The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-13
MISERY GOADS
THE CHINESE

meny months. and the condition of the
people had become desperate. / have
Travelled for Days through portions OF the
en- pire where the destitution was fright
ful. I saw them grinding cornCobs and
the vines Of the tomato and roots and
making themselves a scanty porridge out
of them. Under ordinary conditions the
Chinese lives on what would not keep
life in European. I have known mis-
sonaries who have tried to live on the
Chinese diet so that they might get closer
ta them and become more one with them,
and In every case they became nervous
wrecks i'm few weeks. Under the best
conditions IL is but the strong who sur
vive In China, with the pestilence. the
cholera. the smallpox and the plague epi-
denies that sweep over the Empire. and
the lack of suitable protection against
heat and cold. have seen thousands die
IN a week In the snow outside of the gates
OF NaulSing.
But now with the long. continued
drought, the suffering i'm China is beyond
belief, and in their simple fashion the
Chinese believe that the foreign devils
are the cause of IL. They worship their
irages; they call upon them for relief,
ard. receiving no answer to their pray
crs they think that the gods or devils
who live within the images are asleep or
drunk with opium, and they burn fire.
Na%Nh'io NiitDl anu Dtdl llu pdHT
and make all sorts of noise trying to
awaken them to the plight that the land
Is In. But after days and weeks of this.
when there II no answer to their prayers.
they come to the conclusion that the gods
are gone from the images and they say
that IL Is because of the foreign devils
and their innovations that the gods have
left them and that they will not return
&c reign over the land and bless it with
rain until the foreign devils are driven
out.
These are some OF the causes which
have brought about the present troubles
in China, and think that you cannot but
agree with me when / say that Il Is un-
Just to charge that the missionaries have
bi ought them about. Their influence has
been for the betterment of the Chinese,
and II you could see the immense congre-
ga tons that we have had I'm some of our
Icf urches and could know of the sacrifices
that the Christian Chinese have often
made for their religion. you would not feel
that the labors OF the Christian mission
aries In China have been in vain.
1T has been said that the missionaries
have taken part in the law suits or va
men cases, but this is not true of the
Protestant missionaries. The Catholics
have been for centuries In China and have
a standing there that the Protestants
have not acquired. Some of their bishops
have the rank of Governors almost and
are competent to try cases. SO betimes
/ Chinese would join the church for the
purpose OF getting their cases heard fav-
IOrably In the Yamen and for no other
reason. Two Protestants only have ever
taken part In cases In the courts. helping
out their church members by their aid
and know personally that both OF these
we're called home as soon as 1t became
known. IL was a fruitful cause of abuse
and has been used as an argument
against the missionaries. but unjustly 81
lin most cases"