:orma nal y THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES REPORT OF COMMISSION VIII World Missionary Conference, 1910 (To consider Missionary Problems in relation to the Non-Christian World) REPORT OF COMMISSION VIII GO-OPERATION AND THE PROMOTION OF UNITY With Supplement : . Presentation and Discussion of the Report in the Conference on 2ist June 1910 PUBLISHED FOR THE WORLD MISSIONARY CONFERENCE BY OLIPHANT, ANDERSON & FERRIER EDINBURGH AND LONDON AND THE FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY NEW YORK, CHICAGO, AND TORONTO CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE LIST OF MEMBERS OF COMMISSION . -.-.- . vii LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS . . '''''{* . ix I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . i II. COMITY . . . . . . .12 III. CONFERENCES . . . .... 27 IV. JOINT ACTION . . . . . 52 V. FEDERATION AND UNION . . . -83 VI. CO-OPERATION AT THE HOME BASE . . .119 VII. GENERAL REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS . . . 131 APPENDICES A. RESOLUTIONS OF THE MADRAS DECENNIAL CONFERENCE (I9O2) REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ARBI- TRATION BOARD . . . . .149 B. RESOLUTIONS OF THE SECOND GENERAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE FOR SOUTH AFRICA (1906) REGARDING CO-OPERATION AND COMITY . . . . 151 C. CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE SHANGHAI MIS- SIONARY ASSOCIATION . . . . 153 D. RULES OF THE SOUTH INDIAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION . 155 vi APPENDICES PACE E. CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE EVANGELICAL UNION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS . . 159 F. CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE STANDING COM- MITTEE OF CO-OPERATING MISSIONS IN JAPAN . 161 G. CONSTITUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL UNION OF WEST CHINA . . . . .164 H. RESOLUTIONS OF THE CENTENARY MISSIONARY CONFER- ENCE, SHANGHAI, 1907, ON THE CHINESE CHURCH . 166 I. RESOLUTIONS OF THE CENTENARY MISSIONARY CON- FERENCE, SHANGHAI, 1907, ON COMITY AND FEDERA- TION ....... 171 J. CONSTITUTION OF KIANGSU FEDERATION COUNCIL . 173 K. RESOLUTIONS OF THE JUBBULPORE CONFERENCE ON FEDERATION . . . . . .174 L. CONSPECTUS OF GENERAL CONFERENCES ON THE MISSION FIELD .... r.v* . .178 SUPPLEMENT : PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT IN THE CONFERENCE . . . .185 GENERAL INDEX , ' . . . . . 237 INDEX OF AUTHORITIES AND CORRESPONDENTS QUOTED . 243 MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION Chairman Sir ANDREW H. L. FRASER, K.C.S.I., LL D., late Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal Vice=Chairman Mr. SILAS M'BEE, Editor of the Churchman, New York. The Rev. Bishop JAMES W. BASHFORD, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Peking, China. The Rev. ARTHUR J. BROWN, D.D., Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., New York. The Right Rev. WM. CROSWELL DOANE, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Albany, U.S.A. The Rev. W. H. FINDLAY, M.A., Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, London. The Rev. Prebendary H. E. Fox, Honorary Clerical Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, London. 1 The following were also appointed members of the Com- mission : The Rev. W. Howard Campbell, London Missionary Society (died i8th February 1910). Dr. William Wilson, Secretary of the Friends' Foreign Mission Association (died 2/th July 1909). Miss Morley, President of the Committee of the World's Young Women's Christian Association, London (resigned October 1909). viii MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION The Rev. W. H. FRERE, D.D., House of the Resurrection, Mirfield, England. The Rev. W. Y. FULLERTON, Melbourne Hall, Leicester, England. The Right Rev. Bishop HASSE, Moravian Missions, London. Professor HENRY E. JACOBS, D.D., Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. The Rev. ALEXANDER MILLER, D.D., Convener of the Foreign Mission Committee, United Free Church of Scotland. The Rev. J. H. RITSON, Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Bishop of SOUTHWARK (the Right Rev. E. S. Talbot, D.D.), London. President A. H. STRONG, D.D., LL.D., Rochester Theo- logical Seminary, Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A. The Rev. Canon L. NORMAN TUCKER, M.A., D.C.L., General Secretary Missionary Society, Church of England in Canada, Toronto, Canada. The Rev. GUSTAV WARNECK, D.D., Professor hi the University of Halle, Germany. The Very Rev. The DEAN OF WESTMINSTER, London. CORRESPONDENTS AFRICA The Rev. W. D. Armstrong (Regions Beyond Missionary Union), Congo. The Right Rev. Bishop L. Van Calker (Moravian Mission), Kaffraria. Mr. J. Martin Cleaver (Egypt General Mission). Mr. Edgar C. Faithfull (South Africa General Mission), Port Herald, Nyasaland. Herr Missionsdirektor D. M. Gensichen, D.D. (Berliner Missionsgesellschaf t) . The Rev. A. T. Guttery (Primitive Methodist Mission). Herr Missionsdirektor Haccius, D.D. (Hermannsburger Missionsgesellschaf t) . The Hon. the Rev. Alex. Hetherwick, D.D. (Church of Scotland), Blantyre, Nyasaland. The Rev. Robert Laws, D.D. (United Free Church of Scotland), Livingstonia. Herr K. E. Laman (Svenska Missionsforbundet), Congo Beige. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Lebombo, Lourenso Marquez. The Rev. John Lundie (United Free Church of Scotland). The Rev. T. E. Marsh (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society). Herr Joos Mustakallio (Finska Missionssallskapet). The Rev. A. G. MacAlpine (United Free Church of Scot- land), Livingstonia. A. W. Roberts, D.Sc., F.R.S.E. (United Free Church of Scotland), Lovedale, Cape Colony. x LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS Herr W. Sjoholm (Svenska Missionsforbundet), Congo. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Zanzibar. CHINA The Right Rev. W. Bannister, Bishop in Kwangsi and - Hunan. The Rev. W. N. Bitton (London Missionary Society), Shanghai. The Rev. C. Bone (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), Hong- Kong. The Rev. R. T. Booth, M.B. (Wesleyan Methodist Mis- sionary Society), Hankow. The Rev. E. W. Burt, M.A. (Baptist Missionary Society), Weihsien. The Rev. H. J. Chapman (United Methodist Mission). The Rev. Geo. Douglas, M.A. (United Free Church of Scotland), Liaoyang, Manchuria. The Rev. Arnold Foster, B.A. (London Missionary Society), Wuchang. Herr Eric Folke (Svenska Missionen i Kina). The Rev. J. C. Garritt, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.), Nanking. The Rev. J. Campbell Gibson, D.D. (Presbyterian Church of England), Swatow. The Rev. W. T. Hobart (Methodist Episcopal Mission), Peking. Mrs. S. R. Hodge (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society). Mr. D. E. Hoste (China Inland Mission), Shanghai. The Rev. John Keers (Presbyterian Church in Ireland), Manchuria. The Rev. O. L. Kilborn, M.A., M.D. (Canadian Methodist Mission), Chengtu. Pastor LiuGwang Djao (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.), Weihsien. The Rev. A. Lutley (China Inland Mission), Hungtung, Shansi. LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS xi The Rev. D. MacGillivray (Presbyterian Church in Canada), Shanghai. The Rev. P. Matson (Swedish American Missionary Covenant), Siangyang. The Rev. J. F. Peat (Methodist Episcopal Church), Chungking. The Right Rev. Bishop Price (Church Missionary Society), Foochow. The Rev. G. Packer (United Methodist Church), Leeds. The Rev. J. T. Proctor (American Baptist Missionary Union), Shanghai. The Right Rev. Bishop Roots (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Hankow. The Rev. A. H. Smith, D.D. (American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions), Tungchow. Herr Pastor Otto Schultze (Easier Missionsgesellschaft), Kaying. The Rev. J. W. Stevenson (China Inland Mission), Shanghai. The Rev. Joseph Taylor (American Baptist Missionary Union), Chengtu. The Rev. Geo. Thompson (Presbyterian Church in Ire- land). Mr. F. Marcus Wood (China Inland Mission). JAPAN AND KOREA The Rev. Bishop M. C. Harris (Methodist Episcopal Church), Seoul, Korea. President Ibuka, D.D., Meiji Gakuin, Tokyo. The Rev. Wm. Imbrie, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.), Tokyo. The Rev. E. Rothesay Miller (Reformed Church in America), Tokyo. INDIA The Rev. J. H. Bateson (Wesleyan Army and Navy Board), London. The Rev. M. W. Beatty, B.A., Belfast. xii LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS The Rev. A. H. Bestall (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), Burma. The Right Rev. The Bishop of Bombay, Bombay. The Rev. G. W. Brown (Christian Mission), Jubbulpore. The Rev. E. S. Carr (Church Missionary Society), Tinne- velly District. The Rev. A. R. Cavalier (Zenana Bible and Medical Mission). The Rev. L. B. Chamberlain (Reformed Church in America), Madanapalle. The Rev. J. S. Chandler (American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions), Madura. The Rev. A. C. Clayton (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society,) Kodaikanal. The Rev. James Cooling (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), Madras. The Rev. G. E. Durrant (Church Missionary Society). The Rev. S. H. Gregory (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), Lucknow. The Rev. H. Gulliford (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), Mysore City. The Rev. Geo. Howells, Ph.D. (Baptist Missionary Society), Bengal. Miss Charlotte Ligertwood (United Free Church of Scotland), Poona. The Rev. J. F. Macfadyan (United Free Church of Scot- land), Nagpur. The Rev. J. H. Maclean, M.A., B.D. (United Free Church of Scotland), Conjeeveram. The Rev. T. W. Norledge (Baptist Missionary Society). The Rev. G. E. Phillips, B.A. (London Missionary Society), Madras. Miss de Selincourt, Lady Muir Memorial School, Allahabad. The Rev. C. Ryder Smith (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society), late of Bombay. The Rev. John Stewart, M.A. (United Free Church of Scotland), Madras. The Rev. Joseph Taylor (Friends' Foreign Mission Association), Central Provinces. LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS xiii The Rev. H. W. Weitbrecht, Ph.D., D.D. (Church Mis- sionary Society), Simla. The Rev. E. H. Waller (Church Missionary Society), Allahabad. The Rev. R. J. Williams (Welsh Calvinistic Methodists' Foreign Missions). OTHER FIELDS The Rev. F. G. Bowie, M.A. (United Free Church of Scotland), New Hebrides. The Rev. A. A. Forshee, Negros Occidental, Philippine Islands. Ds. J. W. Gunning (Nederlandsch Zendeling Genoot- schap), Java. Mr. A. K. Langridge (New Hebrides Mission). The Rev. J.B.Rodgers (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.), Manila, Philippine Islands. FURTHER CORRESPONDENTS 1 The Rev. Frank Ashcroft, M.A. (United Free Church of Scotland). Herr Johannes Brandtzaeg (Norske Missionsforbundet). The Rev. A. R. Buckland (Religious Tract Society). Mr. Herbert H. Catford (Friends' Foreign Mission Association) . Heir Pastor K. Mart Eckhoff (Norske Missionsforbundet). The Rev. B. Baring Gould (Church Missionary Society). The Rev. C. J. Klesel (Moravian Mission). Herr J. E. Norenius (Church of Sweden Mission). Robert E. Speer, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.). The Rev. George Thompson (Presbyterian Church in Ireland). 1 Those included in this list have supplied the Commission with facts relating to various fields. CO-OPERATION AND THE PROMOTION OF UNITY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION PROCEDURE ADOPTED THE subject entrusted to the Commission by the Executive Committees of the Conference was CO-OPERA- TION AND THE PROMOTION OF UNITY. It appeared to the Commission that the main substance of its report should consist of a careful statement of the actual facts relating to movement in the direction of Co-operation and Unity in the mission field. Accordingly a list of questions was drawn up and sent to representative missionaries in the various mission fields. This list of questions was as follows : I. Are there in your field united conferences of missionaries belonging to different Societies for the discvssion of the problems of their work ? Are these conferences permanent associations or occasional gatherings ? What bodies do they represent ? What is their constitution ? What is their relation to the Mission Authorities at home and on the spot respectively ? Do any Societies stand aloof from such conferences, and if so. on what grounds ? What success has attended such conferences, and what ad- vantages have they yielded ? Have they, in addition to discussion, undertaken united action, permanent or occasional, and if so, of what nature ? COM. VIII. I 2 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY How far is there any experience of failure of such conferences ? What have been the causes of such failure ? 2. Is there any common understanding between the different Churches or Societies working in your field regarding such matters as the delimitation of the field, the employment and salaries of native workers, Church discipline, etc. ? Are such understandings local, or have they the deliberate approval of the Churches or Societies concerned ? What difficulties have been found in the practical working of such agreements ? Is there need for a clearer and more definite understanding on such matters ; and would such an understanding, in your judg- ment, be an advantage ? 3. Is there any co-operation in practical effort, e.g. in educational, literary, evangelistic, social, philanthropic or medical work, or in the linguistic training of missionaries, between the represen- tatives of different Churches or Societies ? If so, kindly explain fully and exactly the extent and nature of such co-operation, and enumerate the advantages or disadvantages resulting from it. Please include in your reply such instances as when one Society maintains an institution of which advantage is taken by other Societies working in the same field, who are thereby relieved from the necessity of maintaining similar institutions. Do you know any[case in which co-operation has been abandoned, or in which negotiations for co-operation have failed ; and can you explain such cases ? 4. Have any steps been taken towards closer ecclesiastical union ? If so, kindly describe them as fully as possible, and send a copy of any printed matter relating to them. Wherever possible, please distinguish clearly between the foreign and the native view of the question. 5. Have you any experience of mutual understanding or co- operation with Roman Catholics on any of these questions, and what has been the result ? 6. Are any steps in contemplation for securing co-operation in any of the directions indicated by the foregoing questions ? Replies were received from a number of experienced missionaries whose names will be found among the list of correspondents of the Commission at the beginning of the Report. Although the number of our corre- spondents is not so large as that of some of the other Commissions, it must be borne in mind that those who have replied are almost all representative men, able to speak for the Society with which they are connected and the district in which they are working, and, in some instances, further equipped with a knowledge of the movements in the direction of co-operation and unity INTRODUCTION 3 prevailing throughout the whole country. An abstract of the replies received from each of the more important mission fields was made ; this was submitted to a number of Secretaries of important Societies and to missionaries on furlough, and from them many additional suggestions were received. The very warm thanks of the Commission are due to all who have in this way assisted in its work, for without their help the preparation of the Report would have been impossible. In addition to the evidence accumulated in this way, a careful study has been made of material relating to the subject already existing in print, and especially of the Reports of previous Con- ferences both at home and in the mission field. We have not infrequently in the Report referred to some of our correspondents by name where it has ap- peared desirable to make clear the local reference of any particular statement, and we have sometimes quoted an extract from the correspondence which we have received where a passage seemed especially to lend itself to quotation. These references, however, must not be regarded as in any sense an indication of the relative value which we attach to the replies which we have re- ceived. The extent to which individual papers have been quoted has been determined by quite accidental circumstances, and many of the papers to which no express reference has been made in our Report have contributed to the views here presented in no less degree than other papers from which express quotation has been made. The statements in the following pages do not include any reference to co-operation with Roman Catholics. The evidence before the Commission shows that, while in many mission fields personal relations with Roman Catholic missionaries are often of a friendly character, and individual acts of courtesy are not uncommon, the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church hold themselves precluded from entering into any agreement or taking part in any practical effort with the representa- tives of other Christian bodies. 4 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY The Commission has been in correspondence with Archbishop Nicolai of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Tokyo. He states his view of the actual relations between Christians of different sections of the Church in somewhat pathetic language. " I am in friendly, more than that, brotherly relations with all the mission- aries of other sections known to me, and so are our Chris- tians with their Christians. So shall we be from our part always, because we know that the first duty of us Christians is to cultivate Christian love to all men, and particularly to our brothers in Christ. But, nevertheless, that is no real and full unity between us and other sec- tions ; more than that, we are far from such unity because we are divided in the Christian doctrine." IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT A World Missionary Conference such as the present is itself an indication that the Christian Church generally has recognised the magnitude and gravity of the task committed to it in the evangelisation of the world. Christian Churches and Societies have realised the necessity of meeting together to face the facts of the situation, to discuss the suitability and adequacy of their present methods, and to devise measures for the increase and more effective use of their resources. Consequently the chief questions connected with the great missionary problem have been divided among the eight Com- missions appointed to prepare for the Conference. The work of this Commission is more or less directly connected with the work of the other seven ; it is perhaps specially connected with that of the Commissions on CARRYING THE GOSPEL TO ALL THE NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD and the HOME BASE. The former Commission has shown that the forces and methods at present employed are wholly inadequate to the task before the Church. The latter has con- sidered how the requisite increase of the forces may perhaps best be achieved. Others have dealt with the INTRODUCTION 5 improvement of present methods. Our Commission has to deal with the inadequacy of our forces, and the un- suitability of our methods, from a special point of view, the importance of which has been recognised by every one of the other seven Commissions. The proper inter-relation of the forces and methods employed is a question scarcely less important than that of their adequacy and suitability. Without hearty alliance among the many Missionary Societies employed in carrying the Gospel to non-Christian peoples, and with- out the recognition of co-operative effort as the normal condition of missionary work, the most copious supply of workers and of means that could be hoped for, would still be ineffectual; while for the achievement of the ultimate and highest end of all missionary work the establishment in these non-Christian lands of Christ's one Church real unity must be attained. In these months of preparation we have been endeavouring, in consultation with those who are engaged in work on the field and at the home base, to face the problems thus presented to the Christian Church in its efforts t<5 evangelise the world. As the facts press themselves upon our attention we feel that a large number of our previously accepted assumptions and preconceptions have to be very con- siderably modified. We are led to realise more acutely the stubborn fact that Christianity is the religion, even in name, of only one-third of the human race. We are aware indeed of a slow dissolution that is breaking up some of the historic religions of the East ; but we see that this is at the same time accompanied in some cases by revival and effort after reformation. We are only beginning to understand that the beliefs and customs and capacities of the coloured races are in future to be regarded as worthy of attention, not only on account of the sympathy with them which our common humanity inspires, but also on account of the influence which these races are beginning to exercise and will increasingly exert on the interests of the human race in general, 6 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY and on the western races in particular. These coloured races have their own future, and mean to work out their own political, religious and social history ; and they will no longer do so apart from, and with negligible influence on, the community of the civilised nations. We are beginning to see that the Church is again facing a mighty conflict, like that which arose when the living forces of the Gospel contended with the forces of the pagan world in the early centuries. The unprecedented character of the present oppor- tunity, and the possibility that doors now open may before long be closed, make method a consideration of supreme importance. In such cases waste of time and energy, overlapping of effort, and misdirected activity become not merely foolish but criminal. It is the bounden duty of all who have at heart the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ of individual workers and of Societies alike to reconsider their aims, their plans, and their methods in the light of the common need. No matter what it may cost, such action is demanded by the importance and gravity of the issues that are at stake. When the attempt is made to take this broad view of the relation of Christianity to the non-Christian world, it is seen that the Church is facing its tremendous task with scattered forces and divided ranks. Regarded merely from the standpoint of efficiency, the methods by which the work is at present being carried on must be viewed with grave concern. It is true that the conduct of the work by a number of separate but allied Societies (which might exist even within a single united Church) is not necessarily inconsistent with a spirit of unity and full co-operation. Indeed it is not without certain advan- tages. The numerous Societies appeal to the many- sided interests and utilise the manifold energies of the Christian community more effectively than a single great organisation could do, at least at the present time. And on the mission field the existence of independent Societies makes for elasticity of operation, for freedom INTRODUCTION 7 of experiment and initiative, for variety of method and for attention to classes of people and branches of work that might otherwise have been neglected. No one would think it necessary or desirable that any plans should be adopted which would sacrifice these benefits. But while these advantages resulting from the multiplicity of the missionary forces ought not to be forgotten, it must be clearly recognised that serious evils have also resulted from it in the past, and that these can only be reduced to a minimum by wise statesmanship and the spread of the spirit of unity. While we recognise the incidental advantages which may result from separate administration, and rejoice in the testimony to many successful efforts which have been made to improve organisation and promote co-operation, yet the fact remains that the Christian forces are confronting their gigantic task without concerted policy, without adequate combination, and without sufficient generalship. The work is a campaign of allies ; and yet many of the allies are ignorant of what the others are doing. Overlapping and competition are to be found in certain districts in the mission field, while other vast territories remain practically untouched. The absence of combination robs missionary effort of the results which a strong and con- certed united policy might be expected to produce. Weak and scattered communities and feebly-manned institu- tions are failing to make any impression where co-opera- tion might build up a strong centre of far-reaching influence. Many forms of Christian effort that are of the first importance, such as the production of Christian literature, and the training of Christian teachers for schools, cannot be carried out on the scale and with the thoroughness that are necessary apart from co-operative effort. It is the judgment of many who are best ac- quainted with the facts, that the efficiency of the whole missionary forces could be enormously increased, even without any addition to the number of missionaries, if only there were more concerted planning and wise co- operation. 8 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY So far we have looked at the task solely from the standpoint of organisation. It is with this aspect of the subject that our Report is for practical purposes mainly concerned. But besides the problem of organisation there is a deeper problem presented by the ecclesiastical divisions of western Christendom. This problem has not been created by the situation in the mission field. The divided state of the Church is a source of weakness in its work at home. It represents a grievous falling short of the purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ for His Church. In the year 1905, a letter was issued to the ministers of all the Christian communities in Great Britain signed by the heads of each body of Christians. This letter contained the following statement : " We agree in believing profoundly that our Lord Jesus Christ meant us to be one in visible fellowship ; we feel profoundly the paralysing effect upon the moral forces of Christianity which our divisions inevitably produce ; and we recognise with the fullest conviction that it is the duty of all Christians, who desire in this respect the fulfilment of the Divine purpose, to give themselves to penitence and prayer to penitence be- cause we have all, in various ways, as bodies and as individuals, contributed to produce and perpetuate differences ; and to prayer because what we all alike need is that God should open our minds and hearts to receive without prejudice the gradual revelation of His will as to the ways by which we are to be drawn to- gether." To these words, although the interpretation placed on them might vary considerably, doubtless all would be willing to subscribe. The Holy Spirit seems to be im- pressing men everywhere with deeper convictions of the claims of our Lord Jesus Christ to our undivided loyalty, of the sin and weakness of schism, and of the necessity for union to enable the Church to fulfil her mission, and do her work both at home and abroad. But while the divided state of the Church is everywhere a matter of grave concern, and a summons to penitence INTRODUCTION 9 and prayer, the problem arrests our attention even more powerfully when it is viewed in rela f ion to the non- Christian world. The Commission gladly recognises that in the presentation of the Christian message in non- Christian countries, there is underneath the outward differences and separation a deep and real unity of aim and purpose. None the less do the divisions within the Christian Church weaken its testimony and confuse the total impression made by Christianity on the minds of the non-Christian peoples. The question necessarily forces itself on those immediately engaged in the work of Chris- tianising the great nations of the East, whether they are content to plant in these countries a multitude of Christian sects, or whether the real purpose of missionary effort is not rather to plant in each land one united Church of Christ, penetrating and strongly influencing the national life of the people, and at the same time bound in the unity of the Spirit to the Church throughout the world. Some of our correspondents in advocating union have urged the formation of what they have, for want of a better name, called " National Churches." Others have signified that they feel a difficulty with regard to this ex- pression, as they think that it might encourage a spirit of national antagonism. They urge that, while in practice unity will no doubt often be approached on the working basis of national Churches, yet in the abstract a Church limited to a single nation offends the principle of unity. We do not understand that our correspondents would advocate the development of a Church which would be " national " in this sense. We, at all events, would not suggest anything of the kind. We desire only to lay emphasis on the importance of planting a united Church, which would embody all that is deepest and truest in the national life, and which would make it possible for national gifts of mind and character to con- tribute in the largest possible way to the perfect and complete interpretation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. A striking and significant illustration of the way in 10 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY which this question is occupying the minds of missionary workers is seer in the Resolution adopted by the large and representative Centenary Missionary Conference at Shanghai in 1907, It was unanimously resolved that " in planting the Church of Christ on Chinese soil, we desire only to plant one Church under the sole control of the Lord Jesus Christ, governed by the Word of the living God, and led by His guiding Spirit." The succeeding chapters of the Report will furnish much additional evidence of the increasing desire for unity among workers in the mission field. Of not less significance and importance is the fact that the growing national consciousness of the peoples of Asia becomes more and more indisposed to accept or tolerate the divisions of western Christendom, which are so remotely related to the circumstances of their own life. Bishop Graves of Shanghai, in a speech at the Pan-Anglican Congress in London in 1908, stated that " there is a great movement among the Chinese converts for union, a desire for the essentials of Christian- ity as distinct from the differences started and developed in other countries. If the influence of such differences were removed, Chinese Christians would probably coalesce in one body." A large amount of evidence supporting this statement has reached the Commission both with regard to Christian opinion in China, and also with regard to similar, though perhaps as yet not so definite and powerful, tendencies in other mission fields. It will be seen that the subject entrusted to this Com- mission falls broadly into two divisions, the first dealing with the inter-relations of Missionary Societies, the second with the movements towards unity of organised Churches in the mission field. Before, however, either such co- operation or unity can be looked for, that spirit of con- siderateness, fair-dealing, Christian courtesy and brotherli- ness, which is called "Comity," must be prevalent. We shall, therefore, in the next chapter, consider, in the first instance, the problem of co-operation on its more negative side, and will deal under the general title of "Comity" INTRODUCTION 11 with agreements reached between different Societies as to the delimitation of territory and other matters on which a common understanding is reached apart from direct co-operation in practical work. We have next given attention to the "Conferences "which have come into existence on almost all the important mission fields, and at which missionaries meet together for mutual intercourse and edification, and to discuss the common problems of their work. Under the heading of "Joint Action," we have attempted to give an account of co-operative effort on its more positive side, that is, to review the enterprises for which the different Societies have united their forces in carrying on a common work with the object of lessening cost, in- creasing efficiency, or undertaking some task that would be beyond the resources of any Society acting by itself. In a chapter entitled " Federation and Union," a survey is presented first of the movements in the mission field which have resulted in organic union between bodies of the same ecclesiastical order, and secondly of movements which are tending in the direction of organic union. It is obvious that corporate movements on the mission field cannot attain their highest success without the hearty co-operation of the Societies and Boards at home. We have, therefore, given special attention to the problem of " Co-operation at the Home Base." In a final chapter entitled " General Review and Con- clusions," we have sought to marshal the most important facts brought before us in the evidence ; to lay down some general principles relating to the subject which has been committed to our Commission ; and to prepare for submission to the Conference certain practical proposals which we believe may help to further the cause of co- operation and the promotion of unity. CHAPTER II COMITY UNDER the general heading of "Comity" we propose to consider those aspects of our subject which relate to co-operation of a negative rather than of a positive kind. It is manifest that the situation in the mission field, where agents animated, in some measure at least, by denominational zeal, subject to the influence of personal idiosyncrasies, and responsible only to far- distant authorities, are working side by side, may lend itself to friction unless principles of comity, written or unwritten, are acknowledged and observed. These principles are concerned with such matters as overlapping or intrusion, the transfer of agents, the standard of conditions of Church membership, and the discipline of the Church. DELIMITATION OF TERRITORY With practically the whole of the non-Christian world open to missionary activity, it would seem natural that the comparatively limited forces of the missionary enter- prise should be distributed in such a way as to avoid overlapping or collision. Few would refuse to accept as an abstract principle the view that it is undesirable to press in where others are working when neglected fields are calling for labourers. A missionary has been quoted as saying that, wherever there is one unconverted soul, there is room for a Christian of any denomination to bring the spiritual forces of his own denomination to 12 COMITY 13 bear so that that soul may be brought to Christ. Such a statement, however, ignores the real question, namely whether it is right, when there are hundreds of millions of souls who are without the knowledge of Christ, that a new organisation should press in where others are already at work. Such action is inconsistent with that economy of the all too slender forces available which is necessary if the great work before the Church is to be accomplished. Where the work to be done is so enormous, and where the salvation of souls is the task to be accomplished, efficiency and economy demand the effort to avoid waste of money and energy. The avoidance of overlapping and of interference with the work of others is also demanded by the spirit of Christian charity, which should be pre-eminently manifested in the work of Christian missions. Much trouble, soreness of feeling, and injury to the work of Christ would have been avoided if those engaged in missionary work had always acted in the spirit of the Resolution passed as early as the year 1838 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions : " Resolved that this Board respect- fully suggest and recommend wherever a Society has a mission already in a district of country where another Society contemplates operations, that it be deemed suitable that the Societies whose missionaries are already in the field be apprised of the fact and consulted before such operations are commenced." An instance of a large-hearted attitude in relation to the division of the field, the memory of which is still fresh and operative after the lapse of fifty years, is the action of Bishop Selwyn in the Pacific Islands. He drew up a scheme by which, in accordance with a tacit though unwritten agreement, the different islands were assigned to the different Societies as their special field of labour. The document ended with the words, " Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between my herdmen and thy herd- men " ; and strife has been avoided up to the present day. Another interesting instance of a successful division of 14 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY territory is furnished by the work in the Philippine Islands. The situation there was somewhat unique in character, since a number of separate Missionary Societies entered the field at one time upon the American acquisition of the Islands. The Societies at work are united in the " Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands," and have divided the entire field among themselves. The plan has worked so successfully that the Islands have become dotted with churches " which scarcely know there is more than one Protestant Church." The American Protestant Episcopal Church has not formally joined the Union, but it has respected the principles of comity and the division of territory. In Korea, also, the various Missions have recently completed a division of the field. Although their rela- tions had been marked by a spirit of harmony from the very start, it became evident that more definite arrange- ments would be helpful. In September 1909 a Committee, appointed by the Missions chiefly involved, met and settled upon a plan by which mutual concessions were made and the territory fully delimited. The evidence which we have received points to the fact that agreements, more or less of the same character as those above-mentioned, between Societies working in the same area, are general throughout the mission field. They range from informal and unwritten agreements reached by individual missionaries to carefully planned delimitations in which districts are mapped out and the decisions are ratified by the Home Boards. The weight of testimony is to the effect that they have worked well, and have been the means of preventing overlapping and waste of energy. The view held by the majority of missionaries working in India finds expression in the Resolution passed by the Decennial Missionary Con- ference in Madras in 1902, which runs as follows : " This Conference, while recognising the right of all Christians to the ministrations of their own communion, and to Christian liberty of thought and action, desires to affirnrits opinion that, under present circumstances, COMITY 15 the principle of territorial divisions should be maintained. And, in the opinion of this Conference, the principles of division of labour and of Christian comity should prevent any Society from unnecessarily entering upon work in areas which are effectively occupied by another Society." In the opinion of many of our correspondents, and especially perhaps of those from China, much more might still be done to increase and strengthen agreements of this kind. The Rev. J. C. Gibson, D.D., one of the Chairmen of the Centenary Conference at Shanghai, states that the primary missionary requirement in China, in his judgment, is " consultation and combination on the part of Missions of different Churches in order to make the best use of the forces available to avoid overlapping, and to secure that no parts of the country are left out." He considers that this would be " the greatest contribu- tion that could be made to the efficiency of the evangel- istic work." It is hoped that the new Federation Councils in the different provinces in China will attend to this among their other duties. From South Africa there comes a strong expression of opinion that the interests of missionary work demand much more careful consideration of the problems of the division of the field. The Rev. Jas. Henderson, Principal of Lovedale Institution, writes : " The great want of the field is an authoritative organisation representing all the Missions engaged. . . . There has been a deplorable lack of consultation with a view to a common plan, and of combination and co-operation among the Churches and the Mission Boards. We are waging a warfare in which we leave no room for generalship." While there is a consensus of opinion as to the desira- bility of agreements regarding the delimitation of the field, there is at the same tune a general recognition of the difficulties which in practice attend the carrying out of such arrangements, and of the necessary limitations and exceptions which must be attached to them. Even in the case of a single religious body, delimitation of frontier is not so simple as it might seem. An Episcopal 16 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY body, for example, may arrange its diocese, giving one area to one organisation a Society or a religious order and another to another ; but nationality asserts itself, or there are linguistic difficulties, or personal considerations come in, and any of these may spoil the arrangement. For areas can be allotted much more easily than souls ; conditions will change and populations shift. There is an increasing number of parts of the world where the subdivision of the Master's task of evangelisation will be better done by allotting groups of people than by de- limiting areas. Frequently also it has been found that divisions may best follow linguistic lines. This has often been the case in work among the tribes of Africa, and the Bible Societies have adopted this method in the Philippine Islands. The case is more difficult when territory is to be allotted to different denominations, varying, perhaps, widely in their theory and practice of the common faith and discipline. (i) Some of the bodies are inherently exclusive. The Roman Catholic, for example, cannot recognise any organisation except his own. It is indeed diffi- cult for those who regard episcopacy as of vital importance to recognise as an adequate evangelisation the work, however heroic, done by the non-episcopal bodies. Also they bring with them from home into the mission field a conception, inherited from the days anterior to the great divisions of Christendom, of the whole area as mapped out into districts dioceses and parishes in each of which they have a responsibility for every acre and every soul a responsibility which they cannot transfer except to those with whom they are in full communion. Some other bodies are specially ex- clusive the strict Baptists, for example because of their personal rather than their ecclesiastical require- ments. Thus the exclusive bodies, on the ground either of general Church order or of individual Church member- ship, are hindered in theory from consenting to any restriction of their own sphere of action by arrangement COMITY 17 with other bodies ; though in practice they may agree to abide by such a convention, for the time being, especially in spacious and comparatively empty fields. (2) Another hindrance to delimitation is found in the diametrically opposite tendency which is characteristic of some missionary organisations, i.e. those which are essentially evangelistic free lances, unwilling to be restricted to any sphere of their own, and, it may be, unwilling to leave alone the spheres or even the converts of others, not through the strictness, but through the freedom, of their conceptions of Church polity. These two causes are likely to prevent the complete and effective carrying out of schemes for the delimitation of territory. Even when the conditions are most favourable, there are certain considerations which have to be taken into account, and which must modify all understandings that are reached. The arrangements made must necessarily be of a temporary character, and will need revision from time to time in the same spirit of comity in which they were originally made. The need for such revision may arise from a fuller knowledge of the field, from the rapid growth of one of the Societies entering into the agreement, or from the inadequate occupation of any portion of the field by the Society to which it was assigned. Another factor which, in the opinion of many, must qualify all arrangements that are made, is the right of each organisation to follow up its own adherents who have migrated into another sphere, coupled with the right of any of these adherents to the ministrations which he prefers. The emphasis which different organisa- tions will lay upon this principle will vary according to the views held by them. Some will be content to hand over the migrant to the nearest Protestant Mission, while others will not be able to regard this as practicable. The Provincial Synod of Bishops in India is unable to accept the views regarding territorial delimitation COM. VIII. 2 18 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY adopted by the Madras Conference. In the year 1900 it passed the following resolution : " (a) In view of difficulties which have arisen from territorial agreements between different missionary bodies the Synod holds that all members of the Church of England, whether European or Indian, wherever they may be, have a right to the ministrations of the Church to which they belong, and that it is the duty of all Christian congregations to be centres of missionary activity. " (b) That, therefore, while commending the spirit of the policy in accordance with which the Missions of different Christian bodies have endeavoured to avoid coming into collision with one another, the Synod depre- cates any such territorial agreements in the future." The expansion and progress of missionary work also tends to make any strict delimitation of territory difficult. The evidence before us seems to show that in proportion as districts become fully occupied, and the work of different Societies becomes interlaced, strict delimitation is increasingly difficult. Although recently most of the Protestant Missions working in Madras have reached an understanding as to the parts of the city allotted to each, yet hitherto it has been generally recognised that large towns, and especially seaports, should be excluded from any agreements with regard to the division of territory. The following quotation from the paper prepared for the Commission by Dr. William Imbrie, Japan, is an illustration of the difficulties arising under the conditions to which reference has been made : " For many years the Missions of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches have occupied all the most important centres in the Empire ; and the same thing, to a greater or less degree, is true of the other older and stronger Missions. There was never any ' common understand- ing ' as to a ' delimitation of the field,' though for a time the region about Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto, was regarded by some as especially the field of the American Board Mission. But in the course of time, Congregational COMITY 19 Churches were established in Tokyo and other places ; and the American Board Mission was practically con- strained to extend its field to other parts of Japan. The Missions of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches were located in Tokyo and Yokohama, in the north, in the south, and on the west coast ; and it was essential to the future of the one Church with which they were all connected that its parts should not be separated from each other by the great wedge of Central Japan. No doubt similar causes were operative in the case of other Missions also, and the development now described could hardly have been prevented even if an attempt to do so had been made. Now that strong Churches have been established, it would be impossible to change the policy. . . . Perhaps it is worth while to say in passing that in many respects the conditions in Japan resemble the conditions at home much more closely than is the case in some other fields." The general conclusion to which the evidence seems to point is that delimitation of territory, at least until the work is far advanced and the era of self-governing churches is near at hand, is necessary to prevent the waste and friction that result from overlapping, and should be carried out to the utmost extent that circum- stances permit. On the other hand, it is not an expedient which goes to the root of the problems created in mis- sionary work by the existence of a number of inde- pendent Societies working in the same district ; and as the work advances, it is necessary to look to other plans than delimitation for the preservation of comity and for the best strategic disposition of the missionary forces. Bishop Cassels, who in West China has had experience of the principle of the delimitation of territory in its most successful form, stated at the Pan- Anglican Congress that " generally the territorial arrangement becomes less and less possible and sufficient owing to extension of work and overlapping. In China, converts are not satisfied with the arrangement, and are becoming critical and observant of differences. Comity should always exist on wide and 20 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY simple lines, but is not sufficient it must lead to federa- tion and some form of unity in order to present a common front before the enemy." CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND THE TRANSFER OF AGENTS AND MEMBERS At the Missionary Conference held in London in 1888 there was a great deal of complaint regarding the practice of accepting agents or members from another Mission without adequate enquiry ; and charges were also made of workers being deliberately tempted away by the offer of a higher salary. It appears, however, that considerable progress in the spirit of comity has been made during the last twenty years, and that there is a more general understanding between the various Missions in regard to these matters at the present time, although infringe- ments of the rules of Christian courtesy are not even now altogether unknown. The general body of missionary opinion in all mission fields would condemn all attempts to seduce members from allegiance to their own Church, and the employment of workers from another Mission without consultation with the Mission to which they belong. An illustration of an amicable and successful agreement regarding this subject between bodies ecclesiastically widely separate is that which exists between the Cam- bridge Mission in Delhi and the Baptist Mission in the same city. The secretary of the former Mission writes : " In the city and suburbs of Delhi we have a clear con- cordat now, as to both workers and converts, that we never take any belonging to either Mission without prior correspondence. We work together in all districts of the town in perfect harmony." The views of missionaries in India find expression in the following resolution of the Decennial Conference in 1902: " This Conference is of opinion that no worker should be received into another Mission as an agent, without reference to the Mission of which he was formerly a mem- COMITY 21 ber, and the receipt of a certificate of good character, and, in case he has contracted obligations for his training and education, without his continuing to discharge in his new position such obligations as may be mutually agreed upon. " This Conference considers that no one who belongs or has belonged to a Church, with full rights and privileges of membership, should be received unto the fellowship of the Church of a sister Mission, without reference to the official representative of the former, or to the Mission with which the applicant is or has been connected. " This Conference considers it generally desirable, in the interests of Church discipline and harmony, that ex- communicated persons, or persons under discipline in any Church, shall not be received into the membership of any other Church until the bar has been removed by the Church which exercised the discipline." The last clause of this Resolution touches what is a frequent cause of friction, the different standards of discipline in neighbouring Christian bodies. It is manifestly injurious not only to the Missions, but also to the Christian Churches, that fugitives from the discipline of one Church should be lightly received by another. Such a practice must be condemned as contrary to the interests of true religion. The wider question of the free transfer of members of one Mission to another when they migrate brings us immediately up against ecclesiastical questions. Ar- rangements for such transfer are becoming increasingly common. In West China, at the Chengtu Conference of 1908, it was resolved, " that whereas all Christian Missions labouring in West China have for their aim the establish- ment of the Kingdom of God, and whereas there is a sincere desire for more co-operation and a closer union of our Churches, this Conference recommends the free interchange of full members on a recommendation from the pastor of the Church from which they come." The South Indian Missionary Association publishes for the use of missionaries in its area counterfoil books of letters 22 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY of transfer and letters of commendation, the former to be employed where the migrating member wishes to be transferred to the membership of the body into whose neighbourhood he is moving, the latter for use when he desires to retain his membership in the Church he is leaving, but is commended to the care of the Christians among whom he is going to live. The object of such arrangements is to prevent the migrating Christians from drifting away from the Church and from Christian influence. They are manifestly desirable where possible ; but they cannot be easily assented to without limitation by bodies which attach high importance to their dis- tinctive beliefs and practices. Somewhat akin to this is another question which was also considered at the Chengtu Conference, namely, the desirability of having a uniform standard regarding the conditions of admission to Church membership. A list of the " Conditions of Church Membership " is accord- ingly being prepared in West China, and it will be of interest to see the result of this action. The same subject has also attracted attention in British Central Africa. The larger Societies have reached an agreement that " Baptism be not granted to a candidate unless he has been under definite religious instruction throughout a period of at least two years, during which the missionary has had means of ascertain- ing as to his or her life and character, and that the in- struction should include, as a minimum, a course of teaching on the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Sacraments and the Apostles' Creed, with the relative passages of Scripture." Experience seems to show that the conditions of membership must vary with the general moral and intellectual character of the different races, and that it cannot be left entirely to the discretion of the individual missionary. It is a matter which concerns the Church, and, if so, it seems reasonable that the different Christian bodies should deal with it in con- sultation with one another as far as possible. COMITY 23 SALARIES OF NATIVE WORKERS The general ^view taken by Indian missionaries is expressed in the following resolution of the Decennial Conference of 1902 : " This Conference considers it desirable that Missions working near each other and among similar classes should communicate with each other, with a view to obtaining as much uniformity in pay and status as the circum- stances and conditions of the various Societies wih 1 admit." Correspondents from all the mission fields agree that greater uniformity in the salaries paid is desirable. But it is frankly recognised on the other hand that a hard and fast rule is unattainable, for different Societies have different ideals and different methods of work, and any complete understanding is at present impossible. In proportion as the work expands, and as the economic development of the country advances, the attempt to lay down rigid standards becomes as difficult as it would be in the West. For example, it is reported from Japan that " each Mission is a law to itself, and most Missions would prefer not to be hampered by specific agreements," and that " there is no special desire for a clearer or more definite understanding on such matters." Attention has also been drawn by some of our witnesses to the fact that in certain parts of the field the salaries of native workers have not been increased in proportion either to the rise in the scale of living or to the decrease in the purchasing power of money. It is rightly urged that salaries quite adequate at one time may be wholly inadequate a little later. ARBITRATION BOARDS The various methods of ratifying such arrangements as are made range from a merely personal understanding between individual missionaries to formal agreements confirmed and accepted by home Societies. A purely local and unofficial arrangement is not likely to be very CO-OPERATION AND UNITY satisfactory, but on the other hand home Committees can never be sufficiently cognisant of the facts of the case to reach by themselves a well-considered decision. The delimitations which seem, so far as the evidence before us goes, to have worked best are those made somewhat formally by local Conferences. These may or may not be ratified by the authorities at home, but they are made with sufficient local authority and formality to give them stability and force, and they are backed on the spot by a joint Board which stands behind them, ready to interpret or, if need be, to revise them. In Western China we have one of the most successful instances of the work of a local Board having the confidence of all the Missions concerned. At a Conference of West China missionaries held at Chungking in 1899 there was formed an Advisory Board for West China. This Board represents the following Missions : China Inland Mission. London Missionary Society. Church Missionary Society. American Baptist Missionary Union. The British and Foreign Bible Society. Canadian Methodist Mission. Friends' Foreign Mission Asso- ciation. Methodist Episcopal Mission. Foreign Christian Mission. The Young Men's Christian As- sociation. If, in the judgment of the Board, the occupation of any particular district is effective, other Missions are discouraged from beginning work there. As the work of each Mission expands, its development is considered in relation to the work of neighbouring Missions. New Missions entering the field are urged to confer with the Advisory Board. The powers of the Board are merely advisory, but it possesses the confidence of all the Missions at work in West China, and it is stated that during the ten years of its existence hardly any difficulties worth mentioning have been encountered. The Decennial Indian Missionary Conference at Madras in 1902 created a Board of Arbitration l to which every Society at work in India, and accepting the principle of 1 Cf. Appendix A., pp. 149-150. COMITY 25 arbitration, may nominate one representative. The Conference recommended that the Board should elect an Executive Committee of fifteen from among its number. In all cases of disagreement the Missions concerned are urged to attempt a settlement between themselves, and to refer to the Board only after such attempts have failed. The Board is entitled to arbi- trate only when a case is referred to it by the official representatives of both the Missions involved in any dispute. If, however, one party declines arbitration, it is still open to the other to invite the Board to use its friendly offices to bring about reconciliation. The Board was further urged to take steps to obtain detailed in- formation regarding unoccupied fields of labour. This instruction has been carried out, and a pamphlet has been issued by the Board giving an account of the unoccupied districts of India. At the present time thirty Societies are represented on the Board. Anglican missionaries and the American Baptists have not seen their way to accept representation on the Board, but both have been parties to appeals to it. In South Africa, where the problem of overlapping is a very serious one, the General Missionary Conference at its triennial meeting in 1906 appointed an Arbitration Board consisting of seven members. 1 This Board, elected by the Conference, is "to deal with all inter-Mission difficulties which may be submitted to it by the official representatives of any Missionary Society labouring in South Africa." There has hardly been sufficient time to judge of how the experiment has worked, and no information has reached us on the subject. The Anglican Church has not seen its way to accept the Arbitration Board, but apparently all the Missions at work in South Africa (except the Roman Catholics) have given their support to the arrangements adopted by the Conference. It is evident that excellent work may be done by such Boards of Arbitration. Similar work is done by Con- ferences in many parts of the mission field, even where 1 See Appendix B., pp. 151-2. 26 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Boards are not formally appointed. Reference will be made to this in the chapter on " Conferences." Most important also in this connection is the action taken at the home base by such machinery as the American Committee of Reference and Counsel. An interesting example of this is the ratification of delimita- tions, made on the field, by the home Boards of the three German Societies at work in South China. Exchanges of stations have been made by negotiations at home. An example of such an exchange was seen in 1900 when the Moravian Church transferred its whole Greenland Mission to the Danish Church. The existence of such machinery as that above referred to greatly facilitates such negotiations, by affording a means of bringing the Societies into touch, and enabling them to deal with difficulties arising on the field. CHAPTER III CONFERENCES THE spirit of co-operation on the mission field found its earliest expression in drawing together the members of neighbouring Missions for counsel and for prayer. Amid the perplexing, often baffling, problems of the work such desire for fellowship and united intercession was more than natural. For although the Conferences of single Missions are of the utmost value, yet even the strongest of them necessarily has limited material of experience and limited outlook. It is as natural as it is advantageous that the workers of different Missions should, when circumstances permit, come together to compare plans and policies ; for while they may differ in some matters of principle, and in a multitude of details of method, there remain many matters which are held by all in common, and which would therefore form an important field for profitable intercourse and consultation. We find, therefore, that already in many areas of the field annual, or at least biennial or triennial Con- ferences are instituted, while in many of the city centres a monthly gathering for prayer and discussion is main- tained. 1 Arising spontaneously, rarely having authority formally delegated to them by the Home Boards, or even by the local Mission Committees, surviving the perils to which most voluntary institutions in foreign lands are exposed from rapidly changing personnel, many of them have yet won by a long history of useful 1 See Appendix L.,rpp. 178-183. Conspectus of General Confer- ences on the Mission Field. 27 28 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY service an established and important place among mission agencies. These Associations and Conferences exhibit great variety alike in constitution, in method and range of activity, and in value. It is our purpose to consider only such as are permanent organisations, holding regular meetings for discussion and other purposes. Our account of them will be illustrative rather than exhaustive, designed not so much to register their existence as to study their possibilities and the conditions of their use- fulness. The fraternal spirit which they express and foster, the mutual and sympathetic understanding which they create, the unification of aim and policy and method which they effect, are indispensable preliminaries to all developments of co-operative action or of ecclesiastical approximation ; it is therefore earnestly to be desired that, with suitable adaptation to circumstances, these organisations should be cultivated wherever possible. To indicate some of the lines on which they have been successfully established may both lead to new develop- ments and also suggest new directions of usefulness to Associations already existing. CITY CONFERENCES The larger cities of non- Christian lands are, as we have seen, generally excepted from the principle of territorial distribution of forces ; and in most of them several Societies are at work side by side. Naturally, therefore, one of the earliest forms of Association to come into existence is that composed of missionaries of various Societies working in or around a large city. Outstanding examples of such Conferences are those in Calcutta, Madras, and Shanghai. 1 These illustrate both the strength and persistence of the co-operative instinct in the missionary body, and the value of the results sometimes achieved even under conditions that are not very favourable. 1 The Constitution of the Shanghai Missionary Association is given in Appendix C., pp. 153-4. CONFERENCES 29 The membership of these City Associations usually consists of such missionaries (of both sexes) and native pastors as are stationed in or near the city and make application to be enrolled ; in some instances sym- pathetic laymen, and missionaries of more distant stations, are also admitted to membership, full or honorary. The objects of the most thoroughly developed Associations are well expressed in the following extract from the " Rules and Constitution of the Madras Mission- ary Conference." " The object of the Conference shall be (a) to provide opportunity for social and religious intercourse and the discussion of missionary topics ; (b) to afford the means for such united action and co- operation among the various Missionary Societies as the interests of missionary work may from time to time require." The method of working is by a monthly meeting and a Standing Committee. The monthly meeting, usually entertained by the various Missions in turn, devotes apportioned time to social intercourse, religious exercises, business and conference introduced by a paper or address on some previously arranged topic. The programme, for instance, laid down in the " Rules for the Calcutta Missionary Conference " is as follows : " 6-6.45 p.m., Business Meeting ; 6.45-7.30, Prayer Meeting ; 7.30-8, Social Meeting ; 8-9.30, Paper and Discussion." The Standing Committee and the elected Secretary of the Conference keep the machinery of the Association at work, prepare the agenda of the Business Meeting, and are the instrument by which the resolutions of the Business Meeting are carried into effect or emer- gent action is taken on behalf of the Conference in the intervals between its meetings. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WIDER ASSOCIATIONS Within the last twenty years the co-operative spirit has manifested itself, not only in these City Conferences, but also in associative schemes covering larger areas. These wider Associations show much diversity of type. 30 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Some confine their activity almost entirely to conference, with just a connecting link of permanent organisation ; in others conference is a secondary feature, and the object of the Association is united action through an appointed executive. In some membership is individual, in others it is representative of Missions, or of Missions and of Churches. Associations based mainly upon representation of Churches, or formed with the object of uniting or federating Churches, will be dealt with in the section of our Report treating of " Federation and Union." In this chapter we are concerned with the associative spirit as it brings together missionaries or Missions in the interests of their work. But a dividing line between the two classes of Association cannot be very strictly drawn, either as regards membership or sphere of activity ; for the relation of Native Churches to each other is a subject that rightfully finds a place in the pro- gramme of missionary organisations, and the Native Churches, as they develop, assert a natural claim to co- operate in the counsels and enterprises of the missionary body. Two varieties of these Associations deserve special study, those which are formed in the interests of a single department of work, and those which have a geographical basis seeking to unite for any practicable objects the missionaries or the Missions within a specified area. ASSOCIATIONS FORMED IN THE INTERESTS OF A SINGLE DEPARTMENT OF WORK Of the former class, typical or notable examples are a half-yearly Conference of Principals of Training Institu- tions in South Africa ; a Board of Examiners for Hindi and Uidu in North India ; a Missionary Council on Aided Education in South India; a Medical Missionary Con- ference in South India; a Christian Women Workers' Union for Western India ; a Missionary Educational Union in the United Provinces, North India ; and in China two important bodies related to the whole China field, the CONFERENCES 31 Educational Association of China and the China Medical Missionary Association. To the same category belong three Standing Committees instituted by the last Indian Decennial Conference to deal with, severally, Arbitration, Public Questions, and Co-operation in Literature ; and similar Committees for China appointed by the China Centenary Conference. To illustrate the fields of in- valuable service that lie before such Associations, con- centrating upon a single object, it may suffice to exhibit a single instance the Central China Branch of the China Medical Missionary Association. Our correspondent reports it as having " many advantages, spiritual and medical." It has brought the hospitals in its area into line as to charges, fees, etc., and led them to combine for purchase of stores. It maintains a Research Committee and an Examination Board for Nurses. It has issued a Manual for Nursing and tracts on Hygiene, etc. It initiated the movement now on foot for a Union Medical College in Hankow. ASSOCIATIONS FORMED ON A GEOGRAPHICAL BASIS The other Associations those which seek to unite the missionaries or the Missions within a specified area for any objects that may be found practicable are of great diversity in their character and range of influence. In the first place, there are such local Conferences as are held regularly in China in the provinces of Chihli, Shansi, Kiangsu, Anhwei, Kiangsi, Honan, Hupeh, Szechwan, and Hunan ; then such broader Associations as the Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan, the West China Advisory Board of Missions, the Evangelical Council of Missions in Korea, the South Indian Missionary Association, the Mid-India Missionary Association, the Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands, the Manchuria Conference, the Nyasaland Con- ference, the Bengal and Assam Missionary Association, and the Congo Conference ; and finally, such " General Conferences," embracing the whole of a much wider 32 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY area, as have been held in India, China, and South Africa. A survey of the genesis and the activity of the larger organisations throws light on the question of the com- parative advantages of individual membership or re- presentative membership as the basis of constitution for such Associations. Most of the Associations enumerated above are " inter-mission," i.e. formed by definite re- presentation of the Missions within the area, as corporate units ; some, however, are " inter-missionary," not attempting to enter into organised relation with the Missions, but seeking to enrol all missionaries within the area as individual members. In general it may be said that an Association definitely representing Missions can do more effective work, may indeed achieve ends that an Association based on individual membership cannot even attempt ; but that, on the other hand, an inter-missionary Association is more easily established and may bring the Missions into valuable, unofficial touch before they are ripe for organised official relations ; that it is likely to bring together members of more Missions than would unite on a representative basis ; and that this very range of membership gives it, in certain directions, opportunities of usefulness which are denied to organisations embracing a smaller number of Missions. A combination of the two methods of organisation is in several instances effected with happy results ; membership in the Association being individual, but its Executive Committee being formed of representatives appointed by the Missions. This plan secures in large measure the advantages of both systems numerical strength for purposes of conference and fellowship, weight and authority for purposes of action. South Indian Missionary Association Of Associations formed on the individual membership basis, the South Indian Missionary Association is the most considerable, and, founded in 1897, may now be regarded as having survived the experimental stage. Its field CONFERENCES 33 is the whole of the Madras Presidency, and its present membership exceeds 450, and includes missionaries of every Society (Roman Catholics and two small exclusive Societies excepted) at work in the area. The "S.I.M.A.," as it is familiarly known, has won for itself a recognised and important place in the missionary life of South India, and has had considerable influence, direct and indirect, in promoting co-operation and even ecclesiastical union. It organises annually two Conferences in hill stations. It maintains a Board which examines missionaries in four vernaculars ; more than 300 have been examined in the last nine years. It has conducted important enquiries into such subjects as industrial education and marriage disabilities of Indian Christians. It has prepared a Pension Scheme for Mission Agents; has revised the Tamil and Telugu hymn-books that most of the Missions use in common ; issues a directory of South India Mission Institutions, etc. Associations of this type and of this geographical range would probably be more numerous, were it not for the difficulty of making membership in them a real and effective thing when the members are scattered over so wide an area. It may be of service to missionaries elsewhere to see how the S.I.M.A. deals with this diffi- culty, and we therefore print its rules in an Appendix. 1 The machinery has obvious and inevitable imperfections, but it has stood the test of twelve years' wear, and has amply justified its existence by the solid results it has produced. The Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands and the West China Advisory Board Of Associations formed on the representative basis the Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands stands out by its important work in delimitation of the field, referred to in the previous chapter. 2 The^West China Advisory 1 Appendix D., pp. 155-8. 2 For its Constitution see Appendix E., pp. 159-160. COM. VIII. 3 34 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Board of Missions, founded in 1899, has also attained notable success. It has gathered into organised associa- tion all the Missions working in Szechwan, Yunnan, and Kweichow, each Mission appointing a representative, and the Board so formed holding annual meetings for the conduct of business and summoning large Conferences at intervals. The powers of the Board are only advisory, since the Home Boards have not delegated authority to it ; but " its recommendations," we are told, " are almost always adopted, for it possesses the confidence is indeed the creation of the local mission bodies." The Board collects and publishes statistics of the Missions united in it, and keeps them in touch by a monthly magazine. The atmosphere it has created has been most favourable to definite co-operation among the Missions, resulting in such achievements as the West China Religious Tract Society, the West China Union Christian University, and a unique organisation of the lower grades of education. Of the influence of the Board in the promotion of ecclesiastical union in West China we shall speak in a later chapter. The Manchuria Conference The Manchuria Conference exhibits the possibilities of general co-operation among Missions to a marked degree. Its success has been largely due to exceptionally favourable conditions, the only Missions at work in the country (with the exception of a small Danish Mission in the South) being those of the United Free Church of Scotland and the Irish Presbyterian Church. There were thus no doctrinal or ecclesiastical differences in the way of co-operation. The Conference, meeting annually, fixes the salaries of the native workers of the Missions included in it, supervises their studies, grades them, and holds evangelists' classes for them. It has developed Union Institutions for education, training, etc., and administers them. The local Mission Committees have agreed to recognise its decisions as binding upon them (subject* of course, to the approval of the Home CONFERENCES 35 Boards), and "they take no important step without re- ference to it. So intimate is the connection established between the Missions through its agency, that their Native Churches have from the beginning grown up as one ; and it is no uncommon thing for a member of one Mission to be in temporary charge, under furlough ex- igencies, of a station belonging to another Mission. The Rev. George Douglas writes : " The Chinese here have never been confused with a variety of camps, sometimes mutually hostile, within the Church. The translation of the word ' Presbyterian ' is hardly ever heard, there being no other type. We are simply of the 'Jesus' or ' Christ ' religion, and no other name is used." The Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan In Japan the Missions are united in "The Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan," on which practically all the Societies at work in the country, except the Protestant Episcopal Church in America and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, are represented. It has been proposed to call this " Standing Committee " by the name " The Confer- ence of Federated Missions in Japan." l The functions of this Committee are denned as follows : " This shall serve as a general medium of reference, communication, and effort for the co-operating Missions in matters of common interest and in co-operative enter- prises. On application of interested parties, and in the case of urgent importance on its own initiative, the Committee may give counsel : " (a) With regard to the distribution of forces for evan- gelistic, educational, and eleemosynary work, especially where enlargement is contemplated ; " (6) With regard to plans for union or co-operation on the part of two or more Missions for any or all of the above forms of missionary work ; and, in general, 1 This change has now been effected. 36 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY " (c) With a view to the prevention of misunderstandings and the promotion of harmony of spirit and uniformity of method among the co-operating Missions. 1 " There is appointed by this Committee an Executive Committee which deals with the publication of Christian literature, plans for co-operative evangelistic work, the securing of speakers from abroad as preachers and lecturers, education and charitable work, and the preparation of statistics ; further, it may secure " joint action, and meet emergencies affecting the common interests of the co- operating Missions." It is further stated that " on one or two occasions the Executive Committee has been helpful in the adjustment of differences of minor import- ance regarding which its counsel has been sought." With a view to closer communication between the co-operating Societies, the Standing Committee also publishes annually The Christian Movement in Japan a review of social and religious conditions and progress. Nyasaland United Missionary Conference and the Congo Conference In Southern Central Africa there have already been two meetings of the Nyasaland United Missionary Con- ference at Livingstonia in 1900, and at Blantyre in 1904. It is representative of all the Missions at work in Nyasa- land, except the Roman Catholic Societies and the Universities Mission. Although this Conference has no formulated Constitution, and no official relation to the home authorities or to the local Mission Councils, its resolutions are commonly adopted and acted upon. This Conference has given the native Christians a new conception of the unity of the Church, as is shown by the fact that the Livingstonia Conference was followed within a year by a united Conference of Native Elders. Arrangements for the Conference are in the hands of a standing Business Committee, which 1 For the full Constitution of the Committee see Appendix F., pp. 161-3. CONFERENCES 37 during the intervening years confers with the various Missions in the country on matters of missionary im- portance that may arise. The Congo Conference is of much the same character as this, and does not require detailed notice. Conferences of Societies of Kindred Nationality A variant of this type of Association brings together Societies of kindred nationality within reach of each other. This method of grouping is cultivated especially by the Continental Societies, and results in such organi- sations as the Scandinavian Missionary Conference of China, the " Wander-Conferenz," embracing the Basel, Berlin, and Rhenish Missions in South China, the Con- ference of the German-speaking Missionary Societies in South Africa. In 1909 a Conference of nearly all the Lutheran Missions (nine Societies) in India was held at Guntur, and will meet again in 1912. More Informal Conferences Many of the local Conferences are of an especially informal nature, and lay emphasis chiefly on the spiritual side of mission work. In June 1909 such an informal Conference was held in South Africa at the invitation of the Rector of Cala and of the Archdeacon of St. Mark's, Kaffraria. Representatives were present from the Anglican, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Moravian, and Con- gregational Churches. The days of the Conference were spent in quiet meditation, and also in discussion of methods of co-operation. Mention should also be made of the contribution of hill stations to missionary brotherhood and co-operation. Such rest centres as Ruling (Central China) and Kodai- kanal (South India) and Karuizawa (Japan) facilitate greatly the working of the local Conferences by affording opportunity for Committees to meet and for an annual general meeting of considerable size to muster. 38 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY GENERAL CONFERENCES 1 What is from some points of view the crowning achieve- ment of the associative spirit on the mission field is seen in those " General Conferences " which bring together missionaries from the whole of a wide field. North India led the way in such Conferences with gatherings in Calcutta (1855), Benares (1857), and the Punjab (1862). South India held a first Conference in 1858, and a second and a third at intervals of twenty-one years ; Ceylon joined in the first and second of these, but not in the third. The first Conference for the whole Indian field met in 1872, and three have followed it, in decennial sequence. For the China field General Conferences gathered in 1877 and 1890, and the great Centenary Conference assembled in 1907. South Africa was later in organising General Conferences, but is now holding them more frequently than the eastern fields. The first " General Missionary Conference for South Africa " was held in 1904, the second in 1906, the third in 1909. Even a wider field formed the subject of the Conference at Cairo in 1906, which was summoned to consider work among Mohammedans in all parts of the world, and preparations are now being made to hold a successor to it at Lucknow in 1911. The South India Conference, 1900 The South India Conference of 1900 marked an im- portant new departure in the constitution, procedure, and results of these Field Conferences. Up to that occasion they had been inter-missionary, not inter- mission in character, membership being open to all missionaries in the field and even, in some instances, to any interested person. Of the three functions of which a Conference is capable discussion, pronouncement, and action (legislative or executive) it is obvious that only the first could properly be undertaken by assemblies so 1 A conspectus of these Conferences and of the subjects discussed at them will be found in Appendix L. CONFERENCES 39 lacking in definite constitution. They had no authority to act or enact ; their votes might be counted, but could not be weighed ; their utterance was that of a miscellaneous congeries of units, not of a carefully constructed organ of theMissions. In some cases the Conferences had formulated their opinions on one subject or another in resolutions ; but it had proved futile and even dangerous for bodies so indeterminate to assume this function. Therefore, when the time came to prepare for the South India Conference of 1900, the attempt was made to constitute it mainly of delegates distributed among the Missions in proportion to their strength ; in the hope that an assembly of this character would prove competent both to formulate advisory declarations of policy that would have weight with the Missions and Home Boards, and also to initiate action serviceable to the Missions represented. With this care in constituting the Conference there was united equal care in constructing a machinery of Committees to prepare beforehand material for its deliberations and to draft resolutions. As regards results, the contrast between the earlier and the later type of Conference may be illustrated by comparing the Reports of the second and third South India Conferences. The former consists of two volumes of 500 pages each, the latter is a single volume of 108 pages. But whereas the former comprises a mass of undigested material of very various quality, the main contents of the latter are ninety-five resolutions, drawn by committees of experts, and all adopted with substantial unanimity by the Con- ference. These resolutions cover the chief problems that engaged missionary attention in South India at the time of the Conference, and the slim volume that contains them has some title to call itself " an authorised hand- book of present-day missionary methods in South India." Decennial Missionary Conference, Madras, 1902 The Decennial Conference, held in Madras in 1902, adopted, in its main features, the method so successfully used in 1900. The delegates were distributed among 40 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY eight Committees, made up of men and women engaged in work among similar classes of the community or in similar kinds of work, who might be considered specialists in their respective fields. Each Committee, thus com- posed, dealt with the subjects and problems with which that particular group of missionaries was especially concerned. The eight general subjects selected were the Native Church, Vernacular Work among Non- Christians, Work among English-speaking Non-Christians, Work among Women, Medical Work, Industrial Work, Comity and Public Questions, and Literary Work. The Centenary Missionary Conference, Shanghai, 1907 The Centenary Missionary Conference, held in Shanghai in 1907, at the close of the first century of Protestant missionary work in China, was modelled largely after the same pattern. In view of the rapid growth of the missionary force since the Conference in 1890, a strict basis of representation was adopted. Among the most important conditions were the following : " (i) Every Protestant Missionary Society or organised Mission working in China should have the right to be represented. (2) Missions with ten or less than ten members (including wives) should have one delegate, and Missions with over ten members one delegate for every ten or fraction of ten larger than one half. (3) Any missionary should be free to attend the meetings, but the privilege of speaking and voting should be con- fined to delegates, unless the Conference extended it by special vote. (4) Each organisation should be free to elect its delegates as most convenient, but should, as far as possible, secure representatives from the various districts in which it was at work." The division of material to be presented at the Conference was made, as at Madras, between various Committees. " In adopt- ing this method, the Committee had before them a two- fold aim, viz., that a comprehensive view of each subject should be presented in one paper, and that the discussions in the Conference should be on definite and well con- CONFERENCES 41 sidered recommendations." Some of the most important results that were arrived at are considered in the chapter on " Federation and Union." The General Missionary Conference for South Africa As has been mentioned, the General Missionary Con- ference for South Africa was started later than similar Conferences in India and China, but at present meets triennially. At its second meeting (1906), attended by missionaries of nineteen Societies, a constitution for the Conference was provisionally adopted on a basis of in- dividual membership for missionaries, combined with representative membership for Native Churches. The Anglican Church, whose missionaries had taken part in the first two meetings, held aloof from the third (Bloem- fontein, 1909), on the ground that its Native Churches had no central authority empowered to appoint delegates. The Conference was able, however, to make a slight modification in the constitution which it is hoped will meet the difficulty and re-establish the wide compre- hensiveness which marked the earlier gatherings. The objects of the Conference, as stated in its constitution, are " to promote co-operation and brotherly feeling between different Missionary Societies ; to labour for the most speedy and effective evangelisation of the native races of South Africa ; to enlighten public opinion on Christian missions ; to watch over the interests of the native races, and where necessary, to influence legislation on their behalf ; to keep ever in view the goal of establishing self- supporting and self-propagating Native Churches in South Africa." The Conference has not adopted the system of Committees used in Shanghai and Madras. ELEMENTS OF VALUE IN ALL CONFERENCES AND ASSOCIATIONS All Associations and Conferences on the mission field serve an important purpose in fostering the spirit of good fellowship between the missionaries of various denomina- 42 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY tions. The demands on missionaries are usually so many and engrossing, and the separateness of the Societies tends to such insulation, that even those resident in the same city need to fix regular times and purposes of meeting, if they are to be in touch at all ; and it is worth a great deal that such touch should be maintained. One of our correspondents puts in the forefront of the uses of the monthly Conference about which he is writing, that it is " a good tonic to any one tired with ' fighting fearful odds.' " " The consciousness," says another, " of alliance in a great task is enheartening." In bringing together men of different ecclesiastical training and traditions, men whose interests, though directed to the one great end, are separate and sometimes liable to clash, the social intercourse alone of these monthly gatherings has distinct value. It dissipates suspicion, prevents misunderstand- ings, and creates that atmosphere of friendliness and helpfulness which is the breath of life to all movements toward co-operation and union. A second element of value in these gatherings lies in the opportunity of spiritual fellowship, especially in prayer, that they afford. In many cases it may be doubted whether this opportunity is as fully used as it might be. Religious exercises, of course, always have a place in the meetings, and sometimes, as in the Calcutta programme quoted above, intercession finds a prominent place. But there is need for the reminder given by Mr. D. E. Hoste in his reply to our enquiries : " The greatest means of promoting both the unity and the efficiency of the missionaries is united prayer and inter- cession on behalf of their common work." In reference to monthly gatherings, he adds, " Their usefulness might be greater if more time were allotted for prayer and intercession, rather than to reading of papers and dis- cussions about the work. It is still true that ' the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury,' unless such talk is controlled and permeated by the spirit of Divine grace and wisdom." Several of the Associations arrange for a weekly united prayer-meeting in the city ; but even CONFERENCES 43 where this can be regularly maintained, there would still be inestimable value in associating the fellowship of prayer with the fellowship of counsel in the monthly gathering, or in sometimes spending in united inter- cession the whole time usually given to discussion or to business. The central purpose, however, of all Associations is the exposition and discussion of the facts 'and problems of the work. The evidence before us shows that this ventilation of subjects of common interest has rendered immense service to the cause, even though the Associations have no official status, and usually do not go so far as to embody in resolutions the conclusions which they reach. Here and there, in the replies that have come to us, a missionary has written of a monthly Conference as "of no definite value," and as producing " no practical results of any importance " ; but whatever may be the case in exceptional instances, the great debt which both the theory and the practice of missions owe to discussions and Conferences of every sort is undeniable. Had missionary method developed for the past sixty or eighty years without these regular gatherings ; had each Society been content to frame its own policy, and move on its own lines without reference to the experience of others, many questions of missionary policy would still have been unsolved, and all the work on the field would be incalculably the poorer. The missionary enterprise, with its far-reaching aims, must inevitably present many specially complex and difficult problems; and ordinary wisdom and prudence seem to demand the utilisation to the utmost of such opportunities as offer for consultation with neighbours working along other lines for the same end. Expressions such as the following in the evidence before us give glimpses of the practical helpfulness of these discussions. " It enlarges the horizon of individual workers, so as to embrace work which would otherwise be unknown to them." " It has given missionaries a wider outlook, and enabled them to appreciate and sympathise with the difficulties other Societies have to encounter." " The 44 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY younger Societies particularly benefit from the experience of the older, and those who are breaking fresh ground from the experience of those who passed through similar experiences years ago." There is yet a fourth important element of value in the Associations we are studying. Like most institutions that fulfil a natural function, they have come to serve ends beyond those for which they were primarily designed. Purely voluntary Associations with no authority formally delegated to them even by the local Mission Committees, nevertheless, where they are judiciously conducted, acquire potent influence, both within and without the missionary body ; without, as spokesmen of missionary opinion and, on occasion, as trusted (though not techni- cally authorised) agents of collective missionary will ; within, as advisers, arbitrators, formulators of policy, initiators of action. The testimony that has reached us on this head is as emphatic as it is abundant. Thus Bishop J. W. Bashford writes from China : " Their relation to the missionary authorities at home, and to the Missions at work in China is advisory, but the recommendations of the united Conference often carry with them as much weight as if they were legal enactments." Regarding Conferences in South Africa, Dr. A. W. Roberts writes : "They have been able to bring their views before parlia- ment. They have bettered feeling between Church organisations ; they have modified, to some extent, Church discipline, education fees, mission spheres ; they have brought prominently before the mind of the general public the graver missionary questions of the day ; they have, by their permanent committees, undertaken united action and have pressed to some definite conclusion the views of the Conferences." Of such Conferences in China, Mr. D. E. Hoste writes : " They demonstrate both to the Chinese Church and the outside community our essential oneness and the relatively unimportant character of our differences." Very significant is the following testimony of Dr. G. Howells, of Serampore, regarding the Calcutta Conference : " Every mofussil (i.e., country) CONFERENCES 45 missionary regards the Conference as an eminently useful body to which important missionary problems can always be referred for frank and full discussion. He may be able to attend the Conference but very occasionally, but the fact of its existence and activity is a source of real confidence to him in his work. There are few, if any, great movements of Christian philanthropy in Bengal that have not been materially furthered by the Calcutta Missionary Conference." And the witness of Dr. A. H. Smith is no less decided and weighty as regards China : " Almost all advance in every line, has its roots in some discussion in these bodies." As indicated in the above extracts, the practical service the Associations are able to render is not limited to the exercise of moral influence. Where they take pains alike to use, and to avoid exceeding, their legitimate, self- acquired powers, and thus win the confidence of the missionary community, and the respect of outside author- ities, they find themselves able to take action in many directions in the collective interest. From the records before us, we find that Conferences have taken action in such matters as the following : they have effected delimi- tation of fields, and co-operation in medical and general education, have organised united evangelistic campaigns, have arranged for help in famine times, have determined the official attitude of missionaries to such questions as opium, etc., have planned lectures for native teachers. Other questions in regard to which one Conference or another in India has done useful service in recent years are the Religious Endowment Act, idolatrous allusions in Government reading-books for use in schools, defence of rights of public speech, provision of cemeteries for native Christians. Several instances have come before the notice of the Commission in which Conferences or Councils have addressed Memorials to Government in regard to matters of public welfare or questions affecting the position of the Missions in the country. Statements regarding the nature of Christianity, its non-political character, and 46 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY the desire of missionaries to inculcate loyal feeling among the subjects of the Chinese Empire, have been prepared and presented to the Chinese Government by the Shanghai Conferences of 1877, 1890, and 1907. The Shanghai Cen- tenary Conference of 1907 also presented a petition asking for complete religious liberty for all Chinese Christians, and passed several resolutions condemning the opium traffic, etc. On matters of education the South Indian Council on Aided Education has from time to time presented memorials to the Madras Government, and has been recognised by Government calling upon it to appoint representatives on various Commissions en- quiring into educational matters. Missionaries working in the Belgian Congo have taken up a strong co-operative position with regard to the cruelties exercised upon the natives in that State. A protest and appeal were drawn up by the United Conference of Evangelical Missions on the Congo at Stanley Pool in 1906, and again at the General Conference of 1909. In Nyasaland, as a result of representations from the Missionary Conference, an Educational Code has been adopted by the Government for the standardisation of mission schools receiving State Aid. SUGGESTED LINES OF ADVANCE The Relation of Conferences to Home Boards The evidence we have received throws much light on the important question of the proper status of Associa- tions on the field in relation to local Mission Committees and to home Boards. Many Associations, as we have seen, have no formal recognition by either, and yet are able to do effective work. In a large group of cases the local Mission Committees have created the Association, or, at least, cordially recognised it, appointing representa- tives to it, and in some instances accepting its decisions as binding ; but the home Boards have not been parties to its establishment, and their recognition of its status is, at the most,- tacit and indirect. Instances are not want- CONFERENCES 47 ing, however, though they are as yet very few, where some home Boards have explicitly recognised an Association on the field and themselves appoint, or authorise their local Committees to appoint, representatives to it. In India, for example, the Arbitration Board for which a Constitution (cf. Appendix A.) was framed by the India Decennial Conference of 1902 has secured the definite adhesion of thirty Societies; and the Korea Council of Missions is an organisation, the Constitution of which has been approved by six Societies working in that country. It would be to the advantage of all concerned if it were the rule, and not the exception, that Associations, aiming to unite a group of Missions either for general purposes or for a special object, should seek the direct and definite recognition of the home Boards of the Missions. Such recognition would strengthen their influence and give authority to their operations ; while the conditions im- posed by the relationship would help to safeguard them from those errors and extravagances to which self-con- stituted and irresponsible bodies are liable. One of our correspondents writes : " Much more effect would be given to these attempts at co-operation (i.e., the existing Associations) could all home Boards and Societies see their way to recommend a full and hearty participation in them on the part of the missionaries on the mission field." It is not to be expected that the home Boards should without full consideration give such an imprimatur to these self-constituted bodies, useful as they are, and it is doubtful whether their present spontaneity and unofficial character have not their value as enabling some missionaries to join who would otherwise keep aloof. Yet it is not much to ask that both the successes and shortcomings of these bodies should receive the atten- tion of the home Societies, who might assist in such efforts to keep the Missions in touch with each other, to make the experience of each available for all, and to undertake in co-operation those numerous and important activities which are beyond the power of even the strongest Mission acting alone. 48 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY The Increase of Voluntary Local Associations A further reflection is that pending the development of official inter-mission co-operation, it is eminently desirable that voluntary local Associations should be multiplied. The facts before us show that there is still much scope both for the formation of such Associations in new centres, and for extending the usefulness of those that already exist. There are on the mission field at present nearly 200 centres in which three or more Societies are at work ; indeed, there are at least 60 centres where the number of Societies is not less than five. The monthly Conferences that we have described are established in only a score or two of these localities ; but may it not be assumed that wherever there are members of three Missions in close proximity, there would be advantage in some form of Association that would bring them together regularly for prayer, counsel, and, on occasion, united action ? OBSTACLES TO THE FORMATION OF ASSOCIATIONS OR CONFERENCES This survey would not be complete without some con- sideration of the too numerous cases of missionaries and Missions at present cut off by one difficulty and another from the advantages which we have seen to attach to association and conference. There are extensive areas of the field in which none of the many varieties of Associa- tion that we have reviewed is found. And even where Associations, local or wider, exist, or Conferences are held, it is seldom that they succeed in bringing all the Missions of the area into fellowship ; there are usually Missions or missionaries who, on one ground or another, find themselves compelled to stand aloof. The diffi- culties in the way of association are in some cases in- superable, in other cases we believe them to be superable. Where the geographical conditions impose isolation as in various island groups, or where there are not other CONFERENCES 49 Missions in reach to confer with as in some parts of Africa, lack of the manifold advantages of co-operation must be accepted as a disability inherent in the circum- stances. The only counsel we can offer for this situation is that in fields where face-to-face conference is unattain- able, conference in print may be of value. Magazines and journals for the interchange of experiences and views and the ventilation of policy, such as The Chinese Re- corder and Missionary Journal, or, for India, The Harvest Field, The Interpreter, and Conference, are a contribution of no small value to co-operation in counsel ; and similar organs would have inestimably greater value in fields where other forms of conference are impracticable or unpractised. But there are hindrances to association that are moral rather than physical. We may leave out of account the cases rare, but not unknown of men incapacitated from working in concert with their fellows by tempera- ment. Our enquiries have, however, impressed on us the fact that in connection with very many associative move- ments on the field there are men and women, or whole Missions, who appreciate the value of a Conference and whose help would strengthen the movement towards co-operation, but who remain outside because there is something in its aims, constitution, or procedure that clashes with principles which are matter of conscience to them, or with administrative regulations by which they are bound. On the administrative side the difficulties usually arise in the attempt to constitute inter-mission, as distinguished from inter - missionary, Associations or Conferences. Missions differ so greatly in their constitution and powers, and missionary and ecclesiastical administration are in some cases so intimately bound together, that it is not always easy to devise systems of representation that will suitably relate the Missions as corporate units. If wide com- prehension were the sole aim, the inter-missionary rather than the inter-mission basis should always be adopted. But though it is a harder, it is also a higher and for many COM. VIII. 4 50 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY purposes more valuable, achievement to unite Missions than missionaries. Where there is on both sides the desire to come together, the resources of statesmanship will not often be baffled by technical difficulties. Even where some insurmountable technicality prevents the formal adhesion of a Mission to an associative move- ment, elasticities of constitution are often possible whereby substantial attachment is effected. Where there is a will, it will rarely be impossible to find a way for the real co-operation of Missions, if administrative methods present the only hindrance. Obstacles to association which are grounded in differ- ences of doctrine or ecclesiastical polity are, perhaps, harder to overcome. Where such differences exist among missionaries or Missions desiring to unite for conference or action, the only terms of practicable association are obviously those adopted by the World Missionary Conference that questions on which the co-operating bodies so differ shall be ruled out of the discussions of the Association, and that, as a corollary, action based on views of doctrine or polity not shared by all shall be ruled out of its activities. Such a self-denying ordinance does not involve, for any of the parties to it, any sacrifice or depreciation of principle. Each holds its convictions, but in brotherliness of spirit and for important practical ends agrees to abstain from asserting them through the machinery of the Association. The scope of discussion and action is, no doubt, limited by this proviso ; but the field of possible co-operation left open is usually found to be more extensive than was anticipated ; and rich com- pensation for any restrictions is found in the realisation of new fellowship and essential unity. In some cases, when an Association is projected, it may not be easy to choose between limiting, on the one hand, its range of membership, or, on the other hand, its range of usefulness ; but the danger of impaired usefulness would have to be very clear and very serious to justify the adoption of terms of association that would compel the conscientious abstention of Missions or missionaries CONFERENCES 51 desiring to join. A Conference or Association of however limited powers serves an end of inestimable value if it brings into fraternal association and mutual acquaintance, into an atmosphere of common aims and interests, into a realisation of a unity that underlies and transcends all differences, those whom our unhappy divisions would otherwise keep sundered, if not estranged, even in face of the common enemy. CHAPTER IV JOINT ACTION IN the preceding chapter we have been dealing with fel- lowship in counsel and have seen how it passes into co- operation in action. In this chapter we have to deal with co-operation deliberately adopted with a view to specific action. The various methods of joint action may be roughly divided into two classes. On the one hand we have independent Societies, some with headquarters on the field, others with headquarters at home, supported by the constituencies of all the Missionary Societies, working for ends auxiliary to all the Societies, and aided in their work on the field by the voluntary service of missionaries of all the Societies. Examples of these are the Bible and Literature Societies, the Mission to Lepers in the East, and certain organisations for training missionaries. On the other hand we have co-operation between Missions or missionaries such as the Associations or Conferences, authorised or unauthorised by Home Boards, described in the previous chapter ; united action of Missions or missionaries in such work as Medical or Famine Relief, or evangelistic effort ; co-operation of two or more adjoining Missions in support or government of a joint Institution or group of Institutions, or provision by one Mission of an Institution on a scale not required by its own needs, but suitable for the service of a group of Missions. In the last of these cases the co-operation consists in the other Missions using and thereby helping to support this Institution and refraining from starting rival Institutions of their own. 52 JOINT ACTION 53 BIBLE TRANSLATION, PUBLICATION, AND DISTRIBUTION Foremost among the co-operative institutions of the Church are the Bible Societies, which rest on an inter- denominational basis and have an international outlook. Their work is essential to missionary enterprise, and not only do they contribute to the promotion of unity, but without them unity is unthinkable. If each Mission had to produce its own versions of the Holy Scriptures, even supposing translators to be available, there would be enormous waste of time and money, and in most cases unspeakable loss in the quality of translation. The non- Christian world would suffer by defective workmanship, and would be perplexed by a variety of Bibles in the same tongue. Occasionally only a single scholar has the fitness and the qualification for making a version in a particular language and a " one-man " version is a necessity. But as a rule the Bible Societies organise for each version a committee representing as far as practicable the various Missions in the field in which it is to be used. Thus the best scholarship of all Churches becomes available for each, and is directed by experts in the science of Bible translation and on lines determined by long experience in this particular work. The preparation of references and the reproduction of Bible maps also call for the skill of specialists. Translation work on these lines is being carried on very extensively, and only one or two illustrations need be given to indicate the benefit of co-operation. The British and Foreign Bible Society is at present carrying through the revision of the Marathi Bible in India by means of a committee consisting of Dr. Mackichan of the United Free Church of Scotland, Dr. Abbott of the American Board, and Canon Taylor of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In six other languages in India and Ceylon similar committees are engaged on translation and revision. Union versions of the Bible are also being prepared 64 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY for China in Wenli and Mandarin. The Wenli Committee consists of an American Congregationalist, an English Presbyterian, a Rhenish missionary, an American Presby- terian, and an Anglican. The Mandarin Committee is equally representative in its constitution. In the production of these great versions in China and also of the versions in Japan and Korea the three great Bible Societies of England, Scotland, and America unite in bearing the burden of expense. On every continent and in the islands of the seas there is similar co-operative effort in the translation of the Holy Scriptures. One of the difficulties in the way of unification arises from the use of different systems of orthography. The British and Foreign Bible Society has adopted the system of literation and transliteration prepared by the Royal Asiatic Society and approved by the Tenth Oriental Congress at Geneva. It cannot, of course, insist on the use of this system, but by urging its adoption, wherever possible, the Society promotes the cause of unity. Attention has been called by one of our correspondents to another great difficulty confronting those who seek to unify versions. It is well known as " The Term Question," i.e., the question as to the right vernacular terminology to be used as the equivalent for certain words in the original of the Holy Scriptures. In China there are great divergences of opinion among scholars as to the best words by which to render " God " and " Spirit." The Bible Societies issue their versions with alternative terms recognising that the final choice must be made by the Chinese Church, and that in the mean- time they must patiently await the survival of the fittest, without bringing pressure to bear on one side or the other. The word " baptise " and its cognates are also a source of contention. Some are satisfied with trans- literation and others insist on translation and it is difficult to translate in most languages so as to satisfy those who hold different views regarding baptism. In the production of several versions there has been much JOINT ACTION 55 discussion as to the method of translating and trans- literating the name " Jesus Christ." As long as these problems remain unsolved absolute unity in translation work will be impossible, but co-operation should be encouraged as far as possible. The publication of translations of the Holy Scriptures is a task which only specialists can carry out with efficiency and economy. The technical questions which arise in reference to the qualities of paper, the making of plates, the process of printing, the style of binding, the details of packing and shipping, would sorely perplex the missionary if he had no trustworthy institution to relieve him of all responsibility in these matters. Without co- operation each Mission would be compelled to issue small editions of its own and the cost would be comparatively high, and in view of the requirements of all sorts and conditions of readers, who call for the issue of multitudinous styles of type and binding, it is open to question whether the needs of the mission field could be satisfied at all. In the work of the world-wide distribution of the Scriptures there is considerable co-operation between the Scottish, American, British, and other smaller Societies. In some countries there is a definite division of the field sanctioned by the home Committees. For instance, a line is drawn across Japan, and all Bible work on the north of it is left to the American Society and on the south to the two British Societies working in partnership with one agency. In fields where the Societies work side by side and independently, attempts are made from time to time to secure uniformity of commissions, discounts, and selling prices, and also to avoid overlapping in colportage. Much trouble arises in countries where the Bible Societies have well-developed agencies covering the ground, by the wholesale free distribution of the Scriptures, sometimes by individuals attached to no organisation and sometimes by Societies opposed to the principle of distribution by sale. On the whole there is no sphere of missionary work in which the value of co-operation has been tested and 56 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY appreciated more than in the translation, publication, and distribution of the Word of God ; and not least among the fruits of this work must be reckoned the friendships which have been formed between men separated ecclesias- tically and diverse in nationality but called to work around the same translation board. CHRISTIAN LITERATURE For more than a hundred years the need for co-opera- tion in the provision of Christian literature has been recognised. One of the earliest attempts to meet this need led to the foundation of the Religious Tract Society in London during the year 1799. This Society has not only been the forerunner of many similar institutions, but in its benevolence it has given and still gives to them much practical support. Literature Societies have de- veloped along two lines ecclesiastical and geographical. Foremost among the former stands the Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge founded as far back as 1698, and providing literature for all sections of the Anglican Church in all parts of the mission field. Other instances of co-operation on an ecclesiastical basis are given in the evidence which has been placed before the Commis- sion. In Shanghai the Northern and Southern Methodists of America join in one Union Press, and in Canton there is a similar Press run by a combination of the Northern and Southern Baptists of America. Cases of union of this kind are not so common as those which rest upon a geographical basis. This is not surprising, for in literary work it is easier for different Churches to join within a particular language area, than for the scattered repre- sentatives of a single Church to unite when they are separated not only by long distances but by diversities of tongues. Extent of Co-operation in the Different Mission Fields There are " Book and Tract Societies " serving all Missions in the field at Seoul in Korea, and at Tokyo in JOINT ACTION 57 Japan, and in both countries there are denominational Publishing Houses which in practical value and useful- ness are equivalent to interdenominational Christian institutions. The Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan is planning to produce litera- ture of various kinds in the vernacular in order to combat the evil effects of rationalistic books from the West. China is not behindhand in co-operation in literature. A Society was founded in 1844, which fifty years later joined with a sister Society to form the Chinese Tract Society. But one Society could not grapple with the needs of this vast country a country which may be described as a Continent. Other institutions came into existence, among which the Central China Religious Tract Society, with headquarters at Hankow, holds an honourable place. The North China, North Fukien, Hong Kong, and Canton, West China, Kiukiang, and South Fukien Tract Societies, and the Manchurian Tract Committee have also in greater or less degree contributed to meet the literary needs of Missions within their several areas. The Christian Literature Society for China, founded under another name in 1887, and now led by Dr. Timothy Richard, has a staff specially set apart for its work, and supported by various Missionary Societies, and by its own funds. Its motto " Christian Literature should be co-extensive with the works of God, and commensurate with the needs of man," forms a broad basis for co- operation. By its dissemination of western knowledge in a Christian setting it has done much to guide and help China in the crisis of her awakening. In India, earlier than in China, the Missions recognised the necessity for co-operating in the production and circulation of literature. There are several local Tract Societies managed by committees upon which various Missions are represented, and there is the Christian Literature Society for India which serves all with equal impartiality. The Decennial Missionary Conference at Madras in 1902 proposed the formation of a large, repre- 58 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY sentative, and permanent Literature Committee for each extensive language area in India and Ceylon. Nineteen of these areas were mapped out. It was further proposed that for each a Secretary should be definitely set apart for literary work the Societies uniting to meet the ex- penses. In the Kanarese, Telugu, and Tamil areas, the proposals of the Conference have already been carried out. The Tamil Committee may be singled out for purposes of illustration. It is made up of representatives of fourteen different Missions. The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society has lent to this Committee one of its ablest mis- sionaries the Rev. A. C. Clayton to act as Secretary, his stipend being paid by the joint contributions of the Missions engaged in Tamil work, the Religious Tract Society, and the Christian Literature Society for India. In both China and India it may not be possible at present to attempt to unite the several Societies at work, but there is need for some form of co-operation between them. The Shanghai Conference took a step to this end by appointing a representative and per- manent Committee to promote the interests of the various religious Literature Societies of China and to secure writers for the new books called for by the Chinese Church. With a view to the unification of its language committees the Decennial Conference at Madras ap- pointed a General Committee for Literature upon which the conveners of the language committees have a place. By this means the lessons of wider experience may be learned, and considerable economy in money and advance in efficiency may be secured. From other parts of the mission field than those already referred to, there are few reports of co-operation in literary work. Occasionally the need for it is keenly felt and expressed in the letters of missionaries, but more frequently co-operation is not possible and indeed not necessary as Missions are isolated in their work by physical conditions or by diversity of language. JOINT ACTION 59 Character of the Literature produced It is instructive to note the character of the literature which has been produced on a co-operative basis. Some Societies have translated Western books not written with a religious aim, books of history, geography, travel, science, morals, and so forth. But the great bulk of the issues consists of tracts, Scripture text-books, and text- books on Christian evidence and comparative religion, devotional helps and religious biography. Year-books of Missions are issued by the Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan, by the Advisory Board of Missions in West China, and by the South Indian Missionary Association. From some parts of the mission field reference is made to the issue of notes on the International Sunday School Lessons, and to co-operative effort in the production of standard commentaries on the Bible. The Shanghai Conference of 1907 appointed a committee to devise ways and means to prepare and publish full and complete commentaries on the books of the Bible in Mandarin as well as Wenli, and appealed to the Tract and Literature Societies to support the undertaking. An interesting instance of co-operation is reported by the Bishop of Lebombo, who, writing from Lourengo Marquez in Portuguese East Africa, states that the Church of England and the United Methodists have formally agreed to unite in the issue of a Catechism, the first part of which contains only those matters about which they are entirely agreed, and the second, in a separate volume, matters upon which there are differ- ences of opinion. In the production of books to neutralise the effect of the materialistic writings which are being disseminated in the East, and in the preparation of more literature for the Moslem world and especially for Moslem women, much remains to be done, and can only be done with economy and efficiency by co-operation. 60 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Newspapers and Magazines Newspapers and magazines either entirely religious, or, if secular, Christian in atmosphere, are issued in many parts of the field, and are recognised as material helps in the promotion of unity. For instance, The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal (printed in English) is managed by an interdenominational committee, and the West China Missionary News is issued by the Advisory Board of Missions in West China. The United Church Herald, published in English, Tamil, and Telugu, is the monthly organ of the South India United Church, and recently the vernacular paper published by the Madura Mission, and that published by the Arcot, United Free Church and Church of Scotland Missions,have been merged with it. In fields where Conferences are not possible, or have not yet been organised, such inter-mission periodicals are of especial value. From Jubbulpore we learn of a monthly prayer bulletin, which is published in connection with an inter-mission prayer circle, and which tends to bind the several Missions closer together. The import- ance of publishing vernacular newspapers for native peoples was recognised at the General Missionary Con- ference for South Africa in 1906. It was then realised that the Christian Church had taught the natives to read, and must, therefore, in a measure be responsible for what they read. " The Christian Church," it was said, " may be proud of the fact that its missionaries have trained the men who are now the editors of native papers, but at the present time we require papers edited by men who have the understanding which comes from a world outlook." Union Hymn-Books Union hymn-books have met with much success in some fields. In West China, we are told, a Union hymn- book is used by possibly 90 per cent, of the Christians. A Union hymn-book is also published by the Central China Religious Tract Society (Hankow), and is used by JOINT ACTION 61 the Wesleyan Methodists, American Baptists, Christian and Missionary Alliance, and China Inland Mission. The Methodists and Presbyterians have united in a common book in Korea ; the Basel, Berlin, and Rhenish Missions have done the same in South China. The Committees for Tamil and Telugu Literature have issued hymn-books in their respective tongues for the various Missions they represent. The Friends and the Church of England are reported to use the same collection of hymns in Central India, and the Methodists and Presbyterians similarly combine in one book in the Philippines. In Japan and South Africa, also, union hymn-books are being used by many of the Protestant Societies. In one or two cases attempts to produce Union hymn-books have failed, not because of any lack of the spirit of union, but ap- parently from faults in editorial work. Mission Presses Mention should be made of the co-operative use of mission presses in many fields. In China, India, South Africa, the Philippine Islands, and elsewhere, there are presses worked on independent and denominational lines which are turning out large quantities of literature, and to some extent meeting the needs of several Missions. So in Chengtu, West China, the Canadian Methodist Mission conducts a press and does the press work for three provinces, thus making it unnecessary for any other Mission to found such a plant. Sometimes, also, two or more Societies of allied denominations join in the support of a single press. Mention has already been made of such co-operation in Shanghai and Canton. The Publica- tion Committee of the Nile Mission Press in Egypt con- sists of missionaries representing different Societies, and while the Press itself is governed by an Executive Committee in London, yet the practical working on the field is largely conditioned by the co-operative efforts of the Missionary Societies. Co-operation in such a matter as this must commend itself to practical men as eminently reasonable. 62 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY EDUCATION An important form of joint action in which there has been a rapid development in recent years is co-operation in educational effort. In most parts of the mission field instances may be found where several Societies have joined forces in the maintenance of Medical, Normal, Theological, or Arts Colleges, in the formation of Educa- tional Associations, or in the development of a common system of education in the mission schools. More than one of our correspondents states that this is one of the subjects that is most prominently occupying the attention of missionaries in China. Need for Co-operation in Education The evidence before us shows that there is a large body of opinion strongly in favour of such co-operation in educational matters. It is contended that in many instances such co-operation is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency and avoid waste. In the view of some of our correspondents, it is the only condition on which in some fields missionary education can survive. For example, Bishop Bashford writes : " The only hope of the survival of Christian schools in China in my judgment lies in such federation, co-operation, or union as will enable them to furnish a better equipment for the present life, as well as for the life that is to come, than the Government schools can furnish. I believe that by such federation the Christian schools can aid in a large measure in the educational development of China for the next half century." Several other corre- spondents write with the same emphasis, especially in regard to higher education. Indeed, it is said that in China, where the State aims at holding a monopoly in education, Christian education can have no future with- out very strong and large establishments ; that in India, as the University Regulations become stricter and more exacting from year to year, the weaker institutions cannot hold their place ; that in South Africa, in view of the tribal JOINT ACTION 63 divisions and the number of small Missions, higher educa- tion is possible only in co-operating institutions. Attention is also called to the positive advantages of a combined institution in promoting personal contact, mutual understanding, and experience in common work, and thus furthering in a most important way the general movement towards unity. Practically, also, it divides the burden of expense, and gives opportunity for sound instruction in a wide range of subjects, which is especially of advantage in the higher stages of education. It is pointed out, further, that the outlook of such an in- stitution is broader and its influence richer as the result of the contribution of many types of mind. Difficulties in the Way of Co-operation On the other hand, a large number of our correspon- dents, while recognising that co-operation is ideally highly desirable, seem to be very conscious of the practical difficulties in the way of its success. The diversity of views among missionaries as regards the ends to be secured and the standards to be aimed at creates practical difficulties in many instances. The educational methods and ideals of the representatives of different nationalities are not always easily reconciled. There is, of course, also the further difficulty created by the difference of doctrinal views, which has actually, however, seldom been the chief cause of friction. Very often the Missions which co-operate differ considerably in size, strength, and experience, and the reaching of a suitable adjustment becomes a somewhat delicate matter. In other instances, a Mission may be sufficiently strong to conduct a success- ful institution on its own account, and does not feel the need for co-operation. Some of our correspondents hold that several smaller institutions have an advantage over a single large one in that they provide more opportunity for close and intimate personal contact with the pupils, and are able to develop a distinct individuality of their own. On account of these various practical difficulties, 64 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY many of our correspondents feel that efforts at co- operation tend to result in a good deal of friction which largely hinders their influence. On the other hand, others write that, while the danger of friction remains, all difficulties can be surmounted where the plan of co-operation is based on sound and well-considered principles, and where there is among those who par- ticipate in it a clear recognition of the advantages of co-operation and a determination to make a success of it. For example, the Rev. W. M. Baird, Principal of the Union College at Pingyang in Korea, writes : "I think that I am justified in saying that the experiment has been entirely successful, and if pressed for the reasons, would say that it has been because those most concerned have been able to exercise mutual trust, and have set sufficient value on the principle involved, and the practical benefits to be secured thereby, to make mutual conces- sions and to submit to self-effacement where necessary to accomplish the main end in view." A further illustra- tion of the principles on which successful co-operation may be carried out is found in the Shantung Christian University, to which reference is made below. Without doubt even a measure of successful co-operation in a department where co-operation is easy, smooths the way for united action in departments where it is more difficult. Institutions Maintained by a Single Society for the Benefit of All Co-operation in educational effort of a valuable kind has been secured even in institutions which have been entirely or mainly under the management of a single Mission. The Institution at Lovedale in South Africa is a notable illustration of this. Although it has been founded and maintained by the United Free Church of Scotland, it has trained students connected with every denomination in South Africa. The number of Wesleyan students has at times exceeded that of the Presbyterians. Although the ultimate control of the Madras Christian College has also been up to the present in the hands of JOINT ACTION 65 the Committee of the United Free Church, the practical control has been vested in a Council in Madras, on which the various Missions co-operating in the work of the College have been officially represented. The Council consists of seven members representing these Missions and the Senatus of the College, who have power to co-opt additional members up to a number not exceeding eighteen. Steps are being taken at present to constitute a Board of Control at home representing the different Societies interested in the College. Recently the Baptist Mission in Delhi has lent a professor to the Cambridge Mission. There are several institutions in China working on similar lines, and one of our correspondents from China expresses the opinion that co-operation along these lines is more likely to be successful than more ambitious attempts to establish an institution under joint control. Similarly a correspondent from India writes : "I doubt whether the formation of governing bodies consisting of representatives from different Missions to organise and supervise united work is the best kind of union. So much valuable time is spent in discussions which are often useless, and so much money and effort are spent in making these united institutions suit the varied demands and opinions of the people representing the different Missions. It seems to me that where one Mission has carried on work which has been successful and has supplied a need, it would be well for other Missions to use and support that particular thing." An objection has been raised and should be noted that, in taking advantage of an institution under another Mission, students are sometimes drawn away from their own Church connection. It is admitted, however, that this is not a necessary result, but is generally due to the action of the Missions concerned in failing to make their own service sufficiently attractive to their students. Institutions Controlled jointly by Several Missions On the other hand, considerable success has been attained in the establishment of institutions controlled COM. vni. 5 66 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY jointly by several Missions. One of the most important instances of co-operation of this kind is seen in the colleges of the North China Educational Union. This Union is composed of the Missions of the American Board, the American Presbyterian Board, and the London Missionary Society, and includes the Arts College of the American Board in Tungchou, the Medical College of the London Mission in Peking, the Theological College of the American Presbyterian Mission in Peking, and the Women's College of the American Board in Peking. The Methodist Episcopal Mission and the Anglican Dioceses in North China also co-operate in the work of the Medical College. The plant and equipment of each College is provided by the Mission with which it is connected. The Colleges are controlled by a Board of Managers, on which the co-operating Missions are equally represented, and each Mission is entitled to be represented by at least one teacher in each of the Union Colleges. The decisions of the Board of Managers are subject to the ultimate con- trol of the three Mission Boards represented in the Union. The North China Educational Union aims also at the affiliation of the high schools of the different Missions with the various colleges of the Union, and thus aims at securing uniformity in courses of study. Another instance of co-operation along somewhat similar lines is found in the Shantung Christian University, in which the American Presbyterians and the English Baptists have united, while the Anglican Mission is represented informally on the Faculty of the College of Science and Arts, and some of its students attend the College. The University includes a College of Arts at Weihsien, a Theological Seminary at Tsingchowfu, and a Medical College at Tsinanfu. The wide separation of the different departments stands in the way of a very close union/ but those connected with the institution are strongly convinced of its value. Dr. P. D. Bergen of the University gives the following as the reasons of its success : i. A deep conviction that union is essentially right. JOINT ACTION 67 2. A feeling that the best within us called for union, while the considerations which kept us apart were of a lower character. 3. The real estate of the uniting Missions was carefully safeguarded. 4. The care taken in the preparation of the basis of union, and possibility of amending it as conceptions of union enlarged. In addition the rule that a Society could withdraw only after two years' notice. 5. The economy of men and funds through union, which by the efforts of several Societies will result in a more efficient institution than would be possible through the medium of one only. 6. The fact that most of the persons concerned in the initial stages of union were old friends and neigh- bours on the field materially aided us in making the start. A very successful development of co-operative effort in educational work in China is seen in the Educational Union of West China. This Association was inaugur- ated at a Conference held at Chengtu in 1906 with the double object of promoting the unification and centralisa- tion of primary educational institutions for boys and girls and the organisation of a Union Christian University. A Committee was appointed to deal with primary and secondary education, and has developed a system of registration and grading of schools with' \miform courses of study and a uniform system of examinations. Reports from the field indicate that the plan is in the main working very satisfactorily. The plan for the establishment of a Union University had the support of the following bodies : The American Baptist Missionary Union, Friends' Foreign Mission Association (English), The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada, The Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Each of these Societies under- takes to found a college, which remains under its own control so long as its rules are not contrary to the pro- 68 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY visions of the constitution of the University. Each college will make its own provision for the religious training of its students and for teaching of theology. The control of the University is vested in a Joint Com- mission at home consisting of members elected by the Mission Boards of each participating Society, and in China in the Senate of the University, which includes representatives from each participating Mission and the members of the University staff. The constitution provides for the admission into the Union of other Societies with the approval of the Senate, and for the withdrawal from the Union under certain conditions of the bodies at present participating in it. The plan of an educational institution under the joint control of several Missions, with provision for the religious teaching in denominational hostels, is one that is finding increasing favour in different parts of the mission field. Co-operation is so essential to educational efficiency that the Commission desires to call special attention to this solution, where denominational differences prevent any other plan being adopted. The plan makes possible united action with that fulness and freedom of teaching and discipline which the training of those who are to be pastors and teachers specially requires. A further instance of successful co-operation in educa- tional work is seen in the union of the Colleges of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scot- land in Calcutta, the joint institution being controlled by a Committee in Edinburgh, composed of representatives of the two Churches. A similar plan has been adopted with regard to the Arts College and Theological College in Manchuria, which are under the joint management of the United Free Church of Scotland and the Irish Presbyterian Church. In Japan, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Reformed Church in America have for many years co-operated in the support and manage- ment of the " Meiji Gakuin " ; and the Methodist Episco- pal Church in the U.S.A. has been joined since the union of the Methodist Churches in Japan in the maintenance JOINT ACTION 69 of the "Aoyama Gakuin," by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada. Institutions Controlled by a Body Independent of the Missions There are also in the mission field several institutions controlled by an inter-denominational body, which train students for several denominations. Such are the Canton Christian College and the Schools of the Yale University Mission in Hunan, in China. The work of the Yale Mission was undertaken after consultation with all the Missions working in the district, and is on a non- denominational basis. In India, the Lady Muir Memorial Training School is under the direction of the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission, and trains teachers and women workers for a large number of Missions. A scheme for a great University for China, along similar and broader lines, has been developed by a Com- mittee of Oxford and Cambridge graduates. Other universities in Europe and America are being invited to co-operate in raising the necessary funds. Three existing colleges in the Wuchang area, and supported by the American Episcopal, Wesleyan Methodist, and London Missionary Societies respectively, will form the nucleus. It is proposed that there should be a number of affiliated hostels, mostly under the control of the Christian de- nominations, and all safeguarded so far as discipline is concerned. The Faculties are to embrace the wide range of subjects taught in our western universities. The university lectures are to be neutral in matters of religion, but the professors and tutors are to be men of Christian character, so that western knowledge may be imparted in a Christian atmosphere. Within their own hostels the denominations will be free to give specific teaching in dogmatic theology and ecclesiastical polity. It is the object of those who are promoting this scheme not to transplant a full-grown, exotic institution on to Chinese soil, but rather to graft an educational system, in the hope that it will become indigenous. 70 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Considerable progress has been made towards the foundation of an Inter-State Native College in South Africa under the Cape University. Although not a missionary or religious institution, the Missions will be largely represented on its governing Board. A denomi- national house system has been planned, by which all the Protestant Churches working among natives will have the boarding and care of their respective students. Co-operation in Theological Training Co-operation in theological schools is necessarily a somewhat more difficult matter, involving, as it does, co-operation in teaching by those among whom there exist doctrinal differences. This difficulty, however, is perhaps more theoretical than practical. There is a certain sense of responsibility in a good teacher under such circumstances, which tends to a fairness of exposition and presentation of doctrine which would largely obviate any practical disadvantage. On the other hand, such co-operation is of great importance, as tending towards the formation of life-long friendships between the future ministers of the Church, and towards the promotion of Church unity. The theological departments of the Meiji Gakuin and the Aoyama Gakuin, in Tokyo, are examples. In Amoy, China, the Reformed Church in America, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the London Mission unite in one theological college. Perhaps the most striking example of such co-operation is the Union Theological School at Bangalore, which it is pro- posed to start, and in which the London, Arcot, United Free Church of Scotland, Madura, and Wesleyan Missions are expected to co-operate. So far as experience has been gained, in all these cases, results are eminently satis- factory. Co-operation in the Training of Teachers There is no department of educational work in which co-operation seems to be more important than in the training of teachers. In many mission fields the training JOINT ACTION 71 of Christian teachers is the most pressing problem at the present day, and it is very doubtful whether this important work can be carried out with the vigour and efficiency that are required, except as the result of co- operative effort. A number of our correspondents from Japan, China, and India, lay strong emphasis on the importance of co-operation for the securing of an end so important. The impossibility for small scattered Missions in restricted language areas to maintain effective normal schools, in view of the excessive cost, the lack of a suitable teaching staff, and most of all, the lack of sufficient patronage of students, are among the principal reasons which make co-operation urgent in many fields. We have received information of a number of united Training Colleges, such as the United Missionary Training College for Women in Calcutta, in which the Baptist Zenana Mission, the Church of Scotland Mission, the London Mission, and the High School branch of the Diocesan Mission are co-operating. Co-operation in the Appointment of Inspectors of Mission Schools Several of our correspondents are in favour of com- bination on the part of Missions working in the same area for the appointment of inspectors of all Mission schools, with the object of increasing their efficiency, and bringing about uniformity in courses of study and examinations. The Conference at Chengtu, in 1909, resolved on the appointment of an Educational Secretary to advise regarding, and inspect, the Mission schools connected with the West China Educational Union. 1 Educational Associations Reference must also be made to various educational associations for the common discussion of educational problems by those engaged in this work. The most important of these is the Educational Association of 1 For the Constitution of the West China Educational Union, see Appendix G., pp. 164-5. 72 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY China, which holds triennial meetings, of which a full report is published. The Association has about four hundred members, and there are branch associations affiliated to it in different parts of China. The Shanghai Conference recommended the creation of a fund yielding an income of 2,000 a year, to enable the Educational Association to employ two foreign and two Chinese Secretaries, and to issue a periodical in English and another in Chinese. In South Africa there is a half-yearly Conference of the Principals of all Training Institutions, and this has led to a common understanding between all Training Institu- tions with regard to fees, study, and cases of discipline. The Education Department of the Government consults with this Conference before any change is made in the curriculum for native students, or in the adjustment of grants. In South India, " The Missionary Council on Aided Education" is a permanent organisation representative of all the Missions. It represents the Missions in dealing with the Educational Department of the Madras Govern- ment, and has been recognised by Government calling on it to appoint representatives on various Commissions enquiring into educational matters. The Missions working in British Central Africa have a standing representative Committee on Education, and united in the preparation of an Educational Code, which was adopted by the Government. In the United Provinces in India a Conference of Women Teachers meets annually for several days, and is attended by representatives from all leading institutions both Government and missionary. Christian Universities Ambitious proposals are under consideration in several mission fields for the establishment of a Christian University. The founding of Christian Uni- versities in Japan and China is viewed with favour by many leading missionary workers in those countries. A JOINT ACTION 73 hopeful scheme of a far-reaching character has been proposed for the establishment of a Christian University at Serampore, India, with power to grant theological degrees. It is quite evident to all that plans of such magnitude cannot possibly be carried out except by co-operative effort on a large scale. The establishment of institutions of this kind, however, raises so many questions of a complicated nature, that a discussion of the projects does not seem to fall properly within the scope of our Report. Desirability of Co-operation in Education In discussing the various schemes for co-operation in education which have come before us, we have been careful to state with sufficient fairness and clearness the different views held by our correspondents. At the same time, we feel that where there has been experience of such co-operation opinions are almost universally favourable to it. We think that the difficulties which have been raised are, to a very large extent at least, rather theo- retical than practical, and tend to disappear when schemes of co-operation are actually worked out. We have come to the conclusion that there is probably no branch of missionary work, in respect of which joint action is so feasible and so manifestly desirable, if not absolutely necessary, as in educational work, and we think that every effort should be made to overcome the difficulties and to extend co-operation. MEDICAL EDUCATION AND MEDICAL WORK 1 Recently there has been a considerable development of Union Medical Colleges for the training of native medical 1 A meeting of Medical Delegates was held during the sitting of the World Missionary Conference, and (inter alia) passed the following resolution: "This Sectional Meeting of Medical Dele- gates, Medical Missionaries, and other Medical Practitioners interested in the Medical aspects of Missionary work, believing that co-operation in the Mission field is of the highest importance, desire to represent to the Commission on ' CO-OPERATION AND 74 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY students men and women as doctors and nurses. The foremost example is the Union Medical College at Peking, to which reference has already been made, under the leadership of Dr. Cochrane of the London Missionary Society. Its faculty represents eleven different Mission- ary Societies, and five distinct Church organisations Anglican, Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist. There are over twenty medical teachers, covering a wide range of subjects, and the general work is so efficient that this institution meets with direct Government approval and support. Similar institutions have been formed, or are in process of formation, in many other cities in China, as Hankow, Moukden, Nanking, Chengtu, Foochow, and Tsinanfu. In India the need for this particular kind of co-opera- tion is apparently not so great, inasmuch as the Govern- ment recognises its responsibilities for medical training, but there are cases where the necessity for training medical workers for particular classes or localities has been recognised. The Decennial Conference at Madras urged development on these lines in the Southern Pro- vinces and Burma. The same Conference took steps to secure a uniform scale of pay for medical helpers of various grades. The formation of Medical Missionary Associations has done much to promote co-operation in some fields. Those in China have undertaken to examine existing medical books, to revise, reprint, and add to them as may be found necessary. Dr. G. A. Stuart of the Methodist Mission has been invited to give his whole time to this work ; he is giving a portion of his time at present, and hopes to be relieved from other literary burdens speedily, THE PROMOTION OF J.UNITY ' their {[unanimous opinion That [in the Christian Medical Colleges now being established in increasing numbers in China and elsewhere, the fullest co-operation possible between the Missions working in any particular region is eminently desirable, and that not only because of the spiritual gain which is sure to accompany union, but also for the purpose of economy, efficiency, and permanence in the preparation of native workers for the Medical Missionary field." JOINT ACTION 75 so that he may give his entire time to the work. Dr. P. B. Cousland has also been lent by the English Presbyterian Mission to the China Medical Missionary Association at Shanghai for similar work. One of the great difficulties is to spare medical men to undertake literary work at the cost of the combined Societies. The Medical Associa- tion in Central China has been already described in another chapter. It may be specially mentioned here that it has encouraged original research among its members, and formed a Board for the examining of Chinese nurses ; and also printed and circulated among the people tracts on questions of health and hygiene. There appear to be comparatively few hospitals which are financed and conducted on a co-operative basis. One is referred to in the evidence at hand in which the Baptists and Presbyterians have united at Iloilo in the Philippines. From Wuchang we are told that when it became necessary for the American Episcopal Church, and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society to seek new premises for their Women's Hospitals, negotiations took place with a view to the building of a Union Hospital. Unfortunately the effort failed, the Home Boards not seeing their way to support it. No other similar instance is reported. There is abundant evidence to show that though actual co-operation is rare in one sense, yet there is scarcely any mission work in which denominationalism is less obtrusive. While there are not many instances of hospitals which are maintained jointly by more than one Mission, the hospitals that exist in the mission field are, for the most part, open to patients of all Missions, and throughout the whole mission field there is free and generous co-operation in medical work. In the same way many philanthropic enterprises, such as those which care for the insane and the blind, render service to and further the work of all Missions. Most notable among such works of mercy is the work of the Mission to Lepers. It is an interde- nominational Society, and works through the representa- tives of other bodies. It has carried on a large and 76 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY beneficent work among lepers in India, Burma, Ceylon, China, and Sumatra. EVANGELISTIC WORK It is reported from Japan that a great united Mission was held in and around Tokyo in 1 90 1 . General invitations to the services were distributed, and there was a house-to- house visitation. The immediate results were striking in some ways, but the final outcome of the effort, so far as it could be determined, led our correspondent to write : " It is now generally agreed by most, I think, that it is better as a rule for each Church to do evangelistic work independently." The difficulties in the way of co-opera- tion in general evangelistic work are great, and the conclusion of the Tokyo missionary is scarcely surpris- ing. Judging, however, from other evidence which has reached the Commission from Peking, Weihsien, Nanking, Chengtu, Chungking, Yangchow, Poona, Madras, and Manila, united evangelistic campaigns have been con- ducted which show that successful co-operation is not impossible even in general mission work. In the recent campaign in Madras, for example, conducted under the Madras Missionary Conference, most of the Protestant Missions took part. The meetings were made known by extensive advertising, notices being distributed daily in every house in Georgetown. About a thousand men attended each night for a week. As a general thing, wherever such joint campaigns are conducted, they are spoken of with great enthusiasm by those who have taken part. Experience evidently justifies the view which would naturally be taken of the probable results of such co-operation, both on the missionaries themselves, and on the people among whom the work was carried on. To the missionaries it is very encouraging and cheering to find themselves side by side with one another in carrying out the work to which they have devoted their lives ; and to those among whom the work is carried on there is a manifest demonstration of the unity of JOINT ACTION 77 spirit and aim which binds together the missionaries of different Societies in the work of the Gospel. In some cases the various Societies do not join in one campaign, but carry on missions simultaneously in different parts of the same city. Under the heading of union evangelistic work may also be mentioned the lectures on Christian topics organised with a view to influencing educated Hindus in various centres, and in various vernaculars in India. Melas are also promoted for Christians of all Missions at Jubbul- pore, Chhattisgarh, and other centres. These draw together great crowds, and afford good opportunities for united evangelistic effort. JOINT ACTION IN OTHER MATTERS. The Linguistic Training of Missionaries A further important matter in which co-operation on the mission field is very desirable is the linguistic training of missionaries. Recently in several Chinese cities language schools have been started on a union plan with much success. In Nanking, for example, a course for first and second year work in conversation, reading, composition, character- writing, etc., is mapped out, and older missionaries of various Missions are secured to give one or two hours per week in the various subjects. The South Indian Missionary Association maintains a Board of Management for the examination of missionaries, which conducts examinations in four languages twice every year in ten different centres. This Board is used by nearly all the Societies working in South India. Similar Boards have been established in North India and Bengal. In Manchuria also the Missions have one system of instruction and examination in the vernacular, and examiners are appointed by the Manchuria Conference. A school for the instruction of foreigners in Japanese has for a number of years been conducted in Tokyo solely by Japanese. It is largely used even by mis- 78 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY sionaries residing at a distance, and has the formal recognition and endorsement of the Standing Committee. The matter of linguistic training involves no principle either doctrinal or ecclesiastical, such as separates sections of the Church from one another. It demands scholarship on the part of both teachers and examiners. It is of vital importance that it should be efficient, and that the best men obtainable should be selected for it. It is, therefore, a matter in respect of which co-operation is not only most desirable but also perfectly feasible. The evidence that we have before us leaves the impression that we are very behindhand in this matter. There is some doubt, however, whether we have very complete information on the subject. What we have before us constrains us very strongly to commend co-operation in this branch of missionary work. Education of the Children of Missionaries Mention should also be made of the co-operation of certain Missions in the establishment and maintenance of schools for the children of missionaries. It is un- doubtedly to the advantage of European children to be brought home from non-Christian countries for their education as early as possible. This is desirable on both climatic and moral considerations. The schools which have been established by certain Societies for the educa- tion of children of missionaries in the home land deserve warm support and ought to be made bright homes and efficient educational institutions. It is not of these, however, that our correspondents speak. They tell us of schools founded on the mission field itself for the children of missionaries. These require the co-operation of more than one Mission, because they must be estab- lished at centres where the climate is suitable for European children, and where all the surroundings are physically, morally, and spiritually healthy. Such schools enable parents to postpone, sometimes for some years, the sorrow and expense incurred in sending their children home. To enable them to do this, without sacrificing the interests JOINT ACTION 79 of the children, the schools must be thoroughly efficient and well equipped. This demands co-operation. In- stances of such co-operation are the school at Kodaikanal, conducted by the Madura and Arcot Missions, and open to the children of all other Societies, and the China Inland Mission Schools at Chifu, attended by nearly three hundred children from different Missions. Works of Philanthropy and Beneficence Co-operation in works of philanthropy and beneficence is another very natural exhibition of the Christian spirit on the part of missionaries. It is found specially in times of famine, war, or other public calamity, as well as sometimes in the attempt to relieve the ordinary sorrows and sufferings of human life. An example of it is the Red Cross work effected by the Presbyterian Missions, acting conjointly during the war between Russia and Japan. The hospitals, such as those under Dr. Westwater of Liaoyang and Dr. Christie of Moukden, knew no distinction between friend and foe, military and civilian, Irish and Scotch Presbyterian, nor even Christian and non-Christian. Within the limits of accommodation all sufferers were received, and for the benefits conferred by this ministry of healing, thousands, from the Czar and the Mikado down to humble peasants and coolies, have expressed their gratitude. In times of famine, flood, earthquake, and fire, Christian men do not discuss whether they should co- operate, but simply do so as a matter of course. By the organisation of relief funds and the judicious disburse- ment of monies raised, countless thousands have been saved from suffering and death. Even the Roman Catholic clergy joined with Protestant missionaries in the distribution of famine relief funds in North Kiangsu in 1907, being represented upon the Committee in Shanghai. Since this 1907 famine in North Kiangsu, the -^Christian Herald Orphanage Committee" has carried on the work started by the Chinkiang Com- mittee. The Committee, which is interdenominational, 80 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY has provided funds for buildings for six or eight orphanages. Instances of such co-operation in regard to the evils and sufferings of common life might be greatly multiplied. The co-operation of missionaries in respect of great social questions, affecting, for example, the status of women, the oppression of certain classes, the existence of slavery, causes such as temperance and social purity, and matters of public beneficence, are numerous. It is very note- worthy how questions of humanity have been taken up by the missionary bodies in concert, at all times and in all countries, and it suggests the hope that this spirit of co-operation in the face of evil may be more fully exem- plified in what is regarded as their special work. Missionary Consulate in Java There is a remarkable instance of co-operation in the Missionary Consulate in Java. In many cases the mis- sionary bodies have been led to co-operate with one another in their representations to and relations with the governments of the countries in which their work is done. This has already been referred to in the chapter treating of " Conferences," and it is of great importance. The peculiar feature of the Java case is the special co- operation with the sole and distinct purpose of dealing with the Government. The Dutch Bible Society took the initiative of appointing a person who has the power in Batavia to represent the missionary interest with the Government. All the Protestant Missionary Societies and Churches sending out missionaries have joined in this scheme and contributed to the expense. Mission to the Aboriginals of North Queensland The most complete example of joint action that has reached the attention of the Commission is the Mission to the Aboriginals of North Queensland. This was started in 1891 as a joint undertaking of the Moravians and the Federated Presbyterian Churches of Australia. According to a fixed agreement the Moravians furnish JOINT ACTION 81 the staff of head missionaries (the Presbyterians supplying assistants when and wherever such may be desired), whilst the Presbyterians provide the bulk of the money required for the support of the Mission. Religious Services for Anglo-American Communities Reference may, perhaps, here be made to the co- operative work now done to some extent by missionaries among the Anglo-American communities resident in various parts of the mission field, as, for example, in Kobe, Yokohama, and Shanghai. Such co-operation, though by no means carried out to the extent to be desired, is to be found in many mission fields : and if little evi- dence in regard to it has been received this is no doubt, because such work has been regarded as affecting our Christian fellow-countrymen, rather than the non- Christian peoples. It ought, however, to receive brief notice on account of the direct and indirect effect which it has on missionary work. There are many missionaries throughout the mission field who realise the importance, in respect of their own mission work, of providing religious services for the European and American community. Our fellow-countrymen are scat- tered abroad often in such small groups as to render it impossible to supply chaplains or ministers, and very difficult to maintain the ordinances of religion at all. When there are such small communities at a place where there are missionaries, the duty of making some effort to maintain religious ordinances, and the im- portance of endeavouring to make the influence of their own fellow-countrymen a Christian influence on the peoples among whom they labour, are becoming more and more realised by the missionaries. The Annual Conference of Mission Boards of the United States and Canada has a Committee which is charged with the duty of co-operating with the Christian forces in the Anglo- American community in non-Christian lands in the establishment and maintenance of divine service for that community. It is impossible to over-estimate the im- COM. VIII. 6 82 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY portance of this work ; and further co-operation in regard to it is both practicable and necessary. Meetings for Prayer Some correspondents refer to the holding of joint meetings for prayer, thanksgiving, and intercession, and some to prayer circles embracing various Societies. Probably the evidence regarding such joint meetings and circles of prayer would have been much fuller if this had been generally felt to come within the category of co-operation, as contemplated in the questions of the Commission. We have reason to believe that the practice of union in prayer is very widely prevalent on the mission field. In many centres the missionaries of various Societies meet at regular intervals and, kneeling side by side, draw near to God ; and in many cases solitary missionaries in remote parts of the field are brought together in spirit at fixed times to make intercession at the Throne of Grace for each other and their common work. Thus, drawing near to God together, they are brought near to one another and enter more fully into the fellowship of the Father and the Son. It is, perhaps, in such co-operation in prayer that spiritual unity is most fully realised. CHAPTER V FEDERATION AND UNION OUR Report has been concerned thus far with the relations between different " Missions," that is to say, between representatives of Missionary Societies which have their headquarters in Christian lands. But the supreme object of the missionary enterprise is to plant in non- Christian countries the Church of Jesus Christ. With the growth of this Church there arise problems of a new kind. It is natural that the converts of each Mission should be instructed in the doctrines, and organised according to the polity, of the Church to which that Mission owes its origin. As separate Christian com- munities, however, thus begin to grow up in a non- Christian country, the question presents itself whether these communities shall be allowed to remain isolated and distinct, or whether it is not the aim of all missionary work to plant in each non-Christian nation one undivided Church of Christ. That the latter is the ideal which is present to the minds of the great majority of missionaries is evident from the movements in the direction of unity, which are taking place in many mission fields, and which find notable expression in the unanimous declaration of the members of the Centenary Missionary Conference at Shanghai in 1907, that in planting the Church of Christ on Chinese soil, it was their desire " only to plant one Church under the sole control of the Lord Jesus Christ, governed by the Word of the living God, and led by His guiding Spirit." It is probable that all would not agree 83 84 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY as to the form in which the unity referred to in the fore- going declaration should find expression, but that the statement of the goal to be aimed at should be so clear and explicit is a fact full of far-reaching significance. Not only is the ideal of a united Church taking more and more definite shape and colour in the minds of foreign missionaries at work in non-Christian lands, but it is also beginning under the influence of the growing national consciousness in some of these countries to capture the imagination of the indigenous Christian communities, for whom the sense of a common national life and a common Christianity is stronger than the appreciation of differ- ences which had their origin in controversies remote from the circumstances of the Church in mission lands. The influence of this national feeling is most powerful in China. It is true that some instances are on record in which Chinese Christians have strongly objected to being trans- ferred to Missions belonging to other denominations, and have obstructed the missionaries in their desire to make arrangements involving this, yet the existence of such a national sentiment is generally established; and its strength may be judged from the following statements extracted from the correspondence which has reached the Commission : The Rev. W. N. Bitton of the London Missionary Society at Shanghai says : " The Chinese are prepared to go a great deal further than the foreign representa- tives." The Rev. Ernest W. Burt of the English Baptist Mission in Shantung writes : " The best and most in- telligent Chinese leaders are ahead of the average missionary in desiring one Church of Christ in China." The Rev. J. C. Garritt, D.D., of the Mission of the American Presbyterian Church in Nanking writes : "If the mis- sionaries fail to come up to the mark, I believe the Chinese will speak out for union with no uncertain sound." Perhaps most striking of all are the impressive words of Bishop Roots, who, after referring to the Resolu- tion of the Shanghai Conference regarding the desire to plant on Chinese soil one undivided Church, continues : FEDERATION AND UNION 85 " The alternative to this requirement seems to be that we forfeit our position of leadership among the Christian forces of China ; because the rising national spirit is largely imbued with a kind of religious enthusiasm, and the most serious patriots among the Chinese un- doubtedly look to the Christians of China as furnishing a strong support to their efforts for the development of the Chinese national unity. On the other hand, the leading Christians of China undoubtedly believe that one reason why they should be Christians and propagate Christianity in China is that they will thereby render the greatest service to their country ; and therefore Christian zeal has become to many a matter of patriotic obligation. These two forces work together irresistibly, demanding the one Church for China which the missionaries of the Centenary Conference declared it their purpose to estab- lish. And if the missionaries cannot supply this demand for leadership in the practical development of Christian unity amongst the Chinese Christians, that leadership will undoubtedly arise outside the ranks of the mission- aries, and perhaps even outside the ranks of the duly authorised ministers of the Christian Church in China." While in China the national spirit seems thus to be working strongly for the creation of a national Church, there does not appear to be among the Japanese any movement of corresponding strength. Few steps have apparently been taken thus far to unite the different bodies belonging to separate ecclesiastical orders, and one of our correspondents expresses the opinion that there is at present little evidence of any active interest in ecclesiastical union beyond what has been already accomplished. The opinion has been expressed by two Japanese leaders of their respective Churches that a union between the Congregational Church and the Church of Christ in Japan is " among the possibilities of the future, but not of the near future." When we turn to India, the evidence is more con- flicting. It has hitherto at least been undoubtedly a 86 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY characteristic of the Indian to leave action for the most part to any one with energy or authority, and merely to acquiesce or stand aloof according to circumstances. The movements in the direction of unity thus far have owed their inception and success chiefly to the work of foreign missionaries. The Presbyterian Church of India a few years ago appointed a Committee of twenty Indian members with power to enter into negotiations with other Christian bodies for union. But this Committee showed no inclination to take any action in the matter. Some of our correspondents state that in certain instances Indian Christians are more strongly denominational in their views than foreign missionaries. On the other hand, several of the papers which we have received state that " the great majority of the Indian Christians are very strongly in favour of union, and rejoice in the prospect of a wider and larger Church life." In the opinion of a number of our correspondents the growing national spirit in India is likely to work increasingly in the forma- tion of a desire for a united Indian Church. In Africa tribal and linguistic differences stand in the way of the movements which are being made in various parts of the Continent for the creation of united national Churches. It would appear also that the natives of the country are, in many instances, inclined to adhere closely to the prac- tices of the Christian body in which they have been brought up, and to be adverse to joining a community, the organi- sation and worship of which are different. It will be evident from the facts which have been stated, that in some mission fields at any rate, the problem of unity may, before long, be settled, or at any rate taken in hand, by the indigenous Churches independently of the wishes and views of western missionaries. It may be contended that this is just as it should be, and that the question is one which the Christian people in each country must be left to determine for themselves. But this view takes no account either of the strength of the spiritual ties which unite the Christian communities in the mission field with the western Churches, of which they are the FEDERATION AND UNION 87 offspring, or of the significance and lessons of the long history of Christianity. The divisions of western Christendom are not entirely due to human perversity and folly, though these have played a large part in bringing them about ; they represent also a sincere effort to defend, assert, or recover some elements of Christian truth that have been ignored or obscured or attacked. We cannot think that the struggles and aspirations of the past centuries, and the experience won at such cost, count for nothing, and are without any teaching or message for the present. In the supreme work of laying the founda- tions of a national Church in the great countries of the East, it is impossible that missionaries should refrain from giving to the indigenous Churches such help and counsel as they can from the wider and richer experience: that is part of their inheritance from the past. TWO METHODS OF WORKING TOWARDS UNITY As we have reviewed the movements towards unity in the various mission fields it has become clear that these attempts follow two distinct methods. The first endeavours to combine, in a close and organic union, Churches which have similar antecedents or share a common polity. It unites, for example, the Presbyterian bodies in Japan or China or India, or consolidates the Churches planted by Anglican Missions. It is obvious that for the present such a union must be mainly confined to bodies belonging to the same ecclesiastical order. Efforts have been made, however, and, in the case of South India, successfully made to unite in a real union with a definite doctrinal basis and definite polity bodies less closely related to one another. The second method aims at combining in a free federation all the Christian communities in a particular area, and has regard to geographical relations more than to ecclesiastical affinities. We shall endeavour to give the chief facts relating to both these move- ments in the different mission fields, and in a concluding 88 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY section of this chapter try to indicate briefly the respects in which each method is relatively strong and relatively weak. A. ORGANIC UNION I. UNION OF BODIES CLOSELY RELATED I. PRESBYTERIAN The greatest progress in the direction of union has been made by the bodies professing the Presbyterian polity. This may be due to the nature of this polity, which, while embracing the ideal of a united national Church, creates a tie between mother and daughter Church less strong than in the Episcopal system, its tendency being rather to encourage the growth of independent sister Churches in different countries. Japan The first instance of a union of Presbyterian Churches to form a single national Church in the mission field took place in Japan. In the year 1877 the Mission Churches connected with the Presbyterian Church in the United States (North), the Reformed Church in America, and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, united to form the Church of Christ in Japan. The Council was joined later by the Churches planted by the Presbyterian Church in the United States (South), the Reformed Church in the United States, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The decisions with regard to the adoption of a creed by the united Church are of interest, for they were not the outcome merely of the influence of foreign missionaries, but gave expression to the views of the Japanese them- selves. Dr. William Imbrie of Tokyo gives the following account of the matter in his paper written for the Commission : " From the beginning, the Japanese desired a brief, FEDERATION AND UNION 89 simple creed ; but in deference to the wishes of the Missions they accepted as standards of doctrine the Westminster Confession, the Canons of the Synod of Dort, the Shorter and Heidelberg Catechisms, twelve years passed, and the situation was this : " The two Catechisms had been widely taught ; but the Westminster Confession had failed to gain a hold, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort were hardly known by name. The leaders of the Church were now older in years and experience, and with most of them the feeling had strengthened that no one of the standards was adapted to the requirements of the Church in Japan. Some were in favour of preparing a new confession ; but the difficulties in the way of that were obvious. Finally, the committee of the Synod which had the matter in hand agreed, as the thing most practicable, to recommend to the Synod the revision of the Westminster Confession then recently adopted by the Presbyterian Church of England. That revision was therefore translated and circulated throughout the Church for six months before the meeting of the Synod. But before the Synod met it was quite clear that it would not be accepted. There were many who preferred instead the adoption of the Apostles' Creed, and when the Synod met, a resolution to that effect was introduced. The argument in favour of the Apostles' Creed was this : " The Church in every land and every age should have a confession suited to its own peculiar needs. That being so, what should be the characteristics of the confession of the Church in Japan at this time in its history ? Such a confession should be brief and simple, not an elaborate system of theology; not a confession for ministers and elders alone, but one for the people also ; a creed which all can repeat and understand ; a confession of the faith of the Church. The Church in Japan is face to face with Buddhism, Confucianism, Agnosticism, and Rationalism. Its con- fession should set forth, therefore, the great essential 90 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY truths of Christianity ; but it should not divide those who worship Christ as Lord. The Apostles' Creed meets those conditions, and, in addition to this, it is the Confession of Faith of the Universal Church." The argument in reply was this : " Admitting that it is the duty of the Church to hold a confession suited to its needs, and also that much may be said in favour of the Apostles' Creed, it still remains true that the Apostles' Creed alone does not meet the needs of the Church in Japan to-day. There are truths of transcendent importance which are con- tained in the Apostles' Creed, if at all, only by implica- tion : the Atonement, Justification, and Sanctification in Christ, the need of the regenerating grace of the Spirit of God, the supremacy of the Scriptures. These are vital truths which are denied in Japan to-day, and they should be proclaimed by the Church in its con- fession." As a result of this discussion the Apostles' Creed, which was what so many desired, was adopted, with an introductory statement expressing the truths which it was generally agreed called for public confession. It is as follows : " The Lord Jesus Christ, Whom we worship as God, the only begotten Son of God, for us men and for our salvation was made man and suffered. He offered up a perfect sacrifice for sin ; and all who are one with Him by faith are pardoned and accounted righteous ; and faith in Him working by love purifies the heart. "The Holy Ghost, Who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, reveals Jesus Christ to the soul ; and without His grace man being dead in sin cannot enter the Kingdom of God. By Him the prophets and apostles and holy men of old were inspired ; and He, speaking in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the infallible judge in all things pertaining unto faith and living. From these Holy Scriptures the Ancient Church of Christ drew its confession, and we, holding the faith once delivered to the saints, join in FEDERATION AND UNION 91 that confession with praise and thanksgiving." (Then follows the Apostles' Creed.) 1 China The first steps towards Presbyterian union in China go back to an even earlier date than the union effected in Japan. In the year 1862 the missionaries of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Reformed Church in America working in Amoy united in a single presbytery. The home authorities in America at first did not see their way to sanction a united presbytery ; but the missionaries in the field threatened to resign unless they were allowed to unite with their Presbyterian brethren, and permission was finally given to them. Again in 1891 the missionaries of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland working in Manchuria, united in a single presby- tery. Meantime the desire was growing for a closer union among Presbyterian bodies throughout China, and the question was discussed by those present at the General Missionary Conference at Shanghai in 1890. It was felt, however, that the time had not then come for an active effort in that direction. Ten years later, at a meeting of Presbyterians held in Shanghai, a resolution was adopted approving of the holding of a Presbyterian Convention in 1901. A Conference of the Central China missionaries, together with such representatives of other Missions as were able to attend, was held to consider the question of Presbyterian union. A Committee on Presbyterian Union was appointed, which held three meetings at Shanghai in 1902, 1903, and 1905. The Committee was representative of the various Presbyterian Missions in China, and consisted of sixteen members. All of these were foreigners. Representatives were appointed by the Missions of the following Churches : Presbyterian Church in the United States (North) , 1 For the Constitution and Candns of the Church of Christ in Japan, see The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix F., pp. 294-6, 92 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Presbyterian Church in the United States (South), Presbyterian Church of England, the United Free Church of Scotland, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Presby- terian Church in Canada, the Reformed Church in America, the Church of Scotland ; and by the Presbyterians of the China Inland Mission. The Committee at its first meeting prepared a Plan of Union, which was sent to the various Missions interested, recommending the complete independence of the Chinese Church, and requesting the Church courts and mission bodies to take the necessary steps to unite in one organised Church. When the Committee held its second meeting in 1903, hearty expressions of approval had been received from the supreme courts of most of the home Churches concerned, as well as from mission bodies in China, America, and Great Britain. The plan of union was modified in some of the minor details, and again sent to the various Missions and Church courts for approval and appropriate action. At the third meeting in 1905, favourable action was reported from the home Churches as well as from the various courts of the Chinese Churches, but it was deemed too early to establish a General Assembly. The Committee, however, unanimously agreed to recommend the estab- lishment of a Federal Council, to be formed of two representatives one foreign and one Chinese from each presbytery ; and further to recommend that the Churches should locally unite and, where necessary, separate from the parent Churches, thus forming six autonomous synods, and that by means of the Council these six synods with their presbyteries should effect a union. These proposals were sent to the various presbyteries and synods and received their approval. The delegates to the Council were accordingly summoned by the Secretary of the Committee on Union, which had been composed of missionaries only, and which hereupon dissolved itself, and gave place to the Council now regularly constituted. The delegates to the Council met as those who had been duly commissioned by the courts of the Chinese Presby- FEDERATION AND UNION 93 terian Churches and empowered by them to adjust and consummate the plan of union submitted to them by the Missionary Committee on Presbyterian Union. A " Declaration and Resolution of Union of the Presby- terian Church of Christ in China " having been prepared, was approved and confirmed as a whole, and transmitted to the six synods of the Church to be sent down to the presbyteries. It was earnestly recommended that, in order to secure the immediate efficacy of this act of union, the whole should be adopted and approved by all the synods and presbyteries, as it stood, without alterations or amendments, and that any amendments which might be desired should be afterwards proposed in due form and transmitted through the Council for the judgment of the synods and presbyteries. The six synods of the Church at present are the following : Kwantung (Manchuria 12,000 com- municants), Hwapei (North China, 8050 communicants), Wu-sheng (Central China, 5000 communicants), Ming- nan (S. Fukien, 4200 communicants), Tung-Kwangtung (E. Kwangtung, 4200 communicants), Si-Kwangtung (W. Kwangtung, 6200 communicants). The resolutions of union state that " the several Churches which we represent agree in holding the Word of God as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the supreme rule of faith and life." It was agreed that the distinctive subordinate standards, such as the WestminsterConfession, adopted by the different contracting parties, should not be binding on the others ; but that they should be adhered to by the parties which had adopted them, until such time as the Presbyterian Church of Christ in China, in the exercise of its autonomy, should formulate standards of its own. It was recognised that the time had not yet come for the formation of a General Assembly, and that, in the meantime, the highest courts of the Church should be the six synods. The Council of delegates, to be known in future as " The Council of the Presbyterian Church of Christ in China," was in the meantime to be recognised by the courts of 94 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY the united Church as a permanent " Bond of Union, Peace, Correspondence, and Mutual Confidence," and to be continued with such changes in its organisation as might thereafter be found necessary until a General Assembly be formed. 1 India As early as 1863, Mr. J. T. M'Lagan, a retired member of the Bengal Civil Service, who became Secretary of the Foreign Mission Committee of the Church of Scotland, issued a pamphlet on the subject of Presbyterian union in India. In 1871, a Conference of Presbyterians at Allahabad decided to form an association for the purpose of common work, and constituted a Presbyterian Alliance. Meetings were held at intervals of three years until 1889. The first definite steps towards organic union were taken in South India, where in the year 1901 (largely as the result of the publication of a statement regarding Presbyterian organisation of the native Churches in South China connected with the Missions of the Presby- terian Church of England and the Reformed Church in America), the Churches connected with the Arcot Mission of the Reformed Church in America and the Mission of the United Free Church of Scotland united to form the South Indian United Church, with a total membership of over 12,000. Two years later, a union of seven of the Presbyterian bodies working in India was effected at Allahabad in 1904, resulting in the creation of the Presbyterian Church of India. The bodies which entered the union were the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the South Indian United Church (including the Arcot Mission). A few Presbyterian bodies including the United Presbyterian Church in America and the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists 1 For the Declaration and Resolution of Union of the Presby- terian Church in China, see The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix H., pp.3O5~8. FEDERATION AND UNION 95 did not enter the union, nor did the churches of the Madras Mission of the Church of Scotland. The total number of communicants and baptized adherents connected with the united Church amounts to about 50,000. The number of pastors is about 70. The Churches are grouped into 16 presbyteries and 6 synods. 1 Korea In Korea the Northern, Southern, Canadian, and Australian Presbyterians early associated themselves in the development of a " Union Presbyterian ^Church in Korea." Up to 1907 the governing body was the Pres- byterian Council, which was composed of representatives of all the Presbyterian Missions. A desire for actual organic union was, however, felt and, in 1907, an inde- pendent Presbyterian Church was formally constituted with the approval of the respective General Assemblies of the home Churches. British Central Africa For ten years negotiations have been in progress between the United Free Church of Scotland Mission at Living- stonia and the Church of Scotland Mission at Blantyre with a view to union into the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Central Africa. Repeated efforts have been made to formulate a creed that might be adopted by both presbyteries. The difficulties that have arisen are due to the fact that one of the presbyteries is really a pres- bytery of the home Church while the other is not, and also to the fact that one has to make provision on doctrinal statement for European residents, members of its com- munion, while the other has not this difficulty. In the absence of a synod meanwhile the Blantyre and Living- stonia presbyteries forward to each other extract minutes of their meetings and decisions other than those that relate to purely local matters. 1 For the Confession, Constitution, and Canons of the Presby- terian Church in India, see The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix G., pp. 297-304. 96 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY New Hebrides The Presbyterian Missions working in the New Hebrides are united in the " New Hebrides Presbyterian Mission Synod." These Churches are the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Free Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales, the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the Presbyterian Church of South Australia, and the Presbyterian Church of Tasmania. This Synod, however, rather partakes at present of the nature of an Advisory Council, and does not represent an independent and separate Presbyterian Church. Its functions are to define the boundaries of missionary spheres of labour, to appoint someone to oversee and advise in the event of vacancies occurring, and to recommend and advise in a large number of matters relating to the conduct of missionary work. This union can hardly, therefore, be regarded as more than nominally organic. The question which has arisen in connection with all such unions of Presbyterian bodies is that of the relation of the foreign missionary to the united Church. The solution of the problem reached in Japan after long discussion has been that missionaries may choose between two possible relationships to the Native Church. They may sever their ecclesiastical connection with their home Church, and on presentation of a letter of transfer become full members of the courts of the Japanese Church ; or, if they are not able or willing to sever their connection with the home Church they may, as missionaries, be accepted as " associate " members of a Japanese presby- tery, with the right to speak but not to vote. For the admission of missionaries as " associate " members the ap- proval of the presbytery by two-thirds majority is required. The success of the union of Presbyterian Churches in India was seriously threatened by the difficulties pre- sented by this question. The difficulty was got over by a compromise, by which each presbytery was allowed to determine for itself the place of foreign missionaries in FEDERATION AND UNION 97 its constitution. In some presbyteries missionaries are full members. In others they are assessors either with or without voice. The same difficulty arose in connection with the Presbyterian Union in China, and was solved by a similar compromise. 2. ANGLICAN COMMUNION Little has been done in the way of reunion among Anglican Churches, because for the most part the episcopal system knits them from the beginning into one organisa- tion, which is part of a world-wide Communion, and yet is also locally autonomous. Thus, for example, the Missions of the Episcopal Church of Scotland in India and South Africa fall naturally into line with other Anglican Missions there, and like them become part and parcel of the Church of the Province of India or of South Africa as the case may be. The same holds good of the Missions of the Irish Church or of the Anglican Colonial Churches. There are, however, two cases (Japan and China) in which a process of fusion has been accomplished between the Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America and other Anglican Missions. They are cases also in which the fusion marks an important stage of progress towards the formation of a purely native and local Church. Japan The position of the Anglican Communion in Japan is thus stated in the Second Annual Review issued by the Central Board of Missions of the Church of England : " The Church has taken a longer step forward in Japan than in any other non-Christian Emission field in the direction of autonomy. This is largely due to the skill and foresight of Bishop Edward Bickersteth, who, with the American Bishop M'Kim, laid the foundation for a self-governing Japanese Church. In 1887 the missionaries of the two English Societies and of the American Church, COM. VIII. 7 98 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY with the three Japanese clergymen then ordained and fifty delegates from the congregations, met and agreed on a provisional Constitution for the Nippon Sei Ko- kwai a name literally ' Japan Church,' but so expressed as to render the usual addition ' Holy Catholic ' not inaccurate. This Church, of course, is not yet really independent, financially or ecclesiastically. It receives large funds from the Missionary Societies ; and its bishops are English and American, commissioned by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury or the American Church. But it looks forward eagerly to a time in the near future when some, at least, of the episcopal sees shall be filled by Japanese bishops." l China In China, important steps have recently been taken for the consolidation of the Missions of the Anglican Communion, and for the formation of a General Synod of the Church in China. In 1897, 1899, and 1903, Conferences of the bishops with presbyters invited by them were held at Shanghai. The Conference of 1907 was composed of the bishops and elected representatives of the foreign clergy, two from each diocese. This Conference provided that the Con- ference of 1909 should consist of : (a) The bishops of the Anglican Communion in China. (&) Two foreign and two Chinese clergy from each diocese, to be elected by the whole body of clergy therein ; and (c) Two Chinese laymen from each diocese, to be elected by the Synod or other representative assembly thereof. This Conference, which met from 27th March to 6th April 1909, was in the fullest sense representative of the Anglican Communion in China, all the bishops of the eight dioceses in China and Hong Kong being present. The discussions of the Conference were in English, a 1 For the Constitution of the Nippon Sei Kokwai, see The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix D., pp. 289-90. FEDERATION AND UNION 99 brief analysis of the speeches and a complete translation of all motions and resolutions being given by one of the Chinese secretaries. In the four dioceses (Victoria, Fukien, Chekiang, and Shanghai) further translation for the information of the delegates was more or less necessary, and this was managed by interpreters furnished by those dioceses. The discussions of the next Con- ference in 1912 will be in Mandarin. The Conference drew up a Constitution and Canons for a General Synod. 1 These were adopted provisionally, and were referred to the diocesan synods or conferences, and also to the authorities of the Church of England, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the Church of England in Canada for provisional sanction. A Committee was appointed to make a Chinese transla- tion of these documents to be referred to the diocesan synods and conferences, and to form the basis of discus- sion at the next meeting of the Conference. The functions of the General Synod were defined as follows : 1. The enactment of Canons and the amendment of the same, and the amendment of the Constitu- tion. 2. The determination of matters that may be sub- mitted to the General Synod by diocesan bishops or synods. 3. The determination of other matters touching the general welfare of the Church of China. A resolution of the Conference heartily welcomed the Report of the Committee of the Lambeth Conference on Reunion and Intercommunion, and the reference to these subjects in the encyclical letter ; and urged that with regard to any partial projects of reunion in which matters of doctrine or discipline are concerned, reference should, as far as possible, first be made to the General Synod or Conference before any local action is taken which might have far-reaching consequences for the Church in China. 1 See The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix E., pp. 290-3. 100 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY 3. METHODIST CHURCHES Japan The first steps towards a union of Churches belonging to the Methodist order have taken place in Japan. The question of union in Methodist Churches first came under consideration in 1887, when the Japan Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church drew up a plan for its in- auguration, and referred it to the General Conference of the home Church. This plan was approved under certain conditions, but the difficulties were too great, and the union failed of consummation. In 1904 the question again came to the front, when the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church in Canada, and the Methodist Episcopal Church (South) formulated plans of union, and a joint commission was appointed to take action. In May 1907 a General Conference met in Tokyo, at which the union was consummated. All the Mission Churches of the three Methodist bodies then became a part of the new independent native Church, which has its own articles of religion, its own ritual and discipline, its own episcopal head, Bishop Yoitsu Honda, and its own General Conference. In every respect the union has been successful, and the annual Conferences meeting one in the east and one in the west have been com- pletely harmonious. The membership of the united Church is about 11,000. ^The problem of the relation of foreign missionaries to the new body was dealt with by the provision that missionaries should be entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership in the annual Conference where their services are being rendered, so long as theii administration and conduct conform to its discipline. So long as there is no infringement of the discipline of the Japanese Church, the missionaries remain under the direction of the authorities of the Church by which they are supported. FEDERATION AND UNION 101 China At the close of the Shanghai Conference representatives of the Methodist Churches in China met and formed a Standing Committee with the object of ascertaining what steps could be taken to secure a united Methodist Church for China. Meetings have been held and correspondence followed. It is hoped that the negotiations will result in something definite, but the difficulties of the great distances in China and of the differences in dialects have stood in the way of any rapid advance. 4. LUTHERAN CHURCHES In Japan a movement towards unity in the Lutheran Church is now taking place, negotiations being in progress between the Boards of Foreign Missions of the Lutheran General Council, the United Danish Lutheran Church in the United States, and the Lutheran United Synod (South) for the merging of their Mission Churches in Japan into one organisation. In China members of the sub - Committee for the Lutheran and Reformed Churches have been in corres- pondence with one another, and have taken certain steps for drawing the Lutheran Churches closer together in such matters as the issue of a common hymn-book and the establishment of a periodical supported by several Missions. A Conference of representatives of the Lutheran, Berlin, Rhenish, and Basel Missions has also been started. In India there is a movement in the direction of unity among the Missions belonging to Lutheran denominations. In 1905 an " all- Indian Lutheran Conference " sat for the first time at Kodaikanal, and decided on the publica- tion of a common Lutheran organ. In January 1909, a second Conference was held in Guntur, at which nearly all the Lutheran Missions in India were represented, including the Basel, Leipzig, Hermannsburg, Danish, Breklum, Gossner, and Swedish Societies of Europe, and the Boards of the Lutheran General Synod and the 102 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Lutheran General Council of the United States. The term Lutheran is perhaps somewhat misleading, as not all these Missions would accept it as describing their ecclesiastical position. The Basel Mission, for example, is not connected with any particular ecclesi- astical body, and is related equally to the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches in Germany. The Missions which met in Conference, however, were sufficiently related to one another to contemplate definite common action. Organic union was not considered, but the question of practical co-operation was fully discussed and its advantages recognised. What was said and done was interpreted as indicating a desire that the native Lutheran Church in India be united as an organic whole. A second Conference is to be held in 1912. 5. CONGREGATIONAL AND BAPTIST CHURCHES For bodies whose polity is Congregational the problem is somewhat different in character from that presented to those bodies whose system of ecclesiastical organisa- tion is more closely knit. On the Congregational system all that can be aimed at is a free federation of individual churches. Some progress has been made in the different mission fields in the direction of linking up Congregational churches organised on the Congregational system and planted by different parent Societies. In China the Baptist sub-Committee of the Com- mittee on the Promotion of Church Union appointed by the Shanghai Conference met in 'November 1908 and resolved that the object of the Committee was " to take the initiative in such forms of co-operation, and where advisable of organisation, both among the missionaries and the Chinese as will secure that ultimately there shall only be one Baptist denomination in China among the Chinese, leaving it to this united denomination to effect such co-operation and federation or union with other denominations as may be wise." As the first step towards this unification the Committee recommended that FEDERATION AND UNION 103 the whole body of Baptist missionaries from Europe and America should form itself into some general organisa- tion and that the various Baptist Missions should be invited to appoint representatives to consider this question at Shanghai in 1910. It will be noted that this movement is for the present confined to foreigners. The sub-Com- mittee further suggested that with a view to bringing Chinese Christians of the Baptist denomination into closer touch with one another, Baptist Associations should invite representatives from neighbouring provinces to attend their annual meetings, and that Baptist sectional meetings should be held in connection with the meetings of provincial Federation Councils. In India the Baptists connected with various Societies are trying to form a Baptist Union. II. EFFORTS IN THE DIRECTION OF WIDER UNION China In the steps which have been taken in China towards the consolidation of bodies belonging to the same ecclesi- astical order the hope of ultimate wider union has been steadily kept in view. In appointing denominational sub-Committees to promote union between bodies be- longing to the same order (cf. p. 108), the Centenary Con- ference at Shanghai passed the following resolution : " While the appointment of these Committees con- templates the formation of six or more Church organisa- tions for the Chinese Church in the first instance, it is the earnest hope of this Conference that these Chinese bodies, with the assistance and advice of the foreign missionaries, may, from the first, prepare to unite with each other in the closest practicable bonds of Christian fellowship, either in organic ecclesiastical union or in a free federation, as they may be led by their own interpretation of the mind of Christ, and by the guidance given them in the 104 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY providence of God, and through the teaching of the Holy Spirit." l The Anglican Conference in China in 1907 appointed a Committee on Unity, " to receive communications from other bodies of Christians working in China, and to do what should be in their power to forward Christian unity." This Committee reported at the Conference in 1909 regarding what had taken place at the Centenary Missionary Conference, and regretted that no communi- cation had so far been received from other Christian bodies working in China such as had been contemplated. Emphasis was laid in its report on the decisions of the Lambeth Conference, and the Committee expressed the hope " that our Communion in China may not be back- ward in taking advantage of every opportunity that may offer, whether it be private or public, to carry out the admonitions and principles which are so eloquently expressed in the encyclical from which they are quoted." The Committee on Unity was re-appointed by the Con- ference with power to co-opt Chinese members. The Conference of the missionaries working in West China held at Chengtu in 1908 unanimously passed a resolution to the effect that the Conference adopted as its ideal " one Protestant Christian Church for West China." It appointed a Standing Committee on Church Union. The steps taken by this Committee will be re- erred to more fully in a later section of this chapter. 2 India It is in India, however, that we find the first instance of a clear organic union between bodies having a different form of Church polity. The Synod of the South Indian United Church in entering the Presbyterian Church of India reserved the right to continue negotiations with bodies in South India not belonging to the Presbyterian order, with a view to a 1 The Resolutions on the Chinese Church passed by the Con- ference are given in Appendix H., pp. 166-170. 2 See also The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix J., pp. 314-6- FEDERATION AND UNION 105 local union on a wider basis ; and if necessary to with- draw from the Presbyterian Church of India in order to enter into such a union. The Churches connected with the Missions of the London Missionary Society and the American Madura Mission, both of Congregational origin, effected in 1905 a union of South India, and the Church which thus came into existence had a number of members and adherents amounting to 130,000. The time seemed to be ripe for taking steps tor a union between this newly formed Church and the South India Synod of the Presby- terian Church in India. Negotiations were set on foot and the union was brought to final completion in 1907. The united body took the name of the South India United Church. The constitution tried to combine the main features of the Congregational and Presbyterian systems. It provided that the affairs of a local congrega- tion might be managed either in accordance with the Congregational ideal by the congregation as a whole, or, as in Presbyterianism, by an elected body of elders or deacons. The essential principle of Presbyterianism was conserved by the provision that the oversight and care of the Churches lay with the Church Council, while, on the other hand, it was proposed that no admini- strative authority should lie with the General Assembly as such, its function being merely advisory, except when matters were specially referred to it. A confession of faith considerably shorter than that of the Presbyterian Church was adopted. 1 Negotiations are at present being made for the admission of Churches connected with the Rhenish General Mission to the United Church, and it is hoped that the congrega- tions connected with the Basel Mission may also join the union at a not distant date. The Indian Presbyterian Church at its third General Assembly in December 1906 appointed a Union Committee consisting of twenty Indian members with a missionary convener and vice-convener to enter into correspondence 1 For the Confession of Faith of the South Indian United Church, see The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix I., pp. 309-1 1 . 106 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY with other Missions and Churches, and to invite them to appoint Committees of Indian Christians to co-operate with the Committee with a view to a larger union. No immediate results followed this step. The correspond- ence of the Union Committee with other Churches in India showed that the time was not ripe for proposing an organic union, but steps have recently been taken to bring about the formation of a federation of Christian Churches in India to which reference will be made im- mediately. East Africa A Conference of a remarkable kind was held in June 1909 at Nairobi, and was attended by representatives of eight Societies at work in East Africa. These were : Church Missionary Society, Church of Scotland Mission, Africa Inland Mission, Mennonites, Friends' Industrial Mission, American Friends' Society, Seventh Day Advent- ists, and United Methodist Church. A Committee was appointed to prepare a scheme for the organisation of a united Native Church. The Con- ference reached agreement that the following principles should be accepted in the formation of a Native Church : 1. That the Bible should be accepted as the standard of belief, and that what is not contained therein, or cannot be proved thereby, should not be taught as necessary to salvation. 2. That the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds should be accepted as an expression of the faith of the Church. 3. That the two sacraments should be duly ad- ministered. 4. That there should be a duly ordered and properly safeguarded ministry in the Church. The members of the Friends' Missions agreed to the use of the outward forms in the sacraments, so far as they personally were concerned, but they expressed a doubt as to whether those who support their Missions would be equally ready to accept them. The Presbyterian Mission felt that the permanent FEDERATION AND UNION 107 appointment of an ordained man as head of the Church in East Africa, as would be the case if he were conse- crated bishop of the Native Church, would be a difficulty with them ; and the Friends thought any ordination at all, whereby special powers were entrusted to an in- dividual by the laying-on of hands, would be a difficult thing for them to accept. All were agreed that a common form of liturgy would be of great use in conducting church service ; and it was decided that a liturgy of prayers used in the Christian Church, including the Lord's Prayer, the Creeds and the Ten Commandments, should be drawn up by the selected Committee. B. FEDERATION We turn now to consider the second plan by which it is sought to further the cause of Christian unity. This plan aims at a federation of Christian bodies which regard organic union as impracticable or undesirable. The attempt to secure federation of this kind is promoted partly by the feeling that, even if complete amalgamation cannot be more than a distant ideal, closer relations than exist at present are desir- able. It is also recognised that from many points of view the problem of relations with fellow-Christians working in the same geographical area is a more pressing and important one than that of closer union with Christians of the same ecclesiastical order living at a remote distance. The term " federation " has only recently come prominently into use, and it is not easy to know what should be included under it. In the present connection, however, we shall use it to cover those movements in the direction of unity which do not aim at organic union, but which in their scope take account in a greater or less degree of the indigenous Church, and are not (like the Committee of Co-operating Missions in Japan) confined to the representatives of foreign " Missions." 108 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY China The Centenary Missionary Conference held at Shanghai in 1907 appointed two separate Committees to work for the promotion of unity along different lines. The first, consisting of eight sub-Committees representing the leading different types of ecclesiastical polity, was appointed to encourage the union of Churches belonging to the same ecclesiastical order. The progress of the work of this Committee has been considered in the preceding sections of the present chapter. The second Committee was appointed to deal with the subject of Federation. The Conference resolved on the formation of a Federal Union under the title of "The Christian Federation of China." An organising Committee was appointed to form Pro- vincial Councils throughout China, and after due con- sultation with these Provincial Councils to form a National Representative Council. The work of the Federation was defined as follows : " That the work of the Federation shall be " (a) To encourage everything that will demonstrate the existing essential unity of Christians. To watch for opportunities of united prayer and mutual conference between representatives of different bodies of Christians in China ; and, as opportunity offers, to initiate and arrange for representative meetings for the further- ance of Christian unity. " (b) To devise and recommend plans whereby the whole field can be worked most efficiently and with the greatest economy in men, and time, and money. " (c) To promote union in educational work. " (d) The encouragement of the consideration of all questions as to how the various phases of Christian work can be carried on most effi- ciently, e.g. translation and literary work, social work, medical work, evangelistic work, etc. FEDERATION AND UNION 109 " (e) And in general to endeavour to secure har- monious, co-operant and more effective work throughout the whole Empire." It was laid down that the Provincial Council should consist of delegates both Chinese and foreign, representing all the Missions at work in the province. The method of constituting the National Representative Council was left to be determined by the organising Committee, the only condition being that its membership should include both Chinese and foreigners. Resolutions of the Conference relating to the Federa- tion will be found in full in the Appendix. 1 The powers of both the Provincial and National Councils are purely advisory, and in the discussion strict emphasis was laid on the distinction between the creation of such advisory councils and steps pointing to organic union. At the same time it was clearly hi the mind of many present that such a Federation might be a step towards still closer union in the future. In the original resolution submitted to the Conference by its Committee it was stated " that the objects of the Federa- tion should be to foster and encourage the sentiment and practice of union, to organise union effort whenever and wherever possible, and to work for the ultimate accomplishment of our ideal a united Christian Church in China." The last clause of the resolution, though strongly supported by many who took part in the discussion, was ultimately omitted to secure the concurrence of those who, while favourable to the formation of a Federation, were afraid of committing themselves even in a general way to any suggestion of organic unity, and in its place were substituted the words, " and in general to seek through all such effort to hasten the establishment of the Kingdom of God in China." So far as information has reached the Commission, steps have been taken for the formation of Provincial Councils in Chihli, Shantung, Shansi, Honan, Anhwei, Hunan 1 Appendix I., pp. 171-2. 110 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Kiangsu, Chehkiang, and the West of China (Szechwan, Kweichow and Yunnan). The Constitution of the Council for Kiangsu may be taken as representative of the general lines on which the Provincial Councils are being con- stituted. 1 Each Mission at work in the province is entitled to appoint two representatives, one Chinese and one foreign, to the Council, with an additional foreign delegate for every 25 foreign missionaries belonging to the Mission, and an additional Chinese delegate for every 500 Chinese members of the Church. It is intended that the Council should meet annually. An Executive Committee, con- sisting of the five officers of the Council and two others, has the power to deal with business arising in the interval between the meetings, and to summon a special meeting of the Council at one month's notice. An indication of the kind of matters with which the Provincial Councils may have to deal is found in the agenda papers of the Chehkiang Federation Council which met in May 1909. Consideration was given to such questions as the following : the preparation of Sunday School lessons, the use of a common hymn-book, the relation to wedding and funeral ceremonies, the adoption of common terms for places of worship and for Protestant Missions, educational problems created by the attitude of the Chinese Govern- ment, the promotion of Bible Study, the attitude of the Church towards lawsuits, the opium question, etc., the promotion of united prayer for the advancement of unity. The two questions which appear likely to receive early and full consideration from most of the Councils are the delimitation of the field, so as to prevent over- lapping, and the question of the free interchange of Church members among the different bodies that work in the province. The movement towards unity has reached a more advanced stage in West China than in any other part of the country. As has already been stated, there has been for ten years an Advisory Board in West China that has been very successful in promoting harmony and co-opera- 1 See Appendix J., p. 173. FEDERATION AND UNION 111 tion between the different Missions. Reference has also- been made to the fact that a Conference of West China missionaries held at Chengtu in 1908 adopted as its ideal " One Protestant Christian Church for West China," and appointed a Standing Committee on Church Union, to which all the Missions at work in West China appointed representatives. This Committee met in May 1909, and prepared a common basis of conditions of Church member- ship and the declaration of faith. 1 As has been mentioned in the chapter on Comity, resolu- tions were passed urging the free interchange of full members upon a recommendation of the pastor of the Church from which they come, and a certificate of transfer was drawn up which might be used by all Missions. Arrangements were made for the holding of prefectural conventions and every three years a Provincial Confer- ence to which each prefectural convention should be entitled to send at least two clerical and three lay delegates, and one additional delegate for each 350 Church members. The decisions of the Committee on Church Union have not yet received the official approval of the Missions working in West China. The Societies represented on this Committee are the following : American Baptist Missionary Union, Canadian Methodist Mission, China Inland Mission, Church Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Mission, London Missionary Society, Foreign Christian Mission and Friends' Foreign Mission Associa- tion. The Committee on Union consists at present entirely of foreigners and has no Chinese members. India On the invitation of the Union Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, a Con- ference was held at Jubbulpore in April 1909, at which a joint Committee was formed to promote a federation of Christian Churches in India. The Conference consisted of delegated representatives of the following Churches 1 See The Church in the Mission Field, Appendix J., pp. 314-6. 112 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY and Societies : Presbyterian Church in India, South Indian United Church, Methodist Episcopal Church, Friends' Mission, Christian Mission, American Marathi Mission, Christian and Missionary Alliance. The scheme drawn up for recommendation to the several bodies represented followed closely in many respects the plan adopted in China, with the important difference that it attempted to frame a definite ecclesi- astical basis for the Federation, which was not done in China. The name suggested for the organisation is the Federa- tion of Christian Churches in India. It is laid down that " All Churches and Societies that believe in God through Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord and Saviour, and that accept the Word of God as contained in the Scrip- tures of the Old and New Testaments as the supreme rule of faith and practice, and whose teaching in regard to God, sin and salvation is in general agreement with the great body of Christian truth and fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, shall be eligible for fellowship in the Federation." Further, the federating Churches agree " to recognise the validity of each other's ordinances, ministry, membership, and discipline, without thereby committing themselves to approval of particular methods or practices." It was decided to recommend the formation of a Pro- vincial Federal Council in each province or great language area consisting of representatives from native Churches in their corporate capacity, the number of delegates to be chosen in the proportion of one ministerial and one lay representative for every ten organised congregations. It was. further proposed to form a National Federal Councitr consisting of representatives chosen by the Provincial Councils in the proportion of one in four of their membership. The Resolutions of the Jubbulpore Conference will be found in full in the Appendix. 1 The views of the promoters of the Federation are 1 Appendix K., pp. 174-7. FEDERATION AND UNION 113 indicated in the following quotation from an extract issued by the Convener of the Joint Committee : " It was unanimously agreed that the time had not yet come for attempting an organic union. In the present imperfect state of spiritual union among Christians the existence of separate organisations seems unavoidable, though direct efforts to perpetuate them among the people of this land are to be deprecated. It was also felt that a union of fellowship in co-operation merely, with a view to embrace a larger circle of Churches, while good as far as it might go, was not the best thing attainable. It did not seem right to be content with anything less than the highest within our reach. The full and frank discussion in the Committee indicated that it was possible to form a Federation on the basis of mutual recognition of each other's place in the body of Christ, as branches of His Church, and of each other's ministry, membership, and ordinances." The Jubbulpore Resolutions were adopted by the General Assembly of the South Indian United Church in December 1909, which thus expressed its willingness to federate with all Churches willing to do the same. The Union Committee of the Presbyterian Church in India reported on these Resolutions also at a meeting of the General Assembly at Ludhiana in the same month, and they obtained the approval of the Assembly. It is reported that the majority of Anglicans, Lutherans, and Baptists do not at present see their way to enter such a Federation Movement. The Bishop of Bombay, in the Diocesan Record for July 1909, criticises the action taken at Jubbulpore, and some of his remarks may be quoted as illustrating the grounds on which certain Christian bodies do not see their way to join the Federation : " My ideal of the basis of reunion cannot be a Greatest Common Factor. That is a conception which either makes our present Church principles untenable, or is untenable itself. The points on which different bodies of Christians differ may be either unimportant or important. Take the former alternative. If really all that matters COM. VIII. 8 114 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY is what we hold in common, why make a fuss about the points wherein we differ ? . . . Now take the alternative theory of our differences. Suppose that the points on which we differ are matters on which we ought to insist, are vital to us, contribute to our spiritual life, are (as we believe) capable of vitalising others. Then how dare we call them unimportant ? How dare we be content with a reunion which neglects them ? On this theory of differences, the Greatest Common Factor basis of reunion becomes untenable. And this second theory of the points wherein we differ, viz. the theory that they are really important is, I hope and believe, the true theory. Then, away with the Greatest Common Factor basis of reunion. . . . The ideal of reunited Christendom, let me repeat, is the preservation of everything vital and vitalising. The method of reunion should be (if I may quote a phrase of the present Archbishop of York) not compromise for the sake of peace, but comprehension for the sake of truth. . . ." The Commission would call attention to the fact that, whereas the movement in the direction of federation and unity in China seems to have secured the adhesion of all the Christian bodies at work in that country, with the exception of the Roman Catholics, the Resolutions agreed upon at the Jubbulpore Conference have not been accepted by some of the leading Christian bodies working in India. It seems to the Commission to be important that the causes which have produced these different results should be carefully considered. It is impossible to pronounce definitely regarding these causes at this distance and without complete knowledge of the facts ; but this at least is clear, that some of the leading Christian bodies working in India were not represented at " the full and frank discussion " which led to the adoption of the Resolutions. It is not the duty of the Commission to endeavour to ascertain how far any particular bodies may be responsible for the less satisfactory character of the results secured in India ; but it does seem to be necessary to take careful cognisance of the history and FEDERATION AND UNION 115 experience of this case, and to endeavour to realise its lessons. Japan Recently in Japan the Domeikwai (commonly called in English " The Evangelical Alliance in Japan ") has been reorganised as " The Federation of Churches in Japan." As now proposed, it will be composed of delegates chosen by the highest ecclesiastical bodies representing the various Churches in Japan. The Synod of the Church of Christ in Japan and the Association of Congregational Churches have signified their approval and appointed delegates ; and it is understood that other corresponding bodies will do so also when they next meet. The arrange- ment is to go into effect when it has been approved by seven of the Churches. Africa The term " federation " has seldom made its appear- ance so far in connection with missionary work in Africa. Tentative proposals for federation are being discussed in British Central Africa. The efforts which have been made to secure a uniformity in standard of Church membership and in Church discipline, and the creation of an Arbitration Board for South Africa, have already been considered^in the chapter on Comity. C. RELATIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE TWO PLANS We have now given some account of the steps which are being taken in the mission field in the direction of unity in accordance with two different methods. The one seeks to link up as closely as possible bodies belonging to the same ecclesiastical order, while the other endeavours to federate bodies less closely related to each other. It is not for the Commission to decide which of these methods is preferable; but, in describing and distin- 116 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY guishing the two, it may be allowed to call attention to some advantages and disadvantages of each. The former method follows the line of least ecclesiastical resistance, and combines the elements that have most affinity, and most easily coalesce. By unifying the several sections of a denomination, it increases the service that that body can render in other efforts of co- operation. This seems to be the method natural to Churches which lay stress upon organisation and Church polity. But it has the disadvantage that the bodies which it joins often lie separated by many miles. This disadvantage must always be a serious one ; and it is especially so in early days, while Christian centres are still few and far between. The second method is strong where the former is weak. It unites Missions according to local proximity. Many men feel that a fellow-Christian at hand is more to them than a fellow-denominationalist far off. For example, one of our correspondents from China says : "To the writer at least it has always appeared that the geo- graphical union of all bodies in a given area, working side by side, under the same conditions, and using the same language, and facing identical problems, is of infinitely greater importance than the close ecclesiastical union of, say, all the Baptists in the eighteen provinces." It should be noted, moreover, that the South Indian Synod was allowed to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church of India, in order to enter into a union with the Congrega- tional Churches in the South, and that in the Constitu- tion of the Presbyterian Church of China the right to follow a similar course is expressly reserved to the various Synods of the Church. The practical advantages of this method are obvious in a restricted district or pro- vince ; when it expands, so as to cover larger areas, it becomes the principle of nationalism in religion, and can employ all the fascination and magic appeal that belongs to the sentiment of patriotism. But it has also the inherent weaknesses of that position. On the one hand, the unity may be bought too dear by a surrender of FEDERATION AND UNION 117 what ought not to be surrendered ; or it may be specious rather than real, if it reposes on an insufficient ground of fundamental agreement. On the other hand, the union, if otherwise successful, may come to over-accentu- ate peculiarities of place and race, if it loses touch with others ; and isolation must lead to weakness and eccen- tricity. These are some of its ultimate dangers ; while for the moment it may safely be said that no young native Church could afford at present to be indifferent to the bonds of fellowship which bind it to the foreign Churches which have given it its faith. The Federation method seems natural to Churches which lay no special stress on Church organisation ; and it is more open to them than to others which are, e.g. inherently papal, episcopal, or presbyterian. The Commission earnestly repeats the hope expressed by the Shanghai Conference that each of these methods may have a share of its own in the development of future co- operation. It is inevitable that there will be some cases in which the two may clash. A Church may be led to leave a denominational unity in order to enter into a local unity, or vice versa. But there is probably room enough for each method to have free play, at any rate for the present. While all is still in the experimental stage, we may rejoice to be led along various lines of method towards the one aim. It is probable that in the develop- ments of the future sometimes the one procedure, some- times the other, will be the first step of unification. Meanwhile, both methods are alike revealing to the Missions of to-day the unsuspectedly large measure of unity which they already possess ; and this revelation is at least as necessary for us as one that should show to us further possibilities of unity, unattained as yet, but, please God, not unattainable. Lying behind these two methods are two different ideals or conceptions of unity, each of which has been brought before the Commission in the evidence from abroad. There is the ideal of organic unity as in the phrase " one Christian Church for China" ; and there is 118 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY the ideal of federal unity, which is not necessarily more than co-operation extended to the point of full inter- communion between sister Churches. Again, it is not for the Commission to decide between the two. But it may point out that while the latter may seem to have more room for diversities of gifts and methods by the same Spirit, the first more clearly presents that united front which Christian Missions, in face of the phalanxes of heathenism, so universally desire. CHAPTER VI CO-OPERATION AT THE HOME BASE IT is evident that so long as missionaries are sent out and controlled by Missionary Societies in western lands and the Churches planted by them maintain connection with these home Societies, movements towards unity in the mission field cannot proceed far without the co-operation and support of those responsible for missionary administration at home. Several of our correspondents state quite emphatically that the chief difficulty in the way of effective co-operation has been the lack of support on the part of Societies at home. Further it is obvious that, since the missionaries working in any particular area of the mission field often belong to different nationalities, co-operation at the Home Base, to be effective in all cases, must be not only of an interdenomi- national, but also of an international, character. In North America the Mission Boards have been brought into closer relations through the Annual Conference of secretaries, and the German Societies are also, comparatively speak- ing, in close touch with one another. The relations of the Missionary Societies in Great Britain are un- fortunately less close and intimate, and much remains to be done in providing means of personal contact and opportunities for the discussion of common problems in Great Britain itself. But besides this it is very desirable that some means should be found of keeping the American, British, and Continental Societies in communication with one another. 119 120 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY THE LONDON SECRETARIES* ASSOCIATION In Great Britain there has existed for nearly a century a London Secretaries' Association, the first meeting of which seems to have been held in October 1819. Societies engaged in evangelising non-Christian peoples abroad, and having Committees meeting in London, are entitled to representation. Membership is limited to the respon- sible secretaries of Missionary Societies who directly represent their Committees and administer missionary affairs, and this membership is e% officio. The Association has at present between fifty and sixty members. It meets as a rule once a month, and has served an important purpose in bringing the Secretaries of the different Societies into touch with one another. It has organised at least two Conferences of representatives of British Missionary Societies ; but its discussions have not been regarded as official in any sense. UNITED BOARDS OF MISSIONS OF THE PROVINCES OF CANTERBURY AND YORK " The Boards of Missions " are the Central Consultative Body of the Church of England for work among our own kin in the colonies and for Missions to non-Christian peoples. They unify the Church of England Missions, and have been called into existence because the Church feels that it is high time to speak as a Church about her Missions, to think out missionary problems, and to em- phasise in every parish the duty of helping forward the great work. The Boards consist of the Bishops of both Provinces, members appointed by the Lower Houses of the Convocations and by the Houses of Laymen, and representatives of every diocese in the Church of England. They draw Church people closer together, and strengthen their hands in God for this enterprise. They foster co-operation between the Societies of the Church of England, to which, of course, their influence is limited. THE HOME BASE 121 AUSSCHUSS DER DEUTSCHEN EVANGELISCHEN MISSIONEN The first steps in the direction of creating some per- manent link between the Missionary Societies of Germany were taken at the time when that country began to be a colonial power (1885). It was then felt needful to appoint a Standing Committee known as the " Ausschuss der deutschen evangelischen Missionen," representing the twelve leading German Missionary Societies. Its con- stitution was revised in 1897 and again in 1909. The German Societies elect by vote at the Quadrennial Con- tinental Conference a committee of (at present) six members who hold office for the four years intervening between the meetings of the Continental Conference. This Committee has, on the whole, only advisory power. In its hands are the preparations for the Quadrennial Conferences at Bremen. It has several sub-Committees on special subjects, one on the study of the West African liquor trade question, another for influencing the daily and periodical press and supplying it with missionary intelligence. It has helped diverse home and foreign Missionary Societies in difficult negotiations. But its principal work has been to deal with questions that have arisen between Missionary Societies and the German Colonial Office. The expenses incurred by the Committee are defrayed by contributions from the co-operating Societies. At the last Quadrennial Conference at Bremen a resolution was passed to enlarge the German " Auss- chuss " into a " Continental Ausschuss " for special pur- poses. This new " Continental Ausschuss " is now in the process of formation. THE QUADRENNIAL CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE The Quadrennial Continental Conference has a definite membership. At present it includes Societies having their headquarters in Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. 122 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY To be entitled to membership Societies must accept the basis of the Conference " that the power of salvation and regeneration for mankind is contained only in the un- abbreviated and apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for sinners and rose from the dead as it is contained in the Holy Scriptures," and must be approved by the Committee of the Conference. Each Missionary Society has one vote for every fifty European workers in its service. CONFERENCE OF THE FOREIGN MISSION BOARDS AND SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA In America, in the year 1893, a Conference of the Foreign Mission Boards and Societies in the United States and Canada met in New York to discuss practical questions of missionary policy and the best means of thorough co-operation. Since then, meetings have been held annually, and the representation has grown so steadily, that while the Conference began with repre- sentatives of eight denominations, fifty-one Missionary Societies were represented at the meeting in 1909. The Conference usually lasts three days. Membership is confined to executive officers and members of Foreign Mission Boards and Societies having separate Church constituencies in the United States and Canada, with two additional members duly elected from each Board or Society. Corresponding members may be appointed. The American Conference of Mission Boards has come to be recognised as the one body in America that is able to speak on missionary questions with the authority that always accompanies wide and accurate knowledge and recognised influence, while the material it has collected and tabulated upon practically every phase of missionary work is of inestimable value to the cause. The Ecumenical Missionary Conference of 1900 had its origin in the Conference of Foreign Mission Boards of the United States and Canada, which appointed its Com- mittees and made the entire arrangements for the Confer- THE HOME BASE 123 ence. The same Conference appointed the American Committee that has co-operated with the Committee in Great Britain in making arrangements for the World Missionary Conference, 1910. One great result of the gatherings of the Conference is that the executive officers of the Mission Boards have come to know each other personally, and in many cases intimately. The spirit of co-operation thus developed is deep-seated and abiding. In many instances strong, representative, interdenomi- national Commissions have been created for careful and exhaustive investigation of, and report upon, important aspects of missionary work, e.g. the forces needed ; the salaries, allowances, and furlough of missionaries ; Christian education in China ; the work of the Native Church ; Mohammedan problems ; Anglo-American communities in non-Christian lands ; union movements in the field ; language study ; press and missionary intelligence while the Conference has been the means of giving a great impetus to the work of such movements as the Young People's Missionary Movement, and the Laymen's Mis- sionary Movement. The printed Reports of the proceedings of the Con- ference comprise a series of discussions and conclusions regarding missionary methods and policy which all secretaries of American Boards find indispensable. The Societies purchase these Reports at cost price for free distribution among their missionaries, and thus the workers in the field have the benefit of the consensus of missionary experience which finds expression at these Conferences. THE COMMITTEE ON REFERENCE AND COUNSEL Three years ago, feeling the need of still closer co- operation and of more immediate action on matters of common interest than the large annual Conference permits, the Societies united in constituting a Committee on Refer- ence and Counsel. This Committee, consisting at present of eleven members, reports annually to the Conference. 124 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY The Committee is directed to consider any questions which the Boards may wish to refer to it, and the general range of its work includes such features as (a) suggestions in regard to unoccupied fields ; (b) negotiations with Governments ; (c) consideration of questions arising on the mission field between the Missions of different Boards ; (d) such other questions as may be from time to time referred to it ; and (e) original action in cases requiring immediate attention and not involving questions of policy regarding which there might be essential differences of opinion. Any Society or Board desiring the services of the Committee may, at its discretion, designate either the whole or any part of it to serve in a particular case. Special emphasis is laid in the constitution upon the limitations ; that the Committee shall have no authority to interfere in any way in the internal administration of any Board or Society, or to take the initiative in con- sidering questions which arise within any Board or Society and concern it alone. The recognition of the Committee is a voluntary act of any Board, and its decision cannot be binding upon any organisation, but has the effect only of advice given or of judgment expressed. During its short existence the Committee has submitted four Reports to the Conference of Foreign Mission Boards, which show that a Committee of this nature can render very real service in promoting co-operation and unity. It has been instrumental in securing that the rights of missionaries have been reserved under the State regula- tions issued in reference to an Act for expatriation of citizens, which provides that " five years' residence abroad shall make an American an alien." In connec- tion with the voluntary reduction by the United States Government of the Boxer Indemnity exacted from China, a serious attack was made on missionaries in the United States Senate. The Committee on Reference and Counsel took the matter up, and finally the allegations were declared by the Government officials to be baseless. THE HOME BASE 125 Some appeals regarding the famine in China were referred to the Committee, which was able, after enquiry, to give advice which was acted on. The Committee has given attention to such other matters as United Medical work in China, Medical Schools in North China, and Oriental Immigration, and has enquired into and commended such new movements at home as the Laymen's Missionary Movement. It has laid down important directions for laymen who may be visiting the various mission fields, en- quired into questions arising in connection with the interference of missionaries in the native courts in China, and has made a recommendation on the subject which has been adopted by various Boards. The Committee thus far has not been called upon to settle any questions arising in the field between the Missions and the different Boards. It has taken preliminary steps with regard to an enquiry into the question of unoccupied fields, and in 1897 appointed a sub-Committee for this purpose. In view, however, of the fact that one of the Commissions of the World Missionary Conference is preparing a Report on the same subject, the sub-Committee has deemed it wise to hold its plans in abeyance for the present. The Committee has made representations to the Government of the United States on the importance of making enquiries regarding the personal character of candidates for appointment to the diplomatic and con- sular services. The Committee now has under con- sideration the development of hostels for students in Government colleges in non-Christian lands, union schools for the children of missionaries, the relation of inter- denominational or denominational agencies to foreign missionary work, Oriental immigration in the United States, the situation in the Congo Free State, the traffic in opium and intoxicants among the native races, con- ferences with the Executive Committee of the Laymen's Missionary Movement, and a number of other important matters on which it is acting as the representative of the 126 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Boards and Societies of Foreign Missions in the United States and Canada. INTERNATIONAL MISSIONARY UNION There is also in America an annual gathering at Clifton Springs, New York, called the International Missionary Union. The membership of it is open only to active or retired missionaries. The Conference meets for one week each year, and is usually attended by from 100 to 200 members. Its object is to promote the cause of missions in all possible ways by the diffusion of missionary intelligence, the discussion of missionary topics, and the promotion of fellowship among missionaries of different Churches and countries. This organisation, however, is in no way officially representative of the Missionary Societies, and its discussions do not have such a practical direction as those of the Committee on Reference and Counsel, but it unites its members in a union of interest and sympathy. BIBLE SOCIETIES Reference should be made to the work of the Bible Societies and its influence in the promotion of unity at the Home Base. We have already noticed the influence of the Bible Societies in promoting co-operation on the mission field. They have had a similar influence towards unity and joint action upon the Church at home. They are in many places the one agency which brings together practically all sections of the Church on a common platform. THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S MISSIONARY MOVEMENT AND THE UNITED CONFERENCE ON MISSIONARY EDUCATION One of the most effective steps in the direction of joint action at the Home Base has been taken in recent years by the formation in America of the Young People's Missionary Movement for the purpose of issuing text- THE HOME BASE 127 books for use in Mission Study classes and missionary literature for young people and children. The Committee is composed of representatives of the different Mission Boards, and consists for the most part of the Mission Study officers of these Boards. The great majority of the Societies in America make use of the text-books and other literature produced by this central organisation. A similar movement has taken place in Great Britain, and the text-books used in Mission Study classes are prepared by the United Conference on Missionary Educa- tion. This Committee has not yet received the official recognition of the Missionary Societies, but it is composed chiefly of their Mission Study officers, and literature issued by it is used by all the leading Societies in Great Britain. The advantages of co-operation in the work of the missionary education of the Church are evident. It makes possible the production of literature of a literary and educational quality which could not otherwise be secured. The large' circulation which is secured by co-operation for the literature published makes it possible to issue it at a low price. It would be impossible for any except the largest and wealthiest Societies, and difficult even for them, to produce literature of the same excellence if they were to make the attempt independently. The Young People's Missionary Movement and the United Conference on Missionary Education have further been the means of bringing representatives of different Mis- sionary Societies into close touch with one another in co-operative effort of a practical kind. The common use by the different Societies of missionary literature is likely to have a far-reaching influence in creating in the minds of the younger generation a sense of the unity of the missionary task of the Church, and in teaching them to look at it from a larger point of view than that of any single Society. The Commission expresses the hope that it may be found possible to extend such joint action on the part of Missionary Societies at the Home Base in other directions. 128 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY THE LAYMEN'S MISSIONARY MOVEMENT The Laymen's Missionary Movement is another move- ment of an interdenominational character, which has brought together laymen of all denominations in an effort to increase interest in foreign missions among laymen, with especially marked success in America. It was started in the United States in the year 1906, and so far as organisation is concerned, has no direct connection with the Mission Boards. It has, however, their hearty support, and its leaders are representa- tive of these Boards. Its express object is to induce laymen to rally to a more loyal support of the missionary work of their own denomination. It is ex- pected that each denomination will complete the organisa- tion of its laymen for the purpose of giving new impulse to its own work. The Movement is attaining large proportions in the United States and Canada, and a be- ginning has been made in Scotland. It has also taken root in South Africa and Australia, and, apart from the special aim of the Movement, it is likely to contribute to the promotion of unity and co-operation by bringing laymen of different denominations into touch with one another. THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT Another influence which has been making for unity at the Home Base in recent years has been the Student Volunteer Movement in America and in Great Britain. This Movement does not send out missionaries or conduct missionary operations of any kind. It aims merely at bringing the appeal of missions home to students in the universities and colleges, and it encourages those whp have formed the decision to become foreign missionaries to offer themselves as candidates to the denominational Societies with which they are connected. But by bringing men and women belonging to different denominations into touch with one another, and giving them the sense that they are dedicated to a common task, it has done much to further the cause of unity. THE HOME BASE 129 INTERNATIONAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCES The World Missionary Conference itself is not only inter- denominational, but also international, in its scope. It has already proved a most effective means of bringing the representatives of different nationalities into touch with one another, and it has been preceded by a number of Con- ferences which have in some degree served the same purpose. The first such Conference of which there seems to be any record was held in the United States during a visit of Dr. Duff in 1854. It was proposed at that time to hold an Annual Conference, but nothing came of the suggestion for many years. A General Conference on Foreign Missions was held in Liverpool in the year 1860, and was attended by 120 delegates representing twenty- five Missionary Societies. In 1878 another Conference was held at Mildmay Park in London, at which a few representatives of American and Continental Societies were present. A Conference in London in 1888, known as the Centenary Conference on Foreign Missions, was still more largely attended, and a Report was issued in two volumes. Next came the " Ecumenical Missionary Conference " in New York in 1900. This was attended by about 3000 persons connected with more than 250 Societies, and was much the most representative mis- sionary gathering that had ever been held up to that time. The present Conference is more re- presentative, and has been prepared for with greater thoroughness, than any preceding Missionary Con- ference. Its controlling aim from the beginning has been to make a serious and thorough study of the problems of missionary work, in the hope that it may lead to a more concerted and statesmanlike policy. It is highly desirable that full advantage should be taken of the opportunity which it presents, and that some plan should be found of maintaining permanently the closer relations between the Missionary Societies throughout the world into which they have been brought through the work of this Conference. COM. VIII. 9 130 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY CONCLUSION We have now completed our survey of the facts of co-operation at the Home Base so far as these facts are placed before us by our correspondents. We have also referred to certain existing agencies which must tend to promote such co-operation, and which may well serve as examples to Societies and Churches in countries where similar co-operation has not yet been secured. The advantages which have been derived from con- sultation and concerted action among the various sections of the Church in a single country strongly support the urgent advocacy by some of our correspondents of co- operation on a wider, that is, on an international, basis. CHAPTER VII GENERAL REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS THE facts contained in the preceding chapters of our Report show that throughout the mission field there is an earnest and growing desire for closer fellowship, and for the healing of the broken unity of the Church of Christ. In this manifest evidence of the gracious working of the Holy Spirit we must heartily and thankfully rejoice. While we may differ from one another in our conception of what unity involves and requires, we agree in believing that our Lord intended that we should be one in a visible fellowship, and we desire to express our whole-hearted agreement with those who took part in the great Conference at Shanghai, in holding that the ideal object of missionary work is to plant in every non- Christian nation one united Church of Christ. The realisation of the ideal may lie in the far distance ; and the difficulties to be surmounted may be overwhelm- ingly great ; but it is something to have felt the stirring of a hope so rich and so wonderful. The Church in western lands will reap a glorious reward from its mis- sionary labours, if the Church in the mission field points the way to a healing of its divisions and to the attainment of that unity for which our Lord prayed. We have been profoundly impressed also with the importance of the movements towards unity in their relation to the situation which exists at the present day in the non-Christian world. The immense political, intellectual, and social changes which have taken place in recent years in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the 131 132 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY world have materially modified missionary problems and demand special attention. The non-Christian world is awakening. It is being stirred with intellectual life, new industrial activity, new political aspirations, new moral sentiments, new social principles, and new religious longings. We see this movement everywhere, in the beginnings of life in Africa, in the demand for education and reform in China, in the " unrest " of India, and in the development of Japan. These races have their own future, and mean to work out their own political and social regeneration with the aid of all that the civilisation of the West can give them, but in their own way and for themselves. These awakening nations are looking to the West for intellectual enlightenment and for civilisation. To give them this without religion would be to give them that which must prove to them a curse and not a blessing. The Christian religion has supplied what is distinctively good in western civilisation, and can alone correct its many evils. That religion alone, we believe, can meet the need of these awakening nations and make their influence powerful for good and not for evil in the future of our race. This is for us the serious responsibility and the exceptional opportunity of the present time. But the time is short ; the day of our opportunity is limited. These intellectual, moral, and social revolutions are taking place with unprecedented rapidity. And it is more than ever incumbent on the Christian Church to realise its responsibility to carry the Gospel to the lands which are now open to receive it, and to guide the awakening nations to God in Christ. For the accomplishment of this over- whelming task it seems essential that the Christian Church should present a united front. Its divisions are a source of weakness and impair the effectiveness of its testimony to the one Gospel of the Son of God which it professes. The issues are so great that there can be no trifling in the matter. The evangelisation of nations, the Christianising of empires and kingdoms, is the object before us. The work has to be done now. It is urgent and must be pressed forward at once. The enterprise calls GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 133 for the highest quality of statesmanship, and for the maximum of efficiency in all departments of the work. It is not surprising that those who are in the front of this great conflict, and on whose minds and souls the gravity of the issues presses most immediately, should be the first to recognise the need for concerted action and closer fellowship. While we recognise the importance and urgency of the problem, we cannot help recognising also the magnitude and complexity of the difficulties that stand in the way of a solution. Behind all the practical schemes of union in the mission field which have come before us, we find two divergent, though not necessarily contradictory and exclusive, ideals. That each has a relative truth would probably be admitted by all ; and in any perfect and complete realisation of Christian unity both views would need to have justice done to them. But at our present level of moral attainment and spiritual insight, they are not easy to reconcile in any practical proposals. It is not within the province of the Commission to pronounce on the measure of truth contained in each of these two views ; and both those who would lay the greater emphasis on the one, and those who would lay it on the other, have their place in the present Conference without compromis- ing in any particular what they believe to be the truth. We may be permitted, however, to indicate in a general way what these two points of view are, and how they affect the consideration of the problem of unity. Those who take the one view lay the chief emphasis on the things that are common to all Christians. The transcending significance of the faith which is common to all seems to them the fundamental and determining fact in the situation. Those who believe in God the Father, who worship and obey Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, who believe in the Holy Ghost, in the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting, and who accept the Christian Scriptures as their authority and guide, appear to be already united by their own faith and ex- perience in a fellowship so intimate and real that the 134 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY matters on which they differ must sink to a subordinate place. Especially in the face of great non-Christian systems of life and thought does this unity of all Christians stand out in striking relief. The things which separate us from one another are as nothing compared with those which separate us from all who have not experienced the revolution in thought and feeling and attitude which follows from the apprehension of God in Christ. It does not follow for those who take this view that the differences between Christians are of no importance. They may be of great importance, and no one should be asked to surrender his conscientious convictions of truth. But somehow a way must be found of reconciling those differences with the essential unity that exists. It ma}' be contended that, viewed in the light of our under- standing of Christianity, other systems of that religion are very imperfect and very incomplete, and that they ignore what to us are very vital elements in Christianity ; yet none the less the fact remains that those who hold to those systems are themselves Christians. This fact is the foundation on which all plans for the promotion of unity must be constructed. Those who take this view incline towards the forma- tion of a type of federation of Christian Churches, in which the federated bodies would retain full liberty to hold and practise their own systems of doctrine and polity, but in which each would recognise the ministry, ordinances, and discipline of the others, and members might be freely transferred from the one to the other. Further they would contend that only by this plan is it in any way possible to secure the unity that is desired. They regard complete uniformity in the lines of thought and activity as an impossible ideal. According to their view, we shall never get every one to agree regarding any elaborate statement of doctrine, or any one form of Church polity. If we wait for this we must wait for ever. The unity towards which we must strive must be one which allows the largest possible room for diver- sity. All that we can hope to do is to recognise the GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 135 essential unity underlying the differences of western Christendom, and to unite in free intercommunion the Churches planted by the different Christian bodies, reserving to each section the right to adhere to its own form of doctrine and polity. Each indigenous Church in the mission field will gradually, out of these diverse elements, build up that body of Christian doctrine, and that form of polity, which is best adapted to its own life. The other view, to which reference has been made, lays emphasis on the duty of the Church in the West to transmit to the Church newly planted in the mission field as rich and full and complete an interpretation of Chris- tianity as possible. Those to whom this duty seems to be paramount would admit that there is a real unity of faith and experience among Christians, and that the unity for which we must strive is one that will leave full room for diversity. On the other hand, some of the matters with regard to which Christians differ among them- selves are, they would hold, essential parts of divine revelation, or essential means of grace. To surrender these would be unfaithfulness to a sacred trust : a failure to hand on unimpaired to future generations of Christians great necessaries of faith and life which have been com- mitted to their safe keeping. Or even if it were true that the matters in question are of secondary importance in comparison with the great truths on which all Christians are agreed, this would not mean that they could be set on one side, or treated as indifferent, without serious and lasting loss to the cause of Christianity. Besides the essentials of faith and conduct there are the safeguards that secure them ; and in the work of planting the Christian Church these cannot be disregarded. A form of Church polity is not a matter of indifference, but may, in the long and slow process of history, powerfully enhance or sensibly diminish the power of Christianity to fulfil its mission to the world. Even the fundamental truths of Chris- tianity do not exert their full power over men through the bare statement of them, but only as they are seen 136 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY in their full implications and as they find expression in living institutions. Those who think thus feel that there are matters which others regard as subordinate, but which they themselves cannot compromise without disloyalty. It appears to them that to join a federation on the basis of recognition of the ordinances and ministry of all the bodies composing it, is impossible without such disloyal compromise. To do so would seem to involve an acknowledgment that things which they find to be vital in their own spiritual life, and which they believe to be very necessary to the health of the Church, are matters of comparative indifference. They are unable to see how they can without concern receive people from another Church without teaching them these things, or allow their own members to go where they will not be so taught. Still more difficult is it for them to recognise, as equivalent to their own, a ministry which rests on other foundations than those which seem to them to be necessary. It is true that each indigenous Church will have to determine for itself, under the guidance of God's Spirit, its polity and its confession of faith ; but its strength and influence will be in proportion as its confession and polity are an 'adequate expression and embodiment of the full truth and richness of the Christian revelation. There- fore it would seem to those who take this second view, that the great contribution which each body of western Christians can make to the Church that is growing up in non-Christian countries, is that it should express, as fully and clearly as possible, those aspects and elements of divine truth to which, as a distinctive and separate body, it has been called to bear witness. For those who take this view, the ideal of unity for which we must strive is not one that ignores differences or treats them as un- important, but one that seeks, by patient and prayerful thought, to ascertain the elements of truth in all con- flicting opinions, and to embrace them in a richer and higher and reconciling unity. The plan of promoting unity which commends itself to their mind is one that, GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 137 while it seems to them more difficult, more protracted in its working and more costly, appears also safer and more truly conducive to the health of the Church of Christ. They desire that, by seizing every opportunity of personal intercourse, by the avoidance of arrogance and the spirit of criticism, by earnest study of the questions that divide and by unceasing prayer, those who are at present separated should seek to be led by the Spirit of God into a unity in which all that is true and vital in the principles and practices of each may be preserved and reconciled. It is, as has been already said, entirely outside the province of the Commission to offer any opinion regarding the relative truth of the two points of view which we have endeavoured here to state. But, recognising that each has its measure of truth, we desire to express our deep sympathy with our brethren in the front line of the battle in the overwhelming problems which they are called in dependence on God to solve. How is it possible to attain that unity for which our Lord prayed, and yet to leave free play for the diversity which alone will give to the unity com- prehension and life ? How shall we at once give free recognition to our brethren who are with us in Christ, and yet refrain from compromising what we cannot surrender without disloyalty ? How can we escape on the one hand the danger of insisting on some point with regard to which there should be liberty, and of thereby hindering the attainment of the unity that is so essential to the spread of the Gospel in the non- Christian world ; or on the other hand the danger of failing to give to the Church in the mission field those views of truth which in the great strain that is coming upon it will enlarge and enrich and nourish its life ? How can we help to lay the foundations of a Church that shall have its roots deeply planted in the national life, and which at the same time will not be so exclusively national in spirit as to forget its place and membership in the Church Universal ? As a wise writer has said : 138 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY " It is easy to be moderate and cool. It is easy to be ignorant and passionate. But to be wise and yet extravagant, to measure all and yet venture all, this is not easy." It is evident that the growth of the Christian Church in Japan and China and India and Africa is producing a profound change in the religious situation, and is presenting problems of great complexity and gravity. The burden of these problems presses with special weight on those who are in the most immediate contact with the new situation. But they are problems which deeply concern also the Home Church. The world has become a unity ; and the nations once afar off have now, owing to improved communications, become our neighbours. The Churches in the mission field may lead the way to unity ; but they cannot move far and move safely without the co-operation of the Church at home. The great issues which confront us in the modern situation are the concern of the whole Church of Christ ; and the spiritual resources of the whole Church will be required to deal with them. The solution of problems so complex and difficult, and so vitally related to the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ, can be attempted only in a spirit of penitence and of prayer. Penitence is due for the arrogance of the past and for the lack of sympathy and of insight by which all of us have helped to create and perpetuate a situation that retards so seriously the advancement of Christ's Kingdom. Most of all do we need to lament that we carry about with us so small a sense of the harm that is wrought by our divisions, and so little pain for our lack of charity. Prayer is needed, because human wisdom can discern no remedy for the situation. Unity when it comes must be something richer, grander, more comprehensive than anything which we can see at present. It is something into which and up to which we must grow, something of which and for which we must become worthy. We need to have sufficient faith in God to believe that He can bring us to something GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 139 higher and more Christlike than anything to which at present we see a way. COMITY In the meantime there is much that we can do of a practical kind to prepare a way for the larger unity that is to come. It is the bounden duty of all missionary workers and organisations to observe to the utmost degree possible the principles of comity and Christian courtesy. The delimitation of territory, as we have seen, can be carried out only under certain limitations, and cannot provide an ultimate solution of the problems of the mission field. But for the present it has been found to work well, and might be considerably extended in many fields. It is very desirable that Missions working in the same area should agree on a common plan to secure the most effective occupation of the field and to avoid overlapping and waste. The right of a particular body to follow up and to minister to its own members may require to be recognised, if the district into which they migrate is occupied by a body whose understanding of Christianity differs in material respects from that of the Church with which the newcomers have been connected. But it must also be distinctly remembered what serious complications such a practice introduces ; and the decision to form a separate community within a district occupied by another Mission ought to be reached only after the most careful consideration of the question whether, in view of all the facts, the interests of the Kingdom of God seem clearly to demand and necessitate such a course. It also seems to be a first principle of missionary comity that no Society should begin work in a district already effectively occupied by another Mission, without in the first instance consulting the Mission already at work and attempting to reach an understanding with it. The practices of accepting without enquiry agents 140 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY previously employed by another Mission, and of deliberately tempting workers to leave a Mission by the offer of a higher salary, are inconsistent with the spirit of Christian courtesy, and are a hindrance to the work of Christ. Further, while the right of a convert to pass from one Christian body to another as a result of an honest change of conviction must be recognised, any attempt to proselytise among the Christians of another denomination is fatal to effective and harmonious work. When vast populations are waiting to be evangelised it must be regarded as little else than disloyalty to the cause of Christ. The arrangement reached between the Baptists and the Cambridge Mission at Delhi, to which reference has already been made, seems to be one that might be carried out universally by Missions working in adjoining districts. It is desirable that Missions working in the same area should endeavour to assimilate, so far as their ecclesiastical differences permit, their standards of membership, their rules of discipline, and their methods of dealing with enquirers and catechumens. CONFERENCES We desire also very specially to express our strong conviction of the value of Conferences in the mission field. The evidence forming the basis of the chapter on this subject is an overwhelming testimony to the advantages of Conferences in making workers know and understand and love one another. It is the universal tendency of such co-operation to grow. Missionary workers who have once been drawn together are not readily sundered, and the sphere of co-operation widens with experience. The statement is very striking, that while there is sometimes difficulty in making agree- ments as to work before men know each other, there is seldom difficulty in carrying them out when once the workers have been brought into touch with one another. In our judgment, it cannot be too strongly stated that GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 141 personal intercourse leading to mutual confidence and trust is far more likely to issue in valuable results than abstract schemes of co-operation however carefully pre- pared. The bond which keeps the family together is not identity of intellectual opinions or the pursuit of identical aims, but rather personal and intimate knowledge of one another and mutual trust. We are convinced that the creation of as many opportunities as possible for those working in the same area to come into personal and friendly contact with one another will do more than anything else to further the cause of unity. We think it desirable that such Conferences should aim at including, if possible, all the Missions working in a particular district. It will often be the case that one or two Missions can agree on a larger measure of practical co-operation than is possible for others. But while this more advanced measure of co-operation is carried out, there should be at the same time an attempt to find some basis on which all can be brought together. JOINT ACTION In our chapter on Joint Action we have shown that, in view of the magnitude of the crisis with which the Christian Church has to deal, it is foolish, and worse than foolish, to allow any avoidable waste of energy or strength. The resources provided by the Church are so limited that it is essential, not only to press for additional forces, but also to employ to the utmost advantage the forces we have. It seems to us a duty to take steps wherever circumstances make it possible to secure increased efficiency by co-operative action in such matters as the following : 1. Arts Colleges. 2. Medical Colleges. 3. Normal Colleges. 4. Theological Colleges (so far as the doctrinal views of the co-operating Missions render common instruction possible). 142 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY 5. Educational Associations (for the discussion of educational problems and methods). 6. The development of a common system of Educa- tion in mission schools (by the adoption of the same courses of study, the appointment of inspectors, etc.). 7. The production of Christian literature. 8. The issue of periodicals and newspapers. 9. The establishment of mission presses. CO-OPERATION A MORAL PROBLEM Whether we have regard to the union and federation of Native Churches, or to the reaching of agreements between different Missions, or to the working of schemes of co- operative effort, we believe that the real problem to be faced is a moral one. Schemes of co-operation sometimes break down, because the basis on which they are attempted is an impossible one ; but more often the failure lies in ourselves. If the movement towards unity in the mission field is to gather strength and volume, the supreme need is not for schemes of union, but as has been well said, for apostles of unity. Men are needed with sufficient largeness of mind and breadth of sympathy to understand the point of view of those with whom they co-operate. Most of all, men are needed who have seen, and who can lead others to see, the vision of unity; men who know that love is the fulfilling of the law, and who have a living faith that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. We cannot too often remind ourselves that no large progress either in the unity of the Church or in co-operative effort can be made with our present spiritual conception and capacity. The true path does not lie in treating our differences as unim- portant, and impatiently brushing them aside as unworthy hindrances, but in finding through patient self-discipline a higher point of view which transcends them and in which they are reconciled. On the intellectual side this is a task that calls for strength and perseverance ; and GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 143 on the moral side we need the power of a mighty love, which, by the clearness of its perception and the flow of its energy, illuminates and transforms the situation and makes all things new. CO-OPERATION AT THE HOME BASE Finally, in regard to the home base, our study of the evidence has impressed on us the conviction that the problem which we are considering is not one of which the solution can be found in the mission field alone. It is one in which the home Church and the home societies are deeply concerned. It is true that, in the matter of unity, the mission field is leading the way ; but it does not seem that the movement can advance far with safety, apart from the co-operation of the Church at home. It is undesirable that the links that bind the Churches in the mission field to their parent Churches should be severed at too early a date, or that a Church should grow up in Japan or China or India that has not intimate relations with the Church at home, to which it owes its origin. It is surely the duty of the home Church to study carefully the developments that are taking place in the mission field, to guard jealously against placing any obstacle in the way of attaining that unity which is being sought, and to watch carefully that it does not fall too far behind in the movement in which the younger branches of the Church are leading the way. In questions of comity and joint action also it appears evident that efforts and arrangements in the mission field will be seriously limited and handicapped, if they fail to receive the cordial and hearty support of the Missionary Societies at home. Many of our correspondents indicate that in their judgment the chief difficulty lies here. It is important that the numerous independent organisations engaged in mission work should be in close touch with one another, familiar with each other's work and methods, and able to profit by each other's experience. It appears to us to be specially necessary that those concerned in 144 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY missionary administration at home should be in hearty sympathy with the movements towards unity in the mission field, and that they should have such a complete knowledge of the various experiments that are being made, that they may be able to form an intelligent judg- ment regarding any new proposal that may be brought forward. It is hardly possible to secure these results unless the Societies having their headquarters in Europe and America are more closely linked together than they are at present. It is essential, therefore, that there should be hearty and effective co-operation between Missionary Societies at home. THE POSSIBILITY OF INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION These observations cannot be confined to the Societies of any one country. The operations in the foreign field are often carried on in the same country, and even side by side, by agents representing Churches and Societies of different Christian nations. And the movements towards unity and co-operation in the mission field include mis- sionaries of different nationalities. Therefore not only the Missionary Societies in a single country, but Missionary Societies throughout the world, must be in as close com- munication as possible with one another. Accordingly it appears to us that the adoption in some form of the proposal to create an International Committee that would serve as a medium of communication between all Missionary Societies is absolutely necessary for the carrying out of any statesmanlike and concerted plan for the evangelisation of the world. The Reports of other Commissions have indicated more or less clearly and directly the necessity for such a Committee or for joint action at home such as only a Committee of this kind can effectively take. It is in the interest of mission work in all its departments, and it is in the highest interests of the Church in all her branches, that the powerful influences, which the experience and necessities of work in lands not yet Christian are creating, should freely GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 145 operate in helping to heal her divisions and restore her broken unity. For her own sake and for her work's sake, the Church at home must aim at fuller co-operation in the spirit of unity. We do not think that it is within the scope of this Conference to lay down precisely the lines on which such national and international co-operation of the home Churches should be organised. But the work of the Conference will, we anticipate, need to be harvested and completed when its last session is over. Further, the idea which the Conference itself represents is too valuable to be dropped. The expression of that idea which has taken shape during the preparatory stages is so inspiring, and the outcome, which in God's good providence will follow, bids fair to be so surpassingly rich and varied that already we are instinctively looking forward to the time when the next World Missionary Conference shall be due, to mark a fresh stage of progress in the coming of the Kingdom of Christ. Two questions directly arise : Whether any provision should be made (a) for con- serving the results of the Conference and carrying on any parts of the work which may be left incomplete at its close, and (b) for the calling of similar Missionary Conferences at intervals in the future. We have been led without hesitation to answer both questions for ourselves in the affirmative ; and we feel confident that when the time comes for the consideration of this Report, this answer will be endorsed by the general agreement of the Con- ference as a whole. When we approach the further question What plan can best be adopted for securing these and kindred objects ? it is not so easy to speak decisively. It seems, however, to fall to this, the Eighth and last Commission of this Conference, to formulate a plan which, after carefully weighing the many and diverse suggestions made to us, we now put before the Conference with unanimity. We recommend that a Continuation Committee be appointed, such as can deal effectively with any duties COM. VIII. 10 146 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY that may be relegated to it ; that it be international and representative, reflecting in this respect the com- prehensive character of the Conference itself ; and that it be instructed to deal with the same range of subjects as the Conference, and on the same lines and under the same restrictions. We have thought it incumbent upon us to work out this proposal in detail, in view of the probability that the Conference could not itself devote to it the needful time or consideration ; and we are prepared, if so requested, to make recommendations as to the number of members that such a Committee should contain and the distribution of such members among the various nationalities represented in the Conference. Such a Continuation Committee would have no authority except such as it draws from the Conference, and its one purpose would be to carry out in the spirit of the Con- ference itself such work as the Conference might refer to it. We suggest that among other duties which the Conference may think fit to refer to the Continuation Committee should be the following : (1) To maintain in prominence the idea of the World Missionary Conference as a means of co-ordinating missionary work, of laying sound lines for future develop- ment, and of generating and claiming by corporate action fresh stores of spiritual force for the evangelisa- tion of the world. (2) To finish any further investigations, or any for- mulation of the results of investigations, which may remain after the World Missionary Conference is over, and may be referred to it. (3) To consider when a further World Missionary Conference is desirable, and to make the initial pre- parations. (4) To devise plans for maintaining the intercourse which the World Missionary Conference has stimulated between different bodies of workers, e.g. by literature or by a system of correspondence and mutual report, or the like. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 147 (5) To place its services at the disposal of the Home Boards in any steps which they may be led to take (in accordance with the recommendation of more than one Commission) towards closer mutual counsel and practical co-operation. (6) To confer with the Societies and Boards as to the best method of working towards the formation of such a permanent International Missionary Committee as has been already recommended by this and other Com- missions and by various missionary bodies apart from the Conference. We venture further to indicate three principles which seem to form the necessary basis on which any constructive work on the part of an International Com- mittee could be solidly built. (a) It should from the beginning be precluded from handling matters which are concerned with the doctrinal or ecclesiastical differences of the various denominations. (6) This being assured, it would be desirable that it should be as widely representative as possible. (c) Yet it should be a purely consultative and advisory association, exercising no authority but such as would accrue to it through the intrinsic value of the services that it may be able to render. As to the work that would fall to such an International Committee, it is sufficient to point to a large number of recommendations already made by other Commissions, which would give ample work to such a body ; and further points would, no doubt, emerge as time goes on. If the formation of such an International Committee is accomplished, the Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Conference should be authorised to transfer to it, wholly or in part, the task which it has itself re- ceived from the Conference ; but if an International Committee be not formed, the Continuation Committee should, either wholly or in part, carry on the work allotted to it. These recommendations our Commission submits to the attention of the Conference. Some are more explicit 148 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY than others, and many are necessarily tentative. But they seem altogether to show good cause for the appoint- ment of a Continuation Committee. The value of such a body will, however, as we believe, be more than the sum of the values of the individual pieces of work which it may accomplish. It will be the standing witness of a great idea, a lasting reminder of a great piece of religious experience, and an abiding monument of our belief in the Divine guidance that has led us already so much further than we dared anticipate in the direction of co-operation and the promotion of unity, and will yet lead us further still if only we continue steadfast in this faith, in this hope, and in this fervent charity. APPENDIX A RESOLUTIONS OF THE MADRAS DECENNIAL CONFER- ENCE (1902) REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF A BOARD OF ARBITRATION 1 . This Conference declares in favour of the principle of arbitra- tion on matters of dispute between missions. 2. The Conference appoints the following representatives of Societies at present connected with the Decennial Missionary Conference to act as the Board of Arbitration for India and Ceylon, subject to the approval of the Home Societies ; it being understood that only those Societies that accept the principle of arbitration shall be represented to the Board : (Here follows a list of the names of the Societies and Representatives on the Board of Arbitration.) Every Missionary Society not connected with the present Decennial Missionary Conference which may hereafter desire to be represented upon the Board of Arbitration, may nominate one representative to be added to the above. 3. This Conference suggests to the above Board the election of an Executive Committee of fifteen members from among its number, who shall prepare some system of arbitration to be submitted for approval to the Board. 4. This Conference expresses an opinion that in all cases of disagreement the missions concerned should attempt a settlement between themselves, and that reference should be made to the Board of Arbitration only after such attempts have failed. 5. While recognising the desirability of leaving to the Board of Arbitration the preparation of a workable system of arbitration, this Conference desires to express its approval of the following general principles upon the basis of which questions of comity can in its opinion be most satisfactorily settled : (a) That the Board can arbitrate only when any case is referred to it by the official representatives of both the missions involved in any dispute. But in case one party declines arbitration, it shall still be open to the other party to appeal to the Board to use its friendly offices to bring about reconciliation. (b) That the decision of the Board of Arbitration, or its ap- pointed representatives, shall be final. (c) That for the settlement of any dispute, the appointed repre- sentatives of the Board of Arbitration shall include an equal 149 150 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY representation on behalf of each of the missions directly concerned, chosen by them from among the members of the Board, it being left to the Board to appoint an additional member, or members, whether of its own body or not, having regard to the nature of the subject upon which arbitration is sought. 6. Further, this Conference is of opinion that the Board of Arbitration should take steps to obtain detailed information regarding the unoccupied fields of labour, and thus be in a position to put before the Churches of Europe and America state- ments concerning those needs of India which can only be met by their aid. APPENDIX B RESOLUTIONS OF THE SECOND GENERAL MISSIONARY CONFERENCE FOR SOUTH AFRICA (1906) REGARD- ING CO-OPERATION AND COMITY I. That in view of the numerous instances of friction between Missionary Societies brought to notice in the discussion on the paper dealing with mission co-operation, and the manifest feeling of the Conference that some effort should be made to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, an unofficial Boajd of Arbitra- tion of five members be elected by this Conference to deal with all inter-mission difficulties which may be submitted to it by the official representative of any Missionary Society labouring in South Africa. II. That Societies operating in areas not yet fully occupied be invited to arrange between themselves as to a demarcation of their spheres, and report to the Executive Committee ; and that in areas already occupied by one or more Missionary Societies no other Society should enter except by agreement with the Society or Societies in occupation. Provided, however, that if it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board of Arbitration that the area is not being effectively occupied and worked, the Society or Societies in partial occupation may be called upon to show cause before the Board why such area should not be subdivided and allotted by the Board. III. That Church members of one mission temporarily visiting the sphere of another should bring with them certificates of membership, which should be recognised. IV. That Church members settling in the sphere of another mission should be given a disjunction certificate, authorising the officials of that mission to receive them as Church members. V. That members of a Church wishing to join another Church in the same district should produce a disjunction certificate from the Church they are leaving. VI. That the disciplinary censure of one mission should be respected by another. VII. That in the interests of friendly inter-institutional relation- ship, pupils or students passing from one Institution to another should bring with them a letter as to character and standing in the Institution left ; and in order that the missionary purpose of the Institution may be fulfilled, special care should be exercised 151 152 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY in enquiring into the character of those entering on the teaching or other hired course. VIII. That systematic giving on the part of all connected with the Church should in every way be encouraged, and the duty of members to support the ordinances of religion should be vigorously insisted upon ; but any practice giving colour to the charge that the privileges of a Church are to be bought and sold should be scrupulously avoided. IX. That scandals having arisen in some places from the practice of raising funds for the Church, by means of competitive tea meetings and other social gatherings held at night under dis- orderly circumstances, and this fact having been brought under the notice of the Conference, consideration of the dangers attending the practice be earnestly commended to the Church and Society in which it is obtaining a footing. APPENDIX C CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE SHANGHAI MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION 1. This Association shall be called the Shanghai Missionary Association. 2. The objects of this Association shall be, the promotion of Christian fellowship and union ; the discussion of practical ques- tions bearing upon the success of mission work ; the improvement of members in the knowledge of the Chinese people, and of the language ; and the dissemination and acquisition of information more or less directly connected with missions to the Chinese. 3. This Association shall consist of all missionaries residing or working in the Shanghai district ; and any person resident in Shanghai can be elected an honorary member after notice given ; such membership entitles to all privileges of ordinary membership, except voting and eligibility to office. Missionaries from other stations will be welcomed as visiting members. 4. Lady members shall exercise the full rights of membership. 5. An annual fee of one dollar shall be paid by all members of the Association. 6. The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Prayer-Meeting Secretary, all of whom shall be chosen annually by ballot at the June meeting, but the same person shall not be eligible for the office of President for two successive terms. 7. The officers of the Association shall constitute an Executive Committee, whose duty it shall be to prepare subjects and nomin- ate leaders for each meeting, subject to the approval of the Associa- tion, and to make all routine arrangements. 8. An Entertainment Committee, consisting of two ladies, shall be elected annually. 9. The above constitution shall be subject to revision by a two-thirds vote of the members present ; notice of the proposed revisions having been given at the previous meeting. BYE-LAWS I. The President, Vice-President, and Treasurer shall perform the duties usually pertaining to these offices. 153 154 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY 2. A record of the proceedings of the Association shall be kept by the Secretary, and shall be presented for acceptance at each meeting. The Secretary will also keep a Subject Book, in which members may enter suggestions of subjects for future meetings. 3. A weekly prayer-meeting of the Association shall be arranged for by the Prayer-Meeting Secretary, but no formal business shall be transacted at this meeting. 4. The regular meetings of the Association shall be held on the first Tuesday evening of each month, except July, August, and September. 5. The business meeting, to be convened at 8 p.m., shall be preceded by a social gathering at 7 p.m., where light refreshments only will be provided. 6. The subject of the evening shall be taken up at the latest at half-past eight o'clock ; all unfinished business being postponed until afterwards. 7. All motions before the Association shall be in writing, and signed by the proposer, but unless arising from the business before the meeting no motion shall be presented without a written notice of the intention to do so having first been sent to the Secretary at least one week before the meeting, and the Executive Committee shall, if they consider it desirable, mention it in the notice convening the meeting. 8. Any member can inform the Secretary in writing of any objection to the Executive Committee's arrangements, or make suggestions for the Committee to take under consideration ; such written objection or suggestion being handed in at least three days before the regular meetings of the Association, if it is desired to have it taken under consideration before such meeting, but the discussion of all business in open meeting of the Association is regarded as undesirable. 9. Each meeting of the Association shall be opened with the reading of a portion of Scripture, a hymn and prayer, and shall be closed with the benediction. 10. Special Meetings of the Association shall be held at the call of the President and Secretary on the requisition of any twelve members, due notice having been given of the object of the meeting. 11. The financial year shall close with the June meeting. 12. The above bye-laws may be suspended or amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any meeting, without notice. APPENDIX D RULES OF THE SOUTH INDIAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION I. The Association shall be called the South Indian Missionary Association. II. Missionaries 1 of either sex, working in the Madras Presid- ency or its associated Native States (viz., Travancore, Puducottah, Mysore, and Hyderabad), shall be eligible for membership in the Association, and shall be enrolled by the Secretary on written application, accompanied by the first annual subscription. III. The objects of the Association shall be, in general (a) to promote among missionaries fraternal feeling, and interchange of information and views regarding mission work ; (b) to provide means of consultation and of united action in the interests of mission work, when occasion requires. IV. The officers of the Association shall be (a) A Secretary. (b) A General Committee of fifteen members including the Secretary. Ten members of the General Committee including the Secretary shall be elected biennially, and the remaining five appointed biennially by the elected members. All officers shall be eligible for re-election or re- appointment. V. A General Meeting of the Association shall be held annually, the time and place of each meeting being fixed by the vole of all members as soon as possible after the previous meeting. VI. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be (a) to receive the report of the General Committee regarding the working of the Association for the year ; (b) to consider any proposed alterations in the Rules of the Association. VII. The duties of the Secretary acting under the direction of the General Committee, shall be (a) to receive applications for membership and keep a roll of members ; 1 "Missionary" shall be understood to include any Christian worker, ordained or unordained, sent from a Christian country for mission work in India. 155 156 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY (b) to collect the annual subscriptions of members ; (c) to keep a record of all General Meetings of the Association ; (d) to be Convener and Secretary of the General Committee ; (e) to keep the accounts and conduct the correspondence and other general business of the Association. VIII. The functions of the General Committee shall be (a) to arrange annually a Conference for the interchange of missionary information and the discussion of missionary questions in connection with the Annual General Meeting of the Association ; and other such Conferences of members of the Association at con- venient times and places ; to publish, when expedient, the proceedings of such Conferences ; and otherwise to promote the first object of the Association indicated in Rule III. (b) When any question arises in regard to which it seems prima facie desirable that the Association should take action, the Standing Committee shall (i) give preliminary consideration to the subject ; (ii) arrange for its discussion as widely as possible in local meetings of the Association ; (iii) formulate motions on the subject and submit them, through the post, for the vote of all members of the Association ; (iv) take action on the subject, on behalf of the Associa- tion, in the sense indicated by the majority of the votes. (c) In cases of emergency the General Committee may dis- regard (b) (ii) above. (d) The General Committee shall supervise the admini- stration of the affairs of the Association, and shall present an Annual Report regarding them to the Annual General Meeting. IX. The General Committee shall be at liberty to conduct its business either by correspondence or by meeting, according to the vote of the majority. At meetings of the General Committee five shall be a quorum. X. All memorials drawn up by special sub-committees or by the General Committee shall be sent forward in the name of the Association, but only after being submitted to a vote of all the members of the Association, and on being approved by a majority of at least two-thirds of those voting. All such memorials shall be signed by the members of the General Committee and the Convener of the sub-committee dealing with the subject-matter of the memorial. XI. Whenever possible, local branches of the Association shall be formed for discussion of missionary questions, for common local action in accordance witn the principles of the Association, and to facilitate communication between the Secretary and the members. XII. The annual subscription of members of the Association shall be one rupee. APPENDIX D. 157 XIII. Ministers other than missionaries, and missionaries working outside the Madras Presidency and its associated Native States, shall be admitted as Honorary Members of the Association on written application to the Secretary, accompanied by the first annual subscription. XIV. Honorary Members shall enjoy all the privileges of the Association except the right to vote. XV. No alteration of the Rules or Bye-laws of the Association shall be made except (i) after discussion in the Annual General meeting, (ii) by a vote taken among all the members of the Association. For an alteration in the Bye-laws a simple majority, for an alteration in the Rules a two-thirds vote, shall be required. BYE-LAWS 1. Subscriptions for each calendar year shall be due at the beginning of the year. 2. The annual subscription shall not be due from members on furlough. 3. A member's name shall be struck off the roll (a) on his ceasing to be engaged in missionary work within the area of the Association ; (b) if his subscription is two years in arrears. 4. The time and place of the Annual General Meeting shall, from year to year, be fixed as follows. The General Committee shall, as soon as possible, after the previous General Meeting, nominate not fewer than three places, attaching to each place a suitable month or months. The votes of all members shall be taken regarding the places and months so nominated ; and the General Committee shall then fix a date within the month determined by the majority of votes. 5. The election of Secretary and General Committee shall take place as soon as possible after the General Meeting of the year in which the election is held. For the election of the remaining nine elected members of the General Committee, the retiring General Committee shall, after the election of the new Secretary is complete, choose eighteen names of members representative of the various localities and missionary interests ; and these names, together with the names of the elected members of the retiring committee, shall be sub- mitted as a nomination list for the votes of all members. The nine receiving the highest number of votes shall be considered elected. If any of those elected declines to hold office the member next in number of votes to the first nine shall be considered elected in his place. As soon as possible after this election, the ten elected members of the Committee shall choose five additional members, having regard in the selection to the due representation on the Committee of all localities and missionary interests. 6. Any officer shall vacate office on going on furlough. Official vacancies occurring shall be filled up by the General Committee, 158 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY with due regard to representation of localities and missionary interests. 7. Any member proposing a change in the Rules or Bye-laws shall send notice of motion on the subject to the Secretary not later than a month before the General Meeting at which he will propose the change. The Secretary shall communicate the notice of motion to all members of the Association before the meeting. 8. The General Committee shall be authorised to enrol Branches of the Association, consisting either of missionaries of various Societies in the same locality or of missionaries of the same mission. Votes taken in a branch on any subject submitted for voting by the General Committee shall be counted as individual votes in determining the action of the Association. APPENDIX E CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE EVANGELICAL UNION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Art. I. Name. The name of this Society shall be the Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands. Art. II. Object. It shall be the object of this Union to unite all the Evangelical Forces in the Philippine Islands for the purpose of securing comity and effectiveness in their missionary operations. Art. III. Membership. The regular appointees of recognised evangelical organisations working in the Philippine Islands may be members of the Union. Other Christians, lay or clerical, may be elected to membership by the Executive Committee. Art. IV. Management. There shall be a Central Executive Committee composed of two members from each organisation repre- sented in the Union and working in the Philippine Islands. Each organisation shall choose its representation in the Committee. This Committee shall consider and make recommendations upon all questions referred to it affecting missionary comity in the Philippine Islands. The Executive Committee shall elect its own officers. Art. V. General Officers. The general officers of the Union shall be a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, to be elected at the annual meeting on nomination of the Executive Committee. Art. VI. Amendments. This constitution may be amended at any annual meeting upon recommendation of the Executive Com- mittee, by a majority vote, due notice having been given of the proposed amendment. Amendment. The President of the Union shall be an ad- visory member of the Executive Committee in all cases that he be not already a regular member. BYE-LAWS. 1. The Executive Committee shall meet once a year or at any time upon call of the Secretary for any special business to come before the Committee. 2. The Union shall have an annual convention, the arrange- ments for which shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee. 3. One of the duties of the Executive Committee shall be to 159 160 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY meet and confer with workers of any Societies that are not now parties to this agreement, and to confer with and advise represen- tatives of any arriving in the future as to the location of their respective fields, also to earnestly urge them to become parties to the agreement, and to choose members who shall represent their Society in the Executive Committee. 4. The name " Iglesia Evangelica " shall be used for the Fili- pino Churches which shall be raised up, and when necessary the denominational name shall be added in parenthesis, e.g. " Iglesia Evangelica de Malibay " (Mission Metodista Episcopal). APPENDIX F CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS OF THE STANDING COM- MITTEE OF CO-OPERATING MISSIONS IN JAPAN CONSTITUTION ; Article I. Name This Committee shall be called the Standing Committee of Co-operating Christian Missions in Japan. Article II. Functions 1. This Committee shall serve as a general medium of reference, communication, and effort for the co-operating missions in matters of common interest and in co-operative enterprises. On applica- tion of interested parties, and in cases of urgent importance on its own initiative, the Committee may give counsel : (a) With regard to the distribution of forces for evangelistic, educational, and eleemosynary work, especially where enlargement is contemplated ; (6) With regard to plans for union or co-operation on the part of two or more missions for any or all of the above forms of mission- ary work, and in general (c) With a view to the prevention of misunderstandings and the promotion of harmony of spirit and uniformity of method among the co-operating missions. 2. The work of this Committee may include : (a) The formation of plans calculated to stimulate the produc- tion and circulation of Christian literature ; (6) The arranging for special evangelistic campaigns, for the services of visitors from abroad as preachers or lecturers, and for other forms of co-operative evangelistic effort, and (c) In securing joint action to meet emergencies affecting the common interests of the co-operating missions. 3. In serving as a means of communication between the co- operating missions the Committee shall be authorised to publish at least once a year a record of social and religious conditions and progress. A rticle III. Composition i. This Committee shall be composed of representatives of as many of the evangelical Christian missions in Japan as may choose o co-operate with it on the following basis, to wit : COM. VIII. II 162 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY (a) Each mission having fifteen members, inclusive of the wives of missionaries, shall be entitled to one representative with full powers, such representative to be called a full member ; (b) Each mission having forty-five members shall be entitled to two representatives with full powers ; (c) Each mission having seventy-five members, or more, shall be entitled to three representatives with full powers, and (d) Any mission having a membership of not less than five shall be entitled to representation by one corresponding member, who shall possess all the rights of full members, except that of voting. 2. Two or more missions without regard to their size may at their discretion combine to form a group. In such cases each group shall, so far as the purposes of this Committee are concerned, be counted as a mission, and shall be entitled to representation accordingly. 3. The full members and the corresponding members shall be the media of communication between the Committee and the missions, or groups of missions, which they respectively represent. 4. The members of this Committee shall be chosen by the missions, or groups of missions, which they respectively represent, or shall be appointed by the proper authorities in their respective missions or groups, to serve for such terms as said missions or groups may individually determine. Article IV. Withdrawal A mission may at any time withdraw from co-operation with the Committee by notifying the secretary in writing of its decision to do so. A rticle V. Officers The officers of this Committee shall be a chairman, a vice- chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer, who shall hold office for one year, or until their successors are elected. They shall be chosen by ballot. Article VI. Meetings 1. Regular meetings of the Committee shall be held annually at such times and places as the Committee shall determine. Special meetings may be held at any time at the call of the chairman, or, if he be unable to act, the vice-chairman, in case five or more full members, representing at least three missions or groups of missions, shall so desire. 2. A quorum for the transaction of business shall include repre- sentatives from at least two-thirds of the co-operating missions, or groups of missions, having full members. Article VII. Expenses i. The ordinary expenses of this Committee, including the cost of attendance of full members on its meetings, shall be met up to the limit of yen 500 per annum, by the several missions, represented by full members, in proportion to such representation. APPENDIX F 163 2. Extraordinary expenses shall be incurred only as special provision may be made by the missions or otherwise for meeting them. A rticle VIII. A mendments Amendments to this constitution may be proposed at any time either by the Committee or by any one of the co-operating missions, and said amendments shall take effect when the missions, repre- sented by not less than three-fourths of the full members of the Committee, shall have given notice to the secretary of their consent. BYE-LAWS 1. All meetings shall be opened and closed with devotional exercises. 2. All resolutions shall be submitted in writing. 3. Questions of parliamentary procedure shall be decided in accordance with Roberts' Rules of Order. 4. The following Standing Committees of not less than three members each shall be appointed at each regular annual meeting : (a) On Christian Literature ; (b) On Co-operative Evangelistic Work ; (c) On Speakers from Abroad ; (d) On Educational and Eleemosynary Work ; (e) On Statistics, including a Statistician (who need not be a member of the Standing Committee), and (/) On General Business (Executive Committee). It shall be the duty of the last-named Committee to authorise the disbursement of funds and attend to all other ad interim business not otherwise provided for. 5. A call for a special meeting shall be issued at least one month in advance of the meeting, and, except by the unanimous consent of those present, the business shall be limited to that stated in the call. 6. The secretary shall furnish each member of the Standing Committtee with at least fifteen copies of the proceedings of each meeting of the Committee. 7. These bye-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote at any regular meeting. APPENDIX G CONSTITUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL UNION OF WEST CHINA PREAMBLE Believing that education in the highest sense cannot exist apart from Christianity, and feeling the necessity for a system of educa- tion based upon Christian ideals, in which revealed truth shall have a place commensurate with its mission of calling out the highest good in the individual and the nation ; and also Believing in the principle of union for all Missions doing educa- tional work in West China, which principle has been heartily endorsed by the appointment of delegates from eight Missions to formulate a plan of union ; and, furthermore, Recognising the marked advance in the educational aims and methods of the Chinese Government, and the advisability of such conformity of Christian missionary education to the Chinese official scheme, in grades of schools, course of study, and methods, as is compatible with our Christian ideals ; Representatives of the several Missions adopted the following scheme : 1 . Name. The Christian Educational Union of West China. 2. Aids. (a) To promote the unification and centralisation of all Christian primary and secondary educational institu- tions for boys and girls. (b) To promote the organisation of a Union Christian Uni- versity, and to further its interests. 3. Membership. The Union shall consist of (a) The Missions engaged in primary and secondary educa- tional work which shall appoint a representative to the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, and adopt the union course of study and regulations for examination and graduation. (b) The Missions which shall take part in the establishment of a Union University. 4. Board of Education. For the realisation of the above aims, and the promotion of educational interests in general, there shall be a Board of Education, consisting of two bodies : 164 APPENDIX G 165 (1) A Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, con- sisting of at least two representatives appointed by each Mission, and any other missionaries engaged in primary and secondary educational work who are able to attend the Annual Meeting. When representatives of two or more Missions reside in the same locality, they may at any time constitute themselves a sub- committee of the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, and forward recommendations to that Committee. (2) The Temporary Board of Management of the University until such time as the Senate is organised. No changes shall be made in the Constitution of this Union, as now adopted, without a two-thirds majority of the members present at any properly called meeting of the Committee on Primary and Secondary Education. APPENDIX H RESOLUTIONS OF THE CENTENARY MISSIONARY CON- FERENCE, SHANGHAI, 1907, ON THE CHINESE CHURCH I. That this Centenary Conference records its profound thank- fulness to God for His abounding grace in the planting of His Church in connection with the Protestant Missions in China during the hundred years now completed. The first member of the Chinese Protestant Church was baptized in the year 1814, and fifty years ago it numbered barely 400 communicants. Within the last half- century it has passed repeatedly therough the fires of persecution, has come out of them purified and strengthened, and numbered at the end of 1905 about 175,000 communicant members. For shining examples of faith, courage, patience, and zeal, and for a great multitude who have finished their course in the faith and love of the Lord Jesus, we render our humble thanks- givings to God, by whose grace they were enabled to over- come. To all the members of the Church in China now, both older and younger, we send our hearty and affectionate salutations as fellow-servants of Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God on their behalf, and we do not cease to pray for them that they may walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing until they, too, follow- ing those who through faith and patience have inherited the promises, shall also receive^from the Righteous Judge the crown of eternal life. II. Whereas, it is frequently asserted that Protestant Missions present a divided front to those outside, and create confusion by a large variety of inconsistent teaching, and whereas the minds both of Christian and non-Christian Chinese are in danger of being thus misled into an exaggerated estimate of our differences, this Centenary Conference, representing all Protestant Missions at present working in China, unanimously and cordially declares That this Conference unanimously holds the'^Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as'the supreme standard of faith and practice, and holds firmly the primitive apostolic faith. Further, while acknowledging the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed as substantially expressing the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, the Conference does not adopt any Creed as a basis of Church unity, and leaves confessional questions for future consideration ; 166 APPENDIX H 167 yet, in view of our knowledge of each other's doctrinal symbols, history, work and character, we gladly recognise ourselves as already one body in Christ, teaching one way of eternal life, and calling men into one holy fellowship ; and as one in regard to the great body of doctrine of the Christian faith ; one in our teaching as to the love of God the Father.^God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost ; in our testimony as to sin and salvation, and our homage to the Divine and Holy Redeemer of men ; one in our call to the purity of the Christian life, and in our witness to the splendours of the Christian hope. We frankly recognise that we differ as to methods of administra- tion and Church government. But we unite in holding that these differences do not invalidate the assertion of our real unity in our common witness to the Gospel of the grace of God. III. That in planting the Church of Christ on Chinese soil, we desire only to plant one Church under the sole control of the Lord Jesus Christ, governed by the Word of the Living God and led by His guiding Spirit. While freely communicating to this Church the knowledge of Truth, and the rich historical experience to which older Churches have attained, we fully recognise the liberty in Christ of the Churches in China planted by means of the Missions and Churches which we represent, in so far as these Churches are, by maturity of Christian character and experience, fitted to exercise it ; and we desire to commit them in faith and hope to the con- tinued safe keeping of their Lord, when the time shall arrive, which we eagerly anticipate, when they shall pass beyond our guidance and control. IV. That in this view we cordially undertake to submit very respectfully to the Home Churches which have sent us to China, the following recommendations : (a) That they should sanction the recognition by their mission- aries of the right of the Churches in China planted by them to organise themselves in accordance with their own views of truth and duty, suitable arrangements being made for the due representa- tion of the missionaries on their governing bodies until? these Churches shall be in a position to assume the full responsibilities of self-support and self-government. (b) That they should abstain from claiming any permanent right of spiritual or administrative control over these Churches. V. This Conference, having, in Resolution No. II., thankfully declared our essential unity as already existing, earnestly desires further that this unity should be fully manifested and made effective in the Chinese Church, and considers that the most urgent practical step for the present is to endeavour to unite the Churches planted in China by different Missions of the same ecclesiastical order, without regard to the nationality or other distinctive features of the several Missions under whose care they have been formed, recognising the inherent liberties of these Chinese Churches as members of the Body of Christ. VI. The Conference rejoices to know that steps in this direction have already been taken by various sections of the mission body, and further resolves to appoint a Committee to act for it in 168 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY furthering and co-ordinating all such action ; the Committee to be constituted as follows : (a) It shall consist in the first instance of eight sub-committees thus : 1 i ) Three Baptist missionaries. (2) Congregational missionaries. (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) Episcopalian missionaries. Lutheran and Reformed missionaries. Methodist missionaries. Presbyterian missionaries. China Inland Mission missionaries. Missionaries from the bodies not included in the above classification. (b) These eight sub-committees shall take such action as they think best for bringing the whole subject before all the Churches of their own order who have Missions in China ; and they shall also act together as a Joint Committee on Union when they desire to do so. The Joint Committee may select one or more other sub-com- mittees similar to the above, should this be found necessary to the proper representation of any other bodies not sufficiently provided for in these eight. (c) It shall be their principal duty to consider maturely how the general mind of the Conference as now expressed may be adjusted and carried out by the various bodies concerned in harmony with their views of Church order. (d) The names of members of these sub-committees shall be selected by the Committee on Nominations, in consultation with members of the Church to be represented, and appointed by the Conference before its rising. (e) The Joint Committee shall fill all vacancies occurring in any of the Sub-Committees. VII. While the appointment of these Committees contem- plates the formation of six or more Church organisations for the Chinese Church in the first instance, it is the earnest hope of this Conference that these Chinese bodies, with the assistance and advice of the foreign missionaries, may, from the first, prepare to unite with each other in the closest practicable bonds of Christian fellowship, either in organic ecclesiastical union or in a free federa- tion, as they may be led by their own interpretation of the mind of Christ, and by the guidance given them in the providence of God, and through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. VIII. Whereas, the work of the Young Men's Christian Association for the Chinese students in Tokyo, undertaken on behalf of the missions represented in this Conference, has been so blessed that there are now considerable numbers of these students seeking admission to the Church ; and Whereas, preliminary steps have been taken by some of the Chinese Christian leaders there, looking to the formation of a Church which shall represent our common Christianity ; Therefore, be it Resolved : That this Conference appoints a representative Committee to consider and report on the situation thus created. APPENDIX H 169 IX. The Conference calls attention to the following matters as having an important bearing on the growth and spiritual progress of the Chinese Church : (a) In these times of educational change, immediate and in- creased attention should be given to the elementary, secondary, and higher schools of the Church, in which a thorough modern education may be given in close conjunction with Christian training and instruction. (b) Greater attention should be given to the spiritual care of the young people of the Church and to the fuller use of Sunday schools, the latter being so arranged that adults as well as children may attend. The Conference welcomes the help in caring for the young people which is derived from such methods as those of the Christian Endeavour Movement, especially in drawing out fitness for Christian service ; and strongly recommends that these forms of work should be generally introduced and should be so con- ducted as to be in the closest possible touch and co-ordination with the general organisation of the local Church. (c) The Young Men's Christian Association in helping to win to Christ and to the service of the Church, young men in cities, and students in China and abroad ; in working under the leader- ship of the missionaries to stimulate voluntary Christian effort among students in Christian schools and colleges ; in helping to make these institutions recruiting stations for the Christian ministry ; in preparing and publishing Bible study courses especially adapted to the needs of young men ; in holding annual conferences for the training of leaders and the deepening of the spiritual life ; and in other ways is proving a most effective agency of the Church, and should be extended as opportunity and resources permit, care being taken in all cases to secure intimate relations between the Young Men's Christian Associations and the other work of the Church. (d) The Conference regrets that ready personal use of the Holy Scriptures is not yet nearly so general among the members of the Chinese Church as it ought to be ; strongly urges that every attention be given to the encouragement of Bible-reading ; and recommends with this view the large use in every part of China of local Vernacular Versions, whether in Roman letter or in Chinese characters. (e) The Conference rejoices in all indications of a growing and healthy sense of independence in the Chinese Church, especially as indicated in progress made towards self-support, and urges earnest attention to evangelistic work, as well as increased effort to develop the grace of liberality, so that the Chinese Church may learn its own strength, and increasingly meet from its own re- sources all the expenses of its own work and worship. (/) The Conference earnestly recommends that with a view to the increased efficiency of the Christian ministry, every effort be made by Missions and Chinese Churches, to place the salaries of Chinese brethren engaged hi Church work on a scale adequate to the requirements of their position. We are unable to suggest a uniform scale for general adoption, as rates must vary with the 170 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY cost of living in different parts of the Empire, and with the attain- ments in self-support made by the Chinese Churches. X. The Conference requests the representatives of each Church or Missionary Society to see to it that the foregoing resolutions be duly communicated to the representative bodies of the Home Churches, and to Chinese Churches, as desired, and to appoint a Committee of three to translate them into Chinese, and that copies in English and Chinese should be printed for general use. APPENDIX I RESOLUTIONS OF THE CENTENARY MISSIONARY CON- FERENCE. SHANGHAI, 1907, ON COMITY AND FEDERATION I. That this Conference recommends the formation of a Federal Union under the title the Christian Federation of China. II. That the objects of this Federation shall be to foster and encourage the sentiment and practice of union, to organise union effort whenever and wherever possible, and in general to seek through all such effort to hasten the establishment of the Kingdom of God in China. III. That the following methods be recommended for the accomplishment of the object in view : (a) The formation in each province or group of provinces of a Council to consist of Delegates, both Chinese and foreign, represent- ing all the missions in the province or group of provinces, the missions working among emigrants in Malaysia and Hawaii being considered as constituting such a group. Meetings of this Council to take place once a year or at least once in two years. Two secretaries, one Chinese and one foreign, to be appointed for each Council. (b) The formation of a National Representative Council to consist of representatives, Chinese and foreign, from each of the Provincial Councils. The form of the representation to be adopted to be referred to an organising committee after consultation with the Provincial Councils, to decide whether it shall be on a basis of a general representation of the province, or of the representa- tion of missions working in the province, or of the representation of Churches of the same ecclesiastical order in each province. Meetings to take place once in three years or at least once in five years. Two secretaries, one Chinese and one foreign, to be ap- pointed by the National Council. Secretaries and members of Council to hold office until next meeting of the Council. IV. That this Conference appoints an Organising Committee of twenty-five missionaries. The nomination to be reported before the close of the Conference. V. That the duty of this Organising Committee shall be to take steps to secure the formation of the Provincial Councils at the earliest possible date ; and after full consultation with the various Provincial Councils, to effect the organisation of the Representative National Council. 171 172 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY VI. That the National Representative Council, when properly and constitutionally formed, shall act as a consultative and advisory body only (a) To receive reports from the Provincial Councils and to act if required as a medium for the expression of Christian opinion in China. (b) To appoint sub-committees and in general to do all in its power to further everything connected with the work of the Federation. VII. That the work of the Federation shall be (a) To encourage everything that will demonstrate the existing essential unity of Christians. To watch for opportunities of united prayer and mutual conference between representatives of different bodies of Christians in China ; and as opportunity offers, to initiate and arrange for representative meetings for the furtherance of Christian unity. (b) To devise and recommend plans whereby the whole field can be worked most efficiently and with the greatest economy in men'and time and money. (c) To promote union in educational work. (d) The encouragement of the consideration of all questions as to how the various places of Christian work can be carried on most efficiently, e.g. translation and literary work, social work, medical work, evangelistic work, etc. (e) And in general to endeavour to secure harmonious, co-operant and more effective work throughout the whole Empire. VIII. That, in response to the suggestion of the Anglican Con- ference Committee on Unity, this Conference appoints a committee to draw up in Chinese a form of prayer to Almighty God for His blessing on the Empire of China and the Church of Christ therein , and for the unity of the Church, to be issued by the Conference, and recommended for use at the Sunday morning service of every Christian congregation throughout the land. APPENDIX J CONSTITUTION OF KIANGSU FEDERATION COUNCIL The following Constitution was adopted : 1. Name. The name of this organisation shall be the Kiangsu Christian Federation Council. 2. Purpose. Its purpose shall be to promote the unity and sympathetic co-operation of believers, looking to the realisation of Christ's desire for the unity of His Church, for, as this spirit grows and our work spreads, there is hope that all denominations will carry out the plans for union adopted by the Federation Council. There shall be no interference, however, in the freedom of action of each society. 3. Each Mission having work in Kiangsu Province may appoint two representatives, one Chinese and one foreign, as its delegates to the Council. It may appoint one additional foreign delegate for the first twenty-five missionaries and one more for each succeed- ing twenty-five or major fraction thereof. It may appoint one additional Chinese delegate for the first five hundred Chinese members of the Church and one more for each succeeding five hundred or major fraction thereof. 4. Officers. The Council shall elect a president and vice- president, a Chinese and an English secretary, to hold office until the next meeting. 5. Meetings. The Council shall meet once a year at such time and place as the delegates shall decide ; two-thirds of the delegates- elect shall constitute a quorum. 6. Business. Whatever may promote the growth of believers in love and aid in drawing together of the different denominations may be the subject of such consxiltation and action as shall make their unity manifest to all. 7. Two-thirds majority of those present shall be necessary for the adoption of any proposal. 8. Executive Committee. There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the five officers and two others elected by the Council for the transaction of any extraordinary or unforeseen business. Five members shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Com- mittee. This Committee shall have power to call an extra session of the Council on one month's notice, and to change the time and place of the meeting of the Council if necessary. 9. Amendments. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those present at any meeting. 173 APPENDIX K RESOLUTIONS OF THE JUBBULPORE CONFERENCE ON FEDERATION Whereas there exist in this country several Churches and Societies under a variety of names, and organised on different principles, yet agreed in loyalty to Christ and substantially holding a common faith, and earnestly devoted to the work of extending His Kingdom, and Whereas they are at present, to the great detriment of the common cause, united by no visible bond, and Whereas in the providence of God the time seems opportune for them to manifest more fully their essential oneness, have closer communion with each other, and by joint action promote the interests of the Kingdom of our Lord, we, the delegated representatives of the following Churches and Societies, viz. The Presbyterian Church in India, The South India United Church, The Methodist Episcopal Church, The Friends' Mission, The Christian Mission, The American Marathi Mission, The Christian and Missionary Mission being assembled in joint committee and believing that a closer union and fuller fellowship of the evangelical branches of Christ's Church is capable of such a measure of realisation as will promote their efficiency in doing their work in this land, and strengthen their testimony to the life and power of the divine Redeemer before the world : Resolve prayerfully and earnestly to consider how a compre- hensive scheme of union may be devised that will permit the evangelical denominations in India to express and represent, and thereby increase, the measure of spiritual unity that already exists among the loyal disciples of the Lord Jesus. Inasmuch as ( I j The General Assembly of the Presebyterian Church in India has expressed itself as " recognising the advantage that would accrue to the cause of Christ in India by a realisation of His prayer that they all be one, and gladly welcoming any advances that may be brought before it " ; and (2) the Central Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church has appointed " a committee to confer with committees of other 174 APPENDIX K 175 bodies to consider the whole subject, with instructions to seek an early practical federation of the Christian forces in India, and the greatest possible means of joint and common action in schools, literature, and other matters of common interest " ; and !.. (3) the General Assembly of the South India United Church has likewise appointed a committee on union which is " authorised to enter into conference with committees appointed by such other bodies as may be found willing to enter into conference with a view to drawing up some scheme by which all bodies which may accept it may, without sacrificing their autonomy, band them- selves together for mutual helpfulness " ; and (4) the American Marathi Mission has expressed " its earnest desire for the closest fellowship and even union between Christian bodies " and directed " its standing committee on union to try to send one of its members to such a conference as is proposed " ; and (5) representatives of (a) the Friends' Mission, (b) the Christian Missionary Society, and (c) the Christian and Missionary Alliance have been duly appointed by their respective Churches and Societies, and (6) the South India Provincial Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Church has passed a resolution in favour of " seeking closer co- operation through federation," We hereby resolve to recommend to the several bodies we represent the formation of a federation, and to present the following plan for their consideration : 1. The name of the organisation formed by the Churches and Societies joining in federal union shall be " The Federation of Christian Churches in India." 2. All Churches and Societies that believe in God through Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord and Saviour, and that accept the Word of God as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the supreme rule of faith and practice, and whose teaching in regard to God, sin and salvation is in general agreement with the great body of Christian truth and fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, shall be eligible for fellowship in the Federation. 3. The Federation shall not interfere with the existing creed of any Church or Society entering into its fellowship, or with its internal order or external relations. But in accepting the principle that the Church of God is one, and that believers are the body of Christ and severally members thereof, the federating Churches agree to recognise the validity of each other's ordinances, ministry, membership, and discipline, without thereby committing them- selves to approval of particular methods or practices. 4. The object of this Federation shall be to attain a more perfect manifestation of the unity of His disciples for which the Redeemer prayed, by fostering and encouraging the sentiment and practice of union, by organising union effort wherever and whenever possible, by making the welfare of all the Churches in the Federation an object of vital interest and concern to all, by strengthening throughout the entire brotherhood the sense of a 176 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY common life andfheritage ; and in general to seek through all such effort to hasten the establishment of the Kingdom of God in India. 5. For the realisation of this object there shall be (a) The formation of a Provincial Federal Council in each province or great language area, consisting of representatives from Indian Churches in their corporate capacity, or, in cases where there is no ecclesiastical organisation distinct from the missionary organisation, from Missions, the number of delegates to be chosen in the proportion of one ministerial and one lay representative for every ten organised congregations or fraction thereof. This Council shall hold annual meetings, or such stated meetings as it may determine, and it shallfalso be convened to deal with urgent matters of general concern at the call of three federated Churches. (6) The formation of a National Federal Council consisting of representatives, chosen by each of the Provincial Councils in pro- portion of one in four of its membership or fraction thereof, to be composed in equal numbers of ministerial and lay representatives, it being understood that each federating body is entitled to at least one representative. Meetings shall be held once in three years or as often as the Council itself shall determine, or when called for by not less than three Federal Councils to deal with urgent matters. These Councils, whether Provincial or National, shall have only consultative and advisory powers except when additional powers may be delegated to them by the bodies they represent. By means of reports from the Provincial Councils the National Council shall keep in touch with the life and work of the Churches, and by means of sub-committees it shall have power in the intervals of meetings to prosecute the work of the Federation and further its interests. If need be the National Council shall voice the opinions of the Christian community it represents. 6. It shall be the work of the Federation alike in the Provincial and National Councils to carry on work on the following lines in so far as it falls within the scope of the Indian Church and is in harmony with what is already being done by existing organisa- tions : (a) to suggest and encourage efforts to combine the moral and spiritual forces of Christianity in the development of worthy char- acter in Christ's followers by means of joint observance of sacred ordinance and interchange of pulpits, and thereby to intensify the consciousness of life and strength in the Christian Church ; (b) to seek for and to make opportunities for Christian fellow- ship in meetings for devotion and conference between different bodies of Christians in India, that thus, by the cultivation of mutual acquaintance and respect and a fuller understanding of each other's problems and difficulties, and by the manifestation of an ever-deepening interest in the welfare of all sections of the Christian Church, the way may be prepared for a still wider and more effective application of the principles of Christian unity ; (c) to guide and stimulate the Churches by collecting and diffus- APPENDIX K 177 ing information concerning the progress of the Kingdom of the Lord within their bounds as well as throughout the world, and by gathering the results of experience with a view to affording advice or counsel on matters of general interest ; (d) to suggest and encourage plans for combined effort to evan- gelise the masses and win India for Christ, and more especially to consider the most efficient and economical means of evangelising the districts within their areas ; (e) to seek to promote co-operation as far as practicable in literary and educational work, especially in the training of teachers and preachers, to seek to secure harmonious action in reference to all public matters affecting the moral and social welfare of the com- munity, Christian and non-Christian, and to make representations and suggestions to Missions where deemed advisable ; (/) to develop by co-operative and representative action and by free intercommunion, a consciousness in the Indian Churches of membership in the same outward visible Church which, though not characterised by uniformity in all things, is yet essentially one in its life and work, in its divine purpose and blessed hope. COM. VIII. 12 178 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY X I 1 Q Z W w ffi H 55 O U3 W O w w a o o hJ co D H U W (^ M A o u - 1 ft !! I IP IT" " rt .s O O C-g >. " " <^.y N -|-c^.g ""-c | "i-l a E o- ""'i"S a 2 tf g 2 2 S.tT --5 S " o 8.3 8,v sjS a-- w o'S' aw a/v a a ,5 o g-^ o " i* u <* & < & rt ,| W 2 O 4-* *J c u c u O O O K-> O O O c u c u c~3 >'s C'^ c--.2'3 ^. E s c.Ji c.Si _o o_o o '&'*'B'S'8kS rt.Ji M.SJ EftJ M.u o'D o'o o o aj o 5 o o o J2 o CJD'O jfo c ,gw,gc/3 _gW_Scfl_S ^ 3^p8oJ8g.8a S 6 S * ^ 'H ^ "? ? *r 1 ~e; '. o ^ t^ VO 00 * S t V. 00 d H i oo oo 1 I s 11-11 1 >< 13 T3 *v C J3 3 S "5 V S3 J3 i 3 O M Go w j| rt >, 2 g "3 g S S J S 2 3 | rt o pj 2 o _1 O M S "^S3 ^Q QC^C OCC 1 *^^" 1 *^*"**" '^ J c "c* 3'ai' ^CJT3CJCJ :; s APPENDIX L 179 u rt I 3 c a TJ B 8 '2 ^ ^- r 5 ^ons on 12 main subjects ; to Chinese Government, and home churches. Ap- ittees to carry out resolu- ^ DD. S. o z j -3 Papers and discussions, ion for future Conferences. icral resolutions. Papers and discussions, .tion, and many general a v g ^ 8.S ^! ai S>S n .T3 Vj 1 J . D< resoluti on Commiti resoluti on Commit 'g'rt'o 1 C Sg|8 g-g i- 1 I '35 PP- . a constituti S M -2 8 w^o" rt o 1>T3 r < "? w 8 "S '3 "2 '3 "2 s S ~ .. " a*r a 3 - g g II a - fj o.a. E |18 a-s g & u |fl >r a o-o < gx s g-^ 3 O ^j < -^ (2 P^ P^ C o _j >> 2 o >> Si bA u r fi < *O f a Z C 'S ." O ro ^ 1/V* 3 0- o o G u M - ~ - N 5}. '? g ? & t^ 5" 3 " * m " U c S O * OQ t^ >O 3 t~* t-* 00 M i^ | 1 M | 1 o. Shanghai 1 *c 1 Shanghai e c c o rt rt jn >= O " > 1 > Bloemfor o 3 Lucknow c | c o v c c c 0> b CJ gj O a e ft 1 c 3 >, u rt 1 si 3 S 'vS a li -C U O c s t: E o J3 2 c A i- ," O - : ! C "fij= 2J3 1- 2^ I'S ^ *8j PS s||l S o Jj S^ J3 - ^lc < ~ ^'OTS'O a"o J o-S " " a " N m " "2 c c 9 . o .2 ,o o -o O i'5'ij'rt <1 Is c~ II rt J3 C j3 C rC C rt o c !H : ; ogo |o o& 0^ 180 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY *o jp "2 3 5'S^^Og yj .""c b sfeg . j3 C > h S 9 O C 13 fc< ^ Q J3 .! "3 jS en V tn ^ " * e . 2C *- jg in / Jj '-5 rtO -S2 ~ 53 C- .a a ^ .Ho M , . 41 M ' c Si 5 " ^ Q.&'g'a .>oO^'-g ' 5 O CS D S . '^ u ^ ."5 1 ^Ss 2 -2 m !^$ 8 o jj g " -O rt *^ o Q 6 g'jn^.H, d5 c rt u ^ "3 -B ^ , "3 J . rt h S '-5 5 3 ^ u .'^ Q iig^b ^S,| -S3 Z bfii-OrtuiUgSOui-S- S g O-.MTJ ^ Q "Q c (2 2 S**||o3 I 3 .S c . S^ls a ^_i o K "" > |ll| c ' en ^ 8 o ^S 2 X! p fl) .^~ C T3 .2 S 3 g^ S 5 3 .M qj t-^ *^"i Ij? c3 > eS A^ t: uT ^ s c i 3 g, c ^ g -g '-5 >>^ & g-P-( CU g SiJ "3 E ffl CO < CO 8 " o rt *o- 6*8 g g rt 8 B o c; 3 a3 aj O o B .g'SO o S ^ O M *t3 C -_/ o *- ^ TT C 2f N ^^ W 3 W rC ^ r- f i^- *^ HJ - . ** o ^o ? t^ So gUoE 3 Bit U v: 1-1 APPENDIX L 181 o *o els o '5 g .* 3 3 8.2 g'K'g rt ._ rt .U.<2 ;|) Uss'l . s . Wl oo rt . >*5 . 44 ^- G C/3 !Q 1/1 2 ^-a .y '' - S u 2 "" 1*808 "rt JJ cj S{ "^ , ( f Q 2 I O .% rt IjlJll a rt 5 -a 1 .22 III Ci M , U - ' US flJ 11 ill! 1 in S 3 U < rork. Accessions to the Christian tion. Educated Hindus. Middle ion. Female education. Sunday and industrial establishments, e native church. Mohammedans. , Colportage. Europeans and i. Sunday school work. Native of spiritual life. Higher educa- ition. Work among English- Vomen's work. Work among "-support and self-propagation, al tribes and lower class Hindus. nissions. classes and masses. Social and Christian's marriage and divorce. The native church. Religious j. The Jesuit advance. Work classes. Work among women. i of native ministry. Education . Industrial work. Observance cial condition of the lower classes, .ns and Eurasians. Literature. itive agency. Education. The he Panchamas. Work among of native Christians. Christian mong missions. Co-operation. :s. Evangelistic work. Medical Evangelistic work. Education e English-speaking. Women's , Industrial work. Comity and erature. a " g |>H il ^3 C C/3 ' " .9 & Q R '5 "Z *"* f. "1 ^ ^"2-0 C -'I g wO tn " is 'is - | s g c'J f! js tai * S ^ O "2 r- . C w t- o r? w b 4> t/i J- Q 2 D ^ ^* C c ^ ^5 n K r* ^ > ^ ~ 1 ^ C rt o.i 3 S C "oj 6"S - cic c b 0*0 c - 1 "c ^ j; i _ , o .5 native >vemen men. :rature, aining ssions. rt S . O u 3 c- 3 S-J 1 > c O 3 ho rt " 2 H a jj < -s <5 ^ h ^-^ w ^ H C J " ^ ah ^:= P, > OH ? h h " * " c x w - ^ . u --a ,o o c o JJ 4} Ou ^ 3 S C o s a wj ' rt isg F 8 o '5. k w ^ 2 e V ^e t. *Q C c ** o o lit W .S tnic 2 % g OS'S 1 ! 5 1 if IScSJ 'S. S 3 c75cQ J3 3 rt oJCup; '= J n S < (S S U O 1) = c A* 0) i3 ^ CO rt D w PI J5 . e . S cj *S **3 2: rt 2 1: 2~ ^- e5 C c '';-, o a 3| 3gg B i 1 '1 "rt .u d '" o 8 ie evangelisation of lative agency, rid foreign residents. Bible distribution. , his qualifications, methods. Preach - i. Women's work. lums, etc. Opium, lal life of the church, ns and the Govern- 1 work. Christian eld. Co-operation, iboriginal tribes. s c2 S rt fl -11 r^ K'P. >2 '2 *" *"* bo , i o o g^-s .2 2 IC<1, 01 O in Q tn Jj i H ^ .5 P! a rf>58 i> '5 1 g w s 2 J Cl 'S i H S -g-"g BjiJ.-B.l* rt. Educatio livision of the nese customs. W *"y *" r 1 "X fl ^S Sf^iP s| s i-i gPjj.tj Sill . * g ^ 3 S rt -S$ gg'-s-gg-S S S-n ti u y I rt e 'c 5 Duld native chu 2 i^^il^ f D.D.O ^ fe .Mjtj i .^-g ^o|g^| d & s^ ^ -J.i:re5Wc/2 z ^ '-j H u >, -, TJ j ^3 in Q 3 gs fiicu 1 fifc * 'rt rt 5"S5 -'3 es c J2 rt rt M .0.5 c c "C i_ rt n t- ft O U S J3 4) 4) 43 rt o .1) ^2 rt g S | 11 A IM 6 u S u u c o 11 |o 8u Ui 1 APPENDIX L 183 p[ e j~ S .2 - d s u n 0.- *t3 rt w . G 'CO- 8 a 8 aS o bfl CT3 o ^ O 1> '3 1 e 3 O C *-j Q 3 O tJ ^ in Q ;g u u 6 o g'3 .2 s Sl'l^ij j &i2 "'H gj'|| | S.2 : g-s S-6 a l<.5, gU'o op ^ J fei (2 =' g-SJa ^8 a" dj < u* 0) to ji; w w rt 3 g"S- s d S - O "* J"^ ^ ^ JJ ^ j fH ^ C p rt 3 rt * . nj 3 '-2 6 .u S ** s P . u ts ^ rt*2 a o S S" 3 C y .5 . Hi 3 P a S g S bO'^ ^ s E c i S /- -^- ^ s. ^ wtio-B b ^3 o u D 'S J> "'-' c o e . C to rt " 3*0 C r-> ,2 ti ^ ?^ fl f i K d ?i sAr^ IM ^ e-a fa .2 L* rA > '3 . O u5 '-2 u^ he Chinese church. The Chinese ministr Evangelistic work. Women's work. C ture. Ancestral worship. Medical n Holy Scriptures. Comity and Fed missionary and public questions. AFRICA. nevangelisecl areas. Evangelistic work i Place of the native language in native e dustrial training. Lobola. Native chi tian comity. Medical mission. Ethiop scularisation of native schools. Chu; Mission co-operation. Preparation of n; Literature. Finance. Ethiopian mo educated native, noccupied territory. Pioneer policy. tians. Education. Literature. Na Problems of the older mission fields hymns and music. MOHAMMEDAN WORLD. elation of Missions to Moslems and Missi Illiterate Moslems. Educated Moslem Medical Missions. Women's work, backsliders. Conditions of baptism. Moslem races. Presentation of Chris Controversy. Need for prayer and sacri tion of workers. Student Movement. h ^ Cfl P C4 5 u "c 2 'c u l MMbO '51H.a |ia S - 3 ,d U C - M .-3 .J I O " ^ Q-J ri PL, ^* >^ J 4) XU _Q " C "S OH bo bO O C i rt 4? J3 3 C M S 4) S c >> 4) O d C c c-c qj C O ^ ^ > t O S g 4) C/2 D a. H S H E 3 e u C U C D 3 5 3 o 6 ^ O . g S C S C ^ '^ (_) * S iH ^ ^ c f'S ^6 So ^o 2 G "S ij 22 ^ W s O ' '" O 4; ^_ O O o ** d S C C M ^ C HI S ^ ^ c S *- 4* . O ^ i, |M ^ , ** rt c 8" i2 O o oO o i0o I* 8 PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT At the Meeting of the Conference, on Tuesday, 2ist June 1910 185 CONSIDERATIONS of space have made it necessary to abbrevi- ate the speeches made in the Discussion. In doing this, the attempt has been made to preserve everything that sheds fresh light on the subjects considered in the Report. In some instances the speeches have not been well reported, and this has necessitated the omission of certain sentences. It has not been found possible to send the report of the speeches to those who delivered them for their revision. 180 PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT SIR ANDREW ERASER : Mr. Chairman, I rise to present the Report of the eighth Commission on CO-OPERATION AND THE PRO- MOTION OF UNITY. You will observe in the agenda that a certain portion of our time is to be occupied with the consideration of co-operation in the foreign field, and that after the intercessory service another portion of our time will be occupied with the consideration of co-operation at the home base with special refer- ence to the resolution which it is the duty of the Commission to propose. That resolution will be specially proposed immediately after the intercessory service, and I need not touch on it now. I have, in the first place, personally to thank the members of my Commission for the exceeding courtesy and kindness with which they have co-operated with me throughout. Then, on the part of the Commission, I have to thank our corre- spondents all over the world, at home and abroad, for the papers which they have sent us, always interesting and sometimes inspir- ing, on which the Report of the Commission is based ; and finally I have to thank our critics, whose frank and kindly criticisms have received due consideration or will receive it before the final issue of the Report. Turning to the Report itself I should like to draw the attention of the Conference to the special limitations which we have always distinctly held before our^minds. This Conference has no authority of an ecclesiastical character, and it has no power to deal with ecclesiastical questions. Therefore we have considered that we were precluded^from discussion and decision in regard to any different schemes of union between different sections of the Church of Christ. We have deliberately abstained from this because we have felt that the responsibility for the proposal, discussion, and decision of these schemes must rest with the ecclesiastical authorities concerned, and in the same way we have abstained from deciding which is the preferable method of linking up the different sections of the Church of Christ, whether by organic union or by federation, because we think that this question also must be left to the Churches themselves. A word in regard to the preparation of the Report. Our meetings here on this side of the Atlantic have necessarily been attended mainly by the British members only, but on two occasions, when 187 188 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY the meetings were held to be specially important, Mr. Silas McBee, our Vice-Chairman, was sent over by the American members to represent them and lay their views before us, and at our last meeting we had the privilege of the attendance of the members from both sides of the Atlantic. All through we have been in closest touch with one another. We have circulated amongst all the members any proposals, suggestions, or opinions put in writing by any member, and all the communications which we have received from our correspondents, and every draft which has been prepared for the meetings of the Commission. Every member of the Commission has thus contributed to the preparation of this Report, and it is the Report of us all. Our meetings have been singularly happy meetings ; they have been strictly confidential, but I suppose I may be permitted to say now that, though undoubtedly there has been of necessity some difference of opinion amongst us in regard to some points, there never has been from beginning to end one hour of strife or of controversy. You will easily understand this. All of us rejoice in this Con- ference, in the evidence that it gives of the unity of aim and purpose which draws together the different sections of the Church of Christ. All of us are thankful for the love and enthusiasm that prevails. For eighteen months on this Commission, we have been having a foretaste of the Conference. This has been mainly due to the nature of the communications which we have received from our correspondents. They have brought before our minds the great task, the immensity of the task, that lies before the Church, the singular and exceptional opportunities that are now given to us by the changes which are taking place in the non-Christian world, and the spirit in which that task has to be met, the responsibilities created by these opportunities which have to be undertaken. Our correspondents have made clear to us, clearer to our preception and imagination than perhaps it ever was before, that even now only one-third of the human race is even nominally Christian. We have in our own experience realised something of how the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World, meets our human need, and we grieve to think that so many the greater part of man- kind are yet ignorant of our Lord, and of the unsearchable riches of Christ. We deplore also that He whose right it is to reign is still acknowledged only by a comparatively small section of humanity by the lesser part of that world which He died to save and we deplore it with shame for the failure of the Church to answer to the call of her Lord, to understand the mission that He has committed to her, and to carry out His great purpose. Our correspondents have also brought very clearly before our minds the singular opportunity, and the great call that arises from the social, political, and intellectual changes which are taking place in the non-Christian world. We realise that these changes mean a great opportunity and a great call. The nations that inhabit these DISCUSSION 189 non-Christian lands have their own future to work out. They are looking to us at present for enlightenment, as they are making their effort to push upwards in the scale of civilisation. If we give them enlightenment without giving them the Christian religion, we will be giving to them western civilisation without that to which we believe western civilisation owes all that is distinctively good in it, and which will correct the evils that exist in it. Another thing which our correspondents have brought very clearly before us is that the great task which has been committed to the Church, the great task that is before it in carrying out the Commission of Christ, with special reference to these exceptional opportunities, to these opening doors, and to these clamorous demands for help that task which cannot be performed by a disunited Christendom. That idea they have brought before us very strongly. The waste of time and energy, the overlapping of effort, the misguided activity, the want of method that arise from disunion are retarding the work of the Lord. You yourself said, Sir, a few days ago, that you believed that unity would double the resources of the Church without the addition of even one worker. That is a conviction that we strongly hold, and we are deeply touched with the cry that comes from the mission field, the clamant demand that conies for co-operation, and with the intense longing that characterises many of our correspondents for unity itself. There is another thing that our correspondents have made very clear to us, and it has filled us with pleasure and with grati- tude. It is that, despite all our differences, and despite all that seems to be against it, there has been great progress made in the mission field in co-operation and in the promotion of the spirit of unity. We have endeavoured in the chapters of our Report that deal with Comity, Conferences and Joint Action to give some record of what has been already accomplished, and so far as our correspondents have enabled us to do so, we have endeavoured to show the advantages of co-operation in every branch of the work. It is a very wonderful thing, a thing well worth our attention, a thing which it has been worth while to discover, and which we have thought it worth while to record, that co-operation when it begins has a great tendency to increase. Men that are brought together in the work are not very easily sundered. Men that are brought together and co-operate in the work of the Lord, that are brought together in Conferences and in Joint Action, these men realise the advantages of co-operation, but there is more than that. They trust one another, they learn to love one another. They learn that on both sides they are bound to a Lord that binds them together in an indissoluble tie, which only requires to be discovered. You will observe that we have gone on to speak of co-operation at the home base, and we have recorded the grief with which we have heard from the foreign field the complaint that very 190 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY often co-operation is hindered there by want of sympathy on the part of some of the Societies at home. Apart altogether from the influence which such want of sympathy has on the foreign field, the mere want of co-operation at home is itself deplorable. The greatest statesmanship, the most careful organisation, the most perfect methods are required in this critical time for the full and effective utilisation of our resources. I do not consider it necessary at this point to repeat what the Report has said about co-operation, either in the foreign field or at the home base, but I do trust that in our discussions to-day we shall hear from members of the Conference who have had experience something practical that may help us to make our Report more useful than it is. I do not think there is any other point in regard to which I need detain you at this present time. You will observe that we have dealt not only with co-operation among missionaries, but also with unity among the different sections of the Church of Christ. In the treatment of that second subject we have recog- nised that we are subject to the limitation to which I have already referred, but I do trust that the fact that we have borne this limita- tion, so carefully in mind will not lead any man to think that we have felt lightly in regard to this great subject. I think that we have said enough, though briefly, in the Report to show how deeply we share the aspirations of the Churches in non-Christian lands for a unity that will be manifest to the whole world, and how important we regard it that the Church of Christ at home should not be found lagging behind or out of sympathy with the Church of Christ in the foreign field in its desire to attain unity. We in our Commission, and you in this Conference, have surely had before you the vision of unity, a vision fair and beautiful, far better and far higher than anything we have dreamt of before. We have had that vision before us, a vision of that which is perhaps afar off, and which is certainly indistinct in its outline, but which has laid hold of our hearts, and we will never get rid of it. We know some of the difficulties, and we certainly do not forget them . I think perhaps our tendency is rather to over-estimate them. We have a great sense of the importance of some of these points in respect of which we differ, and which tend to keep us apart. I do not think that we failed to estimate the importance of these, and we do not see how these differences are to be reconciled and how the different sections of the Church of Christ are to be united, but we do say this, that disunion is lamentable and disastrous. We see that the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us asked His father to give us unity. Surely that prayer will be heard. Even now it seems that the Spirit of God is preparing man in all sections of the Church for the answer to that prayer. We will await that answer patiently. It may be that it will be long delayed, but meanwhile we will keep this ideal before our minds constantly and never forget it. We will endeavour in all DISCUSSION 191 our fellowship with our brethren of all sections of the Church to be animated by brotherly love and forbearance and never to be intolerant and arrogant ; we will endeavour in every respect gradually to seize every opportunity of conference and co-operation, that we may be brought in our work closer to one another, and so closer to our Lord. During all this time of waiting we will seek to pray without ceasing, with all penitence and all supplication, that the Lord Himself may make us to understand His will and may guide us in the way in which we should go, and hold before us that which we should have as our goal, and help us to attain it, that we being in the way the Lord may lead us to the goal, and He will bring us. If the Lord Jesus has asked it He will bring us, He will bring us blind by a way that we know not, and lead us by paths that we have never known. He will make darkness light before us, and the crooked things straight in His own time. Rev. O. L. KILBORN, M.D. (Methodist Church of Canada.Chengtu, West China) : As to the practical possibilities of comity and unity I speak, of course, from the point of view of missionaries on the field. I should say, first of all, that what we aim at first ought to be that which seems for the time being to be practical or practicable. We will meet with difficulties certainly in these aims, but I would submit that almost everything or anything that is worth having has been obtained by conquering difficulties, and that we should not consider so much the difficulties as the final aim as to what ought to be, and work definitely for that end. I would suggest that we missionaries in the field should be willing to be used for the principle of comity and co-operation. We must be prepared for difficulties here, sometimes for rebuffs, for delays, and for obstacles which seem to those at the home base to be insuperable, but with perseverance in prayer and work on the field I believe that in a great many cases, it not in all, these can be overcome. I would like to submit something of what has been actually accomplished in the way of comity and co-operation in West China as an illustration of the practical possibilities. I have ten of them. In the first place we have an Advisory Board in West China the three provinces in Western China. At an estimate there are eighty millions of people there. We have nine organisations that work in West China. We have an Advisory Board of missionaries that is composed of representa- tives from these nine organisations. These meet annually and they consult together with reference to anything and everything which affects the interests of any two or more than two Boards or Missions. In the second place we have in West China a division of the field ; we have no overlapping there. West China is mapped out amongst these nine different organisations. In the third place we have a large measure of union in educational work ; we have a Christian educational union. We have a common course 192 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY of study, common examinations ; we have a board of examiners made up of missionaries from all these Missions scattered all over the country. Examinations are held annually, and certificates are issued to successful candidates from the schools in all the Missions. We have an Inspector of schools for the whole of this union. In the fourth place we have a Union University comprising normal college, arts college, theological college, and medical college. Some of these colleges are in immediate prospect of erection. Some have already begun work. The union university is formed by the co-operation or federation of four Missions. In the fifth place just as an instance of something that happened this year a few months ago one of the Missions at work in Shantung with a large hospital found itself unable to supply a doctor for that hospital. By friendly arrangement doctors from two other Missions have been supplied and are carrying on the work during the year, 1910, in the hospital of that third Mission. In the sixth place we have a mission press which is controlled and financed by one Mission, but which is definitely understood to be doing work for all the other branches. In the seventh place we have a Christian magazine not a Metho- dist magazine, or a Presbyterian magazine, but a Christian magazine, which circulates freely amongst the Missions of all these nine different organisations. In the eighth place we have a hymn book, and in the ninth place we have free interchange of ideas amongst all these organisations. Lastly, we have a Standing Committee on Church Union, whose aim is definitely expressed as one Christian Church for Western China. Rev. E. W. BURT (English Baptist Mission, Shantung, N. China) : It is not enough to render lip-service to the cause of unity. The last speaker has covered the ground so adequately that I will not go over the same line, though we have achieved in Shantung in North China many of the results which we hear of in Western China. West China leads the way, and I do not think that the principles of comity and unity have gone so far in any part as in West China. West China is one of the most recent fields to be entered, and it is in the recent fields that the spirit of comity is expressed to-day. It is in the older fields that we find most overlapping and most trouble. It is my profound conviction that we should immensely strengthen and double the effectiveness of our mission work if we had more co-operation between ail the bodies both at home and abroad. Without adding a single man to the mission force we could do our work better if we had more of this co-operation everywhere amongst us, and we cannotfappeal to the business men of Christian lands till we have made the best possible use of the forces already in the field. The first step of co-operation must be the delimitation of the territory amongst the different DISCUSSION 193 forces. In view of the appalling mass of the non-Christian world, there should be no two Societies working where one could do the work. " Overlapping and competition," says the Report, " are found in certain districts in the mission field, while other vast territories remain practically untouched." This is a grave statement. Uganda is probably one of the best instances of how fields should be divided, and that I understand is undertaken entirely by one section of the Church, and the Congo by another, and Manchuria by a third section. It is too late to make that arrangement with the whole world, but we must do the best with things as they are. It is possible to divide the territory. We have done so generally throughout China. I know in the interior of China there is hardly any over- lapping. It may not be true at the coast. Societies are usually loyal in the agreements that they make with one another, subject to revision from time to time. Next to delimitation comes the important question "of the free interchange of full members on a recommendation from the pastor of the Church from which they come." Until that principle is recognised there can be little unity in the mission field. If each organisation is to claim and exercise a right to follow up its own adherents who have migrated to another sphere, what is the value of delimitation of sphere ? If this practice were common it would create all the denominational difficulties and divisions which we are suffering from in this land. The popula- tion is becoming more mobile in China, and this difficulty in the free interchange of members is becoming a prattical one. Surely a Christian of one denomination should have all the privileges of full Church membership wherever he goes. That will be a mutual advantage. That is followed in Shantung in every case with all missions. The Report goes on to speak of closer denominational organisa- tions and federation. Personally, I strongly support the latter federation in a given area such as West China or Shantung where the same language is spoken and there is no geographical difficulty. How can the poor Church pastors afford to go to Conferences at such great distances ? At the Anglican Conference in Shantung English had to be used as the means of communication. It is not merely practical difficulties, but surely it is fundamental that we should be more friendly to the people who are near us than those who are far away. What is of immense importance is that all the brothers and sisters working in a given area should unite together in all common work as far as possible. That is what we have largely achieved in Shantung. Pastors meet on Sundays together for Bible study. We are starting a Christian newspaper and are uniting in practical work. Union is not merely an ideal but has largely been achieved in many parts of the mission field, and we pray that the same spirit may obtain at home, COM. VIII. 13 194 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Dr. JAMES L. MAXWELL, M.D. (English Presbyterian Mission) : One of the very best examples of co-operation in education is found in the city of Peking. Some seven years ago three Missionary Societies in that city the American Presbyterian, the American Board, and the London Missionary Society formed the North China Educational Union, the American Presbyterians taking charge of the theological training, the American Board taking arts and science, and the London Missionary Society taking the training of native medical students. This union has worked admirably. I want to speak particularly of the medical side of tilings. You know the need there is in China for the development of a large body of native medical men, Christian men especially, who shall give, as it were, the start to what medical education should be throughout so great an Empire. In Peking we have a school which, I have no hestiation in saying, is the one school in China which at the present time imparts a full medical education to these students. The staff consists of some five men provided by the London Missionary Society, three men from this country who have gone specially to engage in this work, and whose hearts are with the evangelisation of students, and five others who are supplied by the other Societies in Peking. With a staff such as that you can understand that we have the means of teaching all departments of medicine, and for the last five years this kind of education has gone forward and has the approval, I am glad to say, of the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government has undertaken to give its degrees to those students who pass the necessary examinations, the examining board being composed of all the medical men who are to be found in the city of Peking a very considerable number. At the present time there are in the school over one hundred resident students. The majority of these are Christian, but a considerable proportion are heathen. The influence of the Christian students on the heathen is very well markexi, and you can understand that even though they are not actually converted, their association with a school of this kind will tend to make them in their practice much more worthy medical practitioners towards their patients and all with whom they came into contact. I want you to be interested in this development, and to look forward to the multiplication of similar agents. Already at Moukden there is the nucleus of a school of the same sort, and also at several other places. All these things are a worthy sequel to the fact that for the last seventy years medical education has been in the hands of Christian medical missionaries. It is only right that we should now push forward to the develop- ment of a scheme of this kind which will give a great blessing, I believe, all over the Empire. Rt. Rev. BISHOP M. C. HARRIS (Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., Seoul, Korea) : I want to confess my obligation to the DISCUSSION 195 Commission for this Report, so instructive, and so illuminating and comprehensive, and in every way helpful. It is my privilege to bring you news from Korea bearing on the question now before the Conference. I am happy to say to you that the four Presby- terian Missions and the two Methodist Missions in Korea perhaps constitute four-fifths of the Protestant missionary force of Korea, and have succeeded in -dividing up the whole territory of Korea in a most satisfactory way among them. This was brought about after much prayer and thought and conference, but in the end we reached a perfect agreement, and now, thank God, there is no overlapping, no reduplication, no waste, and no misunder- standing. To each man has been assigned a portion of the field, and I confess to you that I have never in all my missionary life felt such a deep weight of obligation as since there was placed upon the Mission that I represent the responsibility of evangelising in round numbers three millions of people in our territory, and for whose spiritual welfare we are directly responsible. In addition to this I am glad to report to you that in Korea we have gone far also in the matter of union and co-operation in educational work. In the college and academy in Pingyang, the Presbyterian and Methodist Missions have now been co-operating together under a constitution approved by the respective Boards with perfect harmony and with entire success. I should like to call the atten- tion of the Conference to the effect of co-operation upon the Christians in Korea, upon the students in the schools. Naturally in Korea, Japan, and other fields, the soil is ripe for divisions, ripe for different organisations if you seek to cultivate them, and give them an opportunity. The union has resulted in destroying that spirit among the different Churches. Now I am happy to inform you that, at the time of my departure from Korea, I came right away from a Conference on the subject of the establishment of a union university a Christian university for the Empire of Korea. We have practically reached an understanding on that subject, and I have no doubt that within a few months all the Missions of Korea will unite, barring perhaps the Anglican Mission, and will submit a plan to their respective Boards. I thank God for the progress of union and co-operation in the mission field, and I want to say this word in conclusion that it is my profound conviction that now at this time the most important thing in the mission field at the present time is unity and co-operation. Now, especially in Korea, co-operation and unity in the highest and most effective sense is an immediate consideration. Mr. CHANG CHING-YI (London Missionary Society, China) : I count as one of the most gracious blessings that God has bestowed upon the Church in China in recent years the spirit of unity. Something has already been done in the way of Christian federation, and the result is at once practical and remarkable. It is a 196 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY great blessing for the Church in China to-day, and it will be a much greater blessing for the Church in the days to come. As a representative of the Chinese Church I speak entirely from the Chinese standpoint. We may, and we may not, all agree, but I feel it my duty to present before you the mind of the Chinese Church as frankly as possible. The Christian federation movement occupies a chief place in the hearts of our leading Christian men in China, and they welcome every effort that is made towards that end! This is notably in the provinces of Szechwan, Honan, Shantung, and Chihli. In educational work, evangelistic work, and so on, the Churches joined hand in hand, and the result of this is most encouraging. Since the Chinese Christians have enjoyed the sweetness of such a unity, they long for more, and look for yet greater things. They are watching with keen eyes, and listening with attentive ears what this Conference will show and say to them concerning this all-important question. I am sure they will not be disappointed. Speaking plainly we hope to see, in the near future, a united Christian Church without any denomi- national distinctions. This may seem somewhat peculiar to some of you, but, friends, do not forget to view us from our stand- point, and if you fail to do that, the Chinese will remain always as a mysterious people to you ! In dealing with such a great problem one is naturally led to consider the following points : (i) Why do we want such a union? (2) Is it possible ? (3) Is it desirable ? (4) Is it timely? (5) Is it an ideal to be aimed at ? (6) Will such a union be lasting ? (7) How is such a union to be accomplished ? To these questions I will try to answer very briefly. 1 i ) Such a union is needed for these reasons : (a) Things that really help the growing movement of the self-support and self-government of the Church in China are welcomed. A united effort both spiritual and physical is absolutely necessary, (b) Speaking generally, denominationalism has never interested the Chinese mind. He finds no delight in it, but sometimes he suffers for it ! (c) Owing to the powerful force of heathenism from without, and the feebleness of the Church from within, the Christians are compelled to unite in building up a defence of the Church. (2) From the Chinese standpoint there is nothing impossible about such a union. Such difficulties as may be experienced will be due to our Western friends and not ourselves. These difficulties are possibilities only, and must not be allowed to overshadow the advantages of the union I speak of. (3) In China, and for the Chinese, such a union is certainly desirable. China, with all her imperfections, is a country that loves unity both in national and family life. (4) There is no time more important than the present. These days are days of foundations from both political and religious DISCUSSION 197 standpoints. The future China will largely depend upon what is done at the present time. This is a time of unspeakable respon- sibilities, and we have to be most careful of what we now do. (5) This is the partial ideal Church. The Church of Christ is universal, not only irrespective of denominations, but also irrespective of nationalities " All one in Christ Jesus." The world is, to use a Chinese expression, one family, and China is a member of that family. (6) Will such a united Church in China remain unbroken for ever is a question I can only answer by saying " I do not know." But what it will do itself is one thing, and what we press it to do is another. We can only deal with what is to hand to-day, and the unknown future will settle its own affairs ! (7) I would, if you will allow me, make one suggestion, and that is, that this Conference will recommend that the Continuation Committee, when appointed, make careful investigation, and will consult all the Chinese pastors and Christian leaders, and obtain from them a free and frank expression of their opinion as to the needs of such a united effort, and the best methods to bring it about. For after all it is not your particular denomination, nor even is it your particular Mission that you are working for, but the establishment of the Church of Christ in China that you have in view. It is the earnest hope of your present speaker, humble as he is, that this Conference will not allow the present opportunity to pass away without taking some definite action. In conclusion, let us go, with our Divine Master, up on the top of the Mount of Olives, and there we will obtain a wider, broader, and larger view of the needs of the Church and the world. Miss EWART (Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, India) : May I call the attention of the Conference to one special department of this subject, that connected with Women's Work. I will speak only of what has come under my own observation in South India, especially in the cities of Bangalore and Madras, in which my own work has lain, and that in regard to two matters prayer and work. (1) Prayer. In Bangalore for over twenty years the women of various Societies have met together month by month in united praise and intercession. A record has been kept of these gatherings and of the answers vouchsafed, which forms most inspiring reading. And as we could not honestly ask God to help us without doing all that lay in our power to help one another, a spirit of mutual help- fulness has been evoked which is of untold value to the spread of Christ's Kingdom. (2) Work. (a) The missionaries of Madras divided up the city into districts or spheres of influence to be worked by each Society. Instead of two or three Bible-women of different Societies visiting 198 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY the houses in one street each would confine herself to her own dis- trict, though this result was to be brought about gradually lest entrance into houses should be lost. (fe) Combined instruction for Bible-women. A course of Bible instruction is chosen for the year in advance and at the close the ladies examine each other's Bible- women. (c) Combined Dispensary. Work among the Mohammedan women of Madras is chiefly in the hands of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, but about two years ago a Dispensary was opened in a crowded district by the United Free Church Mission, they furnishing the medical assistance and the Church of England Zenana Society the Hindustani teaching. (d) Further, when the United Free Church doctors are called into houses in the Church of England Zenana district as yet not open to the Gospel, they endeavour to introduce our workers into houses so that the women may receive permanent instruction. (e) In the matter of higher education, the High Schools of both United Free Church and Zenana Mission Society are open to the students of other Missions, while the Normal School hi connection with the United Free Church receives young women for training. In all these ways time and strength are being saved by com- bined effort and co-operation. Nothing but good has resulted. Right Rev. BISHOP BRENT (American Protestant Episcopal Church in the Philippine Islands) : I do not believe that I am boastful when I say that there is no part of the mission field where the strength of love and co-operation is greater than in the Philip- pine Islands. As a simple illustration of the love that does exist among us, I would like to tell you that among the last things I did before leaving the Philippine Islands was to supply the place of the Methodist pastor during his absence and to take his service. I did that, Anglican as I am, and I prayed without a book and preached without a manuscript. But, my brothers, it is not of this, which is comparatively easy, I want to speak. I want to speak of an extremely difficult thing. There is a wonderful, and great, and venerable Church sitting apart to-day in an aloofness that is more pathetic than it is splendid. It is not co-operating with us as we can compel it to co-operate, that is if we set our minds upon it. Shall we wait for the Roman Catholic Church to lead us or shall you and I take the lead and compel the Roman Catholic Church to come to us ? They will never come to us until we go to them. I have learned the lesson of aloofness. I was one who at a certain period of my life did sit aloof, and I was poor and maimed as long as I did it. I thank God that the Anglican Communion is coming into such close union with the rest of Christian workers. I can bear testimony to the fact that it is possible for us in a really practicable way to co- DISCUSSION 199 operate with the Roman Catholic Church, and remember that the Roman Catholic Church does not mean the Vatican or the various hierarchies, but the great mass of devout people we are constantly in touch with. We can affect them ; we can so melt their minds as to affect the central body. You know what the coppersmith does when he wants to buckle a plate. He hits everywhere but the centre and at last the centre responds. So let it be with us in our relation to the Roman Catholic Church. In any scheme, practical or theoretical, for unity, we must take into our reckoning the Roman Catholic Church, which is an in- tegral part of the Church and of the Kingdom of God. There are four things I want to touch upon. Let us treat the Roman Catholics always as Christians, and let us believe that they are true and sincere Christians until it is proved to us that they are otherwise. In Roman Catholic countries especially let us always preach constructive truth and not destructive truth, and show that we do not intend to demolish our neighbours' walls to get stones for our own. In the next place, let us be sure that we get an intelligent grasp of the Roman Catholic faith, polity, and methods before we talk publicly about them, and let us be sure that we do not commit that most grievous of all sins, slandering another Church. Slander is always an evil in any cause, but for one Church to be guilty of slandering another is a double sin in the sight of God. We must never frame an indictment against a whole Church or against a whole people. There are occasions when we must fight the Roman Catholic Church, and I have done this in our Church, but remember that fair fighting is one of the elements in Christian co-operation and the promotion of unity. Where we have to fight, let us fight like Christian gentle- men. There is such a thing as Christian controversy. Our Lord Jesus said unto His disciples, " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." Grant us, O Lord, Thy peace for ever and ever. Rev. S. THOMAS (English Baptist Mission, Delhi) : Mr. Chairman and fellow-workers, I speak as a working missionary, and my interest in the subject has an intensely practical bearing on the work in Delhi. First of all, let me speak of what has been accom- plished where there are two missions at work, as ecclesiastically far apart, I suppose, as any two missions can possibly be I refer to the Cambridge Mission and our own. I do not say that we have all that we desire, and I do not wish in the least to exaggerate what we have, but it is to be regarded in the light of this fact that thirty years ago anything like co-operation was impossible. A great many years ago now when my mind was first agitated on this subject I thought that we might co- operate in industrial work, and I looked at my big ecclesiastical brother from top to toe to see what similarity there was between him and myself, and I found there was nothing till we got to our 200 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY boots. You must admit that when you unite on boots you are on the road at any rate to co-operation. With regard to two Missions that at first were so widely apart, not only ecclesiastically but in spirit, what do you find after twenty-five years ? The two sets of missionaries meet together every month in each other's houses at the throne of grace. I wish to refer first of all to this fact, and it is a very solemn fact, that day after day we have been asked to express our penitence for our divisions. Have we forgotten that little verse, " Re- pentance is to leave the sins we loved before " ? For it is verit- ably true, as every missionary knows, that our divisions inflict serious wounds on the body of Christ. I will give three reasons before sitting down why we must unite. The first is that the forces against us compel us to unite. We forego victory, we court defeat, if we do not draw our forces together. The second point is this, that this discussion will cause either immeasurable gain to us as a working force or immeasurable harm, according to the action that we take. If those reporters go forth from this Conference with the information that we are not united, it will be reported in the Indian bazaars, and your missionaries abroad will have to face added difficulty, because you have taken up this subject, and have played with it. Thirdly, those of us yesterday who bent our heads and listened to our Saviour's pleading, did we fail to catch that recurring note that we might be one that the world may believe ? Our differences do not matter so much, provided there is no bitterness in them, if love prevails and permeates and transfuses all our differences. If the Lord grant us a clear com- manding vision, showing us the glory ineffable, we shall still differ, but with one heart shall we say, " My Lord and my God." Rev. G. CURRIE MARTIN (Secretary of the London Missionary Society) : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just had the privilege of taking a long journey throughout the Empire of China, and visiting not only the Missions of our own Society, the London Missionary Society, but a very large number of the Missions of the other Societies represented here. In all the missionary communities with whom I came into contact I found that this question of unity was one of the most burning and one of the most prominent, and also from the point of view of those of us who were included in that deputation, one of the most hopeful. It seems at the outset that Christian unity on the mission field ought to commend itself to our Societies for several reasons. The lowest of these reasons, but not an unimportant one to many of us, is the fact that unity in work on the field would save us a very great deal of money. What is more important is that it would save a good many of our men. At the present moment far too many of our missionaries have to do tasks of so diverse a character that their strength and their ability is wasted and unconserved. DISCUSSION 201 Where we can get united work, especially in educational matters, we are able to give our men and our women to that work for which they are best fitted. But the most important of all reasons is that which has been urged from this platform more than once this morning, and which surely has filled all our thoughts in our hours of prayer, that in that way more than in any other will we effectively advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ both at home and abroad. Rev. JAMES L. BARTON, D.D. (Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions) : A few days ago in the city of Constantinople I was addressing an audience made up of Mohammedans, Armenian Christians and Protestant Chris- tians. Among the speakers to that assembly was a Mohammedan leader, a member of the new Turkish Parliament, and one of the great leaders in the movement of the new Turkish Empire. He made this significant remark, " Hitherto we of Turkey have looked upon religion as the great barrier to keep the races of this Empire apart. Religion to us has been the cause for race hatreds and individual hatreds, but now we are learning that religion may be, and is, the greatest band to bind us together into a great fellowship in the Fatherhood of a common God." Now in the presence of the Conference this morning I wish to say to those Churches who have an ear to hear, "Let us hear what this Moslem leader saith unto the Churches of Christendom." Right Rev. THE BISHOP OF SOUTHWARK : In winding up this section of the discussion, I desire to present what we are doing under this head, that we are striving to be loyal with a reverent loyalty to the facts of experience. The first fact to which we strive to be loyal is the fact of unity amongst us. We have with one another both union and disunion. I remember the time when we all felt that the fact of our disunion was such, and had so jealously to be maintained, that we could not practically give any effect to our union. I am here to-day, and there are many here to-day, with the spirit of God leading us onward to what is fuller and not smaller, leading us onward to find a means of giving effect at one and the same time to our union and our disunion not leaving out the one which we all of us feel to be immeasurably the greater, and deeper, and more sacred of the two. We remember that it is a broken unity. Bishop Brent has pressed that upon you. It is ridiculous, it is impolitic, and it is wrong for us to overlook that fact. It will not do to talk of planting one Christian Church in China if you mean that you are leaving out of China altogether the great Roman community. We are a broken unity because of the Romans, and because of the great Orthodox Church of the Greeks. Unless we keep that quite steadily in view we shall use language that is misleading, 202 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY and language that is unchristian. I press that thought, with all the strength that I know how to press it, upon the attention of the Conference. I think there are few people here in some senses less sympathetic towards the Roman communion than I am, but what I have said I have said, with a perfect conviction of truth. We are here to respect each other's opinions, and not only as Christian gentlemen respect each other's opinions but to remember that in these opinions there are things essential to the Christian faith. We believe that this, in so far as it is distinctive of us, may be perhaps a most precious contribution in the end to what we have to come to on the road to Christian unity. It is true, surely, that we cannot get that unity by slenderness but by fulness. I say then that we should be loyal to our unity, loyal as in duty bound to the things which divide us. Let me end by saying that we desire to be loyal to the facts of the future. Only God who can remove mountains, who can change the course of the rivers, can bring unity in the future. But of this we are sure, that what we do here and now in drawing together and feeling the unity that is amongst us is making an atmosphere in which God can change the convictions, God can fuse the union, out of which surely shall come in His time if He will the union of His Holy Catholic Church. 1 CONSIDERATION OF THE RESOLUTION PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION 2 Sir ANDREW FRASER : Mr. Chairman, I do not think it is neces- sary for me to read this long resolution, as it has been before the members of the Conference for several days. The resolution is a long one, because we distinctly desired to place before every 1 The speech of the Bishop of Southwark was incompletely and imperfectly reported, but a manuscript is available of the speech which he made on the following day in connection with the presenta- tion of the Report of the Commission in the Synod Hall. This speech is appended to the report of the present discussion (see pp. 231-235). 2 The Resolution proposed by the Commission was as follows : I. That a Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Conference be appointed, international and representative in character, to carry out, on the lines of the Conference itself, which are interdenominational and do not involve the idea of organic and ecclesiastical union, the following duties : (1) To maintain in prominence the idea of the World Missionary Conference as a means of co-ordainting missionary work, of laying sound lines for future development, and of generating and claiming by corporate action fresh stores of spiritual force for the evangelisa- tion of the world. (2) To finish any further investigations, or any formulation of DISCUSSION 203 member of the Conference the whole significance of the resolution. We framed two resolutions, a very brief one, simply drawing attention to the Report, and this long resolution. We have selected the long one because we want every one to know what he is doing. What we are proposing is what we call a Continuation Committee. You will find its objects fully set forth in the terms of the resolution. In respect of this very important proposal, I wish to make one or two remarks. First of all I want it to be clearly understood that the reason why we propose not an International Committee at once but a Continuation Committee to consider the possibilities and devise a scheme for the establishment of such a Committee is this. We have no authority to act for the Missionary Boards. the results of investigations, which may remain after the World Missionary Conference is over, and may be referred to it. (3) To consider when a further World Missionary Conference is desirable, and to make the initial preparations. (4) To devise plans for maintaining the intercourse which the World Missionary Conference has stimulated between different bodies of workers, e.g. by literature or by a system of correspond- ence and mutual report, or the like. (5) To place its services at the disposal of the Home Boards in any steps which they may be led to take (in accordance with the recommendation of more than one Commission) towards closer mutual counsel and practical co-operation. (6) To confer with the Societies and Boards as to the best method of working towards the formation of such a permanent International Missionary Committee as is suggested by the Com- missions of the Conference and by various missionary bodies apart from the Conference. (7) And to take such steps as may seem desirable to carry out, by the formation of Special Committees or otherwise, any practical suggestions made in the Reports of the Commissions. II. That the work of the Continuation Committee be subject to the proviso stated in the following paragraph from the Report of Commission VIII. : " If the formation of such an International Committee is accomplished, the Continuation Committee of the World Mission- ary Conference should be authorised to transfer to it, wholly or in part, the task which it has itself received from the Conference ; but if an International Committee be not formed, the Continuation Committee should, either wholly or in part, carry on the work allotted to it." III. That the Continuation Committee shall consist of thirty-five members of the World Missionary Conference, distributed as follows : ten from North America ; ten from the Continent of Europe ; ten from the United Kingdom ; and one each from Australasia, China, Japan, India, and Africa respectively. IV. That the Business Committee of this Conference be in- structed to nominate the members of this Continuation Committee. 204 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY No one nation, and no one Board, and not this Conference which represents so many nations and so many Boards can make an International Committee. It is necessary that the Committees, the Boards, the Societies, and the Churches should themselves consider the matter. What we have therefore to decide to-day is to leave behind us a Continuation Committee which will form a body to draw the Societies and the Boards to the consideration of this question, as it is surely clearly and manifestly necessary that they should be drawn. In the second place, I want clearly to remark that we are here forming no scheme for an International Committee. The whole scheme must be formed and formulated by the Boards themselves, but I do earnestly trust that the importance of the subject will lead to the frankest expression on the part of the members of the Conference, so that the Continuation Committee itself, and the Boards which are represented in this Conference, may be guided in the practical measures in respect of this very important pro- posal. The importance of the proposal and the great desirability of having suggestions from the home workers, and especially from the mission field, is that which has led the Commission to give so large a portion of time to the consideration of this proposal to-day. One word, and I have done. The Continuation Committee may pass away if the International Committee is established. You will observe the manner in which it is proposed that this Continuation Committee should be constituted, its representative character, the number of members that are to be on it from each country, and the way in which they are to be appointed. \ Rev. ARTHUR J. BROWN, D.D. (Secretary "of [ihe ^Foreign Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church in U.S.A.) : \Fifteen years' experience as a secretary, and two journeys round the world, have impressed me with this fact, among others, that mission work is characterised by a lack of unity of movement, of breadth of conception, and of definiteness of plan. Experience has been accumulating in one country which is not available in another country. Each Society has its own plan, but as groups of Societies they are aiming at nothing in particular and they are hitting the mark. As is said in the Book of Judges, each man is doing what is right in his own eyes. Let no one say that that is a condition of affairs which is peculiar to foreign missionary work. It exists to a far more serious degree in our work at home. We are not trying, however, to reproduce the bad conditions of home work on the mission field. To some extent these difficulties are in- evitable and perhaps the Committee cannot remedy them. These difficulties are in part founded on human nature. Nor do we have an idea that the proposed Committee will secure absolute uni- formity. Absolute uniformity can only be obtained at the cost of evils greater than those from which we are now suffering. DISCUSSION 205 Surely we can do something to better the conditions which now exist. Surely we all see that liberty does not necessarily involve chaos. It would be a reflection upon our intelligence and our Christian character if we cannot move forward in some way. The distinctive characteristic of the proposed Committee which I wish to bring out in the strongest possible relief is not control but knowledge and service. We need to know more about one another. Last November in Asia I met a distinguished Bishop of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He told me he had come into contact with Methodist and other missionaries, and was surprised to find what decent chaps they were. Some of us are going back from this Conference with that spirit. I have great pleasure in seconding the motion for the adoption of this Resolution. Mr. NEWTON W. ROWELL, K.C. (Methodist Church of Canada) : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I rise to support this resolution not as a missionary expert, but as a member of that very much humbler but yet indispensable class known as the supporting constituency. Speaking as a member of the supporting constituency I feel I am voicing the sentiment of a very large section of that constituency when we express our gratitude at the clear, comprehensive, and yet conservative statement which this Commission has made. In supporting it I feel that I am expressing the sentiment of our Churches in Canada. Let me give you my reason. In the month of April a year ago, we held in the city of Toronto an immense missionary convention representing all the branches of the Christian Church here represented which carry on work in Canada and every province of our Dominion. Over two thousand laymen and an equal number of clergymen gathered together to consider the missionary responsibility of our Canadian Churches to the incoming settlers in our land, and our responsibility for our share in world-wide evangelisation. They appointed a Committee of leaders representing all Com- munions to frame a statement and deliverance to go forth as the expression of opinion of that Conference. That statement was unanimously approved by the Conference. It deals with important matters which are not germane to our present discussion, but let me mention two that are. It provided that the Canadian Council should be continued, and its work extended in the hope of enlisting the whole Church membership of Canada in active and sympathetic co-operation in the great missionary enterprise. It proceeded : " We confidently believe that the spirit of unity and co-operation so manifested in this movement will find adequate expression in practical methods of co-operation in both the home and foreign fields, so that unnecessary duplication of work may be avoided." That declaration and statement were subsequently stated to the Anglican Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of 206 CO-OPERATION AND UNITS Canada, and unanimously approved. It was submitted to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, and unanimously approved. It was submitted to the Congregational Union of Canada, and unanimously approved. It was submitted to the Baptist Convention of Canada, and was unanimously approved. It was submitted to the Methodist Conference of Canada, and again unanimously approved. To-day it stands as the unanimous deliverance of the leading Communions of Canada expressing the desirability for unanimity and co-operation both in the home and foreign fields. I support this resolution as a member of the supporting con- stituency for some reasons that are peculiar to the supporting constituency. One has been suggested this morning. We heard from the Chairman of the Commission that by co-operation you could double the efficiency of the present forces and plant upon the field. I believe further, from references running through the Report of the Commission on education, that there is great need for efficiency and co-operation in the conduct of Christian education. Let me say to the leaders here, speaking as a member of the supporting constituency, you can get five dollars for a really efficient institution for every dollar you can get for a weak or ineffective one where you must appeal to denominational loyalty alone. To-day I believe you can appeal to the mind of all parties and supply all the money that the Boards require for this advance, if you tell them that that is the policy of the whole Church to reach the whole world, but not if you try to maintain competing institutions in a non-Christian land. If the Conference sends out a unanimous declaration on the need for unity and co-operation as expressed in this resolution, I have an abiding confidence that the Christian laymen not only in my own land but in the United States will give all the money needed for the world-wide work of our Lord. Dr. JULIUS RICHTER: In supporting the proposed resolution it is hardly necessary for me to say how deeply in sympathy with it not only myself but all the leading Missionary Societies on the Continent of Europe are. I only mention the fact that twenty-five Continental Societies, the leading ones and really those who represent by far the greater part of the missionary energy of the Continent have laid before this Conference a comprehensive petition to establish such a Committee, binding together the different missionary organisations into united action. Only in passing I mention some of the reasons which to me made such a Continuation Committee highly desirable. The eighteen months preceding this Conference, with their close and united study of missionary problems, have shown us what a wide field of united work lies before us in these directions. Whilst the labours of DISCUSSION 207 some of the Commissions have come at least for the present moment to an end, most of the Commissions are very strongly under the impression that their work is not yet finished. I had the privilege to voice strongly this conviction in connection with my own Commission in this Conference. It would be a pity if this unfinished task begun under such hopeful auspices should not be brought to an effective end. These great Conference days have given us a vivid impression not only of the fact that we can learn from each other but also that we can help each other. Unity and co-operation have been the keynotes of this great gathering. It should become apparent not only in the con- centration of forces, but also in a generous recognition of their responsibility for their weaker brethren on the part of the great and leading Societies. Studying the history of Christian Missions in different fields I have often had the impression of a great busy municipal site or newly started township where it is hoped that a very big city shall be built up. But there is no underlying plan, everybody builds where he chooses, according to his own ideas, often without regard of his neighbour and of the future development of the city. So the different missionary organisa- tions are building more or less according to their own ideas, every- one trying to incorporate as much of its own peculiarities as possible. Would it not be advisable in such case that by friendly consultation the new settlers should institute some sort of central organisation with, however, restricted powers to bring harmony into the scattered endeavours, to concentrate effort on needy points. These days have brought us again in view of the great mission fields, of the great, overwhelming tasks lying before us, of the pressing obligations, and on the other hand they have given us a strong impression of the comparative weakness of our own forces and of our isolated position. How useful and helpful would some sort of central organisation be. Right Rev. The BISHOP OF DURHAM: I have great pleasure in supporting the resolution before the Conference. It is one of far-reaching importance, None of us, I think, will envy the Business Committee in their immense responsibility. They will no doubt take most careful counsel and will be sure that they will have guidance from above. They certainly have an immensely responsible task before them in nominating the Committee, but they will have the encouragement of feeling that they are working for a work that may be of incalculable importance to the missionary work of the Church in the future. We are reminded of this, that the proposed Committee is to be non-ecclesiastical in its functions and powers. Meantime I believe that this, like the whole Conference, will be a great and potent influence for pro- moting that unity in our Lord Jesus Christ for the practical work of the advancement of His Kingdom, which is to come. We 208 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY are sure it is to come; because He has prayed for it. We have been reminded from time to time very candidly, and not least this morning, of the difficulties in the way, but nevertheless He has prayed and His prayer must succeed. The Conference itself under His definite blessing I do not doubt will be a long step forward to the attaining first of a better under- standing, and then to a fuller unity. Meantime the Conference will have largely helped us towards such an attitude for these things. As a previous speaker said this morning, the proceedings have raised the temperature and warmed the air round the ecclesiastical position. I do not think the Conference has led to fluidity of Church convictions, but it has led to something perfectly different from fluidity, and infinitely more desirable, and that is elasticity. We have seen, a great fact, the great divine im- partiality of the Divine blessing upon work for Christ whose watchword has been the name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of our God. We have seen, may I dare say so with infinite reverence, the smile and shower of the Divine blessing descending upon Churches, upon Missions, upon polities which may have been widely different in well-nigh every other respect but are agreed in this, that the blessed Name is to the very forefront of all their message, and their reliance is on the power of the Spirit. Let that be more and more a recollection and inspiration that we may carry with us into every work from this Conference, and we shall indeed not have met in vain. I, for one, though I am obliged to leave Edinburgh immediately, feel that I carry away a whole education from this week, and an inspiration and a hope with which I was scarcely equipped when I arrived in Edinburgh. My business properly is to support the resolution for the constitution of the proposed Committee, and I have pleasure in so doing. Mr. JONATHAN B. HODGKIN (Friends Foreign Missionary Association) : I am thankful, Mr. Chairman, to support this resolution because it seems to me to provide for the wise carrying through of the thought of the Conference, and that thought should be carried through wisely as it is of vast importance. We need to avoid rashness ; we need to check those who would go forward rashly, and to reassure those who are too timid to move at all. If we are to do this, we must recognise the importance of giving free scope to variety of thought. It is as impossible to make all men think alike as to make all men look alike, or eat alike. We are far from the time when we can impose on the world with an exclusive diet of rice on the one hand or roast beef on the other. We must not aim at the impossible, but we must, above all things, avoid anything that looks like the attempt to ask people to sur- render their own convictions. To do so would be untrue to ourselves, to our brothers, and to our Master. The different DISCUSSION 209 organisations amongst us should be like the spokes of a wheel, each doing its own work in a different place and doing it well, in so far as it is firmly fixed to the hub, each regarding the hub from a different point of view, but drawing nearer to one another as they draw nearer to the hub. I venture to submit that it is in a dependent loyalty and love to our Lord Jesus Christ, in a fuller surrender to Him both by individuals and by Churches, and a more com- plete recognition of the fact that we have much to learn, that He will lead us out into that full unity for which our hearts are longing, while our intellects see the difficulties in the way. The Chairman read a telegram announcing the death of Dr. Gratton Guinness, Head of Harley House, Bow. The Session was closed with prayer by Dr. Wardlaw Thompson. AFTERNOON SESSION Resuming after the luncheon interval, the Rev. Lord WILLIAM GASCOYNE-CECIL (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) : I think we can accept this resolution with confidence and I hope with unanimity. I confess that I had myself some doubts as to the wisdom of coming at this period to a formal resolution. Those who go slowly, go safely, and you must remember that there are many aspects of this question which do not at once suggest them- selves, aspects which have to be considered before any distinct or definite action can be taken. This resolution only proposes, as I understand, to choose a Committee to study the question. What subsequent steps may be taken will be decided after due consideration and thought. There are three reasons why I would counsel enormous prudence and careful action. First, I think you can condemn too readily the denominational spirit. The de- nominational spirit if you take it in one way is very unchristian. If it takes a man into being opposed to other Christians it is a distinct evil, but there is an aspect of the denominational spirit which is very valuable. In the first place, I am of opinion that every denomination has some aspect of the truth committed to it more prominently than another denomination. Now I will appeal to those who feel that God has entrusted to them a definite part of His truth to be very prudent and very careful, and not in a moment of enthusiasm to neglect that trust. I am not appealing to my own denomination I am appealing to other denominations as well. Then I think there is a very real and practical advantage in preserving the denominational spirit. You will find it very often much more easy to gain an enthusiasm if you can bring the people to think that they have a definite task to perform. If you make the task too general you will tend to relieve the in- dividual part of the Church of a sense of responsibility for a de- finite mission, and I would therefore ask you to be very careful in promoting unity not to lose the denominational spirit. We COM. VIII. 14 210 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY cannot have too much of the Christian spirit, but we can have too much of the spirit of the drill-sergeant that wants us to get in one straight line. The army that is to conquer must have many branches. It is no use if you belong to the infantry telling me that the artillery and the cavalry are no good. Every part has a special part of duty committed to it, and every denomination is in some way a special part of the Christian army. There is another reason which has already been suggested to you why you should act prudently. The great orthodox Church which reaches right across Russia is one of the greatest powers of Christianity in the future which has hardly wakened up yet. Anybody who has studied the great Russian country will bear me out in saying that that is one of the great powers of the future, and you cannot take any strong action until that Church is represented. Do not confuse that Church with the Roman Catholic Church. There is a third reason why you should act prudently. I do not know if any of you have been bee-keepers in your lives. I have often had the awkward duty of taking the honey away from the bee. Now if you will only move those frames carefully and slowly you will find that you can take your hands away without getting stung, but suppose you try to move those frames quickly the result is that one bee comes out and stings you. Once one bee has stung, the whole hive will set about you, and you will very likely have to leave the hive without the honey. If you go prudently to work there is no reason why you should not in a large measure promote united action, but once people begin to sting, then I am afraid we shall have to leave the glorious reward of our toil un- gathered. Rev. WILLIAM H. ROBERTS, D.D. (Chairman, Executive Com- mittee of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.) : I desire to speak not as an individual but somewhat in a representative character, sustaining heartily the motion for the appointment of the Con- tinuation Committee. This I do because of the religious situation in the United States of America. The Churches of the United States are ready for the Committee and any other similar organisa- tion that this Conference may constitute. The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America held its first meeting in the city of Philadelphia in December 1908, and includes within its member- ship thirty-three Christian denominations with a communicant membership of 17,000,000, and representing fully 50,000,000 of the population. We are together in the United States, as the brethren likewise are together in Canada. Among the permanent Committees appointed by this Federal Council is one to which I desire to draw your attention, the Committee on Foreign Missions. Its purpose is co-operation in this great work. The Committee is representative of all the leading Christian denominations in DISCUSSION 211 the country. Its Chairman is the Rev. James L. Barton, D.D., a member of the Business Committee of this Conference, and associated with him are such men as Dr. Arthur S. Lloyd, Mr. Robert E. Speer, and Mr. John R. Mott. The American Churches are ready for co-operation in foreign missions both at home and abroad. The Committee of the Federal Council will gladly come into touch with the Continuation Committee of this Conference, if it be appointed, and the very character of the men on the American Committee assures us of prudent and wise action. A word or two as to how Christian unity has been secured to a very considerable extent in the United States. This end has been accomplished by not depreciating the divisions of Christendom. We are not ready as American Christians to apologise for the Protestant Reformation. Many Christians believe that de- nominational Churches have been and are widely useful and can be further utilised for the welfare of men. We regard in the United States the denominational divisions as being each a separate corps in the great Christian army ready and willing for the campaign of the twentieth century. Another reason why this condition of unity has been brought about is that we have followed the guidance of the Spirit of God. We saw long ago that God was bringing together missionaries upon the foreign field, and we felt that that was the call for the Church to get to- gether on the home field. We need above all, and we feel deeply, that the supreme demand of the times is an intelligent, earnest, devoted, persistent, united effort for the salvation of a lost world. Christians are one in Christ Jesus. Their differences are far less than their agreements, and their supreme duty is serivce to man for the sake of Jesus Christ. Well then, I ask, speaking for many, why cannot Christians everywhere get together, why cannot we stand as one for the cause of the Lord whom we serve and love, why cannot we so co-operate that we shall be in reality one body in the Lord ? The opportunity is great and the way has been opened in a noble manner for a far-reaching advance towards world conquest. The door is open ; may the Church of Christ everywhere enter therein supporting every movement for the salvation of a lost world. Rev. J. CAMPBELL GIBSON, D.D. (Presbyterian Church of England, Swatow, China) : I would like to point out what to my mind is the principal weakness of the resolution, in which I think a very large number of delegates would agree with me. Its weakness, if anj'thing, is that it does not go quite far enough. We are prepared for more thoroughgoing and practical united action than is fully shadowed forth here. Of course one regards with entire respect the feeling that we ought to submit to the feelings and wishes of others, but I could have wished that at the end of Clause number (7) there was something a little more 212 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY definitely directing the action of thejproposed Committee towards the kind of thing of which Lord Balfour spoke yesterday morning, that is to say, that it might become a body which could speak with one voice for all the missions of the world and could so speak with some claim to be heard especially towards Governments. That is the only thing I will say by way of criticism. Otherwise I would like to say this, that this matter of united co-operation has very far-reaching issues. We do not intend by any action of this sort to cast any slight upon the principles for which we re- spectively stand, and speaking as a China missionary I venture to say that in the Chinese Church at least I think you need not be afraid of any lack of firm, definite, positive affirmation. Too many Chinese men and women have laid down their lives for the truth which they believe, to allow us to imagine that the Church will ever be slack in its affirmation of the great truths of the Gospel. Let me say that this matter of coming more closely together was literally forced upon our attention at the Shanghai Centenary Conference three years ago, from this point of view, which I think will be helpful to this Committee now. You have there a Church of the Chinese Christians, and you cannot vindicate to them the splitting up of that Church into a large number of sections. I feel some difficulty in speaking on this matter of union because I know of no phrase which can pass my lips by which I can speak of the Church of Christ as consisting of different sections. My conception of the Church is a living body of the members of Christ, and how you can divide a body without slaying it is more than I can recognise. We may in some things stand apart, but surely when we come together as we have done in the work of this Conference, what we come to learn is this, that first of all we can thoroughly respect and love our brethren who differ from us, and secondly that some of the things in which we differ from them are not points on which we are bound to combat their beliefs, but which are their way of expressing deep underlying principles which we also hold while we give expression to them in a different way, and it is the realisation that we are really aiming at common ends which I think encourages us to go on at the termination of this Conference to form a Continuation Committee. And one word upon that phrase, " Continuation Committee." I think it is a happy phrase and it presents itself to my mind as an inclined plane, but an inclined plane which leads upwards and not down- wards. A Continuation Committee is one that will carry on the spirit and the aims of those things which I think we may now call the conclusions of this Conference on many important subjects, and it recognises that we have not yet reached the end of our thinking and our learning upon these subjects, but that by leaving open this inclined plane we may come nearer to those far higher levels. If you attempt to reach a high level, a level yet beyond your reach, per saltum and at once, you may not manage it, but DISCUSSION 213 as long as we are moving up an inclined plane let us remember that we have set our faces to it and will eventually reach the end. While I rejoice equally in co-operation I do not believe that the minds of Christian men can ultimately rest in less than that highest level of all, the unity of the Church of God, of which we have robbed ourselves too long, and which it may cause ourselves weary years to restore. But it will be restored by our Lord Himself if we seek it in humility, with infinite patience and with an endless consideration for the difficulties of our brethren. Rt. Rev. Bishop MONTGOMERY (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) : We have no difficulty whatever in conferring with you on almost every point except the nature of the Church and what its essentials are. There is our sharp edge and you all know it, and you must respect our distinctive differences. If Mr. Asquith and Mr. Balfour can to-day be discussing together the welfare of the British Empire, so can we confer together as fellow-Christians on far greater issues, servants of the King of kings. The Daniels have been very good in listening to this sermon from a High Church lion, and I hope, if I have bitten you, you do not feel any hurt. For me to stand up before you is a curious experience. I belong to a little band of lions in an enormous den of Daniels. But since so it is, I ask you, O Daniels, to listen patiently to the roaring of this particular lion. I promise to roar lovingly. First, as a basis of union I believe that undenominationalism is dead in the estimation of all. We have no use for the least common denom- inator of Christianity. We look with hope to its great common measure some day, a day not yet in sight. Probably the value of our beliefs lies largely in our differences, certainly their interest is to be found there. For example, I came up to Scotland as one who stands on the Catholic foundation, and I study Presbyterian- ism, especially in its strongest forms, with intense respect and intense interest. But Presbyterianism and water. No ; it's horrid. Don't surrender your edges. Keep your dogmatic beliefs. We won't use our sharp edges against one another, but we have a foe to fight, in evil, against whom we need sharp swords and no blunt edges. It is not our differences that matter but the spirit in which we hold them. Far better avoid watering down your beliefs. One day we shall be one, but it will be effected by a higher union than is in sight at present, when our deepest con- victions and needs are met and satisfied, not whittled away. Our contribution to you is from the Catholic basis ; and we do not^see how you can get that contribution from any one else because we give it you in a sane and reasonable and loving manner. Alongside the death and unlamented burial of undenominationalism there springs up a beautiful thing. The age of scoffing and contempt for each other's deep convictions is also past. In place of it has come respect* courtesy, real sympathy with all true and devoted 214 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Christian people. That is why we are glad to be here to-day. We are Anglicans first, and Protestants in parts. We really feel all the respect I have mentioned for those from whom we learn so much, who yet, to our great sorrow, are not yet in com- munion with us. Rev. J. R. CALLENBACH, D.D. (Holland) : I am a native of a small country, and I should like to say some words from the standpoint of a man coming from a small country. It is often very difficult to come and talk to those who come from a very great country, for very often we are judged not by what we do on the mission field but by the men of war we have and the battle- ships. But I should like to support the Continuation Committee, for I see this, that the wisdom of those who will have to appoint the members will show itself, that they will take also some members from the small countries, and I think it is wise to do that because I may say in my own country that we made the latest invention on the mission field, that is to say the mission Consul, and it is said that that is one of the best inventions made for a long time. We have got from the Lord as a mission Consul a man who is a leader by birth, by Christian feeling and by scholarship, and his invention, my dear brethren from the British Isles, has not been made in Germany but in Holland, and no imitators will be punished. Dr. EUGENE STOCK (Church Missionary Society) : I am not one of the lions. Neither am I one of the Daniels. What am I then ? I should require Bishop Montgomery's ingenuity to find a place for myself, but, in point of fact, I do stand for a large section of the Anglican Church which has certainly not been a bit behind in the mission enterprise. We have as a matter of fact very much kept ourselves in the background in this Conference. Why ? Because it has been our joy for the first time at a Con- ference of this sort to see our brethren of our own Church who have hitherto in past years not seen their way to those united meetings, coming in the strength in which they have come. We have re- joiced that they should be in the front and that they should be heard to the full and that the lion should roar as much as he likes among the Daniels. Of course we have been accustomed all along to enter into common conference and co-operation with our separated brethren. To us there have been I will not say no difficulties, because there are difficulties, and there is no use shutting our eyes to them ; but there has been a spirit which has enabled us to overcome the difficulties. I must confess that this morning I did feel that we were meeting rather like a great demonstration before the public than as a conference of brethren who were going to speak their minds out bravely and mention the difficulties. The difficulties were entirely ignored this morning, but I was DISCUSSION 215 ashamed in the delightful enthusiasm to refer to the difficulties, which, as a matter of fact, whether we like to face them or not, are there, and I trust and pray that in future the Continuation Committee or International Committee, if it is made afterwards, will not be afraid to face those difficulties, otherwise we shall in avoiding Scylla fall upon Charybdis. I have risen solely for the purpose of reminding the Conference that there are such things as evangelical Anglicans. Another thing is that in all this dis- cussion we should remember to be careful in the use of terms. I think we get into confusion sometimes. I say we have got unity already, uniformity we do not want at all, but there are two other terms. There is inter-communion which many look forward to as the goal to be aimed at. But there is a fourth thing. That is union, and that is the only thing we should aim at. But union does not mean that the four or five parties at Corinth are to have their separate synagogues and refuse to work together. They must be able to come into one organisation and though many would not agree with me there I say that union is the only thing worth aiming at. Whether it will come in this dispensation the Lord knows. Rev. R. WARDLAW THOMPSON, D.D. (Secretary of the London Missionary Society) : My impulse in speaking just now is that I want to sing a doxology. I have come to a point in my religious experience in this Conference which five years ago I think I should not have dreamt of. We meet here a very remarkable body, and we have had speeches this morning from men, from whom many of us have been accustomed to be quite separate. But I want to thank the Bishop of Southwark and others who spoke for the expressions they have given of their desire for unity. I thank them especially because it seems to me that the spirit of unity can only be obtained in being perfectly frank, by making everybody understand our position. I do look forward now with greater hopefulness than ever to a day when we shall be able to meet to consider questions which have been tabooed at this Conference and very properly tabooed, and shall be able to talk frankly to each other about the things in which^we differ as well as the things on which we agree, recognising that we are members of the body of Christ and seeking the guidance of the Spirit of Christ to lead us into the larger and fuller truth which comprehends the different opinions. So I rejoice in the measure of agreement we have come to to-day, but we have to remember one thing. A Conference like this represents high-water mark, represents Christian feeling and enthusiasm at the highest point that they can get to. The temperature of a'great^Conference like this is warm. Well we have got to go out into the cool air of everyday life, we have got to go out into the practical effort of our Christian service. Dear brethren and sisters, we do long for this unity in Christian service. 216 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY How are we going to interpret the feelings of to-day in the service of to-morrow ? That will be the great difficulty. I do not think it takes much imagination to forecast, if one wanted to, some of the leading articles in some of the newspapers which will appear next week. Yes, but the leading articles will not be the only thing. There will be men on both sides, on the side of the Free Churches, and on the side of the Anglican Church, who will feel very strongly about this, and we here have got to do our best to make all our friends understand that we have not wasted breath this morning, and we have got to make it understood in the practical working of our missions. I say that with meaning. We have got to carry with us and we have got to infuse into others that blessed spirit which has been drawing us together so that in the practical working out of Christian service, men in their different positions may understand that though they cannot see eye to eye, heart beats with heart and Christ is the Lord, and that they have got to some term of mutual understanding and service. This is a matter in which prayer will be required, and an earnest consecration of our spirit to God, and the subjection in each of us of that spirit of individualism and spirit of respect for our own position which makes it so difficult to respect the position of others. I long for the time when we shall see another Conference and when the men of the Greek Church and the Roman Church shall talk things over with us hi the service of Christ. The kingdom will not come until every branch of the Church can unite together in some common effort of service for the Lord. Rev. Bishop J. E. ROBINSON (Methodist Episcopal Church, Bombay) : I should like to speak a few sentences by way of hearty support of the resolution before the Conference which pro- poses the formation of a Continuation Committee. I am reminded by the Agenda in my hand that this is the longest day of the year, but I believe it will be one of the great days in the history of the Christian evangelisation of the world, and I believe that the vote which is to be taken very soon will mark with a red letter this day, because I believe forces will be set in operation by the organisation of this Committee that will be largel}' to the advantage of the Kingdom of God in all parts of the world. I speak especially from the standpoint of the foreign missionary, and I think I inter- pret the mind of the Conference correctly perhaps, also of Mission Boards and Societies to a large extent when I say that they naturally expected some action of this kind to be taken at this time. It is the logical sequel to the Conference gathering, and to the exhaustive preparatory work that led up to it. We regard the appointment of this Continuation Committee as not only highly expedient, but necessary and even indispensable, if the important work done in the Conference is to be properly con- served and shall find largest fruitage in the immediate future. DISCUSSION 217 The resolution commends itself to us by its practical character. The several sections set forth in quite sufficient detail the scope of the work which it is expected to undertake. There is nothing radical or Utopian in its provisions. It can be seen at a glance that the functions of the Committee are of a most practical common-sense character, and it is worthy of mention in the Agenda that the proposal to invest the Continuation Committee with those functions was unanimously approved by the Business Committee, which, as the Conference is well aware, is thoroughly representative in its membership. The formation of this pro- posed Committee in our devout belief has the promise and potency of great practical advantage to the missionary enterprise. The time is peculiarly propitious for its appointment. It could not have been launched except in such an atmosphere as that which we happily find ourselves breathing in this Conference. Ten years ago it would have been, and was, impossible. But the living Spirit has created new and improved conditions, and sets before us the glory of the impossible. It would be unwise for us to attach undue importance to the organisation of this Committee. There remains yet very much land to be possessed in the region where it is to operate. But we can confidently assume that it will prove of immense practical help in missionary administration of the future. The whole trend of sentiment among missionaries in the foreign field at the present time is undeniably and strongly towards union, wherever that may be possible ; and towards federation, co-opera- tion, and the closest mutual relations where organic union of Churches is, for the present, out of question. I wish to observe here that in connection with the great Laymen's Missionary cam- paign, some fifty or sixty of the Conventions of which I had the privilege of attending, there was nothing more prominent in the discussions and meetings that were held than the enthusiasm with which any reference to co-operation in the mission fields or the unity of Churches was received ; and missionaries should take notice and I myself lay it to my heart that we should bear in mind the temper and the attitude of our supporters in the home fields, who are very solicitous that all waste and everlapping and unnecessary expenditure should be avoided at every point. In view of this fact, it will be of very great advantage to all move- ments looking towards unity or federation, as the case may be, to have this strong central representative Committee, whose functions are limited by the provisions of the resolution, to furnish informa- tion and counsel, and to act as a mediating body between Boards and Missions as occasion may require. Accepted as it will be, I trust, by the votes of representatives of all Societies and Missions gathered in this Conference and I desire to emphasise very particularly that little word "all," for in that lies the secret of cordial relations on the mission field, as a wise conservative forward step in the right direction. We may confidently expect 218 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY that the influence of the Committee will prove to be wholly bene- ficient and most widely useful in promoting the cause of speedy and effective world evangelisation and the furtherance of the interests of the Kingdom of God. Rev. A. WALLACE WILLIAMSON, D.D. (Church of Scotland) : Before proceeding to the vote, I venture to ask a question and perhaps make a small suggestion under Section (4). I do not propose for a moment to intervene in the debate which has been sustained by such width of view. I agree with the resolution which proposes the creation of the Continuation Committee, but am I right in understanding that there is no provision under Section (4) for the continuance of the Continuation Committee ? If so, I would therefore suggest the advantage of the words following upon Committee, " which shall have power to fill up vacancies as they occur." Dr. ROBSON : Might I say that that point was present to the minds of some of us, but it is in accordance with our Scottish custom at any rate that this provision for filling up vacancies is inserted in connection with the submission of the proposed members of the Committee. The Business Committee is appointed to nominate this Continuation Committee. We shall submit that nomination to the Conference adding the words " to fill up any vacancy that shall occur in their number." That will meet the point. Right Rev. Bishop ROOTS : I think there are one or two verbal matters which it is not worth while to take up the time of the Conference to discuss which might be left in the hands of the Business Committee. The Chairman : Yes, matters which are merely verbal and general, involving no change of substance, may 'be entrusted to the Committee. It was agreed at this stage that the vote should be taken, and on the resolution being put, it was unanimously carried. The Conference then joined in singing the Doxology. THE POSSIBILITIES AND PRINCIPLES OF CO-OPERATION AT THE HOME BASE Mr. SILAS McBEE ( Vice-Chairman of the Commission) : There is one characteristic of the Report of the Commission that I desire to emphasise. The Report I think reflects the mind of the International Committee that formed the basis for this Conference as well as the mind of the Conference now that it has assembled in this respect the Report is positive, constructive, synthetic. It has embraced in its purview information, or it has reported that it has not secured information, from practically all the fields of the world. The conclusions have not been analytical. They have not placed partial truths in opposition. They have avoided DISCUSSION 219 that law of exclusion which is so far foreign to the family of God that it has forced much of the division of Christianity from which we are now suffering. Inclusion and not exclusion seems to have been in the minds of every one who contributed to the Report. And the Report is remarkable in another respect. While all other Commissions have had information from all parts of the world, and while it has been more or less true that the Commissions have overlapped and got information one from the other, this Commission has possibly had more contributions and more matter turned over to it from the other seven Commissions than has been turned over to any other Commission, so that one may speak of it as the joint contribution of the eight Commissions. I believe if the lines of that Report are followed, if inclusion prevails and negatives are kept in the background, and we hold to positive truth wherever we find it, that a new day will dawn, not only for the members of this Conference and the Churches that they represent, but it will influence the whole Christian world, and in doing so, influence the whole world. For, after all, I think we must remember that there are some things wholly beyond our power to deal with, and I think we may learn something of a new language in the foreign field and at home in remembering that all the children of men were created by the one God and Father of us all, and made in His image, and that He loved that World so that He gave His Son, who in His incarnation has included in that mystical and infinite act the whole of humanity. So that we do not go in a real sense to heathen, we do not go to aliens from God's standpoint or that of our Lord, but we go as Bishop Roots once said in one of his eloquent appeals to a meeting of our men, we go to find all God's men. We go to feel after every race, to feel after them if haply we may find them. Once more our Lord's Incarnation, His satisfaction and suffering for the whole sins of the whole of humanity, the power of His resurrection, His ascension, and His sitting at the right hand of Almighty God is for the whole of humanity, and when He sent out His Church He did not send His disciples merely to proclaim Him but to baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. We can never get rid of that sacramental element in the Commission, which would be powerless as a mere proclamation. It binds us together in that one body of the one Christ which, let us understand again, was not made by us, is not dependent on what we think, or do, or feel, but was made by Christ. It is His body, not our Church ; it is His Kingdom, not our denomination. The most blessed truth that this assembly feels, and has felt at every mention of it, is that though separated from each other, we have not been able to separate ourselves from Christ. Now we have been many centuries in getting apart. It has not been an easy thing to escape the prayer of our Lord. It has been through much suffering, and great heroes and martyrs mark the line of division. All honour 220 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY to those who stood for their convictions because convictions are the standard of action, and a man darkens the way and saps the foundation of character, of man or of Church, if he tampers with its convictions. But we have need to learn that our con- victions are not the standard of truth, and that our convictions are open to the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been irresistible and we have been powerless to escape His blessing in disguise. Let us be sure that we do not erect our con- viction into the infallibility either of the Pope in Rome or of the Pope in the individual's own bosom and thus make our con- victions a cause of division. Let us not insist on uniformity which has been so justly condemned here, but aim rather at that unan- imity which characterises God's action everywhere. There is not a truth for which suffering has been endured, there is not a small item of the truth that is held by the smallest body of the Christians in the world that is not present in, and constitutes a part of, that which is called Catholic, and it must be held as part, and no effort for unity must be too ready to run over it or in any way impair it. We must not get ahead of our own convictions, but be true to them to the end. We have attained a large measure of the unity of the Spirit. Its witness here has been amazing. It is manifesting itself throughout the world and throughout the denominations of Christian people. We must not only have that unity of the Spirit, but we must act in that Spirit if we would make the next step into the bond of peace. I have taken rather seriously my responsibility as a member of this Commission. I have not been satisfied with written enquiries ; I have visited every body of Christ that it has been within my power to reach. I have had a correspondence so extended that it would be of the richest value if there were time to discuss and to read some of it. I have chosen one letter which was especially written to be read at this Conference, and let me say here, it is no new utterance for a man who is nearly eighty years old, it is no new experience for him. I have been familiar with him for years, and I regard him as one of the great evangelical preachers of the world. I regard him as one of the greatest bishops of the world, a beautiful character, and in con- ferring with him in his own palace in Cremona within the last two months I found he was so much in agreement with the feeling of this Conference that I got him to write a letter specially to be read at this Conference. This is his letter : " A Conference of representatives of all the Christian denomina- tions, held with the noble aim of better making known Christ and His Church to consciences which feel and exhibit in practice all the profound and fecund beauty of religious aspirations, is a fact of such importance and significance that it cannot escape the attention of any one who may follow the Conference, however DISCUSSION 221 superficially, in what a degree the most profound problems are agitating and revolutionising the modern spirit. This Conference, indeed, proves that religious feeling ever exercises a supreme influence over the entire life of man, and that the religious factor in our day, as throughout all time, stimulates and urges on human activity towards new conquests in the path of civilisation. The progress of science, the various phases of philosophy, the evolu- tion, both of thought and of practical life these all group them- selves round the religions which human history displays and classifies at different epochs. It has been well said that as the prism exhibits the various colours contained in light, so mankind displays the various forms and shades of religion. " Moreover, your Conference, which is being held in Scotland, the land of strong and noble ideals, though at one time torn asunder by religious strife, is a triumphant proof of another consoling fact ; the most desirable and precious of human liberties, religious liberty, may now be said to be a grand conquest of contemporary humanity, and it enables men of various faiths to meet together, not for the purpose of hating and combating each other, for the supposed greater glory of God, but in order to consecrate themselves in Christian love to the pursuit of that religious truth which unites all believers in Christ. United in one faith, the various spiritual forces combine in the adoration of the one true God in spirit and in truth. " For these reasons I applaud your Conference. I know very well that some sceptical spirits, saturated in gross materialism or cold positivism, may smile at your initiative and tax you with Utopian optimism, or with being well-meaning dreamers, shutting your eyes to realities of life. Such will not fail to say that you, being yourselves profoundly divided in your religious beliefs, of which you endeavour to be the jealous guardians, cannot have any data or principles, accepted by all, on which to base your discussions. Besides, religion is too much a matter of individual conviction and feeling for us to hope ever to see one only Church capable of embracing all believers in Christ. But no ! only a superficial observer could be deluded regarding the practicability of such efforts. Yours, gentlemen, is not an optimistic idealism, nor an idle dream. The elements of fact in which you all agree are numerous and are common to the various Christian denomina- tions, and they can therefore serve as a point of departure for your discussions. It is, therefore, legitimate to aspire to a unity of faith and of religious practice, and to work for its realisation by the consecration of all energies of mind and heart. This is a work in which we in our day may well co-operate. In this field, as in others, it is well to keep in mind that from the clash of opinions discussed in a free and calm spirit sparks of truth cannot fail to be elicited. " Now, on what matters and on what principles are you agreed, 222 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY gentlemen ? To my thinking they are as follows : Like myself, all of you are persuaded that the physical, ethical, and social developments of life do not satisfy man, because man, whether he wills it or not, is oppressed by the Infinite, and this con- sciousness, from which he cannot deliver himself, urges him to harmonise his physical and social conditions with the supreme Reality, which is God, the Source of all these conditions, and to which they are subordinate. Without such harmony the ethical and social life loses its significance and impresses us with its insufficiency. Faith, therefore, in God the Creator, which bestows on human life an eternal and absolute value, is for you the primary point of agreement. You all share faith in Christ the Redeemer. ' Christ reveals Himself and is adored as Divine ; this is a religious fact of unequalled importance. Jesus has, in reality, not vanished either from history or from the life of Christianity ; He lives at all times in millions of souls ; He is enthroned as King in all hearts. The figure of Christ has not the cold splendour of a distant star, but the warmth of a heart which is near us, a flame burning in the soul of believers and keeping alive their consciences. Putting aside certain opinions, which, honoured at the moment, may possibly be abandoned to-morrow, criticism had hoped to effect a complete demolition of the conception of Christ, but what criticism really demolished was merely irrelevant matter. . . .' The figure of Christ, after all the onslaughts of criticism, now stands forth more pure and Divine than ever, and compels our adoration. " Thus we are united in the profound conviction that a universal religion is necessary, and that this must be the Christian religion ; not a cold and formal religion, a thing apart from human life, but a living force, pervading the human soul in its essence, and its various manifestations a religion, in short, which completes and crowns our life and which bears fruition in works of love and holiness. Again, all of you feel the need of a Church which may be the outward manifestation of your faith and religious feeling, the vigilant custodian now and here of Christian doctrine and tradition. x It sustains and keeps alive religious and individual activity in virtue of that strong power of suggestion which col- lectivity always exercises on the individual. ' Sir,' exclaims Dr. Johnson, ' it is a very dangerous thing for a man not to belong to any Church ! ' And this is true. How many of us would fall a thousand times were it not for its support ! " Finally, from the various Churches and religious denomina- tions into which you Christians are divided there arises a new unifying element, a noble aspiration, restraining too great im- pulsiveness, levelling dividing barriers, and working for the realisa- tion of the one Holy Church through all the children of redemption. And now, I ask, Are not these elements more than sufficient to constitute a common ground of agreement, and to afford a sound DISCUSSION 223 basis for further discussion, tending to promote the union of all believers in Christ ? On this common ground, gentlemen, having your minds liberated from all passions or sectarian intolerance, animated, on the contrary, by Christian charity, bring together into one focus the results of your studies, the teachings of ex- perience, whether individual or collective, calmly carry on re- search and promote discussion. May truth be as a shining light, illuminating your consciences, and making you all of one heart and one mind. My desire for you is but the echo of Christ's words, which have resounded through the centuries ' Let there be one flock and one Shepherd.' " Mr. H. E. WOOTTON (London Missionary Society, Melbourne, Australia) : Each member of this great and representative assembly will surely agree with the statement that the unity of the Church is an essential factor in the effective evangelisation of the world. The preservation of His followers in unity forms the central thought and aspiration of the Master in His last recorded earthly petition ; the pathos and purpose of which stand in sharp and painful contrast with, the disunited state of His Church to-day. It is by more than implication a vital condition, without which it becomes impossible " that the world may believe." This Conference must inevitably be baffled in its efforts to meet the world's crisis and to-day's opportunity if it fails to honestly seek to meet this condition. Proposals for effective world evangelisation cannot succeed, so long as practical steps towards union appear to be possible and it neglects to call the attention of the Church thereto. Are we not all agreed that almost all the difficulty attendant upon world evangelisation lies in the disunited state of the Home Church ? We assent to the Master's condition the Church must come into unity before it can realise in sufficient fulness and power, the presence of the Holy Ghost inspiring it to advance for the effective evangelisation of the world. Moreover, unifying movements both within and without the Church are on every hand. What is the Laymen's Missionary Movement, the Student Federa- tion, and this World Conference but three of many great unifying tributaries flowing into the ocean of our common Church life ? The unifying spirit of the age is irresistible. As well might we place our body before the muzzle of a great naval gun at the moment of its discharge as to endeavour to stem this movement of the Spirit of God in our midst. Let us then look at it in the spirit of hope, aspiration, and courage. What is its purpose ? A unity sufficiently complete and effective " that the world may believe." This much at least. Such a purpose does not neces- sarily involve any outward organic unity. We may dismiss entirely from our minds any suggestion of organised external unity of the various Church bodies either as practicable or as necessary for the purpose of carrying the gospel into all the world. 224 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY What we seek is power, not organisation. The secret of power is inward and spiritual, not external or material. The legions of many countries may actively co-operate in a foreign sphere for a common end with complete success. One single legion, vast and unwieldy, may be broken and torn by disunion within itself. Place external organisation entirely aside and almost all obstacles to progress are removed. A fraternal co-operation to reach an effective standard is an achievement of unity completely adequate. Are we not agreed that this active co-operation is attainable ? This we can achieve, and must achieve ! Let me suggest one practicable way towards this active co-operation. Let us assume that this World Conference as a result of its consideration of the Reports of the Commissions should find unanimously that the Spirit of God is calling upon the whole Church to advance in fraternal co-operation for the effective evangelisation of the world, and that it is also able to define and appraise the means and forces required of the Church for this purpose. Such a conclusion makes a basis for unity, while it does not touch any matter of faith or polity on " which those participating in the Conference differ among themselves." Then let us further assume that this finding is thereafter transmitted for consideration in every Church Court represented in this Conference. Is it conceivable that such action, the deliberate conclusion of so responsible and authori- tative a body, would be invested with any but the deepest signifi- cance and interpreted in any other sense than the challenge of the Master to His Church ? Is it conceivable that the Churches of this country, of Europe, of America, and Australia would regard such a call as other than irresistible ? This declaration in approval of advance in active co-operation has already been endorsed in Victoria, Australia, by the Anglican, Baptist, Con- gregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, and by some of them considerably beyond the bounds of Victoria. Such a position marks an epoch as a deliberate official act of the Church and Her entrance into the position imposed by Her Lord. She becomes " one " in spirit and in purpose in order " that the world may know." Is there room for doubt that in such a case she would receive power from above the realisation of the presence of the Holy Ghost inspiring Her to advance for the effective evangelisa- tion of the world ? And I submit all this is possible without the use of external machinery, and without seeking any organic union or merging of ecclesiastical conditions, either of Churches or Societies, save only by a common inspiration to amplify the re- sources and to quicken and stimulate each respectively so that each may attain an effective standard for the spread of the gospel in the whole world. Rev. J. P. JONES, D.D. (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, U.S.A., South India) : It is my purpose DISCUSSION 225 specially to speak on the first division of this subject. I ask you, my dear brethren, on behalf of the missionaries that you have sent out to these fields to stand by us in this great onward movement towards union, and what I mean by union is not simply co-operation, it is not simply federation. In South India we have co-operation and federation. We have our South Indian Missionary Association where there are nearly five hundred members representative of our thirty-five missions in South India to-day, and we are through that Association perfecting our plans and uniting in our methods of work. We have union in the Christian College, we have union in our new theological seminary, we have union literature, but some of us are seeking more than that, and I believe that federation and co-operation will be valuable in proportion as they have their ultimate end in Christian union, in a great united organisation. It has been our privilege in South India to effect a union of three denominations, or three and a half denominations I may say, in the United Church of South India. My appeal to you, dear brethren, is this, Stand by us to-day. There is in India to-day a Church that is seeking to unite with us, but I am told that they are prevented from doing so by their own committee. I can assure you that if you stand by us and sustain us as the Societies have been sustained in South India we promise to you one thing, that out from India and these lands of the East there shall come back to the lands of the West a new blessing, a blessing which will strengthen you in your purpose, becoming more and more united. If the lands in the East have one message to the land in the West it is this message of a united activity, united purpose, and united spirit, and God grant that it may soon be a united body not a stiff one, but an elastic one, as we have heard. Mrs. ROMANES (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) : I should like, if it is not too presumptuous, to say a few words on one aspect of the question of unity as if affects the Home Base of Missions. Surely at the Home Base we do remain in a singular ignorance of that which really unites us to the members of the other Christian bodies than our own. Mr. M'Bee has read you a letter from a leading Roman Catholic bishop. May I read you a letter from a professor in a Roman Catholic University written to one of the delegates of this Conference : "I pray that God may enlighten you and give you the strength to do His Will always, do His Will such as is manifested to you. He asks for nothing else. The soul of the Church is constituted by that love which is the life of Christ, and all of you who love God belong to that service of Christ and live on His life." That soul of the Church I " How that love of God is made more easy to you who believe in the Incarnation, who know the word made flesh, who follow His example and listen to His teaching COM. VIII. 15 226 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY and the story of His life. I am sure that our Lord loves you very much." This is from a professor of dogmatic theology. The Roman Catholic brethren say very odd things about us, but, as the Bishop of the Philippine Islands said this morning, let us never yield to the sin of slandering another Church. Some- times are we not surprised to find that in other religious bodies I speak for mine we are surprised to find in others that spiritual life, that adoration for our Lord, that love of prayer which we know exists in our own branch. The other day, Mr. Hoste, I think it was, of the China Inland Mission, gave a most beautiful and helpful address on prayer, and as I listened and felt how constantly ' he touched my own particular failures, I remembered how I had read so much of just the same thing put differently, but equally helpfully in other addresses by other writers. Now, surely it is best for us always to look out for the best, for the saints in every other communion or religious body. When I saw the words " Dutch Reformed " in the handbook, what did it bring up to me ? Not controversy, not differences of doctrine, but the name of Andrew Murray and With Christ in the School of Prayer. As Professor Cairns said, it is going to be one of the greatest conflicts that the Church has ever seen with the army of materialism, infidelity, agnosticism and other evils. We are very happy here, we have seen the movement of the Spirit of Christ, but we must not live in a fool's paradise and not know that the battle that the Church is going to wage is going to be terribly severe and that we need all the help we can. Let us seek to know each other and love each other without compromising our principles or giving up the things that we hold as dear as our own lives. Rev. W. T. STACKHOUSE, D.D. (Baptist Foreign Mission Board of Ontario and Western Canada) : I think perhaps the time has come for the longest man in the Convention to have something to say. I come from the Dominion of Canada, particularly from the western portion of it, that great sea of land, that lake of soil where the cattle may graze and the grain may grow to satisfy the needs of the Anglo-Saxon races, and we grow men out there. I want to speak for a moment on the Laymen's Missionary Movement as a factor in Christian co- operation. I have been in Christian mission work for the past fifteen years. I have been identified with one of our Boards in the Dominion of Canada during that time. I have helped in the raising of hundreds of thousands of dollars. But I confess that I have never been so profoundly impressed with the importance of unification upon the part of the Christian people of the world, as I am at the present time. I have had a feeling to-day come over me tha"t many times has come to me from the remembrance of the story of one of the Presidents of one of the DISCUSSION 227 colleges who, when visiting in France, was invited by the French King to dine with him. The hour having arrived for dinner the President appeared in the royal palace, much to the amazement of the King. " Why," said the King, " I did not expect you. I am surprised to see you." Then said the President, " Did you not invite me to-night ? " "I did, sir, but you did not answer my invitation," and then the President said one of the finest things that could be said : " I have always understood that a king's invitation is not to be answered but obeyed." I want to say that the invitation of our Lord to give the Gospel of Jesus to the entire world is not to be answered but obeyed, and I am glad that the laymen of the Dominion of Canada and of the United States have come to the conclusion that they have the ability to carry out this commission in this generation. As Christian men in the Dominion of Canada we believe that no one religious body can do this work alone, but we believe that all the denominations in combination can do it. We believe further- more that there is no one religious body, on that side of the water at least, but what wants to see it done, and I am glad to see that there is no religious body, so far as I know, but what wants to help to do it in co-operation with all others. That is what we call Christian union. The Christian laymen of Canada and the United States are doing more to bring together the different religious bodies than can be done by all the ecclesiastical Conferences that could be held during the next hundred years. We are not simply talking about union, we are actually doing the work in our united relationship. I have been in the campaign extending from the Pacific to the Atlantic, covering something like one hundred places. Here we have the various laymen representing the various denominations and the various Board Secretaries in co - operation, and when these men speak from the public platform you cannot tell one from the other. There is another sense in which the Christian laymen are uniting the forces on the other side of the world and that is not only in the interdenominational sense, but in the international sense. As long as Great Britain and the United States and other Christian nations lock their arms in missionary consecration, they will never be found with locked horns in national conflict. How does this thing work out ? We have gone so far in some of the cities of Canada as to visit various men by different men of the different denominations and ask them to increase their sub- scriptions. On one occasion, a Presbyterian, an Anglican, and a Baptist went to a wealthy Methodist to ask him to increase his subscription. Imagine a Methodist up against that kind of combination. I want to tell you that only one thing could happen, and that thing happened ; he gave a magnificent sub- scription to missions. In every sense in which it is possible we find our forces united in this great movement, and we are 228 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY learning to understand each other and appreciate each other, and we are learning to co-operate in every Christian sense ; and some of these days, I believe, we will set the example for the entire world. The Rt. Rev. the Bishop of GIPPSLAND (Australian Church Mis- sionary Association) : My voice is a voice from Australia, that great continent which has not loomed very large in this great Conference. I am to speak upon the possibilities and principles of co-operation of the Home Base. One has felt in listening to the speeches to-day that, glorious as are all the efforts that are being made in the foreign field towards co-operation and unity of action, there is something essential in addition. It was indi- cated by a speaker a few minutes ago. Unless we have something at the Home Base, I can foresee some danger of breaking up some of the combinations in the foreign field. Is it possible to have anything at the Home Base of a substantial character that shall have its effect upon the whole of the foreign field ? My contribu- tion to this discussion is the narration of facts. Some seven years ago the Presbyterian Church of Australia addressed a letter an historic letter to the Anglican Union of Australia and to other Churches there, asking that an effort might be made by means of conference in order to secure closer union. That letter is memor- able from the fact that, so far as I know, it is the very first instance of an approach to the Church of England from any of the bodies outside of it. It was read sympathetically. In due course these two Churches by their representatives met. In the years 1906 and 1907, sessions of the Conference were held. I have had no greater privilege, no more thrilling experience in my life than I had in being present during the whole of that Conference. It is not within my power to divulge the whole of the conclusions. They are to "be presented to the Presbyterian Assembly of Australia when it meets in September next, and to the General Synod of the Church of England in Tasmania in October next, but it is within my province to say those things which have been already published in the newspapers. Upon the first three points, the Holy Scriptures, the Apostles' Creed, and the Nicene Creed, and the two Sacraments, there was absolute unanimity in the whole of that Conference, and when the difficult question of Episcopacy came up, I am at least at liberty to say that it was dealt with in a manner which to my mind shadows forth not only a possible way of securing organic unity between these two Churches, but the only possible way that can be conceived. I am at liberty to say this also that when these conclusions were placed before the Lambeth Conference two years ago, that Conference did not go quite so far as our very warm-hearted Conference did, but never- theless, it received what was reported very sympathetically. We are cautioned to make haste slowly, with great emphasis on the slowly, DISCUSSION 229 but my impression is that if the Church of England in Australia were able to act independently she has not and does not want to do so our organic union might be secured in a very short period, and I might add, without any sacrifice of any kind of principle on either side. It was said by a great bishop of my Church that this matter might be dealt with better at the circum- ference than at the centre. Is it not a wise thing to begin with one at a time, and if there can be secured, as there should be, an organic union between the Presbyterian Church and the Church of England, we may go on a little after a time and get organic union with the whole of them. The Rev. J. H. RITSON (Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society), in closing the discussion, said : It is the duty of the closing speaker to give expression to some of the things which have become increasingly obvious from the debate. First of all, it has been obvious to-day that we cannot ignore our differences, differ- ences which we think are matters of conscience, and which are matters of conscience. We have seen once again that such difficulties cannot be removed by conferences, however constituted, and they cannot be safely overridden by Church Councils what- ever their authority. Some have had an opportunity of making their own position plain to-day. May I say that whether we have been speakers or hearers to-day, we have none of us sacrificed one single conscientious conviction. Our differences which are conscientious may disappear when we have more of the mind of Christ, but in the meantime they cannot be suppressed. Then, secondly, let us never ignore our agreements. We were able to unite this morning in that great and glorious Apostles' Creed, and even in the expression of our beliefs and in our methods of propagating them, we agree more than we differ. In our differences and in our agreements, let us avoid exaggeration. Then the third thing which has been obvious is that the millennium has not yet come. Controversy is not at an end, painful controversy, in spite of the unanimous vote of to-day. It has been said that if there is a thorn in the foot, the hand must remove it, painful though it may be, else the foot will fester and the whole body will suffer. That is true of the Church which is the Body of Christ, but let us not probe for thorns until we are sure they are there, and if we find them let us not magnify minor operations into major. These things are obvious now. As we separate from this Session what ought our aim to be ? It ought to be to cultivate the sentiment of unity. It is not an article which can be manufactured in ecclesiastical or other assemblies ; it cannot be made, it must grow, and we have seen it growing during the last eighteen months and during the days of this Conference. How can we foster its growth ? We must have regard to the seed, to the soil, and to the surroundings. First of all, let us try to get a favourable environ- 230 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY ment. I trust that our Home Boards will study the facts laid out in Chapters II.,III.,and IV. of the Report.and that they will promote as far as they can the principle of comity, which may be summed up in the words, " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." I trust that they will en- courage on the foreign field the formation of Missionary Associa- tions and the holding of conferences, that men may know one another and see one another's point of view, that they will favour all possible joint action that we may secure efficiency and economy and that we may co-operate in our medical work and in our litera- ture. It is a sin not to make the best use of the men and the means at our disposal. And then let us look to the soil. The soil is the human heart. Oh, let us get rid of our bitterness and prejudice and narrowness ! These are the things which make the soil barren. Let us unchurch no man who loves Christ, however he may differ from us. Let us see to it that the soil is good that we cherish mutual regard and brotherly love. The late Dr. John Watson once said it would be very unfair for a man to visit Edinburgh and search out its Cowgate and then leave and slander one of the fairest cities on earth. We must look for the Princes Street in the Churches and in the lives of one another. We must cultivate the habit of looking for the best, and our hearts will become good soil for the fertilisation of the seed of unity. And lastly, there is the seed itself. The seed is love. It has been sown in many hearts, and though we can yet see the bare earth cut into de- nominational furrows, at this Conference we see also the tender blade springing up in all its beauty above the ridges that separate. May we be spared to see the Conference when, though the furrows may still be there, they may be hidden by the growing corn, and when the golden grain, hiding the necessary differences, is ripe unto harvest, may we join with the angels in the shout of " Harvest Home." The afternoon Session of the Conference was closed with prayer, led by Bishop Bashford, Methodist Episcopal Church, U.S.A., in China, on behalf of the Business Committee, that they might be divinely led in their infinitely important task of nominating this Continuation Committee. APPENDIX ADDRESS OF THE BISHOP OF SOUTHWARK DELIVERED IN THE SYNOD HALL (See p. 202, note) I APPEAR before you as a member (though from absence in India a very inactive member) of Commission VIII. to introduce to you its Report ; and I am asked specially to speak on Unity. Yet of Unity here and now there is very little that we ought to say. Just because Unity is the greatest and deepest of our needs, just because its restoration would be so great a sign and result of God's favour to a penitent and purified Church, we are unable and unworthy yet to speak about it in any practical way. It can only come by penitence : all penitence is hard, and corporate penitence, to judge from history, is the hardest of all. We can only speak of it as the ideal, the end, the true state of nature in the Kingdom of God. This our Lord has taught us ; and the Spirit teaches. It is well then that the Report proclaims plainly, quoting older words which separated men united to use in 1905, that " Our Lord meant us to be one in visible fellowship," and so that " the ideal object of missionary work is to plant in every non-Christian nation one united Church of Christ." There is a cardinal truth plainly proclaimed. There follows a recognition that the breach of what God means brings judgment and loss ; and with their eye upon the field of experience the Commission, still quoting, speaks of the " paralysing effect of our divisions upon the moral forces of Christianity"' it bids us recognise " the sin of schism," not to be confessed only as somebody else's sin, but recognised as sin in which we all have part. The Report then descends on to lower levels, and, taking things as they are, reviews tendencies towards unity, partial unions, instances of limited fellowship and co-operation among the disunited. This occupies the bulk of the Report, and only in Chapter VII. does it return to the sxibject of Unity itself : to deplore in weighty words pur light way of taking our divisions, our uncharitable acquiescence in them ; to insist upon penitence and prayer ; and to conclude with these words : " Human wisdom can discern no remedy for the situation. 231 232 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Unity when it comes must be something richer, grander, more comprehensive than anything which we can see at present. It is something into which and up to which we must grow, something of which and for which we must become worthy. We need to have sufficient faith in God, to believe that He can bring us to something higher and more Christhke than anything to which at present we see a way." I desire both to follow and to justify the wise reticence of the Report. I hope there are one or two contributions by which I may do so. First. I desyre to dwell on the fulness of Christian unity. We are always narrowing the sense of words by shallowness or forgetfulness. Unity is in fact almost a synonym for the Life of the body of Christ. It is living and not abstract ; and has the fulness which belongs to life. True unity then would express itself mentally in unity of conviction ; morally in unity of heart or feeling, and of conduct or purpose ; and structurally in unity of order : unities all of them containing within them room for rich varieties of intellectual method, of moral temperament, and of detailed plan. It is an utterly defective view of unity which narrows it to any one of these. We stand for the vital idea of unity as the one nearest to the truth and fullest in content. I would ask you to consider two results of this fuller and truer conception of unity. Each of these is important in itself, and taken together they are deeply instructive for our present purpose. 1. We are here to-day because of the fact, undeniable and refreshing, that there is amongst us a true measure of unity. It is real, it is deep, it is large. We feel it as we look in each other's eyes, grasp each other's hands, share fervently in common prayer. We are here to acknowledge it, to use it, and to delight ourselves hi it, to find the blessing that it carries. There have been times when, perhaps rightly, men felt that there was no way to defend precious convictions but that of a rigid exclusiveness. They must express their differences : they were hindered from giving any effective expression to their agreements. They stood accordingly quite aloof, mutually ignorant and mutually suspicious. We believe that now, by His guidance, the Spirit of God is showing us that we can do more justice to our whole mind, differences and agreements alike. 2. Accordingly it follows that if we are to own the unity we have, we might by precisely equal and as urgent duty be jealous for those parts of unity which we lack : for the unity of order which we have not, and for the unity of conviction which we only brokenly have. They, too, are real and sacred. We will not belie our own convictions about their nature or necessity. We are not here to debate about them. For this we have no authority or commission. Therefore it was wisely and indispensably resolved that " no resolution shall be allowed at the Conference which involves questions of doctrine or Church polity with regard to which the Churches or Societies taking part in the Conference differ among themselves." We must not DISCUSSION 233 ignore differences ; we must be loyal to our own convictions ; we must respect those of one another. But we must do this not merely with the courtesy of gentlemen, but with the reverence which recognises that what any great body of real disciples lives by has in it some of the gold of truth. But there are two bold proposals by which we are invited to grasp unity at once. The first is not represented here ; the second would have many adherents, and is therefore a greater danger. The first claims that the Body of Christ exists exclusively and adequately in the pale of one Communion, that of Rome ; and disallows more or less completely, but and with an increasing completeness, the claims of all outside to be members of the Body. This quarrels openly as it seems to me with the facts of Christendom, in Europe, Russia, America, and the mission field, and offers to human eyes no hope of any unity in fulness. The second short-cut and easy way is of a directly opposite kind : the claim not that one body alone has the truth and has it whole, but that all have it because it consists in what we have in common. This is the short-cut of undenominationalism. It aims at the fulness of comprehension by a wholesale sacrifice of truth. I stand here to repudiate respectfully but quite firmly both of these ; not only for myself, but on behalf, broadly speaking, of my Communion. Nor are we by ourselves in this. Scotland is witness to that. But in greater or less degree our position is understood by numbers of men in the great Protestant societies who feel that it makes for the maintenance of strong and living Christian convictions. We cannot be undenominational ; this Conference owes all its success to the fact that it has been through- out and unflinchingly what, to give it a name, we call inter- denominational, signifying by this not what the resemblance to the word intercommunion might suggest, but simply that men of separate denominations reach friendly hands to touch each other across the barriers and screens, as they have so long and so often found kinds of work which they 'can come out together to do. I do not believe that closer and more sympathetic intercourse such as we have sought and found in this Conference will make us more impatient of each other's convictions, or ready to rush into unity by ignoring them. I believe, on the contrary, that it will quicken our insight to discern that what is most distinctive of us may be our very best contribution to unity in that far day which God, and He alone, can make. Certainly that has been ever the humble hope of the Anglican Communion standing between the Roman and Protestant worlds, not in arrogance, nor in defiance, but with a real sense that she can understand them both, better than they understand one another. A " far day " indeed, when we remember that if we are indeed to reach unity, if indeed " only one Church of Christ " is to be founded in new countries, the unity must comprehend the great communion of Rome as well as the great Church of the East. 234 CO-OPERATION AND UNITY Both are Churches rich with past associations and present gifts of devotion and spiritual life. It seems as though the separate channels were worn far too deep for the streams ever to meet. But till they do, language which speaks of Christian unity as come or coming is simply unmeaning. There are, however, some considerations which may encourage the faith that looks to Him with whom everything is possible. The letter from a Roman Catholic Archbishop read to the Conference yesterday shows how near to us some great souls within that Communion are. We owe another illustration to an English Roman layman, Baron von Hiigel. There is hardly, I will venture to say, any instructed member of this Conference who, if he read his book on the Mystical Element in Religion, would not say this man would have to be in the first rank of citizens in a united Church of Christ. We include at this Conference in our statistics the figxires, the enormous figures, of Roman Catholic work in the mission field. Perhaps when next some Conference like this shall gather, the spirit of unity may have brought it to pass that some representatives of that Church may be able to enter into personal conference with their separated brethren. As we think of that division, and of others not less deep between those who reverence the Sacraments, and those who slight them, those who claim and those who deny an ordained Priesthood, let us refresh ourselves by remembering the possibilities in the Commission's words of "a richer and higher and reconciling unity." There are controversies such as that which concern liturgical and unliturgical worship which can be solved by simple combination. There are others like those about Grace and Freewill that so inflamed our forefathers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which are left behind as men come to recognise that they are dealing with two sides of a mystery too profound for human solution ; there are controversies again bred of exaggeration one way and reaction on the other which might be healed in time by restoring the proportion and fulness of truth ; such as those which set Church and Bible against one another, or those which concern the nature and relation of God's part and man's part in the Sacraments, as if the virtue that went out from Christ, and the faith by which He told the woman that she was healed were not alike essential to the healing. We must humbly recognise, in the words of the Report, that there are solutions and reconciliations which we cannot recognise " at the present level of moral attainment and spiritual insight." But slowly, very slowly, directly and indirectly, by the more interior forces of religious life, and by the influence of the larger changes hi human thought and human life, does the Holy Spirit work to lift us out of the pits which have been digged for our feet, to disentangle gently the meshes in which we are caught. " Even in moral things," said Mr. Seth Low the other night in quiet allusion to Galileo's words, " there is movement " " and even in religious things," I would add. Only, He cannot work where envying and strife are. There DISCUSSION 235 is confusion only and worse. But He can do wondrously where love is. If by; 1 patience, by prayer, by mutual understanding and forbearance, we can win and keep more of love ; if even Christian controversy, so long the scandal of the Church and the joy of its spiritual enemies, should become a field of witness, because men see how the power of our Master over us can teach us how to be loyal even in controversy, at once to truth and love ; then indeed there may come such times as we dream not of, such healing of old wounds, such gathering of scattered forces. Because we know that in this Conference (perhaps as some first-fruits of reward for our efforts wretchedly inadequate but real in the mission field, for which we owe such infinite thanks to many among my hearers) the spirit of Love is working, we are confident that by God's great mercy it may make some con- tribution to the cause of unity by creating the atmosphere in which men loath to differ, and determine to understand. INDEX American Board of Commis- , sioners, Resolution of, 13. Anglican Communion, union ofi missions belonging to the, | 97-9 [cf. ii. 289-93]. Anglo-American Communities, co - operation in religious service for, 8 1 . Arbitration Boards, 23-6, 149- 50, 151. Ausschuss der deutschen evan- gelischen missionen, 121. Australia, movement towards unity in, 228-9. Bible translation and distribu- tion, co-operation in, 53-6, 126. British Central Africa, 22, 72, 95. US- Calcutta Missionary Conference, rules of, 29, 45. Catechism, issue of joint, in Portuguese East Africa, 59. Centenary Missionary Confer- ence, Shanghai (1907), general character of, 40-1 ; Resolu- tions of, regarding Chinese Church, 10,83, 103-4,166-70; action of with regard to formation of a Christian Federation for China, 108-9, 171-2. Chengtu Conference. See West China. Children of missionaries, co- operation in education of, 78-9. China need for further de- limitation of the field, 15 ; co-operation in education, 66-72 ; in medical work, 31, 73-5 ; in Christian literature, 57 ; joint action in other matters, 74-5, 79 ; Confer- ences, 30-1, 33-5, 40 ; union of Presbyterian bodies, 91-4, 97 [cf . ii. 305-8] ; of Anglican missions, 98-9 [cf. ii. 290-3] ; union movement in Lutheran Churches, 101 ; among Bap- tists, 102-3 ' movements to- wards wider union, 103-4 ; federation movement, 108-1 1 ; attitude of Chinese to Church unity, 84-5, 195-7. See also West China. Christian literature. See Litera- ture. Church, the Home, responsi- bility of, for studying and helping movements towards unity in mission field, 138, 143-4, 189-90 [cf. ii. 33-5 268]. See also Home Base. Church in the mission field, relation of the foreign mis- sionaries to, 96-7, 100 [cf. ix. 298-305]. Church discipline. See Dis- cipline. Church membership, agreement regarding conditions of, 22. Comity. See Delimitation of Territory, Arbitration, Native - Workers, Reception of Con- . verts, Discipline, Church Membership. Commission, Report of the. See Report. Committee of Reference and Counsel in America. See Reference. 237 238 INDEX Conference of Federated Mis- sions in Japan. See Standing Committee of Co-operating , Christian Missions. Conferences, consideration of t different types of, 27-41 ; Conspectus of, in the mission ; field, 178-183; elements ofj value in, 41-6, 140-1 ; sug- gested lines of advance with i regard to, 46-8 ; obstacles to the formation of, 48-51 ;, Conferences in America and Europe, 119-26, 129. Congo, 37, 46. Continuation Committee, pro-! posals for the formation of, 145-8, 202-18. Co-operation, urgent need for, i in view of the present situation, 5-7, 131-3, 188-9, 200, 207! [cf. i. Index " Disposition of Forces"]; serious loss through lack of, 7 ; essentially a moral problem, 142-3, 229-30, 234- 5 ; tendency of, to grow, 140, 189. See further Comity, Joint Action, Conferences, Home Base [cf. i. Index " Co-operation "]. Cremona, letter from the Bishop of, 220-3. Decennial Missionary Confer- ence, Madras (1902), general character of, 39-40 ; resolu- tions of, regarding delimita- tion of territory, 14-5 ; re- garding acceptance of converts and workers from other missions and Church discipline, 20-1 ; regarding salaries of workers, 23 ; appointment of Arbitration Board by, 24-5, 149-50 ; Standing Commit- tees appointed by, 31, 57-8. Delimitation of territory, necessity for, 12-3, 19, 139 ; successful instances of, 13-4 ; need in many fields for advance in respect of, 15 ; difficulties in carrying out of, 15-9; necessarily temporary nature of arrangements for, 17, 19; modified by right of organisations to follow up their own members, 17-8, 139 ; not a final solution of the problem of co-operation, 19-20, 139 ; views of Madras Decennial Conference regard- ing, 14-5 ; of Synod of Indian Bishops", 17-8 [cf. i. Index "Disposition of Forces"]. Discipline, desirability of agree- ment regarding exercise of , 2 1 . Dutch East Indies, 80. East Africa, movement towards formation of a united Church in, 106-7. Education, co-operation in necessity for, 62-3, 73, 141-2, 206 ; difficulties in the way of, 63-4 ; successful instances of, 64, 192, 194, 195 ; institutions maintained by a single society, 64-5 ; maintained jointly by several missions, 65-9 ; main- tained by an independent body, 69-70 ; schemes for Union Universities, 67-70, 72-3 [cf. iii. Index " Uni- versity "]; plan of denomina- tional hostels, 68 ; co-opera- tion in primary education, 67, 71, 164-5 I i Q training of teachers, 70-1 ; in theological training, 70 [cf. ii. 183] ; educational associations, 71-2, 164-5 I appointment ofijn- spectors for mission schools, 71 [cf. iii. Index " Co-opera- tion "]. Evangelical Union of the Philippine Islands. See Philippine Islands. Evangelistic work, co-operation in, 76-7. Examination of missionaries. See Linguistic Training. Federation Movement in China, INDEX 239 108-11, 171-2, 173 ; in India, 1 1 1-5, 174-7 ; in Japan, 115 [cf. i. 63-4]- Governments, united action in approach to, 45-6, 124-5 [cf. vii. 6, 36-7, 117-8]. Greek Church, missions of the, 4, 201, 210, 216, 233-4. Hill Stations, value of, in bring- ing missionaries together, 37. Home Base, co-operation at the, 119-30 [cf. v. 52, 189-92, 286, vi. Index "Co-operation"]. See also Church, The Home. Hymn books, co-operation with regard to, 33, 60- 1. India co-operation in educa- tion, 65, 68, 70, 71, 72 ; in Christian literature, 57-8 ; joint action in other matters; 74, 76-7, 79 ; Conferences, 2 7~33> 38-40; Arbitration Board, 24-5, 149-50 ; union of Presbyterian bodies, 94-5, 96 [cf. ii. 296-304] ; South Indian United Church, 87, 104-6 [cf. ii. 30911] ; union movements among Lutherans, 101-2 ; among Baptists, 103 ; movements towards wider union, 105-6 ; federa- tion movement, 1 1 1-5 ; attitude of Indians towards unity, 85-6. See also De- cennial Conference. Interchange of members between different Christian bodies growing acceptanceof principle of, 21, no, in, 151, 193 ; difficulties felt by some with regard to, 17-8, 136, 139; ex- change certificates, 21-2, 151. International Committee, pro- posals for creation of, 144-8, 204. J apan, difficulties attending division of the field in, 1 8-9 ; Standing Committee of Co- operating Missions in, 35-6' 57, 161-3 ; co-operation in education, 68 ; in evangel- istic work, 76 ; attitude of Japanese with regard to Church unity, 85 ; Federation of Churches in Japan, 115 [cf. i. 63-4] ; union of Pres- byterian bodies, 88-91, 96 [cf. ii. 294-6] ; of Anglican missions, 97-8 [cf. ii. 289] ; of Methodist bodies, 100 ; movement towards unity among Lutheran bodies, 101. Java. See Dutch East Indies. Joint action. See Bible, Litera- ture, Education, Medical Work, Evangelistic Work, Governments ; other forms of Joint Action, 33, 77-82, no. Jubbulpore Conference, 111-4, 174-7- Kiangsu Federation Council, constitution of, 173. Korea, delimitation of territory in, 14, 195 ; council of missions in, 47 ; co-operation in educa- tion, 64, 195 ; union of Pres- byterian bodies in, 95. Laymen's Missionary Move ment, 128, 226-7. Linguistic training, co-operation in, 33. 77-8. Literature, Christian co-opera- tion in production and dis- tribution of, 56-61, 142 [cf. ii. 273-4, iii- 364]- London Secretaries' Association, 1 20. Lutheran Churches, movements towards unity in, 101-2. Madras Christian College, 64-5. Madras Decennial Missionary Conference. See Decennial. Madras, division of city among different Societies, 18. Madras Missionary Conference, Constitution and Rules of, 29. Magazines, value of, for inter- 240 INDEX change of missionary experi- ence, 49, 60. Manchuria/ co-operation, 34-5, 68, 77. Medical Missionary Association of China, 3 1 . Medical work, co-operation in, 31, 73-6, 141, 194. Methodist Churches, union of, in the mission field, 100-1. Missionary study, co-operation in, 126-7. Missions Consul in Java, 80. Native workers, acceptance of, from other missions, 20-1, 140 ; agreement regarding salaries of, 23. New Hebrides, union of Pres- byterian bodies in, 96. Nippon Sei Kokwai, 98 [cf. ii. 289]. North China Educational Union, 66. Nyasaland, 36-7, 46. Opportunity, urgency of the present, 5-6, 132. Oxford and Cambridge Uni- versity scheme in China, 69-70. Philanthropy, co-operation in works of, 79-80. Philippine Islands, delimitation of territory in, 14, 16 ; evangelical union of, 14, 33-4, 159-60. Portuguese East Africa, co- operation in, 59. Prayer, meetings for united, 27, 42-3, 82. Presbyterian bodies, union of, in the mission field, 88-97 t ci - " 294-308], Queensland, united mission to North, 80-1. Reception of converts and workers belonging to another mission agreement reached between Cambridge Mission and Baptist Mission in Delhi, 20 ; Resolutions of Madras decennial Conference regard- ing, 20-1 ; necessity for under- standing regarding, 140 [cf. ii. 269]. See also Interchange of Members. Reference and Counsel, Com- mittee of, in America, 26, 123-6. Report of the Commission, scope and plan of, 1-4, 187-8 ; importance of the subject under consideration, 4-11. Roman Catholic Missions, 2, 3 ; relation of, to the question of co-operation, 198-9, 201, 216, 233-4- Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, 4. Selwyn, Bishop, 13. Shanghai Missionary Associa- tion.Constitution of, 28,153-4. Shanghai Missionary Confer- ence. See Centenary. Shangtung Christian University, 66-7. South Africa General Missionary Conferences, 41, 44, 60, 151-2. South Africa, need for more thorough division of the field in, 15, 1 5 1-2 ; appointment of Arbitration Board in, 25 ; co- operation in education, 64, 72. South India Conference (1900), 38-9. South India Missionary Associa- tion, 21, 32-3, 77, 155-8. South Indian United Church, 87, 104-6 [cf. ii. 309-11], I Standing Committee of Co- operating Christian Missions in Japan. See Japan. Student Volunteer Movement, 128. Synod of , Bishops in India, Resolutions of, regarding territorial delimitation, 17-8. Transfer of Church members. See Interchange. INDEX 241 Transfer of mission stations to another society, 26. United Boards of Missions of the Church of England, 120. Unity the goal to be aimed at, 8-10, 83, 131, 190, 213 ; existing unity of aim and purpose, 9, 117, 201, 232 [cf. ix. 143, 325-7. 343] ; need for outward expression in visible fellowship, 8, 131 ; the purpose of Christ, 8, 190-1, 200, 207-8 ; need of penitence for lack of, 8-9, 138, 231; attitude of the Church in the mission field with regard to, 10, 84-7, 1 9S~7 > different methods of working towards unity, 87-118 ; reflex influence of missionary work in promoting, 8-9, 131, 148 [cf. i. 47-8, vi. 261-2]; responsibility of the home Church with regard to movements in the mission field, 138, 143-4 [cf. ii. 33-5. 268, ix. 319-20] ; differing ideals regarding, 1 1 7-8 ,133-7; the attainment of unity a supernatural gift, 138-9, 142. University, proposals for union, 67-70, 72-3. West China Advisory Board of Missions in, 24, 33-4, no, 191-2 ; Educational union of, 67, 71, 164-5 I union uni- versity in, 67-8 ; movement towards Church unity, 21, 104, no-i [cf. ii. 314-6]. Women's work, co-operation in, 197-8. Young People's Missionary Movement, 126-7. COM. VIII. 16 LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS AND AUTHORITIES QUOTED, AND OF SPEAKERS WHO TOOK PART IN THE DISCUSSION This Index has been prepared to facilitate reference. The extent to which any correspondent is quoted is not to be taken as an indication of the importance attached by the Commission to his paper in comparison with other papers. (See p. 3.) Baird, Rev. W. M., 64. Barton, Rev. Dr., 201. Bashford, Bishop J. W., 44, 62. Bergen, Rev. Dr. P. D., 66-7. Bitton, Rev. W. N., 84. Bombay, Bishop of, r 1 3-4. Brown, Rev. Arthur J., 204-5. Burt, Rev. 192-3. Ernest W., 84, Callenbach, Rev. J. R., 214. Cassels, Bishop, 19. Ching-Li, Mr. Chang, 195-7. Douglas, Rev. George, 35. Durham, Bishop of, 207-8. Ewart, Miss, 197-8. Fraser, Sir 202-4. Imbrie, Rev. Wm., 18-19, 8 91. Jones, Rev. J. P., 224-5. Kilborn, Rev. O. L., 191-2. Lebombo, Bishop of, 59. McBee, Mr. Silas, 218-20. Martin, Rev. G. Currie, 200-1. Montgomery, Bishop, 213-4. Nicolai, Archbishop, 4. Richter, Dr. Julius, 206-7. Ritson, Rev. J. H., 229-30. I Roberts, Dr. A. W., 44. ; Roberts, Rev. Wm. H., 210-1. Andrew, 187-91, Robinson, Bishop J. E., 216-8. Romanes, Mrs., 225-6. Roots, Bishop, 84-5. Rowell, Mr. Newton W., 205-6. Garritt, Rev. J. C., 84. Gascoyne - Cecil, Rev. Lord William, 209-10. Gibson, Rev. Dr., 15, 211-3. Gippsland, Bishop of, 228-9. Graves, Bishop, 10. Harris, Bishop M. C., 194-5. Henderson, Rev. James, 15. Hodgkin, Mr. Jonathan B., 208-9. Hoste, Mr. D. E., 42, 44. Howells, Rev. G., 44. Smith, Dr. A. H., 45. Southwark, Bishop of, 201-2, 231-5- Stackhouse, Rev. W. T., 226-8. Stock, Dr. Eugene, 214-5. Thomas, Rev. S., 199-200. Thompson, Rev. Dr. Wardlaw, 215-6. Wootton, Mr. H. 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