The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-09-08
THE COST OF OUR MISSIONS.

THE COST OF OUR MISSIONS.
The report of the Hawaiian Evan
gelical Association presents detailed
statement of it's receipts and expenses.
The disbursements amounting to $780,
308.79 are made on behalf of the Home
Missions, Kohala Girls School, Gilbert
Island publications, Foreign missions
an the Marquesas and Micronesia, the
North Pacific Missionary Institute, the
Japanese mission, the Portuguese mis-
sion, the Chinese mission and for gen.
eral purposes.
The total receipts for the year in aid
of these missions, were 30,936.10. The
number of people which this Associa-
ton attempts to instruct in these ISL
ands is over one hundred thousand
If there is added to these the number of
people who are instructed by the for
eign mission department of the Asso-
citation, the number altogether is very
large. The preaching of the gospel
and religious instruction is furnished
$40. 308.79, although there is an earnest
demand for larger sum. The in
significance of this contribution to the
work must be justly regarded as the
real value of the estimate put upon it,
If any person were to attempt to run
a sugar plantation with such made
quate means, he would quickly plunge
it into bankruptcy. But a sugar plan
tatiOn is human rather than a divine
affair, and it must be managed by
strictly human methods. Even the
Eva company, which is managed
largely by believers makes no pro-
vision for prayer as an aid to rain,
but, like the scientific agnostics, i'm
plicitly depends upon wells and pumps.
While the Evangelical Association is
limited by it's contributions to the
current investment of $4,000 in the
work of diffusing Christianity among
some one hundred and fifty thousand
benighted heather, the Eva plantation,
for instance, would invest 100000 in
the employment of one thousand men
in order to get an earthly profit out of
them. This surprisingly great differ
ence in the investments can indicate
but one conclusion, that is, that in
spite of much preaching, and praise,
the Christian world is quite contented
with the smallest spiritual dividends,
and it can, without complaint. man
tn 1.-Two writ ixni1o dc
This is an inference which is justified
by the fact that such an insignificant
and paltry part of the large Protest
ant wealth of the Islands is annually
invested in securing spiritual harvests. |
But the extraordinary dwarfing of
missionary work here, the remarkably |
small supply of Hawaiian-born labor |
ers who are willing to devote them |
selves to what is called by many, 1.-The |
grandest work on EARTH" indicates that |
even Christian philanthropists have
changed their views on the subject of |
missions. Whatever our opinions may
be about it, the fact remains that secu- |
lar and academic education is taking |
the lead here with a strong force of |
able teachers. The large sums of |
money annually spent in the strictly |
secular education of the young, is in |
accordance with public opinion. The
insignificant sums spent in purely re-
ligious education plainly shows the |
real, if not the expressed opinions, of |
Christian philanthropists.
The world grows better every day, |
as it moves slowly and surely towards |
1.-The great divine event." and the ap- |
parent neglect of, or Indifference to, |
what is called Evangelical work must |
be due to causes which are all sufii- |
cient, and which Christian philan- !
thropy cordially accepts by its deeds, |
if not by it's words. This philanthropy |
seems at last to accept the theory that |
heathenism shall be assaulted, not with |
the Cross, but with Science and the |
school books. In no other way can |
the Insignificant contributions to evan |
geNcal work be accounted for.