Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-14
CHINA AND THE MISSIONARIES.
The Result of Rev. David Hills Observations
In the Ilauerx kingdom.

In the I1owery Kingdom
| On August 26 last quiet, unassuming En-.
Slishman left the Chinese city of Hankow
l travelled down the Yang-tse for 600 miles and
\ then took steamer for this country. The trav-
eler in question is the Rev. David Hill, who for
| twenty-six years has been a Methodist mission.
| airy in the land OF mandarins, edible birds
nests and rioters. Mr.. Hill is a delegate to the
| Methodist ecumenical conference; o man who
would attract attention in any crowd. for he
| has an attractive face aud pleasant manner.
| There have" said he TO a STAR reporter,
! ''been riots up the Yang-tse and elsewhere and
| these eliminated in the death of a Wesle- an
missionary, WI Such and in the destruction Of
considerable property belonging 20 the British
and French missionaries; the Americans seem
TO have escaped with but little loss. In those
districts where there has been open trouble
the disturbances, so far as we have been able
to make out. appear to have been planned by .
widely organized secret society which has its
center in the province Of Hoonan.
The plan ofprocedure has been to print and
put IN circulation some of the most BIAS
phemous placards and publications ever issued
from press these have appeared in cities to
the lar northwest, in several cities on the
lang-tse and along the eastern and southern
coast as far as Canton. These placards are dis
tlnctly anti-Christian and anti-missiOnary, and
though making the most absurd charges
agains: missionaries Of kidnapping and cooking
infants are yet credited to a very considerable
extent. The hostility which arises from the
belief in these ISLANDERS has been used by this
secret society as the means of exciting the pop
uiace TO acts of violence and plumber.
wEEKE THERE Is NO MISSIONARY.
1.-THE province whence these troublous pub
locations emanate has for many years been the
most hostile to missionary enterprise; not a
single Protestant missionary has ever been
able to gain footing therein. The capital of
the province has been visited several times by
missionaries, but they have been stoned away
from its gates.
1T would seem, therefore. that until the right
of peaceful trayel-granted by the Tien-tsin
treaty and enjoyed throughout the other prov
inces of the cmpire--be insisted upon. there is
great doubt whether perfectly amicable rela-
tons can be secured. The animosity of the
people of Hoonan toward all foreign innovation
is seen in the demolition of the telegraph posts
erected by the government. In the interest of
peaceful progress 1t Is earnestly to be desired
that the origin of the riots be thoroughly in
vestigated and the true CO uses, as far as pos
sible, eradicated. We believe that some of the
Chinese officials. though fearing themselves to
take strong measures toward. the suppression of
these hostile placards, would yet be even more
than willing fer foreign powers to take decisive
action
If the province of Hoonan be opened and the
fined and justly limited and this be spread by
imperial proclamation throughout the whole Of
the 400 counties If China the highest interests
OF the country would be sTbserved more seri-
Gus trcuble than any We have yet experienced
might be aver'ed. Then the sad murder Of WI
Such would &c overruled of God for the fur
therance OF his kingdom and the truest ad-
vancement ct that great empire.
SLOW But STEADY ADVANCE
is1IisSion wO-i, IL aleu- lint staad, no fe
general conference, held in Shanghai in May,
the church in China had a membership of
81, 600. An appeal was made to the home
churches fo- 1000 additional missionaries
within five years: nearly 200 have since entered
the country, but the vast area unevangelized
calls loudly for large increase of laborers.
'Oh, yes, speak the Chinese tongue. but
none of the Cinnamon l meet in the United
States can do much more than understand me.
can barely understand them. That is due to
the fact that the Chinese who emil
crate are from the province of Canton,
and in that province from but two or three Of
the counties while have lived in the interior.
People up the lang-tse and those who reside
near my home know nothing Of any interna-
tional complications with the United States;
they have no personal interest in the matter
and do not care whether immigration 10 re-
stricted or not.
Il have just been informed that the Chinese
government has settled for the damage done
our missions in the disturbed district That
statement decreases our immediate interests
in the trouble, but no one eau safely pre-
dict as TO what day may bring forth. It
has been intimated that the anti-mission-
airy riots were organized by those who de-
sired 70 get the general government
into trouble with some Of the foreign nations
and then. when bostilities commenced, these
proposed TO revolt and overthrow
the government. If that be SO we are unable
to prove it."