The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-29


reasoning working toward ripper faith.
II.
The mission to the heather is n prob
lem by no means easy OF solution. The
evaluation OF the missionary is difficult.
In his reports to his mission society and
his letters to his UNCONVENTIONAL publ
cations he is apt to dwell upon tho in
conveniences of his life. the hardships
OF travel. the uncertainty of commune
cation. the absence of the material neces-
stiles OF comfortable living This sort
Of report may be dismissed as imma-
! terial. His hardships are no greater
than those OF any pioneer who cuts loose
from civilization on the score of bust
ness; they are hardships which men
gladly encounter for the pleasure Of
exploration or OF hunting game.
Another set of reports upon the ac-
tivity Of any missionary finds publica-
ton through secular channels II can
not he denied that many aspcrsions are
cast upon the conduct Of earnest mis-
siona1ies. Those who have had the OPP
portunitY to become familiar with re-
mote fields Of mission cndeavor have
no difficulty in discovering the animus
which underlies the falsity Of such ru-
mors. The missionary Is essentially
pioneer. his place is at the frontier of
civiliza ton and as far beyond as he may
go. He has double duty to perform.
he has to convey to the savage that
which his soul tells him is the hest in
civilization, he has to fight against the
Introduction Of that which all rignt
thinking men must regard as deletcr-
Gus in civilization. He stands alone.
his fellow pioneers of lay profession
have come To make their market Of the
ignorant wild men, they arc gun rum
ncrs sly grog sellers. they sell high
and they buy low. in becoming pioneers
they have gladly shaken or the tram
mels Of civilization To such men the
missionary is = nuisance, they seek to
d!scredit him az home. they do all
within their power To check his inlu-
cnce with the folk whom they have
come so far and with 80 much dlfn-
Guilty to exploit
With more truth but with less venom
reports adverse 10 tho missions return
through official channels and call for
more serious considerations The adj
ministrators of the fringes Of remote
provinces have their own great task OF
maintaining order in scattered com
munitics whore order is a thing I'M
known. Their task is To work through
such agencies as they find most readily
accessible. through kings and chiefs
ruling in accordance with savage GUS
tom law. Tho necessities 81 their rule
make them Conservative Of what they
find. tho existing system ~ control -
e lao. l.n- 4
order The savage is Incapable ~ draw
ing thc line Of demarcation between the
kingdoms Of this world and tho king
dom not ~ This world The question in
nvitahly arises as 20 the relative impor-
lance Of the missionary and tho govern
ment agent 1t hurts mission work when
The decision is made as It must be made
the missionary has a grievance. the adj
m.n's,rator has an equal one
From each Of these drawbacks Coillard
suffered in his mission 20 the Iamhesi.
.Nfter he had made his reconnaissance
70 the Barotse he was obliged To return
to France and TO essay 10 convirce apa-
thptiC churches that Il was indeed
Macedonian call to new service and after
that tn secure the contributions 10 meet
the necessarily heavy charges lie did
not escape Ca,umnN on TIE score NJ his
treatment ~ the negroes for whose bet
terment he was iahoring. His project
TO push ont beyond the frontier into
unorganized territory was regarded by
the authorities at the Cape as a mask
set over French territorial expansion.
His letters and his journals IN this vol
umc show how he struggled against
these difficulties
We mus, acknowledge our great debt
to the missionaries. above All tn the
French missionaries They have r.ch-
ness Of sympathy which establishes ,hs
French missionary. whether evangelist
OF Cuusccratcd priest, in touch with the
life and thought II IN" savage. Park
man could never have written his vol
umos Of our history II he Nld not had
tho Jesuit relations for his authority,
The White Fathers almost wholly
French. arc now giving us knowledge
~ the highlands of the Nile source.
Even in tho work of Co.l,ard. though We
feel the loss Of descriptive geography.
We have such a record ~ tho Bar1tse
a It will now he Impossible FOR any
other To provide. II is merely indica-
tive of peculiar turn II mind that
when he listened to the thunder ~ Vic
toria Falls his interest was rather in
the sins Of Lewanika.