THE EVANGELIZATION OF INDIA BY ROBERT P. WILDER, M.A. Student Volunteer Movement of India and Ceylon, Price, Half-Anna, Semenenee eed Post Free One Anna. Se Copies may be obtained from FRANK ANDERSON, General Secretary, S.V.M.1. C., Address Y.M.C.A. , Bombay. Tue following address was delivered on January 31st, 1897, at the Student Conference held at Poona. It has already appeared in the Bombay Young Men’s Monthly, and is now published in pamphlet form by the Executive of the Student Volunteer Movement, in the belief that God will use it to bring home to many Indian Students the claims of Christ upon them for the saving of their fellow-country- men. THE EVANGELIZATION OF INDIA. By Rosertr P. Wiper, M.A. ‘*Wuen He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered as sheep not having a shepherd.” Tue lion is prowling about ready to devour the mangled and prostrate sheep who are utterly unable to rise. He, the great shepherd, comes to the rescue, but he needs under- shepherds, Math. ix.: 38. When He saw, He was moved with compassion. As we now see, God grant that we too may be moved with compassion, compassion‘for these millions mangled by sin and prostrate under the feet of the roaring lion. I—THE FIELD.—On the north is Bhutan. The inhabi- tants are ruled by an hierarchy, the Rajah being chief Pontiff. We understand that European missionaries are not allowed to enter and very few Europeans have travelled in Bhutan, since the Rajah is so loath to give leave. The people speak a dialect of Tibetan. Nepal.—The Nepalese are brave warriors of whom several native regiments are formed. But the Rajah is suspicious about designs upon his country, and Europeans are forbidden entrance except to his capital, Khatmandoo, and then only by passes which it is difficult to obtain. I think that there are one or two Indian workers of the Church of Scotland 2 in Bhutan, and one or two in Nepal. There is room for many more among the 3 millions of Nepal who must be sought and evangelized by Indians. The language of the Nepalese is a dialect of Hindi. Tibet is shut off from India by Bhutan and Nepal for 700 miles of its frontier. “There are many tribes east of Bhutan, scattered along the hills, among which there are no workers. These tribes have no written language, and some are quite wild.” Bengal.— Much has been written lately about the needs of South America, and the needs of that neglected continent are indeed great. Yet we find that the Lieut. Governor of Bengal rules over twice the population of South America. The highest estimate gives South America 37 millions. Bengal and Assam have a population of 80 millions. Chota-Nagpore.—The district of Palaman, with 750,000 inhabitants, has not a missionary or Indian preacher. Among the tributary states none are occupied with the exception of Gangpur, and Chota-Nagpore has still more than a million heathen without the slightest touch of the Gospel. Behar.—One writes: “I believe Behar is the most: neglected part of India. Leaving Patna out of account, for all this large Province, with its vast population of 24,000,000, we have only ‘six European missionaries to the heathen. Quite half the Province is as much heathen as any other part of the world, having never yet even heard the sound of the Gospel. ‘lhe need of workers is tremendous and the darkness is awful.” Bogra with 817,000, and Malda with 815,000, have no missionary, The Punjab.—(Native States and Kashmir) haga popula- tion of 20,000,000 of whom 10,500,000 are Mohammedans. Many of the 35 Native States are practically unworked. 3 Peshawar district is only partially occupied. Hazara (population 516,009) is hardly touched, and Kohat, with 205 000, is altogether untouched. Allthe regions north and north-west of Peshawar are unreached. One writes: ‘ The Pathans are very accessible in their villages, and hospitable. ‘here is a great field open for itinerating missionaries, As far ag I know, there is no mission between this and Rawal Pindi, a hundred miles off.” ‘‘ There is a revival of Hin- duism in the form of the Arya Samaj. Jately this society published a long notice against us which was posted in the streets and mosques. The Anjuman-i-[slam is very active in street-preaching, and the Mohammedans are continually building new praying places. Hindus and Mohammedans are almost combining to oppose Christianity.” Kashmir.—The population of Kashmir proper, that is the Jhelum valley and the adjacent valleys, is about 3,000,000. A very small portion of Kashmir is occupied. ‘‘ Among the unoccupied districts are the Punach State, Kishtiwar Pro- vince, Qhilas (feudatory), Hunza Nagar, Astor and Gilgit, and Chitral. There are no baptized converts among the Hindus, and very few, if any among the Mohammedans, Let us now pass to the North-West Provinces. In such a paper it is imposible to do more than allude to a few of the most striking needs. Ballia.—One of the districts, is entirely unoccupied, the population is 924,763. It was the worst of all the N. W. P. districts two years ago for cow-protecting agitation. The people are almost all villagers. Benares.—The population of the city alone is over 250,000, and of the district 890,000. There is considerable space to the south and south-east towards Chota-Nagpore unoccupied. Oudh.—A missionary writes : “ We are making advances along the frontier to Thibet, and there is abundant room ,: 4 for work. These hills and forests are full of a poor community of a hardy mountain type who have not as yet come under the rigid caste system. I saw in my recent visit to Garhwal a number of prominent villagers who had but recently been invested with the sacred Brahminical cord. A systematic attempt is being made to fasten Hinduism upon these people. If Christians were on the field in some numbers the triumph of Christianity could be markedly hastened by pre-empting these mountaineers for Christ.” The solitary worker in Baltistan writes of hopes as yet unfulfilled for tive workers. He says that in Kaffiristan sometime ago, teachers of Christ’s religion were asked for; but none have gone. He further writes: “In the whole province of Baltistan there is only one worker as yet, a low member in Christ Jesus, but redeemed with a great price. There is great need of workers here. One has not done much in preaching chiefly because one has been praying and waiting for the special blessing of God, to be filled with His Spirit.” He is also praying for the people ‘that they may get a strong need in their hearts for the only true and living Saviour Jesus Christ,” Central Provinces.—Of the 13,600,000 in the Central Provinces 2,500,000 are reported as belonging to aboriginal tribes, The larger towns take up most of the time of the few workers, and the mass of the people are practically un- touched. Only eight of the eighteen districts are in any sense properly occupied. The Central Provinces are backward and not very literary. ‘Their one revival lately has been a cow-protection movement, which has been popular even among some of the educated, Spencer's works are largely read. There are large unoccupied districts in the native states of Bundlekund, Rewah, Punnah, and Gwalior. In _ this vicinity there are about 8 millions entirely untouched. | 5 Bhopal, with a population of 2,000.000, is in a peculiar position. Being under a Mohammedan dynasty permission is not yet given to preach in it. Oneor two futile attempts have been made to settle in the state, and the colporteurs are sometimes deported into British Central Province territory. Except in Sehore no work is at present going on. Pray that closed doors may be opened. Chanda, with an area of 10,749 square miles, with 2,700 villages, and a population of over 690,000, has no missionary. Raipore. A missionary writes ‘ Our field is a very large one—the eastern division of the Central Provinces, inhabited by nearly 5,000,000. Twelve missionaries are working in this section, but nearly all the Native States in this division are unoccupied. If we had a hundred missionaries there would be room for more. If you can do anything to increase the number of missionaries here, you do a great good to one of the most neglected districts in India.” Madras Presidency, Hyderabad. Jalna. ‘For 200 miles by 100 miles totheS, E. of Jalna there is no work done at present, and the district is teeming with people.” “The Kan- ker State has no missionary. Kalahandi State (825,000) never had a missionary, Ifyou can do anything to awaken interest in these poor simple people we are hunting among the hillsand jungles, in Jesus’ name do so.” Again, within a few miles of Madras is Conjeeveram, ranking high among the sacred cities of Hinduism, with a population of 45,000, and a large influx of pilgrims, bat without a European missionary. In the S. Kistna and N. Nellore district one-tenth of the - population is scarcely reached; yet on the whole this presi- dency is the best worked of the Indian fields. Bombay Presidency.—In the British and Feudatory Territories of this Presidency there are 40,303 villages, and the population is 26,916,358—about equal to the popula- tion of England. 6 The Kolhapur Mission field may be said to embrace the Collectorate of Rutnagerri, the Native State of Kolhapur with its dependencies, and six adjacent native states. Within the limits of this field there is a population of 4,090,000. These are largely Hindus, distributed in towns and villages, of which there are 1,303 in Rutnagerri, and 1,700 in Kolhapur and the adjacent states, In but few of these villages is the Gospel:preached even once ayear. Stations shonld be at once started at such strategic points aseight towns, each with a population of over 10,000, and ten others of which each has a population of over 500°. ** Government education is making rapid strides. Kolha- pur State reports 221 schools with over 14,000 pupils. Throughout these States there are thousands of yood readers who might be reached through the printed page. We now need eight evangelists to occupy central towns, to itinerate in the villages, and to reach by Det conversation the large student class.” Satara District has a population of one and a quarter millions distributed over an area of 4,912 square miles. To evangelize the 1,340 cities, towns, and villages there are resident in this district only one male missionary and four female missionaries. the Bhore and Phaltan States. The Poona and Indian Village Mission is entering these states (population about 350,000). It is praying for one hundred workers. The Roha taluk of the Kolaba collectorate has one mis- sionary to a population of 400,000. The Poona District has a population of 1,067,800. Out of 1,191 towns and villages, 1,169 have no resident Christian, and very rarely are these visited by the messenger of the Gospel. Four-fifths of the population of this district 7 is in villages, the average number of persons in a village being 720, These facts show the importance and difficulty of village work. There are 250,000 children of school-going age—one boy in dor 6 is learning and one girl in 56, yet female education in this district is twice as good as the average for the Presidency. Ahmednuggar. The Marathi mission of the American Board (. F. M. has about one worker to every 100,000 people. One writes. ‘‘Adequately to work our field [a part of Bombay city, a large part of the Ahmednuggar collectorate, the Sirur taluk of the Poona collectorate, parts of the Satara and Sholapur collectorates, and the Roha taluk of the Kolaba collectorate], there are needed for evangelistic work twenty- five workers ; medical work, nine ; industrial, five ; educa- tional, eight; and for literary work, three.” An. older missionary remarks on a revival of attachment to Hinduism, not as supplying spiritual needs, but to stimulate patriotic feeling. Khandesh. Of the 16 taluks only five are occupied ; and the proportion of missionaries is one to 300,000 people. Guzerat. Kathiawar has three missionaries to 3,000,000 people. Thousands have never heard of Christ. Kutch, said to have the population of Uganda, has never had a missionary, Rajkote has been occupied for fifty years, yet the missionary there writes: “I have been these months among a promising people who have never heard the Gospel before; who knows when they are likely to hear it again!” In Wadhwan a missionary writes: “The people listened splendidly. They have never heard before in some cases, in others possibly once, There are hundreds of villages of aboriginal races as reachable as the Figians were, and with little or no religion to destroy. Jn a few years these will have become Brahmanised, and then work among them will 8 be like knocking our heads against a stone wall. A Govern- ment official of the district entreats us to send men there, promising every assistance in his power, and we cannot move. Why ? For want of men. We could keep two or three men busy at nothing else than translating and writing. The Bible revision is not expected to be finished in any one’s life-time, and all for lack of men. We have one man to do the work of a minimum of six in Surat alone.” Sindh. Men and women missionaries all counted give only one to 125,000 of the population. Large districts are unoccupied and receive only occasional visits from mission- aries. One trained educationalist and a band of trained evangelists are wanted. Il.—THE FOE—We haveseen the quantity to be reached. Let us now look at the quality of the enemy. Let us picture the foe as a pyramid standing before us in its mass of living humanity. First we shall consider TE APEX OF THE PYRAMID i.€é., the educated classes. A. Tue Reactionaries. ‘These are at work along many lines. We find them attempting to start a medical school acording to the old Hindu Vaidya Shastras and to give degrees such as, Vaidya and Vaidya Raj. All this is due toa superstitious regard for the old Indian Rishis. We find them zealous in furthering the Ganpati festivals, We find them discussing the propriety of considering Shinaji as an incarnation. We find them defending idolatry !! For example there appeared the following in the ‘ Mahratta” of Sept. 20, 1896. ‘ We are not one of those who view image worship as a gross superstition, and who want to sweep off idolatry from this country. . . Idolatry is the principal form of worship which can be followed by the generality of the people, and it is simple madness to say that there is something immoral or absurd in worshipping an image of clay,” Who can 9 fathom the effect of such words coming not only from an educated man, but from an ‘“ Honorable” LL. B. These men not only oppose religious reform. They are equally bitter against social reform. The treatment of last year’s Social Con- ference by the National Congress is an illustration in point, and this year’s artful dodge is as suggestive, B. THE Reroruers. These are bold in denouncing certain evils. At the National Social Conference in Calcutta last month one said: ‘The Shastras were very good in their way, but they were now in the 19th century, and as the age had changed, they should keep pace with the times.” Another remarked : “They must rise above prejudice, and cast aside fetters placed on them by the Brahmin legislators of old” An influential Hindu paper writes thus about Hinduism: ‘“* What is the standard of character one expects in a priest ? None; absolutely none. So far from the priests having to mend our lives, we have to mend them first or to end them.” We see these Reformers protesting against Hindu marriage scandals, Take, for example, the public meeting in Madras, Dec. 1, 1896, to protest’ against the marriage of a Rai Bahadur, acting Judge of the Small Cause Court (aged 54) with a child of ten. A correspondent of the Hindu writes the following noble protest : “We have given these particulars of the proposed outrageous procedure of this man of light and leading amongst us. May we ask whether there is a public conscience to avert this calamity to an innocent girl, and to condemn an act so cruel and so insane? Where is the social force which ought to assert itself to save an innocent child, who may otherwise perhaps become a happy wife and a proud mother? Where is the social censure which ought to make the man cover his face in shame? Where is the humane spirit which would make the father of the child more paternal? And where is 10 the religious spirit which will deny in indignation its sanction to an act so sinful and so profane ?” Or lastly, we might consider these noble words from the Indian Social Reformer, Oct. 12-95, ‘ Eloquence is not reli- gion, fame is not religion, learning is not religion, But to relieve one’s fellow beings of misery as far as it lies in one's power, to respect the holiness of manhood and of womanhood, to rebel against the iniquities and hypocrisies of the age, to rescue the people from the heels of an immoral, illiterate, and mercenary priesthood; these things, if not the whole are yet a great part of religion. The first business of a religious revival in this or any other country, is to insist on the purity of personal and social life. We claim that the social reform movement in as much as it does this, and in so far as it does this, is truly a religious movement.” This is a most hopeful class, but unfortunately lacking in courage. One evening an Arya preacher from Bombay entered the student’s Hall in Poona end interrupted our exercises by shouting : “ Let all who are Hindus leave this room.’ The audience disappeared like thistledown before a hurricane; only three or four remaining, Among the fugitives was a Hindu Social Reformer who had called to see me that same day, and had eloquently described his own boldness in Social Reform and his countrymen’s cowardice. I intercepted him in his flight at the door of our Hall with the words “Why are you going? ” With downcast eyes, he replied in a whisper “I am afraid to remain.” But we must not judge severely. Only Christ can give courage, and these Reformers have not Christ. Many admire Christ and most see the helplessness of Hinduism, Let us pray and labour for such in full faith. C. Tar Average Epucatep Hinpv. The late Rai Bahadur Runganatha Mudaliar contrasts the life of an educated Hindu in his public and private capacity : 11 ‘‘The broad barrier that separates the public, the outer life of the educated Hindu, 7.e., his life as an Officer of State or a teacher or a lawyer, from his private or inner life, has oft-n reminded me of the double life led by the somnam- bulist, with this essential difference in favour of the somnam- bulist, that, whereas the somnambulist is unconscious during one of his two lives of what he does in the other, the educated Hindu carries with him from his place of business into his home, and from his home to his place of business, a clear and painful consciousness of both his lives, This want of harmony in the conduct of the educated Hindu as a public man and as a private individual, shows itself in a variety of ways. As a teacher he may expound excellent principles of morality and instil into the minds of his pupils liberal and just views of men and things; but see him in the midst of his domestic surroundings, and you catch him doing the very things he denounced elsewhere with such fervid zeal. Asa Judge or a Vakeel, he may be able to sift aud weigh evidence, but when he is at home, he, like the other people, believes without evidence, and sometimes arrives at conclusions opposed to obvious facts. To speak in the first person, I may have no faith in Judicial Astro- logy ; and whatever important work [ do, I must do on an auspicious day determined for me by an astrological char- latan. I may feel sincerely that the way in which religious ceremonies are performed and mantrams uttered by my family priest, is a mockery of things solemn, a profanation of things sacred ; and yet this solemn mockery, this sacred profanity must be endured, or I run the risk of being reviled as an apostate.... But why multiply instances? That there is this glaring incongruity between thoughts and deeds, between public profession and private practices, is felt by none more keenly than by the educated Hindus themselves ; and lest it should be thought that I feel a malicious pleasure in drawing up an indictment against others, I acknowledge with shame and 12 compunction that I am myself as much at fault as those others. I pretend to no higher wisdom and no higher virtue than belong to the majority of my educated countrymen.” Another says: ‘*A man lectures in the morning on the composition of water to his school boys, and in the afternoon sends his family to bathe in the Kaveri, whose waters are supposed to possess a sanctity and an efficacy not enjoyed by the local tank. A student one day loudly protests before his class-mates that, what is required in India to-day is a spirit of through-going reform, and the next day is found walking seventy times round a large temple, with a sacred mantram on his lips, hoping thus to receive the cure of severe pains in the heart, Another student presents himself for examination, and finding the problems too difficult for his solution, covers his paper with the word “ liama, Rama, Rama,” and superstitiously trusts to obtain a pass mark by the favour of the deity whose aid is so strangely invoked. A well-known lawyer boastfully affirms during a railway journey his great interest in the emancipation of India’s women, and at the terminus quietly places his heavy travel- ling trunk on his mother’s head, while he, empty handed, walks lazily through the jostling crowd. Nverywhere there is change and variety; often there is contradiction and discord.” This is the apex of the pyramid, Present to the educated man the two horns ofadilemma and in all probability he will seize both. I have had in my house a Poona Brahmin who tried to prove that God must be both good and evil. Hinduism we all know to have in it many contradictions. The attempt to win such men by argument is like using cannon balls against intrenchments of sand. Our only hope is in showing them that religion is not philosophy, but life. The power of argument will fail but the power of the Holy Spirit will prevail. There is much to encourage us in the educated classes. The fierce opposition of the verna- 13 cular press against Christianity is in itself an encouragement. Mahomedanism is not thus attacked because it is increasing only numerically while Christianity is affecting the thought of India. The battle is the Lord’s, and He will give them into our hands. SECONDLY, WE SHALL CONSIDER THE SIDES AND Base OF THE PyraAMID, Those furnish the most perplexing problem in India’s Evangelization. The masses making up the sides and base of the pyramid are hard to reach because of their number. There are only 15 millions under instruction or able to read and write, This leaves at least 265 millions who make up the sides and base of this gigantic pyramid. They are ignorant. The total number of scholars last year in schools of all classes was about 4,000,000, Of female scholars 390, 600. It takes about 8 years to add a million to the school muster roll. If these 265 millions are beevangel'zed in our generation, it must he done by the spoken word, since they cannot read and are not learning to read to any great extent. They are scattered. 90 per cent. of the population of India isin villages. There are 40,303 villages in the Bombay Presidency. et us take, for example, the Konkan field. Passing south from Dapoli through Goa there is but one mis- sion station, Ratnagiri, and one out-station, Vengorla. To this field o. 14 million, with 1,303 villages, there is one ordained missionary, some lady missionaries, a doctor and his wife who arrived last month, and a few Indian Christians. What are these in this great field? Many of the villages are on rough mountain slopes. My sister has been touring in this field, and gives a picture of its needs : To carry the Gospel 14 to these simple-hearted mountaineers we are quite willing to take a long and rough tramp. But at the end we find 15 to 20 hamlets, and are told that another village is half a mile on and another a mile down the next valley, Thus, a few ata time must be reached. How can this work be overtaken except as you go out to do it? Ladies are trying to do this work, Ah! young men, are we going to see these foreign ladies tramping over our Konkan mountains in the hot sun? Are there not young men in the Marathi field who would be willing to do what western ladies will do ? They are ripe. ‘Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, ‘ Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest.’ Sorrow has ripened them, suffering has ripened them, the famine has ripened them, the plague has ripened them. “Oh, where are the reapers that garner in The sheaves of good from the fields of sin ? But reapers are few, and the work is great, And much will be lost should the harvest wait. ” THE Meruopist REcorpER says: ‘Men of experience who, with all their enthusiasm and deep emotion, are level- headed, know very well that it would be madness to over- estimate the spiritual influence at work amongst these people. The missionaries are under no illusions. They have explained to us over and over again that a variety of causes—political, social, educational, religious, it may be even selfish or superstitious—are working in the heaving, throbbing mass of Indian life. It has always been so on the eve of a great popular religious revival. It was so in this country in the last century. It is so among the heterogeneous populations on the eastern frontiers of Europe to-day. But has not God always made the ‘“all- 15 things” of national disturbance and popular strivings to work together for good? Not only the wrath of man, but also his sorrows, his hunger and thirst, his cries of pain and — groans of indignation, He has made to praise Him, and all the remainders, so difficult to define, He has restrained. The all-important question which we have to lay upon our consciences is whether in this time of movement and popular outcry we are prepared to become co-workers with God— prepared to advance along those lines of useful service which He in His providence has opened out.” Ill—OUR FORCES :—‘ And the children of Israel were mustered, and were victualled and went against them; and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.” Let us examine these two little flocks of kids. A. Their number. The Misstonardes are about 1600. Bishop Thoburn, who has recently returned from America, says that the limit of gifts from America to India seems to have been now nearly attained. We hope more will be given. But if India is to be evangelized, her sons must take the labouring oar. The Indian Protestant Christians number about 800,000, one to 350 of the population. Let us suppose that only one-half will work or can work. This makes. 1 to 700. In view of this proportion the task of India’s evangelization in the present generation does not seem impossible. One shall chase a thousand. Here, one is responsible for only 700. B. The Quality of Indian Christians. Jntellectually, Bombay Presidency Christians aie backward in the matter of education. ‘There are twenty-one colleges and _ professional schools in this Presidency. Of these only one is under Protes- tant Christian control. Ofthe 186 Professors in these institu- tions only 44 are Christians, A yet more significant fact 16 is that of the 3,189 studen ts only 35 are Protestant Chris- tians. In nineteen of these institutions there is no Chris- tian work. One of the two remaining is Roman Catholic. In 76 high schools of the Presidency there are 6,394 scholars in the two upper classes. Of these only 85 are Christians, In the Madras Presidency Christians are 1 in 40 of the total population, but 1 out of every 12 graduates is an Indian Christian. Moreover, Indians have an advantage over Euro- peans in the matter of language, proverbs, local] illustrations, popular poetry, knowledge of the people, customs, dress, food, climate and economy. Financially.—They are poor as a community, especially in Western India. But this should not stand in the way ofa forward movement. The apostles were not wealthy. ‘“ As poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things,” Spiritually.—God, the Searcher of hearts, knows better than we. There are some true souls. There are several sacrificing all for Christ and their countrymen. But are we not agreed that the supreme need is ‘‘ power from on high” ? A servant of God wh» has lived long in this land says, “There are Native Christians enough in India to carry the Gospel through the country, if they were endued with the power of the Spirit.” | WHat CAN BE. DONE? First, Self-support, We are thank- ful to see progress along this line, ‘‘In the North Ceylon Mission over Rs. 16,000 were contributed from native sources. The cost of the church at Verany was almost wholly met by the people themselves, in many cases the members giving more than a month’s income for this purpose. Ten of the sixteen churches are independent of aid from the Board, while all the pastors of these churches are natives.” On the other hand, I know of a church in India with 246 members and the pastor receives Rs. 100 a month, of which sum only Rs. 12 are given by the congregation itself. 17 Secondly, Voluntary work by every Christian. This is Scriptural, In Acts 8:, we are told that all the disciples (except the apostles) were scattered abroad and went about preaching the word. Samaria, Ethiopia, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antiock and even Rome first heard the Gospel through voluntary and unpaid labourers. Voluntary Christian work is a sign that the church is becoming indigenous, and the church must become indigenous if India is to be evangelized. A Hindu said to Bishop Sar- gent that he had no fear for the old tree of Hinduism which had flourished through so many centuries, so long as he saw that the destroyers of that tree came from a foreign country, for as soon as the handle of the hatchet broke they had to wait till they sent to England for a substitute. Now, how- ever, he began to fear, because he saw that the old tree itself was made to further the design of its destroyers. Hinduism is doomed because from its heart is coming an ever increasing Indian Church. But each member must be a worker if the tree is to fall in our life time. Voluntary work by every Christian is necessary for the Christian himself (Luke VIII, 16). One says : ‘if you cover your light with a vessel, and after some time lift off the cover to see how the light is, you will find that the light has gone out.” He who works not for others will waste away spiritually. In Tinnevelly there isa native association for evangelizing in the districts, The Committee of Management is made up of a few missionaries, picked Indian pastors and Indian laymen. The Madras Preachers’ Association encourages voluntary Gospel preaching to non-Christians. In the Arcot Mission the Y.P.S8.C.E. is doing a splendid work along this line. The society is nade up of young communicants of both sexes. Its officers and members are pledged to carry on vigorous voluntary evangelistic work in the town and villages. They - oe 18 go out in bands with coloured Bible pictures. They take turns in speaking and singing Bhajans. Again, in Lahore there is a regular weekly evangelistic meeting carried on by students of the Forman Christian College. Sometimes missionaries speak by invitation, but I believe that the management is left entirely to the Christian students, Doubtless other cases of voluntary work will be mention- ed intbe conference that is to follow the reading of this paper. We are especially desirous to know about the work done in Poona. But are not all agreed that much more along this line of work must be accomplished before this land can be evangelized ? May I venture two suggestions ? First, that pastors, teachers and missionaries put more responsibility upon the Christians under their charge. Bishop Selwyn in speaking of the natives of the Pacific Islands, said : ‘‘ You can brace your disciples with responsi- bility...... Fo tp"s These men, who are so weak in their own islands, so little to be trusted apparently, on whom some look down with such disdain, are braced with responsibility when they have been filled with the Spirit of God, and have got something with which to go forth to their fellow men.” Of course the younger Christians will make mistakes. No child learns to walk without falling a few times. In the preparatory school to which [ was sent in America, there was a branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association. We boys took a great interest in it and were helped by it. But our interest was due largely to the feeling of responsi- bility. It was owr association. The officers, with one or two exceptions, were chosen by us. The second sugges- tion is that suitable organizations be suggested to the students. For example, the College Young Men’s Christian Association, also the Sunday School Movement ; Such schools’ can be held on week day evenings and on the Sabbath by students in the towns where they study. They can also be held during vacations in the near villages. Such village Sunday Schools may be nuclei of future churches, 19 Thirdly, Volunteers. India needs} many §pirit-filled and Spirit-sent students who will give themselves to the work of evangelizing this Empire—men free from business cares, who will give their time, talents, and life itself to evangelize India. A commissaire of the Congo free State had almost died of African fever, and yet had refused to return home for even a short furlough. When asked whether it was difficult in Belgium to secure officers for the Congo, be replied—‘‘ Our King shall never lack volunteers.” Fellow students, shall our King, the King of kings, lack volunteers ? God is speak- ing now to the people through plague and famine. He wants to speak to them the glad tidings of Salvation through us. Who are willing to be ambassadors for Christ? 2 Kings VI. 15-17. Let us pray that God may open our eyes that we may see the horses and the chariots of God fighting for us against the foe. We want volunteers who have had a vision of God and His power. I have received a letter from Mr. Donald Fraser, describing the marvellous movement in South Africa. In it he writes: ‘‘ The most hopeful feature of allisthis. The movement has not begun in an elaborate organization, but in a deep spiritual awakening born of the breath of God.” John 14, 12 ; Acts. 1, 8. PAVE ne | H fs Lees hon aye {4 Lise Shahin _ h oie Ht sya ah pip v2. 3 wart re Mare He ite Rs et is “a % ents Bc e) ak rote z : aid ee Aya beer » ete Publications of the Student Volunteer Movement ot India and Ceylon. A Spiritual Awakening among India’s Stu dents, being selected addresses given at the six Student Conferences of 1895-96. Price, Rs. 1; to Students 8 Annas, postage 1 Anna. A Prayer Cycle, for one month, 15 Annas, post free. Brief Statement of the Origin, Purpose and Methods of the S.V.M.LC,, Free. Prayer and Missions, by R. E. Speer Price, 1 Anna Post Free. To be obtained from the General Secretary, S.V. M. !. C. Address Y. M.C, A. Bombay.