AN UNCONSCIOUS JONAH.
The following correspondence will explain itself. A letter sent by mail to buy Wellsprings, and enclosing the necessary money missed its way, and was brought with waste paper to a mill; there it was found by a boy of ten years. The sender of the letter was sought out by the boy’s father, and, as a result of it all, the money, somewhat increased, has through us purchased Wellsprings to supply the school at Ogeechee, Ga., for six months. So at last this Jonah has arrived at his Nineveh. We think this singular discovery and pleasant correspondence has in it several suggestive lessons. If some of our young friends will write us what they think it teaches, we will be glad to print their suggestions in the next Missionary.
“N. A., Mass., May 17, 1878.
“Mr. D. O.: Sir—The letter written by yourself, which I enclose in this, will explain the reason for my wishing to ascertain your address. My little boy found the letter, with the money enclosed, in the paper-mill in this place, as he was looking among the old waste for some fancy scraps of paper. He came to me with it, to know what was to be done. I thought it a good opportunity to impress upon his mind the value of strict honesty, and told him that of course we must try to find the owner. Thus, after being tossed about among old rags for nearly two years, the money will if not again miscarried, return to its original owner. If the money is received, please acknowledge the same.
“Yours truly,
C. R. D.”
The Lost Letter.
“New York, July 19, 1876.
“Moses H. Sargent, Esq.:
“Dear Sir—Enclosed find one and 20/100 dollars. Please send me by return (if possible) the value in Wellsprings—the latest issue. I want to use them next Sabbath.
“Yours very truly,
D. O.”
“New York, May 20, 1878.
“Mr. C. R. D.: Dear Sir—Yours of the 17th, with the money enclosed, reached me, for which please accept my best thanks.
“Due inquiries for the letter were made at the post-office here at the time, but without success, and of course I concluded that it had been opened and money stolen by some post office official. Even now there is some mystery, which perhaps might be removed if the (original) envelope could be found.
“The amount at the time was designed for a good cause, in connection with Sunday-school work, and I feel, after what has happened, that the Lord, having delivered it from the jaws of the paper mill, has an additional claim upon it, and so I propose that your little boy (with your help, if necessary) name an object to which he would like it applied.
“Jonah, when appointed to do certain work, was disobedient and, you know, soon found himself in the ‘fish’s belly.’ From this uncomfortable situation, however, he was soon delivered, and one more opportunity given him to obey orders—with better results. Now, suppose we call our dollar and twenty cents the disobedient Jonah, and our little friend the fish; and now that our Jonah has landed safely, suppose we give him one more opportunity for obeying his orders?
“Please say to my little friend that I appreciate what he has done in this matter, and congratulate the son on having a good adviser, and the father on having a son inclined to take good advice.
“Should you reply to this note, please give me the boy’s name and age, and photograph likeness if you have one.
“Yours respectfully and truly,
D. O.”
“N. A., Mass., May 25, 1878.
“Mr. D. O.: Dear Sir—Your very happy acknowledgement of the receipt of that money (or I might, say, of that ‘Jonah’), which went so far astray from the first direction given to it, was duly received, and the reaching of it listened to by our little boy, or the ‘fish’ with much delight.
“Our son’s name is Edwin H. He is ten years of age. He is quite pleased that the money is going to be used to do missionary work and that you have given him the privilege of deciding what direction it shall take in starting on a second trip.
“Now, Eddie thinks that if this Jonah has not done the work which he was first directed, and has had such a wonderful escape from a terrible death, that, he can do no better than to follow the directions given to the Prophet Jonah, who was saved by a much bigger ‘fish’ than himself, and those directions are found in Jonah iii. 2, viz.: ‘Arise; go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.’ Therefore, this Jonah must go and sell himself for as many good little papers as he can, and be distributed among the little boys and girls of some mission Sunday-school; and may the good resulting be proportionate to that accomplished by Jonah of old.
“We have no recently-taken photograph, but such as we have I enclose, in compliance with your request.
“Yours very truly,
C. R. D.”
RECEIPTS
FOR JUNE, 1878.
Constitution of the American Missionary Association.
INCORPORATED JANUARY 30, 1849.
Art. I. This Society shall be called “The American Missionary Association.”
Art. II. The object of this Association shall be to conduct Christian missionary and educational operations, and diffuse a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures in our own and other countries which are destitute of them, or which present open and urgent fields of effort.
Art. III. Any person of evangelical sentiments,[A] who professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not a slaveholder, or in the practice of other immoralities, and who contributes to the funds, may become a member of the Society; and by the payment of thirty dollars, a life member; provided, that children and others who have not professed their faith may be constituted life members without the privilege of voting.
Art. IV. This Society shall meet annually, in the month of September, October or November, for the election of officers and the transaction of other business at such time and place as shall be designated by the Executive Committee.
Art. V. The annual meeting shall be constituted of the regular officers and members of the Society at the time of such meeting, and of delegates from churches, local missionary societies, and other co-operating bodies—each body being entitled to one representative.
Art. VI. The officers of the Society shall be a President, Vice Presidents, a Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretaries, Treasurer, two Auditors, and an Executive Committee of not less than twelve, of which the Corresponding Secretaries shall be advisory, and the Treasurer ex-officio, members.
Art. VII. To the Executive Committee shall belong the collecting and disbursing of funds; the appointing, counselling, sustaining and dismissing (for just and sufficient reasons) missionaries and agents; the selection of missionary fields; and, in general, the transaction of all such business as usually appertains to the executive committees of missionary and other benevolent societies; the Committee to exercise no ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the missionaries; and its doings to be subject always to the revision of the annual meeting, which shall, by a reference mutually chosen, always entertain the complaints of any aggrieved agent or missionary; and the decision of such reference shall be final.
The Executive Committee shall have authority to fill all vacancies occurring among the officers between the regular annual meetings; to apply, if they see fit, to any State Legislature for acts of incorporation; to fix the compensation, where any is given, of all officers, agents, missionaries, or others in the employment of the Society; to make provision, if any, for disabled missionaries, and for the widows and children of such as are deceased; and to call, in all parts of the country, at their discretion, special and general conventions of the friends of missions, with a view to the diffusion of the missionary spirit, and the general and vigorous promotion of the missionary work.
Five members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.
Art. VIII. This society, in collecting funds, in appointing officers, agents and missionaries, and in selecting fields of labor, and conducting the missionary work, will endeavor particularly to discountenance slavery, by refusing to receive the known fruits of unrequited labor, or to welcome to its employment those who hold their fellow-beings as slaves.
Art. IX. Missionary bodies, churches or individuals agreeing to the principles of this Society, and wishing to appoint and sustain missionaries of their own, shall be entitled to do so through the agency of the Executive Committee, on terms mutually agreed upon.
Art. X. No amendment shall be made in this Constitution without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present at a regular annual meeting; nor unless the proposed amendment has been submitted to a previous meeting, or to the Executive Committee in season to be published by them (as it shall be their duty to do, if so submitted) in the regular official notifications of the meeting.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] By evangelical sentiments, we understand, among others, a belief in the guilty and lost condition of all men without a Saviour; the Supreme Deity, Incarnation and Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world; the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, repentance, faith and holy obedience in order to salvation; the immortality of the soul; and the retributions of the judgment in the eternal punishment of the wicked, and salvation of the righteous.