Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-03-02

ti0n without lifting up, and is effective
just in proportion as it clothes itself
with the moral excellence and the lofty
spirit of the founder prosperity
and moral growth of England dates from
the Reformation in 1900; and what there
is of justice and hatred of oppression in
our own great country is evidently due
to the general acceptance of Christiani-
ty-especially Protestant Christianity.
But, let US turn from these common
examples to these which are less famil-
lar. The inhabitants of the Fiji Islands
scarcely more than fifty years ago, feast
ed on human flesh and were almost as
degraded as Mr.. Ingersoll pictures the
Jehovah of the Jews" but the Chris
tian missionary has gone there, schools
and churches have been erected, and now
more than 100000 people assemble on
the Sabbath to listen to the Christian
teacher, and more than 25,000 are en-
rolled members of Christian churches.
They have become sober, Intelligent,
industrious and thriving people.
In 1860, twenty years ago, the Island
OF Madagascar had a rude, disorderly,
licentious and ignorant population, and
the missionaries that were striving to
train them to better things were not at
first successful; but latterly the tide has
changed, and now the Queen and her
chief officers of state go up every Sab
bath day to worship the unknown God"
with more than 25O,0O0 subjects In 1877
the last vestige of slavery was wiped
out, and there are to-day 1000 children
in school. Mr.. Ingersoll hates slavery
and loves education, and this is a work
which ne ought to be able to appreciate.
Mr.. Mckenzie, in the Nineteenth Cen
tury, describes a people in the south of
Africa called Beehuanus.=H He says:
Southern Africa was the home of the
Bechunas, a fierce, warlike race, cruel,
treacherous, delighting in blood. No
traveller could GO among them with safe
ty. They refused even to trade with
strangers. They had no trace of any re-
ligiOn, no belief in any being greater
than themselves, and had no idea of a
future life"
How many centuries or thousands of
centuries they had remained in this state
without "cultivating their moral per-
fections," cannot now be known; but it
does not appear that the absence of re-
ligiOn among them was Of any special
or helped them "to become
acquainted with their surroundings"
else, however, did produce a
change for the better and what that
something was Mr.. Mckenzie tells US, as
follows:
christianity is now almost universal
among the Beehuanas and education is |
rapidly extending. Natives are being |
trained in adequate numbers as teachers |
and preachers. Christianity is spreading |
out among the neighboring tribes. The |
Bechuanas have been changed by Chris |
Jian missions into an orderly, industrious |
people, who cultivate their fields in peace
and maintain with foreigners mutual
" beneficial traffic"
In 1928, when DR.. Judd went out to |
The Sandwich Islands as physician to
the mission, then recently established, [
crowd of men and women who turned |
put to welcome him and the missionary
that came with him. A
lew chiefs were partly clothed with ma
i've cloth, but the larger part of both |.
men and women were wholly naked.
Honolulu was an Ind an village of a few
brown huts, and there was nothing on
my of the islands that we should digni-
y by the name of house. They were
'uled by their chiefs, and had gods of
wood which they worshipped, Their
condition as to civilization was probably
lower than that of the
8fitians in the time of Julius Caesar. 1t
S now scarcely more than fifty years,
ind Honolulu is -fOurishing seaport
own, with q large and growing COM
nerce; the jargon of the natives has
,een reduced to grammatical forms and
printed, and it is said that every native
;ar read and write; churches and school
Houses are as much the fashion there as
lere, and they have several newspapers
printed in whole or in part in their own
There is parliament house
md an annual session of the legislature,
system of courts and revenue, a royal
xecutive who has just made a journey
round the world, and a ministerial rep
esentativs at Washington who is the
ean of the diplomatic corps, and was
master of ceremonies at the Presidents
on New Years day. What
vas it that, in fifty years. produced
hese changes? If Mr.. Ingersoll can
Understand that two and two make four,
e cannot miss the truth in answering
his question. --s.gf s.,s-
In view Of these facts and ten thous-
nd more like them it is amazing that
uch a man should seek occasions to
buse Christianity. He loves the JUS
ice, the unselfishness, the liberality, the
which Christianity teach
5; he hates the slavery which it has
rell nigh driven from the world; he
tories in the emancipation and eleya-
ion of woman, which it has everywhere |
promoted ;.and he can tolerate no eivili- ,
alton which lets down one whit from
he highest Christian type. He would
ave the play of Hamlet with the part
# Hamlet left out; the fruits of Chris
ianity without any Christ. Is it posi-
lie for man of his intelligence to per-
ist in such folly?
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 1881. /,