FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL;
lMibllHhcrt 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. 16 — New Series.
RICHMOND, VA„ OCTOBER, 18S4.
•No. 3.— Whole No. 19B.
[Eateml ftl the Poat-Offlee lit ItlchmoiuJ, Va,, an
1 ntcofubclnes matter.]
Foreign Mission Journal
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address,
Address, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL.
Richmond, Va.
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION,
LOCATED at RICHMOND. VIRGINIA.
PnMIDitNT— J.
Ь.
M. GURRY.
Vicie-PK.BinieHTe.— .Tu.lnm I.evcrmit, Md.( J.
Л.
Hack.tt, I.»., J. I.. llurrows,
Л'а„
N. A. Halley, Fla..
0. F. Oreeory, N.
О..
T. T, Ealon, Ky.. J. .1, 1). Hen-
froe, Alabama. R. S.
Папопи, ЛТо.,
II. H. Garroll,
Texas, W. b. Kilpatrick,
Па.,
Ghne. Manly, S. O.,
J.
ДГ.
Si-uliT, Tent,.. J. II, Searcy, Ark., George
WhllHeltl, Mies., W. F. Attkleeon, W, Va,
COlUIKftPONDINO SlCTlKTAItY— II. A. TUl'PER.
ТпкАйипка—
J. 0. WILLIAMS.
lUconuia.i SkcncTAnr— W. II. GWATHMEY.
AWDITOU— JOSEPH F.
ООТТКЕ1Л..
Roaud or
Млклокяв,—
J. II. Hawthorne, J. n. Wat*
Чае.
H. K. Ellyeon, IV. E. Hatcher. E. Wortham, W.
II. Thoraae, W. OoUdln, H. H. Harris, J. Pollard, Jr.,
J W. Jonee.A. II. Ularke, J.
И
Winston, J. II. Hut-
ion.
О.
II. Winston. S. O. Oloutou.
t&r All communications in reference to Me
business of this Hoard should be addressed to
H, A. Tupi’IIk, Corresponding Secretary,
Jtiehmond ,
Га.
OUR TREASURY.
By the help of a balance brought over
from last year, the slender contributions of
the summer months have been sufficient to
meet expenses up lo this date, September
20th. That balance is now exhausted and
the treasury empty. Drafts are coming reg¬
ularly as before and a specially large expen¬
diture must be made in October for the out¬
fit and passage money of new missionaries.
Not less than jlO.OOu will have to be paid out
this month.
Many of our churches take their collections
about this time. We beg them to be liberal
and to forward promptly, livery little helps.
ONE MORE MONTH.
The special offer heretofore made holds
good till the 21st day of October. During
August and September we have secured un¬
der it many single subscribers at 3.1 cts j and
some small clubs in country and village
churches, four copies to one person (5 *1 ;
ten (r, $2.50, i4x.; and a few larger ones,
twenty-five copies @ jo. The city churches
as a rule have been taking vacation— now
is their time lo order one hundred copies dp
$15. We will guarantee that if the papers
are wisely distributed the increase of contri¬
butions will be more than double the cost of
subscription.
Meantime we shall be glad to get a few
thousand more of single subscribers and
small clubs. Hut be prompt, brethren, these
rates are offered only until October31st, and
cannot be extended unless we add by that
time at least five thousand to our circulation.
THE HOME MISSION SOCIETY.
In August we gave our reasons for using
occasionally the epithet "northern" to dis¬
tinguish the Hoard located in New York from
our Home Hoard at Atlanta. This was
copied with comments by the Beligious
Herald. The Home Mission Monthly for
September devotes four and a half columns
tequa! to about three Journal columns) to
a bitter reply, which we notice is taken up in
the same spirit by the Baptist Weekly, and
much more mildly and courteously by the
Watchman. We leave to the Herald so much
of the reply as concerns its comments ; to
the rest we respond as briefly as possible.
Our contemporary is specially aggrieved
that we pronounced “unintelligible, if not
absurd, the claim that the A. Ii. II. M. So¬
ciety is not sectional, is not a ‘ northern ’ So
ciety." The grievance rests upon an utter
misconception of our meaning. What we
intended, and what we think our language
on a fair construction means, may be stated
more fully thus: Sectional and northern are
not in our conception synonymous— the
former as applied to an organization is a
term of severe reproach, the latter is merely
geographical, indicating only relative lo¬
cality. It would he in our view uninteillgi
ble, if not absurd, for any missionary society
to claim gravely in its annual report that it
is or is not political, equally absurd to aver
either that it is or that It is not sectional.
We respectfully ask the honored secretary to
look again at our article and notice that we
nowhere, either directly or by implication,
apply to his society the offensive epithet, and
then we call upon him ns a Christian gentle’
man to retract the uncharitable and untrue
remark that “the Southern Ilaptist Conven
lion is avowedly, in scope and in spirit, in
sympathy and in its regular supporters, un¬
deniably sectional." If this flat contradic¬
tion of what we had said is not retracted, we
can only enter seven denials, one to the
statement as a whole, the other six to each
and every one of its qualifications, and appeal
to the common sense of American baptists
and to that tribunal where answer must he
made for every idle word.
but we did maintain that since American
baptists have two agencies for home work,
one supported mainly, not entirely, by those
who live in the southern States, the other
supported mainly, not entirely, by those who
life in tile eastern, middle and western
States, -therefore it is legitimate and con¬
venient to distinguish them as southern and
northern. To call the A. Ii. H. M. Society
northern means, in our view, only that " its
managers and members and the contribu¬
tors on whom it relies" live mainly in
northern States, and that the churches in
these States do their home mission work
mainly, not exclusively, through this Society.
This certainly is just what the term southern
means as used in the name of our Conven¬
tion. To give it any other meaning seems to
us unintelligible ; to deny it, in the face of
patent facts, seems to us, absurd. So much
by way of explanation of tile language which
has been taken amiss. We trust this will be
satisfactory, so far at least as our intentions
were concerned.
The Monthly takes occasion to discuss the
separation of '18-45, to reproduce certain res¬
olutions adopted by the Board in 1SG5 and
following years, to restate the claims of the
Society, to assail the "sectional southern or¬
ganization,” and to quote in italics from Dr.
Fuller and in capitals from Dr. Jeter. We
notice briefly t-icli point, though not in the
above order.
The claim that the Home Mission Society
i.^ continental and not northern is based on
such statements as these: It “ rejoices in the
increasing number of life members and life
directors, both of whiteand colored brethren,
in the southern States, and that many
churches in several southern States are regu¬
lar contributors to its treasury.” We too re¬
joice in this, but lest our joy should be ex¬
cessive, it is well to remember that the pay¬
ment required to make one a life director
would give him a right to sit only for a sin¬
gle meeting in the S. II. C., and that the fee
of life-membership is but $30. Its “mem¬
bers, managers and contributors are all over
the land." No, not its managers, they are
all, as the constitution requires, resident in
or near New York city. As for the contribu¬
tions, we should be glad for some expert in
figures to deduct from the sums credited to
southern States the amounts paid by students
for board, tuition, room-rent, &c., and tell us
what proportion the remainder bears to the
aggregate of receipts. But says the Monthly,
“it will not be surprising if, in the near future,
the Society shall hold its annual meeting in
the South." Why should it be surprising if
the claim above is valid ? Dr. Fuller in 1874
offered a resolution, "That if, in the provi¬
dence of God, the time shall come when we
shall know no north, no south, no east, no
west, Sec., we will hail that auspicious period.”
Then evidently he thought the time had not
come.
In reference to the separation the Monthly
tacitly admits what we had said, that the
Home Mission Society first, by formal reso¬
lution, drew the line between Baptists " at
the Soutli and at the North,” but tries to
parry the force of this stubborn fact thus:
" Hut who passed those resolutions ? Breth¬
ren of the South, then members of the so¬
ciety, together with brethren of the North.
Why was this action taken? Because of
radically opposing views on the subject of
slavery. * * Such an organization was
already a foregone conclusion, a call having
been issued prior to this for a 'convention
to confer as to the best means of prosecut¬
ing the foreign mission cause and other in¬
terests of the Baptist denomination at the
South. * * Until slavery divided the
society, it was not ‘Northern.’ After that
for nearly twenty years slavery compelled it
to be Northern. * * The action of
1845 was called out by a peculiar state of
things. These have, passed away. The
cause of separation is dead and buried.”
These assertions and more of the same sort
are framed to throw the blame of the sepa-
tiou entirely on Southern Baptists. They
concern the facts of history. We challenge
every material point, and appeal to the
records.
The half-dozen brethren from the South
who were at Providence in 1845, did not in
any proper sense pass those resolutions,
much less were they the leaders, as the form
of expression would indicate. A separate
organization was not a foregone conclusion.
The convention had been called to confer
The action meanwhile taken left no alterna¬
tive. We verily believe that if, in April, the
American Baptist Home Mission Society
had declared a purpose to be true to its
name, and to abide by its Constitution, the
Southern Convention would not have been
organized in May, 1845. But our contempo¬
rary’s worst blunder is in what he says about
the cause of the separation. An uninformed
reader would surely infer that slavery was
introduced just before 1S45. What, then,
was the cause? We might answer very
briefly, but we prefer to quote in full the
formal declaration offered by Dr. John S.
Maginnis, of New York, carefully weighed
by the Home Mission Society, and finally
adopted. This testimony the Monthly can¬
not impeach. It is in the preamble to the
fatal resolution, and is in these words :
"Whereas, The American Baptist Home
Mission Society is composed of contributors
residing in slaveholding and non-slavehold¬
ing States; and whereas, the Constitution
recognizes no distinction among the mem¬
bers of the society as to eligibility to all the
offices 3tid appointments in the gift both of
the society and of the Board ; and whereas,
it lias been found that the basis on which
the society was organized, is one upon which
all the members and friends of the society
are not now willing to act ; therefore,” &c.
This fixes the responsibility for the sepa-
tion on our Northern brethren, and clearly
indicates the cause— tlieir unwillingness to
abide by the compact implied in the Consti-
tion.
The resolutions quoted from the records
of 18G5 cl sey: were based upon the same
misconception which vitiates the Monthly's
present discussion of the causes of separa¬
tion. It is enough to say of them that they
bore their natural fruit in the famous— we
might almost say infamous— “ square talk"
at Chicago in 1871. God forbid that it
should ever be repeated.
Finally, we are told that Dr. Jeter thrilled
a New York audience in 1803 with these
words: "In some way the Baptists Nortli
and South must come together and work to¬
gether.” These the Monthly puts in capital
letters, and adds " When and how this shall
take place, no man can tell.” Stay, brother,
we can tell you, at least, when and how such
results have been attained. When the pil¬
lars in the church at Jerusalem saw that
God had different work for different men,
tiiey gave, says Paul, to him and Barna¬
bas, *■ the right hands of fellowship, that we
should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto
the circumcision." On this principle, that
there is room enough for both, the Missiona¬
ry Union and our Foreign Board act; the
result is a growing cordiality and co-opera¬
tion. Take another case. Paul anti Barna¬
bas had a sharp contention over the pro¬
priety of a certain appointment, “ so that they
parted asunder one from the other." One
went soutli and southeast to Cyprus, the
other northward and westward through
Syria and Cilicia. We may regret the con¬
tention, and yet thank God for its issue in
the further spread of the Gospel. Whether
they ever met again in this world is uncer¬
tain, but they, at least, worked together
without any jars for the same great end.
American Baptists may well profit by their
example.
We had designed to call attention to some
important differences between the two or¬
ganizations, Northern and Southern, but ror
want of space, must defer that till next
month.
PRAYER FOR MISSIONARIES.
We know that our readers pray regularly 1
and earnestly for their representatives in ’
foreign lands, but the circumstances now
surrounding several of our stations call for
special wrestling at the throne of grace.
With war in China, cholera in Italy and
small-pox in Mexico, we ought most impor¬
tunately to pray that our brethren may be
shielded from the arrow that ffietlt by day,
and from the pestilence that walketh in
darkness; that amid all dangers they may
dwell in the secret place of the Most High,
and abide under the shadow of the Al¬
mighty, and that all these things may turn
out to the furtherance of the Gospel.
A QUESTION BOX.
We have thought of filling a column now
and then with questions and answers per¬
taining to the history and status of missions.
We, of course, do not set ourselves up to
answer any question that can he propounded,
but we have access to numerous histories
and current publications, and might some¬
times furnish a hit of information that some¬
body needs. At any rate, if our readers
choose to ask, we will see what can be done
for them. Sign the query as you please, but
give us also your real name and address.
It is estimated that more than two-thirds
of bequests to religious or charitable objects
fail. The laws and the courts are rightfully
of anything that looks like trying to
the favor of heaven or the good opinion
of men with that which the purchaser can¬
not longer keep for himself. Even if the
validity of such a bequest is finally estab¬
lished, it comes depicted by litigation. It is
much better, therefore, to give while still
living, and execute your own will.
The China Inland mission has now 12G
missionaries scattered through the Empire.
They adopt the Chinese dress and mode of
living. They have no salary promised, but
develop plans of self-support. ,
