The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-01-10

Chinese people and of the tranquility ol
 the world at large.
 It is indeed certain that the forms o1
 religion in the world are manifold. But
 it is equally certain that in spite of ths
 dissimilarity of religion in their tenetS
 as well as in rites-in short in their ex-
 fernal organization-the fundamenta
 principles embodied in what we regard
 as the higher classes of religion, to say
 nothing of those which still remain un-
 developed, are in all cases essentially
 if not entirely, analogous, More partlc-
 ularly is this the case with all the ad-
 vanced forms of religion which arc
 based upon the principle of love fol
 mankind, and in which the light of this
 principle is utilized to destroy the dark
 ness of life and to deliver myriads from
 sin and distress, with the avoWed ob-
 ject of securing for the world a higher
 state of happiness and prosperity,
 which can be attained by the develop
 ment of humanity to the utmost per- lection.
 The great teachers of religion in the
 olden time have pertinaciously adhered
 to the doctrine of universal love, and
 kept their thoughts concentrated on it.
 A retrospect of history shows that rev.
 erend ecclesiaStics from all nations, es-
 pecially the missionaries from the vari- | ous Christian churches, have sailed to \ China in spite of it's great distance, and
 have settled there one after another for
 more than one thousand years since the
 days of the Tang dynasty, and that not ,Nrtt1 1ncf.
 had to contend, they have, with but one heart, exerted their energies for the propagation of their doctrine, and at the same time for the development of Chinese civilization. This they have
 done simply to the end that the zeal
 thus displayed for the furtherance of
 social happiness or welfare might have
 the effect of securing salvation for the
 Chinese people by virtue of that prlnci-
 pie which commando general love for
 mankind. In this respect we, the fol- lowers of Buddha, can not sufficiently express our sincere admiration for
 them. The Chinese were signallzed from the olden time as people remark able for a tolerance which absolutely deterred them from rising in arms in
 
 which history furnishes ample evil dence, In spite of these plausible quail ities they are now found tolbe nation imbued with a violent anti-religious spirit, and, as such, not only have they failed to take cognizance of the merits achieved by the extraordinary love and sincerity of the missionaries from the west, but have even been led to assert that the source of their ever-increasing intolerance against religion lies in the works of these missionaries.
 In Investigating the cause of the anti religious spirit of the Chinese we find that apprehension and terror enter tained toward the foreign missionaries were virtually the origion of their im- placable hostility. They have perceived that these missionaries have secured for themselves an immunity calculated to subvert their established customs and manners; they have also recognized in their attitude d tendency to ignore the statutes of the country and desire to accomplish the most selfish ends by the oppression of the Chinese government and people. They have, moreover sup posed that the foreign evangelists in China have arrogated to themselves the power of protecting the followers of their creed in utter disregard of the lat ter's criminality under the laws of the state, whereas, non-believers. though | legally innocent, were frequently en- trapped into a crime Under these cir they were led to conclus- ion that the foreign missionaries in | China have been exerting their energies | for the accomplishment of certain ob- 1 noxious ambition by stirring up the un- | rabble of the country. and | with this object in view made their | chapels and cathedrals sort of asylum for criminals. The Chinese began to the idea that the missionaries were intimately connected with the for aign policy of their own governments, they must have labored with some sin ster design, such as the extension of territory along with the development of commerce. They saw with gross appre- tension that in respect to foreign mach nations the missionaries were the first Q come, followed by consuls, with gen. erals at their backs; and they have cared that behind man who had ,ome with Bible in his hand stood warrior armed with spear and sword,
 TO this is to be attributed the cause If suspicion as well as apprehension on he part of the Chinese; in this it is to ,e found an element of provoca ton for he recent insurrection in China, If hat be the case then it follows that the are to be held largely if lot entirely, responsible for the present disturbances in the Middle Kingdom IS a matter of fact, the propagators of eligion ought to seek for peace and in- pre men with the principles of hu- nanity, but the missionaries in China ave constantly assumed an obnoxious ttitude, and have thus brought upon he religious world a great disgrace and hagrin Such being the case we, the Budd- ists of Japan, cannot but express our /. esire that all the eeclesiastics in the rorld would, in conjunction with us, 9eognize the above fact-a fact which learly shows that the missionaries in I nina have proceeded far beyond the fundamental principles of reigion-and ! evote their energies to formulating a | Ian by which the suspicion as well as J 1e apprehension harbored by the Chin c SC against the foreign missionaries lay speedily be removed, Unless such | course be taken how is it possible for t lem to uphold the gospel of humanity V