Foreign Mission Journal, January 1884

FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL. Published Monthly by the Foreign Mission Boiu-il of the Southern Baptist Convention. “ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ЛПЗ IN IIJiAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 18— New Series. RICHMOND, VA„ JANUARY, 1884. No. 6.— Whole No. 186. IKnlerwl at th« l'oei at Klchinond, Va i ' wecoiid-claM inaltcr.] Foreign Mission Journal RATES PER ANNUM : One copy, separately foMcJ and mldrcssecl . f Three conies, addressed to one person . i _ Ten copies, addressed to one person . 300 Forty copies, mid lessee! to one person . . 10 00 One hundred copies, addressed tonne person. .... 30 00 «iT'I'lonse remit by Draft, Postal Order, or In Ke^is- lered Letter, and notify us promptly of any change in address. ,\ddr FOR К I ON MISSION JOURNAL Richmond, V'a FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, I.ooatbu AT IMOMMOND. VIHOINIA. 1»HK8IDI£NT— J. Jj. , OUIIHY. VtCK-l*it88iDKNTH. — Joshua Levering, Mil., J. Л. Hackett, La., J. L. Ilurrows, Va., O. K. Allen, Fla., (). F. Огекогу, N. О., T. T. Katou, Ky.. J. J. 1». Hen- fro»», Alabama, H. S. Duncan, Mo., Jl U. Carroll, Texas, W. L. Kilpatrick, fla., Ohae. Manly, S. (J., Matt. Hlllsmnn, T**nn., J. H. Searcy. Ark., Оеогце Whllll.lii, SII»».. \V. I>. Walker, W. Va. OOKRK8l4)NI>INO SKCltKTAKY— II. A. T UPPER. TIIICAHUIIKK— J. O. WILLIAMS. Rkooudino Skckictaiiy— W. II. GWAT1IMEY. AUDITOU-JOSEPH F. COTTRELL. Ho л ко or Manaokiis.— J. II. Hawthorne, J. II. Wat¬ kins. II. iC. Ellyeon, W. E. Hatcher, E. Wortham, W. I). Thomas, W. Ooddln, И. 11. Harris, J. Pollard, .Tr., J. W. Jones. A. II. Clarke, J II. Winston, J. H. Hut¬ son. О П. Wlueton. S. O. Clcpton. tOT All communications in reference to the business of this Hoard should be addressed to H. A. Tui'PBK, Carrc3pondiiiy Secretary, Richmond, Va. Notice the number of baptisms reported in this paper— three at llong Kong, three at Canton, twenty at I.agos, one at Bahia, eight at Saltillo. Shall not these tokens of the Divine presence with our missionaries stir ns up to reinforce their feeble ranks ? THAT HUNDRED THOUSAND. It will be remembered that we printed in July a proposition to raise during the cur¬ rent Conventional year $104,000 for Foreign Missions. It was thought wise by the board instead of asking for this sum in gross, to divide it up among the States, so as to set before each a more definite aim. This proposition and the appointment made un¬ der it, met with a general and hearty ap¬ proval. Front all quarters there came let¬ ters expressing confidence in the ability and willingness of the several States to come fully up to the amount suggested. Fight months, two-thirds of the year, have passed. It will, doubtless, he interesting to the brethren to know how far their expecta¬ tions have been realized, and how much re¬ mains to be done in the four months be¬ tween now and the meeting of the Conven¬ tion. We have, therefore, added up the re¬ ceipts from each State from May 1st to De¬ cember JStli, and give below, in parallel columns, the amount asked and the amount leceived up to the date last mentioned. Л simple subtraction of the second from the lirst will show how much we are still expect* ing. ASKED. RECEIVE». West Virginia . $ МЮ $ 105 12 Florida . . . 500 200 50 Arkansas . - . 1,000 0-1 I.ouisiana . 1,000 S10 00 Maryland . -1,500 070 71 Alabama . 5,0U0 1,-439 05 Tennessee . 5,000 1,309 25 North Carolina . 8,000 2,720 03 South Carolina . S,000 0,732 07 Mississippi . 8,000 2,009 15 Missouri.. . 8,000 3,070 04 Texas . 8,000 5,303 90 Georgia . 12,500 3,840 13 Kentucky . 12,500 2,790 08 Virginia . 12,500 4,720 72 Other sources . 5,000 119 00 $100,000 $34,340 34 Lest any should be unduly discouraged by these figures, we make haste to add that the receipts are considerably larger than for the corresponding period of 18S2, and that by long-established usage we have come to ex¬ pect more than half of our annual receipts between the first of January and the last of April. We could wish on some accounts, that the stream of contributions were more constant, but, like many of our natural rivers, it is feeble during the heat of summer, rises in autumn, freezes up in December, and reaches its fullest tide when the approach of Spring begins to melt the ice and snow. Or, to state it otherwise, many of our Southern baptist churches, in dividing, up the calendar year among the different ob¬ jects to which they are called on to con¬ tribute, very appropriately give the first place to Foreign Missions. The members of these have given little or nothing to this cause since the begining of last year ; they will be ready now to swell the income of the board by generous contributions. Then again not a few who have given something will fitly employ the closing hours of the old year in reviewing God’s dealings with them and their efforts to promote his glory ; they cannot but be struck with the vast dis¬ proportion between their blessings and their bounties, and will be eager to add liberally to what they have already given. For these reasons we hope to have largely increased receipts during the few remaining months of our financial year. An examination of the figures above will show that only three Stales, Louisiana, Texas and South Carolina, have yet at¬ tained to half of what was asked, and one of these, it is fair to add, is credited with the collections taken at the Convention. Facli of them can easily go beyond the mark set before them. Some of the others will have hard work to come up to the honorable rank assigned them. Indeed, in all there will he needed a vigorous and general effort to supply the means for carrying on our en¬ larged and enlarging operations. Careful readers of the Jouknai. will re¬ member that the board, before the last an¬ nual leport, relying upon the increased libe¬ rality of the churches, had greatly enlarged the sphere of its work. Since that report was presented four new missionaries have been added to our corps of laborers; a new mission lias been opened at Whang Hien, in the interior of North China ; buildings have been authorized at Soo-chow and Cliing- kiang, interior stations of the Shanghai mis¬ sion ; our work in Mexico has assumed much larger proportions; in brazil and Italy there has been growtli ; and Africa must be rein¬ forced at once. All these call for prompt and large contributions. KABYLIA. We mentioned two months ago that brother K. F. ltaldwin of Greensboro, N. C., had urged the board to consider the pro¬ priety of opening a new station. He was requested to collect further information about the field in which he had become so deeply interested, llis report is too voluminous for publication in the Jouknai,, and too closely jointed to admit of fair representation by ex¬ tracts. We therefore reproduce in our own words some parts of it, referring lor the trustworthiness of the statements to brother ltaldwin, as he also refers to numerous au¬ thorities. Kabylia is the central one of the three provinces into which Algeria is divided, sit¬ uate, therefore, in the north-western part of Africa, and extending from the shore of the Mediterranean, inland to the Atlas moun¬ tains. Its latitude is nearly the same as that of Virginia, its climate milder in winter, the rainy season, and more equable in summer, when there is little if any rain. The country is very mountainous, being intersected by spurs from the Atlas, which interlace witli other spins from the Coast Range. These mountains contain some mineral wealth. The valleys and plateaus are exceedingly fertile, and yield abundance of wheat, figs, grapes, olives and other fruits and vegetables. It was one of the principal granaries of ancient Rome. The Kabyles are very thickly settled for so rough a country. They number accord¬ ing to the best estimates, including all of the same race living in the adjacent mountains, some twelve millions, They seem to be of Caucasian origin, considerably bronzed, however, by climate and exposure, and are regarded as lineal descendants of the ancient Kutuidinns, subsequently called Herhers. If so they have held these fastnesses with but little of foreign intermixture for more than twenty senturies. Their prominent trails of character are industry, truthfulness, hospi¬ tality, love ol country and devotion to free¬ dom— in a word their character is almost the same with that of the Swiss, to whose Alpine pastures correspond the well-tilled plats high up on the mountains of Kabylia. The country came under Roman domina¬ tion at or soon after the destruction of Cnr- tliaget 14ii I). C-, and remains are still clearly traced of a colonia, such as Paul found at Philippi. Christianity was early introduced and took deep root. The churches in north¬ ern Africa furnished for several centuries not a few of the ablest defenders of the faith. Here nourished the Donatists who opposed the union of church' and State, anil insisted on conversion as a pre-requisite to church membership. In the fifth century the region was overrun by the Vandals under Genseric and his son lluneric. Arinnism gained the ascendant and spirituality languished. Two centuries later came the Saracens under the blood-stained crescent and imposed the Moslem teachers and observances which still continue, though they seem never to have been heartily accepted. In modern times we first hear of the Algerines as pirates, and only within the present century have their terrible inroads on commerce been checked. The country Jins been under the protection of France since 1830, but again and again has endeavored to throw off this foreign yoke. The last attempt was made during the Franco-Prussian war, and is not likely to be soon repeated. Kabyles is said to mean Confederates. The people so call themselves from their form of government. Facli village is a pure democracy with Its unpaid executive officers. A number of villages make a fraction corre¬ sponding somewhat to our county, a number of counties make a tribe, like our State, and the tribes form a KahaTIa or Confederation. This old form of government is of course modified and limited in its [lowers under French military rule. Their religion is a sort of rationalistic Mohammedanism, con¬ trasting strongly with the fatalism of the Arabs, and is very loosely held. They have never practiced polygamy, Imt do admit di¬ vorce. Women are bought and are expected to labor, but are held in higher esteem than is common in either Mohammedan or heathen countries. Until within three years past there have been no efforts to evangelize the Kabyles. The laborers now there are. three. Mr. and Mrs. George Pearse, English Haptists, sup¬ port themselves, and propose only to do the preliminary work necessary to open the field and call attention to it — Mr. Pearse is not a minister. The other is a young Swiss, Mayor by name, who is a free-lance supported by a few personal friends, and apparently with¬ out any denominational connection. His first convert, a Marabout or teacher, sat up all night reading a French New Testament, and the next morning asked for and received baptism by immersion. Mr. Mayor is said to lie consumptive, went far inland some months ago and has not since been heard from. The claims of the Kabyles are urged upon the Hoard of tile Southern Baptist Conven¬ tion by the general reasons which impel us to go into all the world by thepectilinr claims of so noble a people, and by these special considerations: There are many Indications that the field is pre-eminently white to the harvest and might soon become self-sustain¬ ing; the Knglisli might lie met with opposi¬ tion from the French authorities, but the similarity of our institutions to the traditional government of Kabylia, and the cordial re¬ lations between the United States and France ensure to American missionaries a kind re¬ ception ; and lastly, through the pioneer labors of our Fnglish brother, who is call¬ ing upon us to come to his help, we have al¬ ready a foothold. In view of all these facts and appeals the Hoard has invited brother Baldwin to make a visit of three or four months to Algeria and report yet further upon the country and people. The question of establishing the new mission will then come fully before the Board, and wc trust that nil our brethren will unite with us iu seeking for tills as for many other important matters' which are constantly arising, the divine guidance into that way which will most effectively spread the gospel and glorify the Master. THE MEXICAN SCHOOLS. The Board has nominated thirteen Trus¬ tees for the proposed school at Saltillo — seven of them residents of Coahuila, six from the United States. They have also ap¬ pointed Dr. Tupper to go to Mexico at once, anil have asked him lotake with him several other able and honored brethren to see that all the delicate questions that may arise, shall lie fully considered and calmly de¬ cided. These brethren expect to reach Sal¬ tillo on or about the 4tli instant. They will not, of course, be exempt from human lia¬ bility to mistake, but they will use the ut¬ most caution in laying solid and true, by the level of a common humanity, and by the plumb-line of divine revelation, the cor¬ ner-stone of what we all trust shall he a noble structure for the help of man and for the glory of God. The I.itti.u Missionary* is published semi-monthly at Brooksville, Miss., and mailed to subscribers at 50 cents a year. The original editors, Mr. and Mrs. R. N. Hall, have been fortunate in securing the aid of Rev. S. Boykin, so well known by his admirable conduct of our Sunday-school paper. Brother Boykin, of course, continues to edit Kind Words, and will make it better than ever, while he gives a little of his sur¬ plus time and experience to helping the I.itlte Missionary, which “seeks to 'elicit, combine and direct ’the masses for Jesus.” The Independent Almanac for 4884, (published by The Independent, N. V.,1 is a neat pamphlet of 45 pp., containing the usual astronomical information, religious statistics, and other valuable facts. It is re¬ markable not less for its pretty engrav¬ ings than for the conspicuous absence of patent medicine advertisements. We asked some time ago how many bretli- desired a monthly magazine of 32 pp., at $1 a year. Two have kindly responded. We heartily thank them, but hope they will ex¬ cuse us from commencing its publication just yet. The American Bap. Pub. Society sends us Scriptural Baptism, by the late Richard Fuller, D. D., $1 ; A Deacon's Daughter, by^ Miss Lilian F. Wells, $1 ; and Eric the Scan-, dinavian, by Miss L. Bates, $1.26.