Foreign Mission Journal, August 1882

FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL. ' / Published Monthly by tlio Foreign Mission Hoard of the Southern Baptist Convention. “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, go ye, therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 14— New Series. RICHMOND. VA„ AUGUST. 1882. No. 1.— Whole No. 1Б7. CKntoretl at the I’oel-Ofllce at Illchmomt, Vft , us spcoiul-cliteH matter.] Foreign Mission Journal. RATES PER ANNUM: One copy, separately folded mid addressed . 5 50 Three conies, addressed to one person . i 00 Ten copies, addressed to one person., . . 3 00 Forty copies, addressed to one . . . One hundred copies, addressed to one person.,... 20 00 Please remit by Draft, Postal Order, or in Kck'Is- lertid Letter, and notify us promptly of nnv chance in address. Atldrcbs, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL, Richmond, Va. FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE 80UTHEBN BAPTIST CONVENTION. Locatkd at HIOIIMOND. V1KOINIA. Нпсмоамт— J. L. M. CUIlltY. Vic*-l>)4ieio*NTe.— lllram Wood., Mil., J. A. Hack- »tt, I.a.( J. I.. Ilurrowe, Vn.. t\ I’, lit, hop. Fla., O. V. Ori'Kory, N. О., Robert Hyland. Ky.. J. .1. I). Ken- Iroo, Alabama, II. S. Duncan, Wo., G. TV. 1’lckolt, Техас, W. h. Kilpatrick. Oa.. Ohn«. Manly, S. U., Matt. Hill. man. Teon.. \V. lb Mnyflcld, Ark., George Wbltflold, Ml..., M. Dill. on, W. Va. Oonit aspONDiNO HicnaTAitT— H. A. TUI'l'KH. TtlKARUnan — J. O. WILLIAMS. KaconDimi SaCRSTAnv— W. II. GWATIIMEY. Aupixon— JOSKFH F. OOTTJIKLL Полно OF Manaozhs _ ,T. B. Hawthorne, J. П. Wat- ktna. II. K. Klly.on, W. K. Hatcher, K. Wortham. W. D. Thcmne, tv. Ooddin, II. II. Ilarrl». J. l’ollard. .Tr.. J. W. Jon»». Л. H. Olark», ,T. It Wln.ton, J. II, Hut- eoa, О II. Wln.ton, S. (J. Illopton. E6 РЛ11 comnunciations in reference to the business of this Jloard should He addressed to H. A. Tui-rim, Correspondin'/ Secretary, Richmond , Га. THE NEW FORM. According to promise the Journal ap-‘ pears in a new and enlarged form. This will give more room for letters from ottr missionaries and for words of counsel or of cheer from workers in the home Held. Have you a successful plan of raising money for missions? Tell us about it in half a dozen short, crisp sentences. It will help others. We desire particularly to give more ' space than has heretofore been possible to woman's work of gathering up the mites and fragments, and collecting them into a bountiful repast, a riclt and fragrant Oder- , ing. Remember, however, that the paper is still small and communications, except from missionaries, must be short. i The increase of size involves a corres-j ponding increase in cost of paper, printing and postage. To meet this and keep the paper self-sustaining, the terms to dubs have been raised about five cents a copy. ' Uncxpircd subscriptions will be filled out at , the old rates, , but from (his dale the price will lie for a single copy, ns heretofore, Ml cents; for three or more, h.'IJj cents each; for ten or more, .ISO cents each ; for forty or more, 115 cents each ; for one hundred or more, 20 cents each. These reduced rates are designed for churches or other mission¬ ary societies, and are allowed only on pack-' ages sent to one person, who must be respon¬ sible for their proper distribution. Л prompt compliance with these terms and a little ef¬ fort on the part of friends to extend the cir- , culntion of the Journal, will keep it free t from any pecuniary embarrassments and aid it in the important work to which it is de¬ voted. There was an intimation last month that l the paper might be “under new editorial management." Suffice it to say, that if there , be a new editor, lie prefers to remain, for the present, unknown. lO.OUS conversions. The average contribu¬ tion is a little over 20 cents per member. The Moravians lead all others, giving $240,- 000, or ,'4.78 for every member. The Re¬ formed Presbyterian, the Reformed Dutch and the Friends, give an average of over $1.00 apiece, and generally the smaller bodies show a better average than the larger ones. The great denominations compare (in round numbers) as follows : The American Hoard of Commissioners (Congregational), with 384, 000 members, raised $091,000, an average of $1.71; the Presbyterians (North), withSSl ,000 communi¬ cants, raised $500,000, an average of $1.01; the Protestant Episcopal Church, with 345,- 000 communicants, raised $180,000, an ave¬ rage of 63 cents ; the Presbyterians (South), with 122,000 communicants, raised $30,000, an average of 48 cents; the Baptist Mission¬ ary Union (North), with 002,000 members, raised $2.89,000, an average of 43 cents; the Methodist Episcopal Church (North), with 1,742,000 members, raised $323,000, an aver¬ age of IS cents; the Methodist Episcopal Church (South), with 848,000 members, raised $103,000, an average of 12 cents; and the Southern Baptist Convention, with 971,- 000 members, raised only $47,000, an average of .04 cents. To make the comparison of present lib¬ erality perfectly fair, we must add that the income reported by the older societies comes partly from collectionson the field and partly from interest oil invested funds. Thus the Moravians, who began their foreign work in 1732, receive nearly $100,000 a year from their mission fields, and some $18,000 of interest on legacies and other special funds. The same is true, to a less extent, of the Ameri¬ can Board of Commissioners, organized in 1810; the Presbyterians, who date back to 179(1 ; the Northern Baptists, 1814; Metho¬ dists, 1819; and Episcopalians, 1820. Our Southern Baptist Convention met first in 1S45, And yet this correction of the figures would not alter the sad fact that in the grace of giving we are the very last and lowest of the large denominations. Another table in the same magazine, com¬ piled by Dr. Cheney, of Elgin, III., from sta¬ tistics of 1870-80, is as follows: i terest next spring. How much better if the | churches would send forward at once the : first fruits of the bountiful harvest with which God has blessed our land. AGENTS. All duly accredited agents for the Foreign Mission Board are also agents for its paper. We hope at least a thousand others among our readers will take this favorable opportu¬ nity to present the claims of the Journal, and send us a goodly list of subscribers. Please write the names of persons and post-offices distinctly, and send the money by draft, postal order, or in a registered let¬ ter, payable to “I'orf.ign Mission Jour¬ nal,” Richmond, Vn. If some one would exhibit copies and take subscriptions at all the Associations held this summer and fall it would add to our list at least 5,000 new readers. If you want a few specimen copies for such a purpose, drop us a postal and we will send them. II '35 <« U X- it - a i~ f. U — W.& J = ConKrojrntlonal . l’resbjurian..., . Mcllio<li»t . 4»6 334 194 567 220 666 5 627, S62 420,427 299. «74 17.165 11,607 26.702 . _ iuptisi . 1 63 1.053 2Г4.<62 65.3ol I low little we Baptists are doing for the Master, and, how much he is blessing our work ! "To the Lord our God belong mer¬ cies, but unto us confusion of faces." COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. The Missionary Review for July-August. 1882, contains a table showing the numerical strength, the contributions for Foreign mis¬ sions, and the work of fifty difierent organi¬ zations in America for the year 13S1. The totals are .10,105,970 communicants, $2,997,433.34 of income during the year, 1,899 missionaries, with 8.19S native assistants, and THE FOURTH OF JULY— Not the fourth day, on which we celebrate the birth of American independence, but the fourth Sunday, on which we commemorate the resurrection of our Lord and the out¬ pouring of Pentecostal power — the Conven¬ tion recommended its observance as a time for special prayer and liberal giving for For¬ eign missions. If any pastors should have forgotten the day, the fifth Sunday this year will give them a good opportunity to repair the breach, or perhaps they might use the permission granted to any unclean Israelites of old, and keep the feast a month later. At the time of this writing the Board is out of debt, but from Asia, Africa, Italy, and South America the quarterly drafts are com¬ ing — some of them, indeed, have already reached Richmond, and there is not money enough in the treasury to meet them. We can borrow, yes; and have to repay with in¬ I Hanford Tiiomas, I-L. D., Professor of i Ancient Languages in Georgetown College, I Ky., was one of the most faithful friends of our ; missions. A native of Maine, he had been for , forty-two years in Georgetown College, and was nearly sixty-five when he " fell on sleep," 1 May 17, 1SS2 He was always at the monthly concert of prayer for missions, ready to give • the latest news from the field, and to dis- 1 ; tribute the package of Journals. We hope the Trustees may fill the vacant chair with another of kindred spirit. “ Men die — the work goes on." EARS OF CORN- I The Disciples on a certain Sabbath, as they walked through the corn-fields, “ pluck- ! ed the ears of corn, and ate, rubbing them in their hands.” We purpose, in like man¬ ner, as we peruse exchanges or move among ; the brethren, to pluck from here and there ’ a ripe thought, a fresh suggestion, or a pun¬ gent fact, which we trust the readers of the Journal will find both wholesome and re- j freshing. The Missionary Review, (Princeton, N. J.,) in an elaborate discussion of " How* to Send ■ Money to Foreign Missions,” expresses l hearty approval of the plan of our Board, i which is to allow the missionaries to draw on the Treasurer, quarterly in advance, for ! the several appropriations. The advantages i of this plan, says the Review, are two : " It I avoids all risk of loss by failing bankers. It | avoids paying a percentage for commission, , and also loss of interest on funds advanced." To which we may add that it relieves the missionaries of anxiety mid embarrassment, and enables them to negotiate with their bankers on the most favorable terms. But, then, what .j to be done when the drafts come, if there is no money in our treasury ? In the first three months of the present year our brother Clough and his helpers in the Telugu mission baptized 1,500 persons. “O, for some new Luther to sound the call for n пеги Reformation — a return to the uni- | versal activity of apostolic days — that made every believer a preacher and teacher, a wit¬ ness and herald! The last Reformation brought tlie Church hack to sound doc¬ trine-made it evangelical. Our present need is * * * to make the whole Church evan¬ gelistic." — Rev. Dr. Pierson, in Missionary Review. The Presbyterian Monthly Record reports a missionary conference recently held at Beirut, at which “about one hundred native brethren were in attendance from various parts of the country, and great unity of feel¬ ing and no little enthusiasm with regard to the Christian work and life were manifested." The population of the world is estimated at 1,350 millions. About 0 millionsnrejews, 90 millions belong to the Orthodox or Greek Church, 200 millions to the Roman Catholic, 120 millions (including children and non-pro- fessors in Christian communities) are Pro¬ testants, 190 millions are Maliommedans ; all the rest, 744 millions, are Pagans, living and dying without having heard of "Jesus and his love.” "True prayer brings us into fellowship with our Lord. To any one who loves Christ, ’tis a grand ambition to think and feel with Him. Now we are sure that our present exercises [a missionary prayer-meet¬ ing] and the object of them are in harmony with His, compassion. * * * The Mas¬ ter's work is of priceless worth ; it brings no taint and entails no regret. While it lasts 'tis good, and in review a light front heaven falls on it, foretelling a greater joy to come.” — Rev. John Midis, at Baptist anniversary, Kettering, England. The- • church takes its annual collec¬ tion for Foreign missions in January. This, in 1881, amounted to about $300. In Octo¬ ber a brother was directed to subscribe for 150 copies of the Forhign Mission Jour¬ nal, to be paid for out of the next annual collection, and to distribute them. The col¬ lection in 1S82 footed up $450. Net gain, in money for missions, $127.50; in piety and zeal, much more. “ It was a favorite policy with Gossner to send out mechanics, who, following the ex¬ ample of the Apostle Paul, should proclaim the gospel while they supported themselves. Beautiful as the idea appeared, lie soon found it impracticable. A European is not capable in a hot climate of earning a support with his own hands and preaching and teaching at the same time." — Gospel in All Lands. Nor does it accord witli Paul's teaching in I Corinthians, ix, 5-14, and elsewhere. “ The work [Basel Mission, on the Gold Coast,] was begun in 1S2S. For nineteen years it did not have a single convert. Several missionaries died or returned sick, and the apparently fruitless mission came very near being given up. In the following decade a few were baptized. Since then the number of converts has increased, numerous little congregations have sprung up, and now more than forty of them may be counted, with 4, GOO Christians. The number increased 1,155 during last year. Another fact of interest is that the mission has advanced successfully into the interior, and a station has been re¬ cently founded on the blood-soaked soil of Ashantee.” — Gospel in A/l Lands. “In the olden time there were in Israel those who chode sharply with their breth¬ ren because they were not called to battle. In modern Israel the complaint is re¬ versed.” — С. II. Ryland. "We reap what we sow, hut nature has love over and above that Justice, and gives us shadow, and blossom, and fruit, that spring from ho planting of ours.”— George Eliot. “The Chinese thank heaven every day that they have been born in civilized China, just as we thank God that we have been born in an evangelized country. Again, there is an almost entire absence of religious instincts in the minds of the Chinese. They are ex¬ tremely superstitious, and yet decidedly irreligious. They are a practical, commer¬ cial, secular people, and never more secular than in their religious performances. In the temple as well as in the shop they have a steady eye to business, bargaining witli their gods just as they do with each other; and their religion is a purely commercial trans¬ action.” — Rev. G. Johns, London.