Foreign Mission Journal, March 1889

Foreign Mission Journal. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE FOBEIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. if "ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 20 — New Series. RICHMOND, VA„ MARCH, 1889. No. S — Whole No. 34 S 'Entered ot the I'ost Ofllce nt nichmomt, Vn„ its second-class matter.] Foreign Mission Journal RATES PER ANNUM : I. For papers separately addressed, either to same or to different (tost ottlces; One copy . . . . . . . S3 els. Three copies @ *1, or . .33 И ct«. apiece. U. FornacUaeee sent to one person, who shall he responsible for ttielr distribution: Four copies lor H, or more nt . i.,25cts. apiece. Twenty-five copies for to. or more nt . 20 cts. apiece. Onellundred copies for US, or того at.. ldcts. apiece. Л»-Р1епее remit by Tlraft, Postal Order, or InRcRls- tereil better, and notify us i-notu-TLY of any change In address. Address, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL. Richmond, Va. ADVERTISING RATES. 1 3 6 )2 STAGE. Month. Months Months Months 1 25 3 45 d 60 12 00 2 40 6 45 12 50 22 50 Three Inches. ...... 3 60 0 20 18 00 82 00 Quarter column... llalf column . 4 75 13 00 25 00 40 00 9 25 25 28 48 00 90 00 One column . 16 OO 60 00 -92 60 178 00 FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, Located at RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. I’llESIDENT— If. If. IIAIIKIS. ViOE-PitEeiDEMTB _ Joshua Levering, Md.,0. W. Tomltle*. La.. Л. H. Owen, Va,. N.A. Bailey,! In.. W. L. Wright, N.O..O.F.Uagby.Kw, W. 0. Bled- fo', Alabama, J. P. Greene, Mo.. В. II. Carroll, Texas, W. L.lfllpatrlck, Ga„ Ohns. Manly, S. O.. J. M. Senter, Tenn.. X И. Searcy, Ark., George Whitfield, Mies., W. F. Attklssou, W. Va. OOnnserOHDINOSEOBETAnY— II. A. TUPPEIl. ASSISTANT SECltETAKY. T. P. BELL. TnsASDnKn— J. O. WILLIAMS. REConDiso SicnsTAnT— A. B. CLARKE. ACDiTOit— If. O. BURNETT. Board or Млкаоепя — II. K. Ellysoa, J. II. Win- ston. О. If. Winston. W. E. Hatcher, J. Pollard, Jr., S. O. Olopton, J. Ii. Hutton. W. D, Thomas, W. W. Landrum, W. X Shipman. Geo. Onoper. O.IL Hyland, И. C. Burnell, T. P.Mathews, H, It, Pitt, R.S. Bother. VtgrAll communications jn reference to the business of this Hoard should be addressed to H. A. Tui’PKK, Corresponding Secretary, Richmond, Va. THE JOURNAL, Since the present editor of the Journal entered upon the duties of the editorship in September, 1SS6, two important forward movements have been made. In May, iSS;, the Journal was increased about fifty per cent in size. Part of the additional space afTorded was given up to advertise¬ ments, though only for a short time was any considerable part so used. In May, iSSS, there was begun the printing of pic¬ tures of our missionaries. Not an inferior picture has appeared, and brethren who iiad seen the miserable caricatures of men and women which had adorned (’) some newspapers, and who had feared that our cuts would be of the same sort, have had all such fears removed. The putting in of these pictures has cost the Journal a con¬ siderable sum of money, in two different ways. In the first place, the cuts have been costly. And then, they have occu¬ pied so much space that the editor, after surrendering several columns to the Exec¬ utive Committee of Woman’s Mission So¬ cieties and to the " Suntieam Corner,” felt that he ought not to cut down the amount of reading matter in the Journal any more, and so censed to solicit advertisements. These, in the preceding year, had brought no small amount of cash into the Jour¬ nal treasury, and the loss of this was no small itetp in our accounts. Hut it was given up for what we considered the best interests of the Journal's readers, and we believe that we were right in making the .sacrifice. This, however, lias thrown the support of the Joiirna/'e ntircly on the sub¬ scriptions received, and makes it necessary that our subscription lists should be largely increased. We have given up what had proved a source of income Ip the paper, and have endeavored to furnish to our readers a paper fully worth the price asked for it. Many kind expressions of approval of our elforts have come to cheer us in our work. But we need something more, and the main object of this article is to ask for what we need. We need many more sub¬ scribers than we now have, and we ask our readers to help us to secure these. If each reader will try to secure one new subscri¬ ber, our need will be supplied; and, we may add, the interests of foreign missions advanced. Once more we appeal to the pastors to aid us in circulating the Journal in their churches. The pastor who will carefully read it himself, and catch the spirit of the men and women whose letters are given in it, will find himself better prepared to plead the cause of missions before his people. The pastor who will get his people to take and read it for themselves, will find that his pleas for this cause will be far more effective because made to a people enlightpncd ns to the work itself, and whose hearts have felt the influence of the same spirit which lias stirred his. Many pastors say they want their people informed about the work, yet, when that information is prepared, they will not take the trouble to tell their people where it can be obtained. Whose fault is it that tile people do not know? • MAKING MONEY FOR THE LORD. Some years ago, just after we had joined the vii arch and decided that we must preach, we held frequent conversations with n school-mate, who had also felt him¬ self called to the ministry of the word. One day, with deep sadness, he informed us that the great desire of his heart to preach the gospel must be unsatisfied, his fond hope disappointed. Physicians, after careful examination, had decided that lie was suffering from very serious heart trou¬ ble, and had told him he must not attempt to preach. It would be almost certain death. Sadly he turned away from the path he had hoped to walk in and entered oil a business life. Iror several years we lost sight of him and did not know whether success or failure had attended his efforts. But since we came into the service of tiie Board our acquaintance has been renewed, and on this wise: Every now and then a letter comes to the office in which is en¬ closed a check or draft of some kind, always for a goodly sum of money, and always accompanied witli some such re¬ quest as this, taken from his last: "In acknowledging, please say ‘from a friend,’ and give no name." And so my friend is preaching after all. God lias given him the ability to make money, and with it he is preaching the gos¬ pel his lips were not allowed to proclaim, and preaching it on five continents. God shut up his way to preaching in his own land, but lets him go far hence to the Gen¬ tiles. From these fnr-olf regions may many hail him in heaven as the instrument, un¬ der God, of their salvatioh. In like man¬ ner many of our people can become preach¬ ers of the gospel— oven foreign missiona¬ ries. THE MISSION TO JAPAN. At the meeting of the Board on the 7II1 of January, there was presented the re¬ port of a committee, composed of some of our most thoughtful and conservative brethren, who had been charged with the consideration of the question, "Shall we establish a mission in Japan ? ” This com¬ mittee, after long and earnest considera¬ tion of the question, in which they were aided by conference with Rev. G. II. Appleton, who lias been writing about Japan in the Journal, and with Rev. Dr. Murdock, of the Missionary Union, re¬ ported, recommending that “ we open a mission in Japan.” This matter had not only been con¬ sidered by the committee, but. had been upon the minds and hearts of all the mem¬ bers. of the Board for several months. So that any action that might be taken would be the result, not of any sudden impulse, but of careful, anxious, and prayerful thought. The Board voted unanimously to open the mission, and will make arrange¬ ments to do so at an early day. There were a number of things which combined to influence the Board in this action ; such as the attempt made to open such a mission before the war, an attempt thwarted for the time by the providence of God, yet, in a measure, pledging Southern Baptists to the work at some future time; the well known earnest desire of Dr. Yates to see such a mission established ; the earnest appeals that come from Japan itself for light and knowledge, and the readiness of the people to receive these; the seemingly providential presence of brother Appleton, whose Intimate ac¬ quaintance with the 'people and work in Japan enabled him to give valuable and definite Information about these ; the ac¬ tion of the last Convention in adopting the report of the Committee on Enlarge¬ ment of tlie Work, in which are these words: "The committee especially com¬ mend to the Convention the establishment of n mission in tlie long neglected but progressive Empire of Japan”; and last, but not least, the pleading of some ex¬ cellent men to be sent to this special field. We believe that God has called us to enter Japan, and in obedience to that call tlie Board has acted In the report as adopted by tlie Board, was a proviso, to theefiect that tlie opening of this mission should be undertaken if it could be done without “ complication witli the Missionary Union,’’ which already had missions in that land, and the Correspond¬ ing Secretary was instructed to correspond with the Union with regard to it. This has been done, anti not only does the Union heartily approve our entering the field, but most gladly welcomes us ns fel¬ low-helpers in a work too large for litem to do alone. By agreement, our missions will probably be located in tlie southern and western part of the Empire, while tiiose of the Union are mostly in the northern. Thus there can be no conflict of interests, and no waste of energies caused by tlie op¬ erations of the two kindred bodies in the same field. We take pleasure just iiere in adding that the most pleasant relations exist be¬ tween our Board and that of the Union, not only in regard to tlie work in Japan, but in other fields abroad and in work at home. The delay occasioned by the carrying out of the proviso alluded to, has prevented an earlier announcement of the action of tlie Board, it being thought best to have all these matters settled before any official announcement was. made. And now what say the churches? Or rather what will the churches do? They have already spoken through their repre¬ sentatives in the Convention. Now the time for action has come. The openinig of this mission will largely increase the expenses of tlie Board, and this increase must and can be met only by increased contributions by those whose servants the Board feel themselves to be. Large ex¬ penditures of money have always to be made in opening new fields. Tlie outfits and traveling expenses of the missionaries must be provided for, and their salaries I and other expenses for three months paid in advance. Will not some of the Lord's stewards cheer the hearts of the Board by sending some extra contributions for this new work? The size of our force at the beginning will depend somewhat on the interest shown by our people. Several first class men are ready to go. Shall we send them soon? Let Cod’s people an¬ swer. _ TROUBLES AT CHINKIANG. Ever since the passage of the anti-Chi¬ nese bill by Congress last year, the friends of missions have feared that, in a spirit of retaliation, die Chinese government would expel Americans from the empire, or that, at least, the people would be driven to do violence to American missionaries there. The treatment Chinese have received at the hands of our government and people has been well calculated to produce such results. Still, as the months have passed and all remained quiet, the fears of trouble had partly subsided, and we were begin¬ ning to hope that there would be no serious interruption to mission work there. Late news has, however, awakened these fears anew. Tlie secular papers have several times of late spoken of troubles at Chin- kiang, and among other things, the fol¬ lowing recently appeared in the Richmond Dispatch : "Shanghai, Feb. 7th. The whole of the foreign community of Chinkiang Foo, with the exception of a dozen customs and consular officials, have arrived here safely. They report that the foreign concession has been almost destroyed; that the American mission chapel outside the con¬ cession has been burned, and that the place is in tlie hands of the Chinese. It is stated that tlie Chinese officials and sol¬ diers abetted the conspiracy. The Ameri¬ can and British men-of-war have arrived there.” This dispatch causes us some anxiety, as our chapel is the only one we know of as being in Chinkiang, and is situated in a very public part of the city. We are still hoping, however, "that affairs are not as bad ns reported, and that our property there is yet safe. We are easy in mind with regard to our brethren Bryan and Huntiex with their families, feeling assured Hint rny serious danger to them would have been promptly reported to us by brother Herring by telegraph. By a singu¬ lar coincidence, the same day on which the above telegram appeared, we received letters from brother Bryan, giving a very bright and cheering account of his work, and dwelling specially on the friendships he had been forming among tlie natives. We feel assured that, nt the worst, there will be only n temporary suspension of work at Chinkiang, and that any damage done to our mission property will be made good by the Chinese government. Mean time, let us all invoke upon our dear brethren and sisters, in their time of tlie trial, the richest blessings of our God. They need our prayers. JOURNAL JOTTINGS. Brother L. IT. Chappell and wife sailed from San Francisco on tlio 21th uliirno for Chinn. They will probably go to Chinkiang to aid brother Bryan in his work. If pre¬ vented from going there nt onco on account of the trouble oxlstlug there, they will stop in Shanghai for the present. Mrs. Davault has been compelled by the danger threatening her llttlo boy's life, to return to this country. The sympathies of our readers will go out to this consecrated sister, whose lot lias been such a sad one since she went to China. Let us pray God to restore her little darllug’s health. Brethren Britton and Tatum have arrived in Shanghai and liavo gone on a visit, with brother Herring, to Sucliotv, where one of them will locate, the .other remain¬ ing In Shanghai'. Brother Herring writes that Ыз heart is full of Joy nt their arri¬ val. We know that all our readers will Join us in thanking Miss Mary Л. Taylor for her charmingly sprightly letter from Italy. The first one was greatly enjoyed by many rend¬ ers; we know the ono in this Issue will be, and wo shall all anticipate with pleasure tlio appearance of another— of others, let us hope. How grandly the ladles of South Caroli¬ na liavo responded to Miss Lottie Moon’snp- pcal for helpers In 1’lngtti. Others have dono nohly, tlieso Invc excelled. S1.1S0.S2 from the Christmas oficrings 1 Wo may bo pardoned for being proud of the sisters of our native State. Our readers will miss tlio usual picture from the first page this month. Several reasons combined to Induco us to omit it from tills Issue. Our next will contain n faeo fa¬ miliar to many of our readers. Our needs— I. o.,tlio needs of the Board, are very great ami pressing. New missionaries, new fields, new bouses oi worship, all tlieso with attendant uxpenses, demand the expen¬ diture of $120,000 this year. Reader, help to give It to tlio work. SOME EXTRACTS FROM HOME CORRES¬ PONDENCE. Louisiana. A brother sends $14 for Italian Chapel Fund, and says: "Not having pressed the matter to the extent I might and should have done, feel it a duty and privilege to give out of my private purse six dollars, making the amount, $20, the ten books called for." . If every pastor felt called on to make good what was lacking of what he might have raised from Ids churches for our work by proper effort, the Board would soon be clear of debt. He adds: "Give us suitable houses, of worship, with well arranged baptisteries in them, at the principal marts in Italy, and more especially in the city of Rome, and efficient men, called of God, to occupy them, and tlie entering wedge of the mis¬ sionary work will cease to rebound when struck by the operatives of tlie Master Builder, but enter and rive asunder the false papacy, and put to the blush those who ape the teachings of Romanism.” Now help brother Eager to build these chapels. Alabama. “ My mother, an old lady, handed me $r and asked me to send it where it would be applied to the benefit of the heathen,” The hearts of many of the Lord's old saints are in this work. They feel that their time is short, and they long to help it on. See the next extract for another instance of this. Arkansas. “Please find enclosed $5 money order. This is for foreign missions. My heart’s desire is that God's blessing will go with this. It is not from the church. I tried to get the church to join with me and send mission money. This is my in¬ dividual gift. I will send some occasion¬ ally, when I have it. I am in my sixty- eighth year, and have my living to make by the sweat of my brow.” God will bless this gift. Sacrifice for him lay behind it. Mississippi. “ This $1.90 belongs to the Sunbeams. I send by their request to you. Society small, and members are little children.” Children once cried “ Hosanna to the Son of David,” while the chief priests and scribes were dumb, or opened their mouths only to oppose Jesus. And now they are at work for him, wliije many of his pro¬ fessed followers do nothing, or growl at those who do something. God bless the$e working children. Georgia. A sister, speaking of a con¬ tribution sent for Miss I.ottie Moon’s work in Pingtu, says: "God bless it, for there was mucli of it tlie result of much self- denial and hard work. Some of our mem¬ bers are very poor, but so earnest and faithful for missions." Such gifts God does bless. THE SEMINARY MAGAZINE. This is not merely a College paper. Some of tlie strongest men of the country contribute to its columns. A singular fea¬ ture of the Magazine is that all its profits, beyond actual expenses, go to the boards of tlie Southern Baptist Convention. At the last meeting of tlie Convention the Magazine divided $100 between the two boards ; and recently it lias given a hun- dred-dollnr-organ to brother Rudd’s mis¬ sion in Parras, Mexico. Tlie next number will be memorial of the late President of die Seminary, Rev. J. P. Boyce, D. D. This Magazine is a fine medium for adver¬ tisement, and should bo patronized libe¬ rally by the Baptists of the South, not only for its own intrinsic value, but for the be¬ nevolent use to which it puts all of its pro¬ ceeds. The subscription price is $r.oo.n year. Address Rev. I,. O. Datvson, South¬ ern Baptist Theological Seminary. Louis¬ ville, Ky, The Rev. E. M. Wherry, of Sabaranpur, India, states, in The Church at Home and Abroad, that the gospel preached in that region has power upon . many Moslem minds. So certainly is this true, lie says, that the Moslems of Delhi have inaugu¬ rated a kind of theological seminary,-' in- which preachers are taught all the objec¬ tions of Western infidels against Chris¬ tianity, that they may go forth to oppose tlij; Christian preacher in town and village. Almost any day one may see tlie mis¬ sionary or native preacher on one side of a street in any one of a score of Indian towns, preaching to a dusky crowd the un¬ searchable riches of Christ, while opposite hint, but a little way oiT, may be seen the marilvienddressing another crowd, striving to oppose the teachings of the Christians,^ The Missionary. Opposers of Christianity in Christian lands are the oply.ones who declare that Christian missions are a failure. The peo- ples among whom they are conducted recognize their power, and the supporters of false religions are seeking to lessen that power among their co-religionists. • For tlie benefit of our readers, who may he accustomed to speak of Ry-o, Mi-nas, Sa о Taut- о, Mar-an-ham, etc., we give a partial key to Portuguese pronunciation, which, by the way, is beautifully regular. / is pronounced as ce in English ; do =■■ owng , tlie accent indicating a nasal sound. As a final syllable ho is usually accented ; oe = oy, ns in oyster and boy. //, except in eh and sh, is silent. Between two- final vowels a slight y. round always enters, so we have SAo Paulo ■=- Sozong Pozu-lo ; Rio Rcc-yo , MaranbAo (Maranhaml = Mar-a- nyowug: Jcrto = Jo-ozvng , Bahia ■= Ba- cc-ya. — Brasilian Missions. This is worth preserving in some .con¬ venient place. If, our mission work spreads^ ns it gives promise' of doing, our people will have to. pronounce many Brazilian' names. '