The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-10-05

the result of the last named efforts, work
was begun in Greece and Syria, and prepa-
rations were made to establish missions
among the Armenians and the HISTORIANS.
Seven missions among Indian tribes were
received in 1927 from the United Foreign
Missionary Society, when this organization,
the representative of the Reformed Dutch
and Presbyterian churches, was formally
united TO the American Board.
The efforts of the Board to push its work
in all directions were not as well sustained
| as had been anticipated, and in 1880 debt
of nearly $24, 900 was reported, the receipts
| of the year amounting to only $S7 900,
though the average of the last four years had
been about 100000. But Secretary Evarts'
| Annual Report, the last he was to write,
had no note of Encouragement. After fore
telling with singular accuracy the growth of
this country for the next fifty years, and
anticipating the development in this coun-
try of Christian agencies as nowhere else on
the globe, he adds, Sin thousand ways the
| beneficial influence of sending The gospel
abroad is felt in our religious prosperity
at home. If, through the apathy Of Chris
| tians in regard to the condition of the
heather, it should be necessary first to
| cripple and then to withdraw our foreign
| operations, sad would be that hour, and of
most disastrous influence upon all our do
| iHcoblC llloblbutiDUos dc Ii kuOWD, bDCD1 anu
| felt by us ALL that there is no way in which
we can so powerfully aid the cause of God
in our own land as by doubling and quadru-
| ping our sacrifices for the salvation of dis
| tant pagans; words as true to-day as then.
AT this PERIOD a good beginning had been
made. The work among the Indian tribes
was bearing rich fruits. Among the Chloe
Jaws three thousand inquirers were reported,
and two thousand had begun TO pray
/ Mara nr lace inf MO IaVolnpn1 n
other tribes In 1880, of the 225 mission
aries on the roll of the Board, lat were en-
| gagged among the Indians. OF these, "a were
unmarried women. Thus early and vigor-
ously was the American Board engaging in
woman's work in the only fields then open
to such labor.
/ In the Sandwich Islands, thirty mission
aries were busy in preparation for the tri-
umphs of grace soon to be recorded. Near
| ly one half of the population, from children
| to men of threescore, were reported as pu-
pills in schools, eager listeners to such in
structlon as teachers imperfectly taught
could give, under the supervision of mis-
sionaries. Maria Ogden was beginning her
half century of work for Hawaiian women.
Only two hundred converts had as yet been
received to Christian fellowship in these is
lands, but drops of the coming shower were
beginning to come thick and fast.
IN the niaraIhd mission thousand boys
ana FOUR hundred 'gifis We're brought under
rehgious instruction III mission schools, the
press was turned to good account, but con-
versions were few,--for the first twenty years
| hardly equal to the number of missionaries
| who laid down their lives to set up the
| standard of the cross in Western India.
| Gordon Hall had finished his course, his
last effort being an appeal to American
| Christians to care for the twelve millions of
4 al. -.
ouo iuaa a'na Peupie al appeai WHICH G sun
a""'.o i'ai auequa'1 ie'poilse. :" Geyion'
w, !: nau aee,heu pess % Surn a.'ent,on
IpeSad ~ one youss, anu sweusy.nye
nunuicu pSto anu olio iouitn do many guns
WIZ ~ uoaIulng anu uay SCHOOLS. one
iesisal ai.el aiiotn ,1, cneeleu tne neaI.s VI
sne Iiisslonaiies, III one nunureu anu tnirty
n,u oeen recelyeu lhto tne ehurches; OF
whom seventy i've Wers from ,ne Doaruing
scnools. An attempt 10 iounu Christlan
coilege, on whlcn the hearts OF tle mission
aires were inuCn sch was en""lteu ny Tue
jealousy OF the local government. Inc
coming Of any more missionaries was Ior-
Dludeh, on Inc ground thaI Ihe BRUSH gov
eminent was aDuhaahtiy aoie 10 Christianize
us own SUBJECTS. Inc ausplclous opening
III Oeyion was LINUS ehecked, ana many
scnools were gwen over 10 Inc Church
missionary society.
In western ASA only tentative EFFORTS had
oeen hnaue. Dr. Andefsoh- aiIerWard
and SO long known as the honored Foreign
secretary was sent out to confer with the
brethren IN that quarter. AS a result,
Jonas hing soon made his nome at Athens,
BIRD and Whiting reoecupled Beirut, the
syrian mission was begun, Heterogeneous
We're perfected 1or an early advance into
ASA Minor
Thus far, eleven hundred converts had
been received to mission churches, three
fourths of these from the Indian tribes:
fifty thousand pupils were found in mission
schools, and the press had been put to use in
eleven different languages Twenty-eight
FIVE in tIe Sandv %I,I TslanSs aud one smone
the Indians, who bore the honored name of
John Huss,-thlrty-four in all. The pop
uiatlon IN the different llelds that could be
regarded as accessible may be estimated as
not lar from two hundred and twenty
hve thousand. ufIhe distribution OF
missionaries gave two to one thousand OF
the population among the Indians, one to
two thousand in Ceylon, and one to three
thousand, soon TO be increased to one for
every two thousand, IN the Hawaiian Islands.
Despite embarrassing debts, amounting
sometimes to twenty per cent. on expendit-
nres, the Prudential Committee had fear
lessly accepted the services OF every preacher
OF Inc gospei, VINO produced satisfactory
evidence OF ms missionary quailhcatlons,
anu caileu ior more. W
Such was lne supply OIL missionaries IN
io5o, wnen. the whole numoer was about
nall what II is at present, while the accessible
| population to-day gives as large number
| to the care OF each missionary as to the en-
tire missionary force at that time. The
different Presbyterian and Congregational
bodies were then united in one foreign mis-
| sionary Board. The one stream now flows
In four branches: the number of missiona-
rles has been increased four fold, the con-
tribntions twelve fold, the field of accessible
! population more than eight hundred fold.
| ,u 1een Al
| w.
The next decade is still more remarkable
for the energy, the boldness and the faith
with which the work was carried forward,
| till the check received in consequence of the
financial crisis in 1887. 1t was not so much
the results accomplished as a sense of duty
to the tinenlightened millions the claims
of our Lord on the obedience of his follow
ers and the sublime faith which laid hold of
the promises of God that prompted such
generous endeayor, such large, hearted
plans.
The missions to the Armenians were be-