The HARVEST FIELD

FEBRUARY, 189 7.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES.

MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS.*

HE consideration of such a subject as this is apt to be greatly influenced by the mood of the person at the time of writing or speaking. In his church there has been a series of genuine conversions. His soul is on fire, and he expects to see India converted in a day. Another has had no adult baptisms for a year or two. He is depressed, and complains, “ The soil is hard ; the good seed of the kingdom cannot possibly grow here.” A third has troubles in his church. There have been quarrels, caste feeling, debt, falsehood, impurity of speech and life. He is ready to say that no one has been soundly converted, and is tempted to give up in despair. Or he has many inquirers, but as he probes them, he finds they all come with more or less mixed motives, and he is tempted to say in his haste, “ There is no sincerity in the land.” There are times when we are constrained to pour out Jeremiads because of the character of the people and of the apparent slowness of the work. There are other times when incidents of a striking and hopeful nature come crowd­ * A paper read before the Madras Missionary Conference in November. m i s s io n a k y Ex p e c t a n c y of* s u c c e s s .

ing one upon the heels of another, and we are ready to say with John, “ The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” I take it for granted that we all believe the Kingdom of God is to be established in India, and that Christ must reign here. We believe this because of the divine origin of that Kingdom, and because of the power there is in the Faith of Jesus. But I take it that our object to-night is not to discuss that aspect of the question : it admits of no dis­ cussion, save between those who believe that truth will ultimately prevail and those who hold that the gospel will be preached only as a witness to the nations without any great turning of the people to Christ. The discussion of this point is, I take it, not the one for us to-night; for it could lead to no profitable conversation. The one theory takes away one of the chief sources of inspiration to Christian service, and makes the work of preaching the gospel a duty we owe as obedient followers of our Master but with no hope of ultimate success to sustain us. The other theory unfolds to us such a scene of magnitude and grandeur— the complete triumph of Jesus Christ—that every devout follower of Jesus will be fascinated and stimulated by it, and urged to do his best. I do not intend to discuss this question. My aim is a simpler, a humbler one. I will leave the region of theory and come to the realm of fact. I wish to look at the Kingdom of God in India from its human, its business side, if the phrase may be allowed. I want to trace the evolution of that Kingdom in India, as it unfolds itself visibly, as it appears unto men, and from it find warrant for the future. There is a kingdom that cometh not with observation. With that I shall deal but incidentally. My purpose has to do with the Church of Christ as orga­ nised, with the Christian community as a fact in the life of India, with Christian ideal and thought as manifest in the conduct of the people of this land. The present has been evolved from the past, and we can trace the finger of God in the results that have been achieved. The future must come out of the present, and by a careful study of the past and knowledge of the present, we can form some estimate of that future. I do not wish to be misunderstood. I do not for a moment hold that there may not be extraordinary effusions of the Spirit of God which cannot be measured according to our feeble calculations, and which will set all our estimates at nought. There may be, there will be, these divine manifestations. “ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and ftfuther it goeth; ” so is the work of the Spirit in the nations of the MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OP SUCCESS. earth. These I do not attempt to estimate, though I strongly believe in them. I want, if possible, to gather together the main facts of Christianity as they appear to any observer—Christian-or non-Christian —and from these facts to form an estimate for the future. To do this accurately, we must have an adequate knowledge of the present and know how it has been evolved from the past. We must accurately estimate the forces at work to-day for and against the kingdom of G od; and then we shall be in a position to determine what grounds there are for expectancy of success in India. For my purpose I shall confine myself to the Protestant Church ; for the simple reason that I know so little of the Eoman Church. That church has been long at work in India ; it has gathered in a large num­ ber of converts ; but from my lack of knowledge it is difficult for me to estimate its true position. It may be a growing or a declining power; it matters little for my purpose to-night. I shall also leave out of my calculations the Syrian and Armenian Churches in India ; for they have both practically ceased to be missionary. These churches form an in­ teresting study, but they will not help us in the discussion of to-night’s subject. The history of Protestantism in India begins practically with the commencement of the present century. A great deal had been done previously in South India by the Danish missionaries ; but it was not till the beginning of the present century that the Christians of Protest­ ant countries really awoke to the needs of India. Since then there has been a steady increase in the interest taken in the spread of the gospel in India, which received a mighty stimulus from the Indian mutiny, and has continued in an increasing ratio to the present day. It is not easy to estimate the number of Protestant Christians at the beginning of the century. The Danish Mission had been at work nearly a century amidst wars and disturbances of many kinds. It had gathered to­ gether many converts; but at the beginning of the century it is doubtful if there were 5,000 native Christians in India ; for the wars and commo­ tions of the last century frequently scattered the Christian communities that had been gathered together. During the first half of this century little or nothing was done to obtain an estimate of the results of mission work in India. But from 1851 onwards careful attempts have been made to get accurate returns of workers, Christians, and scholars. The progress can be therefore clearly marked. A few figures only will be given. They refer to India alone. Burma and Ceylon , are excluded. The Christians in 1851 44 " MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS.

amounted in round numbers to 91,100 ; in 1861 to 1381,700 ; in 1871 to 224,300; in 1B81 to 417,400 ; in 1890 to 559,700. By the end of the century there will be at least 750,000 ; they are not far short of that number now. I do not for a moment wish to indicate that all these are truly members of Christ’s mystical body; but these figures indicate facts which have weight with a certain class of persons ; the only facts that have any weight with them. A century of Christian toil has pro­ duced a Christian community of three-fourths of a million. At this rate of progress mathematicians, if they feel inclined, can draw conclusions as to when the whole of India will be Christian. I do not intend to do so. Nevertheless the great fact of so large a community must have its due weight given to it. The pupils in schools were very few at the beginning of the century. In 1851 there were 64,000 pupils, excluding Sunday-school children ; in 1861, 76,000; in 1871, 122,400; in 1881, 187,700; in 1890, 279,700. By the end of the century there will be more than 300,000 children under Christian instruction. This fact is no small factor in the solution of the problem that lies in the future. Including Sunday-school child­ ren there must be now close on half a million of children more or less under Christian influences. The army of Christian workers must be numbered. At the begin­ ning of the century the number of missionaries could probably be counted on the fingers of both hands. In 1851 the foreign and Eura­ sian male workers numbered 339 ; in 1861, 479 ; in 1871, 488 ; in 1881, 658 ; in 1890, 975. To-day there are more than 1,000 foreign and Eurasian preachers proclaiming the gospel in India. Of late years the increase of this class of workers has been great. But the greatest advance has been in native preachers. In 1851 there were 514 ; in 1861 1^363; in 1871, 2,210; 1881, 2,949; 1890, 4,288. To-day 5,000 native preachers are at work evangelising their fellow-countrymen. In addition there are probably 1,000 foreign and Eurasian ladies, and 10,000 native Christian teachers, who in addition to their teaching take partin mission work of various kinds. I am no great believer in figiires in themselves, but they convey to most minds something tangible. So I repeat there are to-day nearly three-fourths of a million of Protestant Christians; half a million of eliildren are under Christian instruction ; there are 1,000 European and Eurasian preachers, another 1,000 lady workers, 5,000 native preachers and 10,000 native teachers at work spreading Christian truth among the MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OP SUCCESS. people. This represents Christian enterprise that can, so to speak, be weighed, measured, and counted. It should be noted that while the advance, taking India as a whole, is fairly steady and continuous, yet if it be examined in detail there has been much greater progress at some periods than at others and in some places than in others. There are vast tracts in India where it would be difficult to find a single Christian ; there are others where they form a very large proportion of the community. Any general conclusion drawn ¿rom these figures must not then be applied to every district in the land, though they are applicable to India as a whole. Before we proceed to consider other influences at work on the side of God's Kingdom, we must remember that the Christian forces are in a higher state of organisation and therefore more effective as instruments of aggression than they have ever been at any period in the history of missions in India. All the older missions within the last twenty years have either completed their church organisations or have so discussed them that plans are in preparation for their completion. I refer of course to those bodies that are connexional in their organisation. These have their synods and conferences complete. The episcopal churches are seeking to provide adequate episcopal supervision for the native churches. Even those bodies that regard each church as an indepen­ dent organism have their yearly meetings more or less organised, and many of them long for a closer organisation with legislative power. A great deal of time and thought and money has been spent in the perfect­ ing of the organisation, and this will be manifest at no distant date. The churches are being made ready for any great movements that may take place towards Christianity. In addition to the care bestowed upon organisation we must men­ tion the plant that has been erected at the chief centres of missionary activity. Churches, schools and colleges of different grades, orphanages, theological institutions, training schools, printing presses, industrial schools, and many other benevolent enterprises have been undertaken and are now in active operation. These indicate that the missions of the land are prepared to look at every part of the problem of christian­ ising the peoples of India and are ready to grapple with the difficulties as they arise. The general spread of education is helpful to the cause we repre­ sent. It is true a very large proportion is professedly non-religious ,* biit in reality a great deal of religious knowledge is indirectly imparted both of Christianity and of the religions prevalent in India. No Tad can 46 fcflSSIONABY EXPECTANCY OP BUCCElSS. pass the Matriculation Examination without having some idea of Chris­ tian thought, for the whole of English literature is permeated with it. At the same time in his vernacular literature he learns more of current Hindu religious thought. Generally speaking, in Government schools the teaching is helpful to our work; for 'the principles of righteousness and truth are enforced more or less. This is manifest in the case of those educated in the English language. When bodies of men thus educated meet together to discuss topics of general interest, the standard set up is the Christian one ; and it is the only one that will command any respect. This is to my mind distinctly helpful. It is one of those indirect helps used in the Providence of God for diffusing true principles of righteousness, purity, and truth. These men, while nominally pro­ fessing Hinduism, and on special occasions seeming to be earnest followers of it, are really hot Hindus at heart. I have yet to find the educated Hindu who is willing to become the pujari of a temple, and lead the people in the worship of idols. These men may defend the idolatry of their system ; but they are not prepared to be tbe teachers of it. A very large number again read into their Hindu systems of thought the best moral and spiritual teaching with which they are fami­ liar. The ancient philosophies of India are being re-considered in the light of Christian and modern scientific thought. The literal pantheism of the sastras is being moulded and fashioned to suit modern thought, and in the process of being re-moulded it is completely changed. The jiiana (wisdom) of the Vedanta is being interpreted as being equal to the wisdom (chokma) of the Wisdom literature of the Jews. Religious thought has been called into activity, and as old problems are discussed under new conditions, it is more than likely that the old terminology will be required to connote new ideas. The form will remain; the substance will vary. The western method of considering subjects of national and general interest; the desire to enlarge the meaning of current phraseology so as to include modern ideas ; the Christian ideal of righteousness and truth that is so common : all these indicate forces at work under the surface ; forces the strength and magnitude of which it is not easy to estimate; but forces which we may well claim as operating powerfully in the direction in which we desire the national thought and life to move. Another force at work in a different stratum of the community must not be overlooked. “ The poor have the gospel preached to them ; ” the outcaste has a strong arm of sympathy and help held out to him ; new thoughts and ideas have begun to enter even the most degrade^ MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS. & and despised classes; a new life has begun to throb even in them. These will doubtless move in masses, and it is impossible to say what \ the next fifty years will accomplish for these communities, if the Chris­ tian church does all it ought and might do for them. When the feet now so mixed with clay become Christian, the effect upon the whole social system will be neither slight nor small. Then permeating and influencing all classes are the continuous and ever-flowing streams of Christian literature pouring forth from the presses of the land. English books and tracts and leaflets are being circulated by the million, and vernacular books, tracts, and handbills in still larger numbers. “ The written word remains,” and there are many indications that these silent but powerful workers are fulfilling the errand on which they have been sent forth. There are, then, certain facts accomplished and certain forces at work in India. It is easy to under-estimate or over-estimate the value of these facts and forces. That the Christian Church in India is a power is undoubted. It is a power that must be reckoned with. That the Church fifty years ago was a power of much force the non-Christians of that period would have denied, and speaking humanly might reasonably have denied ; for the churches then were small collections of poor peo­ ple largely dependent upon foreign sources for help and stimulus. The same is true to a very large extent to-day : but there are more evident signs of indigenous life and movement in the Church to-day, though it may be only in the larger centres of population. This power is destined to grow, and to grow rapidly. It will be the most powerful factor of the future for good or ill. The foreign help shows no signs of diminu­ tion or decay. The interest taken in India by all Christian lands at the present time is extraordinary. From every clime and race do the messengers of the gospel of peace come. More intelligent is the interest in Christian lands. Though the basis of missionary enterprise has been and is shifting; though the study of comparative religion has changed the opinions of many; yet the interest to-day is as real as and far more intelligent than it was fifty years ago ; nevertheless there is still room for vast improvement. This force, then, of foreigu help is in no way diminished or daunted. • Success has been in proportion to the forces employed; and thus we are led to form a hopeful estimate of the future. The educational and literary forces are so great that it is not easy to state the mighty part they are destined to play in the Church of the future. Knowledge can never be the foe of the Kingdom of God. jj Advancing enlightenment can only bring the young into the light that 48 MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OE SUCCESS. shines from the sun of truth. The contact, continuous, persistent, of the West with the East in government, in education, in commerce, in travel, can only tend to the broadening of the intellect of the Hindu and the illumination of his moral sense. These forces show no sign of weak­ ness. They are rather increasing in might. The ideals they hold up are being more eagerly studied and understood. When they are assimi­ lated, it will be seen how much they have done to establish God’s Kingdom of righteousness. The cumulative effect of all these forces, unceasing in their activity, persistent in their application, pervasive in their effects, demonstrates without the slightest doubt that there is a most hopeful future before the Church of Christ in India. The signs of the times indicate that all who share in this work should be animated with a cheerful courage; for all things combine to produce this attitude of mind. But we must not ignore the forces arrayed against us. Let us give a little attention to them. There is first the nebulous religion which goes by the name of Hinduism. Its votaries are numbered by myriads ; its feasts and pro­ cessions are continually with u s; but I believe it has ceased to live. The organisation of the system is such that it continues to move and act; but it is the movement of a machine and not of a living organism. The old Hinduism has failed to meet the needs of the people, and it has not adapted itself to the times. Its temples stand out prominently ; its idols are worshipped; the ritual is observed; the form is as it always w as; but the spirit has fled. Any one who visits a popular shrine knows how mechanical the whole affair is ; the people come because of the tamasha; there is no spirituality, no true devotion in the whole proceedings. For this reason I say Hinduism is dead; but its body will be with us for many a long year to come, and in its decay it will be a source of no little trouble. There is, however, a neo-Hinduism with which we shall have to enter into conflict. This has not yet fully declared itself. There is manifest a tendency to go back to a purer form of Hinduism, to purge it of what is gross and obscene, to read into it new ideas and aims, and to make it serve the purpose of this present age. It is not, and cannot be, the old Hinduism. Much that works to produce this neo-Hinduism is begotten of Christianity. The child will not acknowledge its parent; but its origin is nevertheless manifest. This neo-Hinduism is aggres­ sive, it is sometimes insulting, it is somewhat unscrupulous ; but it is an improvement on the gross idolatry of puranic Hinduism. It seeks MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS. 49 to explain away, to minimise, to apologise for what is seemingly incon­ gruous with the present age. This spirit has been awakened by contact with higher ideals and purer forms of faith. It is not easy to forecast the trouble that this neo-Hinduism is to produce, because it has linked itself to a false patriotism. The true spirit of patriotism we must honour; for it is a mark of returning national life. But the patriotism that links itself with the past including that which is detrimental to the true life of the people, is a patriotism that is likely to be a great hindrance to Christianity. Patriotism that links itself to Hinduism is bound to appeal to a section of the nation only. Christians, Muhammadans, Parsees and many others will be shut out. We think this form of false patriotism will not last long. If it does, the days of the National Congress are ended. If a truer patriotism prevails, that spirit will greatly help the spread of Christian thought. A truer patriotism will break through the restric­ tions now placed upon foreign travel, will break down the bonds of caste and permit the most fitting to govern, will give true liberty of thought and speech and action. It is impossible to accurately estimate the present force of neo-Hinduism combined with a reviving patriotism. In the near future it is likely to be a cause of fierce conflict. If truer views prevail,—and with the education India is receiving at the feet of enlightened men from the West truer views must prevail,—then we shall have thoughts and feelings which need Christianity to give them strength and permanence. There should be no slackening of educa­ tional effort. The best of England’s sons may well give themselves to the task of moulding the minds of India’s sons and daughters, for the future is with them. Caste is a factor with which we must still reckon. It is the strong­ est anti-Christian force there is in the land. Its principles are totally opposed to those of the Kingdom of God. In spite of the relaxation of caste rules, in spite of the fact that the wealthy can violate the laws of caste with impunity, in spite of the fact that the Hindu has learnt the lesson of the brotherhood of man by heart, so that he can repeat it glibly with the lip, caste is still the strongest practical force in the land. A man openly parts with that last; he will sacrifice everything before that. That which makes him an outcaste, and so a waif and stray of humanity* is above everything to be dreaded. Men rail against it ; they condemn it by argument, by invective; they demand its abrogation; but still they remain more or less abject slaves to it. If the Christian Church is wise it will most strenuously resist the entrance of this anti- 7 m MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY-OF SUCCESS.

Christian social system within its pale. The Christian Church will have to show the true spirit of brotherhood. The stranger must not be looked upon with suspicion, but be welcomed within her gates. The hospita­ lity and brotherhood of the Church may be frequently abused, but we must in the Christian community foster the spirit of true brotherliness and awaken those ideas of universal diffusion and dominion which be­ long essentially to the Kingdom of God. Many of our local churches are far too narrow and repulsive in their thought and life. They must become more like Christ, and we shall find that caste will dissolve and pass away before the inherent power of Christianity. Hindu philosophy will be a force that we shall long have to battle with. When practical paganism had lost its hold of the Eoman Empire, it was the revival of pagan philosophy that brought such persecution and disaster to the Christian community. So will it be in India. The philosophy happily is not of the aggressive persecuting kind. It is of that subtle, mystical, vague type which will skilfully weave its webs to entrap the Church of the future. It will be the source of many a heresy in the Christian Church, and the church must be trained from the first to distinguish its subtle influences and reject all that will not harmonise with the spirit of Christ. This philosophy is speculative, tranquilising, inactive ; and its miasma may at any time enter and paralyse the Chris­ tian Church, if proper instruction be not given. It is not an aggressive force that is likely to hinder Christian progress greatly in the immediate present. There is further in the heart of the people of this land the natural antipathy to truth and righteousness that is common to the human race. The indifference, carelessness, evil of the human heart arc to be found everywhere, independent of religious systems ; but coupled with it in India is a deep religiousness, a spirit that is open to appeal from the unseen and eternal, a feeling after God that will greatly help to over­ come the evil. The forces opposed to God’s Kingdom are strong, but at present they are not of a nature to cause any alarm. There is very little of this opposition organised. Hindu society has yet to demonstrate its power to organise opposition to the Kingdom of God. Local opposition is organised for a timé'ftnd considerable mischief is wrought ; but there is no permanéhcé in it. Thé opposition cools ; the mission schools again fill ; and if a rival insti tution has been started, it only broadens the area upon which the forces of education work. Organised opposition on a large scale is not probable, as Hindus are not prepared to pay for that j which is not likely to bring them credit or wealth. Still the unexpected MISSIONARY EXPECTANCY OP SUCCESS. 51

may happen. If, however, organised opposition should lead to excite­ ment and violence, the Government happily is strong enough to put down disorder and keep the peace. Probably local explosions of vio­ lence will become more common; but these will not in any way really hinder the truth. All opposition by force only helps the oppressed cause. From a careful survey of the facts bearing upon the spread of Christianity in India and the forces acting for and against it, there is every ground for believing that the rate of progress characterising the past will be maintained in the future. Personally I should say the in­ crease will be accelerated. The average during the past forty years has been nearly six per cent. At some periods the increase has been greater and at some periods less. From a careful study of missionary reports and missionary literature in India, I feel certain that the normal rate,, if I may use the term, of between five and six per cent, has been maintained during the present decade. In some places that ratio has not been maintained, and those are some of our older mission stations, because more time has been spent in perfecting the organisation and in consolidating what has been gained; but in other places there have been large accessions, far more than the normal six per cent. So that we may conclude that the Christian Church on an average increases at the rate of about five per cent, a year or fifty per cent, in a decade. If no abnormal events occur, that rate of increase will continue; but if, as we hope and pray, God’s Spirit is poured out in greater abundance, much larger accessions may take place. We have every reason to expect a steady annual increase of five per cent, in the visible Church of Christ; but we should not rest satisfied with less than double that rate of advance. With regard to that far wider circle under Christian influence it is impossible to speak with certainty. I believe Christian ideals and prac­ tices are prevalent to a much greater extent than we are prepared to admit. One paper recently said that Hinduism had absorbed Buddhism, and was now in process of absorbing Christianity. At present it has an insufficient knowledge of Christianity to begin the process of absorp­ tion. But the signs of the times indicate that a large number of Hindus are prepared to examine Christianity and if possible read it into Hindu­ ism. This process will give us a large circle outside of the Christian Church, but largely animated with its spirit. The future of this class it is impossible to foresee. They will for many years probably believe in Christianity though clinging to Hinduism. They may hinder the growtfc 92 DISABILITIES OF’ INDIAN CHRISTIANS.

of the visible church, but they will help the diffusion of Christian thought, and thus be really helpful to the Kingdom of God. The times in which we live are intensely interesting. Changes in thought are more rapid and more easily diffused, and we all may look to the future without the slightest fear or misgiving as to the ultimate result. There will be conflict, confusion, and in the faint-hearted dis­ may ; but all the turmoil will be but the prelude of a period of develop­ ment and growth which will demonstrate the wisdom of those who look with hope and enthusiasm to the future success of God’s Kingdom in India.

DISABILITIES OF INDIAN CHRISTIANS. We copy from the Indian Churchman the following notes on the Report of the Committee appointed by the Joint Board of Missions in England to ascer­ tain the law bearing on the legal disabilities (if any) of native Christians in India. They are prepared by the Registrar of the Diocese of Calcutta, A. M. Dunne, Esq., b.a., ll.b . The report itself was published in our pages in November, 1895. The subject of the disabilities of native Christians is a far- reaching one, and all the light that can be thrown on it is needed. “ The questions dealt with in the Report, as affecting the interests of native Christians, are six in number, and relate to the law obtaining in British India as to (1) Custody of Children, (2) Marriage and Divorce, (3) Succession, (4) Bights to Water-supply, (5) Trust Funds and Property, and lastly, (6) to the laws and practice in Native Feudatory States affecting that class. “ The matters so dealt with under heads (3), (5), and (6) are not followed by any recommendations of the Committee, nor are they such as to require for native Christians any peculiar treatment at the hands of Government. “ As to the matter dealt with under head (4), it is shown that the general rights of native Christians to draw water from tanks and wells are recognized by Government, and the only recommendation made by the Committee is one directed to the native Christians themselves. Therefore regarding these matters I don’t propose to say anything further. “ With regard, however, to the subjects dealt with under heads (1) and (2), they are matters of immense interest undoubtedly, and peculiarly so in so far as they affect the native Christian community, but I am afraid that the Report itself demonstrates only too clearly how difficult, if not impossible, it is to expect to get them settled by definite and express legislation at the hands of the Government of India. • “ When dealing with a question such as that of the right to the custody of children in connection with a proposal for legislation on such a subject, one must have clearly before one the class of cases which are intended to be met, and I presume that of such cases perhaps two of the most important from the native Christian, or Christian point of view, are those where one of DISABILITIES OP INDIAN CHRISTIANS. 53 the parents, both being either Hindus or Mahomedans, as the case may be, has become a Christian, or where the child of heathen parents, being a minor, has become one. “ It can readily be imagined on such a matter being raised as a subject for legislation, by whomsoever it may be, what a storm of controversy would be provoked and would arise. If there is one point in regard to which the Hindu and Mahomedan communities watch cautiously all Government actions, it is on matters in any way connected with their religion. This would undoubtedly be looked on as an attempt to interfere with their religion, and it is almost impo s- sible to conceive upon what special lines it would be proposed that such legis­ lation should proceed, which would in any way benefit the native Christians without entrenching upon the rights of the Hindus and Mahomedans, who would certainly claim and would in all probability obtain express protection for those rights. The probable result would be, that if the Government did legis­ late, the position of the native Christians is hardly likely to be improved, and it might become worse. “ Under the law, as at present, the question is left entirely to the discretion of the Judge, before whom the matter comes, to decide as to what will be best for, and in the interests of, the infant, and I for one certainly think it is safest to leave things in that position. For when one comes to consider the rights of the Hindu or Mahomedan husband or wife, or parents, where the class of cases which I have indicated above arises, from their points o f view, we are on very delicate ground indeed, and the Legislature, when dealing with the matter, will have to take into consideration their points of view. “ Act XXI. of 1850 is still in force, and it provides that the renunciation of any particular religion does not carry with it the forfeiture of any rights, and in. a case decided in Sutherland’s W. R., Volume 5, page 285, it was held that on a Hindu father becoming converted to Christianity, he was not thereby deprived of his right to the custody of his children, and therefore I don’t see that any good will be gained by endeavouring to lay down hard-and-fast rules which may or may not be satisfactory to the native Christian community. “ As the Report points out in its recommendations at page 23, that com­ munity, or as it seems to me the Christian community, for the same reasons apply as objections in both cases, cannot very well move in the matter. Nor should they do so, unless some imperative necessity arises which has not occurred as y et; and until some one does move and show the precise details of what it is proposed that the Legislature should do, it is not easy to discuss the matter. “ In this particular instance as to the custody of children, it is not merely a grievance which is one-sided or peculiar to the native Christians, but as equally so, and it may be a matter of vital importance, to the Hindus or Mahomedans whose families and family ties are or may be broken up by the conversion to Christianity of one of their members. “ So far as this movement is favoured by those interested on behalf of the native Christians, we may take it, I presume, that their desire is to remove the custody of a Hindu or Mahomedan child, who has been converted to Christianity» 54 DISABILITIES 01? INDIAN CHRISTIANS.

from the Hindu or Mahomedan parent, 01* to have the custody of his or her Hindu or Mahomedan child retained by the one of the two Hindu or Mahomedan parents who happens to have been so converted. For otherwise I don’t see that anything is to be gained by the movement, so far as any benefit to the native Christians is concerned. But no such law could ever be passed without ignoring or at all events affecting the rights of the Hindus or Mahomedans, and there the whole difficulty lies. ,f Take the case of the child of an English Christian adopting the Hindu or Mahomedan religion, would it be tolerated that that parent should fo r that reason lose the right to the custody of the child, and thereby also lose the right to influence him and induce him by all proper and legitimate means to abandon his newly adopted faith, and to return to the religion in which he was brought up, and in which his parents believe, and that would certainly be the contention of the Hindu or Mahomedan, supposing him or her to be the parent whose rights were being affected. “ That is only one of the many instances which might be adduced to illus­ trate the impossibility of expecting that such a subject as this could be dealt with by Government in any general form, or without the matter being considered from the standpoint o f the Hindus aud Mahomedans, and other sects of the country who would be in the main affected by such legislation, whether in a general or special form. “ In asking Government to lay down a definite rule as to rights arising upon a case of conversion to the Christian religion the question really comes to this, as to which side the Legislature is going to protect, and, for the reasons given above, I fear that no practical improvement in the position of affairs is likely to be brought about by any such special measure. I think too that in any event the present is very far from being a suitable time to raise any such questions, and that the Government is not at all likely to provoke the hostility which is certain to ensue, by undertaking legislation on a matter of this kind. “ Then as to the second branch of the subject dealt with by the Report, i.e. , of Marriage and Divorce. “ The provisions of Act XXI. of 1866 (The Native Converts Dissolution of Marriage Act) are quite clear. They enable a Christian convert to obtain a divorce from his or her non-Christian wife or husband, if the latter refuses to live with the other, owing to his or her change of religion, and once that divorce has been obtained the parties are freed from the previous marriage. But the questions of difficulty which arise and on which the Report touches, have re­ ference to cases where such a dissolution is not obtained under the Act in the event, it may be, of the husband or wife agreeing to live with the Christian convert, or by reason of the decree being refused for some of the reasons given in the Act, or owing to no steps being taken under the Act, the result being that one party remains a Hindu and the other a Christian, and the question is, what then is the position of thoafe parties in regard to the previous marriage. “ Undoubtedly in law, in spite of the change of religion, 'that marriage re­ mains a binding one, and the status of those parties is that of married persons. DISABILITIES OF INDIAN CHRISTIANS.

“ The Report refers to some eases at page 19, in two of which, one in the North-Western Provinces and the other in Madras, it was held, following the well-known case of Hyde vs. Hyde and Woodmansee [85 L. J. P. and M. 57] that the English Courts will not recognise such a marriage, contracted under a polygamous system, as one in regard to which relief can be given tinder the Divorce Act (IV. of 1869), the Indian Act being practically identical with:/the English one, inasmuch as the relief under that Act is intended to be given only in cases where the marriage is one recognised as such in Christendom, being ‘ the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.’ ; ' “ The Report also refers to a case decided by the High Court of Calcutta in regard to which the reference is inaccurate, the proper one being I. L. R. 18 C. 252 (and not I. L. R. 16 C., 191). The facts of the case also, as stated in the Committee’s Report, are not quite accurate, both the husband and wife having been converts to Christianity, not the husband only. The judgment of the High Court proceeded upon the grounds that both the parties, who were Hindus arid who had been married at a time when both professed Hinduism arid ac­ cording to Hindu rites, had become Christians and professed Christianity at the time o f presenting the petition for a divorce under the Act (IV. of 1869), and that inasmuch as the Hindu marriage had not become ipso facto dissolved by their conversion to Christianity, therefore they were entitled to a decree of dis­ solution. “ The parties were not represented on the appeal, nor was the case argued by any one for either side, no authorities were referred to, and it does not ap­ pear that the Judges had in their minds the class of cases of which Hyde vs, Hyde and Woodmansee (above cited) is the leading authority, and which has been followed both in England and in India on various occasions. The, marri­ age in the suit which was asked to be dissolved w as one contracted under a polygamous system, and the English Courts refuse to recognized such a marriage for the purpose of relief under the English Divorce Act, so that it is a matter of doubt whether the decision in the Calcutta case above referred to would be sustained if the question arose again. “ The Report of the Committee in regard to this recommends at pages 20 and 24, that where one or both the parties to a heathen marriage subsequently professes or profess the Christian faith, they should both (1) be encouraged to make a solemn and public profession of their desire to maintain their union on ike basis o f a Christian marriage, (2) that a special form of service for use in churches should be promulgated for use on such occasions, and (3) that applica­ tion should be made to the Legislature to permit registration of such public acknowledgments of the agreement of the parties to the continuance o f the marriage contract on idle conditions which attach to vwrriages recognised by the Church. “ As to these recommendations, which are in more or less general fortnj the teal difficulty arises, when one attempts to apply them to particular caseSi and in dealing with them one has to take many matters into consideration* 56 UlSABiLIilES OF INDIAN CHRISTIANS.

“ In the first place, I propose to deal with the case of Hindu converts. Where two persons have been married as Hindus and become subsequently converted to Christianity, the law and the Church recognize their status as that of validly married persons, and therefore any ceremony in the church which they might go through after conversion would be viewed not as a marriage, but merely a form , in the same way as occasionally happens in the cases of persons who have contracted a civil marriage before a Registrar, desire subsequently to have the marriage service read in the church. In such instances neither banns or license could be published, or granted, nor could the ceremony be entered in the Church Register as a marriage. “ In the next place, in dealing with the recommendations-in question, one has to bear in mind that very different considerations would apply according to the particular circumstances of the various cases which might occur. For example, a very great distinction must necessarily arise between the case of the heathen husband and wife both being, and that where only one of the two has become, converted to Christianity; and in the first of those cases, a very great distinction would naturally arise between the case of a man and his only wife being converted, and one where the man has a plurality of wives, one of whom only has joined with him in the profession of Christianity. “ Again, one has to bear in mind clearly what the objects are which it is sought to attain by these recommendations. “ The first I understand to be the necessity for preventing the convert from again returning to the Hindu religion, in the case of the man such a return meaning his right to resort to polygamy. The other object being to give either party the benefit of the relief provided by the Indian Divorce Act. “ As to the first object, it raises most difficult questions of law and policy. For I don’t see how any law can be framed which will enact that a Hindu, married as such, is by reason of his or her conversion to Christianity to be debarred from ever returning to Hinduism again. And if the man cannot be prevented from so returning to Hinduism, how can he in such a case be prevented from marrying a second wife if he chooses ? “ A matter of supreme importance to a Hindu male is to beget a son, and it is a necessity which is closely wrapped up with the tenets and rites of his reli­ gion. Supposing a Hindu husband, he having with his wife been converted to Christianity, were to say that he had come to the conclusion that he could no longer believe in that religion, and that he did believe in and desired to return to the Hindu religion, and that as his present wife had not borne him a son ho felt it incumbent on him to marry another, how could any laws be passed which would fetter his rights to return to the religion which he originally professed, and which he still believed in ? It would be a serious blow directed against the Hindu religion, looking at it from the standpoint o f the Hindus. “ If one recognizes that fact, I don’t see how Government can be expected to interfere in any way with that object in view, and further, unless the solemn and public profession or 1 acknowledgment’ on the part of the Hindu convert or converts, of his or her or their * desire to maintain their union on the basis DISABILITIES OF INDIAN CHRISTIANS. 57 o f a, Christian marriage ’ should form by reason of some legislative enactment an absolute bar to the return of either to Hinduism or in the case of the man to polygamy, I don’t see how it could have any binding effect so as to prevent either of those possible occurrences. “ As to the second of the objects to which I have alluded above, this appears to me to be more feasible, if limited to cases where both husband and wife had become converted to Christianity, and the husband was possessed of but one wife. “ The only way, however, as it appears to me that this could be done would be by the amendment of the Divorce Act by the addition of a section or paragraph, which would empower the Court to give relief under the Act in all cases where both a Hindu husband and his wife, married according to Hindu rites and ceremonies, had subsequently become converted to Christianity. It might be that the amendment would be limited to cases such as that dealt with by the Calcutta High Court and reported in I. L. R., 18 C., 252, where both parties at the time that the petition under the Act was presented professed Christianity. But possibly if the Government were willing to legislate on the subject at all, it might agree to widen the scope of the amendment in order to enable relief to be given in cases where both the husband and wife have adopted Christianity as their religion, and one has subsequently renounced it. The object of such an amendment would be, of course, to get rid, by express enactment, of the principle of the decision in Hyde vs. Hyde and Woodmansee in cases of the kind I have mentioned. “ Section 2(c) of the Indian Divorce Act enables relief to be given where the husband has since the marriage renounced Christianity for some other reli­ gion. That applies of course to the cases of persons who are entitled as of right to petition the Court under the Act, and it is possible that Government might see its way to extend this privilege to the case of native converts, whose mar­ riages were contracted under a polygamous system, but who both subsequently adopted Christianity. “ I cannot see how this object could be effectively attained otherwise than by an amendment of the Divorce Act in some way such as I have indicated. For it would be impossible, as it appears at present to me, to introduce into the question in the case of Hindus the element of a second marriage on Christian principles for the purpose of obtaining such relief, inasmuch as the parties would be already validly married persons, even though theirs had been a Hindu marriage. The Court would probably in such a case hold, if the question were raised, that the first was the marriage which governed the rights of the parties. It would certainly be the marriage which would govern the question as to the legitimacy of their children, if any, and many other questions unnecessary to enumerate. “ It is possible, therefore, that the Legislature might assist the native Christian community in this particular matter, especially as it is one which in reality only affects that community, and is freed so far as one can see from the I many political difficulties which complicate some of the other questions to which DISABILITIES OF INDIAN CHRISTIANS.

I have alluded, but I do not pretend to be able to speak with confidence upon the point, for I confess I have not had the time or opportunity to consider in all their bearings the many questions which may crop up, when it is attempted to define in precise terms an amendment of this kind. “ I have up to the present dealt with the recommendations in so far as they would be applicable to cases where a Hindu husband and his wife had both be­ come Christians; and to summarise what I have written, it seems to me that a solemn and public profession in such cases, whether registered or not, would be of no particular efficacy for the purpose of binding them, in order to the attain­ ment of either of the subjects to which I have alluded. “ As to whether a special form of service should be used in churches in cases of such conversions, it is for your Lordship to say. Such a service would not, as I have pointed out, constitute a marriage, and I apprehend would be unsuitable in cases where the husband was possessed of a plurality of wives, one of whom only had become converted with him. “ I now propose to deal with these recommendations in so far as they affect Mahomedans, for their position seems to be somewhat different. “ In the case of two Mahomedan converts, a husband and wife, if one had become a Christian before the other, it appears that according to Mahomedan law the marriage which they had contracted as Mahomedans was, on the con­ version of the first of the two, ipso facia dissolved, and in such a case apparently their status under those circumstances could not be considered as that of married persons, for under their personal law their marriage was at an end. “ If both become converted at flue same time, however, it is not clear whether under Mahomedan law the marriage would be considered as ipso facto dis­ solved. I presume it would not be so considered, and, if so, their status would still remain that of married persons under those circumstances, but I confess that I speak with great hesitation and doubt on the point. If in the latter case the marriage would be considered to be ispo facto dis­ solved, then in both those sets of cases, upon the conversion of both, there would be nothing, so far as I can see, to prevent a Christian marriage in the church between the two, as they would be then unmarried persons, and there would be no difficulty in these cases in the fact of the man having at the time of his conversion other wives, for under Mahomedan law his marriage or marriages with those wives would have been ipso facto dissolved by his apostasy from the Mahomedan religion. “ In cases of a re-marriage, as it were, of Mahomedan converts, under such circumstances, the ceremony would be a sufficient public profession or acknow­ ledgment of'their interrtibii to maintain their union thereafter on the footing of a marriage iecogni^ed as such in Christendom, and would be registered as such in the Church Register, and nothing further would be required. “ If, however, on both being converted to Christianity at the same time, the marriage would not be considered as ispo facto dissolved, then their status would remain as married persons, and no further marriage ceremony would be yeguired. DISABILITIES OP INDIAN CHRISTIANS. 59

H Under the latter circumstances it would be necessary, in order to enable parties to obtain relief under the Divorce Act, to obtain, if possible, an amend* ment which would include cases of a kind similar to' that which I have referred to above in connection with the position of Hindus. “ But in both sets of oases, whether the original marriage still remains valid and subsisting or whether there had been a re-marriage in the church by reason of the original marriage having become dissolved upon the conversion of the parties, everything that I have said above in connection with Hindus, as regards the impossibility of preventing either of the parties returning to his or her original faith, and rights under that faith, would equally apply to the case of Mahomedans. “ If the Mahomedan convert chose after conversion to renounce Christi­ anity and return to the Mahomedan religion and polygamy, I don’t see how he is to be prevented from doing so, unless by some absolute bar imposed by statute, which is never likely, so far as I can see, to be enacted, inasmuch as he would only be exercising the right to which he is entitled under his personal law. “ The second of the objects desired to be attained bv the recommendations, I think, might be so attained by an amendment of the Divorce Act in the way I have before indicated, so as to also include Mahomedans. “ With regard to the question of the special service in the church, all that I have said above regarding Hindus holds equally good in the case of Maho- medans. “ The recommendations, however, are contemplated as being applicable even in cases where only one of the two married heathen persons has become converted to Christianity. “ In the case of Mahomedans, as I have pointed out above, the conver­ sion of the one would ipso facto dissolve the marriage, and therefore, in order that the two persons should continue as husband and wife, a new marriage would have to be contracted. Under the Indian Christian Marriage Act ( XV. of 1872), section 4, such a marriage would have to be according to some one of the forms prescribed by that Act, otherwise it would be void. “ But though that section seems to contemplate the marriage of a Christian to one who is not, still section 88 provides that nothing in the Act shall be deemed to validate any marriage which the personal law applicable to either of the parties forbids him or her to enter into. “ The question of extreme difficulty which arises is whether such a marri­ age would, even if contracted according to English forms, constitute a valid marriage under English law, or according to the law of the Church—rand fur­ ther, whether it is one which the Church would in any event solemnize. “ In such a case, if the Mahomedan was the wife, and the convert was the man, probably it would be held in law to be a valid marriage, but as to whether the Ghurch would solemnize such a marriage or not, it is for your Lordship to say, the point being, that one of the parties remains a heathen. “ But where the Mahomedan is the man, and the Christian convert is the woman, it is the marriage of one whose status is that of a polygamist with one 60 DISABILITIES OF INDIAN CHEISTIANS.

who has become a monogamist. I think in order to test the ease one would have to consider the question as if it arose in the case of an English Christian woman marrying a Mahomedan. Of course I admit the positions are not exactly similar, for in the case of the Mahomedan woman being the convert, she might be said to be doing that which her personal law permits her to do. But the question is, would such a marriage, if contracted according to some English form, be recognized as valid according to English law. “ It is a serious question and one of difficulty, but I think the answer must be that, according to English law, it would not constitute a valid marri­ age, and on the ground that there is an inherent incapacity in one, who pro­ fesses Christianity and is consequently governed by a law which enforces monogamy as one of its leading principles, to contract a valid marriage with another, whose personal law entitles him as of right to resort to polygamy. As to whether such a marriage would be valid according to Mahomedan law, I say nothing. I believe according to some schools it would be recognized as per­ fectly valid ; but that does not affect the matter in question. “ Under these circumstances, in the case of Mahomedans, it seems to me that where the wife becomes converted to Christianity, and the husband holds to his original faith, the courses suggested by the recommendations would be of no real use, in the first place because the marriage was ipso facto dissolved, and in the next because in the nature of things it would not and could not con­ tinue on the basis of a Christian marriage. “ In the last place one must deal with this branch of the question in eo far as it affects Hindus. If one of two Hindus subsequent to their marriage be­ comes a Christian, the status of the other remains in law that of the Hindu governed by and possessed of all his or her rights under Hindu law, and the status of both remains that of married persons. “ I don’t know how by any public profession or acknowledgment of his or her desire to maintain their union, a Hindu union, on the basis o f a Christian marriage, a Hindu can abrogate his or her rights or change his or her status. He or she remains a Hindu, a believer in and professing the Hindu religion, and if that be so, how can such a union be ‘ on the basis o f a Christian mar- Triage*} ’ “ I don’t know what that phrase is intended to mean. It is either a mar­ riage or union recognized in Christendom as a Christian marriage or it is not, and in the case in point it certainly is not. “ Of course, as I said before, it is for your Lordship to say whether the Church can promulgate a special service to meet such a case. In my opinion, in law, a Hindu would not be bound by any such profession or acknowledgment under such circumstances. He or she would still remain as he or she always was, a Hindu, and the marriage would remain, so far as he or she was concerned, governed by his or her own law, and in the case of the man being the party not converted, I don’t see what there would be to prevent his contracting further marriages, he being a Hindu and a polygamist, and never having abrogated his rights as such. MISSIONARY PROBLEMS. 61

“ In making the foregoing observations on the questions raised, I hope it would be understood that I am not doing so with the object of merely throwing * difficulties in the way of improvements, which every one interested in the sub' ject will admit would be very desirable, if possible. “ My object has been to point out various matters which seem to me to re­ quire serious consideration before any further steps are taken. I don’t pretend to have been able to deal with the subjects fully or ex­ haustively, as to do so would require far more time and labour than I have been able to devote to them. I have confined all I have said upon these matters, practically to the cases of Hindus and Mahomedans generally, as that was the method adopted by the Committee in their Report. “ I trust that what I have written may be of some assistance to your Lord­ ship in dealing with what is undoubtedly a very troublesome and thorny subject»

“ A. M. D u n n e , B.A., LL.B., “ Bar.-at-Law, Registrar o f the Diocese o f Calcutta^ “ Calcutta, June, 1896.”

MISSIONARY PROBLEMS.

DOLLS IN MISSION BOXES.

The Rev. Norman H. Russell writes from Mhow on this subject in the Indian Standard. One would like to know whether similar things have been witnessed in other parts of India. We should like to have the opinion of our readers. “ I was called out by one of my assistants to a village not far from Mhow, where a house with rather gaudy decoration was pointed out to me. On enter­ ing we found it had been reserved for the worship of Ganesh during the festival held in his honour. Around the walls were the usual grotesque and obscene pictures of Hindu deities, relieved by chromos of Her Majesty the Queen Em­ press, the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal family. As presid- *ng genius of the scene was Ganpati, the elephant-faced god, under a gaudy canopy of turkey-red and tinsel work, further decorated with artificial fruit, flowers, &c. What struck me most particularly, however, as a missionary were the goddesses that surrounded the god. They were dolls, mission dolls, sent out by the Mission Bands of Canada, and presented by our mission schools to the village children as an encouragement to attend school. If not themselves the immediate objects of worship they certainly partook of the worship offered to the god. “ On mentioning my experience a few days afterwards to an old missionary who has been visiting some of the missions of North India, he told me that this 82 CURRENT MISSION NEWS.

was the third time on this trip that he had heard a similar story about the use of mission dolls, and that one mission had about decided to write home and refuse to receive any more dolls. A lady missionary the other day told me that she had accidentally come on some mission dolls, in one of her houses, set up in a very suggestive manner in what she afterwards found out to be the pvja room of the house. “ Perhaps some of your readers may have further experiences to give in this connection. It seems to me surely a matter for serious consideration in all missions as to whether dolls should ever be given to non-Christian children,”

CURRENT MISSION NEWS.

SOUTH INDIA PROVINCIAL SYNOD OP THE WESLEYAN MISSION. The fourth annual meeting of the South India Provincial Synod began in the Royapetta Chapel, Madras, on January 15th. The vacant chair at the head of the table proclaimed the great loss the Synod had sustained in the death of its chairman, the Rev. J. Hudson, b.a. The secretary, the Rev. H. Gulliford, opened the Synod by giving out a hymn, and after prayer had been offered, the Synod pro­ ceeded to the election of a chairman. The choice of the brethren by an almost unanimous vote fell upon the Rev. J. Cooling, b.a., the esteemed Chairman of the Madras District. The secretary was re-elected, and the following officers were nominated :—Journal secretary, Rev. B. Pratt; letter writer, Rev. W. Goudie ; editor of report, Rev. F. W. Kellett, m.a. ; assistant secretary, Rev. W. H. J. Pieken. The business of the Synod proceeded expeditiously and the proceedings were terminated in three and a half days. The following ministers were examined by the Rev. W. H. Findlay, m.a., and unanimously recommended for the full privileges of the ministry :—Revs. C. H. Monahan, b.a., F. Lamb, and W. Hubert Thorp, b.a. There were three candidates for the Indian ministry, and these were unanimously recommended to the Conference:—Messrs. Devadasen David, b.a., and Theophilus Subrah- manyam, from the Madras District, and Mr. A. Vedakan Isaac, from the Negapatam District. For the first time since the Synod was formed, there were deaths to report. Four brethren had passed away :—The Revs. J. Hudson, b.a., A. Romilly Hall Ingram, b.sc., and James Gillings, from the Mysore District, and the Rev. S. Suviseshamuttu, from the Negapatam District. Loving and discriminating testimony was borne to the worth of these labourers, and with regardto the Bev. J, Hudson the following resolution was unanimously passed;— CURRENT MISSION NEWS. 63

“ We desire to place on record our mournful sense of the great loss which the Provincial Synod and our missions throughout South India have suffered in the death of the Rev. Josiah Hudson, b .a . His noble gifts of mind, character and experience were not devoted solely to the administration of his own District, but were ungrudgingly lent for the help of any District or any brother minister who appealed to hhn. All missionary questions were subjects of his constant interest and study ; and whenever common dangers or common needs united our Indian Districts in common action, his sober energy, prudent courage and clear-sighted judgment were a tower of strength to the cause. “ That important development of our Indian organisation of which this Provincial Synod forms a part, owes more than can be measured to the mingled enterprise and wisdom by which he guided its inception. He was present at its first three annual sessions, at two of which he presided ; and if the growth of the incohate power and undeveloped uses of this new institution has been in these years upon right Hues, this has been under the blessing of God very largely owing to his presence in its earliest counsels. He was the Father of our Provincial Synod, and the memory of his ripe wisdom and scrupulous impartia­ lity in judgment, of his calm yet unquenchable enthusiasm for progress, and above all of his Christian humility, kindliness and charity, and his whole-souled devotion to the cause of Christ, will long be fragrant amongst us.” The training of native agents was carefully considered, and arrangements were made by which a training institution should be built in the neighbourhood of Madras. There was some opposition to the locality, but the Synod was nearly unanimous in its final decision. There was not much time to devote to the consideration of the work of God, but arrangements were made by which in future this will be obviated. It was ascertained that there was an increase of 187 Indian members in the area of the Synod and a decrease of one English member, the totals being—English, 475 ; Indian, 8,491. The native Christian community amounts to 10,553, again of 571. There are 27 Indian and 85 English ministers, five English and 176 Indian evangelists, 18 English and 137 Indian local preachers, and 24 English and 583 Indian Christian day-school teachers, of whom 158 are women. The total number of day scholars is 18,385 of whom 7,526 are girls. This represents an increase of 695 boys and 111 girls. The Sunday-school children amount to 7,540, a gain of nearly 500. There are in all parts of the area represented by the Synod cheering signs, and everywhere the workers are full of hope. The great lack is paucity of workers, especially in the Hyderabad District, where it is im­ possible to provide weekly Sabbath services for a large number of the village Christians. The sympathies of the brethren were aroused with regard to the state of the country and the great distress in the >i orth. Our brethren there have to face famine and plague. It was felt that the Synod could do but little ; still the following resolution was unanimously agreed t o :— “ That the Provincial Synod desires to express its great sympathy with the brethren in the North in the labour, anxiety and distress which the famine has 64 CUEEENT MISSION NEWS. brought upon them in various places ; and its readiness to afford them any help which circumstances render possible.” The report of the Committee appointed to revise the English Book of Offices with a view to their being translated into the vernacular led to considerable dis­ cussion. Ultimately the Offices for the Recognition of New Members, and the Burial of the Dead were accepted, and the others remitted to a larger committee. Some time was occupied in considering matters relating to the General Synod, which will meet next year. Representatives of all our Districts in India and Ceylon will meet and the work of all the Districts will be brought under review. It was suggested that papers on certain topics should be prepared and printed, and certain brethren were nominated for this work. One of the secre­ taries from London is expected to be present, and its meeting will inaugurate the completion of the organisation which was initiated at the Bombay Con­ ference in December, 1891. The Synod will meet either in Calcutta or Bangalore. The final arrangements rest with the Standing Committee of the Provincial Synods. The settlement of mission property was advanced a stage, as a Trust Asso­ ciation has been formed in London for the purpose of holding property. The Association is not yet in working order. On the Sabbath a large congregation assembled in the Royapetta Chapel to witness the setting apart for the work of the ministry of the Iievs. J. A. Samuel and A. David, of the Negapatam District. The Rev. W. Goudie opened the service, the Rev. W. H. Findlay asked the questions of the candidates, the Revs. J. Cooling, W. H. Findlay, H. Gulliford, W. H. J. Picken, T. Luke, and R. Asirvatham joined in the laying on of hands, after which the Rev. W. H. J. Picken gave a powerful and practical charge in Tamil to the newly-ordained candidates from the words, “ Whereupon, 0 king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” For the charge the Rev. W. H. J. Pieken received the cordial and hearty thanks of the Synod. Other meetings were held at Black Town, St. Thomas’ Mount, and Peram- bore, when the work of missions was advocated by many speakers. Many matters of local interest were also discussed in the Synod, at the close of which a very hearty vote of thanks to the friends who had so hospita­ bly entertained the guests was cordially passed.

WESLEYAN DISTRICT SYNODS.

1. M a d r a s . This Synod commenced its sessions at Royapettah on Monday morning) January 4th, and continued for eight days. Nine European and six Indian ministers were present. When we remember how other Districts have suffered bereavement during the year, we feel that it is a matter for humble thankfulness ¿bat none of our number has been struck down by death or disease since we CURRENT MISSION NEWS. 65 last met. Nor has death entered our families save i1* the case of Mr. Arumai- nayagam, who lost his little girl during the year. Our staff has been temporarily increased by the arrival of Mr. Raw, who will spend his time in the study of the vernacular under the direction of Mr. Goudie at Tiruvallur. He has a fine chance of acquiring a good knowledge of Tamil, and, more important still, learn­ ing wise methods of work under so experienced and successful a missionary. Within a day or two we are to lose from our midst Mr. Simpson, who goes for a year’s furlough to England. Owing to the state of Mrs. Simpson’s health, there is still some doubt as to whether we shall have the joy of welcoming Mr. Simpson back into our District. At the conversation on the work of God he referred feelingly to his happy years of service and fellowship with the brethren in this District. In him we lose—we earnestly pray that it may be only for a time—a worker of whom we are proud. Buoyant, sympathetic, hard-working and devout, he has left his hnpress on the Madurantakam circuit, and not least upon the men who have been trained under him. Miss Lowe’s place at the Boarding School has been taken by Miss Mee, daughter of Rev. Josiah Mee, of London. She has already shown that capacity for hard work so necessary in her responsible position, and which was such a marked characteristic of her predecessor. Two young men of promise, trained at Madurantakam, Mr. Theophilus

Subrahmanyam and Mr. Devadasen David, b .a ., have been recommended to the Conference to be received as ministers on probation. This recommendation has been endorsed by the Provincial Synod. By far the larger portion of the time of the Synod was spent in reviewing in great detail the work of the past year. One of the most noticeable features of the year’s work has been the large increase under the head of schools. There is an increase of 16 day and 12 Sunday schools, with an increase of 17 teachers in the former and 23 in the latter, whilst the number of day scholars has in­ creased by 432 and Sunday scholars by 305. These increases are largely owing to the establishment of new schools in the Tiruvallur and Madurantakam cir­ cuits amongst the Pariah population. The net increase of membership after the year’s work is 47. It was felt to be a matter for earnest heart-searching that the increase was so small after a year of unstinted toil. The matter calls for attention the more urgently because we report a decrease of 92 members on trial. The total number of baptisms was 238 as against 214 in 1895, and there are 155 more persons under instruction for baptism than there were a year ago; the Christian community has also increased by 227. Whilst dealing with figures we may also say that there has been a gratifying increase under the head of income from local sources. Few buildings of importance have been erected during the year. Mr. Goudie has been able to provide a neat little church in Damarabaukam through the liberality of a friend in England. It is worthy of note that the caste people in Uttramallur have given liberally towards the cost of the new school, which Mr. Simpson has erected there. It has long been felt that a new Tamil church is urgently needed in Black Town. An earnest effort will be made this year to 9 66 CURRENT MISSION NEWS.

Secure the necessary fundand the building will be erected as soon as is prac­ ticable on a suitable site. Mr. Little hopes to complete during the year three important building schemes, which he has on hand—first, the repair and exten­ sion of the chapel; second, the erection of a boarding school; and third, a European day school. A^large portion of the cost has been already secured. In the Madras English Circuit Mr. Beard is about to undertake some build­ ing schemes which call for remark. The Perambur Church is to be renovated and re-roofed ; the school room at Black Town is to be improved by the substi­ tution of iron girders for the present arches. This circuit has also offered to purchase the present Tamil church, which adjoins the English church, to be used for the purposes of a Soldiers’ Home. Mr. Beard feels that the time has come when a new English church should be built outside Black Town ; and our only regret is that he will not himself remain with us to carry the scheme through. Mr. Goudie has at length acquired the piece of land adjoining his bungalow which he has waited for so long, and will begin to build his Boarding School during this year. Altogether the year has been one of progress, and we look forward to the future with quiet hopefulness. C. H. M. 2 . N e g a p at a m an d T richinopoly . Our District Synod was convened for Monday, January 4th, but the closing days of 1896 found both Mr. Findlay, our chairman, and Mr. Webster, our secretary apparent, struggling in the grip of fever. It was a time of anxiety not to say consternation. A long delay was impossible as the Provincial Synod loomed in the very near future. Furthermore liarur seemed a most dangerous place to congregate in, for cholera was raging throughout the town and had even found its way into the girls’ boarding school which is close to the mission bungalow. We met as a full Synod on January 5th, and it was our very great delight to have Mr. Findlay in the chair—himself again, giving out the not inappropri­ ate hymn, “ And are we yet alive, ” and Mr. Webster following by reading the 103rdPsalm; and thus we began one of the busiest and happiest synods the brethren have known. From the first we were engaged in a race against time, but in such matters the race is to the swift and the battle to the strong, and by dint of frequent and lengthy sessions and arduous toil the efforts of an inde­ fatigable chairman, seconded by an untiring secretary, supported by an assidu­ ous journal secretary, were crowned with success. Our songs of thanksgiving were not without then1 minor cadences. Very affecting were the references made by European and native ministers to the character and work of the late Rev. S. Suviseshamuttu, whose sad and sudden death early in April you have already noticed, and whose loss to our District is most keenly felt by all. Early in the Synod we were called to gather round the grave of one of the most honoured and beloved members of the Karur ffewoh, jpr jfce patron pf our girls’ boarding jsshool, m her devotion to duty? CUKftENT MISSION NEWS. 67 fell a victim to the deadly disease of cholera. The oppressive sadness of the scene was somewhat relieved at the close of the service when with the help of the Industrial School band we sang the beautiful and inspiring hymn, “ Jerusa­ lem the golden.” One member of our District is on furlough, but during our sessions we had the pleasure of welcoming our Brother E. Woodward back again after his furlough to labour amongst us with his old zeal, though for a time he is called to “ fresh woods and pastures new,” and Brother C. G. Craggs, whom we heartily welcomed as a new comer. In spite of the fact that on several of our stations the year had brought with it times of unusual difficulty and danger, we were able to report progress. The town of Negapatam “ has been demoralised ” by a serious strike in the railway works, ending in a riot, and “ the English-speaking community es­ pecially is in a state of .great unrest and natural distrust, so much so that it threatens our English work very seriously, ” while in Mannargudi the anti- Christian riot, you have already referred to, and which took place in Septem­ ber, has probably had consequences for evil not extending merely to the town itself, and it has been “ a time of great anxiety and a very severe test of the faithfulness of our Christians.” While there is a decrease of three in our membership returns, we have been much encouraged by the large increase of members on trial. The reports of work among the heathen showed more cheering signs of a movement on the part of the villagers round our several stations towards Christianity than had been shown for many years. A scheme for the organization of district and sta­ tion boarding schools, which had been under consideration during the year, was considered at length and passed, and much time was spent upon the com­ pleter classification of District Synod Agents. Mr. Vethakan Isaac, of Karur, was unanimously recommended as a candi­ date for the native ministry. A pleasant interlude was our missionary meeting held on Monday, the 11th, Mr. J. T. Whittome presiding ; and a profitable and earnest conversation on the work of God in which the ladies of the district joined us was held at thé close of the Synod. H. G. P r ic e . 3. M y s o r e . To the Indian missionary the synod or the convocation or the convention means more than a review of work or a financial forecast ; it has its social side ; and though the railway has made it possible for its members tc meet occasion­ ally during the year, it often forms the one occasion in which friends and col­ leagues meet. These begin the new year under a sense of brotherly sympathy and communion which cannot be lightly estimated. This year our meetings were shadowed by a sense of loss and bereavement. The death roll of 1896 had been a very heavy one, and those that had gone stood in such specially close relation to us that their absence was never forgotten in either our official or our social assemblies. We were glad to welcome back Mrs. Gulliford, Miss Hudson 68 CUERENT MISSION NEWS.

and Mr. and Mrs. Rees, and to find an old Mend in Mrs. Dumbarton, while those of our round table who were of necessity across the seas were by no means forgotten. Mr. Thorp and Mr. Edwards have joined us since our last Synod and their work during the last three months has caused our welcome to merge into glad appreciation of two true yokefellows. The yoke which we bear is not often borne aright : sometimes one is too strong for his “ fellow :” sometimes vision is indistinct or incorrect, and the furrow is thus not as it should be. But this year the greatest unanimity has shown itself in our councils, and our native brethren have been one with us in our judgment of the past and our planning for the future. The year has been another of those years of increase, which form an unbroken series in our history : we record an increase of 26 English and 59 native members. To a Church whose test for membership is so severe as ours this means far more than the mere numbers would indicate. We watch with jealousy over the members of the church and of the ministry, and we do not lightly allow those of whose character we are uncertain to enter the ranks of either. We cannot do less than this if we are to maintain the purity of the Christian Church. As an illustration of the care we have continually to exercise we may men­ tion here that we have felt it necessary to express our mind on the desirability of making the marriageable age of girls as high as possible. As most of our readers know, the tendency all around is to make it as low as possible, and this feeling from time to time threatens to govern the minds of our people and we therefore need to watch it closely. The development of our work among the Koramas has called forth our grateful recognition of the co-operation of Him who stoops to the lowest, and we shall watch the course of events in this case with prayerful interest. We were glad too to hear of the institution of the Wesley Guild in the Mysore Circuit ; those concerned in the matter speak most hopefully of the Guild, which seems already to have greatly benefited the Church. Our work was largely that of revising our own work during the twelve months past, but we did not forget those who may bear another name than ouré but are one with us in the service of Christ. For those especially who labour in districts smitten with famine or plague we have prayed that in the great additional burdens which those afflictions must bring to them they may be sustained by a special sense of the nearness of God. : Thè loss of the Rev. J. Hudson was specially noted, and the following resolution placed on the minutes :— “ The Synod desires to place on record its sense of the peculiar and personal loss sustained by its members in the removal of the Rev. Josiah Hudson. Mr. Hudson combined in himself a foresight and tenacity of purpose, which made him the administrator he was, with a courteous respect for the opinions of his brethren which alone would have secured for him their regard. The youngest of his brethren could approach him in full assurance of sympathy, while the most experienced habitually came to him for counsel which was never denied. He was made great by gentleness, and the mildness of his disposition stood in CURRENT MISSION NEWS. 69

unbroken alliance with true manliness. All this won for him the respect of his fellow-workers, but as the beautiful self-obliteration of his life passed daily before them, respect gave way to that which was more sacred still, and while they esteemed him very highly for his work’s sake, Josiah Hudson was pre-emi­ nently a man encompassed by the love of his brethren.”

HOW I BECAME A CHRISTIAN. The Madras Church Missionary Gleaner publishes the following account from the pen of Mr. Gopal Chandra Sastri, who was baptised some months since at Nasik:— If I were to trace out the earliest influences which bore remotely upon my conversion to Christianity, it would occupy a large part of your paper. For the present purpose it will be sufficient to say that, in the performance of those sacred duties which devolve upon a father, I never saw any man so carefully acquit himself as my own father, who, as a man of faith and love, taught me betimes to fear God and to love all. Nor need we stop to enquire how one who was not a Christian could do this for me, because we believe that God can en­ dow even the heathen with gifts, that they may be instruments in His hand for the accomplishment of His own ends. In my early years, I came also under the influence of a Brahmo school-master, through whom I acquired the ability of thinking upon subjects with an unbiased mind. The Brahmos made me bold in thought, word, and deed. Hence I was subjected to no influence which would check the progress of free-thought. I was for thirteen months in the juvenile class of a small Christian school at Calcutta as a student. This primary school for the non-Christian boys of Calcutta had been only two years in existence before I joined it as a beginner. There I was under the influence of Christian teachers on the one hand and of innocent Hindu class friends on the other ; this, among other circumstances, gave a peculiar moral tone to my mind. In the Calcutta Presidency College ( my Alma Mater) I thought nothing of religion; and as a teacher at Bhowanipore, and as a Government servant in East Bengal, I had not much time to devote to religious studies. On my com­ ing back to Calcutta from East Bengal, ’ I had time to think of religion and pay occasional visits to the Brahmo leader, Kcshava Chandra Sen, the Moulvie Hafez Hyder Ali, the Rev. C. H. A. Dali, and the Hindu Sadhus of Baranagore and Ramkristopore. In the year 1880 I was engrossed, as far as my abilities went, in the study of different religions and philosophies. Fortunately I had a large library before me, in which Hindu, Mahomedan, Buddhistic, and Jainik sastras were collect­ ed, and in which were kept numberless books on oriental literature and philo­ sophy in different languages. In this vast lake of speculative thought and fiction I plunged deep for two years and seven months. After this I was ordained by the Hindu Sanatan Dharma Sava as a preacher of the Hindu religion. I preached, taught, and officiated as high priest in 70 CURRENT MISSION NEWS.

Hindu marriages and puja ceremonies, and during my spare time wrote tracts on morality, agriculture, cow-protection, caste, devotion, divinity of idols, the superiority of Hinduism, the divine origin of the Brahmans, and other subjects. I was a worshipper of idols, but I never worshipped idols, as so many do, without believing in them. I used to believe in the divinity of idols, and hence I worshipped them. Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson’s “ Religious Sects of the Hindus, ” the Rev. Alexander Duff’s “ Lectures on Heathendom,” and a learned Brahmo Pandit’s tracts on “ The Godless Worships in India,” first shook my faith in idols, and I became a worshipper of only one God. Our want of faith in polytheism created a bond of union between, and produced an esprit de corps among, us Hindu preachers, and gave us a consciousness of our united strength which would often be helpful when encountering an orthodox Hindu’s op­ position. During the course of my extensive sojourn in the Presidency of Bombay, God gave me the opportunity, for the first time in my life, of hearing a com­ plete history of the Birth, Death, Resurrection and Miracles of Christ Jesus from the mouth of a revered Protestant lecturer, who kept me spell-bound for two hours at a public meeting in the Framjee Cowasjee Institute. This able lecture, which carried the entire audience with the speaker, opened my spiri­ tual eyes and led me at length to be a great lover of Christ Jesus, but I must say that I was not at all prepared at the time either to give adequate vent to my feelings in public or to ask my Hindu friends about the life of Christ. After some years’ study and thought and prayer, I came to know that Christ’s was the only religion through which we might be saved, but notwithstanding my firm belief in Christ, I had several doubts in my mind, which were strong enough to hinder me from being baptised. In this bewildered state of mind I reached Koorooksatra in the Panjab, where, for the first time in my life, I began to mix freely with native Chris­ tians, but, being unable to observe many spiritual traits in such of the Indian Christians as I came in contact with, my mind kept me off from Christ and Christianity. After this, I proceeded from the Panjab to Nasik on the Godavery in Wes­ tern India. Here everything presented the appearance of wretchedness. The veil of the covering cast over all nations seemed thicker here; the friends of darkness seemed to sit in sullen repose in this ancient city of Hindu supersti­ tion. Oh 1 how gross the darkness is in Nasik 1 After staying here for some time, I made up my mind to go to Bombay and mix with the European mis­ sionaries there; but the elements were against my plan, the winds began to blow harder and the rain to fall heavier than usual. It now appeared to be past a doubt that God predestined me to be baptized somewhere near Nasik, al­ though I knew nothing of Saranpore (the place of my spiritual birth) at that time, nor indeed up to ten or twelve days before my baptism. I had Locke’s “ Treatise on the Understanding” with me at Nasik; this I began to read day and night during the heavy rains. My reason was beclouded, CURRENT MISSION NEWS. 71 and dreadful thoughts almost overwhelmed my soul. It seemed as though my reason was leading me to the brink of hell. I know not how to describe my feelings, or how they obtained possession of me. It has been well remarked by an eminent philosopher that, to those who embark in metaphysical disquisi­ tions, Locke’s “ Understanding ” will serve as a matter of caution,—and to those who are harassed with distressing thoughts, it may administer consola­ tion,—but I endured terrible mental sufferings after allowing my mind a range of too unlimited a nature in these abstract questions of the nature and end of my being. Yet, when in danger of being “ spoiled by philosophy,” the soul is upheld by the kind Spirit of a faithful God. In the middle of last July, on reading the Time-Table of the G. I. P. Rail­ way, I came to know that the Church Missionary Establishment at Saranpore was close to Nasik. I hastened to write a letter to the superintending mission­ ary (the Rev. A. Manwaring), and asked him to allow me to pay a visit to him. This request being granted, I saw him, discussed with him about Christianity— especially about the importance of baptism—and questioned him to prove if baptism is a sine qua non of Christianity, or the only rite by which a seeker after truth is admitted to the Christian fold. He quoted the New Testament, and proved that baptism is a command from God, and that it is a Divine rite. I was satisfied, and then asked him to baptize me, and the ceremony took place on Sunday, the 2nd day of August, 1896. A new convert—for such I am, having been converted only two months— is not so much surrounded by true enquirers as by a host of heathen,—men who know little, read little, and who are capable of doing little except mischief. It will be a good day for our dear country when the Truth as it is in Christ Jesus is frankly and heartily welcomed by its people. In conclusion, I praise the most merciful Shepherd who sought and found me out on the dangerous mountains of sin and unbelief ; I ask pardon of the same Saviour whom I abused years ago, when a Hindu preacher, by calling Him “ a common carpenter’s son,” and I am thankful to bear witness to the fact that the same Carpenter—Christ—has repaired the broken table of my heart, and stamped upon it the seal of salvation with the stamp of everlasting love and the ever-shining ink of immortality. Lastly, I thank Mr. Manwaring with all my heart for the baptism, spiritual instructions, encouraging counsel, and clearances of doubts, and for the friendly acquaintance and intercourse I have enjoyed with him, which has been distinguished by a truly Christian spirit.

THE HEBRON HOME EURASIAN ORPHANAGE.

“ Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.” This is a text which certainly explains the state of the Eurasian community. The editor of this paper has very truly said in speaking about this work, “ This Home for Eurasian children in Bombay calls attention very property to the great »eeds of the Eurasian community. There is no question 72 CURRENT MISSION NEWS. whatever in the mind of any right-thinking person that the condition of the poor of this class is a very serious one indeed, and of the many philanthropic objects that India presents, this is not the least.”

O u r R e m o v a l . As we have just removed our Home from Bombay to this place (Amraoti), we feel impressed to make a few simple statements of facts relating to our pre­ sent work and future prospects, and earnestly ask all who are interested in this great and needy work, to heartily co-operate for its more successful promotion.

S t e a d y A d v a n c e m e n t . Since the establishment of this Home there has been steady advancement. We opened the Home about ten months ago with four boys ; to-day we have eleven. We also opened a Girls’ Home a few weeks ago, and have five with us at present. We have also an industrial department for the training of the lads. The effort is just in its infancy, but we have more work and orders on hand than we are able to fill for want of men and means. Tools and machines are very much needed. We are only having cabinet and shoe making at present, but hope to have wheelwrights and blacksmiths’ work, painting, tailoring, and other branches. P r o t e s t a n t D a y S ch o o l. There is also a very great need for a Protestant school here, as there is none in the Berars and Khandesh, and the parents are very anxious to have their children educated in Protestant schools. We urgently need a lift in this matter of at least Rs. 200 for teaching, school furniture, rent, etc. There are between forty and fifty children waiting to come.

B o ar d in g S ch ool. In connection with this it will be necessary to have a boarding school, as quite a number have sent in their applications and inquiries, and will come as soon as the school is in running order.

P r in t in g P r e s s . We are very much in need of a printing press in connection with the work. This can be made a financial success, and used as well to teach the lads the printing trade. P r o sp e c ts. The outlook for the success and enlargement of the work in its different branches is most promising. With increased facilities and judicious manage­ ment we believe that the field of usefulness along these lines can be greatly enlarged. Is SUCH WORK NECESSARY? There is no occasion to ask the question : Is there any necessity for such a work or movement ? We simply need to took around us in all the cities and towns throughout India. These are the children of misfortune. They deserve and demand our most earnest and utmost effort to help them rise to a useful and respectable position in the world, CURRENT MISSION NEWS. 73

T h e O u tl o o k . This country has a grand start in schools and colleges for the training of the mind, but comparatively little is being done in what was always considered by our forefathers of greatest importance—the training of the hand : and what is more honourable and noble ? Think of Jesus and Paul. 1 firmly believe that the two should go together. I would say to every young man, “ Get an education if you can, but by all means learn a trade.” The country is running wild after mental training, but what it needs now to counterbalance this is mechanical skill, and I believe that we are just on the verge of a great movement in this direction.

W h at t h e W o rk c alls f o r . It is needless to say that a work of this character needs sympathisers. We are not connected with any society or mission board, neither have we the pro­ mised support of any of our home friends, but the work is being carried on by voluntary contributions. Plead the cause of the poor and needy.

J. R. G o d s h a l l , Supi., Hebron Home. Camp Amraoti, Berar. ______

WESLEYAN.

A n n u a l R e t u r n s .—The various District Synods have been held, and the following returns made:— No. of mem. On Trial. Increase. Decrease. Adult Eng. Nat. Eng. Nat. Eng. Nat. Eng. Nat. 33 ftpiii sxu s« Madras I7y 931 ... 375 • •• 51 5 ... 73 Negapatam 46 498 1 175 • • • • • ... 3 24 Mysore 216 1367 26 146 26 59 • • • • » 35 Hyderabad 34 695 ... 1959 • •• 80 23 .” 231 Calcutta 196 363 6 103 16 9 ••• 52 Lucknow and Benares 549 167 54 51 62 32 • •• •• 93 Burma 10 43 ... 83 ... 1 2 .!! 33

1230 4064 87 2892 104 232 30 3 541 These figures show an increase of 74 English and 229 native members on the year. The number of members on probation is very large, and will probably continue so, for great caution is necessary in giving the full privileges of the Church to very ignorant persons. The adult baptisms are slightly less *hn.n last year; but they have been distributed over the whole area. A r r iv a l s .—We welcome the Rev. C. G. Craggs to the Negapatam District and the Rev. T. J. McClelland, from the Irish Conference, to the Calcutta Dis­ trict, and pray for both a long and useful missionary career. Miss Lamb is on her way to Mysore City, where she will receive a hearty welcome. D e p a r t u r e s .—We regret to have to say farewell, for a season only we trust, to several brethren who have toiled long and successfully. The Rev. W. B, Simpson, b .a ., of the Madras District, goes home for a year on account of 10 n c u r r e n t ' m issio n n e w s .

his wife’s health. He has won the love of his brethren and his work will bear inspection. From the Hyderabad District the Rev. W. H. and Mrs. Soper will be much missed. They have borne the burden and heat of the day, and have well earned the visit to the home land, where we trust they will be refreshed and cheered for future service. The Mysore District loses the valuable services of the Rev. W. H. J. Picken for a year only, we trust. Family consideration^ have made his departure necessary, but we hope he will be able to return again to his muclx-loved work. The Rev. A. H. Bestall goes from the Burma District, and thus very considerably weakens the small staff of that District. For all the brethren we pray that journeying mercies may attend them and that they may. return to the land of their adoption. B a p t ism s at F a iz a b a d .—The Indian Methodist Times contains an interest­ ing account of seven persons who were baptized at Faizabad 011 December 6th. A n A t t e m p t to carry off a C o n v e r t .—The Rev. W. B. Simpson describes in the Madras Church Record how through the influence of a Christian teacher a young man determined to become a Christian. His parents at great expferise arranged for a heathen ceremony of special power which should exorbise all Christian thoughts from his mind. Mr. Simpson says, “ The young man went to Madras, and on December 5th his mother with some relatives and friends made a very determined effort to carry him off by force. This was frustrated after a sharp struggle. On the arrival of the police the relatives preferred a complaint that a minor was being illegally detained. In reference to that charge Murugesan made a deposition in which he gave an account of the way in which he was led to wish to become a Christian. After their interview with him, the police had no doubt that he was of full age, and that it was of his own ,free will he was in the Mission House. His nearest relatives were then admitted, and, in the presence of seven of the police, had an interview with him. They argued and pleaded with him, but he remained firm, though the struggle be­ tween his natural affection and his convictions was very evident. As a last resource they begged him to wait till his aged father should be no more. The interview was closed by the Muhammadan officer, who was at the head of. the police present, putting to Murugesan the definite question whether he would go home with his friends, or throw in his lot with the Christians. He answered that so far from his becoming a Christian diminishing his love for his relatives it would increase it, and that after he had formally become a Christian he hoped to see them again at home, but that until he had been baptized he would not go with them. With this answer they reluctantly but quietly withdrew. It was thought inexpedient to delay the baptism any longer, and on; Sunday morning Murugesan was baptized. On Monday the parents came to Madur&h' fallen,m tb sete! me. ®Phey■ lay sobbing on the floor of my study for some time, but after a fahile we talked1 over the whole matter. It was arranged that the father himself should go up and see his son, and say all hie wished to say to'him. The conversation was very pleasant, and I could not help feeling that they them* selves were not far from the kingdom of heaven. They went to Madras and spent a day and night with their son. The scene, at which 1 was present, the father and mother met their hoy was west aifceting. With all -the o b it u a r y . 75

affectionate and endearing acts customary among Hindus, they besought him throughout the day to return with them, renewing their entreaties soon after midnight and continuing them till dawn. They even suggested that he should go off with them to their village and there keep quiet about his baptism. Muru- gesan answered them as a son should, but firmly declined to accompany them. In the morning they left, stating expressly that they had no complaint to make agqfyst any one, or any fear as to the welfare of their son, and that the only thing they did not like was the ridicule and shame they would have to face at the hands of their fellow villagers. Thus ended in peace what began in storm.”

OTHER INDIAN MISSIONS.

D r . M il l e r .—We deeply regret to learn that this well-known and greatly- beloved missionary still lies dangerously ill in Madras. He had not been well fqr some weeks, but about a fortnight ago it was found that he was suffering from abscess of the liver. The latest reports are more hopeful; and we pray that the means employed for his recovery may be successful.

M e t h o d is t C o n f e r e n c e s,—Bishop Thoburn since his return to India has been busy holding the annual Methodist Conferences. The first was held in Madras, beginning on December 17th. The reports from the different stations indicated progress. Bishop Thoburn and the members of the Conference were entertained. in the Victoria Hall by Mr. P. Venkatachellam, a non-Christian citizen of Madras.—The Bombay Conference was held in Poona instead of Bombay., on account of the plague, on December 30th. The number of baptisms reported -yvas 1159, chiefly in Gujerat. The famine in the Central Provinces presses hard upon some of the missionaries. Several hundreds of famine orphans have been received, and hundreds more are being , offered.—The North West India Conference was opened in Cawnpore on January loth. The number of accessions during the year was about the average. Though famine is preval­ ent, there have.been no large accessions from this cause. In spite of it, Rs. 6,081 have been given by the natiye church and 45 preachers supported. Ten native ministers were ordained,

OBITUARY.

THE REV. J. F. GARDNER, M.A., B.D.

The Bombay papers record with deep regret the death of the Rev. J. P. Gardner, professor of history at the Wilson College, Bombay. He was the son of a J^ree Church missionary, and was born in Poona in 1861. He took his degree Edinburgh University, and can*e to India in 1888. He recently 76 o b it u a r y .

returned from furlough in order to take up his duties in the college, but typhoid fever, lasting but a few days, caused his death on Sunday, December 27th. Mr. Gardner was a man of kindly disposition, and was highly esteemed by his colleagues and by his pupils. Non-Christians had a great respect for him, as is shown by the following tribute from the India/n Spectator:— “ Of the many Christian missionaries that live and labour amongst us, it would be difficult to name one so widely respected and justly beloved as the gentle and unobtrusive spirit that passed away on Sunday last. It would be really impossible to over-estimate the loss that Wilson College has sustained in the death of Mr. James P. Gardner, or to speak too highly of the good he has done, morally and otherwise, to the hundreds of students that came under his care. By habit and disposition Mr. Gardner seems to have been eminently fitted to be a teacher of youth, and no one brought to the performance of his duties a loftier ideal or a keener appreciation of the responsibility attaching to his high calling. Simple, patient and unassuming, his appreciation was not confined to his students alone, but extended to a large and ever-increasing circle of friends and acquaintances. Pew could come in contact with him without being struck with the eminently Christian bent of his mind and heart. He was ever easy of access, and full of kindly sympathy and forbearance. His single devotion to duty, and his desire to be of use to the people of the land, irrespec­ tive of creed or colour, made him extremely popular with Europeans and natives alike. For the passing hour his work in the Wilson College will perhaps be equally well done by others, but his place, as far as the wider and more enduring work of an educationist is concerned, will for long remain vacant. The real merit of his work lies not so much in what he did in the class-room as outside of it, the work of impressing upon the minds of his students ever higher and .purer ideals of duty towards God and man. It would be out of place here, even if it were possible, to enumerate the cases in which his own example, more than his precept, inspired a higher sense of devotion to duty and kindled the desire for a more unselfish, patriotic and philanthropic course of life. But this, as to only a small portion of his devoted career; the rest stands behind— ‘ That best portion of a good man’s life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love.’ There must have been many who received from him their daily living ; many more students who received from him the means of education. All these will miss the Christian gentleman who did so much for them, to guide, to counsel, to console. Add to this, the loss of the citizen in the prime of life, on the threshold of a useful career, and it will not be difficult to see what Bombay in general and Wilson College in particular has lost in the late Professor Gardner.”

MR. WALLACE J. GLADWIN. Mr. Gladwin was born in Corning, New York, U.S.A., in 1842. He served in the civil war, and entered the Methodist ministry in 1866, and in response to Bishop Taylor’s appeal came to India in 1871. He laboured at Agra, Nagpore, Secunderabad, and Bombay. He joined the Salvation Army in 1882, but after .three years he left them and engaged in purity work. For many years Mr. Gladwin has carried on in Bombay a vigorous crusade against opium, drink, impurity, popery, and other evils. He was editor of The Indian Watchman, Banner o f Asia, and other publications. His words were of no uncertain sound, and bis methods were not likely to win certain types of CORRESPONDENCE. 71 character. He spared not himself, neither did he spare others when he thought they were going astray. He established a home for workers in Bombay, which was administered on aBcetic principles. He was tireless in his devotion and was ever ready to do battle against his foes. For some time Mr. Gladwin has been in failing health, and he passed away in St. George’s Hospital, Bombay, on January lXth, in the 55th year of his age. ______MRS. CLARK. A correspondent writes to the Indian Witness :—“ Death has been unusually busy in the ranks of the United Presbyterian Mission in Rajputana. The fourth death in 11 months is that of Mrs. Clark, wife of Dr. Wm. Clark; medical missionary. Dr. and Mrs. Clark have long been stationed in Nusseerabad, and the sudden death of Mrs. Clark on the evening of the 13th, after onl y one day’s illness, was a great surprise and shock to the Christian community. The funeral procession and wreaths of flowers showed the respect in which Mrs, Clark had been held.”

MRS. ROBINSON. We have also to record the death of Mrs. Robinson, wife of Rev. W. Robin­ son, of the London Mission, Salem, Madras Presidency, on the 20th of December. It was the writer’s privilege to meet her at Madras as prospective bride on her arrival in India about ten years ago, and he now recalls with sad pleasure the acquaintance then made with the winsome English maiden on the threshold of her missionary career in this land. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved husband and mourning family circle.—Indian Witness.

CORRESPONDENCE. 166, Bow Bazar Street, Calcutta, 7th January, 1897. To t h e S u n d a y S chool W o rker s op I n d ia , B u r m a , an d C e y l o n .

D e a r F r ie n d s ,—At the annual meeting of the India Sunday School Union held in this city on the 18th ultimo, Revs. F . W. Wame, b .d ., R. M. Julian and myself were appointed as a Sub-Committee to consider the advisability of holding an All-India Sunday School Convention in the fall of this year or in the early months of 1898. We therefore invite opinions from interested persons all over the land. The questions to be decided are, (1) is such a Convention desirable, if so, (2) when, (3) where, and (4) for how many days ? We shall also be glad to have sugges­ tions as to—(5) subjects for discussion, and (6) speakers. Kindly let letters reach me by the middle of March. Yours truly, R. Bohges. LITERATURE.

The following books are all from the full of interest and inspiration; and Christian Literature Society, Madras, the interest is kept up through the ■which sends, out a constant stream of subsequent account of the Moravian wholesome literature:— Mission. Throughout the book the devo­ The Overland Journey to England. tion of the workers is indeed Christ- —A very interesting little book, giving like. “ The love of Christ constraineth in a pleasant form a good deal of use­ us” was their motto. And it is but ful knowledge about the route from another proof of the universal character Calcutta to London. To those who of Christianity that the religion which have made the journey, it recalls the has taken control of the highest civiliza­ many interesting features of the voy­ tions of the world, was also the means age, while to those who intend making through which the ignorant and degrad­ it,,it ¡will be a.really useful little guide­ ed Greenlanders received the greatest book. But it deserves to have a wider gifts of God. circulation than merely among travel­ (1) Causes o f Indicun Poverty. (2) In­ lers ; and one hopes that the eommon- dian Marriage Customs.—Two papers sense^remarks on foreign travel with on Indian reform full of practical com­ which it opens may do something to mon sense. In the first, marriage cus­ remove gome of the prejudice which toms, the tendency to run into debt, still exists against it. and the craving for Government em­ ployment are among the more immedi­ Pearls, Animalcules and other Won­ ate causes of poverty noticed, while ders.—In this little-book we have a caste prejudices and the use of opium, glimpse of the infinitely small which is &c., are also dealt with. The second no less interesting than the infinitely deals more fully with mairiage customs great revealed by the telesfippe. The and early marriages, and marriage ex­ amount of solid ‘information given is penses are briefly discussed. But after quite out of proportion to the price— all has been said, the last sentence in one wonders how such books are pro­ the pamphlet states the case most duced, especially with the illustrations practically. “ Educated Hindus should m thTwhichtihis abounds. It is just the explain these evils to their ignorant kind -of book to cre^e a desire for fellow-countrymen; but above all they furt^r infom^atipn and as such is well should show them the more excellent \yprth a.reading. way by example. This would soon be generally followed.’’ The Land of Sno ws.—Beginning with an interesting account of Greenland The Anna Library.—The Christian itself, and of its early history, the Literature Society in Madras has pub­ writer passes on to a heart-stirring ac­ lished four more of this useful series. count of missions is Greenland. The They are (1) a concise but interesting story of the difficulties and hardships life of Vasco da Gama, which describes of Hans Ege.de, the first missionary, is the first voyage from Europe to Asia; EDITORI AI» NOTES. 79

(2 and 3) Plants, Useful and wonderful, to give an idea of the depths to whifcti in two parts, the first dealing with savage man can sink, when left to him­ those used for food and medicine, the self. The book is published by the second with flowers, timber trees, and Christian Literature Society, and the curious plants ; (4) The Babes in the price is 2^ annas. Basket or Daph and her Charge, a Family Prayers fo r Indian Chris­ story of West Indian Negro and Eng­ tians.—These prayers are from the pen lish life. All of the pamphlets are of a civil servant, who has greatly illustrated, and they deserve a wide helped the Christian Literature Society circulation. by which they are published. They are simple, and adequately express the Devil-Dancers, Witch-Finders, Bain- needs of most Hindu Christian families. Makers, and Medicine-Men.—This il­ We fear the habit of daily family pray­ lustrated pamphlet is a collection from er is not so common as it should be. various sources of strange superstitions This book, especially when it is trans­ that prevail in various parts of the lated into the vernaculars of India, will world. The pictures are old friends obviate one common objection that that used to adorn the missionary lit­ suitable prayers cannot be found. The erature of our childhood, but they serve price is one anna.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

Famine and Plague.—The Govern­ nisation for the administration of this ment of India has at last declared that fund is not complete, and it will need the famine is such that it cannot un­ careful watching to prevent waste. The dertake to relieve all the suffering that means are now available to help the prevails, and that therefore there is sick, the infirm, the children* and those abundant scope for the exercise of who cannot perform hard manual private charity. The Government has labour. We have no doubt that soon declared in plain terms that the res­ in the afflicted districts local com­ ponsibility of providing for the starving mittees will be formed to bring the rests entirely upon it, and the task of funds that have been provided "to those providing labour to secure a subsistence who need assistance most. allowance has been begun in many The various missionary societies will districts, while the helpless are fed at do well to keep their missionaries in Government expense. There are, how­ the affected districts well supplied with ever,' thousands of eases which Go­ funds ; for they are in close touch with vernment relief will never meet, and the people and can utilise to the full to provide these with help funds from any moneys entrusted to them. They private sources are needed. As soon as •frequently see cases of great distress the word was given, charity in England that they are powerless to help from bfcjjjfain to flow in streams, and already lack of funds. They should have the a'ltoge sum has been sent to the Cen- opportunity given to them to gather in tral Committee in Calcutta. The orga* the orphan and fatherless, the widow 80 EDITORIAL NOTES« and the helpless, not in the spirit of Hindu men is a strange one indeed. proselytism but in the spirit of Christ. Dr. Barrows has come from Chicago They will thus show to the people of to illustrate and enforce thev claims of the land what the true character of Christianity. He has been well receiv­ Christianity is. ed, large audiences listen to him, This suffering will of necessity con­ though his lectures are being keenly tinue for several months. The dry, criticised by the Hindus. It is too soon hot season is before us, and for three yet to speak of the results of his months very little rain will fall over lectures. the greater part of India. If the rains Mr. Caine has in several places given are timely and sufficient, those who are temperance and political addresses. now on relief works will gradually His visits to this country should give return to their fields, and the country him a better acquaintance with the peo­ will resume its normal aspect; but if ple and a truer knowledge of the prob­ the rains should fail, the prospects for lems that have to be solved in this land. the year are appalling. The close of the year saw the meet­ In Bombay the plague continues, ings of the National and Social Con­ and the state of the city is most dis­ gresses. These met in Calcutta, and tressing. Workers there stand sorely discussed the old subjects in the old in need of help. The death rate has way. There is talk enough at the pre­ increased five-fold, and the suffering in sent time, and much of it is admirable, some respects must be indescribable. but we should like to see the speech All missionaries there need to have translated into action. Talk will never help sent to them that they may re­ save the country, either politically or lieve tnose who are in sore straits. socially. Principles must be put into Charity promptly supplied will be of practice. inestimable service. All these subjects are agitating the Hindu mind, and it is interesting to Cold-Weather Yisitors.—The cool sea­ watch its workings. They require more son is the period when the traveller careful comment than we have space and the propagator of special views come for now. We hope to return to them, to India. The traveller has to some and deal with them more fully; for extent been kept away by plague and they are all elements in the regenera­ famine; but there have been many tion of this great empire. propagandists, who are still proclaiming their peculiar doctrines. The Tear’a Reports.—Many a mis­ Mrs. Besant has paid her annual visit, sionary has already finished, or is busy and sought to bring back the English- with, the report of last year’s work. educated Hindus to their old faith. She When it is printed, we shall be glad to is an ultra-Hindu, praising caste, idola­ receive a copy, as we are anxious to try, and everything that has bound make the acquaintance of the reports India for centuries in bands of steel. of all missionaries in this country. While the Hindus are seeking to throw Yearly meetings have been held, and away these bands, she would rivet them of them we should like to have reports; on more tightly. The spectacle of an for the work of one mission often illus- Englishwoman swaying .hundreds of trates and helps the work of another. Printed at the Wesleyan Mission Press, Mysore)—-1897.