The Portland daily press., 1895-10-16
THE AMERICAN BOARD,
Appropriately ConVenesI in the City
Of Churches.
THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC THE
SCENE OF EXERCISES.

DR.. Storrs Calls the Assembly to Order
DIR. George Gordon breaches the Ann
Statistics
Brooklyn, n. Y, October To- The seth
annual meeting of the American Board
OF Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
opened this afternoon in the Academy
of Music in this city. The theatre was
tastefully decorated with flags and bunt-
ing of all nations and was we'll Tiled. The
convention was called to order by Rev.
DR.. Storrs of the Church of Pilgrims
| who, after making few remarks intro
duced Rev. A. J. Behrends of the Cen
tral church, who delivered an address of
welcome The reading of the various
reports followed.
| Rev. Judson Smith, D. d., SEQ
rotary of the Foreign Depart
ment, read the survey of mis-
sions in the Pacific Islands, Africa, the
Chinese Empire, and Western and Cen
tral Turkey.
| The part presented deals with the eleven
missions in Micronesia and the Hawaiian
Islands, in Africa, III China, and two of
the missions in Asia Minor. In these
| fields 306 missionaries are employed, of
whom eight have been sent this year for
the first time, and the native agency
numbers 1,074 pastors, teachers, and
other helpers.
| The COURSE Of events in SSthe Hawaiian
Islands in the firm establishment of the
new government, has tended to favor the
Christian interests of the islands, and
| the part of that work which is in the
| care of the American Board. DR.. Hyde
still renders an invaluable service at
| m any points.
The payment by Spain Of the indem-
nifty demanded for losses at Ponape has
brought one trying chapter to an end.
Tidings from Ponape indicate that the
Christian people on that island under the
lead of Henry Nanpei have maintained to
good degree regular worship and Chris
tian schools and are awaiting with great
eagerness the return of the American
missionaries to reside among them.
Far better relations have been eStab-
lished with the German government in
the Marshall Islands than have existed
for some years past. The new mission in
East Africa is well established in a
healthful position. The third church of
the West Central African mission has
been fairly organized and the fourth
station strongly established. The want
, of a missionary physician has been felt
for more than three years The literary
work of the mission is prosecuted with
commendable energy and good success.
The entire New Testament is translated
into the Umbunda, and this first transla-
tion is now undergoing careful revision,
preparatory to it's being brought out in
one volume by the American Bible So
ciety
The Zulu Mission reports a large access
sion to the numbers IN its churches
schools full to overflowing, and large
congregations gathering for regular wor-
ship. Several representatives of this mis-
sion are already laboring in Gazaland, in
connection with the East African Mission
as the beginning of the foreign mission
ary work of the Zulu churches. The re-
vision of the entire Bible in the Zulu
language is now in progress under the
editorship of Dr. Kilbon of this mission.
The effect of the war in China upon
missionary work must be to give it q
great impulse in all directions. 1t is
scarcely possible that China should not be
more widely opened to the entrance of
the commerce and arts and science OF the
Western world.
The missions in China during the past
year have suffered almost no Interrupt
tion from the war; In the North China
| mission, which has beon closest to the
field of the conflict, here and there a
school has been closed and less touring
has been done, mainly in anticipation of
danger and inconvenience; but the vol
ume of work has been equal to that of
previous years. At Iung-Cho, winch
seemed to lie directly in the path which
| the Japanese would have taken had they
marched to Peking, the year is reported
| as one of both external and internal
growth. The hospital work has been but
| slightly diminished. The recent deadly
! attack upon DR.. Sheffield, President of
the North Chin College, was not due in
the least to the political agitations of
the times, and expresses only the rawlings
of a half-crazy man and not the hostile
attitude Of the people in general.
The FoOchOw Mission has in like man.
ner been free from disturbances in conse-
quence of the war. The outbreak at Ku
| Cheng, was near the field of this mission,
| but happily so far there has been no loss
either of life or property within the mis-
| sion limits.
The South China Mission has contin-
ued its work in the supervision of church
es and schools, with an increase in church
membership which has far exceeded that
of any previous year.
The tragedy IN eastern ufkoy gave ttiI
impression Of the hazards which attend
missionary work in that empire such as
has been given but once or twice within
the century. The depth of feeling awak-
ened in England and Europe. as well as
in America, has been abundantly war
ranted by the facts of later and careful
inquiry. The personal peril from lawless
violence in which some missionaries have
st ood and are still standing is almost
new feature of missionary work IN Tur-
key
Not few instances have occurred IN
which Protestant brethren and the mis-
sionaries themselves have been invited to
speak in Gregorian churches. and Greg
orian men and women have come to
Protestant gatherings and shared heartily
in the common worship.
The number in attendance upon the
schools of the mission has been somewhat
diminished. Woman's work, has felt the
disturbed state of the country as deeply as
any other form of work The efforts OF our
government in behalf of the missionaries
and of all American interests in the
Turkish Empire have been abundant and
effective, probably in no single year have
so many favors'in sbehalf of missionary
work been secured from the Turkish
government. The granting of the firman
l a Nil IDr.0 FsN1r tTn1G n