Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-01

Spencer, and is in the second most impor-
tant city in the Philippines. Rev. John A.
Staunton, jr., is in charge at Baguio, in the
province of Benguet which Is to be the
sur mer capital of the islands, as Simla is
to India, and already many Americans are
building cottages there. Rev. Walter c.
Clapr is in charge at Bontoc. which is
little farther north of Baguio, in the noun
tains of northern Luzon. They already
have two houses-one as a residence for
men and the other for women-and funds
for a church. hospital and a school. which
will be erected as soon as possible.
There" Bishop Brent says, "our main
work will lie among the absolutely heather
people Of the province. who number about
10000. according to the recent census. and
are uncared for by any Christian body
except ourselves. In Iloilo we are depend
ent upon rented buildings. both for the
church and for the residence of the mis-
sioDary and his family. The Church of the
Holy Name Is ministering to the American
and English population there, while the
missionary goes to adjacent points in the
southern islands as opportunity Is afforded
for occasional ministrations. Recently a
mission was started by Colonel Edward w.
Davis in Zamboanga with a promising flu
ture. 1t would seem. however. that the
latter place would prove more desirable
center for our southern work than Iloilo,
where the Baptfsts and the Presbyterians
share with the Roman Catholics the native
field. II two men were stationed in Fam
boanga the mission at 1loilo could be served
and work Initiated in due season among
the pagan tribes of Mindanao.
The Bishops Experience.
Experience in the Philippines" contin-
ued the bishop, fully justifies the principle
l adopted at the outset on theoretic
grounds, of non-interference under ordinary
circumstances with the adherents of other
churches. conspicuously, of course, the Ro-
man Catholic, as being the largest. We
wish to teach the people the true meaning
OF religious liberty, and that cannot be
done by an aggression, which at best re-
leases men from one form of bgotry to
bind them by another
During the past year in two instances
we were called upon to consider the posi-
biiity OF taking oversight among people
who had been brought up in the Rom n
Catholic faith. In the first instance a COM
munity of 800 Christians had been with
out pastoral care for more than two years
and had they acquiesced in the conditions
L laid down L would gladly have tried to
secure ministrations for them. In the sec
ond there was discomfort and spiritual I'M
rest in populous and strongly equipped
Catholic city, but there were not sufficient
grounds to justify our intrusion, even had
religious conditions been other than they
were. The place Is situated that we
could not have hoped to develop it as a
center without unwarranted aggression. 1t
would have remained an isolated station a
luxury which we cannot afford to indulge
in.
Our function as church is not to at
tempt to win all the people we can to our
selves to spread a thin coat of Episco-
palism over the entire archipelago. Rather
1t Is to bear our witness and do our work
thoroughly at carefully chosen centers,
which will become in time spheres of In
huence for large sections of country where
the need Is greatest. When the headuuar-
tiers of our southern work have been re-
moved from Iloilo to Zamboanga this will
nave been accomplished and we shall have
all the centers that we can pay attention
to, at any rate for a considerable time The
work already inaugurated will tax our
available resources both of men and money
Tor years to come. Neither duty nor ex-
peoiency invites to occupy further territory
at this juncture"