The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-11-26
MAINE CONFERENCE MISSION
AIRY CONVENTION.
Opening Session at the Chestnut
Street Church Last Evening.


Street Church Last Evening.
The missionary convention organized by
the missionary society Of the Maine Method
ist Conference was opened at the Chestnut
street church last evening with fair at
tendance. Rev. w. S. McIntire, the secre-
tary of the conference, in the absence Of
Vice president Pendexter opened the ser
vices with hymn, after which Rev. d. B.
Randall read the SD chapter Of Isaiah, and
and offered prayer. Mr.. McIntire then made
a brief statement OF the purpose of the
meeting, stating that for the sake OF all con-
ceIved it was decided to limit the speeches
to 20 minutes each.
Rev. J. A. Corey Of Woodfords was the
first speaker, his topic being "A Missionary
was James Harrington, bishop OF the
church of the East Of Africa. He gave an
interesting account of HanningtOn's early
life, showing him to be a splendid type Of
muscular Christianity and as well qualified
to carry the gospel to foreign lands, as any
one could be. He was brought up as an
Episcopalian and ordained as curate Of
Hurst. After time however he received
more light ond determined to go to Africa
himself in response to call for help sent
home by the party otimiesionaries who went
out in answer to a call from Henry M.
Stanley. Harrington sailed on the nth of
January, 1882 TO Zanzibar and went 600
miles inland to lake Victoria NyanZa and
then 200 miles further when he was stricken
down by fever and forced to return to Eng
land. The next year, being restored to
health he went again. and entering the land
from the North was hacked to leces by
native spears in obedience to a native super
stition Such lives as these, the speaker
said. were not thrown away. Already,
Hannington's life and death had exerted
influence in the African missionary service.
Presiding Elder Jones Of the Portland dis
trict was the second speaker, his theme be-
ing, "The Responsibility of Methodism for
the Evangelization Of the World" " He said
that had his topic been the evangelization Of
India or China and Japan 1t would have
been large, but to call upon him to talk Of
the world was to impose tremendous task
The world, he said means 1900, 100000
human beings OF whom only 450,000,00O
were called Christians, and when one looks
at this almost inconceivable throng and real
iZe what their evangelizati0n means, the
question, who can do it, presents itself; yet
when we look at the past and see how many
nations have been brought up out OF bond
age into freedom and the light. the hopeful
soul might almost believe that before the
twentieth century all will be Christians.
The thoughtful and skeptical man, however,
will not look at it thus. He will go back In
his mind and see the cradles OF Christianity
in bondage to Mohammetans, and will doubt
IL any advance has been made. Advances
have been made. Since apostolic times the
catalogue of Christian nations has length
ened steadily and now embraces the most
influential of the globe. The body Of
Christian believers has Increased ten-fold
since the beginning of the century. The
heather wants the church and the church
wants the heather, and in the reaching out Of
the church the Methodists are doing their
share. DIR. Clark said that he believed 1t to
be Gods plan to make London the centre
from which Christian influence should radi-
ate, and the speaker thought that
church was the centre from which should
radiate the great ChristianiZing influence.
Wesley said, The world is my parish and II
we are true followers Of Wesley we must
take the world fol. our parish and do as
much as we can. We are responsible for the
evangelization Of the world because of the
needs of the world. We need to open our
pocket books wider, 81, 300, 900 year Is not
enough and 1t Is our duty and our RESPONSE
bility to see 1t literally increased. A col
lection was then taken up after which Rev.
w. f. Holmes OF South Paris, who was
introduced as one familiar with mission
work in China to "Reply to Criticism Of
Missionary Work in China"
He said that China had always been an
interesting land to us, because Of its size,
its dense population, its peculiar govern
ment, and anything relating to its Christian
izlng is read with great interest. Criticism
Of missionary labors is nothing new. Ever
since the first missionaries started, the work
has been ridiculed, or else argued down with
subtle fallacies In regard to China. Lieut..
Wood of the United States Navy has
publicly stated that the missionary
work in China is wholly without result; that
really converted to Christianity; tnat those
who professed Christianity are only menials
employed about the mission stations who
are paid 81 per month for their con-
version; and finally that the boasted
translation of the Bible was not made
in the Mandarin, the classical Chinese Ian
guage, but in a dialect having the same re-
lation to the classical language that the ne
gro dialect of the South bears to good En-
glish Mr.. Holmes proceeded to answer
the missionary work, 5000 converts to
Christianity in China, including 1900 native
helpers in the missions who gave out Of their
poverty last year $4,000 to the funds Of the
societies; that the converts are men of high
standing; that to pay the converts 81 per
more than double the amount sent to China
by all the missionary societies for all purpos-
es of the missions. and that there are many,
not one, translations of the Bible into many
different dialects, OF which the Mandarin Is
only one.
III ClOoiuSs uAAs AloinACo opOhO WINS Va Ch-
couragement to those who hope for good
work in China.
Mr.. McIntire announced in closing, that
the programme as published in the PRESS
woulp be carried out. with the exception Of
the paper by Rev. George S. Inge.
The services this morning will be held in
Y. M. G. A, Hall, sbut the other meetings
will be in the Chestnut street church, as al.
ready announced
This will be the programme for today:
ga. M-Devotional services, Rev. N. I. Whit
aker, ID. ID.
| $50 A. M.-Addi esses: The Necessity of
Missionary Spirit among all Christians, Rev. I
r. Jones; The Living Church Misslonar!
Church, Rev. A. s. Ladd; The Demand for Mor'
Workers In india Rev. +. A. Bragdon; The Rela
| tion of the Home Work to the Foreign Field
| Reys. A. w. Pottle and +. G. Haddoek Foreign
Missions Rev. M. g. Pendexter; The South as a
Mission Field, Rev. III. Z. FOss.
1.30 z. M.-Prayer for the Heatnen.
| 2P.M w. +. M. s. hour; address by Rev. l.
ID. Osborn. OF b 0oklyn, N. Y. Addresses: The
| Need of Mission Work In Maine, Revs. L. T
| Adams and W. +. Berry; The Importance Of Mis-
sonary Work as Defence to Home Interests
| Rev. 7. Whiteside; IQuestion Box, conducted b.
| Rev. A. b. Leonard ID. D., OF New York..
7.30 p. lM.-Address by Rev. A. b. Leonard
| ID. ID.
| Meeting Of the Y. w. @. 7. u.