The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-06-18
GODS HAND IS OVER ALL.
Directs and Controls the Destinies
of Created spheres.

kew. lJr. u. l.. ANDERSON, an INSTRUCTIVE
interview with whom upon the Boxers
and the existing stale of affairs in China
/ appeared in the Morning News. preached
/ yesterday morning at Trinity Church. ana
at night al Wesley Monumental
/ DR.. Anderson is at the head of the
/ American College that is maintained at
/ 500 Chow. in the province of Kiang Su,
/ by the mission board of The Protestan
! Episcopal Church, South. At both SER
vices his remarks were along the line OF
secular and religious education in China.
with especial reference to the work of
the college of which he has charge. At
both services, however, DR.. Anderson il
Illustrated his theme by well timed allu-
sions to the state of the empire and by
the dangers which menaced the cause of
Christian education unless immediate
steps were taken to render it effective
and place 1t in a position where it could
cope with and successfully overcome its
difficulties.
AL Wesley last night, Dr. Anderson's
text was from Psalms. 1910: BE still and
know that 1 am God; l will be exalted
among the heather. / will be exalted in
the earth"
1t was often the case, said DR.. Ander-
son. that Christians. surveying the re-
suit of years of earnest and diligent la
Dor and seeing that but little had been
accomplished, become disheartened and
discouraged. Sometimes a new religion
has arisen and proselytes have flocked to
us standard; then it is feared that the
influence or this new faith will weaken
the church. Sometimes a piece of legis-
lation, enacted into law by state legisla-
ture or national congress, appears to be
preJudicial to the cause of the true faith;
then it is apprehended that the standard
OF morality and Christian success will
be lowered
To the missionaries in China this dis
couragement had not failed to come dur
ing the earlier years of their ministry.
Ihey looked about them and saw prac-
tlcally nothing to bid them be of good
cheer. Every effort that ingenuity could
devise had been resorted TO in order to
gain the attention of the people, to the
ultimate end that, their attention and
their interest once attracted and secured
they would consent 10 be taught the
| truths of revealed religion. Services were
| held frequently, personal solicitation was
tried, books and pamphlets of every de-
scription were freely circulated and the
| hN9AiN, dppaA lldu De6'l nOlHlnR.
Then ii was that the words of the text
had come to the ears of the missionaries
! like voice crying from the wilderness
bearing the assurance that God was over
all. that all power, might and dominion
were His and that He would be exalted
among the heather. To him who, with
| the eye of faith, scans the visible uni
verse, it is apparent that Gods hand is
| in everything and that He works out the
| destines of the created spheres in accord
ance with the divine plan.
When just beginning had been made
with the mission work the war between
| China and Japan began. With the aid
| of modern weapons and vessels and mod
| ern ideas OF warfare, Japan swept the
| Chinese fleet from the sea and the Chi
nese armies from the field China, the
proudest nation on earth, unable to COM
prehend that there was anywhere civili-
cation that had in it anything that could
equal that handed down to it from cid.
was PROSTATE before "a nation inhabiting
little group of islands in the sea, ma
ton that it has always despised 1t saw
the Island of Formosa swept away and
added to the possessions of the hated jap
anese, it saw the Golfers of the empire
compelled to yield up millions of treasure
! to this puny antagonist.
| 1t was one of the most wholesome les
| sons that China has ever had. 1t was that
| it could not hope to compete even with a
! nation it despsed unless IL would consent
! to accept the modern ideas that had made
the Japanese victory possible. The spring
of 1898, with the Emperor Kwang Hsu on
the throne, witnessed q series of remark
! able innovations In the Celestial kingdom
| The Emperor was surrounded by a little
| coterie of brilliant, but imperfectly edu-
| Gated men, imbued with the spirit of re-
| form, and, their advice lending weight to
| his own opinions, the work of advance
! ment went merrily on.
One after another the old ceremonies
| and formalities fell from about the throne
| and the empire, one innovation after an
other was introduced schools that taught
| the new learning were erected on every
| hillside and in every valley. 1t looked as
! though the degree of civilization that had
| been attained by the Western people a.
| ter centuries of effort was to be gained
in the East in the course of few years.
Suddenly there was change. The old
| Empress Dowager assumed the reins of
government, the Emperor was confined
| in back room of the palace, his prin-
| cipal advisers were beheaded, those Of
| less prominence were either imprisoned
for life or banished, native Christians
| were prosecuted everywhere, some were
massacred or driven out of the country.
| the schools were closed, the school teach
ers driven into hiding. the spirit of re-
| form died In a night
! To the missionaries the change came
like a thunderholt of discouragene
They had promised themselves so
much of opportunity when the
country was alive with the
Emperor's policy of advancement
that they we're correspondingly Gispirit-
ed when it disappeared. Soon however,
they saw II wa for TIE best and that
il would have been impossible to fierce
the growth of a nation toward civiliza-
ton in this hurried and unnatural fash
ion. The hand of God was in ID all
When the government schools were sup
pressed, the Chinese imbued by their ex-
perence in the war with Japan and de-
termined that 1t was necessary TO have
their children instructed in the new learn
ing, sent them to the mission schools The
children of the educated classes are now
attending these schools, and the work is
progressing with the happ:est auguries Of
pronounced success. Indeed, a pleasing
degree of success has already been attain
ed.
DR. Anderson gave an interesting de-
scription of the work of the college at
500 Chow, with its schools of literature,
theology and medicine and projected
! schools of science and law. 1t needed
now $50 600 and it had been determined by
the conferences to raise this sum in the
South. The men who we're carrying on
the work are Georgians and It was hopel
that third of the total sum needed would
! be secured in this state. DR.. Andersen
made an earnest appeal to his congrega-