THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

"To the Poor the Gospel is Preached."

FEBRUARY 1879.

CONTENTS:

PRESIDENT.

Hon. E. S. TOBEY, Boston.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.

Rev. M. E. STRIEBY, D.D., 56 Reade Street, N. Y.

DISTRICT SECRETARIES.

Rev. C. L. WOODWORTH, Boston.
Rev. G. D. PIKE, New York.
Rev. JAS. POWELL, Chicago.

EDGAR KETCHUM, Esq., Treasurer, N. Y.
H. W. HUBBARD, Esq., Assistant Treasurer, N. Y.
Rev. M. E. STRIEBY, Recording Secretary.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

COMMUNICATIONS

relating to the business of the Association may be addressed to either of the Secretaries as above; letters for the Editor of the "American Missionary" to Rev. Geo. M. Boynton, at the New York Office.

DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

may be sent to H. W. Hubbard, 56 Reade Street, New York, or, when more convenient, to either of the Branch Offices, 21 Congregational House, Boston, Mass., 112 West Washington Street, Chicago, Ill. Drafts or checks sent to Mr. Hubbard should be made payable to his order as Assistant Treasurer.

A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a Life Member.

Correspondents are specially requested to place at the head of each letter the name of their Post Office, and the County and State in which it is located.

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THE

AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

American Missionary Association.

EDITORIAL

Paragraphs

We are happy to greet our elder sister, The Missionary Herald, or perhaps we should name a more venerable relative yet, as in the seventy-fifth year of its age it renews its youth. Always valuable, it promises in future to be more full of information as to the work of the American Board, and more comprehensive in its view of the missionary work at large, while it enlivens its pages with illustrations and adds a bright department for the young folks. We welcome our brother Strong to the editorial chair, and the Herald to its future, and we trust ever-increasing, career of usefulness.

A new Sunday School Jubilee Concert Exercise, relating to the work of the American Missionary Association, has been prepared by the Rev. G. D. Pike, upon the basis of one arranged by Rev. A. E. Winship, of Massachusetts. This is brought down to date as to its facts and figures, and will be accompanied by a brief for the use of those who are to lead and to make addresses, giving facts in greater detail, and incidents as material with which to make the meetings of deeper interest. The paper includes Jubilee Songs and statements in regard to the work for the meetings. Any Sabbath-school wishing a supply of this exercise will be furnished gratuitously with the number required, by applying to Rev. G. D. Pike, at the New York office, 56 Reade Street.

The Christian At Work concludes a long and appreciative notice of Dr. Strieby's recently published address upon the "Work of Half a Generation," with the following paragraph:

The impetus which has been given to educational efforts in the Southern States owes its existence to the work of the American Missionary Association and kindred societies. They scattered through the South an army of enthusiastic practical educators, who, at all principal points, established schools. The work of these societies is laying broad and deep the foundations for the real elevation of the Freedmen. They lay them in the Christian character of their schools; in the higher education they furnish, which the States do not give, and in the well-trained army of teachers they prepare for the Freedmen, thus supplying one of the most urgent wants recognized by both whites and blacks alike. If there were no other results[34] from the labors of these societies, the teachers they have trained, and who are now instructing more than two hundred thousand pupils, would fully vindicate their claim to the confidence and gratitude of both the North and South.

OUR CONCERT OF PRAYER.

It has been our custom for many years to appoint a day and hour in which all who are engaged in the work of the Association might unite in earnest prayer to God for His blessing upon one another and upon the common interests. The notification has been sent to all the workers in the various fields in the South. It has been frequently the case that the time selected has been during the progress of the annual meeting, so that the assembled friends of the Association have united with the officers, missionaries and teachers in this "sweet hour of prayer."

This year, however, our schools were so much delayed in their opening, and our workers from returning to the South, by the yellow fever, that this concert of prayer could not be held before the beginning of the new year. On Monday of the week of prayer an hour was fixed at which the executive committee and officers in New York, the teachers and pupils in the various schools, the pastors and the people of their charge, might all assemble, each in the midst of their own responsibilities, and pray for a blessing on the work begun and to be prosecuted through the year. It was pleasant to feel that we were mingling the incense of our petition and praise with the great cloud which was ascending from all parts of Protestant Christendom during this week of prayer.

We came from this still hour, in the midst of the busy, bustling city, realizing more than we are wont, that after all it is not the drive and tear of eager human life on which we depend for success, but the loving heart of God, which moves with unseen arm the doors of opportunity which swing on noiseless hinges at His touch; that it is He alone who gives the wisdom to direct and the strength to achieve; that He turns the hearts of men as the rivers of water are turned.

We have been accustomed to make our pleas for help to those whom we believed the Lord's heart had touched, that there might not fail us a supply of men and means; and our requests have not been in vain, but have been answered with generous liberality. But, brethren, when we have come to you to ask your help, we have followed the example of the good governor of Jerusalem, and have first prayed to the God of heaven; and when you have responded, we have recognized, as he did, that you have "granted us according to the good hand of our God upon us." Perplexing questions come up from week to week for settlement and wise decision. Thank God we may go to Him and plead His promise to give us light on the way.

With all our need of men and means to carry on the work which the Lord has entrusted to this agency, we recognize still more our constant need of that Divine help which alone can never fail us. Dear fellow-workers in this special field, let the spirit and the practice of this week of prayer go with us through the year. Let those who manage, those who do the detail work, and those who furnish the supplies, all pray for themselves, each other and the work. We shall work better if we pray. We shall give more graciously as well as generously if we pray. We shall pray such prayers as God most willingly will hear and answer, if we give and work for the things for which we ask.

Our dependence for the year to come may well be expressed in the words of the good man, to whom we have referred already, "The God of heaven He will prosper us; therefore, we His servants will arise and build."

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THE MISSIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

When Livingstone entered upon his life work in Africa, not quite forty years ago, Kuruman was the farthest inland station; since then great things have been done for Africa. Dividing that part of Africa which lies south of the equator into three equal parts of twelve degrees each, we find that Kuruman falls within the southernmost division, or South Africa. In the second division, or South-Central Africa, lie Lake Ngami and most of Lake Nyassa, both of which were discovered by Dr. Livingstone. In the third division, Central Africa, extending from 9 degrees to 3 degrees south latitude, lies Lake Tanganyika, discovered by Burton and Speke in 1858. To the north of Tanganyika are several lakes, the largest of which is the Victoria Nyanza. The Victoria Nyanza was discovered by Speke in 1858, and circumnavigated by Stanley in 1875. It lies between the 32d and 35th parallels of longitude from Greenwich, and extends from 2½ degrees south latitude to the north of the equator by the fraction of a degree. Its superficial area is 21,500 square miles, being nearly as large as Lake Michigan, and 100 fathoms will not measure its deepest waters. The lake is in a direct line about 520 miles from the east coast, and about 1,600 miles from the west coast. Ujiji, on the eastern shore of Tanganyika, is 625 miles from the east coast, in a direct line.

These great lakes, Nyassa, Tanganyika and Nyanza, afford excellent facilities for missionary operations. They make the torrid heat of the equatorial sun tolerable; they cause rains which produce a luxuriant vegetation; and their broad, deep waters enable the missionaries to travel swiftly from point to point by steamer, bringing them within easy communication with various and distant tribes.

The first of these great inland missions was established by the Free Church of Scotland. The discoveries of Livingstone had drawn the attention of the Church to interior Africa as early as 1861, and some correspondence was had with the great traveller, who recommended the shores of Lake Nyassa as affording an excellent site for a new mission. It was not until 1875, however, when Livingstone's "Last Journals" had been published, and had created a great enthusiasm for the redemption of Africa, that the Free Church definitely decided to undertake the enterprise. The money asked for, $50,000, was soon raised. The pioneer party left Scotland early in the Spring of 1875, and arrived at its destination in the following October. The route was up the Zambesi River to the Murchison Cataracts, the steamer and goods being carried around the cataracts by 800 porters, and launched again in the Shiré River, reaching the lake in two days from the cataracts. The whole distance is about 400 miles. Later in the year the second party, under Dr. Stewart, the head of the mission, started for the lake. The site of the mission station, Livingstonia, was chosen on Cape Maclear, at the southern end of the lake. Buildings were put up at once, and attempts made to secure the friendship of the natives, few of whom manifested any hostility. Trips were made to the northern and western shores of the lake, and no opposition was encountered anywhere. The missionaries say no real obstacle to the success of the mission presents itself. It has been found, however, that Livingstonia will have to be abandoned. It has a good harbor, but the soil is poor and the land lies low, and is too circumscribed to sustain a large population. Besides, the tsetse fly, that destroyer of cattle, has appeared. A new site is to be chosen, and an expedition is searching for one on the west coast, about 145 miles north of Livingstonia, among a people of Zulu origin, called the Maviti. The Maviti inhabit a high table land, and are quite numerous.

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Of course, but little actual mission work has been performed thus far. The mission has no permanent home, and time is required for preparation. Sunday services have been held from the first, and a school with a fair attendance is carried on. A great deal has been accomplished, however, in suppressing the slave trade. Formerly thousands of slaves were sent across the lake from Jumbe's, who is a Mohammedan, but the Arab traders have now left the lake and gone inland to carry on their nefarious business. Two members of the mission, Dr. Laws and Capt. Elton, have died, and all have had the fever.

A short distance to the south of Livingstonia, and closely connected with it, is Blantyre, the mission of the church of Scotland. It has a very favorable location in the Shiré hills. It is high, cool, well wooded, a stream is near, it has good soil, and an iron mine. Until last year the evangelistic work was performed by a missionary from Livingstonia, but now an ordained missionary is in charge. The gardeners have a large tract under cultivation, and Blantyre is evidently to become the centre of a large population. The natives are gathering around it, they are very friendly, and they are giving more attention to the cultivation of the soil. The school has many promising scholars.

The second mission established in Central Africa was that of the Church Missionary Society on the Victoria Nyanza. November 15, 1875, a London paper printed a letter from Stanley calling for Christian missionaries to enter Mtesa's country, Uganda. Three days later the Church Missionary Society received a letter from "An Unprofitable Servant," offering $25,000 for such a mission. Shortly afterward another anonymous contribution of the same amount was received, the society having meanwhile decided to undertake the mission. The mission party left the coast at Bagamoyo, in 1876, in four divisions: the first on July 14, the second on July 29, the third on the last of August, and the fourth on September 14. After crossing the Wami River, the expedition took the route of Mr. Roger Price, of the London Missionary Society, to Mpwapwa. From Mpwapwa the route was west and north to Unyanyembe; thence north to Kagei, at the southern end of the lake, the advance party reaching that point in January, 1877, the journey of 800 miles being performed in about six months, without serious mishap. One of the party, Dr. Smith, died on the way of fever. The provisions were stored at Kagei, but Ukerewe Island, in the southern part of the lake, was made the basis of operations.

Lieutenant Smith and the Rev. C. T. Wilson proceeded to the northern shore of the lake, entering Rubaga, the capital of Mtesa's kingdom Uganda, on June 30. They were received with great favor by Mtesa, who is the ruler of a powerful people. Lieutenant Smith remained with Mr. Wilson a month, and then returned to Ukerewe to assist Mr. O'Neill in preparing for removal. Mr. Wilson was well provided for at first by Mtesa, and had a house near the palace, but the chiefs and the Arabs used their influence against the missionary, and the supplies of food grew smaller and less frequent, and at last Mr. Wilson was informed that he must remove farther from the palace. He had, however, free access to the king and held divine services every Sunday in the palace, the king himself often taking part in them.

Several of the Uganda boys were gathered into a school, and were found to be bright and quick to learn. Late in December, Mr. Wilson had news of a disaster on the lake, and hastened south to find that Lieutenant Smith and Mr. O'Neill had been murdered by Lukongeh's people in a dispute raised by an Arab trader about a dhow. Finding that the stores at Kagei were almost exhausted, Mr.[37] Wilson went on to Unyanyembe, whence he returned to Uganda, arriving at Rubaga March 26, 1878. The last letters received from him by way of the Nile speak hopefully of the future. The caravan, with the bulk of the goods, has made very slow progress. Porters by the thousand were required to convey them, and porters in Africa are arrant villains. At the latest accounts the caravan was still some distance from the lake. A reinforcement for Uganda was sent out at the beginning of 1878, of three young students of the Church Missionary College, and a medical missionary, by way of the Nile. The latest news from them stated that they reached Berber in July. One of their number had been sun-struck and was compelled to return. Thus far $65,000 has been received for the Nyanza mission; also a large part of a fund of $50,000 asked for by the society last April for the support of it.

The liberal donor who gave $25,000 for the Nyanza Mission offered the London Missionary Society the same sum for a mission on Lake Tanganyika. March 15, 1876, the Society resolved to undertake the mission. The Rev. Roger Price, who was commissioned to ascertain what was the best route to the interior, found that by starting from Saadani, wagons could be used as far as Mpwapwa, and that the costly and vexatious system of porterage could thus be avoided so far. Four ordained missionaries, one scientific man, and one builder, left London in March, 1877, as the first contingent of the expedition. At Saadani they divided, four starting July 25, and the rest with the caravan in October. In March the expedition reached Kirasa, forty-five miles east of Mpwapwa, where they left the wagons and employed porters. They reached their destination August 23, having been thirteen months on the journey from the coast, in consequence of unexpected obstacles and vexatious delays. The letters announcing the arrival were only forty-five days on the route to the coast, and only thirty-three thence to London. A high and healthy camping place was chosen near Ujiji. The caravan has not yet reached the lake.

The history of these missions is yet to be made. None of them can be said to be fully established yet. Buildings are to be erected, languages are to be learned, the country is to be explored, and the ways of the people are to be studied, before much can be done in declaring the Gospel. The missions are well situated. The country around them is thickly peopled, and great opportunities are opening to them. Much good has already been done in checking the slave trade, in opening lines of legitimate commercial traffic, and in inducing the natives to cultivate the soil. Other missions will be established in due time. The English Baptists are prospecting for a new mission up the Congo, and Lake Bangweolo, west of Lake Nyassa, and south of Lake Tanganyika, called by Livingstone a paradise, will become the centre of another great mission. Thus from the South, the East and the West, Christian missions are approaching the heart of Africa. Before many years we may hope to see a chain of stations across the continent, and another from Lake Ngami to the equator. The tribes touch each other like drops of water, and when one of them is moved by the Gospel, those which surround it will be agitated. Thus will Christianity take possession of Africa.

HOW THE COLLEGE DIRECTS AND TRANSMUTES NATURAL FORCES.

Address at the Annual Meeting.

BY PRESIDENT EDWARD H. MERRILL, D.D., RIPON, WISCONSIN.

I wish simply to emphasize a single thought, viz., that these institutions of higher learning have their chief use as being aids to direct force. When you have mentioned what these higher institutions have done for individuals—when[38] you have followed the individuals to their work in their various fields, you have only begun to tell the story of their importance. If you go up into Wisconsin, along the lower Fox river, you will see one of the finest water-powers in the world. It is often called the Merrimac of the West. I don't know how long that water-power has been there unappropriated. It was there when the Mound builder was there. God proffered it to him with all its resources, and asked him to improve it; but failing to regard the heavenly admonition, he passed away, leaving but few traces behind; only a few rude instruments and pieces of pottery. All other marks of him are gone. After him came the Indian. He also has passed, to all intents and purposes. Then came the Anglo-Saxon in blood and the Puritan in civilization and culture, and applying his inventive ingenuity to the banks of this river, he set the water-wheel, and the wheel has converted the power of the river into product, and the product has turned into property, and the property into intelligence, and the intelligence under this same productive ingenuity of the Puritan has turned into morality, and that into religion. So we have this great native force, directed to the account of the kingdom of God, transmuted into higher forces for His glory.

Now, my friends, the higher institutions of learning in the midst of these great original forces all about us in the new communities are that product of inventive ingenuity which turns these forces to account, giving them direction and transmuting them from the lower to the higher. The local church cannot do it. Individual labor cannot do it. The institution of higher learning is the only thing that can accomplish it. More than this, not only does this higher institution planted in new fields turn to account the force which already existed, but it has the power of enlarging this force and creating new forces, and after creating, transmuting them and turning them to the account of the kingdom of God. The institutions of this Association in the South not only create an enthusiasm and desire for learning, but they are turning the money acquired and the material prosperity attained by our colored brethren into those higher influences which effect the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. That is what these colleges are for.

It is impossible now to amplify the thought, but I wish in connection with it to name three particulars. And first, it is entirely possible for us, in heeding the Scripture admonition to preach the gospel to every creature, to neglect those great and overwhelming forces in new communities which are sweeping the youth away. I read in a Providence paper last Saturday evening that there are no infidel books published in the Welsh language. I know those Welsh people well. This statement may be true; but meanwhile, forces outside of them which they cannot control are threatening to sweep their youth away into the gulf of materialism and atheism in the new communities. The children speak English, and are thus led into the outside drift.

The second point is this: It is wise to put our directive force where the power is. It is utterly impossible to build institutions in the State of Massachusetts or in New England that will answer the purpose for the South. The children of this world build their water-wheel where their water-power is. The children of light sometimes build their water-wheel where the power is not, or where it has already been appropriated. We must put healthy, strong institutions into the South. They are worth even more than the local churches we are planting. They stand in need of support. The local churches give them character.

Third, I think we have need of a larger Christian sagacity in the distribution of funds for this purpose. In my appeals for educational work, no one has heard me say I would have less money given for older institutions, I believe there can[39] be a wiser distribution of money with reference to the kingdom of God. Any one looking upon this field will tell you that one dollar put into an institution of learning in the Southern field—conditions being as they are, these forces being yet undirected—one dollar in one of these institutions will often accomplish more than one hundred in an old one. I have told people frequently—and I believe those who have studied this problem will assent to it—that one dollar for a Christian college in the Western field, will accomplish more than ten put into some of the older institutions. What I say then is, that if we wish to have a larger sagacity, if we wish to give our money with wiser heed to results, we shall put more into those institutions on the Southern field which are to determine what the South shall be; we shall put more into those institutions in the great Mississippi valley which are to determine what the Mississippi valley shall be, and which, two generations hence, are to determine what this continent shall be. Let not less be given to the old; but, my friends, the most economical giving is the money given to your higher institutions in the South and in all our new communities.

PURITANISM AND THE DESPISED RACES.

Address at the Annual Meeting.

BY REV. C. M. SOUTHGATE, DEDHAM, MASS.

What I have to say will be upon this point: Why Puritanism is especially fitted to elevate the despised races. I say Puritanism; I might say Congregationalism; but that word sometimes means a polity, while this means something higher—clear thinking, strong believing, pure living, solemn and earnest acting; that spiritual life, in a word, which expresses itself in Congregationalism, not anything developed by its machinery.

(1). It has peculiar power and fitness to elevate the despised races. First, because we know so little of the capacity of either of these races. In the geographies of twenty years ago the centre of Africa was marked "Unexplored Region." The race that dwells there is still unexplored. When we say Persia, Greece, Rome, the word represents not only a people but an idea. Each of these nations has flashed forth before the world and left its mark upon it. But of Africa we have heard nothing; it has not displayed itself or impressed itself upon the world outside. It has given nothing of civilization or religion. And so of the Indians. Of their predecessors we learn much from the mounds they built; of themselves we know little. We know more of the former from their graves, than of the latter from their lives. The Chinese we have called our antipodes, in spirit as well as locality, and let them go at that, with this meager record, that grown men spend their lives in carving toys and find their pleasure in smoking opium. To lift up these races we want that power which conquered the conquerors of Rome, and put the destiny of the world into the hands of the Anglo-Saxon. We want the power which shall convince them of manhood within and God above, and bring them face to face with the Almighty.

(2). We want Puritanism brought to these despised races, because there is in them such a tendency to degradation. This is seen abundantly in all of them; let us speak of it especially among the Freedmen. The Association has no feelings of mere romance in doing its work. Those who have been engaged in it for years look with open eyes on depths of degradation which you at a distance can hardly comprehend. In the cities, the colored people are influenced by the civilization around them. In some cases they have made excellent progress by[40] themselves, as in the old Dorchester settlement in Liberty County, Georgia. But as a rule, when left alone, there is a terrible settling downwards. It is seen in Louisiana on remote sugar plantations, where their cabins, if before the war like cattle-pens, are now pest-houses; in Mississippi swamps, where their worship is fetichism and their lives savagery. Slavery was a great leveler; it leveled many down, but it also leveled many up in physical condition. I sat one memorable week, day after day, in company with teachers who had spent eight or ten years in hard work with these people. As they gave their accounts of those outside their influence, it seemed like standing on a jutting crag at night, an inky sky above, an inky sea below, and wave after wave rolling in, black, with scarce a gleam of brightness. No ecclesiastical polity, no scenic shows, can do anything for a people sinking like this. We need a faith which grasps with intense reality the fact that sin leads to remediless destruction; that it needed the Son of God to die for its victims, and believes the Son of God did die for them; and with these convictions is not afraid of any darkness He bids it enlighten, or any devils He bids it cast out.

(3). We want, again, the power of Puritanism for these despised races, because it has done so much for them. We heard words of hearty praise this afternoon telling of the success of the work. They told hardly enough. But these efforts should be redoubled. We want more institutions like those at Atlanta, New Orleans, Charleston, and the other large Southern cities, where high culture and intelligence rule. The scholarship can be compared without fear with similar grades at the North. I never heard in our boasted common schools such recitations as I have heard from boys as black as the blackest. I know what Yale and Harvard and Dartmouth can show; but in Greek and Latin those colored students can rival their excellence. The culture in morals and manners is at least not inferior, nor the religious instruction less fruitful. The report from the churches shows as large and as healthy success as we can show here. The young men and women in these institutions have an intense longing to be at work for the Master. The desperate condition of their race rests upon them like a pall. God is making them His prophets and speaking through them, and sending redemption. It is Puritanism which has done this.

It seems to have been put upon us to prove what Christianity can do for these races. Our fathers came to this land, breaking the winter's silence with hymns of lofty cheer. After them came the negro, with groanings inexpressible and clanking of chains. Then the Chinaman, famine pressing him. Let us not forget that it was the great famine in Ireland which drove one hundred and fifty thousand emigrants to this country in a single year, almost as many as had gone out in a decade before; now, ten million Chinese have died of starvation, and a few seek this land that God gave to fugitives. These races, which have never done anything for themselves, nor had anything good done for them, which have been the tool, the victim, the plaything, the despair of civilization, are now brought face to face with us—us, with our indisputable Anglo-Saxon conceit, which cannot bear that others should differ from us, backed by Northern grit and Western energy, stirred by a solemn conviction that we have a destiny to fulfil in this matter, inspired by that command to preach Christ to dying men. Puritanism, as embodied in this Congregational Missionary Association, proposes to have a hand in shaping the fate of these races.

One of the earliest pictures in the annals of the world is that of an altar. Around it stand three brothers; behind them the ark and the deluge; in their[41] midst the sacrifice of gratitude and consecration; before them the bow of promise on the face of the retreating storm. Ages pass on. The three brothers become three races. One goes to the East and hides himself behind his wall. One goes to the South and hides himself behind deserts and jungles. The third goes to the West, and becomes the torch-bearer to flash the light of Christ's glory over all Europe. In forty centuries they girdle the earth and come together once more upon its opposite side. Behind two of the brothers, little but the deluge. Behind the third, the ark. In their midst the great sacrifice, the cross of Christ. And before them—in the name of Puritanism, in the name of this Association, shall it not be said—before them ALL, the bow of heavenly promise.

RE-DEDICATION OF THE BEACH INSTITUTE.

REV. J. E. ROY, D.D.

The rebuilding of the holy and beautiful house which was burned up with fire, and its dedication, as now recalled by the current Sunday-school lessons, have found a counterpart in the replacing and reconsecrating of this temple of learning by the American Missionary Association for the ex-captives of this city. In February last, under unexplained circumstances, it was burned. Rev. R. F. Markham, the pastor, instead of going North for his needed recuperation, remained through the heat of summer to play the part of Ezra in rebuilding. This was accomplished so that the Institute was opened on time, October 1st. It is a comely structure, 60 x 80, two stories high, adjoining the "Home" that was saved.

Prof. B. F. Koons, at the public service, reported that he had now four accomplished lady assistants, Misses Twitchell, Daly, Markham and Ferris, and 290 pupils, including those of the night school. He also stated that the object of the teachers was to afford the advantages of higher education to those who desire to go beyond the public school course; that it was their purpose not to influence the pupils as to any change in their denominational relations; and that they were not to seek any diversion in political matters. He would also say to their white brethren that their sympathy and co-operation were earnestly invited in this work, as it is purely a Christian and missionary enterprise. Mr. Markham offered the prayer of dedication. Several colored ministers were present and participated. The Field Superintendent made an address upon "The Bible religion a teaching religion in the family, the church and the school."

The singing was accompanied by a new nine-stop "American Organ," presented by Mr. S. D. Smith, president of that manufacturing company in Boston. I find in the South many of these souvenirs of his practical interest in this work. He must be a happy man if he knows anything of the amount of joy which his benevolence brings to these lowly ones, who are yet so fond of music, and so gifted in it, too.

In the evening, after a sermon, the Lord's Supper was administered at the Congregational Church. To-night there is to be the regular monthly meeting of the colored Sunday-school workers of all denominations in the city. This is a very useful and enthusiastic affair. To-morrow night we are to have a lecture upon the growth of our country, to be illustrated by the big map of the same. While I write, the colored militia, to the number of ten companies, in gay uniform, with glorious music, are having their annual parade at the Park, their own Georgia artillery firing the salute of thirty-eight guns. This afternoon, at three o'clock, we are to join with the Executive Committee at New York, and all the A. M. A.[42] workers in the annual concert of prayer for the blessing of God upon this scheme of evangelism. The week of prayer is to be observed in the white churches by a union service, held at night by rotation, in their several places of worship.

ITEMS FROM THE FIELD.

Charleston, S. C.—The first convention of the Charleston Teachers' Union met at Avery Institute January 2d, 3d and 4th. Essays were read on the Art of Teaching; the Culture of the Intellect; How to Teach; Incentives to Study; Our Duty as Teachers; Our Common Schools; the Mind its own Educator; the Best Methods of Discipline; Classification; Vacations; Mind and Matter; and the Drama as a Means of Education. Many of these varied themes were treated by graduates of Avery Institute. General discussions were also participated in on Prizes, Moral Instruction in Schools, and "What's the use of Schools?" It must have been a busy and stimulating three days' meeting.

Midway, Ga.—Arrangement has been made whereby Rev. Floyd Snelson has resumed the pastoral charge of his old church at Midway. Rev. Joseph E. Smith, who had served as pastor during the absence of Mr. Snelson in Africa, and who by his cultured ministry had won the people greatly, has gracefully retired from the pulpit, and will receive immediate appointment to another field.

Savannah, Ga.—Mr. Markham wrote some time ago: "There is progress here, and I can see the result of our work in Savannah just as easily as you can see the change made by a carpenter in planing a board. Though we have had hard work, rough times, and many head winds, still there is progress. More than five hundred children are gathered into the Sabbath Schools of our churches in and around Savannah."

Childersburg, Ala.—The church had a Christmas supper to help procure a bell for the church. The pastor wants us to ask our friends to aid in the endeavor.

Shelby Iron Works, Ala.—A Bible Concert Exercise and "a magnificent Christmas Tree" on Christmas day. Solid foundations for church work are being laid. Three inquirers.

Nashville, Tenn.—Fisk University.—The last Annual Catalogue showed a total attendance of 338. Of these, 25 were studying theology, 26 were in the College, 54 in the College Preparatory, 11 in the Higher Normal, 153 in the Normal Department, and 95 in the Model School. Notwithstanding the "hard times," this was the most successful year in the history of the University. Correspondence was had with 108 teachers, who were then or had been formerly students in the Institution, and it was found that they had taught during 1877 nine thousand three hundred and thirty-two pupils. Many of the teachers taught in two separate districts during the year, as the public schools, in most places, are continued only from three to five months. Total salary received $18,643.53. Ninety-four of these teachers superintended or taught in Sunday-schools, and reported a total attendance of 7,780. They also stated the number of conversions in day and Sunday-schools at 371. These statistics represent but a part of the actual teaching done by persons educated at Fisk University, for there was no means of learning the address of many of the early students.

The Indians—Sisseton Agency.—The Manual Labor Boarding School has 56 scholars, more than can be comfortably accommodated. The scholars and parents[43] show an unprecedented interest. During three months past not one child has run away from the school. This has never happened before. Several Indians have recently come into the office desiring to send their children to the Manual Labor Boarding School, and we have been obliged to refuse them admittance. The Good Will School is also crowded, 46 scholars—26 being regular boarders. Mrs. Renville has 28 scholars in her day-school, as many as can be managed. These three schools are now all full, and it is estimated that there are over 150 children of school-going age on the reservation who have no opportunity to attend school.

Santa Barbara, Cal.—The Chinese Mission held its fourth annual meeting on Sunday, December 15. The darkness of the evening did not prevent a large attendance. The report of the Secretary showed good work done. Nearly sixty Chinese have attended the school for a longer or a shorter period during the year. The average attendance, however, has been a little less than twenty. The exercises by the pupils, consisting of recitations of Scripture and the singing of hymns in English and Chinese, were listened to with much interest. Addresses were made by Rev. Dr. Hough and Rev. W. C. Pond. Judge Huse is the President, and B. B. Williams, Esq., the Secretary, of this auxiliary for the ensuing year.—Pacific, December 26.

GENERAL NOTES.

The Freedmen.

—The sum total of the money reported as sent for yellow fever relief to the South is as follows:

The total value of contributions, including clothing and supplies, will aggregate about $2,000,000.

—The Colored Man during the Yellow Fever.—It gives us genuine satisfaction to be able to publish the following impartial testimony to the courage and faithfulness of the colored people during the yellow fever. Says the Memphis Avalanche: "Men worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have left their property in charge of blacks, and never provided a dollar for their support. They faithfully guarded the property of their employers. And yet if the Citizens' Relief Committee cut off the supplies from the servants of these rich men, what in God's name will they do?" The Nashville American, speaking of their conduct during the prevalence of the yellow fever, remarks: "If the negro is found to be true and reliable when he is entrusted with the grave responsibilities of citizenship, if he discharges faithfully the duties devolved upon him, and shows, in such trying times, that he may be entrusted with the preservation of order and the guarding of homes from the criminal classes even of his own race, it will go far towards giving new views on this subject." Col. Keating, of the Memphis Appeal, indignantly repels a charge by Dr. Ramsay, seriously damaging to the character of the colored yellow fever nurses in Memphis, and warmly declares: "The statement is a libel upon the negroes of Memphis, who have stood by us nobly as policemen and soldiers." Chief Athey has resolved to recommend that the colored citizens be represented on the police force in proportion to population. Nor did they fail to furnish their quota of physicians, among whom were two former students of[44] the Central Tennessee College, of this city, Drs. Key and Bass, who were acknowledged through the papers to have rendered efficient services, the former at Mason, and the latter at Chattanooga, Tenn. Nor were there wanting among them, ministers ready to lay down their lives, as the deaths of the following clergymen, Mr. Madison, of New Orleans, Mr. Green, of Vicksburg, Mr. Ventris, of Tuscumbia, Mr. Henderson, of Florence, and others, sufficiently testify.—Fisk Expositor.

—The negroes who were formerly slaves of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and who still reside among those tribes, were emancipated by the United States, and part of the common domain apportioned to them. The operation of the treaty has, however, been evaded. These Freedmen are deprived of citizenship, the right to hold office and to vote; nor have their children any privilege of education under the school laws. It seems there is a ring of Indians as well as an Indian ring, and that they will not consent to have the land divided and held in severalty. This not only keeps the Freedman out of his rights, but prevents the common Indians from coming to understand their own.

The Chinese.

—In the fifth article of the treaty of 1868 between the United States and China, the two governments mutually recognize, affirm and guarantee "the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his home and allegiance, and also the mutual advantage of the free migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects respectively from the one country to the other, for purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as permanent residents." The sixth article of the same treaty says: "Citizens of the United States visiting or residing in China shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities or exemptions in respect to travel or residence as may there be enjoyed by citizens or subjects of the most favored nation; and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects visiting or residing in the United States shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities and exemptions in respect to travel or residence as may there be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation."

—Treaties of the United States are recognized as part of "the supreme law of the land;" and in the early and famous case of Ware vs. Hylton, 3 Dall., 199, the principle was laid down by the Supreme Court, which has ever since been followed, that any exercise of State authority inconsistent with a treaty is thereby rendered wholly void.

—Among the powers assigned to Congress, in the eighth section of the first article of the National Constitution, is that "to establish an uniform rule of naturalization," and "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution this power." This remits the whole subject as to aliens, and their admission to citizenship, to Congress, with full authority.

—The Legislature of California, a few years ago, tried to solve the Chinese problem by a law of exclusion; but, unfortunately for the effort, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Chy Lung vs. Freeman et al., 2 Otto, 275, declared the law to be unconstitutional. Mr. Justice Miller, in stating the opinion of the Court, said: "The passage of laws which concern the admission, of citizens and subjects of foreign nations to our shores belongs to Congress, and not to the States. It has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. The responsibility for the character of those regulations, and for the manner of their execution, belongs solely to the National Government. If it be otherwise, a single State can, at her pleasure, embroil us in disastrous quarrels with other nations." The Court, on this general ground, pronounced the law to be a nullity.

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—The committee of the Constitutional Convention of California having in charge the question relating to Chinese immigration have decided that it is impossible to put into that constitution any provision that will forbid such immigration, and not at the same time conflict with the Constitution of the United States.

—The real difficulty lies in the relation of the Chinaman to the labor question. But this is not generic to him. There are Norwegians and Swedes who will save as much on as little as the Chinese. But we welcome them. We take in thousands every year of the race which especially breeds all those foul fellows—hoodlums, tramps and bummers. How can we consistently refuse to welcome these others, who are patient, industrious and frugal? Shall we pass a new law that shall compel our customs officials to catechise all new-comers as to the minimum on which they can manage to subsist, and when their estimate falls below Mr. Denis Kearney's judgment of what is the proper sum for a laboring man, pack them back again whence they came?—Congregationalist.

NEW APPOINTMENTS.

1878-1879.

The following list presents the names and post-office addresses of those who are under appointment in the Churches, Institutions and Schools aided by the American Missionary Association, among the Freedmen in the South, the Chinese on the Pacific Coast, the Indians, and the Negroes in Western Africa. The Theological Department of Howard University is supported jointly by the Presbytery of Washington and the Am. Miss. Assoc. The Berea College and Hampton Institute are under the care of their own Boards of Trustees; but being either founded or fostered in the past by this Association, and representing the general work is which it is engaged, their teachers are included in this list.

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THE FREEDMEN.

NORTH CAROLINA.

A Working Church—Bible Christians.

MISS E. A. WARNER, WILMINGTON.

Last Sabbath we had an unusually interesting communion season. Two young men united with the church; one has been a member of our day-school, both of the Sunday-school. Our daily prayer is, "Lord, bring our scholars into the fold of Christ." Our church is small, but it is a working one, and its influence is felt in the community.

A young Methodist minister attended a course of lectures given by Mr. Dodge, last winter, on the Christian Doctrines, and he says, "Mr. Dodge taught me more than I ever knew before. The Bible seems a new book."

It seems to me the people are beginning to feel that the "Bible Christians" are different from the mass of professing ones around them. I called on a sick young man; he asked me to come in and read to him. I did so from time to time until he recovered. The family said, "We are ashamed to return your calls, but we will come into meeting." And they were in last Sabbath evening. I have been teaching a woman over fifty years of age to read, this summer, and now she reads quite intelligibly, and says what little she can read opens up a new world to her.

I was somewhat amused one day when she came to the word "Hypocrite." She repeated, "Hypocrite, hypocrite; I must remember that, for we have a plenty of 'um around us." She often comes to our meetings, because she "can get such a good understanding of the Bible."

GEORGIA.

A New Conference Organized.

REV. S. E. LATHROP, MACON.

In Georgia, the "Empire State of the South," a Congregational Conference now exists. It was formed at Macon, Dec. 12. Part of the churches came from the Central South Conference, which formerly covered the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Northern Georgia. The others were members of the now defunct Southeast Georgia Conference. By uniting together in this State organization, it is hoped that the bond of fellowship and Christian work may be strengthened. Twelve churches were represented by pastor or delegate, including the church at Orangeburg, S. C. Three of these have white pastors from the North; the others have efficient colored ministers who have been trained in the schools of the A. M. A.

Rev. Dr. Roy, of Atlanta, whom your own great State has recently given to the South for a Field Superintendent of the work among the colored people, preached a most effective opening sermon from the text, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day and forever." We thank the Illinois churches for their gift, for Dr. Roy is evidently the right man in the right place. He is cordially and gladly welcomed, and will have a great work to do in looking after the present scattered flocks, and gathering new churches. The Conference was well officered by Rev. R. F. Markham, of Savannah, as Moderator, and Rev. J. H. H. Sengstacke, of Woodville, as Secretary; Rev. S. E. Lathrop, the newly-arrived pastor at Macon, was also chosen Statistical Secretary and Treasurer, with authority to publish the Minutes and other documents. The Macon church is a beautiful brick building, tastefully arranged, upon a commanding site which overlooks most of the city. The attendance of Macon citizens was not so large as it would have been but for a very exciting municipal election which was going on at the time, absorbing the enthusiasm of most of the people. But the Congregational church, with the "Lewis[51] High School" in its basement, taught by two experienced lady teachers from New York, has gained the respect of the whole community by the steadiness of its members and the "sweet reasonableness" of its doctrines as handed down from past generations.

To those unaccustomed to deal with the Freedmen, one very noticeable thing was their intelligence, and especially their knowledge of parliamentary law as applied to deliberative bodies. They are thoroughly posted in all the intricate mazes of motions, amendments, substitutes and privileged questions, and everything must be done in a strictly parliamentary way. This is, perhaps, a characteristic of the whole Southern people, white or black. They have also a good knowledge of Congregational usages, and seem to be much attached to the ways of the Pilgrim Fathers.

One evening was devoted to a temperance meeting (a subject, by the way, which needs great attention in the South), with several earnest and spirited addresses by both white and colored speakers. The vice of drunkenness is very prevalent in this part of the country, both in the churches and out of them. The "fire-water" has its charms for the red, white and black races alike. Even among the colored preachers of some denominations, drunkenness is by no means uncommon.

Rev. Floyd Snelson, recently returned from the Mendi Mission, Africa, gave a very interesting sketch of the work among that people. Several of the (colored) churches of the city were supplied on Sunday by members of the Conference. There is little affiliation of the white churches. Mr. John R. McLean, a promising young man of pure negro blood, was ordained by a council as a closing exercise of the Conference—a very impressive service. Sermon by Rev. S. S. Ashley, of Atlanta; charge to the candidate, Rev. R. F. Markham, of Savannah; ordaining prayer, Rev. S. E. Lathrop, of Macon; right hand of fellowship, Rev. J. H. H. Sengstacke, of Woodville.

Congregationalism in the South is not a failure. The outlook is hopeful. The tendencies of our polity to induce intelligence and self-control are more and more observed, and the better classes of Southern people are coming out with more strongly pronounced words of commendation. Men and money, patience and prayer, wisdom and work, will elevate the black man to his proper place, surely, though it may be slowly.—Advance.

"There is Life in the Old Land Yet."

JOHN M^cINTOSH, JR., LIBERTY CO., GA.

I came to this place in October and undertook the work necessary to a successful beginning of my school duties. Several county free schools were in session on my arrival, and I deemed it wise to visit them and urge the patronage of my school, which I intended opening when the free schools were closed. I visited and witnessed the closing exercises of these schools, and was pleased with the progress made by some of them. The great scarcity of proper books and other school accommodations was quite manifest. Some of these schools had scholars sufficiently advanced for the Second or Third Readers, but did not have the means to purchase suitable books, and so the teachers kept them reading in the blue-back speller, and accomplished something.

I succeeded in getting pupils to come to my school from one to ten miles away. I began teaching under the auspices of the American Missionary Association immediately at the close of the free schools, and the number of pupils and the interest in education increased rapidly. The number enrolled has been large, and the average attendance good. A most decided improvement has been made in punctuality and the general observance of school regulations and requirements.[52] Many have paid something toward the education of their children, and quite a number something toward procuring proper books for their children.

The school is prospering, the people are taking a proper view of things, and the workers are encouraged. May our sky continue bright.

Home Life Among the Negroes—An Incident.

MRS. T. N. CHASE, ATLANTA.

The saddest reports of home life among the negroes are gained from conversation with our returned student teachers. One of our girls, a born lady, delicate and refined, who had always lived comfortably in the city, went out to teach for the first time this summer. Her first boarding-place was a log house of three rooms and twenty occupants. Each room contained a separate family. There were no windows or openings in the logs except the chimney and door, and of course the door must be shut at night to keep out animals. The father and mother have a bed; the children (boys and girls) all nestle together on a quilt spread on the floor, in the corner, sleeping in the same filthy garments they have worn through the day. Think of trying to sleep as she had to during the intense heat of last summer in a close room with twelve persons. The first morning she told the man of the house he must get a saw and make a place for a window. He protested; so did she; said she should sit up all night and not shut her eyes to sleep unless it was done; and it was done. Need a missionary in Africa practice more self-denial than this exceedingly neat and delicate girl in Georgia? She took a lamp with her which was a great curiosity, as the children were not accustomed even to a candle. At dusk the door was filled with eager eyes waiting to see her "make a fire in that queer thing." She is an unusually sweet singer. It was remarkable how quickly her fine voice was recognized and appreciated by the musical intuitions of even that rude people. They came long distances to beg her "to sing one more time," and often remarked, "I'm shore the angels can't sing no better."

ALABAMA.

Testimony as to Progress Already Made—The Situation and Equipment.

REV. F. BASCOM, D.D., MONTGOMERY.

I am much interested in my work and in my people. I see abundant proofs of the beneficent agency of your society here. Could its influence have been exerted in like manner among all our colored people of the South, the problem so perplexing to politicians and philanthropists, as to the future of this class in our country, would have been already solved. It seems to me that my neighbors here who have been under the influence of our school and church, for these few years past, are as well prepared for the duties and responsibilities of freemen and citizens as are the ordinary farmers and mechanics at the North. I am most happily disappointed in the intelligence of the men and the culture of the women, and in the neatness and comfort of their homes. But I see this elevation of the race is accomplished by the most laborious and exhausting efforts of your employés.

Dr. Bascom also writes to a friend, as appears in the Advance:

We greatly enjoy our situation and work in this place. The weather is charming. We should call it the perfection of our early autumn weather,—just cool enough for comfort with a nice fire in the grate, but bright and balmy through the day, making the shady side of the street preferable at mid-day. The frost has killed the elm and mulberry leaves, but the magnolia, mock orange and fig leaves are green as ever, and the hawthorn hedges and roses make the door-yards look almost like June. Their geraniums they are protecting with temporary board coverings, letting them remain out all winter.

[53]

Our Mission Home is a large and commodious mansion built by a slave-holder, whose fortunes went down with the lost cause, and it was purchased by the American Missionary Association. Our school, near by, has a building which compares favorably with some of the Chicago school-houses, two stories and a good basement, the whole accommodating from 300 to 400 pupils, with three noble white teachers and three colored, who have graduated from this school. I have just visited the school, and was greatly delighted. It is no disparagement to your excellent schools to say that, in point of order and apparent earnestness and successful work on the part of both teachers and pupils, these dusky boys and girls would not suffer in comparison.

Our church here is a neat, pleasant, wooden building, and our congregation appear fully to appreciate a preacher's best efforts. Their singing is, like ours, led by a good organist. Their prayer meetings are quiet and social, and very enjoyable. Our Sunday-school is flourishing, under a colored man for superintendent, who is teaching in the country. I enjoy my work, and hope to have a profitable winter.

TENNESSEE.

Le Moyne Library—Sunday-school Work.

MISS LAURA A. PARMELEE, MEMPHIS.

There has been some work and much time spent upon the library in labeling and cataloguing the two hundred and thirty new volumes, and arranging the whole five hundred in classes.

We have nineteen popular books of science; twenty-five bright records of travel; forty-seven good histories, essays, stories, &c., of genuine worth. Many of them are already in circulation. I am confident this must gather to our support the best elements in the colored community.

Some of the public school-teachers have spoken to Mr. Steele about reciting to him at night. They say they wish to review the lower branches. The arrangements have not been perfected. And a request has come that a class be formed in theology, for the benefit of young men who are obliged to work, but wish to fit themselves for preaching.

Just at this time we are in a state of chaos, waiting for the holiday merry-makings to be over, that people may settle down to plans for another year. We hope for a good year in every sense of the word. As I sit by my stove writing, a substantial Baptist sister is warming her feet on the hearth and making arrangements with Miss Milton to hold a neighborhood prayer-meeting at her house Tuesday morning. I think the missionary work is broadening. The yellow fever fund you sent is helping to break down barriers.

Generous Giving—Not Dying Out—Help Wanted.

REV. TEMPLE CUTLER, CHATTANOOGA.

During my seven months' absence from home the church managed to take care of itself with credit both to its zeal and its ability. Three months of the time it was ministered to by the Rev. G. W. Moore, a young preacher pursuing his studies at Fisk. Brother Moore gave himself most heartily to the work while here, and displayed qualities of mind and heart that give promise of great usefulness to his race. The church raised for him by its own contributions $50 per month, besides contributing nearly $50 to aid yellow fever sufferers in other cities in the early stage of the epidemic. The total amount of their contributions during my absence was $211.42. I do not think many of our Northern churches can show a better record, considering their income. It amounts to about $3.50 from each resident member. The income of our membership will not average $150 a year. Let these figures be compared[54] with those of some of our city churches, and we will not blush. I sometimes get a little tried with the people when I see them waste their money on tobacco and a thousand little extravagances; but I immediately feel rebuked when I compare their extravagance with that of white people. If white people gave according to their income as these poor black people do, our debt would not hang like a millstone around our neck, and the Home Missionary Society would not still groan over $30,000.

I have heard it stated that the colored people are dying out. This is not the case among our people. I have been here two years and a half, and have not been called to attend a funeral of any member of our church. There have been but three deaths in the families, and two of them were yellow fever cases during my absence. Some of our members were sick, but none of them died. There were many, many cases of yellow fever among the colored people that were not reported. They held, perhaps, a superstitious notion—the doctors would say so, at least—that if they went to the hospital they would surely die; so they doctored themselves with herbs, and so far as I can learn not one so treated died.

We are in the midst of the trying season for these poor people. The cold weather is coming on; but thanks to the kind women of Yarmouth, Mass., and Skowhegan, Me., we have a good stock of garments for the most needy. Two barrels have come and their contents been distributed in part. The Lord bless the generous hearts and fingers that filled them.

I want to say to the friends of Tennie that she is making a grand record in school. I have another girl named Rosa for whom I bespeak an interest. If any Sunday-school or any body wants to take her off my hands, I will find another to take care of. Work done for these girls is good work.

Freedom's Day.

The Band of Hope in Chattanooga observed the first day of January in celebrating the anniversary of the proclamation of Emancipation. The exercises were held in one of our largest halls, and were well attended. They consisted of speaking and singing, and the reading of the Proclamation. The principal address was given by Rev. Mr. Hurley, of the A. M. E. Church, and contained some excellent thoughts upon the situation of things in the South. After a brief introduction, in which he spoke of the propriety of the colored people's observing this day as the white people had been accustomed to observe the Fourth of July, as independence day, he proceeded to name some of the benefits that had come to the whole country, white and black, North and South—for we are one, and what really benefits one section, benefits all—from the emancipation of the slaves.

1. His first point related to the honor of the American name. For almost a century poets have sung and orators boasted of the national honor. The declaration of independence, "that all men are born free and equal," has been flaunted abroad as the pennant of the nation, while millions of our people were being born, living and dying in the worst form of slavery the world has ever known. In all those long years the nation lived a stupendous lie. Never was the declaration of independence true until Abraham Lincoln made it so the first day of January, 1863. It is a great benefit to the nation to be true to its professions; to have this great blot wiped out.

2. By the emancipation of the slaves, 5,000,000 pairs of hands were added to the wealth and defences of the nation—no small gift. We read of a time when a nation shall be born at once. It has come. What if the ex-slave has had to be nursed! All babes are nursed. Is not the babe a blessing to the household? Even its very helplessness is a blessing,[55] educating the finest sensibilities of humanity. If the babe born January 1st, 1863, is nurtured aright, God alone can measure the benefits to the nation.

3. By the emancipation of the slave, a system of education was introduced to the South that insures a lasting blessing upon the whole people. The intelligence of a large portion of the white population before the war was not above that of the slave. If the slave had not been made free, there is no reason to suppose the condition of these poor whites would have been changed. Now a glance over the broad territory of these States, where school-houses have sprung up like magic, shows the immense advantage that has come to white and black alike; and with the increase of intelligence will come increase of prosperity and happiness to the whole nation. With the emancipation of the slave, the common-school system has been forced upon the South, until now, having tasted of its sweetness, we hope it is never to be abolished.

4. Another benefit resulting from the emancipation of the slave is the moral elevation of the people. Ah! we know too well the vices that sheltered themselves under that most accursed of all traffics. The slave was but a chattel; his level was the ox; he was like any other beast of burden, and his morals were not above his position. Great complaint is now made of the moral condition of the colored man. But low as it may be, every intelligent observer can perceive a vast improvement over the condition before the war. The wonder is that one virtuous, or truthful, or honest person could come out of 250 years of moral degradation like that of American slavery. But these dark days are gone. Now there is incentive enough for us to rise. The opportunity is before us to show to the world that the vices of the past are due to our education, and not to the inherent nature of the black man. We have only to recover a lost manhood. We want faith in one another. We must believe in the possibilities that are before us as a people, and aid each other to reach them, and God will give us the victory.

In closing, the speaker referred to some mistakes the colored man has made. One was too much confidence in the white man. Confidence begets dependence. Dependence is not good for those who would rise in the world. We must learn to trust God and our own exertions. We have always been dependent, and it is not strange that we have leaned upon our friends in the early days of our freedom; but now it is time for us to begin to act and think for ourselves. There is a destiny before us which we must achieve. Let us arise and work. Another mistake is the scheme of emigrating to some other land. This is our home as much as it is the white man's. It is our native land. The country and people that have witnessed our degradation should also witness our exaltation. After years of servitude shall we turn our backs upon glorious privileges that are now within our reach? No, my friends, we shall make a grand mistake if we follow to any extent the wild scheme of defeated politicians, projected in this African exodus. Let us be content to wait until we have redeemed ourselves from the evils of 250 years of servitude by the improvement of the advantages that God has so graciously brought to our door, before we venture into that dark continent from which our fathers were torn, to be ground under the iron heel of the slave-master. Until then, Africa will be no better for us, and we will be no better for Africa. We must learn to respect ourselves before we can command the respect of others. May God hasten the day when the colored man shall recognize in his brother the character which he would have all men recognize in himself.

I do not give this as a verbatim report, but the thoughts as nearly as I can recall them from a few notes taken at the[56] time. Coming from a colored man, they show the sentiment of the more intelligent leaders among them. The address fits so exactly into the line of our work that I cannot refrain from giving this brief report.

T. C.

CHILDREN'S PAGE.

LAME JOE.

MISS M. WATERBURY, POLO, ILL.

We were teaching a Freedman's school in Mississippi, and boarding with a Northern family on a plantation, where a few years before were four hundred slaves. One Sabbath morning we were sitting on the back piazza, sorting Sunday-school papers for the school, which was that day to begin, when Joe made his appearance from the kitchen, coming along by the porch with a limping, shuffling gait; his only garments a shirt much too large for him and minus one sleeve, and a pair of pants hanging in tatters, the cast-off rags of an older brother. "Can you read, Joe?" said the teacher, passing him a paper full of pictures. "Not yit, ma'am; but brother Ben can read right smart, and he's gwine to teach me a heap o' larnin', and I reckon I'se goin' to read dis yere some time shore." Joe took his first lesson in learning by means of the word method, and limped off spelling the word "so," and picking out all the so's in his paper.

In a few days we took occasion to interview his mother and broach the subject of his going to school; but we soon found that the chances were against him; for being the youngest of ten children, there were so many to feed and clothe, as his mother expressed it, she "couldn't get to him," and he had to tote wood and water for her, while she cooked at the big house. After repeated attempts to get Joe started in his education, the Yankee school ma'am set about clothing her protégé, but was soon put to her wits' end to find a pattern for boys' pants; and as tailoring was not her forte, there were several obstacles to be overcome. Happily, a plan was hit upon, and Joe pulled off his dilapidated pants and went to bed, while his new clothes were cut by the use of the old ones for a pattern, and very soon the happiest boy of the Ethiopian race was a daily attendant at the school. A week or two of study passed, when the gentleman who had provided Joe with hat and book accosted him with, "How do you get on, Joe?" "Mighty well, Colonel; done got past the picture o' de ox; have shore done got past him!"

No pupil was more constant in attendance than our protégé, and with rapid strides he passed the boys of his age, learning well whatever he was permitted to study, and in four years from the time he learned his first word on the piazza, we left him doing examples in higher mathematics, before a large audience of parents and friends of education, who were delighted at his progress. Many of our pupils had come to the Good Shepherd, and with delight told of the joy in following their newly-found Saviour; but Joe was so engrossed with study, nothing seemed to move him, and we left him, a little saddened that he was, as he expressed it, "yet in the outstanding army."

This summer, while the yellow fever was prevailing, there came a postal from Joe, saying he had found Jesus, and taken Him for the captain of his salvation; and now he loved everybody, and his teachers better than ever, and amidst all the fears about the fever he never was afraid; he was well, though his father and mother were both sick; but he didn't have any fears for this world or the next.

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RECEIPTS

FOR DECEMBER, 1878.

H. W. HUBBARD, Asst. Treas.

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The American Missionary Association.

AIM AND WORK.

To preach the Gospel to the poor. It originated in a sympathy with the almost friendless slaves. Since Emancipation it has devoted its main efforts to preparing the Freedmen for their duties as citizens and Christians in America and as missionaries in Africa. As closely related to this, it seeks to benefit the caste-persecuted Chinese in America, and to co-operate with the Government in its humane and Christian policy towards the Indians. It has also a mission in Africa.

STATISTICS.

Churches: In the South—In Va. 1; N. C., 5; S. C., 2; Ga., 12; Ky., 7; Tenn., 4; Ala., 13; La., 12; Miss., 1; Kansas, 2; Texas, 5. Africa, 1. Among the Indians, 1. Total 66.

Institutions Founded, Fostered or Sustained in the South.—Chartered: Hampton, Va.; Berea, Ky.; Talladega, Ala.; Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; Tougaloo, Miss.; New Orleans, La.; and Austin, Texas, 8. Graded or Normal Schools: at Wilmington, Raleigh, N. C.; Charleston, Greenwood, S. C.; Macon, Atlanta, Ga.; Montgomery, Mobile, Athens, Selma, Ala.; Memphis, Tenn., 11. Other Schools, 18. Total 37.

Teachers, Missionaries and Assistants.—Among the Freedmen, 231; among the Chinese, 17; among the Indians, 17; in Africa, 14. Total, 279. Students—In Theology, 88; Law, 17; in College Course, 106; in other studies, 7,018. Total 7,229. Scholars, taught by former pupils of our schools, estimated at 100,000. Indians under the care of the Association, 13,000.

WANTS.

1. A steady INCREASE of regular income to keep pace with the growing work in the South. This increase can only be reached by regular and larger contributions from the churches—the feeble as well as the strong.

2. Additional Buildings for our higher educational institutions, to accommodate the increasing numbers of students; Meeting Houses, for the new churches we are organizing; More Ministers, cultured and pious, for these churches.

3. Help for Young Men, to be educated as ministers here and missionaries to Africa—a pressing want.

Before sending boxes, always correspond with the nearest A. M. A. office, as below.

MAGAZINE.

This Magazine will be sent, gratuitously, if desired, to the Missionaries of the Association; to Life Members; to all clergymen who take up collections for the Association; to Superintendents of Sabbath Schools; to College Libraries; to Theological Seminaries; to Societies of Inquiry on Missions; and to every donor who does not prefer to take it as a subscriber, and contributes in a year not less than five dollars.

Those who wish to remember the American Missionary Association in their last Will and Testament, are earnestly requested to use the following

FORM OF A BEQUEST.

"I bequeath to my executor (or executors) the sum of ____ dollars in trust, to pay the same in ____ days after my decease to the person who, when the same is payable, shall act as Treasurer of the 'American Missionary Association' of New York City, to be applied, under the direction of the Executive Committee of the Association, to its charitable uses and purposes."

The Will should be attested by three witnesses [in some States three are required—in other States only two], who should write against their names, their places of residence [if in cities, their street and number]. The following form of attestation will answer for every State in the Union: "Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said [A. B.] as his last Will and Testament, in presence of us, who, at the request of the said A. B., and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses." In some States it is required that the Will should be made at least two months before the death of the testator.

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SABBATH READING.—Seeing that all Sunday magazines and the greater part of religious weeklies have much secular matter in them, especially advertisements, I have thought that there was an obvious want of a weekly paper composed of matter of a high order of excellence and interest, and wholly suitable for perusal on the Sabbath day. Such a paper is Sabbath Reading. Every number contains a first-class sermon, which may be read in meetings where there is no preaching service, or at home by persons necessarily detained from church; also much excellent selected matter, some of which is specially adapted for children.

Sabbath Reading is a handsome small eight-page paper, suitable in appearance for the parlor table, and suitable for binding at the end of the year or half year. It is sent post-paid to any address for 50 cents a year, and stops when subscription expires. A club of five will be supplied for a year for two dollars.

This paper, which makes a most acceptable tractate for distribution in prisons, poor-houses, asylums, ships, etc., or in visitation from house to house, is sent post-paid to any part of the continent at the rate of a dollar per 100 copies. Orders and remittances to be sent to the undersigned.

JOHN DOUGALL,
Witness Office, No. 7 Frankfort St., New York.

The Model Magazine.—A combination of the entertaining, the useful, and the beautiful, with fine art Engravings and Oil Pictures in each number worth more than its cost.

DEMOREST'S MONTHLY

Surpasses all former issues in brilliancy, variety, and artistic excellence. It is the largest in form, the largest in circulation, and the best in everything that makes a magazine desirable; comprising entertaining Literature, Fine Illustrations, Music, Floriculture, Architecture, Household Matters, Reliable Fashions, and Full-size Patterns, with other rare and beautiful novelties calculated to improve the taste, and make home attractive and happy. Single copies, 25c; Yearly, $3; with choice from splendid premiums.

More than extraordinary.—A choice of double premiums for 1879. The beautiful and highly prized Oil Pictures "The Lion's Bride," 15x21 in.; "Rock of Ages," 15x21 in.; "Old Oaken Bucket," 17x26 in.; "After the Storm," 16x26 in.; or, "Captive Child," 17x26 in. A selection of any two of these pictures to each subscriber at $3; 50c. extra for transportation; or a selection from 20 other useful and valuable articles. Subscriptions can commence with any month. Address,

W. JENNINGS DEMOREST, 17 East 14th St., N. Y.

UNFERMENTED WINE.

Pure Juice of the Grape; no Alcohol; tested for years; received International Medal. T. H. JOHNSON, New Brunswick, N. J. National Temperance Society, 58 Reade St., N. Y.; Congregational and Baptist Publication Societies, Boston and Philadelphia.

MAKE THE CHILDREN HAPPY!

A Scrap Book and 100 Elegant

SCRAP PICTURES

Of Birds, Flowers, Ferns, Animals, &c., sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of $1.00. The Pictures may be pasted in the book, affording great amusement in arranging them. They are the finest embossed imported Pictures. Or, 50 Sample Scrap Pictures, by mail, for 25 cents.

A Box of 24 Sheets of Ladies' Note Paper and 24 Envelopes mailed for 25 Cents, or Extra Fine Laid & Plate Paper Finish for 50 Cents.    Address,

GEO. E. PERINE, Picture Publisher & Stationer,

No. 100 Nassau St., New York City.

SCROLL SAWS.

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Send 6 c. postage for large catalogue.

Flower Stands; Automatic Fountains; Ferneries; &c., &c.

Send 10 cents postage for large catalogue.

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110 Chambers St., New York.

Please state where you saw this advertisement.

A. S. BARNES & CO.

PUBLISH THE ONLY

SONGS FOR THE SANCTUARY.

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LYMAN ABBOTT'S

Commentary on the New Testament

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A concise, strong and faithful Exposition in (8) eight volumes, octavo.

AGENTS WANTED IN EVERY LOCALITY.

Gospel Temperance Hymnal.

EDITED BY

Rev. J. E. RANKIN, D.D. and Rev. E. S. LORENZ.

Endorsed by FRANCIS MURPHY, and used exclusively in his meetings.

This is the first practicable Collection of Hymns and Tunes abounding in vigorous Pieces adapted to the Gospel Temperance Movement. It is also the best Book for Church Prayer Meetings.

Price 35 cts. post-paid. Special Rates by the quantity.

DON'T FAIL TO EXAMINE AT ONCE.

A. S. BARNES & CO., Publishers,

New York and Chicago.

Theological and S. S. Books.

Immense stock. Good and cheap. Special attention given to books for Students. Books for Agents. The Old and New Bible Looking-Glass, (with 280 Beautiful Emblem Engravings,) written by Drs. Crosby, Gillet, Cheever, Punshon. It has received the best indorsements. Now ready, on the "Clark" plan, the Nichol Edition of the Expository Lectures of the Puritan Divines—the English price, $3.75; our price, post-paid, $1.50. Send for particulars.

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The Book of Psalms.

ARRANGED FOR RESPONSIVE READING IN SABBATH SCHOOLS, CHURCHES OR FAMILY WORSHIP.

The current version is strictly followed, the only peculiarity being the arrangement according to the Original Parallelisms, for convenience in responsive reading. Two sizes. Prices: 32mo, Limp Cloth, 30 cts. per copy, $25 per 100; 16mo, Cloth, 70 cts. per copy, $56 per 100. Sent post-paid on receipt of price.

TAINTOR BROTHERS, MERRILL & CO., Publishers,

758 Broadway, New York.

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Manufacture a superior quality of Bells.
Special attention given to CHURCH BELLS
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[64]

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