Earlier text: Question CornerA QUICKSAND DEFENSE.
By W. N. G.
That the advocates of the religious amendment to the national Constitution suffered defeat in the hearing before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, is not conclusive evidence of the ultimate defeat of the principle involved in the proposed amendment. The National Reform movement already has a foothold in congressional law and in Supreme Court decision, as well as in state law in nearly all the states. It is sustained by many who are in reality opposed to it—by many religious people unwittingly, by many legislators through policy, and by judges and jurors who erroneously suppose that they are obliged to enforce even unconstitutional law lest higher courts may overrule them. That the advocates of practical church and state union meet defeat in special measures, and their illogical sophistries are often exposed, is no evidence that they will be turned from their purpose. Tho they are dreadfully exercised as to how they shall overcome the results of their late defeat at Washington, they are not slow to claim it as a victory. The editor of the Evangel and Sabbath Outlook was an active participant in the discussion before the Congressional Committee, having ably opposed the proposed amendment. Commenting upon the discussion, he writes:— “In the cross-questioning, which was put upon the speakers who closed the debate for the affirmative, various members of the committee, able lawyers, brought out the weak points in overwhelming confusion. This part of the hearing developed the fact that the Sabbath question is a prominent feature of this movement. The logic of the situation was set forth by a member of the committee, when, by questioning, he showed that under the amendment, if a case of ‘sabbath-breaking’ were carried to the Supreme Court, the advocates of the amendment would be compelled to abandon Sunday and9keep the Sabbath. He showed that no ‘interpretation’ could permit any other decision under the text of the Bible. That episode alone was worth a volume of arguments in favor of the Sabbath.” This statement seems to worry the editorial staff of the Christian Statesman, one of whom happened to be the individual whose fallacious position was so openly exposed. In order to parry the force of this showing, that paper attempts to play upon the phrase “no interpretation,” etc. Of course the idea was that no legitimate interpretation of the Bible, taking the Bible as it reads, “could permit any other decision.” But the Statesman, for the purpose of showing that the Bible could be interpreted in accordance with its theory, is obliged to resort to an interpretation at variance with the plain language of the text. The following is a subterfuge which is given as a reply to the Evangel:— “The question asked by the member of the committee was in reference to the interpretation by the Supreme Court, in case the members of the court believed the seventh-day Sabbath to be the Sabbath of the Bible. He did not show that ‘no interpretation’ could permit any other decision under the text of the Bible. With the simple acknowledgment of the Bible in the Constitution our Supreme Court as it has always been made up would interpret the Bible as Christians with so great unanimity have always interpreted it in our country, as teaching the observance of the first-day sabbath. But if by any possibility the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court should ever be Seventh-day Baptists, or Adventists, or Jews, and should interpret the Bible as enjoining the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, then the nation which believed in the first-day sabbath would have to speak more definitely, and in its own sovereign legislation lay down the constitutional basis so clearly that the Supreme Court could not override the explicit expression of its will in this matter of Sabbath law.” In other words, the National Reform scheme contemplates, if necessary, that it shall be upheld by special congressional interpretation of the Bible. And there is no doubt that such special interpretation would be necessary; for it is now a recognized judicial principle that where language is plain, there is an end of construction. It is also an admitted rule that a law is to be construed according to the intention of the lawmaker, and this intention is to be gathered from the language of the law. As to the Sabbath law, there is no reasonable doubt as to either the language of the law or the intent of the Lawmaker. Nor is it even necessary to suppose a Supreme Court composed of “Seventh-day Baptists, or Adventists, or Jews,” for a reasonable expectation that it would adhere to the recognized principles of construction, unless limited by special legislation on the subject. For we do not by any means assume that all legal wisdom or judicial integrity is confined to those classes. That it is the design of the National Reform church-and-state combination to have the Bible construed by national law is further shown by the statement that, at the hearing before alluded to, it was “most explicitly maintained that the Supreme Court would have to construe all laws in harmony with the Bible as the fundamental law of the nation. No individual’s understanding of the law of the Bible would be supreme law in any matter of national action. The nation itself would interpret the Bible by its legislation in making laws, and then by its judiciary in construing both constitutional law and statutory enactments resting upon it. And this is one of the main objects and benefits of the amendment. Then, in the second place, it is simply not true that ‘no answer’ was given to the above question. The question was answered by the statement that if the Supreme Court interpreted what was enacted by Congress as a first-day sabbath law as if it were a seventh-day Sabbath law, the nation that wishes to observe and maintain a first-day sabbath law would have to amend its constitutional law and make its own interpretation of the Bible so explicit that no court could misunderstand or override the nation’s expressed will.” These plain admissions render it unnecessary to add argument to show what is designed in the movement for enforced religion in the name of Christianity. We have simply to take their own statements. Sometimes they try to evade the necessary logic of their position when it peers too far into the future for their present convenience; but, like a man in the quicksand, the more they try to extricate themselves from an awkward position, the deeper they become involved. W. N. G. LEON
By S. E. S. Shankland
“THE case has been decided in Graham’s favor, and his little farm is saved,” said Mr. Wray. “The poor fellow has worried so about the matter, I wish he could have the news before night, if possible. He was kind to me when I was a struggling student of your age, Leon. Would you mind riding out there, and taking a copy of the decree of the court? It will fairly add ten years to the old man’s life, and you could get back by bedtime.” “Yes, yes, father,” responded the boy cordially. “I should like the trip, especially on as good a roadster as our Bellair.” “But dinner will not be ready for two hours yet, and then where is the dear child to get his supper?” queried the thoughtful mother. “O, trust me for that, mother!” laughed Leon. “Some biscuits in my pocket will be dinner enough, and I can stop at Darwin’s, just this side of the creek, for supper.” So the active lad of fifteen was soon enjoying the fresh country air, astride of his beloved Bellair. Leon had forgotten his biscuits, but he did not mind. He wanted to see the joy which would smooth old Graham’s wrinkled face, and relieve the strained look of his kindly eyes. Suddenly he halted by an expanse of water spreading over a wide area of low ground. “Hello, Pete!” he called, turning back and meeting a man whom he had previously passed, “why didn’t you tell me I could not go on?” The man looked enviously at the well-kept horse and glowing rider, and growled, with a surly grin:— “Other folks’ benefit is always our business,” returned Leon pleasantly; “and, Peter, it is my business to warn you that you are on a risky road. The saloon road leads to the gutter. Better turn back while you can.” Owing to the long circuit he had to make, it was nearly night when he drew up at Darwin’s. “Come in,” urged the farmer, whose house and store stood on the main road. “You and the horse ought to be fed before you try10to cross Caney Creek. It’ll be hard fording; for the water is swift.” But Leon would waste no time. “I must get back home to-night, or mother will be uneasy. We can wait till we reach Mr. Graham’s,” he said, patting Bellair and hastening on. “I can’t help thinking of that boy,” said Mrs. Darwin, as darkness fell upon the lonely fields, and through the stillness came the sound of rushing water. “The creek was rising fast the last we heard, and we ought to have kept him here till morning. Hark! there he is now.” They threw open the door, and Mrs. Darwin screamed with terror as the lamp revealed Bellair, trembling and dripping, the saddle still upon him, but no Leon! It was a black night. Nothing could be seen beyond the faint circle of the lantern’s gleam; and the roar of Caney Creek, now a raging torrent, seemed to swallow up the shouts of willing neighbors who turned out to assist in the search. Mrs. Darwin herself rubbed down Bellair, and made a place for him in the barn, all the men on the place having gone to the creek. Beyond some bruises and his fright, the animal was unhurt, but his noble head drooped, and the tender-hearted woman wept in sympathy with his evident sense of loss. Some of the searchers returned, shaking their heads at all inquiries, and silently one of them rode away to the city, a bearer of tidings which would plunge a household into mourning. But Leon was not sent on an errand of mercy to be lost in Caney Creek. When Bellair was swept off his feet, an overhanging bough caught his young master, and the boy swung himself safely above the whirling, foaming flood. This oak tree grew near a sulphur spring on the bank of the creek, where Leon had before picnicked. But now, as near as he could guess, it was in the very midst of the furious stream. It would stand, however; he had no fear for the roots of a century’s growth. Could he keep hold till daylight? His muscles were strong, and he had found a crotch where he might lean—but the agony of loneliness! Would no answer come to his repeated calls? At last he thought he distinguished movements on the bank, and soon discovered that a fire was being kindled, and a boat prepared. The searchers who had remained were evidently making ready to pass the night by the river, and Leon began to catch the voices of Darwin and the others of the searching party. He could scarcely hope to make them hear; for the strong wind bore his own voice away from the figures outlined against the bright blaze. But he must keep them, if possible, from venturing to his rescue; for now and then a great log floated by, and their risk would be more than his. “Stay back!” he shouted. “I’m all right. Wait till morning.” Fortunately they heard, and watched with him all the long night through. The boy grew stiff and chilled, and tears sprang to his eyes as he reflected that the light would not go out at home either; for he had promised to return, and he always kept his word. Then came thoughts of another home awaiting him, and of a Father whose love was infinitely greater than that of earthly parents. “I warned Peter that he was on the wrong road, but am I any more on the right road than he? I have not taken Jesus as my Saviour, and it is only ‘he that believeth’ who ‘hath everlasting life.’ Is that all I have to do—only to trust him? Why, I am trusting my weight to the branches of this tree; surely I can trust myself, body and soul, to the love and mercy of Christ. I will, right now. God help me!” And such peace and comfort filled his heart that he knew he was not alone. He had listened to the Holy Spirit, and a divine presence made him calm and happy, even in the midst of his danger. With the blessed dawn a boat steered cautiously between driftwood and eddies, and the first face recognized among the rowers was that of old Mr. Graham, who had crossed the river the night before, and had been unable to return. Leon at once delivered to him the document which had almost cost his life. “God bless you, my boy,” ejaculated the old man, in husky tones. “You are a faithful son. May you be as faithful to your Father in heaven!” Leon would wait for nothing when he learned that his parents had been alarmed. Mounting Bellair, who was all right again after his night’s rest, he galloped home, and burst into the house, white and exhausted, to find preparation making to drag Caney Creek. “Here I am, father and mother; and I gave Mr. Graham the paper, and—and I know you were both praying for me.” But who was that leaning against the wall, shaking and sobbing? It was Peter Robbins, crying:— “Lord, have mercy; what shall I do?—what shall I do?” “Peter met the man from Darwin’s, and came along with him, greatly distressed for us and for you, my son,” explained Mr. Wray. “He wanted to go to Caney Creek himself—but, thank God, he will not be needed.” “O Lord, I’m such a sinner! I was that wicked I wouldn’t have cared, yesterday, if the horse had slipped into the high water, and both of ’em been drowned. But I couldn’t get away from his pleasant look and his words, ‘Pete, you’re on a risky road,’ and if he hadn’t come back, I’d have thrown my worthless self into Caney Creek; for I see what a sinner I am. I never did pray, but I want to pray now, and I don’t know how.” “Don’t talk so, Peter,” pleaded Leon. “I was a sinner too, and on a risky road, as well as you; for I was trusting to my own goodness. We can not trust anything but Christ’s love and mercy. Just give yourself to him; you can do it right now.” His mother led Leon away for food and rest, and Peter stayed to listen to Mr. Wray’s kind instructions. The hard heart was at last softened by the working of God’s Spirit, and Peter yielded up his will to the will of Him who can “save to the uttermost.” Ah! there was joy, not only in that earthly home, but among the angels, over the earnest, brave youth, and the repenting wanderer, who had both come by the same path of faith into the service and keeping of the heavenly Father.—The Examiner. “OVERANXIOUS REFORMERS.”
By H. F. Phelps
“Inventing New Schemes;” “Continually Organizing.” It seems that there must be a sort of mania in the land for organization. There are secret orders of almost every name and description, and for numerous purposes. There are all the various clubs and club meetings, and club houses. Then there are all the numerous associations through which the members are to receive a money consideration in case of accident, sickness, or death. Then there may also be seen those gigantic organizations called trusts, and monopolies, through which some of the more fortunate, or, perhaps, the greatest schemers, grow immensely rich through the iniquitous methods of “controlling the output,” and fleecing the consumer, and by “freezing out” the small stockholders. If this were all, there might still be some room for hope for the world. But it is not all. The church itself does not seem to be satisfied with its own organization, but goes to work and multiplies—as it were, wheels within a wheel. The church itself has caught the same spirit, or mania, and, confederates within itself, devising some means by which evil may be prevented and made utterly impossible, by removing every temptation thereto. The church seems to have forgotten that “the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,” and is seeking by all the various “leagues,” and “committees,” and “bureaus of reform,” to influence legislation so as to bring in a reign of civic righteousness. In such a time as this the words of the prophet are applicable: “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” Isa. 8: 12, 13. Also verse 9 gives a warning: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; . . . gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand.” And the reason given is this,—“for God is with us,”—God is not in all the confederating, but he is with those who preach the Gospel in its purity; with those who depend upon the power of the Gospel, instead of the arm of flesh. In such a time as this it is refreshing to note that there is here and there one who sees and dares to speak out against these things. The following extract from one of the pulpits of St. Paul, Minn., is in point:— “First, I would mention the pulpits, the preaching of the gospel. No city can prosper without preachers. The Gospel points out the evils and gives us the remedies. It is by the irresistible energy of the Gospel that the gigantic vices among us are to be conquered. The victims of vice must be rescued by the truth as it is in Jesus. I believe there are overanxious reformers among us who are continually inventing new schemes wherewith to remedy existing evils; reformers who are continually organizing. Through the activity of these new organizations they propose to bring about such an arrangement of society in which crime is prevented by removing the temptations to it. Such procedure in our warfare against crime can not be successful. Not merely the outward institutions of evil, but the seat of the evil, the citadel of the heart, must be bombarded. No community can ever be made virtuous and happy except by the renovation of the heart and the consequent reformation of the life of its individual members.” This is sound sense. It is more; it is Gospel. And nothing but the preaching of the Gospel can renovate the heart and reform the life of the individual members of society. All these man-made organizations are but an attempt to climb up into heaven some other way, and will prove a failure. ANGELS; THEIR NATURE AND MINISTRY.
Contains also some hints on the origin, history, and destiny of Satan as gleaned from the Scriptures. Bible Students' Library, No. 8. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 140 pp.; 20 cents. Part I, “An Atonement Consistent with Reason.” Part II, “An Atonement as Revealed in the Bible.” Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. Cloth, $1.00. EVERY YEAR.
By Albert Pike
LIFE is a count of losses
Every year;
For the weak are heavier crosses
Every year;
Lost spring with sods replying
Unto weary autumn’s sighing,
While those we love are dying
Every year.
But the truer life draws nigher
Every year;
And the morning star climbs higher
Every year;
Earth’s hold on us grows slighter,
And the heavy burden lighter,
And the Dawn Immortal brighter
Every year. —Charleston News and Courier. GOSSIPING IN THE PRESENCE OF CHILDREN.
A habit of indulging in gossip is pernicious in its influences and results over us all. “Pity ’tis, ’tis true,” that we oftentimes give a willing ear to the stories circulating about our friends and acquaintances, and more is the pity that we are tempted too readily, and yield to the temptation, to tell these detrimental reports over again to other willing ears. It is astonishing how thoughtless mothers often are of their speech before children. Children are very attentive listeners. They may seem to be interested in their play or their books, but, nevertheless, nothing said by their elders escapes their ears. Children like to hear what their elders are talking about, especially if the talk is carried on with a show of mystery. Friends may speak depreciatingly of some other friend, without a thought of the consequences, and perhaps without even a remembrance of the words spoken, a few days afterwards, but the child who hears it makes a memorandum of the sins of commission or omission which mother and her friend talked over, and thus an unjust prejudice is acquired, which the mother is astonished to hear expressed perhaps weeks afterwards. “What mother says must be so,” is the argument the child uses to reason out the wrong and right of things. Mother is the ideal of all that is true and just and good. Think of this, mothers. What wonderful trust your little child places in you and your judgment and actions! Is it not a very serious matter to be a child’s ideal of what is best and truest in motherhood? “Mrs. So and So must be a dreadful woman,” reasons the child, who has heard that neighbor spoken of in a depreciatory manner. And if that neighbor has a child, what a show of superior goodness the child of the gossiping mother carries about with her hereafter when she mingles with Mrs. So-and-So’s child! How pitifully she regards her in the light of her mother’s depreciating estimate—it is such a dreadful thing to have a mother who does things which mother thinks are so bad! Two-thirds of the gossip circulated about persons is libelous, because it is untrue, and, if legally followed up, would prove a crime. The sad results of scandalous stories are often pitiful in the extreme. We try to have our children acquire habits of truth and justice that will help them on in right living, but are we particular to teach them not to speak untruthfully or unjustly of their little playmates? When they come to us with a story which depreciates the good qualities of some little friend, do we counsel them not to tell over anything which will hurt the reputation of that child? Do we help them to acquire the habit of that charity which thinketh no evil of one’s neighbor?—Evangelist. The Irish World is responsible for the following remedies. They are certainly worth trying:— “CRANBERRY JUICE.—A noted physician declares that the use of the pure, fresh juice of raw cranberries, given freely, either undiluted or with an equal part of water, is an excellent means of relieving the thirst and vomiting peculiar to many forms of sickness. In fifty cases where ice and narcotics failed to make the slightest impression, the cranberry juice in small but repeated doses rapidly checked both troubles. “Pineapple Juice is sure to relieve croup, tonsillitis, sore throat, etc. I know a child whose parents are sure that this pineapple-juice remedy saved its life. The doctor had given it up, when the fruit juice was recommended. A few spoonfuls given brought such relief that the labored breathing became easy, and the child fell into a sweet, refreshing slumber. Get a pineapple or two and can the concentrated juice, so that you may have it always at hand if your child is suddenly taken with croup or diphtheria.” Mrs. S. Nosredla, a mother, in the Housekeeper of April 1, uses the following sensible words: “Each year the conviction in me grows that doctors are only valuable at rare intervals. That what is valuable is the sensible method of using what might go to the doctor for perfect, modern, and hygienic clothing, sensible food, and clean, sanitary, comfortable homes. In such the creeping baby, and the older children, will have good health.” Railway Passenger Fatality Rates
ONLY one railway passenger among 28,000,000 is annually killed in England; in France it is 1 in 19,000,000; in Germany, 1 in 10,000,000; Italy, 1 in 6,000,000; America, 1 in 2,000,000 to 3,000,000, and Russia, 1 in 1,000,000. THE PIONEER MISSIONARY TO LAO.
By Laura B. M'Kean
BY MRS. LAURA B. M'KEAN, CHEUNG MAI, SIAM. In 1858 a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary left the American shores for a distant mission field. After a voyage of several months in a sailing vessel, he landed in Bangkok, Siam, “the Venice of the Orient.” This young man was Rev. Daniel McGilvary, now Rev. Daniel McGilvary, D.D., aptly styled “the Apostle to the Lao.” In Bangkok he engaged in mission work with all the zeal of a soul alive to the needs of a lost race. Here he met and married a daughter of the venerable Dr. Bradley. She has shared in his labor of love, and has endured with him all the trials and privations of pioneer missionary life. Dr. McGilvary could not long endure to build on another’s foundation, so he, in company with a fellow-missionary, left Bangkok for Petchaburee. After the work was well established at that point, Dr. McGilvary again turned his face toward the regions yet in darkness. But this time it was not toward a neighboring city a few days’ journey away, but to the almost unknown Lao-land, farther away in point of time from Bangkok than Bangkok is from the United States. Dr. McGilvary had become interested in the Lao people by meeting traders who came to Bangkok every year for goods, and also through a colony of Lao war captives who had been located near Petchaburee by their captors. From these sources he had learned much of the customs and disposition of the people. During a visit of the Lao king to Bangkok, Dr. McGilvary, with several other American missionaries, called upon him, and from him received assurance that the foreign teachers would receive a welcome should they visit his capital. So intense had become Dr. McGilvary’s desire to take the Gospel to this people, that, in the face of many hindrances, he, in company with Rev. Jonathan Wilson, made a tour of investigation into this northern district. A part of the journey was made by boat, and a part by elephant. This tour strengthened Dr. McGilvary’s belief that a mission station should at once be opened in Cheung Mai, that being the most important city of the Lao country. In 1867 permission was granted for the opening of this station, and the North Lao Mission became a reality. Dr. and Mrs. McGilvary at once began preparation for removing to Cheung Mai. It sounds very simple to say, “Go to Cheung Mai,” but even in these days it is no small undertaking. It meant that this family of four, including two small children, must make a boat journey of two months, in a little cabin eight feet by ten, passing though those difficult rapids, forty or more in number. It was not known that any foreigner had ever ascended these rapids. And even to-day, tho we know that every year missionaries pass up and down this river, and no lives have been lost, yet the rapids are always more or less dreaded. It meant leaving all other white companionship, and it also meant no physician in case of illness. But none of these things moved them. I can liken these saints of God to none except to Abraham and Sarah. The Lord had called them into an unknown country, and they went, never doubting the divine leading. Their first dwelling was a sala, one of the public resting-places of the city. Here they lived for two years. The greater part of that time they had no privacy. Their white faces and foreign dress were a great curiosity to the people, and all day long they were thronged with callers. After many months of faithful sowing of the seed, the harvest began to appear. Then appeared also the heathen jealousy of the ruler. Two men who had accepted Christ were arrested, and after a night of torture were beaten to death. In this instance, as in ages past, the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. Dr. McGilvary sent word to Bangkok of the death of these men, and a delegation was sent to Cheung Mai to investigate the matter. Dr. McGilvary accompanied this delegation on their visit to the king. At first the king denied any knowledge of the affair, but Dr. McGilvary boldly accused him of the murder. Then the king acknowledged the deed, and further said, “The American missionaries may make as many Christians as they like, but I shall take the life of every one.” The death of these men and the hostilities of the king frightened the people, so that for a time there were almost no visitors at the home of the missionaries. An aged priest, who visits us frequently, told me that he was the only one who dared visit Dr. McGilvary at that time. It is with considerable pride he tells of his fidelity and courage. In spite of the king’s attitude toward mission work, Dr. McGilvary still continued to visit him, and was always well received. The second year Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson joined the mission. By some persons it was thought that the work was hopeless, and that it might as well be abandoned, but Dr. McGilvary, with the eye of faith, saw the large community of Christians which exists there to-day, and Cheung Mai as a center of light, throwing rays far out into the darkness, and he refused to leave. Just when the outlook was the darkest, the king was summoned to Bangkok, and he died while returning to Cheung Mai, a few days before he reached the city. According to the custom of the country, no dead body can be taken inside the city walls, and so the king awaited his burning outside of the city, and not within his own palace, which was no small evidence of his demerit. His daughter, who ascended the throne, was more friendly to the missionaries, and placed no obstacles in the way of the mission work. Dr. McGilvary and Rev. Mr. Wilson were now able to secure land and begin the erection of dwelling-houses. It was several years before Dr. McGilvary’s house was finally completed. Logs were brought from the forest, and every plank and post was sawed by hand, according to the slow method of the native people. As soon as Dr. McGilvary saw the work beginning to take on a permanent look, the old spirit of pioneering came upon him, and he began to make long tours into the neighboring cities and provinces. While Cheung Mai always remained his home, yet every year he makes a tour of from two to five months into the northern part of the Lao country. The churches of Cheung Hai and Cheung Saan are a part of the fruitage of these tours. He discovered the mountain tribe of Moosur, near Cheung Hai, and preached Christ to them. He spent weeks in visiting this tribe, tramping over the mountains, enduring all the inconveniences of camp life, and the dangers of climate. Dr. McGilvary has had the joy of welcoming twenty-three of this tribe into the visible church of Christ. He wrote a fellow missionary that he considered the day of Cha Ba Kaw’s baptism a red-letter day in his missionary experience. Cha Ba Kaw was the head man of his village, and the first of the Moosur race to accept Christ. In his tours through this north country, Dr. McGilvary has found fourteen or fifteen other mountain tribes, having different languages, and in a measure different customs, habits, and superstitions, but they are all alike in that they need the Gospel. Dr. McGilvary’s heart goes out toward these strangers to Christ, and his every prayer is burdened with petitions for their salvation. His eyes shine with joy, his step seems more elastic, and his whole being filled with new life, when the time comes for his annual visit to these northern peoples. It is the custom of the missionaries to meet at his home the morning he leaves, and, after everything is packed and ready to start, the elephants restlessly tingling their bells, seemingly anxious to be off on their grand mission, a season of prayer is held, petitioning God’s blessing upon the tour.—Missionary Review. As a fitting supplement to the foregoing, we give the following paragraph from the general report of Rev. F. F. Ellinwood, D.D., on “Missions in Siam and Laos”:— “The Laos field is now considered one of the most promising, tho twenty-eight years years ago it seemed one of the most difficult, owing to the above-mentioned bitter persecution. The favorable reaction was strong. Martyrs’ blood in that distant region, as elsewhere, proved to be the seed of the church. Compared with the people of Siam, especially at Bangkok, the inhabitants of Laos are more simple and confiding. They have the great advantage of being sufficiently removed from those corrupting influences of foreign contact which in all lands have proved so detrimental to the highest missionary success. Medical work has had a most salutary influence in winning the confidence of the people; and, altho a former king was a persecutor, the princes of Laos in recent years have held a friendly attitude toward the missions, and there has been as great freedom in the proclamation of the Gospel in every part of that country as in the territories of the United States.” Dying with Jesus, his death reckoned mine;
Living with Jesus, a new life divine;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine. Chorus:—
Moment by moment I’m kept by his love;
Moment by moment I’ve life from above,
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine. Never a trial that he is not there,
Never a burden that he doth not bear,
Never a sorrow that he doth not share;
Moment by moment, I’m under his care. Never a heartache, and never a groan,
Never a tear-drop, and never a moan,
Never a danger, but there on the throne,
Moment by moment, he thinks of his own. Never a weakness that he doth not feel,
Never a sickness that he can not heal;
Moment by moment, in wo or in weal,
Jesus, my Saviour, abides with me still. Li Hung Chang's Appeal for Schools and Hospitals
BISHOP E. R. HENDRIX, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, has just returned from a missionary tour in Japan, Korea, and China. He brings this message from Li Hung Chang: “Say to the American people for me to send over more for the schools and hospitals, and I hope to be in a position both to aid them and to protect them.” Japanese Christian Endeavor in Vancouver
A JAPANESE Christian Endeavor Society of Vancouver was formed by the only five Japanese Christians in that city; but through their efforts eighty of their countrymen have been converted, of whom six have become preachers and missionaries. Has any society in the world a better record? THE GENERAL CAMP-MEETING AND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF CALIFORNIA
By C. H. Jones
WILL be held in Alameda, on the corner of Walnut Street and Buena Vista Avenue, near the electric road and Park Street station of the Alameda broad-gauge local. There will be present besides our local laborers, the Lord willing, Elders A. J. Breed, General Conference district superintendent, Elder A. T. Jones, editor of the American Sentinel, and Prof. E. A. Sutherland, of Walla Walla College, President F. W. Howe, and others from Healdsburg College, and W. H. Maxson, M.D., and others from St. Helena Sanitarium. How to Reach the Camp Ground, Alameda.
Those coming from Monterey and stations below San Jose should change cars at San Jose, taking the narrow-gauge train. Check baggage to, and get off at, Park Street station, Alameda. Then take the electric cars direct to the camp ground. Those coming via Benicia, Vallejo, and Port Costa should check baggage to and get off at Sixteenth Street station, Oakland. Then take either the Fourteenth or Sixteenth Street electric car, changing at Eleventh and Washington Streets to the Alameda electric cars direct to the camp ground. Those coming from San Francisco should take the boat connecting with the broad-gauge trains at the pier. On the Oakland side take the Alameda local train to Park Street station, Alameda, or, if preferred, change at the foot of Broadway, Oakland, taking the electric cars (belt line) going toward Alameda, and get off at Santa Clara Avenue and Walnut Street. Arrangements have been made with the Whitney Transfer Company to take trunks and packages from San Francisco to the camp ground in Alameda at twenty-five cents each, and from depots in Oakland to the grounds for fifteen cents each. Checks should be left with the above-named company at their office, No. 3 Commercial Street, San Francisco (just across the street from ferry landing). Those who have baggage checked to any of the depots in Oakland should give the checks only to authorized agents of the Whitney Transfer Company, who will deliver trunks to the camp ground in Alameda at above-named prices. Pay the agent when checks are delivered, taking receipt for same. A baggage room will be established on the camp ground, where all baggage will be delivered and can be claimed on presentation of receipt. Arrangements have not yet been made for the transportation of baggage to the camp ground from Park Street station on the narrow-gauge road from San Jose. Notice of such arrangements will be given in our next. By carefully following the above directions much trouble and inconvenience will be avoided. SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY.
Those coming to the meeting over any of the lines of the Southern Pacific Company will purchase a first-class ticket to Oakland or Alameda, according to the route taken, paying the regular fare, at the same time presenting a certificate, which must be filled out and signed by the ticket agent. Those certificates can now be obtained free of charge by addressing M. H. Brown, 1059 Castro Street, Oakland, Cal. We would suggest that where several persons are coming from one place, it be arranged to have all the certificates needed sent to one person, and then passed around to those who are coming. Be sure to order enough for all. One of these receipt-certificates must be taken for each member of the family, as the description of the individual will be punched on the same. This will take time, therefore get your tickets the day before, or be early at the station, say twenty or thirty minutes before train time. After these certificates have been indorsed by the secretary at the camp ground, they will entitle the holder to a return ticket at one-third the regular rate, at any time from May 28 to June 10, 1896. Return tickets must be used within forty-eight hours after they are purchased. SAN FRANCISCO AND NORTH PACIFIC RAILWAY CO.
The same arrangements have been made with the San Francisco and North Pacific Railway Co. as those with the Southern Pacific Co., as stated above, excepting that return tickets can be purchased on properly signed certificates any time from May 20 to June 20, 1896. Return tickets over this line must be purchased on day of departure, as they will be good for passage on trains of that date only. Tickets with these certificates can be purchased at any time from now on, and will be honored in returning over the S. P. lines up to June 10, and over the S. F. & N. P. lines up to June 20, 1896.