THE PHILIPPINES

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 57, 9 March 1922, Page 4

THE PHILIPPINES

"A PEARL OF THE,ORIENT"

A TRIUMPH FOR CHRISTIANITY.

Taking as his subject " The Pearl of tho Orient," Bishop Locke, of the Philippine Islands, delivered an interesting lecture to a large congregation at the Taranaki-street Methodist Church last evening. 'Bishop Locke, who is visiting New Zealand in connection with the Methodist Centenary celebrations, is a fluent speaker, and he was listened to with close attention. Dr.-A. X.. Newman, M.P., presided.'

■Mr. H. P. Mourant, who briefly welcomed Bishofi Locke on behalf of the Methodists of Wellington, said that their visitor was iv charge of the* whole of the Philippine Islands district, in which there were some 3,000,000 Methodists.

, Dr. Newman briefly introduced Bishop Locke, and congratulated Methodists on having .attained their centenary, and expressed the hope that they would continue to make headway.

The Bishop, after expressing his pleasure at being present to participate in the centenary celebrations, said that the Philippines formed a veritable Garden of Eden. The climate was perfect. The 1 Philippines comprised innumerable islands, covering 115,000 square miles, and populated by. 10,000,CK)0 people. There were forty-eight provinces, and every province had its- own dialect. Magellan discovered the islands in 1521, and the United States came into possession, of them in 1898, paying Spain the sum of £20,000,000. Tlie Philippines were one of the richest parts of the .world, and produced all manner of articles, including gold and other valuable minerals. The islands were of volcanic origin, and features were majestic mountains and mighty rivers. There were 800 plants peculiar to the Philippines, and agriculture was the main industry. Rice was the staple food of the natives, who were % of a very fine stamp, industrious and modest. Most of the natives were of Malay descent, and were small and dark. The studeiit class, well and neatly dressed, were of a particularly . fine stamp, and some of the native ministers spol^e very eloquently. N ■ AFTER A STERN STRUGGLE.

It should be remembered that, for 400 years the Filipinos were slaves under the Spanish, and freedom was only secured after a stern struggle. - Spain destroyed all-Filipinos'who dared to think for themselves, but God was on the side of the oppressed, and on Ist May, 1898, the people of the Philippines came into their own, and won the right to worship God in their own way. A new Say of health and freedom dawned on Ist May,' 1898, and since then great progress had been made. Self-government Would have been a, greater success if it had^not been for the work of unscrupulous politicians, but the natives would benefit by , mistakes. It was the opinion of authorities that the Philippines were the foremost islands of the Pacific. Methodism had made wonderful steps forward in the islands; to-day there-.-were 232 churches and other buildings, representing a capital of 1,250,000 dollars. More mission-, aries were still needed, however. A WORD ABOUT THE WOMEN. The Filipino women were very modest. Smoking was very 'prevalent among women and' girls in the provincial districts, they having been told by certain avaricious people that smokintc would make child-bearing easier. ■; "Yoiv never saw such large cigars,", said Bishop Locke; "and all' the membe2'S of the family use the one cigar,'' It wits a gratifying fact that very few of the students, male and female, were addicted ( to smoking. There were some 100 young women in the universities, and thousands in the high schools. A Filipino £irl had been awarded the. highest orders in chemistry afc-.rede.nfc' examinations in a university in New York. A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. The speaker referred to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, as the hub of the Asiatic world.- All eyes were on the Philippines to see what the benefits of Christianity would be. It should be realised that Christianity was just as necessary in the Orient as in the Occident, and America had a glorious opportunity of showing what could be done. Millions of money should be spent on the Philippines, as the benefits resulting in the islands would be reflected throughout the Orient.' (Applause.) "It might be asked," said Bishop Locke, "why it is necessary to send missionaries to the Philippines when Christianity had been preached by Romanists for 400 years. It is just as necessary as it is to have Protestant ministers in New York, Chicago, and even Rome itself. Romanism is very rapidly losinir its hold on the people \of the Philippines, and Protestantism is taking its place." Bishop Locke conclnded his address with a stirring reference to' the prob- ■ lems of the Pacific, remarking that the statesmen of the world should turn their attention to these islands, . which were destined to play a great-part in the history of the world. "The world has had enough, of war," declaimed the speaker, "but it has not had enough of Christ." The Pacific was God's highway for the people of the world.

- Bishop Locke was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his lecture.