The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-08-09

>'llz4zzIZp7z9
MISSIONS AND LIQUOR TRAFFIC
How the Work of the One Has Been
Retarded by the Fiendish
Work of The Other

curse of these lands, and, the greatest |
hindrance to the work of the church,
is found to be as great curse in
heather lands and the greatest barrier
TO the success of the Gospel among
the heather, and for this, strange as it
may appear, those nations that seek to
Christianize the heather are largely
responsible for the introduction and
perpetuation of the drink evil. What
are the facts?
Strange as it may seem. the Brah-
minical. Buddhist and Mohammedan
religions, considered as pagan and false
religions, absolutely prohibit the man
ufacture. sale and use of Intoxicating
drinks, the curse of nations and re-
ligions; while by nations claiming to
possess the pure and true religion. this
curse is legalized and perpetuated, and
in some instances forced upon the ma
tive races in heather lands. Strange
as it may seem, while the people of
pagan nations are renowned for their
sobriety, the people of Christian ma
tons are notorious for their drunken
ness, and wherever Christian nations
have sought by commerce and missions
to civilize and ChristianiZe peoples the
drink evil has been introduced and
proved curse. In the judgment of
those conversant with African affairs,
the drink traffic has proved a deadlier
evil than the slave trade to the people
of that country. Rev. James johnson,
thenative pastor of the island of Lagos,
who was sent by the Christians of that
place to plead their cause before the
English parliament in 1887. closed his
testimony before Il commission OF the
house of commons with these words:
"The slave trade has been to Africa
a great evil. but the evils of the rum
trade were far worse. He would rather
his countrymen were in slavery and be-
ing worked hard. and kept away from
the drink, than that the drink should
be let loose upon them"
Even the New York Tribune was
moved a few years ago to say edit
orally: Think of the monstrous
hypocrisy of so-called Christian ma
tions, Wanting themselves on their en-
1ightened civilization, pretending de-
sire that the Gospel should be carried
to all peoples and then invading the
dark continent armed with the rum
bottle, and in cold blood debauching
and running its people. On the one
hand are the missionaries, on the other
hand is the rum of Christendom. Free
rum against a free people,
The superintendent of Lutheran mis-
sions in West Africa wrote a few years
ago: ''The vilest liquors ina ginable
are being poured into Africa in ship
loads from every quarter of the civ
ilized world. On one small vessel, in
which myself and wife were the only
passengers. there were in the hold over
100000 gallons of New England rum.
which sold on the coast for one dollar
a gallon in exchange for palm oil, rub
Der, camwood and other products COM
mon to the country. l have seen land
ed from one steamer at single port.
10000 cases of gin. each containing II
three-pint bottles
Recently an African missionary
wrote:
Dear friends. we have very mixed
cargo-four missionaries, 10000 hun
bred weight of gunpowder, and barrels
and casks of gin without number. Our
ships surgeon. very wicked. man, said
to me, pointing derisively to the gin
and rum that were being unloaded at
every point along the African coast:
There are the Bibles and hymp books
Christian America is sending over tc
civilize heather Africa"
At meeting in London few years
ago Baboo Chunder Sin said: what
was India so or 40 years ago, and what
is she to-day? The whole atmosphere
of India seems to be rending with the
cries of helpless widows and orphans
who often go the length of cursine
the British government for having in
troduced Intoxicating drink"
At the Parliament OF Religions al
chicago, Narasima Charya, Brah
min of Madras, said with an outburst
of feeling: "Our friends of the
Brahmo-Somaj have been picturing tC
you Christianity standing with Bible
in one hand and the wizards want
of civilization in the other; but there
is another side, and that is the god
dess of civilization with a bottle O
rum in her hand. l know of a hundred
people in my native land who are ad
dicted to the drink habit. Of cours,
we have ourselves to blame; but re
member that to ape the conqueror, il
one of the vices of the conquered, ant
that the fashionable habit of drink
ing is borrowed by the Hindus from
the English. Oh, that the English ha'
never set foot in India. Oh, that w
mad never seen single European face
Oh, that we had never tasted the bit
ter sweets of your civilization, rattle
than it should make us a nation O
drunlIards and brutes!"
As result of the introduction o
Intoxicating drinks into these coun
tries by Christian nations, the heathe
are preiudiced against the Gospel an
its missionaries. They see the sam
nations that send the Gospel of peac
or the waters Of life to the childre
Of darkness, send also the spirit G
evil or fire water, and. in too man
cases, the same vessels that carry mil
-,