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Y r 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