The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-03
The Marathi Mission.

annual report of the Marathi Missions,
India. There are %, 900, 600 people in the
Bombay Presidency. OF these about
1000, 900 form the parish Of the American
Marathi Mission. This is the oldest
mission of the Board. Rev. Gordon
Hall and Rev. Samuel Mott reached
Bombay, February 49, 1918.
The first IS years were mostly given to
preparatory work, and during that time,
the number of deaths among the mis-
sionaries themselves, exceeded the
number of converts from among the
people. The period of growth practically
began with the occupation of Ahmsdna-
gar as a mission station in 1881. The
| total number of converts received since
then have been 4.675. The number re-
ceived during the last five years is great
or than that of any period of five years
before 1886. The total mum Der OF native
agents is 3S1. The whole mum e- of out
stations is 116. The number of persons
received to the churches on profession of
their faith during the last year is 1913,
which is less than any previous year, but
just above the average for the last five
years. The net gain in the number of
commandments is lis against loss of
81 last year, making the total number
at the end of the year $3.50, one hundred
and fortytwo children were baptized
with net gain of 49, making q total
| OF 1850. There were 81 adults baptized
VINO, on account of distance from any
| local church, or for some other reason,
were not received to full membership
The mum Der OF this class Is now 162, and
the Whole number of baptized persons in
our Christian community is 4, 500 or 233
mo re than last year. 1t is o satisfaction
| TO notice that the contri buttons of the
| churches is larger than was reported last
year, although that was larger than had
ever been received before. The number
OF nom Christian teachers has been re-
| duoed from AZ to 81. There Is one more
school with an increase of rs pupils
There are eight less Sunday schools, al
though the number OF pupils has de-.
creased only by 20. The following are
the statistics of the churches;:
Churches, 40; pastors, 81 communi-
oants, 1880; male mem bers, 1903; female
members. l,127; readers, 1920; baptized
children, 1,760; whole mum Der of bap-
| tlzed persons, 4, 552. Gains during the
gain, lis; children baptized, 142; con-
tr1but1ons. RUPEES, 5,770.
The three churches. of the Madhe Tai
uka nave been passing through a crisis.
The churches are not far from one an
other, standing on the angles of an equil-
ateral triangle, at a distance of about 9
miles apart. Two days before Mr.. Fair
Dank took charge of the western field, a
man who had been among the first con-
verts of the district, If not the very 6rst,
gave an immense dinner and WAS re-
ceiye5 back into Hinduism. This man
mad been u deacon in the church, but he
had married Hindu wife. His returns
to Hinduism caused most unaccounta-
BILE fearfamong all the Christians At
the end Of six months this resblessness
has given place to much healthier state
of feeling.
The following are the statistics Of the
educational work:
Number Of higher schools, 8; station
schools, z; common and village schools,
l92; mum Der of teachers, 1926; number of
Christian pupils, g73; number of non
Christian pupils, 8, 037 total number of
pupils, 4,01o. The mission High School
at Ahmsdnagar has been IN charge of
Rev. james Smith, Principal, assisted
| by Rev. FL. M. Lawson. Mr. Smith
writes: During my experience of over
twelve years l have known of no subject,
with the possible exception of Manual
Training, to be so intelligently studied
| as the Bible. This is not to be- wondered
| at when we consider the freshness ofBible
| truth to most of our pupils who are non :
Christians, and, although these truths
| are often opposed to what they have been
accustomed Co regard as truth, they gem
orally command the respect and synpa-
thy of the class. Hostility to the Bible,
so iar as my experience goes, arises main
" from the inexperienee or pugnacity Of
the teacher. The freshness Of Bible study
to on-Chr1st1ns may, too, account for
| the tact that such boys'almost Invariably
obtain higher marks in the Bible exam
lnatlon than Christians boys, unless the
| examination Is confined to the barest de-
| tails of facts, or to pure memory work :"
| The most noticeable features of the
| year are TAD the large increase of Chris
tian pupils who now numb Der IS; and (b)
the success of the Manual Training de-
partment
One pupil in the girls school at Ra-
| huri after one and one half years, COM
ing perfectly ignorant, the name even OF
| God unknown in her village, left with
| her husband, to whom she was married
| In bRbyhood, a sensible womanly girl,
| able to read little and to sew exquisite
| ~, and her heart filled with the love of
God. The station schools are doing most
in character building. The boys and
| girls come from their villages crude and
| undisoipiined, often with serious faults,
and, sometimes for months, it is ques-
| ton whether, considering their slow i'm
| provenent and the risk to other children,
| they ought TO be allowed to remain. Yet
in repeated instances there has been q
| growing self-oontrol, and habits Of in
| dustry and obedience.
The following are the statistics of the
| Sunday schools:
Number of Sunday schools, $780, num-
Der of teachers, 1854; number of Christian
pupils, 1873; whole number of pupils,
| 1870. The Hindu idea Of Christians is
that they are so polluted that any imme-
diate contact with them is detilement of
| themselves. Hence the Christian chill
dren must sit in some corner apart fro m
Hindus. and in passing to and fro from
their Glasses. they must take care that
they do not even touch the garment of
the others. II the Christian child has
occasion to pass his book or slate to the
teacher, the simultaneous contact of the
hands of the teacher and of the pupil
upon the two sides of the slate or book
will allow the pollution TO pass through,
like an electric shock. Hence the child
must stoop down and place his slate up
on the ground and the teacher can then