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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Mr. Mickie's reference to the missions under The only
way to secure a durable peace in the Mongol dynasty is interesting and instruc- China is for the
the Great Powers to withdraw tive. Those were palmy days for foreigners in official protection from the missionaries. China China, when not missionaries only, but even | should claim a big indemnity from the Pope the" globe trotters" of those times, could bear and from some of the Great Powers and send such testimony as that of the old Moor, Ibu missionaries of her various sects to Earope and Batuta:"China is the safest, as well as the America. The behaviour of the Christian pleasantest, of all the regions on the earth for missionaries in China could not be tolerated & traveller. It is well known that flourishing in any of the most democratic states of South missions existed in those days, which disap- America. It is degrading to European peared upon the advent to power of the exclu- civilisation. The missionaries, so far from sive superstitiong and narrow-minded Mings. helping, are indirectly, by their blameful May not the peace and the prosperity enjoyed proceedings, setting the Chinese against En- by the missions in those days be attributed to ropeans and hindering enterprises. The nume- the efficient and liberal-minded government rous Christian sects are inimical to each other, under the great Khan and his successors? and orly agree in one point, to plunder and And perhaps here we might find the solution ruin China. The greatest blunder that the of the missionary question of our day. Give Great Powers could commit would be partition | China an efficient government, assure the people of that Empire. There will then be incessant a just and equitable administration in the pro-intrigues and frequent wars amongst those vinces, so that there may be no reason for look- Powers, who will have to keep big armies and ing to foreigners for protection, no hope of navies in the Far East.-Yours, etc., practising injustices through the favour of foreigners gained, let us say, under falsa pre- tences; then, if the missionary question does disappear, or does not lose most of its trouble- some and disagreeable features, we may be able at least to fix the blame more definitely upon cortain missionary methods. It can scarcely bo said that missionary work has had a fair chance in China since the beginning of the persecu- tion in the 18th century, to which Mr. Michie refers. It would be much to claim that, among so many missionary bodies, of such different views and methods, there have been no abuses, however well-intentioned
We may suppose missionaries to be. But considering the un- favourable circumstances in which missionary work is, and has been, carried ou, we might abstain from passing too severe a judgment upon certain provisional methods. If the out- come of the present crisis in China were to be the establishment of a really good and efficient government in the empire, the missionary ques- tion might regulate itself, or at least it would be easier to discover abuses and remedy them. -Mr. Michio attributes the origin of the per- secntion in the 18th century to a Jesuit plot to dethrone the Emperor and put up a usurper, The persecution began under Yung-ching, within a few days after his accession to the throne. Mr. Michio may refer to the troubles at court, before the death of Kang-hi, concern- ing the succession. Those troubles were of a serious character, but I do not think the slightest reliable evidence can be produced that the Jesuits had anything to do with them. That the Jesuits did not plot against Yung ching after his accession, there is evidence sufficient in the fact that they were retained at his court as astronomers during his whole reign.
SAM-PA-TS AI.
OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT.
TO THE I DITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.'
Hongkong, 25th April, 1901. SIR-Is it not strange that in the recent discussion of tho personnel of the missionary bodies in China, the question of moral fitness has been loft out of account?
First of all, what is morality? It is surely not merely the technical morality" enjoined în the 6th or 7th commandment of Western
nations, which, as we must sorrowfully admit, is compatible with much that is radically wrong in conduct. It has been laid down by modern science that morality is threefold in its nature, and consists in due regard for
(1) One's self;
(2) One's offspring; (3) One's fellow-creatures. It is obvious from this that unmarried and childless persons, male. and female, are unable to attain to complete morality, their sympathies under sub-head (2) not having had scope for development; and if we assume that only man and women of the best type should be sent ont as missionaries, it becomes desirable to carefully exclude the childless from the field.
[April 27, 1901.
but it in a dark saying to the uninitiated. I have been many years in China and of course have heard the perennial "missionary ques tion" frequently discussed, the same old "chestnuts” handed out time after time and the samo cut and dried opinions as to the utter uselessness and mischief of missionaries and their work repeated ad n useam, and I have long ago arrived at one conclusion at all events, that is, that the people who descant on the subject with the most " cooksareness” and are most decisive in their condemnation of the whole thing, are mostly- I may say always- those who know the least about their views are most probably taken from some distorted or irrevalant circumstance, something' some, one has told them, or some missionary that they have met and did not like, but facts or accurate knowledge of the matter are foreign to them.
备案
If people who are inwardly driven to ventilate their views would take the trouble to look up the A.B.C. of the question, and if they do start to set down "facts" be sure that they are really such and correctly stated, we should possibly be spared such displays of silly self-sufficiency as your “ Occasional Correspondent "has treated us to. Yours, etc.,
C. V. L.
PRINCE CHRISTIAN VICTOR MEMORIAL.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS.'
Office of the Prince Christian Victor
Memorial, Horse Guards, Whitehall, S.W.,
March 14th, 1901. STR.-Will you allow us to appeal for assis'- ance in carrying out the following project which was organised towards the close of last year?
The sympathy evinced by our lamented and revered Queen Victoria in all the pere nil sorrows of her people arising from the South African War had awakened a warm and grateful response in the hearts of the public, and it wai then resolved to give expression to this all- pervading sentiment, and in some measure re- spectfully to reciprocate the sympathy which had been shown, by establishing a permanent tak-memorial of the grandson of the Queen, Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, who died in the service of his country in South
Objection has been made to missionaries ing their families into the interior of China, and this undoubtedly results in hardship to in- dividuals; but as a general missionary question there can be little doubt that men of the broadest sympathies are to be found amongst those with families, and it is to the latter that we must look for the best results.-Yours, etc.,
16
HODIE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY PRESS,"
CL
24th April. SIR,-Your 23rd inst. doubtless knows "the only way to Occasional Correspondent" of secure a durable peaco' as well as many other sive condemnation of missionaries, but the ex: matters, which he enumerates in his comprehen-
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Africa.
Although the circumstances under which this tribute would have been paid are so sadly altor ed, the love and gratitude of the nation are only intensified, and the fact that our beloved Sovereign took the greatest interest in the proposed memorial, and that it was one of her fast wishes that it should be a success, not only makes it impossible to withdraw the plan of a collection, which might otherwise seem in- opportune at the present time, but adds a pathos to the appeal which cannot fail to ensure its favourable reception throughout the country.
It is proposed that the memorial shall take the form of a fund for founding and endowing for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors. The would beds in the Princess ('hristian Cottage Homes
We may point out to our correspondent that what we described as “vicious' was the priu- ciple
upheld by Western arms in China that the life of a foreign, preacher can and must be paid for in money or land for his country's benefit; and as "disreputable" the policy of the European Powers who are willing to aso their missionary countrymen as political agents. We did not actually apply the terms in ques-traordinary way in which he starts with his be in harmony with the spirit and aims of the tion to missionary practices, though we cannot see that, had we so characterised a willingness
'salient facts," betraying as it does an in-young Prince, who always had the interest on the parts of professed evangelists to lend accuracy and sad want of knowledge in dealing soldiers at heart.
with the past, rather lessens the confidence Donations and offers of assistance in collect- themselves to such schemes, such terms would which one would like to have in a person who ing may be sent to the Hon. Organising Seore- have been unjustifiable.-Ed. D.P.]
taries, Office of the Prince Christian Victor Memorial, Horse Guards, Whitehall, 8.W., or to the Memorial Fund at Messrs Lloyd's Bank, 16, St. James' Street, S.W. Donations and collections will be acknowledged in the Press.--- Yours, oto,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE
'DAILY PRE88."
22nd April. STRIn his lecture last week, Mr. Michie could have mentioned a few more salient facts showing the intolerance, intrigues, and dis- graceful conduct of the missionaries. A French bishop, aided by some Portuguese, attempted to rob the coffins of the Corsan kings because they contained gold. They escaped un- punished! On the 17th 1900 I remember rightly, you published an extract from a letter foretelling the great rebellion and disorder in China. A few weeks later a mis- sionary- sent a protest to your paper, denying that the missionaries had provoked any dis- order. Subsequent events proved that the firstletter was correct.
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undertakes to set forth the future.
etc.,
ROBERTS, F.M.,
President of the General Committee. ((8d.) REDVERS BULLER, General,
Chairman of the Executive Committee.
I happened to be in Shanghai at the time the episode he mentions of the Corean coffins happened, and deny the truth of his absurd account of it: the rather imaginative story of a Catholic Missionary from Cores-which at that time was an unknown country-of some royal coffins near the Capital no doubt led to the expedition, which was conducted by two residents of Shanghai, an American and a Belgian, neither of them missionaries. They went in a chartered steamor with a hired crew of Manilamen and found the tombs, but had no means of breaking them. have since learned that dynamite would have to be en plage with the establishment or ment in commerite ed to do it.) They were discovered and attacked station at Maisura, on the coast opposite the and had to retreat witli, I think, some loss. To eastern shore of Siberia were almost completed put the thing as a missionary misdoing is at the end of last year. Work on the foolish. The nebulous mention he makes of is now proceeding so rapidly that some “great rebellion,” etc., in China, no doubt Admiralty port may be formally opened proves to himself that missionaries are very bad, in November.
According to a Japanese papër, the various undertakings which have been carried on since Government connection
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