Morning Calm v.13 no.93(1902 Aug.)

THE MORNING CALM. No. 93, VOL. XIII.] AUGUST 1902. [PRICE 3d.

The Bishop's Letters.I.

KANG HOA: March, 1902. DEAR FRIENDS,

On my return from the consecration of the Bishop of Hankow I started for Kang Hoa, where I had determined to spend Passiontide and Easter. I went up the river on a lovely day which seemed to contain the promise of spring, a promise Which on the next day yielded to a stiff gale with rain and Snow. My first halt was at On Syou Tong, the station on the South of the island where last autumn I left Mr. Hillary in charge of a growing number of catechumens and enquirers, with Mr. Laws fully employed in his Dispensary, and Mark Kim, the native catechist, who occupies a house about four miles away to the west. My visit to this station has given me great encouragement. The number of enquirers has largely in-creased, people coming regularly from distant parts to receive instruction. The catechumens, too, are remaining faithful, only two having proved unsatisfactory. Palm Sunday was a very busy day and gave me an opportunity of observing Mr. Hillary's work on an ordinary Sunday in winter--that is to say, before the absorbing labour of spring farming has begun. Mark came over on the Saturday, when we four-the only Christians—had Corean Evensong together. On the Sunday Corean Mattins was said at 7, and then the catechumens were amitted for the Litany and the first part of the Communion Office. There were more than twenty of us present, and the responses were made as by people who understood what they were saying. I celebrated, Mr. Hillary assisting me and reading the Epistle and Gospel. Then followed a sermon by Mr. Hillary, to which I could see all listened with attention. This observation may seem to be superfluous. But when I last heard Mr. Hillary preach he kept closely to his manuscript. He has now obtained greater freedom, and from his many talks with his people has learnt to dispense with paper, speaking with an ease and freedom which I could see was appreciated by his congregation. The sermon over, the catechumens were dismissed, and the long service was concluded with the congregation of the original three. It was now 10 o'clock, and when we left the church room we found the enquirers already assembling. They foregather in the Sarang or waiting-room attached to the Mission-house, where they talk and smoke and generally while away that time which is so little of an object to Coreans until the hour of service arrives, which on this occasion was 2 o'clock. The church room was then re-arranged, not only for a different congregation, but for an altogether different kind of service. The portion of the Catechism which was to form the principal part of the day's instruction was "writ large” and pinned up to the beam, where every one could read it. The service began with a few prayers, followed by a hymn (we won't say anything about the quality of the music) which describes in verse the Gospel story of the Life and Passion. Then followed the Catechism and the catechising upon the Catechism. After this a chapter from the New Testament was read and expounded, and then all of them recited together the Ten Commandments. The ordinary catechumen's prayers for the evening and another hymn brought this service to an end. A Sunday-school for boys followed. It seems that some of the neighbours, whilst not keen on learning “the doctrine" them-selves, encourage their boys to learn it. Judging from the way in which some dozen boys hung about the premises most of the day they do not need much encouragement. Mr. Hillary tells me they are very regular, and for them he has established this afternoon school. On this particular Sunday he had, moreover, to give a special instruction to some of the enquirers who were to be admitted to the catechumenate on Easter Day. Thus it was not until nearly 5 o'clock that his labours were over and the Mission compound resounded with the cry “Who goes home?” Altogether there must have been some forty who on Palm Sunday came to this solitary house in the middle of the country, from distances varying from a few yards to four miles, in order to be instructed in the eternal truths. There is no talk yet of baptisms, which will seem strange to those of you who do not know the Corean character. Of course all these people would consent to be baptized at once if we asked them. But why? There would be almost as many answers to this question as there are people to answer it. And the reasons for their consent would be almost as various.   Therefore we do not ask them, but wait until we see signs of earnestness in them which cannot be mistaken. But I must not fill up what promises to be a long letter with a disquisition on the characteristics of the Corean peasant, who, whether he be ignorant or educated, lives in the atmosphere which has been formed around him for centuries, and which, in this remote spot at least, has not been affected by any European influences. Let me add a few lines about the thoroughly satisfactory work which Mr. Laws is doing here. On that Palm Sunday I had a good illustration of it. A very poor man was discharged cured who had crawled somehow to the Dispensary a month ago suffering from a painful complaint. It was impossible to cure him at once ; equally impossible to send him away, for he lives on a small island to the north of Kang Hoa, some forty miles distant. That he should have come here at all speaks some-thing for the reputation which Mr. Laws has established for himself since he has been here. There is no hospital, nor is there any accommodation for in-patients. But a Corean can make himself comfortable anywhere if only he is warm. And So he lay on the hot floor of the Dispensary waiting-room. And after a month's care and treatment he left, as I said, for his long trudge home, accompanied by his wife, who had followed him to the Dispensary, living in the neighbours' houses, and begging food for herself and her husband. This man has come and has gone without having been in the least attracted to the doctrine ; so that in spite of the complaisance of Coreans there are some, you see, who, even when they are receiving gratuitously a month's board and lodging, can take themselves off without making any sign. Mr. Laws does his good work on a very modest sum of money--ten pounds a year being all that he is allowed for medicines and the maintenance of his Dispensary. When he finds the number of his Dispensary Visitors declining he can attend to sick calls and visits patients in their homes, a process which sometimes involves a journey of over thirty miles.

On Monday in Holy Week I walked into the city. Through-out nearly the whole of the ten miles the pine trees were in many places stripped of portions of their bark, which the Prevailing distress has compelled the poor to use for food. I arrived in time to keep the Feast of the Annunciation. It was delightful to find myself once more in the church, with the buzz of voices round me, and the voices of the boys----so very much improved - singing the hymns and canticles. The Sisters seem to have taken the boys in hand, for they have become quite expert, and read off with great ease the tunes and hymns written on large sheets of paper and affixed to the chancel screen. Viewed from my throne at the east end of the church the group of heads, all intent on making out the music, exactly resembles the famous reliefs at Florence of the singing school.

In Kang Hoa city there are also signs of advance and growth. Single-handed for the last eight months Mr. Badcock has, nevertheless, got things thoroughly in order, and has presented some twenty adults for baptism and confirmation, Some of these are what I call " dropped stitches"—the mothers and wives of some of our adults who have been baptized for a long time. In God's Providence we owe this addition of the women to the presence and work of our Sisters, who, both in the city and in the south of the island, receive a hearty welcome wherever they go. Thus I hope that one of our great causes of anxiety will be removed, namely, the request of a man to be baptized without his wife or children. We are now able to make our catechumens understand that their baptism depends in a measure upon the baptism of their wives and children. One of our oldest and most respected Christians, who with his wife was to have been confirmed by me this Easter, died a few days before my arrival. Although not confirmed he was so desirous of receiving the Holy Sacrament that Mr. Badcock communicated him at his house, when he received with great devotion. Mr. Tyen is a benefactor to the Mission. He has not exactly " built us a synagogue.” but he has bequeathed to us a field which one day will perhaps help us to build one for ourselves. On the Wednesday in Holy Week he was buried in a plot of ground near his house, which he had bought for the purpose. We all walked out to assist at the funeral, three miles away. The boys sang the “De Profundis” before the service, and “The strife is o'er" after, Mr. Badcock reading the Office. All the noisy signs of professional and irre-verent mourning were absent. Amongst wholly heathen surround-ings it was a service as intelligible and edifying as if it had been in a Christian country. The widow, who was to be baptized on Easter Eve, the eldest son, already a catechumen, the other sons and daughter, either Christians or on the point of becoming so, all behaved with great reverence, joining in the prayers with the rest. Good Friday was a long and busy day. I arrived in church at 7 to find the Litany being said by a large and representative congregation which contained many catechumens. Then followed the ante-Communion Service, which, again, was followed at 8.30 by a long service for catechumens. At noon Mr. Badcock preached on the Seven Last Words to a congrega-tion of about forty Christians, who remained throughout the entire service. But, as usual, the service which created most interest was the service of solemn baptisms and confirmations on Easter Eve. In order that our people may obey the rubric and come to these holy rites fasting, the service is held early in the morning, thus enabling them to get to their homes by noon, which on a great fast-day like Easter Eve is the hour of our first meal. The day began with the ante-Communion Service to the end of the Gospel—which is a service for cate-chumens as well as for Christians. Then, the Bishop's chair having been placed in front of the altar, the service of baptism for those of riper years began, Mr. Badcock, vested in cope, being the officiant. Altogether twenty-one were confirmed and fourteen baptized, including a few infants. It is our custom to separate the act of baptism from the reception, the words for the latter being said once for all, the minister moving amongst the candidates and signing each one with the sign of the Cross. The interrogations before baptism, too, are said once for all. But each one gives his answer separately to the priest, who goes along the lines of people. And those who had been baptized before, but were now to be confirmed, joined in these answers, renewing their vows in the presence of the Bishop and conger-gation. Then all were brought up to the chancel screen and the "Veni Creator” was sung by the congregation. The con-firmation then followed in the usual way, with a hymn after the blessing-“There is a green hill”—for we were still in Passion-tide. This beautiful and well-arranged service lasted for two hours, during which I observed no signs of weariness or indevo-tion on the part of anyone, not even of the boys. Evensong found much the same congregation gathered together again, but with more Christians instead of the catechumens, for whom this service is not intended. After Evensong came the long service of preparation for the Easter Communion, to which on this occasion Mr. Badcock prefixed an exhortation on repentance. After returning to the Mission-house from this Service I found a crowd-which is now a daily occurrence-asking for relief. Generally the people come in the morning, Women, often with their children strapped on to their backs, Weeping and begging for food. These are all heathen and, I need not say, are relieved by Mr. Badcock, or by the Sisters, with a measure of rice or millet. From what I have seen of the distress, which must last until the barley is harvested (in May), I have come to the conclusion that some large portion of the Society's grant which is set apart as an Emergency Fund to be used at the discretion of the Bishop must be used to relieve this great pressure. We have careful almoners in Mr. Badcock and the Sisters, who seldom give away food without first consulting the churchwardens. They probably know better than we can whether the people who come really deserve relief or are mere “Gibeonites.” The services on Easter Day, so far as we may dare affirm, were all that we could wish. On the eve it poured with rain, but during the night a brisk wind drove it all away and dried up a good deal of the mud for our people who came from the country. By 7 o'clock we were all in church for Mattins and Litany. The Eucharist was ushered in with a procession round the church whilst we sang “O Sons and Daughters." I was the celebrant, and had the privilege of communicating forty-five, that is to say, all of our confirmed Christians except those who had been confirmed on the previous day, and a very few who, through illness or distance, were unable to be present. It was very delightful to see whole families at last meeting together at God's Board. The service was fully choral and everyone sang who could. Nor were we in the least tired, although it was after 10 when we left the church. Breakfast over, Mr. Badcock produced from some mysterious corner, a number of mechanical toys and puzzles, which kept the boys employed until nearly Evensong, which was said at 3 to enable those who had come from a distance to get back before dark. The illumination of the church with coloured lanterns hung from the eaves brought to an end a very happy day. Nor shall I spoil this letter by adding a single word on any other subject, but, asking you to return thanks to God for us, remain your affectionate, C. J. CORFE.

II.

FUSAN : April, 1902. DEAR FRIENDS,

On Easter Monday I left Kang-hoa and arrived in Seoul the same evening. This being the last day of the quarter I was in time to take in hand the Mission accounts, which occupied me to the end of the week. On Low Sunday there were baptisms and confirmations in Seoul. The service was held at the Advent and was as satisfactory as those in the previous week in Kang-hoa. During this month Father Drake has taken charge of the Corean services in Chemulpó, continuing to live, however, at Mapo. This has been a great help to me, since it has set me free to visit other Mission stations. Accordingly, shortly after Easter, I sent Mr. Steenbuch to Fusan, to prepare the Japanese Christians for their Easter Communion. A fortnight later I followed him, and spent the fourth and fifth Sundays after Easter in Fusan. On the first Sunday he baptized four children, and on the second presented a young man for confirmation. It was delightful to meet these Japanese Christians once more: they are so genuine and enthusiastic. And on the Japanese the future of Fusan seems more and more likely to depend. The small settlement in which they have been established for 250 years has long since had to be enlarged, and now the railway between Fusan and Seoul, which is at present in course of construction, threatens to make Fusan a very busy and important place. How curious it is that in all these busy schemes, Corea and the Coreans take no interest. They are simply thrust aside and make no protest. The Government gives the necessary permission; the Company employ numbers of Corean coolies, but they are hewers of wood and drawers of water. No one in Corea really cares for any of these things, and so Corea is gradually passing, quite legitimately and in accordance with treaties which her Government has made, into the hands of the energetic and patriotic Japanese. Hence you see the great importance of Fusan as a Mission centre for the work of the Nippon Sei Ko Kwai, or Catholic Church of Japan. All is going well with us, and I am, yours affectionately, C. J. CORFE.

III.

SEOUL: May, 1902. DEAR FRIENDS,

I returned to Chemulpó from Fusan at the beginning of the month, and through the delay of the steamer spent the first part of Ascension Day at sea, instead of arriving, as we ought to have done, on the day before. I was in time, however, for an interesting service in the afternoon, when I baptized and stood sponsor to the infant son of John Choi, who is one of our most respected Christians in Chemulpó. At Fusan I was joined by the Rev. G. H. Frodsham, Chaplain of the Bishop of Brisbane. Mr. Frodsham before returning to England is making a short tour of the Far East, for the purpose of making the acquaintance of the work of the S.P.G. in these parts. I had been expecting him, and was much gratified at his being able to include a visit to Corea in his arrangements. The visit was all too short for us. We rarely get a visit from an English clergyman, and still more rarely have the pleasure of entertaining one who, like Mr. Frodsham, is keenly interested in Mission work and full of sympathy with the venerable Society, During the eight days he spent with us I took him to see all that I could, going at once to On Syou Tong, where we cheered up Mr. Hillary, spending a Sunday with Mr. Badcock and the Christians in Kanghoa, and leaving on the Monday for Seoul, between which and Chemulpó the rest of his time was spent. He was pleased with all, but lost his heart to Kanghoa, with which he had no fault to find, except with an attempt to burn him alive on the night of his arrival in the city. With true Eastern hospitality the servant thought that so distinguished a guest must be well treated, and accordingly put an extra load of fuel into his kang fire, which made the floor of his room so hot that I am afraid he spent but a poor night. However, Mr. Frodsham is accustomed to "rough” it, and was not, on the whole, displeased with the exceeding warmth of his reception. He asked many questions, and told us much that was very interesting of the Church's work in Australia. I hope that when he reaches England he may have an opportunity of seeing some of our friends and telling them the latest news of us all. I was able to take him to all our Mission houses, and to give him an account of our doings. His visit was a refreshment to us all. Would that such visits were more frequent ! Would that the S.P.G. could send from time to time someone from head-quarters to come and stay with us a month-cheer us up, and then go to England and cheer you up!

The next event of interest was the ordination of the Rev. C. Steenbuch to the priesthood. This took place at St. Michael's, Chemulpó, on Trinity Sunday. I had intended that this ordination should be held in the large church at Kanghoa - where the people have never yet assisted at an ordination. A heavy cold, however, at the last moment prevented me from travelling so far in an open boat; so, by the doctor's advice, the service was held in Chemulpó. We had a small congregation, consisting mostly of English, though nearly all the Japanese Christians were present. Father Drake preached us a most excellent sermon on the priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek,” making a close connection between it and the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, noting the extraordinary and persistent antagonism which the world has ever shown to the idea of priesthood-an antagonism to which Christian priests contribute when they make the duties of the priesthood a substitute for the self-sacrifice which, after the example of our Blessed Lord, should specially characterise His ministers. There was much more in this remarkable and truly helpful sermon which I should like to transcribe, but dare not for fear of making my letter too long. We were all of us fortunate--and Mr. Steenbuch was more fortunate than all-in having these Gospel truths brought home to us so simply and so earnestly. After the ordination, Mr. Steenbuch was licensed to the Japanese work of the diocese and to the English work in Chemulpó.

As you are aware, Dr. Carden has for a long time been intending to leave Corea. He has written to tell me that he wishes to reach England before the winter, and so will take his departure early in September. Another departure is imminent. I have just heard that Nurse Unwin has taken a passage to England and leaves at the end of this month. I cannot understand why, for she has made no complaints to me, nor have I received any complaints from others about her work. Moreover, she declines to give me her reasons for leaving, without notice, more than a year before the expiration of her agreement with me. All missionaries are, no doubt, volunteers ; but whatever her reasons may be for leaving her post so suddenly and unexpectedly, I have had to tell her that she has acted wrongly in taking this precipitate action without com-municating with me. We hope to supply her place by September, but in the meantime the work of St. Matthew's Hospital will be crippled. All is well with us, and I am, Yours affectionately, C. J. CORFE.

The Church's Responsibility in the far East. WITH the object of directing the attention of the Church at home to the importance of the opportunity vouchsafed to the missionary cause in the Far East at the present juncture, the Associations in aid of the Church of England Missions in North China, Japan, and Corea held a combined meeting on Monday, May 5, in the Hoare Memorial Hall of the Church House. Lord Alverstone (the Lord Chief Justice) presided over a large attendance, and briefly opened the proceedings.

Mrs. Bishop, the first speaker, said that the Church of England did not present a good face in the Far East ; in North China, especially, it presented a very poor face, in spite of the earnest and zealous efforts of Bishop Scott and his small staff of missionaries. The Church of England had a curious way of sending out Bishops to foreign parts. A missionary Bishop was appointed, and a certain amount of enthusiasm might be raised on his first going out, such as was raised when Bishop Corfe went to Corea in 1890 ; but this enthusiasm lasted a very short time; something new excited public attention, and the Bishop was left to sink or swim as the case might be. That had been too much the case with all these missions in the Far East. There was the North China Mission undermanned and in need of funds, and the Bishop had the burden of collecting the money necessary for the support of his work; and the same was true of Bishop Corfe's work in Corea. There was no corporate action, no organised system taken by the Church at home to support this missionary work ; it had been haphazard from the beginning until the present time. The consequence was that the weakness and poverty of these missions were deplorable. On the other hand, the missions conducted by the Presbyterian bodies, with their strong staffs of missionaries, educational and medical, and their 20,000 converts, presented a striking contrast. For instance, in Shantung the Presbyterians had a large and well-equipped mission, with schools and all else connected with it, while Bishop Scott was struggling along with his scantily equipped staff. It was wonderful what both he and Bishop Corfe had done, with their few agents and scanty means. The same remark applied more or less to Japan, where the work was starved because of the lack of men and women. A door was open in the Far East to Christian Missions such as had never been known before, but if that door was to remain open, men and women must be found who were willing to pass through it and enter the country ; otherwise we should soon find this door closed in our faces. From what she had seen. of the converts in Western China she could say that the majority of them were a credit to any Church. They put Christian ideals and Christian teaching into practical action, they studied the Bible, were generous in giving, and were linked together by a strong feeling of brother-hood. Above all, they were inspired by a spirit of propagandism, which was the great hope for China. Every Chinaman who became a Christian desired in those Far Western regions to go forth and teach his own people the truths he himself had learned. It was impossible for China to be evangelized by European agents, especially when they were sent out in such limited numbers. It would be the great business of the future to establish a native ministry under the control and fostering care of our missionaries. At the present moment a opening presented itself in Japan, by reason of our alliance with that heathen country; but here, again, the labourers were all too few. The Anglican Church was so poorly represented that were it not for the American missionaries, and those of the Nonconformists, and also those of the C.M.S., there would be none to assist those natives who were inquiring into Christianity. She could not understand why the S.P.G. was not strong in Japan-in fact, why it was not strong anywhere, considering the hold that it had on the wealthy classes in England. It ought at least to be as strong as the C.M.S., if not stronger ; but such was not the case. The Japanese were not a religious people, but were intensely materialistic. The educated classes and young students had shaken off their old religion, and were in great danger of becoming agnostics. If Japan should become definitely Christian, there was no saying what her influence would be on the Far East, including China itself. It was time for the Church at home to call a halt, and to consider this matter of sending Bishops forth into heathen lands to sink or swim, as the case might be. We had been trying to assail the great religions of the East with sharpshooters, whereas a far greater organised effort was needed. A call was needed for a united system which should relieve the Bishops from the Sordid cares which weighed them down, and at the same time afford a far greater measure of support to their missions.

The Rev. M. N. Trollope, of the Mission to Corea, said that that meeting represented the zeal and earnestness of the Various Associations formed by the Bishops who had gone out to the Far East, but at the same time he should like to bear witness to the fact that these Missions had received most generous support from the S.P.G., without whose fostering care these Missions could never have been formed at all. Nor must the great work of the C.M.S in South China, Mid-China, and Japan be forgotten. It was the C.M.S. that had saved the face of the Church of England in these Far Eastern countries. Ecclesiastically, he had been brought up poles asunder from the C.M.S., but he had learned to look with a respect bordering on affection on the work and character of the men who were at Work in the Far East under that Society. There ought to be no reason why in those districts which were under the control of the S.P.G. the Church should not be as great a power as it was in those parts where the C.M.S. was working. With regard to the need of men for the ministry, those at work in the mission field were aware of the fact years ago, but so long as the Church at home did not feel the pinch, no heed was paid to the cry of the missionaries ; but now that the home Church was beginning to cry out, perhaps something would be done to secure more recruits for the ministry of the Church, whether at home or abroad. With reference to the broad question before the meeting, he would say that there was no great corporate conscience on the part of England towards these great pagan countries of the East. It had been said that Cecil Rhodes used to speak in Continents. The English Church must also learn to think in Continents. We were too apt to think that Europe and, especially, England were very important places, but as a matter of fact, and looking solely at the future, the only two important parts of the world were, first, those vast half-occupied regions in America, Australia, and South Africa which we were gradually filling up with emigrants, and, secondly, those vast countries of Asia, with their teeming millions of population. These were the two portions of the earth's surface which were destined to have a great future. Was it true that the Church of England was in earnest about this task of bringing the knowledge of the Gospel to these peoples ? Although it might have a glimmering of conscience about Africa, he doubted whether it could be said to have a glimmering of a corporate conscience on the subject of the Far East. We had allowed others to carry the light of the Gospel to these people. We had allowed others to be the first in the field ; here, as every-where else, the Church of England was the last to appear on the scene, and when it did at last send out missionaries, it sent them so miserably equipped that there was no comparing them with the missions of other religious bodies. When he looked at the work which our Bishops in the Far East were trying to do with the scanty means at their command, he felt that the only thing for them to do was to have a few small bodies of picked men, true sons of the Church of England, who would act as a leaven, and a most useful leaven, in the future Christianizing of these countries. The Church of England had before it a great and serious task, and it might fairly be asked clearly to make up its mind as to the course which it intended to pursue in the conversion of these heathen people.

The Rev. Roland Allen, of the North China Mission, also addressed the meeting, his subject being on Native Ministry.   Everyone, he said, was agreed that the only way in which China could be converted was through a native ministry. As a matter of fact, he did not look with any great hope upon appeals to the English Church to send out any large number of men. This kind of work would always be done by a few individuals who, here and there, heard the call and volunteered for this work. The day was not come when it was practical to talk of the home Church sending out bodies of men. The Church did send out these Bishops, each of whom found a certain number of men to go out with him. That was all that could be done at present; and the work must be done by the natives themselves. With a view to that end, the best of the native converts must be trained and educated for ordination. That was all very obvious, but, as a matter of fact, in North China the Anglican Church did not possess a single native deacon or priest. What was the cause of this ? He went out to China to attempt to found, on behalf of Bishop Scott, a clergy school, and he had therefore made the native ministry his special study, and a certain number of native catechists had been educated in that school, it was true; but he was persuaded that little or nothing would be accomplished in this direction until they began to revise their ideas concerning the position of the native helpers. If they were to use the Chinese converts, they must learn how to select the men, and he believed that the best way of doing that was to let the Chinese select the men for themselves. Furthermore, with regard to the method of training, he thought that the commonly adopted method of bringing scholars out of the schools up to a central institution was a mistaken one. His own idea was to have a Bishop and one or two priests in every province, who, instead of having a building in some central spot, should move together from place to place, and, in fact, be a travelling clergy school. Again, the native candidate for the ministry should be taught nothing which would tend to sever him from his own people, as was, he was afraid, too much the case with Chinese educated in foreign institutions; they found themselves separated by their Western education from their own people, whereas, in fact, they ought to be in the closest touch with them.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he thought it strange that so little interest should be taken by Churchmen in mission Work. England ought to be roused to something like a deeper and stronger sense of what its duties were towards foreign missions, What right had we to have such a great Empire if we did not use the opportunity the possession of it gave us for making the Gospel known to all men ? Would that he knew how to rouse the whole English Church to a sense of their duty in this respect! Somehow or other, the Church as a body would not be roused. There were many men wanted, there was much to do, and he deplored that there were so few men to do it.

The Chairman, in bringing the proceedings to a close, said the contributions to missions were not in proportion to the increased wealth of the country. He doubted whether contri-butions were made in anything like the same percentage as was the case some years ago, when wealth was less, and when people were satisfied with fewer luxuries than at the present time. In conclusion, he read a letter from Bishop Wilkinson, of North and Central Europe, offering £100, if ninety-nine others would give the same before the end of the year, to found a second Bishopric in North China.—Church Times.

Association of Prayer and work for Corea.

THE General Secretary finds it necessary to begin this notice with an apology to the Secretaries of Oxfordshire and Wor-cestershire, as she believes it is an oversight on her part that they did not receive quarterly forms to return. Such an accident only proves clearly the necessity of more County Secretaries. We are happy to be able to state that we have been able to provide Worcestershire with a County Secretary, but Oxford-shire is still uncared for. Several people have been sounded, but do not see their way to the task. Will not someone at Oxford volunteer for this post ? New Secretaries have been found for Plymouth and Bristol; and the Stoke Newington Branch, which will be remembered for its zeal in the early days of the Mission, has been revived, and starts again with a list of forty-two members. Our former Secretary at Buxton not only provided a successor, but volunteers to help us in his fresh sphere of work in Nottinghamshire. We have still, however, many wants Local Secretaries for Gainsborough, Chislehurst, Wimbledon, Halifax, Leicester, Ladock are all required. Will members kindly help the General Secretary by finding Secre-taries to revive work and interest in these localities? The County Secretary for Kent is unavoidably prevented from sending in her returns this quarter. To begin with the Prayer side of the Association, the new scheme for the distribution of Intercession Papers seems on the whole to be approved of, although to some Secretaries with many members the distribution presents difficulties ; where these are corresponding members able to see to the needs of their own members, the Secretary's work is considerably lightened, and this is a strong argument in favour of the corre-sponding member system. With regard to the Work side of the Association, we are very grateful to Miss York (Portsmouth), Mrs. Rudge (Basset), and Mrs. Nell (Balham), for the sub-stantial help sent as the result of Sales of Work. At the last-mentioned Sale, organised by Mrs. Nell and the St. John's Missionary Working Party at Balham, over £40 was realised for the Corean Mission; in addition to assisting the Education Fund and the Kanghoa Bell Fund, a very handsome chalice with paten and cruets have been presented for Kanghoa Church as the outcome of this successful Sale. Meetings have been held and sermons preached in various parts of England by the Revs. A. B. Turner and M. N. Trollope, and the collections and offertories given to the Mission will be found duly entered on the fly-leaf of accounts. It would be impossible to speak in detail of all the work done. The Report from Newcastle-on-Tyne with contribution to the Education Fund has been duly received and will appear among the accounts of that fund. CONSTANCE A. N. TROLLOPE, General Secretary. As this goes to press we hear, with regret, of the loss of our Secretary at Silsoe after a long illness ; we are glad, however, to hear that her friends hope to carry on the work in which she was interested for so many years.

St. Peter's Community Foreign Mission Association.

THE accompanying account, written by Dr. Katharine Baldock, of the work in St. Peter's Hospital for Women at Seoul came Just too late for insertion in the Annual Report, but it should be of the greatest interest to members of S.P.F.M.A., who by heir increasing support are able to provide help and relief. Recent letters speak of patients thronging in for treatment, and is the Coreans hear reports of successful cures they come in imploring to be admitted in the hope of similar cures, not even fearing an operation, if deemed necessary. There will be a large expense for drugs to meet in the autumn, but hitherto the response to the Appeal has been met so generously that it is reasonable to hope there will be enough funds to supply the working expenses of the hospital for 1902.

The prayers of the Association are specially asked for a fellow-member, one of St. Luke's Branch, Nurse Ada Hudson, who has offered herself and been accepted for the nursing staff of the hospital. She hopes to start for Corea at the end of August or early in September, another nurse being needed, as we hear Miss Unwin, one of our lady nurses, is on her way home, As the summer months give leisure and opportunity for working for the bazaar stall, we would remind the members that all contributions are welcome. Parcels should be sent between October 1 and November 20, clearly marked For Corean Stall, to Sister Helen Constance, St. Peter's Home, Kilburn, N.W.

It would be a great convenience if a postcard could be sent when the parcel is despatched. In consequence of the Quarterly Intercession Papers being no longer issued with Morning Calm, it is necessary to make some arrangement for supplying them. If each member who wishes to receive the paper will apply to the Branch Secretary, it will be forwarded quarterly, but as the Papers cost 1s. a dozen, it is earnestly requested that when possible a small pay-ment should be made towards the expense and postage. The Rev. A. B. Turner kindly addressed a meeting of the Halifax Branch on June 11. which was well attended by the members and others. The Archdeacon of Halifax took the chair, and gave great encouragement by his presence and sym-pathy with the growing branch. Mr. Turner's address was listened to with the greatest interest, and the satisfactory out-come of the meeting was the enrolment of new members and an offering of £1.7s. SISTER HELEN CONSTANCE, Sec., S.P.F.M.A.

ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

There is very little to report that is new in connection with the work for 1901. Everything goes on as usual. The winter has been a slack one, owing to the continued good health of the natives. Nothing unusual has occurred. No epidemics. The prevailing trouble for the past winter has been the extreme cold, poverty and starvation, so that a poorhouse rather than a hospital has been the requisite.   We have had so many patients come asking to be taken into hospital, saying that they had no house or food, and would be willing to remain with us all winter. It has been such a hard season for the Coreans, that they have been glad to get rid of their sick and dying in order to save the expense of the funerals, which have become an expen-sive item,

We have had patients brought in in the last stage of their disease, when all hope of recovery was out of the question, in order that the friends might be spared the burial expenses. At first we trusted the friends, who always promised faithfully to come and visit the patient they brought, but in every case they disappeared, never to return. We buried several such patients, but decided it was a mistake--not only from a financial standpoint, but from the moral effect it might have upon the Coreans, fearing it would in some cases induce them to desert their friends in the time of need in order to save expenses. The refusal to take in their deserted cases caused a dimi-nution in the number of in-patients, but this step was not taken until every means was exhausted in the direction of securing from the friends some guarantee of their truthfulness; but in every instance we found it impossible to place any confidence in their word, as they can, on the spur of the moment, tell the most plausible story and make the profoundest Promises without one word of truth being spoken. This happens not only among the poor, but also among the better Class. You will say, All the more reason that missionary work should be done among them-which is quite true ; but, alas ! It is disheartening, as it would make a pleasant change to hear the truth spoken, if only occasionally. It throws a shadow on the work to be compelled to turn away from our door their poor dying people through no fault of theirs, but of their friends ; still, we hope in time to overcome the difficulty in some way. The summer is the time when the Coreans need us most, but it is also the time when the nurses must have a holiday, and as we have only two nurses, and only one of them trained, It is impossible to give them a vacation without closing the hospital for a month or six weeks — this we did last summer from July 20 to August 30. Since my return last March we have had III in-patients, and these have nearly all been very bad cases, requiring a great deal of attention, which could only be given by the nurses, as the amah and servants are of little help when the patients are troublesome or seriously ill. We have had forty operations on in-patients during the year, and with one or two exceptions all have been successful. Several of the orphans have been patients in the hospital, and in spite of the best care and nursing, we lost our dear little Lucia, also Phœbe.

In December, a little boy, aged four years, was brought to the Out-patients' department badly burned about the arms, chest, and back-so extensively burned that it was necessary to amputate the right arm at the shoulder. The parents were most anxious to part with the little fellow, and we knew that if we admitted him to hospital he would be deserted, so we decided to do for him as an out-patient, dressing his wounds daily and supplying him with medicines; but soon the mother or friends failed to bring him, and later we heard he was very ill, having been shut up in a room with the hope that he would die ; this failing, he was again brought to us, and we were told if we did not take him they would throw him away, as he was of no use without an arm. We were very anxious to do for this little one, and finally arranged to take him into hospital, Sister Nora promising to admit him to the orphanage if he recovered and was deserted. This he did, and left the hospital last week to join Sister Barbara's large family of orphans. He was baptized last Sunday, together with two other orphans, and is now known as "Mark.” He is a dear, bright little boy, but from our experience of Coreans who have suffered from burns, we cannot hope that he will be as strong as the other children. I might here add that, owing to Lay-Sister Barbara's kind care, the orphans are at present in a flourishing condition of health, and a source of great pleasure and joy to us all.

We have had several patients sent up from Kanghoa by Mr. Laws; with one exception, all were sent back well. Our old patient, who was admitted about four years ago, and who has been a patient more or less ever since, was baptized and confirmed on November 10, 1901. She is still with us, and has such a bad heart and chest that at times she suffers greatly, but from her long sojourn in hospital knows how to insist upon being made a comfortable invalid.

There is not the same trouble in persuading women patients to undergo operations as in former years. It is not uncommon to have them come and ask for sleeping medicine (chloroform) and be operated on. On two or three occasions we have had medical cases ask for an operation and be made well quickly ; but when told that their disease did not call for any surgical interference, they have refused to remain any longer. Another great change. The other day a patient who was admitted actually asked if she might have a bath, saying that she was very sorry to be so dirty, but that she was unable to wash since she was taken ill. The out-patient work is very satisfactory, the attendance for the year numbering 10,936. Of this number, 5,202 were new cases. Our busy months are March-September inclusive. In October the women are busy making warm clothing for the winter ; November is occupied in the preparation of Kimchi ; December, a sort of resting time from their labours—as January begins the preparations for the New Year, and February completes them.

At the present time there are nine in-patients, and the out-patients numbered forty-seven this morning. Coreans say there will be much illness this spring, and if so we are prepared, as we are all well and able to do much more than we are doing at present. The bedsteads are very much appreciated by the patients and nurses, and add greatly to the appearance of the wards.

You will be surprised to finish this short report and find I have neither asked for funds nor workers, but as this falls to the lot of the Sister-in-charge, I need only add that the members of the S.P.F.M.A. have the united good wishes and best thanks of the hospital staff-Nurse Robinson and Nurse Helena, together with Miss Nevill, our dispenser and out-patient assistant. KATHARINE M. BALDOCK. March 4, 1902. St. Matthew's hospital, Seoul, Corea. From March 1, 1901, to March 1, 1902.

It is now just a year since I returned to Corea, so I am sending a brief note of the work done in this Hospital, and its surrounding circumstances, during this period.

At the Out-patients' Department there has been a total of 13,673 attendances, of which number 6,576 were new cases, and 7,097 return visits. Compared with previous years a good deal of change is noticed in the department. The starting-up of many Japanese medicine vendors, and the popularity of foreign drugs has done much towards weeding out trivial cases from the out-patients. Unfortunately, this change is not at all for the good, as it conduces to still further delay in serious cases being brought to the Hospital. The foreign medicine is doubtless good enough, but the knowledge of how to use it is not quite so easily attained, and thus much valuable time is lost. The total result, however, is that cases coming to the Out-patients' are on the whole much more in need of skilled relief, while the need of Hospital accommodation remains as urgent as formerly.

On my return I found the Hospital almost closed, and its funds in such a condition that the work had to be cut down to about one-third of the normal. This has meant that the cases admitted have had to be limited to acute cases. All chronic cases, and those whose stay would probably be a long one have had to be refused. Not only this, but the Hospital furniture, mattresses, blankets. sheets. towels. &c. have been worn out, and none have been bought to take their place. Repairs such as painting and papering have been postponed, while the “Old Hospital," used for fever patients and infectious cases, could not be used as there was not the wherewithal to repair the floors. In spite of these obvious disadvantages, III patients have been admitted during the past twelve months. During the month of August and part of July the Hospital was closed, it having been decided that the nurses must have a month or six weeks' vacation in the summer. This has now been tried for two years. It is a most unfortunate necessity. The summer months, especially July and August, are those in which there is most sickness among the Coreans, and in consequence the Hospital is more urgently needed by them. The out-patient attendance during these months is sometimes well over 2,000 cases per month, while in the winter months it drops to 600 or 800 per month. As matters stand there seems no way out of the difficulty. Years ago, when the Hospital was limited to native rooms, without beds, sheets, &c., it was possible to leave a Corean in charge ; but this is obviously impossible under the present condition of affairs. Still, we must hope that as the summer approaches some more satisfactory plan will disclose itself.

It is cheerful to be able to record that since the estimates for the Hospital expenditure were allowed at the beginning of this year, some much-needed necessaries have been purchased, and we are looking forward to gradually getting the whole place, as far as may be, into ship-shape order. While on this subject, I would like to call your attention to a fact which will before long become, if it is not already, a pressing one, viz., the necessity of pulling down the greater part of the St. Matthew's buildings, and putting up wards on a more sanitary and suitable plan than that of the existing ones.

I may remind you that in 1893 Julius Ward was built “as an experiment," to see whether Coreans would or would not. take kindly to being nursed by foreign nurses. The experi-ment succeeded, and soon after St. Andrew Ward was added. But St. Andrew Ward was only an old dilapidated Corean building, fit at that time to be pulled down, and totally unfit for a Hospital ward.

I would like also to point out that the accommodation for nurses in the old scheme, with its experiments, was really extraordinary. It may be a surprise to some to hear that when nursing was first attempted by a St. Peter's sister and a nurse, their whole total of private house room for sleeping and eating, &c., amounted to a room space of only fifteen by seven and a half feet. Though the present accommodation is palatial as. compared with this, it consists of very old buildings, adapted more or less imperfectly, and is wholly inconvenient and unsuitable, besides being expensive. The time has surely come when a building should be provided more in accordance with modern ideas. It will be a disgrace to us all should the average Corean become more up to date, in his ideas at any rate, than the English Hospital. And this is a predicament not at all unlikely to happen. I have been told by those in a position to know, and it has appeared also in the Press, that Corea in the last three years, has made an unprecedented advance towards what we know as civilisation. And when one looks around and sees railways, electric cars, electric lights, elephones, &c. &c., on all sides, and notices the improvement in the appearance of the soldiers-now armed with modern rifles and artillery-and the police; the broad streets and the ever growing crop of brick buildings, it can no longer be doubted that indeed “the old order changeth." It behoves us, therefore, to move with the times, and to afford to the sick and needy Coreans a Hospital such as modern requirements demand. I hope you will not think this a very extravagant idea; as a matter of fact, a ward for ten patients could be erected at a cost of £200, and another £50 would fit it up ready for use. During the spring of 1901 the China fleet paid this country Very long visit, and in consequence we saw many of our friends in the Navy. They were really too many to name over, but they all wanted to see for themselves the medical work of Bishop Corfe's Mission to Corea, a work which in so large a part is supported by officers and men, past and present, of the British Navy.

Later, the new Admiral on the China station —Sir Cyprian Bridge--paid us a visit, and I had the pleasure of showing him round the Hospital. Perhaps we shall see very little of the Navy in the near future, since the giving up of Wei-hai-Wei as a naval station and the signing of the Anglo-Japanese treaty. But the best-laid plans sometimes defeat their own ends.

It is invariably the case that the new-comer knows so much better than those of riper experience, and I was hardly surprised on my return to be asked “Why all this time the Coreans had not been made to pay for their medicine?" It was so simple and easy, and the amount thus raised would pay half the annual drug bill. There was no other way to decide the point, so the plan was started at the Out-patients' last summer. It caused so much unpleasantness and quarrelling in and around the Hospital that it was stopped, after a fair trial of two months, as an utter failure. When it is decided to convert the Hospital Out-patients' into a drug shop, prepared to supply what the patient wishes to buy rather than what his sickness demands, then it will be time enough to reopen this question. At present we refuse to have anything to do with Coreans coming to buy medicines, but we often tell those patients who can afford it, what medicine to procure, and send them to the Japanese drug stores to buy it.

These same drug stores are of great use to us. Formerly, to run out of any particular medicine meant months of waiting till a further supply could be obtained from England—the prices ruling in Shanghai being prohibitive. It is of course the more commonly used drugs that fall short, and those of good quality and reasonable prices can now be procured in the Japanese settlement. This supply of drugs is useful, too, for those of us who dabble in photography. We have taken several of our patients, who fairly revel in the process, though I fancy that the Corean, who is among the vainest of men, hardly appreciates the “before and after” style of photography. His mind is very doubtful of a picture presenting any abnormality of his personal self. Our staff remains the same as when I last wrote, consisting of two nurses --Nurse Unwin, Nurse Mills, an interpreter and three servants. It must be confessed that the Corean does not make a good -sick-bed attendant. He is not to be relied on to carry out instructions, or to repeat to-day what he was carefully drilled to do yesterday. He must be always under supervision, which is a great drawback. For night-work he is absolutely useless.   Nothing short of an earthquake would wake him ; a delirious patient might walk over him without disturbing him in the least. I have known Coreans, so soundly do they sleep, to wake in the morning to find themselves badly burned, their floor having become too hot during the night.

This winter, however, it is more probable that the Coreans have suffered from cold rather than from heat. A mild summer, with no rain to speak of, certainly no rainy season, caused a failure in the rice crop, and probably a good many other crops besides. Tales of distress come from all sides, and a soup kitchen has been started by the Government. No doubt many of the reports are exaggerated : certainly I have never seen a case of simple starvation all the years that I have been here. Servants who have been discharged, and have been out of work since, may be seen going round in the finest of clean clothes and apparently well-to-do months afterwards. How the ordinary Corean lives and manages his private financial affairs is a sub-ject upon which no one has as yet thrown any light. One of the most potent reasons for the real poverty of the Corean must be the depreciation of his money. The market is flooded with 5-cent pieces of nickel, manufactured at the Government Mint and elsewhere. Its cost of production is next to nothing, and its exchange value is 50 per cent. less than it was two years ago, and is dropping daily.

One of the most unpleasant consequences of the failure of the rainy season was the drying up of the wells of the city. During the summer we were twice threatened with a water famine, and many people could not get enough water for their morning tub. There was a scarcity again this winter, but it has passed off for the moment. When you consider that the city well water at its best is unwholesome, being acid, salt and very unpalatable, you can imagine what it was like in its concentrated form. There is a scheme on foot for supplying the city with water from the river some fifteen miles away. It is a big undertaking, but if it comes to anything, there will be an excellent water supply ; the water from the spot chosen being splendid. How the Corean will appreciate being taxed for his water, when he can go and help himself at the nearest well, is another matter. To return to the III cases admitted, no fewer than 87 were surgical, none of them being in any way out of the common, except perhaps a madman who had made a terrible gash in his throat. He was quiet enough when admitted, but when he recovered from the shock he became so wild and uncontrollable that his removal by the police became necessary.   Of the twenty-four medical cases, one of anthrax is worthy of note. The English community lost one of its members from hydrophobia, supposed to have originated from the bite of a cat. Every year a few instances of this disease crop up, but this is the first case of a European being attacked, and it had a very dis-quieting effect. Dogs are everywhere in this country, each native house and most foreign houses having at least one; but they bark a good deal and bite seldom. St. Matthew's Hospital at Nak Tong is a Mission Hospital, and it may fairly be asked what Mission work proper is being done in connection with the medical work. For an answer to this question, I must refer you to those Mission workers who are better qualified and more able to give one than myself. Still, it must be evident that a Hospital which is known not only in Seoul, but also in many country districts many miles distant, affords the missionary a splendid opportunity. Medical work is dumb-the more so the better-and it remains for the Mission, of which the medical work is a branch, to take the opportunities which that work so abundantly provides.

To thank individually all the subscribers to the Hospital Naval Fund, and all our other friends who have taken a kindly interest in the English medical work, and have helped the Hos-pital by word or deed, would be a task quite beyond me. Perhaps this task should fall less on myself than upon those Corean patients who have benefited by this work. I am sure, however, that all may look back with satisfaction and pride upon having filled for so many years so large and so pressing a want in the life of the Corean. EDWARD H. BALDOCK, March 4, 1902. Surgeon-in-Charge.

Notes from Corea.

We have not received a great deal of news of general interest from our correspondents in Corea since the May number was issued, but so far as we have heard the work of the Mission is going on satisfactorily. With respect to the staff, we hear that Miss Unwin is returning home after three and a half years' work in the hospital in Seoul, and that Dr. Carden is leaving Chemulpó in September. The rest of the staff are work-ing in the same stations as before, and the only change seems to be that Mr. Drake, while still living at Mapo, is in charge of the native work in Chemulpó, and that the Bishop is residing in Seoul rather more than he has done since his return to Corea.   Politically, the chief item of interest has been the Anglo-Japanese treaty, but it is early days yet to say how this important alliance will affect the course of events in Corea. That it is likely to affect matters very considerably is evident from what we hear on all sides. Socially, the great question seems to be still the famine in the Central Provinces of Corea. The trouble has been very serious ; robbers and beggars abound, and the revenue is said to have fallen from twelve millions to seven millions of dollars, which represents a loss of some £500,000 to the Government. But there were very heavy spring rains this year which will have been a great help to the farmers, and we may hope that they were able to gather in a good barley harvest in June, which will help them to tide over the time till the rice crop is due in the autumn.

Railways, telephones, &c., continue to grow in favour among the Coreans, and the latter are already in use in a few private houses, and will no doubt be used freely in the course of some few years. The Seoul-Fusan Railway to the south is Progressing rapidly, and the Seoul-Wiju (Weeju) Railway to the north, which has been talked of for many years, and which is in the hands of a French syndicate, has been formally Inaugurated, the first sod being cut near the Arch of Indepen-dence with great ceremony. This railway will probably, in time, be connected with the Siberian Railway at Niu Chwang or Moukden (Wiju is a town on the Yalu on the borders of Corea and China), and we shall be able to make the whole journey from Calais to Seoul by train. It is quite possible now to make the journey to Niu Chwang, and under fortunate circumstances the journey can be made in three weeks, but the part of the railway though Manchuria is still unfinished, many of the bridges are only temporary, and likely to be swept away in the wet season, and one may have to travel over that section of the line in a construction train, which is not the acme of comfort. However, from all we hear, in another year the line should be fairly complete, and then the journey to Corea may be shortened by at least two weeks, perhaps three, and the cost will not be very much greater than by sea, if only one does not take much luggage. An amusing story is told in connection with the building of the Seoul-Fusan Railway. A country bumpkin on his way to Seoul, seeing the ganger at work with his men on the Fusan Section, asked when it would be finished, and the ganger looking at his watch to see the time, said he couldn't tell. “Why,” said the C.B. “does he think it can be done in an hour or two?" Two days later, on arriving in Seoul, he found them at work on the Seoul section, and on being told it was the Seoul-Fusan Railway, he said, “What! finishing it already? 350 miles in two days! well, that is quick work. Aigoo !"

Corean Currency. THE following extract from the Corea Review may be of interest to some of our readers :--" The past month has been signalised by heroic attempts to stem the tide of depreciated currency, and bring some sort of order out of the chaotic condition of the present monetary system. Besides the nickels (5-cent pieces) minted by the Government, there are more than twenty-five separate and distinct brands of nickels circulating in Corea. Until recent years counterfeiting has not been worth while in Corea, for the old-time cash was of such small value, and the metal and work together came so near to equalling the face value that there was not much profit ; but one of these nickels is equal to twenty-five cash, and as they can be made at a net cost of less than a cent and a half a piece, it is readily seen that there is some temptation to counterfeit. This form of felony has been indulged in not only by thrifty Coreans, but many Japanese took advantage of the situation to coin large amounts, and at the present time ten Japanese are languishing 'in durance vile' for this offence. “None should be more anxious than the Japanese to prevent counterfeiting and a depreciation of the currency, for the Japanese merchants are the greatest sufferers from it. If exchange is leaping five or ten points in twenty-four hours there is evidently no possibility of stable business, except for the money-changers. Anyone with 5,000 yen (£500) in his pocket can go into the street and drive exchange up and down almost at will. This city is the money-changers' El Dorado. On a certain day this month paper yen were selling at a premium of go per cent. at one point in Seoul, while on the same day they changed at over 100 per cent. at another point. Money has to be hawked about the streets to find a good bidder. A sharp broker can buy at 80 per cent. premium with one hand, and sell at 70 per cent. with the other. The Coreans were beginning to 'catch on,' when the thing was nipped in the bud by the Government arresting a couple of brokers. But it is difficult to see what good this will do. It is not the brokers who cause the rise and fall in exchange. We believe that it is caused by the fact that there are too few rather than too many brokers. The small amount of capital involved in the brokerage business has the result that even a moderate sum of money thrown on the market causes a violent com-motion.

"If there were a street lined with brokers' establishments, as in many Eastern ports, the mutual competition would pre-vent such rapid fluctuations. A stone thrown into a pail of water will create a greater commotion than if thrown into a pond. "On the whole, the nickel is an unfortunate coin, for it is cheap enough to invite counterfeiting even by people of small means, and at the same time it is valuable enough to make it worth while counterfeiting. It is only by taking the most determined steps and keeping up an untiring watch that the Corean nickel can be kept anywhere near on a par with the Japanese coin. The foreign representatives have bestirred themselves in the matter, and we trust that confidence in the Corean coinage will be restored, and that a rate of exchange will be maintained which, whether high or low, will be fairly steady. It is the fluctuations that play the mischief with business."

Notice.

THE Reverend A. B. Turner is intending to return to Corea early in September; if any friends or relations of the staff in Corea wish to send anything by him, he will be glad to receive the same by the middle of August at the subjoined address-c/o Rev. A. M. Walker, Copythorne Vicarage, Totton, South-ampton. Station: Totton, L.S.W.R.

The Spirit of Missions.

“LOOK out on the world with great respect. It is, in one sense, a great Sacrament of God. . . . The world is being prepared for the Revelation of Jesus Christ, for the coming of the King." These words, taken from an address delivered between twenty and thirty years ago by the present Dean of Salisbury, seem Singularly helpful as we study the problems of modern Japan. . . . We would look at it not with the perplexity of an unbeliever, not with an impatience that would ignore difficul-ties, not with the gloom of the pessimist. No, rather, but with the utter self-sacrifice and full joy and fervour of the early days of Christianity, we will offer “Life in Christ” as our response to the appeal from modern Japan.

WORKERS WANTED EVERYWHERE.- We specially draw the attention of parents to the words of the Bishop of Stepney on the subject of Vocation : “It is one of the marks of a wise parent-most sure, yet most difficult of attainment-to discern betimes the period when a child's life must pass beyond the parent's immediate control. The hand of loving care which has guided the child's younger life may, if it linger on him too long and too fondly, thwart and hinder his own development. Every child has its own way to take-a way unknown to the parent-often leading to regions in which the parent is be-wildered and ill at ease. The child, after all, is not so much God's gift as God's loan-an embodiment of a wholly separate purpose of God, entrusted for the time to the parent's guidance. It is hard for them to discern, harder still to accept, the moment when that time has reached its limit and the child must go forth in the way of its own destiny. The time comes, and the children show in thoughts and ambitions the warning signs that the call of their separate destiny is beginning to reveal itself, the parent must open the door, bid them God-speed, and let them go. . . . The human fatherhood must surrender its trust to the Divine. Love reaches its height in sacrifice; . . . but the sacrifice will lose its bitterness when it becomes an offering of the child to the love of God from which he came, and beyond which he cannot wander.”—Miracles of Jesus. SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE S.P.G.-Mr. Allen, speaking at the Annual Meeting of the S.P.G., said: “This is the Society above all others which takes care of the spiritual interests of Englishmen in foreign parts. I have great pleasure in bearing personal testimony to what the Society has done at the treaty ports of North China. We have heard from the Bishop of New Guinea the sort of white man that goes to foreign parts, and what is true of New Guinea applies to China. With the respectable, sober, steady mechanic, there comes the hot-blooded young fellow, who is only too eager to cast off the restrictions of home life, and to believe, like Rudyard's soldier, that ‘east of Suez there ain't no Ten Commandments.’ We want some agency to save this young man from himself and to save the Chinese people from him, and such an agency is found in the S.P.G. We also want the agents of the Society to show the Chinese that the adventurers who come to their country to make money are not fair types of Christian civilization." -Mission Field.

C.M.S. ANNIVERSARY MEETING.-At the above meeting held on May 5, two lines of thought were very remarkable. Each presented a phase of the outlook, equally true and equally necessary. The Bishop of London carried all hearers with him in his aspiration to make the Diocese of London “the greatest missionary diocese in the world," and most of them would accept his reasons for believing his "dream for London more practicable and within sight than before.” He struck a right note also when he said that “the maintenance of a missionary spirit in the Church was the best hope of converting the unconverted at home.". . . In the same rejoicing spirit he pictured the true happiness of missionary life. The Bishop of Durham, on the other hand, spoke of some aspects of missionary life which are not gladdening. We are "too familiar," he said, " with the deficit of funds; are we concerned as we should be with the graver deficit of men ?" If it is the case, as he stated, and it can hardly be doubted, that there is "a suspense and slackness" in the work of the Church at large, and that this shows itself also in a decline of that “burning zeal and almost passionate surrender" in “missionary impulse” which was manifest some years ago, then there is the gravest cause for humiliation and repentance. . . . And Dr. Moule was right in the remedy he suggested. It is a deeper and stronger cov-viction and grasp of Jesus Christ Himself. All the addresses throughout the evening carried the same burning message. It is a very old one. It is also a very short one. . . . It is the baptismal pledge itself: "Repent ! believe ! obey !”-C.M.S. Intelligencer. PAROCHIAL WORK AMONGST THE JEWS.-A question from a sermon preached by the Rev. S. Singer in the new West End Synagogue is worthy of notice : “We have to reckon with a new peril, especially threatening in a land that is the chosen home of missionary zeal. A noticeable revival has taken place of late in Christian missionary efforts among our poor. A new line of tactics is being followed. Formerly the persons employed to gain converts to Christianity were generally renegades from Judaism . . . the influence of such a class of persons was Slight . . . the harvest they reaped was very small. . . . But recently a different system has been tried." He then speaks of the action of parochial clergy, and of the probable results. . . .

And adds: “I am afraid it is of no use hiding from ourselves the fact that we are at the commencement of an active, militant, conversionist movement. The Bishop of London, the purity of whose motives I do not for a moment impugn, proclaimed his intention aloud immediately after his appointment to his high office. . . . It is thought that immediate steps ought to be taken to form Hebrew Christian congregations. If such could be inaugurated with Jewish Christian services, the claims of Christianity would at once be brought home to a large class of Jews to whom it has hitherto made no effective appeal.”— Church and Synagogue Quarterly Paper. THE NEW WATER SUPPLY OF JERUSALEM.—The supply of " living water" to the Holy City, which was inaugurated on the Sultan's birthday, is a subject of importance to all inte-rested in the present and future of Jerusalem. The present plan has been carried out by a gift of £6,000 from the Sultan's private purse. It will relieve acute distress, but will not be generally available. Still, it is a step forward. In olden days, specially during the early centuries of the Christian era, Jerusalem was probably as well supplied with water as was possible ; but in recent times, especially since the great increase of her population during the closing years of the last century, the water question has become more and more acute. . . . How much the city needs more and better water none of the residents know as well as the medical men, who see so much preventable sickness caused by its absence. We all, however, most heartily welcome this present supply as a step in the right direction, and congratulate the Pasha and the municipal authorities on their energy in pushing on, and the skill of the engineers in accomplishing, this important work.— From Quarterly Paper of Jerusalem and the East Mission. WOMEN'S MISSION ASSOCIATION.-At the Annual Meeting of the above the Chairman said that, without belittling what might be called work on family lines, the work in many parts demanded those who were entirely free from all family ties. He represented a part of the Empire where English family life was impossible owing to the malarial climate. It had been tried too often, with disastrous consequences. Of their European staff of twenty-five in New Guinea, eleven were devoted women workers, one of whom was their most capable translator. Nursing the sick, sheltering native women from brutality, saving orphan children from being thrown into the grave of their dead mother-these were among the many Ways in which the Society's representatives had done great good. Even native men had applied to them for advice instead of going to the missionaries of their own sex.

The Rev. B. F. Cunningham (formerly of Delhi) said that there was an immense need of women workers in India. . . . The Indian women might not want them, but the need called for them. Mr. Cunningham read to the meeting the following prayer of a woman who had known from childhood the degra-dation to which Hindu women are liable. We give two extracts : "O Lord, hear my prayer. No one has turned an eye to the oppression that we suffer ; though with weeping, crying, and desire we have turned on all sides, no one has lifted his eyelids to look upon us and to inquire into our case. . . . Thou, Lord, knowest our dishonour. . . . O Lord, save us ! for we cannot bear our hard lot ! Many of us have killed our-selves. Create in the hearts of men some sympathy, that our lives may no longer be passed in vain longing ; that, saved by Thy mercy, we may taste something of the joy of life.”

WOMEN IN INDIA.— The ignorance and degradation of Women in India can only be faintly imagined by those who have not visited that country. It is estimated that out of over 140,000,000 women there, under British rule, only about one in every 200 can read or write in the smallest degree. As to the degradation, Bishop Lefroy, of Lahore, says that no one who has not felt it can understand the sadness that hangs over Indian society on account of the position of its women. The redemption of the women, he says, comes nowhere in the course of nature; it comes only through Christ. “In Christian England we take it as a matter of course ; we hardly realise that the natural state of things is very different. True, there are outrages in England, far too many, but they are individual acts, against religion, and against the law of the land. In India, where the position of women is the logical outcome of custom and religion, such acts are matters of common everyday life. . . . Surely it is for us, who have been lifted up and know the freedom and the glory of womanhood through Christ, to impart our happiness to them.”—Gospel Missionary. A NATIVE BISHOP FOR INDIA.—Bishop Montgomery, Speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, said: “I venture to speak of a boon which we ask of the Cambridge Mission, and, indeed, of all Missions in India at this time. . . . About two weeks ago I was speaking to a Bishop not far from India, and I said to him, 'Has not the: time come when we ought to claim from Missions in India a native Bishop? I know the risks.' 'Yes,' he said, 'there are risks, but I think the time has come, and that we ought to risk a great deal for that consummation.' A whole century has passed ; Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin, C.M.S., S.P.G., and many other Societies have sent their best men to India ; it is cer-tainly the greatest Mission-field in the world, and staffed by the greatest number of our finest men ; and is not a century enough to produce a Christian Bishop ?" THE BISHOP OF MADRAS'S SOLDIERS' INSTITUTES.—Two institutes are to be erected in the garrison of Secunderabad, which is said to be the largest in India. "One of these will be built in Secunderabad itself, and the other in North Trimulgherry, six miles away." We have already received a considerable sum of money, and this, with the aid of a generous grant which is to be made to the Bishop by the Church of England Soldiers' Institute Association, will be enough to justify us in the commencement of our first institute. A long experience in work amongst soldiers has taught me how great a boon these institutes will be to the men, and from how many grave evils they will safeguard them. There is no influence so great, so much appreciated, and so lasting, which can be brought to bear for good upon our soldiers as is the influence of the ministry of the Church of England. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN CHINA.-Mrs. Bishop, speaking at a combined meeting in aid of Church Missions in the Far East, said that she was rather afraid that the Church of England did not present indications of a good future in China. Bishops, alas ! were sent out either to sink or swim. Those two devoted men, Bishop Scott and Bishop Corfe, had terrible burdens to bear, and had virtually been left to sink or swim. The Missions of the Church of England showed signs of weakness and poverty, whilst the Presbyterians had large and thoroughly well-equipped Missions. . . . Church of England Missions in Japan were also starved for want of sufficient money to send out men and women missionaries. It was impossible for China to be evangelised by European agency. Missionaries were regarded as spies, and the people thought that if we at home were thoroughly in earnest, we should send out our missionaries in far larger numbers. . . . The door was open, and it was only the labourers that were wanting ; Japan was just now in a receptive condition. There they had to deal with Agnosticism rather than heathenism. This was a particularly serious matter for them to face, now that England had broken the tradition of centuries and formed an offensive and defensive alliance with the Japanese. What the Church at home wanted was a spirit of real self-denial amongst her members. APPEAL FROM A BAFFLED BUDDHISM.—There are evidences of discontent which may be so described, both in the religious and political world of Japan. Of deep interest is the discussion now going on between two Buddhists of great learning, Dr. Inoue Tetsujiro and Dr. Inoue Enryo. The former had roused much attention last year by some articles in a Japanese paper, proposing to found a new religion, in which ethics should be the chief element, and in which the personal element should not be allowed. Dr. Inoue Enryo earnestly pleads for its inclusion in the new Creed. “The notion," he writes, "that you can dispense with the personal element in religion is, it seems to me, founded on a complete misconception of the nature of religion. So indispensable is it, that religions which have started without the personal element have found it necessary to embody it in their system later on, in order to satisfy human craving." “. . .We look at Buddhism, baffled in its efforts to give life to the dying superstitions of old Japan. We know that it is 'life' that the Japanese are craving now, whether known or unknown to themselves. They need living power to overcome evil ; living Power to do good; living power to look beyond this broken, imperfect world of ours. Is there not sufficient evidence to claim our continued and earnest intercessions that this spirit of inquiry may be overruled to the glory of God and the good of His Church in Japan ?"-Extracts from the Easter Paper of the Guild of St. Paul.

EDUCATION FOR GIRLS IN ASSOUAN.—The education of native boys is provided for in Assouan by the Egyptian Government ; but nothing is attempted for girls. Lord Cromer says that “we are quite right to pay attention to the girls rather than the boys. Female education," he adds, "is one of the chief wants of the country. Also it is desirable as regards religious instruction to have something equivalent to the conscience clause." The fellahin are sunk in ignorance. We desire to bring the spiritual and moral truths of our holy religion, as well as secular instruction, before the growing generation at Assouan. It seems right that a nation which has laid such firm hold of a country as we have of Egypt should do some-thing for the moral education of the people.   MISSION WORK AT ZANZIBAR. —An R.N. Chaplain writes : “I have pleasure in enclosing the sum of 16s, handed to me by two stokers in this ship as a thankoffering to the Mission. I may say it was quite a spontaneous offering, which makes it all the more acceptable. They both attended evensong on Sunday evenings at the Cathedral while we were at Zanzibar, and told me how much they valued the beautiful, reverent service, and how helpful they found it. . . . I need hardly say how pleased I was to get to know both the Bishop and several of the missionaries. It is a great privilege to have the opportunity of seeing something of the U.M.C.A. and its various stations round Zanzibar. I trust it may make Intercession more real to me. I am sure it has stimulated my interest." - Central Africa. Now THAT THE WAR IS OVER. -At the present time there is no part of the world of equal extent which could be so easily won for Christ as South Africa; indeed, no words can express the glory and excellence of the prospect before the Church there. Throughout the whole of the land the native mind is opening, is wondering, is longing vaguely but surely for the unknown God of the white man, and especially, aster this great war, for the God of the English white man. Before the war, from 130,000 to 150,000 natives, coming from all parts of South Africa, were gathered on the vast gold and coal fields of the Transvaal ; a still larger accumulation may now be expected. If during their sojourn those natives are Christianised and duly taught the Church's principles they will on their return to their own homes carry these truths and principles with them, and become most valuable helpers in the Mission-field. For example, in the “Cathedral Mission,” Pretoria, the number of converts has risen from 200 to 10,000 in the last twenty years, mainly by the efforts of earnest but half-instructed native Christians. On the appointment of Canon Farmer to the charge of the Mission in 1895, there were little knots of Christians in four or five kraals who provided him with a waggon and oxen and a portion of his stipend, and on the death of the oxen and the outbreak of rinderpest, with a bicycle, on which he travelled some thousands of miles, sleeping in native houses and living on native fare. On commencing work he was surprised to find sixty native men working hard for the Church in his district. They had been amongst those who had gone, at different times, from the Transvaal to work in other parts of South Africa for money to pay their taxes or supply their needs.

Whilst there they had come under the influence of some of our Missions, and been converted and baptized, and, having possessed themselves of the New Testament and the Prayer-Book translated into Sechuana, they had returned to their homes. There, in the midst of heathenism, instead of falling away as might have been expected, they set to work to preach the Gospel to their own fellow-creatures, without a thought of pay, with no other idea than the glory of God and the salvation of souls. —Gospel Missionary. NEEDS OF ZULULAND.-The Bishop has issued an appeal in which he says: “Our staff of clergy and workers has increased of late, and we want every one of them. As a matter of fact, we want more, if we are to do the work which is opening out to us. . . . This is the first time, during the ten years that I have been connected with the Mission, that we have had a balance on the wrong side. . . . I am quite sure that you will not wish us to reduce our staff, and indeed more workers are required. Of course, the war has affected us a good deal, as contributions from some parts of the country have fallen off considerably, and in others have ceased altogether. . . . We have done our best to keep things going." -Guardian.

Children's Corner.

DEAR CHILDREN, I think I promised to tell you in this letter about a little boy, who at the beginning of the year was using your cot in St. Peter's Hospital. He is a dear little boy, about four years old, and a great favourite with everyone. He had a very bad accident one day, for he fell across a Corean stove, which is a pot filled with charcoal and wood ashes, and burnt his right arm up to the shoulder. When he was taken to the hospital eleven days later his arm was so bad that it had to be taken off. For a little while his relations brought him every day to see the doctor, and then suddenly, before he was well, they stopped coming altogether. Some weeks after one of the lady workers met him in the street with a woman, who said that his mother was dead, and that his father would not let him come to the doctor to be cured, but was starving him by degrees, as he wanted to get rid of him. The Sisters could not bear to see the little boy being so cruelly treated, so they took him into the hospital altogether, though they knew that his friends would have nothing more to do with him and would not pay anything towards his support. As soon as he was quite well he was to be sent to the orphanage, and then, when he is old enough, I hope he will go to the boys' school in Kanghoa, and perhaps some day he will be a schoolmaster and earn his own living, though he has only one arm. We very much want all the school-masters in Corea to be good Christians, for they have so much influence, and they would often be able to bring others to know and love God.

I have not very much news from Corea to give you this time, but even the story of this one little boy will show you how unhappy some of the poor children are, and how very earnestly we must pray for them. I know you will all be glad to hear that rather more money than usual has been sent me lately for the Children's Fund. I want to thank all who have helped, and to tell you that I am always glad to have even pennies sent me, so those who have only a very little money can help as well as those who have more. I am very glad that ten children have joined our Association since I last wrote. My letter is to them this month as well as to all those I have written to before. I am, Always your affectionate friend, MAUD I. FALWASSER. Newlands, Liss: July, 1902,

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS FROM APRIL TO JULY, 1902.

Clapham Warne, Annie Ereter (cont.) Williams, Muriel Excter— Gravestock, Ethel Larnder, Stella Reed, Douglas Seward, Mabel Tarbet, Monty Dorchester, Ozon Byass, Rosalie Grantham Crofts, Joan Crofts, Peter