The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-10-11

cases, so that they could make this
answer when appealed to. Certainly
it is the conclusion of all impartial
observers that it is gravely unwise fer
missionaries to attempt to influence
the coarse of Chinese civil and GRIM
inal administration, even when these
are unjust.
So strongly do most missionaries
now feel upon the subject that they
refuse under any condition to touch
yamen cases. One young missionary,
born and reared in China and on close
terms with leading Chinese, was one
day notified that a certain man under
arrest had claimed exemption from
punishment on the plea of belonging
to this missionary church. What
shall l do?" asked the magistrate.
"Give him ten extra lashes for trying
to deceive you and for attempting to-.
drag the church into a civil case"
promptly replied the young mission
airy. The general practice of tho
American missionaries, with only rare
exceptions, is to permit their men,
bers to suffer injustice, rather than
to incur the greater evil of bringing
reproach upon the church's name, and
of hindering the state from exercising
its sovereign rights. Nevertheless,
have learned from consuls and from
missionaries of some cases wherein
American missionaries have appealed
to the mandarins or to the consuls on
behalf of natives.
Robbing Mandarins of "Face."
The preeminent Importance Of
face" in China makes this sort Of
thing harder for Chinese official to
swallow than it would be for an Anslo-
Saxon, although the endurance @: it
Bon the part of the latter is an impos-
sible hypothesis. Magistrates are
thereby shorn of prestige and power
by the meddlesome foreigners. The
procedures which pass for judicial
processes in China are knocked sky
high. Thus, although most officials
with whom have talked clearly dis
tinguish between French and Ameri-
can missionaries, there is undoubtedly
a widespread hostility against all mis-
sionaries on the part of the official
class. They associate, and not with
out reason, the loss of much of their
territory with the missionary's pres
ence and activity in civil affairs. EN-
bodied in every missionary, to the
Chinese mind, is the ever present pos
sibility of complications with foreign
powers. Small wonder the throne has
recently been memorialized by the
progressives for retrocession of ex-
tra-territorial rights.
Some courageous Chinese magis-
trates, it should be said, show their
resentment against foreign interior
ence by deciding against the mis-
sionary's side, even though he be in
the right. A spirited young mandarin
told me how, when he was sitting at
Mukden, litigant brought in his card
reading, "a member of the Christian
church" (And, in passing, it may be
mentioned that every missionary
keeps his personal cards carefully
locked up, for Chinese can work
wonders with the prestige of for
eigner's card) / said to him, Are
you a Chinese subject or a British
subject? If you are Chinese sub
ject do not care anything about
your religion" And before l was
through with him that man learned
that it does not pay to try to hide be-
hind the foreigners church in some
Chinese courts.
In an endeavor to be perfectly fair
I may have given undue prominence
to the fact, frequently denied at
home, that some American and Brit
ish missionaries do occasionally inter-
fere with Chinese civil and criminal
cases, although apparently, judging
from the interviews which follow,
they do so in minor ways which do
not reach Picking. My pronounced
conviction is that they should not do
so, under any circumstances, even to
save their converts from persecution.
It is only just to add, however, that |
the entire missionary body is suffer !
ing from the odium of this sort OF
thing chiefly because of the monstrous
behavior of the French and German
priests.
Minister RocIsweIl's Views.
The American minister at Picking, |
William Rockwell has vigorous opin-
ions about missionaries. What about
the missionary question:" I casually
remarked, at the end of q rather ex-
tended interview. What missionary
question? There is no missionary
question that know Of" he quickly
and almost sharply rejoined. Il have
been minister here for two years, and
during that time there has been no
missionary question before me, ex-
cept that unfortunate massacre last
spring down in Lien Chow, which was
purely local matter, and might have
happened anywhere. So Tar as
know, the American missionaries are
living in delightful relations with the
Chinese Their work here in Picking
is beyond praise; anyone who goes to
it with an unbiased mind must ad.
NIT that. I spent two years in in
terror China, and I saw missionaries
of all bodies; and I found them most