Rev. T. S. Smith writes from Ceylon that the Christians there exhibit a liberality which may well be imitated here. "In our Ceylon mission we have ten churches, all but three self supporting; the smallest has but seventeen members, but supports its own pastor. Last year the churches gave 700 rupees ($350), to the native missionary society, which carrics on work in the small islands. One of our best givers is a poor woman of the tree climbing caste, blind of one eye. She works in the field and makes about sixty-two cents a month. She gives one-tenth, and her handful of rice besides." Mr. Walkup writes of a new island he has lately visited in the Gilbert group, call ed Ocean Island or Banaba: "The men are entirely nude. Married women have the fringe worn on the other islands, while girls and unmarried women wear leaves, generally suspended around the neck. The king listened to us about having a teacher and asked, 'What good will it be to us?' When answered, he said the other chiefs and people would be called to decide. I proposed that they assemble on the beach, where most of the people were collected, and there decide. In the public assembly, after much palavering, they admitted four public sins, namely, stealing, quarreling, drunkenness, and adultery. They did not seem to have any appreciation of a future life, or of anything in this life beyond get ting clear from the above sins. I told them the Bible would tell how to do this and more, if they would obey its teachings. They accepted a teacher and promised to treat him well and feed him," Miscellany. occasion to make the most absurd statements in regard to the number of Englishmen in his camp. The king of Busoga had failed, also, to render his annual tribute to the king of Uganda, and Mwanga was told that it was because there were so many white men in the country. A number of incidents occurred which, in the excited state of the king and court, served to awaken their suspicions. The katikiro, or prime minister, and one Mujasi, captain of the body-guard, made complaints that the missionaries were hiring the natives, so that the chiefs could not get unpaid service as formerly. Moreover, Muja ki declared that the missionaries were trying to take away the subjects of Mwanga and carry them across the lake to other lands. Nothing was left for the missionarics but to warn their friends, and specially the lads, not to come to the missionary premises until the storm had blown over. But on the thirtieth of January last, Mr. Mackay, with three or four baptized native lads, started for the lake, and was set upon by Mujasi, with a large force of men, and the boys were handcuffed and taken back to the capital. Great insults were heaped up on Mr. Mackay. He went to the prime minister, who ordered all the missionaries to leave the country. It was a very critical hour, and for a time it seemed as if not merely the native converts but all the missionaries would be massacred by the excit ed people. It seems that three of the captured lads, Serwanga, Kakumba, and another whose name is not given, were taken by Mujasi Young Native Christians in Africa Dying for to a place outside the capital, and there Jesas. tortured. The story is a most painful one. Their arms were cut off, and they were then bound alive to a scaffolding under which a fire was made, and they were slowburned to death. The several years the English Church Missionary Society has maintained a mission in Uganda, on the shores of Lake Nyanza, in Central Africa. The friendly ship of King Mtesa was capricious. Upon his death the outlook was brighter, as his successor sec med disposed to aid the mission. Letters writ ́en in May, and received in London in September, give an account of trials and heroic sufferings, even unto death. The brief summary of the events is furnished by the Missionary Herald. The young king, Mwanga, son of Mtesa, was made very angry by the non-appearance of three young missionaries whom Mr. Mackay had been expecting, and whom he crossed Lake Nyanza to meet. At the same time rumors were current that there were white men in Busoga, the region on the east side of the lake, with a large force. The rumor probably had arisen from the fact that Mr. Joseph Thomson's visit in that section had awakened the fears of the people of Busoga, and the enemies of the English missionaries had taken It is wonderful to read that even when Mujasi and his men were mocking the sufferers, and bidding them to pray to Jesus to rescue them from the flames, the lads clung to their faith, and in the fire they Killa siku tunsifu (Daily, daily sang: sing the praises)." After this another lad was bound and beaten, and compelled to reveal the names of all who ever came to the mission services. Of course, the Christian community was scattered, but wonderful courage was given the converts. One of them, a page at court, came fearlessly, saying that he had heard that he was reported to the king as a Christian, and he would not refuse to die, but preferred to be found on the mission premises. Another went to the court, meaning to assert his faith in Christ and stand by the consequences; but the wrath of the king and of his officials had begun to subside. The missionaries told the king that they should leave the country. He seemed unwilling to have them go, and asked them to mend his revolver. Shortly after, he began to apoligize for what had been done, and declared that he knew nothing of Mujasi's action in killing the young men. He consented to summon a public court, and there state that he wished the missionaries to remain in the country, and that he would allow his people to come to them to be taught. No sooner had this revulsion of feeling taken place than a new and most scricus peril arose. A conspiracy had made con. siderable headway to depose the young king because he was now inclined to be friend the foreignere. This led to the removal from office of some of the prominent chiefs who opposed the missionaries. Had the conspiracy succeeded, unquestionably all the mission force would have ben slaughtered; but the final issue was the complete discomfiture and disgrace of the bitter enemies of the mission. Even at the time of the greatest confusion considerable numbers came on Surdays to the mission premises, while those who were in special danger of arrest came at night. The blood of the martyrs proved as so often heretofore, to be the seed of the Church. Not a few were eager for bap. tism, and after due examination were admitted to the church. Some of Mujasi's own men, who helped in the entrapping of the lads, have come for instruction. One of them was so impressed by the behavior of the martyred youths while under torture that he determined to learn to pray. The katikiro that Mr. Mackay was a favorite at the was at last accounts friendly, and declared court. Sunday services were well attended. The king has repca'edly renewed his assurances of friendship, saying that in Lis own reign and that of his son's son, he will not be without an Englishman in his coun try. He is not yet his own master, but lives in fear of his chiefs, yet he is impressed to some extent with the value of the foreigners who reside within his kingdom. At last accounts the king was himself receiving instruction, and the outlook was most hopeful for the mission. Indian Education. Prof. M. Finity, superintendent of the Quapaw Mission, Indian Territory writes: Schools for the education of Indian children and youth are divided into three classes: day schools and boarding schools on the Indian reservations adjacent to the tribes, and training schools in the States remote from the Indian country. There are in successful operation 128 day schools, 83 boarding schools, and 6 training schools for Indians, attended by nearly 10,000 pupils, at an annual cost to the Government of over half a million dollars. Besides these, a large num ber of Indian youths have been distributed through the several States in private and church schools, so that the present year witnesses nearly 15,000 Indian children and youths in school, exclusive of those in the five civilized tribes in the Indian Territory, who are classified as Indians, but who are only Indian in name, and should not be reck oned in any statistics on the Indian ques tion. A good deal of fault is found at the limited appropriation made by Congress for In dian education. While millions have been cheerfully voted for carrying on Indian wars, the annual appropriations for educa tional purposes have never, we believe, exceeded $7,000,000. The boarding and training schools are of most value to the Indian, for here he is removed from heathen rites and customs and the evil influence of camp life, and brought in contact with intelligent and Christian people who are devoted to his welfare. These schools are not like schools in the States, where book knowledge alone is taught. These are industrial schools where a portion of each day is devoted to manual labor. There is attached to each boarding school a large farm furnished with all kinds of farming implements, teams, stock, etc., and the boys are taught all kinds of farm work. Each is taught and even com. pelled, to do what he has never done before, and what he has always been taught is not manly, namely, to work. The girls are instructed in the mysteries of the sewing ma chine, dress making, housekeeping, laundry work, the culinary art, etc. In a word, the Indian pupil is taught how to read and write, how to think, how to live, and how to work. The Government supplies each school with eight or ten employes or teachers who are especially qualified to train these pupils. Among them are active Christians who conduct prayers for the children on week day evenings and a Sunday school on the Sabbath, and the children are instructed in the cardinal principles of Christianity. The superintendents are usually Christian men, and often ministers. The Indian child is naturally du'l. From infancy till he enters these schools at eight or ten his mind is almost a blank. He has had no training. Some of them have no moral sense. Many of them have a very immoral sense. The first work in such cases is to unlearn, and of all lessons that of unlearning is the hardest. In this part of the territory-the northeast-the Indians may be considered civ ilized. They farm to a limited extent and wear white people's clothes, but many of their ancient rites and customs are still maintained. The schools are exerting a potent influence in rectifying these evils. A number of white men have married into the tribes. The five civilized tribes, namely, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, were civilized in this way. The mixed bloods are anxious to learn, and are apt scholars. The squaw men, as they are called, usually have great influence on the tribes, and are quietly teaching them the arts of civilization. General Sherman once said they were the rulers of the Sioux Nation. Our plan for settling this vexed Indian question is, educate the Indian girls, give each a thousand acres of land, and invite the ambitious young bloods of the north and east to go for them, and the Indian question will be settled. Building Two Churches a Day. BY REV. C C M'CABE D.D. Whereas, Mr Thomas W. Price, of Philadelphia, in his controversy with the Board of Church Extension, has called in question the truth of my dispatch to the lafidel Convention held at Watkins' Glen, New York, in 1883; and, Whereas, The said Thomas W. Price, has denounced as "false and blasphemous" the song "We're building two a day," written by A. J. Hough, of Vermont, and published by A. J. Kynett in his "Church Extension Song Service," and sung by myself all over the Republic; I call public attention to the following statements: In the aforesaid Convention much was said about the decline of the Church. One speaker cried out: "The churches are dying out all over the the land. They are struck with death!" The song was written shortly afterward. After careful research I saw that the poet had come nearer the truth then I. It was plain that, understanding the pronoun "we" to stand for the Methodist Episcopal Church-for many churches are built without aid from the Board-the song was glo riously true; therefore I let it pass unchal lenged. An so we sang it and shouted it from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I cannot proceed with my proof without thanking Brother Price for calling it out. He prob ably never rendered a greater service to Methodism in his life. Now for the demonstration of the truth of both dispatch and song. I propose to show, first, that the dispatch was true when it was sent, and had been true for sixteen years; and that the song was true when it was written, and and has been true | for five years-that is to say, it would have been true in 1881, and has been ever since. The Board of Caurch Extension was created by the General Conference of 1864. On the first of January of that year the Methodist Episcopal Church owned 9,430 houses of worship. An increase of one church per day for sixteen years would add to that number 5,840 churches, and bring us down to 1880. An increase of two churches per day for five years thereafter would add 3,650 churches to the number, and bring us down to January 1st, 1885, a period of twenty one years-covering the history of the Board of Church Extension, whose efficient working, more than any other cause, secured the unprecedented advance which marked those years. Now, therefore, to make the dispatch and song true, it is required that we show a total number of churches at the close of 1884 of 18,920, and a net gain of 9,490 churches. We closed the year 1884 with 19,128 9,698 to represent the work of twenty one churches (see General Minutes), a gain of years, or two hundred and eight churches more than enough to prove the truth of both the dispatch and song! Sing on, then, O ye Methodist people"A new church greets the morning dame Another evening's ray; All hail the power of Jesus' name: Meanwhile we are reminded of a certain coat of arms which represents an anvil standing unharmed, while broken hammers lie all around it, and underneath this inscription: "Hammer away, ye hostle bands; the Your hammers break, God's anvil stand!" Brother Price, stop pounding Church Extension anvil, and come and help us to raise a million for missions! New York, January, 1886 "From Boston to Bareilly and Back.” We have been reading this charming book by our own Dr. Wm. Butler with increasing interest. The title gives but little idea as to its true nature except to those acquainted in part at least, with the work performed by Dr. Butler in the establishment of Methodis: Episcopal Missions in India. Here is an account of the conversion of the author, and that train of Providences that in 1856 made him our first missionary to India. The record of that early work is found in The Land of Veda. Dr. Butler returned to the United States, and in 1883 was permitted to visit the scene of his early labors. What he then saw is here recorded. The book shows the results which have been accomplished in India and the record is sufficient to largely increase the enthusiasm and liberalty of the Church, It is published by Phillips & Hunt at $1.50. The reading of it will be a means of grace to any Christian. We trust that all our readers will buy and read it. Country and People of Siam. SIAM in southeastern Asia has an area of about 250,000 | they are described as mere mortals like ourselves, having square miles, and a population of about 2,000,000 Siam- no power over us, nor even any essential superiority to ese; 1,000,000 Chinese; 2,000,000 Laotians; 1,000,000 us. Each man must work out his own destiny for himMalays; total about 6,000,000. self, with no aid from any higher power. Siam is called by its inhabitants Thai, or Muang Thai, which means "the kingdom of the free." The word Siam is never used by the natives and is probably Malay, from sajam, the "brown race." The legislative power is exercised by the king in conjunction with a Council of Min. isters, who have charge of the departments of the War and Marine, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Agriculture, the Royal House, and Fi nance. The Council of State consists of the minisers, 10 to 20 members appointed by the king, and 6 princes of the royal house. Each of the 41 provinces into which the country is divided is administered by a governor; while there are several tributary districts administered by their own princes. "One of the important doctrines of Buddhism is that KING OF SIAM. of transmigration. It teaches that the cause of every joy or sorrow is to be found in some conduct of the man himself, if not in this life, then in some of his previous lives. Such a theory appeals to the conviction that every event must have a cause, and to the innate sense of justice which demands that every act shall have its merited consequences. "Buddhism, however, which denies the existence of the soul, is obliged to teach transmigration in a very strange form. According to this, although you go to nothingness when you die, yet a new person is sure to be produced at that moment, who is considered to be practically the same as yourself, because he begins existence with The reigning king, Chulalonkorn I (Somdech Phra | all your merits and demerits exactly, and it is to your Paramindr Maha), was born Sept. 21, 1853, the eldest son of the late King Maha Mongkut, and of Queen Ram bhey Bhumarabhiromya, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, October 1, 1868. His son, Prince Somdech Chowfa Maha Vajirunhis, born June 23, 1878, is the heir apparent. Buddhism is the prevailing religion. Siam has been called "The very citadel of Buddhism-the land which, more than any other, is entirely and only Buddhist. For twelve hundred years it has had no other religion than this. Yet in the real sense of the word it is no religion at all, for it teaches no God above, and no soul within us. "Its founder was Gautama, who is generally known by the title of 'The Buddha,' or 'The Enlightened One.' Though he speaks of beings who are called gods, yet thirst for life that he owes his being. Practically, its believers are apt to forget their denial of the soul, and speak as if it does exist and goes at death into a new body. This new birth, moreover, may not be into the form of a man but into that of a beast of the earth, a devil in some hell, or an angel in some heaven. "The very existence of the priesthood of Buddhism in Siam is enough to dwarf the prosperity of any people. Forbidden to engage in any useful work, and enjoined to live solely on alms, these men drain the community of $25,000,000 each year for their bodily support alone, beside all which they get for their temples, etc. Ignorant as they usually are, yet the whole education of the people is in their hands; and every man in the nation spends at least part of his life in the priesthood, while every woman and child is glad to gain PALACE OF THE KING OF SIAM AT BANGKOK. lasting merit by feeding them. The Rev. R. A. Eaton writing from Bangkok, Siam, gives the following account of the Chinese in Siam: "In this city, numbering a popula tion of half a million, it is safe to say that at least one-third are Chinese, and I should think it probable that there is even a larger percentage than that. The Siamese are an indolent and unprogressive people; the Chinese, as is well known, are industrious, enterprising, and aggressive. By far the greater part of the labor, not only in this city, but in all parts of Siam, is performed by Chinamen. They hold most of the farms through which the revenue of the country comes into the public treasury, and are often put into lower offices of the government, and rise according to their ability and fidelity. The Chinese are the owners of the junks, many of the ships, and some of the steamships and steam-mills in Siam; and, besides, they are found in every department of industry. "The Chinese become identified with the Siamese in a special manner by marryiug Siamese wives. The offspring of such marriage speak the Siamese language. The more ambitious of the Siamese are frequentlyI might almost say invariably-found to be these Siamo-Chinese, who make up the larger number of pupils in government and mission schools, fill the offices of clerks to the merchants, and servants of all kinds to the foreigners here. "The Chinese who come here become Siamese subjects, pay a triennial tax of three dollars, and, like all other Siamese subjects, pay a tax on their productions; but they are ex |