The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-12-22


marked In a recent sermon that the world now
days was well nigh drunk with self conceit
about our so called progress in arts and sciences
They had fallen, he said, on sceptcal and I'M
believing age. and met on every side with
doubts and questonings about the truth and
value of revelation. There were districts in the
great metropolis. In Liverpool in Manchester
Birmingham, in the Black Country, where
Christianity seemed practically unknown.
The troubles in the Free Church OF
Scotland do not seem to dampen the persistent
zeal with which it supports its ministry The
receipts of the Sustentation Fund are more than
$4,000 in advance of last years.
The English Church Union, which
apes the ceremonies and customs of Romanism
espouses as a matter OF course the cause of the
French Jesuits, and though its president, Mr.
Charles Wood. has addressed letter to the
Cardinal Archbishop of Paris expressing to the
Romanists of France the indignation with which
the members of the Union regard what they are
pleased to call the prosecutions" to which the
religious orders are at present subjected by the
government of France. This letter processes to
be sent in the name of II bishops, $500 clergy.
men, and 1890 of the laity of the Church Of
Decentralization Inteligencer.
The Congo Mission of the English
Baptist Missionary Society has met a serious
hndrance. AS all our readers know, the Mis-
sion has made San Salvador a basis of op.
erations for working up the Congo River
to the neighborhood of Stanley Pool Sew
eral short excursions toward Stanley Pool
had been made, and all the local chiefs or
kings were found to be very friendly; so that
when, recently, the missionaries received a com
municaton from the King of Makuta, assuring
them of his friendliness and protection in pass
ing through his territory they thought to try
to reach Stanley Pool Protection, however,
was guaranteed only on one condition-that
no Congo men should be in the party-only
crew boys. The expedition as it started, CON
sisted of two of the missionaries, Messrs: Comber
and Hartland, and nine boys On the first
dark night after leaving San Salvador eight of
the boys ran away; but the missionaries march
ed on without them. On reaching the first
town in the Makuta Country they found the
people, to their surprise, sullen and unfriendly,
unwilling to give them any information ex-
cept to point toward the second town. In
the second town there were further signs
of hostile purpose; while in the third
town, called Banza there was an outbreak
The chiefs called on the people to get their
guns and kill the white men. In a mo
ments time the missionaries were surrounded
by the savages, who were armed with guns.
knives. cutlasses, and large stones and who be-
gan to dance and to yell. Hoping the mob
would become quiet il they acted calmly. the
missionaries sat down; but no sooner were they
seated than the natives were upon them. They
retreated before the furious onset Clubs and
stones were hurled after them, and then firing
began. Mr.. Comber was shot in the hack and
fell instantly but when Mr.. Hartland returned
to his aid Mr. Comber reminded him of a com
pact they had made-that if one should fall, the
others should try to save their lives-and he
urged Mr.. Hartland to hurry away, which he
did, very reluctantly. When they arrived at
the top of the next hill, they saw Mr. Comber
trying to follow them. They helped the
wounded man to Sanda, a friendly town, whence
he was borne on hammock long and rough
journey to San Salvador The bullet was ex
tracted from the back and was found to be a
square piece of ironstone, which had entered an
inch and half into the muscles of the back
and had hit the spine. 1t is hoped Mr. Comber
will recover, though the process will neces
sarily be slow one, Mr.. Hartland was also
injured by the projectiles. Independent.