Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-16
Minister DENLY Sends a Dispatch
on the Subject.
GOOD WORK. CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
It May Be Promoted by the Result
of the War.
BEN EFITS TO CHINESE

dispatch just received at the Department
OF State, In describing the work of Chris.
ton missionaries in China, says:
1 think that no one can controyert ths
patent fact that the Chinese are enormous.
ly benhted by the labors of the mission.
aries In their midst. Foreign hospitals are
great boon to the sick. China, before thu
ADVENT or the foreigner, did not know whai
surgery was. There are more than twenty
charlty hospitals in China, which are pre-.
sided over by men of as great ability a.
can pe found elsewhere in the world DR.
hehrs hospital at Canton is one of ths
great institutions of the kind of the world
The viceroy. Ii Hung Chang, has for year,
maintained at Tientsin at his own expenss
foreign hospital. In the matter of educa.
ton the movement is immense. There arr
schools and colleges all over China taught
by the missionaries
Protestants and Catholics from nearly
every country I'm Ter the sun are engaged
In this work. and. in my opinion, they dc
nothlng but good. I leave out of this dis.
cussion the Religious benefits conferred ty
converting Chinese persons to Christianity
ihls' OF course. Is the one supreme object
and purpose of the missionaries, to which
all else is subsidiary, but the subject is not
to be discussed by a minister of the United
states. There0is no established religion in
the United States, and the American Bud.
Ghlst. Mahometan, Jew, infidel, or any 9TH
er religionist, would receive at the hands
of his country's representatives abroad ex.
actly the same consideration and protection
as Christian would. 1 can only say thai
converts to Christianity are numerous,
There are supposed to be forty thou nd
Protestant converts now in China. and al
least five hundred thousand Catholic con.
Verts- Ihere are many native Christian
churches. The converts seem to be as de-
vout as people of any other race
AS far as my knowledge extends I can
and do say that the missionaries in China
are self-sacriicing; that their lives are
pure; that they are devoted to their work:
that their influence is beneficial to the
natives; that the arts and sciences and
civilization are greatly spread by their
EFFORTS; than many useful western books
are translated by them into Chinese; that
they are the leaders in all charitable work,
giving largely themselves, and personally
disbursing the funds with which they are
intrusted; that they do make converts,
and such converts are mentally benefited
by conversion.
Opposed by the Litcratf.
''In answer to these statements. which
are usually acknowledged to be true it
does not do to say. as If the answer were
conclusive. that the literati and gentry are
usually opposed to missionaries. This an
missionaries antagonize the worship of an
cestors. which is one of the fundamental
principles of the Chinese polity They
compel their converts to keep Sunday holy.
The Chinese have no Sabbath. They work
every day except New Years day and other
holidays. No new religion ever won its
way without meeting serious opposition.
Under the treaties the missionary has
right to go to China. This right being ad-
mtted, no amount of antagonism can pre-
vent its exercise. In the second place, let
us see whether and how foreign countries
are benefited by missionary work in China.
missionaries are the pioneers of trade
end commerce. Civilization, learning, in
merce supplies. Look at the electric tele-
graph, now in every province in China but
one. Look at the steamships which ply
along the coast from Hong Kong to New
chwang, and on the YangtZe up to Ichang.
Lock at the cities which have sprung up,
like Shanghai, Tien-Tsin, Hangkow-hand-
some foreign cities. object lessons to the
Chinese. Look at the railroad being now
built from the Yellow sea to the Amoor of
which about two hundred miles are COM
pleted VIII any one say that the fifteen
hundred missionaries in China of Protest.
ants, and perhaps more of Catholics, have
rot contributed to these results? Two hum
dred and fifty years ago the pious Catholic
fathers taught astronomy, mathematics
and the languages at Pekin.
The Pioneers.
"The interior Of China would have been
nearly unknown to the outer world had
not the missionaries visited it, and de-
scribed 1t. Some one may say that COM
mercial agents might have done as much,
but they are not allowed to locate in the
interior. The missionary, inspired by holy
zeal, goes everywhere. and by degrees
foreign commerce and trade follow. 1 sup
pose that whenever an uncivilized, or
semi-civilized country becomes civilized
its trade and dealings with western
nations increase. Humanity has not de-
vised any better, or even any as good,
engine or means for civilizing savage peo-
pie as proselytism to Christianity. The
history of the world attests this fact.
I'm the interests, therefore, of civiliza-
tion. missionaries ought not only to be toll
Grated, but ought to receive protection to
which they are entitled from officials and
encouragement from other classes of peo-
pie.
1T is too early now to consider what ef-
feet the existing war may have on the in
terests of missions. 1t is quite probable,
however that the spirit of progress de-
veloped by it will make mission work more
important and influential than it has ever
been"