p. 109 | QUEBEC by D. T. Boureau

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 12, 1901

QUEBEC

By D. T. Boureau

We are now engaged in the work of distributing our literature in Montreal,—the Signs, Good Health, “Christ’s Object Lessons,” and small works, especially our French tracts. We are only three regular workers, in a city containing as many inhabitants as has the State of Vermont or the State of New Hampshire. We three are Prof. J. Cogniaux; Brother A. E. Davidson, kindly sent by the Quebec Conference; and myself. Brother Davidson is the only one who can devote his whole time to this work. He is doing well, and is enjoying the blessing of God in putting out our French tracts among two hundred thousand French-speaking people, most of whom are in dense moral darkness, and not a few of whom will take our French tracts, if wisely presented to them, free of charge. Brother Davidson is not a Frenchman, but I have written out for him French expressions, which he has committed to memory, and now utilizes in going with French tracts from house to house. And when the French fails him, he speaks English, especially if those with whom he has to do have any knowledge of that language.

Brother Cogniaux has a physical infirmity that has lately come upon him, which prevents his going out with tracts to any great extent. He and I have to devote most of our time and energies to visiting, giving Bible readings, holding or attending little meetings, and doing necessary literary work. Yet we have a plan on foot to furnish French tracts to the French families in this city who will read them. This is a blessed and potent means of ascertaining who the honest are. Indeed, this is the most (not to say the only) feasible and successful way of gaining this desired object. But how can one young man—and an Englishman at that—do all this work, or most of it? May God put it into the hearts of strong and intelligent young men and women who speak the French fluently and also know the English, to come to the rescue of Montreal and hundreds of other French places in this province. There are plenty of these. Will they do it, or will they hide their talents in the earth in following narrow, worldly plans, until the solemn realities of the near future awaken them from their slumbers?

Most of our small French tracts will have to be given away. We are indeed thankful to find persons who will take them free of charge, but of course we accept pay from any who will pay for them. We ought to have small tracts, such as, “Is the End Near?” etc., in editions of fifty thousand, for Montreal alone, whereas we are out of these tracts. With those who wish more literature, the distribution of these should be followed with that of others on more advanced subjects, and so on until all the honest are found. And what an amount of visiting, as well as giving Bible readings and bestowing public labor, will be called for as this work is faithfully carried on! And it will take time and much hard and persevering work, even to find the honest, with whom to carry on the work, by this method of French-tract distribution. We ask for volunteers to help carry on this branch of the work. We need these more than we need preachers; and those who faithfully do this humble but glorious work will find the best opportunities to develop and cultivate the preaching talent, in preaching from house to house, as Christ, Paul, and other early preachers were not ashamed to do.

We need more tracts, more tract distributors; and we need more money, as the French tract fund cried, “Poor, empty, collapsed,” more than a year ago. And to-day it cries, loudly: “For Christ’s sake, and for the sake of those famishing and perishing for want of the truth for these times, replenish me, that I may help on this enterprise.”

As an illustration of what French tracts are doing, I will say that recently I received a letter from a French man of my age, who studied and taught as a result of reading the French tracts I left there for distribution last fall, an intelligent French man of my age, who studied and taught in France, has lately begun to keep the Sabbath.

D. T. BOUREAU.