rr--· I

I I

I I

OaJ Missions library

OF THE

CONFERENCE OF BAPTIST

MISSIONARIE S

IN JAPAN,

i 891.

\ "\ \ YOKOHA¥A:

PRINTED BY THE "SEISHI BUNSHA."

1891.

~------~

It toas suggested, and, altlwltgh not voted upon, toas by common consent

decided, tlmt some portion of the Saturday following the first Sunday of

each month slwuld be observed by all our missionaries as a season of speciaZ

prayer for God's bleBsi1).[J on ow' Baptist w01'k and workers, and it was fUl'th:er suggested that foe also 1'emember the same objects daily in the prayer

offered at tlte noolL-meal.

MINUTES Day Misslons l1brary

OF THE

C()NFERENCE OF MISSIONARIES OF THE

AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION

IN JAPAN

TOGETHER WITH

OF

BAPTIST MISSIONARIES IN JAPAN

HELD IN

YOKOHAMA, AUG. 31st to SEPT. 3rd.

1891.

YOKOHAMA:

PRINTED BY THE "SEISHI BUNRHA."

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES OF

THE CONFERENCE OF THE MISSIONARIES

OF THE A. B. 1\1. U. IN JAPAN. AUGUST 31st 1891.

President ...................... H. H. RHEES, D.D.

Vice Presideut .................. A. A. BENNETT.

Secret.ary ...................... S. W. HAMBLEN.

E ti C ·tte $ J. L. DEARING, E. H. JONES, S. W. xecu ve OIDllll e ............. l HAMBLEN.

Statistician ...................... J. L. DEARING.

Preacher of AllllUru SerUlOll .. " .• .• WILLIAM ASHMORE, D.D •

.Alternatil •...................... R. L. HALSEY.

{

J. L. DEARING, R. L. HALSEY, E. H. Committ~e on Publication ........ JONES, A. A. BENNETT, F. G.

HAnIUNOTON.

{

T. P. POATE, A. A. BENNETT, C. K. " BiLle Re\'ision . . . . . . HARRUWTON, F. G. HARRINGTON,

E. H. JONES.

{

R. A. THOMSON, A. A. BENNETT,

" Hymn Book.... .. .. Mrs. SHARLAXD, Miss WHITMAN, Miss MEAD.

B 's 1 1 {.E. W. CLEMENT, F .. G. HAlUUNGTOX, " oys C 100 •• • • • • • • J. L. DEAnING.

" Outline of Study for { G. W. 'TAFT, F. G. HARRINGTON, C. Evangelists •••.•• H. D. FISHER.

A If M M {d. A. BENNETT, S. W. H,U,JBLEN, T. " ppea. or ore. en.. E. SHOEMAKER.

" Removal of the Theo.{C.K.HAlUUNGTON,F.G.HARRINGTON, School .••.••.•.• G. W. TAFT.

" Recommendation Of{ E M to th H C. H. D. FISHER, • H. JONES, H. en e ome H. RHEES, D.D.

Board •.••.•••••

"Question of SalarieS{.J. L. DEARING, R. A. THO~[SON, E· in Japan........ H. JONES.

"Children's Day and { Mrs. .BRAND, Miss CHURCH, 1\11'8' Sunday Schools • • FISHER. .

B d f M t f th Th {A.. A. BENNETT, C. K. HARUINOTON. oar 0 anagemen 0 e eo. C. H. D. FISHER, F. G. HARllING-School. • . . . • .• •• . . . • . • .. •• .. • . TON, n.L. HALSEY, S.W. HAIIIBLEN.

COMMI7'TEES .i1.PPOINTED IN NOVE3IBER, 1889.

On Methods of Work.-E. H. JONES,_A. A. BENNETT, F. G. HABRINGTON.

The next Conference will meet in Yokohama a.t 9.30 A.III. Wednesday, April 6th, 1892. .

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LA 'VB AS ADOPTED AT KOBE,

DECEl\IBEU 29, 1890.

CONSTITUTION.

NAME.-rrhis COllference shall be called the Con­ference of the Missiunaries of the American Baptist Missionary Union of Japan.

ARTICLE I.-Tbe officers of the Conference shall be a Pl'esident, Vice Pl'esident, Secretary, aud Executive Committee of three l\fenlbers, one of whom shall be the Hecretary. 1'bey shall be chosen· by ballot at each Annual lYIeetillg, and their terlll of office shall be for one year or until their successors are appointed.

ARTICLE Ir.-Any luissionary registered' under the American Baptist l\1issionary Union lllay become a llleluber of tlus Conference.

ARTICLE IlL-The Annual lVleeting for hearing reports, for the election of officers, and for the trans­action of business shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by the Conference at "the preceding Aunual Meeting.

ARTICLE IV.~Ill all cases directly effecting their work the feluale missionaries shall be entitled to vote.

AHTICLE Yo-It shall be tbe duty of the Secretary to keep a record of all the forlual meetings of the Con­ference, and to send a copy of such record to the Foreign Secretary; to preserve on file all documents, and to keep a. copy of the same for the mission file; he shall also send a brief statement of contents or extracts from all important letters received from the Foreign Secre­tary to each member of the Conference. The Secretary 'shall be ex-officio the Secretary of the Executive C0111mittee.

ARTICLE VI.-It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee'to receive and arrange the order of business for the annual meeting. All business shall be present­ed in writing to the Committee not later than one week befol'e the first business session; business not so pre­sented ma.y be admitted 011 vote of the Conference.

The completed ol'der of business shall be reported to tbe COWJ:€Ulce for adoption at its first business session. In case of an emergency the executive Committee shall be empowered to call as pecial meetirtg of the Confer­ence after obtaining consent by letter of a majority of the memb~rs, they shall also be empowered to change the time and place of the Annual Meeting, pro­vided that two- thirds of the members of the Conference give their consent to such a change. In case of a special meeting, or of a change in time or place of the Annual !vleeting, ~otice must be sent to each member twenty days previous, of the time and place of Baid meeting.

ARTICLE VII.-The Constitution may be amended by a vote of two thirds of the members present at the Annual M~eeting.

BY-LAWS. ARTICLE I.-All Sessions shall be opened with Devo­

tional Exercises; the President to appoint a leader for such meeting.

ARTICLE II.-N ear the Commencement of each Annual l\ieeting the President shall appoint a Com­mittee Oll Nominations.

ARTICLE ILL-In all cases of questions concerning parliamentary usage the ruling shall be accol'ding to Robe1·ts Rules of Order.

ARTICLE IV.-At each Annual Meeting one of the members shall be chosen to pI'each a Sermon at the next Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE V.-All Committees shall have power to fill vacancies in their number; such appointees shall be members of the Committee until the next regular Ineeting of the Conference.

ARTICLE VI.-All Committees shall report in writ­ing.

ARTICLE VII.-N 0 person shall be elected President, or preach the AnnualSel'mon, for two successive years.

ARTICLE VIII.-There shall be an annual tax of fifty sen per year levied upon each member; the same to be used for defraying the incidental expenses of the Confel'ence.

~IINUTES OF rrHE CO:NFERENCE

OF THE ::\IISSIONARIES OF THE Al\f:BJRICAN

BAPTIST l\IISSIONARY UNIOX IN JAPAN.

CONVENED IN YOKOHA1IA, MONDAY, A.UG., 31sT 1891.

The Conference was called to order at 10 A.M. by President TROMSON. Mter devotional exercises led by him the meeting was declared open for business.

The minutes of the previous Conference were adopted as printed.

-The order of business presented by the Executive Committee was approved.

A Nominating Committee was a.ppointed by the President as follows :-T. P. POATE, C. H. D. FISHER, F G. HARRINGTON.

The Conference then listened to the Annual Sermon preached by Rev. H. H. RREES, D.D. frOln the words: " That ye should earnestly contend for the faith which ~vas Ollce delivered to the Saints." (Jude: 3.) His subject being: ,; The Imperative duty of firm adherence to God's Word."

·The report of the N Olninating Committee was

adopted, and after a bal10t by the Conference the following officers were declared elected :-

President .................. If. H. BHEES, D.D. Vice President ......... ~.A. A. BENNETT . .Secretary .................. S. vV. HAMBLEN.

{

J. L. DEARING. Executive COllllllittee. E. H. JONES.

S. "\V HAMBLEN. Preacher of Annual}"\VILLIAM ASHMORE, D.D.

Sermon .............. . Alternate .................. R. L. HALSEY.

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Voted, That thel'e should be two sessions each day, from 9.30 to 12. A.M. and from 2. to 4.30 P,M., during the meetings of the Conference.

The reports of the Committee on a Resolution re­garding the Native Brethren, and of the Committee on a Resolution regarding Dr. ASHMORE were adopted as dlIDted in the Minutes of the last Conference.

~he Committee on Sunday School Papers and the Committee on Denominational Books and Tracts were discontinued and their duties given to the Committee on Publication.

A Committee was appointed, consisting of R. A. THOMSON, A. A. BENNETT, and C. K. HARRINGTON, to embody in a resolution a vote of welcome given Rev. 'Y 'VYNDE lately appointed to Japan.

Adjourned at 12. ~. with singing of the Doxology. The afternoon session was opened with devotional

exercises led by President RHEES. After which the Conference resumed its work.

Voted, That visiting brethren be invited to a seat with us and to a participation in our deliberations.

The question was brought before the Conference whether we should communicate further with the Executive Committee regarding the salaries of their :I\fissionaries in Japan, and reiterate the request of the June 1890 Conference that for Missionaries in Japan the old schedule be reSUllled. It was

Voted, That a Committee of three be appointed to throughly canvass the question of salaries in Japan and to communicate the resul.ts to the Executive Committee with a reiteration of the request'that the old schedule be resumed~

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The COlllmittee appointed was J L. DEARING, E. H. JONES, R. A. THOMSON.

Voted, To appoint a Conference Statistician. J. L. DEARING was appointed.

With a view to preparing and putting on record historical data concerning the work of the American Baptist Missional;Y Union in Japan, it was

Voted, That the persons named below be asked to prepare papers upon the fields assigned them, these papers to be read to the Conference in the order of the founding of the stations to which they relate:-

A. A. BENNETT ......... The 'Vork in Yokohama. Miss A. H. KIDDER..... n " "Tokyo.

E.~~~~~~~. ~~~.~ .. ~:}" " "the North.

~ Kobe and the ~. H. RHEES, D.D .... ~ ,. 'Vest.

Mrs. C. H. CARPENTER. " " N emuro.

The paper upon the 'Vork in Yokohama is to be read at the next Conference.

The Secretary was instructed to ask again the Ex­ecutive Committee to defray the expenses of the Annual Conference.

A committee consisting of H. H. RHEES, D. D., A. A. BENNETT, and T. P. POATE was appointed to draw up and present to the Confel'euce·at some sub­sequent session. a resolution concerning the l'ecom­Inendation of men on the field who wish to become missionaries of the American Baptist Missionary Union.

The Executive Committee was instructed to provide f9r one or two papers for discussion for the next Conference.

Yo ted, That the Minutes of the Conference be printed, and that the Executive Committee have the printing in charge, and assess upon the members of the Con­ference a tax to defray the expenses.

Information being asked concerning the HOlne 1'Iission Society of Baptist Chm'ches in J apa.l1, A. A. BENNETT and E. H. JONES were appointed to seek information and report to the Conference.

Voted, That a committee of three (3) be appointed by the Chail- to confer individually with the members of the Conference and }'eport at SOlne subsequent session in regard to the time of year most cOllvenient for holding our Annual Conference and also in regard to the place in which it should be held.

The chair appointed A. A. BENNETT, E. H. JONES, a.nd R. A. THOMSON as this committee.

At the request of several members of the Conferellce it was

Voted, To ask Dr. ASHMORE to give the Conferellce a Bible Beading at his own convenience sometirne during the morrow's sessions.

Adjourned at 4 P. M. with the Benediction by Pl'esi. dent BHEES.

Tuesday morning the Conference niet at the ap­pointed hour. Instead of the usnal devotional exercises a Bible Reading was given by Dr. ASHMORE.

Tbe minutes of the preceding day's sessions were read and approved.

The report of the COlllinittee on Bible Revision was presented by the Chairman T. P. POATE as follows:-

Your Committee }'egret to state that frOll1 'laTious causes they have been unable to discharge the duty

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committed to them. The chairman herewith tenders his resignation.

Voted, That this report be divided 8tIld the two parts be acted upon separately.

The first section was adopted as the report of the committee and the second section was laid upon the table.

The Conference here resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole with H. H. RREES, D.D. as chairman for the discussion of the l11atter of Bible Revision and the policy to be persued in accomplishing it. After this discussion the COlllmittee rose and presented the following report to the 'Conference:-

The Committee of the Whole recommend to the Conference the adoption of the following resolutions :-

Resolved,

L-That it is the opinion of this Conference that in the revision of Dr. BROWN'S version of the New Testament there should be a reyision of such parts only as do not clearly express the meaning of the original and that no effort should be l11ade for elegance of style except in such cases, as in the opinion of the majority of the Committee the inelegance reduces the force of the original.

Ir.-That it is the opinion of this Conference that the best policy to be persued in the above revision is for one member of the Committee to make the draft of a revision which shall embrace his own views and the suggestions of the other members of the Committee, said member devoting his whole time to the work that it may be done as soon as possible.

IlL-That this Conference desires and request$

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Bro. T. p, POA'rE to devote his whole time to this work of revision.

lV.-That this Conference recommelld to the Home Board that Bro. POATE be permitted to go to that place where in his opinion he can best do this work.

This report was adopted as the action of the Confer:­ence. The second section of the report of the Com­mittee on Bible Revision was then takell from the table.

Voted, That Bro. POATE be requested to withdraw his resignation.

This solution of the problem of the revision of Dr. BROWN'S version of the New Testament was followed by:a prayer of thanksgiying, in which the Conference was led by DI·. ASHMORE, and by the singing of the Doxology.

The Committee on Boys' School presented no report. The Committee was continued.

The report of the Committee on Outline of Study for Evangelists was presented by G. W. TAFT as follows :-

Your Committee would respectfully submit the following report :-

The Course suggested presupposes a fair knowledge of the New Testament.

l.-A careful reading of the entire Bible with a few notes of introduction to each of the several books.

II.-Inductive Study of the life of Christ. IlL-Inductive Study-of the life of Paul. IV.-A careful reading, with COIDl11ents by teacher,

of Ba.ptist Church Manual.

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V.-A close study of the New Hampsbire Conference of Faith with Biblical Proof.

VI.-A reaaing of some short Church HistC?ry. VII.-A reading of Vedder's History of Baptists. VIII.-Lessons in Biblical Analysis and Expository

Preaching.

(a) Old Testament Biography, (b) Sermons of Christ, Peter and Paul.

We further request that the committee be permit­ted to continue the work of translating and systematiz­ing this course of Study.

The report was adopted and the request of the committee granted.

The report of the Committee on Appeal for more Men w~s presented by A. A. BENNETT as follows :-

Your Committee would respectfully report that they commenced the work assigned them shortly after the close of our last Conference but that owing to a succes­sion of difficulties the appeal was not ready until a late date. The appeal proposed is herewith submitted. * This report was laid on the ,table till the afternoon session. Adjourned at 12 M. with prayer by A. A. BENNETT.

The devotional exercises at the beginning of the afternoon session were led by Dr. ASHMORE.

The report of the Committee on Appeal for more 1\Ien was taken from the table and adopted. The appeal was endorsed as the appeal of the Conference and the cOlllmittee was continued to finish their work.

The report of the Committee on. the R-emoval of the

• The appeal will be found at the end of these Minutes.

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Theological School was presented by C. K. HARRINGTON

as follows :-

Your Committee beg leave to report that ilnmediately after its appointment in June 1890, it took steps to fulfil the duties laid upon it. Several possible sites for the school upon the outskirts of Tokyo were visited and their advantages and disadvantages car~fully ex­amined, and the most suitable location decided upon. The cost of land and buildings was also carefully.ir. ... vestigated. The Committee then addressed the Ex­ecutive Committee upon the subject, giving the advantages and disadvantages of removal and the approximate cost of laud and buildings and presenting the request of the Conference that the removal of the school to Tokyo be allowed and that the necessary appropriation be made. At the last Conference in Kobe a report of the action taken by the Committee was ma<;1e,* but no answer had then been received fronl the Executive Committee. In February of this year the following answer caIne to hand:

Boston, ~Iass., Jannary, 15th 1891. Rev. C. K. HARRL~GTO~,

My Deal' Brother, YoUr letter of October 1st came duly to hand

and also your request for $7500.00 to bny land in Tokyo for the TheologiCl,1 Seminary. Since you forwarded the votes of the Conference in regard to removing the Seminary from Yokohama to Tokyo we have been collecting such infonnation as we could gain concerning the matter. From all that we can learn the Committee are not satisfied that the removal of the Seminary to Tokyo is advisable in the present condition of aft'uirs in Japan. I hardly think they feel like investing so large an amouut of money until the Union can hold the property itself. At any l'ate the Uuion has not the money for the expenditure at present, as our finances nre very much behind and the prospect is that the end of the present year will see one of the -----------------------------

* This is a mistake, no such report was made at that time. Sec.

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largest deficits eyen known in thehistol'Y of the Society. The Committee is declinin{f all increased appl'opriations except where they seem iulperutively necessary.

Very Sincerely Yours, E. F. :MERRIA~I.

Your COlnmittee bas not felt called on to take any further steps in the matter. We would ask therefore to be dismissed but would call the attention of the Conference to Articles III and IV in the report of the Committee on Schools at the last Conference"" and would recommend the appointment of a Comnlitee to carry out the provisions of those articles so far as they concern the Theological School.

The report was adopted and the Committee contin· ued to carry out the provisions of the Articles referred to.

The Committee on Children's Day and Sunday Schools presented no repoTt. This Committee ,vas reconstructed by the appointment of l\frs. FISHER in the place of Mrs. POATE. It now stands; Mrs. BRAND, l\fiss CHURCH, Mrs. FISHER.

The report of the COlnmittee on Hymn Book was presented by R. H. THOMSON ~s follows :-

The Comnlittee appointed at the last Conference on the preparation of a new Baptist Hymn Book beg leave to submit that they have not been able to agree upon a new book and thus having no report to Inake respectfully request that the Conference fOTm itself into a Committee of the vVhole to discuss 111 ore thoroughly the question.

This report was adopted and in acc~rdal1ce with its request the Conference went into a Committee of the

See page 9 of the minutes of that Conference.

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\Vhole with H. H. BREES D.D. as chairman, for a thorough discussion of the question of a new Hymn Book. The Committee on rising presented to the Conference the following resolution :-

Resolved, That we recommend to the Conference that it choose a new Hymn Book Committee and that this Committee be instructed to proceed with the pUblication of a Baptist Hymn Book.

This res~lution was adopted by the Conference. The Committee chosen in accordance with its I'e COlli­lllendation was R. A. THOMSON, A. A. BENNETT, 1\-1rs. RHARLAND, Miss WHITMAN, Miss MEAD.

The report of the Committee appointed to embody in a resolution the vote of welcollle given Bro. WYNDE was presented by R. A. THOMSON as follows :-

In the name and on behalf of this Conference we cordially extend to Bro. W. \VY"NDE our welcome to a place among us. We welcome him to the fellowship of our labor, of our watching, and of our prayers, trust­ing as we do that together we Inay earnestly contend for the faith o:p.ce for all delivered to the saints, that we may provoke one another to love and good works and that in all things, so far as occasion may require, we may bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

This report was adopted. The COlllnlittee appointed to seek information regarding the Home Missioll Society of Baptist Churches in J apal1 reported that they had seen the Secretary of the Society who said that nothing had been done during the last year.

This report was adopted. The report of the Committee appointed to draw up a

resolution regarding the recommendation of men on

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the field who wish to become missionaries of the Union was presented by A. A. BENNETT as follows :-

Your Committee recommend that the Executive Committee at Boston be asked to appoint three of thei!' missionaries on the field to whom application may be made by anyone on the field who may desire to become a missionary of the American Baptist Mission­ary Union. Such Committee shall endeavor to make as thorough an examination of the candidate as would be made by the Examining Committee of Boston or Chicago. They shall have power to temporarily fill vacancies in their number, but shall be nominated from year to year by this Conference, the old members to remain in office till notice is l'eceived from home of the appointment of the new.

This report was adopted. The committee nominat­ed ill accordance with its recommendation was C. H. D. FISHER, E. H. JONES, and H. H. RHEES, D.D.

The Conference adjourned at 4.30 P.M. with Bene­diction by the chairman.

The session Wednesday morning was opened with devotional exercises led by J. C: BRAND.

The minutes of the previous day's sessions were - adopted as corrected.

President BHEES being called away Vice President BENNETT took the chair.

The report of the Committee on Publication was not adopted. The Committee was continued and requested to pursue its labors.

Voted, That the Executive Committee at Boston be asked again for the $500.00 for publications requested 1ast year, and, at the request of A. A. BENNETT, that

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they be asked to transfer to the Committee on Publica .. tion the money now in his (A. A. BENNETT'S) care for purposes of publication.

A. A. BENNETT and F. G. HA.RRINGTON were added to this Committee.

The report of the Committee on Time and Place of tbe next Conference was presented by A. A. BENNETT as follows :-

Your Committee having endeavored to learn the preference of each l11ember of the Conference in regard to, the time and place of holding our ,next ivleeting are glad to be able to report that the desu'e is well nigh unanimous that our next ,Meeting be held in Yokohama on the first Wednesday of the coming April. They therefore recommend tPa.t such be the decision of the Conference, the first meeting to COlllmence at 9.30 .A.M. unless otherwise ordered by "the President,

This report was' ad9pted.

Voted, That when the Conference adjourned it should adjourn to tl;le place and time recomlllended therein. '

R. A. THOMSON rep'orted that ~frs, A. ALLEN of Glasgow, Scotland, had offered to him, through her son BOBT. ALLEN, the sum of $3000.00 for the'establish­ment of-work'in the Loo Choo Islands. The following resolution was adopted ;-

Resolved, That this Conference approve most heartily the undertaking of work in the Loo Choo Islands, to be supported by money given by Mrs. ALLEN.

R. A', THOMSON was a]?i?ointed to write a letter of thanks, in the name of tbe Oonference, to Mrs. ALLEN for her munificent gift.

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The following communication was presented by R. A. THOMSON.

The tracts on Baptism wri"tten by Dr. ASHMORE, and published in English have been translated and published in Japanese by means of a special appro­priation from the Executive Committee.

The following Resolutions were adopted :­

Resolved, That we assure - our fellow workers III

the far South and in the far North of our fellowship and of our sympathy in their absence from these Meetings, and morover that we urge them to unite with us in praying for the unity and the prosperity of our Baptist Cause.

Resolved, That this Conference hereby expresses its sympathy with our Sister Fife in her illness and its sorrow at her forced return home.

Resolved, ~lhat a committee be appointed to give expression to the prevailing sentiments of this Con­ference on the best method of conducting luission work in Japan in the present crisis.

The Committee appointed w~s E. H. JONES and J. C. BRAND.

Certain resolutions regarding the Theological School having been presented, they were laid on the table until the afternoon session.

Adjourned at 12 M. with the Doxology and Bene­diction.

The afternoon session began with devotional ex­ercises led by G. W. TAFT.

The resolutions regarding the Theological School were taken from the table, and after discussion, with the understanding that they were subject to the

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approval of the Executive Committee in Boston~ were adopted as follows: -

Resolved,

I.-That we appoint at this session a Board of ~rallagement for our Theological School.

lr.-That this Board be composed of one representa­tive chosen annually to represent each section,'together with the Faculty who shall be members ex officio.

IlL-That this Board shall meet at least as often as once a year, to consult concerning the Institution under their care and to examine personally its work.

IV.-That this Board shall have, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee in Boston,dil'ect control of all matters pertaining to the School except the appointlnent of the Faculty. In this matter their l'ecommendation (action) must be .. laid before the Con­ference before being submitted to the Executive Committee.

V.-That this Board shall make an annual report to the Conference concerning the condition of the School and shall suggest any changes necessary in the teaching staff.

'l'hose appointed to act with the Faculty of 1890-1891 viz.:-

A. A. BENNETT, C. K. HARRINGTON, C. H. D. FISHER, as a Board of Management of the Theological School were R.L. HALSEY, F. G. HARRINGTON, and S. W. HAMBLEN.

The report of the Committee appoiri:ted to draw up resolutions concerning the best method of conducting mission work' in Japan at. the present Cl'lSIS was presented by E. "H. JONES as follows :-

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Resolv~d,

I.-That in the opinion of this Conference, the supreme and consuming need of mission work in Japan at this very time, is for more labourers to devote themselves to direct evangelisation by coming into personal contact with the unevangelized masses, and through the medium of their own vernacular.

II.-That while much is being done by the forty thousand Christians in J apau, and still more is hoped for, yet they are by no means adequate to the great evangelistic demands now made, and cannot be, until l1UlCb further advance has been achieved; and, tbere­fore~ the time has not come when other workers from abroad can be dispensed with.

IlL-That inasmuch as the gt'eat n1ass of the forty Inillions of this empire are unevangelized, and are, in such vast numbers not so much as l'eached by an intelligible idea of the gospel, therefore, the call of the great commission which first brought us out, continues to press upon us, "Go ye therefore and preach the gospel" to these unreached millions. And further­more, in view of these uneva.ngelized multitudes, and of the laxity of doctrine which prevails, and of the errors which abound, and of the destructive drifts of our day, we consider that our obligation to call for an increased number of well qualified and well endowed foreign missionaries to come over and help, instead of being diminished, is really increased.

IV.-That we, as a body of missionaries, will throw ·ourselves into· the work of direct and systelnatic evangelisation, and will make all other kinds of work, educational and literary, strictly subordinate and subsidiary to that Ol1e supreme objeot.

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V.-That in our traillinK of missionary. helpers and co-:-workers among the Japanese, we will give great prominence to the preparation of well qnalified evange­lists who may give evidence of being called of God to this work. And since, in order of time and effect, and as matter of greatest present need the evangelist goes before the pastor, therefore our students shall bG taught first how to be ev;angelists, and after that, how to be pastors and teachers.

VI. -That in order that we may give ourse~ves more wholly to the work of evangelisation, and further, because we believe it will, from this time on, be for the better welfare of the churches, we will ask them to excuse us from filling the pastoral office for them ; and that we will affectionately and with confidence, urge ~pon them the necessity of self-help and self-nutrition, having SOIDe one of their own number preside at their meetings; looking to the Lord f01' spi1'itual gifts and guidance; building thelllselves up on t~eir most holy faith, "fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every pa.rt," and making increase of the body unto the edifying of .itself in love. In this way they will be less dependent on the draw­backs and uncertainties of foreign supplies, and will speedily attain that healthy independence of outside help, so much appreciated by the Japanese, and so much and so continuously desired by ourselves and by the churches at home. At the same time, we will not be removed in the smallest degree from quick, sympa~ thetic, and responsive touch with them, nor will they be from us. Rather will we become more truly and wisely helpful to each other.

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This report was adopted as expressing the sentiments of the Conference.

The following resolution on being presented was adopted :-

Resolved, That inasmuch as this Conference -is a unite in their unshaken faith in the Inspiration and Binding Authority of the Scriptures as first written we request our Brother Dr. BREES to prepare some such declaration and direct that it be published with the Minutes of our present Conference.

Dr. BREES, in accordance w:ith this l'equest, prepared and forwarded to the Secretary the following decla­ration :-

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaillents are the word of God given through Holy Men of Old who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and as originally giveu are inerrant. These Scriptures thus inspired of God are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction (training) in righteous­ness. They are an infallible guide and final standard of appeal in all Inatters of faitli and practice. A "ThuB saith the Lord" found in the Scriptures, which we believe to be jn!?pired by God, is an end of all contro­versy. With Mr. SPURGEON and others" we avow our firmest belief in the verbal inspiration of all Holy Scripture as originally given."

G. W TAFT was appointed to write a digest of the minutes of the Conference for publication in The Japan Mail.

Thanks were extended to the Yokohama Church for the use of their church building; to Dr. and Mrs. ASHMORE for opening their home to the Conference;

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and to the fellow workers of Tokyo and Yokohama for their hearty hospitality.

The Conferellce adjourned at 4.30 P.M. to meet in Yokohama at 9.30 A.M. Wednesday, April, 6th 1892.

The closing Prayer was offered by C.li. HARRINGTON.

H. H. RHEES, D.D.,

President.

S. W HAMBLEN,

Secretary.

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MINUTES OF THE UNION CONFERENCE

O:F BAPTIST MISSIONARIES IN JAPAN.

HELD IN YOKOHAMA, SEPT., SRD 1891.

The Conference was called to order at 9.30 A. M. by Vice Pl'esident BENNETT. Devotional exercises were -led by S. 'V HAMBLEN.

The ]\.'linutes of the preceding Conference were read and approved.

The Election of Officers resulted as follows :-

President .................. C. H. D. FISHER.

Vice President ........... J. A. BRUNSON.

Secretary .................. S. W HAMBLEN

Committee of Arrange-{c. H. D. FISHER. ments for next COll- J. A. BRUN SON. ference ................ B. W- HAMBLEN.

'rhe Committee on Publication presented no report. The Committee was continued with J. A. BRUNSON as chairman.

Questions relating to the publicatioll of Karashi Dane cOlning before the Conference, it was resolved into a Committee of the Whole with C. H. D. FISBER

as chairman, for their discussion. After full discussion the Committee rose and l)resented the following resolu­tions to the Conference :-Resolved,

I.-That the publication of Kara·shi Dane be COll­

tinued.

II.-That its year be from January to January.

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Ill.-That the character of the articles determine the style of their language.

IV.---That the size of the Magazine be about twenty­eight pages.

V,-That the price to the Japanese be twenty-five sen and that the missionaries make up any deficit.

These resolutions were adopted by the Conference.

The Board of Editors of the Magazine was re-elected and given power to effect their own organization.

The morning session closed at 12 M. with prayer by R. A. THOMSON.

The afternoon session began at 2 P.M. Devotional exercises were led by Pres. FISHER.

A paper on "!I'he Use of FOl'eign Money" written by T. P. POATE was read by G, W TAFT", Discussion followed.

A paper on "Exalted" Apostleship" was read by its writer, J. A. BRUNSON. This paper also was followed "by· discussion, and it was voted that it be offered to the Japan Mail for publication.

Voted, That the papers written to be published as tracts be handed to the Committee on Publication and become subject to their action.

The Committee of Arrangenlents presented the following recommendations :-

I.-That two persons be appointed to present papers to this Conference in regard to the special lines of Christian work that may seem to be called for by the events, religious or secular, that shall have transpired in this country during the previous year, which papers shall be submitted for discussion.

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Ir.-That one of our number be appointed to collect data concerning the loeligious publications in the ver­nacu.lars for the ensuiug year-including books, pamph­lets, tracts etc.-And to report in regard to such as may be of use to us in our work.

IlL-That the Conference devote at least half an hour to the consideration of the best solution of any such- practical difficulties in mission work as may have coniropted the one desiring the aavice of the Con­ference; but in order that improfitable questions may not be entertained the discussion of any such question may be forbidden or stopped at any stage of its progress upon the request of three members of the Conference.

IV.-That we have prepared and read before the Conference two brief papers, one on the question: "What more can we do to deepen the missionary interest in our home Churches?" and the other on the question: " What mOloe can we do to deepen the piety of our own native Churches ?" The matter of the discus­sion of these papers shall be refenoed to the Conference at the time of the reading.

V.-That three persons be appointed to prepare brief biographical sketches of Dr. BROWN, Bro. ARTHUR and Bro ... CARPENTER respectively, with special refer­ence to their work in Japan and that one of these sketches be read at our next GOIiference.

These recommendations were adopted and the Com­mittee of Arrangements was instloLlcted to carry them out.

Voted, That the Union Conference convene next year in Yokohama on the Tuesday before the first Wednesday in April, at 9.30 AoM.

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Voted, rrhat the )\Iinutes of the Union Conference he printed with the Minutes of the Conference of the A. B. l\tI. U. Missionaries in Japan, and that we direct that these be printed on the inside of the cover, the request found in a like place in the minutes of the last Oonference.

A Vote of thanks was extended to the brothers and sisters of Yokohama for their kind entertainmeilt of the members of the Conference.

The Conference adjourned at 4. P.M.

Immediately on adjournment, the members of the Conference assembled in a prayer meeting led by E. H. J ONES in which the Holy Spirit was evidently present, and which proved a fitting close to the four days of prayer and deliberation of the Confel'ence of Baptist Missional'ies in Japan.

C. H. D. FISHER. S. W- HAMBLEN.

PreRident. Secretary.

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OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES OF THE

UNION CONFERENCE OF BAPTIST

MISSIONARIES IN JAPAN.

SEPTEMBER, iJRD 1891.

President ................... C. H. D. FISHER. Vice President ............ J. A. BRUNSON. Secretary .................. S. VvT HAMBLEN.

Committee of Arrange-~eJ. AH·BD·uFNISHER. t .. . R SON.

men s .................. S W H M • A BLEN.

e 'tt PhI' lJ· A. BRUNSON. O~ill.l ee on U lca- J. L. DEARING. tlon ..................... E H Jo ' . . NES.

IE. H. JONES.

B d f Ed't f F- G. HARRINGTON. oar o. lOrs o. G. W- TAFT. Karash~ Dane ........ jJ. A. BRUNSON.

\Miss L. MEAD.

The next Conference will meet in Yokohama at 9.30 A.M. Tuesday, April 5th, 1892.

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JAPAN BAPTIST MISSIONARIES.

NAME.

Bennett, Rev. Albert Arnold .. Bennett, Mrs. Albert Arnold .. Blunt, ¥iss Olive A. .. ......... . Brand, 'Rev. J. C ................. .. Brand, Mrs. J. C. (Nee) Sands Browne, Miss H. M .............. .. Brunson, Rev. J. A .......... (1) Brunson, Mrs.·J. A .......... (1) Carpenter, Mrs. C. H. • ..... (2) Church, Miss E. R ............... . Clagett, Miss A. M ............... . Converse, Miss C. A. ........... . Cummings, l\liss Louisa .... (2) Dearing, Rev. J. L .............. .. Dearing, Mrs. J. L .............. .. Fife, Miss N. E ..................... . Fisher, Rev. C. H. D ........... .. Fisher, Mrs. C. H. D ............ . Halsey, Rev. R. L .............. .. Halsey, Mrs. R. L. . ............ .. Hamblen, Rev. S. W ........... .. Hamblen, Mrs. S. W ............ . Harrington, Rev. C. K ........ .. Harrington, Mrs. C. K. .. ..... .. Harrington, Rev. }<'. G. .. ...... . Harrington, Mrs. F. G. .. ...... . Joncs, Rev. E. H .................. . Jones, Mrs. E. H ................ .. Kidder, Miss A. H. .. ............ . Mead, Miss L. .. ................ .. McCollun, Rev. J. W .......... (l) McCollun, Mrs. J. W .......... (l) Parsbley, Rev. W. B .......... (2) Parsbley, Mrs. W. B .......... (2) Phillips, ~Iiss L. A .............. .. Poate, Rev. T. P .................. . Poate, Mrs. T. P .................. . Rhees, Rev. H. H., D.D ...... . Rhees, Mrs. H. H. • ............ .. Rolman, Miss E. L ............... . 8harland, Mrs. E. . ........... (8) Shoemaker, Bev. T. E ......... . Shoemaker, Mrs. T. E ......... . Taft, Rev. G. W. .. .............. .. Thomson, Rev. R. A ........... . Thomson, Mrs. R. A. .......... .. Whitman, Miss M. A ............ . Wilson, Miss N. J .............. ..

SEPTEMBER 1891.

WHEN ,ApPT.

1879 1879 1890 1890 1875 1886 1889 1889

1888 1887 1889 1889 1889 1891 1887 1882 1882 1887 1887 1889 1890 1886 1886 1887 1887 1884 1884 1875 1890 1889 1889 1890 1890 1889 1879 1879 1878 1875 1885 1890 1889 1889 1889 1888 1888 1888 1889

ADDRESS.

Yokohama, 67B Bluff. (In U. S.) Newton Centre, Mass. Chofu, Yamaguchi Ken, 108 Innai. Tokyo, 42 Tsukiji. Tokyo, 42 Tsukiji. Chofu, Yamaguchi Ken, 108Innai. Kobe, 151 Hill. Kobe, 151 Hill. Nemuro, Hokkaido. Yokohama, 34 Bluff. Tokyo, 10 Fukuro machi, Surnsa l>ai. Yokohama, B4 Bluff. Nemuro, Hokkaido. Yokohama, 67A Bluff. Yokohama, 67A Bluff. (In U. 8.) Tokyo, BOB Tsukiji. Tokyo, BOB Tsukiji. Shimonoseki. Shimonoseki. Sendai, B Nakajima cll0. Sendai, S Nakajima cho. Yokohama, 252 Bluff. Yokohama, 252 Bluff. Yokohama, 72 Bluff. Yokohama, 72 Bluff. Scndai, 3 Nakajima cho. Sendai, 3 Nakajima cho. Toltyo, 10 Fukuro machi, Suruga Dai. 8endai, 89 Kita Ni Bancho. Kobe, 151 Hill. Kobe, 151 Hill. Ncmuro, Hokkaido. Nemuro, Hokkaido. Tokyo, 120 Tanimllchi Ichigaya, Ulihigome· Tokyo, 20 Tsukiji. (ku. Tokyo, 20 Tsukiji. Kobe, 5 Hill. Kobe, 5 Hill. (In U. S.) Chofn, Yamaguchi Ken, 108 Inuai. ChoIn, Yamaguchi Ken, 108 Innai. Chofu, Yamaguchi Ken, 108 Innai. Tokyo, BOA Tsukiji. Kobe, B7 Hill. Kobe, 87 Hill. Tokyo, 10 FukUl'O machi, Suruga Dai. Yokohama, 84 Bluff.

Note :-(1) Southern Baptist Oonvention. (2) Independent Mission; supported by Mrs. Carpenter. (8) Independent Missionary:

Information as to errors and omissions in' the abovo table will be weloomed b y the chairman of the Publication Oonuuittee.

[Please publ£slz]

APPEAL FOR MORE M EN FOR JAPAN. *

To THE BAPTISTS OF AMERICA:

The l\1:issionaries of the American Baptist Missionary Union, voted, at their last Conference, to reiterate their appeal for TWENTy-THREE l\1:EN FOR JAPAN. In thus addressing you again, Brethren, we desire to call your attention to facts herewith subluitted, and gleaned frOlu a Statistical Report, publiRhed by the Iluperial Government, at the beginning of the present year.

Japan has now a popnlation of 111 ore than forty Inillions, increasing at the rate of half a million a year. This increase is over four hundred times as great as the incl'ease given in l\1:issionary Reports, for 1890, for all our Protestant churches in this country. Japan has more than sixty-three thousand Shintoo preachers, and more thap fifty-two thousand Buddhist preachers, besides neal'ly forty thousand other Buddhist priests. There are ovel' sixty-five thousand heads-of­temples for the two religions, while the tenlples themselves number two hundred and sixty-five thou­sand. In the above numbel', are not included the fmuale heads-of-temples, who, though comparatively so few as to scarcely need mention, yet outnumber, by nearly a hundred, all p~otestant missionaries in Japan, of both sexes, and of all denominations. In addition to this, there are now over fourteen thousand theo­logical students in the Buddhist and Shintoo theological schools,-forty tinles as many as in all the Protestant theological schools here, combined. It is a note-

*Pl'(\17lh:ed by direction of Tile Conference of Bal}tist missionaries, Of the A, B. 111. U. convened ill Kobe Decembel' 1890, and appl'oYcd by th~ s!tme Conference, COllyelled in Yokohama, Selltembel' 1891.

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worthy fact that the increase of only those Shintoo priests who bear the name of " preachers," during the period frOID 1884 to 1888, was more than the present nominal membership of all Protestant churches here, including, so far as are reported, the infant members of Pedo-baptist churches. What is here affirmed of Shintooism, is also essentially true of Buddhism.

There are other facts which argue the necessity of enlarged n1ission work. Scepticism and agnosticism are spreading, Unitarianism and Universalism are affecting many who are willing to receive a gospel, if it be not "the preaching of the cross," and many evils incident to the transition states of nations, are now growing rankly.

We know that God, and God only, is equal to the emergency, and with Him we plead first of all. Since, however, in Buch a work as this, He uses human instrumentality for carrying out the divine plans, is He not rolling on Ollr denomination a vast responsibility .in this matter? So it seems to us; and we therefore again urge you, brethren, to reinforce the sixteen meH now enrolled as your missionaries in Japan, by the twenty-three men asked for last year. Does the number seem large? Our total would still be only one Baptist male nlissionary to more than one thousand three hundred Buddhist preachers, and lllore than one thousand six hundred Shintoo, or one Baptist male missionary for more than a million of the inhabitants of this country!

On behalf of tbefALBERT ARN01~D BENNETT,

C £ .: So 'V-HAMBLEN, onlerence (T. E. SHOEMAKER.

SPECIFIC APPEAL FOR NORTHERN JAPAN.

To THE BAPTISTS OF AMERICA:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

N orthern Japan has a population of at least 6,000,000, scattered over 61,500 llliles of territory. All shades of belief and unbelief are establishing themselves among the people. The religions of the fathers and the intense national feeling aTe aTrayed against the Gospel of Christ and the messengeTs who herald it. The vicious influence of so-called "libeTal" Christ­ianity is increasing. The questions of doctrine which were settled long ago in other parts of the wOTld are bUTning questions in Japan. Upon us, as Baptists, it especially devolves to pTeach the Word, to Illake disciples and teach them to obseTve all things that haye been cODHllanded. In N orthel'n Japan your mission­aries are located in three centers, N emuro, Morioka and Sendai, and the work in these centers is well established. But our numbers are slllall-four l11en with theiT wives, and four single women, one Baptist worker to 500,000 people-far too sluall to prosecute this \voTk as it should be done. We need additional help. Hakodate, the pod of Yezo, should be occupied, that frolll it as a center Baptist influence may penetTate to the remote towns and villages of that ]aTge island. But we aTe not asking for men to open new work at this time. It is to pTeserve and prosecute the wOTk we ah-eady have,-a work that is destined to grow-that men are asked. Hachinohei is without workers, and the time is approaching when according to the experiellce of Illission fields, two of our number will be seekillg ·needed rest. To this end we reiterate our appeal of last year that three men be sent to this part of the Master's vineyard, that His work here may not suffet. They should be sent at

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once that they lllay make preparation for the respon­sibilities that await them. While asking for these men we cannot forbear earnestly requesting that your prayers may ascend to the rrhrone of God that the Holy Spirit may be ours, preparing missionary and believer for the' work that is theirs and going before them and l11akiug ready the ground for the seed they sow. \Vithout Ifim, our work cannot prosper. \V'ith Him, souls will be '\Yon to Christ, and God's name glorified in this land. Above all else do we need and desire the Holy Hpirit.

S. VI H4-lVIBLEN, Sendai. Committee.

SPECIFIC APPEAL FOR CENTRAL JAPAN.

The district which, for cOllvenience, is here tenned Central Japan, cOlllprises about one-third of the population of the enlph·e. In this district are located Tokyo,-the capital of the country, and the principal rail-road center,-Yokohama,-the principal port of the llation,-and also a large number of other important cities, as well as of towns and villages. In this district, our mjssion-work was begun; our parent Chul'ches were founded; our principal schools for theologic,al students, bible-wonlen, and others were planted; and most of our translation and publication work has been executed. Our mission force for this district, including those now in the home-Ianel, consists of seven men and thirteen WOlllen, counting the missionaries' wives. They reside in the two cities above nalned, in which, or froll1 which, they can reach the centers of all the work they have thus far been able to do, and o.f much more work, were they able to undertake it. l\{ost of our 111issionary operatjons, at ,present, are within the foul' divisions of 1.10kyo, Kanagawa, Iba,raki, and Tochigi, which aggregate a

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population of about three lnillion, seven hundred aIld fifty thousand. \Vc have some stations a little beyond the boundary lines of these divisions, and one quite rellloved, but so much of these four is not touched by us tha.t the above estilllate of the population of the parts reached is a large one. Of this population, even, we come into direct contact with but few. The l'eJllaining divisions, containing, in round numbers, ten millions of people, though not wholly unvisited, may still pra~tically be said to await t.he thrusting in of our sickle.

To accomplish \vhat we want, our first and greatest need is, we realize, such an outpouring of the Holy Gnost as shall give to all the spiritual teachers, wisdOlU, l)ower, and holy zeal; and shall give to all the taught, receptive, retentive and responsive hearts; but of this need we have already spoken to you in our Appeal for Prayer. Now ,ye ask for a reinfol'cenlent of nlen, repeating last year's request for ten. The reasonableness of this request will appear on considera­tion of the following facts :-

FIRsT.-Our working force is not adequate to the work that they have been att81upting, yet their number, snlall as it is, 111ust soon be thinned by the departure of SOlue for t81uporary rest.

SECO::-:fD.-Our former responsibility has been in­creased this year by the transfer to us of the work hitherto carried on by the English Baptist Mjssion, without our receiving intended missionary reinforce-ment for that work. .

THIRD.-W e lllust do something for the ten 111illions of people not now carod for by us. It would be unrea­sonable to expect that work deserving the nal11e, could be carried on al110ng thmn without at least as lllany additional workers as are here requested. ,Ye nlust not leave them unevangelized. Other denOlllinations will of course do s0111ething, as they now are doing, but we have responsibilities that we may not shirk. 'Ve may indeed pray for them, and hope that some of them will yet call on the name of the Lord, but we

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nlUSL rememher that the apostle asks us, " How then shall they call on Him ill whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in I-lim of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent ?""

Respectfully Submitted, ALBERT ARNOLD BENNETT, Yokohama.

CO'lnm~ittee.

SPECIFIC APPEAL FOR SOUTH-WESTERN JAPAN.

vVe refer you first of all to last year's appeal. Our luission force in each division is too small but in South­western Japan, which comprises all the country sout.h west of a line drawn from sea to sea at Nagoya, it is stTangely small. Please compare.

Northern Japan.-Population, 6,342,814, Baptist workers,-male, 4; wives, 4: single ladies, 4; total, 12.

Central Japan.-Pop., 13,500,000, Bap. workers,­male, 7; wives, 5; single ladies, 8; total, 20.

South-western Japan. - Pop., ~1,220JOOOJ Bap. workers,-male, 5; wives, 4; single ladies, 3; total, 12 (We have not counted the Southern Baptist Mission, two men with their wives.)

Our field with as few A. B. M. U. Miss. as either has a larger population than both the other sections.

On this division last year there were all told 86 ordained missionaries. This year there are about 93 a gain for other missions of about 7, i. e., almost twice our number of ordained men. With our 12 workers also call1pare for. the same region, the Ameri­CcLll Bmu'c1,74, workers; The Meth. Ep. South, 27, North, 24; the combined Pres. Miss. (North, South, and CUluberland), 55; The C. M. S., 48. The other societies have thought this great division worthy of these large forces and are still strengthening. But as last year's table shows, they are much engaged in

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schoo} work, and thorough wide -spread evangelization has scarcely begun. Yet everywhere he goes large audiences meet the evangelist and for his work there is glorious opportunity Those who first reach the people in this way will win the day and herein there is great hope for the Baptists if they will promptly act. Delay means defeat, Knowing these things we most urgently repeat last year's appeal for ten men for this section.

In that call seven centers were nallled for these nlen one of which is now occupied. \Ve present the following statistics as to each of these places and some of the cities near by asking you to remember three things.

1. ,\Ve have by no llleans nanled all the large towns that can be worked from these centers.

2. Every town named, and many others, can be made smaller centers for native evangelists to work in and around. Many towns and large populations are near each one.

3. The Fu and Ken populations represent only part of the people in l'each of the Inissionary (ana his helpers) at each center.

,Ve asked two men for ](yoto, 250,000. (Kyoto Fn, 875,080). Near by on Otsu, 23,000; Kalneoko, 4,500; Fusbimi, 20,000; Kusatsu, 4,000; N agahama, 8,500; Hachiman, 6,500;

Two 'men for Hi'l'oshima, 80,000. (Hiroshima Ken 1,289,109). Iwakuni, 8,000; Yanaizu, 4,400; Ono­Inichi, 17,000 ; Kure, 11,000. (Railroad soon.)

One man for Tokushima, 57,000. (Tokushima Ken, 676,174). Otera, 2,500; l\luya, 17,000; Takamatsu, 37,500; Tadotsu, 6,000. Near by on the large island of Awaji is Fukura, 5,500 ; Sunloto, 9,000.

One 1nan f0r *Yanwgu,chi, 11,500. (Yalllagucbi Ken, 914,083). *Hagi, 20,000 ; Tsuwano, 6,000; *Tokuyama, 11,500; * Ogori , 2,000; Mitajil'i~ 6,000; *l\iiyaichi, 3,000. (Railroad soon.)

* We fire 110W working in these plnc('s.

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One man for Tottori, 28,000. (Tottori Ken, 394,333). I{urayoshi, 7,000; Yonaga, 11,500; Toyo-oka, 6,000.

T'loO menfor Nagoya, 131,500. (Aichi Ken, 1,444,011). Gifu, 23,000; Okaz-aki, 12,500; Ichi-no-miya, 9,500; Atsuta, 10,000; Yokkaicbi, 12,000; (Railroads.) This place ought to be the center for several men.

One rna'l~for Osaka, 430,000. (Osaka Fu, 1.203,000), Sakai, 40,000; N ara, 22,500; Kokubu, 2,000; t;akurai, 2,000, (Railroads).

It is evident that we need more than ten men, although we now ask only that number, for each of these places deserves at least two luen and there still remain Oita, 14,000; Matsuyama, 29,000, and other places where Baptist workers should live to n1ake our chain complete. 'Ve need also lady missionaries for women's work. Yet the above stations are so located as to bring almost all this region under our influence. Thus our two fold work can be done. We can preach Christ far and wide and lead luany to hin1 everywhere. ,Ve can also honeycomb the country with the truth as to the ol'dinances on which subject, of conrsE', without us the people are as a rule left in ignorance. Yet they incline toward immersion, and infant sprinkling is very unpopular, so that if We do our duty Bible truth on these matters will win the day in J apall, the gospel building will be greatly strengthened, and Christ will be glorified.

Brethren, shall Christ ask you in vain for ten l11e11 to coine for these two great purposes to 21,000,000 people? 'Vill you not send the men as speedily as possible?

T. E. SHOElVIAKER, Chofu,

Oommittee.

AN EXALTED APOSTLESHIP •

By JNO. A. BRUNSON, KOBE.

(Read before the United Baptist Conference of japan, September 3, 1891, and published by a unanimous vote of the Conference.)

!n Romans II:I3, Paul says: cc Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry." It seems from the connection that Paul wrote these words in order to arrest any slight misapprehension or discontent that might arise among the Gentile Christians, to whom he was writing, by reason of the great prominence accorded to the Jews in his letter: He was writing to the Roman or Gentile Christians, yet he frequently mentioned the Jews, and even entered into a moderately full discussion of their mournful condition. In the midst of this discussion he stopped to remind the Gentiles that he had not forgotten that he was their apostle, but on the contrary that he held his apostle-ship in great honour, and then proceeded to explain that the receiving of the Jews would benefit the world, and thereby advance his own pecu­liar worle among the Gentiles. But the fact that I really wish LO emphasize here, is the great importance which Paul himself attached to his own worle, and the high degree of satisfaction which he enjoyed while engaging therein. "I glorify my ministry," says he. That is, he esteemed his worle to be of first importance, held it in high honour, and regarded himself as one highly favoured of the Lord in that he was chosen for iust such an occupation. Herein lies one of the chief elements of Paul's success. Of course he was a man of great natural ability and splendid attainments. He possessed a wonderful insight into things spiritual, often pene­trating beneath the surface of accepted opinions and disclosing important tmths in their real and true relations. He was gifted in the use of tongue and pen, combining accuracy and freedom from excess with impassioned earnestness and fiery logic. And withal, his high sense of hOllour alld self-respect, his unwavedng devotion to the cause of righteousness i and his sympathetic rega .. d

for his fellow.men, coupled with a wealth of common sense, gave him a commanding influence, and fitted him for the work of orga· nizing and directing. But all these qualifications, necessary as they are, would have been inadequate for the highest success, without that calm assurance and sustaining satisfaction which arose from a proper appreciation of the importance of his work, and abiding sense of his divine appointment thereto. For no man, however well qualified, can attain to the highest success in any undertaking however noble, unless he himself is fully convinced that the work is important and necessary, and lies within lhe sphere of his own personal endeavour. Zeal and perseverance, the hand-maidens of success, are begotten and nurtured by a lively, .enduring hope, and such hope is sllstained by a settled conviction and fixed purpose. Now let us note some of the results of that strong persuasion of Paul which led him to magnify and extol his ministry. (I) It insured steadiness of pursuit, unfaltering per· severance, a n sh-etching forward JJ to the things which were before, a pressing on "toward the goal." Paul was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Gospel, which is the spirit of Christ. He believed with all the ardour of his fervent soul that the Gospel of Christ was the power of God unto salvation to everyone that be­lieved, and was immovable in his cOllviction that "the foolishness of preaching" was the God-appointed way for the propagation of Gospel truth. Hence Paul was a Gospel preacher. He preached the Gospel not because he chose preaching as his profession, not because it was a lucrative employment which temptingly held out the hope of gain as an inducement, for he supported himself, in part at least, while he preached by making tents; not because it afforded him ample scope for the exercise of his great powers, thereby gratifying his ambition, for in his day the Gospel road led neither to worldly glory nor fame; not because it offered him a position of ease and comfort, for that was before the Gospel mini. stry was clad in soft robes and silver slippers; but he preached because God demanded it of him. U Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel," he exclaimed. And when with his quick discern­in~ eye and marvelous spiritual illsight, sharpened by a constant, living contact with the Holy Spirit, he perceived the moral stupor and lethargy into which his feUow-men had sllnl(ell, he preached to them the awful consequences of their condition and the way of escape therefrom through faith in the crucified Christ, with an energy and zeal which knew no restraint within the confines of wisdom and discretion. And as he engaged in his work and perceived its unrivalled importance, and realized that the eternal destinies of immortal souls depended upon his presentation of the Gospel, he almost trembles with a keen sense of the awful respon­sibility. Is it any wonder that he preaches with such untiring energy and unremitting zeal? Is it a source of surprise that he held his work ill high esteem? Nay, verily, it is 1I0t; for he who realizes the responsibility of being God's mouLh-piece, commis·

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sioned to declare the words of eternal life to a guilty and con­demned world, can scarcely be indifferent or negligent. (2.) The high estimate which Paul placed upon his work was conducive to a spirit of noble self-sacrifice. His great aim was to carry the gospel to those who were ignorant of its existence, hoping thereby to be made an instrument of salvation. In endeavouring to ex­ecute this high and holy purpose he was not deterred from endur­ing hardships or making sacrifice by a consideration of his rights as an individual. Such rights he clearly possessed, but frequently he refused to press his claims. For example, in the 9th chapter of I Cor. he plainly sets forth the preacher's legitimate claim upon his people for material support, declaring that" the Lord ordained that they which proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel." "Nevertheless," he added, "we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hinderance to the gospel of Christ." He was willing to deny himself any pleasure or comfort, if by such denial he could advance the interests of his work. In­dividual preferences were waived, and he was illfIuenced by the consideration of advantage or disadvantage to the cause. No comfort, however innocent, which impaired his usefulness or in any way detracted from his influence, was retained and defended on the ground of personal right, but was immediately foregone. He sank himself in his work, and yet by so doing stamped his indivi­duality thereon. He became all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. And he was not only willing to forego many comforts that he could have legitimately claimed, but he patiently suffered affliction and persecution, all for the sake of the gospel. He was beaten, imprisoned, and, worse than' all, basely calumniated by members of his own race. Knowing Paul's sym­pathetic nature, his ardent patriotic love and his enthusiastic regard for the Jews, I have thought that one of the bitterest experiences of his life was when falsely accused by his own people, hiskins­men after the flesh, before Gentile Courts, and especially when Ananias, the jewist high priest, employed Tertullus, a Gentile lawyer, to accuse him before Felix, a Roman Governor. What feelings of fierce indignation, tender pity, and loving forbearance must have mingled ill his bosom! (3.) A calm and constant reliance upon God was another important though indirect result of Paul's high estimate of his work. Holding his ministry in great esteem, alld realizing that the highest powers of foresight and wisdom were needed for its successful accomplishment, he was forced to seek guidance from the Father of wisdom. This is true of all gospel preachers. These is no class of labourers in the world who are forced to rely more implicitly upon God than gospel preachers •. A moment's consideration will make this plain. What is the preacher's aim? In asking this question I am not referring to the pulpit orator who perhaps seeks applause, but I refer to the preacher, the God-called preacher •. Undoubtedly his aim is the conversion of souls ,through the preaching of the gospel. Then,

since he himself has no power of con,verting, he is forced to seek such power from else.where; and since Godalaue. has that power, his dependence upon God becomes simple and. direct. The man who sets himself up as a gospel preacher, and who is not made to feel his dependence upon God for success. either has a false aim or is mistaken in his calling. God sustains those whom he calls and causes them to regard him' as the source of their strength. Paul was: preeminently a gospel: preacher. His theme was Christ cruci6ed, his aim the salvation of souls. Sometimes penniless perhaps, frequently alone, practically ostracised from the more influential classes of his race, he went forth into an indifferent and unsympathetic world, a world steeped in iniquity and sun­leen in depravity, to preach a new and untried religion whose founder had but late),y hanged upon the accursed tree as a common criminal. What a task! Brethren, think. He had. no inspiring record of eighteen centuries of splendid achievement, such as you and I have, with w\.lich to silence objectors; no account of signal victories won in the name of Christ, such as the islands of the Pacific; no list of martyrs whose faith was trium­phant even amid the consuming flames. No, none of these witnesses were his. In Asia Minor and Eastern Europe he stood almost alone,. a great tower of strength, a firm and immovable lighthouse amid the deep darkness of depravity and the destructive breakers of in.iquity. For such a work, at such a time, what powers of endurance, what courage, what energy, what wisdom were needed! And yet how. grandly successful was he! One might well ask, Whence came his:help.P Let Paul answer, "My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demon­strationof the Spirit and of power." He trusted not in himself, but relied upon God a.,d thence came his help.

Now then. from the above remark<3 we perceiv.e that Paul" glod­fiedhis ministry," that-is; held it in high esteem, and as a natural result he was steadfast and immovable in purpose, ready and willing-to forego any comfort or endure any hardship, and was kept in constant and humble dependence upon God. Now let us pause for a moment and make a few practical observations. We are all missionaries. Who isa missionary:? One sent 011 a-mjs­sion. What is the nature of the mission? The propagation of thegospet 'of Jesus Christ. Who is the sender 1 God. Then,

. brother, what estimate do you place uponyout' worlc P Paul was a missionary. sent by the same God who sent you, and on a mis.­sion very similar to yours, viz., the preaching of the gospel. As we have seen, he consi.dered his work to be of prime importance, from which under any considemtioll he could not turn aside. No, I do not believe that Paul would .have turned aside from preach. ing for the most exalted post of honour in tbe Roman Empire, nor even for a professorship in tbe highest selio.o! in the land~ Hence he lived. and died a preacher oj the gospel. Let each of us a5k himself Lhe question, "Did GoA. send me here to preach

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the gospel·?" If you can answer affirmatively, then are you pre­aching it? If not, why not? Let us dweUa. moment 011 the im­portance of preaching. Brethren, are we not in danger. of esteem­ing' the preaching of the gospel too lightly? In Ollr feverish im­patience are we not sometimes attracted by methods which give more flattering promise of speedy results? Fo.r example,.are we not spending too much lime, money and talent ill. the humdr.um work of schaolteaching ? I know that education is good, and it is fat' fram my purpase to. decry. it, .but I believe that salvation is better. Education is very desirable, but salvation is infinitely more sa. Our abject is the salvation af souls. God has not pro­mised to bless education in the salvatian af souls, but He has promised so to bless preaching. Educalion at best, placed in its mast favourable light; is anly an indirect method of salvatian fol­lowed by doubtful results; preaching is the direct. o.ur wark as missionaries of the cross is preeminently to proclaim the gospel pure and simple. God's work is to bless the preaching and save souls. If we neglect to preach, God will neglect to bless, souls will be lost, and ollr work a failure. Some give the best of their time to school-teaching, not Bible teaching. To such I can only say that, in my humble opinion, it will be poor consolation in eternity to reflectthat the mighty ocean was crossed in order to teach heathen boys and giris-Barlles' Readers. And whence comes the money that is expeo.ded in these schools? Is it contributed by the rich or the poor? In my cauntry the vast majority of the con­tributors to foreign missions are numbered among tbepoor and needy, who frequently deny themselves the comforts of life that they may give a penny to the Lord's work. These poor honest­hearted, worthy sons of toil, who carry empty purses but full hearts, often have children growing up about them in ignorance, simply because they are too poor to: educate them, Is it proper to solicit funds from these people who cannot educate their own children, for the education of Japallese. children? Each must answer the question for himseU~

Also, the straitened condition of our Boards at home deserves consideration. The inahility af-these Boards to meet the.filiancial demands O'f their work is an infallible illdication of an infraction of the laws by which such work is governed. The failure of any organized body to perform its. normal functions betokens that it has in some way violated the laws of its existence. As surely as suffering and distt:ess indicate sin, 50 surely does failure represent error. Then, the present embarrassment so generaUy.felt by mis­sionaries in active service, consequent upon depleted treasuries, is due to some defect somewhere. The question is, where is that defect? Some seek to find it in the indifference of Christians in the home land whose contributions are frequently dispr.oportioual to their means. Others perhaps may,ascribe it to indiscretion 011

the part of the Boards. I seek for the chief defect among· the missiQnaries themselves; .alldif m.y judgment is correct. it is found

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in the shape of a subtle materialism. We missionaries, I fear, are growing materialistic, and our materialism shows itseU both in the establishment of schools and in the free use of money. Per­haps the greatest enemy to missionary work is the English pound and the American dollar. We are growing too dependent on money. I sometimes think if some financial crisis should occur wh~ch would deprive missionaries of all money save enough for subsistence, it would mark the beginning of a spiritual revival such as the world has not witnessed since apostolic days. If the general tenor of one's conversation indicates the prevailing trend of his thoug,hls, sometimes the missionary's conversation seems to imply that he is more dependent upon his school and his "appro­priations II than upon the Holy Spirit. One does not feel the necessity of trusting God for food and clothing when in the midst of peace and plenty, neither does the strong and vigorous man think of calling upon God for health and physical prowess. So the missionary with his annual" appropriation II sufficient to meet all expenses is comfortable and easy, and is in danger of forget­ting God; and I fear that sometimes we are more cOllcerned about courting a favourable recognition from our Boards than we are to win the approval of our Master. Brethren, let us beware of materialism. Materialism leads to rationalism, rationalism to agnosticism, and agnosticism leads straight to hell. And in addi­tion to the materialistic and rationalistic dangers which threaten us~ there is the danger of creating unfavourable impressions among the Japanese. We missionaries are representatives of Christ On earth, and our worie is the advancement of his kingdom. The Japanese among whom we work know nothingabout Christ, and their opinion of his kingdom witl be formed by observing the estimate which we ourselves place thereon. If we unduly magnify the importance of material means such as schools and money, thus indicating' our dependence upon these, what impression will be made upon the Japanese P Those whose spiritual elevation we are seeking will mistake our mission, and will come to value our work by the educational and monetary advantages it offers. Christ's kingdom is spiritual, but we are in danger of creating the impression that it is material. Brethren, judging from your own experience, what opinion does the average professor in Japan hold respecting Christianity 1 Does he regard it as " the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth II and appreciate it as the means whereby he was made" an heir of God and joint heir with Christ/'or does he simply regard it as one of the many religions of the world worlhy to be embraced because of its re­munerative adjuncts 1 Cannot Isaiah's description of the princes of Jesusalem. be applied to native Christians with mournful frequency, n everyone loveth gifts and followeth after rewards" 1 These questions are pertinent because we missionaries are respon­sible fl)r the Christianity that -is the direct outgrowth of our teach­ing. conduct, and example. We,are creating .andfixing the t)!pe of

Chflistianity that -will prevail il' our midst. May God help us to realizethe responsibitity ofou:r position. We are judged by our work, and not only are we judged thereby but Christ and his Kingdom also. > If we lay the foundation in materialism and ra­tionalism, a materialistic and barren organization will be the result, and our enemies will hold us and our Christ in derision. But if in humble faith we lay it in Jesus Christ, cc the corner stone/' a living frui~ful, spiritual church, a very bulwark of defence against sin and Satan, will be the reward of our labour. Let us awake to the transcendent importance .of our work. The grandest truth that ever entered this sin-burdened world is Redemption. and the grandest work that ever engaged human powers is preaching this Redemption. Thank God for this privilege of preaching it. The wOl'k of politicians, statesmen, philanthropists, philosophers is il1significant~ ephemeral, the mere passing of a figure across the stage of life, when compared wilh the work of missionaries. We are building for all eternity. Civilization is the child of religion. Given the knowledge of a country's religion and its civilization

• can be easily determined. Egyptian civilization was the outgrowth of Egyptiall religion, Greek civilization of Greek religion, and so on. Much is said now in missionary circles about education and civilization preceding Christianity. Educate the heathen, remove their superstition and prejudice and prepare the way thus for Christianity, it is argued. But such an order of procedure is backwards. It is like attempting to build the superstructure first with the hope and intention of laying the foundation afterwards. Lay the foundation first by giving the people the only true religion, and the only true civilization will follow naturally. Empires, kingdoms, and republics will be erected upon the foundations that we missiona-ries are laying. \Vhen the work of such statesmen as Gladstone, Cleveland, Blaine, Bismarck, and their illustrious contemporaries shall have been forgotten, our work, if done in the name of Christ, will still be bearing fruit to God's glory. I repeat it, tke work of the world to-day is missionary work. No other work commanding the attention of man can be compared with it in magnitude and importance. In the gospel 'of Christ we are hold­ing the keys to the gates of heaven. By our diligence or by our negligence we swell the hallelujahs of heaven or the groans of hell. Brethren in the Lord, we are a sleeping giant. In God's name let us awake. 'Nhile we slumber and tarry, the Devil, with fiendish delight, leads a vigorous attack. Let us remember that the power of omnipotence is at our command, and we must succeed. Let us preach, preach the gospel, 110t teach school. Let us preach the whole trulh. Leaving theories alone, let us preach the sinfulness of sin. Preach that the wrath of God has been revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men. Preach eternal damna­tion to those who will not believe in Christ, eternal life and bliss to those who accept him. Strive to convince men that they are guilty

Sinners before God. No man, whatever his nationality, will ever

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accept Christ's offer of pardon without a previous convlcllon of guilt. So preach that the people will cry out U What shall we do P" Do not let us impress the people by our soft, gentle, and compro­mising methods, that they are conferring a favour upon God by listening to the missionary who in return, as God's agent, will bestow a tangible reward. But, on the contrary, let us so faithfully declare the truth, that they will feel that God has conferred an inestimable blessing upon them by sending them the gospel, and if they neglect it, they do so at their peril.

Again, are we as was Paul, willing to make greater sacrifices if necessary P Are we also willing to waive personal rights and forego bodily comforts for the sake of the work? We certainly have a right to all the legitimate comforts that are procurable, but if such comforts retard our work, are we willing to forego them? We are here For the salvation of souls. Shall we peacefully and serenely sit upon the mount of foreign comfort and convenience and beckon the people up to us, or shall we in the spirit of Christ descend to them, become as one of lhem, that we may elevate and save? The writer, Deo 'lJolente, hopes to quit the open ports soon and move into. the interior, and just how much "foreign style" to retain is becoming a vexed question. The heathen point of view is so very different from ours. From a western point of view we might be living the simplest life, practicing the most rigid economy and sternest self.denial, while in the eyes of the Orientals we might be living in expensive luxury. And since we are here to reach these Orientals through the gospel of Christ, can we be wholly indifferent to their opinions? Are we not bound to adapt ourselves as far as practicable to their mode of life? Our aim should be so to live as to attract to ourselves as foreigners the mini­mum amount of attention, and seek to fix their gaze upon Christ. We are mediums for the transmission of the gospel, and the most perfect medium is that which concentrates upon itself l.le least amount of attention. We should strive to malce the medium as transparent as possible. And to this end we should endeavour to live above the unfavourable criticisms even of the lowliest. I am persuaded that if Paul were a missionary in Japan he would live as nearly like the natives as possible, for his molto was: "I am become all things to all men that I may by all means save some." I am constrained to believe that Paul's Master, Jesus Christ, would do likewise, for He "being in the form of God counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself becom­ing obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross." The question for IlS is, what course shall we pursue?

In conclusion let me say that our teaching, our manner of life, the diligence we display, the example we set, will be more or less determined by the estimate we place upon our work. Brother, what think you of yoUt' ministry?