The American Missionary
MARCH, 1885.
VOL. XXXIX.
NO. 3.
* * * * *
CONTENTS
PAGE.
EDITORIAL.
THE FIGURES--FINANCIAL 67
DEATH OF REV. G. D. PIKE, D. D. 68
PARAGRAPHS 69
TILLOTSON CHURCH--WORD TO MINISTERS 70
THE TEST APPLIED 71
RELIGIOUS CULTURE OF THE SLAVES BEFORE THE WAR 74
A TEACHER'S APPEAL 75
ADDRESS AT ANNUAL MEETING.
PREACHING THE MAIN FEATURE IN MISSIONARY WORK 76
THE SOUTH.
ITINERARY FROM AUSTIN TO CORPUS CHRISTI 79
VIEWS IN TEXAS 81
WEEK OF PRAYER 82
LETTER FROM STUDENT 84
THE CHINESE.
LOU QUONG AT HIS HOME IN CHINA 84
BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM WORSHIPING ANCESTORS (cut) 86
BUREAU OF WOMAN'S WORK.
WOMAN'S SOCIETIES 86
LETTER FROM LADY MISSIONARY 87
MONTHLY REPORT OF A TEACHER 88
CHILDREN'S PAGE.
VIC'S LILIES 88
RECEIPTS 89
* * * * *
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.
Rooms, 56 Reade Street.
* * * * *
Price 50 Cents a Year, in Advance.
Entered at the Post-Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class
matter.
* * * * *
American Missionary Association.
* * * * *
PRESIDENT, Hon. WM. B. WASHBURN, LL. D., Mass.
_Vice-Presidents._
Rev. C. L. GOODELL, D. D., Mo.
Rev. F. A. NOBLE, D. D., Ill.
Rev. A. J. F. BEHRENDS, D. D., N. Y.
Rev. ALEX. McKENZIE, D. D., Mass.
Rev. D. O. MEARS, D. D., Mass.
_Corresponding Secretary._
Rev. M. E. STRIEBY, D. D., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Assistant Corresponding Secretary._
Rev. JAMES POWELL, D. D., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Treasurer._
H. W. HUBBARD, Esq., _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
_Auditors._
W. H. ROGERS,
PETER McCARTEE.
_Executive Committee._
JOHN H. WASHBURN, Chairman.
A. P. FOSTER, Secretary.
_For Three Years._
LYMAN ABBOTT.
A. S. BARNES.
J. R. DANFORTH.
CLINTON B. FISK.
A. P. FOSTER.
_For Two Years._
S. B. HALLIDAY.
SAMUEL HOLMES.
SAMUEL S. MARPLES.
CHARLES L. MEAD.
ELBERT B. MONROE.
_For One Year._
J. E. RANKIN.
WM. H. WARD.
J. L. WITHROW.
JOHN H. WASHBURN.
EDMUND L. CHAMPLIN.
_District Secretaries._
Rev. C. L. WOODWORTH, D. D., _21 Cong'l House, Boston_.
Rev. CHARLES W. SHELTON, _112 West Washington Street, Chicago_.
_Field Officers._
Rev. J. E. ROY, D. D., _Field Superintendent_.
Prof. ALBERT SALISBURY, _Superintendent of Education_.
_Bureau of Woman's Work._
_Secretary_, Miss D. E. EMERSON, _56 Reade Street, N. Y._
* * * * *
COMMUNICATIONS
Relating to the work of the Association may be addressed to the
Corresponding Secretary; those relating to the collecting fields, to
the District Secretaries; letters for the "American Missionary," to
the Editor, at the New York Office.
DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
May be sent to H. W. Hubbard, Treasurer, 56 Reade Street, New York,
or, when more convenient, to either of the Branch Offices, 21
Congregational House, Boston, Mass., or 113 West Washington Street,
Chicago, Ill. A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a
Life Member.
FORM OF A BEQUEST.
"I BEQUEATH to my executor (or executors) the sum of ---- dollars, in
trust, to pay the same in ---- days after my decease to the person
who, when the same is payable, shall act as Treasurer of the
'American Missionary Association,' of New York City, to be applied,
under the direction of the Executive Committee of the Association, to
its charitable uses and purposes." The Will should be attested by
three witnesses.
* * * * *
_Advertisements._
* * * * *
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* * * * *
THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
VOL. XXXIX. MARCH, 1885. NO. 3.
* * * * *
American Missionary Association.
* * * * *
$365,000
NEEDED FOR THE CURRENT YEAR.
* * * * *
Your Committee are convinced that not less than a THOUSAND DOLLARS a
day are imperatively demanded to perfect the admirably organized
plans of the Association, even for the present, to say nothing of the
pressing needs of the early future.--
[FINANCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT ADOPTED BY ANNUAL MEETING AT SALEM.]
* * * * *
THE FIGURES.
_Receipts:_ Col. & Don. Estates. Total.
Oct. 1, 1884, to Jan. 31, 1885 $66,078.97 $9,605.91 $75,684.88
Oct. 1, 1883, to Jan. 31, 1884 69,941.52 9,809.35 79,750.87
--------- --------- ---------
Decrease $3,862.55 $203.44 $4,065.99
* * * * *
Where the color-sergeant plants the standard, there the soldiers are
expected to rally. The Finance Committee at the Salem meeting
inscribed on the A. M. A. standard $365,000 needed for 1884-5, and
called upon the churches to advance to the support. _The Figures_
showing receipts of our treasury indicate just how far the churches
have come up in response to the call. Had we received the $1,000 a
day recommended, our total receipts would be $123,000, as against the
$75,684.88 now reported. Will not the captains of our church hosts
rally the forces to an immediate advance? One-third of our fiscal
year has already passed. The showing is not what we had hoped, but
time enough remains to make up for the deficiency.
Will our friends please bear these things in mind?
* * * * *
DEATH OF REV. G. D. PIKE, D. D.
In the death of Dr. Pike, which occurred in Hartford, Conn., Jan. 29,
the American Missionary Association has lost a most earnest and
successful worker. Repeated and protracted attacks of throat and lung
troubles during the last two or three years, terminating in an
illness that confined him to his room for three months, gave warning
to his friends of the approach of death. But with the hopefulness
peculiar to the disease, and especially characteristic of himself, he
entertained almost to the last the expectation of recovery. Yet death
had no terror; on the contrary, while he wished to live for the sake
of his family and the Association, he personally welcomed death with
the most joyful feelings.
Dr. Pike was born in Topsfield, Mass., Aug. 6, 1831, graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1858, and from Andover Theological Seminary in
1861. He was ordained associate pastor with Rev. Austin Richards, D.
D., of the Olive Street Congregational Church, Nashua, N. H., April
23, 1862, and remained in that position till May 1, 1865. He was
acting pastor at East Hampton, Conn., from 1865 to 1867, and during
the latter year he entered the service of the Association as agent,
residing in Rochester, N. Y. In 1870 he became District Secretary, a
position which he filled till his death, and to which he devoted the
best energies of his life. His peculiar gifts fitted him for some
special services. During the years 1872-4 he accompanied the Jubilee
Singers in a tour through the United States and Great Britain. They
were welcomed by the royal family and by the nobility, and by large
and enthusiastic popular audiences. Their success, in its pecuniary
results, finds a fitting monument in the substantial and commodious
Jubilee Hall, at Nashville, Tenn.; and the untiring industry, the
skill and tact and energy of Mr. Pike as business manager contributed
in a large measure to this gratifying result. Before returning to
America he made a rapid trip through Egypt and Palestine. In 1881 he
assumed the editorship of the _American Missionary_, and brought to
that service a degree of variety and breadth that gave a new impulse
to the usefulness of the magazine. He devoted much thought and
research to the condition of Africa, and became so well acquainted
with it that editors of leading journals in this city and pastors of
churches sometimes sought information from him in regard to it. He
wrote two volumes on the History of the Jubilee Singers, which have
had a very wide circulation.
Dr. Pike was eminently social and was blessed with unusual
conversational powers, and gave to others and won from them to
himself strong personal friendships. As a public speaker he was
earnest, animated and eloquent, and was gladly welcomed in the pulpit
and in the meetings of Associations and Conferences. His leading
characteristic was that of an organizer. He was perpetually devising
plans for active work and was diligent and untiring in his efforts to
carry them out. He was a man of prayer and of faith in God, which
sustained him in his constant labors, in his days of trial and in his
sickness and death. At his own request his mortal remains rest in
Nashua, the scene of his first pastorate, and his long sleep will be
with those whom he loved. By the generosity of Mrs. O. A. Woodbury a
portion of a cemetery lot was given for his burial, on which an
expensive monument is erected, and on one face of which will be
inscribed his name.
* * * * *
Since writing the above we have learned that a special memorial
service was held Sunday evening, February 1st, in the Chapel of Fisk
University. This was in every way appropriate, in consequence of the
intimate relations of Dr. Pike's life to the upbuilding of that
institution. With considerable feeling, President Cravath referred to
the fact that twenty years ago E. P. Smith, Dr. Pike and himself
entered upon the work of the American Missionary Association, and
that he was now left alone, adding that in the death of Brother Pike,
Fisk University had lost one of its warmest friends.
* * * * *
We notice the death of Mrs. Dr. L. B. Lane, of St. Charles, Ill. She
died on the 14th of January last, at the age of sixty-two years. Mrs.
Lane and her husband were ordained missionaries of the Am. Miss.
Assoc. to Siam in 1848. They returned in 1855, since which time they
have resided in this country. She was a good and true servant of
Christ when in the foreign field and no less so in her own land. Her
death came suddenly, but found her thoroughly prepared to go.
* * * * *
Few men in this country have had more experience in addressing
children, or greater success in winning them to Christ, than Rev. E.
P. Hammond. The result of this experience he has condensed in an
interesting and instructive little volume, entitled "Conversion of
Children." It will prove helpful and encouraging to parents and
interesting to children. We thank Mr. Hammond for the gift of fifty
copies of his book, which we have distributed among our missionaries
in the South, by whom they are appreciated and found useful in their
work.
* * * * *
Some time ago a Southern paper, in speaking of Dr. Roy, referred to
him as a colored man. At the time we thought the writer was mistaken,
but since looking over his itinerary, which our readers will find in
another part of the magazine, we have been led to feel that we shall
have to modify somewhat our opinion. The doctor himself explicitly
declares that at one point in their journey he and his companions
were all of the same color. At any rate he is not ashamed to call
them _brethren_, and we may also add that they are not ashamed of
him.
* * * * *
The Tillotson, at Austin, Texas, has taken to itself a church
organization. This was effected on the first Sabbath of the year--a
very interesting occasion. Superintendent Roy and Rev. Jeremiah
Porter, spending his second winter in Austin, were present to assist
the pastor, Rev. J. H. Parr, who, with his wife, united in the
organization. It consisted of twenty members, half of them teachers
and half students. Principal W. L. Gordon and wife presented their
two little children, born in the Institute, for baptism. Mr. Gordon
and Mr. R. F. Ferrell, a student, were ordained as deacons by prayer
and the laying on of hands. Mr. Porter offered the prayer of
institution, and broke the bread at the communion table. This
venerable servant of God had just passed his 80th birthday. His
golden wedding will come next June. His multitude of friends will be
glad to know that the United States Government, having put him upon
the retired list as chaplain, is continuing his salary. Mrs. Porter
is assisting the special missionary, Miss M. J. Adams, Professor
Dean, and other teachers and scholars, in supporting two mission
schools contiguous to the Institute. Miss Rose M. Kinney, a veteran
in the service, is matron and preceptress. The Tillotson is moving on
this year smoothly and successfully. A church in connection with
these main chartered institutions is essential to their best
Christian result.
* * * * *
Just a word with our ministerial readers. The heavy mail that daily
comes to this office brings us occasionally a letter with some such
words as these: "I preached to my people last Sunday an A. M. A.
sermon, and as a result I send you a contribution which is larger
than the church ever gave this cause before." Exactly, brother; let
the people know what is wanted and why it is wanted, and then let
them have a chance to give and they will meet the responsibility
every time. Another letter brings us this: "A few weeks ago I
preached a sermon on the work of the A. M. A. My congregation were so
deeply interested in what I said they requested my manuscript for
publication. Thinking you might be interested I send you a copy of
the published sermon." Exactly, again. We were interested, and long
before we had finished reading the discourse we understood full well
why the people were interested. Another letter: "The Missions of the
A. M. A. occupied our attention last monthly concert. I gave a bird's
eye view of the whole field and then selections were read from the
papers and addresses given at Salem. By this time the brethren were
quite ready to turn on the streams of their own thought. We found it
difficult to bring the meeting to an end. It was a great success. I
propose to follow it up." Again, exactly. Missionary information when
properly brought forward will make a meeting that for interest cannot
be surpassed. It is one of the strangest things in the world that so
many people have gotten the impression that a missionary meeting must
be dull, and that a missionary discourse must be uninteresting. It is
an impression that ought not to exist. Let sermons be preached. Let
the thrilling, soul-inspiring facts that go to make up the history of
missions be made known and the impression will soon be driven out of
existence.
Brethren, we invite you to glean in the great field of the American
Missionary Association. There will be rich returns for you and your
people and golden returns for us.
* * * * *
THE TEST APPLIED.
When Berea College was started, in 1858, its students were all
white. The following year the question was raised, "What if colored
students should apply?" One teacher voiced the sentiment of all when
he said, "If any one made in God's image comes to get knowledge which
will enable him to understand the revelation of God in Jesus Christ,
he cannot be rejected." The simple declaration of that sentiment had
the effect to make most of the students leave at the end of the term,
never to return. The John Brown raid, happening soon after, rendered
the school still more unpopular, and the war following a little
later, the school had to suspend altogether. But when the war ended
and, in 1865, the college opened its doors again, there being no
longer slavery, the question of color soon came up for consideration.
In one of the by-laws to the constitution of the college was this
statement: "The object of this college shall be to furnish the
facilities for a thorough education to all persons of good moral
character." Three colored youths applied for admission. On
examination they were found to be "persons of good moral character."
There was only one thing to do. They were promptly admitted. What
followed? There were at the time seventy-five students in the
college, and we are told, "the morning that those three harmless
youths walked in, half the school walked out."
But some one will say: "That was at the close of the war, when the
feelings of our white brethren at the South were naturally very
sensitive; that time, however, has passed away. We can now plant
schools and churches on an anti-caste basis, with open doors and
welcome hands for colored people, _if they choose to come_. No such
exhibition of race prejudice would now be made." _Well, let us see._
For several years past we have had our attention turned to the
terrible destitution of the people in the mountain region of Kentucky
and places adjacent. Two years ago we sent a special missionary to
labor among these people. He made his headquarters at Williamsburg,
the county seat of Whitley County, Kentucky. The town was sixty-seven
years old, yet it never had a church edifice; nor had the county,
with a population of fourteen thousand, ever had a church edifice
finished and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. There were
very few schools, and what few there were could not be considered
schools by intelligent people. Our missionary went to work. The
people heard him gladly. A new life came into their famished souls.
They rallied round him. They built a beautiful church edifice. An
academy, too, was erected; able and skilled teachers were put in
charge. The missionary did not confine himself to the town merely.
For miles up and down the valley he traveled, preaching as he went.
Wherever he came the people were roused and steps taken to have
churches and schools planted.
But the church and the academy above referred to must be dedicated.
At the dedication this Association was represented by Assistant
Corresponding Secretary Powell, by Field Superintendent Roy and by
Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Ward, of the Executive Committee. And dedicated they
were to the glory of God for the maintenance and spread of a _free_
gospel and Christian learning. Special emphasis was placed upon the
fact that over the entrance to these temples was written, _Whosoever
will may come_. Does some one ask why that was specially emphasized?
Because we were in a country where popular sentiment said, Into white
churches and white schools there was a certain class who, on account
of the color of their skin, would not be admitted. When you are in a
community that publicly indorses a wrong, silence regarding that
wrong is complicity. Under such circumstances, to say nothing about
it is the same thing as to sign your name to a document affirming the
thing to be right. To dedicate a Christian church in New York City
and say nothing about the evils of Mormonism would be nothing
strange, but to dedicate a Christian church in Salt Lake City and be
silent as to what the teaching and the practice of that church was to
be in regard to polygamy would be _treason_ to the Gospel. We
therefore made specially prominent at the dedication the broad
principles on which our mission rested. Some said they were sorry to
hear such things proclaimed; others said nothing, but feared; while a
few said, That is right. It is just as it ought to be.
The school started off with bright skies above and a broad distant
view around. The bell rung out its pealing calls, and bright-eyed,
rosy-cheeked children and youth clambered up the hill side to enjoy
such educational privileges as that country had never known. All was
peace and prosperity. School was crowded, and everybody was happy.
But suddenly the whole heavens were overcast. From horizon to horizon
a deathly pall enshrouded the entire sky--and the cloud large enough
to do all this was only the size of a black child's face! _Whosoever
will may come_, we had said. Did we _mean_ it? Oh, yes, _but_ it is
hardly right to sacrifice the feelings of that whole school merely to
gratify the wish of--_a nigger_. Did we mean it? Oh, yes, but it is
hardly right to imperil the very existence of the school merely to
take in that one poor, despised and uninfluential colored child! Did
we mean it? Oh, yes, but is it right, is it wise, to receive _one_
when you know that by so doing you will lose twenty--perhaps more--to
receive one whom you will have to help, and lose twenty--or perhaps
more--who can help you? Did we mean it? Oh, yes, certainly, but would
it not be better to reason with the applicant and show her that while
we ourselves have no objection, yet things being as they are, she
would really do more for her people by staying away than by insisting
that she should be received? Why not take some such position as that?
We will have peace and harmony and prosperity. We shall be able to
tell our friends in the distance we are getting along swimmingly. We
are true to our principles. _Whosoever will may come._ We have no
trouble with the negro question. We simply let it alone. Our dear
brethren down South are perfectly delighted to receive us. We have no
trouble with them whatever, and the cause is going forward
triumphantly.
_Is_ that the way to meet the responsibility? Imagine the Lord Jesus
Christ at the door of that school when that black child came asking
admission. What would have been His answer? Say, reader, imagine what
_would_ have been His answer. Put on your thinking cap. Summon to
your aid all the help that quibbling and dodging and sophistry can
give, and after you have gone through it all, what do you think would
have been His answer? Well, here is the answer the American
Missionary Association sent as quickly as the telegraph could carry
it: _Admit all applicants irrespective of color._ And then what
followed? Nearly half the scholars picked up their things and left!
This happened a few weeks ago. We had about a hundred students. We
have now about fifty, and we may lose even those. Letter writing is
easy. Talk is cheap. Even _Buncombe_ is not a lost art. But actions
speak louder than words. Let us know what follows when _the test is
applied_, and then we shall know just what profession of loyalty to
principle signifies. Berea stood by its guns, and it has steadily
grown in favor with God and man ever since. And it will win in the
end. Then what a glorious triumph! No regrets for having played the
hypocrite, no regrets for having played the part of a time server, no
regrets for having played the part of a trimmer, no regrets for
having played the part of a special pleader, no regrets for having
concealed its colors behind its back in shameful silence as to its
past history, no regrets for having turned away one of Christ's
little ones for whom He died, no regrets for having counseled it,
while professing friendship, to go elsewhere. What a glorious
triumph!
And we, too, shall win--and our triumph shall be glorious. Let us go
forward preaching the Word, and when the time comes let there be no
attempt to postpone its issue--but let the test be applied. Better go
down standing on our principles than live with our principles denied
and dishonored.
* * * * *
RELIGIOUS CULTURE OF THE SLAVES BEFORE THE WAR.
The _Independent_ of Feb. 5 has an exceedingly interesting article on
the above subject from the pen of Rev. Dr. J. E. Edwards, Danville,
Virginia.
He says that at an early period in this century Southern Methodists
sent missionaries to labor with the slaves on the rice and cotton
plantations. In 1845 Southern Methodism had in church fellowship
124,000 slaves. At one time the Methodist membership in Charleston,
S. C., was in the proportion of five colored to one white. Blacks and
whites worshiped in the same house and were ministered to by the same
pastor.
One of the early reports of the South Carolina Board has the
following: "We claim it best, as a general rule, to include the
colored people in the same pastoral charge with the whites, and to
preach to both classes in one congregation, as our practice has been.
The gospel is the same for all men, and to enjoy its privileges in
common, promotes good will."
We read so far and stopped. That language has the marks of the gospel
of Jesus Christ all over it. "All ye are brethren." So says the
gospel, and this report says the same. But how would it do to take
the language above quoted into a Southern white Methodist Conference
now! Just let the above report, without comment and without
explanation, be introduced to-day into such a Conference, and what an
explosion would follow!
It is too bad to quote the rest of the report, because it mars
somewhat the beauty of what goes before; but here it is: "That when
the galleries or other sittings are insufficient, we consider it the
duty of our brethren and friends to provide the necessary
accommodations that none may make such a neglect a plea for absenting
themselves from public worship." "_Galleries or other sittings._"
There is the fly in the ointment. Of course, at communion, the master
class was served first and the slave class afterward.
The Church of Christ is His body. But does Christ allow His followers
to decide that distinctions shall be made at His table on account of
the hue of the skin? When a Temple is erected in which Christ's
disciples are to meet for worship, is there anything in the gospel
that warrants a division of seats so that here superiors shall sit
and there inferiors? Where is the word that warrants it? and what is
the analysis that will find it in the spirit of the gospel? All honor
to the slave-holders who furnished the means of the gospel to the
slaves. All honor to the men and women who pointed the sin-burdened
negroes to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. We
have no doubt but that as Dr. Edwards says, "Multiplied thousands
upon thousands of the sons of Ham will rise up in judgment to bless
the faithful men of the South for their long-continued labors in
teaching the benighted negro the way of life." We have no doubt of
it; but in the resurrection will the whites put in an appearance
first and the blacks second? In the day of judgment will the whites
lead and the blacks follow? Will there be galleries with hard seats
in Heaven for negroes and ground floors easy of access with soft
seats for Caucasians? Will the great chorus of Heaven be divided into
two parts, a white division and a black division? And will the
Hallelujah Chorus as sung by the white choir be more acceptable to
God than that sung by the black choir?
Yes, the slave-holders did a great deal for the religious training
and the spiritual welfare of the slaves, and in consequence of what
they did, with God's blessing, the colored people of our country are
almost immeasurably lifted above their benighted heathen brethren in
Africa. Yes, that is all so. Does Dr. Edwards ask us to praise them
for it? We do. But, brethren, we must also add, "These ought ye to
have done and not to leave the other undone."
* * * * *
A TEACHER'S APPEAL.
We publish the following from F. A. Chase, Professor of Natural
Science in Fisk University. He pleads, of course, for Fisk, yet his
plea holds good for all our higher institutions. We commend it to our
friends. The American Missionary Association could make good use,
say, of a "_One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fund_" for the scientific
departments of its mission schools. It may be that some one whom God
has blessed with riches is waiting for just such an opportunity as
this particular branch of our great field opens. Special funds for a
designated institution, to be used for the promotion of Christian
science, as outlined by Prof. Chase, are earnestly solicited:
Are there not some friends of the work among the Freedmen
who can appreciate the need of a teacher for a _complete
scientific outfit_?
The race has been kept during slavery from all knowledge
of science. Their trades and occupations being of the
roughest, and having ignorant parentage, nothing has been
learned from the business of life, nor in answer to the
questioning of childhood and youth. There is no race now
admitted to the privileges of liberal education so barren
of scientific ideas and so lacking in scientific spirit.
Those who know this people solely from their fine
literary and oratorical abilities have no conception of
their great deficiency in science. It does not need to be
said that, until this is remedied, they cannot be
expected to hold their own in a scientific age, and in
competition with a scientific race.
Though our course of study is brought down to the very
minimum of college work, and the instruction is of a
most elementary character, still there are eight sciences
to be taught. But this teaching, to be successful,
requires the use of illustrative material. With the
general introduction of illustrations in our modern
schools began the rapid progress in science that
distinguishes our age. All true teachers of science
affirm with one voice that this aid is indispensable even
with the most favored races.
In botany, zoology, mineralogy and geology we need
specimens--the great type examples on which
classification is founded. In physiology and anatomy we
need, in default of _material_, cheap models. In natural
philosophy, chemistry and astronomy we need
apparatus--not the costly instruments of precision, but
plain, cheap pieces, that are fitted to illustrate and in
some cases demonstrate the many and various principles
that are taught.
In the pressure of the growing work upon the society,
beyond a small sum for incidental expenses, most of the
money appropriated for schools goes for the payment of
salaries. Our land and our buildings have come from other
sources. But our outfit of school requisites has been for
the most part overlooked. Some fine instruments have been
presented to us, much more costly than we would have
selected for ourselves; but their value would be
increased many fold by accessory and supplementary
apparatus. Are there not those who can, by special gifts,
make up this lack also? Must _we_, of all other teachers
of science, be left to make bricks without straw? What
answer should be made to those who depreciate the negro's
mental capacity? Is it not a pitiful waste of the
opportunity, that a factory building should be put up,
workmen hired, materials supplied, but no _machinery_ put
in? Yet this has been going on with class after class for
ten years.
Three-fourths of our graduates follow teaching as a
profession, and are more or less teachers of science.
They should not only learn that which apparatus alone can
teach, but also how to use it themselves. Should a master
workman be expected to teach the theory and practice of a
trade through the use of _pictures_ of tools and
machines?
We have not neglected our opportunities in respect to
making collections of specimens about us, and
constructing cheap forms of apparatus. We have learned
new trades and toiled early and late and often through
whole vacations. But, without workshop appliances, part
of that accomplished is unsatisfactory, and the major and
more difficult part remains untouched. But where one has
a great pressure of outside duties incidental to such a
work as this, how utterly inadequate such driblets of
time as can be spared are for such a task can easily be
imagined.
Is there any lover of science and friend of the freedmen
who can understand our condition and give us ten thousand
dollars for an outfit, and if possible an additional sum
as an endowment for annual expenses?
* * * * *
ADDRESS AT ANNUAL MEETING.
* * * * *
PREACHING THE MAIN FACTOR IN MISSIONARY WORK.
REV. GEORGE R. LEAVITT.
It is a fact of history that the preaching of the Word has been the
great missionary agency. The Bible is a missionary book. The great
figure in the Old Testament history was the preacher of
righteousness--Enoch, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, the great line of
prophets--they were missionary preachers. In the beginning of
Christianity, the great figure was the preacher--John the Baptist,
the Apostles, our blessed Lord Himself. The salient feature in the
New Testament may be said to be a succession of great missionary
sermons which are expositions of the Gospel. In the history of the
Christian Church the great figure has been the preacher. The Church
of God is the body of Jesus Christ. As such she is the eye and ear,
she is the hands and feet of the Lord, but especially she is the
voice of the Lord. Doth not wisdom cry in all time? Did not the
Spirit when sent forth lift the voice declaring the great Gospel
message? And when the Church has had that possession of the Spirit,
has it not been especially her inspiration to cry out with the Gospel
message? The great figure in this Association work in the past has
been the teacher. We have had a gifted line of men and women in this
work, and to them all honor be given. It would be impossible for us
to give them the honor which is their due; but in the future the
great figure is to be the missionary preacher, the man who can reach
masses of men with the Gospel message. We are lifting this race, and
what has been true in the past will be true in the future.
Perhaps I can not better exhibit this subject in the little space
allowed me than in noticing some of the traits which should
characterize the missionary preacher, and while the truth is general
and applicable to all parties, I trust that we may be under the
direction of the Spirit and take to heart these great traits we shall
be looking for in the preacher of the future in the South.
The missionary preacher is a man who, to be effective, should be a
man of spiritual morality, a man of irreproachable character. I
presume the colored man has been maligned in the South, as his
character has so often been brought out among us. One of our
enthusiastic teachers was asked, "How many Uncle Toms do you find in
the South?" And she replied, "About as many as there are in the
North." A truth was there that we ourselves may very well take.
There are three ways in which the Gospel is published. One is in the
book, one is by the voice, and the third by the life. The voice lies
between the book and the life, and the life is the great publication
of the message, and unless we have a voice of a man who is
spiritually qualified by a holy life, we have not a competent Gospel
preacher. In speaking of this matter of morality, we should have
something more in view than natural morals--there is a spiritual
morality. We want the higher. A man who has in himself the Spirit of
God, produces this type of morality. We can not canvass this subject
by the motives of worldliness. It takes two crosses to save the
world--the cross of Christ and the cross of the believer. A
ministerial brother said, in speaking of certain ones, that they had
undergone a deplorable religious transformation, that at one time
they held the Gospel of regeneration, but they had come to love the
Gospel of recreation. Ah, what a transformation has come over too
many of our churches and the community in loving this form of
worldliness!
It is a matter of great satisfaction that our schools in the South
are doing such efficient work in this direction, as reports indicate,
and as private information shows. I quite lately had information from
General Armstrong touching this point of high morality that is
developed in the school. The young men and young women, he said,
compare well with the young men and young women in our Northern
schools. This is a matter of great satisfaction, because the preacher
of the future is to come out of these schools.
The second essential in the missionary preacher, if he is to be
successful, is a mind which is spiritually illuminated, a man who is
intelligent in the truth. I presume the great characteristic of the
old-time preacher in the South is his ignorance, and if we should
select one point at which a change needs to take place, it is at this
point of instruction. He needs to be intelligent.
Now, to these things ought to be added training in all branches of
knowledge, just as widely as possible, but we must fix our attention
especially upon one source of knowledge, namely, the Word of God.
The missionary preacher needs to be a man established in the
Scriptures. John the Baptist grew in grace. Our blessed Lord Himself
grew in grace. The man who is to be effective as a preacher in
elevating the world is a man who grows in grace. What is grace? It is
the undeserved favor of God exhibited in the plan of salvation for
the redemption of man. And the first truths of that grace say simply,
but how grandly, "grow in grace;" we are to be "ministers of grace;"
to be "masters of grace." The minister in the South is to be a master
of grace. Do you know how far it is away? It seems but a step, but
oh, what a work when we begin to comprehend the great things of God!
Do you know the height, depth and length of the great salvation of
the love of God? Ezekiel tells us of the depth of the stream when he
first came to it, that to his apprehension the water came up to his
foot, but, as he advanced, it came to the ankle, and the knee and the
loin, and then it was water to swim in, a river that could not be
passed over. Oh, my brethren, we need to understand these great
things of God, so that we may become masters of grace, for if we do
not, the missionary preacher that comes up under our influence will
not be thoroughly qualified for his duties.
Then there is another quality; the missionary preacher, to be
effective as a missionary, must be, not only a "shining," but like
John also a "burning light." Then nothing shall be concealed. What
does the Scripture say in that psalm? "There is nothing hid from the
light?" No; "There is nothing hid from the heat thereof." We want a
Gospel preacher among those people who has a Gospel heat from which
nothing can be hid. How many things we can say of this fuel! We have
spoken of the Word of God. The Word of God is the light, and it is
the fuel for a fire. Our blessed Saviour when He was on the way to
Emmaus with the Disciples enkindled their hearts, not by his personal
presence; but when he opened the Scriptures, then they testified,
"Did not our hearts burn within us?" That was what took place at
Pentecost. The Holy Spirit did not bring the fuel that day, but they
had been gathering it as they spoke of Christ, and as they came
together to offer prayers, the Holy Spirit came, and the Word was a
fire in their bones; then fire came and kindled them, and then came
that wonderful effect.
Sir James Herschel tells us in a little story, in fragments of his
biography, how after his telescopes became famous they were
distributed quite widely through Europe, and when he published his
great discovery, he began to receive complaints. Men said to him, in
angry letters, "We do not see what you see." In his response to them
he said: "Perhaps you do not take the care in your observations that
I do," and he spoke of one particular thing that is carefully noted.
"Do you take care," he said, "of the matter of temperature? The
instrument with which I examine the stars must be of the temperature
of the stars as nearly as may be, and when I observe on a winter
night I place my glass on the lawn at Greenwich, and let it stand
there until the instrument comes to be of the temperature of the air.
But beyond that," he said, "not only must my instrument be of the
right temperature, but I must be. Oftentimes," he said, "I have been
out in the winter air for two hours before I would open my glass,
because I must come to be of the same temperature as the instrument
itself." What a spiritual truth there is here! God's Word the
instrument, and the temperature that of the heavens. But we must be
of the temperature of that Bible and that heavens! Oh, for the heat
of the Gospel to be in the minister of Christ wherever he stands, and
then there will be nothing hid from its searching power.
I think this subject is often presented in a way to confuse it. We
speak of heat in a way not to comprehend precisely what we want; and
let me touch upon the point which shows what I mean. When the Saviour
was at the well with the woman, it was the love in His heart from
which she could not be hid. What a lesson Peter learned that day when
our Saviour, in His great interview by the sea, asked him: "Lovest
thou me?" and said, "Feed my sheep and my lambs." There was a lesson
burned into his heart of the personal love of Christ.
I heard Mr. Sankey sing last week "The Ninety and Nine," and he
prefaced it by saying that the old hymn was worn out. I was sorry to
hear him say that, but there was one accent he gave in singing which
was very affecting. When one expostulates with the shepherd that he
has ninety and nine with him, he cries out: "It is my sheep." I fancy
when Peter came to Pentecost and saw those great crowds before him
there was one element of preparation he needed, and the Saviour had
taught him how to feed his sheep and feed his lambs, and it lived so
in his heart that nothing could be hid from it.
I am speaking too long on this matter. But it is a great subject.
This Association has a glorious opportunity. There is no cause that
comes to us that touches our inspiration and consecration like this
society, and the opportunity is such as, in my judgment, the
Christian Church never had.
Now, we say this, we cannot do this work by any other form of service
but by preaching the Gospel, with at least these elements in it I
have mentioned. We speak of the hand work for Christ, but we want the
net work for Christ. When I was in Japan, I saw all over the bay, in
the night, little boats of fishermen. The men were in the boats two
and two, one holding a torch. They were busily engaged the night
through. I asked one, "Is this your mode of fishing?" and I was shown
a great seine net that lay upon the shore, and I was told, "This is
here especially for day fishing." When I stood before the young men
in the school at Kioto I referred to this. I said "It seems to me in
Japan you are doing the night fishing now; it is fishing in the night
with a torch, but, young men, there is a morning coming when the
great net is to be cast, your hands are to be upon it, and you are to
have the privilege of a great cast for God." It has come this year,
and those young men went out preachers of righteousness, clothed with
power to reach the masses of men, and they have drawn in hundreds,
and there is hope of the thousands, and that is what we want in this
work, men who can go to those Southern fields, to those five millions
of whom we have heard, and cast the great seine net of the Gospel;
and they are coming.
* * * * *
THE SOUTH.
REV. JOSEPH E. ROY, D. D., FIELD SUPERINTENDENT.
PROF. ALBERT SALISBURY, SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION.
* * * * *
ITINERARY FROM AUSTIN TO CORPUS CHRISTI.
REV. JOS. E. ROY, D. D.
JAN. 4, Sunday.--Assisted in organizing at the Tillotson Institute a
church of twenty-one members. Lord's Supper. Prof. W. L. Gordon's two
children baptized.
JAN. 5, Monday.--At Austin depot. Waited for train five hours to 8 P. M.
JAN. 6, Tuesday.--Arrived in San Antonio at 1 A. M. Departed for
Flatonia at 8 A. M., arriving at noon. Looked up the folks. Preached
at night for Pastor T. E. Hillson, whose second child was baptized,
as the first had been by the same hand at the dedication in Luling,
his alternate church.
JAN. 7, Wednesday.--Up at 4 and off to Luling, arriving by daylight.
Off then, by livery rig, 45 miles to Riddleville.
JAN. 8, Thursday.--On to Helena, 15 miles. Ride out with freedman, 3
miles, to our Colony Church. Lecture at night for Pastor Thompson.
JAN. 9, Friday.--Half a day of writing. Visited at another freedman's
home, taking supper. Preached at night.
JAN. 10, Saturday.--Brother Thompson, with another colored man and
myself, start for Corpus, 80 miles, reaching Goliad, 35 miles, at
night. We are entertained at Pastor T. Benson's.
JAN. 11, Sunday.--In the morning, Sunday-school, preaching and
communion. At night, preaching. Conferring all day, at the intervals,
with "parties," being called upon even after retiring at night.
JAN. 12, Monday.--Up and off before daylight, without breakfast. But
Mrs. Benson has provided for us a grand lunch box that lasts us three
for the two days through to Corpus. No place on the way, to put up;
no chance to buy eatables. Our boss has planned to reach the half-way
spot on the Popolota for camping. The day wears away, and it is 10
o'clock before we come to the halting-place. For the last three hours
Brother Thompson had led the way lantern in hand, splashing through
the mud and water. We turn under a live oak, take out and feed the
jaded horses, and eat our snack, and commit ourselves to the Heavenly
Father, and at 11 o'clock turn in for the night, Brother Thompson on
the ground, _under_ the hack, and Brother Eding and I _in_ the hack,
doubled like a couple of jackknives into our four feet square of
space, being all of a color. By our side the ponies through the night
crunch their corn; and, by turn, we jump up to drive off the cows
from stealing their hay. But we sleep, and snore, and rest some.