132 



CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



their retention for six months, when their release 

 was secured on payment of a ransom of $68,200. 

 Notwithstanding this disturbance, good progress 

 was reported. The missions in India and Ceylon 

 had been visited by a deputation sent out by the 

 Prudential Committee, a full report of whose ob- 

 servations had been published, and there had 

 been a marked growth in the churches. A union 

 evangelistic movement, in which all the evan- 

 gelical denominations except one were coopera- 

 ting, was the most notable event in Japan. The 

 Doshisha was now firmly established on a Chris^ 

 tian basis, and its diplomas were recognized by 

 the Government. 



" The Forward Movement," as a plan is called 

 under which individuals and local churches con- 

 tribute to the support of special missions or mis- 

 sionaries, was approved, and the Prudential Com- 

 mittee was directed to provide for its maintenance. 

 A proposition made by the Committee of the 

 National Congregational Council that the ap- 

 pointment of paid secretaries be vested in the 

 Executive or Prudential Committee was referred. 

 In view of certain legal questions arising in con- 

 nection with a proposition to make some changes 

 in the composition of the membership of the 

 board, the Prudential Committee was given per- 

 mission to seek to obtain modifications in its 

 charter to meet the case. In view of the exten- 

 sion of German sovereignty and the German 

 language over that region, the Prudential Com- 

 mittee was empowered to transfer the missions 

 in Micronesia, except in Guam, when that can 

 be done advantageously, to societies of other na- 

 tions. During the period of the meetings the 

 corner-stone was dedicated for a memorial arch 

 of the missionaries of the board in China who 

 lost their lives during the " Boxer " troubles. The 

 arch will stand in the grounds of the university 

 at Oberlin. 



Deputation to India and Ceylon. A deputa- 

 tion which had been appointed by the American 

 Board to visit the missions in India and Ceylon 

 presented the report of its visitation to the Pru- 

 dential Committee Feb. 4. Besides investigating 

 the specific work of the board, the deputation was 

 commissioned to look into the general religious 

 conditions in the country, the progress of Chris- 

 tianity, and the work of Christian missions. Its 

 report related principally to the Ceylon, Madura, 

 and Marathi (Bombay) missions. The deputa- 

 tion found that the Christian movement in India 

 was gaining in momentum with every decade. 

 In the forty years from 1851 to 1891 the number 

 of Protestant Christians had increased 145 per 

 cent., while the population had increased only 20 

 per cent. But the entire Christian force now in 

 the country, though larger than it had ever been 

 before, was far too small to reach all parts of the 

 empire. The attention of the deputation was fre- 

 quently called by educated Hindus and by Eng- 

 lish Government officials to the need of industrial 

 education. A false sentiment prevailed against 

 students who had advanced as far as entrance 

 to college engaging in manual labor, and it had 

 created a class of educated idlers. The large 

 proportion of Christian converts were from the 

 lower castes, although there were many devout 

 Christians from among the Brahmins. Every year 

 new castes were reached, and the work was 

 broadening among the old castes. In one school 

 children of 18 different castes lived and studied 

 together. The Government of India was in sym- 

 pathy with mission work, and the rulers of the 

 native states were not hostile to it. Every 

 large Protestant missionary society in the world 

 had its representatives in the field. The mission 



in Ceylon would probably not call for a mission 

 force larger than it now possessed. In it a more 

 extensive work was conducted at less relative 

 cost than in any other mission of the board. 

 The Madura mission, lying in a field in which the 

 American Board worked exclusively, was com- 

 pact, and marked by the number and prosperity 

 of its educational enterprises and hospitals, 

 and the efficiency of the Young People's Society 

 of Christian Endeavor. In the Marathi mission 

 the stations covered more territory and were 

 farther separated. A proposition had been made 

 to the other evangelical mission boards which 

 use the Marathi language to unite in the con- 

 duct of the theological seminary at Ahmednagar 

 upon a union basis, and some of them had re- 

 sponded favorably. The deputation made a 

 number of recommendations, among which was 

 one that the missionaries so modify their courses 

 of instruction that all male pupils aided through 

 the mission should have some practical instruc- 

 tion in productive manual labor adapted to the 

 conditions and needs of the country, and the fe- 

 male pupils also, with necessary modifications; 

 and that such a course be entered upon system- 

 atically, so that it should be operative alike 

 in all parts of the field. The organization of 

 self-supporting and even lucrative enterprises, 

 having at the same time a distinct educational 

 value, was suggested. The report further ad- 

 vised that the missions should plan to provide as 

 much English education as is practicable for care- 

 fully selected candidates for the position of pas- 

 tors and preachers. " In the effort to carry the 

 Gospel to the needy, no caste should be overlooked. 

 A Christian community drawn from various exist- 

 ing castes will necessiirily be stronger than if 

 confined to any single class, trade, or caste. The 

 time has passed when missions should provide 

 free education to all who are willing to attend 

 mission schools. As the course of study rises so 

 as to include English, which already has a recog- 

 nized commercial value, the fees demanded 

 should be increased so as to cover, in a large 

 measure, the increased expense of the higher 

 courses." 



Woman's Societies. The thirty-fourth an- 

 nual meeting of the Woman's Board of Missions 

 of the Interior was held in Chicago, Oct. 28. The 

 receipts for the year had been $81,220, a larger 

 sum than had been received in any former year, 

 but which still fell short more than $8,000 of 

 the sum actually expended. Contributions WTP 

 made during the meeting of $2,365 toward paying 

 the debt of $5,500. Accounts were given of enter- 

 prises in which the society is interested in Turkey. 

 India, China, Japan, West Africa, Spain, and 

 Micronesia. 



Reports made at the annual meeting of the 

 Woman's Home Missionary Association, in Bos- 

 ton, Mass., Oct. 29, showed that it had stations in 

 20 different States and Alaska, and in Cuba, and 

 was laboring among Americans and foreigners. 



The thirty-fifth annual meeting of the Woman's 

 Board of Missions was held in Washington, D. C., 

 Nov. 4 to 6. 



Congregational Union of Ontario and 

 Quebec. The meeting of the Congregationa 

 Union of Ontario and Quebec was held at Ot 

 tawa in June. The Rev.'J. P. Gerric was electee, 

 chairman. The statistical reports showed than 

 there were 82 churches connected with the union, 

 with 7,705 members and 21,000 persons under 

 pastoral care. The total value of church prop- 

 erty was $850,000. Forty-three churches were 

 free from debt. The sum' of $100,000 had been 

 raised during the year. The figures show an in- 



