Earlier text: At the Latin Union ConferenceThe French Work in Canada
CANADA was first discovered by Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, in 1534. In 1604, seventy years later, three ship-loads of colonists, both Catholic and Protestant, with their respective ministers, came over from France under the approval and by the help of King Henry IV. But after his untimely death by the knife of the assassin, the Jesuits took the upper hand in the colony, and compelled the Protestants to leave. Garneau, a French Canadian historian, laments the fact that the French kings did not take hold of the scheme of the Huguenot admiral Coligny of allowing the French Protestants to come over to America, where they could have worshiped God according to the dictates of their consciences. Had Louis XIV done that instead of exterminating them, and finally forcing half a million to seek refuge in England, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, there is no telling what might have happened. America, settled in Canada and in Louisiana by the French Huguenots, and in New England by the Puritans, might have become a half-French, half-English Protestant republic, or two sister republics, giving the example of liberty and the light of Protestantism to all the world. The French Revolution might have been avoided. Instead of that, France, weakened by that awful drain, and by its Continental wars and internal corruptions, could give no protection to the Canadian settlers; and it seems to have been fortunate enough for these to have fallen under the English flag. Thus they avoided both the reaction of the French Revolution and the worst fruits of Catholic intolerance and ignorance. What is the educational situation of the French Catholics? The leading element in the shaping of character is their clergy. From the very first, the influence of the Catholic clergy over the people has been absorbing, imperious, unquestioned; any lack of education, therefore, must be laid at their door. This is done by the French Canadian historian just quoted, who states that the educational work has ever been entirely in the hands of the clergy, and that it has been sadly neglected. While the printing-press was introduced at Cambridge, Mass., in 1638, eighteen years after the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock, it17 was not established in Canada until 1764, one hundred fifty-six years after the founding of Quebec. Although in Massachusetts a complete system of compulsory primary education was decided upon from the start, it was never adopted in Quebec, and does not exist to-day. In fact, the high clergy is fighting this reformation now with all its might. La Vigie and Le Saliel, two Quebec papers that advocated it, have recently been obliged to suspend their publications. Le Pays, a progressive French paper in Montreal, was for the same offense given a last warning by Archbishop Bruchesi three weeks ago. In Montreal and elsewhere one meets stately Catholic churches, convents, and nunneries at almost every step. On Sundays they are crowded with worshipers. In fact, in order to give every one a chance to attend mass, it is held in every church from four to six times on Sunday morning. On the average, I should say that each of the thirty or forty churches in Montreal welcomes about eight thousand worshipers each Sunday. In one church on Mount Royal Avenue, mass is being said all day and all night every day in the year. Into another one on St. Catherine Street, you see a steady flow of people going to invoke the Virgin Mary, who is represented by an image of marvelous beauty. The other day while at Quebec, I visited St. Anne de Beaupré, the famous place of pilgrimage in Canada. At the entrance of the main church, four pillars reaching to the ceiling are made up of old crutches, trusses, and lame people's shoes of every size and description. These, with many old spectacles, have been left there by people who claim to have been healed by invoking Saint Anne, the supposed mother of the Virgin Mary. The place is crowded with booths where beads, scapularies, and all kinds of superstitious articles are sold. In a chapel on the mountain slope is a staircase like the one Luther climbed on his knees at the Lateran church in Rome. I have seen people climbing it, and kissing the thirty-two steps as they went up. Trains filled with pilgrims from the city and country are going to Saint Anne all summer long. What can be the Christianity held by people thus taught? You will not wonder if I say that they know next to nothing about the Bible, and are not permitted to read it. A young French Canadian told me that when he went to the leading bookstore in Montreal to buy a Bible, he was told that he must first secure a license from the archbishop. "I shall send to France for one if you will not sell it to me," said the young man. The bookseller then telephoned to the archbishop, who gave the required permission. The other day this same young man had a conversation with a Jesuit priest who made an appointment with him to talk over things with the Bible in hand, but at the hour appointed the priest refused to discuss any Bible subject whatever. The sale and distribution of the Scriptures should be an important part of our work. A young man to whom I have given a Bible, reads it with delight, but hides it lest the Catholic sisters or priests take it from him. The other day on the train a French Canadian said to me, "Why do our priests refuse us the privilege of reading the Bible?" "It is a hard question to answer," I said, hoping he would answer it himself; and he did. "I have my own ideas," he continued; "I think it is because it condemns many of the things they teach us." This was an important confession, and shows that these people do more thinking than we believe, and that many may be nearer the truth than we think. Evidence of the above may lie in the signs of discontent that are beginning to appear among these dear people. In Montreal a few hundred of them have joined the Freemasons; a club of infidels and one of socialists are showing a great deal of activity in spreading their anti-christian ideas. Many follow the rigid rules of the church, obeys its demands for money, and bow under the humiliation of the confessional with feelings of discouragement, impatience, and disgust, which, however, they carefully conceal within their own breasts. Of late several events have brought deep humiliation to the high clergy in our metropolis. As you all know, the archbishop ventured to annul the marriage of two French Canadians on the plea that it was performed by a Protestant minister. This bold attempt to place the papal decree Ne temere above the civil law was met by a crushing defeat which must have been keenly felt by the proud princes of the church. And now comes the suit of Mrs. Morin, daughter of the late Father Chiniquy, against the editor of La Croix, who was fined three thousand dollars for insulting the memory of Father Chiniquy's wife by saying an ex-priest can never be lawfully married. All this must be looked upon by the hierarchy with some degree of alarm, and must give them serious reasons to fear that they are losing ground, and lead them to make extraordinary efforts to keep their positions. The only resources of the church seem to be more formalism and glittering exhibitions, more pomp and superstition. Four years ago a pompous gathering celebrated the third centennial of the founding of Quebec. Two years ago Montreal witnessed the gorgeous and spectacular festivities of the Eucharistic Congress. This year in Quebec we have just seen a great French Catholic congress held. This congress, decided upon over a year ago, lasted one week. Whatever its real object may have been, its promoters, the French high clergy, have endeavored with all their might to make it serve the cause of Catholicism. The statement was made that the continuation of our race and language in the Dominion is conditioned principally on the maintenance of Catholicism. In every speech, the thought was brought out and emphasized that French Canadianism and Roman Catholicism are one and the same thing. The whole congress was evidently in the hands of the clergy. To an outsider this congress seemed more like a grandiloquent, self-complacent, self-congratulatory gathering than anything else. Of all the brilliant speeches, only one pointed out the dire need of giving the French Canadians a better education. The speaker, Senator Poirier, of New Brunswick, made some severe statements, entirely dispensing with the complimentary phrases that made up a good portion of most of the speeches, comparing them with the prayer of the Pharisee. He said the French Canadians had buried the ten talents lent them by the Lord; and he made a contrast between highly educated Germany, a Protestant country, and Catholic Portugal, with its seventy-five per cent of illiterates. I need not tell you that this speech elicited very little enthusiasm. Such is, as far as I can see from the acquaintance of a few months, the moral and intellectual situation of this people, to whom we owe the great debt of giving the message. We owe it to them because they are our brethren in Adam; we owe it to them because they are our neighbors; we owe it to them because Jesus, the Son of God, has given his life to save them, and therefore expects them to share in the benefits of his great sacrifice. A beginning has been made in Montreal and elsewhere. As a result of our work during the past winter and spring, several among the rich and poor have been led to study our positions. The most encouraging cases are those where the doors were opened by nursing the sick. My wife, as an ex-nurse, has found some interesting opportunities of practising her art; and I have had a remarkable experience which has opened quite a door for future work. In conclusion, let me make two remarks:— 1. We can not expect to see stanch Catholics, as a rule, embrace the message as quickly as Protestants. There will be exceptions, and these are the cases of people whom the Lord has been drawing and whose eyes have been opened. But it is impossible to expect people who are yet sincere Catholics at heart, who believe in the infallibility of the church and the Pope, who worship the sacrament, and invoke the Virgin Mary and all the saints,—it is impossible to expect that these people (and I am visiting several of them) will sit right down to study a book which they are forbidden to read or to have in their houses, and that in the presence of a heretic. A high wall of prejudice must be broken down first, and weeks or months of hard, careful work may be necessary for this. But when this is done, half the battle has been fought; when they are willing, in the face of the opposition on the part of their priest and neighbors, to study the Bible, then there remains little doubt as to the result. 2. It follows from this that the first methods to follow are those that serve best in opening the doors of the people's hearts. And we are told clearly and repeatedly by the spirit of prophecy that the great entering wedge of the message is the medical missionary work. We are told also that this work must be united with the evangelistic work, and that workers representing this branch must unite their efforts with the laborers representing the gospel work; and facts have abundantly demonstrated the truthfulness of this instruction. To most of us the work of reaching the Catholics may look like an impossibility, like the great mountain before Zerubbabel. But we have the promise that it will become a plain. How?—"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."18 J. VUILLEUMIER. THE readers of the REVIEW will be glad to know of the victories for the cause of truth in Baltimore. We have closed our tent effort, but the services will be continued each Sunday evening in the Wabrook Hall. Last Sunday we held a baptismal service at Gwynn Oak Park Lake, between two thousand and three thousand persons being present. Ten followed their Lord in this solemn ordinance. These, with others on previous baptism, will join the church next Sabbath. There is a splendid interest, and we expect others will soon follow in the same good way. "How the Postal Employees Secured Their Rest Day"
By C. E. Holmes
UNDER the above title one of the letter-carriers of New York City, who is designated as the "father of the closing of the post-offices on Sunday," gives quite an extended history of that movement. As to the origin of the agitation he says:— "This nation-wide movement had its origin in the Fenimore Street Methodist Episcopal church of Brooklyn. In the course of an address on Sabbath observance, by the Rev. O. R. Miller, of Albany, N. Y., the writer was convinced that an aggressive campaign for the reduction of post-office work on the Lord's day, supported by the church and postal employees' organizations, would meet with success." In seeking for help to push this effort, the letter-carrier mentioned above, Mr. E. A. Eggers, was given a letter of indorsement and introduction to Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts, of the International Reform Bureau, who referred him to the Lord's Day Alliance. "The general secretary of this society, the Rev. George W. Grannis, at once became interested, and has been its chief advocate." Speaking further, Mr. Eggers says:— "The first step taken was to acquaint the National Association of Letter Carriers and Postal Clerks with the Lord's Day Alliance, and secure mutual support and cooperation; and by the presence of Dr. Grannis at postal employees' conventions and other gatherings, a splendid union of purpose and good will was brought about. In order to keep postal employees in close touch with Dr. Grannis, there appeared many articles from the pen of the writer on various phases of Sabbath observance." It is evident from the foregoing quotations that the inception and growth of this movement for the Sunday closing of post-offices is for religious purposes. The constant reference to the "Sabbath day," "Lord's day," "Sabbath rest," and "secular work" all indicate what is in the minds of the promoters. This is further emphasized by the following quotation given by Mr. Eggers in his pamphlet:— "An important reason for closing the post-offices on the Lord's day is because of the harm that comes from secularizing the day of rest and worship by the delivery of mail. Business letters are given out, which promotes the spirit of business on the Sabbath."—Baptist Commonwealth. Of course it would not do to inform the public plainly that the object in view was a religious one. The Constitution of the United States prohibits Congress from enacting legislation of this character. To accomplish the desired end, some other means must be adopted. Mr. Grannis explains how this was managed:— "Had we approached it [Sunday closing] on the mere matter of service on Sunday, little or no progress would have been made; but we put it upon the humane proposition, and there is where it should rest. I have said to them, We can not go before Congress and ask for legislation because our Bible says, 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,' nor can we go because this ecclesiastical organization or the other said, 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,' because in that sense our government is not Christian." In referring to objections to this Sunday-closing movement, Mr. Eggers quotes the following from the Post Office Clerk:— "The Seventh-day Adventists have petitioned the Senate to defeat this amendment on the ground that it constitutes religious discrimination." Fireside Correspondence School
By William E. Howell
Merely to be a keeper of the truth, merely to be an enlisted worker for God, does not meet the Christian ideal; there must be constant growth in efficiency. There can be no growth in efficiency without increase of knowledge. There can be no increase of knowledge without effort put forth to obtain it—not merely casual, convenient effort, but effort that costs something. That treasury of simplified, practical wisdom, "Christ's Object Lessons," says:— "God requires the training of the mental faculties. He designs that his servants shall possess more intelligence and clearer discernment than the worldling, and he is displeased with those who are too careless or too indolent to become efficient, well-informed workers. The Lord bids us love him with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and with all the mind. This lays upon us the obligation of developing the intellect to its fullest capacity, that with all the mind we may know and love our Creator."
The mind is the greatest natural endowment in the possession of man. "If placed under the control of his Spirit, the more thoroughly the intellect is cultivated, the more effectively it can be used in the service of God." Serving God "with all the mind" does not mean merely all we chance to have when the truth finds us or when we read this article, but it means with all that the mind is capable of becoming through diligent and persistent cultivation. Lack of time is an almost universal human ailment. It is made the scapegoat for ignorance, procrastination, indolence, aimlessness, and many other symptoms and causes of inefficiency. Every man has twenty-four hours a day at his disposal. The wide difference we see in what men are and in what they accomplish, results largely from their different ways of using this time. The bearing of this point upon success is strongly suggested in the following pointed words from the same book quoted from above:— "Upon the right improvement of our time depends our success in acquiring knowledge and mental culture. The cultivation of the intellect need not be prevented by poverty, humble origin, or unfavorable surroundings. Only let the moments be treasured. A few moments here and a few there that might be frittered away in aimless talk; the morning hours so often wasted in bed; the time spent in traveling in trams or railway cars, or waiting at the station; the moments of waiting for meals, waiting for those who are tardy in keeping an appointment,—if a book were kept at hand, and these fragments of time were improved in study, reading, or careful thought, what might not be accomplished! A resolute purpose, persistent industry, and careful economy of time, will enable men to acquire knowledge and mental discipline which will qualify them for almost any position of usefulness."
Nothing perhaps would help more to carry out the spirit of these words than to read and study by some definite plan, to some definite end. Our Correspondence School at Takoma Park, D. C., provides for this very thing, and many are taking advantage of this provision by enrolling for a study or two for the coming winter. Our calendar tells you how to do likewise. Send for it before our fourth annual opening, October 7. The Maritime Conference
By A. G. Daniells
THE Maritime Conference held its annual session for 1912 at Scotts Bay, Nova Scotia. The meetings were conducted in our church building, and the delegates were entertained in the homes of our people. This was my first visit to the Maritime Conference. It was a great pleasure to meet the brethren and sisters who attended this meeting. They were rejoicing in the truth, and expressed an earnest desire to do their part in carrying the work forward. The reports presented to the conference for the past year were very encouraging. A number of substantial persons have accepted present truth in different parts of the conference. The tithe receipts were a little over one thousand dollars more than for last year. Although our people in this conference may be counted among those who are in moderate circumstances, yet their offerings to missions run close to the fifteen-cent-a-week mark, and the officers of the conference and the ministers did not hesitate to say that when this year closes, the Maritime Conference will have given its full share. For several years this conference has been endeavoring to provide a good school for the education of its young people. The effort has been a strenuous one, but it has been successful. The Williamsdale Academy is in Nova Scotia, near the center of the conference. The farm consists of two hundred acres. During the past two or three years, the attendance has been good. In addition to meeting the running expenses, the management has reduced the indebtedness between two thousand and three thousand dollars. This is truly encouraging,19 and it is the result of good management and hearty cooperation throughout the conference. It is right that these educational advantages should be provided for our young people in Canada, so that they shall not find it necessary to come to the States to secure the education and training they need for our work, and now they should be encouraged to remain in Canada. Let them secure their education and training there as far as possible, and then make that their field of labor. With proper training and consecration, the young men and young women now connected with our churches in Canada, can, with the Lord's help, finish this work in that part of our world field. Important changes in conference leadership have just taken place in the Canadian Union Conference. Elder J. O. Miller, who has labored in the Maritime Conference during the last five or six years, leaves for Ohio. Brother Miller has been president of this conference for several years, and has been blessed in his work. Everything is in a good, prosperous condition, and brotherly love and harmony prevail among the laborers and churches. Brother Miller leaves the field of his own accord, feeling that some matters in Ohio require his attention for a time. Elder O. K. Butler, who has been working in Montreal for a few years, has been chosen president of the Maritime Conference, and enters upon his work with courage. Another important change is the return of Elder William Guthrie to the States. Brother Guthrie has labored in the Canadian Union ten or eleven years, first as president of the Maritime Conference, then as president of the union. During these years, he has worked very hard, and has struggled against conference poverty and many other difficulties. God has blessed his efforts; and although his health is somewhat impaired, he leaves a good work in the field as a result of his labors there. The outlook in all parts of the union is far more encouraging than at any time in the history of our work there. Elder M. N. Campbell has been elected president in Elder Guthrie's place. Brother Campbell reached the Maritime conference just at its close. He is now visiting the different parts of his new field. We have reason to thank our Heavenly Father for the progress of the work in eastern Canada. Report of North Carolina Camp-Meeting
By M. H. Brown
This excellent meeting was held at Gastonia, August 15-25, and was well attended by our people, about one hundred fifty being present. The outside attendance was good, and the interest awakened in this new field demanded follow-up work, which is being carried on by Elder R. T. Nash, with an increasing interest. The brethren and sisters responded nobly to the appeals for deeper consecration to God, and gave liberal contributions for the support of the cause. A revival spirit prevailed throughout the meeting, being especially manifested on each Sabbath. Ten were baptized on the last Sunday of the meeting, and the conference church celebrated the ordinances of the Lord's house the last Sabbath. Harmony prevailed in all the deliberations and decisions of the conference. Elder Stewart Kime, of Virginia, having been recommended by the General Conference for the presidency of our conference, was unanimously elected, and was received with great cordiality, being a native of the State. Brother J. W. Siler was chosen field missionary agent in place of Brother W. E. Lanier. The latter has since decided to attend the Foreign Mission Seminary the coming year. Brother J. E. Hansen was chosen secretary and treasurer of the conference and tract society and of the Sabbath-school and young people's work. The members of the conference committee are as follows: Stewart Kime, M. H. Brown, R. T. Nash, M. H. Johnson, and J. W. Siler. The reports presented showed an encouraging increase in all departments of the work. This was especially marked in the colporteur and the Sabbath-school work. The Sabbath-school offerings for the two Sabbaths of the camp-meeting amounted to $50. Over $1,000 was pledged for missions, and over $300 for our emergency fund, which is drawn from for the purchase of tents, camp-meeting expenses, and other necessary uses. The laborers present from abroad were Elders J. N. Anderson, C. B. Stephenson, C. P. Whitford, C. B. Haynes, W. W. Eastman, and T. H. Jeys; Professors Stone and Hiatt; and Brethren W. H. Williams and V. O. Cole. At the close of the meeting all felt that we had had the best camp-meeting ever held in North Carolina, and that our work would move forward more rapidly than ever before. Plans were laid for more aggressive work in our large cities during the coming year; and if we secure the cooperation of all our people in these plans, this will mark a new era in the work in the Old North State. Newark.— After our camp-meeting, it was thought best by our committee that I remain in Plainfield, to follow up the interest awakened. After much prayer and earnest thought, I consented to withdraw from my work in Newark for the summer, and do the best I could for Plainfield. This was no small sacrifice for me to make, as we had our new church well on the way to completion, and hoped to occupy it this fall. But as the work in Plainfield progressed, I was convinced that it was God's will that I should labor there during the summer, and his blessing has rested upon the work done. After a little over seven weeks, we had the pleasure of seeing as fine a company of young Seventh-day Adventists as I have ever been instrumental in bringing into the truth. From eighteen to twenty have taken their stand fully for the truth, and a goodly number of others are deeply interested, who we hope, by proper labor, will soon take their stand. The newspapers in Plainfield stood right by us till the close of our effort, which we feel added greatly to the success of our work. I returned home September 16. Brother Medairy, my helper, is to stay in Plainfield and continue the work. My time will be divided between Newark and Plainfield, until the company is fully settled in the truth. We ask all readers of the REVIEW to join with us in thanking God for his manifold blessings. News and Miscellany
By Editor
Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press — Sixteen persons were killed and fifty injured on the night of September 17, by the derailment of the express from Chester to Liverpool, near Ditton Junction, England. — Dr. Lyman F. Kebler, of the drug division of the Federal Bureau of Chemistry, charges that the morphin habit has increased 100 per cent during the last forty years in the United States. — Miss Helen Keller, the famous blind and deaf girl, has been selected by George R. Lunn, the socialist mayor of Schenectady, N. Y., to head the welfare board in that city. Miss Keller will assume her duties some time in November. — Work was begun September 16 on a forty-foot tower to surmount the observatory of the Smithsonian Institution on Mt. Wilson, near Pasadena, Cal., whereby attempts will be made to ascertain whether or not the sun is growing cold. — The Pennsylvania Railroad Company announced recently that orders had been issued restricting the maximum speed of all passenger-trains under any circumstances at any point on the system east and west of Pittsburgh, to seventy miles an hour. — The design of the seal of the Treasury of the United States, in all its essential features, is older than the national government. From the days of the confederation of the colonies down through the history of the republic, the inscription on the seal has been, "The seal of the Treasury of North America." — William D. Haywood, of Denver, general organizer of the Industrial Workers of the World, was arrested in Boston, September 15, on a capias warrant, issued as the result of an indictment charging him with conspiracy in connection with the strike of textile workers in Lawrence, Mass., last winter. — The cotton spinning and weaving industry in Japan is expanding by leaps and bounds. During the last fiscal year, eight new corporations were formed, with a capital of $6,280,000 and operating 133,000 new spindles. Many of the old companies have increased their capital, and have added new machinery to their plants. — On the night of September 19, a mob of 5,000 strikers and sympathizers attacked the principal street-car line in Superior, Wis., wrecking six cars and beating the crews and guards. There was furious fighting, and more than thirty persons were injured, none, it is thought, fatally. The police fought desperately and rescued the car crews. The trouble followed a parade of union men, arranged by the Superior Trades and Labor Assembly as a testimonial of sympathy for the striking carmen.20 — On September 19, 4,500 miners employed in the great copper-mines at Bingham, Utah, declared a strike, and stopped work pending a settlement of their demands. — The chairman of the Association of Western Railways, Mr. W. A. Garret, sends out a warning bulletin to shippers that all freight should be despatched as promptly as possible this autumn, for by October 25 there will be a shortage of 179,838 freight-cars. — The beginning of autumn was marked by extreme variations of temperature in different parts of the country that usually appear on the weather maps with the same isothermal lines. Chicago had the hottest weather of the year, while furs were being worn at Newport, and a swimming contest at Coney Island had to be abandoned when the swimmers succumbed to the cold. — The Mexican rebels recently held up a Southern Pacific train when about thirty miles south of Nogales, Ariz. The passengers were not molested, but all arms and ammunition were taken from the train, and the engineer was compelled to run the train to Agua Zarca, where the mail, baggage, and second-class cars were placed on a bridge and set on fire. Emilio Campa, the rebel leader, has notified the Southern Pacific he will burn its bridges and stations unless it quits transporting federal troops. — The craze for gambling among the wealthy and aristocratic classes of Germany and Prussia has reached such a pitch that the authorities are at their wits' end how to combat it. The raiding of private gambling-dens they find is of no use, as the players caught therein are of such prominence that prosecutions are considered inadvisable. Every effort is made to keep the real state of affairs from the kaiser, but a recent case came to his ears, with the result that he summoned the court-marshals of the empire to his presence and asked them to use their influence to suppress gambling. — Instructions were issued by Postmaster-General Hitchcock recently for carrying into effect the new newspaper and periodical law, first returns under which must be made by October 1. Under this law, publishers are required to file on the first days of April and October of each year, both with the Postmaster-General and the local postmaster, under penalty of denial of the use of the mails, a sworn statement of the names and addresses of the owner, publisher, editor, managing editor, and business manager of their publications. Religious, fraternal, temperance, and scientific publications are excepted. The Publishing Work
By N. Z. Town
Conducted by the Publishing Department of the General Conference THE summary this month is an encouraging one, notwithstanding the falling off from last month. It shows a gain of more than $11,000 over the corresponding month last year. The decrease from the July summary is wholly here in the States, owing to the students' leaving the work to return to school. The total from the foreign fields is above that of last month.