The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-04-09

The trend of the opinion. however, is
reported as opposed to any change re-
iative in the name.
Unless n reads both magazines and
he cannot understand how
much is written as to the course of
many missionaries in China. Certainly
the Messenger is not disposed to believe
evil but the evidence accumulates
showing that some missionaries gave
much scandal by their course. Men
of unquestioned character. Americans
and English, nave borne witness to out
RACES that were committed. Recently
President Tucker of Dartmouth college,
preaching in Boston a few nights ago,
and under the very ewes of the Amer
lean board, said the Christian church
has been set back, nobody knows how
far, by the behavior of the missionaries
in China"
OF the speaker the New York Even
ing Post declares that "all sensational
ism is abhorrent to him" and who as
pastor of the Madison Square church
in this city, and as professor in Andov-
er Theological Seminary. earned the
right to inflict the faithful wounds
of a friend, if missions can. indeed, be
wounded by his serious and weighty
words. President Tucker would be the
last man to bring a railing accusation
against missionaries as a class. and it
must be only convincing evidence that
has lead him to speak out"
Mark Twain in two numbers of the
North American Review strongly as
sails certain outrages in China by GER
tain missionaries. \ writer in the Ev-
5ening Post asks:
What is the trouble with the church?
Has it ceased to war against sin except
of the common type? Does it lack
courage to rebuke iniQuity in high plac-
es? Not so it's founder Are certain
spirits, as, for instance. the war spirit,
the commercial spirit. the rum spirit,
the worldly spirit creeping in and
crowding out the Holy Spirit? Other
wise. why this apparent apathy and in
action on the part of the Christian
church as an organized body? Is chris
tianity a failure? No! There are
thousands and thousands of individual
Christians all over this land. who, jeal-
Gus for the honor and cause of Christ,
are burning with INDIGNATION and
shame because of the many wrongs
that are being done in the name OF
Christianity and civilization and unre-
buked by the official church"
Sir Claude Mcdonald who was minis
ter to China when the looting in Pekin
occurred. defends looting and lynching
as necessities. He makes this plea:
There are times when the laws of
natur assert themselves over the laws
of civilization. and this. 1.-THE loot1ng OF
Pekin) was a case in point. You must
remember that these men (the mission
aries and legationers) had Just endured
a long seige. that the missionaries had
been bereft of everything they possess
ed, and that hundreds of men similar
" destitute were dependent upo them.
What was their position? Had they
come TO mes and said give US money
and food I could only have replied
that I could not feed their converts;
and so they ook the law into their own
hands. In short the looting. as justice
may be classed with that lynch law
which. though to be deprecated in the
abstract, although occasionally abused,
sometimes affords the only means OF
Kidding the community of an undesir-
able character. 1t was q case OF poetl-
cal and primary Justice" s
You can read and Judge of the sound
ness and justice of his plea. Sir Robert
Hart takes a very different view, and
he has been in China for twenty years.
What should a generally intelligent and
Christian people hold as to wholesale
footing and much treachery with it?
Is that a christian native in any
proper or righteous sense that "loots'
and pliers and despoils in order to gain
power and excite h admiration OF
a wicked world? Suppose the Ameri-
can in China had don precisely right
would not the impression have been
very different? Would it no have been
as the writer in the Evening Post puts
it: eff it is the religion of the Ameri-
cans that makes them such a noble and
kindly people. theirs is the religion we
want.