History of the United Brethren in Christ of California, for a Period of Thirty Years Together with an Article on The Chinese Question tihvavy of t:be Cheolcjical Seminar jp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Rufus H. LeFevre 'AN 'asfisr^-^S •3ui soaa ay jiavo Aq p&ir.iooi luovv INnOWOlOHd OF California, FOR A PERIOD OF THIRTY YEARS. Together with an Article The Chinese Question BY Editor of the ^'■Pacific Teleacopey SACRAMENTO: Vallkv Prkss Book and Job Printi.vi; Office. 1S79. ^oV)e4Phi/,p SEALS. ST£/\/C/LS,£tc, Jf^Qf?AVlf/^^J£WELRY, TleExaDllieiiiatllcMellioiofCiire nown Also known as Baunscheidtism. ^hed States A Certain Cure for all Diseases. In diseases of recent origin, as veil as in chronic alTectious, viiich liave defied ;ill salves. niedican)ents & treatment, tliis niethoil of cure may l)e confidently resorted toas the last ancho: of salvation. Thousands of invalids whom the doctors had jriven up as hopeless, have saved their lives and heen restored to full health by means of this treatment. I An acRount of the wond^.'ful cures which have| been brought about by this treatment, as also tlie necessary instructions for self-treatment fur all diseases, is contained in my book of instrucl tion, or .'ManinU, 11th edition, a.50 paces. For an Instrument, the Resuscitator with glided Needles, and hottle of Oleum, of the very best I quality, and a Kook of Instruction, Htli edition ; with Appendix coneernin^r the eye and the ear,; their diseases and treatment hv the Kxanthe-j ! matic Method of Cure, ..."-.- (ts.oOl Free by mail. - - - - ^.S-'itl .\ single hottle ot Oleum, free by mail, !sil.7.'J| H.y e.Kjiress (not h-ec) - - 91.50| A Manual without Instrument & Oleum, i free by mail, , - - - -S'i.vja! fpf^To prnlrrt yoiirselj ai/diiist (lriii;i/. — Permanencg a Query. — The Conference of 1873 Omitted. — Paul's Exhortation. — The Case of G. C\ Starr.— The Toils of J. W. Harrow and J. L. Field. — The Conference of 1874.— Z)r. Edwards and his Wonderful Lingual Powers. — Elisha loilh us still. — Pev. Phil. Beck joins the Con- ference. — J. L. Field's Adventure v)ith a Panther. — The Centennial. — Grand Preparations. — ^4 Word of Peflcction as to our Success. — The Aggressive Conflict. — Sabbath Afternoon Centenary Exercises. — Dr. Edwards on the Stand again. CHAPTER IX. The Conference of 187o. — Help comes at Last. — 'The Fields of Labor named. — Four Years' Work briejly reviewed. — Pev. A. 3Iusselman in Sacramento City. — Field and Becker preach in the City. — Rev. T. J. Bauder joins our Panks. — The Conferences of 1876 and 1877. — An Error corrected. — The Presiding Eldership. — A View of Bishop Castle. — The Conference of 1878. — The Enterprising Village of Woodbridge. — Committee on the School Question. — The Chinese Question. CIIAl'TER X. Pev. D. D. Jlirt added to the Workers. — A Glance into the Past. — A State- ment and some Reports of the Work of the Conference of 1879.— Co?i- tcmplatcd 31onumcnt to the Memory of Sloa.nc. — An Endowment Fund suggested. — The "-Pacific Telescope." — Facts in Figures. — Empty Fields. Woodbridge Seminary. — Tlte Higher Life. — Sister Castle and Sister Sloane. — Conclusion. HISTOKY OF THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST IN OALIFOKNI^. By Rev. H. J. BECKER. CHAPTER I. NLY two of the spies that were sent to view the promised land returned with favorable reports. The others were not favorably impressed with the land, and more especially did they seem to be terrified at the appearance of the mighty giants that were roaiiing about, to whom they appeared " but as grasshoppers." There are multiplied numbers of sojourn- ers who come and go from our State with a variety of reports differing from those of others as the various localities differ from each other in both their natural re- sources and their climatic influences. As we are requested to give a brief de- scription of the home of the United Brethren in this land of the "golden sunset," we will devote the first chapter to some interesting facts respecting this, the most wonderful of all States in our civil compact, a State that has indeed become the inexhaustible cornucopia of the commercial world. She is the mod- ern Ophir in her rich deposits of gold. She is the Eden of the world in the fruits of her garden, even of "every kind." The fields in her valleys and bv her mountain sides are the most fertile and productive of the earth. We have ores from mundic to galena, and from cinnibar to gold. We have "precious stones" from jasper to crystalline. We have timber from pine to mahogany, and from cherry to manzinita. Our fruit is inde- scribably delicious. Our orchards bear apples, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, cherries, prunes, figs, lemons, oranges, p©rsimmoiiS, pomegranates, and the " fruit of heaven." We raise cranberries, rasp- berries, gooseberries, blackberries, straw- berries, whortleberries, mulberries, dew- berries, and grapes of every kind. The vegetables are those of a semi-tropical country. Among others, we have pota- toes, turnips, radishes, onions, parsnips, cabbages, lettuce, celery, asparagus, peas, beans, and greens of every kind. The farmers raise wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn, buckwheat, and clover (alfalfa). Our grazing lands are covered with sheep, goats, horses, and cattle. The mountains furnish the hunter with antelope, deer, bear, California lions, cougars, cata- mounts, tigers, and wildcats. We have mountain trout and river salmon, perch, sunfish, sturgeon, flounders, shell fish and shrimps in abundance. We will give our readers a statement from official sources of the magic growth and unparalleled industry of the Pacific Coast : "The San Francisco Journal of Com- merce and Price Current in its annual review of the commercial and industrial development of the Pacific coast in the History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. centennial year, presents some facts and figures of a remarkable character. From the statistical portion of this reriew we gather the following interesting item : The population of the State of California is set down at 900,000, and the addition to her population during the vear by im- migration, etc., at 55,000. The popula- tion of San Francisco is stated to be 280,- 000, and that of the Pacific coast 1,600,- 000. The import trade amounted to $80,000,000, and the export $50,000,000, and manufactures $61,000,000. The yield of gold and silver on the coast during the year reached $100,000,000, and the yield since 1848 over $1,700,000,- 000. The wheat crop of California was 22,500,000 centals, worth $40,000,000; the wool yield, 50,000,000 j)Ounds, worth $9,00(J,000; the wine yield, 11,000,000 gallons, and the quicksilver, 66,000 flasks. With reference to the future it is regarded as one of the greatest sources of wealth, the magnificent array of woodlands pos- sessed by the Pacific States which, it claims, are probably unequaled and cer- tainly unsurpassed on the earth. Upon this subject it indulges in the following language; 'Ere another century has rolled over the heads of tlie people of this republic, the States east of the Rocky Mountains and the Canadas will have V^een stripped of their forests, and Europe, Austria, and North America will have to look to the Pacific Coast for lumber. And from the southerly termination of the Sierra Nevada and the northerly side of San Francisco Bay, to the northern liills of Alaska, the broad belt of moun- tains, the girdle of the earth, is clothed with what may be termed an everlasting forest, S()me of the monarchs of which have probably stood since creation. The quantity of timber contained in these woodlands is estimated at four millions of millions of feet of lumber, worth at the low rate of five dollars per thousand — one half of the present rate twenty thousand millions of dollars — worth at the present mill ]>rice of lumber forty thousand millions of dcillars. There is no species of lumber that may be required for any useful purpose that may not be foimd somewhere on the Pacific coast or islands. Tiie yellow fir of Washington Territory and the pine of the same region is unequaled for purposes of shipbuild- ing, while the other woods of the region northward from Santa Cruz to British Columbia, and up to Alaska, cannot be exceeded for house-building purposes. In central or southern California the California laurel and many other hard and ornamental woods make the finest kind of furniture, while if we wish to draw from the Pacific Islands and the western Mexican coast, there is no wood that even can be imagined, of any shade, color, hardness, or sus.^eptibility of pol- ish that may not be found.' " When we approach the scenery of this mighty El Dorado we are lost in wonder and enshrouded in a veil of Nature's mys- terious garb. Language cannot convey the grandeur of rocks, hills, brooks, and vales here to be seen. Of these wonderful works of God one can say with the poet Milton, "Wonderful, iudeed, are all His works, Pleaaaut to know, and worthiest to be all Had in remembrance always witli delight ; But what created mind can comprehend Their number, or tlic wisdom intlnite Tliat brought them fcirtli, Imt hid their causes deep." Let us walk out and view the majestic handiwork. " See the broadest plains, the loftiest mountains, the finest agricultural and grazing lands, and also the most bar- ren deserts, until one can look out upon el desereta from some oasis where grows the staff' ot life in surplus abundance." But we continue : "At one time we are upon the brink of a chasm 2,500 feet in depth, tben beside a dome 6,000 feet in History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. height ; at another time on a mountain 2,339 feet above and then 266 feet below the level of the sea." California has an area of 188,981 square miles. It is 700 miles in length and 200 miles in breadth. There are two ranges of mountains that traverse the entire length of the State, viz : the Sierra Ne- vadas and the Coast Range. Numerous rivers carry the water from the mountains to the sea. They serve as irrigators to give the land the benefit of the overflow, while they carry oif much of value, and often discourage the rancher. They have been known suddenly to rise above low veater mark to a distance of twenty-six feet. Several of these streams are navi- gable, prominent among which are the Sacramento and the Stockton Slough. Our towns and cities are quite prosper- ous. Stockton may be taken as a model of the intermediate sized cities. It has a population of about 10,000. It has 12 churches and 37 civic societies, 28 of which are secret orders. We will here give the names of some of them as copied from the Stockton Directory: "Cham- pions of the Red Cross, Knights of Pyth- ias, I. O. O. F., Free and Accepted Ma- sons, United Ancient Order of Druids, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Ancient Order of United Workmen, B'Nai B'Bith, Improved (?) Order of Red Men, I. O. G. T., Knights of the Blue Cross, Campag- nia Italiana De Bersaliera, Congregation Ryim Ahoovim, Turn Verein, S. J. V., A^ O. v., T. M. W., Pioneers, Stockton Grange, Liberal League." We are not now ready to say, "The zeal of mine house hath eaten me up ;" but we are persuaded that we need help, "for the godly man ceaseth." The very life of the churches is gone. Whenever thirty-seven human organizations attempt to supply the place of the church of God her destiny is sealed, "We can't get up a revival," is the cry. No ! neither could Simon Magus, though he offered money to obtain the power. When will the Church take and fill her place in Califor- nia ? Stockton is quite a commercial center. It is a place for shipping grain to San Francisco both by steamer and by rail. The capacity of the warehouses of this one wheat market is 75,000 tons. It is also quite a manufacturing town. They have iron works, agricultural implements of every demand, carriage manufactories, planing mills ; also, woolen mills, paper and city mills, and tanneries. They have gold banks, with a capital of $2,500,000, county hospital, public schools, etc. Your attention is called to the condition of the unfortunate we have in the asylums. From 1851 to 1877 they received 8,242: patients. Few ever get well ; many die. Their insanity seems different from any previous acquaintance with the history of the unfortunate victims. There is some- thing about this climate that acts strangely upon some systems. Some ascribe it to the hot climate ; others to the cold nights. The native Spaniards call this State cal- ianta fornalla (hot furnace). Perhaps the sudden changes from hot to cool does change the relation of the system upon the mind to such an extent as to greatly embarrass it. Strong drink and financial disappointments have had more to do with the matter than any other influence, notwithstanding the views of others. Our State has much to do to correct the condition of affairs. It can do so, and it ought to do so, and we now think that it will take the matter in hand and amelic- rate our sufferings and elevate our society. We have climatic influences here that greatly affect the physical system, and may be the cause of the nervous paralysis so frequent among us. It is not consid- ered that the sudden changes from heat 6 History of the United Brethren in Christ in Oxlifornia. to coH are congenial to the health of the people, especially the female. The dry season sets in about the first of June, and continues until about the middle of September. Since the clearing up of the •^'live oak" groves in some sections the rains have been less regular and less fre- ■quent. The thermometer often runs up to 130° degrees in the Summer, and down to 10° below freezing in the Winter. The Winter through which we have just passed has been the coldest known to the Californian. Ice was known to freeze to the thickness of one half an inch. The ice here is as great a curiosity to the chil- dren as snow would be in central Ohio in the month of July. If the State were to spend one half the amount she annu- ally expends to take care of the sick, in regulating the sanitary condition of many of the towns and cities, sickness, with all its direful results, would be decreased to ■3b comparative small number, and obviate the necessity of heavy taxation, and greatly alleviate the sufferings and ame- liorate the condition of her people. But to return to the further industries of the model city. Stockton has home manufactories, and abundant resources to supply the inhabitants with food and clothing, and every necessary article of comfort. The rancher can purchase anv farming implement that he may need to cultivate and garner the products of the ranch. The mechanic can secure any tool or section of machinery necessary to success in his avocation. The student can secure an education that will qualify him to ent(M- any of the common pursuits of life. In short, Stockton is a complete storehouse of the essentials and com- modities of her people. What we say of Stockton is equally applicable to any of the other cities in the State. Competition (not opposition) is the life of trade. Sacramento is, per- haps, the largest interior commercial city in the State. The writer does not wish to invoice her storehouses, nor count her treasuries, but will only add that her re- sources are inexhaustible, and her gar- nered deposits both fnammcih and legio/t. Stockton lacks one thing (let all apply) — her religious interests are not where nor what they ought to be. We have already hinted at the societies outside of the churches, and may now say that they are the organic parasites that draw the life current of the Church and feed upon her very vitals. The Church may be to blame in many places for not calling into question the looseness that prevails among her membership, and a failure in a variety of well authenticated cases wherein " bowels of mercies " were left to the symj)athies of the outside world, who, although they visited a few " widows and orphans in their affliction," did not keep themselves unspotted from the world. Let the Church step to the front, and become what her great founder designed her to be, viz : " The ground and pillar of truth " and the " distributor to the neces- sities of the needy," and the many insti- tutions that claim '' charity " as the only object ot their organization would sur- render their charter and bow to the ob- ligations of a holy life, or continiie to hold membership in a society that is of no earthly use, except to keep up the social circle, lie who will not trust his society to the care of the " household of faith " is certainly incompcitent to stand at the head of any organization outside of the pales of the Church, or hold membership among those who will not " renounce the hidden things of dis- honesty" and become "fellow citizens with the saints." But the lodge is not the only trouble in the way of the success of these churches. Popular amusements is the History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. curse of society, and more especially of the Christian community. Church fairs, theaters, socials, etc., in the name of the Church, have destroyed the influence of some of the strongest societies in the State. The language of Jesus to those of his time on earth was. " The zeal of mine liouse hath eaten me up." The pastors of San Francisco passed resolu- tions against these too frequent practices, and read them from their pulpits in the city, and commented upon the same. It made a salutary effect. The people of this g reat State are cos- mopolitan. Ideality is quite largely de- veloped here. Their projects are so ar- ranged as to evade (they think) the hallu- cinations of " imagination's hollow dream; all hollow, hollow, hollow !" But alas ! the most carefully arranged plans often fail, and as often paralyze the arm of success to such an extent as never to re- cover from it. The railroad land monopoly and the Mexican grants demoralized the state of aifairs greatly. The name of Frank Page will enter the annals of our history as a political benefactor and a philanthropist. It was he who passed the Settler's bill, by which large tracts of land were put into the hands of those whose lands had been in litigation for from two to twelve years. A large barbecue was held in Lodi in the Sum- mer of 1877, at which it was estimated that 10,000 people had gatliered to ex- press their thanks to the man ^^ho, with tears, held up their claim until finally, amidst acclamation of praise, loud and long, the homes of the industrious and indefatigable Californian were declared '■'■free from all incumbrances.'''' Golden tongued orators ascended the stand and gave glowing perorations upon the name and to the memory of Frank Page. Taxes are very heavy. Last year the State and covinty taxes in Tulare were $2 41 to every $100 worth of property. Besides this, there is an annual poll tax of $6 to every citizen. Then there are in- dividual ferries and toll roads, and other contingent expenses, which pvdl upon the treasury strings as though a magazine would explode the instant there is the least cessation. There are many things of which we could speak, but will not at this time. The United Brethren in Christ have cast their lot here, and intend to project a work that will honor God. They are prospering, and are taking steps to press their principles upon the hearts and minds of the unsaved, and be the means of adding " much people unto the Lord." Their fields of labor are scattered among the fertile valleys of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento. They have flourishing societies in the Coast Range Mountains, and at the base of the mighty and ma- jestic Sierra Nevadas, whose tops are covered with perpetual snows, made wonderfully grand by the panoramic scenes of an adjacent clouded sky. We shall devote the second chapter to the opening of the mission in this Eden of America, and some of the noble projects of the United Brethren. CHAPTER II. ^IjALIFORNIA was in a very wild con- ^^ ditiou, being inhabited by Mexicans and Indians, who rambled over the country without restraint, except by sav- age cruelties, until 1769, when the mis- sionaries from Spain and from Mexico took up large tracts of land secured them by Mexican grants, it being their object to educate and at least nominally convert the Indians to the prevailing religion of Mexico. Twenty-one missions were estab- History of the United Brethren in Christ in O.ilifornia. lished at different times and places from 1769 to 1802. San Diego Mission was the farthest south, and San Francisco the most northern one History informs us that they lield in their possession no less than twenty thousand square miles of the most productive soil in that portion of tlie domain. The padres grew rich, and cared but little for the poor Indian. They made them do all of the hard work, while the prime object of the missions was entirely neglected. The priests did perhaps attend to morning and evening praj'ers, but outside of that there was lit- tle that was calculated to aid the Indian in becoming civilized, much less converted to Christianity. In 1831 there were over eighteen thousand domesticated Indians at these missions. Their aboriginal blood became largely mingled with that of Spain and Mexico, breeding nothing but indo- lence and wretchedness which is still ap- parent in this State, and largely in the way of the success of the Church in South- ern California. These half-civilized na- tive bands, known to us as mongrels, are no benefit to the country. We speak of this because it shall be of some service as we pass over the territory of our society in a future chapter. The Mexican revo- lution cast a cloud over these missions, and they soon ran out. The report of gold in 1848 hastily spread over the world, and as if in obedi- ence to the mandate of a monarch, the people came in se irch of the glittering jewel. Some of those whose names are now on our class books came here in 1848, among them Uncle Daniel Ilunsa- ker and wife now members of our society at Harmony, in Tulare County. But 1849 may be set down as the opening year of the gold mines, and the magic influx from the nations until in 1850 Cali- fornia was almost as populous as many of the States of a quarter of a century's growth. The story of the " crossing of the plains" is yet quite fresh in the minds of our people. Many of them came in '49. They are held in high esteem here. Some of them celebrate its annual return as regular as we do the Fourth of July. Owing to the extreme distance from one mine to another it was with difficulty that our people effected a permanent organ- ization here until a few years later. Many of them held their letters from their societies in the East, hoping that an organization could be effected, and that they could- again enjoy the blessings of the house of the Lord. The cry of gold in a score of places simultaneously kept many of the villages from being estab- lished excepting a few of those in the extensive gold fields. The mountains and foothills bear many marks of former towns and cabins, but now all is sile*nt except the busy squirrel that enjoys the "dugout," and seems as happy with the contents of a pine burr as ever the miner did with his nugget of gold. A United Brethren preacher, whose name appears quite frequently in connec- tion with the work in the early days, known as Father Thompson, came in 1849. His name properly occupies the first place on the ministerial list in this State. He preached wherever an oppor- tunity offered itself. He was still here when Israel Sloane came to open a mission in 1858. In answer to the ques- tion : "Who were then in the ministry?" The answer was given: "Revs. David Thom])son and Israel Sloane." Bear in mind that these were not the only United Brethren ministers that were in the State then, for some of our most efficient men came in 1850, and from that time forward the people had no occasion to lack for preaching. The gold fever affected men in those days, however, and there seemed to be no elixir that could break it up. History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 9 Some of the preachers, notwithstanding, did hold the cross up to the world, and amidst the most desperate opposing efforts of the "border ruffians," they unfurled the banner of the free, and waved it over the heads of their hearers until many of them were persuaded to become partakers of divine grace. " The sound of the church-^n^oiiig' bell, These rocks and these vallej'S ne'er heard ; Ne'er smiled at the sound of a knell, Nor frowned when a Sabbath appeared." But we may say : The voice of the servants of God, Ranjf out like the loud trumpet's roar ; Obedience was called to His word — " Do good — cease sinning, and blaspheme no more." Rev. J. W. Harrow and his brother James came to the State in '49 ; also, Rev. C. W. Gillett and others. Rev. J. Ackerson, a native of Ohio, arrived at Placerville on the 5th of August, 1850. He remained in the mines three years, and in '53 went to Humboldt County, where he now resides. Rev. B. B. Allen, a native of Indiana, arrived at Weaver on the 8th of August, 1850, just three days after Mr. Ackerson arrived at Placer- yille. Mr. Allen preached in Weaver the next day, it being the Sabbath. He took his text from Exodus xiv, 13 — "And Moses said unto the people : Fear ye not : stand still and see the salvation of God." He had an attentive audience. A Rev. Mr. More, of Missouri, came across the plains with Mr. Allen, and reached the Humboldt Mountains in safety, but suddenly took sick and died. He is buried near the old emigrant trail in that range ©f mountains. He and Brother Allen preached quite often cross- ing the plains. Brother More would have lieen a valuable acquisition to the work on the coast could he have reached it in health. By this time quite a large number of United Brethren families had reached the State, but settled in different parts of it, so that an extensive organization was still out of the question. This, however, did not interfere with their individual duties to God. They continued improving every opportunity, and hoping and praying for the glad day to dawn upon them when the work could be permanently orgaidzed and divine services held at stated times and places. In this they were not disap- pointed. God heard thern and their ex- pectation's were realized. Home missions had been established in all of the conferences in the Church, but the subject of foreign and frontier mis- sions had not yet arrived at perfection. It was, however, agitated in various quar- ters of our Zion by some ©f our leading men, and at the General Conference in 1841 a parent board was appointed to act in the matter. They finally succeeded iu arranging plans for more extended op- eration. This board was reappointed in 1843 and again in 1849. From '49 to '53 the cry for harvesters came with such earnestness as to stir up the whole Church upon the necessity of immedi- ate action. The great, grand period came, and 1853 may be set down as the brightest epoch in the annals of our history as a Church. Rev. J. C. Bright (hie portrait appears on next page) is honored by our people everywhere for his work's sake ; but by none more than by the United Brethren in California. Mr. Bright was the chair- man of a committee of the Sciota Con- ference in 1853 that brought in a report relative to the mission work of the Church, the first item of which was, "That the time has fully come when the United Brethren should unite their whole strength in a missionary society, which shall include not only the home but the foreign and the frontier fields in the sphere of its labors." Bishop Ed- 10 History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. REV. J. 0. BRIGHT. M'ards and II. C. Spayth made telling Bpeeches upon the I'eport. It passed without a dissenting voice. The Gen- oral Cont'eronce in the same year car- ried out the wishes of the people, and completed the organization, i.5. Gloss- brenner was elected President, and J. C. Bright Corresponding Secretary. Mr. Bright went to work at once to secure funds for the societ}'. He had excellent success, and soon gathered means to aid both the foreign and frontier work. But let us go back a little and view the progress of the mission. The Ore- gon work is quite closel}' connected with this, and has ever been considered History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 11 as having nothing tn the way of united action except an almost impassable mountain. Rev. T. J. Conner and Rev. J. Kenoyer and twenty nine laymen set out for Oregon in 185H. They crossed the Plains with teams, and reached their destination after a long and tiresome journey of a half year. They opened up a good work, one that has indeed had its struggles, but to-day stands in connection v»ith the Walla Walla Con- ference ready to everj^ good work. Several of the preachers and laymen passed back and forth from Oregon to California, and vice versa. J. H. May- field, of whom we shall speak again, came to this field from Oregon, and did efficient work. His name is a house- hold word. Brother M. was the Cart- wright of California. Some of the very best men in the conference district were brought in through his instrumentality. His fame went before him, while his reputation, it followed after. In 1853 several families came from the East and settled at Monument, Cache Creek, Putah Creek, and Woodland, in Yolo County, and others went to Fern dale and Petrolia, in Humboldt County. Sev eral families scattered throughout Lake, Butte, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and other counties in the State. 'But one thing remained to be done, and the United Brethren would have organized work and workers in Cali- fornia — that was assistance from abroad untjl such time as the work would be- come sufficiently strong to sustain its laborers. The ministerial brethren who were here were in a local relation to the Church, and were not here for the special work, nor could they then have been sustained in the work without aid from a parent fund. The parent board had considerable expense in the outset as they had opened the Oregon Mission, and also sent Rev. D. K. Flickinger and Rev. W. J. Shuey to open a micsion in Shangey, West Africa ; but finally in 1858 Rev. Israel Sloane, who had in 1854 opened the first missionary society in Canada in which he labored success- fully for nearly four years, volunteered to open a mission in California. He immediately made arrangements . to start out upon the journey with his family. Ho left New York, October^ 1858, and after a voyage of twent}' four days from New York he landed his family in San Francisco, from which place he took a river steamer up to Sacramento City, where the}^ were met b}^ Brother N. Dunning, and taken to his home at Monument six miles up the Sacram^ito River. The sense of duty that brought Mr. Sloane to the coast may be gleaned from a note to Brother Lawrence, of. the Telescope, dated October 6th, 1858_ After speaking of the efforts he was putting forth to acquaint himself some- what with the field to which he was going, he said : " But even up to the present time 1 feel more attached to^ and more concerned about the work in Canada than any other place to which I have ever been appointed. I weuld still love to labor in Canada, but I am reminded that Hhe field is the world ;' and while we have a number of good; missionaries in Canada, and of whomi the Church need not be ashamed, andi whose labors have been abundantly blest, California is without one of our missionaries." Mr. Sloane's early writ- ings plainly indicate that he was a "chosen vessel" to mission fields, and that in that work he was contented. It is not exaggeration to say that in Canada and here in California Brother John C. Bright "planted," Brother Israel Sloane " watered," and there are numeroua. 12 History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. witnesses among us now who can tes- tify that God gave the "increase." In 1854, in a missionary sermon, he said : "And now is the time. Yes, brethren, now is the time for our people to make a strong effort for something. It is needed, and the sentiment of the age, the light of the times, the tendency of things, the claims of truth, the aspect of Providence, the voice of God, Christian- My and philanthrophy ; yea, and the Avails of the damned, all unite to demand it. And who shall be behind in this work ? I cannot think this work will be in the least neglected considerately. There is too much apostolic holiness in the breast of our people to go on a cru- sade against the missionary work by refusing to pay liberally to its support." But hear him again after speaking of the missionary work as the "one busi- ness," and following it with a beau- tiful peroration upon Stephen the Mar- tyr, he breaks out in the following elo- quent strain : " Notwithstanding the Acbans, Simon Magoses, and Judases, j there are those who like Mary linger at the cross when others have fled, and i like Peter filled with the Holy Ghost declare Jesus and the Resurrection, fear- less of the insulting dignities or the pre- judice of the |»ublic throng." The following original poem from his pen should inspire the California mis- sionary with a zeal commensurate with the hardest toil incident to his work : "LET ME LABOR WHILE I CAN." Let me labor wliile I can — my dny of probation Is stealing: o'er my head like the clouds o'er the 8ky ; My moments are passlne; without any cessation. Which tells me life's wastinj;- and I must soon die. Let nic labor while I can- -in life's transient mwrning I am always in dan.i^er of falling!; in death ; And how often it is tliat without any warnin;^, Probationers here are deprived of their breath. Let me labor while I can — why should I be idle ? There is much to be done in the vineyard of flod. Millions of souls who are i/^norant of the liible Are annually bowing their heads 'neath the sod. Let me labor while I can — while time is afforded For labor and toil, salvation to obtain ; And Scri])ture assures us the servants are rewarded Who labor for Christ, poor sinners to train. With such a man at the helm there must be success. When a man is full of God, and feels that he is laboring in the sphere that God directs, there is no earthly power that can drive that man from his work. Mr. Sloane immediately proceeded to work in his new field. On the tenth of December, 1858, he wrote to the Religious Telescope: "I have been in California forty days and i preached twenty-three times. A few souls have been converted and re- claimed, and I have taken eight names with which to commence a class. In another community there are a few ready to be organized into a class." He also made the following report : "Time em- ployed, 1 month ; number of appoint- ments, 4 ; classes formed, 1 ; members received, 8. Received of Brother Peter Winton, per J. Kemp, $50 ; received of John Lawrence, SIO ; received of a friend in Tiflfin, S3 ; collection on the work, $26 50 ;" making a total of $89 50. The Board had committed themselves in a promise to send a preacher to assist Mr. Sloane, should he, upon his arrival in California, see the necessity for such help. This he immediately saw, and at once urged the Board to send help, lie also gave them liberty to use anj^ money that might be in their hands for him toward paying the expense of sending the missionary. Let it be remembered that Mr. Sloane bore his own expenses to the coast, and from time to time sold personal property to sustain himself and the family that a kind Providence placed under his care. "^IMiere was no hardship too great for him, nor sacrifice so demanding but he endured or suf- fered it with remarkable fortitude. We I shall speak more fully of his labors and History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 13 privations at some other time. We do not wish to glory, save in the Lord, and if God permit, in his (Sloane's) afflic- tions and sacrifices for the cause of the Master. The anticipated missionary from the East did not come as it had been hoped. But buoyant still, he pressed the battle into the camp of the enemy, and assisted by several local brethren, over whose efforts he watched and prayed without intermission, en- larging the work as he could utilize the laborers until in a very few years he had so increased the working force that the territory was divided into two Pre- siding Elder Districts — the Sacramento and the Humboldt. A resident Bishop was also argued, and finally resulted in sending Eev. D. Shuck to the various fields on the coast, embracing Califor- nia, Oregon, and Walla Walla Confer- ences. By this time the work had spread out through the valleys and mountains, and the demands for labor- ers became so great that the "Mace- donian cry" rang out in clarion tones, loud and shrill, yet mingled with an appealing tenderness too pathetic to pass unheeded. Every letter written by Brother Sloane to the brethren in the East was but another appeal for help. Prayer meetings were held es- pecially in the interest of the mission, and both East and West the ardent wishes of the people were that God would send out men and means to sup- ply the new mission on the frontier. Th® death of Brother Sloane cast a cloud over the work, and greatly em- barrassed the mission, so that when the Bishop arrived he found the work some- what disorganized, but only temporarily, as the people needed one to lead them. Their former pastor had died on the field, and they with sad hearts were mourning over him whom they dearly loved. Bishop Shuck went to work in earnest, rallied the working forces, and soon the fields were again supplied, and things moved on with immediate success. CHAPTER III. TOEV. D. K. FLICKINGBE returned «=S) from Africa in 1857, on the account of declining health, brought about by climatic influences, and soon took the place of Rev. J. C. Bright, the first Cor- responding Secretary of the Board of Missions, who felt the necessity of rest from the excessive toils of a busy life. Mr. Flickinger, like his predecessor, was a man full of zeal, and well calcu- lated to fill the place that he then occu- pied, and, with the exception of one year, has occupied ever since. He is a ti'ied friend of the California work, marking its progress, studying its wants, and doing much to supply its demands. He visited the coast in 1871 with Bishop Dixon, and by his trite way of asking for that, the love of which is the root of all evil, he actu- ally opened gold and silver mines in the agricultural districts— well, he discov- ered sulphates of "coin" in the hearts of the people, and taught how to "drift" into the way of getting it from the " mint." Our people will recognize his friendly face given here, and give it a place in the medley of their friends. His appreciation of our efforts, and his prompt responses to our demands, and his kindness to our early missionaries, have endeared him to us and lead us to give him a small place in this history, and, rest assured, a large place in our hearts. We now hasten to say that the first properly organized class of the United Brethren in Christ in this State takes its date December 10th, 1858. It con- 14 History of the United Brethren in Christ in Culiforma. Bisted of eight members, and was organ- ized at Putah Creek, in Yolo County. The work spread rapidly, under the labors of Mr. Sloane, and classes were organized in several places, and numer^ ous preaching places established. The first Quarterly Conference was held at the Putah Creek appointment, July 9th, 1859, three months less than one 3'ear from the time he first entered upon the work The following is a synopsis of the official report of that Conference: Members present — I. Sloane, C. Hub bard,D. Troxel, D. Thompson, A. Cham- bers, W. Johnson, and J. Dollar — 7. After singing and prayer, Conference elected I. Sloane Presiding Elder pro iem., and A. Chambers, Secretjwy. Bro. Stanlej", of the Methodist Epis copal Church, was introduced to the Conference. A general examination was presented, which resulted favor- ably. The license of Bro. Thompson was renewed, miscellaneous business attended to, and the following resolu- tions passed: Ist. "That we will use our united efforts to i)ut down intemperance in our country." 2d. "That we will sustain our ministers in car- ryinoj out promptly the principles of the Church on secret societies." .3d. "Cliurch festivals, as conducted in tliis country, have, in our opinion, a demoralizinij influ- ence upon society in hvirch at large, it had again lost itself in disappointment and in difficulty. There are not many, who, like the isolated prophet, will wait in their place to be fed by ravens. The men who started out from the Conference of '64 with the view of entering the fields before them, labored a few months, and then resumed their former trades. The Bishop found it out of the question to keep the fields supplied. He traveled extensively and held services wlierever practicable, but was unable to satisfy the increasing demands that were pressing themselves vipon him. He labored night and day, and won many, very many precious souls to God. If the entire ministry had but proved faithful at that early period of the Church in this State, the United Brethren would now occupy place* and hold positions, that are held by those whose names are upon other class books. We pray that God may bless them in their present relation, and that with the rich sheaves of their toil, they may be gathered at last to enjoy the harvest home of the blessed. But there are some who came among the people in sheep's clothing, while in- wardly they were ravening wolves. One of these violated the rules of the Church, and by his pernicious influence drew a whole society with him. But, as may be expected, both the leader and the ones who were led became cold and indiffer- ent, and soon went back to the world. A second gave indications that he was j not of us, and soon left under cen- sure. Still later, another became puffed up, and after almost demoralizing the I cause in certain quarters, was removed from the Conference. The demands for laborers being great during those perilous times, called out many who gave their names to the Church as preachers who had certainly mistaken their calling. The object of their zeal is a mystery to us, and unless we may say that "they had not the knowledge of God," we are at a loss to account for their desire to preach in those days. Not for money. There was no money in it; nor ease, for the greatest toils and privations had to be endured. Nor was it for fame or per- sonal honor, for the very opposite was true. Let us apply the words of the Apostle, where he said to certain of his 2(3 History of the United Brethren in Christ in CaUfornia. day, "I tell you, even weeping, that some of you are the enemies of the cross of Christ/' The call to the minis- try is most assuredly a solemn call, and whether or not it presupposes a special preparation of years under proper train- ing in the /or/cs" of God, one thing is plain, and that is, that there are many, who, although they are eloquent, need to be "taken apart, aiid instructed in the word more perfectly.'"' The old — yea, new — idea, that if we are called to preach, and simply open our mouths, God will fill them, is often quoted by those who say things, and preach doc- trines that' are not of God. California Conference has had too man}^ of these would be preachers. There is an old adage here among the settlers, that the country settles up thice tin)es before permanency of the settlements is secured. The first class are ramblers ; the second, monopolists ; and the thicd, tlie industri- ous yeomanry. This will not fully apply to the unftiitliAil of our State, as it relates to the evangelistic work ; but is it not true, that preaching has been made the alternate, instead of the "one calling." When God calls a man to preach, who. or what may call him to any other work? Before we pass on in this chapter, we wish to speak of the labors of .). H. Mayfield. We said in a former note of this man, that he was the Cartwriglit of California, and that his fame went before him, while his reputation, it followed after. We sliall now exjjlain what was n)eant by this singular mani'cr of expr(^ssi()n. Bro. M. came to the State to make a visit among triends, and, as was hi>^ custom, preached often. He held a protracted effort at Live Oak, in BuUe County, in 1803, that resulted in some eighty conversions, and about fifty ac- cessions to the Church. He also con- ducted a groat revival meeting at Lodi, in San Joaquin County, in 1807, in which the whole community became interested, and scores were converted to God. Nearly all of the old resident Church members, who are slill in these communities date their conversions to the meetings held by him. The breth- ren ami friends of the cause at Wood- bridge, finally made arrangements to employ him us their regular pastor. Kut in the mean time, others were laboring in the cause in different parts of the Conference. Bro. J. W. Han-ow, by the request of Bro. M., took charge of the Live Oak work in Butte County, while the work in Yolo and Humboldt Counties was kept up by other minis- terial brethren. But what of Bro. Mayfield, you ask? Well, he was rather inclined to appreciate that noble animal, the horse, and by the way, was as good a judge of his quality and disposition, as most of men are who deal in horse flesh. Of course, he was at once branded as being a horse trading preacher. That he was a preacher, and a good one too, no one who heard him in these meetings will attempt to call into question ; and that ho traded, bought, and sold horses, none will deny. What of it? "Well, I don't think," says one, "that a preacher ought to trade horses." No; if trading horses tends to destroy the influence of a preacher, ho should cease to trade; nay, if anything ho docs or may be led to do, destroys his influence, he sliould refrain at once. Not he alone, but all and any ofGod's children are bound to preserve their Chi-istian dignity and character. It is due the brother of whom we are speaking, to say, that not a case has yet been heard from where ho in anyway took the advan- tage of any man in trade. We are opposed to our people becoming jock- History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 27 pointmcnt8; 15 classes; 189 members; 52 Telescopes; 9 Sunday schools; and 1G8 scholars and teachers, fince 18GI. One Church building is also reported. We have hastily passed over the four j'cars of Bishop Shuck's labors in Cali- fornia. Oregon, and Walla Walla Con- ferences shared in his services, and coubJ no doubt give items of interest of the work there during this time. To assume the responsible position of fluperintending three Conferences, and traveling regularl}' and preaching con- stantly, is no small matter. Then the administration of discipline, the coun- sels and athnonitioiis dui'ing Confer- ence; the "weightier matters of the law" to be decided, besides the innum- erable duties that press themselves upon a man in the capacity in which he then stood, were, to say the least, hard to be borne. Let us all find occasion to rejoice that God honored his people, and that although unfaithfulness char- acterized the faint efforts of some,, that there were those, who like Jeph- thae's few, stood nobly in the battle. The greatest anti best evidence of Hr man's success, is to know that ho is "approved of God." This does not alwa3's argue that all that a man does is approved of men, for to man is ascribed the fact that ho errs, while of God it is said, that He forgives. Here is an old adage, that will not come amiss: "He who thinks that he never makes any mistakes, never corrects his errors." RKV. J. WRAVEK", I). D. The Conference of 18G9 convened near Woodland, Yolo County, on the sixteenth of Sejitember. Bishop J. Weaver, presiding. James Harrow and G. C. Starr, wore received into the Conference during this session. A CHINESE MISSION CONTEMPLATED. The Conference adopted a lengthy report looking to the speedy establisl^ History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 29 mentof a Chinese Mission in this Stutc; they pledged themselves to co-operate with the 13oard of Missions in any and every etfort they might make to o])cn one among them. The Conference also appointed Wm. Dresser, N. Hubbard, and J. Dollarhidc, a committee to aid the Board in locating the mission. The demand for men and means to successfully keep up the various ap- pointments in the Conference territory, was much agitated, and resulted in the adoption of a resolution asking the Church in the East to help in men and means to sustain them. The Hishop was also urged to intercede for them. Ecader, take a look at the extensive fields of labor, and then look at the few names enrolled, and the exhausted treasury', and j'our heart will beat with kindred emotions. Lot us view the report on finance in its appropriations to the vaiMous fields of labor: Hum- boldt District, §50; Presiding Elder collections in the district for the entire year, was $152; now add the appro|iria- tion, and the whole salary of the Elder isonlj^ S202. 1'ake Sacramento Vallo}' District: the appropriation was only §30; Presiding Elder collections, $108, making a total of $138, while the average support of the pastor was loss thatj $200 during the 3'ear. Siiall we say of these men, that they were in- clined to beg? We say, no. "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadcth out the corn." '' But," saj's one, "some preachers did not serve the cause faith- fully." Vcrj^ well. But what have ihey to say concerning those who gave all of their time to the work? What ex- cuse is there for not supporting them ? The people of California are character- ized as a liberal people, and there are many among them who have given largely, while others have withheld their support under circumstances, when they should have followed the noble example of their liberal brethren. One more explanation is due the peo- ple, and the writer will not have dis- charged his whole duty until it is stated. It is this: The people want to be assured that the preacher has the cause of the Lord at heart; that it is to him above all other causes; that he is not following the ministerial call to make it pay, but to glorify God by sav- ing souls. He must not allow any fond desires to grow up about him, that will j cause him to think more about the I things of to-morrow, "of what he shall eat, or what ho shall drink, or where withal he shall bo clothed," than aboufe the results of his high calling. I If the pleadings of the people of the } Conference irom the Bishop to the few could have prevailed anj'thing at that time, the work might again have grown speedily, and spread out until all of the territorj' then unoccupied, and to which the Church was invited, would have re- sounded with praise, praj'cr, and song long ore this, and we might now bo writing such a history of it as is not ])aralleicd in missionwoi'kin ihisChurch. The preachers went out from the Confer- ence of 1809 with a dctei-mination, by the grace of God, to double their dili- gence, and occupy the outposts and reg- ular fields until their ranks could bo strengthened and regular pastoi'ates es- tablished. Ecv. C. "W. Gillett Avas elected Presiding Elder of Humboldt District ; J. Ackersoii went to Humboldt Circuit; T. S. Jakeway to Clear Lake Slission ; R. B. Harris to Long Valley ; Wm. Dresser to Pussian Piver, and S. B. Hamilton to Areata Mission. Pev. J. W. Harrow was elected Pro- siding Elder of Sacramento District. J. Dollarhidc went to Feather Piver Cir- 30 History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. euit ; Goo. C. Starr to Monument; N. W. Harrow to Stockton Mission, and James Harrow to San Joaquin Mission. Bishop Weaver's remarks to the breth- ren of the Conference were full of power, and gave them great courage and strength. The occasion of the Conference is still referred to at Wood- land as one of rare occurrence. The Conference passed a resolution that they were satisfied with the plan of yearly visits from the Bishops. They thought that the influence of these men would be felt among the people for years 10 come. They were not mistaken in this. The executive ability and the pa- thetic ajjpeals of Dr. Weaver still leave their impress upon the people who heard him here. Bishop Glossbronner's pater- nal tenderness and deep piety arc often referred to with pleasure and profit. Dr. Edwards, that inimitable orator and fine Church officer, started a wave bore that will continnc to roll until its silvery spra}' falls upon the very rocks of eter- nity, while the descriptive powers of Bishop Dixon served to place California in its true light. The visit also of Rev. D. K. Flickinger, our Missionar}^ Secre- tary, gave the missionary society a reputation here that it could not have received by years of drilling at a dis- tance. A resident Bishop has now be- some a necessity, and proves a blessing to the work on the entire coast. CHAPTER VI. .^ISEOP GLOSSBRENNER next ^ visited the Conferences on the coast. California Conference was held in the School House iu Alexander Val- ley, Maj- 12th, 1870. About one half of the Conference members were absent. Business was promptly attended to, and several reports adopted upon matters of vital importance. The brethren pressed the matter of help from the parent board, as being an immediate nccessit}'. They desired to enter the various fields that were without a supply. It is a matter of observation here, that the Conference had but a very few men whose names can bo found among those present at at each annual Conference. One gather- ing would find quite a large number of ministers present, while at the next, but one half of the whole number would be on hand. Then upon further examination, wo find that at one Con- ference certain brethren would be pres- ent, and at the very next they would be absent, and the former absentees would be on hand to answer to their names. These changes caused it to become exceedingly diflScult to give permanency to the work, and cai'ry into execution the various projects of the Conference. Their appeal for help became in a measure fruitless until some j^ears later. Now, that we may be understood in the above, and that the i)arent Board of Missions bo not blamed for not having the cause at heart, a word of explanation will be of some service. Twenty one years of our history as a people had then already passed, and twelve years of this time had been ex- pended in organized work. Nino An- nual Conferences had already been held, and hundreds of souls converted and added to the Church, and still with all of this, the friends of the cause here felt that they lacked permanency in their various enterprises, in order to give the Church certain and positive power with those with whom they had HistoTij of the United Brethren in Christ in California. •?A to do. The lack was not in men, but in their absenting themselv^es from Home of the most important meetings of the Church. Nor was it in ability, for there were boih the sons of " thun- der," and of " consolation " among them. They had able men, and some excellent financiers, both ministers and la^'meu, bat the former were in many instances inactive, neglecting the Church and fol- lowing secular pursuits to sustain a livelihood. The fact is, that many were not sufficiently interested in their own resolutions and plans to aid in carrying them out. It will be seen that the absence of that indispensable auxiliary, continuity, will paralyze any enterprise, the success of which depends upon continuous and uninterrupted efforts. It is not wholly proper to say that there was no cause for this decline, and in the preceding chapter, the writer has already given some reasons why some were non-committalists upon the itinerancy in the Conference. Other reasons might be adduced, but we arc admonished to be guarded, and say only what may be necessary to bring the spirit of the facts in the case to the surface. The Board of Missions may have been slack concerning promises in the early days of the work, as was shown by Bro. Sloane in a communication to a friend in the East, and there may have been indications later, that they might have aided the work more than they did, but it is due the Board to say that they had not only our wants to look after, but it also become them to look well to the use their money was put to, and the utility of the time of those to whose support it went. We have tried to write around this matter — to evade it, but are not clear so to do, and hence to give a better idea of how the matter was viewed by some of the friends of the Church here, will give a resolution passed at one of the Conference ses- sions. Here it is : "Conference decided that in th;' fu- ture they would not pay out missionarv money to any missionary until it was known to them that he had put in his full time ; and that the Branch Secretary be authorized to give an order upon the Treasurer to pay the missionary in the proportion of the time employed as as- certained by the Presiding Elder." The parent Board of Missions also watched the Conference with more than careless scrutiny. At the General Conference in 1S7'3, in the Missionary Secretary's report the following appears : " California Mis- sion Conference has seemingly not made- any progress, and yet it is in a better- condition now than for two or three years past, and with a supply of efficient labor- ers would succeed well. Strange as it may seem, it is more difficult to secure laborers for California than any field \Ae occupy, Africa not excepted." At the meeting of the Board in 18 74^ the California interests were not forgot- ten. They were disappointed in that not more was done, and saw that the only hope for this Conference was to send out men from the East who would go to this field and labor earnestly for the Lord. There were a few faithful, earnest men here then Avho needed encouragement, and we are glad to note that they were greatly helped as will be seen when we reach that period of the history. A single glance at the figures here will show that the parent Board acted nobly toward us. 32 History '. Monc'V paid in 1859 -S 50 (»0 Money i)aid in 18G3 151 00 Money iniid in 18G4 800 00 MoneV paid in 1865 400 00 Money paid in 1860 400 00 Money paid in 1867 203 61 Money paid in 1863 410 05 Money paid in 1869 405 20 Money paid in 1870 H38 L'O Money paid in 1871 774 89 Money paid in 1872 800 00 Money paid in 187H 200 00 Money paid in 1874 424 50 Money paid in 1875 442 06 Money paid in 1876 746 05 Money paid in 1877 857 57 Money paid in 1878 880 00 Money paid ending- May, 1879. 1094 44 Making a grand total of. $9,468 47 But i)esldes this, tiie Board paid the traveling- expenses of quite a number of missionaries to the eoast, making several tliousand doUars additional e.xpense. We an} not forming too high an estimate of the n)oney spent by the Board for this Confer- enee to say tiiat the sum will reach ttctlrd fhoHsantJ (lol/arx. The parent Board has liad :i heart to work, and if in some in- sianees they did not immediately respond, they had fturdens to bear and difficulties to overcome that accounts for it all. May (J(jd bless the thousands who manifested deep coneern for this mission, and may lie abundantly pardon those at whose lijinds this great field was allowed to with'-r and in places die for want of labor tliat was in their power to give. "Tli(! luiiU. is mine," tlic i)-iiiltv fry ; "I'wii.s their iiey;-let't that made lliom (Vu.'. heeii surmisec The item reai U l>ut at least inferred. ''■/i'esoti'eif. That while we are thankful for what assistance the Board has rendered us ii\ the past, we are fully satisfied that unless they strengthen this weak Confer- ence with additional men and means, we •Bhall fail to occui)y the promising f\elds that are now opening up before vis in various parts. of this State; we, therefore, earnestly request the Board to send us hol|) as soon as possible." The Ctinference w;ften say," Not lost, but gone before." matter to the Board. The report of the It is a matter of fact that there are some Cominittee on Missions at the Annual of the servants of God, who, although Conference in 1870 was timely, an item I they slew many by and through their of which \\e give to show that what has lives, also, like Sam[)Son, slew some by Hisiorij of (he United Brethren in ^ Christ in Calif orrm. 33 their death ; and even more, their words are still ring-ing out, and by tliein they •are contiiuiiiig' to speak, and souls are thus being brought ro Clirist. But we pass on to the success of the work. All bus- iness matters of the past were looked up, accounts au- dited, and settle- ments made witii all of the mission- aries, and direc- tions g'iven foi' the future, when the 'brethren ag-ain felt that if help would iuowcome and take lioid upon the work they would bring- up an unprece- dented report at tlie Conference of 'M. The Bishop made to himself many warm ffriends, and by it gave the Church pres- tige and power for good that has greatly lionored God. After the many excellent ■ports of the committees upon living items of interest, and after the work for the year Ivefore tiiem was all properly organized and the basis fixed from which to mark the advance, the Conference of 1870 ad- journed with feeling of great interest. Tke Conference (»f 1871 was like an oa.s7,s in the desert. It convened ;it Woodbridge, California, on the fifth of May. Bishop D. Edvvaids, presided. Rev. T. S. Jakeway was reported de- ceased. Boulware, Allen, Musselman, and Hamilton, wc-re absent. There w«;re twelve members present, viz : J. Acker- »on, Wm. Dresser, G. C. Starr, J. W. Harrow, James IJairow, N. W. Harrow, BISHOP J. J. GLOSSBRENNER Numerous committees were appointed by the Bishop, endjracing the subjects of devotion, applicants, ordination, bounda- aries, finance. Sabbath schools, publish- ing interests, mem- oirs, reading, and Church building fund. Difficulties ex- isting among mem- bers of the Con- ference were sub- mitted to commit- tees, and finally adjusted. Wm. Dresser was lo- cated one year by the Conference. Rev. T. S. .lake- way, the deceased brother, was very highly appreciated as expressed in the resolution of the Con- fei'ence. The various committees brought ii» reports full of interest. The Boundary Committee submitted the following : " That we have two Presiding Elder dis- tricts, the Humboldt and the Sacra- mento. Long Galley and Clear Lake Missions, be called Clear Lake Mission, Russian River remain as it is. That Mon- ument Mission be formed into two mis- sions, with Cache Creek as the dividing line; that the north mission be called Fairview, and the south mission be called Monument, and that Lincoln appoint- ment be detached from Monument Mis- sion. That Rose villa Mission remain as it is. Stockton Mission to add Cooks' Bar. Paradise Mission, no change. San .roaquiii Mission, no change."" The report was finally amended so as E. Harrow, C. W. Gil left, David Eby, E. to say that Clear Lake and Russian H. Curtis, and.r. L. Field, and E. Dewitt, | River, be called Clear Lake Mission, who had just arrived from the East. j Rev. J. L. Field was elected P>-esiding 84 Hlfstory of the. United, Brethren in. Christ in Calif oniia. Elder, and placed on Sacranionto Dis- trict, which gave him the supervision of" all of the territory, except Humboldt Count3\ C W. Gillett was ajipointed to Humboldt District, and E. Dewitt to Humboldt Circuit. The remainder ot" tlit* ])reachers were stationed as follows : Clear Lake Mission, .). W. and N. W. Harrow; Feather River Mission, E. Har- row; Monument Mission, J. L. Field; Fairview Mission, J. Ackerson; Stockton Mission, G. C. Starr; Paradise Mission, J. Watt. Take a view of the work and workers again. There were troubles existing in those days. Deep and fresh wounds in human hearts ; atTinity all gone. Stand- committees on grievances became a neces- sity. Harsh words and unkind feelings existed. Alienations and extreme indif- j ference were common among them, and in not a few cases, the most rigid meas- ures had to be resorted to, in order to preserve the dignity of the Conference. Such was tlie state of feeling when Field and IJex-iitt came to the Conference. And hail not Bishop Edwards demanded a close examination into causes and in- consistencies existing in a variety of rjuarters, the work wo. dd have suffered very extensively. We still find those who once were way marks in the Church, but liave gone to their former house. They went out in many instances because their Ijurdens were greater then they could bear. They loved the Church aiul regard it still; others waxed cold and left the Church, to seek subterfuge among those of whom they were. Dr. Edwards was a strong man and a good disciplinarian. Ho referred the troubles among brethren back to their source for adjustment, and taught that the Annual Conference could not attend to any work that was not their prop- erty. This was the entering wedge of harmony in the Conference, although it was not secured until some 3'ears later.. I)K DVVri) EDWARDS. The writer anticipates that it will be painful to some to hear these things, but in justice to brethren whom he loves and whose labors we all regard, it ought to have a place. There were a few hard working, self sacrificing itinerants here to whom we are indebted, and feel like paying it ; and besides there are laymen still among us who have listened to the groans of the wounded and craved an opportunity to assist in burying the dead, lo whom wo owe this word of explanation. Of whatever service La}' Delegation ma}' now be, we arc quite sure that at that time it would have implicated the wholo society in this State. The laity held the foundations while these sad, heart-rending strifes were sweeping like a tornado over the heads of our people. Some of the poor weary itinerants of those daj'^s often point us out the homes of their friends in the laity and say, "Had it not been for them I do not know what would History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 35 lliave become of me and my family. elieve in God, and who are ready to join their French breth- 40 History of the United Brethren in Christ in Ccdifornia. reu in the utter exclusion of the Suj)reine Being. They, in fact, have ah-eady ex- cluded Christ, and need not stoop to in- clude the "Holy Trinity." The extract below shows that they recognize God by no greater titles proper than those ap- plied to the officers of the lodge, and that they do send men to the "Celestial Lodge above." They exclude the onh/ name by which we can be saved, and yet remove from their earthly lodge to the lodge above those who arc brought into the temple. " Wheke.vs, It has pleased the Supreme Grand Master in His All Wise dispensation to remove, by de;'.tli, from his plaee in this Lodye and his sphere of usefulness here below to that Celestial Loduc above where the weary are at rest, our much be- loved brother and co-worker, George Henry Krause, therefore," etc. Shall the Church become brother-in- law to such a society ? No ! with hercu- leati emphasis. NO ! NEVER ! ! Yet with all of this the U, B. Church is as- sailed for excluding from her pales those who do these things. The "jewel" (a .silent tongue) of Masonry frequently tears loose and spends its strength in slang shot and virulence upon those who cry for "separation* from the ungodly." Shall we allow this social polygamy by tlie Church and the lodge ? Shall we allow those who promise to b(? "true to th<' bride and to her only," join them- selves to another even more binding? *' No," is tho response of every noble and generous heart, "we must be a 'separate peo[)le.' " Let it be known that the I'liited Brethren in Christ are not alone in this reform. Every Christian denomi- nati(jn of which we have any knowledge lias representative men who pul)licly pro- claim against the lodge, and some of whom have themselves belonged to dif- ferent secret orders. Also, ({uite a num- ber of churches have excluded secret so- ciety members from church fellowship. Notice the insults that are heaped uixtn the people of God while they are "ear- nestly contending for the faith once de- livered unto the saints." One year ago, when the writer was taking up the regu- lar Sabbath contribution in Sacramento City, some one threw into the hat the enormous sum of ten cents — just one dime. Turn it over, will 3-0U, and see the other side. Here we have it. Remember now to "square" your lives by it. I ask, what mean tliese compasses that encompass the comers thereto ? But see here. Look at this horrible looking thing — a compliment to Rev. D. U. Hart, our present citv jiastor. This is a representative of the eftects ol Prussic acid. The state of this poor wretch may have been brought al>out by the illegitimate extra-judicial act of the lodge, for their oaths require life in case of the violation of the Masonic obliga- tion. This graveyard messenger was put in the hat for Brother Hart in the city a few months ago. It is a good Icdief to p,ut on a poison bottle, but a very per- sonal lihijl to put in a man's hat and upon a man's character. Why not throw in the eml>lem of" the lamb, ov of the olive branch, or the dove ? Ah I They used the fittest emblem in the lodge to remind him that he "must die" — ])e "brought to the dust." The United Brethren in Cluist are firm and sanguine in their convictions as to this wicked institution. Her ministry are to-day tiiic to th(> man, and just so long as the lodge arrays itself against the Church of the living God, just so long will thev stand for the riirht. History of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 41 \Ve here give a letter to the Sacra- mento Jiee that meets our approval, and w^ill, we trust, become more and more agitated until its siiggestions are heeded. Newark, Sierra (/ounty, / November 27th, 1878. \ Eduors Bee: It seems strange, after all that has been said about ridding the •State of the Chinese, that nothing in that •direction can be effected by legislation. Allow me to state briefly what, to my mind, would be the first step towards that desired end : it is the total suppres- .sion of all secret societies. I say, with- out fear of contradiction, that it is these societies that keep the Chinese here, and so long as they exist so long will the Chinese remain. Besides there are va- rious leasons why they ought to be sup- pressed. In the first place, they are of foreign origin and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of the United States and of this State ; next, they are partisan institutions as every honest man will admit, for if they were benevolent, what they outwardly profess to be, they would need no mask nor iron-clad oath in defi- ;aiice of law to shield them ; also they are inimical to the best interests of the State, for they are in opposition to the supreme will of the people, which is the law of the State, and justice cannot be properly administered where such a state of so- ciety exists. This partisanship pervades the whole political system from a town- ship oflice up to that of Governor, but where it is most baneful and most to be feared is in the jury box and on the Bench. It is a well known fact that juries, composed wholly or in part of par- tisans, are nothing more or less than a farce upon justice, and even the judicial ermine in some instances is not stain- less. Such a state of things is deplor- able and ought not to exist, in ray hum- ble opinion. The only secret society there could be any toleration or excuse for in any country is one organized purely and solely for the overthrow of a despotism, but as that cannot be the object here, the sooner these institu- tions are abolished and society placed upon a broader and purer basis the better, and the Constitutional Conven- tion now assembled will not be doing its duty to the State if it does not insert a clause in the new Constitution pro- hibiting them ; but should it not be inclined to go so for it ought at least change the jury law so that a member of a secret society would be disqualified to serve as juror in criminal cases where a brother member would be on trial and in a civil case where a brother member Avould be interested; also no member of a secret society ought to be eligible to a Judicial office or to any political office. Should these provisions be carried out, justice would become what it ought to be, not what it is — a mockery. Daniel Boland. The United Brethren are prosj)ering here, and good men of various churches are throwing off the "iron band" and standing out in the broad light of lib- erty. May wo not appeal to some of the professed followers of Christ to come out of these lodges, and enter the pales of the Church of the living God? Why be bound to an institution that is in opposition to the laws of God, and of the land? " Come thou wiih us and we will do thee good, for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel." CHAPTER vin. ip|)ISHOP J. DIXON presided at the MS) Conference held at Gridley, in Butte County, in May, 1872. Rev. D. K. Fliekinger, our Missionary Secre- taiy, was also present at this session, and ilcv. J. H. Young, of the Rock j Hiver Cotit'erence, who came with a view of traveling here. Rev. E. Dewitt was received on his transfer, and Rev. J. L. Field, subject to his transfer. Rev. John McBride joined the Annual Con- ference at this sitting. P. Boulware requested a dismissal IVom the Churcli, 42 History of the United Brethren in Christ in Qilifornia. which was granted. The various reso- lutions of the Conference indicated that the work was looking up to better days. The visit also of Bro. Flickinger was of real value to the brethren. They passed a resolution thanking him for his "friendly and timely counsel," and assured him that he had their prayers. It is a remarkable fact that some of our preachers can get off thousand dollar speeches, and pull a fellow up by the leverage power generally employed by the Assessor, until one gives all of his loose cash and solvent credits to keep from loosing liis real estate, and then BI'^Iloi J l)l\i)N, J) I) gets right up and offers a kind of a panegyric upon the imiJcrative financial monologue, when if .some other person had attempted to take up a j)enny col- lection, the jjcople would have demurred and passed J uilgment upon him and upon the cause he represented without I'c- spect to proofs of the legitimacy of his claims and the necessit}'^ I'or his char- ities. Well, Bro. F. is fortunate as a ''tax collector," and always goes away with the good feelings of the men an(J women from whom he exacts tithes at- the " receipt of custom." Most of the- money agents get curses and personal thrusts for their audacity (?) but Bro. F., the fortunate fellow, gets thanks- and personal encomiums ! Bishop Dixon rendered very profi- cient service at this sitting of the Con- ference, and carried with him the good wishes of the brethren in the ministry. The report on Missions will give the reader an idea of an ideal report, and let it be remembered that Bro. Flickin- ger was the Chairman of that committee-. We, your Committee on Missions, submit the following report and recom- mend its adoption : First — We are gratified to learn thai, during the past 3'ear there was collected within our bounds thirty-seven ccnta missionary money to the member, not- withstanding the unfavorable circunv stances under which the claims of mis- sions were presented and the collections taken. Second — We are more than ever com- manded that the plan laid down in our Discipline requiring the pastor of a charge to hold a general missionary meeting, and also preach a missionary sermon and ap])oint a soliciting com- mittee at every appointment, who with himself shall canvass the class and com- munity to solicit funds for missions,, should be adopted by all of our itiner- ants. Third — We are gratified with our mission in Africa, and shall give it our hearty support. Fourth — Being a Mission Conference,, we will do all we can to increase the contributioni^ of our people to the cause of missions so as to be able with the hel]) of the Board to kec]) all of our faithful itinerants in the field, and in- duce others to come to our Conference and become permanent laborers among us. Now, there, reader you have it. Let- us analyze the report. First we have= Historij of the United Brethren in Christ in Ccdifornia. 43 4iu expression of gratitude for what good had boon doue in collecting the small sum of thirty-seven cents jier member. Then we have an inference by reference to unfavorable circum- stances for the presentation and collect- ing of the funds. This is followed up hj the imperative, thus saith the Disci- pline. Then comes a citation to the good Avork in Africa and a pledge of support, which is final!}' climaxed by a lesson taken from the Golden Eule. We call that a close approximation to the Latin phrase, Atje quod agis, i. e. •'Do wliat you are doing — finish what you are about." There were five hundred dollars ajjpro- jjriated to the missions for the ensuing year, and two hundred and ten dollars assessed to the various fields of labor. The aj^propriation from the parent Board v,as eight hundred dollars for this year, which gave them consider- able liberty to throw out inducements for laborers. The}^ offered to pay their missionaries one half in advance. This M\'is a mistake, and resulted in the loss of some money. Rev. J. H. Young did not remain here very long, but soon became homesick, find went back to Illinois. It has al- ways been difficult to get men to come here, or stay in the ministry, or in the field long Avhen they did come. There iire more at work now than there have been at any previous time since the organization of the Conference in the State. But that many of them are established here is a matter yet in the futui'e. No one stands committed. Fiickinger once said that the only wa}^ to succeed in a certain territory was to send men into it who wanted to go to heaven from that territor3^ Cal- ifornia is now more permanently estab- lished, however, in her church work than ever before, and will, by the bless- ings of God, succeed in the future with- out a doubt. The Conference of 1873 was to have convened near Woodbridge, but finally, after the members gathered to a camp meeting that was in progress at the time and place of the Conference, they received word that they should omit holding the Conference at the time. Paul said, years ago, what many should heed with profit to-day, viz : " When sinners entice thee, consent thou not " One high in the cause of the Master, fell into a temptation that came very nearly doing mischief, " but God forgave him, seeing he did it ignorantly." " Do not rashly judge Iby brother, ]f he stamljle in the way ; Life's beset with sore temptation — He has fallen, and you may. ! 1 think it ill becomes us Thus to judge our brother's case : Let us wait till we have triumphed, Standing in the self same place." There were none of the Bishops here at this time. The preachers, Avith few exceptions, resumed their respective fields under the district supervision of Bro. Field, the Presiding Elder, and continued to labor for another j^ear. G. C. Starr, however, lost his fidelity to the cause, and after some gross misrep- resentations and very unjust and unbe- coming actions, left the field to which the committee had assigned him, and refused to refund one hundred dollars money that he had drawn upon condi- tion of rendering good service for it, which thing he never did. The Confer- ence passed an act of censure upon his conduct, and erased his name from the Conference Journal. Eev. J. L. Field labored very hard during these years. The same may be said of Kev. J. W. Harrow. He is one of the pioneers of the State, and has served the Conference ever since its beginning here. 4i ITi^lorj of the United Brethren in Chriai in Gdifornia. The Conference of 1874, convened at Woodbridge, San Joaquin County. Bishop J). Edwards presided at this session of the Conference. This was his second trip to the coast, and in the providence of God, the h\st visit he made to these parts, for the angel of death came to take him awaj' to his home in the beyond. The people still speak of his Sabbath morning sermon as one of the best efforts to which they ever listened. His subject was upon Elijah, the great prophet of God. And when he (Edwards) arrived at the time and place of the approaching chai'iot, he took his auditors through the sensations tliat would naturally follow such a scene, until he had them all wrapped in eager expectation, when suddenly the fiery steeds rushed into the scene, and the prophet, leaning forward, leaped into the glowing ve- hicle and was out of sight. But just at this instant, the Doctor let his handkerchief fall as the mantle of Elijah fell, when the entire audience felt a peculiar realization of the event, such as they had never realized before. Dr. Edward's descriptive powers were great, and served hini greatly in im- pressing the people with the truth. Ho had the power to shape his theme so that it would appear like a living creature, with eyes, and a mouth, and hands, and feet — a moving, talking, mental or spiritual giant, whose foot- steps lingered at the door of your un- standing, until you urged him to enter and take full possession of all you had. This Church may never have another Edwards, hut the writer is glad to note that there is an Elisha upon whom "the mantle of Edwards has fallen," and God be praised, the waters are being divided and God's people are crossing in the land of rest. They are coming nearer the furnace and asking: the greater I'efiner to purify them, and. "cleanse them from all lilthiness of the flesh," so that the}' may be able to "perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord." But Wt' pus.H to the Conlc-rence and to its deliberations briefly. Kcv. Phile- mon Beck joined the Confei'cnce at this sitting. Humboldt and Sacramento dis- tricts were consolidated, and the dis- trict called California district. Bro. Field was j)laced on the district. It consisted of seven appointments, wiili a travel of three thousand miles dur- ing the year. But notwithstanding the hardshi2)s to be borne, Jjto. Field filled his appointments and stuod at his- post without a lailure. He crossed the mountains several times from the Sac- ramento Valley to the Humboldt work, a distance of two hundred and seventy- five miles, on horseback. One night a mountain panther came near him where ho had camped for the night, and kept up a 7nost awful cry for houi-s. It I made the cold chills run over him. His- ! horse shuddered with fear, and sought protection. It was a dangerous place to be in. The wild beasts might htive ' torn him to pieces, but He who sent 1 an angel to close the mouths of the I lions in the den at J^abylon, was well i acquainted with the s^ituatiou of his servant, and would keep him in safety. "For as the hills are round about Jeru- salem, so the angel of the Lord en- campeth round about them that fear him." The year 1874 being the centennial I year of our Church, the Conference I passed the following appropriate resolu- I tion: I WiiKRKAS, Goil in his providence has ; raised up a pcoj)le known as the United I Brothrcn in Chi'ist — :• j)eople who are Historij of the United Brethren in Christ in California. willing to liear the Cross lor their Master; iiud Whereas, A. D. 1874 is the 3'car set apart by the General Conference, to be celebrated by the Church as the cen- tennial of our Zion in J\meriea; there- lore, Jicymlrrd, First— That we liail with jo}"" the centennial year. Second — That as ministers and peojjle we reconsecrate ourselves, our fannlies, and our property to the Master's cause. Third — That we will work with greater zeal than ever before for the various interests of the Church, and to advance scriptural holiness among us on this coast, so that w^e may bo able to nay ere long that Ave have sufficiently ju'ogressed in the work to assume finan- cial responsibilities, and lie no longer dependent on the Parent Board, but bear a part in general with our sister conferences in carrying forward the various enterj)rise8 of the Church. Fourth — That as a Conference, we appoint a committee to draft a pro- gramme lor a general centenary meet- ing some time during this Conference sessioii, and that such meetings bo held throughout the territory, the same to be announced through the Eeliqioub Telescope. Twenty-five years of our history had now elapsed since our people first came to the State and set up their standard here. They had preached the Gospel from the Nevada line on the east, to the Bay of San Francisco on the west; and from near Cape Mendocino on the north, to Tulare on the south. Their itinerants had passed over mountains and plains from the earliest times of the influx to the gold mines in the rich domains that had just fallen into our possession. They thought it a fitting- time to give vent to their feelings, and expression to their sentinents upon this occasion. Reflect a moment, reader. One hun- dred year of "a great Christian denomi- nation ■"■ had passed away. During this time they had planted themselves firmly in America, and had established missions in West Africa, ni Canada, and in Ger- many. Their cause had assumed n)am- nioth proportions, and was moving on with gigantic power in the aggressive conflict between righteousness and sin. Their peculiar principles were quite averse to the popular views and the so- cialistic ideas of the people ; and in ordei- to maintain themselves and push tliei!- cause onward, they must endui'e like good soldiers the hottest of the light. Those who are acquainted with this Church to-day AvilJ readily understand what we mean by the conflict rel'ei'red to- above. Our Church seeks no other sonvce- or inducement to success except the naked merits of the cause itself. Even their auxiliaries are of themselves organic, and are calculated to occupy an indispensa- ble place in the s[ihere of Christian labor. God has blessed them superabundant) v, and is still directing them by his counsel, and through the merits of Jesus's blood will afterwards receive them to glory. At four o'clock on Sabbath afternoon they held a centenary meeting on the Conferejice giounds. Rev. E. H. Curtis conducted the opening exercises. This was followed by an addi'ess on the Rise and Progress of the United Brethren in Christ by Doctor Edwards. Rev. C. W. Gillett then spoke of the financial f<;a- tures of the Church and their claims upon the people. Rev, J, L. Field then followed. His subject vv-as, "The Neces- sity for a greater Consecration and Spir- itual Interest generally." The exercises were most interesting, and gave the peo- ple such an idea of our work and workers as they never had had before. Bishoj) Edwards spoke at night from the words, "And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." The occasion was another one of those wheiti 4G History of the United Brethren in Christ in Calif ornia. thujider clouds shot out tlieir missiles of concealed potencies, lighlin<>- the pathway from the stellar ])avilion on higli to the dark abode where it lost itself amidst the confusive rubbish of liturgical superfluities. Mt. Zion was portrayed to the hearer. The grandeur of the "Holiest of the Holy" was described behind that needle wrought veil. l?ays ijf light stole out from the mystic canopy of the temple, while the crj' of the infu- riated mob as if in mullled tones came from Fort Golgatha and minghnl with it, the low sobs of distress fi'om the ''daugh- ters c>f Zion,'- who were watching their Lord in the bitter agonies of that awful hour, and just when the sun refused to look upon the sight, and the penumbi-a from the exterior world reached the scene, and while the low whispers of the wor- shi])pers was about to die away in the distance, and the priest with the blood of expiation to enter the sanctorum, a death- like silence reigned for a moment, and then with a crash, indescribably awful, but wonderfully grand, the veil o( the temple Avas rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Oh, the power of the mighty Edwards I The Conference closed to convene at Colusa, in Yolo County, one year hence. Bishop Weaver was expected to be pres- ent then, and the great and good work was expected to move on, but we are sorry to have to chronicle that the Conference lacked men to fill the works, and suffered much in conse(juence of it. Yet amidst it all success has crowned their efforts all alono; the'se vears. CHAPTER IX. fylll'] Conference of 1875 was held at Fairview, Colusa County, about twelve miles west of Colusa City. That Conference settled the question of suc- cess in the State with the United Breth- ren. They saw the necessity of taking bold of the work more vigorously. Bishop Weaver deserves great credit for his manly effort to supply this work v.'ith men. lie presented the claims of alifornia Conference to the Board in unmistakable terms, and they immedi- ately issued a call for two men. The men came. The Conference of 1875 was a very profitable one. It was at this session that Bro. Weaver received the five twenties in U. S. gold coin. The lieUgloiifi Telescope readers will re- member what he said about it. The works recognized by the Conference at that time were Humboldt Circuit, J'Vathcr Biver Mission, the Yolo work, including Monument, Stockton and Paradise Mission, and the Clear Lake and Tulare Missions. We shall now briefl}' glance at the work for the four 3'ears of labor since we arrived u])on the coast. There were but three men in the itinerancy at this time. Humboldt County was supplied by local preachers, with D. F)by as Pre- siding Elder, but they were expecting a su])ply from the parent Board. C. W. Gillett was the Presiding Elder of the south district, embracing the Counties of Tulare, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin, while J, L. Field presided over the re- maining territory. The works, with two exceptions, were not supplied. The writer came to the work in August, 1875, and went immediately to Paradise Circuit. The travel around this circuit was one hundred and fifty-six miles. This distance had to be made every two weeks besides the extensive travel lllfiiorji of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 47 necessary to visit the scattered flock. The circuit was made up of two mis- sions, viz : Stockton and Paradise, and was very weak. Tlicy agreed to pay ?300 for the time intervening my arri- val and the appi'oaching Annual Con- ference — eight months. But the Lord Messed the work greatly, and many were adtled to the C^iuirch, and when the time had expired, they had paid .>'S00 or SI 0(1 per month. The second year the}' j)aid $117 per month. Ilev. G. W. Burtner also met with unprece- dented success at llumbohJt. He reached his field in October, 1875, and remained nearly three years, during which sev- eral protracted efforts were held in the •church and upon the camp ground that resulted in numerous conversions and a g;eneral awakening of the entire cora- rauuity. The year following, Kev. T. J. Bauder came to labor among us. Dur- ing his protracted effort at Monument there were quite a nunil)er converted. Eev. A. Musselman, who then lived in the city, and who had been looking about for a location for the Church, secured a place the jetxv preceding the arrival of Bro. Bauder to hold a pro- tracted meeting. Ivov. J. L. Field and the writer were consequent!}' invited, and held services in the Calvary Bap- tist Church. In the language of Bro. F. we but add, "this was the entering wedge into the city." Bro. Musselman continued to preach as opportunity of- fered, and man}' became attached to us und to the manner in which our minis- ters dealt out the God given treasures of divine truth. Bro. M. soon made arrangements by the help of the breth- ren at Monument, and purchased the First Baptist Church property, situated !)etvveen K and L streets, on Fourth. We came in possession of the property in October, 1877. The Board of Mis- sions contemplated the city mission for Bvo. Eauder. But this brother came to the Conference by transfer, and became the property of the Conference, and was employed by them as they thought best. They honored him with the posi- tion of Presiding Elder. This, as a matter of course, prevented the Station- ing Committee fronx employing him in the cit}', as the city work required the whole time of the missionar}-. But we go back. The Conference of 187G was held in Kohnerville, Humboldt County; Bishop Glossbrenner presided. Some of the preachers traveled one thousand miles to reach the place and return home. Bro. Field and J. W. Harrow went on horseback over the Coast Kange Moun- tains at the time, a distance of two hun- dred and seventy-five miles. The Bishop took occasion to again correct the error that has been go- ing the rounds that this Church is a branch of the iMethodist Episcopal Church, and also that we are opposed to temperance because we hold to the Gospel plan of saving men, and do not allow our members to lock themselves up in an upper room with sentinels at the door to carry on a cause that is open unto all men. There were but few changes made at this Conference' besides those already indicated. The next Conference convened at Bur- neyville, September 10th, 1877, Bishoj) N. Castle, presiding. This Conference par- took largely of the devotional character, and resulted in awakening the people, and especially the Church. Kev. D. Shuck came among us at this time, which gave us in connection with the traveling preachers then liere quite a band of workers. Bro. Burtner en- tered Eureka City on the Humboldt Baj' during the last year of his labors in 48 History of (/,e Vnihd Breilmn in Cloisl ir> Cah'fornif the county. The city work has since been considered of such importance as to become a mission station. Bro. John McBride went to P^eather River Mission, and Bro. M. Morris, and afterward Bro. C. W. Gillett, had charge of Clear Lake Mission. Bro. Bauder took Yolo Cir- cuit into charge as a supplj^ until the mission on which he was stationed would open more fully. The writer was on the Paradise Circuit, J. W. Harrow on the Tulare work, and Bro. Field Presid- ing Elder, Large appropriations were laade for tlie ensuing year, and the mis- sion fields v(;ry much encouraged. We tried the plan of giving the Piesiding Elders a circuit or missio)i, and a small tlistrict, but found that t}ie people were dissatisfied, and two of the Elders nu>r- tified with the out(;omc. Jt is j)laii> that if the Elder leaves his own work to i^upply another without having his })ulpit occupied, he will not find his lloek satis- fied ; but to mutual!}^ exchange with the preacher whose Quarterly Confereiu-e he is going to hold, will general prove satis- factory. AVe will learn to work to a greater advanlage after a while. IJishop Castle came among us to reinaiii durino- the cpiadrennial term. His coming was indeed a blessing to us at the time. He is a tried man, and is able to serve the Church in any capacity to which they may call him. He is the best logician we ever heard, and in lingual ilow is certainly an adopt. One hears the calm zephyr playing with the leaflets, or the rolling wave in a calm wind near the sea- shore, or th(i boom of the breaker in a a stoini. Or one can hear the breaking of the rocks, or feel the sensation of aerial motion, as he sends his voice into the foliage, or speaks of the ship of faith in a storm of oj)position, or describees the wasting mountain of stone, or follows him as lie soars toward some etluM-eal ol)ject in the impenetrable lu'ight. He trjlv stands in the ]>ath tnxlden bv l)v. Ed- wards, and liowever jxTsoual thr^se sav- ings may seem, they aie nevertheless fully matured and leadilv apply as ap- l^licd. i,uk(\ the historian, gives us many incidents in which tlu^ workers as well as their work is brought to view. The ''JJeloved Paul and liiirnabas'' w<'re the men who had •' hn/.,ird('d their lives for the Lord .fesus." BTSirOP X. CASTLE. Ibit we p;iss oil. The next ( 'onfert^Mice- convened at Woodhridg*'. Septend)er IHh, bSrS. Bisho]) Castle was with us again. Bro. J). Sluuk had Imm'U absent, from here nine years, but returned to labor again anu)ng the United Brethren on the coast. The session at Wood- bridge was largely attendi-d, and was ol real worth to all who attended it- It was held in th(> new l)rick church, built during tlie pastoiate of Bro. J"'ield, and is the neatest church in the Conference. Woodbridge is quite an enterprising- place. There are between four and fiviv hundicd inhabitants in the vilhioe. They Historu of tite United BrcUa'cn in Chrisf in California. 49 liave a beautiful seminary with a flourish- ing- school now in progress, Avith Prof. D. A. Moble}^, a g-raJuate of Hartsville University, Indiana, also of Union Bibli- cal Seminary at Dayton, Ohio, as teacher. They also have an excellent piimary school and a Higli school department, 'i'here are four church oroani/ations in tlie ])lace, viz : The United Bretlu-en in Christ, the Presbyterian, the M. K. Church (south), and the Catholic. These have two edifices: The United Brethren brick church, and the Catholic church. The otheis worship in a hall. Tiiey have {)reachers and doctors and drugoists ; capitalists and l)rokers ; teleora])h and post office ; \yells, Fargo express ; regu- lar stage lino Avilh daily mail ; dress- makers, American and Chinese laundries; bai'ber shop, meat market, carpenter shop, wagon and buggy shop, paint shop, blacksmith shop, harness, and boot and slioe shops, hardware and tin store ; a large jewelry establishment, a drug store, two large dry good stores, livery, hotel, and private boarding places, etc., etc. The etcs. embrace several licensed nui- sances that could not live six months if some citizens of the place and surround- ing community did iu:>t patronize them. The Conference apjjointed a committee of three to prospect with the view of establishing an institution of learning for the Church in California. Ovw peo- ple everywhere are encouraging cduca- tiou. Thej^ are erecting schools of learning in all quarters of our Zion. California Conference should not be behind in these things. The reports on education for the last twenty years ought to culminate in something more than reiteration. ThejMvill ; they must. And if they do not now^, the potential is certainly hidden in the low clouds of the indicative. AVe expect our people to take such an interest with the com- mittee in the school question as will put the success of the enterprise beyond all doubt of success. The work during the year had made some progress. Several new classes had been added to the Church, The Chinese question was agitated strongly. AYe have no desire to commit the Church in her views upon this matter, and will therefore not pre- sume to say what they are in the spe- cific sense, but the subject of the edu- cation and Christianization of the Chi- nese claimed our attention at the time- Several of the speakers took occasions to refer to the popular ideas in this. State concerning the disposal of the Asiatics among us, but did not propose an}' plan upon which to secure the equipose of the disturbed state of affairs existing among those who tried to es- tablish the sentiment of the ancients, viz: l^o.c popul!^ vo.v Dei — "The voice of the people is the voice of God," as contrasted with those who are subject to the laws that be, and who instead of submitting the matter to State legisla- tion wish to submit it to the Federal Government. In an article that we contemplate jniblishing in pamphlet form, we have written at large ui^on this question, viewing it from every side, and placing the Chinese in this country Avhere in the providence of God they are serving a purpose and occup3'ing a j)lace within the "bounds of their habitation." The Conference report urged the speedy evangelization of the Chinese in America. Indulge us while we give you our experience laboring among the Chinese in Sacramento in 1877-8. We occupied the Fourth street church, which has since been moved to Fourteenth and K streets. After studying their peculiar- ities several months and getting a nioda.-< operandi, we ventured to form a mission 50 Historij of the United Brethren in Christ in Col.ijornia. school I'or Chinamen. We formetl the :ic- quaiuLance of quite a number of them, and among thou was one Wah Lee, an intelligent fellow. Wc had him write a notice lor us in the language of his counLrj'^men, so that seeing they might understand. He is a translation of it: Chinamen are invited to come here KVERY Sunday, where an Amekican MAN WILL TEACH THEM TO READ AMERI- CAN — TO READ IN THE BlRLE. CoME EVERY Sunday at 12 o'clock. The flood of the Winter prevented us from going on with the school. Several Chinamen came to us and in- quired about the school, and seometl glad to have an opportunit}' to learn our language. American people are too hasty with the heathen whom God has placed in their reach; yea, ])u't in their midst, and frequently act so unbecom- ing as to plainly indicate that the}' are far beh>w those whom they w-ish to elevate. A'"ery man}^ of these Chinese iiave sensibilities that rise as high as those of other people. Their degreda- lion is often the result of the inhuman abuse that they receive at the hands of )uerciless white men, who use liberty as an occasion of inherent antipath}^ or unrestrained lust. We praise Cod that "justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne." lie who said, "Ask. and I will give thee the heathen foi* thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession," will bring it to pass, even as he has written. Let it be remarked, that the Califor- nia Conference favor the speedy Chris- tianization of the Chinese in their midst, and as will be seen in the re- port unanimously adopted at the last Conference session, that they are now taking steps to commence the work. Men may scoff and frown, and cast their vile epithets at us if they will, but he who allowed the " woman that was a sinner" to kneel at His feet, and bathe them with her tears, will not frown. The day is coming when some who are now proud of their antipathy towards the Asiatic race, would be glad to pick the crumbs from the table that God has prepared for the poor creatures in the presence ot their enemies. The time is also certainly approaching when those wdio are marked as "heathen fanatics," will shine in the galaxy of the redeemed of (Jod, while the proutl, and haughty and sncei'ors, "under whoso tongue is the j^oison of asps," will sink into the very gulf of oblivion, or the cesspool of irrevocable doom. Would that a sheet could be let down Irom heaven to teach some Peter, that " who- sover fearcth God and worketh right- eousness, is accepted of him." CIIAl'TJ-:!!. X. |)i:\'. 1). 1). HART joined our ranks at th(3 Cunference in September, 1878, and was immediately sent to the Sacra- mento City work, where his lalxMS have been franght with good. H' the reader will now l)riclly review (Ik; work from flic beginning, taking notice of the rise and decline of tin; work, which like the waxing and waning luster of the moon. has exli!i)iU'il its cvciV phase, he will be able to see tin; great work that has been done in the last few years. But before we give facts in figures, let us glance at the last Annual Confer- ence, held at Up[)er Lake, Lake County, California. Bishop N. Castle presiding. It commenced on the *i7th of August, 18i!>, and continued four ilays. All of the itineiants exci'pt one, was present ab Ulslovii of the United Brethren in Christ in California. 51 tilt hist session; and hvit lew of the k>oal |»rHachers wtMO ahsent. All of the fielc's of labor were well represented. Tlie l)'.i>iness transactions indicated some fore- tli-lit, and we arc ({uite sure, created soiii" afh^rtlioiig'ht; l>>it whatever conchi- >ii >ns niav ha\'i' been forne'd concerning- tin- " plans.'" one thing is cpiite plain ; i.e., thiiiii'> dill not go as expocte, whi'ii the ex- ]>e>,'. ations are premature. 'V\w wise man said, " A man's liesrt deviseth his wav. hut the Lord direeteth his steps." Tilt' following- reports should have a place in the history, inasmuch as tl\ey show what has Ixmmi don(% and what now •exi-ts as a basis for future calculations : KKJ'our ON v;i)n A ih)X. ^VnKKKAS, The edneation of the youth is no longer a matter of contention, and their culture and traiinng is one of the indispensable requisites that accompany the successful uhmi and women of this century; and, WuKUK.vs, ()ur youth are born i'l a hind where^art has paved the stadium ill which they are to run the race of indiistry and frugality, and where sci- ence has engraved her latest and most accurae developments upoti tlie broad scroll that arches over them, while the literary storehouse of the treasured deposits of centuries is spreading the coticurrent events of every ag-e, and more fully of tins golden day — a day replete with the lich and hnished cul- ture of true giMHus Mud of profound scholarship — and, Wi'.PMJKAS, An early choi<-i' of sonu; useful and profitable avocation of life should be made, and inasmuch as the candidates for the great theater of life in which the}^ are to bear some humble part, are to qualify themselves in that artmeiit of the scientific and literary riirrlcuJimii of studies best adapted to their s])here; ther(dV)re, JiMolrcd., That this Conferenee i-n- eourag-e every favorable step in the direc- tion of placing- the proper facilities for the trainiiiii- of th(» young- within their reach, and aid them to the extent ot their ability to riM-eive the advantages of an education. liesolved., Second — That we encourage the schools that are in our midst, and especially those of our own or under our auspices, and in such coniiiiunities as are accessible to our people. Ix€iard of Trustees consisting of nine to take and fill the place as set forth in th(^ articles of agreement en- tered into by the committee and the Trustees of the seminary. KKI'OUT ON I'ACIFIC TEI.KSCOJ'H. We, your Com nittee on Pacific Telk- scoi'K, would respectfully submit the fol- lowing r(!port : We feel that the Pacific TiiJ.KScoi'i!: has done a good work among us, and r(^gret very much to have it discontinued, for we have been enabled through its telescopic lens to see nuxny things we otherwise would have not been able to see, and feel that we shall miss its friend- ly visits very much; Init after careful investigation, feel that we could not suc- ceed financially at present, at least. We therefore recommend that the item 52 llistovij of (Jte Uii/ftd Brdlo'en in Christ in Odifornia. of the report on puhlishing- interests re- ferring to the continuation of the Pacikk" Tklescopp:, be stricken out. Itesolced^ That tlie earnest and zealous efforts i)ut forth by the editor, li^w H. J. Becker, in sustaining the paper thus far are commendable, and we hope and pray he may feel that God is in its discontin- uance, and hope tlie time may come in the near future, wlien tiie little messen- ger may make its appearance among vis again. cHlNKhE .MISSION. Recognizing as we do thf Fatherhood of God and the universal Brotherhood of man, and the binding obligation upon Christians to obey the commands of the Master to "preach the Gospel to every creature," and inasmuch as in the provi- dence of God thousands of Chinese are in our country who are strangers and foreigners, living without the light of the Gospel ; therefore, Jieso/red, First — That we l)elieve it to be the duty of Christians to d(} what they can to bring these foi-eignei-s under the power of the Gospel. Second — That we as a Cluux-h sliould commence a mission lunong tljem as eaily as practical)lroved fatal. He reached Eureka City very much af- flicted on the thirtieth of August, an ('hurch in California. His- life and labors have endeared him to the whole Church, but more especially to the people of (yalifoinia. We cherish the memory of so good and St) great a man. Our memories linger about his footstejis with sacred fondness. Your committee recommends that a. special committee of one from each Pre- siding Elder district In; appointed to con- fer with the near relatives of the de- ceased brother with reference to exhum- ing the body and conveyini>- it to some desirable place for permanent burial, and foi- the purpose of erecting a monument to his menioiy. IT. .T. BkiKKK, ( 'ommittee. i;i:i'oi:r <>i" riii: si.\ ii.VMrrjKK. Humbt)ldt District. — H. J. Becker, P. E. Humboldt Circuit, .1. L. Field; Mendocino Mission, to be supplied; Eureka Mission Station, H. J. Becker. Sacramento District. — D. Shuck, P. E. Sacramento Mission Station, D. D. Hart ; Yolo Circuit, J. J, Gallager, by J'. E.; assistant, R. Metcalf; Feather River Cir- Uistori/ of I lie United Brfthren la Chri' R . S 2. Hl'MKOI.llT I>rSTR10T I i Humholclt Circuit..^ Mi $20 $4o' JId | $1 $.i Eureka Mission St.; 40 Id' 20; 2 ) 1 | 2 Mendocino Mission 40i b ' ; | SACRAMKNTO DIST. ' ! Pacrain'to Mis. St. fiOj 2ti Yolo Circuit 100 Clear Lake Circuit.! 40 Feather River Cir..; 50J 15 VVoodbridge Cir \ 80! 25 80: 25 40 32 Stanislaus Circuit., Calaveras Mission.. Morgan Valley Mis TULARE DISTRICT. Tulare Mission Visalia Mission Madaria Mi.ssion... 25 2 ; 25 60 2} 10 20 1 aO 2 50 2 50 2 i Ui 5 1 50, 50| 40 5 10 5 lOi 2i 5 $300 400 50 100 100 100 These reports show a grtjat and good work. The (/hinese Mis.sion will no doubt be a success. The report on the contemplated monument to the memory of Rev. Israel Sloane, meets with uni- versal ai>proval. It would not be very difficult to secure money for the monu- ment, and at the same time endow a chair in a university in California, to be called the "Sloane Chair." If a man were to go to the different United Brethren Conferences in the United States and in Canada, and make a general appeal to the Church at large in this interest, $■^5,000 could be raised in one year; the interest of which, in connection with the tuition, would defray the expenses of the school. \Vhile we stand first to suggest it, there are many who would come to the front ranks with from '^lliii to $1,000 to secure it. The report on the Pacific Tki.k>< oi'K was not, M'e trust, a rash act. It was done at (jui' suggestion. Had we le- mained in Sa('rameiito "\'alley, the paper might perhaps hav(i continued. It would be better for Oregon, Walla Walla, and California Conferences, to pul^lish a paper at some convenient point that would serve all of them. The Pacific Tele;- SCOPE was an individual enterprise that succeeded beyond the most sanguine ex- pectations of the proprietor. It speaks for ■ itself. It is not dead, nor in a swoon, nor a sleep like Rij) Yaw Winkle, ta- wake up after a score of years; but lias only stepped to one side for a time to gather scrolls and (juills, and at some time "in the near future," (see I'eport) rise again, and wear an inky crown. The statistics of the Conference show that the membership in the last five years has increased in numbers three to one. and the itinerants ten to three. All other interests have equally come up. Our or- ganized works are now all supplied, but there are places contiguous to most every field we now occupy that ought at once to be entered b}^ us. The Conference elected ii Board of Trustees for VV^oodbi-idge .Seminary. ai5d accepted the report of the Committee on the School (Question. The school is open, and the work is going on. The work of educating is perhaps the most difficult thing that can be undertaken, but when once begun will help to keep itself in motion. Professor D. A. Mobley is teaching in the seminary, and is well liked by the students. The entire Conference is better organized for work than they have ever been, and great results are looked for. The higher life is being largely advocated by the preachers. Several of them o4 IHslorij of th' Uitilfd Brethren i/t. Christ in CaUfornia. have cx[)crieneed what ii is to he C-lcallSOvl throili;"h the hUnxl ol' iho LiiMih. J>ir?hoi) ^'ji'*'-'''' l'!'"^ i^iveii MOW litf to ihf entire coast, and especially t«.) Calit'uriiia. in the doctrine of soul health. The '• Wondeui'ul Sayini;-.-. '" of hi> wife in her last days upon earlh ha^ done a marvelous \voi-l< here. Some try to read the tract containing- her exj)eriencc, and have to stop and weep. Others are mf)ved to confession, and ■Still others to earnest inquir}- comern- ing what the}' must do to be saved. What aSistor Sloane (deceased) was to Cali- iornia, Sister Castle was to Oregon. Their s))irit and patience are (losely allied to each other. Tiieir dying tcs- liiijony will ever live to light up the dark vuik\y to those who are lefl to et;ter its sliadovvs at a later lime. And now, to conclude, we have taken the reader through the ••early da\s'" ot Calitorida, and have led him among the '■I'.irder I'uffians" in the mountains and in the valley's until the countrj' and the ])eople have become fumiliur to him. We have set forth the state of society and the endeavors of our preachers to win the people to Christ. The i^altcr and manner of work has also been pre- sented, ami the successes and reverses have been noted. Hundreds have gone IVom this field who are now at rest. \^t one in the hist >r} of our work in this State. .N[av ii the face of the history of other nations. The prediction of the prophet l)ani(>l has not yet lost its force, vi/, : "Many shall lun to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Com- mercial intercourse with the nations of the earth is as necessary to the j)rosperity and welfare of the people as is the right of the elective franchise to the perpe- tuity and stability of a r(!pul)li(;an form of government. National affiliation is God's plan of national itineracy, and it is our own firm belief that the Infinite Dispenser of all good seeks by such affiliation to bring about the moral and intellectual equilibrium of the nations of the earth, and that America is the honored storehouse from which if thev "hold fast that which they have that no man take their crown," He will dispense the universal blessings of His grace THE CHINESE QUESTION. 67 that will enable the kingdoms and nations of this world to become the kingdoms of His Son forever and ever. Look well to America in prophecy before you raise again your hand against any being whom God has created and endowed with reason and understanding, and by a plain Providence placed at your door that you might give him a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple and receive a disciple's reward. Shall we violate the claims set forth in the Burlingame Treaty ? They have already in part been violated, and China has a right to demand that the matter be a<: justed by the United States. It is not the prerogative of the offending party to say how the matter shall be adjusted. Kome and Greece were not careful to respect their treaties with other nations and were stigmatized as being untrue to then- most sacred vows. J. Washington Goodspeed says : '•'■ JSfations, like individuals, are bound by certain lav^s tchich gomrn and control their relation and conduct toinard each other.'''' Mr. Goodspeed further says : '••In, this age a nation would be irredeetnably disgraced loho would willfully outrage or violate a treaty.'''' JBut the laws regulating the commercial relations existing between the United States and China are not all affected by the treaty. Chinamen came here before the treaty, and would no doubt come were it declared null 'and void. When our Congress m 1?98 declared that all treaties between France and the United States were null and void, they did not bolt the doors of our seaports against ships bringing Frenchmen to America. The design of the Burlingame treaty was not to open the channels of immi- gration but to protect Chinamen among us and secure the pi'otection of the Chinese Goverinnent over American citizens then resident in China. Their people have not been protected here, as will be seen in the further showing of this question, and in view of the treatment that they are receiving here, we do them a great injustice and bring upon ourselves the disapproval of good men evervwhere. The Eastern press is not alone in commenting upon the China question, but men of both brains and morals — men recognized among the most reputable citizens of this State — are in full sympathy with their Eastern brethren in condemning the actions of the pretended reformers among us. Let it be said I'ight here, that there will be visited upon us the displeasure of God if we do not act consistently in this matter. But we pass to our second state- ment. The universality of national liberty and the indispensable pursuits cf ho test industry are foremost among the inalienable rights of man. in all governments ichose independefice is recognized and declared. When tlie fathers of our republic were about to present the facts of the repeated injuries and usurpations of the king of Great Britain to a candid world, they prefaced tiieir allegations by the following statement : "We hold these TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EYIDEXT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL ; THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS; THAT AilONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUITS OF HAPPINESS." For the establishment of this principle they expended their money and hazarded their lives. The story of their patriotism and the justice of their claims have become the ideal of statesmen and the theme of patriotic poets all over the civilized world. Who but a foreigner would to-day question the propriety and reason- ableness of the statement above ? Every construction that can be placed upon the Constitution of the United States of America by those who love our free institutions and cherish our piinciples and our liberties only tends to prove that *'of every tribe and nation" the oppressed and down-trodden are protected and invited to enjoy with unmolested freedom "life, liberty, and the pursuits of happiness." Some of our national airs, like the ancients' "sweet lyric songs," abound with sentiments that are intended to recall the patriot's achievementg THE CHINESE QUESTION. and the provisions of national liberty fresh from the hearts of the first statesmen of our country. Prevent immigration to our shores from China except for com- mercial purposes, and you at once set bounds to liberty — a liberty, too, if anj' one choose to call it liberty, that will compare well with the liberty the Romans gave the Jews during the days of Nero and Caligula — that would be liberty environed with a selfishness of the grossest kind. And have you further con- sidered the encouragement (?) offered the Chinese Government in cas^e the}-- accept the proposed amendment to the treaty ? The following is tlie latest that has come t(j our notice : " The I'liitod States do liereby leseis'e tlie ris^tit to iei;ulatc, it'slrUM,, or prevent the ioiiui- gration of (;iiiMese subjects into the United States except for eonitnercial pursuits; and, recipro- cally, the Emperor of China reserves the riylit to prevent the iinniiji-ration of citizens of tlic United States into the Empire of ('hina except for commercial purposes." Such is tlie proposed additional article to the treaty by Congressmen Page and Pipei'. ''Commercial purposes!" Pray tell the bounds and limits of com- mercial purposes, and after you have cut them down to the narrowest limits possible, then think for one moment of saying to a free-born American citizen. We cannot protect you upon Chinese <.o\\ except you are er.gaged in commercial pursuits I ( )r think of the Emperor of China sending out a vigilant committee, headed by government detectives, to establish a Chinese inquisition in order to ascej'tain wliether our people came among them to sustain a livt^lihood by hon- est industry, the proceeds of which shall be their own, or whether they intended to enter >,orne specified calling that would not take coin from China, except that the products of their toil could be exchanged for American coin or its equiva- lent. We would suggest that some diplomat look up the Treaty of Santa Fe, and read it to some of the willing legatees before they bear the proposed "additional"' to the Emperor of China. Suppose that Congress succeeds in making the new clause a law, and that China ratifies it, and we proceed accordingly, what will the end of it all be ? What will we gain and what will we lose ? We ask again what shall we answer when asked why we allovi immigration from other nations without restriction, and freely employ immigrants who are as dangerous to our institu- tions as are Chinamen ? Let us take a case to illustrate. Mr. A wants to employ two men to work in his shop or on his farm, who shall he eniplo}' : He goes to the labor ofiice and intpiires for two men, and immediately two men respond. They are waiting for work — have been out of employment for several weeks, and will be glad to get a job of work now. But the (unployer asks them several questions, among whicii are the following : Do you ever get intox- icated y Do you regard the (Jhristian Sabbath ? Do you seek to promote the moral, social, and political interests of this State ? Does youi- money aid in building up our various institutions of learning and other institutions necessary to a nation's prosperity ? In nine cases out of ten, what would the answer be ? Now let him employ a Chinaman, and what do we hear? To show the incon- sistency of some of their strongest arguments, we will give them and our answer in juxtapositibn in the following manner: THE CHINESE QUESTION. 59 AGAINST CHINAMEN. First — Most of the Chinamen have no families here, aud can i^et alono- without takin.u' Tvovk from poor men. Second — Chinamen are foreig'n tra.sli, and liave no business here to eat up our industries. Third — • 'hiuameii work for less waii,'es than white men and thus underbid them. Fourth — Chinameu send millions of dollars to China every year, and the State does not i;-et the benetit of any of their industries. Fifth — If the Cliiuese were expelled from the State there would be plenty of work for the labrtriutc classes. Sixth — They have secret tribunals and disre- iiard their oaths in our Courts. Seventh — They smoke opium and encouraoe prostitution, and are a dissjrace to civilization. Eighth — They are heathen — will never become citizens; are inferior to Americans; are tilthy, and are danijerous to our piinciples as a nation, and unless checked, will overrun our country, and model it after the order of Confucius. AGAINST CAUCASIAN. First — Most of the tramp.s and hoodlums have no families here, and can get alone: without taking work from poor men. Seeond — Trampism and hoodlumism is a for eign trash— foreign to every American principle aud has no business here to eat up oui industries. Third — White men demand greater wages than ranchers and other employers can afford to pav, and thus lose the work. Fourth— How can they send so much when they work for so small a sum'? What benetit does the State derive from the low, lawless spend- thrifts that cry the loudest against Chinamen? Pifth — There is no Chinese underbidder East, and still men are out of employment. In com- munities in this State where Chinamen are not allowed, white men arc out of employment. Sixth— White men have secret lodges whose oaths are more binding than those taken before civil magistrates. Seventh — White men smoke tobacco, and en- courage prostitution, and are a disgrace to civ- ilization. Eiu-hth — White men are idolaters; some are vervlnferior, and will never become respectable citizens. They are tlltiiy and dangerous to our principles as a nation, and unless checked, will overrun our country, aud model it after the order of the Pope. Suppose we were to continue the long list of charges preferred against (Jhina- men and justly apply them to other classes, what would the result be ? The doctrines of Confucius are certainly far in advance of those of the Pope — the infallible dictator of the world. Jesuitism is the danger of America and not Asiatic heathenism. Read the dark and bloody deeds of Catholicism and com- pare them with Chinese barbarity, and you have before you what has been and what would be again were the Jesuits to get hold of the reins of government. Hon. Edwin R. Meade refers to the massacre that occurred at Tien-tsin, China, June 31st, 1870. AVe admit that was a horrible affair, but will you take a look at Dr. Fox's book of martyrs '•* Have you lead of the Inquisition of Spain ? That institution of human cruelty was in existence many years, and was not disbanded and destroyed until 1846. Papal arrogance needs what Bismarck gave it in Germany in 1874. It needs to be checked at once. But let us continue the argument. Compare the religion of the Chinese with the religion of organized secrecy, and what is the sequel 'i Stop a moment, reader, don't turn your head away from me now. You who have entered the Masonic lodge, please compare the religion of the lodge with the religion of Confucius, and publish your verdict. You very well know of that awful oath you took. Turn again to the first degree and read or have it read to you the horrible oath administered to you in tliat upper room, then continue your inves- gation as far as you may have ascended (?) and see with what heathen boldness the infamous institution binds you to its heathen rights and ceremonies. Is it not a matter of utter astonishment to you, intelligent reader, that men in this State who have taken the oath of the third degree of Masomy, should cry, "Heathen ! heathen !" when their own lips have just sealed the testimony of a heathenism of the darkest kind ? It has been said that the Chinese have secret tribunals, and often punish the offender according to their own law, and that they also protect their members from being punished by the civil Courts. Who that has the faintest idea of Masonic secret tribunals and Masonic Drotection in the higher degrees, but knows that there is a resemblance in the two that should lead the one to seek the other as an affinity? Shall we enumerate ? We forbear unless proofs are demanded. 60 THE CHINESE QUESTION. It is also argued that Chinamen are no help to our State. That they live cheap ; dress cheap ; are cheap, and hence can aiford to work cheaper than a white man. Are men ignorant or willfully dull and obstinate 'i Is the Central Pacific Railroad no benefit to the State ? [Kearney sa3's not.] Are the reclaimed swamp lands of no value to the State V Is the revenue of the extensive indus- tries of the Chinese in this State no benefit to it? The employment of China- men on the Central Pacific Railroad was certainly a necessity, and was at the time thought to be worthy of praise. But the road is finished now, and the swamp lands are nearly all ditched and leveed, and of course — aye — '^the Chi- nese must go." Take the statement of Rev. O. Gibson made six years ago in a lecture given at Platfs Hall, San Francisco, and you will see that enormous sums of money go into our treasuries from the (Jhinese industries in this State. The lecture was in reply to Father Buchard on "Chinaman or White Alan — Which?" On the taxation question, Mr. Gibson said: "It is charged that the Chinese do not pay taxes; that they come here only to make money ; that the ten thousand Chinese in this city do not altogether pay so much in taxes as does the one man, Michael Reese. "Unfortunatel}'^ for the strength of this argument against the 'st, all sales of intoxicating liquors as a beoerage. /Second, All licentious literature and portraiture. Third., All houses kept for unchaste pwposes., and also pre^ient the shameful theaters and plays that only serve to feed the passions and bring into demand the natural concomitants of such loio immoralities., im will soon have relief California spends more money for liquors every year than it would take to feed and clothe all the poor among them. The pleasure seekers spend enough frequently in a single gala day and night in Sacramento to clothe all of the destitute in the city, and keep them in tood for one month. Notice the mas- querade balls, the theaters and matinees, the receptions and ovations, and the private and select parties, the lotteries and prize entertainments, the excursions and picnics and festivals. Add to it the smoking and chewing of tobacco and the enormous expenditure for liquor, and you have the causes of our hard times. The New York Evening Post says that in 1870 California spent for liquors alone the enormous sum of ^59,924,080. With such a sum nine years ago, is it a wonder that the State is to day suffering from the increased sales of liquor, and the corresponding increase in crime, in misery, and in degradation ? Oh ! what shall the the harvest be? In recent official statistics it was shown that the liquor traffic cost the United States, above all income, revenue, license, etc., the astounding sum of 11,150,000,000 annually. California is not behind in her proportion of this national curse. Look at the taxes you pay. See the alms houses, the jails, and the penitentiaries. Notice the lawyers, the Judges, the juries, the witnesses, the sheriffs, and constables, and the police departments, and you will see whj' the times are so hard. Do you know that seventj'^-eight per cent of all crime is directly attributable to the sale of intoxicating liquors? Hear the language of Isaiah, xxviii, 7,8: " But they also have erred throu>;h wine, and through strong drink arc out of the way. The prie.sts and the prophets have erred through strong drink ; they are swallowed up of wine ; they are out of the way through strong drink ; they err in vision ; they .stumble in judgment. " For all tables arc ful! of vomit and filthiness so that there i.s no place clean." But again : The Chinese have a right here from every construction of our law, whether it be argued from the Federal, the State, or the Municipal Codes. The Federal Government encourages immigration to our shores, and do by the very construction of the law relating to them, encourage all who come. In President Grant's message to the iid Congress, he desired "further legis lation upon the abuses to immigrants." The State Legislature has no right to change or establish any law made by the Federal Congress, and no muni- cipal authorities have the right to deprive an}' person or number of persons of life, liberty, property, and the lawful pursuits of happiness. Who shall forbid A, B, and C from cmplojdng (Jhinamen ? By what law, and ho ■ ? By what judicial act vvill punishment be influenced ? Law " encourages what is right and prohibits what is wrong." It is perfectly right for A, and B, and C to incorporate and receive a charte«* from the State to protect them in 64 THE CHINESE QUESTION. their bueinesB. That is according to law. They now go to work and employ a number of men by a personal contract agreed upon by the firm and the men whom they emploj'ed, which, also, is according to law. The next day they (the firm) are brought before the Court to answer to a chai'ge brought against them for having five Chinamen in their employ. They reply that the charge is correct, and that they emplo^^ed twenty five men. Five of them were negroes, five were iiMHh, five Englitshmen, five Americans, and five Chinamen. '1 hat's all. 1 he Judge orders the Secretary of State to cancel the charier, and inJbrm the fiim of A, B, and C accordingly. What now ? ^Vhy the film goes I'ight along, the Chinamen are not discharged' — the charter does not affect them. There are scores of firms doing business in ihis State with- out a charter. The only benefit of a charier is that it gives a firm ^-corpo- rate powevfi to more efficiently peifor/n and earn/ out''' their business transac- tions, it law "prohibits what is wrong and encourages what is right," it is the only absolutely necessary "guarantee" any firm needs, and is the magna charta to all "rights and privileges." If the employer and the emploj'ed are interfered with, ihey have the right to ask to be protected by the municipal authorities, and it they refuse or are unable to protect them, they may appeal to the Executive of the State, and may also collect from the State or county all damages or losses sustained in case of an interference by the mob. The Supreme Court has just decided that Alleghany C^ount}^ must pay the losses tliat occurred in Pittsburg during the riots in 1877. Judge Paxton, who rendered the decision, observed : "The law will not tolerate the spec- tacle of a great city looking on with indifference while property to the value of millions is being destroyetl by a mob." When the coal miners near Massillon, Ohio, struck for higher wages during the same year, and were informed that they could not expect under existing circumsiances to have the price of mining raised, they sent back word that they would not work unless their figures were respected. What did the em- ployers do but employ a band of men who offered to work for the rejected prices. But when they came to the mines they found them guarded by the strikers, who were armed with picks and shovels, and some of them with knives and revolvers. The reader is no doubt acquainted with the bloody scenes that followed. The employers appealed fur help. They had entered into contracts to supply large manufactories and iron works, and could not afford to pay more than they were paying at the time the contracts were made. But the miners were going to show them that they had rights, and were going to "teach the big bugs a lesson that would do them good.'' '['he sheriti" with an armed posse hastened to the mines, but could not suppress the rioters. An appeal was made to the (Governor, who dispatched a company of soldiers to the seat of war, with orders to protect the men who wei'e last employed. The " l)ig bugs" did learn a lesson, and some of their obstinate teachers caught the idea ihat the '• bugs " were not of the order of Coleoptera nor descended trom the JScarabmus family. The Slate must protect her industries; if she does not, she becomes responsible for allowing her own resources to be choked up, and her public enterprises in the hands or her citizens to be destroyed. Let it be borne in mind that, in the language of Dr. M. f •. Mriggs, in his "introduction" to Kev. O. Gibson's book, entitled "The Chinese in America," we -'virtually forced the treaty upon the Chinese (iovernment for our own advantage " Shall we now, since we have used the p^or, laboring classes, and can no longer endure their habits of induHtry and economy, allow a foreign banditti to drive them from their homes and trom their workshops and their various industrial puisiiiis, and in their stead increase the army of whisky drinkerS; of tramps, and of professional hoodlums? We are sick and tired THE CHINESE QUESTION. 65 of the unkind, and certainly very inconsistent treatment given these poor, terror stricken creatures in the name and by the authority of 3 contemplated law. We distinctly remember the abuse the negroes of the South received from some of these race haters. They were branded as mere brutes ; had no souls ; never could become citizens ; would overrun the North, and take the. bread out of the mouths of poor families — thej' had better be colonized or sent back to Africa. Tlie negroes must go. "iVo niggers need apply?'' The writer was then in the service of the Tnited States, and stood ready to pro- tect the poor, down-trodden African ; although in many quarters alter his return home, his sympathy for the oppressed was exceedingly distasteful.. We also faintly remember when the cry rang out, " No Irish need apply." They said the country was overrun with them, and we would soon be swal- lowed up by them. VV^cll, some were swallowed, but like Jonah, have escaped being digested, and to our utter astonishment are gathering at the wharf ready to be swallowed again. Men of law, men of sense, men of reason : What do you mean ? Have! you lost every spark of humanity that throbs in the breasts of a free man ? Call to your minds the check President Grant gave naturalized American citizens during the Fenian irruption in 1869. Look again at the final- adjustment of the "Alabama Claims" between England and America, and the final settlement of the " P'isliermen's Rights," and the "Navigation of the Great Lakes and other navigable waters lying within the territory ot either government;" and also the location of the "San Juan boundary." Examine the "law of nations," and look up several precedents where the diplomacy of nations have been vexed, and settlements made b^^ joint IJigh Commis- sions appointed by the nations at issue. Shall we deviate from the right? Shall we be led by the mob or by the defen noir at our door. The population of the globe is estitnated at 1,M8, 145,300, and of this number 7,1>31,080 are Jews, 1*86,860,076 arc Roman Catholics, 82,926,049 arc of the (xreek Church, l.Hl,091,941 are Protestants, 10^.45:5,594 are Mohammedans, 1,007,190 are Jlajians and Parsees, and 485,015,475 are Buddhists, religions of the Bast ^nd Pagans. Four hundred millions of the last named are Chinese. The Jews are a separate people, and are looked to as a peculiar people tfitill. No one seems to be particularly concerned for them in America from ^he consideration that their destiny, both present anel future, is thought to be a matter of prophetic prediction. The Catholics are earnestly at work to bring the world to acknowledge supremacy to the Pope, and arc no real ■encouragement to the work of bringing the Chinese from their idolatry from the fact that the Chinaman cannot see why his wooden images and Deity por- traitures are not as virtuous and as efficacious to save as the plaster of Paris images and the paintings of the saints of the Church of Rome. The same will nearly apply to the Greek Church. The remainder are heathen, except- ing the Protestants named, who in the providence of God are lo evangelize the whole world. If the reader will turn to the history of missions since the Reformation, he will find that a majority of the most successful missions ever projected originated in America. This land of freedom has originated .and projected under the protection of the broad banner of the tree a system of evangelizing the world that is the greatest philanthropic and moral move- ;«nent of history. Their facilities have been of a threefold character. First, They went to the homes of the heathen in their own land and taught them the wa}' ot life. Second, The heathen have come to our shores and have Jearned of our civilization and imbibed our religion ; and, third. Many were converted and have gone back to teach their kinsfolks what gi'eat things the Lord has done for them. If our civilization was what it ought to be, every Chinaman who came here would be a living witness of the magic power and influence of truth in practice, and would serve the place of a missionary to his people We must not be daunted by sneerers right here.' It is our duty to go forward and attend to this work at once. There is no time to be lost. Fame's fair fingers may never weave a laurel for^our brow. We may hear curses and be abused, but we are to "go forth," and toil in the field, and when we have done our whole duty, the vesper star at the ■sunset of our life will set to us radiated with the glory of Jesus's righteousness. "Christ for thf world we sing; The world to Christ we hrinjj. With one iici-ord : With us the work to shiirc. With us reproach to dure, With u? tho cross to bear, For Christ our Lord. '■Chri,-it for the world we sing; The world to t'hrist we bring, With .joyful song : The new-born souls, whose days, Rcclaimeii from crror'.s W!iy.<, Inspired with hope and praise, To Christ belong." Many of the missions in Europe trace their origin to missionary otforts put forth in our missions. We have several in mind now— one in Germany. The inis.iionary was converted in this country, and desired to go h;ici: to his own house to tell of Jesus. Already numerous missions nre established in THE CHINESE QUESTION. 67 China, and unexpected success gi'eet their eflforts everywhere. God is work- ing among llie people. Spain has just opened her doors to China; the nations of the earth are seeking to have commercial intercourse wiih her; her ports are crowded with the ships bearing tiie flags of neighboring nations; her interior is becoming organized into missionary districts, and the heralds of the cross, encouraged by the indications of the present and the triumphs of the past, are pressing the battle to the very gales of the enemy. With the great and good work among this people in their native land, and an untiring effort to win those to ('hrist who are now in America, will, in the course of time, bring four hundred millions to the cross of Christ, and so change the pagan idolatry of Asia as to bring about the complete overthrow of their false and pernicious sj'stem of a fabulous and legendarj'' religion. Shall we say that we are willing to work in China, but not here ? The cry here is, "The Chinese must go." If the irrevocable mandate is that the}^ must go, let us send them with a little better opinion of our civil- ization than some of them now liave. The follovving language occurs in a j^amphlct now before us, entitled "Labor iieform :" "Far better to send them [the Chinamen] soul and body to hell than to drive the Anglo Saxon race Irom their homes to seek shelter of paupers in some other portion of the earth." O, what language this, to be made by a party who claimed to be poor, and who seek sympathy and protection. Has it come to this that one nation must be lost, soul and body "sent to hell," to give another a place they so little deserve ? "God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth ; and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Compare this Scripture with. the language above, and you will evidently see the spirit that characterized the former. In the ninth chapter of Genesis this wonderful and very significant language occurs : "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dvvell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." But hear how that text is read to-day by some exalted Caucasian who has given it a different translation: "Shem will now have to serve Japheth, and Canaan dwell where he pleases." There were about as many Gentiles in Palastine when Solomon was about to build the temple as there are Chinese in California, and history records the fact that they were employed in hewing timlier for the temple, and prepar- ing various materials for its construction. Solomon was particular to num- ber "all the strangers that were in the land," "and he set them all to work," and at the dedication of the temple praj-ed unto the Lord to hear and pro- tect the stranger. Shall wo read ? "Also thou shalt not vex a stranger nor oppress him." Exodus, xxii, 21 ; xxiii, 9, embraced. " But the stranger that dvvellcth with you shall be as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Leviticus, xix, 84. Search parallel passages antl learn how God arranged to bring the heathen to view the land of civilization and of religion. Solomon said in praj'er before the vast multitude at the dedication of the temple, "Moreover, con- cerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake, (tor they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy outstretched arm.) AVhen he shall come and pray toward this house, hoar thou out of heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for, that all the people of I he earth may know thy name to fear thee as do th}' people Israel." Let us think before we act, and act for the glory of God. "Shall wo who.se souls are lighted, With wisdom from od high — Shall we to souls lienigbted, The Lump of light deny?" I>K, McNEAL'S CELEBRATED Pain .exterminator! I have used this uiudiciiie lor above twenty years, and am able to recoinuieiid it to the pub- lic as a safe and RELIABLE article. "In cases of Flux, Dysentery, Colic, Cholera Morbus, Ague, Croup, Lung Fever, and various kinds of Sore Throat, Corns etc., it is excellent." Geo. VV. Burtner, of Woodbridge, Cal., lias se- cured the right of manufacturing the medicine in this State, and is now prepared to supply the public. PRICE 50 CENTS PER BOTTLE. A liberal discount to those who buy to sell again. .Address, Geo. W. Burtner, Woodbridge, San Joaquui Co., Cal. The following testimonial sbould be known to till who suffer from the many ills to which the flesh is heir : Geo. W. Burtner, Esq. — Dear Sir : About four months ago I was provi- dentially given a small portion of your Pain Exterminator to try on general principles. A short trial of it con- vinced me that a specific use would be better adapted to my case — chronic ca- tarrh and bronchitis. My cough was, excessive and very distressing. After a few days' use according to directions my cough began to diminish, the ex- cessive irritation of the trachea ceased altogether, and now, after using two bottles, my general health is better than it has been since I contracted the above diseases. I wish you to send me twelve bottles more, which 1 will dis- tribute among my friends, believing so good a medicine should become widely known. C. W. Clarke. Handford, Tulare County, Cal. H. A. WEAVER, ^ 91 J STREET. - - SACRAMENTO. EVERY description of Book and Job Printing done with neatness and dispatch. LA W AND COMMERCIAL I'RIXTING. LOCATED AT For any Particulars concerning the School. WOODBRIDGE, CAL BX9878.4 .B39 History of the United Brethren in Christ Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1 1012 00044 6825 '^h-^..Wfl