"When I returned from Nankin I fully intended to go to live in that city, if practicable; but after much thought, and some consultation with those who are in authority, I have come to the conclusion that it would be premature to do so just now.... The river, I am told on good authority, is to be opened at once, and the ports of Han-kow and Kin-kiang are to become consular ports. Another expedition is about to go up the river, and then it will be determined what is to be done with the insurgents. They may be treated as friends, or, on the other hand, as foes. If not as friends, I am convinced that it will be our fault, because they cherish the kindliest feeling towards us, in spite of our conduct towards them when they visited Shanghae."
We will conclude Mr. John's reports with three short extracts; the first of which clearly shows what good might have been effected by the British missionaries had they performed their duty; the second goes far to establish the superiority of the Ti-pings over the Manchoos.
1. "The insurgents are making rapid strides, and are determined, as you will learn from my journal, to uproot idolatry in the land, and to plant Christianity in its room. The former they will do with a strong hand, and the latter will not be left undone, if the Churches and missionaries are alive to their duty in reference to this great movement."
2. "They have doubtless gross defects; but in every respect—religious, political, social, &c.—they are centuries ahead of the Imperialists, and I cannot but wish them God speed."
The third and last extract from Mr. John's reports is taken from one dated "February 2, 1861," and fully shadows forth what England has now been compelled to understand, and what every sensible person fully comprehended long since. Mr. John states:—
"It is fortunate for us that the Tartars have their hands full just now, as the value of the recent treaty rests solely on the weakness of the existing dynasty. The Tartars hate us with an insatiable hatred, and would, in spite of the treaty, recommence warlike operations to-morrow had they the power. To break faith with the barbarian is not crime but virtue, according to their creed, if his humiliation and expulsion might thereby be effected. From the Manchoos we have nothing to hope, but everything to fear. They are sworn enemies to Christianity and civilization, and they have set their iron faces determinedly against both. They can do but little at present. The wonderful progress of the insurrection in the South, during the last year, and the repeated defeats and the complete discomfiture of the Tartar hosts in the North, have thoroughly undermined the Manchoo power. It must fall. There is no power in China to uphold it. The Kwang-si insurrection, on the other hand, must triumph, if foreign Powers do not interfere. The Manchoos might as well attempt to blow the sun out of the heavens as to quench this flame which their folly and tyranny have kindled....
"The insurgents themselves are still determinately opposed to idolatry in all its features. At their approach the idols vanish, and the priests of Buddh and Tau disappear. The downfall of idolatry in the land seems to be bound up with their success. Never did China present such a spectacle to the Christian world. Will the Church, unfaithful to her Head and false to herself, as the depository of the blessings of light and life for the world, look on with indifference? Shall the four hundred millions of China remain in their state of darkness and death, because of the worldliness and deadness of the people of God?"
To these questions the British Government appears to have returned an affirmative answer.
A few extracts from a report of the Rev. W. Muirhead, in harmony with the testimonies of other missionaries, both as to the death-blow idolatry had received from the victorious arms of the Ti-pings, and the general knowledge of Christianity possessed by them, shall close our quoted evidence for the present. In the spring of 1861, Mr. Muirhead spent a month among the Ti-pings at Nankin, and while there was constantly engaged in preaching about the city, and thus describes his experience:—
"Going about sometimes for several hours a day, I have been abundantly encouraged by the number and attention of the audiences. It seems as if there were a foundation to go upon, from the amount of religious knowledge diffused among the people. There is a response, if not in their hearts, at least in their thoughts, to the tidings of mercy. They are made familiar at every step with the name and compassion of the Heavenly Father, by the unprecedented practice of recording the fact over every door. When, therefore, the same truths are announced in their hearing by a foreign missionary, they give a ready assent, and express their cordial approval. How different is all this from our experience in Shanghae and elsewhere! There we have a hard and strong ground to work upon; ignorance and opposition prevail in abundant measure. Here, on the part both of the military and civilians, there is knowledge, and there is appreciation of the truth to a certain extent, which renders the spiritual enforcement of it a more easy and pleasant duty."