V ftJH THE CHAUTAUQUA TEXT-BOOKS. THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. The Societies, Fields, Agencies, and Successes of Protestant Missions. BY HENRY K. CARROLL, Religious Editor of “The Independent.” NEW YORK: PHILLIPS & HUNT. CINCINNATI: WALDEN & STOWE. 1883. Copyright, r88i. by RHIUL.IPS &. HUNT, New York. PREFATORY. The two lectures or papers comprising this little book were prepared in 1880— the first for the Chautauqua Foreign Mis¬ sion Institute ; the second for the Annual Meeting of the American Missionary As¬ sociation. They have already been print¬ ed in the periodical press, and are repro¬ duced in this form without change, in the hope that their usefulness may be ex¬ tended. H. K. C. New York City, Jan ., 1881. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 https://archive.org/details/worldofmissionssOOcarr CONTENTS. X. THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. . . Page Rise of the Modern Missionary Movement.. 7 Early Continental Enterprises. 8 The First British Society. 10 Moravian Missions. 11 Formation of the Great English Societies.. 11 Development of Missionary Spirit in Scot¬ land . Continental Societies. 14 American Societies. 15 Income of English, Continental, and Amer¬ ican Societies. x 6 The Various Mission Fields. 18 Indian Missions and their Difficulties. 21 Missions in China. 25 The Work in Japan. 26 The Indo-China Peninsula. 27 Africa and its Peoples. 27 Missions on the Coasts. 28 The Great Interior Missions. 31 Missions in Mohammedan Countries. 32 Polynesia and Madagascar. 33 Dther Fields. 34 The Various Missionary Agencies. 35 dumber of Missionaries and Helpers. 36 Educational, Literary, and Medical Work.. 37 6 Contents. Page The Results of Missions. 38 Benefits to Commerce and Society. 39 Contributions to Geography, Philology, and Ethnology. 41 General Statistics. 43 Conclusion. 44 I^^HT II. RECENT PROGRESS OF FOREIGN MIS¬ SIONS. Pack Chief Elements of Missionary Progress. 46 Reasons for Hopefulness. 46 Progress of Missions in Turkey. 47 Growth in Persia and Egypt. 49 The Revival in India. 50 Large Accessions. 51 Extension and Self-support in India. 52 Liberality of Christians in Burmah. 55 Favorable Indications in China. 56 Good Effects of Famine Relief... 57 Cheering Results in Japan. 58 Gains and Losses in Africa: The Interior Missions. 59 Advance on the West Coast. 62 Progress in Polynesia. 62 Features of Missions among American Indians. 64 Missions in Roman Catholic Countries. 65 Jewish Missions. 67 The Outlook. 67 The World of Missions. i. THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. The world of missions is a vast and far-reaching subject. Hundreds of books would not, perhaps, exhaust it. I cannot, in the limits assigned a lecture, attempt much beyond the giving of an outline of the beginning and progress of the great and growing work of Protestant missions. The history of the rise and course of the modern missionary movement, brief as it is, is a history of noble sacrifices, of Herculean endeavors, of marvelous suc¬ cesses. It has been less than two centu¬ ries since the first Protestant missionary society was formed, and less than one century since the work of converting the heathen was actively and earnestly begun. The results have been wonderful. The standard raised in India has been carried 8 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. round the world, and people of every coun¬ try have been gathered under it. There is scarcely a tribe now who have not heard the sound of the Gospel. At first a few drops of rain fell from heaven upon the mountain-side; long after rivulets began to form and flow ; now we see a broad and hurrying stream. As we follow this stream into the future, we behold a mighty and ever-broadening river, flowing swiftly and more swiftly onward, until we see no longer banks, no longer a stream, but one boundless ocean, covering the face of the whole earth, and bringing its healing waters to all nations. The Protestant idea of heathen missions is as old as Protestantism itself. There were some among the first Protestants who were desirous that nations living in idolatry should have the Gospel. Luther was concerned about the “ misery of pa¬ gans and Turks,” and asked for prayers and missionaries for them. But Protest¬ antism was engaged in a struggle which required all its attention and all its ener¬ gies, and it could not respond to Luther’s request. The first foreign missionaries were sent from Geneva to Brazil, in the THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 9 middle of the sixteenth century ; but they were soon driven from the country, and the mission came to naught. A few years later the king of Sweden established a mission in Lapland. Some of the Ger¬ man princes tried, in the seventeenth cent¬ ury, to awaken an interest in foreign mis¬ sions, but without success. It said that three conversions are necessary in the case of a German : first, of the head ; next, of the heart; and, lastly, of the pocket. Baron Von Weis proposed a “Jesus As¬ sociation,” to send the Gospel to the pa¬ gans ; but there were few, perhaps, be¬ sides the baron himself, who had experi¬ enced the “ three conversions.” The as¬ sociation was not organized ; but, as was fitting, the man who had the honor to propose the first missionary society went himself into the field, and died in the midst of his labors in Surinam. The Dutch, who were a great commercial people in those days, sent many mission¬ aries into their East Indian colonies, who baptized a large number of converts, es¬ pecially in Ceylon. Of other missionary enterprises in the seventeenth century there were none worth mentioning, ex- 10 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. cept that of Eliot, Mayhew, and others, among the Indians of America. In none of the missions of those days was there promise of permanence or great results. The laborers were few, and their support uncertain. There were needed the third conversion and concerted action. Cromwell would have organized all Prot¬ estantism into a missionary society; but the Churches were not ready. The time for a beginning, however, was near at hand. In the first year of the eighteenth century there was organized the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For¬ eign Parts, the pioneer of all missionary societies. The Society did not, however, represent all Protestantism, but only a few members of the Church of England. It was formed especially for the benefit of British colonists. It did not for many years send missionaries of its own among the heathen; but it helped those of the Danish mission in India, begun in 1706. The Society still carries on its colonial missions ; but its work among the heathen is an important and growing one. The call of Luther for missionaries for the “pagans and Turks ” may be called THE WORLD OF MISSION'S. 11 the first epoch in Protestant missions; the organization of the Society for the Propa¬ gation of the Gospel may be regarded as the second epoch ; the third epoch was, perhaps, the entrance of the Moravians into the mission-field, with the declaration of the principle that the Church of Christ is under obligation to send the Gospel to the heathen. Faithfully have these peo¬ ple kept that obligation, from the day they planted their first mission in the West Indies, in 1732, until now, nearly one hundred and fifty years. They have been, in the true sense, a missionary Church, counting the majority of their communicants in the mission-field, and devoting head, heart, and pocket to the cause. To the Moravians is due a debt of gratitude for an example which has encouraged and stimulated and educated other denominations in their labors for the conversion of the world. The fourth epoch in Protestant missions was the formation of the Baptist Mission¬ ary Society in England, in 1792. There were then but two societies in existence, the Moravian and the Propagation So¬ ciety. The latter had roused but little 12 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. missionary spirit, and when William Carey, a young and devoted minister, began to plead before his brethren the cause of the heathen, he received no encouragement. On one notable occasion he was sternly rebuked. “Young man, sit down,” cried an aged minister; “ when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it with¬ out your aid or mine.” The Baptist So¬ ciety, with Carey as chief among its founders and missionaries, was the first of five societies which sprang into exist¬ ence in the last decade of the last century. The London Society, the pioneer in the South Seas, in China, and in Madagascar, was formed as a union Society, in 1795, and now represents the Congregationalists. The Church Missionary Society, the lead¬ er of all societies in income, was instituted in 1799. The other societies formed in that decade were the Scottish and the Glasgow, whose names and missions were turned over to the present mis¬ sionary organizations of Scotland, after many years of honorable labor. The Wesleyan Society of England, among the stars of whose crown are the Fiji Islands, dates its rise from 1813. Many other THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 13 societies have come into existence in En¬ gland since the Wesleyan, among which the China Inland and the Cardiff Living¬ stone Missions are worthy to be named. Both are undenominational. In Scotland, the Kirk was opposed to heathen missions for many years. Its General Assembly passed a resolution in 1796 declaring that the idea of converting the heathen was “highly preposterous.” Twenty-eight years later this action was reversed, and the Kirk sent forth, in 1829, Alexander Duff as its first missionary. The name of Dr. Duff deserves to be held in great honor. His career as an educa¬ tional missionary in India was one of singular success ; while he did more than any other man to overcome the prejudices and indifference in Scotland to the cause of heathen missions. The division of the Kirk, in 1843, which gave rise to the Free Church, gave also to the seceding body all the missions and missionaries of the Kirk, which thus had a second beginning to make. The Free Church conducts its foreign missions very vigorously, being ■second only to the United Presbyterian Church, which entered the mission-field 14 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. in 1847, and which easily leads the mis¬ sionary forces of Scotland. On the Continent more than half a century elapsed, after the beginning of Moravian missions, before another society came into existence. The Netherlands Society, which owes its birth to the zeal aroused by the organization of the Lon¬ don Society, was formed in 1797; but most of the Continental societies now at work are less than fifty years old. The sentiment of the Churches was not favor¬ able to missions. Christlieb says that a German professor of theology apologized for the formation of a missionary society in East Friesland, at the close of last century, on the ground that culture had not yet penetrated to that remote corner of the country. Among the stronger so¬ cieties now representing the Continent are the Basel, the Rhenish, the Berlin, the Leipsic, the Hermannsburg, the Swedish, and the Paris Evangelical. Although the Continental Churches have been tardy in the support of missions, they have prob¬ ably furnished their full quota of mission¬ aries. Some of the earliest missionaries sent out by the English societies were THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 15 Germans, and German names are still frequent in the lists of those societies. Such men as Ziegenbalg, Schwartz, (the apostle of India,) Krapf, Rebmann, Van- derkemp, and Gossner have added to the dignity and success of missionary labor. The Churches of the United States were slower in taking up the work of foreign missions than those of England, partly because they had a large and in¬ creasing work at home to do. Churches were to be built, colleges to be endowed, and a rapidly increasing population to be provided with the Gospel. Besides, there were heathen enough at our own doors to employ our spare men and dollars. Some successful missionary work had al¬ ready been done among the Indians when our oldest missionary society was formed. But there was little enough of the mis¬ sionary spirit. The men who founded the American Board, in 1810, were re¬ garded by many as visionary and fanat¬ ical ; and when the application for a char¬ ter for the Board came before the Legisla¬ ture of Massachusetts, a member opposed the granting of it. “ We have,” said he, “ no religion to spare.” He feared that, 16 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. if much of the precious commodity were exported, the country would be impover¬ ished. We have learned since then the great truth that prodigality begets wealth in our dealings with the Gospel. The American Board was organized as a union society, and for many years Con- gregationalists, Presbyterians, and the Reformed (Dutch) Church co-operated in its support. The Reformed Church organized a Board of its own in 1832, and with the reunion of the Old and New School Presbyterians, in 1870, the Board was left entirely to the support of the Congregationalists. The Old School Presbyterians had formed a society as early as 1831, by the union of smaller societies, for work among the Indians. From this beginning has come the Pres¬ byterian Board of Foreign Missions, which represents the reunited Church, and constitutes one of the chief foreign mis¬ sion agencies of the United States. The Baptists, who were so fortunate as to secure, honorably, two of the first mis¬ sionaries sent out by the American Board —Judson and Rice—formed a society in 1814, of which the American Baptist THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 17 Missionary Union is the direct successor. Two other societies were organized in the first quarter of the present century, the Methodist Episcopal (1819) and the Prot¬ estant Episcopal, (1820,) although the Methodist Society did not begin its for¬ eign missions until 1832. Other denomi¬ nations have formed societies, one after another, so that there is scarcely a Church, however small or obscure, which is not represented in some of the great foreign fields. The Board of Foreign Missions of the quaint and obscure people called Tunkers is only two months old, and there are some denominations, which few have ever heard of, that have sent forth missionaries in recent years. In Canada the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Bap¬ tists are giving such attention to the foreign field as their duty to their home populations permits. American societies are surely and steadily growing in num¬ ber and strength. They have a success¬ ful past and a promising future. It is a significant fact that missionary societies do not die. Denominational or other changes may result in the union of some of them, and occasionally a name 18 THE WOELD OF MISSIONS. may be missed from the list; but the mis¬ sions are carried on under other manage¬ ment, and the same contributors continue to furnish funds. There is a steady increase in the number of societies, and in the ag¬ gregate of contributions. There are now not less than eighty-five societies, where there were only nine or ten eighty years ago. Of these societies thirty-five are American, twenty-five British, and twenty- five Continental. More than fifty of them have been organized in the last fifty years. Their aggregate income is nefarly, if not quite, $7,000,000 a year, as against about $250,000 eighty years ago. This vast sum represents not the receipts of an ex¬ ceptionally good year, but the income which the societies expect and receive yearly, with little variation. The managers of the societies make their appropriations in advance, and lay upon the Churches the obligation to furnish the funds. These obligations are never disowned or dishon¬ ored. The money is always provided. The Church of Christ evidently recog¬ nizes the truth that it owes the Gospel to the heathen, and it is willing to pay the debt. The British societies raise more THE WORLD OF MISSION'S. 19 than half of the whole amount, or some¬ what less than $4,000,000. Five of them raised last year more than $3,000,000, of which the two Anglican societies (the Church and the Propagation) received $1,900,000. The American societies ex¬ pend about $2,000,000 yearly, and the Continental societies nearly $1,000,000. These figures represent only the re¬ ceipts of foreign missionary societies. They do not include the vast sums raised for home missions, Bible, and tract socie¬ ties, and other similar enterprises. The grand total of all missionary expenditures, at home and abroad, would assuredly not fall below $15,000,000. One need not ask, in the face of this exhibit, whether the Churches possess spiritual life; whether they have the spirit of sacrifice, or of obedience to Christ’s command to preach the Gospel to every creature. It was a task of appalling magnitude which the missionary societies had before them at the beginning of the present cent¬ ury. The vast majority of the popula¬ tion of the world lay in the thick darkness of heathenism and unbelief. The pagans, with the Mohammedans, occupied sub- 30 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. are being advanced toward the Zambesi; from the West Coast missionaries are pushing up the Congo ; and from the East Coast the missions on the great lakes have been planted. These lake missions open a new chapter in the history of mis¬ sionary enterprise. Missions were never undertaken before on so grand a scale of cost and of difficulty. The mission in Uganda, on the northern shore of the Victoria Nyanza, is eight hundred miles from the coast. It is, in fact, a European colony, and the vast quantity of stores required for its use, together with a small vessel for the lake, had to be carried that distance under a burning African sun, through a wild and almost unknown country, and among savages who had to be conciliated with bribes. The journey required six months for the first caravan, and the expedition cost $50,000. Sir Samuel Baker, the eminent African trav¬ eler, said, when he heard of this project, that any society would be crazy to think of sending missionaries to Uganda. The mission, however, has been firmly estab¬ lished, at a cost thus far of over $200,000, which is nearly as much as the entire in- THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 21 The greatest of the enterprises under¬ taken, was, perhaps, the conversion of India. This great country, including Ceylon, contains 240,000,000 of people, or more than one sixth of the population of the world. The people are attached chiefly to the Hindu and Mohammedan religions, the former counting, perhaps, 170,000,000 adherents. The obstacles to missions have been almost overwhelming. “Where in all the world,” exclaims Dean Schlier, “ is there such a Satansburgh as India?” Hinduism, as the religion of the people for twenty or thirty centuries, has become so strongly intrenched in the thought and habits of the Hindus that to convert them to Christianity is to revolu¬ tionize completely Hindu thought, Hindu society, and Hindu customs. There are among them a body of men, regarded as divine, who have assiduously cultivated Hindu philosophy, and are prepared at all times to defend their ancient and elab¬ orate faith, and the divine character of their sacred books. The poor Hindu has the utmost confidence in them. He is happy if one of them will but conde¬ scend to dip his foot into a vessel 22 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. of water, which is thereby consecrated, and is drank reverently. Trust greater than this no religious teacher needs to ask. The most minute system of caste known to man separates the people into classes, and builds up an impassable bar¬ rier between them. Even the shadow of a low-caste man may not fall on those of the higher castes without polluting them. Formerly, those who ventured too near the sacred person of a Brahmin could be put to death without question. The Mo¬ hammedans, numbering about forty mill¬ ion souls, have been even less accessible than the Hindus. They hear the mission¬ aries advance and defend the idea of one God before the polytheistic Hindus, with approval. O, yes! there is but one God, Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet. They will not hear of Jesus. As if the difficulties growing out of diversity of race and language, old religions thoroughly established, and a Satanic system of caste, were not enough to discourage the mis¬ sionary, his own countrymen have added to them. Every European resident in India represents, to the native mind, the Christian faith which the missionaries THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 23 preach. Many of these foreigners lead immoral lives, and the Hindus say that the religion which produces such men cannot be worth much. Thus India has been a field of great difficulties. When Carey and his colleagues of the English Baptist Society entered India in 1793, the Danish missionaries, who had been at work on the Coromandel coast nearly a century, had won many thousands from heathenism; but the mission was declining, and the death of Schwartz, the apostle of India, virtually closed the first period of Indian missions. The second period was begun by the Baptist mission¬ aries, who worked until 1813, in the face of the prohibition of the government, which endeavored to conciliate the natives by protecting their religions. After the restrictions were removed, sixty-seven years ago, missionaries from Europe and America began to pour into India. At the close of the first quarter of the pres¬ ent century eight societies were repre¬ sented. In the next twenty-five years the eight increased to nineteen or twenty, and since 1850 the number has doubled. The forty societies now at work in India have 24 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. abundant reason for hopefulness. There is no thought of abandoning the field. The conversion of China seemed to be a hopeless task when Dr. Morrison, the first missionary, was sent to Canton by the London Society. The population is much larger than that of India, embrac¬ ing, perhaps, 350,000,000. The people are peculiar in dress, language, religion, and customs, and are decidedly averse to communication with foreigners. When Dr. Morrison arrived in Canton, which was the only port open to trade, in 1807, he found himself surrounded with difficul¬ ties. The East India Company, which had refused him passage in their ships, were hostile to his purpose, and he was obliged to sail from New York ; the Por¬ tuguese governor and the Catholics of Macao were bitterly opposed to his mis¬ sion ; and he was denied access to the Chinese. He taught, however, as he could make opportunity, and baptized his first convert in 1814. He also translated and printed the Scriptures, against the stren¬ uous opposition of the Company, who feared that mischief would come of it; in other words, that trade would be injured. THE WOKLD OF MISSIONS. 25 In 1842 five ports were open to foreigners; but it is only since 1861 that missionaries have been permitted to go to every part of the empire. Thirty societies now have missionaries in China, and missions are be¬ ing rapidly extended from the coast cities and villages to the towns and hamlets of the interior provinces. The prevailing religion of China is Con¬ fucianism. The ascendency has usually been claimed for Buddhism; but Dr. Legge, Professor of Chinese at Oxford, and perhaps the best authority, puts the worship of Confucius first, and will not allow that there are more than 45,000,000 Buddhists in both China and Japan. It is not uncommon, however, for a China¬ man to hold three religions at the same time—Confucianism, Taouism, and Bud¬ dhism. Ancestral worship, firm belief in the superiority of Chinese institutions, tenacious attachment to Chinese customs and religions, and distrust of foreigners, are the chief obstacles met by the mis¬ sionaries ; but the fact that a Christian nation forced the dreadful opium trade on China is not a recommendation of the Christian religion to the Chinese, nor is it 26 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. suited to remove their prejudices against foreigners. The populace are under the influence of the literary class, who cun¬ ningly feed these prejudices, which the generous aid given by the Christians to the sufferers by the recent famine has done much to lessen. Conversion means in China, as it does in India, separation from family and friends, and often ruin in business. Japan, with its 35,000,000 of popula¬ tion, is an easier and more fruitful, as well as a smaller, field than China. The peo¬ ple are intelligent, respectful, and pro¬ gressive, and adopt Western ideas and customs with an imexpected facility. The popular religion is Buddhism, which has largely superseded Shintooism—the State religion—whose most striking feature is the multiplicity of its gods. Japan opened two of its ports to foreign trade in 1854. Since then the restrictions against foreign¬ ers have been gradually removed, and the whole empire is now practically free to the missionaries, the first of whom were sent out in 1859 by the Episcopal, Pres¬ byterian, and Reformed Boards of the IJnited States. Twenty societies are now THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 27 at work in Japan, against few serious ob¬ stacles, and with great encouragement. In the large territory lying between In¬ dia and China, known as the Indo-China Peninsula, with its mixed populations, influenced on the one side by China, and on the other by India, but little missionary work has been done, except in Burmah and Siam. In Burmah the American Baptists have labored since 1813, with marvelous success, and with but little assistance from one or two other socie¬ ties. In Siam three soc eties are repre¬ sented. In the Indian Archipelago, with upward of 25,000,000 population, Mo¬ hammedanism is the prevailing religion in most of the islands. The Dutch socie¬ ties, with one exception, have been the sole occupants of this field, and they have had some notable successes. But there is an urgent need of many more mission¬ aries in both the Archipelago and the Peninsula. Next in importance, after India and China, as missionary ground, stands Af¬ rica, with its 200,000,000 souls. Three fourths of the population belong to the Negro race, who are heathens of the 28 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. heathen. We find man in Africa in his lowest estate. His religion is a system of charms and sacrifices to propitiate his gods of wood and stone; his occupation is war and rapine. He sells his captives into slavery, or reserves them to appease evil spirits by their blood, or to minister to his cannibalistic propensities. He is often but little better than the wild beasts of the forests. The Dutch settlers of South Africa regarded the Bushmen and Hottentots as scarcely human, and never attempted to Christianize them. On the contrary, they used to exclude them from their churches, by a notice over their church doors, that “ Dogs and Hottentots” were not admitted. Some of the tribes are more intelligent and peaceable than others—such as the Makololo; but most of them delight in war, and engage in dreadful practices. Mohammedanism is making great headway in Africa; but it does not very greatly improve the condi¬ tion of those who accept it, nor does it prepare the way for the introduction of Christianity. Most of the work of Protestant missions has been done on the West Coast, from THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 29 the Senegal to the Equator, and in South Africa. The Moravians were the pioneers in both fields, in 1737. Near the close of last century the London Society sent Dr. Vanderkemp to labor among the Kafirs, in South Africa, where other English, American, and Continental societies have since established important and success¬ ful missions. The peculiar difficulty on the West Coast has been an unhealthy climate. Many missionaries have fallen under it. In the first twelve years of the Sierra Leone Mission of the Church So¬ ciety, begun in 1804, thirty European missionaries were buried in the country of the “ white man’s grave.” The Basel Society lost ten missionaries in one year, and the Wesleyans buried forty of their missionaries in that “ land of death.” On the East Coast but little, comparatively, has been done south of Abyssinia, where Swedish missionaries have been laboring, under discouraging circumstances. The societies, however, are fast drawing a line of circumvallation around the lower half of the Continent, while missionaries are steadily ascending the Niger into Soudan. From South Africa the mission outposts 20 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. stantially three whole continents, were scattered in great numbers over the other two, and were supreme in the islands of the sea. The societies thus had the world for their field ; but they had only a few laborers to send into it. The most they could do was to make a feeble beginning, and occupy a few outposts, with the hope that God and the Churches would co¬ operate in strengthening their hands. The first missionaries were widely dis¬ tributed. Those of the English Baptist Society went to India; those of the Lon¬ don Society to the South Seas ; the first mission of the Church Society was begun in Africa; the Wesleyan Society planted its first mission in Ceylon; the American Board chose India for its first field ; and the first missionaries of the American Baptist Union began their work in Bur- mah. The Moravians already had mis¬ sions in Greenland, the West Indies, Af¬ rica, and elsewhere; and the Dutch and Danish missionaries had made beginnings in the East. The societies entered into new fields as rapidly as possible; and some, like the Church Society, are repre¬ sented in every quarter of the globe. THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 31 come of all the Protestant societies eighty years ago. The society means to stay in Uganda, though Arab, Jesuit, and savage combine against it. The London Society has planted a mission in Ujiji, in the face of similar obstacles; and the Scotch Churches have important mission colonies on and near Lake Nyassa, which is navi¬ gated by a steamer, carried part of the way from the coast in pieces, on men’s shoulders. There are no difficulties so serious, no discouragements so great, no sacrifices so heavy, no outlays so large, no lives so precious, in the sight of the Church of Christ, as to induce it to enter¬ tain for a moment the thought of halting in the great work of converting Africa. One of the most aggressive of the false religions which confront Christianity in mission lands is that of Islam. There is a mighty battle yet to be fought between them, perhaps in^ the near future. As yet, Christian missions have made but few converts among the masses of Mo¬ hammedans in Turkey, in Asia, or in Africa. The Turkish Empire, including Egypt, has a population of about forty millions, of whom twelve millions are 32 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. reckoned as belonging to the Oriental Christian Churches. These are hardly worthy, however, to be called Christians. Their Christianity is of a very corrupt character, and their morals are no better than those of the Turks, who regard them with contempt. The societies have been working among these nominal Christians, partly because they stand in the way of success among the Moslems, and partly because they are not allowed to preach openly to the Moslems. The Church So¬ ciety was the first to attempt a reforma¬ tion of the Oriental Churches. It began missions among them in 1815 ; but it soon became convinced that the cause was a hopeless one. The American Board, which has been almost half a cent¬ ury in this field, was for several years opposed both by Christians and Turks ; but the edict of toleration, issued in 1839. gave its missions a firm footing to work upon, and its efforts have been crowned with success. The Board of the United Presbyterian Church of America has an important mission among the Copts of Egypt, and there are many societies at work among the Nestorians of Syria and of THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. S3 Persia. The government of Persia watch¬ es very jealously to see that the missiona¬ ries do not convert any Moslems. Al¬ though few of the followers of the false prophet have been reached by any of these missions, the influence of a vital Christianity has had an effect upon them. The most wonderful successes of Prot¬ estant missions have been won among isolated peoples—those of Polynesia and Madagascar. As if in compensation for some of the hardest and most discourag¬ ing fields, and to show how quickly men can be brought out of the grossest moral and spiritual darkness into the light, the life, and the peace of the Gospel, the islands of the sea have been given to Christianity. The people of Polynesia, who are believed to be chiefly of Malay origin, were sunk, when Christian mis¬ sions found them, into the lowest depths of heathenism and social degradation. They worshiped hideous idols and natural objects ; they offered human sacrifices; they feasted on human flesh; they gashed and mutilated themselves to appease the anger of their gods ; they treated woman as a polluted creature. The first mis- 3 34 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. sion among the Polynesians was begun by the London Society, in the Society Islands, in 1797, and the first convert was baptized in 1812. The American Board began a mission in the Sandwich Islands in 1819; the Wesleyan Society sent mis¬ sionaries to the Friendly Islands in 1826 and to the Fiji group in 1835 ; the Church Society entered New Zealand in 1814; the Presbyterians of Scotland and Canada are working together in the New Hebri¬ des ; and the London Society, aided chiefly by the Friends, has wrought great results in Madagascar since 1816. There are many fields yet undescribed; but we may not do more than mention them. The aboriginal races of the Amer¬ ican continent have received more or less attention for nearly two centuries and a half. Many of the Churches of the United States have missions and schools among the Indians of their own country; while the Moravians, some of the Cana¬ dian Churches, and the two Anglican societies are laboring in the vast territory north of the United States. In Central and South America the Moravians and some English societies have small mis- THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 35 sions among the native races. Missions among the Jews are carried on, chiefly by British societies, in nearly all the countries where any considerable num¬ ber of that race are found. Last, but not least, in importance, are the missions of various American and British societies in the Catholic States of Europe and Amer¬ ica. Nothing but good results and influ¬ ences are to be expected from these mis¬ sions, which offer a pure and living faith, in place of a corrupt religion and increas¬ ing infidelity. Having now considered the rise and income of missionary societies, the mis¬ sion-fields and their difficulties, it is next in order to speak of the agents and agen¬ cies doing the work. The societies se¬ lect the fields, appoint the missionaries, and gather and appropriate the funds.; but the actual work of propagating the Gospel is done by the missionaries. These must be picked men, having pecul¬ iar qualifications. They must be men of high Christian character; they must have brains, culture, patience, persever¬ ance, zeal, discretion, and the spirit of love and self-sacrifice. Their duties re- 8G THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. quire the exercise of all their faculties. They must study the people to whom they are sent; their character, history, religion, language, customs, and how to attract and influence them. Preaching, lectures, conversation, schools, religious literature, medical service, and other methods must be used ; but the example of a devoted Christian life is of the ut¬ most importance. While not all the missionaries have measured up to this standard, the fields are filled with noble men, and noble women too. The value of women missionaries is much better appreciated now than it used to be. They are able to do work among their own sex, which men, whom they equal in courage, devotion, and determination, can¬ not do. Scattered over the various fields of the world are about 2,600 ordained missionaries, of whom the American so¬ cieties furnish nearly 700, the British so¬ cieties about 1,300, and the Continental societies 600. But the ordained mission¬ aries constitute only a small part of the great force at work. Besides the numer¬ ous lay missionaries and teachers, male and female, there are thousands of native THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. o7 helpers, ordained and unordained. Per¬ haps, including both foreign and native agents, there is in all an army of 25,000 or 30,000 workers, where, at the beginning of the century, there were less than 200 ordained missionaries and few native as¬ sistants. The educational, the literary, and the medical arms of the mission serv¬ ice have proved to be of great import¬ ance and efficiency. In countries like China and India, and in Jewish missions, schools are indispensable if the children are to be reached; while in Africa and in the South Seas, where ignorance is dense, education is equally necessary to produce intelligent and useful Christians. Higher schools for training natives for pastors and teachers are found in most of the fields; and sometimes instruction is given in the industrial arts also, as at the Lovedale Institution, in South Africa. The number of schools has been esti¬ mated by Dr. Christlieb at 12,000, with perhaps more than 400,000 scholars, all of whom receive careful instruction in the doctrines of the Bible. In this training of the youth lies the great promise of the future to heathen lands. The press has 38 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. been from the first a powerful agency in mission work. Books and tracts and periodicals are circulated easily and wide¬ ly, and multiply tenfold the power and in¬ fluence of the missionary. Numerous agents of the Bible societies are scatter¬ ing the Scriptures (which have been printed in 226 languages) like autumn leaves in many a land, and benighted souls have obtained light from the blessed pages before they heard the voice of the missionary. The medical art has been the key to unlock doors which oth¬ erwise would have remained closed. Whether in the hospital or in house visita¬ tion, the medical missionary does not fail to show his patients how important it is to care for the condition of the soul. His skill in curing physical ailments begets a confidence in him which gives effect to his religious teachings. Twenty years ago there were but twenty medical mis¬ sionaries in the field. Now there are nearly a hundred, and there is a society in Scotland which devotes its attention to the training of men for this service. It remains now to consider the results. Missionaries have been at work many THE WOELD OF MISSIONS. 39 years, and millions of dollars have been expended. The results ought, therefore, to be large, even after due allowance has been made for the preparatory stages of missions and for special difficulties. But what shall be included in the term “ re¬ sults ” ? The “ results ” which the Churches look for are spiritual in their nature, but many desire to know the monetary value of missions. Some peo¬ ple cannot grasp the idea of success ex¬ cept in the form of dollars and cents. So much money, they reason, has been in¬ vested in missions. How much have we received in return ? There is little diffi¬ culty in answering this question, because there is no doubt that missions have a value to commerce, as well as a spirit¬ ual value. They have conferred great benefits on mankind in commerce, morals, politics, society, science, and education, and it is proper to include these benefits in estimating “results.” Missions exert an unmeasured influence on man in all his relations in life. They have gone to the savage and degraded people of the South Seas and Africa, and wrought a revolu¬ tion among them. Then they were en- 40 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. gaged in wars of plunder, devastation, and slavery, without peace or security, society or industry; now they form peace¬ ful communities, with society and govern¬ ment, and follow industrial pursuits, thus contributing to, and receiving from, the markets of the world. Sir Thomas Fow- ell Buxton says that most of the trade of Lagos, which amounts to $4,000,000 a year, is due to the industry of the natives of Sierra Leone, trained under missionary auspices. A hundred years ago Captain Cook was murdered by the savages of the Sandwich Islands; now Honolulu is an important commercial port, with a trade of over $3,000,000 a year. Other islands, which used to be the terror of shipwrecked sailors, are now valued for their commerce, and it is estimated that every additional mission¬ ary sent to the South Seas is worth $50,000 a year to British commerce. Com¬ mercial enterprise follows closely after the central African missions, to which thrifty merchants of Scotland and En¬ gland gave liberally, believing that the money was well invested. A merchant urged the missionaries in New Guinea to THE WOELD OF MISSIONS. 41 push forward as rapidly as possible, in order, he said, to develop trade. The missions in India have been repeatedly recognized by Indian statesmen as of the utmost value to the government. Lord Lawrence, who was Governor-Gen¬ eral of India, said that the missionaries had done more than all other agencies combined to benefit India. Lord Napier said missions “ go hand in hand with the government in raising the intellectual standard of the Indian people and in form¬ ing for the service of the State a body of public servants of intelligence and moral¬ ity.” In Turkey the civilizing and elevat¬ ing influence of Protestant missions, af¬ firmed by every intelligent observer, is immeasurably great. The same is true of other mission fields. The Gospel every-where makes moral, intelligent, in¬ dustrious, and useful citizens. There is another class of results—the advantages which science has received from the labors and observations of the missionaries. If Sydney Smith were alive to-day, he would see the men of whom he spoke contemptuously as “ consecrated cobblers ” receiving high honors. He 42 THE WOKLD OF MISSIONS. would find in nearly every issue of the two leading English literary weeklies (the Athenceum and the Academy) notices of missionary travels and exploration. He would observe how frequently mis¬ sionaries appear in the proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, as authors of papers or as recipients of honors. The bones of a missionary, known wherever books are known for his labors and travels in Africa, lie in Westminster Ab¬ bey, and his monument in Edinburgh is not needed to perpetuate the memory of one of England’s noblest citizens, David Livingstone. The contributions of the missionaries to geographical knowledge have been numerous and important; but they have also furnished copious and valuable materials for the students of philology and ethnography. They have reduced many unwritten languages to writing, and compiled numerous dictiona¬ ries and grammars. These works, which are indispensable to the study of the his¬ tory, separation, and migrations of the great human family and the kinship of peoples and tongues, are now easily ac¬ cessible. THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 43 All these and other material results, which alone would justify the existence of missions, the Church of Christ looks upon as incidental. The single aim of missions is the conversion of souls, the value of which no man can estimate. They were bought with a price which would not have been paid for all the uni¬ verse besides; and all the money which has been spent on missions is as nothing in the sight of God compared with the worth of the soul of the most degraded heathen of the wilds of Africa, the jungles of India, or the icy solitudes of Greenland. If missions have brough tone soul to the knowledge, love, and worship of the one true God, they have done that over which the angels in heaven rejoice. But the fruits of missions are not few or hard to find. Every mission and every mission station that has been planted bears them. In India, which has been, perhaps, the hardest field of all, there are about 95,000 native Christian communicants; in Afri¬ ca, 80,000; in Polynesia and Australasia, 73,000; in Madagascar, 68,000; in China and Japan, 18,000 ; inBurmah, 20,000. In these fields alone there are upwards of 44 THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 350,000 communicants. The total in all fields is, perhaps, over half a million, be¬ sides the adherents, (those who have re¬ nounced heathenism or other untrue re¬ ligions and accepted Christianity,) who are more than twice as numerous. There must be fully 1,700,000 souls who, as members and adherents, own and glorify the name of Christ. But these are not all the fruits. Thousands, having lived the life of the righteous, have gone to re¬ ceive the reward of the righteous. And what shall I say more? For the time would fail me to tell of Madagascar, and of Fiji, and of Hawaii, and of Bur- mah, and of peoples who, through faith and the preaching of missionaries, sub¬ dued the kingdoms of darkness and super¬ stition, wrought righteousness, quenched the violence of war, escaped from idolatry and barbarism, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the army of aliens which had encompassed them. That they might obtain a better resurrection, they have had trials of mockings and scourgings, of bonds and imprisonment; they have been tempted, cast off by family and friends; THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 45 they have been destitute, afflicted, tor¬ mented, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. As the constraining love of Christ shall run from heart to heart, like celestial fire melting away the masses of pagans and unbelievers, the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy of John will be near at hand, when it shall be said : ** The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." 46 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. II. RECENT PROGRESS OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. Three of the most important elements of missionary progress are conversions, extension, and self-support. Without con¬ versions missions would be a failure; without extension they would become isolated efforts ; without native co-opera¬ tion they could not effect great and per¬ manent results. The promise of the fu¬ ture, the hope of the ultimate conversion of the world, depends, therefore, on the success attending these three features of missionary work. What are the present aspects of foreign missions? Is there reason for hopeful¬ ness ? A general survey of the whole field will give little cause for despondency. At no previous period since the rise of modern missions have the conversions been so numerous as within the past year or two. The Churches have never been more sensible of the weight of the obliga¬ tion resting upon them, while native mem- THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 47 bers have never given clearer and stronger evidences of their zeal, liberality, and de¬ votion. There are, of course, some back¬ ward currents, some disappointments; but, on the whole, the signs of progress are unmistakable. The missionaries meet with fewer obstacles than formerly. Peo¬ ples are, from various causes, becoming more accessible, and missionary influence is constantly extending and growing in power. The lingering effects of the war with Russia, the prevalence of political disor¬ ders, and a severe famine in Asia Minor, have affected somewhat the prosperity of the American Board in Turkey. The missionaries have been restricted in their work by the dangers of travel and the general feeling of insecurity. One of them, Dr. Parsons, was cruelly murdered near Nicomedia, at night, while he slept by the roadside, and the government was unwilling to bring the three confessed murderers to justice, because they are Moslems. It is to be observed, however, that the missionaries have won the re¬ spect of nearly all classes of the popula¬ tion. The hostility of the Armenians is 48 THE WORLD OF MISSION'S. chiefly a thing of the past. They are be¬ coming more and more friendly, and oc¬ casionally go so far as to invite the mis¬ sionaries to preach in their churches. As to the Moslems, a few are diligent readers of the Bible; but the day has not yet come when the Gospel can be preached to them openly. New churches have been organized the past year, new schools opened, native pastors ordained, and many converts received. There was a remark¬ able revival at Marash, in which hundreds were converted. Daily meetings were held, and sometimes a thousand people were in attendance. One of the results of this revival was the raising of $2,200 for a girls’ seminary, besides the usual contributions for the churches and schools of the city. Girls’ schools are growing in favor, and all the schools are gaining in scholars. The schools of the Eastern Turkish Mission gained 23 per cent., and there was an increase of 48 per cent, in contributions. Other indications of an ad¬ vance toward self-support are to be seen, particularly in the plans of a native organ¬ ization in the Western Turkey Mission for connecting native members more close- THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 40 ly with the evangelical and educational work of the mission, and for developing the resources of the Churches. It is grati¬ fying to learn that the Board is looking forward to the close of its missionary work among the Armenians. Good re¬ sults from the circulation of the Scriptures appear on every hand. “ I have seen God,” said a Moslem. “How?” asked the missionary. “ In the Gospels,” was the reply. The Presbyterian Missions in Persia have been greatly blessed by revivals, in which many Nestorians and a few Jews have been converted. The Moslems are more accessible than in some other coun¬ tries, and a few have come under Chris¬ tian influence and training. The numer¬ ous schools in Syria and the Protestant college at Beirut are doing faithful work, with less encouragement than they de¬ serve. The only regularly organized mission in Egypt (that of the United Presbyterian Church of America) is being gradually extended. It now has stations scattered along the Nile from the Delta to the First Cataract. Its schools have gained 325 4 50 THE WORLD OF MISSION'S. scholars, and there have been 108 con¬ verts. The schools gather in Copts, Greeks, Roman Catholics, and Moslems. The work for women presents some en¬ couraging aspects, and there is promise in the fact that the contributions the past year amounted to an average of $8 for each of the 985 members. The great field of India is yielding a glorious harvest. The years spent in patient preparation of the soil, and in seed-sowing, have not been spent in vain. The results for many years seemed small; but it is well to remember that the seed of the Gospel, when faithfully scattered, will surely germinate sooner or later. My word, says the great Husbandman, shall not return to me void. In the generous response of the Christians of Europe and America to the appeals for the famine- stricken millions of India, a year or two ago, the grateful Hindus recognized a love and a sympathy which their own religion could not produce. If Christianity could lead men to care so much for a people widely separated from them, it must be a true religion from God. Believing this, some 50,000 or 60,000 persons renounced THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 51 heathenism and became Christian inquir¬ ers. The great majority of these converts were received by the two Anglican socie¬ ties and the American Baptist Union; and the reports of the missionaries of these organizations agree in stating that few have gone back to heathenism, though many of them have been under strong temptation. The steadfast character of Indian converts, generally, is one of the most promising features of mission work in that country. Sir Richard Temple says the apostates in South India may al¬ most be counted on one’s lingers. The accessions were less numerous the past year; but they are still beyond the normal rate of increase. The net gain of members in connection with the mis¬ sions of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in the Diocese of Madras was 4,182. Bishop Sargent says the masses in the Tinnevelly have ceased to offer objections to Christianity, and are apparently getting ready to renounce idol¬ atry. The older converts, both men and women, have become active workers among their heathen neighbors since the great accessions began, and the number 52 TIIE WORLD OF MISSIONS. of ordained natives has been greatly in¬ creased. The missions of the Church Missionary Society gained 3,135 adherents. The rate of increase in the American Baptist mission among the Telugus con¬ tinues to be very high. Mr. Clough, in a tour of two months, at the beginning of the present year, baptized 1,016 persons. He writes that he never had such atten¬ tive hearers of all castes before. He be¬ lieves that the masses are about to re¬ nounce Hinduism. There are other indi¬ cations of the approaching downfall of heathenism in South India. In North India some of the great centers of popu¬ lation have scarcely been touched, and Hinduism and Mohammedanism are both strong and aggressive. The Methodist missionaries speak of the growing regard of Moslems for Christianity, and of their willingness to admit that men may be saved by obeying the prophet Jesus; and the last report of the American Board notices a similar friendliness among the Moslems of Bombay. The normal rate of increase of Chris¬ tian communicants in India has been rising steadily. From 1850 to 1861 it THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 53 was only 938 yearly; from 1861 to 1871 it was 2,784; while from 1873 to 1878 it has been 9,000 yearly. The increase of the past year has unquestionably been large; but it is not accompanied by any slackening of effort. All the great agen¬ cies co-operating for the conversion of India are becoming stronger. The edu¬ cational work is attaining vast propor¬ tions. The government subsidies amount to no less than $650,000 yearly. Schools for Hindu girls are growing in favor, and there are more zenanas open to female missionaries than they can attend to. The missions are gradually expanding. New stations are being opened and new villages reached by itinerating tours. The increase of native pastors releases mis¬ sionaries, and permits new fields to be opened, while the native Churches, by cheerfully contributing toward their own support, make it possible to strengthen the newer missions. The development of the native Churches is full of encour¬ agement. Those of the English Baptist missions are giving proof of increased vitality and independence. Members who 54 THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. have no gold or silver give a handful of rice daily, or other produce. The contri¬ butions the past year amounted to no less than $28,000. In the Arcot Mission of the Reformed Church of America the native contributions have been nearly doubled in the past year. The 2,500 members of the Methodist mission in North India raised $9,000, and similar reports are made for other societies. The native members of the missions of the Church Missionary Society are forming councils, in which self-support, independ¬ ence, and other questions, are boldly and intelligently discussed. They look for¬ ward anxiously to the establishment of an independent native Church, which shall embrace, not the members of one denomi¬ nation only, but those of all Evangelical Churches; and which shall be fashioned, not after foreign models, but according to the needs and ideas of the natives themselves. They abhor divisions. At the Council formed for Bengal this year their idea of union was beautifully illus¬ trated. Brahmin and Moslem sat cross- legged side by side at their meals, and forgot all their former prejudices of caste THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 55 and religion in the sweet communion of Christian fellowship. The American Baptist missions in Bur- mah are growing in prosperity. Self- support seems to be a cardinal doctrine with the Bassein Churches. They do not hesitate to assume the heaviest financial burdens. They had just erected fine buildings for the Bassein Institute and paid for them ; but they undertook last year, in addition to their regular contribu¬ tions, to raise an endowment of $35,000 for the Institute. The missionaries thought they were attempting too much, but they were not afraid to undertake the task. They assessed each member $10, and have, doubtless, already obtained the whole sum. The total amount raised last year was nearly $31,000—a gain of al¬ most $7,000. The Churches believe heartily in schools, and they are doing something among the heathen tribes. The gain of members was nearly 800. The American Presbyterian missionaries have had an encouraging year in the hard field of Siam, having gained over fifty per cent, in communicants. For obvious reasons missions in China 56 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. are less advanced than those in India. India has been open to the Gospel since 1813; China, except a few ports, only since 1861. Besides, the opium trade, forced on China by a Christian nation, is a difficulty in the way of missions, which is not generally fully appreciated. The missionaries have to deal with it con¬ stantly ; they cannot escape it. A relig¬ ion, say the Chinese, which permits its followers to engage in so vile a traffic must be wrong somewhere. Why, we are constrained to ask, should not gov¬ ernments, as well as individuals, have a conscience ? The missionaries report some very favor¬ able indications in China. There is much less of violent opposition. There are, it is true, occasional outbreaks, in which Christians are attacked and mission prop¬ erty destroyed ; but missionaries now travel in all parts of the Empire without molestation. All China is open to mis¬ sions as never before. Agents of the China Inland Mission are traversing the neglected western provinces, selling books and preaching, and no man hinders. European women, in the employ of this THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 57 pioneer society, have gone to these prov¬ inces the present year, to work among those of their own sex, by whom they are most cordially received. The missiona¬ ries say these people are more accessible than those of the coast provinces. Most of the numerous missions in China are in a condition of prosperity. In the provinces visited by the recent terrible famine the results have been particularly gratifying. The people were deeply moved by the relief labors of the mis¬ sionaries, and they were scarce restrained from offering ancestral worship to Mis¬ sionary Whiting, who died while doing his utmost in behalf of the sufferers. They heard the Gospel more attentively, especially at places which had been vis¬ ited previously, and many became inquir¬ ers. Idolatry seems to be losing its hold in North China, and some deep-seated prejudices are wearing away. The con¬ version of a heathen temple into a Chris¬ tian church, and the calling of medical missionaries to attend the wife of the Gov¬ ernor-General of the Province of Peh- chih-li are favorable omens. The native Christians freely contribute out of their 58 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. poverty, and a number of Churches, after hard struggles, have become self-support¬ ing. The missions of the American Mis¬ sionary Association, and the Methodist and other societies among the Chinese on the Pacific Coast of our own country, are very successful. In Japan missions have had encourage¬ ment from the beginning. Results have appeared promptly in response to effort, and many societies have been attracted to this field on account of its great prom¬ ise. Several new missions have been established within two or three years, and stations are being opened in various parts of the empire. One of the notable events of the past year was the completion of the translation of the New Testament in¬ to the Japanese language. The gain in communicants is very encouraging. The Union Presbytery, representing the mis¬ sions of the Reformed and Presbyterian Boards of the United States and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, has nearly 1,200 communicants, the in¬ crease in the past two years being 95 per cent. The fact that of the sixteen Churches of the American Board twelve THE WOBLD OF MISSIONS. 59 receive no aid from the mission treasury is one of great significance. The history of African missions is a varied history. It is a combination of successes and reverses, of advances and retreats, of encouragements and discour¬ agements. It tells of noble sacrifices, of great labors, of grand enterprises, of im¬ portant discoveries. Slavery, war, rum, oppression, and disease, mingle their som¬ ber hues with the bright on nearly every page. The latest chapter is of this check¬ ered character. The great missions on the lakes have both gained and lost. The work of the Church Missionary So¬ ciety in Uganda has been seriously inter¬ rupted. First came the French Jesuits, and tried to prove to the king that the Roman Catholic was the only true religion. Next, the Arabs plotted against the mis¬ sionaries, who for many weeks were in disfavor and danger. After this, there was a revival of the old heathen religion. Most of the time the missionaries could do nothing; but in the intervals in which they enjoyed the king’s favor they worked with great success. Three of the chiefs visited England in company with two of 60 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. the missionaries, and it is hoped that the influence of this visit will help to restore the mission to the favor of the king and his advisers. Some progress has been made in establishing stations on the route to the lake from Zanzibar. The London Society lost two of the members of its mission on Lake Tanganyika, and its secre¬ tary, Dr. Mullens, who was leading a re¬ enforcement from the coast. The mission has established a station at Mirambo’s capital, a very important center. Another station is to be opened on the west coast of the lake, and a third on the east coast. The Arab slave-dealers are, of course, hostile to the mission ; but the people generally welcome it. The western shore of Lake Nyassa has been thoroughly ex¬ plored by the missionaries of the Scottish Free Church, who recommend that the mission be removed from Livingstonia to a place half way between the northern and southern ends of the lake, on the west shore. Livingstonia proves to be very unhealthy, two of the missionaries having died of fever. The prospects of the mis¬ sion are good, and the same is true of the mission of the Kirk at Blantyre, south- THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 61 east of Livingstonia, where a large indus¬ trial colony is being gathered. The Uni¬ versities’ Mission is also receiving and educating many ex-slaves. The Cardiff Livingstone Mission, on the West Coast of Africa, has nine missionaries on the way up the Congo to Stanley’s Pool, and has sent out five more; while the Congo Mis¬ sion of the English Baptist Society is push¬ ing on slowly from San Salvador toward the same point. In South Central Africa the London Society’s Mission near Victoria Falls is gaining but little. The French Basuto Mission reports over 300 baptisms. It is now preparing to establish a mission among the Barotse, whose country lies not far to the east from Bihg, where the American Board is about to begin opera¬ tions. The American Board is also pre¬ paring to extend the work of its Zulu Mis¬ sions into Umzilla’s kingdom, which lies north of the Limpopo River, on the East Coast. The older missions in South Africa have suffered seriously from the effects of the Zulu war, which scattered and cut off many of their members, and destroyed their property. The great educational and industrial institution at Lovedale, the 62 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. pride of the Scottish Free Church, has large new buildings, and is doing a more important work than ever before in train¬ ing men for preachers, teachers, and civ¬ ilized occupations. The Anglican missions on the Niger and in Sierra Leone present features of encouragement. Stations are being mul¬ tiplied on the Niger, under the direction of Bishop Crowther, and the Binug, a branch of the Niger, has been explored by steamer to a point 750 miles from the sea. The native church in Sierra Leone has become independent and almost self- supporting, receiving only a small grant from the Church Missionary Society. Other missions on the West Coast have enjoyed a moderate prosperity; but the traffic in rum here, as elsewhere in Africa, is one of the formidable opposing forces. In Abyssinia the Swedish missionaries, who have met with a constant succession of troubles, losses, and disappointments from the first, are holding on with spirit against the threats, commands, and per¬ secutions of the king. In Polynesia, where Christianity has gained such wonderful victories, the THE WOULD OF MISSIONS. 63 Churches are advancing toward independ¬ ence, and are themselves becoming mis¬ sionary organizations. The Australasian Wesleyan Missionary Society, which had an income of $76,000 the past year, gath¬ ers a large portion of its receipts from the Churches of Fiji, and teachers from that group are proving their power to endure hardship as soldiers of Christ among the cannibals of New Britain. Could there be a more striking illustration of the suc¬ cess of missions in the South Seas than the fact that people who were cannibals a generation ago have in their turn be¬ come missionaries to other cannibals, and laid down their lives in the cause of Chris¬ tianity? The mission in New Britain now has several converts, and three of the natives have been ordained as local preachers. The mission of the London Society in New Guinea is likewise carried on chiefly by converts from the older South Sea missions, and it is pleasant to see the native Christians of the Hervey Group in ' friendly rivalry over the raising of funds to furnish these teachers with boats. The Churches of the Sandwich Islands are deeply concerned in the conversion of the 64 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. heathen of Micronesia, co-operating in this work with the American Board. They send out most of the missionaries and helpers, and raise $4,500 for their support. The mission of the Presby¬ terian Churches in the New Hebrides is steadily encroaching upon heathenism. The native Christians have sent vast quantities of arrow-root to market to pay for printing the Bible in their own language. The great work wrought in the center of Madagascar by the London Society, assisted by the Friends, is being extended on all sides among tribes for whom every thing is yet to be done. In this extension the Palace Church bears an important part. It has a missionary society, of which both the queen and prime minister are active members. Returning now from the ends of the earth to our own continent, we are obliged to confess that the heathen tribes of this country have not been as faithfully dealt with as duty and opportunity de¬ manded. The record of the past year shows (as previous records have shown) that the Indian missions are by no means THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 65 the least productive of all heathen mis¬ sions, when they are prosecuted with rea¬ sonable energy. The Presbyterian, the Episcopal, the Baptist, the Congregational, and other Boards, received in their mis¬ sions many converts, while their schools were well attended. Most of the 5,500 members of the Baptist Churches in the Indian Territory are cared for by native pastors, and a literary and theological school is the outgrowth of these Churches. An impulse has been given to the educa¬ tion of Indians by the schools at Hamp¬ ton, Va., and Carlisle Barracks, Pa. The Presbyterian Mission in Alaska is meeting with great encouragement, and the Cana¬ da and Anglican Societies are prosecut¬ ing vigorously and successfully their mis¬ sions in British America. Missions in Roman Catholic countries are not as generally prosperous as could be wished. Some of the fields in South America appear to be almost barren, while in none of them are the gains very large. William Taylor has sent out many teachers and evangelists who are at work on a basis of self-support in Chili, Peru, and other countries. The Society for the 5 66 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. Propagation of the Gospel has received many converts in its missions among the Coolies of Guiana, and some effectual work is being done among the Coolies of the West Indies. There has been a de¬ crease of violent opposition in Mexico, and a very encouraging gain in converts. The Presbyterian Board has added up¬ ward of 850 members to its missions. In Spain persecutions are more abundant than converts. In Italy schools and evangelistic and Bible work are produc¬ ing good fruit. In Austria the govern¬ ment is too intolerant to give missiona¬ ries a fair opportunity to work, though something has been gained for religious liberty. France is open to Protestant missions, and offers a very inviting field. In Greece the missionaries of the Southern Presbyterian Board rejoice over an order from the government directing that the New Testament in modern Greek be read in all the public schools. The missions of the Methodists and Baptists in Scandinavia, Germany, and Switzerland are growing rapidly, and are exerting a salutary influence on the State Churches. THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 67 The missions to Jews, carried on chiefly by the Scottish Churches and English Jewish societies, gain steadily but slowly. The Scottish Kirk has been much en¬ couraged by accessions to its stations in Asia Minor. The schools in the Turkish Empire have a good attendance of Jewish children. The work of the Protestant Episcopal Church among the Jews in our own country is accompanied by good re¬ sults. This is too rapid a tour of the mission- fields of the world to permit more than a glance at the most prominent features of the great work. An exhaustive examina¬ tion would reveal very much more that is hopeful and some things which are not hopeful. But there is nothing of a back¬ ward tendency in any field which need lead any friend of missions to despair. Difficulties are to be expected every¬ where ; but the history of missions is so full of great achievements in the face of the most formidable hinderances, re¬ peated discouragements and patient wait¬ ing, that we have a right to conclude that there is no power on earth which can prevent the ultimate success of the Gos- 68 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. pel wherever it is faithfully preached The general outlook was never brighter or more promising than it is to-day, whether we consider the progress of the work in the field or the activity of the home Churches in gathering means and furnishing missionaries. So much de¬ pends upon these home operations that advance in missionary spirit and liberality is to be regarded as progress toward the conversion of the world. The financial aspect of missions is very encouraging. A comparison between the present and the previous year of the receipts of twelve of the larger Societies, of which six are European and six American, shows a net gain for this year of $509,000.* Eleven of * In this table the London Society is not represent¬ ed in the column of communicants, as its “Report” does not indicate the gain for the year. Receipts. Receipts. Gain in Societies. 1879. .1880. Courts. Presbyterian. • $427,631 $585,484 1,241 American Board. . 518,386 613^639 2,485 Am. Baptist Union. . 252,677 314,860 4,833 Methodist Episcopal... . 272,114 279,516 7,745 Protestant Episcopal... . 148,602 162,084 50 United Presbyterian.... 66,958 V Total for Am. Societies .$1,670,851 $2,022,541 16,425 THE WORLD OF MISSIONS. 69 these societies gained in communicants 21,798. This indicates a very prosperous year for the eighty-five or more societies en¬ gaged in foreign missions. Past success¬ es, present prosperity, and a cheering out¬ look, assure us that God has not forgot¬ ten his promise to his Church : That it should have the heathen for its inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for its possession. Receipts. Receipts. Gain in Societies. 1879. 1880. Com'ts. Church Missionary. $1,164,180 ! $1,108,615 1,022 London.. • 5 oSi 5 oo 5 * 9 . 3 io Wesleyan. 666,665 827,490 1,052 Baptist. 230,460 25*,755 2,224 U. P. Church, Scotland. • I 5*,855 161,780 479 Moravian. 84,545 9 i, 7*5 596 Total for European So, .$2,803,205 ! $2,960,665 5,373 1,670,851 2,022,541 *6,425 Grand total. $ 4 , 474,056 $4,983,206 21,798 Increase, $509,150, of which $351,690 belongs to the six American societies. Princeton Theolog 1 1012 ical Seminary Libraries 111 01234 0073