Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-04


creeds about him, the deep comfy now dis
played by the various foreign missionary
societies is one of the most remarkable
things connected with the whole business
of winning the heather.
In the late eighties band of mission
aries, sent out by the American board of
commissioners for foreign missions, es-
tablished a station at Inhambane, on the
coast of Mozambique The situation proved
so unhealthful that after few years spent
in unsuccessfully combating disease the mis-
siorares pettioned the board to permit
them to go to the hills and there begin
their work anew. The petition grant
ed and three members of the band started
for the interior to spy our the land.
AS they were making for the hill coun-
try they fell in with expedition of ex-
ploration, headed by none other than the
renowned Cecil Rhodes. He welcomed the
trio of Americans. They explained their
object In penetrating into GaZaland NOW
Rhodesia), and Rhodes was SO favorably
struck with the idea of q mission that he
indicated a spot where he would like to
have 1t established, and ended by agreeing
to give the mission a thousand acres or
land as soon as 1t had been removed thence.
The location that the great south African
hal named was entirely acceptable to the
missionaries. and they were soon joyously
retracing their steps In the direction of dis
ease-stricken ~Inhambane. Arrived there
after a long and perilous journey. they told
the good news and preparations were at
once started for shifting the mission.
~
OF course, this took time, but suffice 1t
to say that after an interval Of several
months the full band arrived at the point
named by Rhodes-to find that a group of
English missionaries had discovered the
country meantime and had erected a sta
ton on the site that Rhodes had prom
ised by word of mouth to deed over to
the Americans.
After the newcomers had gained partial
control of their surprise and dtsappoint-
ment they saw that the English mission
was In full running order and doing good
work. The trio that had Travelled with
Rhodes sought out the Englishmen as
sured them that the flelc would not be In
vaded wished them godspeed In their task
and then departed southwark in search OF
a suitable location.
This was finally found about eighty-fve
miles distant The land was as fertile the
air as pure. the waters as sweet, the noun
tains as high as round about the site Sc
lected by Rhodes and unconsciously seized
by the Englishmen. But 1t was realized
from the start that the mission would be
greatly hampered In Its work by the ao-
sence of landed possessions, When the mis-
sion had been founded one of the trio. who
had met Rhodes, set out on the hazardous
fifteen hundred-mile journey by trail TO
~ II,
before Rhodes When that master mind
heard the story he forthwith gave the mis-
sion, not thousand acres of land at the
new site, but twenty-four times that amount
of land.
1t was about thirty years ago that the
spirit of comfy so strong in the foreign
mission field, first began to make itself felt
1t has increased nightly since then until
today 1t is thoroughly understood through
out the foreign missionary circles OF the
world that field which is advanta geously
occupied by any organization rightfully be-
longs to 1t exclusively, and must not be en-
tered by a rival society.
Indeed. there is more than this tact un-
Outstanding. Every year the executive
heads Of certain evangelical missionary So
cieties meet in New York and amicably dis
cuss into which field each society shall en-
ter the boundaries OF the fields being laid
down with a care that is painstaking.
When the Philippines, after their CON
quest BY this country, became a field for
Protestant missionary work, the board of
foreign missions Of the Presbyterian Church
transferred Rev. ]. B. Rodgers there from
Brazil He was the first Protestant mis-
sionary to the islands, and his work speed
fly proved SO successful that the Baptist,
Protant Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal
boards sent out missionaries. Following the
arrival of these missionaries a conference
was held by them in Manila, and to each
board certain islands were apportioned for
it's particular field of endeavor The work
has been carried on In this manner ever
since.
The only American Protestant mission
aries in Siam are those of the Presbyterian
Church. and all other evangelical bodies
scrupulously refrain from entering the
country. Practically every society has it's
definite and universally recognized field TN
China and India The same IS true OF
Africa, and, in fact, of the greater part OF
sp-callpi 6aa then world
In addition, not a few of the societies are
engaged In union work in many places. In
India the English Irish, Scotch and Ameri-
can Presbyterian churches, both north and
south, work together. This is true of the
Church OF England and the Protestant
Episcopal Church in Japan. The South In
dian Missionary Association is a union
body, organized for the purpose of conduct
ing examinations of missionaries, to def
nitely prove their fitness for the work after
two years of actual experience in the field.
Union colleges are maintained in central
China There Is also one in Peking and at
these colleges theological differences are
pared down to the finest point and then
CLOSED over In Picking medical work Is
done under the union plan, and there is
even a union seminary, maintained by the
Presbyterian churches, north and south, the
Reformed Church, the Congregational
rope The work of this seminary is carried
on under common declaration-a special
creed for the occasion-to which all the
bodies interested can conscientiously sub
scribe.
The union movement, waxing stronger
each year, first became marked about
twenty years ago. The union development
and that of the principle of comfy are
both due to the same causes. The field
for missionary work is so large that there
is no just occasion for rivalry. It is so
large that for one mission to overlap an
other is nothing short of a grieu,us error,
not TO say sin. For one set of missionaries
to engage in disputation with another band
Is even worse than for their brethren at
home to become controversial, since the
heather mind Is not accustomed to. and
cannot make due allowances for. any dis
agreement whatsoever over creed When a
union of forces Is made, the idea of peace
and good will II greatly strengthened. Ex-