Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-02-13
BRAZIL REVOLUTION.
BISHOP PeTERkIN SAYS n DOES NOT
STIR UP THE PEOPLE.
An Interesting Description Of the Political
Condition Of the Big South Americas
state-Progress Of Mission Work.
baltimore SUM-


baltimore SUM-
Right Rev. George ". Peterkin, Bishop
of West Virginia, preached three times
In Baltimore on Sunday. at ST. Peters
Protestant Episcopal church In the morn
ing. at Memorial church in the afternoon.
and at Ascension church at night. large
part Of his sermons was devoted to the
description OF the Protestant Episcopal
missions In Brazil and Of the Brazilian
people. Bishop Peterkin spent two months
last summer In Brazil. where he was sent
by the presiding bishop to examine the
mission work OF the Church. and to
confirm candidates for admission TO the
Church and to ordain candidates for
holy orders.
OF his visit TO Brazil the Bishop said:
81 soon learned that our usual ideas
about what revolution means I'm South
America are far from accurate. A revo-
luton there does not seem 10 be a gene
raj upheaval as II would be with us. The
great mass of the Brazilian people are
not stirred to the depths by revolution.
They do not seem to have any strong poll
tical convictions. and the natural result is
that the few dominate the many. The
TsdSuH, DTOUdDlE, tUdl TtfOfuNiOUS are SO
frequent In South America is because the
governments are not thorough. They are
superficial. and the masses are not in
terested in political affairs in which they
have so little share.
PRESENT TROUBLES.
This Is true of the present troubles in
Brazil. The affair. like Others is simply a
fight between a few leaders. and. with
exceptional cases, the people have con-
tinued on their way with little real ex-
element or anxiety about the result.
With US there would be an immediate en-
listing of the people on one side or the
other, and an active participation in all
that concerned so deeply the government
and the future OF their country
THE masses In Brazil are becoming mora
conversant with political issues than here
tofore. When / was In Brazil the popular
sympathy seemed TO be with Admiral
Iiello, but OF course there have been nu-
merous changes In the state of affairs
since then, and do not know how strong
mat feeling Is now. i am quite sure how
ever. that popular government Is what
the Brazilians want. The people speak
with feeling and regret about the old EN-
peror but they would hardly be willing TO
have return OF the empire
This work in Rio Grande do Sui IS one
OF the most vigorous and encouraging mis-
sions In the Protestant Episcopal Church.
over thirty years ago the Church sent a
missionary to Brazil, but little success at
tended the work. probably because the
minds of the people in this country were
absorbed in the civil war, and they did
not support the missionary undertaking.
Another reason was that the missionary
sent 70 the horn art Of Gil
where the climate was unfavorable to one
accustomed to live in temperate zone.
In 1889 the Church again established a
mission work, this time, fortunately. se-
lecting remarkably favorable location.
for Rio Grande do Sui is In the extreme
southern part Of Brazil, In the south tenn
perate zone, and has a fine climate. At
times missionaries have almost despaired
OF ever seeing any very high state OF civili-
Zation In tropical countries. This is why
the mission attaches so much importance
to the good fortune in securing SO favora-
bic location as Rio Grande do Sui. 1t is
not that the missionaries are looking to
their own comfort. but that in a new work
1t is necessary that the seed should be
sown among the most vigorous and az
gressive element II it is to be spread broad
cast. This is what the mission In Rio
Grande DO Sui is-vigorous and agrees
siye.
A HIGHER TYPE.
"The Rio Grande do Sui man has come
TO be regarded as rather higher type OF
man than his fellow-countrymen from
other sections. for the population OF that
part OF Brazil has a large foreign element.
which has gradually elevated the standard
OF the people
While 1 was in Brazil last summer /
confirmed AZ persons, the majority OF
whom were adults. and | ordained four
native Brazilians to the deaconate. The
latter seemed to me an especially encour-
aging sign, and 1t showed. too, that We
were not going there to try and gain
dominion over the Brazilians by merely
establishing our own clergy there but
that our effort was to put the work in
their own hands. In every undertaking
the world over in which the desire has
been to reach the people. 1t has been
proved that to do this the people must
be made to do their own work.
with the increased trade between this
country and Brazil and the eagerness TO
foster commercial relations between the
countries, there should be also an effort
to reach and elevate the people through
the influence OF the Church, and to work
for the spread of Christ's Kingdom with
as much interest as We are now giving
to the political situation there"
Bishop Peterkin was for several years
rector of Memorial church, Baltimore.
having accepted the call To come TO this
city in 1873. He Is a native OF Clear
Spring, Washington county, Md, where
he was born in 1871. He studied at the
University OF Virginia, and in 1861 he
enlisted as a private in the Confederate
army. Subsequently he was commissioned
second lieutenant. and in April. 1862, he
was appointed adjutant OF his regiment.
serving until he was paroled at Apo
mattox Courthouse, April 10. 1865. He
then entered the Theological Seminary OF
Virginia, and In 1863 he was ordained
priest and subsequently served In pastoral
work In Richmond and Culpeper, Va. The
degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred
upon him by Kenyon College. Ohio. and
Washington and Lee University, Va.
When the Diocese of West Virginia was
organized in 1877 he was elected To be
it's first bishop. and was consecrated In
Wheeling I'm lS18