PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE. PRAYER-MEETINGS. Brief A PRAYER-MEETING was held every morning during the sittings of the Conference, from 7.30 to 8.30 A. M. prayers, hymns, and addresses occupied the hour. The hymns were chosen from Sankey's "Sacred Songs and Solos." On Thursday morning Col. Wroughton, from Bangalore, presided. Each session of the Conference was opened with singing, reading of the Scripture, and prayer. FIRST DAY. THURSDAY, December 28th, 1882. Morning Session. The chair was taken by the President of the Conference, Gen. the Hon'ble Sir Henry Ramsay, K. C. S. I., C. B. The REV. J. H. BUDDEN, L. M. S., Almora, conducted the opening devotional exercises, when Psalm lxxii was read, and the hymn "All hail the power of Jesus' name" was sung. THE CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS. MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE, MISSIONARY FRIENDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,-A hearty welcome to you all! In briefly addressing this great gathering of the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ I must first express my regret that the prominent position assigned to me is not occupied by some one of greater experience, and better fitted than I am to perform its duties. When the appointment was first offered to me I represented my unfitness, and stated that I was not accustomed to address such assemblies; but my objections were overruled by being told that I should only have to carry out the programme, and that the duty of the Chairman was not to speak himself, but to prevent others from speaking too much. In occupying the Chair, I must ask you to bear with all my shortcomings. WELCOME. Second Conference. This is the second General Conference for all India, General and so far as I know there never was such a gathering of Missionaries in any part of the world. The first Conference was held at Allahabad about ten years ago and was a great success. The Members of this Conference have come from all parts of India-from the North, South, East and West; are of different nationalities; representatives of almost every branch of the Christian Church; endowed with diversified gifts of faith, zeal, utterance, learning, wisdom, and spiritual power; all proud to be servants of the one great, glorious Redeemer; all willing to spend their lives in His service in this land; and are all met in the spirit of love to compare experiences, and to learn something more than they knew before as to how best to carry on the work in the Lord's vineyard. Since the last Conference some have received the joyful welcome, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Amongst these are Dr. Wilson of Bombay, Dr. Mather of Mirzapore, and Dr. Morrison of Amballa. These and other distinguished men have gone to heaven, leaving blanks which it is not easy to fill up; but the work is the Lord's, not man's; and He who honoured these men with such great gifts and power, can raise up others to take their places and to carry on their work. The True President. Progress in The true President of this Conference is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the promise of His presence is the surest guarantee we have of success. Let us therefore, look to Him for that guidance, wisdom and grace we all need. The programme of the Conference has been printed and circulated. Papers will be read by members who have been chosen for that work, and after that there will be discussion. Rules have been prepared by the Committee, and the duty of carrying these out is entrusted to the Chairman, who confidently expects herein the assistance of all. During the last ten years the Mission field in India the decade. has changed very much. Railway communication has made travelling so easy that Missionaries can visit the most distant parts of the land without any difficulty. The hostility of the Mahomedan and the timidity of the Hindu have been very much lessened; and we hear of discussions on religion being carried on between Mahomedans and Hindus and Missionaries in the most friendly Education. spirit. Education has also accomplished a great deal. Sunday Schools. It has removed much of the superstition and narrowmindedness of the Hindu; and apart from the direct benefits it has conferred, it has had such an influence for good that even the moral character of the people has undergone a considerable change. I myself have observed that some Hindus now condemn follies in which they themselves formerly took part; and many of them are ready to assist Missionaries in various ways. Sunday Schools have been opened for children of all castes and creeds. Who can tell what good has resulted from this agency? I heard of a heathen girl exhorting on her dying bed her parents to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We may hope that children taught in these schools not only sing the songs of Jesus; but that some of them, at all events, find how sweet His name is; and though their names are not recorded in any church register we believe some of them are written in the Book of Life. Besides the agencies already mentioned there are leper asylums, the one with which I am best acquainted being that at Almora under the charge of Mr. Budden, in which from 120 to 150 lepers are maintained. Altogether upwards of 300 have been baptized since Mr. Budden has had charge of it; and although we cannot expect that all have experienced the power of the gospel, yet some have, and many have died in peace. I heard an old man, when pitied on the loss of his sight, say, "I have lost my eyes, but with the eye of faith I have seen the Lord Jesus, and shall soon go to Him." There is moreover, the Zenana Mission, a department of work of great promise agencies. and hope; and there are lady doctors, dispensaries, medical Missions, colporteurs, Bible and tract distributors, all employed in rescuing the dying and saving the lost. So far as I am aware there is now more life in the Christian Church than there ever was before. Leper Asylums. Other Forget The members of this assembly belong to various denominations. Amongst you there are differences of opinion differences. on many points. I would ask all to forget this while they are members of this Conference. Let us look to Him who is the light of the world. Let us consider the difficulties of the mission work and the best way of overcoming them, that our faith may be increased and our hearts strengthened for the all important work of saving souls; that is the essence of Mission work-that is what God has sent us to India for-that is what Christ has enlisted the members of this Conference for. |