܀܆
October 1, 1906.]
here. The past fifty years have been years of slowly inoculating the people with modern ideas. Now the people are thoroughly aroused, and their demands are bound to be respected. Out of the present apparent confusion order is sure to come, and China will continue to be in the future as she has been in the past a nation of scholars. (Applause.)
The Rev. T. W. PEARCE spoke on Fifty years of Bible Translation This was the subject of origins. What was fifty years of diplomacy, fifty years of government, or fifty years of commerce compared with fifty years of the Bible. (Applanse) If the East was to take anything from the West--government diplomady or commerce it must be qualified by the touch of the Bible. After passing a high enlogium on Dr. Graves, he noted the various translations that hal been made, pointing out that good as they were, they were not likely to be permanent,
The Rev. C. BONE took as his subject "Fifty years of Mission Work." China fifty years sgo was not a bed of roses for missionaries.. Those were the troublous times of the Taiping Rebellion. The progress of missionary work would be illustrated by the figures of only two missionary bodies. The American Board bad now 85 stations and 42 chapels instead of one chapel 50 years ago. Instead of no preacher they had now three ordained ministers and 38 non-ordained preachers. Instead of no members they had 3527 of whom 391 joined the church last year. Instead of paying people to come there, the native Christians last year contributed $4,779 gold for carrying on the work in this province. (Applause). The body represented by Dr. Noyes had now 79 chapels i stead of two, they had now 114 preachers, instead of none and now they had more than
7,000 members instead of one. Instead of no subscriptions fifty years ago, the native Chris tians last your subscribed $15,669. He wished them to imagine what that meant all over China. That had not been accomplished without great toil and loss of bloodship. They had been stoned out of villages, burned out of others and massacred out of another. That had been so in the past and would be again. Christianity, however, bad come to China to stay. It might not be the Christianity of Anglicanism, or Methodism, or any other "ism," but it had come to China to stay and it would stay. It had come lightening, sweetening, and brightening their lives and ennobling their ideal.
The Rev. Dr. GRAVES, who was greeted on rising by the audience upstanding, discoursed on "Fifty years of Canton." After expressing
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
were
the Lily, ranving on alternate days. These two | steamers formed our communication with Hongkong. The steamer Shark which ran to Macso, was captured by pirates. We had our mails once a month brought up by the P. and O. steamer Hongkong or the Ann. The American Mail came from the West ria Gibraltar to Alexandria thenee by camel back to Suez. whence it was brought to Hongkong. There DO telephones or telegraphs io those days. Still there were compensations. remember hearing some merchants say that in those days they could go out shooting and hunting between mail days, but now they had such busy lives and could not leave the office lest some business #honid demand their attention at short notice. There were then no shops in they are now. Canton where foreign goods were sold such as We had to get any groceries we needed from Whampoa. In addition to the one or two banks, many merchants conducted bank- ing businesses. Our own business was conducted through Russell and Co., whose successors are Shewan, Tomes and Co. The Mexican was the currency then. It was broken into smal pieces and we had to use a steelyard and weigh the money. There were no foreign coins nudor
his thanks to all who had assisted at that meeting and to the speakers for their kind remarks, he said-I feel that you have come
a dollar in circulation. In Canton the mer- chants resided in what were called the factoria, which name was applied to the place where all the agents of foreign firms lived. This extended from Shap Sam Honz Street to the river front and from the canal or moat West of the city wall to where the steamer wharves are now, nearly to the present Custom Hase. Chinese called the concession Shap Sam Hong the thirteen hongs, from the thirteen business houses first erected there.
The
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215.
dwelling, a rented one, was among the houses destroyed, and we lost most of our furniturs which had not been taken tɔ Macao. As the Chinese here refused to open their gates and carry out the provisions of the Treaty, Sir Francis; Davis made a demonstration from Hongkong and sent up a number of ships but he was not supported by the Government at home and so the forces had to be withdrawn. Inside the city the Chinese erec'ed stone arches in celebration of the defeat of the British. Missionaries have been here since the early days. The London Mission was represented by Dr. Hobson, a medical missionary, and a son-in-law of Dr Morrison. He had a medical hospital at Kam Li Fau opposite the west end of Shameen. His medical works in Chinese were among the first, if not the first, published and were the only text books used for some years, at least in South China. Near him resided Messrs, Preston, Hutton and Smith (the father of the Hon. Mr. Sercombe Smith, Colonial Secretary of Hong- kong). They were young men who had come quite recently to join the Wesleyan Mission. At the Factories Dr. 8. Wells Williams, of the A.B.C.F.M.. had his printing office where the Chinesa Repository, the Cantonese Tonic Dictionary and many other valuable books were published. This office was burned down during the war and Dr. Wells entered the service of the United States Government as Secretary of Legation.
He was known as a sinologue and was respected by all for his sound views and consistent Christian character. Dr. Kerr and Mr. Macey lived over a hong situated where the Medical Missionary Society's hospital now stands. They were known'
Dr. Kerr was well known to many byterian Missio for 46 years and dying in present, having been connected with the Pres 1900. The Baptist Mission was in Chui Yam Street where the Medical Collage now stands. My colleague, the Rev. C. W. Galliard, and his wife lived her and I boarded with them. Oar chapel was at Linen Hing Kai where the Duck market was and is still. Our preaching place was in the second storey of this building. The Prosbyterian Mission stool on the site now occupied by the French Doumer Hospital. Messrs. Frenc'i and Preston were in charge of the preaching and school work, Dr. Kerr being in charge of the medical work. Mr. French died on his way home while Mr. Preston did good work in preaching and in publishing colloquial books
The Wesleyan Mission was at Teang She and here the Rev. George Piercy lived. He did a useful work in China as a preacher. a teacher but especially as the author and promoter of colloquial books, and still lives in England. The Rev. Daniel Vrooman, of the much of his time to working in the country. A.B.C.F.M, lived at Hasm Ha Laan and gave He died in Sau Francisco several years ago. The Rev. Mr. Roberts, an independent Bantist missionary, was where his chapel still stands. A few years living at Tanh Shek Kok, afterwards he went to Nanking. Dr. Ball. father of Mr. J. Dyer Ball, and Mr. Bonney, of the American Congregational Board, and Dr. Hopper of
the Presbyterian Mission. wers in America arrived but came back and renewed their on furlough when I
as the American hong, the Danish hong, and the English boug, the French bong, so on. Between these business houses and the river was a godown and the English Church belonging to the Consulate. In this was a memorial tablet to the memory of the roung men who had been killed at Wong Chuk Kei a short time before my arrival. In front
monsoon and
of the church was a sundial by which we set our time, the observations being taken by a naval officer. The face of the river was very different in those days to what it is now, Instead of being covered by numerous steamers, tow boats, and launches from Hongkong, there was a single steamer once a day from Hongkong and one from Macro. There were rows of big eyed Tientsin junks that made the round trip once a year, coming down from Tientsin in the autumn with the north east returning in the spring when the south-east monsoon set in. Between these rows of hig-eyed junks was the fairway, through which cargo boat made the trip to Hongkong and Maca, boats passed to and from Whampoa, while fast taking passengers. foreign passengers made the trip by steamer but many of the natives still went by sailing ship. I remember the beginning of the "Arrow was a boat of a Medi- ferranean rig introduced by the Portuguese. This lorcha flew the British fig and traded with Hongkong. Several of the men on the boat were accused of being rebels and in their
War." The "Arrow
When I came here the
ignorance of international law the Chinese authorities went on board and seized thes men, ignoring the fact that they were protected by the British flag. Mr. Parkes, afterwards Sir Harry Parkes, the British Consul, went on board a Chinese police boat and demanded the anrrender of the men but was hustled off into his own boat without ceremony. In reprisal the police boat was seized by the British and 81 matters became complicated. As this was the last of a number of complaints against China,
here to celebrate the flight of time. Father Time and I bave been friends for some years, so I must speak a few words for him. Canton has changed considerably since fifty years ago. The means of conveyance were very different in those days from what they are now. When I arrived here on the 14th August 1856 there were no foreign factories here and few mis- sionaries of the societies now represented here. I sailed from New York on April 19th on board the barque Hocqua, a sailing ship of 600 tons. We were 114 days on our journey. Now you have fine steamers of 18,000 and 27,000 tons. There were three passengers besides myself. We came very slowly, compared with modern days, and arrived in Hongkong in due course, having lost one man overboard. The accommodation was very different in those days. Our usual fare was hard tack, salt beef, silt pork. codfish and potatoes. On Sundays we bad stewed apples and occasionally some tinned meats Friday was duff day, when we had a kind of sweetened flour pudding for desert. How. ever we had plenty of fresh air. We were and young and We had good appetites, and no complaints were heard about the food. At one time, however, we came very near to having to go without water. For some days we had only the foul smelling dregs at the hottom of the tanks to drink, to make tes with. When it came to washing our faces, I put the towel on the surface of the water and rubbed it over my face. However we managed to get some water in the Straits of Sands and all was well again. After arriving in Hongkong I came ue to Canton in the American steamer Willamáre. There was also an English steamer
war
Great Britain allied herself with France, who had two Roman Catholic missionaries killed,
sgainst China
was undertaken. From my window at Chui Yam Kaai, where the medical college now stand, 1 sw the commo- tion and heard the noise on the river, though it was not until several hours afterwards that I learned that it was a trouble between the Chinese and foreigners. As a result of the misunderstanding hostilities commenced and in October I went to Macao as a refugee with the ladies and children. The Chinese attacked and barned the foreign factories at Shap Sam Hong and in return the Allies burat the houses on the river front from the factories to Tsang Hoi Man where the French hospital now stands. Our
The Sha-
work in Canton after the war. meen was 8 sand flat covered by the water and with houses built on piles, such houses as are now to be seen below the Dutch
Folly on the Honam side. Down the river were the various places I have just mentioned. As you can understand the dificulties in our way were very great. We were not allowed to enter the city. We would look in sometimes but if any one ventured to enter the soldiers would rush oat and exclaim "No foreign devil can oɔme in bere.” We were restricted to five open ports and to travel in the country, a radius of 30 miles from each of these ports. Some of the missionaries ventured up the river but were sent back. They were the scouting parties as Our work was practically confined to the suburbs of Canton. up and down the river regularly every Saturday, We visited the villages preaching And distributing tracts.
villages there WBS A
it were.
Some of
thes
In
strong feeling of hostility to foreigners. Two years before the Arrow War the rebela would have captured Canton but the Chines- showed no gratitude for this, and they cone tinned to exhibit feelings of opposition and
A