Morning journal and courier., 1881-07-22
Price Four Cents.
Street Preaching in Calcutta
Missionaries Stopped While Speaking
 In the Open Air.

In the Open Air.
 correspondent writes to one of the Enp- fish journals 'HThe fact that missionaries in Calcutta have been stopped while preaching in the open air might suggest that the au
 thorities had adopted backward policy in this direction: The company Sahib Baha- door, or the nlustrious Company Esquire, as the natives called the past governing DOW CT, were afraid of allowing the popular mind to be excited on the subject of religion. They did not wish 1t to be thought that they had designs of tampering with the worship or caste prejudices of the Hindus lest such an idea might result in fanaticism or rebellion. The great mutiny, caused in part by the be- lief in 'greased cartridges may be cited as evidence that this view of the matter had some foundation to recommend it. and the government policy had always been against missionary afforts, or any appearance that the Sahibs wished to interfere with relipious or more particularly with the caste. notions of the people of India. Notwithstanding this the missionary did find his way to the plains of Hindustan, and at last became a regular institution in the country. From England more than one religious body sent their rep- resentatlves; German missionaries also found their way, and even American men. anxious to convert the Hindu came The Roman Catholics had done great things in southern India before our government ex- tended its power; and lately attention has been called to the itinerary of a monk called F. Maestro Fra Sebastian Manrique, who visit ed the Northwest Provinces in the seven- teenth century-that was in the time of Shah Jehan-and he passed through Apra when the Tai was building, regarding which he g1ves some interesting details new to us re- specting that celebrated structure. This missionary penetrated to Lahore and MooI tan, and even reached Kandahar, of which we have heard so much lately as being A very distant place. In his time there were Roman Catholic missions in the northwest who were sometimes favored, and at times persecuted . even unto cruel deaths. rNow the headquar ters of the Roman Catholic mission is at Agra, and they have at least one convent at Landour, in the Himalayas. There is also a curious Moravian mission in the bleak wilds of Lahoul, which has long maintained it's place In that unpromising region. If the govern ment were now to change their policy and interrupt this progress which has thus wide ly exdented itself, the seriousness of the movement would be great, but this is not at all likely. The whole feeling of the time would be against such a line of action and the majority at least of the men who rule In dia are not bigots either for or against mis- sionary enterprise. We may assume that as responsible rulers they would be as much op- posed to stopping the missionaries as they would object to issuing law against caste in India. To do either of these two things would be intolerance.
 Whether or not 1t is wise for the missiona- ries to preach in the open air is another question. Street preaching in England is a subject on which opinion is divided It is doubted by many if discourse delivered in loud voice, by an uneducated person, and often in doubtful English, can do much good. In India, when preacher appears in the Bazaar, he is not likely to raise disturbance; the people are usually quiet and undemon- strative. If preacher were to say strono things against Mohammed in Delhi, Agra, Calcutta or any of the towns where the Mus sulmans are in numbers, the case might be different but as a rule breaches of the peace seldom occur ln India through this cause. So that in this aspect the practice is so far harm. less When man appears and holds forth in public place in India the natives look upon him as curiosity, and small crowd will gather around The probability is that he IS far from being master of the language, and hence his remarks are apt to excite laughter in the audience, and his arguments likely to lose their point from being badly or at best but loosely, expressed. MT. Atkin- sons Curry and Rice is work which even although it pretends to be only amusing and sarcastic gives about the best notion that has yet appeared of life in India. Our mis- sionary is presented as worthy little man, his efforts at preaching in the Bazaar are stated to be very doubtful, on account of his not being quite up in the language. One custom is to get native convert to do the preaching, whiIe the missionary stands by his side as a kind of censor, to see that he puts the ease in it's correct light but the natives have not the same respect for one of themselves as for a Sahib and they are apt to make remarks, and even jokes are uttered at the expense ofe the speakers, so that profane and unprofita- ble t- rmination Is often the result of this mode of attempting to reach the native mind"