[448]

S I X T H    P E R I O D .

CHAPTER XLII.

SEVERAL GENERAL ASSEMBLIES.

 

The earthquake was past, and our temple stood without a rent in its walls. We had felt the shock only to learn new lessons about the firmness of that Rock on which our house is builded. After 1870 the spirit of unity and fraternity in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church grew rapidly, and there is more union of heart among our people now than ever before.

The General Assembly of 1871, which met at Nashville, Tennessee, was harmonious and full of hope. The quarterly system of collections by pastors, which had been suspended for one year, was by this Assembly promptly, and with great unanimity, restored.

The Assembly of 1872, at Evansville, Indiana, appointed a day of prayer for colleges, and called on the whole church to join in its observance. The great want of the church was men. All keenly felt this want; and the struggle to train men for their work in the ministry was embarrassed by the overwhelming bankruptcy of all the Southern people. Besides this general bankruptcy, which surpassed all description, there was in the Southern States a sad lack of young men. Many from both sections who had been the hope of church and state were sleeping in coffinless graves on the myriad battle-fields of the civil war. Our church was very weak in the Northern States, and the hope of a supply of recruits for [449] the broken ranks of the ministry was but faint. Hitherto, the most of our preachers, even in the Northern States, had come from that South which was now to a large extent demoralized and in ruins. The day of prayer was well timed and was generally observed, and as the history of our colleges will show, it was not observed in vain.

At this Assembly the announcement was officially made of the death of the Rev. Milton Bird, D.D., the stated clerk. Dr. Bird is one of those characters that will grow in our esteem as the years sweep away and all littleness and party prejudices die out. He belonged to no section, no party; and because he would not bow down and worship at any partisan shrine, the true grandeur of his soul was not appreciated in the days of mad partisan extremes. Ruling Elder John Frizzell was elected stated clerk in Dr. Bird's place. Mr. Frizzell had special adaptedness to this work, and the announcement that he could be secured to fill this vacancy gave universal satisfaction.

This Assembly warned our churches and people against bad books. Most of the session was occupied in considering the revised Form of Government, which had long been under discussion, and which, after three references to the presbyteries, was at last laid on the table indefinitely.

The Assembly of 1873 was held at Huntsville, Alabama. One matter of special interest came before this body. Dr. A.J. Baird, who had been sent as corresponding delegate to the General Assembly of the Northern Presbyterian Church, in session at Baltimore, Maryland, telegraphed that a committee to consider organic union with Cumberland Presbyterians had, at his request, been appointed by the Presbyterian Assembly, and he asked our Assembly if it would appoint a similar committee. Dr. Baird had, on his own responsibility, made this proposition, and the Presbyterian Assembly had acted on it. Our Assembly appointed the committee asked for, and thus another fruitless movement looking toward organic union was inaugurated.

The two committees thus appointed had a very pleasant and fraternal conference at Nashville, Tennessee, beginning February 25th, 1874, and continuing through the next day. The members [450] of the Cumberland Presbyterian committee present were Drs. Richard Beard, J.B. Mitchell, A.J. Baird, and A.B. Miller. Among the members of the Presbyterian committee were Drs.H.A. Nelson, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Joseph T. Smith, of Baltimore, Maryland; and Charles A. Dickey, of Saint Louis, Missouri. But in this case, as in the conference at Memphis six years before with the committee of the Southern branch of the Presbyterian Church, the only basis of union submitted by the Presbyterians was the Westminster Confession of Faith. In the Nashville conference the Presbyterians did not even promise to submit to their Assembly the plan of union proposed by the Cumberland Presbyterian committee, but recommended that negotiations should be continued. As in the conference at Memphis, so at Nashville the Cumberland Presbyterian committee went to great lengths in trying to devise a plan upon which the two churches could unite. The plan proposed in the latter case was as follows:

We, the committee on the part of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, submit the following as a basis of union between our church and the Presbyterian Church here represented:

1.--That both Confessions of Faith shall be retained as they are, and shall be regarded as of equal authority as standards of evangelical doctrine; and hereafter in the licensure of candidates, and in the ordination of ministers or other officers of the church, or on any other occasion when it shall be necessary to adopt a Confession of Faith, it shall be left to the choice of the individual as to which of these he shall adopt.

2.--That the Form of Government and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church shall be the Form of Government and Discipline of the united church.

3.--That the united church shall be known as the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America.

The impression went abroad that the joint committee had agreed to this plan of union, and such an impression prevailed among the members of the next Cumberland Presbyterian Assembly; but neither the published records of the joint committee nor the original manuscript minutes of its meetings justify any such conclusion.

To the plan of union proposed by our committee the Presbyterian committee responded in these words:

[451] The committee on the part of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church haying considered the prayer presented by our brethren, cordially respond:

1.--That this paper and our familial conference of this morning confirm the impressions and hopes indicated in our previous paper, and our desire for the continued and increased intercourse, cooperation, and united prayer of the ministers and people of both churches which that paper recommends.

2.--That in our judgment it is desirable that such intercourse be continued, and the mutual acquaintance of the two churches become more extensive and intimate before their General Assemblies shall be called upon to act upon any plan of union.

3.--That in submitting the proceedings of this joint committee to our respective Assemblies we recommend the appointment of a joint committee for continued conference and for promoting intercourse and acquaintance between the two bodies during the next year.

The one thing which the joint committee agreed upon was that the negotiations should be continued. This was the only question connected with this matter which the Cumberland Presbyterian Assembly of 1874, at Springfield, Missouri, was called upon to decide. The discussion of this subject, however, which was not free from ill-feeling, took a far wider range. The Assembly finally adopted a resolution which, without expressing any opinion on the proposed plan of union, declared it inexpedient to continue the negotiations. This forestalled the action of the Presbyterian Assembly, and the whole matter was dropped.

There are two false ideas that ought never again to deceive us or our Presbyterian brethren. One is the hope on their part that our people will sometime adopt unchanged the Westminster Confession of Faith. The other is the belief among Cumberland Presbyterians that Presbyterians are ready to accept our doctrinal platform. Both parties are honest and conscientious, and so long as there exist such important differences in doctrinal views, they can work with more harmony and love in separate ecclesiastical organizations. The union which Christ prayed for is not an outward visible union, else we would all be driven back into the Roman Catholic church. Outward union is vain and worthless when union of heart and spirit do not accompany it. Union of heart often binds Christians of different churches closer together [452] than brothers of the same family. We should cultivate this loving spirit, and wait till God's providence prepares the way for outward oneness. We can cordially cooperate in promoting such preparation, but we can not force it.

All the propositions made by Presbyterians for conference about union with Cumberland Presbyterians have contained evidence that the union to be taken into consideration was, according to the Presbyterian view, to be on the basis of the Westminster standards. Thus the Presbyterian Assembly (Southern), in appointing a committee to meet a similar committee from our church, used this language:

In practically carrying out this idea {viz.; of a union}, the Assembly, laying aside ecclesiastical etiquette, would affectionately say to their brethren of the Associate Reformed Synod, that they may pull the latch-string of our dwelling whenever they may choose, and may be incorporated with us upon the simple adoption of our standards, whenever these may happen to differ from their own; and to our brethren of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, we respectfully suggest whether the time has not come to consider the great importance to the kingdom of our common Master of their union with us by the adoption of the time-honored standards to which we adhere.

In the conference with the committee of the Southern branch of the Presbyterian Church their only proposition was that we should take the Westminster Confession unchanged. In the conference with the representatives of the other branch of the Presbyterian Church six or seven years afterward, nothing was offered our committee but the Westminster Confession unchanged. In a movement originated by individuals in California, the Presbyterian synod on the Pacific coast proposed that the Cumberland Presbyterian synod be consolidated with it on the basis of the Westminster Confession unchanged. What ground individual members of our church gave our dear Presbyterian brethren to encourage them to make such offers is an inquiry whose investigation would not be for our edification.

The Assembly of 1874 was rendered memorable by the visit of Dr. James Morrison and Dr. Fergus Ferguson, corresponding delegates from the Evangelical Union Church of Scotland. The profound scholarship of Dr. Morrison made him a fitting companion [453] for Dr. Beard, and it was interesting to see how these two scholars "took to each other."

Ferguson is a genial, witty man, and a thorough Scotchman. A preacher who had been chaplain in the Southern army was Ferguson's room-mate. General Holland, at whose house they were quartered, had been a commander in the Northern army. The two army men became warm friends at their first meeting, and they showed great fondness for talking over war experiences. Ferguson listened in amazement. At last he broke forth with his strong Scotch accent: "I don't understand it, General. Just a little while ago he was preaching to the soldiers, and you were shooting at him. Now here you both are cheek by jowl together, like the best friends in the world." Yes, and the best friends in the world they are still, whether a Scotchman can understand it or not. But they are not any warmer friends to each other than they both are to that quaint, original, genial son of Caledonia, who published a pleasant little book about his trip to Springfield.

The custom of sending corresponding delegates to bear fraternal greetings to General Assemblies and conferences was then at its zenith. For fourteen years it had been growing. The churches which generally had representatives on the floor of our Assembly were the Presbyterian (both branches), the Lutheran, the Evangelical Union, the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian, the Congregational, and sometimes others.

The address of the Rev. J.S. Hays, corresponding delegate from the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America to the Cumberland Presbyterian Assembly of 1874, is here presented:

For two reasons no service could be more agreeable to me than that of being the bearer to you of the Christian salutations of that branch of the church to which I belong. In the first place, after observing the spirit and temper of my church toward you as manifested in our General Assembly one year ago, I am able to present these greetings without a single misgiving as to the sincerity and cordiality of those for whom I speak. And then the old animosities that were engendered by the separation which took place before we were born have all been happily buried and forgotten. There is but little diversity and much in common in our history and doctrines and discipline. We serve the [454] same Master and fight against the same enemy in the hope of the same glorious reward.

In a communication received by the Presbyterian General Assembly a year ago, you were pleased to speak of us as the mother church. I am happy to reciprocate the compliment and assure you, in return, of the mother's great pride in recognizing her daughter. It is true, I presume, that some of our very proper people regard the daughter in her religious enjoyments sometimes as a little demonstrative, as possibly some of your more demonstrative people regard the mother as a little too sedate. It is also true, perhaps, that some of our very orthodox people regard your belief as a little flexible, as doubtless some of your flexible people regard the mother a little rigid. Such differences we may expect, but I assure you that there is on our part a deep, strong current of respect, affection, and love such as a mother feels for her child.

When your representative, Dr. A.J. Baird, one year ago in our General Assembly, expressed a desire for the formation of a stronger bond of union between us--a desire, indeed, for organic union if it could be satisfactorily accomplished--his words were met in our Assembly with a round of applause, the meaning of which it was impossible to misunderstand. Upon the spot and without a dissenting voice a committee was appointed to meet and confer with a similar committee from your own body for the purpose of ascertaining if such a union could be effected. We have not yet heard the report of that committee; but it is understood that it was only a royal courtship, not a wedding nor an engagement for a wedding. Perhaps the committees were right about it. We have had a wedding of that sort in our house recently. There are those among us--and I am free to confess that I am one of them--who have never been able to see any indispensable necessity for organic union in order to genuine cooperation and the most cordial fraternal relations. I understand that many of you hold the same opinion.

Now, what sort of unity in the church of Christ would be productive of the greatest amount of efficiency and fraternity, is a question that can not be passed over lightly or easily by our corresponding committees. No more important or delicate question is now before the church. However it may be settled, I am sure that there is a deep and wide-spread desire in my own church for some such organic union as that which was suggested to you by the memorial of Drs. Crosby, McCosh, and others in regard to union among Presbyterians. For such a union, especially with your church, we are ready to labor and pray. If at any future time a full organic union can be effected on terms alike honorable and agreeable to all, we will thoroughly rejoice. If not, we [455] will still stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder with you in the strife against evil, and we will defer our little differences about election and other matters until we pass beyond the vale and sit at the feet of Jesus, where we will enjoy better instruction than that which we now receive from the lips of a Beard or a Hodge.

I was intensely interested yesterday in hearing your educational and missionary reports read. With many of the statements I was highly gratified, and when I make my report to my own General Assembly I shall try to convey to them the same impression that was made upon my mind while I listened.

When we, as Presbyterians, look out upon this broad land and observe the millions that are swarming into it, and when we look out upon the broader field, which is the world, and hear the cries that come to us for help which it is impossible for us to give, it is with the profoundest interest that we watch the increasing strength and hail the rising power of vigorous young churches like your own, marching under the same banner, calling themselves by the same name, and proclaiming substantially the same faith.

Laying upon your table the minutes of our last General Assembly, in which you will see an exhibit of our present condition and future prospects, permit me to close as I commenced, by tendering to you the fraternal greetings and the cordial sympathies of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

The Presbyterian Church (Old School) sent its first delegate to the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly in 1860. Delegates came regularly after that. By and by the churches generally concluded to convey these fraternal greetings by letter, and not send delegates in person. Only the colored Cumberland Presbyterians now send corresponding delegates to our Assembly, and there exist special reasons in their case for still keeping up the old custom.

The Assembly of 1875 met at Jefferson, Texas. An interesting item in the business of this meeting was the presentation to the Assembly, by Joseph W. Allen, of Nashville, of an elegant gavel, made from wood which grew on the McAdow farm near the spot where the first Cumberland Presbyterian presbytery was organized.

The Assembly of 1876 met at Bowling Green, Kentucky; that of 1877 at Lincoln, Illinois. At the Assembly of 1878, which was held at Lebanon, Tennessee, Caruthers Hall, one of the buildings of Cumberland University, was dedicated.

[456] The Assembly of 1879, at Memphis, Tennessee, introduced one new feature. It set apart a whole day for the discussion of topics connected with Sunday Schools. In actual Sunday School work our people were doing far too little, and though we have since then made decided improvement, yet the statistical report for 1886 shows only a little over half as many Sunday School scholars as members of the church. Not until 1883 was it decided to have a general superintendent of Sunday Schools for the whole church. Dr. M.B. DeWitt was elected to this office, but as no provisions were made for his salary, and as his time was fully employed with his duties as a pastor, he was unable to devote himself to this work. He resigned in 1886. The Rev. J.H. Warren, his successor, has done good service, collecting many valuable statistics and preparing the way for a greater work in the future. One collection each year from all the congregations in the church, to be taken up on a Sunday designated as "Children's Day," is hereafter to be devoted to the payment of the salary of the general superintendent and the support of Sunday School interests.

Dr.E.D. Morris, corresponding delegate from the Presbyterian Church (Northern), delivered an address in the Cumberland Presbyterian Assembly of 1879, at Memphis, Tennessee, which for sound sense and a rare combination of unflinching fidelity to his own church, along with the noblest liberality toward others, is deserving of special mention. While he called in question the wisdom of any attempt to unite all Presbyterians in one organic body, and expressed doubts about the utility of such large bodies even were they one in faith, calling them "too unwieldy to be efficient, too proud to be endured," he yet declared it desirable for all Presbyterians to "think less about their differences and more of their vital points of agreement in doctrine and order."

The Assembly of 1880 was held at Evansville, Indiana, and by a sort of averaging of dates it was agreed to celebrate this as its semi-centennial meeting. Our first Assembly was organized in 1829, but there had been two years in which no Assembly met.

This semi-centennial celebration called forth numerous historical addresses. These were published in a neat little pamphlet prepared by the stated clerk, the Hon. John Frizzell.

[457] The Woman's Board of Foreign Missions was organized at this meeting. While there had been suggestions and resolutions looking toward such an organization years before, such propositions had until 1880 ended in words yielding no positive results. Our missionaries in Japan at last kept the subject ringing in the ears of our people, and Dr. W.J. Darby, of Evansville, helped to press the matter until the organization became an accomplished fact. This board was located at Evansville, Indiana. Just as soon as it was organized, a young lady from Missouri offered herself as a missionary to go to Japan, and was accepted. No part of our ecclesiastical machinery works more successfully or yields larger results of good than this board with its numerous auxiliaries and children's bands. Its annual receipts have increased. from a little over $2,000 for the first year, to almost $6,800 for the year ending May, 1887. It has now five missionaries in Japan. It has established a school for the education of Japanese girls. It also assists in mission work in Mexico and among the Indians, and is steadily extending its operations and influence.

The first Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Missions ever organized (1818) was a woman's board, and at different times there were local boards of the same character. One such organization is mentioned in the following letter found in the Watchman and Evangelist, a Cumberland Presbyterian paper published at Louisville, Kentucky, thirty years ago:

Lebanon, Tennessee, November 25, 1857.

MR. EDITOR--I am pleased to read in your paper--nay, the expression does not do justice to my feelings--I am delighted, overjoyed, at the movement of the ladies, members of our church in your city. Indeed, they have set a noble example, which I trust may be followed by the ladies of many other churches. "A female foreign missionary society" according to the plan of that lately formed in Louisville, and for the object there specified, as well as other similar objects which will doubtless be presented, might be formed in every congregation. This would rejoice pious hearts, be approved by the great Head of the church, and, being crowned with the divine blessing, might accomplish results the extent and glory of which eternity alone would reveal. What is more natural than to see the followers of Jesus Christ laboring to advance the great object on which his heart is set? As workers together with him, and loving him who has loved them and saved them [458] from sin and the wrath to come, it is to be expected that they will desire to please him and exert themselves to save those for whom he shed his precious blood. The Savior, it is true, is able to convert the world without human instrumentalities; but it has pleased aim to employ his people in the glorious work. The church is the grand instrument by the labors and sacrifices of which the Son of God is to have the heathen for an inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. F.R. COSSITT.

The custom of organizing and maintaining such societies had fallen into neglect. The Assembly's action in 1880 gave it new form and new life.

Growing out of a resolution presented to the General Assembly of 1880, which was referred to the standing committee on fraternal relations, a correspondence sprung up on the subject of organic union with the Evangelical Lutheran church. Committees were appointed, but they did not meet for a joint conference. The correspondence between the Rev. F. Springer, D.D., chairman of the Lutheran committee, and the Rev. J.P. Sprowls, D.D., chairman of the Cumberland Presbyterian committee, developed the fact that while both churches desired closer and more hearty fraternal relations, neither of them was ready for organic union.(1)

By the Assembly of 1881, which met at Austin, Texas, measures of far-reaching significance were adopted. The constitution of the Presbyterian Alliance was approved, and "our Confession of Faith was submitted as indicating our harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions." Committees were appointed to revise the Confession of Faith. The Board of Ministerial Relief was organized. The national council of the Cherokee Indians was memorialized to set apart lands for a Cumberland Presbyterian mission school. A memorial page in the Assembly's Minutes was set apart to the memory of Dr. Richard Beard. This was the first time in the history of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that such a tribute was paid to one of its members. A similar memorial has since been accorded to the Hon.R.L. Caruthers.

The next Assembly, 1882, which met at Huntsville, Alabama, elected delegates to the General Presbyterian Alliance, leaving that [459] council to decide concerning the harmony or want of harmony of the Cumberland Presbyterian creed with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions. A new committee to cooperate with the colored Cumberland Presbyterians in establishing and endowing a school was appointed.

This Assembly spent most of its sessions in considering the proposed new Confession of Faith, which was submitted to it by the committees appointed the year before. After thoroughly reviewing the work of the committees, and making various changes and amendments, this General Assembly approved the revised book and transmitted it to the presbyteries for their action.

At the Assembly of 1883, held at Nashville, Tennessee, it was announced that one hundred of the one hundred and sixteen presbyteries had approved this revised Confession. In sixty-one presbyteries the vote was unanimous, and in seven there was but one dissenting voice. One presbytery protested against the revision; a majority in nine presbyteries voted against its adoption; three did not report, and three presented memorials suggesting changes or asking postponement. The new "Constitution and Rules of Discipline," and the "General Regulations, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Order" were approved by one hundred and six of the presbyteries. The General Assembly then declared that "the Confession of Faith and Government of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church had been constitutionally changed," and that the revised Confession should thereafter "be of binding authority upon the churches."

In 1883 the Hon. John Frizzell, stated clerk, resigned, and T.C. Blake, D.D., was appointed in his place. The Assembly of 1884 which met at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, chose Mr. Frizzell as its moderator, he being the first ruling elder ever elected to that position.

At the next Assembly, which convened at Bentonville, Arkansas, after the opening sermon, which was preached by J.M. Gill, D.D., Mr. Frizzell, on retiring from the moderator's chair, delivered an address abounding in valuable suggestions about the business affairs of the Assembly. He took strong ground in favor of some provisions for regulating the work of evangelists, condemning all [460] that class of lay evangelism which is under no regular ecclesiastical appointment.

At different times in this periods as well as in former periods, the General Assembly bore strong testimony against card playing, theater going, and dancing. The language of one deliverance on dancing was as follows:

Resolved, by this General Assembly, as expressed by former Assemblies, That the practice of promiscuous dancing as an amusement by professed Christians, as well as attendance upon such places of amusement, is hereby declared to be inconsistent with Christian profession and the pure and sacred obligations of our holy religion; and that presbyteries and church sessions are advised that members persisting in such a practice are proper subjects of church discipline.

The meaning of "promiscuous" dancing was discussed at the time, and was defined to be dancing in which both sexes participate.

In 1874 the Board of Publication bought the Banner of Peace for $10,000, The Cumberland Presbyterian for $13,000, and the Texas Cumberland Presbyterian for $2,500, filling out the unexpired subscriptions of each. The Sunday School Gem and the Theological Medium had been purchased in 1872. All the weekly papers were consolidated under the name of The Cumberland Presbyterian. The consolidated organ was located at Nashville, and the Rev. J.R. Brown, D.D., was appointed editor.

The Board of Ministerial Relief, though not organized until 1881, has done valuable work in providing for the wants of men who have worn their lives out in half-paid labors for the church. The self-sacrificing services of these veteran soldiers of the Cross have been worth a thousand times more than all the pay they ever received or can ever receive from man. This board was located at Evansville, Indiana. The Rev. W.J. Darby, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in that city, was the prime mover in securing its organization. Articles of corporation were obtained for it in October, 1881. Its receipts during the first year were less than $600. Its total receipts for the year ending May, 1887, were nearly $5,500. It has a permanent fund of $3,500. The number of persons receiving aid has increased from four, who were helped during the first year, to forty-three now on the roll of beneficiaries.

[461] The boards of the church all made good progress in this period. The Board of Publication, through the aid of contributions from the churches, paid off the immense debt created by purchasing papers and periodicals published by individuals, as well as all the debts for presses and fixtures. It also gave, by order of the Assembly, one thousand dollars to meet expenses incurred in connection with the revision of the Confession of Faith.

The new books written and published by ministers or members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in this period are not numerous. The themes of the volumes issued are theological, biographical, educational, and practical. No devotional books have made their appearance. There is a wide gap here for our writers to fill. Tracts that will strengthen and build up church members in Christian life are greatly needed. One little book to guide disciples in the Christian life--"Lights on the Way," by Dr. J.R. Brown--was issued in 1879. The work of publishing Sunday School books has made some little progress. A few religious stories constitute the principal additions. Works to guide the young unto salvation, to train hearts in love to Jesus, to develop the Christian life, to foster faith, and build up souls in real consecration--not works to fascinate by questionable fictions--are what our Sunday Schools need. Such books are likely to find the largest sales. Frances Ridley Havergal's books are an illustration. Of these millions of copies have been sold, and there is no cessation in the demand. At first her publisher protested against the subjects she had chosen, and proposed some world-pleasing substitute, saying that books on the themes she had selected would not be salable. The results show that God still rules. His presence and blessings are with those whose labors are "ever, only, all for Jesus." Let one little book, or tract, or periodical, be so filled with God's truth and God's Spirit that conversions constantly follow its circulation, and no human power can long shut it up within denominational boundaries. To write one such book as "Kept for the Master's Use" is far better than to found an empire, or revolutionize all human sciences.

It remains to speak of the relations of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to the Presbyterian Alliance. The plan for this [462] "general council of all Presbyterian bodies throughout the world" was formed at the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in New York city, in 1873. In response to a communication from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, inviting the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to participate in this "Ecumenical Council of Presbyterians," our Assembly in 1874 appointed "a committee to confer with similar committees from other Presbyterian Assemblies to arrange for such a Council." This committee never reported. In 1875 our Assembly appointed the Rev. W.E. Ward, D.D., to attend the "Presbyterian Alliance to meet in London." At this London conference, which began July 21st, 1875; there were sixty-four commissioners present, representing twenty-two Presbyterian organizations; but as Dr. Ward failed to be present, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church had no representative in this initial meeting, and, therefore, did not become one of the churches originally composing the Alliance. The commissioners in attendance agreed upon a basis of union, and adopted a constitution, designating the body as "The Alliance of the Reformed Churches Throughout the World holding the Presbyterian System," and providing that "Any church organized on Presbyterian principles, which holds the supreme authority of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in matters of faith and morals, and whose creed is in harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions, shall be eligible for admission into the Alliance."

The first regular meeting of the Alliance under this constitution was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning July 4, 1877, but no Cumberland Presbyterian delegates were in attendance. None had been appointed. Our General Assembly in 1880 appointed nine representatives to attend the Alliance's regular meeting, which was to convene at Philadelphia, September 23rd of that year. Only two of these, the Rev. W.H. Black, and Mr. John R. Rush, presented themselves for admission. The Committee on Credentials reported against the admission of the two delegates. The report said:

We are constrained to adopt this resolution by the absence of sufficient evidence that the Cumberland Church now accept the doctrinal basis of the Alliance, and by the terms of Article II. of the Constitution, [463] which restricts the Alliance to churches whose creeds are in harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions.

No one in the Council seemed to comprehend the importance of this report, when it was first presented by the committee, and it was adopted without discussion; but on the following day the question was re-opened, and led to an exciting debate. One leading member argued that these delegates could not be admitted because the church they represented did not accept the whole of the Westminster Confession. Another argued that because the committees on organic union between Cumberland Presbyterians and Southern Presbyterians had, in their conference at Memphis, in 1867, failed to agree, therefore Cumberland Presbyterians had no right to seats in the Council. But many of the best men in the Alliance, representing both Europe and America, argued in favor of the admission of our delegates. After this matter had been before the Alliance for several days, the following was adopted in lieu of the report of the Committee on Credentials:

Resolved, That the Council are unable, hoc statu, to admit as members brethren representing churches whose relations to the Constitution have not been explained and can not now be considered.

This, as a leading religious paper remarked at the time, kept the delegates out without committing the Alliance permanently to the rejection of the church they represented. In his report to our General Assembly, the Rev. W.H. Black said:

You are already acquainted with the facts concerning the rejection of your delegates, ostensibly, because our Assembly had not taken the necessary regular steps toward admission; but really, as your delegate thinks, because some of the members of the Alliance considered the doctrines of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church out of harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions.

This matter awakened a lively interest, both in this country and Europe, and was widely discussed by the press. There was, among the more liberal members of the Alliance, much dissatisfaction with the result. The Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly at its next meeting, in 1881, after formally adopting the Constitution of the Alliance, and submitting our Confession of Faith, "as indicating our harmony with the Consensus of the [464] Reformed Confessions," appointed a committee, "to consider the subject in the light of future developments, and to report to the next Assembly." The report of this committee, which was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of 1882, stated the particulars(2) in which the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church dissented from the Westminster Confession, and then added:

By these exceptions it will be seen that we have an amended form of the Westminster Confession of Faith, and if this puts us out of harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions, we will be glad to have the fact clearly and unequivocally stated. That this may be certainly done by the next Council, we recommend that you appoint delegates to the next meeting of the Alliance in the city of Belfast, Ireland, in 1884.

The next year our Assembly adopted an address, submitting to the Alliance "Our Confession of Faith and Government," and saying to that Council: "If the difference between our statements of doctrine and those of the Westminster Confession of Faith is inconsistent with our being represented in your body, you will so decide."

Twenty-five delegates had been appointed to attend the meeting of the Alliance at Belfast, which was to convene June 24th, 1884. Twelve of the number were present at that meeting. The first important item before this Council was the report of a committee appointed four years before to define the Consensus of the Reformed Confessions. This committee announced that, after diligent inquiry, the conclusion had been reached that it was inexpedient to attempt a statement of the creed on which the churches composing the Alliance were united. It had been discovered that the Presbyterian Churches in Continental Europe were not in harmony with the Westminster Confession of Faith in many important particulars, and it was well known that even the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland had found it necessary to adopt an explanatory clause, to which candidates for ordination were required to subscribe, rather than to the simple Confession.

Much interest was felt in the probable result of the application of our delegates for admission. So great was the demand for Cum [465] berland Presbyterian Confessions of Faith, that a Belfast firm printed a new edition of three thousand copies of that book. The Committee on the Reception of Churches was enlarged from three to seventeen members, representing all shades of opinion and all parts of the world. After due deliberation this committee unanimously agreed upon the following report, which was presented to the Council:

Respecting the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, the following deliverance was unanimously adopted:

Whereas, The Cumberland Presbyterian Church has adopted the Constitution of the Alliance;

Whereas, It was one of the churches which was invited to assist in the formation of the Alliance in 1875;

Whereas, It has now, as on previous occasions, made application for admission, and has sent delegates to the present meeting;

Whereas, Further, as declared by the first meeting of the Council, the responsibility of deciding whether they ought to join the Alliance should rest on the churches themselves, your committee recommends to the Council, without pronouncing any judgment on the church's revision of the Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism, to admit the Cumberland Presbyterian Church into the Alliance, and to invite the delegates now present to take their seats.

The Rev. Dr. Martin, of Kentucky, moved to reject the report, and made a lengthy speech against the reception of our delegates. A heated debate followed which lasted three hours, and in which the representatives from the Southern Presbyterian Church took the lead in opposing the report of the committee. Men representing the best thought in the several churches composing the Alliance, took strong grounds in its favor. Among these were Dr. Briggs and Dr. John Hall, of New York; Professor E.D. Morris, of Cincinnati; Professor Calderwood, of Edinburgh; Principal McVicar, of Montreal; and Dr. Brown and Dr. Story, of Scotland. Dr. Monod, of France, warned the Council that if the Cumberland Presbyterians were rejected the continental churches would feel themselves bound to withdraw from the Alliance.(3) Less than twenty members of the Council voted in favor of Dr. Martin's motion. On motion of the Rev. T.W. Chambers, D.D., of New [466] York, the closing part of Committee's report, was made to read as follows, and with this amendment was adopted:

The Council, without approving of the church's revision of the Westminster Confession and of the Shorter Catechism, admit the Cumberland Presbyterian Church into the Alliance, and invite the delegates now present to take their seats.

Our delegates, in their report to the next Assembly (1885), said:

Dr. Chambers' amendment was carried by a vote of 112 to 78. Those voting against Dr. Chambers' amendment were in favor of admitting our church unconditionally. Those voting for the amendment desired the admission of the church "without approving our revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith." After due deliberation and consultation, we decided to accept seats in the Council and report our action to you. The action of the Council in this matter gave great satisfaction to its members. ... We take special pleasure in bearing testimony to the cordial and hearty reception our delegates received, both from members of the Council and the citizens of Belfast. ... We recommend that you continue to fraternize with this great and powerful organization intended to promote the welfare of our common Presbyterianism.

The General Assembly (1885) adopted the following report on this subject:

Your committee has fully considered the report of your delegates to the Pan-Presbyterian Council, also the official communication from the clerk of the Council, and unanimously recommend that you adopt the following preamble and resolutions:

Whereas, The Council was neither asked nor expected to express approval of our Confession of Faith, but to decide whether it is in harmony with the Consensus of the Reformed churches; and,

Whereas, The Council decided to admit the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to membership in the Alliance, and our delegates to seats in the Council, thereby placing the Alliance upon a basis not inconsistent with our creed; therefore, Resolved,

1.--That this new evidence of a growing catholicity among the members of the great Presbyterian family is hailed with pleasure by this General Assembly representing the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

2.--That we, as a denomination of Christians, continue to fraternize cordially with the liberal and progressive churches composing the Alliance, endeavoring, in the true spirit of unity, with them to promote the gospel's advancement throughout the world.

[467] Although the action by which our church was admitted to membership in the Alliance was not entirely pleasing to all our ministers and people, yet the General Assembly has shown no disposition to recede from the steps it has taken in this matter. In its latest action the Assembly declared that the connection of our church with the Alliance has brought the system of doctrine taught by our people to the attention of the world as never before, and that the Alliance has become a medium of greater fraternity among the churches, drawing them together, promoting a better understanding among the great organizations constituting the Presbyterian family, and promising to become the medium of practical cooperation in foreign mission fields. While it is felt that cooperation is needed, the indications are strong that the churches which most opposed the admission of Cumberland Presbyterians to membership in the Alliance need us more than we need them. The noble words of Dr. E.D. Morris, of Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, uttered in behalf of our people in the Council at Belfast, ought to endear him to all Cumberland Presbyterians forever.

A sad event connected with the journey of the Cumberland Presbyterian delegates to the Belfast Council was the death of the Rev. A.J. Baird, D.D. His health had been failing for several months, but he was unwilling to give up his cherished purpose to attend the Alliance, and he hoped to be benefited by foreign travel. He, however, grew rapidly worse after leaving home, and at New York city, June 15, 1884, the day after his fellow-commissioners sailed, he breathed his last. By his eloquence, his winning personality, and his genial and loving spirit, as well as by his work as a pastor and revival preacher and a writer, he had won a place in the affections of our people which has been attained by few, and his death was mourned as a great loss to the church.

The process of consolidating synods has gone on steadily throughout this period. Presbyteries, also, have in several instances been consolidated. So far as can be learned, the results in all these cases have been favorable. Large bodies are more powerful.

The following new synods have been organized: Ozark (re [468] organized), 1871; Oregon and Kansas, 1875; Missouri Valley, 1877; Trinity, 1878.

The following new presbyteries have appeared in the Assembly's Minutes:

Ozark (reorganized) and Rocky Mountain, 1875; Nolin, Nebraska, and Louisiana, 1873; Hot Springs and Magazine, 1874; Purdy, Republican Valley, and Bosque, 1875; Kirkpatrick and Hill, 1876; Wichita and Graham, 1878; Springville, Albion, Missouri, Burrow, and LaCrosse, 1880; Mayfield and San Saba, 1882; Gregory, 1883; Bonham, Cherokee, and McDonald, 1884; Florida and Buffalo Gap, 1885. Louisiana and McDonald are disbanded presbyteries restored. The dates given are the dates when the first mention of these presbyteries is found in the Minutes of the Assembly.

The following table shows the statistics for different parts of this period:

Year. Ministers. Members. Sunday School Pupils. Contributions.

1871 1,116 96,335 26,466 $136,231

1875 1,232 98,242 44,912 $295,886

1880 1,386 111,863 54,813 $329,418

1886 1,547 138,564 74,576 $553,033

The contributions have increased more than four hundred percent, and the number of Sunday School pupils nearly three hundred per cent. The progress in other things is also encouraging.

The colored Cumberland Presbyterians have made rapid growth in numbers, but their statistics are not included in this table. One thing which has always been characteristic of the growth of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is that it represents not proselytes from other churches, but souls won from the kingdom of darkness. For the few proselytes coming to us from others we can show a little army of persons who were converted at our meetings, and who afterward joined some other denomination. Such a record is worth more than longer lists of names on the church roll. May God grant us grace in all the coming years to be more in earnest to bring souls to Christ than to build up denominational strength!

[469]

CHAPTER XLIII.

MISSIONS.

While still far behind its duty in missionary work, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church has made great progress therein during the last ten years. Private missions, presbyterial and synodical missions, and itinerant missions under the church board have been numerous, and it is not possible to give even in outline the history of all these.

In city mission work the results during the last fourteen years have been far more encouraging than in any former period. Since 1870 a large proportion of our mission churches in cities and towns have grown strong enough to dispense with the assistance of the board. Among these are two in Saint Louis, one made up of German-speaking and the other of English-speaking Cumberland Presbyterians. The latter, which, to distinguish it from the other, was designated as the "American" mission, has had a remarkable history. The Rev. J.G. White became missionary at Saint Louis, November, 1848, and continued in this work until 1860, when he was succeeded by the Rev. L.C. Ransom. At the beginning of the civil war this mission had a growing congregation and a good house of worship located in a central and desirable part of the city. On the property, valued at $27,000, there was an embarrassing debt of nearly $10,000. Soon after the war commenced the missionary went to Alabama, and the little flock became shepherdless. The regular services were suspended, and the building was finally sold to meet the claims of creditors.

Though the fruit of the toil and sacrifice of more than fifteen years was thus lost, efforts to revive the work were not given up. In the Assembly of 1865 the Committee on Missions recommended [470] Saint Louis as an important mission field, and stated that the congregation then had "an opportunity to purchase a comfortable and well-situated house of worship at reasonable rates." The next year the Board of Missions, at Alton, Illinois, reported that the Rev. F.M. Gilliam had been appointed to take charge of the Saint Louis work, and that a plan for raising money by a joint stock company to purchase a house and lot had been adopted and was succeeding admirably. The missionary had been in the field as soliciting agent, and had secured subscriptions enough to pay for this property. He, however, for some reason not stated in the Minutes, resigned in October, 1866.

About this time the board adopted a new, and what proved to be an unfortunate measure. A congregation known as the "First Independent Church of Saint Louis," which had grown out of a mission Sunday School, had a large and expensive house of worship in process of erection. Eight thousand dollars was needed to complete this building, and there was a debt of fifteen thousand dollars on it. The members of this church proposed to become Cumberland Presbyterians, and to convey this property to our mission, on condition that the board would assume the debt. This proposition was accepted, and the property already owned by the mission, as well as this new property, was mortgaged in order to borrow $20,000 to meet the pressing claims of the creditors of the Independent church, and to advance the work on the new building. December 12th, 1866, the Rev. J.H. Coulter, whose ministerial services had been temporarily secured by the mission, perfected the organization of the Cumberland Presbyterian congregation, and the formal union with the Independent congregation was effected February 17, 1867. The consolidated church then numbered one hundred and fifteen members. The property acquired by the Cumberland Presbyterian mission before forming this union was sold, and the proceeds used in prosecuting the work on the new building. The basement was finished October, 1867, but to secure this result two thousand dollars more had been borrowed. Though the property was valued at forty-six thousand dollars, the debts began to be pressing. The Rev. F.M. Gilliam, who had for a time resumed the charge of the work, had again resigned, and the Rev. [471] William S. Langdon had been appointed temporarily as missionary. In 1869 the board reported unforeseen reverses. The payments of interest due had not been met by the board, and a large portion of those who had composed the Independent church had seceded and taken possession of the property. When the Assembly of 1870 met, the "Independent" faction still held the building. To the Assembly of 1872 the board reported that all honorable means to get possession of the property or "to get back the money we had invested over and above the debts of the property," had been in vain. That portion of the congregation which had seceded had taken refuge in the Presbyterian Church, and under the sanction of the Saint Louis Presbytery captured the house. Both this presbytery and the congregation which held the property acknowledged their moral obligation to repay the money our people had invested; but they not only failed to meet this obligation, but thwarted all the board's efforts to re-imburse itself.

Abandoning all hope of success in this quarter, the board resolved to begin a new work in another part of the city. Efforts were set on foot to secure ten thousand dollars to buy a lot and build a chapel. In May, 18731 the Rev. E.J. Gillespie was already soliciting funds for this purpose. In the summer of 1874 the board resolved to prosecute this work with renewed vigor, but "with no hope of success in a day or a year." The Rev. C.H. Bell, D.D., was chosen to take charge of the work. Before the meeting of the Assembly of 1875, ten thousand dollars in notes and pledges had been secured. Dr. Bell and others diligently prosecuted the work of raising money; and the board, made wiser by its past experiments, promised "to take no step until it had the money to pay for what was done." Through these years the missionary, "when not engaged in soliciting funds, devoted his attention to looking up members and others in sympathy with the church, and to conducting services in various parts of the city." The congregation was organized, and took possession of its new chapel December 1, 1877. In May, 1879, this church had fifty-three in communion; and during the year ending with May, 1880, it not only paid its incidental expenses, but contributed nearly three hundred and fifty dollars toward the missionary's salary. At [472] the close of 1880 Dr. Bell asked leave to retire from the work. His resignation took effect January 31, 1881, and the Rev. W.H. Black succeeded him immediately. This church became self-supporting January 1, 1882, and has since grown steadily in numbers and influence. The Rev. W.H. Black is still its pastor (1887).

The lessons learned in connection with this Saint Louis work and from similar efforts elsewhere have borne good fruit. Successful mission churches have grown up in a number of cities and towns, and the missionary work of the church has prospered as never before. Among the city missions that have grown into successful churches during this period are one at Little Rock, Arkansas, one at Kansas City, Missouri, one at Sedalia, Missouri, and one at Logansport, Indiana.

The Little Rock mission became self-supporting in 1875. Of this mission the board, in its report to the Assembly of 1876, said:

The work at this place has made most gratifying progress spiritually, and also financially, so that it has become self-sustaining as to the pastor's support. ... The fruits which have rapidly attended this work, undertaken only a few years ago, are most encouraging. and are in large part, under God, due to the zeal and judgment of S.H. Buchanan, D.D., the pastor.

Dr. Buchanan is still pastor of this church.

To the General Assembly of 1870 the Kansas City mission was reported as a new enterprise but lately received under the care of the board. Through the efforts of Lexington Presbytery, a neat and comfortable house of worship had been erected. The Rev. J.E. Sharp was missionary, and through his efficient labors, supported by contributions from the presbytery, the foundations of our church here were securely laid. He resigned in the fall of 1874. Afterward the Rev. C.P. Duvall for a time had charge of this mission. The Rev. B.P. Fullerton was called to this field in 1879, entering upon the work October 1st. He is still the pastor in charge. The church was declared self-sustaining October 8, 1883. A new and commodious house of worship was dedicated the day before. The work of this church continues to be greatly blessed. From the beginning this mission was under the direct care and support of the Lexington Presbytery.

[473] The Rev. A.H. Stephens became missionary at Sedalia, Missouri, June 1, 1881. Efforts to establish a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in this growing city had been begun several years before. With a view of building a house of worship, a small sum of money had been raised, and was in the hands of a committee appointed by New Lebanon Presbytery; but prior to 1878 all efforts to build up a congregation had failed. In September of that year the Rev. J.T.A. Henderson, then of Knobnoster, Missouri, began to preach twice a month in this city without any appointment from the board or the presbytery, and at his own charges. He continued these services regularly for about two years, his compensation being less than his traveling expenses. During the years 1879 and 1880 a small frame church costing $2,500 was erected with money collected by New Lebanon Presbytery. The work, though under the charge of the Board of Missions after 1881, was sustained by the contributions of this presbytery. This congregation became self-supporting November 29, 1885, at which time it dedicated a new and elegant church edifice. In May, 1886, it reported a membership of one hundred and thirteen, and has since steadily grown in numbers and usefulness under the efficient pastorate of Mr. Stephens. The General Assembly of 1886 was held at Sedalia.

In the fall of 1875 the Board of Missions, at the earnest solicitation of ministers and members of the church in Indiana, and after due investigation, resolved to plant a mission in Logansport, and appointed the Rev. A.W. Hawkins missionary. He took charge of the work November 1, 1875. Twelve or fourteen persons who had once been Cumberland Presbyterians were found in or near the city. A hall was rented and regular services held. Of his work at this time the missionary says: "I made my sermons in the early part of the week, and in the latter part of the week I went out and made a congregation to hear them." In May, 1876, a church with thirty-five members was organized. In 1877 a lot with a dwelling-house on it was purchased, and a comfortable church was built and dedicated. All the money used in erecting this building, except fifteen dollars sent from Pennsylvania, was raised at Logansport by the missionary, who though "cramped by [474] a support far too meager," continued to be "patient, persevering, and successful."(4) In February, 1885, he handed in his resignation, but continued in charge of the work until the 8th of the following April, at which time he was succeeded by the Rev. James Best, who continues to labor successfully in this field. This church was declared self-sustaining Sunday, May 9, 1886.

At the beginning of the war there was at Chattanooga, Tennessee, a flourishing Cumberland Presbyterian mission. In 1860 this congregation reported ninety in membership, and it had "a neat brick edifice, well located, and almost entirely paid for." The Rev. A. Templeton was missionary, and his work here had been most successful; but during the great civil conflict the members were scattered and the house greatly damaged. The work was resumed after the war closed, and in 1868 the little church had thirty members, and regular services were kept up. Rev. N.W. Motheral was then the missionary in charge, but for some reason he did not long continue in the work, and for several years the congregation was most of the time without a pastor. Then Rev. W.D. Chadick became missionary, and under his wise and energetic administration the congregation made gratifying progress for three or four years. By reason of failing health he gave up the work in December, 1877. Then after another period of change and uncertainty the Rev. W.H. Darnall, D.D., was appointed to take charge of this mission, and under his labors, which continued from March, 1880, to the fall of 1882, the work was again prosperous. After his retirement this church seems to have passed from under the care of the board, and was again much of the time without a pastor until April, 1885, when the Rev. E.J. McCrosky entered upon his successful labors in this field. During the time he had charge of the work a commodious and beautiful church was erected, and the congregation entered upon a new career of growth and usefulness. He resigned July 15, 1887.

Many other mission churches not less deserving of mention than those whose work has been thus briefly sketched have, during this period, grown into self-support and extended usefulness. Those described are but selections illustrating the character of our [475] home mission work. In the wide field extending from Pennsylvania to California, and from Iowa to Texas, scores of similar missions have flourished, not only in towns and villages but in country places; not only under the supervision of the Board of Missions, but under the direction of synods or presbyteries, or of single congregations, or through the liberality or self-sacrifice of individual church members or ministers.

The following is a list of some of the important and growing mission churches now under the care of the board, with the names of the missionaries: Allegheny, Pennsylvania, the Rev. J.H. Barnett; Louisville, Kentucky, the Rev. B.D. Cockrill; Knoxville, Tennessee, the Rev. J.V. Stephens; Birmingham, Alabama, the Rev. F.J. Tyler; Saint Joseph, Missouri, the Rev. Alonzo Pearson; Springfield, Illinois, the Rev. S. Richards, D.D.; Fort Scott, Kansas, the Rev. S.A. Sadler; Garden City, Kansas, the Rev. J.R. Lowrance; Fort Smith, Arkansas, the Rev. S.H. McElvain; San Antonio, Texas, the Rev. W.B. Preston; Stockton, California, the Rev. T.A. Cowan; Meridian, Mississippi, the Rev. R.A. Cody; Walla Walla, Washington Territory, the Rev. W.W. Beck. Of these missions, and others under the care of the board, Dr. Bell says, in a recent address:(5)

Some of these are nearly self-supporting, having good property unincumbered; others have suitable buildings, and the work of gathering congregations is in progress; while some are earnestly seeking funds for the purchase of church homes preparatory to the commencement of preaching services. Never were the prospects so encouraging for obtaining denominational footing in centers of moral and commercial influence.

Much of this increased success in missionary work has been due to the prudence and efficiency of those who have administered the affairs of the board. At the beginning of this period the work was under the immediate supervision of the Rev. R.S. Reed, secretary. He died early in the summer of 1871, and was succeeded by the Rev. J.B. Logan, D.D., who was for two years general superintendent and corresponding secretary. After this, beginning [476] May 1, 1874, the Rev. E.B. Crisman, D.D., became superintendent and corresponding secretary, and the almost seven years during which he held this office were a period of increasing success in every department of mission work. Since February, 1881, the Rev. C.H. Bell, D.D., president of the board, has devoted his whole attention to the general management of missions, and in these years this cause has flourished as never before.

In no other country on earth is the home missionary work so important as it is in the United States. New States are springing up, new populations are gathering. Vast communities are taking shape and setting into their final type so rapidly that it requires constant reading to keep up with their progress. The opportunity now open to home missions will never return. This is pre-eminently true in regard to the home mission work of Cumberland Presbyterians. We can not shift the responsibility. We stand nearest of all to these new States. The center of our strength and influence is in the West. Our own sons are among the pioneers who are pressing into these new fields. If we fall behind, and leave these rapidly-growing communities to be evangelized by other churches, we must forever stand charged with being false to our own children and our own King.

Cumberland Presbyterians have missions among the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Cherokee Indians. There are two growing Presbyteries in this field. Bethel Presbytery has eleven ordained ministers, and ten probationers. All but two of these are natives, and the work in that field is now mainly done by native preachers. This presbytery embraces the country of the Chickasaws and Choctaws, and it has thirty-one congregations and five hundred and forty communicants. These two Nations are closely united, and form one missionary field. The churches in this presbytery are now nearly all self-sustaining. Leading men among the Indians are active members of our church, and attend our General Assemblies as delegates. One of the most interesting features of the Assembly of 1878 was the presence of Judge Chico as a representative from Bethel Presbytery. Our work among the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians began in 1819, and has been kept up in some form ever since. The Rev. Calvin Robinson, a native, [477] the Rev. J.H. Dickerson, and the Rev. J.J. Smith are now our missionaries in Bethel Presbytery. All three are consecrated and successful workers.

Although zealous Cumberland Presbyterian preachers have often visited the Cherokees and held meetings, yet it was but recently that the board sent permanent missionaries to that field. The first of these was the Rev. N.J. Crawford, in whose veins there is some Indian blood. He determined in 1876 to cast his lot among the Cherokees. More than four hundred conversions were reported as the result of his meetings prior to 1885.

There are curious items about some of our missionaries in that field. The Rev. David Hogan had been preaching fifty years before he determined to become a missionary. He has preached along with Finis Ewing in other days. With his own hands he closed Finis Ewing's eyes when that hero of the Cross fell asleep in Jesus.(6) A most interesting thing it is to hear Hogan talk of his early experiences. He says: "My church is better known and held in higher esteem in heaven than it is on earth." When he was seventy-one years old he said to the Board of Missions: "If you will commission me as missionary to the Cherokee Indians, without salary, I will spend the rest of my days preaching to that people." The commission was given him, and now for more than three years he has been laboring in this mission field.

The first Cumberland Presbyterian Church among the Cherokees was organized by N.J. Crawford in 1877. It is in the eastern part of the Cherokee country, and is known as the Prairie Grove congregation. There was a great revival among the Cherokees in 1880 and 1881.

In 1874 a Cherokee boy came to Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, to prepare for the ministry. He was graduated in 1879, and is now in his native land preaching Jesus. His name is R.C. Parks. His churches now number over a hundred members.

The Cherokee Presbytery was organized in February, 1884, at the residence of the Rev. R.C. Parks, Canadian District, Indian Territory. N.J. Crawford, David Hogan, and R.C. Parks were the original members. J.H. Kelley, licentiate, placed himself [478] under the care of the presbytery at its organization. This presbytery now has five ordained ministers, two probationers, and seven congregations, with nine out-stations. The aggregate number of communicants is four hundred and fifty.

One of the schools in the Cherokee country is partially under the care of our Woman's Board of Missions--that is, this board has been giving it assistance. This school is known as Hogan Institute. Our native members and preachers have also aided in various other schools among the Cherokees. An item of interest connected with this presbytery is that a consecrated Christian young lady, Miss Bell Cobb, is its stated clerk. In the manuscript history of this presbytery, prepared by this lady, the work of N.J. Crawford, R.C. Parks, J.H. Kelley, David Hogan, Laman Carter, and J.H. Pigman is described with a fullness of detail which can not be repeated here. This interesting narrative closes with some statements which are brief enough to be quoted:

In May, 1886, the Rev. Joseph Smallwood, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a full blood Cherokee Indian, was, by a commission appointed by the presbytery, received as a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. All the ministers in this presbytery are now in the field and identified with the Cherokee people, and, under God, and by the help of his Holy Spirit, intend to maintain and advance the church's work among them. The Board of Missions has three missionaries in the Cherokee Nation: the Rev. N.J. Crawford, with a salary of $25 per month; the Rev. R.C. Parks, with a salary of $8.33 per month; and the Rev. David Hogan, without a salary. The presbytery has one missionary in the field, the Rev. Joseph Smallwood, with a salary of $12.50 per month.

Special mention must here be made of the Rev. B.F. Totten, of Arkansas Presbytery, who aided the Rev. N.J. Crawford in revival meetings in 1880-81; of the Rev. E.E. Baily, of Pennsylvania, who, at his own expense, labored through several revival seasons, not only among the Cherokee, but other tribes as well; of the Rev. E.M. Roach, of Arkansas Presbytery, who labored three months with the Rev. R.C. Parks and the Rev. N.J. Crawford in the summer and fall of 1885, being employed and sent by the Woman s Home Missionary Society of Boonsboro, Arkansas. We are, also, under many obligations to the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions, Evansville, Indiana, for five hundred dollars kindly sent us in October, 1885, for the purposes of church extension.

[479] We predict a bright future for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the Cherokee Nation. The intelligence of the people, the self-sacrifice of the ministry, and the leadings of the Holy Spirit all point to the success of the church and the glorification of God in the salvation of this people.

After the Board of Missions recalled the Rev. Edmond Weir from Liberia in 1868, and until it appointed the Rev. S.T. Anderson, D.D., to go to the Island of Trinidad in 1873, it had no foreign mission under its care, unless we except the work among the American Indians. The records during these years show that our people felt dissatisfied with this state of things.

In 1870 the board declared that the time had come when the Assembly should at least "begin to lay plans and devise means for active efforts in re-occupying the foreign field," and the General Assembly of that year adopted a report which, after calling attention to the opportunities for mission work in Mexico and in the South American States, said, "The foreign field is open to us: so far as God enables us we should occupy it."

In 1871 the declarations of the General Assembly indicate that there was in the minds of our people increasing interest in regard to the foreign work. The board was instructed to ascertain if possible the best method of entering upon this work, and was directed to raise funds for this purpose.

During the year following the board corresponded with persons in different parts of the world in order to elicit information to guide them in selecting a mission field. Among those who were thus written to was Dr. S. Irenaus Prime, of New York, who recommended Japan as the heathen country "most accessible and least occupied by Christian Churches," and whose, people in spite of "the strange and seemingly paradoxical position of the Japan government against Christianity," were eager to hear the gospel.

The board had also received communications from N.H. McGhirk, M.D., urging the claims of the Island of Trinidad in the West Indies. He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church who had moved from Missouri to that island. He said that country, while nominally Catholic was really heathen, and urged the board to send one or two missionaries thither.

[480] A memorial came from Pennsylvania Synod entreating the Assembly of 1872 to move at once in the work of foreign missions. This synod had already made arrangements by which it was to send the Rev. M.L. Gordon to Japan through the American Board. Increased contributions for the foreign work showed a growing interest in this subject throughout the church. In their report to this Assembly the board expressed their unanimous judgment, "after much reflection on the subject," that union with the American Board in the prosecution of mission work was not advisable on account of the great dissimilarity of doctrinal views between Cumberland Presbyterians and those represented by that board; adding that those united in the work through the American Board had "ever been regarded as strictly Calvinistic, while the very existence of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a protest against the radical features of Calvinism."

To the Assembly of 1873 it was announced that the Island of Trinidad and the capital of Venezuela, South America, had been selected as the mission fields most easily accessible and promising the quickest and surest results of good. One chief reason which influenced the board in making this choice was the expectation of coming into possession of an immense tract of land in Venezuela. This was part of a still larger tract which had been granted by the government of Venezuela to a company of which Dr. N.H. McGhirk was a member. This company had re-granted eight hundred square miles of their prospective domain to nine trustees for the use and benefit of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for the purpose of establishing and carrying on mission work in that country.(7)

The Rev. S.T. Anderson, D.D., was appointed missionary in November, 1873, and he proceeded at once to the Island of Trinidad. Dr. McGhirk was also appointed as a lay helper. Dr. Anderson soon after his arrival accepted an invitation to supply a vacant Presbyterian mission church in the city of San Fernando This congregation was under the care of the Free Church of Scotland. It gave Dr. Anderson ten dollars a week for his services and allowed him the free use of the manse, agreeing to continue this arrangement until the Free Church should send a man to fill the [481] vacancy. This gave our missionary a home and work at once, but, as it also gave him the largest part of his support, the liberality of the church at home was not developed by this mission as it might otherwise have been. Though there were several thousands of Hindus and Chinese on the Island of Trinidad and sixty or seventy thousand negroes, besides many Spaniards, Portuguese, French, English, and a few Americans, our missionaries and the board regarded this island as but the starting point of their work. They believed Venezuela, among whose two millions of people there was not one Protestant missionary, to be the great mission field for our people.

During the year preceding the General Assembly of 1875 arrangements were made by which Dr. Anderson became agent of the American Bible Society for the distribution of the Scriptures. Dr. McGhirk expected to move to the Continent and thus the work was to be extended to Venezuela. The board had been making diligent inquiry about the half million of acres of Venezuelan land which had been granted to the church, and trying to perfect the title. But any expectations which may have been cherished of securing from this source the means of enlarging the mission work of the church failed to be realized. Though the board in 1876 expressed the opinion that this claim would "some day be valuable," yet neither the church nor the cause of missions has ever received any benefit from it. Missions have seldom been effectively helped by grants of land or princely endowments from States or governments. The preaching of the gospel among the heathen, as well as at home, must be sustained by the self-sacrificing efforts and direct gifts of consecrated Christians.

In 1876 the board reported that the work in Trinidad and Venezuela had not been prosecuted as intended when the mission was undertaken. The reason assigned was that it had been found impossible "to raise the means necessary to send two other men to accompany Dr. Anderson to Venezuela, which was the plan on which the work was begun." After laboring and waiting more than two years Dr. Anderson wrote to the board expressing a desire to return to the United States unless the needed reinforcements could at once be sent, He stated also that the condition of his own [482] health and that of his wife, as well as the necessity of educating his children made it his duty to return. At his own request his appointment as missionary expired with May, 1876. He returned to the United States, and the Trinidad and Venezuela mission was abandoned.

But the growing missionary spirit of the church was not checked by this discouraging failure. In answer to a paper presented to the Assembly of 1876, "recommending the cessation of all work in the foreign field," that body declared that the adoption of such a resolution would be "unwise and attended with dangerous consequences," and that "we ought not to grieve the Spirit's yearnings for foreign lands." The Rev. J.B. Hail and the Rev. A.D. Hail had already been accepted "as candidates" for the foreign field, and were preparing to enter the work, though it had not yet been decided into what part of the heathen world they were to be sent.

No series of events in the history of the church bears more distinctly the marks of God's providential hand than that connected with the origin and progress of our denominational work in Japan. The seed was sown nearly thirty years before by a dying mother's prayer. It grew in the heart of one young man until other hearts received it, and until a whole church was awakened and blessed by it. The mother of M.L. Gordon died in Greene county, Pennsylvania, when her son was yet an infant. On her death bed she consecrated this boy to the work of foreign missions. We do not know how often through the years of his youth thoughts of this work were awakened in his mind. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment and served three years. He was converted near the close of his term of enlistment on Morris Island, South Carolina, during the siege, under General Gilmore, of the fortifications in the neighborhood of Charleston. In the autumn of 1864 he entered Waynesburg College, Pennsylvania, but afterward gave up his collegiate studies for a time and began the study of medicine. But his impressions that he ought to devote himself to the work of the ministry became so intense that he closed his medical books and returned to college determined to prepare himself to preach the gospel. He had in 1865 joined the Cumber [483] land Presbyterian Church, and in 1868 he became a candidate for the ministry in Pennsylvania Presbytery. After his graduation from Waynesburg College, and while he was in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, he decided to enter the foreign field. His mother's prayers were at last ready to ripen into fruit.

The following extract from the Minutes of the General Assembly of 1871 show that he was in correspondence with the Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Missions in reference to the foreign work:

A young brother of the Synod of Pennsylvania is consecrating him. self to this work, and is now offering himself to the board and asks to be sent to bear the glad tidings of salvation to poor dying sinners in heathen lands, but owing to our want of means we are not prepared to recommend such decided action on this subject as we would otherwise be pleased to do.(8)

The Pennsylvania Synod, which urged the appointment of Gordon by the board, pledged its members to sustain him with their means and their influence.(9) Without changing his ecclesiastical relations, he was finally commissioned to the work in Japan by the American Board. He received his ordination from the Pennsylvania Presbytery August 6, 1872. The Pennsylvania Synod stood pledged to contribute to his support, and did for six or seven years pay into the treasury of the American Board a sum averaging more than $700 per annum. He and his wife sailed to Japan September 1st, 1872, arriving at Yokohama the 24th of the same month. His going attracted the eyes of the whole church to that field, and marked the way for the missionaries who were sent by our board to the same country more than four years afterward. God has used him as an honored instrument in helping the work, not only of the board that sent him, but also of the church of which he is so worthy a minister. When our own missionaries arrived in Japan he was there in a successful mission. He was an old acquaintance and friend of the Hail brothers, and gave them all the counsel and assistance in his power. Did the limits of this volume permit it would be a pleasant task to take up Dr. Gordon's own labors and their results in detail, nor would such [484] a history be unprofitable or uninteresting to Cumberland Presbyterians. After nearly five years spent in general missionary work in the city of Osaka, during which he suffered greatly from an affection of the eyes, he and family returned to America in the summer of 1877. They went out again the next year, sailing October 1st in the same vessel that bore A.D. Hail and family to Japan. Dr. Gordon has since labored most of the time in connection with a training school at Kyoto. In December, 1885, he was compelled by failing health to return a second time to the United States. After spending more than a year in this country, most of the time in California, he again sailed for Japan August 23, 1887. Speaking in a late letter of his work in its relations to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church he says with characteristic modesty: "I sometimes think that while my going as I did may have been helpful in arousing the board and church to action, and so divinely ordered, yet when an independent mission was to be established that work was in the same divinely wise way given to other and better hands."

The brothers A.D. Hail and J.B. Hail, whose mother is a daughter of Alexander Chapman of precious memory, were fellow-students of Gordon, at Waynesburg College.A.D. Hail was graduated from this institution in 1866, and his younger brother, J.B. Hail, three years later. Both resolved to consecrate themselves as foreign missionaries. We do not know how much Gordon's example did toward turning their thoughts in this direction. God often touches our hearts through the silent influence of our friends, or by their words or actions. An example of consecration and of faithful service can hardly fail to prove God's call beckoning others to similar self-denial and faithfulness. Consciously or unconsciously every life is influenced and molded by other lives. When Gordon gave himself to the foreign work his fellow-students and fellow-candidates for the ministry could hardly fail to feel the influence of his example.

These two brothers began to look about them for an opportunity to enter the work to which they felt that they were called. The prospects of being sent to any part of the foreign field by the Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Missions were at that time very [485] discouraging. Therefore, J.B. Hail wrote to E.B. Treat, corresponding secretary of the American Board, asking an appointment to the foreign field as a Cumberland Presbyterian missionary. In his reply the secretary, after inquiring what he was to understand by an appointment as a "Cumberland Presbyterian missionary, " discouraged the application on account of the limited financial resources then at the board's command. The younger Hail then offered himself to our own board. This was early in the year 1875. His brother made a like offer of himself to the Cumberland Presbyterian board in November of the same year. Both were accepted as candidates.

In 1876 Pennsylvania Synod, of which J.B. Hail was a member, pledged $1,000 for his outfit and $300 a year on his salary, on condition that the board would at once send him to Japan. This offer was accepted, and he and his family sailed from San Francisco about the first of January, 1877, reaching Osaka the 30th of that month. There were then not more than fifty native Christians in that great city. But three Protestant churches were represented in mission work: the Congregationalists, through the American Board; and the Episcopalians, English and American. Our missionary and his wife devoted themselves at once to the study of the language and the people, "sometimes exchanging instruction in English for instruction in Japanese."(10) They found a home in that part of the city allotted to foreigners, and known as the Foreign Concession.

There was no money in our missionary treasury, and A.D. Hail, who had for some years been pastor at Cumberland, Ohio, had to wait. At the board's request he studied medicine, attending Cleveland Medical College in 1876 and 1877. A gentleman in Illinois, early in 1878 offered the board $1,000 for Mr. Hail's outfit. At the meeting of the General Assembly at Lebanon, Tennessee, in May of that year, he was solemnly ordained to this work, and he and his family sailed from San Francisco the following autumn reaching Japan October 21st. Up to this time but one inquirer, a man named Yamamoto San, had placed himself under the instruction of our missionaries. When J.B. Hail acquired a sufficient knowledge of Japanese to begin to preach, efforts were made to find See historical sketch of our Japan Mission in [486] a place in the city in which to hold services. But there was such a prejudice against Christianity that it was almost three months before a preaching place was found. At last a building on Ruhebashi street was rented and "the first sermon was preached on Sabbath, February 9th, 1879, at 4 P.M., almost the exact time of the sixty-ninth anniversary of our denomination."

There was much interest in the services from the first. In his report to the General Assembly of 1879, A.D. Hail, speaking of these first meetings, says:

It is a matter of profound interest to witness the attention paid by some of the hearers, and to see others dropping into the passage-way as they are passing, and standing with great burdens of wares upon their backs, and greater burdens upon their hearts, turning their bronzed faces toward the speaker to catch his words. At such times one feels an inexpressible longing for a thorough knowledge of the tongue through which so many deaf hearts must be reached.

The missionaries found that until they became accustomed to the climate they could not work so well as at home. Three years' study of the language was required in order to begin responsible work. They were hindered by the restrictions of the government, and by the circulation of infidel books from Europe and America, as well as by the difficulty of expressing spiritual ideas in the Japanese tongue, and the degrading effects wrought on the people by heathenism. But the Christian homes of the missionaries were already exerting an influence for good. Schools were springing up and the children were receiving instruction in anti-heathen knowledge. Persecutions had measurably ceased. The reading habits of the people and their eagerness to learn afforded constant opportunities to impart the gospel, while the number of native believers and Christian Churches was rapidly multiplying.

A Sunday School, with an average attendance of fifteen, was organized by our missionaries November 2nd, 1879, and a weekly prayer-meeting was regularly maintained, out of which grew a weekly meeting for inquirers. Two native helpers, Obato San and Suji San, were assisting in the work, teaching, exhorting, and aiding in pastoral visitation.

Though there were in 1879 a small number of inquirers, one or [487] two of whom the missionaries thought they might "justifiably encourage to become candidates for baptism," yet it was thought "better to err on the side of caution than of haste amongst those having such low ideas of the Christian life."(11) It was not until September 26th, 1880, that the first converts of the mission were baptized. On that day two men, Yamamoto San and Kuzze San, received this ordinance at the hands of the Rev. J.B. Hail, and joined the missionaries in the first communion service of this infant church in the city of Osaka. Of these two men the Rev. G.G. Hudson says in his late report as corresponding secretary of the mission:(12)

These were the first fruits of our mission in Japan. Without special direction from their teachers these men consulted together, and agreeing that as they were the first members of this new church, their conduct would have great influence with those who should join later, they sought help from God to fit themselves for their responsible position, and promised on their part to have a stated time for secret prayer, and to give to the Lord one tenth of their income. Having such a foundation, we may hope that "all the building, fitly framed together, shall grow unto an holy temple in the Lord."

Though the missionaries felt the importance of extending the work to points outside of Osaka, and tours of observation were made to Wakayama, Tanabe, and other important places, the want of men and women to aid in the work prevented them at that time from occupying these inviting fields.

In the meantime the mission was bearing fruit in the church at home. Missionary contributions were greatly increased. The organization of the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions grew directly out of the pressing necessities of this work in Japan. The missionaries made their first official report in 1879. In it they said:

As the work progresses we feel the indispensable need of female helpers. If one was on the ground now and had a thorough knowledge of the tongue she would prove an invaluable adjunct to the preaching place that is now opened. ... While the labors of the wives of the missionaries are manifold, yet there is a large field that can be successfully worked only by young lady helpers. ... The work accomplished by the young ladies of other denominations has been very [488] great. No denomination can wholly succeed without them. ... The time has come in the providence of God when he is opening a great door of usefulness to our Christian women.

In the same report it was suggested that "our board and General Assembly call on the ladies of the church to organize themselves for work," and it was urged that if possible at least one young lady should be sent to Japan the following autumn. But as this suggestion was not, that year, carried out, A.D. Hail and his wife, early in 1880, wrote a letter to the ladies of our church at Evansville, Indiana, through their pastor, the Rev. W.J. Darby, requesting, inasmuch as the General Assembly was to meet in that city in May of that year, that these ladies would call a convention of the women of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to meet there at the time of the Assembly's meeting for the purpose of organizing a Woman's Board of Missions. The call was issued and the matter was pressed by the pastor at Evansville and the ladies of his church. The convention was held, and with the unanimous approval of the General Assembly the Woman's Board was organized and located at Evansville.

In 1881 our missionaries began to make extended preaching tours in the country south of Osaka, and the work was thus enlarged. An extract from the report written March 15th, 1881, will show what were at that time the arduous duties of the missionaries:

The work presses upon us so that every member of the mission must labor so constantly as to call for continual care against overwork. In addition to the regular day's work on the language, there are the usual labors of preaching, teaching, and superintending. During the present year prayer-meetings have been maintained Tuesday and Thursday evenings. ... The average attendance has been larger than it was last year. ... The wives of the missionaries have also begun a woman's prayer-meeting, which is held on Wednesday evening. ... Every morning also, at the hour of family worship, which is arranged with that end in view, there is generally a half hour devoted to exegesis which is shared by several of the Japanese. Every evening of the week also has been devoted to teaching a few young men English and science, for the sake of gaining an influence over them, and reaching them with the gospel of Christ. One of the young men thus taught continues to open his house every Sabbath morning for Bible study.

[489] The Sabbath services, preaching and Sunday School, were kept up with growing interest at the regular preaching place; and an afternoon Sunday School was opened in another part of the city, where a preaching service was held every Sabbath at 4 P.M.; and Sabbath evening services were held in still another place. Mainly through native helpers the work had begun to extend outside the city. Services were kept up once a month at a mountain village twelve miles from Osaka; and the influence of the mission was gradually finding its way to other places. Three extensive tours into the Province of Kishu were this year made "with the purpose of ascertaining the feasibility of making it an out-station," but in all these efforts the mission was crippled by the lack of an adequate force of men and women, and the want of means to prosecute the work.

The need of a religious, and especially of a denominational, literature in the native language was at an early period recognized. When the entire New Testament was translated and printed, the work of imparting a knowledge of the gospel was made much less difficult. The Scriptures were sold everywhere, in shops, on the streets, at Christian meetings, and at heathen festivals. It was no unusual thing "to see men with a copy of the gospels in one hand, and the image of a fox or of Buddha in the other, returning from their religious gatherings." In some cases those whose only teacher had been the printed word presented themselves for baptism.

In 1881 a beginning in the matter of denominational literature was made. The Confession of Faith was translated by J.B. Hail, who also translated the chapter of Dr. J.R. Brown's "Lights on the Way," entitled "The Doctrines." A.D. Hail translated the Shorter Catechism and the Catechism for Children. He also wrote an expository tract on Luke 15, entitled "The Sinner's Staff," and a Manual of Systematic Theology. The mission that year issued two hundred and sixty thousand pages of printed matter. Some other translations and original works have since been published, but efforts in this department have been much hindered by other pressing demands on the time and energies of the missionaries, as well as by the lack of an adequate fund to be used in the publication of books.

[490] A religious book and tract store was opened early in 1881. While much religious reading matter was distributed gratuitously, the missionaries believed that more good would be accomplished by cheap sales than by the indiscriminate giving away of books and tracts. In the succeeding years book depositories have been established in many places, and colporteurs have been sent forth. This work is placed in the hands of native Christians, who combine its duties with evangelistic labors.

November 21, 1881, Miss Alice M. Orr, of Missouri, and Miss Julia L. Leavitt, of Indiana, the first two missionaries sent out by the Woman's Board, arrived at Osaka. Though they were able immediately to relieve their fellow-missionaries of part of their English teaching work, and as time went on to assist to some extent in imparting instruction in music, sacred geography, and some other branches, yet their time for the first three years was mainly devoted to the study of the language.

A preaching place was opened October 1, 1881, in a part of Osaka hitherto unoccupied by Christian teachers. The native Christians resolved to pay the current expenses of the services held here. They provided a box which, in memory of the widow's mite, they called "the denarii box," and "hung it every Sunday in the front part of the house, so that the people might place in it their weekly gifts." Since then all the preaching places and churches connected with this mission have been provided with denarii boxes.

Under the direction of Mrs. A.D. Hail a "woman's meeting" was inaugurated to teach the Japanese women domestic handiwork by which they could earn money to assist in maintaining the preaching places. These meetings were well attended and grew in interest and good results. In 1882 the native membership increased more than two hundred per cent. Our half-dozen missionaries felt themselves inadequate to provide for the multiplying. demands of the work. They pleaded earnestly for reinforcements. Work "after the manner of circuit-riding on foot," had been prosecuted in the Province of Kishu, and "a catechumenical class" was in process of formation.

All the converts baptized by our missionaries in any part of the empire were at first enrolled as members of the church at Osaka. [491] This church raised a salary and tried to secure a native pastor. Although there were several young men studying preparatory to taking a theological course no one among them was found "sufficiently acquainted with theology and the holy Scriptures to take the pastoral oversight of the flock." This church "resolved to sustain its own preaching place"--that is, to pay its own rents and relieve the board of all incidental expenses connected with the services. This enabled the mission to rent a new preaching place in another part of the city. Thus at the close of the year, 1882, there were in Osaka three places where our missionaries maintained preaching and Sunday Schools regularly every Sabbath, while private houses in different parts of the city were opened for prayer and other Christian work.

Events of great importance to the cause of Christianity in Japan and to our struggling mission occurred during the year 1883. A missionary conference, in which all the Protestant missions of the empire were represented, was held April 16th-22nd. Delegates from eighteen foreign societies, and representing a native church of five thousand communicants, were present. The report submitted to our General Assembly the next year says:

The Conference came together in the spirit of prayer. All shades of Episcopacy, all the various Presbyterian and Methodist bodies, and different nationalities, came together in a oneness of spirit that proclaimed the essential unity of the body of Christ. The influence of this meeting has been, and will continue to be, felt for good along different lines of mission work in Japan. It will give a greater insight into the work to those Christians in America who have the cause of missions in this empire in their hearts and hands, and give ample instruction to Mission Boards as to the kind of persons that should be sent to this field, and of the best and wisest method of dealing with them so as to secure their greatest efficiency as workers at a minimum of expense.

A still more important event was a general revival of religion throughout the Japanese empire. Describing this revival the corresponding secretary of the mission in his annual report, says:

The results of this revival have been such as to call forth the highest gratitude of all who have given to, and prayed and wrought for, the Christianization of Japan. Many of the churches have almost doubled [492] their membership. The Christian life of the believers has been quickened, and has manifested this quickening in a greater consecration to Christian work, and a spirit of greater liberality. It has done much to eradicate from the hearts of native Christians the deep-seated prejudice against foreigners, which oftentimes made itself felt even against missionaries. Thus has the way for a more cordial confidence in, and cooperation with, missionaries, upon the part of the native church, been opened by the Spirit of God. The native Christians of all denominations hold a biennial Conference, composed of delegates representing the respective churches in the land. The object of this meeting is to consider questions which relate to the life of the church and to its successful progress. Meeting, as it did this year, in the wake of the Missionary Conference, and in the inception of the revival which has been spreading throughout the country, the Conference was converted by the Holy Spirit into a daily and hourly meeting of incessant prayer. At the same time, without pre-concerted action, all the churches in the various cities began daily prayer-meetings. The spontaneity of the movement was so manifest that none could question that the hand of God was directing it. It was but natural for these various streams of quickened religious life to flow together into one channel of Christian effort. The numerical results, so far as conversions are concerned, while they have been very great, are only one of the minor features of importance in this work. ... our own little church has shared with all others in the precious results. Its spiritual condition seems, therefore, to be much better than at any other time in its brief history.

This year the Osaka church selected three men to serve six months as elders. Their re-election was made to depend on the ability and fidelity with which they performed their duties. The church being still without a pastor, these elders were called upon to discharge the duties of the pastoral office in turn, bi-monthly. The members of the congregation, numbering in all about forty-seven, were "scattered over a territory of about three hundred miles. In Osaka, a city of about 600,000 inhabitants, there were thirty-seven members; in Wakayama (out-station), 75,000 inhabitants, one member; in Hikata, a cluster of villages of 5,000 inhabitants, five members; in Tanabe, 11,000 inhabitants, one member; in Shingu, 8,000 inhabitants, three members." In the beginning of their work our missionaries made it their aim to cultivate in the native Christians a sense of responsibility and a feeling of self-dependence in relation to the financial affairs of the church, and [493] the regulation and management of other church interests. The following is a brief statement of the principles governing the mission in its policy:

The leading idea which the mission strives to realize is: The responsibility of the native church for the conversion of Japan. This is the principle which is sought to be made prominent, and which has thus far determined the missionaries' plans of work. It has been their endeavor to follow this idea in defining the relation of the foreign church to the church in Japan: (1) It determines the attitude of the foreign missionaries to the native church to be that of co-laborers and advisers, "as being helpers of their joy and not as having dominion over their faith." While, therefore, they are here as members of a church that has a polity and system of doctrine of its own, yet they do not seek to impose these things upon the converts by any exercise of authority. They encourage any movements on their part toward any kind of union with their native brethren, which will aid them most effectively in carrying out the responsibility which devolves upon them--that is, any union within essentially orthodox doctrine and liberal forms of church government. (2) The missionaries have tried to regulate the use of foreign money for native purposes upon the same principle. Believing that the practice of self-sacrifice and a sense of personal responsibility are essential to the cultivation of a true missionary spirit, the use of foreign money has not been encouraged. When used, it has been as an exception only. The mission, therefore, has no schedule of salaries of native helpers, no definite rules as to aid granted to those desiring to be educated as evangelists or lay workers. In cases where aid is granted, other than directly evangelistic work is required as a compensation--that is, they must pay back to the mission monies expended upon them by the mission. When it is necessary to hire preaching places in neighborhoods where no Christians live, the native brethren are expected to aid in the financial maintenance of such stations. In localities where there are native Christians, they are encouraged to rent a small preaching place within their own means, sometimes aided by private contributions from the missionary, or else to open their own houses. (3) The same formative idea we expect to be governed by in any other phase of the work which may arise. Our experience in the work, as thus conducted, encourages us to hope with reference to ultimate results. Our experience thus far may prove to be only the inexperience of a young mission, yet we shall continue to follow out this principle, subject to further light.

This outline was written for the Osaka Conference in the latter part of the year 1882, by A.D. Hail, corresponding secretary of the [494] mission. The test of experience in the years which have followed has demonstrated the soundness of the principle thus laid down, and the wisdom of the policy growing out of it. The native Christians have shown an increasing disposition to sustain their own churches, and to extend help to new places. Their missionary gifts in 1882 equaled thirty-seven cents for each member, and the year following more than fifty cents per member. In 1884 the total collections for all purposes reached an amount equal to six dollars for each member. When we remember that these people make their contributions out of their poverty, that one hundred and fifty dollars a year is counted a large income, that many earn almost nothing, and that the average pay of those who have regular employment or business is not more than eight dollars per month, we see that they show a willingness to give, far in advance of that shown by the church at home.

Nor has the policy of our mission, in allowing the Japanese Christians freedom in choosing their own methods of work and rules of government, been attended with any evil results. The regulations adopted have sometimes been more strict and wholesome than those enforced at home. For instance, we have this item in the report for the year 1882: "The native brethren have established a rule that persons not well known must wait at least two months after their application before receiving baptism." "This," says the corresponding secretary, "has doubtless saved us from some mistakes."(13) A report made three years later informs us that "The {native} church takes very aggressive ground in regard to the use of wine and tobacco. While it has made no formal utterances upon these subjects, yet the use of such things by non-Christians has such associations that persons coming into the church naturally feel that such habits should be renounced as being inconsistent with Christian character. We have not been very solicitous to correct such an impression."(14)

Mrs. A.M. Drennan, the third missionary sent by the Woman's Board, reached Japan May 4,1883. Early in 1882 the missionaries had called on this board to take steps to lay the foundation of a girl's school and orphanage in Osaka. No Protestant orphanage [495] had at that time been established in that part of Japan. The Woman's Board was asked to send an educated lady, one with experience in the care of a household, joined to ability to teach and a motherly tact and judgment in looking after the welfare of the young, to aid in this work. In response to this call, the board equipped and sent forth Mrs. Drennan, contributing also three thousand dollars to furnish buildings for the proposed school and orphanage. A lot and buildings were secured in the Foreign Concession, and the school was opened with four pupils, January 8, 1884. It has since been known as the Wilmina school. By June, 1884, it had seventeen pupils. At the beginning of the year 1886, the attendance was forty-one, with an enrollment of fifty-nine. This school is divided into three grades, the primary, intermediate, and advanced. The studies, with but few exceptions, are the same as those pursued in similar schools at home. Japanese composition and history are taught, and the Bible is a daily text-book in all the grades. The first year six of the pupils joined the church, and others were awaiting baptism. There were sixty pupils at the beginning of the year 1887. In December, 1886, there were three graduates who have since taken their places as teachers and helpers in missionary work. With money furnished by the Woman's Board, a new building has recently been erected for this school.

In addition to her regular work Mrs. Drennan has kept up daily and weekly classes for young men. Out of these has grown a Young Men's Christian Endeavor Society with forty-five members. Through Mrs. Drennan's influence and under her direction a Japanese branch of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle has been organized, which in 1887 numbered fourteen hundred members. She also instructs a class composed of the wives of government officers "in English, the Bible, and household duties."

The year 1884 was one of great fruitfulness in other departments of the work. The attitude of the people and the government was undergoing a change favorable to the propagation of Christianity. Men of prominence were beginning to appreciate the benefits of the new faith. The people were ready and eager to hear the gospel. The impetus given the work by the revival of the preceding year was not checked, but steadily increasing in beneficial results. One [496] of the emperor's privy council had petitioned the government to employ Christian teachers, and give instruction in Christian morals in all the schools from the Imperial University down. Another prominent man, "as the result of his investigations abroad, memorialized the emperor in behalf of the introduction of Christianity." China and other Eastern countries were catching glimpses of the light shed abroad in Japan. Of Korea the report made at the close of this year says:

The "Hermit Nation" (Korea), so recently opened for commerce to the Western Powers through the successful negotiations of Commodore Shufeldt, is looking upon the movements in Japan with profound interest. A few days ago that government sent one of its learned men (its historian) to this land in order to investigate its condition since the introduction of Western arts and sciences. This man, Rijutei, became a Christian, and is now employed by the American Bible Society in translating the gospel into his native language. The account of his conversion and work, as given by the agent of that society, is full of interest. While investigating the subject of Christianity, he dreamed that two men appeared who offered him books, and he was told that these were the most useful of all things for his people. When it was asked, "What books are they?" it was replied, "These are Bibles." So deeply impressed was the man by his dream, and also by the truths he heard, that he soon became a Christian, and from that time has been earnestly at work for the salvation of his people. His growth in grace and in knowledge of God's word has been marked and rapid. Through his labors several other Koreans have become Christians. Some of these are students in some of the Tokyo Mission Schools, preparatory to work amongst their own people. A number of other prominent Koreans, in this country for temporary residence, have applied to him to be taught the doctrines of Christ. Certainly in all this there is such a prophecy of what might be in regard to the evangelization of other Eastern nations by the help of a Christian Japan, as to stimulate the Church in Christian lands to devise more liberal things for the speedy conversion of her people.

The preaching of our missionaries was this year attended with gracious results. In February the Osaka church perfected its organization. Two other churches, one at Kuroye (Hikata), a village near Wakayama, and the other at Shingu, "the extremest point of the province of Kishu," one hundred and ninety miles from Osaka, were regularly organized, the former May the 11th, [497] and the latter the month following. The report of the Corresponding Secretary of the mission in the Minutes of the General Assembly for 1887, gives an account of the origin of these and other Japanese churches, illustrating "God's power to use apparently trivial events to produce great results."

The work at Hikata began with one man who, having heard something of Christianity, asked a missionary of the American Board for preaching. This missionary repeated the request to J.B. Hail. "As the interest deepened, the local priest became alarmed, and circulated a pledge against hearing Christianity taught, and against having even business relations with Christians. One man refused to sign the pledge, saying that Christians were the principal purchasers of their manufactures--lacquer work. On inquiry, a number of Bible readers were found in the village, and these formed the `Society of Brotherly Love' for Bible study. The meetings were at first secret, though largely attended," Thus the church grew up.

The history of the work at Shingu still more strikingly shows how the truth in the heart of one Christian proved the seed of a church:

Some years ago a man living at Shingu sent his sister to a Girls' School of the American Board at Osaka. She became a Christian, and on returning home and observing the rules of a godly life was greatly persecuted by her relatives. To spend the Sabbath in a Christian-like manner, she was compelled to retire to the mountains, where she spent the day in reading and prayer. Some time after this Yamamoto San was preaching through that province, depending wholly upon Providence for his support. He reached Shingu late at night without money or acquaintances, and weary with his march through mud and rain. He met a man who proved to be the brother of the girl referred to, and who inquired his name and business. When told that the traveler was a teacher of the religion of Jesus, he invited him to his own house, saying that he wished to learn of that way. From this grew the Shingu church.

The church at Mitani Mura, a village nine miles from Wakayama, was also temporarily organized in 1884. A young man from one of the families of the village went to America to seek his fortune. "His father warned him expressly against the Christian [498] religion, and was enraged to find on his son's return that he had become a Christian. The son patiently endured his father's wrath until he could be heard in explanation of his course, when the father became interested and afterward a believer. The first baptism was administered in 1884." The church at that place in 1886 reported a membership of thirty-two.

The history of the two churches organized in 1885, one in Wakayama and the other at Tanabe, is equally interesting. The events which led to the formation of the Wakayama church are thus briefly stated:

A youth went from that city to America, and there became a Christian. He wrote to his mother of the new-found faith, and so taught its principles and encouraged her that she also became a believer. He was anxious for her to have a teacher, and learning from an Osaka friend whom he met in San Francisco that a Mr. Hail taught in Wakayama, he wrote the missionary requesting him to visit the mother. When the request was complied with, it was found that she had been praying for a teacher: After a satisfactory examination the mother was baptized, and partook of the Lord's Supper with the missionary and his helper.

The membership at this place is now fifty-nine, and the Sunday School numbers one hundred and sixty-two. The church supports a day school of more than one hundred pupils.

At Tanabe J.B. Hail began visiting in 1881. "After a year or two there were many reading the Scriptures, but all seemed waiting for some one to make the first profession of faith. On a certain occasion the missionary and his helper were especially burdened for visible results in their work, and without revealing to each other the unusual anxiety felt, they separated for secret prayer. Upon returning to the hotel they met a man who offered himself for baptism." The church thus begun reports a membership of forty-seven.

We will get a better idea of the importance of these mission churches as centers of influence if we remember that Osaka is the "chief commercial center of Japan; Wakayama, forty miles from Osaka, the largest city of its entire province and of its contiguous southern provinces; while Tanabe and Shingu are respectively the sources of supply and trade for several valleys of populous vil [499] lages. In the first-named city are five different Protestant bodies, besides the Roman and Greek Catholic churches. In Wakayama the American Episcopal and Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries, and Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic church are at work; while in the rest of that and the adjoining state, our missionaries alone are engaged."(15)

Two churches were built during the year 1884, one at Shingu and the other at Osaka. Work on the former was commenced when the number of baptized believers in the town was only four, and none of them well to do in the world. The report adds: "Yet God, who always honors faith in him, blessed them with hearts to expect great things from him and to undertake great things for him. The people of the village came generously to their aid, and a handsome little church was built and dedicated."(16)

The Osaka church was dedicated in October, 1884. The congregations at Tanabe and Wakayama have since built houses of worship. The other churches rent their preaching places. Up to 1887 none of these churches had pastors, because none of the native preachers had attained to the standard of qualification which was thought necessary. The elders and leading members assume the duties and responsibilities of pastoral work.

In October, 1884, the several churches, three of which had up to that time been formally organized, appointed delegates to meet with the Osaka church to take steps for a better organization. "They were in session about one week, and considered such topics as Form of Government, Confession of Faith, Missions, and Educational Work. The missionaries were called on occasionally for advice, but sustained to them no other than an advisory relation." They organized themselves into a temporary body to meet semi-annually, arranging to have representatives from the elders and brethren of the several churches until they should be supplied with pastors and be able to form a presbytery.(17) These meetings are still held regularly, and the body made up of the assembled delegates is dignified with the title of presbytery.(18)

The apprenticeship of Miss Orr and Miss Leavitt in language [500] study and other preparatory work had in 1884 proceeded far enough to enable them to enter regularly upon their missionary labors. Miss Orr at first devoted herself to work amongst the women in the out-stations in the province of Kishu, while Miss Leavitt engaged in similar work in Osaka. Both these young ladies have proven most efficient and consecrated workers. Miss Orr obtained a permit from the government to live for three years at Wakayama, with freedom to travel through the province at will. When Miss Bettie A. Duffield, of Missouri, the fourth missionary sent by the Woman's Board, reached Japan, April 24, 1885, the church at Wakayama secured permission for her, also, to live in that city three years. While studying the language she was associated with Miss Orr in a co-educational English day school, which was opened by the Wakayama church in November, 1885. This school, which is established on a thoroughly Christian basis, and which is "exclusively under the control and management of the native Christians," had, besides Miss Orr and Miss Duffield, three native teachers. The number of its pupils grew from forty in 1885, to one hundred and twenty at the close of 1886. During the latter year this school was "so approved by the government officials that they proposed to give a new school building, pay the salary of two English teachers, and continue the management as a Christian school," if Miss Orr and Miss Duffield would devote three hours instead of an hour and a half daily to teaching in it. This proposition was referred to the mission.

Miss Orr's work has not been confined to this school, or to Wakayama. She visits other places, conducting Bible meetings for women, holding prayer-meetings, and instructing inquirers. In 1887 she reported "two growing classes, respectively twenty and ten miles from Wakayama, at Yuwasa and Iwada." At Yuwasa, where the class numbered twenty men and women, it was expected that a church would soon be organized.(19) In a published letter she gives the following account of the origin of this work:

One young man spent a month of successful work at Yuwasa. During his stay, a party of about twelve Christians from here went to the town and held a large meeting in a theater, with an audience of [501] about five hundred most attentive and quiet people. Many school teachers and officials came to the hotel to ask us more minutely the way. Many desire to have Christianity.

Speaking further of the missionary labors of these Wakayama converts, Miss Orr says:

The young men took turns in going to a village, about two miles out, one night in every week, and have met with still more encouragement. Two of the women have gone often to still another village, some eight miles away, and two or three persons there have received baptism as the result, and a church is about to be organized. In consequence of this mission work, the Wakayama church is growing stronger in numbers and in spirit.

Miss Leavitt's labors in the city of Osaka included "house to house visitation of women, conducting women's meetings, cate