The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-10-12
BOARD OF MISSIONS.
Yesterdays Session Full Of Interest
ing Features.
RETROSPECT OF THE PAST
TWENTY-NINE YEARS.

! The Subject of the Evening-Dr. N. G.
Clark, ID. D., the Retiring Foreign Sec,
rotary. was the Speaker, and His Ad,
DIR ess was Full of Entertaining Details
Madison, Wis.,, October II. AT today's
session of the American Board, What
the Board hopes to accomplish before the
close of the century, was the theme dis
cussed by the Rev. G. G. Creegan, dis
| trict SECRETARY for the Middle States. He
pointed out the needs and opportunities
Of medical missionaries and the import
ance of manual education, ana pictured
in glowing language the results that
must flow from their work abroad.
DR.. Creegan's forward look was fol-
lowed by look backward, or "A World
Wide Survey" by Rev. AN. Hitchcock,
Phi. D., district secretary, Chicago He
gave the four phases OF the great world
field as follows: First, Bible translation
and distribution; second, missionary or
ganization third, the occupation of pa
gan lands; fourth, the evangelization of
pagan people.
Rev. .Judson Smith. d. D., foreign sec
rotary. of the Board, read paper On the
Intellectual preparation OF the missiona-
ry,n in which he held that no man is fit
to. be missionary who has not an Gu
thusiastlc love for men, who is not i'm
PEELED and sustained aud inspired..uo all
heroic Il eeds and tireless fpatience blythe
very spirit which brought the Son of God
to Ills great redenlptive work, WHO is
not ready to do anything, to endure
anything, to attempt anything, in order
to draw men to penitence and faith and
salvation. The foreign missionary work
demands the most through intellectual
preparation.
Rev. Henry f. Jessup. DID,, Of the
Presbyterian Board, formerly of the
American Board, paid an eloquent tri-
butte to the missionaries, who, he de-
clared, are men of peace, striving to pro-
mote the best interests of the people and
the establishment of the spiritual sway
of Jesus Christ. They nave no political
sins and no personal interests to pro-.
mote.
Rev. Washington GLADDEN., D. D., OF Co
lumbus, o., spoke on The outfit of
missionary He said that there are
three particulars in which special train
ing is needed by intending missionaries:
They ought TO have exceptional linguis-
tic knowledge; they ought to be educat-
ed to quick appre hension of the SYM
pathy of religions; they ought to be
ubbtQ lOI 6OCldl anu luunSbfld1, DIS WGll
as spiritual leadership
But, after all, the central elements in
the education of missionary must be
essentially the same as those in the edu-
cation of pastor.
THE EVENING SESSION.
A retrospect of 30 years was
the subject this evening by Rev.
N. G. Clark, D, D., the = retiring
foreign secretary, as the annual meeting
of the American Board. Dr.. Clark was
elected secretary at the meeting of the
American Board in Chicago, 1875. He
reviewed at length the state OF thing in
the work at the close of the war, and
during the intervening generation.
Owing to his age and ill health, the
paper was read by Rev. DR.. Webb of
Boston, chairman of the Prudential Com
mittee. DR.. Clark paid warm tributes
of praise to tne.soff1cials and missionaries
with whom he had been associated SO
long, advocated the principle of self-sup-
port by the native churches organized
by the missionaries, and added as fol-
lows: Closely connected with the mat
ter of self-support is that of higher
Christian education ana also of indus
trial training, not only for the sake of
raising.up anEeficient native ministry,
but of awakening new life and energy
on the part of believers, which shall lead
to habits of industry and to better
livelihood generally among the people.
The principle adopted in the Hawaiian
Islands and largely in Micronesia, and
generally in the earlier missions Of the
Board, was that all Christian people
owe to the unevangelized is 81 imply in
struction in the gospel of Christ, and
that all efforts for education should be
limited strictly to the training of native
evangellsts. The English language was
not to be taught, but only the vern acu-
lar; and in the native languages even,
no instruction in the arts orAsciences was
to be given, nothing beyond the reading
of the Scriptures. This seems to hayo
been the general plan pursued by most
missionary societies; but the history of
missions has shown that for the develop
ment OF Christian community, whose
membership should be vigorous and self
reliant, competent to su port and adj
vance the religious institutions necessary
for are rmanent Christian civilization.
some Droadre view of the education re.
CURED must be adopted. The experience
of the Board in the Sandwich Islands
and also in India after thirty and more
years of missionary labor there, is sufi-
Gent to illustrate the inadequacv of the
early view of missionary education. o..
late years vigorous effort have been made
to supplement the work begun in these
different fields, by the institution of high
schools and colleges that should be ade-
quate to the needs of the people, 1t is
now recognized that Christianity means
more than simply instruction in the
vital elements of the gospel; it enters
into the entire life of man; and the
wisest culture is that which considers
him in his intellectual and social as
well as in his spiritual life. 1t is only
as the man and the whole man is devei-
oped that Christianity vindicates It's claim
to the sovereignty of human hearts.
By reason of the present rapid means
of INSTRUMENTATION, nations are
brought together, and no Christian COM
munity, even on mission ground, can
escape the invasion Of false theories of
science. of morals. or of religion. The
competitions of materialism and human
itarianism must be met by the larger
conceptions of Christi an thought. In
view of ithaca oonsifiora tiopc ic with