The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-22
Great Convention Begins
 in Chattanooga.
METEoDIsTs IN SESSION
Large Delegations from Every State
 in South.
Audience of 10000 Gives Great Eng Lshman Notable Welcome When H. Arrives Late Coming Direct
 From Train.

Chattanoosa, Tenn, April zl-An bassador James Bryce of Great britaIh was the chief speaker at the tirss s.s. sion of the Laymen's Conference 2. VI. Methodist Episcopal Church soutn, ~ the auditorium in this city tonignt.
 A large gathering. estimated at io,- ooo greeted the Ambassador enthusias- ticalIy. as he entered the hall and con tinued cheering until he reached ms seat. Another ovation greeted niu when he arose to speak
 After an opening prayer. Mayor w. R. Crabtree welcomed the delesa'es to the city, to which Gen. Juilan s' Carr of North Carolina responu.u pa Ambassador Bryce was then introduceu by Rishop E. R. Hendricks of Kansas City.
 Mir. Bryce's Address.
 "The impulse, the purpose. the senu- ment of duty that brings. you all nere' is one that requires no expianauon' Little need to urge upon you, who haVe come so far, though there Is much need that you should impress upon others, the obligation that lies on Cnris.sn .ss men to give freely to others that knowledge of the truth which they have freely received. If we have not the divine command to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, should we not feel bound to try to do for them what has been done for us, to stretch out to them help ing hand and try to lift them up? Mis- sions are in fact one way in which the advance peoples may try to discharge their duty to the backward peoples. The common Father of us all requires it from us. .
 "Ffow much splendid work missions have accomplished need not tell you. As traveller. have had frequent op- portunities of seeing the results in Af- rica and in India and in. the. Turkish East. No missionaries have done more good than those who come from your own country, especially in Asia Minor. Syria and Egypt. Those regions owe them O., debt of gratitude. But. the traveller while he adnlires the work that Is being done. is often forced ito ask himself why. in spite Of these mo- ble efforfs, and Of the excellence of the men who are doing f. why has the spread of the gospel not been swifter7 and 1t is about this that I wish to say a few words to you tonight. Mis- sfons are not the only form which the contact of advanced Christian races with backed races. has taken. When the Spaniards began to conquer the new world, they made 1t one of their objects to convert the Indians Crowds of Friars accompanied them. There was much preaching; and the desire to save the souls of the heather and make the cross reign over all American lands, was a genuine desire. But, un- happily. the conquerers did many oth = CT things beside preach. They were greedy of wealth. They forced the ma lives to till the soil and labor in the mines. They did this so harshly that in some thirty or forty years, all the native Indians in Hispaniola (now HaytD are said to have perished and this happened before long in Cuba and Jamaica also. Everywhere the same thing has gone on. Everywhere the native suffers. To some extent if Is inevitable that the native should suf- fer by contact. but there has been so much wrong doing on the part of the civilized races.
 Protect Inhabitants
 The. governments of those nations which have of late years annexed na- tive territories now usually, though I fear not always, try to protect the in- habitants. The United States Govern ment and British Government certainly do this In India, for instance, vast native populations are ruled with per- feet justice But the action of private citizens who have dealings with na- tives often disgraces the Christian name. Such mems conduct constantly flinders or retards the good work which enlightened Government wished to do. The work of bearing the white mans burden has too often taken the form of filling the white mans pocket. Is it any wonder that the behavior of men who are nominally Christians Chris tians in profession if not practice. has checked the spread of Christianity? The missionary comes preaching gos- pei of justice and love and peace. But when the natives see how men behave who profess the religion which the missionary breaches. the preachings lose their value.
 What then is our duty as citizens of Christian nations who desire to see the light of the Gospel ilIumine the world? Governments no longer send out missions, as the Spantards and Por- tugese did. with the best intentions, but with wisdom less good than their best intentions. The force of public opinion ought to support governments in keeping a strict watch upon all those who try to exploit the native, either by getting hold of his land or by trading with him. It ought to in- sist on the absolute prohibition of the sale of drink to natives. It ought to secure full justice for the native when he brings complaints against those who try to injure him by force or fraud. It ought to punish severely those who abuse the power of a supe- rior race and above all. those who de- moralize 1t by the sale of liquor, or who, as sometimes happens behave i'll to native women. It ought to be our aim to compel those who go forth from among us into non-Christian races to set better example of conduct worthy of civilized men than many have done. The time in which we live Is a critical time, not only critical for ourselves, but critical for the relations of the advance to the semi i-civllized peoples. In another fifty years that which we have called civilization will have over spread the whole world and destroy ed the native organizations and the cus- toms of the backward peoples. With their old beliefs, the moral sanctions which some of those beliefs imposed upon them will also vanish.
 Let us. since we cannot help break inK up their old habits of life. often no doubt shocking. and extinguishing Na. --u~.