MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2545, 24 December 1902, Page 78

MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA.

INTERVIEW WyEHTHE.BEV; A.- \ \* NORTH. ' -• ..; »^ f The Rev! A.' North,, who /was for mifcy' years, pastor of the Hanover Street Baptist dliureh, Dunedin, aW,:Who^Jeft;yhere--some. two years ago ifoVtafce" charge of ..» chiifclr in Calcutta," returned^ to -'punedin^wifch^his-; wife- and "daughter by the s.s. .Yk&iTj* ,'6n/ the * 16th' inst. ~ In the course - : of a ebn-~ versation' with - one 'of our , reporters last evening the rev. gentleman, said that the progress mad© by mission work in India during the "decade from 1891* to 1901, was very great. The Protestant missions had been highly successful, .this .beinfj .proved By the census returns for 1901,- which, .are. jusfc now being issued in detail; ' The rates Vof - progress irfade' in the above-mentioned -period^ in.tEe different divisions of : the, Indian^ Empire ranged from.-' 19, jjer- cent. ' to '128. A p'er" " cent., while the gross icaerease-in the' popii-' lation. was about 8 per cent., lather : less than ' more. ' In the minor provinces, of : . Ajinere,' Assam, . Bttroda,-=the. Central" Pro- [ vincea, .Eajputana, - Bern, and the Punjatab, I the increase of Christians during the. 10 years was nearly 70 per cent., atad m Bengal^.the , largest of the provinces, having a population: ( about equal to that of the United States of ■ i America, there was an. increase of..4s : per, ' cent. In Madras there .was an increase -of- ; 19 per cent. — a ,very large advance. Jrtl*J rt l* j might fairly be said that the rate of increase "' • has been not only satisfactory, but, ' to -those I who arc best acquainted with the progress lof the work*, surprisingly large. The .native non-Christian prejs .has .-expressed astonish; j ment at the advance made in converting the t : aiatives" to : andi in : some oases, ' : alarm. -has f "everi^akGn.,ihe-,place^of .astoni^h- '. ment. Theviladraa-f/Timee,! cVmnlenting oa the "result* of -the last census,, said': ".-Alwuiri? ing the increase;; of the general population and the,' Christian c.ommiwji.ty^^n - c this.^ufi-, "try- to continue in the^same).'-pi;oportibny,'the>-/ whole.- of India; wiir-becptaJß''GHpi6tran-.450qn( after the middle of next cen^u'rj^" As ing- the influence ~ <jf x thV missionaries -.on. the natives, -the following -extract fr^m Jjhe;23ew<, I Dispensation, of Calcutta, an organ . of •'the - Brahmo-Somaj, who are non-Christian, Cbufc not antagonistic to Christianity, may bequoted:—"lt is an undoubted fact that the moral code of Christians and the fine persouality of their families- are finding an in-, creasing acceptance -with the better, classes'" of the Hindoo population in the presidencies of Bombay and Bengal. The officials' chosen .from the educated Hindoo community: are ; about as free from the current religious practices (Hindoo) as the English themselves. The grand spirit public among all iC.las3es.-iC 1 , an unmistakable likeness of. wh'afr^-i^clone 1 -' by the people in Christian countries^ and the Bible is read in places where ' its- very name was tabooed half a century 'ago: The,life and character of Jesus Christ are studied ' with genuine reverence, and it is not an. unusual thing to find a likeness of Christ in the parlour of an educated Hindoo house? holder." , Special influence attaches to the philanthropic side of the Chrietian missione, the medical work and the care that is taken of the orphans- and the destitute affectung ■the people to an exceedingly great extent. These are taken by the natives as* manifest evidence that, the religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of mercy, and -humanity. The value ,of .the hospitals' has been very much appreciated, and some of these institutions are pretty heavily, endowed- by Hindoos. In conclusion, Mr North said that he came back more than ever convinced of the urgent' need of the people of India for the Gospel! of Jesus Christ, and, having inspected - the methods of the missionaries, , and having seen different forms of missionary activity, he was much more satisfied as to the practical character and efficiency of the mission! work in that country. Popular Hindooism, as distinct from the Hindooism --of .indrvi* duals, ' was' a positive factor making' for 'ths 4ejn.oialisa.tion, of ilicjaeonle.