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THE KING’S BUSINESS
epidemics to visit the country, even though we do not understand it now.” A great feature of the Taipusum enter tainment at Batu Caves, Kuala- Lumpur, was, says the Malay Mail, the arrival— accompanied by much music—of a man covered' with small darts which were embedded in his flesh. He appeared to be in a trance, and was said to be’undergoing the ordeal by way of a thank offering for restored health after -supplication at the temple. There were two long darts—about the size of a lady’s hat pin—through his tongue and lip and the strange part of the ceremonial is that when, having arrived at the shrine in the Caves, these darts are removed, no blood flows. One of the mys teries of the east! It was a sight seldom seen by Europeans, and with its back ground of bright colors, green foliage and much drum beating was one to be remem bered. The recent Malaysia conference approved of the formation of The Malaysia Annual Conference Epworth League, and con firmed the election of the following officers to serve as the first cabinet: President, P. L. Peach, Kuala Lumpur; first vice presi dent, Goh Hood Keng, Singapore; second vice-president, William Abraham, Kuala Lumpur; third vice-president, Lim*Cheng Yam, Taipeng; fourth vice-president, Khoo Keat Hock, Medan; secretary, Ho Seng Ong, Kuala Lumpur; superintendent Junior League, T. W. Bowmar, Klang. C eylon . —The girls of the Jaffna, Cey lon, Mission school are interesting them selves in world movements, a thing unheard of not many years ago. Soon after the war began, when the first call came for relief for the Belgians, the girls of the school heard of it. Entirely of their own accord they made a plan for raising money. Having all agreed to it, they came to the office of the principal one day in groups, class by class, and requested that they be allowed to go without dinner every day until the war was over and send the money thus saved to the Relief Fund. The request
was not granted in its entirety, but in a modified form. S iam .— Siam is spotted with leprosy. It is estimated that there are 10,000 of these sufferers. They are feared, hated and cursed and turned out of their homes by their families, who do not want to take care of them. They wander up and down the roads, begging and utterly helpless in their dire misery. The American Presby terian Church has established an asylum at Chiengmai, on an island of 160 acres, pre sented to them for this purpose by the King. In this haven, some 200 lepers have been gathered and live in neat brick houses amind cleanly surroundings. They receive about 40 cents a week each for subsistence. The entire colony has become Christian, and recently they gave out of savings from their allowance money, a sum equal to $12 in gold, “to be sent to lepers in some other land who are less fortunate than our selves.” This work has called the atten tion of all classes of people in Siam to the beneficent character of Christianity in the most striking way, and will, no doubt, lead the government to establish other asylums where lepers will be segregated, and as a consequence the country will gradually be freed from the terrible menace of this disease... C h ina — China will place increasing emphasis on modern ideals of Western learning, and so far as the country can, on righteousness and truth. The difficulty in the whole situation seems to be this: China asks for our schools, our industries, and our commerce, deeming these things important, as indeed they are. But at the same time, she rejects our Christ. Why? Because a government ■ is necessarily sec ular and ecclesiastical politics is pernicious, as we all know. The result is that China’s' awakening is a strong challenge to us to put all our available energies into the task of christianizing China’s new civilization. China, with civilization and without Christ, is the “yellow peril” personified. Mrs. Albert Johnson, Swedish Evangel ical Mission, Siang Yang, China, writes:
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