"Profound gratitude to Almighty God for His presence and aid should be the predominant sentiment of our hearts. The numerical accession which the church has received this year is considerably in excess of that of any previous year. In 1862, ten adults were baptized; in 1863, twelve; in 1864, thirteen; in 1865, eleven; in 1866, twenty-two; in 1867, FIFTY-ONE have been added to our number. Thus, whilst year by year the work has been steadily though slowly advancing, this year its progress has been rapid and signal. But it is not in the mere number that we rejoice. We rejoice in these fifty-one converts principally on account of their general character, their various stations in life, and the circumstances in which, and the means by which they have been brought into the fold of Christ. In these respects they are to us a source of much consolation and encouragement.
"One interesting fact connected with these fifty-one members is, that thirteen of them are women, and that eleven of the thirteen are the wives of converts. The conversion of the female population of China is a subject which must weigh heavily and constantly on the heart of every earnest missionary. The obstacles are many and formidable. Both by preaching and private conversation, for nearly six years, I have been labouring to impress on the minds of the converts the duty and importance of bringing their wives under the direct influence of the Gospel. They would maintain that the custom of the country was against it. To attend chapel and join the men in public worship, would bring not only the wife, but the whole family into contempt, and so on.
"Last, year there were evident signs of a movement in the right direction; and this year the result has exceeded my most sanguine expectations. Nineteen women have already been received into the church, several are now coming in, and we have every reason to hope that most of the wives of the converts who reside in and around Hankow will be identified with us before the end of next year. There are now several whole families in the church, and it is getting to be generally understood that it is the solemn duty of the Christian member of a family to make the salvation of every member of that family a matter of deep personal concern."
GOLDEN ISLAND, ON THE YANG-TSE RIVER, CHINA.
The great value of Hankow as a mission station, and the variety of persons which it brings into contact with the Gospel, are strikingly illustrated by Mr. JOHN:—
"There is one more interesting fact connected with these fifty-one members, namely, that they represent SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROVINCES, and various ranks and grades of society. Only on Sunday week I baptized six men, who represent five distinct provinces. Of the 108 members still in communion, about seventy reside in and around the cities of Hankow, Wu-Chang, and Han-Yang. The rest are scattered over the country, and, we trust, are spreading abroad the knowledge of the truth. These facts tend to impress on our minds the importance of Hankow as a Mission station; and they prove an observation which I made in a former communication to be correct—namely, that the whole Empire may be influenced more or less from this grand centre.
"But these men not only represent different Provinces and Districts of the Empire; they represent also different grades of society. Some of them are scholars, and others are tradesmen; some are artizans, and others are peasants; some are poor, but none (with one exception) are helpless. We have in the church at present one who has obtained his M.A. degree, eight who have obtained their B.A. degree, and a large number of ordinary scholars who have passed their matriculation examination. Among those who were admitted on Sunday week, there were a scholar, a merchant, and a barber. It was interesting to see representatives of the highest and lowest grades of Chinese society meet before the same font on Sunday; and then, on the following Wednesday, at the Christmas feast, occupying adjoining seats. Both are filling stations in life in which they may exercise a beneficial influence on many around them."
XIII.—THE WEST INDIA MISSION.
