The herald., 1897-12-14
OF the American Foreign
Mission Board
mAssAcREs OF ARMENIANs
DO NOT LESSEN THE NUMBER
OF CHRISTIANS
The Most Successful Year in the His
tory of Mission Work in the
Oriental Countries
associated Press Special Wire.

associated Press Special Wire.
BOSTON, Dec. 13.-The American
Board of Foreign Missions made public
today it's S7th annual report. The re-
ceipts from all sources amounted to
s642.7S1. California gave s10,393; Wash
ington, 1916; Montana, rs; Idaho, q; wy
oming, $122; Utah, $74; Arizona. $2O+
The report deals at length with Turkish
massacres and says: while many
Christians were killed or fed. the num-
Der of professed Christians exceeds that
previous to the outrages. The wound left
by massacres and robberies has been
slowly healing, although In some places
the suffering has been quite as great as
in the previous year Generous gifts that
have come from well-nigh every Europe
an State, for the sufferers by massacre
and for the care of orphans, are CRATE
fully acknowledged and have revealed
the essential unity of the civiliz ed world
In a most impressive way. The deman1
for indemnity for losses sustained at
Harpoot and Manasch, amounting i'll all
to 100000, was pressed. as yet, without
result. The changed conditions at Con-
stantinople and the arrival of Mr.. Angel,
the new United States Minister to the
Porte, may reasonably be expected to
secure early and satisfactory action In
regard to this claim and all other ma
terial questions at issue between our
government and Turkey. The distribu-
ton Of funds from all countries for the
relief of suffering and the care of
orphans. involved this year the handling
of $S51,29S.
The massacres, in which at least 5000
Armenians were slaughtered in Con-
stanlnople, was the result ostensibly OF
an attack on the Ottoman Bank of the
city by band of robbers but in reality
was the result Of the same fanaticism
and race hatred which deluged the whole
empire with blood the previous year. On
the third day when the sovereign spoke
the word, bloodShed ceased instantly
throughout the whole country. Grimm
oils have received little or no punishment
Armenians were systematically impris
oned. employment denied them and
threats held over them until more than
10000 of them fled from the city.
During the famine in India, food rose
of poor in India, nearly a third OF all her
population, live constantly on the verge
of starvation. when prices are normal, it
is easy to imagine the result of such
times as these. Riots occurred In many
places, starvation stared millions in the
face and almost at once became an awful
reality. The plague or bubonic fever
first came to public notice in Bombay.
A panic seized the 100000 inhabitants,
trains and steamers from the city be-
came crowded with people fleeing to the
country. The mortality of the city rose
from 500 week to 1000.
The Christians in the city have been
marvelously preserved. Among them
only few cases have occurred. No
death from plague has taken place in
Bombay Church DR.. Won Allen is build
ing the finest hospital structures in
Southern India. Native women have less
and less fear of attending an European
dispensary and are almost as we'll treated
as here.
This is by far the most fruitful year
in the history of South China missions
In the Foo Choo, China, mission, within
the last two years there has been an eX-
pansion of field and growth In churches,
schools and hospital work unparalleled
In the history of our missions In China.
There are but five unordained mission
aries in a field which includes 1000, 00c
souls, for which this mission is consid-
cred responsible. The North China mis-
sion. located near the political center
of the empire, giving access to more than
20,O00,000 souls, ably managed and well
established in seven wisely chosen CEN
tiers, is one of the most important and
promising, and the care is of the best.
The educated Japanese are carefully
studying the social and religious oues-
tons in which the scholars of the West
are interested.
In Hawaii, one great drawback to
rapid progress is the backward condition
of Hawaiian churches. Too large a pro-
portion of Hawaiian church members
are not only ignorant of fundamental re-
quirement, but Indifferent to the obliga-
ton of common honesty In the payment
of promised salaries of their pastors.
In Spain, the fact that missionaries
are citizens of country against which
there is strong feeling, growing out Of
the Cuban question, does not seem t.
be changed. That which perhaps. more
than any other thing among the visible
influences which prevails among the
community, has served as an obstacle
to the work in Spain has been the well
known and powerful uitramontane SYM
pathies of the Queen Regent. This in
fiuence predominates entirely in the
court and from there reaches the most
distant villages and aives courage and
strength to the reactionary element
throughout the land. The Queen Regert
is good mother and sovereign, but the
entire weight of her unmeasured influ-
ence is thrown against everything tina.
savors of evangelical religion.