At Home and Abroad
The great need for work among lepers in India is suggested by the fact that the 1911 census reports their number in the empire as 109,094, an increase of 11,757 since 1901. The Established Church of Scotland re ports for 1912; Communicants, 713,849, a decrease of 1066 from 1911; contributions, seat rents and all other sources of income, $528,562 pounds, a decrease of 3746 pounds. While missionaries are going to West Africa to save men, the importation of spirits in the British West Africa colonies has increased between 1906 and 1911 more than two million gallons, the total amount in; 1911 being 6,835,188 gallons of body and soul-destroying liquor. The premier of Spain. has pardoned a Spanish soldier for refusing to kneel dur ing mass. The hero had been condemned to six months’ imprisonment. The spirit of the Inquisition is still abroad in Spain, but, the spirit of. Protestant and Gospel lib erty is there to check its cruelty. The Bible Training Institute, Glasgow, Scotland, celebrated recently its twenty- first year, having been organized after Mr. Moody’s visit (his second) in 1892! No fewer than 892 students have passed through the Institute, most of whom are serving God in the mission fields of the world today. It was a statesman who said, “If you do not save China for Christ, in twenty-five years, you will be. praying the Lord to save you from, China.” He saw the mental power and the physical resources of the nation. We have a bigger reason than that—“the winning of China to Christ will mean, the early conquest of the world to Christ.” The Moravians have been laboring in Alaska faithfully for twenty-five years. The Lord gave the increase and 1041
Christians had bpen gathered around the missionaries on January 1, 1912: Then a remarkable revival took place and, accord ing to the reports recently published, the number of Christians increased to 1250 within four months.— Miss. Rev. ' “We like the Fijian people; they are, genial, kindly and good-natured, full of fun and always ready for a joke. This amiability was rather surprising in view of the national history, which is ghastly enough! Within the memory of many of us Fiji was pre-eminent for the wanton cruelty of its barbarism. Today Fiji is nominally a Christian land.”— Reported. A student volunteer movement for Home Missions has been set on foot. It is pro posed that the Presbyterian General As sembly (U. S. A.) authorize its Home Board to propose this pledge to students in colleges and theological seminaries: “Unless God in His. providence should otherwise direct, it is my hope and pur pose, when my preparation is complete, to spend at. least three years in some form ot Christian mission service under the American flag.” Mongolia, to which the heroic James Gil- mour gave so much of his life, is at last awakening. Its mission to St. Petersburg stated through its prince that the opening of schools and the publication of newspa pers. would,.be welcomed by the Urga au thorities, with due respect to the wishes of the Lama priesthood. Type and machinery had already been bpught, and one Mon golian school with twelve young men studying, under.the Ministry of Foreign Af- fqirs, are the first-fruits of the new regime, A remarkable document has been issued by, an ancient Taoist monastery near Ning- po, China, addressed to Christian leaders andiOthers,; asking their, interest and possi ble presence at a general council. The rea son for its assembling is that “the estab-
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