Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-24

| bill, house repairs, and replacement of
furniture Goals, gas, etc. amounting
TO about as much again. The Baptsts
In 1900 collected e7S,7l6 (about $a65,5S0
for foreign missions.
Now as Ia results. II Is pointed out
that In India, with a population Of $780,
100000 souls, the converts made by the
| Church Missionary society In one hun
dred years amount to $3.50, although
there are now as many as 3.i24 agents
al work. How many Of these converts
are genuine Is beyond even an estima-
tie. In the year lSs9-NO the gain was
1886 including the babies born in fam
lilies Of converts. 1t took. therefore, two
missionaries and 100000 10 secure one
addition to the fold In one year, includ-
Ing babies and all. And the other mis-
sionary organizations are said TO have
even less satisfactory records.
But the whole story is not told until
the character Of the converts IL consld-
cred, On this point the Reynolds News
paper says, regarding India
The London Missionary Society in
| the 1876 Report tp. 1867 ask subscribers
not TO desplse the low ideas and mo-
yves with which they 1.-THE convertsl
come 10 u.s. And again, at page i45:
A very large proportion who profess
themselves Christians, and are baptized.
are so very ignorant that great care ana
patience are required TO make them In
telligently acquainted with the funda-
mental truths OF Christianity Among
the Malay Christians. which the 1898
Report OF the Wesleyan Methodist Mis-.
! slons states furnish us with the great
majority Of our converts (p. 76). lady
worker writes: When one questions
them by themselves, the one appalling
factor that forces Itself upon one is
their unlmaginabe ignorance. In most.
the anxiety for the daily bread Is the
largely bulking factor for their con-
sciousness"
Nor Is the condition different In China,
as shown by this extract
Tn China, the missionaries are now
thoroughly disliked. although they have
not been interfered with unless their
zeal has outrun their discretion. for the
Chinese, says Professor Douglas In his
book on China (p. SOD are 'slngularly
tolerant Of faiths other than their own
In the Report Of the Church Missionary
Society for 1900 we are told that
churches have been organized by
Chinese for the purpose Of affording
protection In law cases, such as the pay
ment OF debts In 1869 our Foreign
Office parliamentary paper on China
No. 9, 1870 D. l3) wrote as follows as to
Protestant missionaries In China:
There Is good reason to suppose
that the animoslty which has lately
been more intensely shown toward mis-
slonaries on the part Of the ruling au-
thoritles In China.is in a great measure
TO be attributed TO the injudloious COM
duct Of the native converts 20 Christi
anity There seems sufficient
reason to believe that converts assume
and have acted on the assumption that
by embracing Christianity they released
themselves from the obligations Of obe-
dience 20 the local authorities and from
the discharge OF their duties as subjects
Of the Emperor, and acquired a right
to be protected by the European power
whose religious tenets they have adopt
ed.
As to Africa the following evidence
Is quoted:
"Sir II II. Johnson, our present spe-
| cial commissioners for Uganda, and a
man Of many years experience in Afri-
| ca. says in The Nineteenth Century,
November, 1887
cit too often happens that, while
| the negro rapidly masters the rules ana
regulations Of the Christian religion, he
J stll continues 20 be gross, immoral, and
I deceltful They (missonarles) may
have succeeded in turning their disci
| piles into protesting Catholics, Angll-
| cans, or Baptlsts. but the impartial OBJ
! server Is surprised 60 find that adul-
| terry, drunkenness. and lying are more
apparent among the converts than
among their heather brethren
Ana again:
al regret TO say that with few
very misconceptions, those native
! African pastors, teachers. and catechlsts
| whom have met were all more or less
bad men They attempted to veil ali
! unbridled immortality with an unblush-
ing hypocrisy and a profane display OF
mouth-relgion which, TO an honest
mind, seemed even more disgusting
than the immortality itself While Il was
apparent that not one particle Of true
| religion had made its way into their
gross minds, II was also evident that
! the spirit of sturdy manliness which
| was present In their savage forefathers
! found no place In their false, cOwardly
| natures.
cit Is not on the spread Of Christian
ity that African missions can at pres
| ent base their claim to our gratitude.
| respect, or support. In many important
districts where they have been al work
| for twenty years they can scarcely
numLor In honest statistics twenty sin
cere Carlstians-that Is TO say. twenty
natives understanding In any degree the
doctrines or dogmas they have beer,
taught and striving 10 shape their con
duct by their new principles, In other
parts Of Africa. principally British DOS
sessions. where large numbers Of noml-
nal Christians exist, their religion Is
dlscrcdlted by numbering among It's adj
heFents all the drunkards, liars, rogues
and unclean llvers Of the colony"
\ certain class Of Christians" have
made II their special concern to repre-
sent Mormon" missionary efforts as
farce. or failure. Nor
mon" missionaries are mallciously said
60 labor among the lowest and most
degraded classes. and to make converts
principally among the ignorant whom
they coax into life Of superstition and
shame. u can do no harm to point out
whot is said about their own mission
ary efforts and that by friends. As Tor
TIE Mormon" missionary work. the
facts speak for themselves and refute
the falsehoods promulgated. What are
the facts IA the case Of the sectaua,
= missions Ia China. India and African
Free trade between Porto Rico and
the United States win be proclaimed
tomorrow. Long may it lyel
]