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6 THE- PRESBYTE]
NUMERICAL RESPONSIBILITY AGAIN.
"According to careful computation, 25,000,000 nonChristian
peoples belong to the Southern Presbyterian
Church to evangelize." So says a correspondent of
one of our exchanges. How can anyone know that
it is not our duty to send the Gospel to twice that
many millions? How does any one know but that all
the forces of our Church nrp nnt /-nllorl
^ OUIX-VI IU V.VIUCI UJJUII
twenty-five thousand instead of twenty-five million,
to prepare the smaller number to be the heralds of
the cross to vastly multiplied numbers in another generation?
Philip, the evangelist, was called away from
? work in Samaria which was flourishing in numbers
and immediate results, to carry the Gospel to a solitary
traveller on a desert road. God wanted him there and
sent him there. The Ethiopian was converted, and
from him tradition says the great church of the
carlv days in Abyssinia came. Once in Scotland a
session received, as one elder renorfpd "nnK^.r u..?
? . hvu) ii\-?L/UUJ L/lll
wee Robbie Moffatt." It was perhaps discouraging to
that church. But that lad was Robert Moffatt, the
founder of modern missions in Africa, and the man
through whom David Livingstone went to the Dark
Continent. The Master once made a lad with five loaves
and two fishes feed a multitude. The same mighty hand
can take the little loaves and fishes of some weak but
tr.<v...g uimui, anu in ins own way give tne bread ot
life to myriads of souls. Jesus himself sometimes
preached to audiences of one. Nicodemus and the
woman at Jacob's well were taught by him and became
agents for bringing others to acknowledgment
of him. Numerical responsibility is not what we need
to feel, but responsibility to do our utmost, be it large
or small.
REV. CLEMENT CARRINGTON OWEN, M. D.
The news of the death of this faithful servant of the
Church and of God came as a sudden surprise and shock
to his friends. But those who knew him are sure the summons
did not find him unprepared. For his whole life, from
boyhood, has been one of remarkable faith, love and obe
uience. ins trust was always simple and child-like, but
strong-; his loyality tdiis Master devoted and unhesitating.
At great pains and cost he prepared for his life's work,
often in bodily weakness and suffering, but with undaunted
courage, pressing forward towards the goal of his heart's
desire. With a heart ardent in its love for Christ, and for
the souls of men, with a mind trained both in theo/ogy and
medicine, he joyously entered upon his work in Korea.
[Tie .nof-riom. ir 1 ....
......mgv uuica was <i musi nappy one Dotn tor
. him and his work, as his wife, herself an M. D., shared
fully his joys and his labors.
Surely "God moves in a mysterious way." We cannot
understand why this noble, useful life should be thus suddenly
ended. But of this we may be sure: there has been
no mistake; the widow and the fatherless little ones, the
bereaved mission field and the Church of God will find an
abundant comforter.
The "New Orleans Picayune," in reporting the recent
. debate in Milwaukee on prohibition between President
Samuel S. Dickie, of Albion College, Mich., and Mayor
Rose, of Milwaukee, the morning after the debate,^
de.
y /
*IAN OF THE SOUTH. April 21, 1909.
voted less than half a column to Dr. Dickie's argument
against the saloon and seven full columns to Mr. Rose's
argument for the saloon. The report of Mr. Rose's
speech bears all the ear marks of careful preparation
and transmission to the papers in time to be given in
full in the next morning's papers. We can not help but
think its appearance was paid for as a great advertisement
of the liquor interests.
PROSECUTION OF DR. MORRISON AND
DR. SHEPPARD.
Rev. L. C. Vass. who has just landed in London, informs
us that Dr. Morrison and Dr. Sheppard have been sum-,
inoned to appear before a court of the Congo Independent
State, at Leopoldville. on May 20. to answer a charge of
talse accusation of sonic of the officers of the great Kassai
Rubber company, with reference to their mistreatment of
the natives. We are, of course, concerned about this matter,
although we do not think it probable that it will have
any very serious results. We only feel sure that the Congo
authorities will go just as far as they can safely venture
to go in the effort to get rid of the presence of our
"troublesome missionaries" in their country. These missionaries
have not beeu able to hold their peace while they
were witnessing the barbarities perpetuated by this great
greedy monster which has been preying upon that helpless
people in the financial interest of the stock-holders of the
company.
Immediately upon the receipt of information as to the
place and date of the trial the following letter was addressed
to our State Department on the subject:
April 13, 1909.
won. rmianaer u. Knox, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Sir: Possibly your attention has already been called
to the fact tnat Rev. Wm. H. Morrison, D. D., and Rev. Wm.
H. Sbeppard, D. D., missionaries of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States in the Congo Independent State, have
been indicted on the charge of "calumnious denunciation" of
officers of the Company Kassai with reference to the treatment
of the natives by agents of that company and summoned
to appear before ihe court at Leopoldville on May 20,
to answer this charge.
Hon. Robert Bacon, your immediate predecessor, was Tiind
enough to communicate with our consul at Boma, instructing
him to investigate and report to the State Department the facts
with reference to this nronnseit trial of oiu- micoinnarioo Wa
feel that the interests of justice and fairness will be promoted
by having the authorities of the Congo Independent State understand
that their proceedings in this matter will bo under
observation by our American government while they are being
conducted. For this reason we respectfully request of the
State Department that special instruction be given to our
consul to .attend the trial and to report immediately any departure
from the principles of international law or from the
customs and practices of civilized governments that might be
made during its progress.
We would not deem it necessary to make this request except
for the fact that similar cases have occurred in the
history of the Congo Independent State, notably the case of
Rev. Edgar Stannard, a copy of the record of which has
already been filed with your Department, in which a course
was pursued which we feel very sure would not be tolerated
by our government in the case of the trial of one of Its
citizens.
Our previous relations and experience with our State Department.
in connection with matters of this kind that have
occurred at different tii*^ 'lead us to feel the utmost confidence
that nothing*will b&? jeff undone that*can be done
to insure just treatment of o.,r missionaries and to safeguard
their treaty rijplit'jj
Very re8t 'ectfully tru*y yours,
" r*'C S. H. Chester,
aud ' executive Commute porejgn Missions, Presbyte