A MONTH ago the New York World made bold to affirm that many of the members of the New York Legislature, tho ostensibly sitting to represent their respective constituents, are recognized, not as representatives of the people, but of “special private interests.” Their yearly salary of $1,500 from the public treasury is insignificant in comparison with the sums received from their real employers. The writer avers that a certain senator from Brooklyn has the gas interests in charge; another senator from the Mohawk Valley district represents the insurance companies, and so on. He goes on to say, too, that everybody knows who the “boodling” lawmakers are, yet somehow they compass their election year after year.
The editor of the Saturday Evening Post thinks that a chief cause of the prevailing lawlessness is the law itself—statute-books filled with tricky, subtly-worded laws designed to enable lawyers to safeguard criminals of all degrees and kinds in assaults upon order and justice. He asks significantly, “Who is responsible for this?” That is, Who made these laws? His answer is, “The legal profession, the 115,000 lawyers, many of whom pocket the fat fees of the criminal class from trust baron to thug and thief.” The lawyers have a monopoly of the judicial positions; by preponderance of membership they dominate the legislatures; they originate and secure the enactment of every vicious law; they invent every “joker,” dig every legal pitfall, and set every legal trap.
“One of the chief activities of some eminent members of the profession is promoting and protecting corporate crimes. Upon the legal profession rest, in a large measure, the responsibility and the shame for the deplorable” degree to which the commission of crime has to-day attained. After saying that it is the duty of every American to do what he can to rectify the social evils of our time, he despairingly asks: “But what can the rest of us do while so many of the sworn and official guardians of the temple of justice are traffickers in injustice, panderers and procurers to the criminal?”
Municipal Ignominy.
Lack of space precludes exhaustive discussion of this phase of my theme. In truth, there is no occasion for extended discussion, for the odiously corrupt status of city politics is notoriously patent to all. Our large cities have long since become the paradise of political spoilsmen and therefore hot-beds of civic rottenness. No other problem so vexes the soul of true patriotism as does that of contriving ways and means of flushing and disinfecting municipal government in America. Every city of 10,000 people or more is politically at the mercy of a “boss” or a “ring” of bosses who govern, or rather, misgovern, “for revenue only.” They make politics a business solely for the loaves and fishes it affords them.
The late William M. Evarts asserted that by far the larger part of the enormous debts of our cities represents “a vast aggregate of moneys wasted, embezzled, or misapplied.” As a rule, the dominant spirits in municipal officialdom are rum-sellers, the devotees of the race-tracks, and chronic feeders at the public crib. As I write these lines, the San Francisco papers bring the intelligence that the tax-collector of that city has embezzled $165,000 of the city’s money, and has left, incognito, for parts unknown. Such wholesale stealings have become so common in the cities that they excite little or no interest.
Altho San Francisco has spent $250,000 in the last five years for the purpose of putting its electric wires underground, they are still overhead. “Where has the money gone?” suspiciously asks the Chronicle. “It has gone into the pockets of the grafters, of course, and so has all the money which should have been expended on our streets,” answers the Wasp. The Wasp then touchingly inquires: “How long will the people tolerate such a combination of incompetence and dishonesty [in its city government]?”
A late number of The Bulletin of the Fidelity and Casualty Company, shows that of the embezzlements and defalcations throughout the country for December, 1903, amounting to $2,072,508, only $7,368, or three-tenths of one per cent. was owing to national or state employees, and that all the rest was taken by employees of public and private institutions in the great cities. In short, it is universally admitted that the tax-payers of each of our large cities are regularly mulcted of millions of dollars every year by those to whom they entrust the conduct of their political affairs.
Should the reader desire further to inform himself as to the awful depths of moral obliquity to which American municipal politics has sunk, he should read Mr. Steffen’s recent book, “The Shame of the Cities.” Such reading must convince him that this inadequate portrayal of our urban ignominy contains no exaggeration.
Prophecy Meets Its Fulfilment.
The following graphically expressed prophecy (Isa. 33:14, 15), bears prima facie evidence of its being a forecast of specific evils that should glaringly characterize the closing years of time:
“The sinners in Zion [in the church] are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high.”
Ah, how few despise the gain of oppression; how few shake their hands from holding of bribes, in these latter days, the very days, with their distinctive sins and crimes, that the10prophet, in rapt vision, saw and so realistically depicted. It was the love of money and the love of pleasure that, in the days of Noah, steeled the hearts of the people against his divinely-inspired appeals. It was so in the days of Lot; in the days of John the Baptist; and so shall it also be in the days when the Son of Man is revealed. In the time of Noah, government, as well as all things else, was “corrupt.” See Genesis 6. Do not the foregoing facts sweepingly demonstrate the truth that the days of Noah are, in political and social corruption, marvelously paralleled in this our time? “Even so shall it be,” declared the Master.
[The next article in this series is, “The Lap of Penury versus the Lap of Luxury.”]
How to Enjoy Your Bible
By William S. Sadler
HOW TO ENJOY YOUR BIBLE. No. I.
BY W. S. SADLER.
SOME people casually read their Bibles, while others really engage in the study of the Scriptures, and there is yet a third class who, while they both read and study, actually enjoy the Word of God. The enjoyment of Bible study largely depends upon the methods pursued, and upon the mental and spiritual condition of the student. To the highest enjoyment of the study of the Word of God, there are a number of prerequisites.
First, the Bible must be read and studied as the will and Word of the living God, the Creator of all things, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Second, the Bible must be regarded as a personal message from God to your soul.
Third, the mind of the student must be fully in harmony with the Holy Spirit of God, who inspired the Scriptures. One can not enjoy the study of the Word of God if the will and mind are at variance with the laws of God, or when the practises are antagonistic to the known will of God.
Fourth, the highest pleasure in the study of the Word comes to the soul having a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man, and therefore always able to peruse the Scriptures with pleasure and joy, and not with sorrow and condemnation because of the constant meeting of precepts and truths which are being trampled underfoot, and divine laws which are knowingly being violated.
Fifth, if one would really and truly enjoy a study of the Bible, he must walk in the light, day by day, as it shines across his pathway.
Sixth, the Bible is a missionary Book. The New Testament is the life of the greatest Missionary the world ever saw, and so the acting, growing missionary—the one who works for his fellow-men—is able to delight his soul in the Bible as others can not.
Seventh, prayer is the companion of helpful and enjoyable Bible study. The more the soul communes with God, the more will the mind delight in the study of the Word of God.
Having done our best to place the soul in right relationship with God, and to bring the mind in full harmony with the will and way of God, there yet remains one thing to be done, which may enhance the study of the Word of God. That one thing is the method or methods by which Bible study may be carried on. There are a number of ways in which one may approach the Bible, with a view to acquiring knowledge and discovering truth.
While we eagerly search the Bible with but the one desire to know the will of God, and with perfect willingness to believe, receive, and obey every new truth discovered; to walk in the light of truth, as our Bible-study unfolds it to the mind, there are at the same time many different ways in which we can approach the sacred Book, which afford variety and pleasure to the mind engaged in its study. Some of these different methods will be discussed in the next article.
FIFTY REASONS FOR SABBATH OBSERVANCE.
By D. T. Bourdeau
BY D. T. BOURDEAU.
TWENTY-FOURTH. We observe it, because we are convinced and acknowledge that it is obligatory, and would avoid sinning knowingly and voluntarily, lest the solemn warnings that follow be applicable to us: 'Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.' James 4:17. 'Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.' John 9:41. 'For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.' Heb. 10:26.
To be forgiven and received as objects of divine grace or unmerited favor at our conversion, we had to turn away from every known sin. To retain our pardon, and remain objects of divine grace or unmerited favor, is it not necessary to do the same thing after conversion by advancing in sanctification? Under the former dispensation, when the people of God discovered that they had sinned unwillingly or through ignorance, by transgressing one or many of the commandments of God, they were to repent. Leviticus 4, etc. And the same duty exists under the present dispensation. Acts 17:30. 'And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.'
Twenty-fifth. We observe it, because we acknowledge the difference that God puts between holy things and those that are common or profane, and would avoid falling into the error pointed out by the Lord in these words: 'Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.' Eze. 22:26. In this case God is profaned or abased by those referred to, speaking and acting as tho the sanctification of the seventh day and the act of blessing that day by the Author of the Sabbath, and the commandment and example of this exalted Being, even our Lord Jesus Christ, with regard to the Sabbath, were of no value.
Twenty-sixth. We observe it, because the reason for which its sanctification is enjoined by the law that Jesus Christ proclaimed with a voice that shook the earth (Heb. 12:22-26; Acts 7:38; Ex. 23:20-23; 19:4-25; 20:1; 33; 1 Cor. 10:1-4), is as important and applicable to us as it was to the Jewish people: 'For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.'
This reason is the foundation of the Sabbath's institution, and shows that the Sabbath is a memorial of the Creation of heaven and earth, and of the rest of the Creator. Because God appeals to the fact that He delivered the Israelites from their servitude in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5), there are some who pretend that the Sabbath was a memorial of the deliverance of that people from the servitude in question. But God appeals to the same fact to lead the Israelites to be just and merciful to servants, orphans, and widows, and to have pity on the poor, and to keep all the commandments. Deut. 24:17, 18; 15:1-6; 11:1-8; Lev. 19:34-37, etc. Were all these duties memorials of the deliverances of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt? They all existed before that deliverance. A memorial answers to the event that it is designed to call to mind. For example, there is an analogy between the burial and the resurrection of our Lord and a burial into and a coming up out of the water in baptism, a fit memorial of the former (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:3-6); between our rest on the seventh day and the rest of the Creator on that day. Ex. 20:8-11, etc. But what analogy is there between a rest and a flight? The Sabbath can not be a memorial of both the flight and the deliverance in question and the rest of the Creator. It is, and always has been, a memorial of the Creator's rest; consequently it was not a memorial of the flight and deliverance of the Israelites from the land of Egypt. The Passover was perfectly calculated to call to mind this wonderful event. Read Exodus 12, etc.
THE EARLY AND LATTER RAIN
By T. E. Bowen
God's Promise of the Latter Rain.
JOEL testifies that just before the great and terrible day of God, Jehovah will again pour out His Spirit upon the remnant of His people. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call." Joel 2:28-32.
By this scripture it is very plain that there will be a bestowal of the Spirit in large measure upon a people styled "the remnant" just prior to the great day of God. It is at the time of the end; for it is at a time when the great prophetic signs preceding His return, spoken of by Jesus on the Mount of Olives, occur, the darkening of the sun, and the turning of the moon into blood. These took place May 19, 1780, and were to be sure omens of the approach of that great and terrible day of Jehovah.
Thus located, may we not expect in the latter rain, as in the early rain, that a work of preparation will go on in the world to prepare the young men, the handmaids, the old men, "the remnant" called by the Lord, for the reception of this great heavenly blessing?
The Great Judgment-Hour Message of 1844.
As we near the end of that same long prophetic period which locates the first advent of Christ,—the 2,300 days, or years,—it is a notable fact of history that the world was stirred from one end to the other with a message similar to that of John the Baptist, a message preparing a people for the Lord.
In the great advent movement of 1830 to 1844, our world witnessed a most remarkable work. Humble men, before unknown, were urged by the Spirit of God to leave their farms, their shops, and go from place to place, standing before large audiences, and tracing from prophetic charts, as with a pen of fire, the unerring truths of God's holy Word, showing conclusively that the end of the world was at hand. Men and women flocked together to hear these wonderful messages fresh from Heaven. The work spread rapidly. Sinners were pricked in their hearts, as the message of the servants of God laid bare their sins. Backsliders were reclaimed.
Simultaneously this work went on in all countries. William Miller and his associates heralded the solemn message of Christ's speedy return to this earth, and the influence of their labors covered the greater portion of the United States. Joseph Wolffe, without any knowledge of William Miller's work, preached the same message all through Ireland and Scotland, as also in Palestine, Greece, Turkey, and other oriental lands, between the years 1821-44. In Sweden, the law forbade the preaching of any new doctrine contrary to the established church. Here God used the children. The testimony of a Swede, Peter Palambla, once residing at LaPorte, Ind., is recorded. He said that—
In 1843, while living in Sweden, he heard the report that children were moved upon in a remarkable manner to sing and preach with great power, and that under this preaching sinners were being converted to God. He took his son, a little lad of about four years of age, and went to the place of meeting, about twenty miles from where he lived. As he entered the house, a large company of people were assembled, and were singing a Lutheran hymn, in which a little girl, some four years of age, joined. Soon she was moved upon to talk. She was put upon a table, where she preached the doctrine of the near-coming of Christ and the judgment. A mighty power accompanied her words, and, altho unable to read a word, she quoted scriptures correctly, and exhorted for nearly an hour. When this influence passed from her, she played around just like any other child, until the people met again. A few days11after Mr. Palambla returned home, his own little boy began to sing a Lutheran hymn, and the same power came upon him, and he began to preach and exhort in the same manner. For some weeks the house of Mr. Palambla was a place of large assemblies of people, gathered to hear the little boy preach.
William Miller, in referring to the extent of this great advent movement, said: "One or two on every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the news, and all agree in the time [and each at the time ignorant of the work of the other]. Wolffe, of Asia; Irving, late of England; Mason, of Scotland; Davis, of South Carolina; and quite a number in this region, are, or have been, giving the cry."
The apostle John, in holy vision, wrote of a judgment-message to go to the world. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment IS come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:6, 7.
May we not truthfully conclude that in the simultaneous preaching of the hour of God's judgment, as related above in the advent movement terminating Oct. 22, 1844, that these verses were literally fulfilled? The judgment and the coming of Christ to this earth were events associated together in the minds of both preachers and people under that great proclamation. Hence, the fact that Christ did not literally come to this earth at that time does not in the least detract from its being the judgment-message then due, or its being that very message itself.
Surely this great power was either of Heaven or of men. And who, in the face of the brief facts cited (and many more could be given) of the wonderful power and solemn work of heart-searching and confession of sin, would dare say it was of men?
THE MORNING STAR GIVEN AWAY.
By H. A. St. John
H. A. ST. JOHN.
HE that created the heavens, and all that in them is, has made this infallible promise to the overcomer among earth's inhabitants: "I will give him the morning Star." Rev. 2:28. Is it a fact that this promise locates the eternal home of the saints on the planet Jupiter or Venus, or Mercury, our morning stars? Is it possible that we are here directed to these planets, as the place in the Father's house where our absent Lord is now fitting up mansions for His bride?
No, indeed. This certainly is not His meaning. The gift named in the promise is something immensely greater and more precious than the most brilliant star in the heavens. Jesus our Saviour is "the bright and morning Star." Rev. 22:16. Yes, the glorified Redeemer, the one exalted above every creature, given a name above every name, who will yet receive from His Father the first dominion, paradise restored and rebeautified, the earth restored and rebeautified, the overcomer restored and rebeautified. Yes, He who will have many crowns upon His head (Rev. 19:12) who is accounted worthy of worship and adoration by the entire universe, the Lord Jesus Himself, is the bright and morning Star.
I imagine that the reader is now interested to know how Jesus will give Himself to the overcomers. Well, we will now consider this important question. When the Lord made the world in the beginning, beautiful, like a noble palace all over, He gave it to Adam. Then He made a beautiful paradise upon it, and gave that to him likewise. The Redeemer, who was also the Creator, then gave Himself to Adam to be his teacher, counselor, and guide. When He was rejected for another, Adam lost his dominion, his glory, his innocence, and his paradise home, and became an outcast, without hope, and without God in the world. Then it was that Heaven took pity upon him, and to save him, Infinite Love gave Jesus as a living sacrifice, incarnate in the flesh, and a dying sacrifice on Calvary. Then Jesus ascended to heaven, and gave Himself to mankind again as their Saviour, Intercessor, and High Priest. And still is this same Jesus, at the head of the bureau of salvation in God's government, giving Himself to the work of receiving all that will come unto God by Him. And He is able to save unto the uttermost all that will come. He is our sacrifice, our Saviour, having entered into the presence of God for us. But the period of His priesthood will have an end. The time will come when He will cease to be the sinner's sacrifice and Saviour. Overcoming will have come to an end, and Christ's work as a high priest and mediator will have been finished.
Then Jesus will look upon all the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Then He will receive from His Father His kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of His kingdom under the whole heaven. Then by His Father and His happy subjects, He will be crowned Lord of all.
Then, having received a glorious kingdom, filled with glorified subjects, all the purchase of His blood and intercession, the fulness of that joy set before Him as the results of the great gifts He had previously made, and having presented to His subjects the same kingdom that is given to Him, having crowned each one with a crown of glory and immortality, having given them each and all the right to reign with Him, to sit with Him in His throne,—there remains only one thing more that He can give this host of overcomers, and that is to give them Himself, as the bright and morning Star, the King in His beauty.
Jesus will give Himself to the redeemed, ever to dwell with them, to be their Counselor, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace; their everblessed Companion; their Bridegroom, to minister to their everlasting edification, instruction, and joy; to be the life and the light of their eternal home.
The Giver having given the saints all things freely to enjoy, He now for the last time gives them Himself as their everlasting companion in glory. With love He will serve them; with love they will serve Him; and with love all will serve one another; for this is the law of life and bliss for all the universe. Jesus, long ago, gave Himself to the overcoming; at no distant day He will give Himself to the overcomers.
CHRIST OUR PATTERN.
THE people of God are used in this world as living examples of the glorious Gospel of Jesus. His life of innocence was a rebuke to the hypocrite; His self-denial was a rebuke to the self-indulgent; His purity was a constant reproof to the vile and unclean who served their own lusts; His simplicity and plainness of manner and dress was a rebuke to the proud, arrogant ones. So the follower of Christ will, in his manner of life and devotion to his Master, be a constant example of the heavenly Pattern. This lost world has no other source of deliverance from its sins and sorrows, its guilt and pollution, but in the Christ who made Himself of no reputation, that all men might be saved.
Then, in Jesus' name and for His sake, do not put a stumbling-block in the way of precious souls, by conforming to any of the customs of this vain world; but let your manner, your attire, your business dealings, your whole life exemplify the lowly Nazarene, who took upon Himself the form of a servant. Then will He be lifted up and all men be drawn to Him.—Selected.
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
1. What admonition is given to the church of God in the last days?
"Quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21.
2. Why is such an admonition necessary?
The world is nearing its darkest hour, and prophecy is the lamp for the Christian's feet; the world is full of scoffers, unbelievers, "walking after their own lusts;" but they who walk in the way pointed out by the prophets of God shall prosper in the Christian way. See 2 Chron. 20:20.
3. Will the gift of prophecy be in the church in the last period of its history?
"And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on My servants and on My handmaidens in those days will I pour forth of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy." Acts 2:17, 18.
4. What was confirmed in the church in order that it might be perfect?
"Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you; so that ye come behind in no gift." 1 Cor. 1:6, 7.
5. What is the testimony of Christ?
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. 19:10.
6. What will be one of the characteristics of the remnant church?—The possession of the spirit of prophecy.
"The dragon was wroth with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ [the spirit of prophecy]." Rev. 12:17.
7. For whose benefit is the gift placed in the church?
"Prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe." 1 Cor. 14:22.
8. What other gifts of the Spirit does the apostle enumerate?
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues." 1 Cor. 12:8-10.
9. Which of these does the apostle say is specially desirable?
"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy." 1 Cor. 14:1.
10. Under what influence do the prophets speak?
"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21.
A VISIT TO BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA.
By W. S. Hyatt
BY W. S. HYATT.
JUNE 26, 1904, I left the mission farm for Cholo, British Central Africa. I stopped on the way at Somabula Mission, near Gwelo. I left all well at the mission farm, and the work prospering. I did not want to leave there, as I was very much interested in the education of the young men at the station. I have great hopes of the twelve or fifteen young teachers there, and of others who are developing into teachers. My hope for translators into the Zulu language is in these young men, and from that school I hope to see the Gospel carried all over that section of the country. At these two missions there are young people who represent several tribes. Some of these are from near Lake Nyassa, and others speak the language north of the Zambesi.
Our board believes that these young men should have a good, liberal education, and be able to read and speak the English. Then when they are sent out to teach, we can place our good books in their hands to read, and they can be filled with the spirit of the message. Some say, "O, I do want to learn English, so that I can read the words of God's prophet." We believe that they should have this privilege. These young men will be the foundation of the workmen who build up the work. Brother Armitage sent four of his boys over to the mission farm to receive the training we could give them there.
The work at Somabula is getting along nicely. Brother Armitage has purchased cows, goats, and fowls with his own money, and with these he is able to support the mission. His fowls have nearly, or quite, done this during the first six months of this year.
July 4 Brother Armitage and I started for Gwelo with his team of eight donkeys. We arrived in town on Wednesday morning, and I expected to get a train out the following morning. But the time of the trains had changed the first of the month, and I could not get one till the evening after the Sabbath. Rates at the hotels are very high, so Brother Armitage decided that he would walk home and leave his wagon there, and I could camp in it till I left. I did so, and was very comfortable, as I had plenty of bedding and food.
Saturday evening, July 9, I took the train for Beira, arrived there Monday evening, and at once went aboard the ship for Chinde. As the tide was out, we could not get over the bar till the next day, so this detained us one day. Wednesday morning we arrived at the Chinde bar, and waited all day for the tug to come out for us. It came just at dark.
We were soon aboard the tug, which pulled out from the vessel and there cast anchor for the night. It was dark, and the bar was so rough that the captain would not attempt to cross till daylight. Like Paul, we wished for day. The tug rolled and pitched all night, and we were sick. The next morning we arrived in the mouth of the Zambesi safely, for which we thanked the Lord. That afternoon I boarded the river steamer and started for Chiromo. The water was low, and we were nine days making the trip that takes but four days when the water is good. But I spent the time reading and studying, and I enjoyed it very much.
I arrived in Chiromo Sabbath afternoon, July 22, and the steamboat company took me to their buildings, and kept me for the night. The next morning they furnished me a machila team of sixteen men, and I started for the mission. The distance is nearly fifty miles. That evening at seven o'clock the boys brought me to a house which I soon learned was the Nyassa Industrial Mission, which is about six miles from our station. As the boys were tired, I remained for the night, and the next morning I was off again, and arrived in time for breakfast.
I was glad to get there, as it had been just three weeks since I left the Somabula mission. Brother and Sister Branch gave me a hearty welcome, and did all they could to make my visit pleasant and profitable. I found them all well, but subject to light attacks of the fever from time to time.
This section is from three to four thousand feet above the sea. There is a mountain to climb to get here, and I do not know that I would ever have been able to climb it if it had not been for the boys, who assisted me. The country is hilly, and covered with trees. The soil is generally good, much better than in Matabeleland. Last rainy season they had a rainfall of fifty inches. Since I came we have had a two days' rain. The fields are covered with grass from eight to ten feet high, and this is very good for the cattle. They eat the leaves, and are fat. Corn did quite well. It grew very rank and tall. Brother Branch was told that he had about two hundred acres planted; but when he and I measured it, we found that there were but about eighty acres of corn, and ten acres of cotton and garden. But when all of this work has to be done with the hoe, from start to finish, it means a great deal of work to dig and plant and care for ninety acres.
The corn yielded about twenty bushels to the acre. The natives planted it very thin, and there ought to have been as many more hills as they put in, which would have given a good yield. The corn, or chimanga, as they call it here, was sold for $20 per ton; and then it has to be delivered, which costs about six dollars per ton. This is the long ton of 2,240 pounds. So you can see there is not much profit in growing corn. The cotton has brought nothing so far, and there is but little prospect that it will. Many people have gone into the cotton industry, but as far as I can learn, they say that it hardly pays expenses. The country is too high. It is believed that they can grow it successfully on the lowlands.
Brother Branch has a good garden. It is so situated that it can be irrigated, if need be, and the soil is good. Chiromo is his market, and altho it is a long way, he is able to sell some garden truck there, which brings in a few shillings. It costs one shilling to send a man there with a load. He hopes to make the garden a paying factor of the mission. To-day some persons sent a long distance to get ten shillings worth of vegetables from his garden. One of the schoolboys is the gardener. A railroad is being built in this section, and this, he hopes, will make a market for the garden. Thus far he has been able to sell all he could raise.
I learn that the government has parceled out all of Northern Rhodesia to various mission societies. Missionaries are looking for more locations for missions. I think that we will be obliged to take possession of the grant in Barotseland. The location is too good to lose.
This is truly a land of death. A short time ago a missionary returned to Africa, and brought his wife with him. She took the fever, and died before they could get up to the mission. Another lady—a missionary nurse—who had been here for about one year, also took the fever, and died about the same time. Black water is quite bad about here.
My hope for the future of this work is that we train a few faithful boys to bear the message to their people. If we took the twelve apostles out of the work of Christ, it seems to me that the greater portion of His life work would be gone. Just so with our missions. If we are successful in training young men for the work, the giving of the message to the people is assured us.
