_THE HOME-LANDS AND THE ISLANDS._
A.D. 1894–1897. ÆT. 70–73.
Arrival in Great Britain.—Requisitions.—Professors and
Students.—_Dayspring_ Scheme.—Ten Years’ Delay.—Gideon’s Fleece
Experiment.—Two Memorable Checks.—The “John G. Paton Mission
Fund.”—The _Dayspring_ Disaster.—Mission Work on all the Islands.
I embarked from New York for Liverpool, per the new and magnificent s.
s. _Campania_. The vibrations of that vessel were more fearful than
anything I had ever experienced in all my travels. There was some
defect, which I hear has since been remedied. I was scarcely conscious
of ever sleeping at all, and the ship seemed to be constantly on the eve
of shaking herself into fragments! On the voyage I made the acquaintance
of very dear friends, bearing my own name; whose Home at Liverpool
by-and-bye received me lovingly; and where also I met the learned and
honored Principal Paton of Nottingham.
My arrival in Britain revealed to me, immediately and amazingly, how
times had changed since my previous visit, only ten years before. _Then_
I had many difficulties to face in arranging for public meetings,
especially in England, as set forth in a previous Chapter. Many a weary
day’s tramping I had, even in Scotland where something was known about
the Mission to the New Hebrides, passing from Minister to Minister, and
pleading, frequently all in vain, for the use of their Pulpits and for
access to their Congregations. But since then, by my brother’s
insistence, the story of my life had gone through the Land in my
_Autobiography_. I was no longer treated as a stranger, but as the
dearly beloved friend of every one who had read my book. Blessed be God,
who used it for His glory, and gave our Mission appeal everywhere an
open door, such as never in my most hopeful hours had my faith even
dreamed!
Now, hundreds of invitations poured in on my British Committee, all
Honorary Helpers who grudged no amount of labor and pains. I found a
Series of Meetings already arranged for me, covering the principal towns
and cities of the United Kingdom,—Mr. Watson of Belfast taking charge in
Ireland, Mr. Langridge in England, and my brother James, with his
Honorary Secretary, arranging for Scotland, and acting as General
Director of the Mission. When those had been fairly overtaken, the
additional applications had risen to several hundreds more than could
possibly be faced, unless I prolonged my stay for years. My Committee at
one time found themselves dealing with a mass of 500 invitations! A
selection had to be made of the more important and populous centres for
the Services on the Lord’s Day, and one or two Meetings each day during
the week in the smaller surrounding towns; but even then the
disappointments were many and grievous; and not more so to them than to
me; for I did passionately desire to tell every human being the story of
the Gospel on the New Hebrides, that other and still other souls might
be won thereby for Jesus my Lord.
One very precious feature of my tour was this:—the manner in which
Ministers and Christian workers of all the Churches united to welcome
me, and gave very practical support to this Presbyterian Mission.
Frequently, the invitation was signed by all the Ministers of the
district, excepting only the Roman Catholic; and my prayers rose daily
to my Lord that my humble presence might be one of the means in His
loving hand of paving the way for a closer union amongst the Members of
His Redeemed Flock. I was much touched by the requisition that came to
me from my well-beloved Dumfries, with the names of all the Ministers,
and full of tender references to my early associations with the Queen of
the South, as in our boyhood we loved to call her!
The Congregations, on week days not less than on Sabbaths, filled the
largest Public Halls and Churches in each locality; with frequent
overflow Meetings at which I had to speak for fifteen minutes or so, and
then leave them in the hands of others, whilst I drove or ran to the
principal Meeting, now opened and awaiting my Address. During the two
years of my Tour, I addressed very nearly 1400 audiences, ranging from a
few hundreds to five and six thousand each, and in doing so I travelled
over many thousands of miles, on foot and in every kind of conveyance
that is used in the English-speaking world.
The Chairmen at my various Meetings represented every type of Christian
worker, and all social grades, from the godly Tradesman, evangelizing in
his quiet Mission Hall, up through Ministers and Mayors, Provosts and
Members of Parliament, Bishops and Archbishops, to Lords and Dukes and
other Peers of the Realm. Under this rush of the Missionary Spirit, many
conventional barriers were broken down, so that I was, even on Sunday,
invited to give my Address from the very Pulpit in Episcopal Churches,
as for example in the Pro-Cathedral at Manchester. On week days, this
was a not infrequent experience.
These things, and all my opportunities of usefulness, thus unexpectedly
thrust upon me, at the close of a long life of toil and self-denial and
sacrifice for Jesus, I devoutly laid at His feet, and implored Him to
use me only for His glory. And I can truly say that I never felt more
deeply humbled, all my days, than at the close of some of those almost
unparalleled Missionary Meetings, when I was alone with my Saviour after
all was over, and thinking of my lowly Home and all the way by which the
God of my father had led me, from these hours of hardship to this day of
triumph. Fame and influence laid me lower and lower yet, at the feet of
Jesus, to whose grace alone everything was due.
Never were these feelings more present with me than when I was called
upon to tell the story of our Mission before the learned Professors and
eager Students, at so many Universities, Colleges, Theological Halls,
and similar Institutes. I have a note of at least sixty-three Seats of
Learning, including Princeton and the most famous Colleges in America,
as well as Oxford and Edinburgh, Cambridge and Glasgow at Home, where
some of the greatest living Masters in every department, such as my own
world-famous Professor, the now venerable Lord Kelvin, listened to my
testimony as to the power of the Gospel to make new Creatures of the
South Sea Cannibals and build them up into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
I trespassed not into _their_ spheres, where I would have been a child
and an ignoramus compared with them; and they, on the other hand,
treated _me_ with profound respect, and even occasionally with
demonstrative appreciation, in that sphere of the moral and spiritual,
the work of the Christ-Spirit and its influence on the lowest and most
degraded of human beings, wherein I had some right to speak with
authority. This was my “one” talent, in the presence of such men; and I
“traded” with it, that the Name of my Saviour might be honored more and
more, in the Halls of Letters, and in the Temples of Art and Science.
By the general desire of my fellow Missionaries on the New Hebrides, I
had visited Britain ten years before, for the express purpose of raising
if possible £5,000 for a new _Dayspring_, larger than the old, and with
Steam Auxiliary Power. By the blessing of God on my humble pleading, and
very largely in direct answer to prayer, for I called on no one
privately for donations, there came to us in twelve months the large sum
of £10,000, of which more than one half reached us by post. My Church in
Victoria, to whom I rendered an account of all, set apart £6,000 for the
new Mission Vessel, the interest to be added to capital till such time
as she might be built; while the remaining £4,000 were devoted to the
obtaining and supporting of additional Missionaries for the New
Hebrides.
But a new difficulty had emerged, and created not only delay all these
years, but no small measure of regrettable dissension; and that was how
to maintain the Ship, and keep her floating in the service of the
Mission; for the _Dayspring_, not being allowed to trade, had been
wholly maintained by the Sabbath Schools of the Churches having
Missionaries on the New Hebrides. The sum which they had raised
annually, each Church in its allotted proportion, amounted to £1,500, or
rather more; and it was manifest that the Steam Auxiliary would cost at
least £1,000 extra per annum. Unfriendly critics doubled that charge,
and some prophesied even treble; but level-minded experts limited it to
£1,000, and the actual facts of experience, as to cost of maintaining
the _Morning Star_ and the _Southern Cross_, in these same Pacific Seas,
tallied with their estimates.
The burning question, therefore, had been how to raise this _extra_ sum
for _Dayspring_ Maintenance. Our Victorian Church proposed to increase
her quota from £500 to £750, and issued appeals to the other coöperating
Churches to make a similar advance. It did not seem too much to expect,
in the interests of the Mission, all whose operations had trebled since
the original responsibility was allocated; but they pled inability to
comply, and so the project hung fire for ten years and more, experiments
being meanwhile made in other arrangements for the Maritime Service of
the Mission, and new interests of various kinds being thereby created,
which have not tended to unity and peace in the management of the New
Hebrides. There is peril also incurred to the highest spiritual
interests of the Mission, which I daily pray God, in His loving kindness
and mercy, to be pleased to avert!
Without ascribing anything but the most ordinary motives in the world to
those who opposed the getting of a new _Dayspring_, the situation that
thus grew up is perfectly transparent. The Australian New Hebrides
Company was employed to do the work of our Mission by their Trading
Ships. In 1805—_e.g._, we paid to them the large sum of £2,451, 8s. 1d.;
all found money, for, without us, these Ships in their outgoing trip to
the Islands would have sailed comparatively empty. To secure a Ship of
our own would be, therefore, to deprive the Company of this handsome
subsidy; and it is but Human Nature, and implies no necessary dishonor,
that the shareholders and their Ministerial and Missionary friends
should have become the keenest and even bitterest opponents of the new
_Dayspring_. Further, the headquarters of the Company being at Sydney,
and the subsidy for our Mission, as well as the money for the upkeep of
our Missionaries and their families, being consequently expended almost
exclusively there, it is, from the world’s point of view, equally
natural to anticipate that the very heart and centre of the opposition
has been in New South Wales, and has concentrated itself in the Advisory
Committee which sits at Sydney and is known as _The Dayspring Board_.
All this, I say, was only to be expected, if the whole transaction is to
be weighed and measured by the standards of men of the World, instead of
being put into the balances of Jesus Christ, and estimated in the light
of the spiritual and eternal interests of the Islanders whom He has
committed to our care.
With great plausibility, this selfish opposition sought to commend
itself to a wilder circle by a Patriotic plea. If we did not support the
Trading Company, it would fail, and the French might come on the scene
and annex the New Hebrides! The facts of history were forgotten or
ignored, with their ominous lesson, that other influences than trade
must be brought into action to save these Islands from France. Did the
tide of British trade, on the Loyalty Islands, on Madagascar, and the
like, prevent their annexation by France? Certainly not! True, it will
be a terrible calamity, not only to our Mission but to Australasia, if
France is permitted to annex the New Hebrides; but while she is openly
preparing the way for that fatal step, Britain and her Colonies mock at
all our warnings, and treat the whole matter with indifference, if not
contempt. New South Wales and Victoria have even withdrawn those modest
subsidies from Colonial Trading Ships, whereby their Governments might
have continued to manifest some little desire to save the New Hebrides
from the maw of Popish France!
Even if the horror of French Annexation were to overtake us, it might be
rationally contended that our Mission, instead of being implicated with
the existence of a rival Trading Company, would receive more favorable
consideration, if we had a Steam Auxiliary Ship devoted entirely to
spiritual services, ministering to, say, twenty-four Mission Families,
with their Lay Assistants and all belongings and dependents.
But, after all, such reasonings do not even touch the very heart of the
matter; and men who never go deeper than these cannot understand our
aims, and are in no position to criticise them, however loudly they may
abuse or oppose us. It is the spiritual and eternal welfare of our poor
Islanders that is at stake, in the question of _Dayspring_ or no
_Dayspring_; at least that is my immovable conviction, and, apart from
that, no argument on the other side has or can have much consideration
at my hands. With a Mission Ship of our own, for the New Hebrides, as
for every other Mission in these Pacific seas, we can visit our
Stations, as the interests of God’s work may require; we can visit and
cheer the Native Teachers at their lonely outposts amongst Heathen
Villages; we can deliberately visit and open up Pioneer Stations, where
Heathenism still reigns, and plant there our young Missionaries and
their Helpers; we can dissociate our Ship and her crew from the
drunkenness, profligacy, and profanity of the ordinary crews of Trading
Vessels; we can prevent the sale of Fire-Arms and Intoxicants, in barter
with the Natives; and, in a single word, we can make the Mission Ship,
in all her ways and surroundings, an adjunct to the work of the
Missionary, and a herald of the Kingdom of God among the Islanders,
alike on God’s Day of Rest, and on every day of the week—and all this in
a manner and to a degree, that is not within human possibility if we be
deprived of our own _Dayspring_, and thrown back upon ordinary Trading
Ships. This, and this alone, goes to the bottom of the whole
controversy.
Consequently, the men who opposed us never seriously denied what we here
affirm, or attempted to answer our arguments. On the contrary, they
practically gave away the whole case by perilling everything on the
question of expense. All we urged might be unassailably true, but the
cost was prohibitory! The money could not be raised, or, if it could, it
would be positively sinful to spend so much on such a Mission! My blood
often tingled to my finger tips, to hear this urged by self-indulgent
and purse-proud men, who spent every year, on the pleasures of this
perishing life, more than all that was required for the _Dayspring_ and
the four and twenty Mission Families, and the hundred thousand New
Hebrideans, to whom she was to minister as the white-winged Servant of
the Gospel of Jesus. Nor was my mood much calmer when this same thing
was urged by Ministers and Office-Bearers of the Church, at Home and in
the Colonies, who carry on their labors amidst the inspiring
surroundings and associations of their happier lot; who criticise
Missions and their management from the safe and cozy retreat of their
libraries and armchairs; who by post and telegraph are in touch with
those most dear to them every day, yea, every hour; and many of whom
never denied themselves one of the necessities of life, nor one of their
own perhaps foolish luxuries, for the sake of the Lord Jesus and His
cause,—never allowed themselves to suffer, even to the extent of one
poor pennyworth, even for the length of one passing day, for the love
they bore to God or to their fellows. I fear that I am an impatient
reasoner, when creatures of this type cross my path. Alas, they too much
abound, to the shame of the Church, and for the scorn of the World!
Coming back, therefore, to Britain, with these ten years of delay to be
accounted for, I did in all my Addresses frankly avow, that, in my
judgment the main obstacle, if not the only one, was the lack of this
extra £1,000 per annum for Maintenance. Friends on every side started
up, and thrust upon me the proposal, that those who had subscribed the
money to build the ship were quite willing to subscribe yearly to assist
in maintaining her. I took the whole matter to my Lord in special
prayer. It was borne in upon me to let the proposal be fully known, and
I felt myself bound to conclude that if, in a spontaneous way, the sum
of £1,000 were provided, with any hope of permanent interest, to renew
it from year to year, _that_ would be to me at least the demonstration
of the Gideon’s Fleece, that God, who had through His people presented
the Ship to our Mission, was opening up a way for her yearly
Maintenance.
A Circular Letter on the _Dayspring_ Maintenance Fund was accordingly
drawn up, and issued to all correspondents and supporters by my British
Committee. Certificates for Three-Penny Shares in the _Dayspring_, to be
renewed annually, were widely circulated in Sabbath Schools. And,
without further organization or appeal, the answer to our prayers was
almost instantaneously forthcoming. My Honorary Treasurer had the needed
£1,000 already paid, and sufficient promises for the immediate future.
We were empowered to promise this for Maintenance, if the _Dayspring_
were duly placed on the scene. If not, the money was to be returned to
the donors, or by them allocated to other departments of the Mission
enterprise. If, in all this, we had not the guidance of God, I know not
how to trace His hand!
Other Providential signs were not awanting. I called one day, at
Liverpool, on a generous Christian gentleman, to thank him personally
for a sum of £50 sent to the Mission. The thought or purpose of seeking
more money from him had never once entered my brain! He questioned me
carefully about the needs of the Mission, the accommodation of the
proposed Ship, and all our plans. Then he closed our interview thus: “I
am convinced that you cannot buy or build a sufficient Mission Vessel
for £6,000, and I wish you to add this in order to secure a larger and a
better Ship.” He handed me his check for £1,000! In tears of joy, I
thanked God and His dear servant, but hinted something about preferring
it rather for the first year’s Maintenance Fund, but he repeated that
this was to secure a larger and better Ship, adding: “Receive this as
from God, and the other will come also.”
Again, my dear friend Lord Overtoun, who had presided over two Meetings
that were addressed by me, entered one morning into a Railway Car by
which I was travelling, and sat down beside me. At the close of a happy
and very friendly conversation, he added: “Lady Overtoun and I gave you
£200 toward the building of the Mission Ship; and now, after talking the
matter over, we have resolved to give you £100 per annum for five years
to help to pay for her Maintenance.”
My soul overflowed with praise to God, and with thanks to those whose
hearts were thus in His keeping. To me, and to all my fellow Helpers, it
seemed to be plainly the will of the Lord. We reverently believed that
this was God’s doing, and no mere plan of ours. He had given the
_Dayspring_ in a present to the New Hebrides; and now He had provided
for her Maintenance. We were convinced at that time, and, despite all
that has happened since, we are still convinced, that the Divine voice
was infallibly saying, Go forward!
I returned to Victoria in the autumn of 1894. To the Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church at Melbourne I gave my first public account of my
Tour Round the World as their Missionary and Representative. At the
close of my address, I handed to the Moderator a check for £12,527, 4s.
2d., as the fruit of the Collections and Donations at my Public
Meetings—the offerings of the people of God from all these lands, to be
used for completing the evangelization of the New Hebrides. To this I
added a deposit of £1,000,—part of the profits of my book, but for the
time locked up in our Australian Banks. As this money all came to me
through those Congregations and Assemblies which I addressed as
Missionary Representative of the Church in Victoria, I regarded it as
belonging to my Church and as placed entirely under their control. I had
no right to exercise any further authority over it, save only thus far,
that it could not honorably be spent in any other way than on the New
Hebrides Mission. The donors had again and again protested that they
wanted to hear me on that Mission and on nothing else—that they had many
other opportunities of giving to the other great Missions in India,
China, and Africa, and that what they gave through me was for the New
Hebrides. I handed over the money; I delivered their message; and there,
so far, my responsibility ceased.
But that sum, vast as it may seem, represented only half the generosity
of the Churches of Britain and America during these three fruitful
years. Side by side with Public Collections and the like, another stream
of liberality had been constantly flowing. The readers of my
_Autobiography_ responded liberally to the appeal of my British
Committee, and poured donations into their hands or mine, almost
entirely by post, till, from readers of my book alone, _The John G.
Paton Mission Fund_, gave me on leaving a check for £12,000. These
donations were placed entirely at my personal disposal, under one
condition only—that I must use them for the extension of Mission work on
the New Hebrides. For the management of this sum, I obtained the
sanction of the General Assembly to the preparation of a legal Deed. It
is held by the Finance Committee of the Victorian Church, under those
conditions,—that I only can operate on it for the extension of the work
of God on the New Hebrides, while I live; and that after my decease they
can use it, but only for these same purposes; thus fulfilling, as
faithfully as may be, the wishes of those Christian souls who sent this
money to me from all corners of the world.
In addition to these two large branches of our _General Fund_, there had
come to myself or to my British Committee very considerable sums for
Special Funds. Notably these two:—the _Native Teachers’ Fund_, designed
to pay a small yearly salary, formerly of £6, but now beginning at that
figure and after two years’ faithful service rising to £8, to each of
those Converts to whom God had given the capacity and the call to become
Helpers to the Missionary in School and Church, and in many cases
Pioneers of the Cross where no white Missionary had ever gone: and also,
the _Dayspring Maintenance Fund_, already referred to and described. The
latter of these two was, of course, retained in the hands of the British
Committee at my call, till such time as the Churches and the Mission
Synod decided for or against a Mission Vessel. The former they continue
to administer, at my direction and under my sanction, through one of the
Missionaries on the Islands, who acts as their treasurer and agent. So
far as the annual donations will allow, we freely grant to every
Missionary all the assistance in our power for the training and
maintaining of these Native Evangelists, many of whom are destined to
become the future Pastors of the people. Up till now our difficulty has
been to find enough of suitable and reliable Native Teachers to be
allocated to the Churches, Bible Classes, Sunday Schools, and individual
Christians, willing to support them. But we hope for great things from
the TRAINING COLLEGE recently opened on Tangoa under Dr. Annand, one of
our ablest and most devoted Missionaries; and my British Committee have
undertaken to pay the salary of his Assistant, £150 per annum, with my
cordial approval. Many prayers are uplifted daily for this Missionary
Institute on the New Hebrides, at the very heart and centre of these
Cannibal Isles, that the Lord God would own it and send forth thence
trained and consecrated Evangelists to build up and to rule the New
Hebridean Church of Christ in the days that are to be,—no longer under
European tutelage, but under Native Pastors. We would glory to lead on
to that consummation, and then to pass to other fields of labor!
It is but right for me to mention, though most readers are already aware
of it, that all my Helpers and Fellow Workers at Home and in America
give their time and strength freely and gladly, without thought of any
reward except the joy of the service. All actual outlays incurred in the
on-carrying of the various schemes are, of course, met out of what we
call the _General Fund_; but every other penny, that comes to them or to
me, goes directly to the extension of the Gospel on the New Hebrides.
Each donation or subscription is acknowledged in our little quarterly
magazine known as _Jottings_, a copy of which is posted to all our
correspondents and supporters, and which is now the bond whereby God
keeps us together and sustains our interest in this work—another
development, not so much of our seeking, as rather thrust upon us by the
necessities of the work of the Lord, which so increased that my Helpers
could in no other way overtake the correspondence, or circulate the
Mission news so eagerly desired. It is thus that those who unfeignedly
seek to serve are led on by the Master Himself. The Pillar of Cloud and
Fire still marches before us; but, alas, how many have lost the power to
behold it!
I praise God every day of my life for all these dear supporters and
correspondents, far scattered in every Land, but one in heart for the
salvation of the New Hebrides. Through their generosity, my British
Committee with my joyful approval have undertaken, in addition to the
support of Native Teachers and the subsidy for Maintenance of
_Dayspring_, to defray the entire cost of two Missionaries and their
wives, and also two Lay European Assistants. Nay, if the generosity of
friends should continue, they are at the moment of my writing hopefully
contemplating the support of a third Missionary, with, if possible, a
Lay Assistant also. These are surely God-honoring fruits from the
planting of my humble book in hearts that love the Lord, and from the
zeal and devotion and extraordinary gifts of our Honorary Organizing
Secretary—with whom, and with all our Helpers everywhere, we reverently
say, Glory to God and not unto us!
Our loving God orders everything well. But for that Fund handed over by
me to the Victorian Church, I know not what would have become of the New
Hebrides Mission during the intervening years, since the crash of our
Australian Banks and the consequent terrible financial depression.
Thousands and tens of thousands of our people were literally ruined.
Money could not be obtained, even for the ordinary and inevitable
expenses of our Congregations. Ministers’ stipends were, on almost every
hand, temporarily reduced. The Foreign Mission Committee’s income fell
so terribly, that nearly everything was consumed in meeting the claims
of the Mission to the Aborigines and to the Chinese. In 1895 the
contributions to the _Dayspring Fund_ fell in Victoria from £500 to
£200, and even that was raised with difficulty. In fact, but for our
Fund, the salaries of several of the Missionaries and Native Teachers
would of necessity have been cancelled, and our forces withdrawn from
the field. God be praised, that calamity was averted! All our Army for
Jesus have been maintained at their posts; nay, additional Pioneers have
actually, despite these depressions, gone forth and pierced the Kingdom
of Darkness here and there with shafts of Gospel light.
On my return to Victoria all these schemes, and particularly the new
proposals as to the _Dayspring_, were fully laid before the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at Melbourne. Though the Ship was
offered as a free gift to the Mission, and the additional £1,000 _per
annum_ was now provided, without laying one farthing of financial burden
on them or on any of the Churches concerned, yet our Victorian Church
resolved to proceed with great deliberation, and to carry, if possible,
the approval of all parties concerned. They entered into correspondence
with each of the seven other Churches coöperating in the New Hebrides,
and with each of the Missionaries on the Islands, and agreed to instruct
the building of the Ship only if all, or a clear majority, cordially
approved. More than ten years ago, all had sanctioned the raising of the
money for a new and larger Steam Auxiliary Ship, and that sanction had
never been withdrawn. But many things had happened since then; and it
was at least brotherly and considerate, if not absolutely obligatory, to
confer with them all ere proceeding further.
The vast majority of the Missionaries at once reaffirmed their approval
of the scheme. All the Churches concerned, except one, either cordially
approved or left the matter to the free decision of the Australasian
Churches and the Missionaries on the field, in which decision they
intimated that they would heartily concur. The one exception was the
Church of New South Wales, influenced, as already indicated, by its
close association with the Trading Company, though doubtless from
motives entirely honorable, so far as individuals were concerned. What
is known as _The Dayspring Board_, with its headquarters at Sydney, was
also strongly opposed, and for similar reasons, too manifest to need
specification here. But I cannot regard the opposition of that Board as
either defensible or requiring to be taken into account at all. It is
simply an Advisory Committee. It neither raises any money for the Ship
nor for the Mission. It is the Executive, at most, of the Mission Synod
and the Churches concerned; and its proper and only function is to carry
out, in a helpful and business-like way, the instructions received from
the Missionaries. It is absurd, therefore, that such a Board should have
any vote on the question of a _Dayspring_ or no _Dayspring_, any more
than would a paid Agent executing the orders of the Missionaries for
articles of merchandise. A delicate sense of honor should have made them
feel this, and act accordingly, instead of becoming, as they did, not
only avowed opponents of the scheme, but, in some cases, even bitter
partisans and unscrupulous antagonists. For myself, I frankly say that
the opposition of a Board so constituted should not only be discounted,
but should be wholly ignored.
The Victorian Church, therefore, through its Foreign Mission Committee,
ordered the _Dayspring_. She was built by Messrs. Mackie & Thomson on
the Clyde, under the instructions and the personal supervision of John
Stephen, Esquire, of Linthouse. Better, more skilled, more reliable
advice could not be obtained in Britain. It was all gratuitously and
ungrudgingly given for the sake of the Mission, and we felt deeply
indebted for the same. The new Steam Auxiliary _Dayspring_, on her
completion, was exhibited to friends, subscribers, and Sabbath Scholars,
at Glasgow, at Ayr, at Belfast, at Douglas, and at Liverpool. Thousands
upon thousands of people flocked to see the little Missionary Ship, and
to wish her Godspeed. She was universally admired. The Public Press
commented on her trim appearance, substantial workmanship, and perfect
adaptation to the service for which she was destined. She had been built
and equipped within the £7,000 set apart for her construction. She had
every necessary accommodation for Officers and Crew, for Missionaries
and their Families, and for Native Teachers; and when she sailed away
from Liverpool, the representatives of my British Committee, upon whom
had lain the heavy burden of all the details, praised God that the plans
and toils of so many years had at last been brought to so auspicious an
issue. It marked the beginning of a new era, it was hoped, in the
Conversion of the New Hebrides, and the little Ship was borne away on
the wings of prayer and praise!
She performed the Ocean voyage to the highest satisfaction of all her
Officers. At Melbourne she was welcomed with much enthusiasm. On her
first trip to the Islands, the hearts of our Natives thrilled with great
joy at the sight of their own Gospel Ship. On her second visit, her
powers and capacities were most severely tested, and her adaptability to
the needs of the Mission. She had to call at all our Stations, and carry
up to Aneityum all the members of the Mission for the Annual Synod in
the month of May. She had on board fifty passengers, forty adults, and
ten children, exclusive of the Native Teachers and their families, and,
after the Synod, she had to carry all these back again to their several
scattered Stations. It was the unanimous and decided opinion of all
concerned, that, during no previous Synod Trip under any service, had we
ever enjoyed the same comfort and the same happiness. There was
thanksgiving, on every hand. The dissensions of the past were buried.
The Mission Synod had now their own Ship; and they unitedly resolved to
turn her to the best possible account in the Cause of Jesus and for the
speedy Evangelizing of the New Hebrides. Our hearts were at rest. We
turned aside to other labors, thanking God that in all this many prayers
had been answered, many tears had borne precious fruit. The _Dayspring_
was the crown and complement of our Missionary Enterprise for the
salvation of these Islands—God bless her!
Our dear little Mission Ship performed her third trip also with perfect
safety, and with much satisfaction to all the Missionaries. Her new
Captain, who had formerly been her first Officer, and who in his earlier
days had sailed these same Seas in the _Southern Cross_, was a great
favorite alike amongst the Missionaries and the Natives; thoroughly
capable, firm yet gentle, deserving and commanding universal respect.
The Ship had, as the result of experience, been in some matters
overhauled and readjusted, to meet special requirements; and her fourth
Voyage was entered upon with hope and joy. She was loaded with
provisions for the Missionaries and their Families, with wood for the
building of their Houses and Schools, and with whatsoever was most
urgently required by them for three months to come. So that at every
Station, on every Island, the eyes of our beloved Missionaries and their
Converts were eagerly looking out across the Seas for the flag of the
dear little _Dayspring_.
Alas, they looked in vain! She struck on an uncharted reef, not far from
New Caledonia,—a disaster against which no skill and no experience could
guard, in those not yet thoroughly explored and ever-changeful Seas. Her
Officers and Crew did everything that men could do to save her, and
struggled on till all hope had perished. With sore hearts, they at last
provisioned and manned the two boats, and committed themselves to the
deep—agreeing on certain general lines of action, that, please God, they
might again come together and be rescued. In a very short time, after
they had withdrawn, a high wind and a heavy sea working together
completed her destruction, and they beheld the dear little _Dayspring_
plunging head-foremost from the reef into the Sea, and disappearing,
masts and all, within the hungry Ocean.
The Captain’s boat ran to an island for safety, and was, ere long,
picked up, and he and all his men safely returned to Australia. The
other boat had a dreadful voyage. More than once she was overturned, and
left them all struggling in the Sea. For fourteen days and nights,
without almost any food, without any possibility of rest, bareheaded in
a broiling sun, the poor fellows endured suffering and untold distress;
till, at length, by a well-nigh miraculous Providence, they ran ashore
on the coast of Queensland, and were saved. Blessed be God, though our
dear little _Dayspring_, with all her belongings, her Library, her
Mission Harmonium, Lord Kelvin’s magnificent Compass, and the books, the
furnishings, and the food of our beloved Missionaries, lay sleeping in
the Ocean’s bed—no father’s or mother’s heart was wrung with the memory
of some precious Son buried with her there. We were all spared that
agony, and we continue to praise God that the wreck of the _Dayspring_
cost not a single human life.
It does not need that I should inform the Reader of the preceding pages
that this wreck was, in all the circumstances, one of the bitterest
sorrows of my life. I am not ashamed, considering my views of its
spiritual value as the Handmaid of the Gospel in completing Christ’s
Mission on the New Hebrides, to confess that I showed as much emotion,
though in a different way, when I heard the sorrowful news, as did the
Christian Natives at Lenukel, when they rolled themselves in anguish on
the sands, and set up a deathwail as if they had lost their dearest
friend. It requires very little imagination to realize the scene, as the
news was borne from Isle to Isle, and to hear one long, deep, and
heart-breaking cry resounding throughout the New Hebrides—“Alas for the
Gospel Ship! Alas for our dear little _Dayspring_! Alas for the
white-winged Herald of the Cross!”
For one, though firmly believing that her loss was a great blow to all
the higher interests of our Mission, I was able to say: “The Lord gave
and the Lord hath taken away:”—but yet, God forgive me, it was very hard
to add: “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” But never, in my deepest
soul, did I for a moment doubt that in His hands all must be well.
Whatever trials have befallen me in my Earthly Pilgrimage, I have never
had the trial of doubting that perhaps, after all, Jesus had made some
mistake. No! my blessed Lord Jesus makes no mistakes! When we see all
His meaning, we shall then understand, what now we can only trustfully
believe, that all is well—best for us, best for the cause most dear to
us, best for the good of others and the glory of God. Still, my tears
would flow when I thought of the dear little _Dayspring_, the fruit of
ten years of prayers and toils, the gift of God’s people throughout the
world to our beloved Mission, tumbled from that reef and lying at the
bottom of the Sea. And I felt comforted to think that He, who wept with
the mourning Sisters at the grave of Lazarus, did not rebuke their
tears, but soothed them by weeping with them—“Jesus wept.”
Wisely or otherwise, all parties seemed to embrace at once the
conclusion that this Shipwreck should furnish the occasion for
reconsidering the whole question of a Mission Vessel or no Mission
Vessel for the New Hebrides. For the time, arrangements had again to be
resumed for the services of the Trading Company; and the interval was to
be utilized in consulting the Mission Synod on the Islands, and the
Churches concerned, in the light of the experience gained, whether
another _Dayspring_ should be built or not. I must openly affirm that
this policy never commended itself to my judgment, nor even yet can I
see its wisdom. With the Insurance, though limited to the inadequate sum
of £2,000 much against my will by the Committee at Melbourne, and with
the other Funds for the _Dayspring_ still on hand, besides the Free-Will
Offerings that poured in on us from friends everywhere, we could have
ordered and paid for a New Ship without one hour’s delay. We had the
assent of the Churches and the approval of the Missionaries, and should
have gone forward, as if the wreck had never happened. God seemed
Himself to be clearly pointing the way. Within a few hours, after the
disaster was cabled to Britain, a lady in London sent a check for £1,000
to my Home Committee, “to build or buy a new and larger ship!” Other
generous offers were also pressed upon us; and the money is at this
moment lying in the Bank awaiting a decision. We could then, and can
now, present to the Mission another _Dayspring_, as a free gift from
those throughout the world to whom God has endeared the Mission on the
New Hebrides.
But I was powerless to resist the policy of delay, the consequences of
which I cannot but fear, whatever the ultimate decision may be, as
highly disastrous to our Mission. Should the vote be in favor of another
Ship, the delay will have so damped the interest of supporters, that my
British Committee may find it extremely difficult to revive
subscriptions and secure the promised £1,000 _per annum_ towards the
Maintenance Fund. Should the vote be unfavorable, the dissension amongst
the Missionaries and the Churches, and the seesaw policy in the
Management of the Mission, will so shake the confidence of the Christian
Public, that all our funds are bound to suffer, and the welfare of the
Mission be seriously crippled. I do, therefore, most earnestly pray and
hope that there may be unity, at whatever cost to my personal
predilections; for the spectacle of a disloyal Minority, undermining and
destroying the work of the Majority, is enough to bring on our cause the
contempt of men, if not also the curse of God. And at the same time, I
cannot but fervently desire that the mind of the Synod on the Islands
and of the Churches in the Colonies, at Home, and in Nova Scotia, may be
clear and decided in favor of a Mission Ship, for the highest welfare of
the Church of God on the New Hebrides.[2]
Footnote 2:
The Synod on the Islands (May, 1897) have voted _for_ a New Mission
Ship by a majority of 13 against 2.—EDITOR.
Experience has demonstrated that a perfectly suitable Vessel can be
constructed for, say £8,000, that is, fifty tons larger than the Ship we
have lost. Experience has further demonstrated that she can be
maintained for £2,500 per annum, or even less. Our opponents must
therefore lay aside their speculative figures, and cease to say that her
building may cost £10,000, and her yearly maintenance not less than
£5,000. The _Dayspring_ lived long enough to slay these two wild
fabrications. Now then, let them be buried with her in the Sea! It is
purely and simply a question of whether, in the interests of the Kingdom
of God on the New Hebrides, and in order to cut off our work there from
all degrading association with Sabbath-breaking and grog-selling Trading
Ships, we should or should not accept the free-will offerings of the
People at Home to build for us, and to help us to maintain, a Mission
Ship of our own. I never can believe it possible to imagine any other
answer but one—if that issue were clearly contemplated, and judgment
pronounced, _apart_ from all other considerations, whether personal,
self-interested, or merely worldly.
Thus far, as part of my Life-Story, and that every reader may comprehend
my aims, it seemed necessary to explain, to argue, and even to
criticise. But all further reference here is needless. Ere this page is
published, the final decision will probably have been announced. I can
truly say that my Lord knows how sincerely I desire a clear and final
decision, whether for or against another[3] _Dayspring_; and that, such
having been given, I pledged myself beforehand to accept it as His will,
and, under it, to do all that in me lies to promote during my remaining
days, the true welfare of the Mission of Christ to the New Hebrides.
_Dayspring_, or no _Dayspring_, these souls must be won for Jesus!
Footnote 3:
The General Assembly at Melbourne (November, 1897) resolved by a
majority of one to delay for twelve months before deciding either for
or against a new _Dayspring_.—EDITOR.
And now, since this in all human probability is the closing Chapter of
my humble Life, so far as it shall ever be written by me, therefore ere
I lay down my pen, let me dwell with unalloyed delight on a few pictures
of facts that rise before me, illustrative of the work of God at large
throughout the New Hebrides. In all my journeyings, and in all my talks
and writings, though of necessity personal experiences bulked somewhat
largely, yet every candid hearer or reader will bear witness that I was
eager and careful to pay unstinted honor to all my fellow laborers on
these Islands; many of whom, men and women too, I truly regard before
God as amongst the noblest Servants of the Lord Jesus that I have ever
known, or expect to know, on this Earth. God be with them, one and all;
and though, on questions of policy and management, some of them may
differ from me, I would gladly spend my last ounce of strength in
promoting the spiritual interests of their work at every Station, and
contributing to their personal happiness and prosperity, if it be in my
power in any way to do so. All this, on both sides, we thoroughly know
and understand, as becometh the Ambassadors of Christ to the Heathen
World. I am never happier than when, as now, I try to picture the work
of God on all the Isles of the New Hebrides, and show our friends and
supporters in every Land some of the fruits of their money and their
prayers.
At North Santo, we see Mr. Noble Mackenzie and his wife with hope and
faith unfurling the Banner of the Cross; and Dr. and Mrs. Sandilands at
Port Philip, Big Bay, on the same great Island, by healing and by
teaching, pioneering for Jesus. Mr. Bowie and his wife, from the Free
Church of Scotland, are taking possession of South Santo in the name of
Christ; and if the Mission Synod agrees to plant his brother, Dr. Bowie,
along with his wife, sent out this year by my British Committee, on East
Santo, as seems desired—this, the largest and most northerly island of
the Group, with its many languages and its unknown thousands of
inhabitants, will at last be ringed round with fire,—the fire of love to
Jesus and to the souls of the Heathen.
Another great Island, with several languages, has in recent years been
surrounded by the soldiers of the Cross, and claimed for Christ—Mr. Watt
Leggatt and his devoted wife at Aulua, Mr. Frederick J. Paton at
Pangkumu, and Mr. Boyd at South West Bay—uniting their threefold forces
to bring vast and populous Malekula to the feet of Jesus. Already most
hopeful beginnings have been made. Christian Churches, with a few
Converts, have been planted at these three Stations—the nucleus, we
trust, of living branches on Earth of the Living Body of our Living Lord
in the Heavenly World.
Tanna, also, has been afresh assaulted, in the name of God. Mr. Gillies
and his wife are on their way to assist and to succeed Mr. Watt at
Kwamera and Port Resolution; Mr. Thomson Macmillan has entered upon the
field at Wiasisi, from which Mr. Gray had to retire; and Mr. Frank H. L.
Paton and his devoted wife, along with their Lay Assistant, Mr. Hume,
have opened a Pioneering Mission at Lenukel, on the Western coast,
entirely supported by the funds of my British Committee. And our hopes
beat high that Tanna, often described as the hardest Mission field in
the Heathen World, is on the eve of surrendering to the Gospel of Jesus,
which the fierce Tannese have so long and so savagely resisted.
To join the noble band of younger Missionaries, Dr. Agnew has also gone
to the New Hebrides, an experienced and gifted and most attractive
Missionary at Home, and destined, we believe, to be a fruitful worker
for Jesus in the Foreign field. The preliminary expenses connected with
several of these, such as Medical and other outfit, passage money to
Australia, and the like, have been gladly borne by my British Committee,
thereby relieving the Churches of all initial outlays, and encouraging
them to undertake their permanent support. We press forward still, never
thinking we can lawfully rest till every Tribe on the New Hebrides shall
have heard, each in their own language, in their Mother Tongue, the old
and ever new and deathless story of Redeeming Love.
These, however, are but beginnings. Our older Stations showed, in 1895,
a record of work done and sufferings borne for Jesus that might well
make all Christians thrill with praise. Take a few examples only.
During the year, Mr. Michelsen of Tongoa, one of the most successful
Missionaries in the field, baptized and admitted to the Lord’s Table 200
Converts; while 200 more under his tuition and that of Mrs. Michelsen
were being prepared for the same holy privileges. God has given them in
all nearly 2,000 Converts from amongst these Cannibals, who are being
built up into the faith and service of Jesus Christ. Alas, since the
Queensland Government, in defiance of the solemn Protest of the Chiefs,
opened this Island to the Labor-recruiting Ships, hundreds of their best
and most hopeful Native Helpers have been seduced as _Kanakas_ to the
Sugar Plantations—and the Missionary and the Islanders alike regard them
as virtually dead; so very few will ever return! Mr. Michelsen has
thirty Native Teachers or Evangelists, with 1,850 pupils attending the
Mission Schools. During the same year, the Converts collected from
amongst themselves £25, and handed it over for the promotion of the
Gospel of Christ; so that the labors of this devoted servant of God, for
sixteen years, are being crowned with many tokens of blessing.
It is believed amongst us that few Missions in the World show more
interesting fruits of Evangelistic enterprise than Nguna and its Islets,
under the fostering pastorate of Mr. Milne and his most devoted and
gifted wife. There are 750 Communicants on the Church’s Roll, 1,700
regularly attending the Worship of God, and at least 2,000 in all who
have turned from Heathenism and adopted the habits of Christian
Civilization. There are thirty Native Teachers, for whose support the
Native Church raised £155, 8s. 11d. in 1895, besides giving Arrowroot
for Mission purposes valued at £120. They had thirty-seven Christian
Marriages during the year, and 100 Candidates for Membership in the
Communicants’ Class. Nay, most marvellous of all, the Church of Nguna
has thirty-eight of its married couples who have gone forth as Native
Teachers and Mission Helpers to other Islands—a Missionary Church called
out of Heathenism, thus joyfully and instinctively sending forth from
its own bosom Missionaries into the Heathenism beyond. Surely I am
warranted in saying, to the praise of Jesus and of His servants, that
this is a glorious record for five and twenty years!
On Epi, Mr. Fraser, having labored fourteen years, had 137 Members on
his Communion Roll, and 128 Candidates in his Communicants’ Class; 27
Native Teachers, with 1,000 at the Day Schools, and 1,250 at the Sabbath
Schools; and his people collected amongst themselves £34 for Mission
purposes. Since then, and every day, the tide of prosperity is rising on
the side of Christianity, and all these figures are steadily increasing.
Mr. Smail is on the other side of the same Island, and has, as the
result of six years’ devotion to his work, 36 Communicants in his
Church, 13 Candidates for Membership, 14 Native Teachers, and 500 daily
attending their Schools. They gave £7 for the work of the Mission.
Erromanga, where five Missionaries were murdered, and two of them
devoured by the Cannibals, is now a Christian Island. There are 300
Communicants, 12 Elders, 40 Native Teachers, and 1,750 attending the
Schools—practically the whole population. Mr. Robertson and his devoted
wife have been honored of God, in completing this grand work, during the
last four and twenty years.
And so on all round the Group, Island after Island being brought by
patient, devoted, and rational expenditure of time, and affection, and
all Gospel influences, to the knowledge of the Christian life, and
thereby to Civilization. There are still four or five great Centres of
Heathenism untouched. When God sends us Missionaries for these, it will
then only be a question of time coupled with pains and prayer, till all
the New Hebrides in all their Babel tongues, shall be heard singing the
praises of Redeeming Love. May my blessed Saviour spare me to see the
full Dawn, if not the perfect Noon, of that happy Day!
[Illustration:
A HEATHEN CHIEF OF FUTUNA.
Showing the hair divided in many locks, tortoise-shell earrings, bead
and shell necklace.
]
[Illustration:
EPETENETO,
The first native pastor in the New Hebrides
]
It is easy to raise the shallow cry that the New Hebrides Mission is
overmanned, as compared with India, China and Africa, as some, and very
specially the same men who most keenly oppose the _Dayspring_, are
persistently doing. We might answer by retort,—Your own Towns and
Villages are overmanned; why not resign your charges, and go to the
millions of Heathendom? But we leave that retort to others, and reply:
There are differences in all these fields of enterprise, which demand
specific adaptation of means to ends, and we fearlessly declare, in the
face of all Christendom, that God Himself has approved of our system by
the almost unparalleled results. We plant down our European Missionary
with his staff at a given Station. We surround him with Native Teachers,
who pioneer amongst all the Villages within reach. His life-work is to
win that Island, or that People, for God and Civilization. He masters
their Language, and reduces it to writing. He translates and prints
portions of the Bible. He opens Schools, and begins teaching the whole
population. He opens a Communicants’ Class, and trains his most hopeful
Converts for full membership in the Church. And there he holds the fort,
and toils, and prays, till the Gospel of Jesus has not only been
preached to every creature whom he can reach, but also reduced to
practice in the new habits and the new religious and social life of the
Community. In this way has Aneityum been won for Christ, and thoroughly
Christianized; and Aniwa, and Erromanga, and Efatè, and Nguna, and
Tongoa, and several adjoining Isles. And, humanly speaking, there is no
other way in which these Tribes and Peoples can be evangelized. The next
stage will be that of the Native Pastorate, with a very few
superintending European Missionaries—a stage on which, for instance, my
own Aniwa has long since practically entered, the Elders carrying on all
the work of the Church, with an occasional visit from a neighboring
Missionary. But the foundations of Civilization and of Christianity must
either be laid and solidly built up by a Missionary for each of these
Peoples, or they will never be laid at all.
Let our Churches then go forward on the lines which God the Lord hath
blessed. Complete the pioneering work on the New Hebrides, bring the
Gospel within reach of every creature there, and then set free your
money and your men to do the same elsewhere. But even in India and in
China and in Africa, with their countless millions, learn a lesson from
the work on the New Hebrides. Plant down your forces in the heart of one
Tribe or Race, where the same Language is spoken. Work solidly from that
centre, building up with patient teaching and lifelong care a Church
that will endure. Rest not till every People and Language and Nation has
such a Christ-centre throbbing in its midst, with the pulses of the New
Life at full play. Rush not from Land to Land, from People to People, in
a breathless and fruitless Mission. Kindle not your lights so far apart,
amid the millions and the wastes of Heathendom, that every lamp may be
extinguished without any of the others knowing, and so leave the
blackness of their Night blacker than ever. The consecrated Common-sense
that builds for Eternity will receive the fullest approval of God in
Time.
Oh that I had my life to begin again! I would consecrate it anew to
Jesus in seeking the conversion of the remaining Cannibals on the New
Hebrides. But since that may not be, may He help me to use every moment
and every power still left to me to carry forward to the uttermost that
beloved work. Doubtless these poor degraded Savages are a part of the
Redeemer’s inheritance, given to Him in the Father’s Eternal Covenant,
and thousands of them are destined through us to sing His praise in the
glory and the joy of the Heavenly World! And should the record of my
poor and broken life lead any one to consecrate himself to Mission work
at Home or Abroad that he may win souls for Jesus, or should it even
deepen the Missionary spirit in those who already know and serve the
Redeemer of us all—for this also, and for all through which He has led
me by His loving and gracious guidance, I shall, unto the endless ages
of Eternity, bless and adore my beloved Master and Saviour and Lord, to
whom be glory forever and ever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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_MISSIONS, AFRICA._
The Personal Life of David Livingstone.
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Reality vs. Romance in South Central Africa.
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gilt top, $1.75.
“It is a vivid picture of twenty years of devoted and heroic service
in a field as hard as often falls to the lot of a worker in foreign
lands.”—_The Congregationalist._
Among the Mongols.
By Rev. JAMES GILMOUR. Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, $1.25.
James Gilmour and His Boys.
Being Letters to his Sons in England. With facsimiles of Letters, a Map
and other Illustrations. 12mo, cloth, $1.25.
Griffith John,
Founder of the Hankow Mission, Central China. By WILLIAM ROBSON.
Missionary Biography Series. Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, 75c.
John Kenneth Mackenzie,
Medical Missionary to China. With the Story of the first Chinese
Hospital. By Mrs. MARY I. BRYSON. With portrait. 12mo, cloth, $1.50.
The Story of the China Inland Mission.
By M. GERALDINE GUINNESS. Introduction by J. HUDSON TAYLOR, F.R.G.S.
Illustrated, 2 volumes, 8vo, cloth, each, $1.50.
From Far Formosa:
The Island, its People and Missions. By Rev. G. L. MACKAY, D.D., 23
years a missionary on the island. Well indexed. With many Illustrations
from photographs by the author, and several Maps. _Fifth thousand.
Popular edition._ 8vo, cloth, $1.25.
China and Formosa.
The Story of the Mission of the Presbyterian Church of England. By Rev.
JAMES JOHNSON, editor of “Missionary Conference Report, 1888.” With 4
Maps and many illustrations, prepared for this work. 8vo, cloth, $1.75.
_MISSIONS, INDIA._
In the Tiger Jungle.
And Other Stories of Missionary Work among the Telugus. By Rev. JACOB
CHAMBERLAIN, M.D., D.D., for 37 years a Missionary in India.
Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $1.00.
“If this is the kind of missionary who mans the foreign stations, they
will never fail for lack of enterprise.... The book is withal a vivid
and serious portrayal of the mission work, and as such leaves a deep
impression on the reader.”—_The Independent._
The Child of the Ganges.
A Tale of the Judson Mission. By Prof. R. N. BARRETT, D.D. Illustrated.
12mo, cloth, $1.25.
Adoniram Judson.
By JULIA H. JOHNSTON. Missionary Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net, 15c.;
flexible cloth, net, 30c.
Once Hindu, now Christian.
The Early Life of Baba Padmanji. An Autobiography, translated. Edited by
J. MURRAY MITCHELL, M.A. 16mo, cloth, 75c.
William Carey.
The Shoemaker who became “the Father and Founder of Foreign Missions.”
By Rev. JOHN B. MYERS. Missionary Biography Series. Illustrated.
_Twenty-second thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
William Carey.
By MARY E. FARWELL. Missionary Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net, 15c.;
flexible cloth, net, 30c.
Alexander Duff.
By ELIZABETH B. VERMILYE. Missionary Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net,
15c.; flexible cloth, net, 30c.
Reginald Heber,
Bishop of Calcutta, Scholar and Evangelist. By ARTHUR MONTEFIORE.
Missionary Biography Series. Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, 75c.
Heavenly Pearls Set in a Life.
A Record of Experiences and Labors in America, India, and Australia. By
Mrs. LUCY D. OSBORN. Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $1.50.
_MISSIONS, PERSIA AND INDIA._
Persian Life and Customs.
With Incidents of Residence and Travel in the Land of the Lion and the
Sun. By Rev. S. G. WILSON, M.A., for 15 years a missionary in Persia.
With Map, and other Illustrations, and Index. _Second edition, reduced
in price._ 8vo, cloth, $1.25.
Justin Perkins,
Pioneer Missionary to Persia. By his son, Rev. H. M. PERKINS. Missionary
Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net, 15c.; flexible cloth, net, 30c.
Women and the Gospel in Persia.
By Rev. THOMAS LAURIE, D.D. Missionary Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net,
15c.; flexible cloth, net, 30c.
Henry Martyn, Saint and Scholar.
First Modern Missionary to the Mohammedans. 1781–1812. By GEORGE SMITH,
author of “Life of William Carey,” “The Conversion of India,” etc. With
Portrait, Map, and Illustrations. Large 8vo, cloth, gilt top, $3.00.
“This excellent biography, so accurately written, so full of interest
and contagious enthusiasm, so well arranged, illustrated, and indexed,
is worthy of the subject.”—_The Critic._
Henry Martyn.
His Life and Labors: Cambridge—India—Persia. By JESSE PAGE. Missionary
Biography Series. Illustrated. _Eleventh thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
Henry Martyn.
Missionary to India and Persia. 1781–1812. Abridged from the Memoir by
Mrs. SARAH J. RHEA. Missionary Annals Series. 12mo, paper, net, 15c.;
flexible cloth, net, 30c.
The Conversion of India.
From Pantænus to the Present Time, A. D. 193–1893. By GEORGE SMITH,
C.I.E., author of “Henry Martyn.” Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $1.50.
The Cross in the Land of the Trident.
By Rev. HARLAN P. BEACH, Educational Secretary of the Student Volunteer
Movement. _5th thousand._ 12mo, paper, net, 25c.; cloth, 50c.
_MISSIONS, JAPAN._
Rambles in Japan,
The Land of the Rising Sun. By Rev. Canon H. B. TRISTRAM, D.D., F.R.S.
With forty-six illustrations by EDWARD WHYMPER, a Map, and an index.
8vo, cloth, $2.00.
“A delightful book by a competent author, who, as a naturalist, writes
well of the country, while as a Christian and a humanitarian he writes
with sympathy of the new institutions of new Japan.”—_The
Independent._
The Gist of Japan:
The Islands, their People, and Missions. By Rev. R. B. PEERY, A.M.,
Ph.D., of the Lutheran Mission, Saga. Illustrated. 12mo, cloth
decorated, $1.25.
This book does not pretend to be an exhaustive treatise of an
exhaustless topic; it does pretend to cover the subject; and whosoever
is eager to know the “gist” of those matters Japanese in which
Westerners are most interested—the land, the people, the coming of
Christianity, the difficulties and prospects of her missions, the
condition of the native Church—will find it set down in Dr. Peery’s
book in a very interesting, reliable, instructive, and condensed form.
The Ainu of Japan.
The Religion, Superstitions, and General History of the Hairy Aborigines
of Japan. By Rev. JOHN BATCHELOR. With 80 Illustrations. 12mo, cloth,
$1.50.
“Mr. Batchelor’s book, besides its eighty trustworthy illustrations,
its careful editing, and its excellent index, is replete with
information of all sorts about the Ainu men, women, and children.
Almost every phase of their physical and metaphysical life has been
studied, and carefully noted.”—_The Nation._
The Diary of a Japanese Convert.
By KANZO UCHIMURA. 12mo, cloth, $1.00.
“This book is far more than the name indicates. It is the only book of
its kind published in the English language, if not in any language. It
is something new under the sun, and is as original as it is new. It
has the earmarks of a strong and striking individuality, is clear in
diction, forceful in style, and fearless in criticism.”—_The
Interior._
A Maker of the New Japan.
Joseph Hardy Neesima, the Founder of Doshisha University. By Rev. J. D.
DAVIS, D.D., Professor in Doshisha. Illustrated. _Second edition._ 12mo,
cloth, $1.00.
“The life is admirably and spiritedly written, and its hero stands
forth as one of the most romantic and inspiring figures of modern
times, a benefactor to his own country and an object of tender regard
on our part; for it was to the United States that Mr. Neesima turned
for light and help in his educational plans.”—_The Examiner._
_MISSIONS, PACIFIC ISLANDS._
John G. Paton,
Missionary to the New Hebrides. An Autobiography, edited by his brother.
With an Introductory Note by Rev. A. T. PIERSON, D.D. Illustrated.
_Tenth thousand._ 2 vols., 12mo, cloth, gilt top, boxed, net, $2.00;
_cheaper edition_, 1 vol., 12mo, cloth, $1.50.
“We commend to all who would advance the cause of Foreign Missions
this remarkable autobiography. It stands with such books as those Dr.
Livingstone gave the world, and shows to men that the heroes of the
cross are not merely to be sought in past ages.”—_The Christian
Intelligencer._
Bishop Patterson,
The Martyr of Melanesia. By JESSIE PAGE. Missionary Biography Series.
Illustrated. _Thirteenth thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
James Calvert;
Or, From Dark to Dawn in Fiji. By R. VERNON. Missionary Biography
Series. Illustrated. _Tenth thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
From Darkness to Light in Polynesia.
With Illustrative Clan Songs. By Rev. WILLIAM WYATT GILL, LL.D.
Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $2.40.
John Williams,
The Martyr Missionary of Polynesia. By Rev. JAMES J. ELLIS. Missionary
Biography Series. Illustrated. _Thirteenth thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
Among the Maoris;
Or, Daybreak in New Zealand. A Record of the Labors of Marsden, Selwyn,
and others. By JESSIE PAGE. Missionary Biography Series. Illustrated.
12mo, cloth, 75c.
Pioneering in New Guinea,
1877–1894. By JAMES CHALMERS. With a Map and 43 Illustrations from
Original Sketches and Photographs. 8vo, cloth, $1.50.
“It reveals a splendid character, and records a noble apostolic work.
It is a notable addition to our missionary literature of the high
class.”—_The Standard._
James Chalmers,
Missionary and Explorer of Rarotonga and New Guinea. By WILLIAM ROBSON.
Missionary Biography Series. Illustrated. _Fourteenth thousand._ 12mo,
cloth, 75c.
_MISSIONS, AMERICA._
On the Indian Trail,
And Other Stories of Missionary Work among the Cree and Saulteaux
Indians. By EGERTON R. YOUNG. Illustrated by J. E. LAUGHLIN. 12mo,
cloth, $1.00.
Mr. Young is well known to readers of all ages as the author of “By
Canoe and Dog Train,” “Three Boys in the Wild North Land,” and other
very popular books describing life and adventure in the great
Northwest. The stories in this new book tell of some very exciting
incidents in his career, and describe phases of life among the
American Indians which are fast becoming things of the past.
Forty-two Years Among the Indians and Eskimos.
Pictures from the Life of the Rt. Rev. John Horden, first Bishop of
Moosonee. By BEATRICE BATTY. Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, $1.00.
Vikings of To-Day;
Or, Life and Medical Work among the Fishermen of Labrador. By WILFRED T.
GRENFEL, M.D., of the Deep Sea Mission. Illustrated from Original
Photographs. _Second edition._ 12mo, cloth, $1.25.
“The author has been in charge of the work since its inception, and
writes, accordingly, with special authority and wealth of detail, both
as to the methods of work and as to the people—the fearless, patient
Vikings—to whom he has dedicated his life.”—_The Examiner._
Amid Greenland Snows;
Or, The Early History of Arctic Missions. By JESSE PAGE. Missionary
Biography Series. Illustrated. _Tenth thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
Kin-da-Shon’s Wife.
An Alaskan Story. By Mrs. EUGENE S. WILLARD. Illustrated. _Third
edition._ 8vo, cloth, $1.50.
“From beginning to end the book holds the attention. Mrs. Willard has
shown herself peculiarly well qualified to write such a book.”—_Public
Opinion._
David Brainerd,
The Apostle to the North American Indians. By JESSE PAGE. Missionary
Biography Series. Illustrated. _Twelfth thousand._ 12mo, cloth, 75c.
South America, the Neglected Continent.
By LUCY E. GUINNESS and E. C. MILLARD. With a Map in colors and many
other Illustrations. Small 4to, paper, 50c.; cloth, 75c.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.
● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.