are all native instructors. Sitting on the extreme left is Mr. Samuel Hensman, who has been connected with the college since 1874. Mr. Hensman took the first prize in the history examination of Calcutta University, competing with over 2,000 students. The third man from the left, next to Dr. Howland, is Mr. Edward A. Kingsbury, who for twenty years has been the instructor in mathematics. This and other excellent cuts of Jaffna College are to be found in a pamphlet just issued by the trustees of that institution. Copies of this pamphlet may be obtained on application at the rooms of the American Board. It is a significant fact that many Hindus have been so profoundly impressed by the character of Christ and by the results of the Christian religion that they are seeking to combine their reverence for him with the worship Christ Supreme. of their own idols. Reference has been frequently made to the princely gift of the Hindu Rajah of Ramnad for the Christian hospital at Madura. He has lately followed this gift by another of $500 for a library for the Christian school. He has spoken in high praise of Christ and acknowledged his personal indebtedness to Christian institutions for the training he has received, yet while doing this he has also endowed a school in Madras which bears his name and which is strictly Hindu in tone and character. He is seeking to obey two masters. It is possible that he may claim to follow both Christ and Vishnu all his life, but his children will not do this. With them it will be either Christ or Vishnu, and we trust it may be the former. Homage ONE of the perplexing questions which Christians in Japan have had to meet has reference to the homage which is to be paid to their emperor. It is a national custom to bow formally before the emperor's portrait, and not Worship. this has by many been regarded as a form of worship and not merely as a token of respect for a ruler. The conscience of many Christians has been seriously disturbed over the matter, inasmuch as they have often been accused of disrespect to their sovereign if they have refused to uncover the head and bow to his portrait, while those who have had no question about the propriety of the act have been accused of idolatry. Christians in the western world would have no question about removing the covering from their heads and making profound obeisance in the personal presence of any high official, and would never confound such act with worship. Why should similar obeisance before a sovereign's portrait be deemed idolatry? To some the question of conscience involved might seem simple, and yet it was like the eating of meat offered to idols in apostolic times, and was an occasion of much offence. The difficulty which some Christians have felt has been much relieved by some recent and significant utterances of the Prime Minister, the Marquis Ito, who has affirmed that "the loyalty due to the sacred person of the emperor from all his subjects is not to be confounded with religious sentiment; and as to the festivities periodically observed at the imperial court they were not to be regarded in the light of religious ceremonies; they were simply manifestations of filial reverence for imperial ancestors." Dr. De Forest, in sending us these utterances of the Marquis Ito, says: "These are among the statements coming from the highest authority in the empire, and they clear the air for most people." A Bicentennial. THE eighth day of March last was the two hundredth anniversary of the organization of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which is known throughout Great Britain, as well as throughout the world, under its initials S. P. C. K. It is the oldest organization of the Church of England for Christian work. While its special province in recent years has been the preparation and dissemination of Christian literature, it was the first British organization to send missionaries to India. In 1710 it took over the Danish Mission at Tranquebar, and Schwarz was one of its most famous missionaries. Seventy-three years ago it ceased conducting missions abroad, turning over that work to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and using its resources in building churches and schools and in the preparation and translation of Christian literature, doing this literary work in not less than 100 different languages and dialects. It has also assisted greatly in the endowment of missionary bishoprics as well as in medical missions, making grants-in-aid to various forms of Christian work in all parts of the world, such as are approved by its board of directors. It has done much in London in the opening of schools for the poor. This excellent and most venerable among missionary societies is worthy of all honor at this the close of its second century of Christian work. ONE of the theological students at Marsovan recently went as a guest to the home of a Greek priest, to which he was invited by the son of the priest, this son being connected with Anatolia College. After a time Barriers Falling. the student was invited to preach in the Greek Orthodox Church, and he began to labor with the people day by day. Though there were not more than one or two Protestants in the place, the student made such headway that he was invited to return and labor in the village during the long summer vacation. The incident illustrates the breaking down of the wall of separation between those who bear the Christian name in the Orient. The young man would like to accept the invitation, but the straitened finances of the mission will not allow it to send him. THE great value of deputations from missionary boards to the mission fields has been illustrated by the results of the deputation recently sent by the London The Deputation Missionary Society to Madagascar. The directors in London to Madagascar. have put on record their grateful acknowledgment for the divine goodness in the help afforded by this deputation in the settlement of some of the most serious difficulties encompassing the mission, especially in connection with the French authorities. We are glad to know that as a result of the work thus done, the outlook for evangelical truth in Madagascar is much more encouraging than it has been for a long time. Medical Work in Shansi. DR. HALL, of Taiku, in our Shansi Mission, reports a remarkable growth of the medical work at that station. Beginning with the year 1894, when there was a total of six patients in the hospital, the number increased last year to 547. In the dispensary the number of patients in 1894 was 117; in 1895, 619; in 1896, 2,341; while last year the number was 4,536. These patients came from the provinces of Chihli, Honan, and Shantung, and from no less than fourteen cities and 157 villages. So widely has this ministry of healing exerted its benign influence. in Japan. ONCE more we are indebted to Rev. Henry Loomis, agent of the American Bible Society in Japan, for his annual statistical table covering Protestant misMissionary Work sionary work in Japan. We are obliged to condense Mr. Loomis' table somewhat in order to meet the necessities of our page. This summary for 1897 is on the whole encouraging, although there. are reported twenty-eight fewer foreign missionaries than during the previous year. It is a notable fact that of the seventy-two churches which are wholly self-supporting, more than one half are connected with the American Board's mission. The additions it will be seen number 3,062, which is an increase over the number received the previous year of 549. The net gain in the membership of the churches is 2,217. There has also been a gain during the year of over 20,000 yen contributed by the native Christians for religious purposes. Mr. Loomis' table also gives the statistics of the Roman Catholic and of the Greek churches in Japan. The Roman Catholic Church reports 101 European missionaries, beside twenty-five friars and eighty-eight sisters. They have also twenty-four Japanese priests and 305 Japanese catechists. Connected with their 244 congregations there have been 2,031 adult baptisms, and the total adherents are given as 52,796. The Greek Church reports two European missionaries, 168 organized churches, with a membership of 23,856. THE article by Dr. Porter, of China, printed on another page, concerning the German Catholic mission in the province of Shantung, presents the course of the Germany in German government in a much more favorable light than we have China. regarded it. It is only fair that the judgment of missionaries on the ground should be known. The question will still arise concerning the propriety of establishing a foreign community in a remote district notorious for its turbulence, teeming with banditti, where the central government, even if actuated by the best of intentions, would find it most difficult, if not practically impossible, to maintain order and protect foreigners. It was doubtless brave on the part of the German missionaries who faced the danger involved, but was it wise and, in the Christian sense of the term, prudent to put themselves in that position? China no doubt needs to learn a lesson as to the rights of foreigners under existing treaties. She has now paid heavily for the recent riots in Shantung, and probably the lives and property of missionaries in that province will be safer in the future than they have been in the past. But it remains to be seen whether Christianity will advance faster in that province than it has in Fuh-kien since the émeute at Ku-cheng in which the murder of English missionaries was followed by no demand for great indemnity. It has been affirmed, and so far as we know without contradiction, that the patience and forbearance of the English mission. after the sad scenes through which they passed at the time of the Ku-cheng massacre have been a potent influence in awakening that extraordinary spirit of inquiry that has so gladdened the hearts of all missionaries in Fuh-kien during the last two years. The German demand after the Shantung massacre has been so excessive and its conditions so humiliating that we fear that foreign missionaries in China will find their work harder, though their lives may be safer. But Dr. Porter takes a different and much more hopeful view of the situation, and we gladly give room for his paper. FOR THE YEAR 1897. CONDENSED FROM A TABLE COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY (a) Statistics to May 31, 1897. (d) Statistics to August 31, 1897. (f) Not churches but Army Corps. 3 5 ΙΟ 233 223 652 146 739 384 3,062 40,578 169 302 580 81,551.72 (b) Statistics to January 31, 1897. (c) Approximate. Reports not complete. (e) Admitted to Christian fellowship by public profession of faith in Christ. (g) Statistics to June 30, 1897. 6 3 4.. (17 15 76 3 ..(b) 130 3 136.85 6 21 336.66 2 I 3 21 .. 2 31.20 WORDS OF CHEER AND CRIES FOR HELP From Our Leaders at the Front. MESSAGES of great encouragement, accompanied by statements of pressing need, coming from our brave missionaries, have so abounded within the month that we count it a privilege to bring together some of these strong utterances from our brethren abroad. They say little about the cut in their salaries, though they know not how to live on what is granted them, but their cry is for means to keep the work at least on the basis of previous years. This they cannot do unless further help is given them. The situation is at once so promising and so grave that we are confident should these words be read and pondered by the constituency of our Board they would be prompted to a Forward Movement — a movement which is perfectly feasible, and which would result in a swift and large advance for the kingdom of God as connected with our missions. The following extracts are from letters received by the secretaries within a few weeks, and written without thought of publication. The churches should know the facts and consider how our Master, in blessing his work intrusted to us, is calling his disciples to further efforts in extending his kingdom. "We are allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel.” A MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR. From Rev. R. A. Hume, Ahmednagar, India. "1897 was unquestionably the most successful year in the history of the Marathi Mission in several respects. More than three times as many persons joined our churches on profession of faith as in any previous year. There was a decided growth in grace among the Christians. The non-Christian community was impressed by the power of Christ as never before. By special grants and private gifts the force of agents was not materially decreased, notwithstanding the very heavy reduction of forty-seven and a half per cent from estimates for our general work. We passed through a very severe famine without the loss of one life among Christians by want, I believe; and probably without loss of life from absolute starvation even among nonChristians in our district. The plague removed a few from our community, but less than from any other community. For these many, many mercies and gains we are most thankful. "The reductions for work in 1898 amount in my department to 3,659 rupees, that is, over $1,100, for Theological Seminary, Normal School, preachers, teachers, pupils in boarding schools, tours, etc. This is very heavy. The following is the way in which my agents and I begin to meet this situation. We shall do our utmost to increase receipts from the Christians. Something every Sunday from every Christian, is our ideal. Rolls will be made in every village. Some one will try to keep and check the rolls and make the collections. Expenses will be reduced, as far as possible, in every department. Repairs on schools, agents' houses, churches, etc., will be left at the minimum, and made by agents themselves as far as possible. School supplies will be limited and paid for largely. Two agents have been retired with small allowances. More may have to follow. Every agent receives at least one rupee less every month. A few |