Foreign Mission Journal, June 1888

Foreign Mission Journal. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE FOKEIGX MISSION ИОЛ1Ш OP THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. “ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS." Vol. 19— New Series. RICHMOND, VA-, JUNE, iSSS. No. 11 — Whole No. 239 [Entered at the I’opt-Offlce at Richmond, Va., ns fecomi-clnse matter.] Foreign Mission Journal, RATES PER ANNUM: I. For papers nddreseed, either to *:one - -j different po.-ioftlces : One copy . . . Three copies @*1, or . . . 3ft cts. . . 33Hcte. apiece. tl. For packages sent to one person, who shall be responsible lor their distribution : Four copies for *1, or more at . ,25cts. apiece. Twenty-five copies lor ♦ft. or more at. .....2» cts. apiece. One Hundred copies for *16) or more at . . 16 cts. apiece. *?“ Flense remit by Draft, Foetal Order» or In Repu¬ te ml bet ter, and notify us thomptly of any change It address. Address. FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL, Richmond, Va. ADVERTISING RATES. : -• SPACE. 1 Month. 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months One Inch . . Two Inches . . Three Inches . Quarter column... Half column . 1 2ft 2 40 3 60 •1 75 9 25 IS 00 3 45 6 4ft 9 20 13 00 25 2ft fiU 00 IS Ml 12 50 IS 00 25 00 48 1*0 12 (HI 22 50 32 00 46 00 90 00 17S (HI FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. Located at RICHMOND. VIRGINIA. President— If, H. Hauits. Vick- Presidents — Joshua I.evcrlnc, Mil,, ( Tomlcle*. La., A. E. Owen Va., N. A. Halley, I W. L. Wrlclll, N.O.. O.F.Hasby.Ky.. J.J.l ' free, Alabama. .T. i*. Gri-ene, Mo.. U. II. C TtEas, W. L. Kilpatrick, Qa., Ohas. Manly, J. M. Senter, Teon.. J. II. Searcy, ArK,, f WlUtaeld Miss. W. f. Attklsson W. Va. COnnasrONDINO SBCnETAItY— II. A. TUPPEIt. ASSISTANT SECRETARY. T. P. HELL. Treasurer— J. O. WILLIAMS. Recoiidpio SBCnETAUT— A. II. CLARKE. AODITOn-H. C. BURNETT. Hoard or Manaokrs.— H. K. Ellyson, J. Il.WIn- sion, С. II. Wlnsion. V/. E. Haicber, J. Pollard, Jr., S. O. Olopton. J. H. Ilution. W, II. Thomas, \V. 'V. Landrum, TV. J. Shipman. Oeo. Cooper, О, II. livlnnd, II. С.Ечгпои.Т. P. Mathews, I!. II. Pilt. 11. S. Bosltcr. ПИТАН communications in reference to the business of this Hoard should be addressedto H. A. Tupper, Corresponding Secretary, Richmond. Va. ADVANCE PAYMENTS. The inquiry lias been made whether there is need of our missionaries being paid, as they are, quarterly in advance. The Board believes it is the only missionary body that thus favors Its missionaries. By its printed rules, however, the Board expressly re¬ serves the right not to make such advance at pleasure. This provision prevents the custom, which is a pure gratuity, though long continued, from being rationally con¬ strued into a right on the part of the mis¬ sionary. With this protection the Board thinks that, in view of its great accommo¬ dation to our missions, the custom should continue, notwithstanding the hardship for the Board to begin caclt financial year of the Convention (May tstl with little or no¬ thing in the treasury and heavy drafts soon to be paid for the second quarter of the missionary fiscal year, which (fiscal year) begins January ist. The drafts for the sec¬ ond quarter, beginning April ist, of the nearest missions, as those in Mexico and Italy, are sometimes paid in the last quar¬ ter of the financial year of the Convention, which closes each year April 30th. But the bulk of them fall due early in May, unless the Board requires treasurers of missions to delay their maturity. These facts ought to impress the churches with the necessity of beginning the conventional year with generous offerings to the Board. Advan¬ cing to the missionaries of the churches, might not the Board reasonably expect ad¬ vance payments by the churches ? Hence the appeal last year in the June number of the Foreign Mission Journal that,, as the second quarter's drafts had arrived and had to be paid, the Board should be promptly provided with funds for the payment. The large balances on hand in 1SS2 and 1SS3 were reported to the Convention ns need¬ ed— the Board being, as stated, “entirely out of debt " — for the forthcoming " drafts of the April-July quarter " of the missiona¬ ry fiscal year. If the churches will not pro¬ vide funds thus in advance, do they not give practically a negative reply to the question, Should the Board continue its custom of paying its missionaries quarterly in advance? MRS, M. T. YATES, (ml Eliza Mossing). Bom in Chatham Co., N. C., Dec. 21, 1S21. Married September 27th, 1S46. Dec. iSth, 1S46, “.Mr. and Mrs. Yates, with Mr, and Mrs. Tobey and Dr. J. Sexton James, were 'designated ’ to the missionary work in the First Baptist church of Richmond, Va.” Some missionaries sailed in March following, but " I11 consequence of the severe illness of his wife, Mr. Yates was compelled to defer his departure. Our afilicted sister would have willingly been carried to her berth, and been borne from our shores with the hazard of finding a grave in the ocean; but the interdict of the physician and the advice of her friends prevented.” They sailed in April and readied Shanghai in September. There she has served faithfully with her husband for over forty years. " And a help-meet for the great work of her husband verily has she been." She re¬ mains in Shanghai to carry on the work of the Lord. THE FINANCES OF THE BOARD. It is a cause of profound gratitude to God as well as of great satisfaction to the Board and to the brethren at large, that at the close of the conventional year the Treasurer of the Board was enabled to re¬ port all debts paid and a balance in the treasury. All drafts from the field for the four quarters beginning April ist, 1SS7, and ending April 30th, ISSS, had been met, and even some for the second quarter of the year, known as the April-June quarter; the money that had been borrowed from the banks during the course of the year had been all returned ; incidental expenses had ' all been met, and when the books closed at 12 o'clock on the 30th of April, there was a balance in hand of some <3,600. This was 1 offset, however, by several amounts due by the Board to parties who had loaned it money, and who wished only to use tiie interest, leaving the principal in the hands i of the Board. There was a real balance, over and above all liabilities, of some ] #r,Soo. This exhibit is all the more gratifying , from the fact that it was made at the end of a year, during which no extraordinary efforts were put fortli by the Board to raise money, further than the visiting of all State - Conventions, and the distribution of large numbers of tracts. It shows that our peo- ; pie are growing in the missionary spirit and in the grace of giving, it is a prophecy of future growth, and, we may hope, marks the dawn of an era of enlarged missionary work to be done by Southern Baptists, and done not in response to impassioned ap¬ peals and extraordinary efforts of agents, but quietly, steadily, earnestly, as a duty , to be done as unto the Lord. But we started out to warn our brethren i not to be deceived by this balance in the treasury into believing that the Board does ' not and will not need more money at once. Already, before the report was read to the Convention, this balance had been more than eaten up by drafts from our mission fields, which had matured since the date at which the accounts were made up. And during May, drafts for thousands of dollars have been coming to the Treasurer. These will have to be met by borrowed money unless some of our churches or individual 1 members will make their contributions now, instead of waiting till next April. And die money that may be borrowed will carry interest even till next April. Not only are these things so, but the Board will need more money than usual during the next few months, to send out some new missionaries to their fields of labor. Already brethren Moseley and Bar¬ ker are under appointment, the one for Mexico, and the other for Brazil, while several young men in the Seminary are ap¬ plying to be sent. There are also several lady applicants for work in .Mexico, one or more of whom will, in all probability, be appointed. Into God-opened fields God- called men and women are ready to go. Let God's people send to the Board at once enough money to enable it to send these out on God’s own money — money not bor¬ rowed. Why should God’s work owe any man anything? THE INTEREST ACCOUNT. By glancing over the reports of the Treasurer of the Board for two years past, it will be seen that among the “ Disburse¬ ments" occur these items : (1SS7) “Interest on borrowed money, f1.039.SS”; (iSSS) "Interest on borrowed money, #833.45.” So that in two years the Board has had to pay for interest on money it had borrowed to meet the drafts of missionaries and other expenses, the handsome sum of f1.S73.33— more than enough to have paid the salaries of three missionaries for one year. But is it necessary for the Board to in¬ cur this expense ; and if so, why ? The answer to both these questions may be given at the same time. It is this : the ex¬ penses of the Board are regular, while the income is very irregular. The salaries of the missionaries, and indeed all the ex¬ penses of the missions, are drawn for by the mission treasurers regularly every quarter, and the expenses of the work at home have to be met every month. While this is so on the one hand, on the other, the income of the Board comes in very largely in the last two months of the year; we might almost say the last month. An examination of the receipts reported monthly in the Journal will show that in the last six weeks of the year just closed, about one-third of the total annual receipts came into the treasury. The total receipts for the year from the States, were #85,891.66. Of this amount, $27,482.33 were received between March 17th and April 30th. Nay, one-tenth of the whole year’s receipts come in on the 30th day of April, the last day of the year ! These facts answer the questions asked. The Board must borrow money to meet its regular expenses until the churches send up the money. Can this state of 'hir.gs be remedied ? Yes, in part at least, and that by such churches and individuals as are able to do so, making their contributions in whole or in part early in the conventional year. Many of our churches could make part of their annual gift thus early, and so save interest— the interest that eats into our receipts year by year, and eats out so many hundreds of dollars. FROM SOME HOME LETTERS. " I am forbidden to go as a foreign mis¬ sionary myself, but I esteem it a rich favor granted by the Master to labor to support those who go to preach glad tidings of great joy to the heathen. Perhaps the Master will look upon my humble work in, as it were, bathing his feet, in my attempts to gladden the footsteps of those who are laboring in foreign fields for him. ‘Let tile whole earth be filled with his glory.’” So writes one of our best workers, an old man whose labors are more abundant, and whose praise is in all the churches in Geor¬ gia, and beyond. A brother in Florida sends #52.50 from “a church of about 45 members. Would to God we had many such churches, May the good Lord bless the offering and the church." We give a glad "amen” to all these prayers. ’ An old man, seventy-five years old, send¬ ing $100 for missions from Tennessee, says ; " I have always been a farmer, and for over fifty years a member of a missionary Bap¬ tist church, and a dear lover of home and foreign missions,” and he proves his love by his gifts. From South Carolina came a box of jew¬ elry, and accompanying it this letter : " I send by express a small package of jewelry. In reading of the crisis in the mission work, I feel that, perhaps, much of the Lord’s money is locked up in that which pro¬ fited! nothing. This little gift is sent with love for the work and with prayers for its success. May our denomination appreci¬ ate its glorious privilege, and come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” We hope to obtain good prices for the jewelry, out the money realized, whether much or little, will go to die foreign field, carrying with it the power that lies in sacrifice and prayer. God will bless it. From Kentucky, with money for the Journal, comes this : “ Three months ago I began to preach for this church. I found that they were doing nothing for mis¬ sions— the whole church gave only $n. 10 last year for all mission purposes. I got the ladies of the church to organize a Wo¬ man’s Missionary Society, and on yesterday they put into my hands JSr.Ss for missions. Now these families are to read th и Journal. I know they will do still more for the Mas¬ ter.” Other pastors can bring about just such results by a little work. IN МЕМОШЛМ. Jane W. Graves was the daughter of Mr. Geo. W. Norris, a merchant of Balti¬ more. Owing to her mother’s ill-health, she, as eldest daughter, had, at the early age of twelve, the care of the home and the children. So in her early youth she began to be a burden bearer, and learned to live for others. Obliged to take re- ponsibilities which are heavy even for grown women, she influenced all by love, and took a mother's place with her younger brothers and sisters. When about twelve years old she was converted and was baptized by her pastor, Rev. Dr. Richard Fuller, whose daughter was her most intimate friend, and in whose family she was almost like a daughter. Her father was for years the superintend¬ ent of the Sunday-school, and she had her class there, and engaged in all the depart¬ ments of Christian work in a large city church. When older, she was one of the Board of Visitors to the Infirmary and to the Home of the Fallen, and was associated with other earnest Christian women in endeavoring to benefit her sex. In the female prayer meeting the vigor of her faith and her experimental acquaintance with the Word of God made her a leading spirit. Reverses in business, caused by the war, led to her father’s failure and the giving up of tiie country home she so much enjoyed.' She and her sister resolved to support themselves and those dependent on them by teaching school, for which she was eminently fitted by her thorough knowledge of English literature and her general in¬ formation. For years the school pros¬ pered, and many young ladies were brought under her influence. She governed by love, and sought to lead her pupils to Christ'. All her old scholars loved her, and many of them almost worshipped her. In 1872 she married Rev. R. H. Graves, and left with him for China. Here she soon became able to communicate with the women in their own language, and was universally beloved and esteemed. She had charge of the training of the Bible women and two girls’ day schools, and be¬ sides held meetings for the women, and visited them in their homes. Everywhere see diffused the light of a sweet,- sunny nature, and the warmtii of a loving, sincere sympathy, so that all the women came to her with their trials and sorrows and sought her guidance and prayers. Sixteen years were spent In the mission work, and she has left behind her a work that will endure, and a name that will never be for¬ gotten by the Chinese Christians. At the funeral services, Rev. Mr. Masters, formerly of the Wesleyan mission in Canton, re¬ lated a beautiful tribute paid to her by one of their Bible women. She said to him one day, “Jesus Christ lived on earth a long time ago, and now he is far off in heaven, but when I see how Ki $z Nai, (Mrs. Graves,) lives and loves, I can under¬ stand just what Jesus was like when he was on earth.” Thus did the Christ-life shine out through her daily life and conversation. In manners a perfect lady, in features beautiful, and in spirit gentle and siveet, she impressed all who met her with her loveliness of character. She lived only for others, and hence lived a life of power; she had an unusual wealth of affection, and hence won the love of all in return ; her communion with her Saviour was con¬ stant and intimate, and hence she dwelt in an atmosphere of peace and sunshine. For a year past she has been failing in health. Accustomed to be in good health all her life, she felt the more keenly the pangs of the neuralgia which attacked her. As an insiduous disease was eating at her vitals she failed to rally from the illness which prostrated her. In all the weariness and suffering of seven months illness she was patient and sweet tempered, and showed perfect submission to the will of God, Her physician one day remarked : “What a sweet and beautiful spirit she shows! Character always manifests itself in sickness." Such expressions as “ I have left all that to my Heavenly Father,” " God makes no mistakes,’”' I know no will but his.” were often on her lips and showed her perfect acquiescence in God’s will. Disappointed in iier hope of going home to Baltimore, she said, “ But I am going to the best home, and I know you will all envy me.” Her whole file showed forth that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is of such great price in God’s sight, and the testimony of a sweet, resigned death¬ bed, was a fitting close to such a life. As a ship gliding through our Orient seas by night leaves in its wake a stream of bright¬ ness, so her passage through this dark, world has left behind only a path of light and of beauty. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. We are indebted to Mr. Mial Davis, of Fitchburg, Mass., for the gift of several thousand tracts, entitled “ Our duty to the Lost.” Mr. Davis has given these for free distribution, and they will be supplied, along with other tracts we have on hand] through the Vice-Presidents and agents in the several States, to any persons desiring them, as well as to persons applying to us here. Our thanks are hereby given to Bro. Davis, and we feel sure that his little leaf¬ lets will do good as they find their way here and there into the homes of our peo¬ ple- _ _ _ _ . Mr. Gladstone says: “ I believe that the diffusion of the principles and practice, of systematic beneficence will form the moral' specific in our age.” . • ,