose them to Christianity. It is a
New China, new with hope, but also new
with new dangers, new fears and new
solicitudes.
When we pass in review the history of
missions in China since Morrison came in
1807, and have regard to the religious
and political conditions, not forgetting in
â– our survey the unfortunate incidents which
marked our first contact with the Celestial
Empire, we have reason to be satisfied
with the progress made. A full century
of work is indeed a long period, but from
the picture of that lone figure settling
down under Dutch protection at Macao
because absolutely unable to enter the
country at all, to the inception at Shang-
hai of a strong indigenous church of half
a million members is a far cry. There
may not be enough to justify any very
extraordinary ecstacies, yet surely enough
to invigorate our hopes. So it is in no
spirit of pessimism that I speak to you to-
day. But it can hardly be that such radi-
cal changes as have been indicated in the
life of the nation should not also call for
corresponding changes in our work and
plans for the future. I venture to sug-
gest that a new China calls us as workers
to a New Motive, a New Method, and
a New Policy.
1. The prime motive set before the
members of Christendom for Christian
Missions from the days of William Carey
until now has been one of compassion and
pity. It has dwelt much upon heathen
darkness and Christian light. The need
and claim of non-Christian lands upon us
has been the great incentive set before
us. It was expressed in the thought that
they could, not do without us. This is still
profoundly true, and far be it from me to
suggest that it should be abandoned. If
the Chinese themselves feel that they can-
not do without us for the development of
their secular life, we Christian adventurers
are still at least as profoundly convinced
that they cannot do without us for the
development of their religious life. I sug-
gest the addition, not the substitution of
a new motive. TVe cannot do without them.
The important position which China occu-
pies in the scheme of nations, the unique
character and gifts of the Chinese race,
the contribution she is fitted to make to
the progress of the world, her enormous
population — constituting roughly one-
fourth of the human race—all loudly sug-
gest to us that when the question is one
of even the mere nominal conversion of
the world, that of this vast homogeneous
nation is a most serious factor in the
problem. And this consideration is
greatly emphasized by the stage of
civilization she has reached.
If we direct our attention to what is
bound to be the chief moral and religious
New China
question of our day, the abolition of war-
fare between nations and the establish-
ment of the peace of Christ throughout
the world, the importance of China be-
comes more and more evident. On the
question of preparedness, China is at the
turning of the ways. The temptation to
embark upon a career which seeks mili-
tary strength is very strong. Not only
are we having a notable development of
Tuchunism, but the mind of China’s
leaders is firmly convinced that she will
never have equal treatment from the great
Powers until she is prepared to speak to
them in their own terms of military
strength. “A large army, a strong navy ;
only by the possession of these shall we
have due weight in the councils of
nations.†Could we imagine anything
more deplorable than that China, to
whose abiding honour it has been that she
was always a peace-loving nation, should
launch herself on a career of military
preparation. What would an adequate
army for China, according to modern con-
ceptions, mean? During the great war
Britain put perhaps five million men into
the field. America did not properly get
into the war. Doubtless, if necessary,
when her population was 120 millions, she
would have put 10 or 12 millions rather
than be beaten. But China, with a popu-
lation of 400 millions, would as easily put
40 millions. But she is not a military
nation, you say. All her ideals are, all her
genius is, pacific. They have no fighting
blood. God grant it my remain so, and
that we may have her in the League of
Nations before it is otherwise. We think
it is necessary that America should join
the League. We believe Germany and
Russia should be welcomed. It is quite
as necessary to have China in. No
country would count more in favour of
peace. No country would be more for-
midable if once equipped and modelled
after the Western type. The argument of
her non-military disposition, the lack of
fighting blood in her people may be over-
done. Not only are they capable of facing
death with the utmost Stoicism, but they
are endowed with many of the qualities,
Dr. Candlin with Tutors and Graduates, Peking, 1919,
New China
and that in a supreme degree, which
under modern conditions qualify man for
the life of a soldier. Do you want men
who can endure a rough life? They can
lodge, sleep, anywhere, undergo all sorts
of discomfort. Do you want men to
march? Hardly one among the people
but can cheerfully face a journey on foot
of 50 miles a day. Do you want men
who can live on the plainest and' simplest
food ? The very term in use for the com-
misariat in a Chinese army is Chun
liang, “army grain,†which serves, alike
for man and horse. Patient, docile, obedi-
ent, intelligent, General Gordon found in
them excellent raw material out of
which to build effective troops. For the
world’s peace, for the preservation of
civilization, menaced to-day as it never
has been in. the history of man, we cannot
do without them.
2. I would put in a plea for a. new
method. Have we not, in the past con-
ceived our task too indiscriminately in
terms of battle. No matter what is on
hand we must be fighting. It came per-
happy naturally that we should think of
our mission as an invasion of heathen
darkness. We undertook a great Cru-
sade. Our methods were exclusively
polemical, and the odium Theologicum was
far more malodorous than at home.
Every vestige of every other faith than
Christianity must be extirpated root and
branch. There were perhaps parts of the
mission field, Africa, Polynesia, Micro-
nesia, where this would not be glaringlv
unfit. But missionary experience itself
has taught us how grossly unfit it is as a
policy in India and in China,, and, we
must say, in Arabia. Faiths like Confu-
cianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Moham-
medanism, have too much in them that is
excellent, that is strictly consonant with
our own faith, for this method of pro-
cedure. In their case, the Gospel is not
the condemnation indiscriminately of all
they hold precious, but the message of
Christ to the other faiths of the world.
We have provoked a great storm of need-
less antagonism. There is loud call for
the conciliatory method of evangelism, the
method which sets forth how much in
other faiths there, is that needs Chris-
tianity as its explanation, its completion.
His followers have quarrelled badly with
those of other faiths, but Christ would
hve told his Message of the Kingdom to
Confucius or to Siddartha or to Mahomet
with the same authority and calm as when
he spoke to Nicodemus. The method of
the future will be the Conciliatory method,
a work of harmonizing rather than of
antagonizing. We have to recognize,
and that generously, what is good and
helpful to the soul in other beliefs. And
the best way of beginning is seriously to
acknowledge in ourselves that there is
much. “The Life of Timothy Richard â€
has just been published.* He was a mis-
sionary sui generis. He exemplified in an
admirable manner the value of the Con-
ciliatory method. He carefully studied
the other faiths of China with a view to
understanding their true relation to his
own. Fie welcomed the truth in them as
a furtherance to his work. He did not
say, “The virtues of the heathen are but
splendid vices.†He said, “Here is some-
thing I can build on : through this I can
lead them to Christ.†It earned him the
opprobrium of some of his. brother mis-
sionaries ; it won him the love of the
Chinese people wherever he went. “There
are in all religions earnest men, devotees,
men who take their faith earnestly. Cor-
rect their errors : do not destroy their
reverence. Convert them : they will con-
vert the rest. New China calls for a new
attitude, a new conciliatory method of
evangelism which does not forget the
words of the Lord Christ, ‘ I came not to
destroy but to fulfil. ’ â€
3. Then I would recommend a new
policy, a new organizing policy. We have
reached the stage in China when it is high
time to bring to the front the question
—Where does our obligation terminate
and that of our converts begin ? Given a
Christian country : given what we some-
what superciliously call a heathen coun-
try. What is the duty of the former to-
ward the latter? We will accept the com-
mon reply, “To give them the Gospel.â€
But what is the duty of the latter ? Surely
it is their duty to receive it and provide
for its expansion in their own countrv.
It is our business to evangelize, to give
them the word of life. It is their business
to found their own churches. I think it
follows strictly from this that, as a prin-
ciple, all foreign agents should be paid
* The Doctor reviewed it for us in this Magazine. (See
pp. 74 and 94, 1923).
10
Little Englanders
from foreign funds : all Chinese agents
from Chinese funds. But we need not
be niggardly about it. Hitherto it has
scarcely ever been that a group of con-
verts have of their own initiative formed
themselves into a Church, providing for
their own worship, calling their own pas-
tor and meeting his salary. Some careful
students of missions think this is the
thing which in every case they should do,
the only thing for them to do. It seems
a counsel of perfection. Suppose we help
them. It won’t hurt us to help them ; the
all-important thing is that they should
realize that we are helping them, not they
helping us. Suppose we adopt a scheme
for giving them twenty years of help, the
amount diminishing annually from the full
pay of an agent to zero. It will be easy to
establish a fund for the purpose, either
by devoting a lump sum as a perpetual
endowment for their help, the interest
only to be used, or bv making a fixed
annual grant, not to be increased, per
annum. Let us see how this will work out
in practice. We can still maintain a
trained preacher for the sum of £20 a
year. It used to be £10, but cost of living
has increased. Still, for £20, any church
can have a pastor. If therefore you have
a sum of £4,000, or an annual grant of
£200 per year devoted in perpetuity to this
object, you have, as I conceive, the means
of generously helping churches to get on
their feet. This money will circulate auto-
matically. Each year a twentieth of it
will come back to you and be available to
meet new appeals. By this means you can
found as many churches as you have
effective openings, until all China is pro-
vided for. By our present methods we
are getting nowhere, are pauperizing our
members and are rapidly congregationali-
zing ourselves. By our present method
we cannot reach the goal. Not all the
missionaries we can sent from England
and America, with all the money we can
send after them will suffice. It can only
be done by the living faith of Chinese con-
verts. We as a mission have spent sixty-
five years in forming supported churches.
Those churches are the very reason why
we cannot form self-supporting churches.
A new motive will put our work on a
more practical and business-like founda-
tion, giving us an incentive of our own
for pursuingi it : a new method will bring
us to more kindly and cordial relations
with the people : a new policy will define
our task and help much to make clear
our respective burden of responsibility. If
vigorously and consistently followed out
they will give a stimulus to our work
which will bring the great dawn in sight.
[A requested article. Trenchant, sagacious,
prophetic. It was completed and posted
June 30th : the writer, Dr. Candlin, died
July 11th, in his seventy-second year.—Ed.]
Little Englanders.
A Sestet.
“ One indispensable factor in any con-
siderable advance in the missionary work
of our Church is the winning of the in-
different member or adherent.â€
“Wesleyan H.O.D. Mag.â€
“I’m colour-blind to black, and when it
gets as far as a blue-drab I stir t’ fire up.â€
William Riley. A character in
“ Mem of Mawm."
True Gifts are tied with heart-strings.
“What can I spare? †we say :
“ Ah, this and this,
From mine array
I am not like to miss :
And here are crumbs to feed some hungry
one ;
They do but grow a cumbrance on my
shelf†:
And yet one reads, our Father gave His
Son.
Our Master g'ave Himself.
Frederick Lang bridge.
“The Church that forgets itself in its
passion for others will in that forgetful-
ness find itself.†Anon.
What is your Church?
It depends upon what U R.
CH-UR-CH.
J. E. S.
“The number of human beings in the
world who know little or nothing of
Christ is more impressive than the annual
output of all literature agencies combined,
even if the output be expressed in pages.
The existing organizations with all their
activity have only touched the very fringe
of the world’s need.
Dr. J. H. Ritson.
11
In Nosuland.
eN this journey I got a touch of the
spitefulness of the Nosu Circuit.
Several days travelling were very
cold, and the damp mist took all heart
out of me. To sit on your pony on
days like these, unable to see anything
three yards away from you, for eight
weary hours makes your heart ache.
Unfortunately the Nosu Circuit gives
one many days like these. But you
get cheering experiences at intervals.
You turn-in to a house, maybe, a dirty
place with a fire of smoky wood, where
you are offered a drink called tea, but
made of a kind of pickled cabbage, which
gives you strange gastric discomfort ; yet
which is not an undesirable place to be in,
for it is the home of a young teacher who
for years has worked faithfully at his
mountain school without much encourage-
ment from anybody ; but who gives boys,
who afterwards become teachers, their
Rev.EC. E. Hicks.
"As I roam around the Nosu circuit."
Rev. C. E. HICKS.
first love for learning and, what is better
still, for Jesus Christ. So, cold and dirty,
and maybe hi pain, yet you are glad.
You meet, perhaps, the mother of an old
pupil of yours who has come to say
“Thank you†to you and to the Church
for helping her boy. Or you may meet a
man who has been victimised by brigands,
strung up to a beam by ropes tied to his
wrists and ankles, while knotted cords
were pressed into his brow. Yet he
prayed during his torment and in the in-
tervals of the inevitable swooning fits, and
testifies that Jesus did not fail him. His
testimony is a little crude, perhaps, but
you sit and shudder at his recital of the
horrible torment, and wonder who has the
greater faith—the missionary or the un-
cultured convert.
Brigandage has been the worry of these
people for a long time, and, I am sorry to
say, it still is so. Some of the chapels have
been fortified—the windows and doors
blocked up with loop-holes for rifles,
barricades inside the necessary doors, and
entanglements of briars and bushes on
the approaches. Yet I found building
going forward in more than one place and
great interest in the educational side of
Christian work. I was fearing that too
great emphasis was being put on this side,,
but coming home I met with the saying in
the U.M. : “Religion can’t be taught, it
must be caught†; and I thought, maybe
these lads and girls will catch religion while
they are learning ; or, better still, Jesus
Christ will catch them, for He is seeking
them more truly than are we ourselves.
In a journey like this you touch the
soul of the people more closely than by
preaching to a crowd. Their lives are sad
and filled with tragedy. Bad government
and rapacious iniquitous rulers make
much unhappiness. Money is the all-
necessary element in every relationship,
and no kind of justice is to be had but by-
heavy payment.
I found the old priestess still alive at.
Sae-moka, and preparing for her annual
festival to the goddess of mercy.
I came across an instance of “ first foot â€
which would delight the heart of Dr.
Rendell Harris, who has written that
fascinatingly interesting article on the
12
Two Lamps
Pool of Bethesda. A small bridge was
built over a little gutter. I noticed the
pegs that held it in position were de-
corated with coloured ribbons. I found
that it was a "first-foot†bridge. A child
who is born under a certain horoscope
must have a name given to it by the first
person who crosses a bridge in order to
ensure good luck. So a small bridge is
built and the mother waits for the passer-
by, who then gives the name and goes his
way. It is never refused and is an instance
Peter Wang in typical felt cloak. [C.E. H.
of friendly accord with custom which is
not unpleasing.
I passed a couple of brigands on my
way home. Wicked-looking fellows they
were; standing sentry just outside a
village they had occupied. They took no
notice of us.
We started our Bible School in July in
quiet times, but before the first week was
through we heard of the return' of the
brigands, and the people were greatly dis-
turbed. These brigands had gone down to
Si Chuan—a large band of them—to join
northern soldiers. They were not received,
and had to fight their way back through
The local militia. Some reports say The
brigands lost a thousand men, and that
most homes have lost either husband or
brother or son. All I know for certain is
that their return is greatly disturbing our
work and causing great alarm to the Nosu
people. One sometimes fears that our
work there will be broken up.
My wife’s passage for Australia (to see
her people*) is booked, and she will be
leaving here in November to catch her
boat on or about December 17th. Then for
a few years of desperate loneliness forme.
[We have printed this as written, but every
reader knows that Mrs. Hicks passed away
on October 25th. She was with him on this
journey.]
* See p. 223, December. 1924.
Two Lamps.
Seventy years, ago New Zealand had
the good fortune to have as Governor, Sir
George Grey, an able statesman and
Christian gentleman, whose memory New
Zealand will never suffer to die.
Prior to his departure at the end of his
service, a deputation of the Maoris waited
upon him, and among many words of
affection and regret these were spoken by
the Maori leader :
“When the missionaries came to this land
there was little industry and little good was
visible. Then God kindled His light and lo !
it became as day. When you came, oh
Governor Grey, you came with two lights,
and these are they : The Lamp of God and
the Lamp of the world.â€
This is a terse and telling summary of
the highest duty and1 glory of the Empire
—to bear to backward peoples these two
great lights, one carried by the servants
of the Christian Church, the other borne
by the servants of the British Empire.
Neither is enough alone. For the plant-
ing of Christianity and of civilization both
are needed ; and by the linked service of
these twin light-bearers both are supplied
—The Lamp of God and the Lamp of the
world.
From “Our Empire’s Debt to Missions.â€
The Duff Lecture, 1923. By J. N.
Ogilvie, D.D. Reviewed in October,
192L
13
Healing
Leaves.
HE very words “ Missionary Report,
sound dull and heavy to many ears,
and appear to set up some kind of
subtle reaction in the mind which is apt
to result in the book being- “taken as
read.â€
Memory goes back to youthful days,
when one attended the missionary meet-
ing, eager to hear the deputation, and
was bored by having to listen to long ex-
tracts from the Report, sometimes badly
read : extracts which often dealt with
generalities rather than with arresting
facts.
But here is a Report containing over
200 pages, of which one-half, at least, can
be perused, with all the keen interest one
usually has, in listening to a missionary
direct from the field ; where perhaps the
greater part of the Church’s adventure
and romance is now in evidence. It reads
like a dispatch from the front : which in-
deed it is.
The Secretary has entitled the volume
“Healing Leaves,†thus recalling that
“tree of life, which bare twelve manner
of fruits, and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations,†and its
pages show how the ministries of pastor
and evangelist, teacher and doctor, make
for the healing of the soul, mind, and
body ; and how each form of ministry, in
the most winsome manner, seems to en-
rich and reinforce the other.
This Report has, and will have in years
A fishing; net of a kind much used in
Wenchow. Note also a long bamboo raft. [JItss B. Petrie Smith.
Rev. W. CANN.
Our Mission Report for 1924.
to come, this special value, in that, em-
bodied in it, is the “ statement of policy â€
adumbrated by the Foreign Missions
Committee, and presented to and en-
dorsed by the Conference of 1924. From
this statement it will plainly appear that
our missionary enterprise is not to be car-
ried forward in any casual or haphazard
manner, but that at its head are men and
women with both foresight and farsight.
Those readers of earlier reports, who fol-
lowed the journeyings of Mr. and Mrs.
Butler and the Secretary will see in this
statement a definite outcome of their
arduous itinerary.
One of the special and piquant joys of
our foreign mission work in recent times
has been the number of young people who-
have come forward offering themselves
for service on the foreign field. Fine
young men and women these, with keen,
eager faces, of fine scholastic attainment
many of them, and with a flame in their
souls. This Report is made the more in-
teresting by very good photographs of
several of these recruits, as well as of
veteran missionaries, including the late
Dr. Candlin.
Many faithful supporters of our foreign
missions have a close and almost pathetic
interest in Africa and the work there.
They remember that “the sacrifice of the
missionary is the seed of the Church,†to
paraphrase an ancient saying, and they
look wistfully for the harvest, whan the
seed-bed has
been nourished
at such cost..
Thirteen pages
of this Report
are given to
Africa, and seme
will perhaps read
with peculiar in-
terest what is
said about the
work in a com-
paratively un-
familiar part of
the field, viz.,
the Tana River.
Fifteen pages
are devoted to
the work of the
W.M.A., and go
14
“ Good fori Evil â€
to show what an increasing and living
part the women of our Church are taking
in missionary endeavour. If only they
had free and full scope for their effort,
in every church and circuit, their report
would be still more ample.
No less than twenty-nine pages are
taken up with the doings of the Home
Mission Department. Very possibly this
Department, as far as reports go and
also propaganda, has suffered by com-
parison with the Foreign work in that a
certain romance always clings about the
work that is done in distant lands and
among strange peoples. But there cer-
tainly is romance in these pages, which
tell how men “knelt down and prayed in
the streets†of a midland town, “while
the snowflakes fell softly on their heads.
Or what shall be said of the “ Communion
rail being filled from end to end with
kneeling penitents at a Sunday morning
service � Or of “thirty young men and
women from our Bible class coming
boldly out for Christ †? Or of “ a whole
family, father, mother, married daughter
and two sons being converted †? A
Report that records such things becomes
a means of grace, and “psychological re-
actions †of a most blessed sort are set in
•5*
“ Good for Evil.â€
HEN someone hits you, don’t you
want to hit back, and, if possible,
hit harder ? Let me tell you about
a brave English .woman, and how she hit
back.
Mrs. Lilian Starr was a nurse in a mis-
sionary hospital where her husband served
as doctor, at Peshawar on the North West
Frontier of India. There, amid desolate
hills, gorge-riven and snow-clad, live
several warrior tribes of which the Afridi
are the fiercest. To the hospital, seeking
healing after their fights, these wild war-
riors often come. One day an Afridi boy
was brought in for treatment, and during
his stay in hospital he learned to be a
Christian. When his father, a fierce
Moslem, knew of this change of faith, he
killed his son, and then stabbed Dr. Starr
to death in the night. Thus he took his
revenge.
What did Mrs. Starr do ? Did she leave
her work for this ? No; she stayed,
motion. These pages only serve to show
what the Home Mission Committee might
set about doing if only it had an adequate
income.
And what shall we more say ?
For the space would fail us to tell—
Of churches in China moving slowly but
surely in the direction of self-support;
Of the conviction being formed in the
Chinese mind in favour of an indigenous
Church, in which the theological concep-
tions and modes of worship and order
shall be such as shall fit most naturally
the mould of the native mind, because they
are the product of that mind ;
Of long journeys undertaken on foot ;
of souls who are g'reat in prayer, and par-
ticularly of the man who recovered from
a fever, and the chapel that was built, all
of one man’s praying ;
Of the Chinese pastor, who “seems to
have gained insight into the mystery of
the death of Christ †?
Of the firm and buoyant faith which all
missionaries seem to have in the great-
ness and the future of the Chinese race.
Are not all these things written, and
much beside, in “Healing Leaves †1924
Report of the United Methodist Church
Missions?
FOR YOUNG FOLK.
Mrs. JOHN NAYLOR.
working on quietly, and little by little she
won the fierce Afridi and their wives.
“She treats us as if she loved us,†they
said. This law of love was a new thing to
them.
Then in 1923 another tragedy happened
which made a great sensation in the
English papers. Some Afridi bandits
made a raid on a bungalow at Kohat
where lived Major Ellis, his wife, and
daughter, Molly. They killed Mrs. Ellis,
and carried off the girl into the moun-
tains, barefooted and in her night attire.
Mrs. Starr’s hospital was not far away,
and her heart went out to the poor girl.
Then came a message from Sir John
Maffey, the Chief Commissioner, asking,
“Will you go to rescue Miss Ellis ? If we
send soldiers they will either murder her
or carry her further away. If you go
alone, with only some friendly Afridi, no
one will suspect anything.â€
“Yes,†replied Mrs. Starr, "I will go.â€
15
“Tana Talesâ€
Next day Sir John took her in his motor,
90 miles over the Kohat pass. Then he
turned back, leaving the frail English
woman to pursue the journey, accom-
panied only by fierce, black-bearded,
though friendly, Afridi. Their plan was
to make for a mountain fortress where the
bandit tribes lived. Often there was no
road save the dried-up bed of a torrent.
At night Mrs. StaiT slept in a village camp
surrounded by Afridi women who had not
seen a white woman before.
When they reached the fort they won-
dered whether the bandits would allow
her to enter. But they did; “for,†said
they, “ the only time Britishers came here,
20 years ago, they came to fight : you
have come without arms ; you have come
as a guest.†Thus they received her.
’ She won their hearts by her friendliness
and by the way she doctored their sick.
They admired her courage, too, in coming
â– to rescue her white sister.
“Tana Tales.’^
LL lovers of United Methodist Missions
will readily acknowledge their in-
debtedness to the Revs. J. H.
A Galla Woman Weaving.
[Photo: J.H.P.
For two days they held council together,
while the white woman sat and listened,
praying in her heart. In the end they
promised to give up the white girl, if two
of their imprisoned tribesmen were re-
leased. The bargain was struck, and Mrs.
Starr had the joy of taking Miss Ellis back
to her father.
Following this brave rescue the tribes
passed a law, sealed by all their chiefs,
binding them to give up to justice anyone
who, having broken the British law, sought
hiding in the mountains. Thus the North
West Frontier of India has become a safer
place to live in.
Let us learn all we can of brave men and
women, like Mrs. Lilian Starr, who are
trying to win the World for Christ.
This was the Sunday. School letter for a
recent month, and is deserving of a wider
circulation. Mrs. Naylor consents to its
appearance here. If you don’t get the Sun-
day School missionary letter in your school
ask your teacher “Why?â€
A Review.
Phillipson and R. H. B. Shapland for the
production of a most excellent book bearing
the above title. Many readers outside our
denominational boundaries will join in such
a tribute of praise. There are eighteen of
these “Tales,†dealing with men, beasts, and
adventures ; and there is not a single page
that will fail to hold the attention of even
a casual reader. The last decade has seen
the issue of many missionary books. The
increase in output has been accompanied
by a marked advance in the interesting
character of writing and publishing, and
“Tana Tales†will well bear comparison
with the best recent missionary literature.
The glamour of Africa in the middle of
the last century was partly due to the
haze of very imperfect knowledge. It
was a land but little explored, and imagina-
tion was left to fill in many and vast spaces.
Such a process is now quite impossible ;
for explorers, big-game hunters, and
sundry holiday tourists have tom away
the veil, and the modern schoolboy has
now as clear an idea of some aspects of
African life as of certain European States.
But it must be borne in mind that the
*Our Publishing House, 12 Farrinfidon Avenue, E.C.4. 2/6.
16
Missionary Investments
really vital concern in all African matters
is the development of the native character ;
and on such a question missionaries are
competent to bear a quite unique testi-
mony.
The Tana-River Mission has been the
centre of many strange adventures, and
Mr. Phillipson had his full share in such
experiences, and with the collaboration of
Mr. Shapland has given an excellent
selection. It is possible to join him in his
rides on Lado, the temperamental donkey,
with Max as canine companion; or to
drift down the Indian Ocean in an Arab
dhow, the steel grey sky and low mainland
coast giving a by no means conventional
impression of tropical seas. Or we may
sit in the Missionary’s judgment-hall and
witness the settlement of the appeal of
Abashaura, the old warrior, against the
modernist movements of Galla youths.
Such a session might convince us that a
Justice’s Law Hand-book alone might
not suffice to settle the problems involved
in the chapter headed “A right of way.â€
For the process commonly spoken of as
“thinking black†involves some very
hard work. The chapter on “Capturing
a devil†throws a strong light on the
working of the native mind, and inci-
dentally shows how one white man,
trusting in God and using his common
sense, can sometimes break the terror of an
ancient superstition.
Missionary
Investments.
“ A man there was, though some did call
him mad, the more he gave away, the more
he had.â€
HE g'reat truth underlying" this old
saying" was well realized by the
wise mother who, in answer to her
daughter’s complaint, “ I can’t see,
mother, why you harp so on Foreign Mis-
sions. ; I am sure I can’t get any interest
out of them,†replied, “No wonder, my
dear, for you have never invested any-
thing in them.â€
The following is an attempt to indicate
certain ways in which interest accrues on
our investments in Christian Missions,
and how our lives are enriched thereby.
Of course, we do not advocate such in-
vestments for the sake of what we shall
Courage must have been needed to write
the story of “His last fight,†for even the
reading of it is no easy thing. Consterdine’s
brave battle with a small-pox outbreak,
when panic had paralysed the popula-
tion ; and with practically no medical
resources, his own frame worn with the
daily duties of a Mission situated in a
mosquito-infested area, he calmly “ carried
on.†This is one of life’s grim adventures ;
love’s radiant figure standing clear against
a sombre background. “He went into
the fight a sick man ;. he came out a dying
man. In a heroic struggle with the demons
of ignorance, disease and brutality, he
fell. The sign of the cross was on his brow ;
the glory of the cross transfigured his
passing soul. Christ died for the world,
and, following Him, Charles Consterdine
died for Africa.â€
With full confidence this book may be
recommended for every class of reader.
The teacher and the scholar, the preacher
and the business man, all who care for
the story of man’s uprising, should read
“Tana Tales†; for nothing is better cal-
culated to bring the East and the West
together than an accurate insight into
man’s personality. If the claim is not too
fearsome, our authors have given us a
series of studies in African personality,
and have shown its reaction to the
Christian activity of English gentlemen.
Amicus.
Miss
GERTRUDE LONGBOTTOM, M.A.
get out of them, but here, as elsewhere-,
the law holds good that, if we sow, we
shall reap.
The first line of interest to name is the
gaining of friends. We all know that a
noble friend is one of the greatest gifts of
God, and one of the most lasting founda-
tions of friendship is a common interest
in, and a common devotion to, some high
cause. Thus interest in Missions and
work for the cause can be the means of
drawing hearts together, and cementing
them in lifelong and uplifting friendship.
Especially is this true of young people,
and in countless lives friendships so
formed in school and college days have
proved to be the joy and inspiration of
many after-years.
17
Missionary Investments
Of lesser worth, but still adding- interest
to life, are the intellectual enjoyment and
educational gain derived from the read-
ing of missionary books. These, nowa-
days especially, are full of fascination,
with their stories of thrilling adventures
among strange lands and peoples, and
their value is greater than that of ordinary
books of travel by reason of the close and
intimate contact through many years of
the missionary writers with the people
and things described.
Such interest, however, cannot proceed
very far without giving rise to question-
ing's in the mind which lead to a deeper
and more vital gain. Questionings these
are such as, “ Why should we be so in-
terested in Missions, and why is the
labour and expense involved justified? â€
The only logical justification is presently
seen to be that the taking or sending of
the Gospel to the heathen is based upon
the value of the Gospel and its power for
uplift upon the hearts and lives of those
who receive it. Hence we come to see
that if we do not feel its power in our own
hearts and lives, if we are not better for
having it, we have no guarantee of its
power over the heathen, and any profes-
sion of belief and interest in Missions is
but an unconscious hypocrisy. Thus we
are brought to the point that either our
profession of interest must be given up,
or we must gain for ourselves a vital
realization of the power of the Gospel.
So we are driven into a new sincerity and
depth of spiritual life.
Further, by reading missionary bio-
graphies, or, it may be, by contact with
missionary friends, we gain a vision of
the courage and devotion so apparent in
all true missionaries. This vision thrills
and moves us, and, as is always the case,
what we gaze upon with admiration be-
comes reflected in us, and we are uplifted
towards their level.
“ The tidal wave of deeper souls
Into our inmost being rolls,
And lifts us unawares
Out of all meaner cares.â€
And here we touch another great gain,
springing from the widening of our out-
look on life, which comes from a living
interest in Missions. Often life seems
nothing but a dull round of petty cares.
Then we lift our eyes to the far horizons,
we look at Africa, India, China, and the
isles of the sea, and we remember the
brave men and women who are working
there under difficulties and limitations
graver than any we know. So life is
seen from a right viewpoint, and we
are no longer the centre of the universe,
and love for God’s children afar sets us
free from this blinding self-engrossment.
“ Self is the only prison that can ever bind
the soul,
Love is the only angel that can bid the
gates unroll :
And when he comes to call thee, arise,
and follow fast;
His way may lie through darkness, but it
leads to light at last.â€
And with this wider view comes the
assurance that God is still at work in the
world, and His Spirit still has power to
stir hearts and change lives. There have
been times in recent years when we might
have doubted this, if we looked only at
the Churches at home, with their seem-
ing inactivity and coldness. But when
we looked abroad, and heard such stories
as that of the coming of the Miao in
their thousands, we knew that God’s
touch had still its ancient power, that
His Spirit was still active, and that there-
fore our little efforts were not futile.
Such being some of the gains received,
the interest accruing, what may we invest ?
We can invest our thought, by read-
ing, studying, hearing speeches ; our
time and effort, by collecting, sewing,
organizing, etc. ; our money ; our
prayers, not perfunctory ones, but intel-
ligent and heartfelt, based on our study ;
our friends or our children as mission-
aries, a big investment and calling for
much self-sacrifice, but with the bigger
interest attached ; perhaps ourselves, the
biggest investment of all. We may not
be like the child, greatly stirred at a mis-
sionary meeting, who asked for the col-
lection plate to be put lower, and lower
still, till finally she stepped into it; but
our investment of self, where possible,
may be just as genuine.
If we make these investments, we may
find that the Company knows nothing of
limited liability, and that our shares are
never fully paid up, constant calls being
made for more. But return is sure and at
a high rate of interest. For the Founder
and Chief Director of the Company is our
God, the faithful and true God, and He
will be no man’s debtor.
18
Mrs. J. B. BROOKS, B.Litt.
A Letter from Shuang-Mei Li.
My dear Mother Church,
OW are you all ? I never forget
you. I am always thinking about
* you and often pray for you. We
have had a very busy year in the Girls’
School with more than a hundred scholars.
I think it is very important work. There
are forty little ones from three years old to
seven ; some of them come from heathen
homes. We are preparing them to become
Christians. Some are very poor, and we
have some rich ones, too.
At Easter time I had two pictures ; one
of Jesus rising from the dead with angels
near ; the other of Jesus being tempted
by Satan. I gave the first kind to the
Christian children, and the second kind
to the others. I noticed that some left
their pictures behind on the desks, and
their faces were very straight. So I asked,
“ What is the matter ? Don’t you like
the pictures?†They answered, “No.
It is the devil; we want Jesus.†Then I
said, “Jesus is only for the Christians,â€
And they answered, "We are Christians.â€
Then I gave them the first picture.
One day I heard the mother of one of
our scholars, who is only four, say that
since the little girl came to our school she
was quite changed. When she goes home,
a three days’ journey away, her father is
so proud of her and likes to hear her sing
a hymn and pray and read Chinese ; and
sometimes he gives her money for doing
so well. One day when there was some
talk about new fashions, and how there
were now women who did not powder, the
little girl said : “Yes, just like our Christ-
ians.†When anyone asks if she is a
Christian, she answers, “Yes, I am.â€
One morning when taking prayers in
the Primary Department, I asked those
who were Christians to hold up their
hands. They all put theirs up, which I
thought strange, as some had only come
a few days before, and two of them from
an official family. So I asked, “Do you
know what Christian means ? †They
answered, “Yes, we know; a Christian
does not use powder and rouge ; does not
worship idols ; does not bind the feet.â€
It is still true—“Out of the mouths of
babes and sucklings thou hast perfected
praise ! †We hope they will learn and
then teach their parents.
When we go to Stone Gateway for
the Bible School they want me to tell them
about England. I hope you all keep very
well. Thank you for your kind thoughts.
God bless you all!
With big love, your
Chinese girl,
Shuang-Mei-Li.
Life in China.
WE have been greatly interested in
reading an account of a very
informative book on the lives and
habits of the Chinese, written with an inner
knowledge and with a deep affection for a
people among whom the writer was bom
and lived for many years.
We refer to “Two Gentlemen of China,â€
by Lady Hosie.* For most of us the price
is probably prohibitive, but the book
should be obtainable through the libraries,
and all interested in China should avail
themselves of any opportunity to read it.
United Methodists will be much pleased
* Seeley. Service & Co. 21/- net.
19
Women’s Missionary Auxiliary
about it, for, as many will know, the
author is the daughter of Professor W. E.
Soothill, M.A., of Oxford, formerly Pre-
sident of the Shansi Imperial University
and for thirty years the Missionary in
charge of our Wenchow Mission. As the
wife of Sir Alexander Hosie, who has
spent many strenuous years in China in
the service of the British Government and
the Chinese people, Lady Hosie has had a
varied experience of Chinese life and
thought.
Thus her real qualifications for writing
this book are, as the brief introduction
suggests, that she has lived in Chinese
homes, rich and poor, and has been on
intimate terms with mothers, wives, and
daughters, entering fully into their joys
and sorrows. What better equipment
can there be ?
Native manners, customs, dress and
family life are shown in striking detail.
Indeed, it is doubtful if any more intimate
description of the private life of the Chinese
has hitherto been published.
The following incident from the book re-
veals how mistakes, serious in Chinese
eyes, may be innocently made by the
uninitiated foreigner:—
“A young married woman whom Li
Cheng had met invited him to tea, and
he had accepted with delight, hoping to
hear talk of America. When he arrived,
to his dismay, he discovered that she had
also invited two young Chinese ladies, that
they might meet each other ! She intro-
duced him. He bowed at a distance, for
he saw the poor girls were taken unawares
and overcome with shame at their position.
‘I knew how my sisters would feel,’ said
he. ‘ But the lady—oh, I know she meant
it kindly and that it is customary in
America—wanted to make me sit quite
near to them in a comer ! Of course, no
Chinese gentleman could do such a thing.
I saw that my countrywomen were nearly
crying with distress. So I took my leave
almost immediately. It was most dis-
appointing, since I can never go there
again to learn about America. And, of
course, they will never be able to go
again, either.’ â€
Thus we can see how important it is
that those who desire to help China should
learn the acceptable method of approach,
lest their blundering cut them off from
those they seek to serve. We, in England,
sometimes get impatient of what we call
“red tape,†but we have very little con-
ception of the binding force of traditional
custom in a country like China.
It has often been observed that some
Chinese ways are the very opposite of
ours. Their mourning colour is white,
ours is black ; they read a page back-
wards, according to our idea., The follow-
ing provides another illustration of this :
“The Kung girls had to do each other’s
hair as well as their mother’s, for the
amahs (serving women) were not con-
sidered clean enough to help. It was odd
to find that even Small Six, aged 12, was
helping to do her mother’s hair, and not,
as in England, her mother doing Small
Six’s. In the same way, Small Six helped
to wash and dress her mother. This is
probably why young Chinese girls, with
the trimmest of mothers, often have a
tide-mark round their own necks. It is
considered their duty to look after their
mothers, not she after them.â€
Lady Hosie thinks there is much to be
said for that view. And, we add, some-
thing, surely for the other.
Of special interest on the personal side
is the reference to the way in which she
first came in touch with her husband-
On a rather terrible night during the revo-
lution of 1911-12, when the Manchus were
thrown from their high estate, three
English women, under the instructions of
Sir John Jordan, were brought under the
shelter of the British Legation at Peking.
Of this experience Lady Hosie writes :
“For me the result of the revolution
and that night of looting was happier than
for my Chinese friends, although, at the
time, it seemed to me an added aggrava-
tion, to be resisted by every means, to lose
my heart as well as my hearth and home
during the revolution. In the course of
the months, however, there was nothing
for it but to announce to Miss Bowden-
Smith that I must retire from our school,
and that I had given my hand, as well as
my heart, to the gentleman in whose house
we had all been refugees together.â€
Lady Hosie deserves our thanks for
this interesting and instructive volume—
a valuable contribution to our knowledge
concerning the people of China.
—JB.
20
Elements in
African Mentality.
IGNORANCE is the father of misunder-
standing ; knowledge is the mother
of sympathy. The maj ority of our mis-
understandings—international and indi-
vidual—arise from lack of knowledge of
each other. The ability to see facts from
the mental view-point of another is one of
the rarest gifts in our distressful world.
It is rare even between civilised com-
munities, each with a literature to be read
by all. How can we hope to understand
the mental processes of a race which has
no means of expressing itself, possesses no
Rev. A. J. HOPKINS.
literature in which one may perceive its
methods of thought, and speaks in mani-
fold dialects which contain so many
subtleties that even years of study do not
save the student, from falling into pitfalls
of misunderstanding. It is so easy to
think we understand the meaning of a
word when, all the while, we are putting
into it a content which exists only in our
own mind. “ It is not the inadequacy of
exploration which has left Africa in its
isolation so much as the confusion, the-
ambiguity, the inadequacy of its self- -
Waiting: lor the Lantern Pictures at Igem&e. [Rev. A. J â– Hoplins
February, 1925,
Elements iin African Mentality
expression. Africa itself, in any of the
intelligible terms of social experience or
â– constitutional achievement, has never
spoken. The race is undiscovered and its
soul unfound.â€*
It is the purpose of this article to clarify
the writer's own thinking and to help
â– sympathetic readers to some elementary
knowledge of the standpoint from which
the African approaches the .facts of his
experience.
The African Standpoint is
Mystical.
One has not even begun to understand
the African until one has realised this, and
we use the word mystical in its true sense,
that his thinking is determined by spiritual
rather than material impressions, and all
his actions are based on spiritual con-
siderations. The African receives his im-
pressions of material things through the
senses as we do, but his attitude to the
same physical facts is entirely different
from ours because he believes that all
physical phenomena are the direct result
of spirit activity. He knows nothing of
â– cause and effect in the material world.
He never argues logically from effect to
cause. He does not need to know the
process by which an effect is produced ;
it is sufficient for him that it must be pro-
duced by spirit agency. If we understand
this, African mentality ceases to be an
•entirely closed book ; the fiction of the
negro as an incurably stupid and in-
â– credibly unreasonable creature, something
more than a monkey and something less
than a man—which appears to be the
most popular estimate of him, is replaced
by the more attractive though not less
mysterious picture of a creature free from
the necessity of applying logical processes
â– of thought to any set of facts, inasmuch as
every conceivable fact which may enter
into his experience is already explained
by the fixed pre-supposition of spirit
activity.
This mental attitude accounts for his
invincible conservatism. The European
comes along with new methods and sur-
prising implements by which work may
be lessened and output increased, but to
his exasperated consternation the African
listens calmly to his exposition and handles
curiously his queer instruments, and
promptly returns to his old ways. He
will frequently go so far as to admit the
■superiority of the white man’s methods
and means.; he will praise them, but he
will not adopt them. Is this attitude which
irritates us all sheer unreasoning conser-
vatism or can we throw some light on it
in view of what has been said above ? It
should be understood that the African
has no faith that he will receive any re-
ward for his labour in the fields merely
because he cultivates the soil and sows
the seed. The harvest is a success or a
failure according to the disposition of the
spirits, and does not depend entirely or
mainly upon his labours. What would be
the use of cultivating with a spade or hoe
instead of with a pointed stick,* if the
spirits of his ancestors were displeased
and withheld the harvest. Why introduce
a plough when possibly its introduction
would outrage the spirits, who would
surely reveal their displeasure ? To the
African mind cultivation is certainly the
condition, but it is not the means, by
which the harvest is secured. Mystic and
not material considerations decide whether
famine or plenty shall visit the community.
One sees this clearly when one re-
monstrates with the African male because
the bulk of the toil in the fields is done by
the women. The men cut down the bush
and clear the ground ; they also guard
the ripening crops; but all the labour
of actually breaking up the soil and
sowing the seed is done by the women.
This condition never fails to rouse the
anger of the white man, who sees in it
only sheer laziness on the part of the
men. Or possibly he does endeavour to
discover some reason for this when he
realises that the women themselves are
the strongest in their denunciation of any
suggestion of alteration in their condition.
We may think that it is a necessary con-
sequence of the fact that the men are fre-
quently employed in warfare or hunting.
This is quite correct, but it is not the true
reason. The African could not explain it
himself, but underlying this division of
labour there is a mystic reason which
cannot be expressed better than in the
words of Prof. Lucien Levy-Bruhl:—
“ Beyond the fact that the man himself
often has occupations quite as laborious as
’"The Basis of Ascendancy.†E G. Murphy.
+ See next page.—Ed.
22
Elements in African Mentality
the cultivation of the soil he would not, if he
•could, change this division of labour, the
origin of which is a mystical one. If women
â– are almost exclusively burdened with all that
pertains to the cultivation of plants and trees
it is because, in the social group, they repre-
sent the principle of fertility. In order that
the fields and the trees may be productive
there must be a close relation established
between them and the social group which
attends to them; the principle of fertility
must pass over to them, and consequently
the members of the group must have it
â– within themselves. It would be useless for
men to take as much trouble in the fields as
women, useless even if they took more
'trouble and expended more energy upon the
ground, and sowed and transplanted with as
much or even greater care. It would all be
labour lost. The earth’s yield would be but
a reluctant and meagre one. The work of
women alone makes the fields and gardens
fertile, for it is to their sex that this power
is due. . . Even if the men desired to take
upon themselves this hard task, they would
not be able to accomplish it successfully.
Moreover, the women would not consent to
give it up for fear of famine.†(“ Primitive
Mentality,†p. 316.)
If this theory seems far-fetched, inas-
much as it will be contended that ex-
perience must have proved to these people
â– chat certain physical conditions result in
tertain material consequences, let me say
that only last year the Ameru in this
•district delayed their planting for three
weeks until an indication was given by
•one of the old men that the omens were
propitious. Not one of them dared to
plant a grain until tha+ word was given.
The result was that the best of the rain
was missed and the har-
vest practically failed. All
the physical conditions for
•ensuring a good harvest
were present, but what of
that if the “spirits†had
not yet spoken ? Simi-
larly, among the Anyika,
•a man and his wife will
select a plot to clear for
a plantation. The soil is
good, the situation per-
fect ; but if certain birds
which are regarded as
messengers of the spirits
•should indicate an un-
favourable omen they will
immediately abandon the
â– chosen site in favour of
a much less desirable situation. That is
to say, the deciding factors are not material
but spiritual.
The Rev. J. B. Griffiths has at his dis-
posal a wealth of entrancingly interesting
detail far beyond the command of his
humble disciple, which would illustrate
and illumine this phase of African men-
tality.
Trial by Ordeal.
Mystical considerations, not evidence as
we understand the term, also determine
judicial procedure. It is true that criminal
and civil cases are heard by the Tribal
Council, and evidence for and against is
produced, entailing protracted arguments
conducted frequently with considerable
skill. But at any stage in the proceedings
either the plaintiff or the defendant may
demand that the case be tried by ordeal.
It is an appeal to the spirits, and their
decision is final. Procedure varies in the
different tribes, but a very popular method
of Trial by Ordeal among East African
tribes is the method of the Red-hot Axe.
A witch-doctor is called in, and he puts
an axe-head in the fire. He then calls up.
the accused and any others who may be
implicated. There is as a rule no lack of
volunteers who offer to undergo the
ordeal, so strong is their faith that hot
iron will not hurt an innocent man. The
witch-doctor then puts some “medicineâ€
on the hands of each. He takes the axe-
head—now red-hot—from the fire with a
pair of tongs, and addresses^it thus : i^“ O
Wameru cultivating. The long poles,
or “ pointed sticks,†are their spades.
23
[The late Mr. Mimmack.
Elements in African Mentality
Axe, if the man who has not done this
deed takes you in his hand do him no harm,
but when you touch the guilty man, burn
him ! †(The ceremony and the incanta-
tions—the purpose of which is to bring
the spirits into touch with the iron—are
more elaborate than this ; I merely in-
dicate the method of procedure.) The
belief of the African is that the axe-head
then becomes the medium through which
the spirits give their decision. If a man’s
hand is not burned, he is not guilty ; the
hand first burned by the hot iron belongs
to the man singled out by the spirits as
the guilty party. There is sufficient reliable
evidence, affirmed by Europeans, to prove
beyond question that trial by ordeal by
this and other methods does actually
differentiate between individuals. The
hot iron does not burn everybody ; some
quite calmly take the red-hot axe-head,
pass it from one hand to the other, and
remain unscathed.
Unless one understands the mystical
nature of African mentality it is a sheer
impossibility to believe that any creature
that can be called human can persuade
himself of the finality of a decision reached
by such a test as that. But we must re-
member that it represents to the African
the decision of the spirits. The African
knows nothing of invariable laws of cause
and effect. We should argue that, because
the iron was hot, it would bum any and
every hand with which it came in contact,
because it is the invariable nature of hot
iron to burn. The African argues quite
differently, or, rather, he does not argue
the matter at all. There is nothing in the
least surprising to him that the spirits
should choose this method of expressing
their will. The African knows perfectly
well that hot iron bums, but it only bums
at the will of the spirits, who use it in this
particular case as the agent to express
their opinion. Their decision is never
called in question. To our logical minds,
this blind acquiescence in the decision of
the ordeal is inconceivable. It must
happen many times that the man who is
burned by the iron is not the guilty party
at all. But does he, therefore, question
the decision of the ordeal and protest his
innocence ? Not at all. The spirits cannot
be wrong, and he must have done the deed
of which he is accused, though quite un-
conscious of having performed it. An
evil spirit must have taken possession of
him and used him as its unconscious agent
to work its will upon its victim.
{To be continued.')
[The concluding portion will deal with and
explore "The Power of the Curse†and
"The African’s Attitude to the Christian
Gospel.â€]
The President.
Rev. Joseph Lineham. Ph.D.
24
Foreign
Secretary’s Notes.
Rev. C. STEDEFORD.
Colleagues Pay Letters following the cable
Tribute to announcement give pa-
Mrs. Hicks. thetic accounts of the
death of Mrs. Hicks, and
all who write pay the highest tribute to
her character and work. She died of
typhoid fever with latent malaria and
broncho-pneumonia complications. Mrs.
Hicks had not been well for several
months, and not long before her fatal ill-
ness she had suffered an attack of mumps
which had further reduced her strength.
Dr. Dingle, in a letter written only five
• weeks before she herself was destined to
be numbered among those who have laid
down their lives in China,*writes of Mrs.
Hicks: “She leaves a fragrant memory
in Chaotong where she was greatly be-
loved. For twenty-eight years she has
loved and served the women and children
of Chaotong, and they will never forget
her. Neither will her fellow missionaries,
who are indebted to her for many a kind-
ness and help along the way. It was my
privilege to come to China with her in
1906 and to profit by her thoughtful ways
and kindness to all about her. Her beau-
tiful influence has been a benediction and
an inspiration. We miss her very much,
and this makes us realize, a little how
great is the loss sustained by her husband
and children. We can thank God that
Mrs. Hicks came to Yunnan, and that we
had the privilege of knowing her
intimately.
“’Tis better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all.â€
Rev. W. H. Hudspeth, M.A., writes in
the same strain.
“ Mrs. Hicks passed away on Saturday
morning, and we laid her to rest yesterday
(Sunday) in a grave bv the side of Dr.
Savin’s. The expression of sympathy
from the women and girls of the city was
wonderful. It made me feel what a great
love the Chinese give to a really good
woman. No woman could have loved the
Chinese more than Mrs. Hicks, and yes-
terday served to show the Chinese re-
sponse. After the service was over at the
graveside, most of the women were in
tears and amongst the. men many found
it difficult to keep from crying. Our
*Tril utes to her msmory will follow next month.—Ed.
burial ground is some five miles distant,
yet many women walked that distance,
and that with their crimped feet .
ten miles by the time they reached home.
“The body of Mrs. Hicks has been in-
terred, but her many years of service, her
words of love, her deeds of sacrifice will
live on here for many generations. She
leaves behind her a fragrance of which
people will be aware for a long, long
time.â€â€”(See pp. 3f-lC.)
Wenchow:
Arrivals and
Farewells.
The last months of 1924
saw several changes in
our missionary staff at
Wenchow. Rev. I. Scott
reports his arrival early in November, and
confesses that he was surprised to find the
surroundings so beautiful. He says :
“The city, of course, is dirty and needs
a great deal of improving in many ways,
but its ugliness is relieved by the trees
with which it is besprinkled and the near-
ness of the beautiful hills. I am grateful
that I have been led to Wenchow, and I
hope to spend many years here in Christ’s
service.â€
Rev. J. W. Heywood, Mrs. Heywood
and Miss Doidge, B.A., arrived at their
destination in good health and spirits on
November 19th. From both Chinese and
missionary colleagues they received the
heartiest welcome. The same night a
baby son was welcomed in the home of
Rev. H. Truelove, an accession of four to
the missionary community in one day.
Unfortunately Wenchow has had its
farewells as well as its receptions. The
heart strings of the older missionaries
were sorely strained on account of the
necessity of taking farewell of their be-
loved colleague, Rev. A. H. Sharman,
who started on his homeward journey on
November 4th. On the eve of his de-
parture the missionaries partook of the
sacrament together. All were deeply
affected, especially Mr. Sharman, who
feared it might be his final farewell to
Wenchow. Principal Chapman says of
Mr. Sharman : “Few men have had suck
wonderful patience with his Chinese
brethren, as Pastor Lu said to me yester-
day, ‘His heart is full of love for his
fellow men. However busv or worried he
is, whoever comes is welcomed. It is like
For the Third of February
losing my right hand to lose Mr. Shar-
maii.’ We shall all miss him greatly,
and hope that it will be possible for him
to return to us again.†Mr. Sharman
arrived at Reading just before Christmas.
Wenchow has suffered another serious
loss by the transfer of Dr. Austin to
Yunnan. The death of Dr. Dingle made
it imperative to get a doctor to Chaotong
as early as possible. A cable to Dr.
Austin brought his immediate consent,
and he was requested to proceed forth-
with to Chaotong. He was very happy
in Wenchow, and counted himself for-
tunate in having so congenial and helpful
a colleague as Dr. Stedeford. Neverthe-
less he stepped into the breach without a
moment’s hesitation. His coming will be
a great comfort to the stricken community
in Yunnan. It is grievous to allow the
burden of the great work in Wenchow
hospital to rest again upon Dr. Stedeford
alone, but we hope to send to him another
colleague before the end of this year.
Deputation to The Foreign Missions
•West Africa. Committee has long de-
sider to send a Deputation
to visit our missions in West Africa, and
the West Africa District has often ap-
pealed for the visit of a deputation. While
other fields have been twice visited by a
deputation, the West Africa District has
not received that form of attention. It
is felt, therefore, that such a visit is long
overdue, and there are various questions
of importance which invite the counsel of
a deputation with the West Africa Dis-
trict. In obedience to the request of the
Committee, I shall be serving as a depu-
tation to West Africa early in the New
Year. It was intended for a layman to
accompany me but efforts to secure one
have not succeeded. The Committee
therefore desires me to go alone. I left
Liverpool on January 21st. 1 shall be
absent for eight or nine weeks, and it
will be a convenience if business requiring
my attenton is allowed to await my return.
The tour promises to be of considerable
interest. As planned by Mr. Micklethwaite
it embraces services in various churches
in Freetown, all the stations in Mendiland
and visits to various new chiefdoms
where it is proposed our work shall be
extended. Our friends are earnestly re-
quested to join in the prayer that the visit
26
may prove not only a service of adminis-
trative value but also-a means of spiritual,
stimulus and blessing.
The Editor is sure that every reader
will wish for our Secretary a happy
visitation and a safe return. (Psa. 91.)
He goes with the absolute confidence
of his Committee.
♦
For the Third of
February.
[Woodrow Wilson, the great apostle
and first martyr of the League of Nations,,
passed to his reward on February 3rd,.
1924. He was a devout and earnest mem-
ber of his church, and a firm supporter of
the missionary cause.]
O little snowdrop, hush
Thy hope, before it breaks the war?
world’s heart!
Be silent, missel-thrush,
Storm-thrush, to rain and wild winds set
apart!
For on this day the great,
The Christian ruler, wonderful in power—
Who many a jarring State
Soothed, saved ; whose life was like a
snowdrop-flower ;
Who was a lamp of hope,
A great light, in the red rain and black
storm
Where the whole world did grope,—
Took on his other, higher, heavenly form.
Yet hear we, listening well,
The storm-thrush prophesying clear calms
near ;
And from the snowdrop’s bell
A voice rings, “I was dead, and I am
here.â€
This grave shall be a shrine
Yet to the journeyingnations at their goal,.
This martyr rise divine,
Erect, elate, and satisfied, my soul !
Earth has put off her fleece,
Her snow-wrap, only to put on the-
Spring :
Dead missioner of Peace,
Thou hast put on life—O death, where is
thy sting?
S. Gertrude Ford.
Reception of Ministers on
Probation at Freetown.
SUNDAY, November 30th, 1924, our
first Sunday on African soil, was
marked by a service of especial
beauty and solemnity at our Samaria
Church, Freetown, when our young
native brethren, T. V. Campbell, E. A. E.
Cole, and W. E. A. Pratt, were received
as probationary ministers of our Church.
We were present at the Conference at
Plymouth in July, when their names were
submitted and accepted. We were there-
fore happy in being able to be present at
their reception by the Church of their
choice.
It was a blazing afternoon, but
Samaria was packed with a congregation
of close upon a thousand folk—a fine
tribute to the esteem in which our
brethren are held by their own people.
Each is a master in our Collegiate School,
and a pleasing feature of the afternoon
was the presence in the gallery of a fine
body of lads from the School to witness.
Rev.
A. E. DYMOND.
There was every- indication that the entry
of these young- men into the sacred office
of the ministry is deemed a great and1
solemn thing on the part of Freetown
people. It was a fine, representative
gathering.
The service was shared bv our Free-
town ministers : the Brethren J. B.
Nichols, J. E. Leigh, C. L. W. Coker,
J. M. Johnson, M.A., and G. O. Gabbi-
don. Happy was Bro. Leigh as he told
us that it had been his privilege to bap-
tize each of the brethren in infancy. One
could enter into his joy as he saw them
consecrated to their holy task. Accord-
ing to the custom prevailing here, our
brethren were duly invested with the stole
—a token of their separation unto this-
work. It was my pleasure so to invest
them. Then came the official hand of
fellowship from the Rev. W. S. Mickle-
thwaite, the General Superintendent, fol-
lowed by his address based on the word :
A Missionary’s Grave on Dartmoor
“Neglect not the gift that is in thee â€â€”a
helpful, telling, uplifting message, which
was greaty appreciated not only by the
brethren themselves but by the whole
audience.
The singing throughout was very
hearty and to me, possibly the more de-
lightful as, fresh from home, I found
myself singing hymns so familiar and
loved. It was a worthy service, a
memorable hour, and one could not but
feel, that, under the Lord’s blessing,
there will be added to our native staff in
Sierra Leone three able and worthy men,
men who will carry forward the good
work already established by a succession
of good and honourable ministers.
A Missionary’s Grave
on Dartmoor.
Rev.
LEWIS H. COURT.
RECENTLY I made a pilgrimage to
a grave in a quiet cemetery on the
bosom of the Dartmoor hills—the
grave of a pioneer missionary. It is a
sacred and delightful spot, high-perched
on the eastern slope of the moorland, and
overlooking one of the most g'lorious
landscapes of the West country. Deep in
the valley beneath, a tributary of the river
Teign sings its way down amid sweet
pastures and granite boulders to the sea.
Some hundreds of feet above, one of the
A Missionary’s Grave on Dartmoor
most striking of Dartmoor tors looms
large against the skyline, like a cyclopean
castle commanding the surrounding coun-
try. Half hid in a grove of sheltering
trees rise the white walls of a tiny chapel
which one sees for miles around : it is
our Providence Chapel of the Chagford
Circuit, a place of hallowed memories to
many in the homeland and in lands be-
yond the sea.
Not far from the chapel is the calm
God’s acre where sleeps the dust of so
many who sustained the sacred cause. It
is an ideal resting-place. There are days
here when one may only hear the music
in the pine branches, and the plaintive
notes of the robin which sing's perched on
the memorial stone. I never miss an op-
portunity of visiting it, for it is a sacred
haunt.
Here rest a dozen or more “charac-
ters †which would have furnished types
for writers of romance. But the one of
whom I write was not native to these hills,
though his dust sleeps among that of our
Dartmoor saints whom he served and
whom he so greatly loved. Thomas Grills
Vanstone, one time super of this circuit,
and pioneer missionary to Yunnan, was
however a Devonian bv birth, and it was
his grave that was the object of my pil-
grimage. A white marble stone marks
the mound where his fragile body sleeps,
b.eside that of his only son who died in
infancy, and it bears the inscription :
In loving memory of
Rev. T. G. Vanstone
B.C. Minister
Who entered into rest
May 13th, 1898
Aged 47 years
He was one of our first missionaries
to China, and for nearly four years
Pastor of the Chagford Circuit.
I have fought a good fight,
I have kept the faith.â€
A simple memorial, but it com-
memorates a great soul, and our Chag-
ford Circuit is honoured indeed to have
the keeping- of his ashes. It was a great
chapter in our denominational history
that closed with that quiet g-rave on the
Dartmoor hillside. There are thousands
of souls in far-off Yunnan, in the great
cities and the M’iao and Nosu villages
who can trace their new era of blessing
to the little man of whom we write. He,
and Samuel Thomas Thorne, were the
torch-bearers who first carried the Gospel
light into the heart of the great province
which holds our West China mission
field, and time can never rob him of the
glory which belongs to pioneer souls of
the Faith. Their enterprise has borne
wonderful fruit, and when the story of the
Church in China is written, Thomas Grills
Vanstone is a name that will shine radiant
on its pages. Though his body lies in
English soil his heart was ever in the
great Empire of the East : for China he
lived, sacrificed all, and, as the result of
his strenuous labours, died at the early
age of 47.
How well I remember him still ! He
was so neat in person and attire,
so gracious in spirit, so sweetly human,
that he reminded us constantly of
Christ. Those who knew him predicted
great things, and were not surprised when
the eventful day came that determined his
course as a pioneer missionary.
Born in the little Devonshire village of
West Putford in 1851, he went at nine-
teen years of age to London to try his
fortune there. He soon obtained a good ap-
pointment, and when in quest of pleasure
was seized with deep religious convictions.
Passing our Jubilee Chapel in Hoxton, he
was arrested by the name “Vanstone †on
the notice-board, the preacher announced
being the late Rev. I. B. Vanstone, for
many years Foreign Missionary Secretary
to the B.C. Conference He resolved to
Rev. T. G. Vanstone.
29
A Missionary’s Grave on Dartmoor
attend the following- Sabbath and hear his
namesake preach, and in that first service
the message woke him to his need of sal-
vation, and finally led him to Christ. It
was not long before he was called to
preach, and he served with so much ac-
ceptance in this capacity, that in 1875i he
was sent as supply to the Faversham Cir-
cuit. The following- year he was accepted
as a candidate for the ministry. After
five years’ faithful service in the West, he
was appointed to Lee, London, where he
built the present church, and gave proof
of great ability as a pioneer worker, or-
ganizer and pastor. He was at the
memorable Exeter Conference in 1884,
when Dr. Hudson Taylor made his great
appeal to the Bible Christians to take up
the work in West China ; and there, with
S. T. Thorne, he offered and was accepted.
On July 9th, 1885, they entered the city
of Yunnan Fu. There for some few
years he wrought, laying the foundations
of our work in the province, during
which period he was joined by Miss
Stewardson from England, who became
his wife. She is still, happily, spared to
tus. His constitution, never of the
•strongest, gave way however to the fre-
quent attacks of malaria, and he was
-obliged to leave Yunnan Fu, and open
up work in the more invigorating climate
of Chao Tong. The change was bene-
ficial to him, but only for a while ; and in
1893, eight years after his departure for
Rev. Samuel Thomas Thorne.
China he was back in England again—
a broken man. In enfeebled health he
served home circuits, cherishing always
the hope of a return to the land whose
name and needs were so deeply graven
upon his heart. But God willed otherwise,
and on Friday, May 9th, 189S, after re-
turning from a round of missionary meet-
ings in the Tiverton Circuit, in great
peace of mind he fell on sleep.
Once he told us how upon a time in
China, when he was travelling far afield,
weary, homesick and discouraged, he
came suddenly upon an old dwelling that
was covered with the blossoms of wild
rose trees, and the vision of the familiar
flowers brought back memories of the
homeland and the Churches and the folk
that were praying for him, and of the
lovely Rose of Sharon Whose fragrance
and beauty had won the loyalty of his
youth, and so the roses of love and hope
began again to blossom in his heart and
he went on his way rejoicing'. Thus do
thoughts of him, coming to those of us
who knew him, sweeten the mind and
establish the heart in the quest of the
Eternal beauty.
Geometry.
The nearer any radius approaches to
the centre, the nearer does it approach
the radii on either side of it.
That is to say, if you draw your finger
along the spoke of a wheel towards the
hub, by the same action you draw closer
to all the other spokes that are also con-
verging upon it.
The nearer a man comes to Christ, the
nearer does he approach his fellow-men.
If a man love Him, he will inevitably
love his brother also. One cannot catch
anything of the spirit of Christ without
feeling the passion to arise to serve and
save one’s brethren. Thus there is always
a two-fold approach, inextricably linked :
the nearer to the Cross, the nearer to the
radii. Kennedy Williamson.
(“The Uncarven Timbers.â€)
30
Missionary
Wen Tsi-ch’ien:
A Chinese Boy.
THERE is an old story about an ex-
ceptionally filial boy who lived in
a city in far-away China. His name
was Wen Tsi-ch’ien. When he was a
babe his mother died. His father married
again, and this second wife became the
mother of two boys. The three children
grew up together, but, unfortunately,
Wen Tsi-ch’ien’s new mother was not
kind to him. She was good only to her
own two boys and unkind to the other.
'She showed this in a great number of
ways, but Wen Tsi-ch’ien was a manly
little fellow and never complained.
When the boys were old enough to go
to school their father took an extra lot of
money and gave it to their mother saying
that the boys were to be provided with
neat, warm clothes. The mother took the
money and used nearly all of it to make
thickly padded gowns for her own boys.
For Wen Tsi-ch’ien she made a padded
gown which looked the same as that worn
by her own boys, but instead of filling it
with good, warm cotton-wool, such as she
had used for her two boys, she filled it with
a cheap, shoddy mixture.
At school, one extremely cold day, the
boys were repeating their lessons one by
one before the schoolmaster. When it
came to Wen Tsi-ch’ien’s turn he said his
lesson correctly, but while he repeated it
he constantly shivered from the cold.
This made his teacher angry. “Well! â€
said he, “You are dressed in the same
way as your brothers and they were not
cold . . what do you mean by shiver-
ing in this manner? ’’And taking up his
cane, the master struck the boy several
times over the shoulders. So smartly did
he strike that the boy’s gown split open
when a quantity of the cheap, false cotton-
wool rolled out unto the floor. Then the
teacher understood why the poor lad was
cold, and he felt deeply sorry he had
struck him. Indignantly the teacher went
to the boy’s home to explain to the father
"how unjustly the mother had behaved to-
wards Wen Tsi-ch’ien. The father be-
came very, very angry. So enraged was
he that he determined to send his wife
away from the house and never, never
allow her to return. He thereupon com-
menced to beat her and to call to her to
Intercession
FOR YOUNG FOLK.
Rev. W. H. HUDSPETH, M.A.
leave his house. It was then that the
noble nature of Wen Tsi h’ien showed
itself. Placing himself between his father
and second mother, he begged his father
not to thrash and turn away his mother,
saying :
“Tho’ cruel my mother be ; if she be here
I alone suffer; I alone am cold.
But if she for her sin be driven forth,
Three of us mourn her; lonely now are
we.â€
The father heeding his boy spared his
wife. The mother* was so deeply affected
by Wen Tsi-ch’ien’s generous nature that
she became a good mother to him and
loved him as she loved her own two boys.
And in the annals of Chinese history, the
name of Wen Tsi-ch’ien has been handed
down for many, many generations (since
before the time of Jesus Christ) as an
example of a splendidly filial boy.
Missionary Intercession.
And many nations shall join them-
selves to the Lord in that day. They
shall be My people, and I will divell in
the midst of them. Zech. 2, 11.
The souls by nature pitched too high
By suffering plunged too low;
Met in the church’s middle sky
Half-way ’twixt joy and woe :
To practise there the soothing lay
Which sorrow best relieves;
Thankful for all God takes away.
Humbled by all He gives.
George Herbert.
Feb. 1.—Among the Nosu. Pp. in
Report, 59-61. Rev. C. E. Hicks. Prov.
8 : 1-17.
Feb. 8.—Yung Ping Hospital. Pp. 69.
Rev. J. K. Robson, M.D. Prov. 9.
Feb. 15.—Prayer for Students in, and
of, all lands. See reference on p. 34.
Feb. 22.—Meru, East Africa. Pp. 81-
84. Rev. A. J. Hopkins. Prov. 12 :
1-14.
O Lord Jesus, whose blessed feet trod
this earth ; whose dying love sealed its
children as Thine for ever ; grant to us
to share Thy love for the children of
men, and in the power of Thy eternal
sacrifice and Thy ceaseless intercession
to offer Thee the heathen for Thine in-
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth as Thy possession. Amen.
Livingstone College
To Our
Missionaries.
“ Be still and know †: nor seek
To scout the untrodden way ;
Nor mourn the mists that blur
The breaking" day.
In stillness, with bent head,
Inspire the holy air,
Then take the trackless path :
Thy Lord is there.
Know this one thing alone,—
Nor backward hark to prove
Nor forward look to find,—
That God is Love.
As the Year Opens.
Scale then the rocky heights.
Traverse the fiery sands,
Trafficking holy wares
In distant lands.
The Gospel for the world !
The truth to sell and buy I
The precious word for all
Who live or die ’.
Go, couriers of the Word,
We greet you with a cheer.
Distraught ! Be still and know
That God is near.
J. B. Brooks.
Livingstone College.
Commemoration Day.
HE chair was taken by Sir William
J. Simpson, C.M.G., the well-known
authority on Tropical Medicine and
Hygiene.
The Principal stated that 3G students
had entered the College during the present
session.
A cheque, amounting to £52 17s. 9d.,
was handed to the treasurer, Mr. R. L.
Barclay, by the senior student, on behalf
of past and present students, to help to
meet the cash deficit, “as a token of grati-
tude, esteem and good will to our Alma
Mater.†About £500 is needed to balance
the cash account for the year.
The chairman spoke of malaria, dysen-
tery, cholera, etc., being" preventable
diseases, and that the students of this col-
lege are taught the methods of their pre-
prevention.
Rev. G. H. Eastman (L.M.S.), Gilbert
Islands, gave a telling speech of how the
training had been of value to himself, his
family, other Europeans, and the people
of the country amongst whom he worked,
placed as he was often three or four
months from qualified medical aid. He
had been able to relieve suffering, to save
life, and show the power of sympathy ex-
pressed in action. He told of a man who
brought his wife : she was desperately ill.
It was a case of life or death : desperate
measures must be taken. He said : “Your
wife is very sick : if we give her our sleep-
ing medicine and she goes to sleep and
never wakes up', will you say it is the
white man’s medicine that has killed her?
We are not really doctors.†He looked
at Mr. Eastman, and said, “Let this be
your gift of love to her, that you give her
a chance of life.†That is. just what
Livingstone Colleg'e enabled him to do,
and the chance brought her through, and
she recovered. To-day she and her hus-
band are Christians.
Rev. A. G. Mill (B.M.S.), Congo, told
how the training received at Livingstone
College had enabled him to be more useful
in God’s work on the mission field. He
spoke of the catholicity of Livingstone
College : of the prejudices which were re-
moved on account of the practical sym-
pathy which a missionary trained there
was able to show bv healing the sick : of
the necessity for some, knowledge of how
to deal with illnesses, so that one may look
after one’s native helpers, and said that
the Government had asked him to take
charge of a district to combat sleeping-
sickness. He said, Livingstone College
would be of tremendous use in helping to.
deal with the great problem of prophylaxis
and treatment of leprosy, etc., by using:
the knowledge there acquired.
Negro Wisdom:
Parallel Proverbs.
SOME parallel proverbs are but
negro versions of our own ; others,
of independent origin, contain
ideas with which we are familiar, but in
forms and settings that are new. They
are coloured by the environment and
traditions of the race from which they
spring.
Though “Saftly ribber run deepâ€
scarcely veils our “Still waters run deep,â€
it may mean more to these children
of nature than it does to us. Instead of
“Walls have ears,†the “Bush hab ears ;
'wall hab yeye (eyes).†The negro has a
habit of withdrawing into the bush on
hearing an approaching footfall, and the
traveller may pass without being aware
of his. presence ; hence “Bush hab ears.â€
Again, the interior walls of negro houses
seldom reach to the roof, and the occu-
pant of one room may look over into the
next! Hence, “Wall hab yeye!†A
little more information is given about
“A chip of the old blockâ€: “Chip
nebber fall down too farra from de
block.†Changes are rung on parental
likenesses to offspring, but on the mater-
nal side: instead of “Like father, like
son,†we have, “You hardly ebbcr see a
Rev. WALTER HALL.
kicking cow birout (without) a kicking
calfâ€; and “You lub (love) de cow,
you’ll lub de calf.†Tribute is paid to
the cock as the herald of dawn : “You
hear cock a crow fass, fass, wait : day
soon light.â€â€™ Instead of advising us not
■to “ Buv a pig in a poke,†we are warned
not to “Buy ‘ puss ’ in a bag.â€
The negro boy can generally find a
more personal use for corn than that of
feeding a horse ; but “The master’s eye
makes the horse fat,†must surely be of
European origin; though “The garden
far, the gumbo spoils,†and “ Ebery
nigger a t’ief †suggest that the negro is
not devoid of a caustic humour, and does
not shrink from coining a phrase to his
own hurt. His circumlocution is illus-
trated by “ Ratta say de man chop him
a’ no kill him (perhaps referring to brutal
traps which injure but do not destroy) ;
de man say ‘look oo (out) rat.’†This
is a roundabout way of conveying the
thought we pithily express in “Give a
dog a bad name and hang him.†A
similar idea has inspired “Cockroach
nebber in de right befo’ fowl.†It is as
futile to accept the advice in “You wan’
know ef ants hab entrails? Mash dem ! â€
iRev. James Wynn.
33
Day of Prayer for Students
as to “ Burst a drum to find where the
sound comes from.†We are reminded
of those who “Blow their own trumpet â€
by “ Ebery time fowl lay, him try fe tell
wul (world).†“The pumpkin vine does
not yield the calabash,†is an attempt to
emphasise the truth in our Lord’s words :
“Of thorns men do not gather figs, nor
of a bramble bush gather they grapes.â€
“Talk wid hog no expect not’ing but a
grunt,†is but a slight variant of “Ex-
pect nothing from a pig but a grunt.â€
“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t
throw stones,†has probably suggested
“If you hab sash window, don’t t’row
stone †; and, more remotely,“ If you caan
stan’ lick (can’t bear hurting), no play
stick.†“The devil finds work for idle
hands to do †; and, the negro says, “ Idle
man head a de debil workshop.†(The idle
man’s head is the devil’s workshop). The
following parallelisms are easily recog-
nisable :
“Man hab fe tek de will fe de deed
sometime. â€
“De mo’ you lib, de mo’ you larn.â€
“Cut you coatie by you cloth.â€
“Half a loaf is betta dan none at all.â€
“Don’t cry ober spill’d milk.â€
“Too much cook spoil de soup.â€
“De bes’ man fe catch a t’ief is a t’ief.â€
Pon de long run, de cheapes’ is de
deares.’ â€
“ You ’carcelv ebcr see smoke birout
fire.â€
“ In ebery lie dere’s an ounce ob trut’ â€
“More kicks than ha’pence†has. sug-
gested, “Get a quattie (three halfpence)
betta dan a kick.†We are evidently
mistaken in thinking that we “Can’t eat
our cake and have it †; for “ You hab a
shilling, wash de shilling, drink de water,
an’ keep, de shilling-!†Instead of
“Thinking twice before you speak
once,†“Mark twice before you cut
once.†Of the negro “knut,†who makes
an impressive “outside show,†it is said :
“ Sometimes high collar stan’ top a empty-
belly ! †Our warnings against having
“All our eggs in one basket,†and many
members of a family in the same busi-
ness, are summed up in “Too much
‘ Cousin ’ broke shop.†The futility of
worry is tellingly set forth in “Pound
wort’ o’ fret nebber pay quattie wort’ o’
debt.†“When rum (the West Indian
synonym for ‘ drink ’) is in, wit is out.â€
The coward is not careful about his
“skin†only, but “Coward man keep
soun’ bone.†Instead of being put into
the proverbial shafts, “ A de (it is the)-
willing horse dey saddle de mos’â€
Everybody’s “time will come †; “Every-
dey you goad donkey, one dey him will?
kick up †; “ Eberydev bucket go down a
well an’ come up, one dey i’ will lef’ down
dey †(it will be left down there) :
“ Eberydey debil help t’ief, one day Gocf
will help watchman.†The negro sug-
gests that “Everyman has his priceâ€;
“ Ebervman honest till de dey him.
catch.†Time is “taken by the forelock â€
in “To-dev fe me, tomorra fe you.â€
“Haste to be rich, haste to be dead,†is
a tragic variant of “More haste less
speed.â€
AH
Day of Prayer
for Students. Feb- 18-
The World Task of the Christian-
Church was the subject considered at a>
great Conference of students from all over
Great Britain and from some forty coun-
tries, at Manchester, in January. It is
to co-operate in that task that the Student
Christian Movement throughout the world
exists. There are l,G00 student volun-
teers in Great Britain to-day preparing-
for foreign missionary service, and one of
the chief endeavours of the movement.is
to present the call to such service to suit-
able students, and to bring home to all
the obligation and opportunity of finding-
their place in the fulfilment of God’s great
missionary purpose for the world, whether
as doctor, engineer, teacher, business-
man, parson or missionary. For the
furtherance of God’s continual help in.
this work, the leaders of the movement
ask for the prayers of all readers of the-
Missionary Echo on the annual Day ofi
Prayer for Students on February 15th.
A copy of the official Call to Prayer and
literature about the movement will be-
gladly sent on application to the Student.
Christian Movement Office, “Annandale,â€*
North End Road, London, N.W.ll.
34
Cracking Up China:
A Protest.*
Rev. D. V. GODFREY.
HERE seems to be a general im-
pression abroad that the Chinese
have taken the place of our trans-
Atlantic cousins as “the intellect and
virtue of the airth, the cream Of human
natur’, and the flower Of moral force,â€
and that they must be “cracked up†in
consequence.
Mr. Bertrand Russell has been telling
us that their civilization
is in many ways su-
perior to ours, and
naturally the mission-
aries report to all their
journals startling news
about an Awakened
China. Naturally, be-
cause a missionary is
always something' of a
prophet, and usually
something of a poet! too.
Where the matter-of-fact
see but the first cold
streak of dawn, your
missionary feels the
warmth of the mid-day
sun that shall be. His
rejoicing is so great over
one sheep found that for
a moment he forgets the
nine hundred ninety and
nine.
Thank God that those
who search so diligently
can rejoice with their
friends when their pains
are rewarded, even
though they g'ain but a
small piece of silver after
much sweeping-.
As I sat reading glow-
ing accounts of China in
my east room the other
day, I began to wonder
what business we have
here at all : whether we
ought not to sit at the
feet of these wonderful
folk, instead of presum-
ing to teach them. Had
I been in my west
room, I might have
* This protest was panned before
recent outrages had drawn atten-
tion to the state of China, and
when much was being written in
her praise.—D. V. G.
debated the matter longer ; but raising
my eyes I happened to see through the
east window our village wall. That was
my answer.
All our larger villages keep their walls
in good repair, and guard them through
the night. Even so, rich men take care
to sleep in the more strongly guarded
cities. In many parts of North
Honorific vase of jade: twin-cylinder form.
(Victoria and Albert Museum).
“Wembley†and Missions: Retrospect
China, '.there is no war; but every man
fears his neighbour. Those who peace-
fully plough the land around their own
villages, may be robbers when they come
to ours. The soldiers sent to guard the
district may be brigands to-morrow. So
the people in every village guard their
own, “ Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh because of fear in the night.â€
We have just been round some of the
churches, preaching and baptizing and
noticing, willy-nilly, the distinguishing
marks of Uncivilized China. Entering
cities like Wu Ting and Yang Hsin, we
were examined about our business, and
had to satisfy the guard that all was well
before we were allowed to house our buck-
board. At Chu Chia Tien we saw a yel-
low sky where somebody’s woodpile had
been fired. At Ta Yang Chuang the vil-
lage dogs were prowling in a slinking,
affrighted, devilish expectancy around
some dark object in the middle of the
road : a still warm brigand condemned
to share the fate of Jezebel.
If justice, security and decency are
â– essential to civilization, China is not
civilized, and probably never has been.
Justice is done once in a way, when a
guilty man gets punished. But if he be
great as well as guilty he receives honour ;
and, however innocent he may be, be he
humble, then woe betide him if the agents
of the law once seize him. Security there
is none, though China has more soldiers
under arms, I believe, than Russia her-
self. Of course, foreigners are secure
here (Shan Tung), especially the nationals
of countries that, like Great Britain, have
a few soldiers in Tientsin. If extra-terri-
toriality were abolished, doubtless there
would soon be additions to the roll of
martyrs.
The whole country is in turmoil. There
is no settled government. Everybody in
authority, whether president, civil gover-
nor, or army officer, has fought or bought
his way or been jobbed into office some-
how, without the suffrages of the people
of this “Republic.†Throughout the
country might is stronger than right, and
guile than might. In half the magis-
trates’ offices in the land, the law of
China is flagrantly broken every day.
It is marvellous how China, helped by
some foreign enthusiasts, is hoodwinking
half the world. But in public as in private
life, I suppose John Chinaman is the most
consummate liar under the sun.
This state of affairs is our justification
for coming to China. We are not trying
to convert a lot of polite and rather
topsy-turvy saints. We tire calling sin-
ners to repentance.
and Missions:
“ Wembley â€
Retrospect.
EMBLEY †is over, and we may
try to assess results. There is
much that is encouraging to be
said.
From the beginning numbers went
through our two main exhibits, viz., in
India and in Nigeria, and it would be safe
to say that three thousand people passed
through one or other every day. Of those
visitors some were already missionary
enthusiasts, some had more knowledge of
the countries than the stewards on duty,
but a great number knew next to nothing
about foreign countries or about the work
of missions, and it was most encouraging
to note how readily they listened. One
missionary who helped for some days,
when asked if he had felt it worth the
time and effort, replied, “If it was worth
Miss L. M. SHANN, B.Sc.*
it to no one else it has been worth it to
me.â€
Occasionally our stewards have had to
meet the objector, but the more frequent
report has been that people listened with
interest and said “Thank you †with grati-
tude, even, in some cases, pressing gifts
upon our acceptance, though we had no
collecting box and never breathed the
word “money.†These gifts, when not
specially ear-marked, have been used to
ease over the minor emergencies which
must arise from time to time in an enter-
prise of the kind and for which no pro-
vision can be made in the budget.
During the six months nearly 650
stewards have given their help, and a
’In charge of the Christian Service Exhibits at the Empire
Exhibition.
36
Bookland
large number have said how much they
have enjoyed it. Some have served at
very real sacrifice of time and strength,
and they may feel well repaid. An interest-
ing feature of the Nigeria Exhibit has been
that we have had the voluntary help of
two of the craftsmen brought over by the
authorities. These men are Christians,
and have spent much of their free time
in the evenings helping the stewards.
Their English was not always very in-
telligible, but that only made visitors
listen the more eagerly, and often there
was a crowd of forty or more craning
over each other’s shoulders to see and
hear. Those two men preached the Gospel
to many an English man and woman who
would not have listened to one of their
own race, and to others they were ocular
demonstration that the work of missions
bears good fruit. The book sales, too,
have been encouraging. Our total sales
have amounted to £537 13s. 6d., taken
mainly in small sums.
People ask,“ Has it been worth while? â€
The facts already given go far to answer
that question, but there is more to add.
Not once nor twice visitors, more es-
pecially those from overseas, have said,
“ I am so glad to come across this evi-
dence that the Empire stands for some-
thing besides wealth and power.†The
value of the united effort has also been
incalculable. Objectors have begun,
“You missionaries are so divided, always
disputing among yourselves,†to which it
suffices to reply, “Look at this Exhibit.
It is under the auspices of a Committee
representing twenty different societies,
the stewards come from at least half a
dozen different denominations, and there
has not been one moment’s friction.â€
I should like to speak here of the de-
lightful spirit which has prevailed
throughout. Stewards have been so help-
ful and ready to do whatever was asked
of them. One day my helper came back
from a visit to the stands saying, “What
a delightful set of stewards we have this
week! They work so well as a team.â€
And that was a common experience.
Where the spirit of love is, there God
is, and where God is, the hearts of men
are moved. I have no doubts about the
value of the Christian Service Exhibits at
Wembley in 1924.
Bookland.
The International Review of
Missions.*
The first number of the 14th volume of
this invaluable review is to hand. We
have first the paper by the Rev. Garfield
H. Williams on “ Relations with Govern-
ment in Education,†which was read at
the conference on Missions in Africa at
High Leigh last September. Then Dr.
Diedrich Westerman deals with “The
place and function of the Vernacular in
African Education.†These two articles
take 36 pp. The Rev. W. T. Balmer
gives us Text-books : a study with an
African background. Other outstanding
contributions are : “The peculiar lan-
guage of the heavenly powers,,†by Dr.
N. Adriani ; “A Christian experiment in
national expression,†by the Rev. J. Paul
Gibson, and “The religious education of
students in Christian colleges and univer-
sities,†by Dr. C. S. Miao.
Very valuable are the 25 pages of
reviews.
Twenty Hymn Tunes.L
We congratulate our friend and con-
tributor, the Rev. E. C. Bartlett, O.C.,
on the publication of the above, and that
a presentation copy has been accepted"
by Mary, Queen of the Belgians. It is
well known that Mr. Bartlett’s distinction
—registered by O.C.—is a gift from that
country.
We have tried the whole twenty, and
while there are two or three we like best,
it may be said that all are good. Bright,
tuneful, well-harmonized.
The famous Besses o’ th’ Barn Band
has adopted “Preston †and “Lux Vitge,â€'
the former set to “Nearer, My God to
Thee,†and Dr. Coward, the clever Shef-
field conductor, praises “ Misericorde. â€
Our choice is for “Plenitude †and “West-
head View.†Let a shilling go, and the-
book will come.
* 3s. net or 10s. 6d. per annum. Edinburgh House, or
12 Farringdon Avenue, E.C.4.
b Rev. E. C. Bartlett. Sunny Bank, Heywood Street,
Bury, or 12 Farringdon Avenue. E.C.4. Is. net."
37
Mrs. J. B. BROOKS, B.Litt.
From the President.
Dear Fellow Workers,
â– HAVE been most encouraged during
the past year in my visits to several
District Councils, to note the eager
and intelligent interest you continue to
take in all questions affecting missionary
enterprise.
Everywhere you have listened to the
development of the “ Statement of
Policy,†which is already in your hands,
with keen appreciation of the splendid
possibilities before us.
I gather you agree with me, that the
surest way to realize those possibilities is
the raising of the ordinary income. As
you are all aware, the money contributed
by and through our Women's Auxiliary is
devoted entirely to work on the foreign
Mrs. O. P. Rounsefell, President, 1923. 4.
field, so that it follows naturally that if
we augment our income, we are helping
to actualise those visions of what might
be accomplished in China and Africa for
the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Miss Mabel Fortune writes to me :
“ I went to see our School. As you may
imagine, I was distressed that as United
Methodists, we should call that our school.
T felt T wanted to come home for a few
weeks and tell all ouir people in the homeland
what we need here, and stir them up into
making some special effort on behalf of the
children. I have seen some horrifying sights
in Xingpo, but none so distressing as that of
neglected little children, covered with sores,
playing in rubbish heaps or by pools of stag-
nant water. More 'primary schools are
needed,.â€
You will see the Committee feel the
need of a new school for Ningpo ; it is set
out in the statement ; and this is only one
phase of the work waiting to be done.
I suggest that, as we realize the need, we
make this a year of very special prayer,
and of a very determined effort to increase
our numbers and therefore our income.
Will you, with the same beautiful spirit
that has animated the whole of Christen-
dom during Christmastide, enter into such
a league of prayer and service with me?
“Prove me now, herewith, saith the Lord
of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows
of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough, to receive it.â€
Lovingly yours,
Laura Rounsefell.
Mrs. C. E. Hicks.
The Bible Christians of New Zealand
gave to the infant West China Mission
one worker, Mrs. Dymond, nee Cannon.
The Australian Churches gave two, the
Rev. E. Piper, who returned when union
was cemented there, and Miss Bush, who
38
Women’s Missionary Auxiliary
remained in the mission. After her ar-
rival in Chao-t’ong-, her mother wrote :
*•' She is all that a daughter could possibly
be.†At that time the missionaries, were
few, and Miss Bush was the only single
lady worker in the far-distant field of
Yunnan, so she experienced at the outset
considerable loneliness.
She was a g'entle spirit, absolutely de-
voted to God. She commenced work in
'Chao-t’ong amongst girls who owing to
national custom were considered too old
to be seen out of doors. She visited ex-
tensively, had meeting's in the homes, and
had a class regularly for those who were
sufficiently near to steal through the early
shades of evening to the mission. The
lessons were a great treat to the girls,
and the spiritual influence lasting-. “Gentle
’Marie,†as we used to call her, was in
*China during the Boxer rising.
Immediately after this event, the great
work amongst the tribespeople com-
menced, which necessitated an extra man
to carry on the educational work at Chao-
t’ong’, and, a lady being needed for the
■girls at Tong Ch’uan, it was decided at
the annual meeting that Miss Bush and
Mr. Hicks should change over. To the
gentle Marie this new step was painful :
it involved the sacrifice of ground already
won. Each girl under her tuition was
â– precious, and to leave them was not easy.
Still, she was unflinching in her Chris-
tian service, and set out in the early
■spring’ for Tong Ch’uan, while Mr. Hicks
left at the same time for Chao-t’ong. Both
were treading the valley of loneliness, and
’it was not surprising that when they met
bn the hills of Yunnan between Tong
‘Ch’uan and Chao-t’ong, under the blue
sky, they plighted their troth and went
their ways.
In November of the same year the
gentle Marie returned to her beloved
Chao-t’ong en route for the long journey
to the British Consulate for her marriage
with Mr. Hicks. As they were to spend
Christmas on the road, one or two of us
hurried to make a plum pudding.
Upon their return, the bride and bride-
groom settled in Chao-t’ong, never to
leave it except for furloughs and the care
of the children. Here through the years,
Mrs. Hicks had entire charge of women’s
work which grew conspicuously under
her care. She lived a life of fellowship
with God. Her influence was gracious,
spiritual. She was sympathetic, particu-
larly patient with those inclined to stray
from the better path ; modest even to
humility ; serious, yet with a sense of
humour.
She is of those who have given their
allegiance to God and life-long exile from
home for the cause of Christ. She has
fought dauntlessly through loneliness,
sacrifice, peril and toil to the end of the
race, the first lady missionary to find a
grave in distant Yunnan.
The lesson of her life has a plain
message : Take care, take care of the
patch in W. China -which God has helped
us to make green. Carry on, work,
for night cometh. Thus does she speak,
the gentle Marie. E. P.
An Affectionate Tribute.
By Miss L. O. Squire, B.A.
“ I ask Thee for a thoughtful love
Through constant watching wise.
To meet the glad with joyful ismiles, ‘
And wipe the weeping eyes ;
A heart at leisure from itself
To soothe and sympathise.â€
Such might well have been the prayer
of our dear missionary, Mrs. Hicks,whose
loss we now mourn, for sympathy was an
outstanding trait in her character ; and
gentleness was another. We, who were
privileged to know her, cannot think of
her without recalling a gentle sweetness,
a reassuring calm of manner, that rested
and soothed one’s spirit just as naturally
and quietly as the fragrance flows from
flowers. She has truly written her name
on the hearts of those whose happiness it
is to have known her ; she will never be
forgotten. Mrs. Hicks looked upon life
as an opportunity for service ; her gra-
cious spirit went out in love to all, and,
consequently, her life ever grew in beauty
and in power. She followed “with rever-
ent steps the great example of Him whose
holy work was doing good.†She touched
the wounds of the world with a gentle
hand, and so the hearts of many joyfully
responded, for “hearts are like flowers:
they remain open to the softly-falling
dew, but close up in the violent downpour
of rain.â€
Bv the depth of her spiritual experi-
ence, Mrs. Hicks was able “to lift, en-
39
A Baby’s Smile
large and enlighten †the lives she
touched ; and, if the measure of life be
spiritual, she has lived a full life, for she
has been an inspiration to many.†“Amid
the dreary noises of this world, amid its
cares and tears,†she had “an inner calm
like the ocean depths, to which the in-
fluence of the wild winds and waves above
could never come.†And so by her
presence she inspired us with a calm
assurance and helped us to face our toils
and cares. The influence of her beautiful
life will not die, but will live on, en-
shrined as a most precious memory in
many hearts, ever prompting to noble
impulses. The memory of her devotion
will yet bear rich fruit to the honour of
the Saviour whom she rejoiced to serve
so whole-heartedly. We thank God for
her unselfish life, for her faithful witness
as a Christian missionary, and we pray
God’s richest blessing on the dear ones
so sorely bereaved by her passing.
This brief tribute is sent, with sincere
love and deep reverence, from one who
had the happiness to be her friend.
By Miss A. A. L. Barwick.
“ Where is death’s sting?
Where grave thy victory?â€
So we have sung in inspired moments,
when our circle has been complete, and
when our minds have been fully occupied
with the things of the larger life. We
could not sing this on Saturday, when
Mrs. Hicks went to her Heavenly Home,
leaving a space in our missionary life
which can never be filled. Some pass,
and are only mourned for a while ; no one
will ever take the place of Mrs. Hicks
among the Chinese women and children.
"Teacher, where shall we look for
another, who will love us as she has
done? †asked an old woman of me, tears
streaming down her cheeks. I could onlv
press her hand, and hope that in the years
to come, some of us younger ones may
help to mitigate the pain. Only another
week, and we were to wish Mrs. Hicks
“God-speed †on her voyage to Australia,
where she hoped to see her mother, who
has waited long for her coming. Her
children, in England, were calling her
too, so that she did not expect to return
to China. The women knew this, and at
her last Tuesday class, one asked, “Then,,
shan’t we see you again Si-Mu? †“Oh,,
yes,†answered Mrs. Hicks, “we shall
meet in Heaven.†And now she is there,
awaiting the arrival of the women whom
she loves, and who love her.
Chao-t’ong was essentially her earthly
home ; the people, the hills and the plain
were a part of her. It is fitting', perhaps,
that her last resting-place should be in
the land which gained her affection.
Sunday was a sad, sad day. Among
the crowd which had gathered at the-
graveside were many women who, on
their tiny, crippled feet, had hobbled the
whole five miles. Little children were-
there too, with a sort of stricken wonder
on their faces.
Mrs. Hicks will never be forgotten.
Her life has been a benediction to the
people, her death will inspire them to
nobler living, and a greater consecration.
The frag-rance of her life will remain in-
the homes of the people, and, I am sure,,
that in times of trouble, there will be the
passing' as of angel wings.
(See also p. 23.)
■=5°’
A Baby’s Smile.
A story from Herodotus.
As soon as the child of Labda was born,,
the Corinthians sent ten of their number
with the purpose of killing the child. They
duly reached Petra, and going into the
house asked for the baby. Labda had no
idea of their Intentions, and thinking they
were acting from good will, brought the
child and put it into the arms of one of
them.
Now they had agreed on the road that
the one who first received the child should
dash it to the ground. But it happened
by a divine chance that the little one smiled
at the man who took it. He was over-
come by pity and could not bring himself
to destroy it. So he gave it to the second,
and he to the third, till it passed through
the hands of all the ten, and none of them
would destroy it. Then they gave the
child back to Its mother and went outside.
They stopped at the gate and began to-
blame and reproach each other, particu-
larly the one to whom the child had been
first given.
Unearthed by Mr. J. St. Loe Strachey.
“The River of Life.â€
Penryn Spier, B.A.
A Blind Bible-seller’s Son.
Mr. H S. REDFERN, M.Sc.
d"*AP, tap, tap. “Make way for the
blind man,†were the sounds heard
1 by a young missionary twenty
years ago as he wended his way amongst
the busy throng hurrying in and out of
the East Gate of Ningpo City. The crowd
parted and revealed to his gaze an old
man, bent and sightless, carrying by
means of a string fastened around his
neck a tray of paper-backed books and
pamphlets obviously for sale. At first
sight this old man was but one of the
numerous petty traders whose cries add
to the confusion of the busy entrance to
the city, perhaps a seller of cheap and
nasty novelettes or other evil literature.
But a second glance shows that this is
no common bookseller. His clothes
though poor are neat and well-groomed,
his person is cleanly, and his blind, fur-
rowed face seems to be illuminated with
a light from within, and radiates kind-
ness and good will upon all around him
Moreover, he is not alone. He is being
guided through the streets by his bright-
eyed boy, whose shrill voice can still be
heard crying, “ Make way for the blind
man.†It is no crafty pedlar seeking to
keep body and soul together by catering
to the debased wants of the populace,
but one of the humble heroes of the mis-
sionary cause who, rising above his
own blindness, poverty and old age, is
dispensing to the hungry heathen multi-
tude around the message of the Bread of
Life. He is now on his way to the city
temple where, right in the heart of
heathendom, he daily takes his stand,
selling tracts and gospel portions to the
crowds of idlers, priests and pitifully
March. 1925.
superstitious women who throng its
stately precincts. This was my first in-
troduction to Mr. S, the blind colporteur,
and his son, S. Ping-yu. In later life the
boy, finding his surname S to be quite
unpronounceable by English tongues,
changed it to Spier, and his Christian
name to Penryn ; and, reversing the
order of his two names, called himself
Penryn.
They who bring sunshine into the lives of
others, cannot keep it from themselves.
—Sir J. M. Barrie.
Penryn Spier, B.A.
Penryn Spier, an appellation which we
shall now thankfully adopt.
A short time after this first introduc-
tion, in 1903, the writer took charge of
the mission school, carried on in those
early days in a Chinese house,17 and found
that an elder brother (about whom
another story could be written) was a
teacher in the school; whilst Penryn
himself was one of the smallest—though
by no means the dullest—boys in the
bottom class. A few years later, when
the new College building was completed,
he was transferred along with the other
boys as a boarder in the enlarged insti-
tution. Here he became a general
favourite and gradually worked himself
up to the top of the school. He was a
real boy, and though no great athlete,
was fond of football and tennis. One of
his great ambitions was to win the mile
race at the annual College sports. By
dint of much training, and after a tremen-
dous effort, he attained to this ambition,
and I ' well remember how he was
triumphantly borne off by his fellow
students in an almost fainting condition
amidst the plaudits of many hundreds of
spectators who had gathered to witness
the sports. Penryn was specially in-
terested in Natural Science. He made a
collection of the butterflies of the district
which (until the moths unfortunately
destroyed it) was one of the College
treasures. His Physics note-book was
such a model of neat hand-writing and
good draftsmanship that it was sent home
for exhibition and is to be found in the
museum of our Baillie Street Chapel,
Rochdale. In Christian work, too, he
played a foremost part, and was spe-
cially successful in giving religious ad-
dresses to small children. A village Sun-
day School which he and Mrs. Redfern
founded, was the nucleus from which
sprang three large Sunday Schools in
Ningpo. In these schools his sister
Alice also worked with great success.
When the end of his school life drew
near, I received a visit from his mother,
Mrs. Spier, herself a remarkable per-
sonality, who made the astounding sug'
gestion that her boy, after his gradua-
tion, should still pursue his studies in St.
John’s University, Shanghai. “But,†I
objected, “do you not realize that Penryn
’See p. 202, 1924. Ed.
has already enjoyed eight years of free
education at the expense of the mission,
and that it is only right that in token of
the obligation he has thus incurred he
should now devote himself to some form
of Christian service.†The good woman
replied that it was the boy’s most earnest
wish to give his life to the work of the
Church, but he felt that his value as a
worker would be enhanced by further
training. Finally, it was all arranged.
In response to a letter from me a group
of young people at our Market Street
Church, Wakefield, led by Miss Burdett,
undertook to make a grant of £5 per
annum for four years to assist him
through the University ; whilst the family
on their part entered into a contract that
he should work for the College at half
salary, after taking his degree, for a
period of five and a half years. Never
was a Christian gift more wisely invested
or a contract more loyally kept. Penryn,
after taking his degree, returned to the
College as a teacher and worked for more
than double the period promised. He is
now the right-hand man of Mr. Bates,
who has taken my place at the College.
He is a Boy Scout enthusiast, a local
preacher, a Sunday School superintend-
ent, a trustee of the City Y.M.C.A., and
one of the most trusted leaders of the
religious life of the city.
And now another bright-eyed little boy
has appeared in the bottom class of the
College ; it is his son, Peter Spier. May
he follow in his father’s footsteps and
become a leader in the Christian Church
of China.
“The Haunted House
at Huxtable.â€*
This is the latest addition to the “Won-
derlands †series, a series produced with
the specific aim of interesting girls and
boysl in missionary work.
The present story tells of a seaside
house which is certainly haunted, but not
in the usual time-honoured sense. It is
haunted by the last message of an old
sea-captain—“Carry on.†How the chil-
dren did carry on, and ultimately carried
out Captain Peter Faraday’s noble ambi-
tion, makes a splendid story, that will
delight all young readers.
* The Carey Press, 2s., and 12 Farringdon Avenue.
42
The Observatory.
“ The Supply of Uplift.â€
HE absence of Mr. Stedeford on tour
in West Africa will prevent his
notes appearing' this month : per-
haps next also. With regularity and great
efficiency he has contributed these through
the years ; only interrupted by such inci-
dents as this. He has cheerfully paid the
"penalty of periodicity,†to take a phrase
and a perception from that many-sided and
mysterious writer who has given us “A
Year of Prophesying"â€â€”and twenty-eight
other volumes, Mr. H. G. Wells.
“ I had never realized before the tremen-
dous hardship of periodicity. Every week
or every day the writer must chew the cud
of events and deliver his punctual copy.
Every day, wet oir fine, the newspaper sheet
must be filled : filled but not congested.
. . Henceforth for my poor inregular
brain there shall be no more periodicity.
“So after this yearfull of newspaper
articles — I think I shall take a holi-
day—at least from journalism—for a time.
If there is anything worse in this way than
periodic journalism it must be preaching
and having to go into a pulpit with half an
hour’s supply of uplift fresh and punctual
every Sunday.â€
Our Secretary has gathered his material
in many fields, through these fifteen
years, and once more is he thus engaged.
He has gone at our request, and as we
write or read these words a. quiet prayer
will ascend that he may not only be the
more fitted for his congenial duties, but
that he may be guarded in all danger on
land or sea and brought safely back, to
us. who linger on the shore.
A Chinese Guest.
It was the privilege of the Rev. John
Hinds and the writer to represent the
Secretary at a meeting in London the
other day, when Mr. T. Z. Koo, who is
thus described by Mr. Basil Mathews in
the current “Review of the Churches,†ad-
dressed the Conference of Missionary
Societies.:
The slender figure of Mr. Koo, dressed in
the blue silk irobe of his country, and speak-
ing in sensible and flexible English, with a
restraint that made the fires burning with-
in him all the more powerful, presented to
that great Conference* a programme and
policy on which the constructive and popular
forces of China have now united. It is a pro-
gramme that includes a clear decade of inten-
sive education and of extensive propaganda.
* At Geneva.
A street corner in Freetown. fRev. A. E. Greensmith.
43
Missionary Intercession
In sheer equipment for influencing men I
would not rank any man in the whole Con-
ference above Mr. Koo, and few with him.
And the whole of his policy as presented
there was really initiated through the
National Christian Council of China,
Mr. Koo is a symbol of the increasing
centrality of the world 'Missionary Enter-
prise especially seen in the big reconstructive
post-war movements around us, empha-
sizing the pleasant fact that the pressure to-
wards Christian unity is strongly backed
from the side of Christian Missions.â€
Missionary Intercession.
For many years there has been main-
tained in this magazine what has been fit-
tingly called a“ Prayer Union. †The slight
change of title this year does not indicate
any alteration in spirit or purpose. It is
intended for missionary prayer-meetings
and for private use. We should like to
receive testimony as to its suitability for
the purpose and suggestions for its pos-
sible improvement. Perhaps it has not
been always observed that one object is to
induce the prayerful reading of the Annual
Report. It is so arranged that this
valuable volume—of not the slightest use
unless read—shall thus be gone through
in a year ; as in older days people nursed
schemes of reading through the Bible in
twelve calendar months. We wonder if
anyone does it now- No, we do not won-
der ! But surely we may ask our readers
in this way to “mark, learn and inwardly
digest †the storv of the years in the Mis-
sions to which they contribute prayer and
money.
A Parable.
(Old enough to be new again).
A bright little lad was at the house of
a gentleman, and his host gave him two
bright new sixpences. He laid them on
the table, and said,
“This one I am going to give to Mis-
sions, and this one I shall keep myself.â€
He played with them until by and by
one rolled away and he could not find it.
“Well,†said his friend, “which one
have you lost ? â€
“Oh,†said the boy, “I have lost the
one I was going to give away.â€
Missionary
Intercession.
Showing us His design so to order that
in the fulness of the ages all things in
heaven and earth alike should be gathered
'itp in Christ.—Eph. 1,10 (Moffatt').
At morning-dawn I whisper by mv bed
With Him Who had not where to lay His
head.
At noonday ’mid the city toil and fret
I walk awhile with One on Olivet.
At set of sun I keep a secret tryst
With the Lord Christ.
And all the world seems fair
And life is debonair.
Kennedy Williamson.
March 1.—W.M.A. President’s Mes-
sage and Secretary’s Report. Mrs.
Rounsefell and Mrs. Wood- Pp. 94, 95.
1 Cor. 13.
March 8.—Wuting Circuit, North
China. Rev. Ernest Richards. Pp. 47,
48. Luke 1 : 67-80.
March 15.—Sierra Leone and Hinter-
land, during visit of Deputation. Pp.
86-91. Acts 19 : 1-19.
March 22.—Ningpo College. Rev.
W. P. Bates, M.A. Pp. 71, 72. Mark
10 : 32-45.
March 29.—Evangelist Work at Wen-
chow. P. 105. Miss Ethel Simpson.
Almighty God, Who alone givest
wisdom and understanding; Inspire, we
pray Thee, the hearts of all those who
meet together in the Assembly or the
Council of the League of Nations
Give to them the vision of truth and
justice, guide them to know how
best to temper justice with mercy, that
by their counsels the nations may work
together in true brotherhood, and Thy
Church throughout the world may serve
Thee in unity and peace; through Jesus-
Christ our Lord.—Amen.
44
Elements in
African Mentality, n.
Rev. A. J. HOPKINS.
The Power of the Curse.
HE reality of the dread world of
spirit-agencies which forms the
background of African mentality
renders the belief in every kind of witch-
craft universal. The fear of witchcraft is
the ceaseless dread of the African, and
the more one realizes the pitiable condi-
tion of this most deadly form of slavery
the more strongly is one moved to believe
that life can hold no greater joy and
higher privilege than to bring' to these
enslaved souls the message of the eman-
cipating Christ. Think of it ! These
people never suffer from illness but the
dread belief is in their minds that some-
one has bewitched them. They dare not
give evidence against one another for fear
of witchcraft. You can guard against an
enemy whom you can see, but what
weapons will serve against
this “pestilence that walketh
in darkness†and this “de-
struction that wasteth at noon-
day.†Daudi, our evangelist
here at Meru, a fine Christian
of whose profession none can
have a doubt, believes to this
day that his two young chil-
dren died some two years ago
by witchcraft, and nothing
will convince him otherwise.
A man’s words spoken in
anger convey a deadly men-
ace ; for words to the African,
are spirit-powers capable of
carrying out the will of the
speaker. What can we, with
our logical minds, make of the
following authenticated story?
A young native had married a
girl against her father’s wish
and without paying the custo-
mary dowry. That would have
mattered little if the dowry
had later been paid. But diffi-
culties arose, with constant
arguments between the re-
spective families, until one day
the father of the girl in
exasperation said to the young
man, “ I am tired of this
business; before sunset to-mor-
row you will be dead.†Now,
what happened? The young'
man was apparently in normal health.
In the morning he arose well, but
about nine o’clock began to feel ill.
He gradually became worse and, in
spite of all that could be done, he
died at five o’clock in the evening.
He died from fear, we should say.
True, but what a revelation of the men-
tality of the African. He died because
the words spoken bv the old man could
not fail ; they were bound to come true
because they were spirit-forces against
which it were useless to struggle. One
must perforce die because the spirits had
willed it so.
Even a wish scarcely formed in the
mind becomes a potent force for evil.
When the Government of this Colony first
began to organize native agricultural
shows in order to improve stock, crops,
The Medicine Man (“Muntu Muga")
and paraphernalia.
45
Elements in African Mentality
etc., it was with the utmost difficulty that
natives could be persuaded to bring' their
finest beasts to the shows. Why ? Be-
cause it was imagined that others look-
ing' with envy upon them would inevitably
inflict the beasts with sickness. Compare
the observation of one of our own early
missionaries, Charles New :*
“Presently a small herd of fine animals
came into view. As we were intently ob-
serving them and .someone pointed in their
direction, Aba Ganda said, ‘ Be sure not to
do that before the Gallas. Don’t look much
at their cattle and certainly avoid praising
them. The Gallas are very jealous of their
livestock; a stranger’s admiration of it
would be attributed bv them to a covetous
heart and would instantly arouse their ire.
Take no notice of their cattle, and if you
sav anything let your remarks be of a depre-
ciatory character rather than otherwise.’â€
Africa is a poisoned paradise. The
fiction of the “ happy nigger †who would
be so much better if only we would let
him alone, vanishes before a deeper
knowledge of the dreadful world in which
he lives and moves. The whisper of the
trees in the breeze, the twittering of a
bird in the night-time, the moving'
shadows in the moon-lit glade wring his
soul wth unknown terrors and speak to
him of doom. His fair world is filled with
a million terrors. Who shall deliver him
from “the body of this death? â€
Life. Wandeiingm at cl Iabcurs in Eastern Africa
Market scere at Meru
The African’s Attitude to the
Gospel.
It would be imagined, after reading- the
foregoing, that these people would receive
the Gospel which would emancipate them
from all their fears with gladness and
relief. We are told of the Master’s
preaching in Galilee that the “common
people â€â€”weighted with the intolerable
burden of the traditions of the Elders—
“heard Him gladly.†Doubtless many
of these same “ common people †yelled
“Crucify Him †at the bidding of those
same elders who loaded them with bur-
dens grievous to be borne. The crowd is
at the mercy of its leaders, and this is
particularly true of a primitive people.
Second thoughts will help us to' realize
how enormously difficult it is for indi-
viduals to cut themselves off from the
tribe and accept a new teaching' so op-
posed to all to which they have been
accustomed. The primitive scarcely
regards himself as an individual ; he
knows himself only as a part of a societv.
The community is the unit, preserved in
its integrity by a complex system of cus-
toms. Above all, it is a unit composed
not only of the living generation but
united bv an indissoluble bond with the
spirits of the ancestors, by whose help
alone the living' can continue to exist.
The Gospel invites the individual to step
completely out of that close societv, to
cut himself off
from his genera-
tion, to alienate
himself at one
stroke from all
the amenities of
his environment,
to be forbidden
ever again to
take part in any
of the tribal cere-
monies, to re-
nounce his in-
heritance in the
property of his
family, to stand
a naked shiver-
ing soul exposed
to the withering'
blast of his
people’s . scorn,
miserably con-
scious of the
46
Elements in African Mentality
strangeness of his new environment.
Is it surprising’ that the African
often asks the question which Peter
asked, “Lo, we have left all and followed
Thee, what then shall we have ? †The
unimaginative reader, with a superior air,
scorns Peter for that question. I like the
patient understanding revealed in the
reply of Jesus. I can well understand
that missionaries have been tempted to
load with favours those who have ven-
tured to accept the invitation of the mis-
sion, in an endeavour to compensate them
for all that they have given up. The mis-
sionary replaces the chief- They look to
him for the same detailed guidance in
every matter of conduct ; he becomes en-
tirely responsible for their material, moral
and spiritual well-being. Such converts
can never return to their tribe. Even the
teachers who may be trained and sent
back to preach the Gospel to their own
people are not received as members of the
tribe but as representatives of the
foreigner. In a word, under this system,
the converts are detribalized ; they are
units belonging to no society except the
Christian communitv.
It is further questionable whether, even
after years of tuition, the African reallv
has any conception of what is. meant by
individual salvation. It is difficult for us
white people to realize the closeness and
solidarity of the African community. For
example, in case of murder, the claims of
the vendetta are equally satisfied whether
it be the murderer himself or any other
member of his clan who is sacrificed. All
the members of a family are equally
responsible for the debt of any one of
them. Most personal affairs, such as
marriage, are arranged by the whole
family. The individual never attains his
majority ; he is always under the tutelage
of his clan or tribe-
This solidarity, this complete submer-
sion of the individual in the community,
makes the appeal of the Christian mis-
sionary extremelv difficult. The mission-
ary uses every effort to convert individuals.
But as the native has never contemplated
taking any step1 on his own initiative, how
can he imagine that his personal destiny
is dependent alone upon his faith and his
action ? They may have some dim notion
that death is followed by another existence,
but they have not even the dimmest idea
that each one of them mav be saved or
damned on his own account. As with the
Israelites under the Old Dispensation, the
unit is the tribe and not the individual.
Jehovah was the God of the individual
Israelite, not because the individual chose
to be a disciple of Jehovah, but because
Jehovah was the tribal) Deity.
While every effort, therefore, must be
put forth to induce individuals to “come
out from among- them and be separate †;
while responsibility must be fully assumed
for the few pioneer souls who feel some
vague discontent with their present mode
of living and some feeling after a higher
life, and turn to the missionary in the
hope that he may show them the way out
and up ; one is driven to the conclusion—
deplorable though it may be to our way
of thinking—that individual conversion is,
as it were, impossible for the majority of
African natives ; it is asking too. much of
them. The hope of the Christian Church
in Africa lies rather in a general conver-
sion. The greatest victories hitherto
have been in that direction, the notable
instance being Uganda, where the C.M.S.
have achieved a historic work. Mass
movements have their perils, and the
moral tone of the Church in Uganda is
not so lofty as its missionaries could wish.
This must be so because, as in Europe,
the attachment of a great majority is
simply nominal. But even the nominal
attachment of a tribe to Christianity is an
immeasurable advantage, as it enables
the tribe to free itself from slavery to
ancient tradition, and especially to eman-
cipate itself from the dead hand of spirit-
domination and the appalling power of
witchcraft. “Organized collectivity†is
the keynote of the Bantu community.
When the Bantu turns to Christ he will
move as a community.
If the view of African mentality out-
lined above is correct, the Christian
Church will be well advised, while doing
all possible to. achieve the salvation of in-
dividuals—which can only b e done bv
maintaining small Christian communities
—to concentrate its greatest energies
upon the conversion of chiefs and tribal
elders. Movements originate with the
heads of the tribes. To win the “Njuri
Ncheke †(the inner circle of tribal elders)
of Meru for Christ is a task formidable
enough to daunt the heart of any man.
“ With man it is impossible, with God
all things are possible.â€
47
Weddings at Ningpo
and Hong-Kong.
Conibear—Searle.—Nov. 7th, in St.
Paul’s Church, Ningpo (kindly lent by
Bishop Moldny), by the Rev. W. Tremberth
and the Rev. G. W< Sheppard (Shanghai),
Rev. a. A. and Mrs. Conibear.
the Rev. A. A. Conibear to Miss Florence
Evelyn Searle, of Plymouth, England.
The above notice appeared in the
■“North China Daily News †for Novem-
ber 11th, and it has interest far beyond
the two families concerned. The church
was tastefully decorated with white chry-
santhemums and other beautiful flowers,
bv Mrs. Molony. The Rev. W. P. Bates,
M.A., presided at the organ, and ren-
dered very choice music, including the
Wedding March.
The bride was given away by the Rev.
J. W. Heywood, of Wenchow. Her
bridesmaids were Miss Mabel Fortune,
B.A., and Miss Dorothy Doidge,
B.A., fellow passengers on the
voyage from England. Mrs^
Bates was matron of honour,
and Mr. E. W. Perry, B.Sc.,
acted as best man. The church
was crowded with interested
friends both Chinese and
English.
A reception was held in the
home of Principal and Mrs.
Bates, after which Mr. and Mrs.
Conibear started on their journey
to the bungalow in the hills,
where the honeymoon was
spent.
Goldsworthy—Netheway. — Dec. 12th,
1924, at Hong-I
Porri (Wesleyan) and Principal H. S. Red-
fern, M.Sc. (Tong-Shan), the Rev. R. Hebei-
Goldsworthy, of Chao-Tong, to
Miss Ida Netheway, of Langtree,
North Devon.
This announcement has ap-
peared im the “ United Metho-
dist.†A photograph which
came just too late, shall appear
next month.
Cordial congratulations to
our four friends.
“Torchbearers in
China.†*
This book is welcome to us as it con-
tains a chapter devoted to Samuel Pollard,
under the title “The men of the great
cold mountains.†In about 25 pages the
authors give us a terse and suggestive
account of his work among the Miao, and
also refer to Dr. Savin ; which may
account for the fact that in the photo-
graphs “ Pollard and the Miao,†which
Mrs. Pollard supplied, he is called Dr.
Pollard. Other notable missionary
workers are ably dealt with.
*Basil Mathews and Arthur Southon. Mis-
sionary Education of the United States and
Canada, New York. (Price not stated.)
The Wedding Group of Rev. A. A. and Mrs. Conibear.
48
The Five Colours. (For Young Folk) Rev. E. W. SMITH.
A White-skinned
Girl in Holland.
HAVE some good news to tell
you. Mr. Canton’s new book,
entitled‘The Five Colours,’is
now published, and can be ob-
tained from the Bible House,
London, for 2s. (post free, 2/5).
The title is taken from a beau-
tiful piece of poetry witten by
Mr. Canton and printed in the
book. Let me quote it:
' Not for one race nor one colour
alone
Was He flesh of your flesh and
bone of your bone !
Not for you only—for all men He
died.
Five were the colours,’ the angel
said,
‘Yellow and black, white, brown,
and red ;
Five were the wounds from which
He bled,
On the Rock of Jerusalem crucified.’
The frontispiece is a picture in
colours of the Window of Thanks-
giving in the Bible House, and
there are ten other illustrations.
The book begins with the story
of 'A little Welsh girl' (Mary
Jones), and then goes on to
describe the Bible Society’s work
in many countries.
Mr. Canton is a very clever
writer and he tells the story in
a thrilling way. He takes you
among strange peoples in far-off
lands. Here
you will learn
curious things
about lan-
guages into
which the Bible has been
translated. This for ex-
ample: ‘ The Ibo man,
South Nigeria, does not
tell you the “truth,â€
but lie gives you his
good word—a word as
good as his bond. A
Nupe does not “be-
lieve, †but he takes
your word. The Nupe
tongue, whatever its
deficiencies, is a
credit to the place
S* and the race. “To
be at peace,†inNupe
is to have a heart
which has lain down; “to give
almsâ€, is to give to God ; “to be
happy†is to be sweet
inside; and to “repentâ€
is to change one’s char-
acter — a very close
translation of the Greek
word in the Gospels,
though we hardly seem
to think so.’
Here is another passage :
‘ All over the world the
people are learning to read,
and the Word of God has
become “ the ubiqui-
tous Book.†Time
was when generations
passed away no better
and no happier than
those that
Went be- A Red-skinned Indian Girl
fore them. in Central America.
Now a
missionary lands, appears in the
mountains, is seen on the edge of
the forest, and the change begins.
In five years the primitive folk
have not only an alphabet but
a literature. They are them-
selves well aware of the new
spring, the light and air of
another world, which has come
into their own. We can scarcely
understand how their lives had
been haunted with the dread of
nature spirits, evil things in the
woods, in the
streams, whose
voices and music
lured to death,
spirits in the rocks which
fell on people passing by,
demon-tigers, the terror of
witchcraft, the powers of
the world of darkness after
death.’
I should like you all
to possess this book. Per-
haps you are having a
birthday soon ; just drop
a hint in the proper
quarter that you would
like ‘The Five Colours.’
A Black-skinned Boy
in Africa.
A Brown-skinned Girl
in India.
(Blocks and article from the
British & Foreign Bible Society.)
A Yellow-skinned
Girl in China.
49
China in
Transformation
6REAT changes have taken place in
China during the past twenty years.
The upheaval in 1900 was a vigor-
ous, attempt to stem the rising tide. The
reformers were ruthlessly hunted out, and
cut down without mercy. But it has ever
been true that “Truth crushed to earth
shall rise again †; for the changes made .
in the years following have been almost
without exception along the lines sug-
gested by these pioneers.
But reforms cannot be forced upon a
people. They must come from within.
And some of the foreign implements in-
troduced have not succeeded in weaning
the people from their old ways' of doing-
things. There is a legend at our Chu
Chia station of a foreign plough being in
the village, but no one ever sees it. It
was tried once or twice and then quietly
put away, and no blessings were called
down upon the head of the person who
introduced it. At the London Mission
Hospital in Tientsin, the Doctor
fresh from home was much dissatis-
fied with the brick beds in the
wards, and introduced foreign ones
with wire mattresses. Proud of his
achievement he went into the wards
late at night to see how; the patients
were enjoying the luxury provided
for them, and was greatly astonished
to find the beds heaped up with cab-
bages and other articles of food, and
The men quietly sleeping on the floor.
So methods from outside do not
-always work out satisfactorily.
There has to be care in the
selection.
Along industrial lines great ad-
vance has been made. Weaving
'factories and spinning mills are now
The order of the day ; not only in
.'Shanghai and Tientsin and other
large centres, but even in some of
the inland towns.
At Tong Shan a large cotton mill
has lately been erected. The
machinery is of the latest make from
Manchester, and erected under the
superintendence of English en-
gineers. It is contemplated that
when in full going order it will em-
ploy one thousand hands—mostly
females.
Rev. JOHN HINDS
(North China, 1879—1923).
But that is only the latest of a number
of foreign innovations which have found
a lodgment at Tong Shan, and which
have made it the great industrial centre
of North China. The most striking of
these are the extensive engineering works
of the Chinese Government Railways—
-—-Peking-Moukden branch, employing
nearly 10,000 ; and the Chee Hsin Cement
Company, which manufactures and ships
to. all parts of the Far East cement of ster-
ling quality. y
The great progressive industry of the
district, however, is the Kailan Mining
Administration—widely known as the
K.M.A.—which gives work to some
30,000 employees, and the weekly output
of coal averages nearly 90,000 tons.
Forty-four years ago, it was just commen-
cing, and on quite a modest scale. It had
to encounter great opposition at first.
Around the district there were numerous
small coal mines worked by the Chinese
Tong Shan Colliery.
50
China in Transformation
in a very primitive way ; and these by the
terms of the Government grant to the
company were closed down, which caused
a very strong feeling, and in one or two
instances led to open revolt. Gradually
better counsels prevailed, when the vil-
lagers realized the great advantages that
were to be derived from, having a big in-
dustrial enterprise in their midst. Many
of the people around are now in prosper-
ous circumstances, and some have become
wealthy through employment in the com-
pany or other connections therewith.
When the company first started there
was no railway connection with the port
of Tientsin ; but a canal of its own con-
struction ran from Tai-Lau to .a point
some seven miles from Tong' Shan ;
and the mines were connected with
it by a little railway which was the first
of its kind in North China. The coal was
thus brought to Tientsin by water. The
opening of the railway led to great
developments.
The new and the old wonderfully exist
iFavoured^by^Kailati Mining Aamimstration.
side by side in Tong Shan, One has only
to step across the way to see howl old
China persists ; and, in the words of
Jeremiah, we go down to the house of the
potter. And there we will see the pro-
cess much as the ancient prophet saw it.
The potter working the wheel with his
foot, or having it turned by a boy, while
he works up the vessel to the required
shape and proportions ; and sometimes
failing and having to do the work over
again.
When I first went to China (18711) there
was only one telegraph line in North
China, which ran from Tientsin to Taku,
situated at the mouth of the Tientsin river,
which telegraph line was the work of
foreigners—under the patronage of the
then viceroy, Li Hung Chang. It was a
great source of wonder to the Chinese. I
remember one day sitting in Mr. Inno-
cent’s study, when one of the old preachers
came in, and his first greeting was, “ I
hear they are sending messages on the
telegraph this morning.†The vibration
of the wire through the play of the
atmosphere he mistook for a tele-
graphic communication.
But now telegraphs run all over
the country ; and telephones connect
all places of importance. And wire-
less installations have been intro-
duced, and are now the order of the
day for special Government use.
When the telephone system was
first inaugurated, it was sometimes
hard for ordinary users to get mes-
sages through, owing' to its being
monopolized by the officials, who
wanted to send all kind of petty mes-
sages through to their fellow officials
and friends. When the official arose
in the morning he would rush to the
telephone, to ask his brother official
at an filler place if he had had a good
night,_ and how had he slept. But
soon it ceased to be a toy.
There was no Chinese Post Office
in those early days. Our letters had
to be sent per favour of one or other
of the shipping company’s steamers
to Shanghai, where they were
handed over to the British Post
Office. And when our home mail
came to the port, it was sent to the’
Consulate, and we had to go there
for our letters.
51
China in Transformation
In the winter months, when the river
was closed to navigation, being frozen to
a depth of at least a foot, the foreign
merchants clubbed together and employed
private mounted couriers who carried, the
mail to and from Shanghai overland—an
18 days’ journey.
Those of us who lived in Shantung were
served by our own messenger, who took
our letters on foot to Tientsin—one week,
a four or five days’ journey, according to
the weather and state of the roads, and
returned the following week. Thus we
had our mail once a fortnight. Now the
country is dotted all over with post offices,
which do their work very efficiently, and
our Chu Chia friends, with a post office
in the village, have their letters and
papers daily. These are a few of the
things in which great advance has been
made.
Nor is it less conspicuous when we turn
our attention to the religious side. One
thing on which perhaps sufficient stress
has not been laid is the fact of the pene-
trative influence of Christianity on other
systems of belief—especially on Budd-
hism. When the early Roman Catholic
missionaries to. China first came into con-
tact with Buddhism they were astonished
at the similarity of the ritual observances
and ceremonies with their own, and at
once put it down as a counterfeit of the
devil. As a matter of fact, these things,
as Dr. Eitel, of Hong-Kong, the great
authority on Chinese Buddhism, assures
us, were for the most part taken over from
the early Nestorians. And to-day there
seems to be an assimilation of Christian
doctrine and practice, though not perhaps
on a very large scale. Years ago there was
set up in Tientsin a Buddhist sect which
called itself Shang Ti Hui—the religion of
the Supreme Being—in which they had a
threefold designation corresponding some-
what to our Trinity ; and some of their
observances were obviously derived from
Christian sources. And to-day in many
places Buddhists, in imitation of our
preaching, have opened halls where lec-
tures elucidating some point or other of
Buddhist teaching and morals are periodi-
cally given. The same may be found in
Japan.
Lately (1923) a remarkable new move-
ment in the province of Sze Chuan has
been ushered in with the trump of doom.
A man named Tang' declares that he has
received a holy order from the Most High
to become the chief of the Seventh Reli-
gion, which will united the six recognized
religions.
He says that God loves him as he loves
His Son Jesus ; and that within a period
of one hundred years this new religion
will make this world a Paradise. But the
attainment is to be through tribulation ;
for it was to be introduced last autumn
with dire calamities, the date of which
happened to coincide nearly with the great
Japanese earthquake, otherwise nothing
of an alarming nature happened.
These thing's are significant of the
present day. Whether it can all be counted
to the good is somewhat doubtful ; though
some think that when these non-Christian
religions condescend to imitate us, the
battle for Christianity is more than half
won.
So far as the Christian Church itself is
concerned it is the day of union. The
great aim of the missions is to unite. It
is felt that the time has g'one by for each
section of the Church to plough its lonely
furrow. To become more greatly efficient,
it is necessary to unite our forces, so as
to form one Protestant Church for China ;
established on a broad basis, so as to
allow freedom and variety of administra-
tion. There are great difficulties no
doubt to be overcome, but it ought not to
be an impossibility.
For with very few exceptions we do not
work along denominational lines : I my-
self have been complimented by an L.M.S.
brother on working along their lines,
whereas it was they who were working
along our lines ! And they have even
borrowed from us the idea of our Prea-
' chers’ Beneficent Society. This is as it
ought to be. I have even heard of a
Church of England man adopting Presby-
terian methods. At one of our District
meetings in North China it was suggested
that we have a Confirmation service in
receiving those into membership who were
baptized in infancy. The suggestion was
approved, but, said someone, you must
not call it a Confirmation service unless
you want to shock our people ; so it was
called a Dedicatory service.
The problem of Union ought not to be
impossible of solution. In one case, how-
32
The Bible Society in China
â– ever, the question has been made more
difficult—if, indeed, not impossible, by the
desire to get the Roman Catholics into
the scheme, which most of us regard as
shutting and bolting the door.
If, however, we fail to find a workable
basis, the likelihood is that the Chinese
themselves will take the matter up, and
work it out in their own fashion. One of
the dicta regarding the Chinese Church
is: “China will no more accept a par-
titioning of her Church among Western
denominations, than a partitioning of
her territory among Western nations.â€
This is significant. And there are
signs now of that taking place. For
in most of the large commercial cen-
tres they are forming' independent
churches, which take no notice of our
denominational differences, merely calling
themselves “ the Christian Church of
China.†In Tientsin there is a nourishing
Church of this description. And in the
south of China, where the Church has
been in existence much longer than in the
North, the Church has made such a posi-
tion for itself that its influence is felt by
the non-Christians, who look up to it for
reliable persons to lead in different forms
of social and other service. And amongst
these the denominational names are
almost, if not entirely unknown ; “ the
Church of China†being the only designa-
tion used.
It is surely seen, therefore, that pro-
gress is the order of the day, notwith-
standing the pitiable helplessness of those
in power, politically.
The Bible Society in China.
WHEN the Rev. G. W. Sheppard
undertook the secretaryship of this
society in China, in succession to
Dr. Bondfield (after his. 26 years’ service)
he was followed as intensely by our
prayers as our congratulations He had
a busy first year. Happily, Dr. Bond-
field was able to prolong his stay in China
for a while, and the time was spent more
in ]ourneying through {China than at the
â– centre ; but the expenicnce gained was
valuable.
We have received his first annual re-
port, covering the year 1923. He expresses
himself as
“ Keenly aware that the accumulated
experience and -wisdom of his. predeces-
sor could not be transferred. 'This vast
and many-sided work, so intimately and
vitally related to all departments of mis-
sionary activity, will for a time at least
suffer because of his removal. But our
consciousness of the preciousness of
Holy Scripture as a personal possession
gives impetus and gladness to our en-
deavours ; and our conviction of the per-
manent value of the Bible to mankind
makes us sure that in providing it for
China and commending it to this, nation,
we are rendering true service.â€
He reports a large and ever-increasing
sale and circulation of Scriptures among
the Chinese people, the totals for the year
being
Bibles............. 36,313
Testaments ... 67,789
Portions ... 3,428,463
—an increase of 122,330.
Seventeen sub-agencies, beginning with
Manchuria and ending with Vladivostock,
are then passed in review, and the reports
of these are filled with joyous or painful
details as each aspect of the country is
realized.
At the end there are valuable tables and
list of contributions, indicating the extent
of the ground covered and the practical
sympathy evoked.
In the Yunnan section we have the state-
ment that “The N.T. in Hwa Miao, and
Gospels in Nosu, Lisu, Kopu, and Chuan
Miao have been issued and eagerly appre-
ciated bv the people.†There are letters in
this section from the Rev. H. Parsons and
Rev. C. N. Mylne. The former concludes
his letter thus :
“It is a great delight to us again to
express our deep sense of indebtedness
to the society for the assistance so
generously given us for the Hill tribes.â€
53
“Ten Years After: a reminder.â€
As everybody knows, Sir Philip Gibbs
has written a book with this title : a sane,
trenchant, unforgettable book.
As we think of the way in which distant
nations, which are in a real and beautiful
sense missionary peoples were drawn into
the struggle, we wish to. quote from its
concluding chapter.
After giving this statement of General
Sir Arthur Currie,
“Bv the world-war, we gained a truer
appreciation and a better realization of
war's unspeakable waste, its cruel hard-
ships, its awful slaughter, and its aftermath
of loneliness, sorrow and broken hearts. We
now know that as a means of solving the
world’s problems and removing international
discord it is a delusion and a lie. We know,
too, that no matter how much a nation may
desire to hold itself aloof from the struggle
it cannot escape war’s terrible effects.â€
Sir Philip says :
â– â– Never before in history was there such
a sacred union of all ranks and classes
under the impulse of that immense emo-
tion for a single purpose. All political
differences were blotted out ; all preroga-
tives of caste and wealth, all hatreds, all
intolerance, were waived. . . There
was no spirit of class-warfare, no Bolshe-
vism, no hatred of Labour. The soldier
in the trenches, covered with mud and
blood, was our national hero. Between
the wounded soldier and his wounded
officer there was no hostility, no gulf of
class. They were crucified together on
the same cross. They were comrades in
agony and death.
“It was for war.
“Well, the danger ahead is great
enough to provide the impulse again and
to recreate the passion. If we have that
‘ next war ’ it is going to thrust us all into
deepest pits of ruin.
“ There is no one cure for all our troubles,
but they may be lessened and their greatest
perils .averted, surely, by a spirit, of
reason, by tolerance, by ideals of peace,
bv conciliation, by a change of heart in the
individual as well as in the nation.
“ It comes back, as it always has come
back. Are we going to serve God or
devils? Is the Christian world going to
crucify Christ or obey His commands?
“The Christian peoples at least are
dedicated to peace. There is no Chris-
tianity in hatred, none in class warfare,
none in envy of our neighbour’s goods,
none in denial of the labourer’s hire, none
entirely without love and pity and self-
sacrifice. It is only by re-dedicating our-
selves to that spirit that we can hope to
solve the problems that beset us on every
side, and exorcise the evil powers that are
working for destruction.
‘■'Ten years after the world-war civiliza-
tion is still unsafe. Ten years after the
great sacrifice of youth peace is not
assured for the babes now in their cradles.
But, ten years after, there is the begin-
ning, at last, of a world-opinion rising up
against war-makers ; eager for some new
fom of international law ; determined to
prevent another massacre of young man-
hood by the science and machinery of
destruction ; aware of the evil forces that
are working for new conflict. In many
countries the tides of hate are on the ebb.
The spirit of peace is spreading, if slowly.
This is the hope ahead. Let us fo-day re-
member the splendour and the spirit of the
youth who died for ideals not yet fulfilled.â€
â–¡:
The London Missionary
Demonstration, April 27
Afternoon:
HOME
MISSIONS,
3.0.
Evening:
OVERSEAS
MISSIONS,
6.30.
Chairman.—J. W. EASTEN, Esq., Whitley Bay.
Speakers.—Rev. E. E. BENNETT, Sunderland;
OTHER.
CITY TEMPLE,
Holborn Viaduct,
London, E.C.l.
Rev. T. SUNDERLAND, and A. N.
Chairman -SAMUEL TURNER, Esq., Rochdale.
Speakers.—The President, Dr. JOSEPH LINEHAM; Rev. J. T. BARKBY, President,
Primitive Methodist Church; Rev. A. H. SHARMAN, Wenchow: and
the Rev. CHARLES STEDEFORD. Secretary, and Deputation to
West Africa.
â–¡:
<0
54
Bookland.
“ Missionary Sermons.â€*
This book is the embodiment of a very
happy thought. One almost wonders at
the daring' of the B.M.S. and the Carey
Press. We hope the sale will justify the
venture. It is
“A selection from the discourses de-
livered on behalf of the Baptist Mission-
ary Society on various occasions, with
portraits of the preachers.â€
To name only a few of the twenty-two
who thus address us on the greatest of
all themes : Spurgeon, MacLaren, Par-
ker, Watson, Clifford, Watkinson, Glover,
Denney, Greenhough—will surely make
us wish once more to read these sermons
on great occasions.
One could have wished they had been
put in chronological order : the first
printed is 1858, the second 1812.
The book is worth the money to have
oncej more a glance at, and to be able to
retain the photograph of, the masters en-
shrined therein. ’Tis good to see again
the saintly face and quaint dress of
Howard Hinton, Edward Stcane and
James Culross. Ed.
“ Who shall command thy heart ?â€i
This book is sent us by an American firm,
and is stated to be “a story of business,
politics, love, and other interesting mat-
ters.†On the jacket it is called “A mis-
sionary book.†The only shadow of sug-
gestion is in the fact that the chief charac-
ter went abroad to recover a treasure ; not
to take one : and after a most peculiar
career he died uttering the words “To
Africa : †when he could not possibly go.
He was a queer compound, or the
author has made him so. The develop-
ment of Peter Nations Samuel reminds us
of Stevenson’s Deacon Brodie, “a pious
burglar.†There is in him a strange mix-
ture of religion and gulosity, making him
almost phenomenal.
The author is evidently a gifted man,
and it may be that he knows his constitu-
ency, and gives them what they desire.
Ed.
’The Carey Press, 6s. net.
iThomas H. Shastid, M.D., LL.B.. D.Sc.. etc. George
Wahr. Ann Arbor, Michigan. 2 00 dols.
“The Conquest of Kingdoms.â€:}
This is a good book, well calculated to
fortify the faith and quicken the zeal of
all who love Christian missions, especially
young men and women who are contem-
plating the possibility of devoting their
lives to missionary work. The writer
seems to keep such before his mind, and
writes in that perfervid spirit that casts
a sure spell on the imagination of young'
readers.
Mr. Macbeath is one of the rising stars
in the Baptist ministry, wields a facile
pen, is comparatively a young man him-
self, and has evidently written this book
as an appeal to the young for enlistment
for active service in the ranks of those
who arc seeking the conquest of the
kingdoms of this world for Him who is
their only Saviour and rightful king. The
book is dedicated to
All young men and maidens
for whom a Kingdom is waiting
if they have
the faith and courage to take possession.
Mr. Macbeath calls his book the Story'
of the Baptist Missionary Society, and
that story is the glory of the Baptist
Church, for it tells of William Carey and
his work in India, how he translated por-
tions of the Scriptures into 33 languages
and the whole Bible into, seven, built col-
leges, started a printing press there, and
founded a mission that has spread far and
wide in that great land. The story tells,
too, of Thomas Knibb and his brother
William who founded the mission in West
Africa ; of the heroic Comber family and
their work on the Congo, a country
sixteen times as large as England, and
of Holman Bentley, who was the first to
deal with the two hundred languages and
dialects of that land, and reduce them to
writing and to construct a grammar, a
dictionary and a literature ; of Timothy
Richard and China; and James Walls,
through whose courageous ministry in
Italy, four Protestant Churches have been
founded in Florence, Genoa, Turin and in
Rome itself. T. W. Slater.
§Tbe Story of the Baptist Missionary Society. By Rev
John Macbeath. M.A. The Carey Press, 19 Furnival St.
Price 2s.
55
Bookland
“ Forces of the Spirit †: The Seed
and the Nations.
By Frank Lenwood, M.A.*
The main feature of this book is power
and mastery in handling its subject. The
marks of the books published by the
S-C.M. are all here and in full play—a
certain quickness in the writer’s mental
movements, an enjoyable freshness of
method and a wonderful freedom and
modernness of phrasing. The author is
one of the younger, distinguished men
who have infused a new spirit into mis-
sionary propaganda and given to its
advocacy a very fine literary expresssion,
as this book clearly shows. The volume
is alive from cover to cover, pulsates with
power and tingles with interest on every
page.
Mr. Lenwood tells this interesting story
about his book and its title. When he was
an Oxford don, a friend, an explorer of
the byways of European tradition, gave
him a thin gold ring panelled with shining
white- It was the ring of the Order of
the Mustard Seed, established by Count
Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravian
Brotherhood. On the panels of the ring
are the four Greek words of the Order’s
motto, translated in our English New
Testament, “None of us liveth to him-
self.†To that ring, its text and its asso-
ciations, he traces the theme and origin
of his book, and the use of its title.
The author claims that his book does
two things : first, it describes the con-
ditions of service which affect students
and others like them, rejoicing in the
immeasurable opulence of youth; and
secondly, that it answers the question,
“ How should they use their riches, if they
want to bring in the reign of God
throughout all the world? â€
In the first three chapters the mission-
ary problem is looked at in the light of
Christ’s dealings with individuals, social
groups, and nations ; in the next three
chapters he deals with the open vision of
Gospel truth as the only specific for the
world’s salvation ; then shows that the
truth’s touch quickens the heathen into
’Published by the Student Christian Movement. 2s. 6d.
new life ; but that only true and faithful
citizens of the Kingdom of the Spirit can
give that touch.
The reading of this volume has been a
literary feast, for in addition to the
author’s fine thoughts clothed in good rich
English, there are many choice quotations
from Evelyn Underhill, Christina Rossetti,
John Drinkwater, Bernard Shaw, and
other writers of the first order.
But the chief value of the book is in
the fact that it truly answers to its title,
and that throughout its pages one can see
and feel the full play of The Forces of the
Spirit of the living God, striving together
for the salvation of the world.
T. W. Slater.
“ Africa and Her Peoples.â€!
Some readers will be startled by a dia-
gram on an early page of this useful book
which illustrates the astounding fact that
Africa is equal in area with Europe, India,
China and the U.S.A. Following this we
may hazard the statement that either
China or India has received more mis-
sionary attention than the great continent
of Africa. It is penetrating- the conviction
of our folk—and there is being gradually
discerned a change. It is discovered that
no country needs us more, and propor-
tionately no country will so well repay our
effort.
This is an able book, which is not sur-
prising when we find it is by the Editor
of “The Foreign Field.†Mr. Walker has
travelled in Africa recently, and we have
seen the fruition in the monthly mentioned.
Much of the book is on Western Africa,
as is natural when we remember the terri-
tory possessed therein by the W. M.M.S.
Little is said of Kenya, which is opening
out so finely, but all other parts are
touched, and wisely.
The story is well told, as we should ex-
pect. It is one of the “ Background â€
series issued by the Edinburgh House
Press, and will be admirable as a text-
book.
Ed.
tBy F. Deaville Walker. 2s. net. (12 Farringdon Avenue.
London, E.C.4 )
56
Pitfalls of Language
An Idyll.
When the sun sinks down in its golden
cup,
And the soft lights steal along,
The fairies dance in the twilight pale,
They greet me with laughter and song.
They paint the hillsides with pictures fair,
Which around my dreamland throng',
Then they vanish away, with the passing'
day.
I wish, how I wish, that the fairies could
stay.
When the house is still, and the lights
are low,
And the firelight-minstrels sing,
The children skip from the moonbeams
dim,
Their message of gladness to bring.
And as they tell me their stories brave,
Life is a joyous thing,
But they scamper away, when the moon-
beams play.
I wish, how I wish, that the children
could stay.
When the sun grows big in the morning
light,
And bids me my work begin,
Where sorrow creeps through the home-
steads sad,
Of discord, and bustle, and din.
I wish I could take the fairy elves,
To sow Love seeds therein,
With the music they made, in the deep’-
ning shade.
.1 wish, how I wish, that the fairies had
stayed.
A. A. L. Barwick,
Chao Tong.
Pitfalls of Language.
To my host after hearing a story of
his quelling a mutiny, I said, “Your
courage is indeed great.†A flicker of
surprise and amusement passed over his
face, but in polite fashion he said, “I am
unworthy of such words.†I turned
round, however, to see his son, who had
been listening, with a broad grin on his
face. “Oh,†he laughed, “do you know
what you have just said to my father?
You have said that his winepot truly is
great 1 â€
We both went into peals of laughter in
which Uncle Kung joined, after making
sure that I was not hurt. I had breathed
in the wrong place ; it was as if I had
put in an “h â€i which ought not to have
been there, and so said “winepot†in-
stead of courage.
“Very well, Li Cheng,†I said
severely,†since you mock me in my
solemn moments, I shall tell your latest
howler. â€
“Oh! don’t, don’t,†said he in mock
terror. Then he thought better, and said,
“Well, it was really funny, and perhaps
too good to keep to ourselves.â€
So 1 told Uncle Kung how I had set
Li Cheng to write out a Bible story for
me which I had told him. He had given
me the classic tale of Chinese friendship,
and I in turn had told him the story of
David and Jonathan. When I came to
that part of the story in which Jonathan
offered to lend David his armour to go
and fight Goliath, he looked at me
curiously. Judge then of my amusement
when I read his version of the story :
“David thanked Jonathan for offering
to lend him his amah (maid-servant) but
said he preferred to go into battle without
her.†Truly he might have found a
serving-woman an encumbrance.—
“Two Gentlemen of China.†Ladv Hosie.
“Wilfred Grenfell, Master
Mariner.†*
In this book one distinctive character
is treated. It was inevitable that before
Grenfell’s death or after our author must
treat of this “ Master Mariner.†We
are glad he has taken up his task while
the great-souled hero is with us.
Smart titles of chapters do not make a
book, but they may induce purchase ;
here they are followed by brilliant treat-
ment. Grenfell’s life, work and escapes
are reviewed and revived. We wish we
had space to quote a sample chapter, but
that is not possible. The hero here por-
trayed is keeping his predestined work
before him ; we must keep him before us,
and also bring him before God in prayer.
This book will help us in this laudable
co-operation. We commend it heartily.
*By Basil Mathews, M.A. (S. W. Partridge, 3s. 6d.)
57
Mrs. J. B. BROOKS, B.Litt.
The W.M.A. at Murray Town
welcomes our Missionaries.
URRAY TOWN lies some four
miles out from Freetown by
the sea, and is a pictures-
que village, in which we have a live
church and a vigorous branch of the
W.M.A. The members are alive to their
responsibility. They support and work
two missions amongst the Mendis who
are toilers on the land near by : the Fakai
Mission and the Anne Micklethwaite Me-
morial, so called in memory of the
sainted mother of our esteemed General
Superintendent, whose grave is here in
Freetown. We recently saw these mis-
sions when on our way to Lumley Beach.
Not elaborate buildings but real centres of
light in this needy area.
Monday, 8th December, we left the
Mission House, and were soon away
through Kroo Town road to Murray
Town, where we were cordially received
by the Rev. G. O. Gabbidon, the minister,
and a fine company of sisters of the
W.M.A. and friends, whose “Kaboâ€
(Welcome) made us feel a.t home at once.
T. C. Fraser, Esq., J.P., presided, sup-
ported by Mr. Jarrett and Mrs. Lydia
Ashley, a keen W.M.A. worker, and the
only woman local preacher in our West
African Mission.
The meeting' was most cordial, a happy
feature being the presence of a group of
Mendi converts who sang three hymns in
their own tongue. There is something
very wonderful in hearing these hymns
of praise to the Saviour out on the mis-
sion field. Brother Gabbidon and others
gave addresses of welcome. One was
from a Mendi boy, who spoke at first in
his native tongue, and then very ably in
English. One outstanding note of all the
addresses was the pleasure the presence
of Mrs. Micklethwaite gave to the people.
Mr. Micklethwaite replied for himself and
his wife. He is an adept at speaking in
the native lingo out here, and one can
readily see the pleasure it gives the folk
to be addressed thus. He soon reached
their hearts. I was happy, too, in speak-
ing, but kept rigidly to"st.raightforward
English lest I should fall into some mis-
fortune.
Later tea was prepared. As the guests
of the evening we were well placed and
provided for. Our repast consisted of
eggs, bread and butter, cake, biscuits and
fruit, to’ which we did justice. During
tea a number of women sang choruses in
their own native style, led by a real
enthusiasm. Choruses I have called
them, but here they are known as shouts
—a truer designation, I think. “Sing
Alleluia. Amen. When we come and
kneel before the altar, we are all one in
Christ.†Aye, it was really good. Tea
over, it was time for our return, and after
many a handshake and “Kabo †we set
out for Freetown, satisfied that the Mur-
ray Town W.M.A. is fully alive to the
great missionary appeal of the Gospel.
A. E. Dymond.
The late Dr. Dingle.
I loved the late Dr. Lilian M. Dingle,
greatly regret her passing, and would
like to pay a tribute to her memory. Those
who knew her felt her personal charm.
Wherever she went she shed a gracious
influence, and left behind a precious and
fragrant memory.
She led an active life, had wonderful
adventures, sustained heavy trials, and
passed through many sorrows, but in all
she remained the same sweet, strong,
lovely soul. She never came much before
the public, preferring to work out her
mission of healing in a quiet yet strenuous
way. She wrought a good’ work indeed
in distant Yunnan ; a work she loved and
that was her very life. Since taking leave
of her on the " Katori Maru †(April 14th,
1923) we kept up a frequent correspond-
Women’s Missionary Auxiliary
ence, and the following extract from a
recent letter shows how truly her heart
was in the work to which she consecrated,
and for which she laid down, her life.
Chao-Tong, Oct. 5th, 1924.
“To-day is our Harvest Festival Sunday
and the chapel is decorated with flowers,
and mottoes explaining the meaning of this
festival of thanks. I felt sad this morning.
One wondered if the people would see fl at,
in spite of the poor harvest, they had much
to give thanks for, and that actual famine
in the district had been averted. Then, to
me came a delightful surprise, for it was
announced during the morning service that
a gift equal to ^7 10s. (English) had been
received for use in our hospital. This is a
very large gift for a native, and had come
from the sister of the military governor of
the province. . . . My second year’s
work has begun and I know that I am
doing good in the city, that God is blessing
our labours, and bringing us nearer to the
hearts of the people.â€
While many deplore that Dr. Dingle’s
labours have been cut short, they are
grateful to have known one of such noble
courage, unselfish spirit and consistent
life. Evelyn Lockley.
The late Mrs. Charles E. Hicks.
An Appreciation.
Mrs. Hicks, whose worn-out body
was laid in the grave on October
26th last, in the hillside cemetery
belonging to the Chinese Church of Chao-
tong, was known by sight to very few
United Methodists. She had done a great
piece of missionary work in S.W. China,
but it was unappreciated by all but a few
intimate friends. There were reasons for
this. Mrs. Hicks seldom talked about her
work. She shrank from public notice of
any kind. The idea of attending a con-
ference where she might become the ob-
ject of curious, though sympathetic,
gazers was distressful to her. It was not
that she had no gift for platform service.
Whenever her natural reluctance was
•overcome by the gentle persuasion of
understanding friends she would give
herself to prayerful preparation, with
such result that her quiet, persuasive,
-clear, unassuming speech would make
deep impressions upon her hearers.
Then, too, Mrs. Hicks did not come to
the mission field through our English
Church. She was a product of Australian
Methodism and received the mystic call to
serve God in China, while she was a mem-
ber of the Bible Christian community in
a bush district of Victoria, where her
father was an early colonist and farmer.
Her home was deeply religious. The
father was a sincere follower of Jesus
Christ and a steward in his Church. Each
day began and closed with Bible reading
and prayer, and his children were taught
to live their lives simply as in the sight of
God.
Life was strenuous. ' The farm, pur-
chased for the sake of the growing family,
had to be cleared. Huge gum trees grew
on land that was needed for pasture.
There was little relaxation. The weekly
Christian Endeavour meeting- at the
church, giving the, only regular recrea-
tion, and this was only enjoyed after a
difficult drive over rough and dangerous
bush road. In those days in that district
every privilege was hard-won. The in-
habitants, widely scattered, were ever on
the watch against forest fire or flood, and
in times when peril was specially imminent
each family would stand ready to hurry
to help on hearing the “Coo-ee†of dis-
tress. Such a life was not a bad prepara-
tion for missionary work in remote S.W.
China thirty years ago.
After offering- definitely for service in
China, a short period was spent in a
Training Home in Melbourne, pre-
sided over by a lady who belonged to one
of the ancient landed families of England.
She was a woman of profound piety,
devout and highly intelligent. Her rich
Christian character and stalwart faith
made a lasting impression upon the young
women in her charge. She strove not so
much to impart knowledge as to develop
character. With the Bible as text-book
an effort was made to develop such charac-
teristics as would help young women to
face hard situations bravely, such faith as
would stand under persecution and, above
all, such tenderness as would show how
to commend the love of Jesus Christ to
needy folk.
After such training then in home insti-
tute, Miss Bush came to- China and
worked steadily as a lady evangelist until
the year 1903, when she was married to
C. E. Hicks. She early gained the affec-
tion of the Chinese women and children.
Her marriage did not hinder her mission-
59
Women’s Missionary Auxiliary
arv work but rather widened its scope by
the added dignity, in the Chinese view,
which wifehood and motherhood gave to
her. Moreover, for a long period the
mission provided no lady evangelist, and
the privilege and duty of teaching and
shepherding' the needy Chinese women
and children became her responsibility.
This service Mrs. Hicks gave lovingly and
eagerly for many years. Large numbers
of women attended the weekly class, and
tiny children were delighted to be taught
by her. In 1921, she went to England on
furlough with her husband, and on their
return to China it was found that grave
changes had been made in stationing.
Undaunted, Mrs. Hicks found her own
work and gathered again a new weekly
class of women and children ; she orga-
nized also a special meeting for little
(otherwise untaught) heathen children.
She shared, too, in her husband’s work
among the Nosu. She would not be con-
tent to let him always go alone on his
journeys,* and the need of the Nosu
women appealed to her. It is to be feared
that the trying journeys in frost and snow
and bitter cold in winter, and in mud and
slush under, a burning sun and through
swollen rivers, in summer, sadly tried her
* See p. 12, January.—Ed.
physical strength until she seemed visibly
to fail. She continued, however, till her
work in China was finished, and the time
drew near when she should return to
England to care for her daughter who was
leaving school. She had held her last
class, had gathered a few Chinese girl
helpers to a simple dinner to talk over
how the work should be carried on in the
future, and being- tired that evening went
early to bed from which she did not rise
again. She suffered for eight days, and
then her loving, gentle, forbearing spirit
passed away. A strangely sad silence has
taken the place of her tender voice which
spoke so often of hope and confidence, and
a thick chill mist enwraps the road which
those whom she loved have yet to travel.
Yet we dare not call her back. She has
had her share of hardship. Twice she
was wrecked in the merciless Yangtsze,
and never could she be prevailed on to’
say much about the long- and in some
respects horrid journey across Yunnan
and down the Red River in 1900—the
Boxer year. No, we will not call her
back, though her companionship is
needed ; for is it not written, “ Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord, that they
may rest from their labours, and their
works do follow them � C. E. H.
Miao Women and Children.
60
Happenings on the R v
Tana River. b j. ratcliffe.
THE work is very exacting, but its
joys are wholly compensating. One
of the many joys is the simple but
genuine gratitude of these people when
we try to help materially as well as
spiritually. The other day, when returning
from up-river I was hailed from the bank
by a group of folk at one of the villages.
Upon landing I was greeted by a woman
who brought a calabash of milk and two
eggs to present to me as an expression of
thankfulness for medical treatment when
I was on a previous journey. Some weeks
before I had passed up stream and called
at the village in
the usual way
on evangelistic
endeavour, and
learned that a
woman had been
very severely
burned. “ Would
I go and see her,
and if possible
do something for
her ? †In com-
pany with some
of her friends I
went, and the
sight of the poor
creature was truly
appalling. Head
and back were
in a ghastly con-
dition where burn-
ing timbers had
fallen upon her.
Six days had al-
ready elapsed. Crude first-aid had been;
rendered by her friends, but oh, the-
caked filth covering her head and back
right down to the waist ! I cannot
even attempt to describe her nauseating
condition. The medicine case was brought
from the canoe, and with disinfectants
and antiseptics we cleansed the wounds,
swathed her with bandages and healing,
ointments, leaving a supply with in-
structions for subsequent use, promising to
call on our return down stream.
How came she thus ? Six days before,
she was cooking the evening meal, when a
Clearing' buub at frgao, Tana River.
April. 1925,
It is rarely given to great teachers to see their
gospel triumph. If they leave as many disciples
as will fill an upper room there is hope for the
world.—George Sampson on Ruskin.
Happenings on the Tana River
spark from the lire caught the thatch and
soon the frail structure was in flames, and
the woman rushed out. Quickly the
flames licked round the house, and the
people were powerless to extinguish them.
Then the woman looked round for her
child, and a cry from the burning house
told of its presence therein. With a bitter
â– cry she rushed forward. Restraining
hands sought to prevent her, but she,
breaking free, re-entered the narrow door-
way. Groping about she found the child
and, grasping it close, the while bending
•over it to shelter it from the smoke and
flames, she was about to return when
the whole structure collapsed, and she
had the weight of burning supports and
.thatch upon her head and back. Her
friends came to her aid and she was hauled
out, herself terribly burned but the child
uninjured. Mother-love is the same the
world over ! !
There is immense variety in life and work
on this river, and must needs be where
â– one man has the supervision of stations
spread along such a stretch of its winding
course as is ours.
In the November Echo you refer to a
•case of arbitration. It was my intention
â– to send you a full account of the pro-
ceedings and the history of the whole
trouble. It is a most interesting bit of
Pokomo history. But I forbear. Let it
suffice to say that the end of that day
witnessed what I am convinced is the
•complete burial of that which had been a
curse to the two sections of the tribe con-
cerned for generations. And the final
scenes of the long day’s palaver will long
live in my memory. There were gathered
members of our own Churches, for the
strife had found its way into our ranks
and had been affecting our work, with
representatives of the heathen outside
and also Government headmen with their
malacca staves mounted with brass heads
upon which were stamped the British
crown, the sign and seal of the holder’s
office. There under the shade of wide-
spreading trees and in a beautiful clearing
where the palaver had been held, and as
each man grasped the hand of a member
of the opposing faction, they vowed before
heaven that the foul thing that had
â– divided them so long should separate
;them no longer. And then, as right hands
still clasped were held aloft, Christian and
heathen alike bowed their heads while I
prayed the Great Father to seal the vow
with His blessing. For the final scene I
was totally unprepared, for big, strong
men were moved to tears, as they fell
upon each other’s necks and kissed. One
old man, whose face was wrinkled by many
years, said, with tears in his voice,
“Teacher, such as this I have never seen
before.†Thus old things pass away.
“The wind blowcth where it listeth.â€
Here before me as I write lies a little note,
with two shillings and a few cents. The
note says : “ These are the collections
taken at the last few Sunday Services.
With many greetings, Your follower,
Isaak Hamza.â€
Who is Isaak Hamza ? Some years ago
a murder was committed in Uganda. It
was traced to a number of young agitators,
who were arrested. Among the arrested
was one Hamza by name, but against
whom nothing could be proven, whilst
the others paid the penalty of the crime.
Hamza was deported to, and remained a
political deportee at, Kismayu, on the coast
of Jubaland, territory now ceded to Italy.
There he came into touch with the Swedish
Christian Mission, who received him into
the class of training for baptism. In due
course, having proved himself a fit candi-
date, he was baptized "Isaak.†Four
years ago I met him at Lamu, to which
place he had been permitted with his wife
to remove, from , Kismayu. There he
attached himself to our Mission. This
year at his request he has been removed
to a place called Anasa on the Tana River,
still a political deportee having to report
himself daily to resident Government re-
presentative, in order that he might
augment the allowance of the Government
by his own cultivation of the land. Anasa
is entirely Swahili or Arab, which means a
population of Mohammedans. But Isaak
is Christian, and bears his witness and
preaches the Gospel which has liberated
his soul. He also makes a collection,
apparently, as the note above mentioned
indicates. (He is a Methodist.) Thus in
divers ways the work for which our Mission
stands goes on.
It is a pleasure for me to have the com-
panionship of Mr. Cozens, who nV I went
to the coast to meet.
62
The Deputation
to West Africa.
Rev. C. STEDEFORD.
In Our West
I landed in Freetown on
Africa Saturday, January 31st,
District. and during the following
five weeks I visited every
one of the places where our Church is
represented, with the exception of three
villages connected with our Sierra Leone
circuits. As a detailed account of my
journeys is appearing in the “United
Methodist,†I shall describe here some of
the chief impressions received during my
tour. It is impossible to generalize con-
cerning the District because it is divided
into two very distinct sections, the Sierra
Leone and the Mendi, which have little
or nothing in common beyond the fact
that the people come under the same
British rule and belong to the same race.
The Sierra Leone colony proper consists
of a narrow strip of territory along the
coast, and Sierra Leoneans, strictly so
called, are people whose ancestors were
settled in the colony from British ships
as rescued slaves. The Sierra Leone Pro-
tectorate embraces the extensive hinter-
land, with 1,500,000 people, who inherit
their ancient territories, maintain their
tribal traditions, and are often referred to
by the Sierra Leoneans as “natives.†The
unhappy fate from which the original
settlers in Sierra Leone had been de-
livered, and their peculiar needs in found-
ing a new community, elicited very early
the sympathy of the churches in Eng-
land. The new colony proved tO' be a
fruitful field for missionary activity. As
the people rejoiced in the British as their
deliverers they were read}- to adopt them
as their teachers. Consequently Chris-
tianity has become the commonly-pro-
fessed religion among Sierra Leoneans,
and the superior position they have at-
tained, in comparison with other Africans,
they would readily ascribe to the Chris-
tian institutions established among them
and the elevating- power of the Gospel of
Christ.
Freetown, showing military barracks on
Tower Hill, and Mount Leicester beyond.
LRev. A. E. Orecnsmith.
63
The Deputation to West Africa.
The Churches The prominence of reli-
in the Colony, gion in Freetown is at-
tested by the number of
sanctuaries to be found there. Very few
places, if any, could show so many
chapels and churches within the same
area. Nearly all these sanctuaries are
Methodist of one variety or another, but
whatever the designation, the Anglican
form of service is almost universally ob-
served. There seems to be a strong
liking for ecclesiastical attire, for preacher
and choir appear arrayed in surplices.
For many years our Sierra Leone
churches have been self-supporting, and,
in addition, they have sustained two
stations in Mendi country as a direct con-
tribution to missionary work. This is
most commendable, especially when it is
remembered that only a iraction of our
adherents have more than a meagre in-
come. It proves a deep attachment to
the church and a willingness to make
sacrifice in her support. A person who
has faithfully honoured all church dues is
spoken of as “financial,†a term which
carries considerable credit, whereas per-
sistent delinquency in such matters would
gravely imperil anyone’s position as a
church member. During the trade de-
pression following the war the churches
have encountered increasing difficulty in
carrying their financial responsibilities ;
and this year the District was compelled
to appeal to the Committee in England
for assistance. A grant was made under
a condition requiring a proportionate sum
to be raised locally which would result in
the existing debt being met. This tem-
porary relief, however, cannot alter the
economic conditions which created the
difficulty, and it is necessary for our
Sierra Leone churches to reduce expen-
diture in order to adjust it to the income.
I wish to testify to the spiritual fervour
manifested in some of the churches I
visited. The African is blessed with an
emotional and responsive nature which is
deeply-stirred by the contemplation of the
grace of God in Christ. After the pre-
scribed order of a service or meeting had
concluded, there were occasions when the
Christians present found vent for their
exalted feeling in an outburst of song.
The women were prominent in this exer-
cise ; they started one refrain after
another until in their exuberance they
would move about in step with the tune,
grasp each other’s hands and express
themselves in rhythmic motion in accord
with the vocal melody. Let no one
imagine that this performance was ac-
companied with levity. Grave and
thoughtful matrons were the participants
in this joyous expression of their spiritual
fellowship.
Stone-laying1 It was my privilege and
at Congo Town, honour, as the represen-
tative of the Foreign
Missions Committee, to lay the founda-
tion stone of our new church at Congo
Town. A neat and substantial church is
being erected by people who have made
great sacrifice to secure for themselves a
suitable sanctuary. A grant from the
Committee quickened local endeavour and
made possible the fulfilment of a long-
cherished hope. The Rev. G. O. Gab-
bidon is directing the enterprise with
great energy and enthusiasm. A large
number assembled and the day was
crowned with very gratifying success.
Dreams as yet I traversed the hinterland
unfulfilled. and visited every one of
the stations where we are
working among the Mendi people. The
journey of 150 miles inland, which I was
able to take by train and motor lorry, was
covered by our pioneers, Messrs. Vivian,
Proudfoot, Goodman, Walmsley and
Micklethwaite, sen., on foot or by ham-
mock. They were bent upon carrying the
Gospel into the places where the light
had not penetrated. It was a noble pur-
pose, nobly pursued at the cost of much
discomfort and privation, and in the case
of Mr. Goodman nearly at the cost of life
itself. As I visited the scene of their toils
and trials I was sadly impressed with the
fact that the results witnessed to-day can-
not be regarded as the fulfilment of the
dreams they cherished. Only very few
Mendi people are connected with our mis-
sion, and those whose names are regis-
tered have not advanced beyond the
catechumen stage. It cannot be said that
we have a single Mendi church. Even in
the Mendi stations, the church is com-
posed almost entirely of Sierra Leoneans.
The enterprising Sierra Leoneans have
penetrated into the interior wherever the
possibilities of trade promised a sufficient
reward for their labours. They act as
64
The Deputation to West Africa.
agents collecting the native produce and
forwarding it to exporting merchants.
We do not minimize the importance of
â– our Mendi stations in ministering to the
spiritual needs of these people, but it does
not compensate for the lack of the fruit
we hoped to gather among the Mendies.
Neither can we disregard the value of the
work that has been done in our schools
among Mendi children. To a great ex-
tent the service rendered has been pre-
paratory and, like bread cast upon the
waters, may be seen after many days.
The Friendly
Attitude of
the Chiefs.
Among the assets which
must be counted to the
advantage of the Mendi
mission is the friendly
attitude, and in some cases the cordial co-
operation of the chiefs. I interviewed ten
chiefs of varying grades of importance,
and they all, with the exception of one
who favoured the Roman Catholics, ex-
pressed themselves as very desirous to
assist the work of the mission. Most of
them attend the services and some are
registered as catechumens. The chief
exercises a paternal relation to his people,
and his favour usually secures the favour
of all. In the places I visited that popu-
lar favour was manifested in the kindly
attitude of all the people. Mr. Mickle-
’thwaite knows how to win the good will
of the chiefs. I have heard him calmly
ask a chief to build a chapel, and as the
chief is able to command both material
and labour, the request is not so prepos-
terous as it may appear to us.
With such a friendly spirit existing we
are encouraged to believe that if we were
able to put adequate strength into our
Mendi work we should reap a good har-
vest. We have held the ground ; we
•cannot say we have properly cultivated it.
While I testify to the state of things I
witnessed, and confess to a degree of dis-
appointment in the results already ob-
tained, I believe the work of the past
could be carried to great success by the
wise application of adequate resources
and methods.
New Ground
and an
Old Link.
In apportioning spheres
of influence among the
various missions operating
in the Protectorate, the
United Christian Council assigned -to the
United Methodists three chiefdoms, ad-
jacent to one another and to the Tikon-
koh chiefdom which we already occupy.
No mission has yet entered these three
chiefdoms unless the Catholics may have
done so at some points. While I was in
the region it was deemed advisable for
me to visit at least one of these newly-as-
signed chiefdoms in order to see what
prospect there is for successful work and
what additional agency would be required
to prosecute it. I decided to visit the
Bonga chiefdom, which is adjacent to that
of Tikonkoh. It should be known that
every town has its chief, and that these
petty chiefs are subject to the paramount
chief whose power extends over a wide
province. In order to secure a favour-
able entrance to> a province it is necessary
to negotiate with the paramount chief.
For this purpose we had to travel to the
town of Taloo, where the paramount chief
of the Bonga province holds his seat.
The journey thither was not without inci-
dent which will be related elsewhere. We
sent two of our preachers as forerunners
to ascertain whether the chief were at
home and willing to receive us. As we
approached the town on Sunday morning,
March Sth, we wrere met by our preachers,
who reported that the chief was in a dis-
tant town when they arrived, that in reply
to a special messenger he had hastened
his return through the night and was
awaiting our arrival. He had given our
forerunners to understand that he re-
ceived their proposal with great pleasure.
The reason for his pleasure was to be dis-
closed in the unfolfling of a singular co-
incidence. We had just deposited our-
selves in the rest-house on the fringe of
the town of Taloo, when we saw Chief
Amara and his retinue advancing toward
the house. We went out to greet them
and then retired beneath the roof for a
palaver. The chief expressed his welcome,
and in proof thereof presented us with a
live sheep and a quantity of rice, oranges,
eggs, bananas, etc. The offering of a
blood-present such as a live sheep, ac-
cording to native custom, signified wil-
lingness to establish a bond of perpetual
friendship and protection. The face of
the chief was of a very uncommon type.
An expression of candour and intelligence
presided over refined and sensitive fea-
tures. He listened very attentively while
we explained the purpose of our visit and
enquired whether, if the mission could
65
The Observatory
open work in his province, he would be
prepared to give it his countenance and
support. When we sought to expound to
him the object of Christian missions, he
assured us he was not a stranger to mis-
sionary aims, and to our great astonish-
ment informed us that when he was a boy
he was taken to England by our mission-
ary, the Rev. Thomas Truscott. Some
of our older friends of the U.M.F.C. will
remember him as the boy called “Samuel
Heroe,†who accompanied Mr. Truscott
on one of his furloughs.* He told us also
^Truscott went in 1881. and died at Freetown, November
15th, 1888. We remember the boy Heroe, appearing on
platforms with Thomas Truscott.—Ed.
that a former British Governor had in-
formed him that one day a great man
would visit his town and confer much
benefit upon his people. He regarded my
visit as a fulfilment of that prophecy. We
were much impressed by the singular co-
incidence that our random visit to a
newly-assigned chiefdom, discovered in
the person of the paramount chief such
an interesting link with the early days of
our mission, and I leave our readers to
judge whether we could have hoped to
find more enticing- conditions inviting us
to extend our work into this new
chiefdom.
The Observatory.
WE are glad to be able to show the
photograph of the Rev. Reginald
Heber and Mrs. Goldsworthy.
The wedding, as announced on p. 48,
took place at Hong-Kong on December
Rev. R. H. and Mrs. Goldsworthy.
12th. We wish them all joy and!
happiness.
Rev. C. Stedeford.
Our readers will have followed the story
in the “United Methodist †of the Secre-
tary’s visit to West Africa with keen in-
terest. We are always sorry for those
who do not take the “United Methodist,â€
and thus miss many matters of urgent
and immediate interest.
Our versatile friend left our shores on
January 21, and reached Freetown on the
31st. He commenced his pleasant duties-
the following day, which was the Lord’s
Day, and after five hectic weeks, into*
which much was crowded, he sailed from
Freetown and arrived at Plymouth on
March 14th.
Sympathy.
HOSIE.—On 10th March, at Coleford,.
Sandown, Isle of Wight, Sir Alexander
IIosie, M.A., LL.D., F.R.G.S., of the Chinar
Consular Service.
After a long and serious illness a useful’
and strenuous life has been closed, and"
we mourn with his . widow, the only
daughter of Professor and Mrs. SoothilL
We shall have a longer reference next
month.
April 27. (See fourth page of cover.)
We need not say that this is a notable
date. We trust London and provincial'
folk will crowd the City Temple on that
day. It will be exceptionally important
because of the Secretary’s appearance ancJ
66
The Son of a Savage
report of his third deputational journey ;
also because it will illustrate the coming*
Methodist Union, as the Rev. E. Aldom
French will represent the Wesleyan
Methodist Church in the afternoon, and
the Rev. J. T. Barkby .(President) the
Primitive Methodist Church, in the even-
ing. Thus shall we vindicate our own
designation—United.
The New States on the Baltic.
Three new Republics—Esthonia, Latvia
and Lithuania — have completed seven
years of Independence, during- which they
have become active members of the
League of Nations ; they have extended
the most cordial welcome to all Interna-
tional movements for world-betterment,
and have adopted English as their
auxiliary language.
A Service of Thanksgiving was held on
Sunday, March, 15th, in the Marylebonc
Presbyterian Church, London.
Degrees.
We congratulate the Rev. W. H. Hud-
speth, in having- proceeded to his M.A.
(Cambridge), and the Rev. R. Heber
Goldsworthy in being elected F.R.A.I.
Mr. Hudspeth has also the latter distinc-
tion.
Exhibitions.
On the cover of our January number
we gave an exultant and gratuitous ad-
vertisement to a project scheduled by the-
Halifax and Bradford' District. Nothing
less ambitious than to have three Exhibi-
tion Bazaars in the Halifax section. Hali-
fax, Brighouse, Huddersfield : January,
February, March. The thought was in
itself admirable, and the working-out has
been superb. As we write the third has
not yet been held, so we shall state next
month the amount raised — for the
.£30,000. We wish now to commend our~
officials in that district, led, as we believe,
by that born secretary, the Rev. Walter
Hall. But the boon of it is not confined^
to him; everyone who favoured it or
helped—has been blest.
“They shall be served themselves by
every sense
Of service that they render.â€
Suffice it now to say they have been a
huge success. There is time, yea, and
opportunity to' emulate. The fund, so
needy, must close at Conference. We
would draw attention to p. 191 of Confer-
ence “Minutes,†where there is set out'
the sum allocated to each district and the
amount raised. At the beginning of the
year the balance required was £2,500.
The Son of a Savage.
A brief biography of the first Christian
convert of one of the Solomon Islands ;
written by a pioneer. It is packed with
incident and with the glow of missionary
romance. Daniel Bula was but 28 when
he passed Home, the most influential and
well-beloved man on Vella Lavella. He
began as the missionary’s cook-boy, and
developed into his right-hand and left-
hand man. He was a preacher of the
Gospel which changed not only himself
but also the land of his birth. Within less
than two decades, “he saw the banish-
ment of barbarism, head-hunting, widow-
strangling, and child-murder. . . He
saw love-feasts take the place of tribal
fights; . . he saw the canoes that
took the fathers to their head-hunting
raids take the sons to their preaching ap-
* By R. C. Nicholson. (Epworth Press, 3s. net).
pointments.†He- knew five native dia-
lects, and could speak simple and correct
English ; hence he was of the greatest
assistance in translating the Scripture for
his own folk. He kept going a Home
for orphan and unwanted children ; ran
the services in the missionary’s absence ;
and had a positive gift for quieting fretful
children. He could be trusted with re-
sponsibility. No sort of handy task came
amiss to him. He would serve bravely
as a lifeboatman in case of shipwreck ; let
a man be badly mauled by shark or fel-
low-tribesman, and Daniel was just the
one to patch him up. He would super-
vise the extension of a wharf or the
arrangements of a Christmas feast with
equal cheerfulness and skill. The mis-
sionary shelf will be richer for this simply-
told, beautifully-illustrated tale.
J. D. Crosland.
67
A Page for April 12th
Two Easter Lilies.
I.
From Winter’s weeping
For Howers that fled,
While earth lay sleeping,
Cold and dead ;
In recollection
Of Thy grave-gloom
And resurrection—
Lo ! this bloom.
The sun released her,
And April shower :
A lily of Easter,
A spring flower !
II.
From old lands hoary,
To keep new tryst
With Thy great glory,
Jesus Christ !
From heathen village
Or darker slum,
To crown our tillage
What has come?
From grave-lands chilly
In sin’s control,
An Easter lily,
A saved soul!
S. Gertrude Ford.
Supposing Him to be
the Gardener.
The napkin folded in the sepulchre,
The winding-sheet forsaken of the dead,
The Magdalene, motionless in dread,
Hailed the New-Risen as “the gardener.â€
Then the fast-fading flowers made sudden
stir ;
The long narcissus raised' its drooping
head,
The throbbing poppy blushed a deeper
red,
And all the woodland thrilled in love of
her.
Even the roses of Gethsemane
Lifted their soul-sad eyes and smiled
anew :
The lilies by the lake of Galilee,
The glades of Olivet, where daisies
blew :
Shook in a silent conscious ecstasy,
Knowing the random surmise to be
true.
Kennedy Williamson.
Easter.
Thus it appears that the Christian
‘Church chose to celebrate the birthday of
its Founder on the twenty-fifth of Decem-
ber in order to transfer the devotion of
the heathen from the sun to Him who
was called the Sun of righteousness. If
that was so there can be no intrinsic im-
probability that motives of the same sort
may have led the ecclesiastical authorities
to assimilate the Easter festival of the
death and resurrection of our Lord to
the festival of the death and resur-
rection of an Asiatic god which fell at the
same season. The Easter rites still ob-
served in Greece, Sicily and Southern
Italy bear in some respects a striking re-
semblance to the rites of Adonis, and I
suggest that the Church may have con-
sciously adapted the new festival to its
heathen predecessor for the sake of win-
ning souls to Christ. . . The death
and resurrection of Attis were officially
•celebrated at Rome March 24th and 25th,
the latter being regarded as the spring
equinox and therefore as the most appro-
priate day for the remembrance of a god
of vegetation who has been dead or sleep-
ing through the winter. According to
an ancient and widespread tradition,
Christ suffered on the 25th of March, and
accordingly some Christians regularly cele-
brated the Crucifixion on that day with-
out any regard to the state of the moon.
Thus the tradition which placed the death
of Christ on March 25th was ancient and
deeply-rooted. It is all the more remark-
able because astronomical considerations
prove that it can have no historical foun-
dation. The inference appears to be in-
evitable that the passion of Christ must
have been arbitrarily referred to that date
in order to harmonise with the older
festival.
J. G. Frazer (the late). “The Golden
Bough.â€
68
The Reflex Action
of Christian Missions.
Dr. H. LLOYD SNAPE,
O.B.E.
PPEALS are being' constantly made
for increased contributions for mis-
sions overseas. The very success
of the work already accomplished has
called for more extensive operations : and
this means that after utilising to the
utmost all native resources in men and
money, more missionaries of every type,
and additional funds to meet the cost of
maintaining them, are urgently needed.
Thus the question not infrequently
arises : Can the home churches in view of
this call for larger funds afford to respond
to the call, however clamant? When con-
sidering what the answer should be it
should never be forgotten that the history
of missions overseas clearly demonstrates
that such missions not only benefit those
on behalf of whom they were undertaken
but also have a glorious reflex action at
the home base. In the missionary enter-
prise assuredly “there is that scattereth
and increaseth yet more.â€
The following is but one of many illus-
trations that might be cited. A Presby-
terian church in Wichita, Kansas, which
laboured under a debt of £3,600, resolved
under the leadership of the pastor, the
Rev. C- E. Bradt, to undertake the re-
sponsibility of supporting a missionary.
During' the following year, all current ex-
penses were met, the first time this had
occurred for ten years. In the next year
the gifts for foreign missions were
doubled, and the church was entirely freed
from the capital debt. After a few more
years the members were supporting four
missionaries and 25 native workers and
were contributing as much to home as to
foreign missionary funds, and had ex-
pended £10,000 in the support of the
varied activities of the Wichita Church
itself.
Critics might, however, urge with
respect to experiences of this type in the
case of individual churches, that they
must have been comparatively wealthy
and were thus enabled to contribute
largely to external good causes, and yet
have ample margin for their own support.
The acid test of the truth of the proposi-
tion, which it is desired to demonstrate in
this article, would be found if a large
group of churches which fostered foreign
A ferry on the Yangtze, near Ko Kuen.
[Rev. H. Parsons^
69
The Reflex Action of Christian Missions
missions could be contrasted with another
large group of similar churches which re-
fused to engage in such missions. Such
a contrast cannot frequently be made, for
happily it is rarely that any considerable
section of Christian churches has declined
to make any endeavour to support foreign
missions. The writer knows of only one
comparatively modern instance : but that
one deserves serious consideration.
Some Baptist Churches in U.S.A,
were divided on the question whether it
was their duty to concentrate their efforts
wholly on home work, or to maintain con-
currently home and foreign agencies, and
they agreed to separate. During forty
years (1850-1890), the pro-foreign mis-
sion section increased from 687,000 to
3,000,000 members, whereas the section
which restricted itself to work at home
decreased from 68,000 to 45,000.
There are several reasons which might
lead to the anticipation of such results.
The foreign mission field has developed
some of the highest types of Christian
character : and the home churches have
been inspired, stimulated and enriched in
spiritual life by the example set by the
missionary heroes of the Cross. Those
who have read the biographies of famous
missionaries have found, therein de-
scribed, men of true apostolic aim, stamp
and piety, whose lives commanded their
admiration and led them to desire to
cultivate the same spirit of service at the
home base. The reader of such biogra-
phies cannot fail to be impressed by the
sublime self-forgetfulness and love ex-
hibited towards persecutors—two qualities
alone in which Christ-likeness is evidenced
in highest degree—and the charm of these
lives raises his own aspirations for more
real Christian living. How wonderful are
their spiritual experiences, and how
heart-searching are they to those who read
about them ! Who would not desire
honestly to breathe, e.g., the prayer
offered by Dr. R. H. A. Schofield, a man
of the highest academical attainments,
who died at 32 years of age a medical mis-
sionary in China : “Enable me at least to
aim at nothing less than walking in this
world as Christ Himself walked. Save me
from the subtle snare of lowering my
standard, bit by bit, to meet my miserable
attainments. Do so reveal Thy beauty to
me that to testify of Thee may be no
effort, but spontaneous.â€
Is it not the experience of most, if not
all of us that our hearts have never been
so deeply stirred to self-reproach and to
desire to render nobler and more faithful
service, as when we have read the memoirs
of missionaries or listened to their experi-
ences described in speeches delivered by
them when on furlough?
Thus far reference has been made in
somewhat general terms to the reflex
action of foreign missions on the develop-
ment of Christian character. It may be
useful to specify a few of the particular
qualities, habits, and graces which are
strengthened amongst the Christians at
home, as the result of engaging in the
work overseas.
(1) Prayers become more in accord-
ance with our Lord’s pattern prayer. It
is only as men are interesting themselves
in taking or sending to the heathen the
Gospel that they can pray with real
earnestness and power, “Thy Kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in Heaven,
so on earth.†On the other hand, to seek
even holiness for' ourselves alone is not
in the spirit of the Master and cannot
satisfy Him Who died that the world
might be saved.
(2) The teaching of the Bible is en-
forced. The Bible is not a book contain-
ing here and there an isolated missionary
chapter or verse, command or promise,
but as a whole is an intensely missionary
book : and even its main teachings can
never be fully grasped by those who have
no desire to engage in missionary opera-
tions. On the other hand, if, e.g., the
Acts and the Epistles are read and ex-
pounded in the light of the working of
God in the present age, these books be-
come instinct with life and stimulus to
service.
(3) Faith is strengthened. The atten-
tion of those who doubt whether “the
old, old story†has still power to save to
the uttermost may well be directed to
what has been done amongst the heathen
by the preaching of Christ. People for-
merly savage and brutal and who acted on
the doctrine that might is right and had
no mercy for the weak, have become un-
selfish and loving. Those who were lazy
have become industrious and have gladly
given gratuitous labour in order that they
might help to support their church, and
have in many cases, despite persecution
and danger from their own kinsfolk,
70
Missionary Intercession
-offered themselves as evangelists to their
fellow-countrymen. People who were
ignorant, superstitious and useless, if not
dangerous, to their neighbours have be-
-come an intelligent and useful community.
These and many more immense and
highly desirable alterations in outlook and
influence have not been the results of that
-civilisation, alone which follows in the
train of commerce (sometimes, alas !
â– commerce with other, and even Christian,
nations has meant debasement, as by
the introduction of strong drink), but have
been due to the redeeming and sanctifying
gospel of Christ.
•And not only is faith in the Gospel
strengthened, but so also is trust in God
in all the affairs of daily life. None can
have read the history of missions over-
seas without having been impressed with
what faith has wrought under the most
adverse conditions, how it has enabled
men and women to overcome apparently
insuperable difficulties, to emerge trium-
phantly from the most severe trials, and
to trust God wholly in the smallest, as
well as in the greatest affairs of life.
The spirit of the missionary is one 'of
great and unflinching faith : and, finding
what wondrous results attend earnest
prayer on the mission fields, members of
the home churches have often been led
to approach with similar faith and child-
like confidence the loving Father of all
and thus to learn the secret of the prayer
which prevails in all circumstances.
(4) Zeal is stimulated, and more com-
plete consecration follows. No one can
come into touch with this sacred and
sacrificial cause without acquiring a
more intense desire for holy living and
devotion to Christ-like work.
In conclusion, on the above and other
grounds, it is claimed that there is an
essential and vital connection between
the work of foreign missions and the
spirituality which determines the true
prosperity of the home churches. The
important question is not—Can we afford
to maintain and develop the missions
overseas? but can we afford, having
regard to the welfare of our own souls
and that of the life of the churches at
home, to do other than foster them to
the very utmost of our ability ?
—By permission, from “Advance,†the
organ of Primitive Methodist Missions.
Missionary Intercession.
And the crowds who went in jront of
Him and who fol low ed. behind shouted,
Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed
be He who comes in the Lord's name :
Hosanna in high heaven—St. Matt. 21, 9.
We know the paths wherein our feet
should press,
Across our hearts are written Thy de-
crees :
Yet now, O Lord, be merciful to bless
With more than these.
Grant us the will to fashion as we feel,
Grant us the strength to labour as we
know,
Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged
with steel,
To strike the blow.
Knowledge we ask not—knowledge Thou
has lent;
But Lord, the will—there lies our bitter
need;
Give us to build above the deep intent
The deed—the deed !
John Drinkwater.
April 5.—Palm Sunday. Ribe Circuit,
East Africa. Pp. in Report, 80, 81. St.
Matt. 21 : 1-13.
April 2.—Sixty years ago to-day
Edmund Butterworth died at Ribe,
after only 5 months’ service.
April 12.—Easter Day. Amongst the
Miao. Rev. II. Parsons. P. 61-64. St.
Matt. 28.
April 19.—Ningpo Girls’ School. Miss
Mabel Fortune, B.A. P. 101. 1 Cor.
13.
April 26.—Chao Tong Hospital. Dr.
C. J. Austin. P. 107', 108. St. Luke
13 : 10-21.
O Thou God of all grace and love, we have
praised Thee with our lips, grant that we
may also praise Thee in faithful lives.
We thank Thee for the beauty and bounty
of the world, for summer and winter, for
seedtime and harvest, for flowers and fruit,
and for all gifts of loveliness which each
season brings.
We thank Thee for the comfort and joy of
our lives, for our homes, our friends, and
all our home blessings, for the love of our
companions, and for the help and counsel
of those who are older and wiser than our-
selves.
We pray that all these blessings may help
us to be faithful, for Christ’s sake.
Amen.
71
Saving: Leper-Children
• During my tour I saw no sadder sight than the child-lepers. These are now symptom-free and are the latest trophies of
the new treatmentfor the dread malady."—Rev. O.M Kerr, Wesleyan Missionary. Haidarabad. (Favoured by " Foreign Field.")
Dr. Lilian Dingle was devoting her skill, and the new knowledge, in this sphere of sorrow. See p. 80)
Concerning
Marshal Feng.
(As some may think Marshal Feng-Yu re-
quires rehabilitation, and in view of the
many criticisms in the general Press our
readers will welcome this statement from one
who knows Marshal Feng personally, and who
has been in closest touch with recent develop-
ments. It is by Mr. D. E. Hoste, the General
Director in China of the C.I.M., and we re-
ceive it through the courtesy of the editor of
■“ China’s Millions.†The letter appeared origin-
ally in the “North China Daily News.â€â€”Ed.)
IN attempting to reply to your question
regarding Marshal Feng, I am sen-
sible of a good deal of diffidence, and
•even difficulty, in venturing to do so. In
.matters of this kind there is always room
for a certain difference of opinion, and one
realises the possibility of prejudice, either
lor or against him, unconsciously in-
fluencing the judgment of equally good
and thoughtful men.
Whilst it must be admitted that for a
â– subordinate to turn against his leader and
overthrow him is at all times a serious
step, involving the one taking it in great
responsibility, it would, in my judgment,
be a mistake to say that such action is in
all cases wrong. On the contrary, there
may be, and sometimes are, circumstances
which not only justify it but call for it.
In my judgment, Marshal Feng was
justified, and more than justified, in the
daring action he took of turning against
Marshal Wu Pei-fu. It must be remem-
bered, as Marshal Wu has himself said,
that for weeks previously Marshal Feng
had been remonstrating with him and
begging him to cease from a campaign
which was simply a personal struggle for
mastery between Marshals Wu and Chang
Tsolin. Marshal Feng represented the
fearful loss of life and attending train of
misery which such a campaign was certain
to cause, whilst at the same time there
was no real principle at stake between the
two combatants.
At this point it is necessary to inquire
what use Marshal Wu Pei-fu had made of
the great power which had been his during
the preceding years. Had he made any
adequate efforts to put down brigandage,
and protect life and property ? Had he
made any attempt even to curtail the
terrible opium evil ? Had he taken steps
to check the notor ous dishonesty amongst
high officials ? Had the immense sums of
public money in his hands been spent in
promoting the public interests ? With
every desire to recognise the practical
difficulties of dealing with the above
matters in China at the present time, and
also to recognise that no man, however
good and able, could fairly be expected
completely to do away with them in a
1 uc vuriBMwu Aimj. vv no. uic iz u clock gun is tired the soldiers gather in groups for reading and prayer.
73
A Hindu Prayer
comparatively brief space of time. I
nevertheless fear that truth and justice
require a distinctly negative reply to the
above questions.
It is true that, after long delay, he took
drastic action against bands of robbers
who had carried off foreigners in the
province of Honan ; but this was only
done under powerful political pressure on
the part of the foreign diplomatic au-
thorities. With regard to his shortcomings
in spending public money on the public
interest, the expenditure necessary to
maintain his military establishments was
so heavy that comparatively little money
was left for other purposes.
It is an indisputable fact, to which the
past record of Marshal Feng bears witness,
that ever since he has wielded any sub-
stantial measure of authority, he has,
within the sphere of that authority,
exerted his whole power and influence in
order to deal with public evils and to
A Hindu Prayer.
Rev, Kingsley Williams,*
I have found a copy of a prayer used at
morning devotions in a Hindu high school.
It hardly looks like the work of a “heathen
in his bindness †! We really must purge
our missionary hymns!
I beg, O Thou of boundless compas-
sion, to grant me while life lasts, com-
petence, health, and constant meditation
at Thy holy feet.
Through all eternity I am Thy servant
and Thou art my Master; Be Thou
pleased or be Thou angry, Thou art my
refuge and no other.
If in Thine infinite pity Thou lookest
on me with favour, what need have I
of others for protection? There is none
in the universe like Thee to forgive men’s
sins.
This earth, O Ruler of Gods ! has no
ungrateful wretch, no deceiver like me.
Grant me Thy grace, Lord of all the
worlds ; I am ever Thy bought slave.
* Mr. Williams is Warden of Wesley College. Madras.
promote the best interests of the corn
munity. I am convinced that Marshal
Feng is a sincere Christian of high character,
but I do not base my estimate of his actions
upon that. I point to the incontrovertible-
fact that his past record is that of a public-
man who has constantly set an example
of self-denying devotion to the public
interest.
Again, was it an easy matter for Feng,
to act as he did in leaving Wu Pei-fu ? I
venture to think that most people, if not
everyone, acquainted with the circum-
stances would agree that he ran grave-
risks, not only political but personal, by
what he did. The path to promotion ancl
greater power for himself lay in fighting
for and with Marshal Wu ; in which case-
there can be little doubt that the ex-
ceptionally fine and well-trained troops-
under his command would have enabled
him to take a leading share in gaining
victory for Marshal Wu and credit for
himself.
<â– ?*
Master of all! If Thou who art the-
fountain of grace deniest me Thy grace,.
I am doomed indeed. Where can a child
have safety, when the mother herself
gives it poison.
Thou art the one Saviour of the uni-
verse, the one Giver, the one Knower,
the one Commiserator. Who, if not Thou,,
canst grant our prayer?
Universal Lord ! Friend of the lowly,
Refuge in danger, who in thine infinite
compassion savest those who trust Thee 1
raise me up from the ocean of existence
wherein I am drowned.
What wonder is it if Thou befriendest
the virtuous? If Thou dost the like to
the evildoer, that indeed will be great
glory.
Mercy, Almighty One ! have mercy on
me, for Thy mercy is vast like the ocean ;
again and yet again I pray for Thy
mercy, let me have Thy mercy and Thy
blessings.
71
Christmas in
Ningpo.
Rev. A. A. CONIBEAR.
HE Chinese require little instruction
from the foreigner in the art of
keeping festival. Foi’ centuries,
national and religious annual festivals have
been observed, each with its distinctive
customs regularly practised, each calling
out the enthusiasm of the people. For-
tunately the Christian festivals taken over
by the Chinese Church have collected little
of the shabby ornateness, the confusion of
colour and sound so characteristic of the
pagan festivals, but the love of the people
for “high days†and “holy days†is
clearly to be seen in the interest which
attends the coming of the notable days of
the Christian calendar.
A fortnight before Christmas the minds
of the Christians in Ningpo were turned
eagerly towards the coming festival. The
pastors were busy collecting small sub-
scriptions towards expenses, the attend-
ance at the Sunday Schools began per-
ceptibly to rise, and the children
in the day schools of the Mission
were obviously busy preparing for
their share in the event.
On the afternoon of .the 24th,
we gathered together at the Girls’
Primary School in the settlement,
and found that a platform had
been cleverly erected and the
room tastefully decorated with
the flags of all the nations. On
the side of the platform was a
Christmas-tree laden with good
things from England. Difficulty
was experienced in finding room
for all the guests, and many
had to be content with looking
through the windows. The scho-
lars sang choruses, action songs,
and gave some scenes depicting
the now well-known incidents
surrounding the birth of Jesus.
This was followed by a short
Chinese play written by one of
our young men, and containing
much healthy teaching on the
wickedness and futility of some
of the older Chinese practices.
The programme was a credit
to the teachers and showed
much patient work.
Much satisfaction was expressed at the
presence of a new foreign teacher. Miss
Fortune had been in our midst for less than
two months, yet there were unmistakeable
signs of her influence in the success of the
proceedings. The mere onlooker is apt to
derive his pleasure without a thought to
the time and labour involved in prepara-
tion for these festivities ; but the majority
of the Chinese friends were loud in their
praise of the assistance rendered by Mrs.
Bates and Miss Fortune.
The writer said a few words in explana-
tion of the spirit of Christmas and of the
origin of the gifts about to be distributed.
The tree was then stripped by Mrs.
Conibear, all the scholars receiving some
little present which brought them know-
ledge of a friend in England.
In the evening we received an invitation
to attend the Christmas concert of the
College Y.M.C.A. After the opening
High Street, Ningpo. LRev. G. W. Sheppard.
75
I am Debtor
exercises and an appropriate address by
the student president, we were favoured by
a series of miscellaneous items of really
excellent quality, including Chinese songs
and instrumental music, English choruses,
conjuring perfonuances, and a stirring
scene in imitation of a typical act from a
Chinese stage play. The students were
boisterous in their appreciation, and we
foreigners were not behind in our applause.
The spirit of Christmas was sustained by
the distribution of gifts to all and sundry.
Each person having been previously sup-
plied with a slip of paper bearing a num-
ber, he was now entitled to the parcel
with a corresponding number. The par-
cels were found to contain gifts varying
from a humble ping-pong ball to an
expensive scarf, the donors being the
members of the College Y.M.C.A. This
was immediately followed by the dis-
tribution of yet another parcel to each
person present, which on being opened was
found to contain a varied assortment of
pea-nuts, biscuits, and sweets. Soon the
air was filled with the sound of crackling
pea-nut shells and with all the usual accom-
paniments to two hundred happy school-
boys busy munching biscuits. Although
the time was already late, we now pro-
ceeded to the main item of the evening,
namely, a five-reel drama from a cine-
matograph kindly lent by the main branch
-of the Y.M.C.A. in Ningpo. All agreed
that the picture was a good one, and at
its close the boys dispersed, tired but
happy.
On Christmas Day services were held in
each of our Churches. A service for the
adults in the mornffig and for the children
in the afternoon. The interiors of the
-church buildings were decorated with flags
and with sprigs of fir-trees, and the meet-
ings were well attended. At the con-
-clusion of each of the morning services a
â– Christmas bun was given to each person
present, each bun having imprinted on it
the name of the Church and a few charac-
ters signifying the birthday of our Lord.
The services for the children were charac-
terised by the gift of a handkerchief to
each of those scholars who had made good
attendances throughout the year.
Reports continue to come in from the
country churches telling of Christmas Ser-
vices followed by a communal feast among
the members.
Altogether we had a thoroughly happy
and enjoyable Christmas. The thoughts
of the Mission staff, particularly those of
the new-comers, were directed longingly
towards England and home, but it was a
great pleasure to us to see growing up here
in China a kindred spirit of Christmastide.
A casual observer in all probability would
have found it difficult to find in the general
life of the city any indication that a great
and significant Christian festival was in
progress, but to those of us who knew
where to look, namely, in the hearts of
those who help to constitute the Church
of Christ in China, the spirit of Christmas
was easily preceptible. Wherever Jesus
lives in the hearts of His people, His birth-
day is celebrated with joy and gladness,
and the spirit of peace and goodwill is to
be found.
I am Debtor.*
Rom. i. 14.
Oh how shall I discharge the debt,
The debt, Lord, which is mine,
To those around me, who have set
Themselves against Thee, how beget
Regard for love like Thine?
To those who sit in darkness weird,
Age-long in lands afar,
Who have no sweet Evangel heard,
Who grope, with vision dim and blurred
For Thee, the Morning Star?
Oh how shall I the travail share,
That brings Thy Kingdom in ?—
This goeth forth alone by prayer
And fasting—these fruition fair
Must yield and triumphs win.
L. E. May Syson.
♦Written after hearing a sermon by the Rev. O. P.
Rounsefell.
76
The Story of
Ting Lan.
IN one of the very ancient cities of
China there is said to have lived, in
olden times, a farmer whose name
was Ting Lan. His father was dead, but
his old mother looked after his home.
Ting Lan was an industrious man work-
ing daily in the fields. Frequently his
mother took his meals to him while he
worked, but he was an unkind, disagree-
able son, treating her with scant respect
and showing little gratitude for her kind-
nesses. Indeed, should she happen to be
late with his food, Ting Lan scolded her,
and more than once he even went so far
as to strike her.
One morning as Ting Lan was
meandering about his land he noticed a
crow’s nest in which were several young.
He watched the mother bird fly away
again and again and with some choice
morsel of food return to the nest, and he
remarked how' gladly the young ones wel-
comed the mother crow. And these,
mused he to himself, are birds. If birds
can welcome their mother in this manner,
how much more should I give welcome
to my mother. Turning away from the
nest, he looked away over the fields, and
in the distance espied his mother coming
with his mid-day meal. Regretting his
past misconduct, Ting Lan hurried for-
ward and hastened to meet his mother.
So excited did he become that he ran to-
wards her to tell her how sorry he was
for bygone days and how different he
would be in the days to come.
Alas ! His mother, fearing that her
son was more angry than usual, and that
he was running to beat her for being late,
fell down, and before her son reached her,
she died. The fright had killed her.
Ting Lan’s repentance and determination
to be filial had come too late.
Sorrowfully and with elaborate ritual
he buried his mother. The funereal rites
completed, Ting Lan returned to his
home with heavy heart; and long he
pondered on what he could do to com-
memorate his mother to whom he had
been so cruelly unkind. He finally solved
his difficulty in this wav. He took a
small piece of wood and on it he carved
his mother’s name. This he set up on
FOR YOUNG FOLK.
Rev. W. H. HUDSPETH, M.A.
a prominent table in his home, and dur-
ing the remaining years of his life each
morning and each evening he bowed
before this tablet. In this way he kept
green the memory of his mother.
It is said that since the time of Ting
Lan all Chinese have set up in their
homes ancestral tablets upon which are
written the names of their parents and
ancestors. On the table upon which these
ancestral tablets stand, there is set out,
at certain times of the year, food for the
spirits of the dead to partake of, and this
forms an important element in Chinese
worship. This custom dates from Ting
Lan, and because Ting Lan’s repentance
was so sincere and his grief so deep, his
aforetime unfilial conduct has been par-
doned and his name has been handed
down in Chinese books for many genera-
tions.
My Chinese dictionary, in which I have
looked up this man’s history, says that
once when he was in great trouble the
tablet bearing his mother’s name burst
into tears ! ! !
A Parallel to Missions.
But he could not do impossibilities ;
stow as closely as he could, the little ship
could not take the full equipment, and
because of the lack of money to buy a
bigger ship he had to leave behind several
of the ponies and much of the material
which, as the event proved, might have
made all the difference and carried him
through to the Pole.
No one whose ambitions have not been
defeated by lack of money at the critical
moment when the hour and the man are
ready for great deeds, can realize to the
full the bitter irony of the distribution of
wealth in hands whose controlling head,
with all its powers of acquisition, lacks
the divine instincts of insight and genero-
sty, though Shackleton was not the man
to cloud his gratitude by any such reflec-
tions on those who helped him.
(Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton.)
77
Christian Missions
To-day.
HERE are to-day 29,188 men and
women Protestant missionaries at
work in what is usually called the
"foreign held,†and the total budget of
the Protestant missionary societies of the
world is £14,958,102.
g These are just two totals from the new
edition of "The World Missionary Atlas,â€*
issued on March 1st through the Inter-
national Missionary Council and the Edin-
burgh House Press, 2, Eaton Gate, London,
S.W.i.
In addition to thirty large double-page
maps, prepared by the Edinburgh Geo-
graphical Institute, on which is shown in
red every Protestant mission station in
the world, the book contains over one
hundred pages of statistics, from which
one can find an answer to practically any
question, in which figures are concerned,
in connection with missionary work. The
staff of the Institute of Social and Re-
ligious Research of New York has been
engaged for three years in compiling these.
The idea of such a reference book had its
germ at the great Missionary Conference
at Edinburgh in 1910, for which a com-
paratively modest volume was prepared.
This 1925 Atlas is the third which fifteen
years’ developments have necessitated,
not only because of a general increase in
’work, but because of alterations due to
the War.
The annual contribution of the 700
Protestant missionary societies of the
world has increased approximately three-
fold since the beginning of the century.
The contributions of the chief countries
in 1923 were as follows :—The United
States, £9,736,084 ; Canada, £722,094 ;
British societies, £2,869,353; Norway,
Sweden, the Netherlands, and Switzer-
land, £780,920; and Germany, £6,395.
* £2 2s.. inland postage Is., and average postage
abroad, 3s. Of our own Publishing House.
Facts from the New Edition
of the World Missionary
Atlas.
(With a stable currency the latter’s average
contribution is about £500,000 a year.)
It will be noted that the United States
now shoulders about 65 per cent, of the
financial burden.
In 60 years the Protestant missionary
budget has risen from just under £1,000,000
to £15,000,000 a year.
The most striking increase as regards
the work in the field is in respect to
education. Pupils in schools in Asia have
increased from the beginning of this cen-
tury from 506,363 to 932,147, in Africa
from 369,650 to 899,482, and in the
Pacific region from 96,047 to 159,158. In
addition there are 22,827 students to-day,
of whom 2,233 are women, in the 101 in-
stitutions which are offering higher edu-
cation.
The 29,188 missionaries, of whom 17,744
are women, are assisted by 150,469
nationals of the countries in which they
are working. These totals include 1,157
qualified physicians from Western lands,
and 612 graduate physicians, nationals of
the country in which the work is being
carried on. These are working in 858
hospitals and 1,686 dispensaries, and
treated 4,788,258 patients in the last year
recorded.
Between eight and nine million people
are directly affected by the work of
Protestant Missions, for 8,342,378 in-
dividuals in 116 areas are recorded as
being communicants, baptized non-com-
municants, or under Christian instruction.
In 1900 the total was only 3,613,391.
When to these totals is added those of
the Roman Catholic Missions which are
likely to be available at the Vatican this
year, it will be possible to get a complete
estimate of what Christian bodies are
doing in the way of missionary work.
(Far and Near Press Bureau.)
78
Mrs. J. B. BROOKS, B.Litt.
Dr. Lilian Dingle.
Mrs. O. P, Rounsefell,
HEN the Centenary services of
the Great Union Road Church,
Jersey, were being arranged, Dr.
Lilian wrote from China, and asked that
the hymn—
Like a river glorious
Is God’s perfect Peace ;
Over all victorious
In its bright increase.
might be sung, and shortly after, Dr. Lilian
had entered into the realisation of God’s
perfect peace, also her beloved sister in
Jersey and Mrs. Hicks. Such events are
beyond our understanding. The with-
drawal of two such women as Mrs. Hicks
and Dr. Lilian from our small band of
workers on the Yunnan field, to a limited
faith, visions only loss and a retarding of
the coming of the Kingdom in China. But
God knows, and we must trust until we
can understand.
Dr. Lilian was bom in Jersey, in a home
of sunshiny Christian faith, and of love as
â– wide and all-embracing as the sea that
girds that lovely isle. During her youthful
years, with the inspiration of the example
â– of a wonderful father and mother, Mr.
and Mrs. Francis Grandin, deep spiritual
impressions were made, and when, with
their co-operation, she prepared for and
offered as a medical missionary of the
Bible Christian Church, for Yunnan, it
was the response of a radiant soul to the
call which came from God.
After training at Edinburgh, Dr. Lilian
sailed for China on January nth, 1906,
with Mr. and Mrs. Hicks, there to begin
and carry on untiringly her ministry of
healing. One fancies that 'many Chinese
women welcomed home the good friend
who had cased the load of suffering for
their poor bodies here, and tenderly taught
them of the Great Physician ; and many
to-day in Yunnan sadly mourn her loss.
After a period of valuable medical ser-
vice in England during the war and after,
Dr. Lilian again offered for China, and those
of us who were present at the session of
the Foreign Missions Committee at Wol-
verhampton will not forget her beautiful
convincing relation of the Spirit's call.
Where the Spirit led, Dr. Lilian must ever
follow. Like Madame Guyon, all other
calls were silenced.
On April 14th, 1923, she returned to her
beloved Yunnan, and there, at Chaotong,
renewed her ministry.
She loved Mrs. Hicks dearly, as did all
who knew her, and her death touched Dr.
Lilian very deeply. She wrote to her
sisters in Jersey that morning, before
taking any rest, and it was the only time
she spoke to them of fatigue. She did not
know her own call was so near. It came,
and within a few brief weeks Mrs. Hicks,
Dr. Lilian, and another sister, Miss Clara
Grandin, were translated to the limitless
services of the King in His beauty, in the
land of far-stretching distances.
Many in the Church at home who, like
myself, have known, admired, and revered
Dr. Lilian for her dauntless courage, her
unswerving fidelity to the call of the
Spirit, her love for her work, and her un-
tiring devotion to duty, keenly mourn her
loss. Two English ladies lie in our church-
yard near Chaotong ; their work abides.
Miss Raine in a letter to Miss Grandin
gives this beautiful description of the last
tributes of love paid to Dr. Lilian :—
“At nine o’clock this morning we met
in our sitting-room for an English service.
Mr. Hicks led us. Mr. Cottrell played the
organ. . . . We sang ‘ Jesus, Lover of my
soul.’ Mr. Hicks chose the happy por-
tions of the Burial Service and from
Scripture ; for, he said 'We must rejoice
Women’s Missionary Auxiliary
with the Dr. on this happy day.’ We sang
another hymn that she had often asked
for—'Through the night of doubt and
sorrow ’ ; and finished our short but
beautiful service with 'Rock of Ages.’
"Immediately afterwards we all went
into the church for a Chinese service. The
building was filled with a very reverent
crowd. Mr. Hicks again led the service,
and the Rev. John Li and Dr. Wang sat
in the rostrum. We sang ‘Lead, kindly
Light,’ and the Rev. John Li read the
23rd Psalm. Mr. Hicks gave a short
address, and Dr. Wang closed with prayer
after we had sung the hymn, ‘My faith
looks up to Thee.’
“The procession which the Chinese
formed afterwards was very impressive.
The schoolgirls and the women led the
way, then came the coffin, and after, the
men and schoolboys. Mr. Hudspeth con-
ducted the service at the graveside. Miss
Raine, Miss Barwick, Miss Squire, and Li
Shuang Mei went out with the girls, and all
through the city hymns were sung.’’
So, in our God’s Acre, in West China, lie
Samuel Pollard, Dr. Savin, Mrs. Hicks,
Dr. Lilian Dingle : Great hearts, all of
them ! L. R.
Rev. C, E, Hicks,!
The death of Dr. Dingle on December
5th, after a fortnight’s illness, left the
small group of missionaries at Chaotong
bewildered. They had only begun to re-
cover from the sorrow caused by the death
of Mrs. Hicks, and when the doctor took
ill everybody became anxious. For a few
days, however, no serious outcome was
anticipated, but latei’ it was seen that the
doctor was dangerously ill. It was difficult
to know what disease she was suffering
from, so complex were the symptoms.
Nurse Raine, herself in a weak state, and
Miss Barwick, with the help in the manage-
ment of the home of Mrs. Parsons, worked
and watched and nursed with untiring
devotion and with anxious prayer. All
was in vain, and it was our sad duty to
lay the doctor’s body in a grave beside
that of Mrs. Hicks in the hillside cemetery
about five miles from Chaotong.
Dr. Dingle came here as Dr. Lilian.
Grandin in 1906. She was filled with an
earnest desire to serve Chinese women,
and, indeed, any who were in distress.
She was slowly but surely making her
mark upon the town of Chaotong and
winning the respect and confidence of the
Chinese people when the Revolution oc-
curred, and the doctor with the other
missionaries was ordered to leave Chao-
tong for Yunnanfu. There was but little:
else to do than comply, and so the doctor,,
although very ill and confined to her bed,,
was carried out, and began the long jour-
ney through Yunnanfu to Haiphong and
Hong-Kong. Happily she recovered of her
sickness with surprising rapidity during
the tedious journey.
After some further years’ service she-
was married to Mr. Dingle, and her life-
in Shanghai was filled with deeds of love-
and mercy, and during the war she worked,
in the interests of her own country in a.
hospital in London.
The need of China was ever in her mind,,
and her mystic soul was moved again by
a very definite and very touching call to-
take up again medical work in this des-
perately needy land. Thus she came-
again to us in 1923, and took charge of.
the hospital at Chaotong and of the-
medical work at Stonegateway. She
worked with heroic devotion. The tiring
journey of six or eight hours on horseback
to Stonegateway was made month by
month in the interests of the multitude of
ordinary sufferers, and especially for the-
sake of a small group of lepers who
wTere being treated by her with tender
skill and love.* “A noble woman,†was.
the remark of Mrs. Hicks when she said
good-bye to her as she mounted her pony
on one occasion for Stonegateway. Per-
haps no better tribute can be paid. A
noble woman she certainly was, and we
cannot but sorrow that her life has ended
so early and her work on earth is finished,
so soon.
♦ See page 72.
A medical missionary is a missionary and a half, or I should say, a double missionary.
—Dr. Robert Moffatt..
80
©im©
“ He is a beautiful sample of Christian
temper; meltable to Divine things.â€
—Said of Carey by a colleague.
Students’ Missionary
Demonstration.
THE students, as will be seen, broke
all records when they held their
twenty-fifth demonstration at St.
Stephen’s Street Church, Salford, on March
25th. Both the afternoon and evening
meetings were exceptionally fine.
The Chairman for the afternoon meet-
ing was Mr. J. J. Fortune, J.P., of Wigan.
JOSEPH WARE.
should remember his
His address was
It is fitting we
daughter is in China,
optimistic and had its keynote in his words :
“We thank God and take courage.â€
The two students who addressed this
meeting were Mr. J. A. Noon and Mr.
H. T. Cook. Mr. Noon’s subject was “The
Challenge of Missions,†and the challenging
■«-
fl 7
Staff and Students, 1924-5.
P. S. Gagg, L. Davison, D. Capewell.
J. E. Trevithick, A. Hill, S. Winfield. J. Slack. H. Tomlinson, W. J. Doidge, G. Speller, E. Poad, A.T, Dale,
C. Sheffield, H. Fenton, J. Yellowley.
H. Young, H. Cleaver. H. T. Capey, J. Parkes, H, W. Charity, H. Starkie. The Matron. D. L."Collings.
E. D. Bebb. H. T. Cook, B. H. Davies, B. H Reed, J. H. Angove.
J. A. Noon, F. Harper. W. P. Beard. J. S. Yearsley. Rev. G. G. Hornby, M.A..B.D., Rev. J. T. Brewis, B.A..B.D,,
Rev. E. W. Hirst, M.A., B.Sc., Mr. W. Clunne Lees, Prof, of Eloc.. J. Ware. E. Hardy,3 R. J. Doidge.,
May, 1925.
The International Review
i note was ringing throughout. He showed
; us that in the East the sky is flushing
1 to the dawn of a new era. What is that
< era to be ? Christ is the only sure founda-
] tion upon which it can be built. Mr. Noon
then dealt with the competitive missionary
• aggression of Islam. Pointing out the
I defects of Islam, he held the heathen in
( his blindness is a better man than the
Moslem. Our question is not Shall we go
â– to the heathen ? But, Can we get there
j in time ? Shall they be Christians or
, Moslems ? The choice is ours. Each one
must see afresh that the task is imperative
and the Divine compulsion to do it.
] Mr. H. T. Cook, who has offered for
overseas, took as his subject, “Our Duty
to China.†In an address full of passionate
pleading he emphasised the fact that far
beyond the need manifested in China’s
administrative and economic difficulties,
is the need of China’s soul. Confucianism,
", the State religion, is certainly a wonderful
c philosophy. Coming as it did from a
great moralist and sage, it cannot but
have great and beneficial teaching. But
the soul needs something more than teach-
ing or philosophy. China needs the power
of Jesus Christ in her soul. China needs
t God. What are you doing that your
brothers and sisters in China may find
J God ?
A member of the choir sang “Take my
life and let it be,†with deep feeling.
Nothing could have been more appro-
j priate.
Aid. Rothwell, J.P., a member of the
Church, presided over the evening meeting.
He also has a daughter in China. He spoke
of the great impetus given of late years to
World Missions by the Christian Student
‘ movements.
The speaker was the Rev. Frank
Dymond, who is home on furlough from
China after thirty-eight years. As he
spoke to us quietly, yet with deep con-
viction, we felt that we were in the pre-
sence of a missionary hero. He began in a
reminiscent mood reminding us of the
spiritual power of the Church of his early
days. He spoke of the spirit which came
upon the Conference which sent Vanstone
and Thome to China. Can the United
Methodist Church be rebaptised and regain
some of this wonderful spiritual power
that our fathers had ? It is not intellect
that is going to save the world, but
spirituality. Mr. Dymond went on to tell
us that among China’s teeming millions
men are everywhere groping for the light.
Some have even shut themselves up for
ever in meditation. What does it mean ?
It is the soul-hunger created by God
Himself. Oh, if we could only tell the
story of redeeming grace as it ought to
be told ! No wonder some of us find it
hard not to return to J China. When we
think of the old campaigning-places the
pull is so strong. *
After Mr. Dymond’s address the students
sang the College Hymn in remembrance
of those who have gone abroad as mis-
sionaries from the College. The Principal
then led us in prayer.
As the Chairman arose to close the
meeting he expressed what we all felt
when he said, “ We have had a grand day.â€
Not the least pleasing feature of the day
was to know that all previous financial
records had been broken. This year’s
work has produced £150, an increase of
£30 on the record created two years ago.
A rash promise of a special ("supper for
record-breaking was finely fulfilled.
The International Review.*
Once more this welcome quarterly has
arrived. As strong and apposite as ever.
In March we wrote of a Chinese guest
(p. 43), Mr. T. Z. Koo. The first article
in this issue is the substance of the address
he then gave—“Chinese Education and
Work amongst Students.†It describes
well what is pending in the educational
world of China, and should be read by all
who would keep pace with missionary
thought and need. Some reflections on
the report of the Phelps-Stoke Commission
are given by Mr. J. H. Oldham, the editor,
“The Christian Opportunity in Africa.â€
These are followed by a memorial article
on Bishop Weston, of Zanzibar, by Dr.
Maynard Smith : “ The Spirit of Worship
and Reverence,†by the Rev. G. S.
Stewart, of the U.F.C. Society; The
Ethical Teaching of Dr. Schweitzer, by
Dr. A. G. Hogg ; and a comprehensive
survey of the new Missionary Atlas which
we reviewed in our last number, by Mr.
Charles H. Fahs, co-editor.
* 3s. net. 10s. 6d. per ann. 12 Farringdon Avenue, E.C.4.
82
Foreign
Secretary’s Notes.
The Shadows The Annual Executive
at Chaotong. Meeting of our mission-
aries in Yunnan was over-
shadowed by the deep sorrow and heavy
loss sustained in the recent death of two .of
their most valued and beloved colleagues,
Mrs. Hicks and Dr. Lilian Dingle. They
recorded their grief in the following reso-
lutions :—
(1) It is with the deepest sorrow that we
record the death of Mrs. C. E. Hicks, which
took place on October 25th, 1924, from
typhoid, which she probably contracted whilst
going on her errands of mercy.
Mrs. Hicks came to China in 1897, and
during all these years she has loved the
Chinese and aborigines with a wonderful
love. She was always willing and ready to
respond to need, and in this way she com-
mended the Gospel to large numbers of
women and children who would have been
reached in no other way.
We wish to place on record the deep love
which the Chinese gave to her. Mrs. Hicks’
work amongst the women and children was
one which will long be remembered. The
Chinese and we missionaries have lost a
friend and worker of the choicest character.
We are perplexed and bewildered, but we are
persuaded that her gracious influence is still
with us, and the prayer of those of us who
remain is that we may quit o.urselves
worthily.
With Mr. Hicks,
Charlie and Irene
in England, and
with Mrs. Hicks’s
home people in
Australia, we ex-
press our deepest
sympathy, and
pray that God will
sustain them and
guide them during
all the days that
lie before them.
(2) O n 1 y six
weeks after Mrs.
Hicks had left us,
we were visited
by a further cala-
mity in the death
of Dr. Lilian M.
Dingle, who suc-
cumbed to typhus
•on December 5th,
and we hereby re-
cord our deep
sense of the loss
we have sus-
tained.
She came to
West Africa tour. I.
Ministers of the Sierra Leone District at the entrance of Samaria Church.
[/?ev. C. Stedefard.
Rev. C. STEDEFORD.
China (as Dr. Grandin) in 1906, and
was permitted to spend many years in
caring’ for the women of Chao Tong and
district. When, after a time at home, she
returned to Yunnan in August of 1923, it was
a great jov to her to find many who remem-
bered with gratit-ude the service of former
years. The women and children of this city
and the many aboriginals whom she attended
on her monthly visits to Stone Gateway have
lost one whose delight was to give of her best.
We are stunned by this further loss to
our Mission, but although the clouds are
very lowering and the way is dark, we are
trusting Him â– who brought us here to guide
and sustain us.
To the sisters of Dr. Dingle at Jersey and
at Wenchow, we express our sincere sym-
pathy, and we pray that in their time of sor-
row they may find that underneath are the
everlasting arms.
It is difficult, for us to realise what such
a double bereavement must mean to a
small missionary circle. Any attempt to
do so will constrain one to pray that special
grace may sustain the faith, hope, and
courage of our brothers and sisters work-
ing in Yunnan.
It is obvious that the
Nurse Baine. events mentioned above
placed a very great strain
upon Nurse Raine. They occurred when
S3
Foreign Secretary’s Notes
i
c
1
i
I
c
i
]
c
c
I
f
r
c
I
c
t
c
I
t
J
c
S
l
c
c
i
c
c
(
t
f
1
1
I
€
1
she was in a much enfeebled state of health
on account of many months of weakness
caused by persistent attacks of malaria.
Her illness had occasioned Dr. Dingle con-
siderable anxiety. She had written to me
concerning it, and had received authority
to send Nurse to England if, in her judg-
ment, it was advisable to do so. Prior to
her death the doctor expressed her judg-
ment that it would involve too great a risk
for Nurse Raine to remain longer without a
furlough. Consequently, it has been ar-
ranged for Nurse Raine to come home a year
before the regular term of service expires.
Her journey through the province to
Yunnanfu was chequered by the usual
trouble caused by bandits. She was de-
layed at Tongchuan and required a strong
escort in order to proceed. She left Hong-
kong on the P. & 0. s.s. “Kashgar,â€
which arrived in London on April 26th.
The following sympathetic resolution was
passed by the Executive Meeting :—
That we very heartily recommend to the
Committee and Conference, Nurse N. B.
Raine, who returns to England in accordance
with recommendations left by Dr. Dingle.
We would express our deep regret at the
continued ill-health which makes it necessary
for Nurse Raine to leave the field before the
completion of her term. We give thanks to
God for the splendid service which she has
West Africa tour. 2.
The Sierra Leone District Meeting, 1925.
Centred: Rev. W. S. Micklethwaite, Rev. C. Stedeford, Rev. A. E. Dymond.
84
been able to render, and we pray that in the
homeland her health may speedily be fullv
restored. We look forward hopefully to her
return to the work to which she is so en-
tirely devoted.
Rev. A. J. Mr. Hopkins also is on his
Hopkins. way home under doctor’s
orders. Last autumn he
suffered a prolonged illness which was
threatening in its gravity. It was necessary
for him to call in Dr. Irvine, whose hospital
is 40 miles distant from Meru, and to un-
dergo two operations. On partial recovery
he spent a short time with Dr. Irvine, and
every means has been used to recruit his
health. Finally the doctor has declared
that he cannot get better without a change
to England. A furlough is expected to
bring complete restoration, because there
is nothing organically wrong. Permission
to return was cabled, and Mr. Hopkins
with his wife and son embarked on the
French boat “Chambord†on April 6th.
Mr. Cozens, who is making remarkable
progress with the language, will take
charge of the work at Meru.
The sad news comes that Mr.
Packett, the father of Mrs. Hopkins,
passed away on April 1st, only a few
days before she embarked for home.
We sympathise
deeply with Mrs.
Hopkins, whose
home-coming is
darkened by such
a deep shadow.
Mr. Packett was-
one of the stal-
warts in our
Grange Road
Church, Middles-
brough, for a
great number of
years. On ac-
count of advanc-
ing age he had
removed to More-
cambe, where he
died and is
buried. To the
widow and other
members of the
family we ex-
tend sincere con-
dolence.
The Washington Convention
I am requested to make
Mails Robbed it known that the bandits
5n Yunnan. have been robbing the
mails in Yunnan. Mr.
Hicks was officially informed that during
November alone the mails were robbed on
-eleven occasions. I have myself received
a letter with torn envelope enclosed in a
post-office packet which stated that it had
been recovered from bandits. Friends
who have written to Chaotong must reckon
on the uncertainty of their letters having
been delivered. When a letter is not
acknowledged, most probably it never
reached its destination.
-?â–
-?â–
The Washington
Foreign Missions Convention.
An outstanding event in the history of
America, and perhaps the world, was the
above gathering, January 28th to Feb-
ruary 2nd. The Missionary Review of the
World gives 28 pp. to it in the March issue.
The registered delegates numbered 3,480,
and they represented 59 Mission Boards
and 27 other organisations. The audiences
for three sessions a day numbered between
four and five thousand. The array of
speakers was only greater than the array
of themes.
“But the outstanding, characteristic of
the Convention was that its key-note from
first to last was, Jesus
'Christ as the great
missionary message and
the one hope for the
world. No note of
theological disagreement
was struck; Christ was
•exalted as the Son of
God and the only-
sufficient Saviour for
•every race and nation.
Therefore, courage and
faith marked the Con-
vention ; courage to
undertake difficult pro-
blems and faith in
ultimate victory.â€
Many nuggets of utter-
ance are given us. Here
is one. Shorter ones will
appear later.
Creeds in a Nutshell.
The finished products
of the different faiths
ruling the mind of man may be stated
as follows :—
Greece said : Be moderate—know’thyself.
Rome : Be strong—order thyself.
Confucius : Be superior—correct thyself.
Buddha : Be disillusioned—annihilate
thyself.
The Hindu: Be separated—merge thyself.
Mohammed : Be submissive—bend thyself.
Judaism : Be holy—conform thyself.
Materialism : Be broad—cultivate thyself.
Christianity : Be Christ-like—give thyself.
Dr. E. Stanley Jones,
Lucknow, India.
West Africastour. 3. [R«v. C. Stedeford.
We arrive at Bola. (An umbrella is held over the head of the chief.)
85
The Chinese
New Year.
TO-DAY is China’s New Year’s Day.
It is the most marked day for the
people of this Empire. It is the one
day on which China lays down its work
and rests. In busy towns and quiet vil-
lages there is silence. People sit quietly
indoors by the charcoal fires or, given a
sunny day, they lounge or squat in the
sun with bodies relaxed, and, it is greatly
to be feared, with minds vacant. Not
many people are on the streets. A few
fathers with their little children, who seek
the masks or wooden swords, which have
been the New Year playthings for many
centuries. Not many new things appear
in far-distant Chaotong, but to-day there
are rubber dolls, picture books, gay
little pasteboard ponies, crayons, mouth-
organs, and other novelties, mostly of
either German or Japanese manufacture.
But for most of the people the price is
prohibitive. Standing by a stall I heard
a youth ask the price of a tiny rubber doll
with a squeak inside it. “Fifty cents,â€
said the vendor. The lad put it down.
Fifty cents ! probably the equal of two
days’ wages. Here and there, and almost
The Yunnan Lake. [Rev. W. H. Hudspeth, M.A.
86
Rev.
C. E. HICKS.
everywhere, groups of men crouching
over dice are to be met with. Indoors and
out, this New Year holiday is a great
gambling time, and many and fierce are
the quarrels that develop in consequence.
To-day in Chaotong the centre of in-
terest seems to be the United Methodist
Preaching Hall. It has been cleaned up
a little, and a number of posters, illus-
trating the thoughts and principles of
Christianity and the value of the Bible
have been pasted up. Each has descrip-
tive letterpress, and, maybe, a Gospel
thought will enter the mind of some idle
reader and will work to his spiritual
enlightenment.
But to-day is not an ordinary New
Year’s Day for the Chinese people. It is
a day of special significance which will be
without much doubt the subject of many
newspaper articles and sermons and ad-
dresses. It is not only the beginning of
a year, but it is also the beginning of a
cycle. As is well known, the Chinese
divide time into periods of sixty years,
each year having its special designation,
and last night ended a cycle, and to-day
a new beginning is made. Some months
ago rumours began to spread that the end
of the cycle would mean the end of the
world : a fear seized rich and poor, learned
and ignorant. That spasm has passed,
and China seems inclined to go along her
careless way as hitherto. Possibly none
of the crowd that will throng the streets
during the next few days will reflect much
on what has happened to China during
the past sixty years. The struggle for
life is so keen for most, and the know-
ledge of the world so slight, that only the
things immediately before them claim any
attention. Yet it has been a memorable
cycle. Great happenings have taken place.
To the Christian the occupation of China;
bv missionary forces is, of course, the-
most significant. The Church is here,,
feeble, imperfect, undeveloped, disappoint-
ing to those who compre it with the ideal1
Church, but, surely, the Church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, full of rich possibility*
for the future of the nation. To the poli-
tician the most noteworthy event was,
presumably, the overthrow of the Manchu
dynasty and the setting up of the Republic
of China. How high did the hopes of
Missionary Intercession
the young men who organized this revolt
reach, and, alas, how deeply have they
fallen during the last few years. To-day
one is tempted to regard China as a fester-
ing sore in the international body politic,
and to despair of any quick return to
health. The whole country is overrun
with brigands and trade is sadly ham-
pered. The cost of living in remote places
like Chaotong is rising alarmingly and the
people are sad. It was noticeable this
year that very few of the villagers return-
ing home carried any calico for new
clothes. Large bundles of cabbage, a
chunk or two of bacon, some paper cash,
and a few candles to offer to the idols,
but no clothing. This has become too
expensive, being three and four times its
usual price, so the people go ragged, and
some, indeed, must remain indoors be-
cause they have not even rags to wear.
Opium, too, has returned to republican
China—not by the choice of the people but
by the will of the rulers. Undoubtedly
even debauched Chaotong heaved a sigh
of relief when, in 1910, opium was sup-
pressed, and the drug became so scarce
that ordinary persons could not get it.
Mothers were very glad that their young
sons would grow up without the tempta-
tion of opium, and for a few years even
the lethargic Yunnanese brightened up
and took a new interest in life. Now we
are back in the dreary years before 1910,
and opium is everywhere, and the whole
town is becoming drugged.
So the New Year and the new cycle
open for us, not with radiant hope, but
with strange unlooked-for fear and
trembling. Yet God reigns, and in Him
we will trust.
A letter has come from Manchester, initi-
aled H. T. C. ; no address. Will the sender
write again?
The Rev. A. E. J. Cosson gratefully ac-
knowledges £1, E. G., for Missionary
Demonstration in London.
Missionary Intercession.
He that loseth his life, for My sake
shall find it.—Matt. 10/39.
It matters little what we think of God. It
is what God thinks of us that matters. He
is beyond our praise or blame. But if He
blames us it is not willingly : and He is
swift to commend us if He can. One little
grain of faith and His compassions flow forth
to meet it—a great river of love, clear as
crystal.
A. C. Benson. (House of Menerdue.)
May 3.—For the District Meetings.
That they may have adequate vision of
and prayer for our overseas work.
Psa. 89; 1-14.
May 10.—That the churches may have
right conceptions of our Home work.
Pp. in Report, 31-4. Rev. T. Sunderland,
Mai. 3.
May 17.—Tong Shan School. Mr..
Principal Redfern, M.Sc. 76, 7. 1 Tim. 4.
May 24.—Our work in Yung Ping-
District, North China. Rev. J. K. Robson^
M.D. He, with Mrs. and Miss Robson,
leave on furlough, by the French
Maritime "Andre Lebron,†on the 7th
inst. 44, 5. Acts 9: 10-29.
Two missionaries are invalided home.
Rev. A. J. and Mrs. Hopkins left East
Africa by the “ Chambord †on April 6th,
and Nurse Raine left Hong-Kong, March
21st, by the “ Kashgar.†(See pp. 83, 4.)
PRAYER.
That the Chinese Government and Christian
educators in China, both having at heart the
true well-being of the country and people,
and the sincere desire to train the coming
generation for that end, may frame systems
of education which shall be mutually
acceptable.
That men and women may come forward
to take up religious work among Chinese
students ; that time and opportunity may be
found to form closer personal relations
between staff and students in Christian
colleges ; that the Christian Church and
Christian students may draw closer together
for their mutual help and strength.
Wayfaring
in Shantung. ernest richards.
HE vast area of this circuit, about
2,000 square miles, involves a lot
of cart-travel, and many days spent
on the road. Two of our recent trips
have been interesting.
We have hired some premises in a vil-
lage north-east of Wu Ting Fu, named
Huang Sheng Tien. The opening cere-
mony was arranged, and Mr. Godfrey and
I set out from Chu Chia Tsai just after
sunrise to Yanghsin (110 li). Here we
slept in the church, and next morn pre-
pared for the 70 li stage to Huang Sheng
Tien. The Yangsin mandarin persisted
in supplying us with an escort of soldiers.
We had a long discussion with his ser-
vant on this question the previous night.
He could not understand us when we said
the escort was not at all necessary, and
must have thought we were holding out
.for a bigger one as he returned to offer
us ten men instead of the original two.
All our discussion got us no “forarder,â€
so we reluctantly allowed ourselves to be
accompanied by the two soldiers. We
should have been much safer in- an emer-
gency without them, for when we travel
alone, the robbers do not know on what
we depend for safety, but if they think we
rely on soldiers, they know that they are
more than a match for them. Anyway,
we did not see the brigands nor much of
our escort for that matter, though the
People outside a church
in North China.
latter turned up at the boundary of the
hsien for their tip.
We arrived without mishap, and found
a number of our preachers already there.
The new room was in the main street of
the village, and had been cleaned and
whitewashed, much of this being done by
the resident preacher and his friends.
This is a fine exhibition of the effects of
Christianity, as any Chinese, with how-
ever slight pretentions to scholarship,
does not readily do’ manual work in this
land where labour is cheap. The room
was hung with paper-scrolls with greet-
ings written on them in the beautiful
Chinese character ; these were sent by
neighbouring churches ; paper flowers
had also been made bv our scholars at
Ta Mc> Li Chia, and these were worn by
the Christians present. That these flowers
were as big as cabbages did not in any
way make them less attractive.
After a good chat and prayer with the
preachers, we slept soundly in a small
ante-room of the church, wakening next
morning to hear bustling preparations
being made for the joyful doings of the
day. A supply of cakes was laid in,
water was merrily boiling for the tea
which has to be drunk on all festive occa-
sions. Breakfast over, we were all ready,
and gladly greeted guests. At about 10
o’clock a.bunch of crackers was let off
in the street out-
side, and the people
began to gather
round. They filled
the little hall and
others lined up
outside. We sang
hymns, Rev. D. V.
Godfrey, Rev.
Chang Tsun Shih,
and various friends
gave greetings. An
official from the
military, a non-
' hristian, wished
the cause success.
Then came the
gramophone (not
describable, and
for those who have
not heard Chinese
music, not imagin-
88
Wayfaring in Shantung
able), tea drinking, general good will
and greetings, congratulation of our-
selves on the event, — and so the
church was opened. A three-days’ fair
followed, of which our preachers
took full advantage, keeping the
hall open for services and conversa-
tion. Huang Sheng Tien suffered under
the last flood, but that has proved a bene-
fit, as the soil, before practically until-
lable, has now a deposit of fairly rich soil
on the surface, so this district now enjoys
a little period of prosperity. Our work is
pushing out this way and looks most
hopeful. We worked back via Yangh-
sin and Chung Chia, holding services
where possible, and landed home after six
days’ absence, having travelled 360 li (20
li = 7 miles).
The second trip was taken about a
month after. First to Wu Ting Fu for
Quarterly meeting. All the preachers
present, the usual brigand stories,—
otherwise the reports were quite good.
In Wu Ting Fu itself we had trouble at
the school. The scholars are quite con-
vinced that they are more capable of
working the school than are the respon-
sible persons : this is just a little touch
of the new spirit in China, but we did not
quite recognise this ability. We stayed
a day here, and went into the city to look
at our work there. Market proceeding,
hall opened, good crowd listening to the
preaching.
We set out from here for a baptismal
trip. We were two foreign pastors—
Rev. D .V. Godfrey, and myself, and the
Chinese pastor from Wu Ting Fu, Rev.
Chang-tsun-shih.
At our first destination we were met at
the village entrance by the scholars and
our members. After food and conversa-
tion, Pastor Chang- proceeded to examine
the candidates for baptism — seven
scholars, and one old man. The scholars
had been well taught. Here the day
school has been built by the village, but
we supply the teacher and teach' our own
doctrine. The arrangement works admir-
ably, and the people are most amicable.
Service followed, Mr. Godfrey and Pastor
Chang preached, and I baptized. The vil-
lage was named Wa Tung Liu Chia.
Next day on to Pao T’ou. Here we
found the river frozen, but would not risk
our buggy crossing. We had to stay on
the north side at a small village—Liu
Chia. Here they had not seen a foreigner
before, and now to get two at once, well,
a circus would not make more excitement
among children at home, and even the
elders pressed in for a view. There was
no regular “prophet’s chamber†at this
place, we have no church here ; so they
did what they could to find an empty
room. We were given our choice and re-
jected the shop with its many smells,
Chinese tobacco at the moment predomi-
nating, in favour of a room containing
firewood and farming tools. It is true
that there was no window paper, and that
the temperature was bitterly cold, but
known dangers are preferable to un-
known, and we knew the worst. Mean-
while the small boys had called up their
friends, and each motion of our eating-
tools was impeded by a pressing youth.
A reference to manners had slight effect,
which is usual here. Our “boy†said,
as if he had a couple of performing bears,
“The Pastors can be seen to-morrow,â€
but on the “bird-in-the-hand †principle,
they preferred to stay and look their fill.
Supper ended, we taught them to sing
“Jesus loves me!â€â€”a great standby—
and Mr. Godfrey repeated and expounded
the “Lord’s Prayer ; we invited them to
go with us next morning to worship, and
then went to bed to get warm. The next
day was Sunday, but the sun did not
show himself. The people having no
clocks, judge when it is time for church
by the light—the more distant worshippers
cannot hear the gong—so when we landed
at the church at nine o’clock, the preacher
said that according to the light we were
two hours too early. We managed to
get started after waiting 21 hours—not so
bad for China.
The cause here is new and is very
flourishing. The preacher told us that
the number of those who wished for bap-
tism went into the second hundred. He
had selected 24, men who looked to be
of the middle-class, shopkeepers and
farmers. The average age was about
40. One or two had been to France dur-
ing the war, and these men are easily dis-
tinguished by their more upright bearing
and keener interest in things outside
their own circle Here also we were
struck bv a very happy and smiling
Christian among the candidates. Really
Engineer as Missionary
smiling faces are rare here. The life of
the people is hard, and does not leave
much energy for smiling, but this man
was happy all the time ; it did us good.to
look at him.
We had our faithful audience to see us
eat our mid-day meal, and then on to Ta
Mo Li Chia. Here is an old cause—late
L.M.S. The wealthy man of the villige,
Mr Pao, is a great worker. He was
formerly a preacher with the L.M.S., but
returned to take up his possessions in his
native village. He sent across some coal
from his own house to make us comfort-
able in the schoolroom, so we set our
beds near to the stove. This is a good
village ; there are practically no idol wor-
shippers. It is estimated that a fair
average of the inhabitants would be :
6 United Methodist, 3 Roman Catholic,
1 non-Christian. The village enjoys im-
munity from brigandage. The reason
suggested was that the robbers had no
confederates in the village, and also that
the brigands understood, though but
vaguely, that the Christian teaching
brought good to China. Here we had a
crowded service, good singing, 9 scholars
and 2 children for baptism. The latter a
very hopeful sign.
Next morning on to P’ing Chia for a
mid-day service with 5 baptisms. This
is a very poor district, but the men seem
keen on their little church.
Evening to Chan Hua, a city church.
These city places are much more difficult
than the country. The people are not so
honest, indeed liusiness life here is such
as to make it hard for a man to be a
Christian. The Christian standard is a pro-
found mystery to many of the people.
Here we christened our preacher’s little
child. Met another member of the Pao
family, who is auditing the hsien ac-
counts. The mandarin has disappeared
and a good many thousand dollars as well.
Next morning early on to Feng Chia
Tien. Snow on everything, a very pretty
sight. In this village we have a temple
which has been converted into a church
and school. Here is a good cause. Had
a bright young man up for baptism. There
were three others baptized.
Thence to Chu Chia Tsai. This section
struck me as most hopeful, especially Pao
T’ou and Ta Mo Li. No great rushing
to enter the church, but real progress in
spite of difficult conditions. The flood
has not reached us, but the war has not
improved the situation. We entered one
village and asked the usual question,“Are
you at peace? †and the answer was that
they thought they might dare to say so,
as they had not seen the brigands for two
days.
The Wu Ting Fu Circuit has great, not
sensational, opportunities ; there is every
hope of steady progress being made.
We had ten days’ journeying : 54 bap-
tims : and covered 467 li—164 miles.
Engineer as Missionary.
Mr. Robert Williams, the eminent
engineer, speaks of Christian Missions
with knowledge and authority. He has
been more than 40 years one of the
pioneers of civilization in Central Africa.
As friend and co-worker of the late Mr.
Cecil Rhodes he took a prominent part in
constructing the Cape-to-C'airo railway,
and is now supplementing that work by
laying down a line along what he rightly
described as the “blood-stained road
beaten by the feet of countless slave
gangs †from Katanga to Benguella. Mr.
Williams has thus been for more than a
generation brought into close contact with
the work of the Christian missionaries,
and his glowing tribute to their efforts to
uplift the blade man and to the results of
their labours is all the more striking on
that account.
Not infrequently scoffing comment is
made by critics of foreign missions on the
failure of the Christian evangelists to
effect a permanent improvement on the
natives that come under their control. The
mission “boy†is contrasted unfavourably
with the “raw nigger †; but Mr. Williams
indulges in no cheap gibes of that kind.
On the contrary, he speaks in the highest
terms of the products of the mission
schools, and describes the Christian mis-
sions as “beacons radiating good will †in
the Dark Continent- Even more striking
in some respects was the distinguished en-
gineer’s endorsement of the view of that
greatest of Scottish missionaries, David
Livingstone, that the only way to elevate
the black man, and at the same time to
abolish slavery, was to build roads into
the heart of Africa. That is Mr. Wil-
liams’ task.
(Missionary Press Bureau.)
Sir Alexander Hosie,
M.A., LL.D., F.R.G.S.
Died March 10th.
SIR Alexander Hosie, whose death
we announced last month, pos-
sessed a more intimate knowledge
of the interior of China than was ever
acquired by any other member of the
British Consular Service, past or present.
Few Englishmen associated with China
have left a finer record of untiring
-devotion to the public interest.
Born on January 16th, 1853, at Inverurie
he was educated at the Grammar School,
Old Aberdeen, graduating at Aberdeen
University in 1872. In 1876 he was ap-
pointed a member of the Consular Service
in China, another successful competitor
in the same examination being Sir John
Jordan, who rose to be British Minister in
Peking.
Mr. Hosie had an observant mind, a
special knowledge of economic botany,
and a passionate love of travel. Oppor-
tunity was not long in coming. First
stationed in Chunking, he travelled through
Western China, and the valuable official
reports of his journeys, containing much
â– original information, were issued ultimately
in his well-known book, "Three Years in
Western China.†Appointed to the Con-
sulate at Newchwang, he travelled in
Manchuria, studied the country, the re-
sources of which are as varied as those of
Canada, and embodied his researches in
•another book, “ Manchuria : its People,
Resources, and Recent History.â€
In the year after the Boxer insurrection,
1901, Mr. Hosie was again at Newchwang,
and by his good sense, firmness, and ur-
banity smoothed away difficulties, gain-
ing the complete confidence of his own
â– countrymen. In 1902 he was promoted to
be the first Consul-General for the Pro-
vince of Szechwan, with headquarters at
Chengtu. Here he made elaborate study
of the conditions of trade of this the rich-
est province in the Empire, and once more
gave to the world a careful account of his
studies and researches. His report upon
Szechwan, with its study of the opium and
other questions, and his intimate account
of his journey to the Tibetan border, are
perhaps the most important British con-
tributions of recent years to an exact
knowledge of inland China.
When, in 1905, Mr. Hosie was appointed
Acting Commercial Attache in China; the
choice was universally approved. His
knowledge of China’s vegetable products—
grains, fibres, vegetable oils in their im-
mense variety—has never been rivalled,
and during the time he held this important
post he increased his reputation. He was
the means of introducing huskless oats
and barley into Great Britain. His
knowledge and experience were always
ungrudgingly placed at the service of
British merchants. His reports and advice
must have increased the trade of this coun-
try to the extent of hundreds of thousands
of pounds. His three reports on the trade
of China, 1904-5, 1906, 1907, earned him
a knighthood in 1907.
When, in 1908, the Opium Conference
assembled in Shanghai, Sir Alexander
read a paper on opium which was con-
sidered to be the most important con-
tributed to the Conference. At the end of
the Conference he came home on furlough,
but returned a year later as Special Com-
missioner to investigate the extent of
opium production in China. In 1915 he
published a narrative of these journeys,
entitled, “ On the Trail of the Opium
Poppy.†He retired in 1912, but served
again as Special Attache from November,
1919, to February, 1920. He returned
with his health impaired and had to have a
foot amputated. His last important work
was a commercial map of China, highly
appreciated by business firms.
Sir Alexander married, first, in 1887,
Florence Lindsay; she died in 1905,
leaving a son ; and, secondly, in 1913,
Dorothea, daughter of the Rev. W. E.
Soothill, Professor of Chinese at Oxford
University.* Lady Hosie, who was born
in China, published about a year ago a
book called "Two Gentlemen of China,â€
in which she drew a charming picture of
the happy domestic life to which, she had
been admitted on terms of the fullest in-
timacy.—Abridged from the Times.
*See Jan., p. 19.
91
Three
Exhibition-Bazaars.
THE Editor says that his request for
an article on the three Bazaars
and Exhibitions recently held at
Halifax, Brighouse, and Huddersfield
for the Special £30,000 Fund, is made
in the hope that other districts may
be encouraged to resort to this or other
means of raising their quota before the
Fund closes at Conference. In the same
hope the request is acceded to. However
unfavourable financial conditions may be,
Districts will desire in such a cause to
leave no avenue unexplored along which
some measure of success may be achieved.
It is late—but may not be too late—to
overtake a misconception as to the main
purpose of the £30,000 Fund. Some have
understood that it is entirely foi' extension
work, and will thus commit us permanently
to increased liabilities. But the Fund will
tend to save, rather than to increase,
ordinary expenditure, by strengthening
established causes and consolidating posi-
tions already won. Nothing is so wasteful,
in schools, hospitals, and churches, as
out-of-date or inadequate equipment. The
Fund will enable missionaries to make the
most of present resources
A year ago, the Halifax-Bradford District
Rev. WALTER HALL.
found that the Circuits, with a few bright
exceptions, had not obtained the amounts
allocated to them, and that little more
could be expected through them. But of
the £3,000 promised by the District, only
£1,200 had been received. The Bazaars
and Exhibitions, therefore, were decided
upon, and, in a time of industrial depres-
sion, they have added over £1,000 to the
Fund, and instructed, interested, and in-
spired many in our Missionary enterprise.
The Exhibition section, though unam-
bitious, has been helpful. It has not been
a source of income, but has ensured, we
trust, a future increase in ordinary funds.
The experience of other Societies which
have arranged such exhibitions supports
this hope. Moreover, the Exhibition
section has witnessed to the relation of
special efforts to ordinary income. A
combined Bazaar and Exhibition has
served the purpose of both.
Subsequent events may prove that the
immediate financial result is the least
fruitful outcome of the efforts. People
who had resisted other forms of^appeal
have yielded easily to the pertinacity with
which they have been assailed. £ In ', the
name of the Kingdom, eye-gate and_ear-
West Africa tour. 4.
Travelling in the interior.
The Secretary was present at Huddersfield on the opening day This shows
him in another place. One method of travelling in Sierra Leone.
92
A Missionary Hymn
.gate have been subjected to varied methods
of attack. There were curios from Africa
and China, the West Indies and the East
Indies—a few hired, most lent privately,
or by Missionaries through the good offices
•of the Editor of the “Echo.†Short talks
have been given by Missionaries, ex-Mis-
sionaries, Ministers, Doctors, and Nurses,
in African, Chinese, Indian, and Medical
â– Courts. Lantern Lectures on all our
Mission Fields, by Mr. C. Eastwood,
F.R.G.S., of Manchester, were a marked
feature at Halifax and Huddersfield. The
British and Foreign Bible Society dis-
played translations of the Scriptures by
•our own Missionaries on a stall of exhibits
under the care of their District Repre-
sentative, Rev. H. K. Marsden, M.A.
The. sale of Missionary Literature, supplied
by our Book-room, was also a promising
â– department.
Every scholar received a printed in-
vitation to “See Africa and China†at a
'reduced price for admission ! Lantern
Lectures to Children and demonstrations
by the children themselves, made an
â– irresistible appeal. The following repre-
sentations were found helpful: "Children
■of the Far-off Land†; “Parbati and her
English Doll, and Six Months After†;
The League of the World’s Children ;
A Chinese Girls’ School; Doubts Dispelled,
•or a Cruise on a Carpet; "The Seventh
Moon Festival.â€
And lo ! when seeking one thing, an
â– impressive discovery was made of another.
Through these efforts, some declare that
the work at home will be benefited even
more than the work overseas ! In re-
sponding to the wider appeal, churches
have been delivered from their local cares
and fears ; or, in the light of our Lord’s
world-purpose, they have seen them in
truer proportions. Circuits have come
together for a cause greater than any
or all of them; for a time, they have
thought in terms of the Kingdom. Fellow-
ships have been formed and understandings
reached as helpful to the work at home as
they are full of promise for that abroad.
1 The District W. M. A. rendered special
service by “Snowball†teas for the ex-
penses fund ; while the cost of effective
handbooks was defrayed by advertise-
ments therein.
A host of workers in the District—none
an expert at such a task—have been
blessed through their own labours. They
are too numerous to name, and are too
conscious of a richer reward already to
need such poor thanks as are tendered
here. Their cheerfulness in discharging
lowly tasks revealed that the Lord had
met them in the way, and enabled them
to relate their drudgery to the glories of
His Kingdom.
“Often the whole energy of the Church
is occupied,†as Dr. Henry Cowan says it
was in the 16th century, “with the
struggle for existence ; nevertheless, mis-
sionary neglect is a blot upon her, and
helps to arrest her progress. ... In an
age of religious apathy, no better means
will be found of strengthening faith and
kindling devotion than an increased anxiety
in the Church’s genuine membership to
fulfil the ‘marching orders’ of her Risen
Lord.â€
A Missionary Hymn.
6.6.6.6.8.8.
Tune : Samuel or Millennium.
When all was waste and fear
And savage cruelty
Within these islands dear ;
Came o’er the misty sea
Great hearts who loved the Christ and then
Loved for His sake their fellow men.
To-day, because they came,
The beast of strife lies dead,
The cruel Druid flame,
The rites of blood, are fled,
And kindly Home with shelter warm
Glows for the wanderer through the storm.
Although the heart of man
Be hard and evil still,
And in our land doth plan
And nourish many an ill,
All that is ours of good and fair
They gave, who brought the Gospel there.
And Honour bids requite
Their chivalry in kind,
Send forth the gladdening Light
Where darkened man gropes blind ;
That all the world may share our Peace,
And Love the Saviour’s reign increase.
W. H. Hamilton.
—British Weekly (by permission).
93
Chinese War Horrors.
Christians Spared.
Rev.
T. W. SLATER.
WE borrow our head-lines from a
recent issue of the Times. They
were used there in bold type to
preface a most remarkable article
from their Peking correspondent on the
awful evils the people are suffering at the
hands of rival bands of brigands, that call
themselves armies ; but who are merely
savages of the lowest degree, with no
motive but loot, in pursuit of which they
display a fiendish cruelty and destructive
wantonness that baffle description. . Two
things deeply impressed us as we read this
vivid story told in the Times. And the
first one was that a godless civilisation is
helpless in itself to establish righteous
government, maintain good order, and
administer justice. That fact finds its
latest proof in the unspeakable muddle
and hopeless confusion now existing in
China and dignified by the name of govern-
ment ; but the fact itself is old as time
and coeval with our race. A civilisation
without Christ, a government with God
left out, may call itself by any name it
pleases—its failure and the misery of its
mis-ruled people are only a question of
time. For its guidance and uplift, the
stability of its government, and the well-
being of its people, China needs the
ministry of our Missionaries, the message
of the Gospel, the salvation of our God.
Where the grace of God has done its
work in a community, there is order,
safety, and well-being; elsewhere, con-
fusion, peril, and death. Look on this
picture and on that drawn by the Times
Peking correspondent.
Some seventy miles west of the Peking-
Hankow Railway, there is a place called
Kiahsien. The brigands scaled its walls
and took full possession of the city. They
signalised their entry by butchering hun-
dreds of the inhabitants. After a month’s
occupation they left, and a few days
following, the place was visited by the
Times correspondent, and this is the
account of what he found :
“ It is impossible to describe the desolation,
the wanton destruction, the devilish brutality
exhibited everywhere. The city is just an
empty’’ shell of drab mud and brick houses,
many of them ruined beyond repair. Every-
thing of value was taken, and what they
could not take they destroyed. In one welD
alone we found the corpses of forty-two men,,
women and children who in terror of the in-
vaders had drowned themselves.â€
Now look at his second picture.
“ The most remarkable and outstanding fact
in this dreary story of murder, rape and wan-
ton destruction is the way the mission com-
pounds have remained intact and the mis-
sionaries unharmed; and while the native-
Christians have been spared suffering and
death, their heathen neighbours have experi-
enced the tortures of hell. The Kiahsien
mission station was the only place in the
city where there was any order, where mur-
der, rape and pillage were not the rule of
the day. In the chapel and schoolrooms were
crowded over 500 persons, men, women and
children, shut in day after day. Two babies
were born and three persons died during this-
time. Finally, the chief of the brigands was
moved to permit these Christian people to
get away; and he himself, with a bodyguard'
of his soldiers, escorted them out of the city.
This to me appears as much of a miracle as
Peter escaping out of the prison, as related
in Acts xii.â€
Thank God for such a testimony,
printed in large type, in the most promi-
nent page of England’s greatest news-
paper. And that was the second thing"
that deeply impressed us as we read the
article, how that the hour of peril is the-
hour that reveals the nearness of the-
Divine Presence, brings to hand the re-
sources of His gracious Providence, and
makes known to His suffering saints the-
sufficiency and power of His sustaining and'
delivering grace.
These experiences of our missionaries-
and their converts are the finest vindica-
tion we can desire of the Church’s faith in-
God’s providential care for His people,
and of His ancient and unbroken promise-
that He will be round about them as a.,
wall of fire ; that a thousand shall fall at
their side, and ten thousand at their right
hand ; but it shall not come nigh them.
The Times testimony to God’s miraculous-
deliverance of His saints reminds us of
that well-known book by the Rev. A. E.
Glover, M.A. (C.I.M.), with the significant
title, “A Thousand Miles of Miracle.â€* It
is the story of the writer’s personal ex-
perience of a supernatural power that de-
* First printed in 1904, and six impressions were demanded!
between that and 1914.
94
Luxuriant Collecting
livered him day after day and night after
night, as, with his wife and child, he found
a safe way opened before him as he jour-
neyed for a thousand miles through cities
and villages infested with maddened mobs
of bloodthirsty Boxers seeking to murder
the “foreign devils.’' Through faith and
prayer, that Power worked miracles for
him and his dear ones. They stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of
fire, escaped the edge of the sword, and
turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
A thousand miles of miracle ! And
Archibald Glover’s God is our God, as He
is the God of our brothers and sisters who
have gone to seek and save the teeming
millions of China, and who are now working
amid great tumult and imminent peril.
And our confidence is, that amid the
upheavals and emergencies that are surely
awaiting them, God's miracles of love and
wonder-working power will defeat the ends
of the evil-doers and deliver His people
who trust in His word and call upon His
name.
‘ The Lord protects, for ever near!’’
Luxuriant Collecting.
The closing of the financial year has
brought into evidence several instances of
toil in abundance. We have pleasure in
giving the following:—
Mrs. Kay, 6 Eldon Place, Leeds, sends—
1. Clifford Hall. He has been collect-
ing four years. His father is missionary
secretary of Woodhouse Carr, Leeds East
circuit. He has over 50 subscribers, and
the gifts are from |d. to ljd. per week. It
will be seen what his task is, and “ he has
never needed any prompting to do it.â€
1922 .£10 0 0
1923 . 9 8 6
1924 . 11 0 0
1925 . 9 0 6
£39 9 0
Average : £9 17s. 6cl.
He has won the medal for being the
highest collector in the circuit for three
times in succession. Bravo ! Clifford.
The Rev. R. S. Hall sends—
2. Miss Doreen Bunt, Hill Street, New-
port, Mon. :
1916 • • £4 14 8
1917 ..5 0 0
1918 5 0 3
1919 ..6 3 2
1920 8 14 3
1921 .. 12 0 0
1922 .. 13 10 0
1923 16 10 0
1924 .. 17 10 4
1925 . 18 13 10
Ten years £107 16 6
Average : £10 15s. 8d.
In addition to this magnifies nt con-
tinuous service, Doreen has for the last
years returned the prize money due to
her. Excellent, Doreen.
3. The Rev. M. de T. Lark se nds one
“never known to be equa Church, Week St. Mary. lied, in R ehoboth
Miss Gladys Hicks. She is an cnthu-
siast, began to collect w hen a lit tie girl;
and travels many mil es in that wide
circuit year after year. Superb, Gladys.
1909 • • £1 1 0
1910 .. 1 6 0
1911 .. 1 11 0
1912 ..5 0 0
1913 5 5 0
1914 5 5 0
1915 ..5 6 0
1916 .. 5 13 6
1917 ..6 0 0
1918 ... .. 6 6 0
1919 ..7 0 0
1920 ..8 0 0
1921 ..9 0 0
1922 ..7 2 6
1923 .. 9 1 6
1924 .. 9 3 0
1925 .. 9 10 0
Seventeen years £101 10 6
Average : £5 19s. 6d.
What does this experience indicate?
1. We have an army of young folk la-
bouring thus through every year. Hearty
thanks from the Secretary.
2. That there are hundreds of quiet
souls who are willing to give periodically if
they are asked. They prefer this wav :
sometimes on the principle of a friend of
earlier days. It was suggested that for a
certain object he should give a guinea. His
reply was, “ I cannot afford a guinea, but
I will give 6d. a week for a year.†Ac-
cepted. and at the end of year he was com-
mended for what he had done. He smiled.
95
The Greatest
Gift.
For
Young Folk.
Rev.
J. B. BROOKS.
GISTEN to this fine old story that
the Fathers of Rome, long before
Jesus came, used to tell to their
children.
One day a man was standing conversing
in the Forum—the place where men used
to gather to talk and discuss, and to buy
and sell — when he suddenly noticed a
crack in the ground near him.
As he watched it, it grew visibly bigger
and wider, and out of curiosity he thrust
the stick he was holding into the gap, and
discovered that it was deeper than he at
first thought. He knelt down and thrust
in the stick as far as he could reach, but
even then could not touch the bottom.
Slowly but surely the opening not only
widened but extended, stretching farther
and farther across the Forum.
People who were passing soon noticed
the intentness of the man and his friend,
and came to see what it was that they
were so interested in. They, too, were
surprised at the strange thing, and re-
mained looking on in wonder at the great
rent in the earth that, like the mouth of
some huge living monster, slowly opened
wider and wider and extended farther and
farther.
Ere long a great crowd had gathered,
and fear and superstition began to spread
among them as they puzzled over the
strange and silent happening. Then some-
one thought of the soothsayers, or wise
men, and an urgent message was sent to
bring them, that they might explain the
portent.
The wise men came, and saw, and con-
sulted together. Then one of them came
forward and told the people that the gods
were angry because of the evil conditions
existing in Rome, and unless their anger
was stayed the rent would go on widening
and extending until the whole city was
engulfed.
So the fears and awe of the people were
increased and spread throughout the city,
and men began to debate what they
should do to stay the anger of the gods.
The soothsayers were duly questioned,
and they consulted the divine oracle, and
the answer came, “Pay homage by the
sacrifice of your most precious posses'
sions.â€
So the people, rich and poor alike,
brought of their household treasures, their
ornaments and trinkets, their silver and
golden vessels, and piled them on the edge
of the gulf, and they were pushed over
and swallowed up as an offering to the
gods.
But still the gulf continued to widen
and extend, and the people of the city
began to be in despair, when suddenly
•there was a great clatter and, making for
the scene of the trouble, a horse and horse-
man in fine apparel appeared in view.
The horseman was Metius Curtius, one of
the noblest, wealthiest, and bravest of the
young men of Rome. He urged his horse
through the great crowd eagerly, and on
reaching the edge of the chasm, without
a moment of hesitation touched the
horse’s flank, and, with a great leap,
sprang into the gulf. In a moment horse
and horseman had disappeared out of
sight. Then immediately, the gulf began
to close, until soon nothing but a crack
was left, and even that at last closed up,
and no sign was left on the ground of the
Forum to show what had once happened
there.
That is the story the Fathers of Rome
told their children at a time when the life
of the city was far from pure and good ;
and it was told to show that the city could
only be cleansed and saved by the best
children and youths and maidens giving
their lives to the gods, not in dying in
the way Curtius did, but by striving in
every way, even if it meant suffering and
death, to make and keep Rome worthy
and great.
And the old story has just the same
thrilling message for our own day. Child-
ren, youths, and maidens, you, in Christ’s
name, are to be the saviours of your own
village, town, or city, of your own country,
of the world in which you live, from sin
and misery and sordid aims. It is you
and those who are coming on and growing
up with you who must save the world
from being engulfed by these things, by
your efforts, your sacrifices, and your
noble lives^
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