Apostles; why should not we work in the same way? Let teachers be appointed and supported from a general fund. We contend not for uniformity but for unity. There may be diversity but there is one Mediator, Christ. We can help each other. Let all use the gift God has given.

THE REV. A. MCKENNA, B. M. S., Beerbhoom, Bengal, said :Some twenty years ago I had to take over charge of a Bengali church. When I did so, and looked into the church books it was found that many of the members had gone to heaven. As a matter of common honesty, therefore, the list had to be re-written, the result in the Annual Mission Report being that a considerable decrease was shown. I shall not forget the rebuke I received from home on that occasion; I was stigmatized as an "unsuccessful Missionary" because I had ventured to state the truth; and because I was willing that my Native brethren should be translated, out of the statistical table of a Mission Report, to a higher and a better place. In those days I was thinner-skinned than I am now. But my conviction, based upon experience is, that one main reason why our Native churches do not become self-supporting is, that our Missionaries have been afraid to allow them to become so. Transition might be followed by commotion, and that perhaps by decrease.

The

system a failure.

Then, our present system of a paid preachership stands dead in The paid the way of the independence of our Bengali churches. I am preachership speaking of the system, and not of the men. I have long ceased to entertain hope of our churches ever becoming self-sustaining so long as the present system continues. Several years ago I took over charge of one of our largest Bengal Missions. churches connected with the Mission were all rural churches, and could not possibly afford for pastors anything like the salaries paid by the Society to its preachers. Indeed, any salary would probably be largely in kind, and not in money. Now these Society's preachers were pastors of these churches. And when I tried to make a beginning in the direction of self-support, by making them dependent on the churches for certain items supplied before that by the Society, it was very much like putting one's hand in a hornet's nest. I found myself in the position of David of old; I was surrounded by bulls of Bashan. Are we not expecting average men to relinquish comparatively well paid appointments as Society's preachers, for the poor position that would be accorded them, at first at least, as pastors of the Native churches? The whole of these paid preachers I maintain ought at once to be put far away from these churches, for they are at present most injuriously affecting them. For such men there is elsewhere abundance of employment as evangelists.

That decided and energetic progress could be made in this matter of self-supporting Native churches, did we only honestly try, is I think indubitable. Four years ago, I took over charge of a Bengal Mission, having connected with it a small Native

Self-support in Ceylon.

church. None of its members were really well-to-do, and most of them were very poor. The chapel-a building about 50 feet square-was in need of extensive repairs. I therefore said to the senior Native preacher, the chapel must be repaired, or it will fall down. Now this man had been a preacher over thirty years, and what was his answer? "Yes, Sir, we must send a subscription list round the station." No, I said, not round the station, but amongst ourselves. The result was satisfactory, and it was accomplished by the power of littles. Not only, with some small extraneous aid, was the building thoroughly put to rights then, but a regular system of giving all round has long been fully established, and has borne good fruit. No one ever talks now of "sending a subscription list round the station." And yet, it was in this very church that I preached, my first Sunday, on the text that was referred to by a previous speaker, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And this was the application made of it. An aged sister met me at the chapel door, and said, "You have just preached from that excellent text, to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. And yet, Sir, although you have been here three days already, you have not given me a single rupee."

THE REV. J. SCOTT, W. M. S., Colombo, Ceylon, said:-Great advances have been made in Ceylon towards the self-support of Christian churches. As the time is so limited I would give only one instance, viz., Morotto Mulle, one of the divisions of a populous place twelve miles from Colombo called Morotto. The work of the Wesleyan Mission here was begun in 1841 by one who was a pure Sinhalese, though like many of his fellow countrymen unfortunately bearing a Portuguese name, the Rev. Peter G. de Zylva. He was a man of apostolic spirit, and by means of preaching wherever he found an opportunity and of house-to-house visiting, he was the means in about twenty years of bringing more than six hundred persons to the knowledge of Christ. The church he founded has continued to flourish, and at Morotto there are now two stations of the Wesleyan Mission each with its own Sinhalese pastor and each doing well. Referring now only to Morotto Mulle, there are about 300 church-members who entirely sustain their minister, and with a little and decreasing help from the Mission, support also large schools for boys and girls. In 1881 the people raised for the support of the minister Rs. 728; it will be remembered that cost of living is greater in Ceylon than in many parts of India; they presented as a thank offering to the Parent Society, the collection at the Missionary meeting, Rs. 80; they contributed to the Extension Fund for sending the Gospel to the Buddhists in the interior and elsewhere Rs. 150; and for building and other purposes they gave Rs. 1,006. Total contributed in 1881, Rs. 1,964. This congregation does not contain any very wealthy persons, but consists chiefly of the middle class, traders and artisans, mostly carpenters. I may add that in 1879

I opened the new chapel at Morotto Mulle, a large substantial and beautiful building erected from a native design under native superintendence and by native labour. Labour for the roof and windows was contributed gratuitously; 100 carpenters, not all Wesleyans, freely giving a week's work. Proceedings were begun. on a Monday morning by a prayer-meeting. The Christian women of the place brought food for the workmen, and by Saturday night the wood-work was completed. Nearly all the money for this building was given by Native Christians; a little contributed from other sources stimulated the people to set about a further undertaking, viz., a house for the pastor, which has now been completed for two years. It is well built and convenient; perhaps some who were so inclined to asceticism would deem it too good for an English Missionary to live in.

A donation from the Treasurer of the Parent Society when on a visit to the place, encouraged the people to carry out a third great scheme. Adding liberal efforts of their own to the fund thus begun, they built a really noble Mission hall, used for public meetings and the day and Sunday Schools; the Sunday School contains 500 children, is taught by 46 teachers, and is entirely managed by natives. For in Ceylon we have a good measure not only of self-support but of self-rule; the larger stations (or circuits as we call them) manage their local affairs by means of quarterly meetings; while in the annual district meeting there are only 7 or 8 Missionaries to more than 30 Native ministers all with equal votes.

In the last minute allotted to me, I would say that in my opinion, though self-support should be steadily kept in view, there is a danger of being too impatient about it. It is unreasonable to expect a few Christians to bear the whole expense of a pastor, though each should give according to his power. Weak churches in India or Ceylon may well be helped by a Missionary Society, even as weak churches at home are assisted by central funds. I think too that while our aim should be to obtain the support of native pastors from their churches; Native brethren who are set apart to evangelistic work may properly be paid from the funds of the Missionary Society. Both classes are required, and in general the village pastor will not need the same amount of learning and education as the brother set apart to cope with the forces of heathenism.

The REV. R. A. ROBERTS, C. M. S.. Nassick, Bombay, said :We have to be upon our guard lest we fail to fully appreciate the circumstances and exigencies that our fathers had to meet and thus be censorious. Again, a system may be good in itself, and yet, through lack of discipline or effectiveness in the continuity of arrangement, may degenerate, and be productive of evil instead of good.

These thoughts bear upon the compound, or settlement or village system which still exists in many stations, and has a vital

Danger of too great impatience.

The Christian village

system.

Danger of becoming

connection with the morning's subject. Bearing upon this more particularly, I would remark that

1. Secular work without secular authority may often land the Missionary in awkward circumstances.

2. The upholder of discipline may be stigmatized as a legalist, but the neglect of it tends to produce moral and social, physical and spiritual, temporary and, it may be, eternal ruin.

3. The care and the time of Missionaries and the money of Societies, have, as a matter of fact, in many instances been devoted to secular purposes, where they would more profitably have been applied to evangelistic work.

4. This training has tended to reverse the Scriptural maxim, "Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things."

5. The isolation which has attended the segregation of Native Christians has tended to neutralize their influence upon the heathen around.

6. Men of different castes, without means of support, with imperfect motives, and not indigenous to the district, have been congregated together and the result has not been good.

7. It has tended to foster discontent, and a frail and hot-bed Christianity, rather than that independence and robustness which we hope will characterize the future Native Church of India.

Time has compelled me to make these bald statements; otherwise I might illustrate by unpleasing facts and show that evils which have arisen have centred round one or other of these points, and that the hope for the future will be enhanced by the avoidance of these evils.

However it seems to me to be clear, that as the Native Church increases, as it will increase, we cannot hope to add very largely to these compounds, settlements or villages, and I am fast coming to the conclusion, if I have not already done so, that if a village becomes Christian, that is a cause of thanksgiving, but that to form a Christian village is a mistake.

In face of all these remarks and the present condition of the Native Church, there may be a danger lest we become hard-hearted hard-hearted. instead of tender-hearted, and we may all need to bear constantly in mind the words of the Master, who said, "Ye have the poor always with you;" and also those heart-searching and oftentimes condemning words of His Apostle, "Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him."

The Madura
Mission.

THE REV. F. S. CHANDLER, A. B. F. M., Battalagundu, S. India, said:A coat was presented to the Conference last week and I was tempted to say that as for our Mission it did not fit now and never did. But so many have put it on this morning for others that all I can say is, It is now out of fashion." We do not in the Madura Mission support our natives nor pay for their pastor. Among the 2,500 communicants scattered throughout the Madura

district, in the southern part of the Madras Presidency, there are 14 churches with pastors, and not one of them receives anything from Mission funds. This does not mean that they are all selfsupporting. There is a Missionary Society among our Native Christians, which is supported by the Christians throughout the district, which assists those that are not able to support themselves. Half of the pastors receive nothing from the Society. Some of them are assisted by European friends resident in Madura and Dindigul. But we try to make them assume responsibility by letting them choose their own pastor subject to the control of unions consisting of the pastors and lay delegates. A little village became Christian. The catechist of the place, though not very well educated, was earnest and of considerable talent in preaching; when it answered best to have a separate church and pastor there, I told him that if he were chosen I approved, on condition that he should cast in his lot with the people, suffering loss with them if need be, and not expect me to make up any deficiency. (His salary was only Rs. 11.) He accepted the conditions. The famine came and he had to suffer with the people, and only this year have they had an average crop, so much did they suffer in that terrible famine. But he has held on and now they pay their portion.

MR. B. M. BOSE, Calcutta, said:-The question is asked, what Hindrances hinders in the organization of a National Church for India? It to seems to me there are difficulties on both sides. The new convert independence. sometimes loses in spirituality as he comes in contact with the world; the intellect is cultivated but the spiritual idea grows dim. It is often the case that the right men are not in the church. Many of us are not doing all our duty; we neglect selfexamination, civilization is sometimes a drag, minds are not spiritual.

Afternoon Session.

Work amongst Aboriginal Tribes and the
Lower Classes of Hindus.

FIRST PAPER BY THE REV. W. STOKES, BASEL MISSION,
Kaity, Nilgiri Hills.

MISSION WORK ON THE NILGIRI HILLS.

"I believe that on these hills there are five tribes who are not reached at all as yet"-thus wrote lately a Missionary visitor to these hills to friends at home. If the

Nilgiri Hill

tribes.