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4 THE PRESBYTERIi
THE BEST CALVIN MEMORIAL.
Various schemes have been proposed to erect a
proper memorial this four hundredth year* of John Calvin.
All honor is due the man whose administrative
genius and constructive power as the profoundcst and
ablest of all the reformers lifted him above the men
of his own day and of almost all the days. Two of the
most practical forms suggested have been physical memorials
in the shape of a church in the little place where
he was born, and in a lecture hall at Montreat, the
new Prf?sbvt<?riati cimimu- ?o?- '
ou.i?iivi gamcimg piace. i ne lirst
has been discouraged because of the fact that a church
suitable as a memorial is not needed in the straggling
and decaying little village of his birth and for a worshipping
body as small and feeble as would gather
within its walls. As to the other, the Presbyteries, to
which the proposition was sent down by the General
Assembly, have almost unanimously declined to commend
it to their churches for a collection.
For those among American people who really desire
to honor the name of Calvin and to express gratitude
to God for his work there is a better and a very practical
way, and one which will be entirely free from any
thought of interested motives. It is in connection with
the great mass of Calvin's fellow countrymen whom
God has placed right alongside of us. There are in
Louisiana between two hundred and fifty thousand and
three hundred thousand French speaking people, of
the very class amongst whom Calvin wrought his greatest
success, in leading them to the knowledge of the
pure gospel of Christ. Nearly every one of this great
mass of people is as much ignorant of the Word of
God and of the true way of life as were those to whom
he preached and whom he brought to the reformed
faith. The evangelization of this people would be the
finest memorial that could be raised to his name. It
would be in the Calvin spirit. It would accord with
?11 it. - ' -
an me principles and teachings and work of the man.
It would be in accord with the heart of Christ and with
the mission of the church.
Such an effort would not be either hopeless or fruitless.
God's promise will be fulfilled in his presence
with every one who will undertake such a work in bis
name. He will not let his word fail. And the same
effort and means which have been blessed in other days
will produce as happy results today. The French people
of Louisiana have warm and appreciative natures.
They respond instinctively, perhaps more quickly even
than other people, to kindness and courtesy. They are
willing to be shown "a better way." An earnest, intelligent.
tactful nrnrioimin^ *1 ?
^ ,?....s mcrn, in tneir own
tongue, of the precious gospel of Christ will win their
interest and affection and trust. Some of their people
are already in our churches and make our finest and
most efficient workers. Many more would come if
sought in the right way.
The first step needful in this effort at evangelization
is to prepare a ministry for this people. Those must
be found or fitted who can speak to them in their own
tongue, who are familiar with their ways, who understand
their characteristics, who can be tactful and sympathetic,
not offending their sensibilities while trying to
win them from an impure and unwarranted faith. To
\N OF THE SOUTH. February 24, 1909.
thi.s end call should be made to young men of consecration
and zeal to equip themselves for this work.
The next step will he to support those who may he
found and prepared for this work. They need not expect
support from the field itself, any more than our
workers in Cuba or Brazil expect to be supported in
those lands. For many years, perhaps for a generation,
tlie burden will have to be upon God's generous people.
Patience and long waiting will have to he exercised,
but they will have their reward as surely as God is
true.
In such a memorial to John Calvin souls will be the
stones of which the temple will he built, love will be
the cement, grace will be the crown and trlorv!
THE CONGO SITUATION.
Dispatches from London to the effect that the Belgian
government intends prosecuting Rev. W. M. Morrison
and other American missionaries for "calumnious
denunciations," are probably based on rumor or conjecture.
The facts furnished by Messrs. Morrison,
Sheppard, Yass and others of our own mission, as to
the atrocities perpetrated by King Leopold's agents,
are so conclusive and so well sustained thats^nn official
investigation would be hazardous in the extreme to the
government oartv.
Not only have our missionaries told what they saw
and knew from positive evidence, but the missionaries
of other Churches have confirmed their statements,
and an official investigation by the English Congo Reform
Association abundantly sustains these charges.
Moreover, there is an implied acknowledgment of guilt
in the promise made by the Belgian government of reforms
in the way of humane methods in dealing with
the natives.
The Belgian government will probably employ its
utmost energy and engage its best diplomacy in the
effort to secure* recognition as cmvprninor i-ioo,-?
i*vau ui tut
Congo Free State, and to this end will be careful to
conciliate by all possible means, rather than antagonize,
the subjects of more powerful nations.
One of the happy effects of the close contact of nations
in these recent times will be the censorship which
will be exercised over governments that are disposd to
be oppressive in the treatment of their subjects. Whether
or not the world has become more' spiritual and less
materialistic in these modern times, it has become more
humane. Higher conceptions of just social conditions
prevail, and rulers and subjects alike are more appreciative
of the rights of the individual. This advancement
is credited by the world to the general progress
of enlightenment and the evolution of better standards
of justice and duty. It must be credited in fact to the
spread of Christian truth, the dominance of holy principles,
that are not the product of merely human ad
vancement, but are the revelation of God's will, expounded
by his teachers and illustrated in the life of
his people.
It is exceedingly suggestive that cruelty inflicted on
an ignorant and helpless race, by strong, grasping, merciless
invaders, should receive its first exposure and its
effectual rebuke at the hands of American missionaries.