The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-02-23
THE TREATY OF THE ALLIED POWERS WITH
CHINA AND ITS INFLUENCE upon MISSIONS
BY REV. ". D. wEsTERvELr.

The massacre of missionaries AM
horrors left such deep impressions upoi
so many homes, and the literature con
corning the martyrs has SO lately beer
published, that 1t has been almost i'm
possible to appreciate the changes II
civilization which are rapidly develop
| ing among the Chinese. 1t has beer
said that the foundations of Christian
ity were cemented by the blood of mar
| tyrs. 1t is easier to see the blood thar
the growing spiritual temple rising
above the foundations.
My purpose now Is to call your at
tention to only one phase of the result:
of that massacre as touching the mis-
sions of China. The immediate result
was the demand of Christendom for a
treaty at the same time protecting the
rights of Chinese Christians as well as
missionaries. The combined powers
were glad of an opportunity to add the
commercial aspect to the treaty provi-
sions. Chinas open door" has had an
immense influence simply as business
consideration.
HOW HAS THE TREATY AFFECTED
MISSIONS?
The treaty gave to the Chinese men,
bers of the various missions of all
denominations the right to appeal to
their missionaries for aid in whatever
troubles they might be involved. Be
sides this the missionaries and other
foreigners We're granted many personal
advantages, such as the right to secure
property in the open ports of entry.
This practically includes all the larger
cities of China, inland as we'll as sea-
port. In this way the missions through
out China have been able to get full
title to the lands on which the schools,
churches, and dwelling houses have
been located My impression is that
leases We're formerly given for such
lands.
The missionary has suddenly become
an important factor in the eyes of Chi
nese officials. They recognize that he
has come to stay. China's greatest vice.
roy, in his recent book, "China's Only
Hope" pleads the absolute necessity
for religious liberation throughout the
empire. This one fact, irrespective of
tiIe ldISe HulllDtl VI OllltI
around missionary work, shows the in
fluential position into which mission
aries leaped in the reaction from mar
tyrdom. The missionary can, by his
mere presence in court room, fire.
quently cause the mandarin of a village
to decide in favor of a church member,
who may be on trial in the village court.
A few words will practically compel a
decision. 1t speaks well for the con-
secration and good judgment of the
great body of Christian teachers ana
in China over 1900
strong), that the cases of misuse of this
power are so few as to be unreported.
The Chinese, in innumerable cases, try
to shield themselves behind the church,
and use the name of the missionary as
a threat against their opponents in
manifold troubles. This covers quar-
rels between neighbors, and private DIFF
fculties, as well as cases in courts.
My attention was called to this phase
of mission work, while attending con-
vention of the general secretaries of the
Y. NJ. c. A. of China and Korea. This
was held in Shanghai last July. Some
of the speakers, missionaries as well as
secretaries, stated that their greatest
present difficulty was the discrimina-
ton between applicants for member
ship. The Chinese fly in flocks to the
protection of the missionary. They
come for the temporal benefit which
they realize they can gain in the
churches and other Christian organiza-
tions.
A missionary related this circum-
stance. The officials of a village sent
word .to him that they desired him to
establish a church in their midst, and
would receive him with all the village
honors. A specially ornamented sedan
chair was sent, and a delegation of Chi
nese accompanied it to escort the mis-
sionary. The wise teacher had wanted
an opening for work in this village.
But he knew that a public reception
with all its ceremonies would be en-
tirely misunderstood by the ignorant
Chinese of the country roundabout.
when he learned that the