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THE ORGAN OF TEE NORTH CAROLINA BAPTISTSDEVOTED . TO BIBLE RELIGION, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. Volume 09. RALEIGH, NC.,: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1803. Number 17. " PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY. " " .; v , OFFICE t -4, r- I IS (OP rtftlw) Faycttefilla Btreet, Raleigh, fo'C. - Trans or Bubbcbtptios: v Otrt Wf, ''. ' ? 'SJJ - unnT. Ll DtOntUl ................. a. ... l.W CInbi of ten (oopy extra to endwr) .......... 20.00 Anonymous communications will always Had ibeir way to the waste basket No exceptions. In tending letter of business, it is absolutely neo (gsary that you give your postofflee address in full. The date on the label of your paper indicates irben your subscription expires, and also serves as s receipt for your money. ObltuarlM, sixty words long, are inserted free of charge. When they exoeed this length, one cent tat each word should be paid in advance. trhnn writing to have tout naner chanced, ulease itate the poetotlloe at which you receive the paper, U well as me one vo wuicu you wisa is cunngea. . Remittances must be sent by Registered Letter, Piwtnffloe Order. Foetal Note. Express or Draft, payable to the order of the Publisher. Do not send ; ; Our Boarcla for 1892-93. ' , BOAM OF MISSIONS AKD BUTOATrHBCaOOLa , "'Vii'MtiOCAntD AT RAUEIOH. . ' ' , j C Scarborongh, Chairman; C Durham, Cor, Secretary j N B Broughton, W H Pace, Q M A1-, km. G T Bailey. T H Briars. J M Heck. J N Hold ing, W N Jones, J D BoushaU, G W Sanderlin, R church, T w Blake, J IX AlTord. vv u liouoway, J W Carter, C B Edward, T E Bklnner, B McK Goodwin, J J Hall, W R Owaltney, N B Cobb. M T Norrta, J B Boone, J B Martin, J C Caddell, F P Hobgood, J C Ellington, C t Hunter, 0 W Car ter. J M HoUoman, TH Pi itchard. Anson and Richmond Association, J W Wild 'man and L Johnson: Ashe and Alleghany, James Eller; Atlantic, J H Edwards and J CWhltlyr Alexander. D W Pool; Benlah, C A Rominger; Brier Creek, W A Myers; Brushy Mountain, ft A Ppainhour; Caldwell, J V UcCall; Cedar Creek, J O Fisher; Central, P A Dunn: Catawba River. Samuel Huffman; Cape Fear and Columbus. E W Wooten and DrAW Kennon: Chowan, E F Ayd tett; Eastern, L R Carroll and O P Weeks; Elkln, J S Kilby; Flat River, R H Marsh: Green River, 0 B Justice; King1 Mountain, H F Schenck ; Lib erty, James Smith; Little River, J A Campbell; Mecklenburg and Cabarrus, C Qmham; Mt Zion, W C Tyree: Pilot Mountain, H A Brown : Raleigh, 0 L Strlngneld ; Robeson, E K Proctor, Jr: Sandy Creek, O T Edwardi South Fork, J Bridges; 8onthYadkin, J B Holm an; Stanly, E FlCd dings; South Atlantic, J M Long; Tar River, O M Cooke, R D Fleming and R T Vann; Three Forks, E F Jones; Union, A C Davis; West Chowan, J B Brewer; Yadkin, J O Burrus; Mont gomery, W M Bostlck; Bladen, W S Meekin. 1 BOARD Or XJDUCATIOIf LOCATED AT Tin ' -:' ' V . '.v . FOBJCST. . W L Potat, PresidentrW H . Owaltney, Cor Secretary; W B Royal, D W Allen, E Brewer, J M Brewer, J B Carlyle, Ii Chapellf P A Dunn, W B Dunn. W H Edwards, P W Johnson, W C Lank ford, L R Mills, J B Powers, F M Purefoy, Win Royal, C E Taylor, v J F Lanneau, Elder John Mitchell, R E Royal, W J Ferrell. Dr J C Fowler, B W Sixes and J C Maske. : BO ABO OF HINISTKRS1 RKUKF LOCATED AT DURHAM. W C Tyree. President: W A Albright. Cor. Secretary; H A Reams, T E Cheek, J L Markham, T H Pritehard, F P Hobgood and W N Jones, j . TBUBTISS OF THOMABVTLIJff ORPHAITAOI LO-f-M CATKD AT THOMAS VILLI. , , John Mitchell, President; A O McManaway, Secretary; J C Scarborough, C Durham. W R Owaltney, .Thomas Carrick, F P Hobgood, Noah Biggs, E Frott, R D Fleming, J L Markham, T H Pritehard, W T Falrcloth, JHft Laselter. A J Mon tague, H F Schenck, John Brewer and J D Bre vard. . 7VHT1 -y:t. i C!f?(hi TBUSTKE3 OF WAXX FOREST COLLEOE LOCATED AT WASJB FOREST. U-C-i'i f J M Heck, President; R E Royall, Secretarv; C T Bailey, Noah Bigs, O W Blount; John B Brewer. li A Brown, KB Cobb, C M Cooke, W E Daniel, H C Dockery, P A Dunn, O Durham, W T Faiicloth. A R FouBhee, N Y Gulley, w R Owaltney, F P Hobgood, J N Holding, J D Huf ham,0 J Hunter, R II Marsh, W J McLendon, John Mitchell, W II Mitchell, E S Moore, R R Overby. T H Pritehard, E K Proctor, Jr, J B Richardson. J W EJlogers, G W Sanderlin, J C Scarborough, T E Skinner, J H Tucker, w Q upchurch. W W Vass. - , I 1 ' - Wk feel safe la stating that North Caro lina has less to show for her great resources than any other district on ? earth. It has been repeated time and again that our agri cultural and mineral wealth and pur cli matic conditions in many cases surpass, and In all, compare favorably with those of any other land; and now that our exhibits In the mineral and forestry departments at the Columbian. Exposition have been awarded medals, there is no reason tot farther doubt of ihe fact. , More than this, our agricul tural exhibit at the Exposition, is surpassed in excellence and variety by none. No one can claim that our people pre unworthy; for, in fact, their hospitality and gentility bave few equals anywhere. That they are energetic and thrifty is witnessed by, their wonderful recovery from the effects of the late war; and that they are law-abiding can not be denied. Still our Stato is compara tively poor in the number of its citizens, the extent of its utilized resources, and in the amount of its business transactions. , .' Blest as we are with productive soil, con genial climate, and untouched mineral re sources that would support hundreds of thousands of the street-wanderers and me nial servants of more populous localities, we are far poorer than other States with hardly third of our wealth. It does not excuse Us to say that we lack population, for it is Jto more than natural that a desirable local ity should be populous. There are thou-; sands of worthy people already in our bor ders who. could better their circumstances if they would take advantage of those re sources which are within their power to de velop; and if they were developed, it would not be many years before others from less fortunate States would be glad to join us. "Heaven helps those who help themselves" is a motto that might well guide our people in their present condition. Our State Is des tined to a glorious future, but her destiny must be wrought by those of her inhabitants who have lived and are now living within her borders. . Others will come but their coming will be at the invitation of her true sons who do not hesitate to expend their energy and invest their health in her glori ous promise. t , ; To thx student of modern politics, as he contemplates the action of our law makers, the Constitution, in .former years reputed one of the greatest documents ever produced by human beings, hardly appears to be the great and infallible instrument that our fathers deemed it. Scarcely a bill Is intro duced but that the cry of " unconstitutional " is raised; and a great fight is often made on the claim. Now it appears to ns that the Constitution should be plain enough in all points to be understood by a school boy; and we cannot understand how " grave and reverend V Senators can misunderstand it. Yet the fact is our leading men even now dispute the constitutionality of the National Banking Act, which has been in force quite two decades. The war was caused by a similar dispute. - r But recently a weakness of the Constitu tion, or rather of laws auxiliary to the Con stitution, : has been made apparent to the whole country.. Not ten days ago the mi nority of Senators overruled the majority, and now, without allowing the merits of the silver question to bias us, it does seem that such procedure is. dangerous to our welfare.; This is a government by the majority, and if we allow the Senate to be ruled by a mi nority, how long will it be before the conn try will be in the same position! Or to view it in another light j The Democratic party has a majority of representatives In the 3enate,yet under the rulings in " the E resent session of Congress we can expect ) see the Republican minority exert as much influence on legislation as the Dem ocrats. ; This is a condition, and not a theory. The matter faces us to-day, and when the question of the tariff arises we may see bow disagreeable it is, although the present tendency of affairs is, to a .large extent, agreeable to our people. The Sen ate should be governed by well constructed parliamentary rules, and for one, we think that the 41 previous question" ruling, as set forth in . MelTs Parliamentary Practice, should be allowed ; else ' we may expect to see the action of the Senate delayed on ev ery question, as it has been for the past three months, and a final compromise of all bills favorable to the minority, secured. . Ths amendment to the Chinese Exclusion Bill, which has recently received the sanc tion of the ower house of our National leg islature, does not affect the original bill in any material respect, and merely gives the Chinese six more months in which to com ply with $ts requirements. We may expect to see this bill enforced, despite the threats of the Chinese government; and it is our candid opinion that no true American citi- iwn can-oppose its enforcement 'after a thorough consideration of the bill. I If necessary, our government can protect our interests in China, but we have no fears of this necessity arising.; The bill is as fa vorable to the legitimate resident Chinamen as it is to the American public; in fact, .it seems to us that the bill might have been written for the especial purpose of protect ing those Chinamed who were lawfully resi dents of the United States." : There is no ground for the charge that the bill is oner ous or degrading, and we hope that the resi dent Chinese and the Chinese government may be made to see that their interests de pend on the preservation of the provisions of this Act; and that, in case they do not choose to abide by them, the United States government may rise in its power anfl ma Testy and enforce the law, on the inviolabil ity of which the future of our land depends.' , Wk have heard it" reported recently that certain of our National legislators "were op posing the administration in the present finance discussion for personal reasons; that isr they opposed the President's wishes, not because they thought he was wrong, but to vent their spite on him for not giving them as much patronage as they had expected. Such men cannot be relied on; they stand in the same Dosition as the representatives who vote with the administration in order to gain its patronage. Neither of, these classes oi legislators are above the ordinary V boodle" alderman.' ; We need men in Congress who have opin ions, and vyho will stick to them, whether the President favors their recommendation or not; and the man who will change his vote to spite the President is no better than he who is bought with patronage, and both are unworthy of their trusts. ' ' r " , Board or Ho Board. " - AN IXHAU8TIVI DISCUSSION .Or AN 1MT0HTANT . , ' , QUESTION, i i. .' My attention has been called to Bro. Her ring's propositions, as recorded on page 44 of the proceedings of the. Southern Baptist Convention. I love and esteem Bra Her ring very much, but cannot help feeling that his judgment is greatly at fault. , His plan would practically do away with , the Foreign Mission Board ' altogether, as it would leave nothing for them to da 1 1, on the contrary, am persuaded that we need the Board for the effective prosecution of the mission work. Whether we look at the home work of the Board or its work in for eign lands, it is needed in order that our mission work may be carried on lathe most economical and efficient manner." 1 . . , L Eoan wobc fob toeeign missions. ! I. Transmission of funds, The mere transmission of money to foreign lands, the only function which Bra Herring would al low the Board, is the least important of their duties. Any Bank could do this, and prob ably at a less cost (if they did not charge too high a commission), as the rent of the board room, salaries, &c, would not have to come out of it. Bat it is the apportionment ol funds to the-various fields that demands the judgment and wisdqm of the Board ; it is meeting unexpected demands' upon ' their credit, caused by sudden exigencies on the mission field, or securing the endorsement of their notes, owing to the failure of the churches to send up their subscriptions in time, that give them anxiety. If the Southern Baptist churches are to have efficient missions in various lands, I do not see how the work can be accomplished without a board.: Partisan and guerilla war fare may vex the enemy, but to accomplish a permanent conquest a well-ordered plan is needful WrC. USM : :vf I - 2. Missionary: intelligence. The'Cepten nial effort was termed an educational cam paign. One great want of ou churches is missionary intelligence. Those who are al ready contributing for missions must know how their money is spent, and those who have not begun to give, must become inter ested in the Lord's work amongtbe heathen. How is this work to be done except through missionary literature f. The Foreign Mis sion Journal and the leaflets and tracts from the Women's Mission Boom have already been the means, in God's hands) of cultivat ing intelligent giving among our people. They have been the Instruments of enkind ling and keeping.warmthe missionary spirit among the young, and of cultivating sys tematic and regular beneficence.' No paper issued by a single church or association could give the varied acd wide information that our general publications do. Without some central bureau . of. intelligence our churches would soon be wofolly behind those of other denominations. . ' ' 3. The plan of separate missions has been a failure. Of late years brethren Baldwin and Powell have gone forth with a noble spirit of consecration and enthusiasm; but what has been the issue of their enterprise t The very spirit of abandon and faith (?) which proves so attractive to many earnest hearted believers and creates so much enthu siasm, often proves of less value in the field than the staying qualities. .The Romans are said to have chosen their centurions, not on account of their dash and daring, but for their never being panic stricken or taken at unawares. Most ; of those who most ear nestly supported these ; self-denying men how feel that it is wiser to 6end out men of Sober judgment and to trust a board to se lect them. A long siege is needed to under mine 'false systems of religion; the work cannot be accomplished by an unsupported cavalry charge.:';;4 I The Goshen Association undertook, the support of Bra Cabiness, and the Big Hatchie Association that of Bro. Crawford. It is well that it is in connection with the Board; for in both cases, I, believe, the support of these brethren . finally fell upon the Board. Churches becoming responsible for a man's Support under the Board, is a good plan, but I fear that, if they acted entirely indepen dently of the Board, there would be much waste of power. The ancient Egyptians, and of late 4 modern European ' engineers, have opened artificial lakes as storage reser voirs for the waters of the Nile, and have thus largely increased the area of cultivation in that land. Thus a board acts as an equal izer, and, by collecting money from many sources,' averages the supply to each field and makes it possible to do steady, progres sive work. Spasmodic work accomplishes but little. Years of seed sowing often pre cede the joy of the harvest in heathen lands. Bad crops in the country or a disastrous fire In a city may so cripple the resources of a single church, or even a group of churches, as to make it almost impossible for them to meet their responsibilities with regard to a work in a distant land. The same principle of the equalizing of burdens that proves use ful in insurance companies and beneficial associations holds good wfth regard to the earlier stages of Christian work, beth at home and abroad. ;: - V The experience and judgment of a board are useful in selecting men for the field. Al most every board has to reject as many apr plicants for appointment as it accepts. Years of experience teach men the physical and moral make up that are. best for particular fields. Individual churches may be better judges of a man's piety, but they cannot judge so well of hia fitness for a -special field, i If they will certify the Board as to their confidence in his piety and consecra tion, the Board can be the better judges of many other qualifications. I have known of instances where a board has sent out mis sionaries against their own judgment, ow ing to pressure from the churches, and these men have proved failures. ; It may be poor health, it may be love of change, it may be disappointment at home; but after spending a year or two on the field they have had to return. - .- 0. To conduct our foreign work by means of individual churches would be to toork dif ferently here from what experience has proved to be the most efficient method in other depart' tnents of Christian effort. If the motto for Foreign Missions should be "Churches to the front," and everything else is unscrip-, iural, the same principle applies to Home Missions and State Missions and Seminaries. Each church should send a man to work among the Indians, or the Negroes, or the frontier settlements of our own land, or the destitute portions of our own State, or should get its own pastor to train any young man who wished to study for the ministry. Why should the foreign field be an excep tion f The moment a group of churches or an association attempts to do any joint work, they must commit it to a single manor a committee, and then we have a secretary or a board, though it may be under another name. Some strong city chur ches may be able to send a man to a foreign field and sustain him in his work there, but the great mass of bur churches would be cut off from all priv ilege and responsibility of helping in the conversion of the heathen. " This would be a great calamity for the cause. . It would undermine any effort to develop the s re sources of our churches by cultivating sys tematic beneficence. It would deprive the great mass of our membership of the oppor tunity of giving, except for local objects, and would be doing despite to God's poor ones in order that a few rich churches might conduct mission; work in away tq please themselves. It may be well for some men. Who have the means, to go out as self sup porting, independent missionaries, and for same church, which has the means, to send out one of its own members as its representa tive among the heathen ; hut the great major ity of preachers and of churches cannot do the work in that way. Nor would it be best for the continuity or efficiency of the. work or the growth in liberality of the churches at home that it should be sa ; A : wealthy preacher may preach for nothing, or a wealthy layman may build a church at his own expense ; but suctMhings do not tend for the good of the cause on the whole, but only serve to stuut the liberality of the mem bers of the church. . ly, 6. A board tends to secure the missionaries stated and equal salaries. It may be said that the other plan tends to throw the mis sionary more, directly on God for the supply of his daily wants. It may be so. But the same rule should apply at home. If it is best for pastors and professors in our col leges to have a regular salary; it is quite as important that a man removed from his frit nds, with no one but God to whom to look, should have a stated support. It is well known that many churches are neglect ful with regard to paying the salaries prom ised to pastors. If this be the case, with those whose needs are daily before the' eyes of their people, how would it be with mis sionaries out of sight, whose wants would be known only through letters asking for remit tances! The minister at home has his rem edy. If the church fails to fulfil its promise and give him a living support, he can resign and seek work elsewhere; but a missionary, if he wished to resign, would have to secure the means of paying bis passage home be fore he could, take the first step. Then, there would not be an equality " as to salaries. A man with a large family might get no more than one with none. All would depend on the church who supported him. At home a man's salary is dependent to a great extent on his ability as a preacher, his efficiency as a pastor, his tactfulness, or his gaining the affection of those to whom he ministers ; in the foreign field . much would depend on his own representation of his work or his needs. h v ? 1 7. - To abolish the Board would tend to nar row ths interest and sympathies of a church to a single field.: The church which sup ports a missionary In Mexico would be doing nothing for the heathen, and the churches which sent a man to Africa would be giving no help to our brethren laboring in papal lands. This seems to me ; to be different from Paul's doctrine as to the solidarity and fellowship of all believerp. Individnals in the church who felt called of the Spirit to help the cause elsewhere would be deprived of the opportunity ; whereas now there Is perfect liberty in giving. ' Any one who wishes may specify the field to which his contribution is to go, but the mass of our members will give to the Lord's cause in all destitute fields. . - - ' II. THE wobk abroad. ..' If a board is of service for the advance ment of the Foreign Mission work at home, it is equally useful in securing the efficiency of the work on the field. ' 1. It tends to secure continuity and perma nences in the work. The work of planting Christianity in a foreign land is not a mere transient one. faul compares it to culti vating a field 14 Ye are God's husbandry ;" to building a - house V God's buildi." Some persons have an 11 tlr.t all that i3 needed to preach the gospel is to bear a tes timony. I knew a man who called him: !f an : independent missionary, who learced simply to repeat the Creed and the Loids prayer, and went about the villages selling bcoxs and repeating these sentences, per suading himself that he had cCered ti.J pes pel to the Chinese, and if it was rejected it was at their peril. Others go to the ctLc r extreme and think that to preach the get pel means to open a school; that there 13 no hope for the present generation, but that the young are our only hope; These are both mistakes. Announcing the gospel messpge and bearing an earnest, intelligent testimony to God's grace in Christ Jesus is indeed our primary duty ; but it does not embrace the whole commission: training the young is a fluty, but attention should be paid especially to the children of our converts. Planting the gospel includes a series of duties, i "Testifying the gospel of the grace of God " to the heathen is the chief work of a missionary, but, if God gives him converts, they must be taught. When the second gen eration come on, they must not be neglected. The objection to a single church being re sponsible for a station is that, if their mis sionary breaks down or goes home, there is no one to take up the woik. A missionary, after many disappointments, succeeds in. renting a dwelling and leasing and fitting up a chapel in some town ; after four or five years his health fails, or after eight cr ten years he returns home., What is to become of the advantage gained? Can the church support two men, so that the young man can be learning the language and preparing to take up the work?. If not," then there must be a time when there is no leader. A church at home without a pastor for two or three years is apt to retrograde ; much more, one among the heathen. If, however, a man comes out in time, he has lo fpend two or three years in learning the language; if not, the older missionary has to give up hia van tage ground, or hand over his woik to a missionary, perhaps, of some other denomi nation. No one but his own church is re sponsible for the station. His nearest neigh bor, supported b another single , churcb, could not forsake his own field to look after that of the man who is going home. If he has gathered a strong native church, they might '.look after themselves ; but if not,, what is to become of the few believers mere babes in Christ? The missionary i3 morally acd legally responsible for the rent until the lease expires ; will the home church go on paying it when the house is unoccu pied ! . There are many such practical diffi culties. I sm convinced Hat a thoroughly independent localized work cannot be carried on, except with great loss of labor and waste of the Lord's money. - , 2. Independent mission work may lend to lead men to send too roseate accounts of their toork. I do not mean that men would pur posely deceive. ' But it is but human nature for a man to f peak hopefully of a work ia which he is personally interested, and which he carries on in his own way, without any checks c-r balances. Some men are very vis ionary and.deal largely "in futures." Ttey picture things less as they are than as they expect them to be. Others are very imag inative, and see present things' in a rosy light very differently from what they am Viewed" by men of larger experience and more sober judgment. When the interest in the work and the means forthcoming to carry on the work are entirely dependent oa the letters of one man or woman, the temp tation will be to present everything in as en couraging a light as possible. Instances have occurred, to my own knowledge, where enthusiastic persons, with a vivid power cf description, nave secured large sums cf money for some special branch of work, or some fruitless scheme altogether dispropor tionate to their real value, The sober, plod ding man, cautious and matter-of-fact ia hi 3 Statement, is placed at a great disaJvaiita,. compared with his more vivacious compeer, though he may be really accomplishing a more enduring woik. In a mission, a man's (or a woman's) plans must be approved by his brethren on the field before tho board will take them up. The home churches too often call for thrilling adventures and inter esting incidents. - These frequently depend much on a man's teraperament, on Lis reck lessness or want of tact. Then, too, nov elty has much to do in keeping up interc-t. When everything is new and the missionary is without experience, it is easy to writa en tertaining descriptions of the manners cn 1 customs of the people. In four or five ycrr:, however, the theme is exhausted, and tLo facts themselves do not strike the mitLicn ary. ; It will then be a difCcult task for 1 1 to keep, up an interest ia his field, -err i there be a great spiritual in3therin(. I r -member once of hearing a man ccsf' '. that the churches which had proml : J t) support him failed to forward tin i Visiting among thesa churches, 1 1 ! 1 complaint that the missionary f''. 1 t o and keep up the interest cf t:.o cct ' ; work. I fear this would net prove a r instance, if many men wcra ..;'.: ' dividual churches indepcr, 'entire ". ' For a few years all may 0 vrc I, I log time will ccmo. Avoiding f vidian c.i V 1 . ' It is a sad fact that tl tion between tl.c 1 f common Hitler. It ' many city 1 c tors at 1 c. . church v!ic: rather It ' - 3 ( :. ccrrrrTr-) tj ;
The Biblical Recorder (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Oct. 25, 1893, edition 1
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