THE PENALTY OF PROSPERITY.
BY REV. W. C. POND.
Our schools were never before so prosperous as during the last six or eight months. Each successive budget of monthly reports showed a larger enrolment and a larger average attendance, in the aggregate, than had ever been secured before. Notwithstanding that we have closed our schools in Oroville during these hot months, and have given a month’s vacation to the Berkeley school, the reports for June call for their superlatives as cheeringly as did those of April or of May. The rolls for June showed the names of 908 Chinese pupils, and the average attendance was 437. During the ten months now past of the present fiscal year, no less than 2,152 Chinese have been enrolled as members of our schools, and thus, for longer or shorter periods, have been brought to hear something of the true God and the only Saviour. Many have been with us but a short time, but not one, I believe, has failed to get some new idea which, it would seem, must have set him to thinking, and thus may prove to be in him the seed of the everlasting life.
But what is the “penalty” of all this? and why should there be any penalty for it? The penalty is a depleted treasury, and the reason for this is the unavoidably increased expenditure. How many of our readers know what it is to have more than $1,600 coming due, and less than $600 at command? As many as have had this experience will understand the penalty I am just now called to suffer. I could not turn the dark souls away from what seemed to be for them the only possible path to light, and I could not bid them welcome without increasing our corps of laborers. I could not add new workers without adding some new bills. The increase of expense is not at all proportioned to the increase in work fulfilled, for while we have reached nearly 40 per cent. more Chinese than we did in any preceding year, the expense will be greater by only about 10 per cent. But I have been working all these years up to the utmost limit of our resources, and now, towards the close of this fiscal year—the annual appropriation from the parent society exhausted and the gifts of most of our regular contributors already used—it comes to pass that that 10 per cent. extra begins to be felt, and as the mission purse gets lighter your superintendent’s heart gets heavier with thoughts and plans and cares.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” some of my readers are asking. I answer, first of all, I mean to pray. Nothing else ever availed in my experience to replenish a depleted treasury, like appealing to the Giver of all good. He knows the work; He gave the opportunity; He has, many times before this, verified His promise, and answered my prayer. I mean to trust Him; ask His counsel and His help, and so move on. While His pillar of cloud and of fire goes before us, we need never be dismayed. “Difficulties will be removed, in proportion as it is necessary that they should be removed.” But I do not mean to stop with prayer. That is Müller’s way, and, in his case, it succeeds. When he was consulted as to the failure of others who wrought on his plan, it is said that he replied: “They were not so called.” Every man according to his own calling. For myself, I read the promise thus: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.” And so I feel called to follow up my asking with seeking, and to enter every door that my master causes to be opened to my knock. That is just what I am doing now, in writing this paragraph. It may not reach all our readers till after our fiscal year has closed; but the books can be kept open till October 1, and gifts sent to make up what is now lacking, will be gratefully acknowledged, and most carefully used.
THE CENTRAL SCHOOL.
This is held at the Central Mission house, in this city—the headquarters of our whole work. The building is admirably located for our purposes, and though always felt to be too small for the most effective service, has nevertheless answered our purpose tolerably well. As long as the attendance on the school did not exceed 125, it was possible to move about easily in the school-room, and by careful attention to ventilation, to keep the atmosphere tolerably pure. But last month the average attendance was 185, and the largest attendance on any one evening was no less than 260! Of course even standing room was at a premium. To move about in such a mass; to attempt anything like classification; to give to each pupil his portion of instruction, taxed the energy, patience and skill of the teachers to the utmost. Jee Gam declares that if we had room enough and teachers enough, we could have 300 pupils in this school every evening.
One reason for this throng of pupils, (and I am glad to say that a like cause of prosperity exists in all our schools) is that we have now so excellent a corps of teachers and of Chinese helpers—so faithful, so devoted and enthusiastic—and, generally, so well fitted for the work. About this I trust there may be nothing temporary. Another fact,—which may not always operate so strongly as now—and which tends specially to fill up the Central school, is the great influx of Chinese now going on at this port. When the new law goes into operation, this will be checked, at least, for a time. Hastened, doubtless, by the passage of this law nearly 25,000 Chinese have come in at this port within less than six months,—a number equal to one-fourth of the entire Chinese population in the whole country at the beginning of this year. This multitude will rapidly scatter, moving wherever a demand for their labor attracts them, and then the pressure at this spot will be lessened, but the work will remain to be done; 25,000 more of these blood-bought souls, to be brought to a knowledge of their Redeemer; 25,000 more out of whom to gather messengers of salvation, heralds of the gospel of Christ’s dying love and living power to the myriads ready to perish in their native land.
I am sorry to say that my faith in the possibility of securing in any way a more commodious building for this school and for a head-quarters for our entire work, is not strong. Perhaps this is the reason why the oft-repeated petitions of our teachers for more room, remain without response. “According to your faith” it is said, “be it unto you.” One lady at the East, self-prompted, or prompted of God, has added to many a previous kindness, a donation of $100, to be used for this enlargement when it shall become possible. One member of the Executive Committee of the A. M. A., who has visited our quarters, and seen something of the need, has hinted that the easiest way to get relief would be to ask for the necessary fund to buy or build. I ventured to infer that if this request should be made, his generous heart and ever-open hand would help the matter on. It would be much that thus we could save to our work $1,200 per annum now paid for rent. This sum would keep five teachers in the field for a full year. And then we should have a building suited to our needs, large enough and light enough, open enough to the pure air of heaven, to speak for itself a welcome and to bear in itself a blessing to these crowds of needy souls. Fifteen thousand dollars would secure this—a place where (if the predictions of our wisest helpers may be trusted) 300 young men, born in the depths of heathenism, could be brought every day of every week throughout each coming year, to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear his word. And a sum much less than that would put my faith concerning it at that mustard-seed point at which our Saviour assures us “nothing shall be impossible to you.”
YAKUT VILLAGERS.