PAM. MiSC. t FOREIGN MISSIONS AS CRITICISM < • B V .»'• ' a MRS. W. H. SMITH, 1) I T O R OF THE “JAPAN GAZETTE,” PUOJI WHICH JOURNAL THEY ARE REI’RINTED. YOKOHAMA, FEBRUARY, 1893. lElLT t ''S'iUt- IISITSSL .7 T' i ■ i , >. f , ^ ,'. ' •- •j/ ■ ■ I' •'. . ••’: '-^r -'i' v.-.i . ^•. > . v ‘ .• v « V ; \ i T';K;V ♦ V\-■ I i / I v; ■?v- I 'i' ...V,- V a a.' “ * 1 . \ Preface. These articles have been reprinted from the ''Japan Gazette'' because they are considered to embody a great deal of truth, and unlike many criticisms on this subject have been penned in no spirit of hostility to Christianity a^td Evangelization. They have been written after much thought; drawn from personal experience and actual facts ; and the writer has been'influenced by no desire to exaggerate any one of the points touched on. The object has been r( to rouse, and rouse sharply, a certain section of Missionaries, and to draw their attention to defects which it is in their power to remedy, and which it is believed a very large number will remedy. Yokohama, March jrd, iSpj. CONTEN.T-S. Article I.—Brief review of Missions in the past. Article II. — Benefits the Missionary has conferred. Article III.—The ideal and real work of the Mis- sionary. Article VI. — Evils in the Mission field and their remedy. FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. (February 28th.) I. A S we remarked the other day, some atten¬ tion is now being attracted in various quarters to the vast proportions which Mis¬ sionary work has, financially, reached, and the question which is rapidly passing from tongue to tongue is whether the results justify the cost. We propose to consider the subject as impartially as it is pos¬ sible to do, and Missionary readers will doubtless realize the fact that as public people, and supported by public funds, they must expect to receive public criticism. There is a criticism which rarely fails to bear fruit; and there is a criticism which withers and blasts all it touches. By criticism the dauber becomes the artist; the strummer a musician ; the strutter on the stage a finish¬ ed actor. By criticism true Christianity be¬ comes purer, and Christian workers the more zealous and fruitful 'in the desired results. But this is a criticism distinct in all its parts from that harsh, unreasoning thing denunciation, and many who nominally essay to criticize foreign Missions, virtually denounce them. As a necessary prelude to the consideration of Missions and Missionary 'workers as we see them on every hand to-day, we will briefiy review the history of the earlier Missionary efforts and the sources from ■wdiich the existing Missionary Societies have emanated. The mustard seed from which the mighty tree has grown is the 15th verse of the 16th chapter of St. Mark. This is the great Scriptural authority, and has been the motive power of Missions from the earliest days. Pope Gregory the Great was actuated by the mandate when he sent Missionaries to Great Britain quite as truly as were the twelve Apostles; and every Missionary who leaves his native land to-day points to the same chapter and verse as the raison cl'Hre of his going. Motives separate and apart from those of humble obedience to Our Lord’s injunctions have nevertheless played an im¬ portant part in Missionary movements during the past eighteen centuries. Up to about the 10th century the propagation of Christianity was confined chiefly to Europe, and when the Christian faith was established throughout the Continent with some firmness, attention was gradually turned to other lands. Tartary and China were the scenes of the first primitive efforts to introduce the new faith, but they appear to have had but indifferent success, and it was not until the fifteenth century, when Portuguese maritime discoveries were begin¬ ning to make headway, that zeal was really displayed in the work of propagation. It is not certain whether the desire to convert the heathen instigated the Portuguese to explore unknown seas, or whether it was the love of acquisition which prompted the proselytizing instinct, but we are told that Pope Martin V in 1430 granted plenary indulgence to Portuguese who conquered pagan and infidel countries, and Columbus is credited with being largely inspired to make his discoveries by a desire to propagate the Eoman Catholic faith. Great activity in the conversion of the heathen began to be evinced about this time, but the means employed to achieve the desired end were somewhat similar to those resorted to by Mahommed the invincible. A century later 2 FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. Missionary effort assumed some form of organization and the great society of Jesuits came into existence. The name has since fallen into disrepute among Catholics and Protestants alike, though the power which the body at one time exercised has by no means ceased to exist. To the Jesuits as they originally were, both the scientific and religious world owe much, and the earnestness, zeal, and willingness to sacrifice everything to their faith which the majority of the members dis¬ played compels both the respect and admira¬ tion of all denominations. That such brilliant Missionary qualities should have ultimately become subservient to unworthy ways and means is to be regretted, but need not blind us to the fact that these Missionary pioneers possessed both noble and sterling qualities which have probably been unrecognized step¬ ping stones for their successors. The Jesuits were the first to found seminaries for the training and preparation of young men as Missionaries, and from these seminaries sprang later on larger and more important training colleges such as the “ College de Propaganda Fide,” founded by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. This was followed rapidly by other colleges and societies, and private associations were formed for sending Missionaries to Canada. The Jesuits first went to Canada about 1608, and in the beginning of the eighteenth century they went by special desire of Louis XIV to the banks of the Mississippi. As early as 1581, Father Roger, a Jesuit Missionary, had won a footing in China, and started the work of propagation with some success, being joined two years later by the well-known Father Ricci, who was the first Missionary to obtain an audience with the Emperor. As we know, Christianity having gained an en¬ trance into China made at first great progress. Churches were erected in Pekinj and the Im¬ perial protection was given to the new religion. But in 1723 the storm clouds which had been gathering burst over the Missionaries’ heads, and an Imperial edict banished them from 300 Churches, and robbed, so it is stated, 300,000 Christian converts of religious in¬ struction. But though in 1732 the 30 re¬ maining Missionaries in Pekin w^ere banished to Macao for attempting to disobey this edict and propagate their faith, the seeds which had been sown did not quite die out, and some remained which subsequently formed a connecting link between the faith’s infancy at that period and its maturer growth in the present day. Almost simultaneously the same story was being told in Japan, where, intro¬ duced by Francis Xavier about 1550, Chris¬ tianity made equally rapid progress for a time, and in 1582 or thereabouts records state there were 200 churches boasting 150,000 converts. But as we know, before the middle of the next century all this work had been broken up and every Missionary expelled the country. Turning from the Jesuits we have the first recorded Protestant Mission started about 1560 by the church of Geneva, which sent Missionaries to America, but little appears to be known of its work. Then the Dutch, when they acquired Ceylon from the Portuguese, made the Helvetic Confession a sine qua non to the employment of the natives, which re¬ sulted in a big show of nominal converts, and very few real ones, which was realized when the coercion was removed by the cession of the island to Great Britain. It was not till long after English settlements had been formed in America that any responsibility in connection with the spiritual condition of the natives made itself felt, and a movement in this direction originated in a petition presented to Parliament in 1644 urging the necessity for some attempt to preach the Gospel to the North American Indians being made. Then opened that chapter of Missionary labour FOEEIGN MISSIONS AS THEY AEE. 3 which the names of Eliot and Mayhew have ennobled and brightened, and the civilization of both body and mind among those tribes which the former started. By the end of the seven¬ teenth century the population in the English settlements in America had so far increased that not only the conversion of the Indians, but the ministration to the spiritual wants of their own countrymen, appealed imperatively to the hearts of Englishmen. There was settlement after settlement of their own kith and kin who had had a Christian education, living absolutely without any means of grace. The fact when once it became recognized appears to have appalled churchmen in England, and a movement was promptly set on foot to supply the deficiency. Charles II was petitioned to allow £20 for passage money to ministers and school-masters, and a royal gift of £1,200 was granted for the purchase of Bibles and Prayer-Books for each parish. The now well-known Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts originated, not as is generally supposed for the purpose of spreading the knowledge of the Gospel among the heathen, but to supply the needs of our own countrymen scattered abroad in our colonies, and in four years the receipts of this Society rose from £452 to £1,343. It is important here to note that about this time rumours were current to the effect that the Jesuits were exercizing a political influence in Canada, and it was deemed prudent to keep at least two Protestant ministers resident among the Indian tribes around New York lest they should become disaffected and brought under French influence. Here we have then a distinct union of political and religious in¬ fluences, and the seeds of what has in later (lays done much to turn public sympathies away from the Mission field, forming a distinct instance of the propagation of the Gospel being at least not the sole object of a Missionary movement. The S. P. G. there¬ fore was at its outset a “ Pastoral Aid” Society rather than a distinctively Missionary body, and the Danish and Moravian Missions which started about the same time were probably among the first genuinely actuated by a desire to convert the heathen and nothing less. The close of the eighteenth century saw the birth of such Missionary bodies as the “ Baptist Society” 1792, ‘‘London Missionary So¬ ciety ” 1795, “ The British and Foreign Bible- Society ” and “ The Eeligious Tract Society.” India was opened up as a Mis¬ sionary field, and Missions as they are began their existence. Among the most important and generally recognized bodies the “ Church Missionary Society” and the “Ame¬ rican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ” now rank the highest as the most wealthy and numerically strong ; and what these bodies have done, and the modus operamii of their members will subsequently be considered. (March 1st.) II. ECAUSE there are mistakes in the Mis¬ sion field, and because the most lenient on-lookers are compelled by a sense of duty to occasionally lift the veil from off Missionary methods somewhat roughly, many jump to the conclusion that the Mission¬ ary individually and collectively is therefore a monster of iniquity, a useless creature, and that Missions and Missionary work would be better if wiped out of existence altogether. This is a conclusion unworthy of any right- minded man or woman, and one which betrays both want of knowledge and want of thought. The scientific, educational, and conimerciMl worlds all owe a debt of gratitude to the Missionary body, and modern progress would not be what it is to-day had Missions 4 FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. never existed. We have but to compare the unaggressive inactivity of non-Christian coun¬ tries with the far-reaching enterprize of Christian lands to see this at a glance. It is the Christian countries which have done everything, and it is in a great many instances due to the pioneer Missionary that our most valuable commercial relations with foreign countries have been established. This fact is often utilized as a reflection on the Missionary body after the manner of the fol¬ lowing parody which recently appeared in Truth :— Onward Christian Soldiers! On to heathen lands ! Prayer-hooks in your pockets, Rifles in your hands. Take the happy tidings Where trade can he done ; Spread the peaceful Gospel With a Gatling-gun! Tell the wretched natives Sinful are their hearts, Turn their heathen temples Into spirit-marts, And if to your preaching They will not succumb. Substitute for sermons Adulterated rum. The above represents an unfortunately popular method of casting contempt upon foreign Missions, but we quote it because under-lying the coarseness of the rhyme there is a confession of that to which we have just alluded. The Missionary has been, it is true, the innocent pioneer of both the rum bottle and weapons of war, but he has also been the pioneer of good honest trade, knowledge, enlightenment and civilization, and we should not forget it. Without the Missionary pioneer many important trade centres would still be closed to us, for the Missionary has gone to unknown lands and turned the virgin soil of hitherto uncultivated minds when no one else would have done so. He has been the alpha¬ bet of Western civilization, the exponent of unknown customs and an unknown tongue ; the stepping-stone jvhich merchants have been very glad at the outset to use though they have afterwards swept him out of their way, or openly declared him to have been a stumbling block in their path. Who are the men who have studied foreign languages, compiled grammars and made communica¬ tion, and therefore trade, easy of accomplish¬ ment ? The Missionaries of course. They too it is to whom w^e owe much of what we at present know of Darkest Africa ; they who led to the opening in some measure of China, the rapid development of India, and the transformation of Japan. The old John Company set its face against allowing Mis¬ sionary labours in India ; but the barrier had eventually to be withdrawn, and whatever may have been left undone, no one can deny that India has intellectually and com¬ mercially prospered wherever the pioneer Missionary has trod. Unfortunately for Christianity and Christian workers how¬ ever, the trade and civilization to which they act as pioneers bring in their train not infrequently a gross form of licen¬ tiousness and immorality, and this serves to furnish disbelievers with material for taunts like the above, and an unthinking public gaping at inconsistent cargoes of Bibles, rum, and opium is led to believe that it is Chris¬ tianity which is responsible for the de¬ moralization of the “ heathen,” and that Christianity and its workers therefore are a delusion and a snare. All the reflection which has been cast by scoffers on Mission work however, has not materially interfered with the educational progress made, and in all lands we find Missionaries in ever increasing numbers carrying on an educational work and exercizing a civilizing influence which can scarcely be over-estimated. In no country have these advantages been more clearly evinced, than in Japan, and the Japanese on all sides are the first to admit it. Not even FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. 5 those least in sympathy with Missionary movements will deny that this country, and not only this country but those having deal¬ ings with Japan, owe a very great debt of gratitude to such men as Drs. Hepburn, Imbrie, Macdonald, Berry and others like them. Many of Japan’s foremost and most useful men of the day owe their education and present ability entirely to the pioneer Missionaries, just as we owe our knowledge of Chinese geography, geology, zoology, natural history and science generally to such men as the Fathers Verbiest, De Premare, Gaubel, M. Amand David, and M. Delavev ; and our acquaintance with Africa to Livingstone, Hannington and their imitators. An article translated from the Kirisuto Kijo Shiiuhiin of August 19th and 26th by Y. Isogai, and re¬ produced by our contemporary the Japan Mail in October last, pays a high tribute to the value of Missionary teaching, and urges Missionaries if they really have Japan’s wel¬ fare at heart to devote their energies wholly and solely to educational work; but apart from the active educational work done by many Missionaries in this country as in others, there is the influence of their domesticity and home life unconsciously permeating the land. No country can have Christianity implanted in its soil without eventually being the better for it, and there are Missionaries in all parts of the world not only sowing the seed but cultivating it, and the labours of such men it is a privilege as well as a pleasure to honour. The purpose • with which we have set out upon this subject now brings us to the consi¬ deration of the less pleasing side of Missionary work. We made no secret at the outset that it was our intention to criticize Missionaries and their work, and so vast and so important has that work become that errors and faults which might some years ago have escaped notice now stand out with unsightly promin¬ ence and challenge those who have the wel¬ fare of Christianity most at heart to cut them down. We drew attention to the fact a few days ago that something like a sum of $800,000 was at present being expended annually on Mission work in Japan alone, and to-day we have drawn attention to the fact that the work done by Missionaries in this country has been a valuable one. The inference might therefore be naturally drawn that the money has been well used, and the expenditure of such a sum or a much larger one should not be begrudged. Not so. We maintain that a very large por¬ tion of that $800,000 is being misused in the sense that it is being used for purposes for which it was not subscribed. It may be argued that every supporter of a Missionary Society contributes his or her mite perfectly satisfied that the Board in charge of the Mission’s affairs will utilize it to the best advantage. There may be many who do this, we cannot say; but we can say on personal knowledge that a very great many of the most loyal contributors to Missionary funds have a very distinct idea of their own as to how, as they believe, that money will be spent and should be spent. These ideas are gleaned from Missionary literature, the pulpit, and the platform; from appeals made by ex¬ perienced Missionaries, and their reports from the field. We have listened to many such an appeal, and we have seen tears gather in the eyes of some newly returned Missionary’s listeners as he relates the eagerness of the “ heathen ” to be converted to Christianity and the smallness of the- funds to carry on the work. We have personally known educated women in reduced circumstances, such reduced circumstances be it marked, that they did not know what meat every day was, gather together with flush¬ ing cheeks and eager eyes every trinket which they could spare after such a ser- 6 FOEEIGN MISSIONS AS THEY AEE. nion and send them eagerly to some Mis¬ sionary Society to be turned into coin for the benefit of those of whom thev •j had heard. We have known, too, the poor who could scarcely write their names denying themselves some weekly luxury or hard-earned pleasure to contribute perhaps sixpence to the Mission box, and we have heard such an one say with heartfelt earnest¬ ness, “ Lor’ I could’nt rest in my bed if I didn’t do something for them poor creatures without the comfort o’ the Bible.” These are but solitary instances of many which have personally come under our knowledge, and we know that these Christian heroes, Christians who have sufficient Christianity to pluck out the right eye and cut off the right hand, con¬ tribute to a very different object than that most commonly realized in the present day Mission field. The question which therefore deserves the attention of all Christian people, and one which is now attracting it, is not so much “ is too much money being spent upon the propagation of Christianity?” but “is the money being spent in the right way ?” What the supporters of Missions believe to be the Missionary’s work, and what the majority of Missionaries’ work is will be considered to¬ morrow. (March 2nd.) III. V\J HAT is it the supporters of Missions ' ^ at home believe Missionary work to consist of? Tbe idea used to be, and, unless some sudden and remarkable change has re¬ cently taken place in the public mind the belief still exists, that the province of the Missionary is to make converts to the Christian faith, to lighten the heathen darkness on religious and not secular points. A feeling of uneasi¬ ness lias been created of late years in a limited circle by the reports spread by travellers and residents abroad that Missionaries do not quite live up to tbe popular ideal, and that some¬ thing is wanting in the realization of the ideal results. Yet the popular belief in the Missionary’s labours is still maintained and the popular belief in the rapid spread of Christianity reniains unshaken. The reports from the Mission field to be met with in a dozen high class journals apparently give the lie to the unflattering criticisms which con¬ front them from time to time, and in the face of figures asserting that the attendance at this or that Mission school has doubled or trebled itself within any given period suffices to hypnotise any budding doubts and misgiv¬ ings which might have arisen in some suppor¬ ter’s mind. The title “ Mission School ” is to those whose knowledge of these establishments is home-bred, equivalent for “ conversion hot¬ bed.” It never enters the mind of nine- tenths of the contributors to Missions that these schools can be other than the very safest and quickest roads to Christian conversion on a wholesale scale. A photograph of a Mis¬ sionary , surrounded by a crowd of girls or boys, neatly and cleanly dressed, hymn-books in their hands possibly, and a look of calm content on every face, coupled with a descrip¬ tive paragraph drawing special attention to certain figures in the group representing specially encouraging converts, is not intend¬ ed to deceive, but it doss deceive. Those who see it, foolishly perhaps, but naturally arrive at the conclusion tliat every one of those scholars is at least on tlie high road to be¬ coming a shining light in a land of darkness, and hearts are warmed and purse-strings loosened to aid, a good work undoubtedly, but not what is paid for. Ou]* remarks must perforce be based princip.illy on Mission work in Japan, and considering its size it is perhaps one of the best representative fields that could be taken, but they may be applied in a general sense to almost all Mission fields FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. 7 alike, as murmurs now being raised in India and elsewhere tend to show. Practical ac¬ quaintance with Mission scliools leads to the discovery that while nominally opened and carried on as the best and surest means of spreading Christianity by early sowing the seeds, and bending the twigs while tender in the direction iliey should ultimately grow, virtually they are in the majority of cases purely secular educational establishments. They turn out graduates, but the proselytizing results are more than questionable. Now in spite of the very high value which we place upon education, no one can pretend for a moment that Missionaries are sent abroad for the purpose of gratuitously doing for Japan or India what the Governments of the respec¬ tive countries are perfectly capable of doing themselves. This is not the purpose for which they are sent, but it is what a very large number of Missionaries are doing, and what a very large amount of money is expended upon. We take the two following extracts from different sources bearing upon this point :—“ Something in the nature of a Scripture lesson or of a religious service is a part of the daily routine in every Missionary college or school, but attendance at that hour is not always enforced ; the Scripture lessons do not count for examination, and Missionary teachers sometimes feel that lads regard religious lessons or ordinances as trouble¬ some.” (Remark of Sir Charles Bernard some two or three years ago in reference to Mission Schools in India, as quoted by the 2'mes of India, January 14th, 1893.) The fol¬ lowing facts were a few months back supplied by Missionary Tidings and we presume are cor¬ rect. These returns report forty-five Mission schools, employing 160 foreign teachers and ‘287 natives. The pupils enrolled number 4,274. In sixteen out of these forty-five study. The number of students converted last year is given as 270, and the number up to date for the present year is 166. The value of school grounds and buildings is given as $545,150, which large sum represents scarcely more than one-third of the money invested annually in this work of education. The above extracts speak volumes. Of course the 270 reputed conversions for twelve months if genuine and life-long are of inestimable value ; but against this number there are confessedly 3,838 Japanese boys and girls receiving a free education without any pretence of embracing Christianity at all, and added to this is the problematical uncertainty of at least two- thirds ot the 436 alleged converts since January 1890 up to date. Is this an en¬ couraging result for the money expended ? We venture to say that very few of the Mis¬ sionaries themselves feel encouraged by it, and that the most zealous advocates at home of the spread of Christianity would not be satisfied or encouraged by it did they under¬ stand what this really means. There are of course reasons which militate against more rapid progress being made, and these reasons are perfectly understood by every man and woman in the Mission field. It has to be remembered that the Missionary in Japan has been tolerated and sought after wholly for educational purposes. He has been a patient and long-suffering ex¬ ponent of the English language, and various branches of English education. For this purpose the pious fraud of his resi¬ dence in the interior has been condoned by the Government and he has been run after and his practically free schools have been largely patronized by the public. Compara¬ tively few Japanese have even pretended that they were actuated by other than interested motives in going to the Missionary, and we have Mission schools, the Bible is not a required ! had many a confession from so-called bright 8 FOEEIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. “ Christian ” young men that they went to church and liked going to church as they “ learnt English ’ by so doing. Every country is interested in Japan, and England and America are interested in seeing the Eng¬ lish tongue and education generally spread in all lands. But does anyone pre¬ tend that the hundreds and thousands of Missionary supporters at home subscribe $800,000 a year or anything like it for the purely philanthropic purpose of teaching the Japanese English ? Are we contending therefore that the Missionaries in Japan have done nothing to promote the spread of Christianity ? Not at all. There are at the present day, we are glad to believe, a very large body of sincere and conscientious Chris¬ tian believers, and native Christian workers who are doing good work among their coun¬ trymen who are witnesses to what has been done. But we also believe that the majority of these are converts of the Mis¬ sionary pioneers, the converts of men who have been Missionaries not in word but in deed, and the products of a time when a comparatively small sum was being expend¬ ed in the Missionary work of this country. But we fear that there is no disguising the fact that the time for the wholesale conversion of the Japanese by foreigners has gone by, if indeed it ever existed at all, and we believe that the more earnest Missionaries here perfectly realize this fact. Yet in the face of this the cry is still sent home by some for more workers in the vineyard, and by nearly all for more funds ; and in the face of these facts we say most unhesitatingly that the contributions of those who give of their necessity for the spread of the Gospel are being misused. The spread of Christianity is not progressing in proportion to the number of Missionaries in the field and the amount expended upon the work, and amongst the causes for this in this country at least may be enumerated the fol¬ lowing :— ' 1. The reawakened nationalistic spirit of the Japanese, and impatience of Missionary control. 2. The inability of the majority of Mis¬ sionaries to sufficiently master the language. 3. An absence of the true Missionary spirit among those who come to this country as Missionaries. We will briefly review these causes which tend to the misusing or wasting of an enor¬ mous amount of money in this country alone. During the last few years the spirit of strong, self-assertive patriotism or national conceit and independence which lay dormant during the early days of Japan’s foreign inter¬ course, has reasserted itself more and more strongly. With the education conferred by Missionaries came the power to criticize their methods, and the national tendency to believe that the work they did could be far more efficiently carried out by native hands. The early converts were men of natural ability who in the first blush of Christianity’s novelty mastered the intricate doctrines of the new faith sufficiently to know the difficulties which would lie in the way of the ordinary convert, except in those rare instances where Mission¬ aries might so far master the mysteries of the Japanese tongue as to give due expres¬ sion to their earnestness. But the Mis¬ sionaries who have so familiarized them¬ selves with the language are compara¬ tively few, and the paucity of “results” can be Understood without difficulty when it is remembered the monotonous and deaden¬ ing effect which the most important com¬ munication can have when haltingly convey¬ ed to us ill English by a Japanese. How much more incomprehensible and monotonous must be the most earnest address on the FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. 9 beauties of Christianity when made by the ordinary Missionary in Japanese]! We quote the following from the article of Mr. Isogai in the Japan Mail to which we referred yes¬ terday. “Among the obstacles foreigners encounter- in doing evangelistic work are :— “Their lack of ability in the use of the language. This to be sure is no fault of the Missionaries. Being in a foreign hind and among a foreign people you cannot fail to feel the difficulties of the language. As you know the Japanese who speak English are well-nigh countless, yet those who speak like an English or American can easily be counted on one’s fingers. And do not even these exceptional linguists occasionally use Japanesy English ? • The fact is you cannot become skillful in our language. If a comparison be made between even those who have been here twenty years and one of our own people the foreigner must be called deficient. And because of this general lack of ability to use Japanese you cannot reveal your real thoughts nor set forth minutely your rich stores of learning. Though you have earnest faith you fail to affect your hearers. Even those of you who in your own tongue can inspire a throng of people with torrents of eloquence show such a lack of mental vigor when using Japanese that our people quickly get weary in listening.” The- above may not represent the opinion of the entire native Christian body, but it un¬ doubtedly represents the opinion of a large section of it, as the returns above given show an effort has been and is being made to reduce the evangelical work of the Missionaries in the Mission schools as much as possible, and the Japanese Presidents of schools in the interior, or in other words the Mis¬ sionaries’ employers, long since virtually as well as nominally took charge of the schools and usurped the reins of authority, which, palatable or unpalatable, the Missionaries submitted to rather than retire from the field. The third of the several causes which tend to unsatisfactory results is one which we have touched upon on former occasions. Every man who leaves his native shores with the intention of being a Missionary has not neces¬ sarily any greater claim to the title than every scribbler of verse has to the poet laureate- ship. Every man who plants a wig upon his head and grasps a brief is not perforce a legal star, nor every man privileged to write M.D. after his name a curer of fleshly ills. Poets, Doctors and Attorney-Generals are born, not made, and so we think are Missionaries worthy the name. But hundreds and hundreds of good persons, and eminently useful per¬ sons too, if they would but stand still where God placed them, no sooner feel the softening influences of religious conviction permeating their inner beings than they cast their daily task behind them and sally forth to be fishers of men in “ heathen ” lands. The desire which prompts this act is a noble one ; the impulse is one which calls for our respect, but it does not blind us to the fact that in literally nine cases out of ten it is a mistaken one. Not one Missionary in ten understands what it is he essays to do in coming to a country like Japan, nor has the faintest idea how he is going to do it. If he has any ideas at all it is that Missionary work means a certain amount of trial and harsh criticism, the consolation for which is to be found in the reflection that the Divine founder of Missions endured such before him. Those who set out with a minimum of this sort of sentiment, a clear idea of the prejudices and the religion which they come to conquer, well defined plans of action, sufficient deter¬ mination to look back with no faltering will upon the flesh pots of Egypt, a maximum amount of intelligent persuasiveness, argu¬ mentative power, and thorough general ability 10 FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. are the only really qualified men to put their hands to the plough in such a country as Japan, and it is such men as have won so much sympathy in the past for Mission work here and in other parts. Now, we regret to say, the Mission¬ ary torrent being poured upon these shores glaringly lacks most of these qualifications. With here and there a man or woman who would be welcomed in any field, the majority are good-hearted men and women who would be worth their weight in gold in the slums and sin-polluted alleys of their native cities, but who are so much dross, and so much wasted capital in a field where their ignorance, their weakness, and half-heartedness is forced to the surface and hinders rather than promotes the progress of Christianity. We say this in no unkindly spirit, but the amount of harm done to the Missionary cause by unqualified Mission¬ aries is enormous, and it is an evil which de¬ serves the thoughtful attention of all Christian people. It is no fault of theirs if those who desired to be Missionaries and thought they could be Missionaries find out afterwards that they made a mistake, but it becomes a fault when the discovery does not instantly lead them to face the temporary mortification of defeat and boldly withdraw from the field to make way for better men. We remember once hearing a Missionary sadly remark “Most of us leave home with very decided ideas as to what we mean to do and all we want to do, but after we have been here some time we find out how weak we are.’’ There was candour in the confession, and a volume of secret regret, also a plainly told tale of the ignorance which had existed prior to the coming. Missionaries are but mortal, and therefore the fact that they require just as much training for their profession as men do for any secular one should not be underrated. All these j unqualified persons and the large body, | chiefly women, who, classed as Mission¬ aries and paid.as Missionaries, are occupied almost entirely in educational, and secular educational work are helping to absorb Mis¬ sion funds while they do little to swell the list of bond fide conversions. These ladies are simply and purely school teachers. They may take Bible classes in the course of the week, preside at prayer-meetings perhaps, and teach in Sunday schools, but there are hun¬ dreds and thousands of women doing the same at home under the simple title of “ teacher,” who while harder worked are not so highly remunerated, neither are they sur¬ rounded by that indefinable halo of romance which is shed by the magic word “ Mission¬ ary.” These are individually and collectively some of the causes which tend to make Mission field results disproportionate to Mis¬ sion field expenditure, and in concluding these cursory reviews of a situation on which volumes might be written, we purpose to more particu¬ larly point out the disparity between the ideal and the real, and some of the causes which tend to make Missionaries unpopular, and the way these might be avoided. (March 3rd.) IV. W E take up to-day the last part of what some will sweepingly stigmatise as an attack on the Mission field and Mission¬ aries, instead of an attack merely on the abuses at present existing in that field. It is inevitable that the remarks we have already made, and those which we make to-day will make us enemies in the Missionary ranks, but a responsibility is laid upon the press to boldly attack everything which it recognizes to be wrong. That things are wrong, and very wrong in the Mission field of to-day is shown by the fact that Missionaries themselves and members of the Christian laity are among FOEEIGN MISSIONS AS THEY AEE. 11 the severest critics of Mission work. Locally, through the medium of Missionary Tidings, this sense of dissatisfaction and sense of some- I thing wrong has found expression, and a very able article from the pen of the Eev. James Pettee from which we shall presently quote affords an instance. Yesterday we gene¬ ralized the disparity existing between the ideal and the real work of the Missionaries. To-day we wish to draw attention to the disparity existing between the ideal and the real circumstances and conditions of life under which tliat work is cairied on ; the genuineness or otherwise of Missionary “ hardships.” Times have changed since the days when to enter the foreign Mission field was to lose sight of friends and families for ten, twenty, or even thirty years. Times have changed since “ sick leave ” meant a verit¬ able going home to die. In a few instances, but comparatively very few, Missionaries are toiling, and faithfully toiling, in unhealthy and isolated spots wdiere letters from home are semi¬ annual events, and communication with the great outer world is virtually and not nominal¬ ly cut off. In such spots the best and most vig¬ orous years of noble lives are being conscien¬ tiously devoted to living out the profession made at home ; we know of such, and we say all honour to them. But in the great majority of Mission fields communication is constantly kept up with the home land, and the “ banish¬ ed ” Missionary is never virtually out of touch with his own kith and kin and supporting, cheering, and encouraging influences at all. It might be supposed that under such favour¬ able conditions the zeal of the Missionary and the success of his undertaking would be assured. But what do we find ? We find that easy communication has engendered a short term of service ; that the absence of necessity to “rough” it has promoted a fastidiousness which would have horrified the Missionary of bygone days, who had to build a log cabin before he could lay claim to a habitation at all. Sick leave and change come round to modern Missionaries as re¬ gularly as the seasons, because there are always other workers coming on to take their places, and a perpetual game of “post” goes on between the home lands and the foreign stations. All this means money mis-spent. Formerly the Missionary landed in a wilderness and he was con¬ tent with a life of frugal simplicity. Now he lands in a highly civilized field and his wants and necessities multiply until we find him in Eome doing very much as Eome does. Now we wish to emphasize the fact that while there are still a great many ! Missionaries in various parts of the world enduring heroically all the hardships and exposed to all the risks which our earliest conceptions of Missionary life have rendered familiar, it is not these remote and uncomfortable fields of action which swallow up the money and drain it aicay from sources ivhere it might he more advantageously and practically used. The fields which do this are such as India and Japan, where civilization has reached a high standard and the conditions of life run on tyred wheels. To these centres the tide has set in a steady ever-increasing stream. Japan is of course chiefly the American field, while the Church Missionary Society and other English bodies are concentrated chiefly in India and China, but we are making no invidious comparisons, as the abuses to which we are referring appear common to all the bodies alike. The Missionary of to-day there¬ fore leaves his native land for a change of scene, but for surroundings which have no more real affinity with “ hardships ” than the pioneer’s log cabin had with comfort. There stands on the Bluff under the shadow of the school which he practically inaugurated, a 12 FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. tiny bungalow which was Dr. Hepburn’s first house and surgery in this country, we believe, and was any way one of his earliest residences in this port. This modest dwelling bears out what we have said, that the tastes of the Mis¬ sionary in the early days were simpler and his dread of a little discomfort not so great. Pos¬ sibly funds were not at Dr. Hepburn’s disposal at that time for the erection of a more pre¬ tentious dwelling, possibly he opined that a four-roomed bungalow was all he and his helpmate needed. We cannot pretend to say, but the little house apparently suf¬ ficed, and doubtless was the scene of much work which has borne fruit in later years. Four-roomed Missionary bungalows are not the fashion now. Funds have in¬ creased perhaps, and more is allowed for building purposes. But is that a reason why more money should be used for building pur¬ poses ? If Missions are wealthier, is it any reason why Missionaries should become ex¬ travagant? We have on pi evious occasions de¬ fended the Missionary against the attacks of those who can see no good in the body at all, and we wish it understood that we are not denying Missionaries a right to a comfortable home, a convenient home and decent and proper sur¬ roundings. But between this and a pretentious home; between this and the house twice as big as many occupied by the hard-working laity ; between this and the erection of buildings which are not and probably never will be filled, there is a wide gulf fixed. In unnecessary buildings, and an unnecessary expenditure in bricks and mortar we have then one cause of offence in the Mission field to-day, and we regret to say an increasing cause. Another very prominent feature is the multiplicity and rivalry of sects. When it is remembered how many sects and shades of Christianity there are jostling against each other pulling each other’s work to pieces, and obstructing one an¬ other’s paths, the slow progress made can¬ not be wondered at. This multiplicity of sects however, is a stupendous evil quite beyond the control of Missionaries, but the subduing of uncharitable jealousy, and the suppression of all active rivalry is within the power of all and should be practised by all. We regret to say that it is not practised very assiduously and that the squabbles of Missionaries among themselves have provided another cause of offence. A third cause is the want of con¬ sideration displayed in every day contact with the world. Everyone but the Mission¬ aries themselves has probably been told or heard from others that as a rule any passengers are more welcome on steamers than Mis¬ sionaries. Allowing that the speakers are in many cases men who are utterly antagonistic to religion in any form, there must still be some reason for which Missionaries are in some way responsible to account for the almost universal verdict of ships’ crews against them. One reason is that though carried at a lower rate they expect more for their money than other passengers, and are more exacting in small things than their fellow travellers. An¬ other is the want of tact they display in the matter of services. Because a man or woman is a Missionary and going to, a Mission field, the idea seems to prevail that the fact must be arbitrarily and obtrusively paraded before their fellow men on all appropriate and inap¬ propriate occasions. The good which might be done in the course of a quiet chat and per¬ sonal influence during the fortnight’s voyage, by easy contentedness, cheerfulness and socia¬ bility without any monopolization of the piano, saloon, or quarter-deck, are matters which deserve the Missionaries’ earnest attention, especially now they do so much travel¬ ling. It is by their deeds not empty FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. 13 professions which men are judged and es¬ timated by their fellows ; and a religion which does not teach consideration for others in small things is scarcely likely to attract the admiration of the non-religious public. To point out evils is of very little use without pointing out also a remedy. In the matter of multiplicity of sects no remedy appears possible at present, but in minor points a remedy lies ready at every Missionary’s hand. Among the first and most important of these is to guard against misrepresentation. If hardships, veritable hardships, have passed out of most fields let the Missionaries them¬ selves confess it, and not leave the fact to reach the ears of their supporters by unfriend¬ ly or outside channels. The destiny of Christianity is, they confess, in Higher hands than their own, therefore let any unworthy means adopted for the fostering of a spurious interest in Missions be steadily suppressed. Let there be perfect honesty in the field and no representation of work where little or no work is being done. If the Missionary is comfortably or luxuriously housed, can take his flight to cool localities during the hot or sickly mouths, while the laity remain at their posts and bear the heat and burden of the day, let the fact be clearly understood at home. If Missionaries are sure of their supporters’ sympathy, and supporters are willing that these things should be, no man has a right to say that they should not be, and there is harm in none of these things providing that all are known to those who contribute the money for them at home. Who the majority of these are we have already suggested, and whether there is any invidious * comparison to be drawn between their cir¬ cumstances and those of the Missionaries they should be in a position to judge by being placed unreservedly in possession of facts. Whether in respect to the quality or quantity of the work actually done by the Missionaries individually or collectively, or the precise i conditions of life under which that work is carried on, we say it devolves upon every Missionary to see that no misconception aris¬ ing from commission or omission on his part, exists in the minds of those whose cents and pennies'dropped into the Mission box have brought him hither. Another remedy required is fewer and better qualified workers. Tlie old cry “ The harvest truly is plentiful but the labourers are few ” can only be uttered now with any truth in a few, widely scattered districts. In Japan it has no place at all. Every year sees a larger num¬ ber of Missionaries landed at the Hatoba, and diminishing results. The Rev. James Pettee quoted the following returns in a paper read by him before the Missionary Association of Central Japan at Osaka on Dec. 13th, 1892 :— “ The year 1879 saw 1,084 additions to the Japanese churches out of a total membership of 2,701 adults, a gain of 67 per cent in a twelve month. A 50 per cent annual increase was frequently recorded, and even as late as 1887, the number of church mem¬ bers increased 34 per cent bringing the grand total, including baptized children, up to nearly 20,000. The year 1889 also witnessed a gain of over 5,000, but then came a drop in a single year from an increase of 5,677 to 1,199, and in rate per cent from twenty-two to less than four. Last January’s statistics show a gain for 1891 of 1,010, or barely three per cent. Returns for the present year are not likely to show any improvement. The school statistics for 1888 to 1891 are equally startling. Although the number of mission schools rises in three years from 101 to 117 the number of students falls from 9,698 to 8,758, and during the year 1891 there is a further drop of 1861 students. Even in Sunday-schools, if we may trust Mr. Staniland’s statistics, last year saw an alarming drop of almost 7,000 scholars, viz. from 24,115 to 17,126.” Now whether the causes of this falling off rest with the Japanese or the Missionaries, the effect should undoubtedly be the same, namely to stem the tide of Missionaries and money until more favourable times should dawn. Not to do so is to deliberately squander both money and services. Fewer Missionaries and more thoroughly qualified ones would un¬ doubtedly tend to increase zeal and raise the 14 FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. standard of Missionary labour. Quality not quantity is what is wanted ; the very best and a very few. Christianity will not be heard in Japan for the much speaking and the roaring of a multitude ; but by the still, small voice of earnest, intellectual reason. The Japanese are not ignorant idolaters of wood and stone, but people capable of turning a doctrine inside out and analysing a creed, and it stands to reason that the men and women who are to prove to them convincingly that what they have hitherto regarded as white is in reality black or grey must be men and women of special parts and possessing something more than simple zeal or self conviction. Instead of the cry “ Come over and help us ” which is being sent up everywhere, let Mis¬ sionaries unite in narrowing the criterion gauge and carefully testing in the home land the men and women who essay to walk on the troubled waters of Missionary work. Let them importune their Boards and Societies to keep men back, not send them forward, and let them unite to evolve some plan by which Mis¬ sionaries may in future enter the field with a minimum risk of being unsuccessful in it. Lastly, there is much which can be remedied in the daily life of very many Missionaries. We will quote again Rom the Rev. James Pettee as being a Missionary’s words in reference to his fellow workers. He says in discussing the question of how far Missiona¬ ries are themselves to blame for the poor results shown :— “ We have not in all cases responded to the higher ideals demanded of ns. A people who have been fed on heroes have no taste for ordinary Missionaries. How do most of us compare with Nichiren, Kobo, Xavier, and Neesima ? The Japanese idea of what a religious leader should be is a very extreme one. The simple fact is few of our number are capable of assuming wide leadership. Continental Bishops are out of keeping with this island empire. Have we ordinary people from the West then any work here ? Certainly. First. To see to it that we give no occasion for stumbling. A single slip on the part of one of our number may do great injury to the whole work. The day of Judgment comes to us in Japan with every rising sun. Whether it is books or bicycles, China or curios, carpets or clothing, we must expect to give account of our stewardship. We should have sensitive consciences on these subjects. A good brother in Tokyo, whom we all honour, is just now held up for our example, because he contents him¬ self with secondhand clothing and a frugal diet. We may not imitate him to the letter, but we should guard against every possibility of serving as a warn¬ ing to the missionary fraternity. A missionary worthy of the name should be so simple, transparent, generous and dead in earnest that at least a few people must understand him and be won by his life. Mission machinery is no longer sufficient to turn the wheels, unless fed by a strong stream of personal character.” When outsiders venture to say what a Missionary should be they are not infrequent¬ ly accused of expecting too much. For our own part we ask for no higher ideal in the Mission field than that which Mr. Pettee has concisely delineated in the last quoted paragraph, and we presume the writer did not consider that the sketch he drew was a fancy and impossible portrait. We demand of Missionaries noth¬ ing more than that they shall live up to their profession, win people by their lives, and fur¬ ther the interests of Christianity by strong personal character. Mr. Pettee would not, we think, have penned those lines had he not been urged to do so by a knowledge that things were not as they should be in the field, by the knowledge that the Missionary conscience was not quite as sensitive in these matters as it might be. He has suggested tentatively that pleasures, comforts and clothes occupy an undue amount of Missionaries’ attention. We will go farther, most Missionaries appear to forget, entirely the injunction contained in 11 Corinthians and the 11th verse, “ Come ye out from among them and be ye separate.” Separate from what ? From those who make no profession of being Christian disciples at all. To be separate in manner, conversation and dress. Yet glancing over any gathering of Missionaries it is difficult to discern in any outward sign wffierein this separation from the pomps and vanities of life lies. Just as much FOREIGN MISSIONS AS THEY ARE. 15 V" l thought and money appears to be spent upon these things by the majority as by those who make no profession of being an example to their fellows at all, and in many cases more so. The latest fashion and plenty of it meets the eye at every turn, and a debonnair freedom characterizes the attire of male Missionaries quite as much as that of the women, and we have even seen swallow-tail coats patronized by some. These things may be harmless enough in themselves but they do not tend to elevate the Mission field; they are not in¬ struments for conversion ; they are indirectly a dallying with the vanities and extravagances presumably renounced when the Mission field is entered, and as long as they exist, so long- does a stumbling block lie in the path of Christianity’s progress. It was the wonderful results achieved by the Salvation Army which spurred the Established Church of England on to follow its example in some degree, and originated the Church Army, and these results were brought about in a very great measure by the economical, consistent lives and dress of its members. The poke bonnet and scarlet jersey of the Salvationists were ridiculed unsparingly at first, but we hear little about it now as it has come to be re¬ cognized that though only an outward and visible sign the uniform habiliment had its uses and very material uses. The same thing has been found in the various Deaconesses’ houses and similar institutions of Christian workers, and in hospitals. One uniform costume has in every case been found to create respect, besides insuring economy and a freedom for its wearers of the anxietv, or engrossing fascination which a constantly changing and constantly being replenished mode of attire inevitably carries with it. Were more simplicity and more uniformity in Missionary dress resolutely aimed at we should not so frequently hear the enquiry, ‘‘/s that a Missiojiary ?When such a query is possible whether on account of dress, manner or conversation, something is wrong, and very much wrong, and it is time that Missionaries in all lands bestirred themselves to find out what it is. This is an age of luxury and self-indulgence ; an age when the strong are preying more and more upon the weak; but it is also an age of reformation in many things, and Missionaries should realize the fact that unless some reformation of abuses which now disfigure the Mission field are reformed, the inevitable result will be that the tide of hard-earned pence which at present flows to foreign Missions will be turned to feed and warm the starving poor at the very doors of the givers at home. There are minds to be educated, bodies to be fed and clothed, and souls to be saved quite as surely in our own lands as here, and as more and more people travel abroad and see for themselves how far their faith in the utility of Missions is justified, so surely will the financial life¬ blood flowing to foreign Missions be cut off, unless active steps are taken to bridge the widening channel ’twixt the ideal and the real. THE MISSIONARIES IN JAPAN. The following letter appeared in The Japan Weekly Mail of March 26th, 1892 and was called out by certain severe criticisms embodied in a communication over tlie signature, “ Hard Fact,” in the issue of March 12th. It is now reprinted with a few verbal changes, for private distribution. TO THE EDITOR OF THE “ JAPAN MAIL.” Sir,—It may seen ungracious after your very generous defence of the missionaries to call further attention to this subject. Still, there are certain points upon which a missionary’s testimony is from the nature of the case, more definite, and hence, perhaps, worth adding to your admirable remarks. Your correspondent, “ Hard Fact,” asks the question, Do mission¬ aries belong to “ a highly educated class, graduates of the great universities,” &c.? To this question he answers, “No.” A very superficial acqaintance with the personnel of the different missions would have made such an answer impossible. Of the German missionaries, all have been university men. Of the British mission¬ aries, a goodly number hold degrees from Cambridge or Oxford. It would be difficult to extemporize any very accurate statement regarding the number of college trained men among the American missionaries, and hence, for the sake of definiteness, I will confine what I have to say on this point to my own Mission, that of the American Board, remarking by the way, that I know this Mission is not by any means exceptional. In the last official list there appeared the names of twenty-nine missionaries. All but five of these were college graduates. Of the twenty-four college men, most of whom graduated with high honors, five Iiold degrees won by faithful work at Yale University, two at Michigan, and one at Harvard. The remainder, with few if any exceptions, are from colleges which, though not possessing the same facilities for post-graduate study, are not, as regards distinctively college work, inferior to Yale or Harvard. Of the five who do not hold college degrees, two are laymen. All of the five have by success in their different departments amply justified their appointment. In taking the literary work of the missionaries as a standard of th^ir ability, it is no more fair to set down those who do not write, ai indolent or incapable, than it would be to treat the medical profession in the same way. The literary missionaries are specialists and the number of specialists in any class must be relatively small. Again, literary work in a foreign tongue, or dealing which foreign subjects, presupposes long residence. Contrary to the prevailing opinion, the missionaries who have been on the ground ten years constitute a small fraction of the whole number. Kelatively to this small frac¬ tion, I contend that the missionaries have no need to blush for the meagreness of the list of those who have gained a distinguished place among the scholars of Japan, In philology no better work has been done in Japan than Dr. Hepburn’s Dictionary and Dr. Imbrie’s “ Etymology.” Not long agp a Japanese professor in the Imperial University remarked that onl}^ three translations worthy of the name had appeared in Japan. These were the late Senator Nakamura’s translation of “ Self Help,” Mr. Mitsnkuri’s Code Napoleon and the Japanese version of the Bible. Another well known Japanese has described tlie last named version as “ unparalleled.” It is true, the committees in charge of this version had the advantage of skilled Japanese associates, yet this praise is intended as a tribute to the success of the missionary committees. It is interesting to note that a missionary, the Eev. Dr. Verbeck, contributed a not unimportant part to the success of Mr. Mitsukuri’s scholarly work. The same gentleman’s version of the Psalms is unexcelled as a faithful and idiomatic translation. Dr. M. L. Gordon’s researches in the field of Japanese Buddhism and those of Dr. G. Wm. Knox in Chinese philosophy are deserving of high praise. One of the best surgeons in Japan outside of the capital is the Eev. W. Taylor, M.D. of Osaka. In the speciality of abdo¬ minal surgeiy, it may be questioned whether he has a superior in Japan. His successful removal of an important visceral tumor was recently noticed in your columns. Dr. Taylor has also gained great credit as a microscopist. The results of his work in this department have been published in Japan, China, and the United States and are well known to the profession. The Eev. John T. Gulick, Ph. D., also of Osaka, has been described by no less a scholar than Mr. G. J. Eomanes as the most profound thinker on Darwinian subjects since Darwin. Mr. Wallace in one of his recent books devotes several pages to the discussion of Dr. Gulick’s published opinions. His writings appear from time to time in Nature and other scientific periodicals. The main literary strength of the missionary body, however, has been expended in work in the Japanese language. The amount of literature which has grown up under their hands, or through their inspiration, is already very large. If this be set aside simply because it is chiefly concerned with theistic subjects, as your correspondent seems to suggest should be done, a large share of the world’s best literature must go with it. A belief in theism does not indicate feebleness of intellect, Mr. John Fiske says atheism is bad pLilosopliy, and even Mr. Herbert Spencer, according to the testi¬ mony of bis friend Mr. Minot J. Savage, bolds that tbe Unknown, tboiigli not antbropoinori)l]ic, is nothing less than personal. It cannot be said of tlie above mentioned gentlemen, that these special studies have led to decay of interest in direct missionary work, for tbe list contains tbe names of some of tbe foremost men in dis¬ tinctively religions activities. Fnrtber, it is intimated that missionaries desire to avail tbemselves of tbe secular power. It happens, however, that in Japan (and we are now cbietly concerned with Japan), tbe great majority of tbe missionaries is strongly in favor of treaty revision and a revision which shall place them entirely under Japanese control. I cannot speak so positively of other missions, bat I do not think there is one member of tbe American Board’s Mission who would not rejoice in a treaty which should abolish extra-territoriality. Some eight years ago, at the instance of this mission, a memorial urging the speedy revision of the present treaty between Japan and the United States, was presented to the President l)y a committee of which, if I mistake not. President Angell of Michigan University, formerly Minister to China, was the chairman. A vote taken nearly two years ago by the Osaka Missionary Conference and the memorial of the British mission¬ aries about the same time show, that this Mission does not stand alone. So far as other views have at any time been advanced by missionaries, it has been chiefly on the ground of the more com¬ plicated interests of the non-missionary community and an un¬ willingness to act, where such interests were involved, against the judgment of public men of long experience and acknowledged wisdom. It is assumed by your correspondent that Christianity, so far as it has gained acceptance at all, has gained it solely among the ignorant and lowly. There could not be a greater mistake. The shizoku are the intellectual class of Japan. This class comprises, roughly speaking, five per cent, of the entire population. In the country at large, nearly forty per cent, of the Christians arc shizoku. In the city of Tokyo in the churches with which I am most familiar, nearly seventy- five per cent, of the members are shizoku. In one of these churches are to be found two officials of chokunin^' rank, both of whom have resided long abroad in high official positions. There are besides not less than twelve officials of sonin\ rank. I need not say that this church is financially independent, and has been so since its organi¬ zation five years ago. It has an income of nearly yen\. 1,200, and has recently built a church at an expense of yen 3,500. This church, while possibly embracing more officials in its membership, is not * Officials holding appointments directly from the Emperor. ^ t Officials holding appointments from the Council of State with the Sanc¬ tion of the Emperor. X The ye77 is equivalent to about seventy cents, U. S, gold. superior to many others associated with the same, or other missions. It was no accident that the last House of Eepresentatives of the Imperial Diet should have included thirteen Clndstians and that three or four Christians should have had seats in the House of Peers, or that in the recent elections nine Christians should have been return¬ ed, Ill the prefectural assemblies the Christians have also won an enviable place. In Tokyo and Kyoto, some of the most influential members of the city and prefectural assemblies are Christians, while in Gumma Prefecture out of a total of sixty members in the Assemb¬ ly, eight are Christians and from among them the president was chosen. The extract from the "^^Waseda Bunr/aku Zasshi recently published in your columns regarding Christianity in Japanese literature is further testimony to the impression missionary work has made upon Japanese societj^ It is often claimed that the missionaries are not welcome. This is doubtless true as regards certain individuals and classes, but they receive abundant assurance of the good will of the Japanese people, My own Mission is actually embarrassed by the pressure put upon it for the extension of its work. There are few touring mission¬ aries who are not overwhelmed by the calls made upon them. As regards my own work, two men could not do the amount of touring which my Japanese friends urge upon me. Not long since I visited a county capital, a town of 6,000 inhabitants. The very best men of the place, among them the two judges of the county court, not only attended the lectures, but came to the hotel at half past four in the morning to see me off. I visited the same town a few days ago and the same men showed me the same attentions. This is no sporadic case, nor am I peculiarly favored in such matters. Is it strange in view of such attentions from such men, that we regard ourselves as welcome ? Since I began this communication a telegram has come to announce the death of the wife of a Japanese Christian. I have also been appealed to for help by the friends of a poor fellow, who through business troubles has taken to drink, and whose father, a helpless paralytic, is overwhelmed by his grief and disappointment. Neither father nor son is a member of the Christian community. I have tried by my letters to comfort the bereaved husband, to encour¬ age the disheartened and wayward son and to ease the anxiety of the invalid father. But why is it that these men seventy or eighty miles away turn to a missionary in their sorrow and distress ? Am I wrong in thinking it is because he has won their regard and conffdence ? Again, the managers of a well known establishment in Tokyo, employing several hundred hands, some days ago sent to me for The Waseda BunpaJcu Zasshi, i.e.. The Waseda Literarij Magazine, is published under the auspices of Count Okama’s celebrated college, The Tokyo Semmon Gakko. It stands in the forefront of the literary magazines of Japan. It has been styled The Atlantic Monthly of Japan. advice with regard to employing women as clerks. They'reqnested farther, that, if I approved the plan, I would recommend two young women, but they stipulated that these should he Christians. So far as I know, these men are not themselves Christians. Is it unreason¬ able for a missionary to look upon both this request and the stipu¬ lation as the sign of an intluence extending far beyond the sphere of his direct labor ? Is it probable that an influence like this would grow up if the class which he represents were abnormally ignorant and vulgar ? I must not be misunderstood. I have no desire to institute a comparison between Japanese society and that of western lands. Such a comparison would be invidious at the best, and certainly would necessitate a more careful weighing of this against that than is possible in a newspaper article. It is freely conceded, that Japanese society exhibits much that is worthy of imitation. No man who is not ready to be a learner is worthy to be a teacher in these matters of social and religious reform. We all know Japanese at whose feet we are quite willing to sit. The ques¬ tion does not lie in my mind as one of comparison, certainly not as one which must lead to a simple and unqualitied judgment, but it presents itself rather in tliis form :—Are there not certain religious and moral forces which we ourselves feel and whose effects are seen in other lands which will be helpful to our Japanese friends and to Japanese society? For my part, after a reasonably observant life of missionary service covering more than twenty years, I am constrained to answer, not in arrogance I trust, but with the emphasis of linn conviction. Yes. The labor we expend in the effort to augment the moral and religious forces of this empire is not in any sense of the term, unproductive. The fruits of this work may not be susceptible of measurement by the yardstick or the scales, yet they represent some of the most beneficent influences the world has ever known. The calls upon the missionaries to which reference has already been made, will indicate some of the ways in which their work bears fruit. I will endeavor to point out certain other lines of influence. If in doing so I limit myself chiefly to the social side of our work, it must not be taken to mean, that I think lightly of the religions side, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is still the power of God. Let me indicate some of the ways in which the missionary’s influence is felt. In a retired valley of Joshu there is a little hamlet of charcoal burners. A few years ago their manner of life was the rudest possible. There seemed no glimmer of hope for better things. A colporteur in passing through the valley, spoke to the people. Two men became interested and purchased copies of the New Testament. Their employers soon noticed a change in the grade of charcoal from these two men—it was more carefully burned, was better packed and free from stones and grass. This charcoal was looked upon as a special brand and brought a special price. On Sundays, work was suspended and these men with their families, gathered for religious worship and the study of the Bible. Shortly after, they began to reclaim the mountain land around them, to plant wheat and garden stuff, and recently one of them has become forehanded enough to build a neat frame house in place of his old hut. His emi)loyers say, he is the most efficient and trustworthy man in the mountain. He liimself says he owes his new \igor to his weekly day of rest and that with¬ out it he could not do his work. Both men recognize the value of the aid their church gives them, and though it is ten miles away, they contril)ute liberally and gladly to the support of their pastor. I know a clock factory in Kyoto employing a hundred hands which owes its existence to the same source as that solitary house in the mountain valley. Work which yields such results seems to me worth doing. Again, it is a frequent complaint on the part of the silk dealers in Yokohama that much of the silk offered is of inferior and very un¬ even quality. One of the most important causes of this inferiority lies in the excessive hours of labor exacted of the operatives in the country fflatures. In very many cases, the operatives work from early dawn till ten at night. A Japanese student of social science, who has studied several years both in England and Germany and has won deserved recognition from his own Government, informs me, that these operatives are no worse off than many others— that in some towns where spinning and weaving are extensively carried on, the working day extends from the first daylight until nearly eleven o’clock at night. He further says, that in such towns it is rare to find an operative over thirty years of age. Excessive labor causes an early break down of the nervous system which renders subsequent labor impossible, even if life itself be not sacrificed. While in many respects the working people of Japan are favored above their Western compeers, there is as yet no public sentiment on this phase of the labor question which is worthy of the name, though individuals here and there are deeply interested in it, as I am glad to testify. The Christians have had tlieir attention called to the condition of these operatives, and are seeking in different ways to cultivate a better public sentiment regarding it. The management of one filature, at least, is now divided with reference to granting relief to its operatives by reducing the hours of labor. The prospect is, that the Christians will prevail and secure a redac¬ tion of the daily hours of labor as well as a weekly day of rest. One small but independent church is located near the gate of a large Government filature where some five hundred operatives, mostly young girls, are employed. They are far from their homer and exposed to many temptations. The officials in charge, so far as I can learn, are wortliy of great praise and the hours of labos are relatively few ; but in spite of all that can be done, the situation is a trying one for these young women. The church has sought to ( 7 ) help them. In a single year some .sixteen wore brought within its protection. As it happened, all these girls, having served out their term, returned home, and so a new beginning became necessary. As the first fruits of this new effort, two or more have joined the Christ¬ ians. One of the first mentioned girls was so impressed with what she owed to these disinterested friends, that she begged the privilege of sweeping the church—she had no money to give, for she earned but a bare support—in testimony of her deep sense of obligation, and her beaming face told of the joy she found in the menial service which to her was a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Space would fail me were I to attempt to write of the schools for poor children, the orphan asylums and hospitals which owe their origin to the missionary movement, though they are mostly under Japanese control. One of the smaller asylums, howevei’, seems to me worthy of a passing word. It has nineteen inmates. The manager has given himself heart and soul to this enterprize and through his own sacrifices and enthusiastic industry he has rendered it self-supporting, that is, his own earnings combined with those of the children meet very nearly the entire current expenses, though friends have aided in the purchase of the home. This asylum is but one of many institutions which testify to the working of a new force in Japanese society. You have your¬ self, Mr. Editor, referred sufficiently to the schools and their suc¬ cesses. I will not add to what you have so well said. This subject is by no means exhausted, but I fear I have already passed the limit of your patience. As 1 contemplate the many doors already open to us missionaries and the new avenues for influence which the future is evidently about to disclose, I feel oppressed by the weight of the responsibility which rests upon me in common Avith my colleagues; but, at the same time, my sense of the nobility of the work to which I believe God lias called us grows with each day. To be one of a company Avhicli is able to aid at so many difierent points in the building up of New Japan seems to me a priv¬ ilege and the work, a holy work. With many apologies for the length of this communication, I remain, yours faithfully, *^D. C. GEEENE. Ichigaya, Tokyo, March 23rd, 1892. Books on Japan. - UAXD-UOOK FOR JAFAX. - THIXOS JAPAXESK. ■ ^ - FLOWERS OF JAPAN. ■ JAPAN AND ITS ART. ■ rOUUNOES OF JAPAN, PART 1, FUJISAN. AYA'I(A Japanese Romance). ^ - SCEj -S FROM OPEN AIR LlJE IN JAJ\4X. - OUR ' POOR LIFE IN JAPAN. \li' BOOK OF COLLOQUIAL. . JAiA dNSE DICTIONARY. . JAlt-hsE GRAMMAR. - VERPAXT SIMPLE’S VIEWS OF JAPAN. - CH HAIR EX'S JAPAN. Opwa'^ CBlsbrated dolloljpe i^lbunip of SORNURT AND 'nn'IiS OF JAPAN. SIGHTS AND SCENES ON THE TOKATDO. THE HAKONE DISTRICT. SCENES FROaAI THE CHIUSHINGURA. COSTUMES AND CUSTOMS OF JAPAN (2 Vols.j CELEBRATED GEISHA OF TOKIO. NIKKO AND ITS VICINTrY. ]\rATSUSHIMA. CHRYSANTHEMUMS. Ye., Yc., Ye KELLY & WALSH, L’D., YOKOHAMA, SHANGHAI, HONGKONG AND SINGAPORE MURRAY'S . CHAMBERLAIN'S - - - - CONPER'S . HUISH'S . MILNE ANP BURTON S MURDOCH AND BURTON'S- BURTON'S . BURTON'S . OHAMBERLAIN'S - - - - HEPBURN'S ------ ASTON'S- ------- SMITH'S, MRS. IT. H.- - - > ’ 5 » ? > ■ ■ ' At zvhich places this pa^nphlet can be pnrchased’.